GENERAL NEWS.

Taranaki Daily News, Volume XLVII, Issue 8060, 8 March 1906, Page 4

GENERAL NEWS.

An explosion oi' >;: i tuns of chlorate ol potash ,it th.' K't.Alkali Work.-, al St. Heltii's, was limu.l at M;.i jile,'is milts away. The t>last at 11. il (Jaio, New York-ISO tons of dynamite - was perceived by oscillations of mercury I.S.J miles distant. The slioek due tu the explosion of about M tons of dynamite at .lohanneslmig was felt at Pretoria, :i:i miles off, ami when 50.(100 kilograms of t.laek powder blew up in the naval at Toulon, the noise was heard at \'etuiuiiglia, in Italy, 100 miles ilistaut. S * * »

There, is an underground city in Central Asia, supposed to have been built before the Christian era, as etligies. iii.s~ii|ilioiis and lesions found anions Ihe ruiiis date it hick V') . 0 eentiirii'S before the birth of Christ. I'lie city is eomp.sed of !•..••. eorridors. ■ stiX' ts, iui.l i-ijuares, urn -1 hv houses .nd uuiiuii : vim,: two or storeys in lei l -,;!; and oy the ljeiiu!i!;.i sunmetpv of in- Hr-.-cts iitid squares, and orir.'r indiea-

evident that llu- inhabitants of i! oid-wo.l I city had arrived ut a bigh deof civili.-tioii.

I o Ave;i.;e Louise in Bimsscls is lined *'t slur-stmir trees, and tin electric tramway one side ; but, strahge to say, the "Jmiuiis on that side lose their leaves in .ugust, tii-n hud again in October, while 10.-e oil the o her side keep ihoir foliage till •>arthe e:id ol the year, and only bloom •:ain tlie following spring. It is believed •at the clecti iccuirent of the tramway pass«g through the ground affects the roots, and U'Sc-i the abnormal behancnr of the trees, ii.ii ton;; bc.-n known that clf-.-tricity in the oil does influence table .> th

A cable to t ie Kew York " World," from ->t. m .su;i;;• <:i\: A iibi.'vcl of engraving m.s ju-t b.e.i a<vo!ii|iii>lK''l by a youth of i. v.iio is known throughout South !u-da tor {'if eMiiioi'di'iary precision of hi.? rork. On a -rain of wheat he has engraved io music and words oi the ltus>i:in national .nthem with the aid of a lens. Kvery note s dotted and clearly defined. He wa* called •) the imperial court to sliow the Czar the vonderful pie:;e of work, w r hich is framed in tiny .-iiver setting. The Czar, amazed al ie production, yave the engraver a j»old •itch with Lis monojrram r*n it,, lif'tuven lie tw.) " 11. V of Nicholas ]J. tin- engraver • now a pni\>'r for lhe Czar'a ilVty, taken from theltussian liturgy.

Earl Koberis, the conmiand(.'r in-chief of ie British a/my, is a man of indomitable and tireless industry. During his »<u" of Scotland, which bejjnti on August 9, nd ended on f lu- 22nd, lie h:ul nearly thirty nspeniiuns to make. After travelling ail dgiil to Edinburgh he startcl work an hour ind a half after arrival, having three ensigements for the Sunday. li..> included nuong his engagements a visit to the new ':tv:il base a! St. Margaret's Hope, and uifled on Inc'ikeith, tin- gunrdian fortress ■f the Kurlh. His itinera,;v extended as far Kirlh as Invc'iic'ss Dint eighteen cities and owns were induded in hi- tuur. A ehovfe it.ty at StobsC-imp, where about :!<).OUO men vere under canvas, concluded his arduous fortnight.

Manilla is one of the most important ports 11 the Piiilippme Islands, but strange to say, •ionc day behind all other places of its size n the world. This curious fact is accounted or in this way. Although the Philippine slauds lie near the Asiatic thov were iiscovered by Spaniards who sailed" from America. W ivn they crossed the magic line vbere Sunday changes, into Monday these iep-dons of proud Castilian anei'siors did mt revise their calendar. When told of this •ours later, and informed that their mode of •eckoning time was not np to modern notions, hey only said that that was so much the -.orse for mod rn notions. Anyhow,the fact remains that i.ies;: i-,1 uidcrs kn'p plodding /.Inn- oneday hdiiml t : ut rest of the world vhi jh reckons rime by new style.

>-ol long a;:) a Trk. while repairing a fr'd iii[-> sireet upon a wealthy old wiio v.v.i killed, without any serious .aniiigc to the workman himself. The son of ie (i-reased eausfal the workman to bo nested and tnkeu before the cadi, with vhoiu be used ail his influence to have the u»or man c-Hiicmned; and, though the inof th-i labourer was established, lathing mi-il -atisfy the sou but the law of etaliation. Ihe cadi stroked his beard, and '.' av.-lv di-i-ieed that tlie workman di be ir- il cr.aeilv up-ai Iho spot where old m:w n.l. - Now," said he to !i son, '■ y.'-j may go on ;ht» iW of tlie a>. sr. Tali up:m this m-..k and kill him i -:u can." Of course the - n declined to ti. o: the ::ort, and thecase was dis-

•'in- tail m •:V,y-. one of th- n.,M u!uand e-.N-.t-ivr ;,i [lir vn.Jli'i' a:iin.;\i. ? . 'l - !<;■.( ii: ::u intway. A coena•n ■ spin. 1.1 -wo, ami 1 ,na; a v.ilh.a Ic:.-:thwise tfii-.ju-h the i-iii, tiic t»vu !?alv.;s of v.Tiii-h ins «l;:twn tegciher i>y wires. 'l'hen a lioie cut jnw enough for the monkey's l -uv to enter. The monkey the .♦j'lijiiing na* from his tr-... He 1k.:.-- down, oui.s i; ovt-r, s-t., the iiule and .-indls Ihe aunana inside. JTe is fond of bihuuas. Pulling his paw in he gra.-ps it, but the wood p«t'\ciils it. from coming out. Then Ihe rather* appear and the monkeys run for a 1-Jnl lie cannot climb because of the eV'-amil on bio paw. and he will not let go oi ib.it, ho he, is captured pawing wildly at the tree trunk.

The l)nke (>f Marlborough, who "wrote Ehglixh badly and spelled it worse." had such irrv-istibio charm of maimer that he illllurllci'tl ail Kuropi: and swayed the d<;Sli»i».s of nations. Mirabeau. who is said to have had "tin: face of a pitted by 1 so won men's alfections by his politeness thai, when lie was the populace bested his house in their anxiety to learn his condition, and uvea his enemies lamented his death as a distinct loss to mankind. Madamede S:ael, than whom ihevo shines no star more brilihint in the firmament of womanhood, lucked that surest charm of hev s i x. hr.aiity. hut possessed such tact of speech and rare manners that- «reat men became mere creatines of her will, and even Napoleon feared her so much that ho banished her. History overflows with the conquests of courtesy. K.tdiinn, discovered in 18(18. was valueri afe £10,000.000 a pound, says "Ilnrpcr's Weekly." Its estimated value has since been reduced to .£'-100,000 a pound, which »s a very material reduction, but th« prir/ is slill hfcb. We read with interest that a liulfalo man. Mr. Stephen T. Lockwood. expects to ( in the manufacture. or extraction. of this interesting substance. and hopes to lower the price stilt further. His hopes, as recorded in the papers, are based on the possession of certain deposits of carnotite in Utah, from whieh he lias been able to extract radium, and whieh he believe- can be hv (keed to giw its radium up somewhat asier than the pitchblende from whieh the radium so far obtained has been extracted. v \'i} hope ho will suci'ij'.'d, liudiuui is Ihe most inLinb iance out. and, d'-w though it i- 9 4 very little ot it -joe.? a wav, and la>U, apparently, forever. We want m'ore of it. for. unlike liquid air, n seems really to bo of uie for something b' sides amusement and speculation, e

i A 1100 NTo IUiiiYMEX A Iwii Ims lieoii patented by a Taruntilii linn, which is fur iu advance of any oilier coninvanco for securing cows while being milked. If is operated roni the back of the cow, and she can he bailed up or released with (he greatest ease by even the smallest milker. Dairymen will find these bails are not only great tinie-savevs, but are reliable. cusy to iix, aiid never get out of repair; in fact, can be lixed with little alteration in any shed in which old bails are at present in use. The articles supplied are -.—2 screw pulleys, l ift of cord and ring, 1 iron bail; and the cost is only a few shillings. Messrs JioborLs.ni anil liond, of Liardet-streel, Nun Plymouth, are life patentees ami vendors. An illustrated Icallet, and all estimates or particulars, will be provided to eni|uirer.s free. The folio .v. ing letter just received speaks volumes: —Messrs. Kobertson and Bond, New Plymouth. Dear Sirs, —I hare pleasure in stating that the new cow bails you supplied arc giving every satisfac. lion. They are easy to fix, and affect a great saving of time. I firmly believe if they were used continually for twelve months they would more than save their first cost, I can confidently recommend tlieni to all dairymen. Wishing you every success, I am, faithhilly yours,—liojjjiitT Clemuw, Ornata. Taranaki