NEWS IN BRIEF

Taranaki Daily News, Volume LI, Issue 130, 23 May 1908, Page 4

NEWS IN BRIEF

l'hidon, King of Argos. made the first silver coin in S(i!) lU.\ It eosts the average vessel £S(it> to pans through the Suez Canal. A barrel of American, apples averages about J 4,"ilb. in weight. bast year tweufy-lwo people were killed by motor ears in the streets of Umdoii. Live Jish have, been safely transmitted by post from India lo London. Tile hide of the in certain parts attains a thickness of two inches. .' -: Copper is believed to be the metal earliest known to man and first used in the arts.

<Jrcat J*ritaiu' ri wealtli increases abouta day—that is 3d a head a Before it produces bark of commercial value a corn tree must be fifty years old. Danish lightships an* supplied with oil to pump on the waves during a storm. The Rev. Francis Pavnler, of Guildford, was the only millionaire clergyman in Kngland. He gave directions that he should be buried in a wicker eoflin in his grave at Stoke-next-Uuild-ford, and that lii.s body should be borne to the grave by his own men-servants, each of whom should receive CI for such .service, 1

r l liisleen ltriti„li lifo assurance olllccs decline proposals from unvaeeinaloil persons.

A lens exposed to the sun's rays freipiently acts as a burning glass before being noticed.

It, is a. curious fact that the first, three' I'nviiik'iits of the United Slates married widows.

Forty thousand people in the TSritish Isles pay Iho guinea crest and coat-of-

arms taw 1 The lii'rtt case of sleeping sickness in Kurope has been signalled at Cherbourg. Physicians say that the infection was bronchi; from Africa by the tsise llv, and *teamship-owner.s are in a quandary how to rid the ships of the tiny pesti-lence-carriers. What is described as an enormous sapphire, weighing nearly half a pound, and without ibnv, lias been found in a gem mine at Ratnapura, Ceylon. Denmark's Hag, in use amee 1210. is the oldest in the world.

The eagle can withstand a twentyeight davs' fast. It is'estimated that 10001b. of tobacco are thrown away <?very day in the shape of uueonsuined ends of cigars and cigarettes, The ostrich may be stripped of its plumage every eight months. Blue iig ? an Australian timber, so much resembles the Knglish oak that to anybody but an expert the difl'erence is indistinguishable. In Italy there are more theatres in proportion to the population than in any other country. There arc now U)0,000 acre* devoted to rubber in Ceylon—an increase of -17,000 acres in one year. In Russia there are about 3,000,000 horses. This is nearly half of the entire number in existence.

Ihc oldest tree in the world U said to be the famous dragon tree of Tencrill'e, which is estimated to be from J,OOO lo 0,000 years of age. The Norlh Island of New Zealand contains 28,1">0,320 acres, of which l-1,(i25,708 acres are. occupied. The .South Island comprises o/.1d0.000 acres, and has 22,75"),.177 acres in occupation. Stewart Island has an area of 425.000 acres, 2J,MB acivs of which are occupied.

The following strange verdict was given at the Jvmls Assizes tho- other (lay:--"We think, my lord, that the prisoner is guilty, but there is not sullicietil i-videnee to convict him." The prisoner was discharged.

wlten one It■'-1 s the need of tin l slumber when one feels lli<' need of itie slmber of di'iiHi. an at the end uf a toilsome day "lie IVc!s tin 1 li'-eil nl' another sleep.'' The following ailscrtiscmcllt. rei-cntly appeared iua Ijowlou. newspaper:-Old lady, with very wrinkled face, required us demonstrator in West End facial parlor; good pay to right person." If Hie sun were hollow, 300,000 globes the same lize as the earth could he stored i»sii\e. There i ri not an illiterate person in Iceland, although the population is nearly 80,000. Italians applying for work seize and kiss the hand of the employer. It is an old feudal custom.

The condor spends most of its time soaring in the raritied atmosphere three miles above sea level. Out of every ]o,i>oo who go in for teaching as a profession, only 0,2 jO ultimately become teachers.

The railway companies of South Australia spend '.till, Will a year in removim; weeds from their lines.

The son of Admiral Hockley, of the United States Navy, has shipped as oiler on a steamer at San Francisco, in order to learn the duties of an engineer,

The lii'st party »f look's personallyconducted Japs "(lil'ly-nine iu all) have lel't Yokohama on a. lour of (lie wni'hl, Mr. William Williams, of lllmv,. < ar narvouKhire, who died Ihe other day a"ecl 1(11, was an ardent angler, t p lo Ids fatal illness he walked three mile* a day to the slream nearest his home. A sentence of lifty two consecutive at• tendances at Sunday school wao imposed by the Judge ol the Juveuil. 1 Court at (lenova, New on two liovs convicted of thell.

England spent ii 11)07 nearly .CiWrtJIOO more tut intoxicants lhau in llldd, but I he. average expenditure per head fell from Ids ;td to ,n Ifis !M. There was nearly a. million sidling increase in the spirits bill, but a decrease of ,C!WI,HOI on beer,

Tlio largest bed of salt in Ihe world is said to have been discovered at For McMurray, Manitoba. Canada. .It i 200 feet deep, und extendi i'or 300 wild