MISCELLANEOUS ITEMS.

Waikato Argus, Volume VIII, Issue 667, 5 June 1900, Page 4

MISCELLANEOUS ITEMS.

Small families are hardly the rule among the English “ upper ten.” The average is six or seven. The Queen is the mother of nine and the Princess of Wales of six children. Lord Abergavenny is the father of 10, the Duke of Argyll of 12, the Dowager Countess of Dudley is the mother of seven children, the Earl of Ellesmere boasts of 11, the Earl of Inchiquin of 14, and the Earl of Leicester of 18. Major Smyth Baden-Powell, the brother of Mafeking’s defender, has probably won more renown as a military inventor than as a soldier. He invented the box-shaped kites capable of raising a man for purposes of observation, which have been used with such success in the the present campaign. He also devised a method of attaching a camera to the kite, and so photographing the enemy’s Volitions.

' There is an amusing story in circulation about Dr. Clark, the wellknown pro-Boer M.P. He had visited the constituency in the far north of Scotland which he now represents, for the first time. Travelling south after his visit, he questioned a fellow-traveller, an old Scotchman well acquainted with Caithness, as to his chances of election. “ How often have ye been there ?” was the unexpected response. “ Only once, rejoined Dr. Clark. “ Weel man, then I think ye may get elected,” was the disconcerting reply. The United States of America’s Department of Agriculture informs us in one of its recent bulletins that there are now more than five hundred %’arieties of Indian corn. Only a few were know to the early explorers ; the great increase has been the result of good cultivation and selection. The variations in size are interesting, especially as regards the height of the stalk. Tkis runs from l|ft. for some kinds of popcorn to 22ft. for a Tennessee variety, and 30ft. or more for varieties grown in the West Indies. A comtemporary gives the following list of men in New Zealand, who have risen to eminence from compara-tively-speaking humble positions. The late Sir Julins Vogel was a reporter on a country paper, the Right Hon. R. J. Seddon was a mechanical eneineer, the present Postmaster-General was a telegraphist, the Hon. John McKenzie, a station manager, the Hon. Hall-Jones a builder, the present Chief Justice of New Zealand a country schoolmaster, and the Public Trustee a miner. Says an English paper:—We have all been touched by the deeds of unselfish heroism performed by our men at the war. But we are reminded that deeds equally as splendid are done quietly here at borne. Recently at a tire in Hackney, Police Constable George Stephen Funnell, after rescuing two women from the burning house, plunged ‘ again into the flames to save a third, and thereby lost his life. Without any of the excitement of battle, it was a feat of heroism of the purest kind, such as makes us proud of our race. Two young Pennsylvania doctors are making a regular business of extratfng the poison from honey bees, and using it as a drug for curing rheumatism, cancer, and snake-bite, and many other dangerous ailments. They have two methods of extracting the venom; first, by holding the bee with its abdomen in a glass tube until it is all emptied from the poison sacs; and, secondly, by placing the bee in a bottle —the lower part being partitioned off with fine wire netting—and irritating them till the tiny drops of venom fall into the alchol at the bottom of the bottle.

As an instance of grim humour, the Eev. Mr Hockiug told a good story, the authenticity for which he vouched, to a Huddersfield audience the other day, to whom he was lecturing on “ Novels and Novelists.” In a humble home in Lancashire an old man lay dying on one of those peculiar beds that in the daytime serve the purpose of another piece of furniture. His wife was tending * something cooking over the fire, and the old mao, after sniffing ostentatiously, remarked : “ Tha’a a gradely smell, lass,” “ Ay,” she replied, “ but it’s npan for thee, lad ; it’s t’ ham for thy buryin 1 .”

/ A lively scene occurred on March * 2‘ind in the Via Chiaia at Naples, when a pickpocket attempted to snatch a purse which a young American lady, Mies Burgers, was carrying in her hand. The American girl, who is both pretty and athletic, knocked him down, however, before he could get away with his prize, and afterwards proceeded to kneel on his chest in a most business-like manner. The passers-by, strange to say, did not respond to Miss Burgers’ cry for help; so that the thief, recovering from his surprise, succeeded with a desperate effort in shaking off his opponent and in making good his escape, but without the purse.

An interesting trial has just reached a conclusion at Vienna. The accused, acccording to a despatch iu the Daily Telegraph, was a printer named Stellbogen, who was charged with publishing a pamphlet reflecting on the conduct of the medical officers at St Joseph’s Children’s Hospital. In the course of the trial it became apparent that the state ot the hopital was of the most shocking character. For example, it was part of the hospital porter’s duties to do a good deal of surgical work which required professional skill. Many of the children, again, died in the hospital unknown to their parents. Often the little inmates went days together without food. One girl was found by her mother covered only by a rag. The parent complained to a sister, who said, “ It didn’t matter, as the child was sure to die.” Against one of the doctors the accusations were equally serious. The opening of a Corn Exchange in Sydney is thus referred to by the Daily Telegraph The first day’s busi • ness in the Sydney Corn Exchange leaves results which augur well for the success of the new undertaking. The trade were well represented, and at the morning , call especially a brisk business was done. Supplies offered were unequal to requirements, and during the day fully £2OOO worth of business was compassed. Buyers were in good force, and there seems every prospect of the Exchange becoming a popular institution, as well as one calculated to fill many of the wants of the trade which have been felt for yearo past, About 1000 bags of maize changed hands at well maintained rates, as well as a good deal of business in bran, pollard, chaff, oats, barley, potatoes, onions and other commodities. The trade hope in the course of a few days to have the business of the Exchange running smoothly. Recent observation by M. Labortle on fourteen esses of restoration to life by rhythmic traction of the tongue shows that one and a-half hours of treatment may be too short in some eases, and that it would be better as a rule not to give it up in despair for at least three hours, since the vital forces can he latent for that period. An important fact brought out is that with the older processes of resuscitation one could not re-establish the respiratory movements when the asphyxia had lasted for more than five or six minutes; but with traction of the tongue persons who had been under water for thirty or forty minutes can be restored to life. M. Laborde states from actual observation that the blood of asphyxiated animals is rich in carbonic acid and poor in oxygen, but is not coagulated, aud keeps a certain temperature, and that the heart, though arrested, shows tremors and resumes its action when the breathing has been started again. Wade’s Wofm Figs, the Wonderful Worm Worriers, never fail for adults or children. Price, lit.