INTERESTING GLEANINGS.

Wairarapa Daily Times, Volume XI, Issue 3756, 17 March 1891, Page 2

INTERESTING GLEANINGS.

Origin ok Hospitals, —The latest archrological discoveries fhew that hcspilall existed in India as early as the fifth century before Christ In Ceyion King Fandukabhayo established a hospital in his place. and one of his successors, in the second century before Christ, founded 18 different Institutions of the kind, each with a medical staff ami the remedial agents of the times. The Buddhist king, Ascka, had, abcul the year 250 ut. c. hospitals, both for men and animals.j Many other hospitals, new unknown, were doubtless established at an early period ;' but the "Lancet" concludes that their work was much less Important than that of the hospitals which developed in Rome and elsewhere as the result of tho spread of Christianity.

The Sense of Smell.—Smell is the most acute by far ol the five human senses. Take an ounce cl musk—most powerful of scents—and leave it where the atmosphere is stilt, open on a table, fcr a year. At the end of thai time, having for full twelve'months rendered odorous the whole atr in its neighborhood, the most delicate scales cannot detect thai it has lost a particle in weight. Yet the smell has been indefinitely distributed, microscopic portions of the musk floating off and exciting impressions upon the nerve) papilla: under the delicate lining of the nasal passages; for that is what smell means. The sense has grown almost rudimentary In human beings through want of necessity for its use under civilised conditions, but it Is highly probable that men had it quite as well developed as the sharpest nosed beasts. ut

The Greatest Natural Wonderof the World.—lt is probable that nine people out of ten would put Niagara at the head of the natural wonders of the world, and though :• there may be higher water-falls, and some * with more picturesque surroundings, certainly for stupendous grandeur the palm •nust remain with Niagara. There are, how-ever,-"other natural phenomena not less worthy of a high place, and indeed an arrangement of natural wonders in any supposed scale of comparative grandeurissimply a matter of individual preference- The crater of Kilanea, on Mauna Loa, Sandwicb . Inlands, with its lake of molten fire, is a spectacle of awe-inspiring magnificence, unequalled even in its comparatively quiescent season except by some rare outbreak of Etna or Vesuvius. The great Yellowstone Park of Colorado contains within its bounds a collection of natural marvels unequalled for extent and variety. Here it is said there are no fewer than 10,000 boiling springs, [<eysers, and hot lakes In Colorado also are found the marvellous canons—profound chasms sometimes amile in depth. Other areat natural wonders which may be mentioned are the Mammoth Cave of Kentucky, the main passage of which is 10 miles long, the lateral passages extending to some 840; i miles; the extraordinary stalactite cav--erns of Carniola with their underground rivers; the natural aqueduct by which a river in Demnat, in Morocco, is carried across a wide and deep gorge; the natural bridges in various parts of the world, of which-the most famous is that at Keck*. bridge, Virginia, U.S.A. ; and the great pitch lakft ofTrtnMaA When Royalty Travels in Japan.— /> There has existed in Japan for many cen- . turies a curious law. to the effect that when- . ever the Emperor or Empress appeared int. public no other person should .occupy a higher place than this member of the Royal family; therefore, on such occasions, the . shutters of all upper storeys were drawn, and the upper parts of the house through which the Royal party moved were seemingly deserted. This law is still in effect. Some time ago, when the Empress went into the country for a period, an elaborate announcement was posted in conspicuous places along the line of her contemplated route commanding the public to observe strictly certain requirements of etiquette, to wit: When her Majesty shall pass along no one must look at her from the frame built on houses foe the drying of clothes, or through cracks in doors, or from any position In the upper part of their houses. If anyone wishes to see her Majesty he or she must sit down at the side of the road by which her Majesty will pass.v. All children must be taken particular care of that they do not play in the road, and so obstruct the passage of beg. Majesty through the streets. No one look at her Majesty without taking off his. hat, neckcloth, or turban, or whatever else he may be wearing on his head. Moreover no one must be smoking while he or she fs 1 looking at her Majesty, nor must anyone 1 carry a stick or a cane. Only women wearing the clothes of a foreigner will be per-. * mitted to retain their head-covering. • > Aj-| though it may rain, no person will oa' allowed to put up an umbrella Majesty may be passing. DqMMhbt be allowed, to wander on to the foJSby, which her Majesty will pass. Until the passage of her Majesty, the route by which* she will come will be kept free from all' carriages and jinrlkashas. The roads which] she will take must be completely free from all traffic. As her Majesty passes no one, must raise his voice, nor must any sound be heard, nor must the crowd close in and follow her carriage, for no noise must be, made. When her Majesty reaches Umeda station there will be a discharge of so fireworks.

I Early Breakfast and Health.—Breakfast should be eaten in the morning before leaving the house for exercise or labour of' ' any description; those who do it will be able ■ to perform more work and with greater com-, , fort and alacrity than those who work an' hour or two before breakfast. Besides this,, the average duration of life of those who' take breakfast before exercise or work will be a number of years greater than those who do otherwise. Most persons to feel weak after having been engaged hve or six hours in their ordinary avocations: a good meal reinvigorates, but from the last meal of the day until next morning there is an interval of some 10 or 12 hours. Hence the body, in a sense, Is weak, and in proportion cannot resist deleterious agencies, whether of the fierce cold of mid-winter or of the poisonous miasm which rests upon the surface of the earth wherever the sun shines on a blade of vegetation or a heap of offal. If early breakfasts were taken In regions where chill and fever, and fever and aguo. prevail, and if in addition a brisk fire were kindled in the family room for the hour including' sunset and sunrise these troublesome maladies would diminish in any one year,' not tenfold but a thousandfold, because the heat ■ oi the fire would rarefy the mlasmatlo alp instantly, and send it above the breathing. ■-■ > J - -V-' -'