All Sorts

New Zealand Tablet, 27 September 1906, Page 38

All Sorts

,~ Animals ~to the number of 70,000,000, ale killed yearly for the sake of their fur. •~ When a fish loses any of its scales, by a wound or other means, they are never renewed. " The wasp has been' observed to waylay and rob bees while the latter, laden with honey, were returning to the -hive. - •ur 'You don't look as if you were enjoying yourself, Mr. Shnnker, I wish all my "guests to be -'at home.' 1 m sure they all wish they were, Mrs^ Hostess.' Civilisation does not tend to the horse's longevity, in the wild state he lives to be thirty-six or forty years old, while the domestic horse is old at twenty-five. Among insects the most intelligent are those of the ant tribe, while next to them rank wasps. Bees come some way lower-^ down the scale. Beetles "are hopelessly stupid, but even they are not as bad as butterfles and moths. Tommy: 'I'm going to.. ..begin vulgar fractions to-morrow, ma. - Mother : ' You shall do (nothing of the kind, Tommy. You shall study the very best j fractions they have in the school.' • I say, I'd give anything to be as strong and healthy as you are,' remarked the lazy man. 'What J?i you ..iK e +°i n - ? 'i ' e Nothin S but fruit,' answered the other. "What kind of fruit ? ' 'The fruit of industry * was the brief but significant, reply. ' . If the Shah of Persia were to be deprived of his income he could still make sure of being one of the richest men in the world. He would only have to sell his ornaments, gems, and precious stones to become possessed of about £7,000,000, the sum at which the magnificent collection is valued. Arabian horses show remarkable courage in battle It is said that when a horse of this breed finds himself wounded, and knows instinctively -that he - will not be able to carry his rider much longer, he quickly retires, bearing his master to a place of safety while he has yet sufficient strength. But if* on the other band, the rider is wounded and falls to the ground, the animal remains beside him unmindful of danger/- neighing until assistance is brought. Travellers who make holiday on the Continent are estimated 'by a French authority to spend at least £30,000,000/ a year during their trips abroad. The three million tourists who visit Switzerland annually leave at least £6,000,000 in that- country. Fewer visitors go to the Riviera, Italy, and Spain, but they belong to a wealthier class, and are estimated to spend over £12,000,000 during the winter season alone. The three large Continental capitals (Paris, Vienna, and Berlin) receive at least £9,000,000 a year from foreign visi- && t"l00,OO0 TyTl SPent a * °<»«»«« *« In Belgium, every citizen has a vote who is over twenty-five years of age and has lived for a year in . the same commune. Every one thirty-five years of age who is the head of a family has -a second vote Every one over twenty-five who has property in land worth £80, or a corresponding yearly income from such property, ; or an income of £4 a year from the Belgian funds either directly or indirectly through the savings bank, has an extra vote. It is, therefore - not difficult for a man of thirty-five to have three' votes. The three votes, which are the maximum may also be made up with the help of a supplementary vote given for a diploma of higher instruction or a. ' certificate of higher secondary instruction. Some of these qualifications -must often be • wasted; There are thirty palaces .belonging to the imperial family in yarious parts, of Japan,- but the present Emperor has never occupied more than three or four of them, and some of them he has never seen There is a stock-farm at Nikko belonging to the Mikado, and -tourists are always amused at a large, oddly painted sign which advertises milk from his cows for sale The Emperor seldom . leaves the new palaces at Tokio' which are more modern and comfortable than any of - the others, and were only completed in 1888. - They consist of a labyrinth of one-storey buildings all connected by covered passages and surrounding beautiP . ful courts. Their architecture is of the ancient Japanese style, with high roofs Tat sharp angles and heavy grey tiles, and the interior of most of them is furnished in the native fashion.