Evening Republican, Volume 14, Number 48, Rensselaer, Jasper County, 25 February 1910 — THINGS YOU MAY NOT KNOW [ARTICLE]

THINGS YOU MAY NOT KNOW

Ninety per cent of a cup of tea la water. •••••’- .i.. - Bank notes, it is said, tfere first is■Mied In China 2667 B. (J. The yards of many London schools are kept open after hours as playgrounds. Old silk hats are In demand In the east end of London aa. nosebags for donkeys. 4 ' > An Italian jeweler has carved a single pearl into the shape of a boat, which 'has a sail qf beaten gold. The United States occupies second place In the list of -the Nvorld’s gold producers, South Africa standing first. China’s ministry of thq Interior has decided upon the period from, the seventh to the sixteenth year as the age of niinorlty and study, and has decreed that from 16 to 40 shall be the age of manhood for Chinese people. In, France they have an expressive phrase, “liquid money.” It means that part of the family income which is used for the' necessities and luxuries of life. It is kept apart from the more serious, substantial portion of the Income, which is that set aside for saving. Since the Czar gave out that his subjects might have liberty of conscience, about 250,000 are said to have gone over to the Roman Catholic church, 16,000 have become Lutherans, 60,000 were converted to Mohammedanism, 3,600 to Buddhism, 400 to Judaism and 160 Siberians have declared themselves pagans. The conservatism of Austria-Hun-gary is a proverb, but Yankee invention and enterprise have been able to break through the old lines to a surprising degree. In the great BohemiaMoravia machine works in Prague, of the 520 machine tools In service throughout the various departments aqd shops, 102 are of American origin. The world’s product of silver In 1907 was 186,000,000 ounces, against 160,000,000 ounces In 1897, and the coining value In 1907 being 1239,000,000, aghinst $207,000,000 In 1897. Stated in commercial values, however, the figures are materially less, the commercial value of the silver produced In 1907 being $122,000,000 and that in 1897 $96,000,000.

The waiter’s art la a serious, clever, bright profession in Germany and Prance—serloußly studied with apprentice years spent In Paris, London, Roma and New York, In the great hotels In the world’s great resorts. This explains why so many of the successful managers of hotels and restaurants In London and New York are former German, French, Italian or Swiss waiters.

Americans living In Beirut can remember when there was not a window pane In the city. Twenty-five years ago there' were no carriages, women making their social calls on the backs of donkeys. The city now has 600 licensed vehicles, with automohiles and electric street cars. There arq complete postal and telegraphic services, newspapers, colleges and the palaces. In the Far East Japan leads the way, but the Levant is following the lure of civilization.—kew York Press. One of the hardest things In the world to buy, In the opinion of a man who recently tried It, Is a watch The practical disappearance of the key-wound watch has made the key a rarity. Even the high-grade jewelry shops are apt to be with out them, while' the department stores, which seem to keep everything in the world fall in this particular. It is the small Bhop in a cross street in Third, Sixth or Eighth avenue that It most likely to have watch keys—New York Syn.

The biggest brewer in England states that the .consumption of beer has decreased In five years by more than 2,000,000 barrels, from thirty-two to twenty-six gallons a head of population. His manager says: “The'government, has made up Its mind 1 " to damn brewers If possible. We have made up our minds to damn this government; it will be Impossible for us ever to pay a dividend so long as we have the legislation the present government wants to force upon as.”—New York Press. 1

The Rev. W. W. Wingfield, vtcar of Gulval, will celebrate his ninety-sixth birthday this week. He has been vicar of the. pariah for seventy-one years and Is still •able to preach and write, although with somewhat Impaired vigor. Cornwall has been the home of many clergymen who have lived to a ripe old age, the most remarkable Instance being that of the Rev. W. Cole, vicar of Landewednack, who appears, by the parish register, to have been “above 120 years by far” when he died, In 1683. —London Standard.

All members of Parliament did not ride to London from' their constituencies in the old days. Mr. Barclay of Ury, who represented in the eighteenth century, always walked the whole fray, doing his fifty miles a day with ease. Marathon run'ners may note that his refreshment on the journey was a bottle of port, poured into a bowl and drank off at a draught. George 111. took much Interest in Mr. Barclay's achievements and said: “I ought to be proud of my Scotch subjects, when my judges ride and membefti of Parliament walk to the metropolis." The former allusion was to Lord Monboddo, who always rode to town Instead of driving, considering it unmanly '*to sit on a box drawn by brutes.’’—London Chroa We. ■' „ • .-y-tj-