The Birmingham age-herald., 1905-09-11
THINGS TO KNOW

The word ''banquet" formerly meant dessert.
 California oranges are now sold exten- sively in London. Pottery is the oldest and most widely known of the human arts. The total number of books in the world l Is estimated at 4,000, 100000. In one year this country turns out 1900 books of fiction alone. | Russia leads the world in planting for ests America in devastating them. The total number of men in the United States liable to military service is 11,126, 75O.
 l The Japanese are not good horsemen; the Russians excel in the cavalry divis- ion.
 comprise 4s3 officers and 474o enlisted | men.
 l The total authorized strength of the militias of the several states is 17S.7S7 | men.
 There are s.S4o,7 negroes in the United States, but only 2577 persons of African birth.
 | A distinguished scientist estimates the age of the world at about 5O0,00O00O years. l The earth weighs, according to scien- tifc estimates, 4,643,00o, ,0O0,000,000 tons avoirdupois.
 There are 272 cities and towns in the United States having a population of I 5000 or more.
 Iceland, which is republic in the lit- eral sense of the word, has no prisons I and no policemen. 1 In England an engine, after running 5000 miles in eighteen months, is sent to l4..x Peru and Bolivia have the richest sil- yer mines in the world. there having been taken over $650.0o0,00O from the Po- tosi mines in Bolivia alone. l The salary of the governor-general of ] Canada Is $5O,O0O a year. Each member of the cabinet Is paid $7000 a year except the premier, who receives sS000.
 The Baltimore and Ohio and Pennsylva- mia Railway companies are spending s14,- l 100000 to give Washington city one of the finest union railroad stations in the 1 world.
 In 1900 the center of population in the l United States was six miles southeast of Columbus, Ind In 1900, 100 years before I 1t was eighteen miles west of Baltimore, Md
 New Orleans has an area of 1961s square miles. which is the largest of any city in the United States except New York. The latter has an area of 326A square miles.
 Tn active service in the United States navy there are 1577 commissioned and 469 warrant officers, and force of 2S,644 en- listed men. The marine corps has 222 of- ficers and 6S2 men.
 A private in the United States army is paid SIS a month. The lieutenant gen. eral of the army receives salary of $11,O00 a year. No officer has held the rank of general since Philip H. Sheridan.
 Railroad property in the United States has a commercial value of S11,244,852, 900. Pennsylvania is at the head of the list, with a railroad valuation Of sl,420, cos, 900. Alaskan railroads have valuation Of ] only s100000.
 No specific tune or air ever has been designated by the United States govern ment as the national anthem. but the army and navy regulations stipulate that
 The Star Spangled Banner" shall be played and saluted on occasions of cere- mony.
 It is estimated that there are F7,0S0 15S Christians in the world, of whom 23O, S66- 533 acknowledge allegiance to the Roman l Catholic church. No other religion can claim so many followers, the next larg- | est being the worshipers of Confucius, who number 256, 900. l The aggregate salaries of the governors 1 of all the states and territories Is $226,L 9 a year The highest salaried governors are those of New Jersey, New York and 1 Pennsylvania, who receive s10.000 each. Oregon and Vermont pay but $1500 each,