The Birmingham age-herald. [volume] (Birmingham, Ala.) 1902-1950, 1910-05-15

to change 1T is often required to indorse
1t, as he would a check. for there is feaI
of counterfeits, although successful re-
production of the notes is practically i'm
possible and is seldom attempted nova
days.
| The Bank of England issues its notes in
many denominations, ranging from es
through SO, s25, $50 and s10o up to e50C
and 91000, and even higher. The notes
that find their way back to the bank are
always at once destroyed. and as a re-
suit the paper money of Great Britain is
much cleaner than in this country. The
notes are printed on cunningly designed
white paper In specially manufactured
| black ink.
| In England weights and measures are
| much the same as in this country. The
| metric system Of the continent has never
made any Roadway worth speaking of
there any more than in this country,
and the ancient measures survive in their
| entirety.
| On the continent the metric system of
weights and measures is practically uni
versal. The meter, which is equivalent
to a little more than 80 inches-that is
about one yard and a twelfth-is the
standard. The nearest equivalent to our
mile is the kilometer, or 1000 meters,
which represents about six-tenths of a
mile Five kilometers. roughly speaking,
may be taken as equivalent to three
miles and If this Is remembered, with the
practical equivalent OF yard as a me-
ter. 1t will be easy to approximate dis
tances expressed in foreign terms.
Liquid Measure
A liter, the standard of liquid measure,
is very nearly equivalent to our quart,
being a little less, as matter of fact,
in dry measure, and little more for the
measuring of wine or water. The kilo-
gram, or kilo, as it is commonly called,
is equivalent to about two and a quarter
pounds, and is the ordinary standard of
weight
The coinage of foreign countries is easy
enough to remember when once learned
In France, for instance, the franc is the
standard coin, meaning the one in which
values are usually quoted. That is mil
lionaire in France is supposed to possess
a million francs or more, just as an
American to be a millionaire has to have
million dollars OF an Englishman a mil
| lion pounds. The franc is worth. approx
| imately 20 cents. 1t Is useful coin, and
| besides being universally employed In
France is also current in Belgium, the
coinage of which is practically the same
as that of France.
France coins also a 50 centime piece,
half franc, made of silver, and exactly
equivalent in size as we'll as value, to the
American dime. In copper there is the
10 centime or 2 sou piece, worth cents,
and equivalent In size and value to the
English penny, with which, as a matter
of fact, 1t is interchangeable. practically
speaking. That is. an English penny will
usually be accepted In France. There is
also the sou.
The standard gold coin is the livre,
worth 20 francs, and bank notes of the
Bank of France are issued in convenient
denominations, more paper money being
in circulation than In England.
| In Germany the equivalent of the
French franc, although it is worth cents
more in American money, Is the mark.
the smallest coin being a pfennig, of
which mark contains a hundred. The
gold German coins are the 5, 10 and 20
mark pieces, and paper money. while not
as frequent as in this country, is issued
| in convenient denominations.
The standard coin of the Netherlands
1 is the form, worth about 40 cents, and
there is a gold 10 form piece, worth some
| thing less than the English pound, and
| about $40 In American money. The sill
yer coins are the form, the ~ form
piece and the half form.
The standard coin in Italy is the lire,
is great deal of paper money. a silver
5 lire piece. and gold coins in denomna-
lions of 5, 10. 20, 80 and 100 lire.
In Norway the standard Is the crown
worth about 26 cents, and this applies
| also to Sweden and Denmark The gold
pieces are of 10 and 20 crowns.
/ The crown is the standard coin of Aus
tria- Hungary. 1t is equivalent to about
half the old FORM or gulden, in value
and is worth a little more than 20 cents
/ in American money. 1t is made up of 10I
I.heller, each OF which is about half q
/ kreuzer the old unit coin.
i Italy's Clock Different
! In Italy, and to lesser extent in some
| other countries on the continent time is
recSoned in manner different to ours
that is instead of using a system of l:
hours, and having the hands of the clock
/ traverse the face twice in the "a hours
"a numbers are marked on the face Of the
/ clock.
Temperature is reclsoned all over the
! continent except in Germany, by the me-
trio centigrade scale. In the centigrade
scale zero represents the freezing poini
and 100 the boiling point, respectively j
and z2 on the Fahrenheit scale. Thus
the average, II degrees in the shade o.
4 summer heat on our scale, becomes II
II centigrade 20. Ninety degrees in thu
shade In America would be just a hi
over 30 degrees centigrade, which certain
ly sounds cooler.
In Germany the reckoning Is by Reau
mur's scale, in which 100 degrees cent?
grade Is so degrees. Zero is set at TIL
freezing point, as in the centigrade Their
mometcr. but l degree c is only degree
Reaumur.