The Holbrook news., 1910-03-11
THINGS YOU MAY NOT KNOW.
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The Swiss matchmaking industry has shrunken to half of its one-time Eize
 The oldest waiter in Germany. aged 77, recently retired from his work at Elbing.
 North Carolina. South Dakota. Col 'rado, Alabama and Virginia, in the order named, lead in the production of mica.
 In 1908 the American merchant ma rine carried only F per cent of the freight between the United States and Uruguay.
 France has followed the lead of the United States in the establishment of laboratory for the investigation of mine accidents.
 New Mexico produced 2.467,9S short .ons of coal last year. a decrease of a trife more than per cent from the output of 1907.
 The cruiser battleship Invincible of she British navy maintained a speed of 3314 miles an hour for eight hours In a recent test.
 Brazilian scientists have succeeded h developing a new variety of coffee. with unusually large. fine berries. which ripen very early.
 English was spoken by 22.OOO,OOO people at the beginning of the nine teenth century. Now more than 1OO.- 100000 people speak it.
 About 2.OOO. .OOO. 900 barrels of oil. or enough to fill the Panama canal twice. was produced in the. United States during the last fifty years.
 There are 24O.OOO different species of insects on the earth. Some are so small that 4,0OO of them are only squal in size to a grain of sand.
 Asbestos is being used now in the construction of warships to a consid- srable extent, to replace the inf1am- mable wood and the heavy iron
 The pineapple is proving the most important and valuable of all the fruits in Formosa. A single firm had an output of 35OO 900 tons last year.
 In Australia there are ants which build their nests along a north and south line so accurately that a trav- eler may direct his courses by their aid.
 In Massachusetts tree planting is systematically conducted along the public highways. Fifteen thousand trees have been planted in a few years.
 The project of linking India and CeyIon by a thirty-eight-mile railroad bridge that will have coral reefs to support it's piers is again being agi' tated.
 There are in Great Britain 51O,OOO holdings of over one acre. of which s7 per cent are under fifty acres, whereas only Sl4 per cent are over 200 acres.
 If some holes are punched through a coal shovel from the back, dust and slack will drift through and the roughened places will prevent coal sliding off.
 A cigar lighter and incandescent lamp mounted on the same handle and operated by the current from ig- nition batteries. is a convenience for automobiles.
 Of late there has been an extraor- dinary. development of service in fine. new modern fast ships between South America and ports in England, Ger many and Italy.
 Work has begun in Germany on university professors airship. of the general plan of Count Zeppelin's. but larger and having wooden instead of aluminium frames.
 Twelve geologists. seven topograph- CTS and three engineers, divided among fourteen field parties. are ex- ploring the mysteries of Alaska for the geological survey. A wire screen. supported at the ends by curved metal springs. has been patented by an Illinois man as a pillow, which is claimed to be cool and comfortable and sanitary.
 Motor boat service has been intro duced on the Viga canal from Mexico City to Lake Xochimilco. the trip be- ing made in about three hours. s. Malo is the head of the concern.
 A patent was recently issued for an arc lamp in which use is made of mantle similar to that of Welsbach gas mantle. which surrounds the arc and is heated to incandescence there by.
 There is a telephone line over the Alps. but the record elevation in this respect belongs to the United States. there being a line at Camp Bird, Col. which is 1S.OOO feet above the sea level.
 According to the census of 1905 the population of the five principal cities in 6axony was as follows: Dresden.