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Variety in Brief

Among the early vegetable productions of this country the trees claimed the principal place; for here were forests of vast extent; full of the straightest, the cleanest, and the largest timber trees, their size, grain, and durability rendering them fit for many kinds of building, and many were capable of receiving a fine polish.

The largest tree of the New Zealand forests is the kauri, which attains a maxmium height of 140 feet. The trunk grows to a height of from 50 to nearly 100 feet without a branch protruding. The largest trees are said to be the greatest timber-yielding trees in the world. This tree has a limited distribution, as it is found only in the Auckland province. —A.J.

Gorse and broom, although perhaps a curse to the farmer, certainly make a glorious sight when in bloom, while the scent is one of the chief attractions. Many tourists have remarked on the excellent sight it presents, Baden-Powell being most enthusiastic over it in the letters which he wrote home during his 1910 visit. So attracted was one American skipper when he saw the yellow gorse lighting up the landscape in Invercargill, that he ordered two of his men to see “if they could sneak a bit of it for him.” They obtained it alright, and the skipper sailed away very pleased with two small gorse shrubs planted in tubs in his cabin.—D.G.C.

The history of clockmaking, from the shadow clock of the ancients to the modern electric clock was demonstrated in a unique and interesting exhibition held at The Goldsmiths’ and Silversmiths’ Co., Ltd., some weeks ago. A very simple contrivance, the first clock ever used, consisted merely of a board with two wooden pegs from the shadow of which time was measured. Following this primitive method came the Egyptian water clock, a plain copper bowl with an opening in the base. The bowl, thrown on to a pool, floated exactly fifteen minutes, then sank, the water having filtered through.

Another quaint model of a water clock which was in continual use from 1000 B.C. to 1700 A.D., recorded the time by the level of the water in a cylinder from which the liquid could escape drop by drop. Specimens of fine English clocks included a model of the first marine timepiece, by which Thomas Mudge won the #3,000 prize offered by the Government. A “perpetual motion” clock was kept continually wound by changes in temperature. But one of the most ingenious items of the display consisted of a clear glass bowl with goldfish among water plants and crystal rocks. Constantly changing lights shining from the base produced a picturesque flood-lighting effect, whilst the bowl revolving allowed the time to be recorded as the hour numerals passed an ivory pointer. —“Pohutu.”

Figures taken from a survey of the world's “'phone population” reveal that New Zealand ranks second to America in ‘phone density, the Dominion possessing 155,059 telephones or 10 to every hundred people, the United States being equipped with 13 to every hundred. At the opposite end of the scale stands India with 58,241 instruments—one to every 5000.

Over half the world's ‘phones are in the United States, whilst Germany is the only country besides America with more ‘phones than Britain, that is numerically, for Germany lags behind Great Britain's 4.48 with 3.19 per hundred of population. —“Waikite.”

The courtesy of Dominion railway officials has always been a marked feature of our railway service and one very grateful woman recently recorded the fact. On a South Island station platform the train was just leaving, taking with it the mother of a young lady on the platform. So affected by the parting was the young woman that she fainted, but the station officials were equal to the emergency. A member of the staff who is associated with the Railway Ambulance Brigade appeared and with the assistance of another man carried her to the waiting room where, after a stimulant had been given, she soon recovered. When offered payment he refused it, saying he did ambulance work as a hobby— D.G.C.