by Barkham Burroughs
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The Highest Chimney in the World.--The highest chimney in the world is said to be that recently completed at the lead mines in Mechernich. It is 134 meters (439 ft. 6 in.) high, was commenced in 1884, and was carried up 23 meters before the frost set in; building was again resumed on the 14th of last April, and it was completed last September. The foundation, which is of dressed stone, is square, measuring 11 meters (33 ft.) on each side, and is 3.50 meters (11 ft. 6 in.) deep; the base is also square, and is carried up 10 meters (33 ft.) above the ground. The chimney-stack is of circular section, 7.50 meters (24 ft. 6 in.) diameter at the bottom, and tapering to 3.50 meters diameter (11 ft. 6 in.) at the top, and is 120.50 meters (395 ft.) high.
How to Measure Round Tanks.--Square the diameter of the tank, and multiply by.7854, which gives the area; then multiply area by depth of tank, and the cubic contents will be found. Allow 6-1/4 gallons for each cubic foot.
The Largest Buildings in the World.--Where is the largest building in the world situated? The answer to this question must depend upon what the term "building" is held to represent. The Great Wall of China, 1,280 miles in length, wide enough to allow six horsemen to ride abreast along it, and with an average height of 20 ft., may fairly be called a building; so, too, may be called the Great Pyramid of Egypt. The question, however, was not meant to include such works as these. Some have supposed that the Vatican at Rome, with its eight grand staircases, 200 smaller staircases, 20 courts, and 11,000 apartments, is the largest building in the world; but surely this is a collection of palaces rather than a single building. The same objection applies to the famous monastery of the Escurial in the province of Madrid, with its seven towers, fifteen gateways, and 12,000 windows and doors, and to many other vast piles. For the largest single building extant, we must look to St. Peter's at Rome, within which our great cathedral,
St. Paul's, could easily stand. St. Peter's occupies a space of 240,000 sq. ft., its front is 400 ft. broad, rising to a height of 180 ft.; the length of the interior is 600 ft., its breadth 442 ft. It is capable of holding 54,000 people, while its piazza, in its widest limits, holds 624,000. It is only by degrees that one is able to realize its vast size. St. Peter's holds 54,000 persons; Milan Cathedral, 37,000; St. Paul's, Rome, 32,000; St. Paul's, London, 25,600; St. Petronio, Bologna, 24,400; Florence Cathedral, 24,300; Antwerp Cathedral, 24,000; St. Sophia, Constantinople, 23,000; Notre Dame, Paris, 21,000; Pisa Cathedral, 13,000; St. Stephen's, Vienna, 12,400; Auditorium, Chicago, 12,000; St. Mark's, Venice, 7,000.
The Biggest Bell in the World.--There is a bell in the Temple of Clars, at Kinto, Japan, which is larger than the great bell of Moscow, or any other. It is covered with Chinese and Sanskrit characters which Japanese scholars have not yet succeeded in translating. There is no record of its casting. Its height is 24 ft., and at the rim it has a thickness of 16 in. It has no clapper, but is struck on the outside by a kind of wooden battering-ram. We are unable to obtain any more exact particulars as to the dimensions of this bell in order to determine whether or no it really does excel the "Monarch" of Moscow, which weighs about 193 tons, is 19 ft. 3 in. in height, 60 ft. 9 in. in circumference, and 2 ft. thick. There is another huge bell at Moscow, and those at Amazapoora, in Burmah, and at Pekin are far bigger than any we have in this country. Our biggest bell is "Great Paul," which was cast at Loughborough in 1881, and which weighs 17-1/2 tons. Taking purity, volume, and correctness of note into account, it is probably the finest bell in Europe.
The Oldest Cities in the World.--They are the following:--Argos, Athens and Thebes, in Greece; Crotona and Rome, in Italy; Cadiz and Saguntum, in Spain; Constantinople, in Turkey, and Marseilles, in France, which was founded by a colony of Greeks 580 B.C. The age of these cities varies from twenty-four to twenty-seven
