The Stourbridge Observer, Cradley Heath, Halesowen & District Chronicle.
Stourbridge, West Midlands, England, 1879-02-15 00:00:00

THE RAVAGES OF THE PLAGUE.

A correspondent writes to the Pall Mall Gazette
May a good Proviaence avert the plague frean our
borders ! The descriptions given to me of its ravage,
in Malta in 1813, where it was supposed to have be a
introduced by the impartation of some infected hides
from Alexandria, were simply horaifying. The
streets were barricaded, and no one was allowed to go
abroad. Hucksters were appointed to sell food at the
doors of houses, depositing their wares in baskets, and
receiving the coin in bowls of vinegar. A number of
convicts, sentenced to imprisonment for life, were pro-
mised a free pardon on condition that they undertook
to cart away the dead and all supposed infected cloth-
ing and furniture beyopl the city walls, where the
latter was burned. As regards the dead bodies,
the mode of procedure in such cases was this: the con-
victs, .armed with long grappling-irons, entered the
apartments of the deceased, and seizing such by the
garments with their irons, dragged them dovinstairs,
hauled them into carts, and conveyed them to the
plague burial-groung, where they were interred in
lime. A number of Turkish plague doctors, supposed
to be skilled in treating the disease, were imported by
the local Government. Their mode of treatment is
illustrated by rude paintings, set up as votive offer-
ings in many of the country chapels. They represent
the operators extracting the pestilential buboes with a
red-hot iron hook. How many were cured by that
process I cannot say. 1 was myself at Beyrout in
1836, when the plague broke out among the
Egyptian army under Ibrahim Pasha, The
European residents and native Christians took
every possible precaution to avoid contagion, but the
majority of the fatalist Muslims ridiculed all such ex-
pedients, and many fell victims to the dire scourge.
What I desire, however, to bring to softie' notice is
the following circumstance, which I have every reason
to believe is perfectly true. The mixed inhabitants of
one of the villages at the base of the Lebanon, not far
from Beyrout, where there are many olive-yards, and
where much oil is made used tb frequent the town as
usual, bringing their oil regularly to the market. The
persons and clothes of these men were generally well
saturated with oil, and I have every reason to believe
it to be a fact that not one of them caught the conta-
gion. I visited the village myself after the disappear-
ance of the plague, and the inhabitants assured me
that such was the case, The suggested remedy is un-
doubtedly worthy of a trial in those places where the
scourge now exists.

FISH HATCHING AT SOUTH
KENSINGTON,•
The fish breeding operations at the Museum of
Economic Fish- Culture, South Kensington, promise
to be very successful. this year (remarks The Times).
Over 300,000" eggs," representing fish of various de-
scriptions and collected by Mr. Frank Buckland
from home and foreign waters, are now in pro-
cess of " hatching out." Prominent ,arnong
these are a healthy-looking lot of saline fontanalis
eggg, the produce of fish." born" in the gar-
dens some three years- ago from ova forwarded
from America; a number of these "American brook
trout," as they are sonietimes called, have within the
last few years been turned into various English
waters. They are said to be a "sporting fish," but it
Is doubtful whether their introduction into this country
may be considered an acquisition or not. They are
said to be very ravenous and destructive to the fry of
other fish, while their edible qualities are not con-
sidered of a very high class. A large number of the ova
In the troughs this year have been received from abroad,
and include a greater variety of fish than we believe
have ever before been represented at South Kensing-
ton. Mr. Buckland's object in carrying on these
hatching operations is not merely to supply stock for
failing fisheries, but equally to test the quality of
certain " foreign " fish, and the probability of their
being eventually acclimatized in English waters.
Shortly several specimens from abroad are ex-
pected to arrive at the Museum. At present the
attendant, Mr. Edon, is busy looking after some
• Black Besi and " Sun " fish which lately arrived
from America. The tanks also contain a number of
Rhine salmon eggs and Great Lake trout from Geneva;
the latter are .intended for the new Thirlmere
lake, the fisheries of which will be somewhat affected
when it is turned-into a water-supplying reservoir.
There are also eggs of char, trout, &•:., from various
places, all of which are at present in fine condition and
, promise to hatch out healthy.
The cold weather has retarded the "hatching out"
considerably, but the warm weather of the last few
days has brought them on very much, anil very shortly
-it is expected all the little fish will have broken from
the eggs, Mr. Buckland's experiments are of high
interest both in a practical and scientific point of view.

THE ROYAL NATIONAL LIFEBOAT
INSTITUTION.
At a meeting of the above institution, held at John-street,
Adelphi, London, Mr. Thomas Chapman, F.R S., in the chair,
rewards amounting to £42S were granted to the crews of
lifeboats for services rendered during the past month. • •
The Albert Edward lifeboat, which is stationed at
Clacton-on-Sea, and is one of the two boats presented
by the Freemasons of England as a thankeffering for
the safe return of their Grand Master, the Prince of
Wales, from his tour through India, had, for example,
been instrumental under trying circumstances in
saving the master and crew of 13 men from the ship
Hebe, of Frederiketadt, which had gone ashore o the
Swin Middle Sand while the wind was blowing very
strong from the eastward. The Prince of Wales has
since expressed his great pleasure and satisfaction at
this good service performed by the lifeboat named
after himself.'
The silver medal of the institution was vcted to Mr.
William West, chief boatman of her Majesty's Coast-
guard at Dymchurch, and 27-10 s. to himself and boat's
crew, for, gallantly saving five of the crew of the
schooner Marie Louise' of Gothenbnrg, which was
wrecked at Dymehurch during a gale from the E.S.E.
on the Bth of January. The silver medal and £1 were
also granted to Gunner 117nry Stevens, of the 10th
FATAL ACCIDENTS.—Three shoCkirg. accidents to Brigade, Royal Artillery, for swimming out twice at
very great
frisk so the brigantine Princess Royal, with
girls occurred the other -day in Dandee factories.
yre
Margaret -Valley, aged 15, employe,i in Dora-street tz,7;l cone 62°ethht 7"hi
Works, wae looking at a valentine when 4notlaer girl wrecked lait. Vammed°en Fort wn
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g o t e
playfully gave her ft push. Valley fell on a scythe- 24thgof December.
knite, used for cutting jute, and the blade wounded her Other rewards were also granted to the crews of
so severely that she died in half an hetr.—Annie shore boats for saving life from wrecks on our coasts.
Walker, aged 12, employed as a half-timerin Wallace Payments amounting to £1,611 were likewise Made on
Works, jumped on to an elevator in motion, and, fail. different lifeboat establishments.
ing to get fairly bn the lift, her body was crushed Among the contributions received by the institution
between the elevator and the tfoor of the next flat, were .2100, a thank offering from F. R. A.; 50
and she died before raedioal nid amid be summoned.— guineas from Mr. Edward Birkbeck, M.P..; £5O from
CathcTine Don, aged 15, employed in Manhattan the Bristol' Histrionic Club towards .the support of
Works, was attending a spinning frame when a leather their lifeboat at Loseiemonth • -and -43 1.45. 3d.,
belt which was driting the machine -broke and struck ,sed.dilional; from St. Michael's- (Paddington) lifeboat
her on the back of .the head, and she died in a few Fun& The late %Ir. James Ball, of Reading, had
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Her Majesty has graciously intimated her desire to
become patroness of the Oxford Indian Institute, and has
sent 0.00 as a contribution to the fund.
As a matter of precaution, the Lords of the Council
have issued instructions for the careful examination of all
vessels coming tram the Black Sea and Sea of Azof, though
they believe there is no ground for silarm as to the importa-
tion of the Plague into this country.
William M.Guiness, the labourer convicted at the
Lancaster Assize of the murder of his wife at Barrow, was
executed on Tuesday morning within the walls of Lancaster
Castle Marwood was the executioner. The convict had
not been visited by any of his relations or friends since his
conviction.
A meeting of the farmers of the Scottish Borders
has been held at Kelso, to consider the present depressed
state of agriculture. ,Several farmers who spoke said that
it was perfectly impossible for the farmers to go on paying
the present high rents, one gentleman estimating that the
loss within the last two years on Scottish agriculture had
not been less than £30,000,000 sterling. The abolition of
the law of hypothee and of the law of entail, s.well as a
general reduction of rents were advocated. Lord ,Polwarth.
speaking on behalf of the proprietors, demurred, however,
to it being supposed that a reduction of rent would give
. lesbian the remedy they wanted, seeing that it would.stop.
~the flow of capital to the soil,"and he imirgested-thr iaenu.
- lord and tenants should simply act Irr a patient 'and orbar
log way one to anotfter
ofter 4.4• '•
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