The Stourbridge Observer, Cradley Heath, Halesowen & District Chronicle.
Stourbridge, West Midlands, England, 1878-12-28 00:00:00

ItUrtllantuix jnfeJJeitt,

- HOME, FOREIGN, AND COLONIAL.

CONTENTS OE COD'S STOMACII. —This morning,
Thursday, 19th, having received, among other fish,
rather a large codfish from Torbay, I was anxious to
open the .same as quickly as possible, knowing full
well what havoc the gastric juices play upon anything
whatsoever may be contained therein. This fish
weighed nearly thirty pounds, exclusive of the
stomach' contents, which, when weighed, nearly
turned six pounds, and was composed of no
less than six dogfish, very rough hounds (Squalus
catulus), the jaws and fins of which I have preserved;
also six dusky sculpin (Callionuncus dracunculus), a
quantity of sprats, and one small crab. This fish was
taken in Torbay, near about the same spot as the one
from which the contents of the stomach was for-
warded to you last week, which was principally com-
posed of sea-mice skins.—FßA .NE GOSDEN in Land and
Water.

THE LAST THING OUT.—My bed•candle.—Punch's
Almanack for 1879.

CONTINUOUS FOOTBOARDS.—A copy "of the circw.
lar letter from the Board of Trade to the railway com-
panies with reference to the use of continuous foot-
boards to the carriages, as recommended by the report
of the board on railway accidents in 1877," has been
issued with the Parliamentary papers. It is dated
August 6 last, and points out that during the past
year the returns furnished by the companies show that
50 passengers were killed and 87 were injured by fall-
ing between carriages and platforms, and 13 pas-
sengers were killed and 413 injured by falling on the
platforms, ballast, &c., in getting into or out of trains.
The circular urges the companies to take„the matter
into their serious consideration.
ARGUMENT FOR THE GREAT AGE OF THE EARTH.—
If s whiteness about the Pole.—Punch's ,Almanack for
1879.

THE PARIS EXHIBITION LOTTERY TICKETEL—A
brisk trade is still done in Lottery Tickets in Paris,
more especially in temporary shops in the Avenue de
l'Opera. There are large placards announcing from
10,000 to 20,000 for sale. The prices, however, do not
vary very much. Thus those of the first series sell
for 2fr. 65c., the second series 3fr., third series 2fr.
70c., fourth series 3fr., fifth series 2fr. 50c., sixth series
2fr. 45c., seventh series if. 55c., eight series lfr. 45c.,
'ninth series 1 fr. 40c., tenth series lfr. 30c., eleventh
series hr. 25c., twelfth series 1 fr. 15c. A complete
collection sells for 24fr. 50c. Those series priced at 31r.
are for some reason or other rare, and consequently
command a better figure.
RAILWAY FARES.—The North British Railway,
Company have announced that from the hat of
January they will abolish all third-class fares which
at present exceed the parliamentary rate of Id. per
mile, :,nd charge no more than a id. a mile for third-
class tickets to or from any station on their system.
"PRECIOUS hard lines "—as the locomotive said to
the railway. Punch's Almanack for 1879.
THE TREATMENT OF DIPHTHERIA,—Professor Klebs,
of Prague, describes in the Med. Chir. Centralblatt,
No. 22, a series of experiments performed on himself
and other persons to test the efficacy of ben7oate of
soda in destroying the formation of microscopic fungi
in the body. He has found that it procured relief in
several ewes of gastric catarrh and other diseases
which are often noticed in persons who wok a great
deal among decomposed organic substances. In order,
however, to be quite certain of the antiseptic or
antimycetic power of this drug, it was necessary to
find out whether, when introduced into the body of
a healthy animal, it would enable it to resist infection.
Diphtheritic membranes were accordingly soaked for
souse time in Buchholtz's solution; then mixed with
benzoate of soda and inoculated upon the surface of
sever Al healthy animals, of which some had pre-
viously received a hyyodermic injection of the above-
mentioned sub4ance. It was then shown that, in
those animals which had had the injection, the diph-
theritic membrane was destroyed in ten minutes,
whilst it still could be seen in the eyes of the others
two hours after the operation. Klebs has administered
benzoate of soda in doses varying from five grammes
to his patients, who never experienced the least in-
convenience from it.—British Medical Journal.

"SHOOTING IN THE SEEDS !—Two rival land-agents
were staying at the same hbtel in a village where they
were disposing " locations " for their respective com-
panies. One of them, from Colorado, had publicly
run down the quality of the land vended by the other,
who was from Kansas. He related how a friend and
he were out prospecting once in a "putty tough" bit
of country, and how they came across a man who
comported himself like an escaped lur.atic. This
man is described to be "as lean as a spring
bear," and as preeocpupied as a "team of oxen
turned loose on buffalo grass." Not noticing our
travellers, he went on loading and discharging a
double-barrelle I gun, always aiming at some crevice
or openinz in the rocks which lay in great profusion
around. Firmly convinced that he was a lunatic, our
travellers determined to treat him as such, and that
isfa., as is carefully explained, "mighty darned civil."
"Good day, stranger," they said. The man looked
up, but said nothing. "Plenty o' shooting round here,
I s'pose ? " Still no answer. "Why, what d'ye find
to kill thf-re ? " was aFked as the man let off another
shot. 'Kill, be darned," said the man. "I'm plaudit'
wheat. Don't you see that all the sile in this darned
section is between the cracks o' the rocks, and I hey to
shoot in the seeds."

A CNTENARIAII.—Lot Edwards has died at the
LeicPster Union Workhouse at the age, it is reported,
of 102 years, after having been an inmate of the union
for a year and a half. He was a native of Leicester
and had lived in the town almost all his days.

FRIENDS AND FOES.—Mr. Gladstone will contri-
bute to the January number of the Nineteenth Centure
an article entitled "The Friends and F,oes of Russia.
AN EXTRAVAGANT "NOTION! "—A persevering_
" notions " canvasser recently walked into a lawyers'
office in this city, with a new kind of alarm clock. The
man of quibbles was evidently interested, and heard
him patiently to the end. When it came to his turn to
get in a word, which in these cases is about once in an
how and a half, he .spake muchly as is hereinafter
contained: "My friend, I firmly believe that that
alarm clock is worth seven dollars, as you state, and
that you are foolish to offer it to me for two and a half;
that it will eo off every half-hour for sixteen months
without winding up, and wake up an elephant every
pop. My heart tells me this is true, and lam simply
aching to give you four times the price you demand.
But when I inform you that I have an infant three
months old at home, afflicted with perpetual colic, and
a baby going on three, who insists on having a drink
of water at regular intervals during the night, and
never sleeps after fur o'clock in the morning, do you
not think that my investment in this beautiful inven-
tion which you are retailing might, in a measure, be
characterized as extravagant?" That clock agent put
up his alarum and retired.—San Francisco News Letter.

CHRISTMAS CURIOSITIES.—A naval Yule Log, fiC.
compauied with a Table of Yule Logarithms.—
Punch's Almanack for 1879.

CHINESE CONTRARIETY—Another somewhat curious
instance of contrariety of practice is shown in honor-
ary rewards. conferred by the State for meritorious
service. With us, when a man receives a title of an
hereditary character it devolves upon his heirs. In
China the case is different. Parents and grandparents
benefit by the successful career of a son, and if dead,
posthumous honours are decreed in favour of the de-
ceased. The following examples of this eccentricity
of habit and purpose may likewise be adduced. J‘•
Chinese equestrian would never think of mounting his
charger save on the off side. Grown•up men gravely
fly kites, whilst the boys look admiringly on. They
play at shuttlecock with the feet, not with the hands.
!ley drink their wine boiling hot, and much as a
Chinaman relishes champagne when he can get it, he
invariably remarks that it strikes him with eold inside.
Take up a Chinese-made screw, and the worm will be
found to twist the contrary way to that in which Euro-
pean screws are manufactured.—From " Cassell's
Family Magazine."

A RARE RIGHT AND LEFT.—A few years ago e
friend holding' a Government appointment in
northern district of the Madras Presidency vies
cantering to wards his tents at the conclusion of along
jungle ride, when a servanb came running up to say a
tiger and a bear had climbed into a large mango tree
behind the camp. Taking his gun he found to his
astonishment that the servant's account, though
exaggerated, was not entirely untrue, as lying
stretched along a stout branch of a very large mango
tree he saw a tine panther' which on seeing
him jumped down, and before my friend could fire, wee
out of Fight in the underwood. Looking higher up the
tree he saw a bear comfortably peched in a fork formed
by two of the larger branches, and promptly put
bullet through its heart, bringing it crashing down
dead. It would be curions to ascertain the cause which
led to such an unusual incident ; probably the bear was
looking out for some honey, there being a large bees'
nest in the tree, and the panther, perhaps on the look-
out for my friends' dogs or cattle, may have been
disturbed by the rvants, id so have taken up what
it considered c.F position commanding the camp.
Be this as it may, my friend will not easily
lost opportunity of bagging a panther and a bear, right
and 4ft ov tho same tree..., TBEVORJAN in Land an 4
WaVer, forget the