The Stourbridge Observer, Cradley Heath, Halesowen & District Chronicle.
Stourbridge, West Midlands, England, 1876-08-05 00:00:00

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SBABONABLB COLNOIDKNOB.—Pro I de-
it ba
.fs upon Education in the House of Commons coin-
ei with turneltircltiglit iiut.ol-Ix,)rs. -7-punch.
_ _. ~..
_
6. . t 010.111,I.T.,„ Alsß Titi itlileir _CAI-
BONERS.— . Dion Boucicault left LGerpool for New
York in tho Russia last Saturday. Before his depar-
_ _ . __ __ __

1N1.11., in which he states that the performances given
in the north of England and Scotland during the past
Spring, the proceeds of which have been devoted to the
relief of -the-families of the Melt political prisoners..
097 10s. 91. The stilmcription, he says,
has already done good service. Mr. Boncicault pro-
ceede to say :—" I leave Liverpool on Saturday in the
.Russia to revisit America. It is a strange reflection
that I shall find over there a new Ireland, prosperous,
lir
4 °weds:and happy, made out of a population ex-
ed !rein old: Ireland because England considered
them
poor, despised, superfluous, and miserable. When
IsPnglarsd-, reckons up her great battles, she takes no
'lthcbtrnrof what share Ireland has had in these glorious
results; and when English statesmen are deputed to
visit America this year to oin in celebrating a success-
ful rebellion that liberated the United States from an
intolerable oppression —when they congratulate the
Atherkari.people on their prosperity, they iwillinot
remember how much the despised exiled peo6lji of
Ireland have contributed to that glorious result.
' Surely our national motto should be 'Sic vos non
THE WH9PPIrtpEARBEAR STORY . I'Ve fought
!aid standin' ansi ,runtiiii3,-- -says the Reno (Nev.)
"Gazette, but the toughest citizen I ever lit onto was a
black 'un. He was sitting in the chapparal eatin'
manzanita berries, when my dog smelt him and went
home. I. sneakea up and bog... .sK...,..tiim' him by
shootin' at his ears and feet. I then took round him,
and with three shotsibut off his tail. Old Wacky
licerd me shooting', and turnin' around, see his tail
bin' there. He picked it np and looked at the trade
mark, and I see in a minute that war was a comm.' I
lit out for a tree, with only two cartridges left and him
smin'. Well, to make a long story short, I shot
twice, hittin' him both times, and he begun to git hot,
so he took up the tree after me,i and I knocked him
'down three times before the gun brake. He started
on the fourth trip, and I did notknow_what,to,do till
I thought of my Derringer which shot a four ounce
ball. I drew her out, tied a string to the haggis.; and
as old Blacky came up with his mouth wide open, I
dropped her in. He hadn't time to spit her out, and
so he swallowed and I pulled the string. Off went the
gun, and I never see anything of bear or pistol
since.
" 'Tis 'APLY PERPLEXING."—Age d Retainer
(to Gardener) : "It's a bad job about young master
being a-took so sudden like with appleplexy I"
Gardener: "Well, well, it bain't to be wondered at ; I
t never could keep him out of the orchard, he were such
_ a boy for fruit !"—Fun.
. THE SSOTCH FISHERIES. —The annual remt
' of the 'Comthisskoiters of the Scotch Fishery Bmfd
states that in the Herring. fishery the total quantity Of
herrings cured in 1875 was 912,980 barrels; the total
quantity branded, 523,789 i barrels; and the total
quantity exported, 660,970-i barrels; being a decrease
from the preceding year of 57,581 barrels in the gums-
tity cared, and 76,344 k barrels in the quantity ex-
ported; but an increase of 6,231 barrels in the quantity
-Lbranded; that in the clod and ling fishery 187,788 i
;carts. were cured dried, and B,schli barrels mired in
pickle; and that the quantity exported Was -81,880 i
cwts. cured dried; being_ an increase over the pre-
ceding year of 44,32-.. i. ;wts.r in the quantity cured
iried, and 1,749 i barrels- in the quantity cured in
pickle' and of 20,967 i nwts. in the quantity exported.
That the number -ot fishing boats in Scotland was
14,656, and of fishermen and boys 45,082; and that
the estimated value of the boats, nets, and lines em-
ployed in the herfing.and cod and ling fisheries was
'£1,092,275, being_a tlecrease of 191 boats, and of 144
fishermen; but Snipkeetlof £19,498 in the estimated
value (it boats, iiiits, an . "es.
CARELESS tLithilady and gentleman
were crossing a meadow one cloudy day, when suddenly
it began to rain. "Won't you be kind enough to hoist
my umbrella?" said the lady. "Certainly," said the
gentle. I was astonished at this, for if "won't"
means anything at all, it means will not; and,,tlieryt,
fore, according to my translation, the gentleman reallf
had told the lady that certainly he would not be kind
enough to hoist her umbrella! But no. Even while
he spoke he opened that Useful article, and held it
gracefully over his companion. "Thank you!" said
she earnestly. "Not at all," he said, still more
earnestly. And on they went. "Why, the fellow
flatly contradicted the lady," said I to myself; "how
otorageoue !" But no, again, for they we, eon the
best of terms, and the lady smiled sweetly at his words.
ptd:l.,:nfuavg:eu,.
Yet the birds say that this sort of talk is quite usual
among genteel human beings.—Court Journal.
._ . _
A NICE PLACE FOR SLEEP.—An Essex officer
te:i.;l7. ;_ i I_
'at has
""
Annowtpludaorotiesrllf,ncitilvitr,)
_Here., , Like most places in India, this place swarms
with jackals, ana az want urns tney make a fiendish
noise. But, beside jackals, there are hyenas, and the
other night (moonlight, luckily) I woke up, when
sleeping out of doors, and beard the most awful row
close to my bed, which turned out to be a cheerful
hyena, who was amudng himsclf by laughing at me. I
did npt feel quite happy, as I thought my cheerful
companion bad just dropped into my compound to dine
off me, so I jutne)ed up, and appeared as ghostlike as
possible (wrapped up in a sheet), and the gentleman, I
am glad to say, became nervous, and went; but a night
or two afterwards (we fancy it was the same hyena) he
quietly walked into one of the barrack-rooms, where
the men were sleeping, and carried off a doi. The dog
uaturally, yelled, the men wo', -i up, ran the,byeria into
a corner, and there they po.idaed hint off tvith-their
bayonets. The wretched dog died soon After from his
wounds, the hyena having broken his back."
WATCHES AT THE • CENTENNIAL.-- There are.
forty-five exhibitors of watches in the Swiss sectionlof
the Centennial Exhibition, and their products embrmei
the whole range of pocket timepieces, from the
cheapest silver cylinder escapement up to wonderfully.
elaborate pieces of mechanism that strike the hour and
the minute, and tell the day of the month and the phase
of the moon. There are watches, too, so small that
they are inserted in finger-rings and in charms for
chains, and one miracle of minuteness is contained in a
gold peAttolfiert,. It has t firet digs of thfeerisfixteenths
of an inch diameter each, indicating'the'ttme; the day
of the week, and the date of the month. The price is
£l6O. The watches set in gold rings are a little larger,
and cost in the neighbourhood of £6O. The most
valuable watch shown is held at £2OO. It is an hour,
quarter' and minute repeater, has an independent
second band, and a calendar of the day, month, and
year, and shows the changes of the moon. Some very
handsome engraved work in gold, of different colours,
Is displayed in witch cities, and the only painting
mentioned in the Swiss catalogue is a copy of Greuze's
Morning on the inner case of a watch. So it would
seem that what little art' there is in Switierland is the
'l. servant of time. People who are curious about move- '
ments, jewels and other features of the insides of
watches can study the subject ad libitum on the ewes
of parts exhibited. For the cheapest grades of watches
- marina is used, for better grades garnets, and
for the beat.

ad. -
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ADVICE TO THOSE ABOUT TO TRAVEL WITH
MUCH LUGGAGE.—Stay at home. The elephant, that
most sagacious of animals, never moves with more
than one trunk, and that not registered, but attach:id
to his body. —Punch.
INSOMNIA. —lnsomnia is . one of the most
terrible disturbances to which suffering humanity cant
mentally .oreiphysically he subject. I remember once
asking Dr. Benjamin Richardson (who, as is well
known, resolutely set his face against stimulants and
narcotics) for a remedy against sleeplessness, "Sup ow
a i.oiled Portugal onion,' quoth the doctor. But could
you manage a Portugal onion boiled, about 12.45 p.m:
in July? Then there are What may be termed the.
mechanical provocatives to slumber—counting up a
thousand; trying to recall the names of the English'
counties or of Shakspeare's plays; trying to imaeine in'
the dark that you see smoke issuing from your lips and,
nostrils (this is often a most successful process) and so
forth. But Dr. Franklin's method is, after all, perhaps
the best. Change your bed. Try frekh sheets and
pillows new. Sleep in two bed-rooms one opening into
the other. If you have only one bed-room, you must
be cautious about sitting on the stairs or opening the
trapdoor in the roof, and essaying to court Morpheus
on the tiles. You may sleep, but you will rte with
neuralgia or with rheumatism—lllustrated Lond.on
News.
A NEW STUFFING MATERIAL.—A bulbous.
plant called the soap plant, long known to the lndianiil
and'the bid Spaniards, is now claiming the attention'
• of Californian settlers generally. This plant grows all
over the country, and sometimes in very large-
quantities, and is now attracting much attentiien with
a view to its cultivation. The bulb is enclosed in a
fibrous coating. It is found that, when dressed, , these
fibres run into four or fiire different qualities; thpi
finest is like human hair, and being naturally, of the,
fashionable colour, it is ie great reoprest for ladies'imin
the other qualities for various purposes. The coarsest,
of the fibres are used for stuffing sofas, chairs, aud
other articles of furniture, and also for stuffing railway
carriages, superseding crimped horsehair, being equally
elastic, and much sweeter. It is expected that moies
than a thousand tons. will -be exported during the
present summer, and it is now thought desirable to
bring the plant into general cultivation. The core of
the bulb makes a first-rate lather with water equal to
the finest soap, and its properties for cleansing are very
great.
SENDING PLANTS TO SLEEP.— Several members
of the Parisan Biological Society have recently been
engaged in a series of experiments which seem to provea
that everything endowed with life, whether anima!,
plant, or ferment, is susceptible of being brought under*
the influence of antesthetics—in other words, may be
sent to sleep. It has been proved that the influence,
of anesthetics extends to all the animal pissues, and.
last of all to the central nervous system. Serape, it-
ems argued, plants having tissues must also be subjeilti
to the influence of ether, &c. Experiments eirove the. 3
to be the case. Germination is arrested by ansesthetics.
The watererese, for example, germinates with 30 houife._
Ether arrests germination in this plant, but does not
destroy that faculty. It merely sends the plant to
sleep, for germination recommences as soon as the use of
ether is suspended. But the sensitive plant furnishes
a still more striking illustration. Its sensitive faculty
is rendered completely dormant by etherization, while
the other living properties remain unaffected. On sus-
pending the action of ether, the sensitive faculty ok
the plant is quickly restored. This capability of beinks
sent to sleep' is not confined' to plants; it •extenticitieL
ferments. Thus the ferment of beer, when submitted
for 24 hours to the influence of ether, becomes perfectly
dormant, but recovers its activity as soen as the
anesthetic action is suspended. In future the practical
botanist must not pursue his cruel rambles without the
assistance of one of the Clover family.—Afeiliea
Examiner.