The Stourbridge Observer, Cradley Heath, Halesowen & District Chronicle.
Stourbridge, West Midlands, England, 1885-10-17 00:00:00

alistellanrous uteiligatcre

HONE, I-CiIEIGN, AND COLONIAL

THE INVENTIONS EXHIBITION.—The number of
visitrs,to the International Inventions Exhibition for
the week ending Saturday, October 10, was 124,586,
Total since the opening, 3,224,220.
Cons Averraees.—The following are the average
prices of British corn for last week, as received from
the inspectors and officers of Excise: Wheat, 30s. 7d.;
barley, 30s. 11d.; oats, 18s. Bd. per imperial qr. Oorree
spending week last year: Wheat, 325. 2d.; barley,
325.; oats, 198. id.
COMPOSITION BY FREDERICK THE GREkT.—The Crown
Prince of Germany has found in the archives at
Potsdam the MS. of an overture composed by Frederick-
the Great for a birthday festival in honour of the
Princess Charlotte of Meiningen. The Emperor haS
ordered the morceau to be printed.
DR. Nee :TT/GAL.—The chief geographical societies /0
reerenany have resolved to erect a monument to the
late Dr. Nach'igal on Cape Palmas, where he lies buried
—a monument so large as to serve as a landmark to
seamen.
TRAIN STOPPAG7S. —An American paper says:
"Trains stop to take off and take on passengers, on
the elevated railways in New York city, average seven
seconds only. On the Metropolitan underground road
in London they average 18 seconds, taken from 200
observations."
TIIE USES or PAPER.—A manufacturer of 13reslatt
is stated to have built a chimney over 50 feet in height
entirely of paper. The blocks used in its construction
instead of being of brick or stone, were made of com-
pressed paper, jointed with silicious cement. The
chimney is said to he very elastic, and also firenreeL
Picture frames are now made of paper on the Conti-
nent. Paper pulp, glue, linseed oil, and carbonate Of
lime or whiting, are mixed together and heated int° g'
thick cream, which, on being allowed to cool, is run into'
moulds and hardened. The frames are then gilt of
bronzed in the usual way.
DISCOVERY OF MSS.—We (" Athenmum ") hear that s
box of manuscripts of some historical value has been
discovered in the stables of Belvoir Castle, the seat of
the Duke of Rutland. The box containing these trea''
sures seems to have been placed in the stables about 60
years ago, and to have been entirely overlooked. Areenge
the letters are some from Warwick the Kingmaker', awe
it is reported that the collection contains a letter frorn
Henry 11. The papers have, unfortunately. suffered,
from damp end neglect and are in had condition. An
expert is engaged in deciphering them.
AMERICAN PISTAL DEVELOPMENT.—IMpOrtfiIIt letterin the United States can now be delivered with u0u605
1
rapidity, owing to a new service introduced on the Ist
inst. In all cities and towns containing a population
over 4000, a distinct corps of messenger boys are kept
at the poet office to immediately carry out any letters-
which may bear" a special delivery stamp " in addition
to the usual postage. This stamps costs ten cents
(about 5d.), and represents a mail messenger boy rutri
fling. Such letters are despatched directly the realL
bag is opened, before the ordinary correspondence ig
sent out.
AN EARLY NEwseeerren.—ln the loan collection or
las. and printed books exhibited at the recent Meet'
ing of the British Association at Aberdeen there yang'
an early printed newsletter in Italian, dated June ,iv!
1536, giving a report by an eye-witness of the execeti°::
of Anne I3oleyn and her supposed accomplices. TIT
appears on exancinatien to be the document of
the text is given iv the " Excerpt:). Historica," PP. 261%
translated from a Portuguese original in a Portuguese
monastery. The letter apparently must have bees
circulated at the time over Fur pe, but has only been
known hitherto through the translation in the
"Excerpta Historica." Lord Crawford's cePY of'' the
Italian version is probably unique.—" Atheereunrn.S itnia
TELEGRAPHIC Eon.—Loyal Europeans
i
were recently terribly distressed by a report that th_ e- ,
Queen was suffering from hydrophobia. I.7llireateyni
turned out that a careless telegraph clerk had co-
founded the word " M'Queen " for "Queen," n
" Hyderabad " for "hydrophobia."
IT A VALAB tll
LE INSTRUMBNT.—The laoll3 %-
-ioloncello
by Stradivarius, which belonged to the two Servals,
father and son, the violoncellists, is offered for sale at
Brussels. It is reported that the highest bid, 60,00 a;
has been made by Harr von Mendelssolan, of Berlin,
an
but that Madame Servals has fixed the price at 100,000fe
FRENCH LIBRARIES.—The Minister of Public Instrur
tion has just issued statistics concerning the publics
libraries in Prance, from which it appears that the
Departmental Libraries contain four and a half tailli°n
volumes, and those of Paris 1,600,000, not includinff
6000 in the hospitals, and 100,250 in the 25 inunieiP94,
libraries.
Tns AMERICAN FISIIERIES.—Tho United States Ell
Commission report a great decrease in the halibut se.
cod fisheries of America. The cause for this
is WO
buted either to low temperatures ef water or Orli
destruction of fry hr reckless fishing A gene
falling off of fla-fish is reported from Germ
this year, and a diminution in the herring fishing olf
recorded from Belgium. The increased number, "re
fishermen off Holland and the destruction of iron3sln t
fish has produced a bad effect upon the fishery of ths
place. the
0 —During -
-

DEPRE4SION OF -.RIDE IN THR - pg
last week an unusually large number of
against traders traders and occupiers in the City for noel;
payment of rates and taxes have been heard before I -
Lord Mayor arid other magistrates at the IST:
sion House, and in nearly every case the general ,0
presaion of trade was pleaded in extenuation a t-a
delay. Half the amount of the rates were accePte.t:,
by the overseers and collectors in some cases, while I
others further time was allowed on the chance a th°
persons rated being able to pay. ,Aptor
MR. BRIGHT ON HOUSEHOLD SUITRAGR.—A.II eicr
having drawn Mr. John Bright's attention to the
that Mr. 0. Horne Payne, the Conservative ca,udidai';
for the Mansfield division of Notts, had stated publi,,,erci
that the right hon. gentleman was opposed to helisem74 A
suffrage in 1867, Mr. Bright has replied as follows: be
suppose Mr, Home Payne is a juvenile politician, or of
would have known that I had spoken in feOur
household suffrage on many platforms before the bill oe
1867 was thought of by the Tory party, and thatiitillob
bill passed by Mr. Disraeli was in reality my bill, Pi a
I had brought before the public in the autumn
winter of 1866. If the Tory candidates were betim
informed or had better memories they would 113,117..
fewer blunders." After the receipt of the above lel`:"-t
Mr. Horne Payne withdrew his statement,
subsequently expressed his belief, having gone a
float
into the subject, that Mr. Bright had deceived biro el

,
the electors.
slao7
POSTAGE OF NEWSTAPERS.—Recent stat,s,,,cs
that last year in the number of newspapers conveY.T.
in domestic mails, the United States was first $17";
852,180,792; Germany next, with 439,089,800
third, with 310,188,638; Great Britain fourth,
152,789,100; while Italy follows with 99,509,179.
the number of letters despatched in international
however, the positions are reversed, for Great Brqiii
ranks first with 40,051,500; and the United States
_ _

with 22,569,120. 1400
THE POWER OF 'NIAGARA —ln a paper read F••••.
the American Society of Civil Engineers, Mr. BenPl4l"eb
Rhodes, C.E., not long ago gave some figures
showed that the power of Niagara may be estie3i.iver,
very approximately. The average flow of the'"
according to the many careful measurements of ;,er
United States Lake Survey, is 275,000 cubic fld Ttg
second; the total height of the fall is 230 feet, a To
total calculated power 7,000,000 horse.power.
utilise this amount of power by water wheels, gene.rtaieg
electrical currents, and transmit them to various %rig
within 500 miles, would necessitate a plant rePresenAveo.
at least 5,000,000,000 dole. The above fl glues SO,
some idea of the enormous power in reserve there, wt tb‘i
no doubt, mild be applied to useful purpose,,4oo
question arises who is to furnish the £l,oooouv,
s.„
quired to utilise it—" Iron."
NOVEL COLLECTION OF Booxs.—ln the as--cosett
department of a library in Warsentein, near
Germany, may be seen a most novel collection of plat
At first glanee they are like rough blocks of w;el 'aore•
on closer examination it is found that each is -oelo'
plete history of the particular tree which itrePet
rem
At the back of the book the bark has been re_eavod
from a space large enough to admit the scientine
the common name of the tree as r title. one it
formed from the split wood of the tree, sh°l:wood
grain and natural fracture; the other shows Irobolga
when worked smooth and varnished. One ell' fiaeli
the grain as left by the saw, and the other the,9 the
polished wood. On opening the book one 621:p the
fruit, seeds, leaves, and other products of the t.yar'S the
moss which usually grows upon its trunlre, ;Tie tree"
insects which feed upon the various parts 01 of the
To all this is added a well printed description
habits, usual locaticn, and manner of
f kit
tree—all forming a complete history 0- e d rs--etr.
e
timber represented, and in a form readily
—" Printers' Register." A stO
THE ZOOLOGICAL SOCIETY.—The a-d‘•---°l3weeks,--ot
Zoological Society's Gardens during the Pasted by cn:
elude a toque monkey from Ceylon, present A fries,
-or it d T.
Septimus Smith; a green monkey from l• air P•
Aby • font
macaque monkey from India, presented bats 0
K. D. Potter F.R.G.S.; six Indian fag" oapaditi
India, presented 1-y Mr. W. Jamrach ; tw°, t'
skunks from N- :th America, presented, nritiew
growth
Hart Merriam C.M.Z.S. ; a comtnon
' a rings;
presented by Lord Egerton of Tatton, -by
necked parrakeet frem India, presente_seoted
Douglas; a common barn owl, British "
ioPsyls,
Miss Linda Raven; two common guinea-, a loggerh
presented by Mr. 0. H. Hopwood, M-P• aby bit:friti
turtle from the Atlantic Ocean, presente tnnei
Dunuan Fraser; four hog-nosed snakes, a.ff,;.,
two snakes, an American black snake Wi'o'7,,paokr
North America, presented by Mr. F. J. "likustralte,o
greater sulphur-crested cockatoo frora 00010",i,.4
great bird of paradise from the Aroo fslancr. a gigan'
cormorant, British, an emu from Austral°
salamander from Japan, deposited.