The Stourbridge Observer, Cradley Heath, Halesowen & District Chronicle.
Stourbridge, West Midlands, England, 1878-04-20 00:00:00

Lliisrtilantoits `4ltitiligtrtre.

ROME, FOREIGN, AND CCIONIAL.

LIME TREES AT LONGLEAT.—The Garden says:—
"The terrific hurricane that swept across this part of
the country in October last uprooted from 200 to 300
trees on the Longleat estate. Fortunately, the old orna-
mental trees in the park did not suffer very severely.
Five limes uprotted were the worst casualties in the
park; three of them were standing in an exposed
position, and were, consequently, wide. spreading,
bushy-headed trees, and had shoit, rough, faulty butts
more or less decayed at the core. These were sold
some time ago for £2B the lot. The other two were
growing in a grove, and were exceptionally fine, long,
clean, sound timber trees. The longest,. measured
122 ft., and the other 114 ft. from the root to the top-
most twig; the stems ran up clean without a branch
or break 631 t. and 581 t. respectively ; and the total
contents of the two trees were 380 ft. They were
bought the other day by a London firm for pianoforte
work, the price being £5O for the two trees just as
they laid in the park."

No TIME FOR SWAPPING.—An Indiana man was
travelling down the Ohio on a steamer with a mare
and two-year-old colt, when by a sudden careen of the
boat, all three were tilted into the river. The Hoosier,
as he rose, puffing and blowing above water, caught
hold of the tail of the colt, not having a doubt that
the natural instinct of the animal would carry him
safe askore. The old mare made for the shore, but
the frightened colt swam lustily down the current
with its owner still hanging fast. "Let go of the colt
and hang on to the old mare 1" shouted some of his
friends. " Phree, booh ! " exclaimed the Hoosier,
spouting the water from his mouth, and shaking his
head like a Newfoundland dog, "it's mighty fine, your
telling me to let go the colt; but to a man that can't
swim, this ain't exactly the time for swapping horses.'
WEARING DECORATIONS.— Vanity Fair says, "Six
of the prominent members of the Stafford House
Committee have been decorated by the Sultan. This
honour is no doubt extremely gratifying to them, but
at the same time it is one which will be to them of
no,apparent benefit; for as Englishmen do not wear
decorations, and, indeed, in the presence of the
_Sovereign are not allowed to do so unless with special
permission, all they can do is to lock up their orders
in a drawer, and remember that they have them when-
ever they feel it necessary to recall their own merits.
Those who go regularly to church and pay attention
to the service may have remarked the coloured hood
which distinguishes some clergymen from their
fellows. Not long ago ene of these clergymen went
to a levde in all the splendour of a new and glorious
hood of red silk. He was sternly stopped by one of
the officials, and ordered to take off the hood, on the
ground that it was the order of a Master of Arts,
and as it had not been given 'to him by the Queen, he
could not wear it before her.' I"his is the invariable
rule, though the clergy hardly know it."
TRUANTS FROM SCHOOL.—A deputation from the
Sheffield School Board had an interview with the
Home Secretary with reference to the establishment
of a truant school. Mr. Alderman Moore and Mr.
Moss said the School Board of Sheffield proposed to
take advantage of the 14th section of the Elementary
Education Act, 1876, whereby the managers of indus-
trial schools might licence out children under detention
after the period of one month from the date of com-
mittal. It was found to be impracticable to use the
ordinary industrial schools owing to the inferference
with the general discipline of the school, children being
kept there for long periods, it was proposed to com-
mence the short period of detention with the isolation
of children; but as the law officers of the CrJwn were
of opinion that this would not be in conformity with
the spirit of the Industrial Schools Act the deputation
were prepared to waive that at present, and to await
fresh legislation for a remedy.. The Home Secretary,
in reply, said he was favourable to the expetiment
being tried under the guidance of Her Majesty's
inspector, and that the whole subject would be taken
into his favourable consideration.

AMERICAN FOOD.—The quantity of American flesh
meat brought to Liverpool last week comprises 5,514
quarters of beef, 1,950 carcases of mutton, and 346
dead pigs. One steamer arrived bringing 362 live
oxen from Boston. It is expected that the supply
next week will be much above recent weeks. The
Guion steamer Wyoming is at present on her way to
Liverpool, having on board 3,800 quarters of beef and
1,300 carcases of mutton, which is the largest consign-
ment that has ever left the United States.

HINTS ABOUT RAIN-WATER.—The Lancet remarks:
—The old-fashioned practice of storing rain-water for
washing purposes has dropped out of fashion. Would
it not be possible to revive it in a form less disagreeable
than that associated with the tall "water-butt?"
Some, if not many, of the difficulties which beset the
disposal of sewage are due to the delivery of what is
technically known as " storm-water" into the drains.
The value of rain-water for domestic use is well under-
stood, and the water companies, if not the house-
kefp.:rs, should have a direct interest in its supply.
We question whether, taking the annual cost of water
supply, it would not be worth while to devise and
provide a system of thoroughly sanitary apparatus for
the collection and use of rain-water, of course care-
fully avoiding the evils of stagnant water and the risk
of use for improper purposes. Tanks on the roofs of
houses would not only be out of the reach of pollution,
but useful in case of fire; and by connecting a large
series of these receptacles, which our streets would
vr practioable, a considerable and distributed
r-• y mll% re red urod,

Kete• /AO
FISH CULTURE BY MACHINERY.— The
Airier r
American sass that at a recent meeting of the
can Fish Culturists' Association, Professor Milne
gave an account of the process of hatching shad ..egAgs,
by machinery, in operation at Havre de Grace,
wheie over eight million shad were hatched last
The eggs to be hatched are placed in sheet-iron o9°Zi
ders, with wire-netting bottoms, and half subrnerte
in the river. The cylinders are suspended frotao7n
short arms of levers, and given a slow up sod
movement by means of shafting, carrying ecceatao„
acting on the long arms of the levers, the whole 0
e;
motion by a ten-horse power steam-engine. The
c
gine and other machinery are carried by a large se j
anchored in the stream. The fish so hatched proveo
hardy, bearing transportation well, even as fel
California.
THE MOST USEFUL SERVANT FOR A CONv...-
-A valet-tudinarian.—Fun.
OAkIaTIC4
A WHALE STORY.—We have a story from d a
Me., that out there on the banks of Newfoundlen,i'er
whale got entangled in the anchor cable of a soll°`-ta
in the afternoon' rate and towed it at theof twertebea
fifteen 'knots an hour until nearly rnidnig'at, au ere
broke the cable. The crews of other vessela viot
aston;shed to see the schooner moving swiftlY,Yoe.
them with no sails and no visible means of proPultpt
To find, a parallel to this, read Coleridgcs's A 2-
Mariner.
rag'
TELEPHONE ON THE BRAIN.—In London, on.aaol-.,,ii
an inquest was held at the St. Martin's Vestry' °57,
touching the death of Miss Mary Nicholas, agecLoca
a maiden lady, residing in Long-acre. The eviu`tre.
went to show that the deceased ° suffered from el Des
ordinary delusions that she was haunted by teleph°
and galvanic batteries, and became so much dersogive
that her cousin had her taken to an asylum. She wbat
apparently cured, and discharged as quite sane': Da
shortly after returning home she had the same de
to escape which she shut herself in her bed-r(n,
barricaded the door, and, having fixed a rope to e
in the wall, committed suicide by hanging ben A
Conclusive evidence of the suicide was give°, '-
verdict of Temporary insanity was recorded.
TRUE LOVE AND TOOTHACHE.—In the
ing-room at the Central Depot the other day We
newly.married, couple from Grass Lake (eeYstiti
Th American paper). ey had been visiting in thLele,
two or three days, and were then ready to g°
They sat side by side, of course, his arm arouau "
;late
waist, and she leaning on his shoulder. A longl big
stranger from the East, having sore eyes to a I nt
heart, walked in saw them thus seated, and in
minute he asked of the husband: "Has that i'l°wia
there got the toothache ?" The husband looked 0f.,,e
surprise, but made no answer. After two or tni
minutes, the long-waisted man again remarked ttie
that woman has got the toothache I have got a belled
of peppermint in my satchel here." The bride re,..ecl
her big white eyes around, and the husband 100:00
somewhat embarrassed. The man from down a
unlocked his satchel, fumbled among shirts t
collars, and brought up four ounces of pePpelth
essence. He uncorked it, touched the contents °„' for,
bottle against his big red tongue, and, handing "„fe
ward towards the husband, feelingly said, " J‘lecet7as
her sop some on a rag and rub her gumswith it, ea/
used it in our family for--" The bride's erenag
out sparks as she lifted her head from its., A" tit,
position, and, striking at the bottle, she ecanea -the
" Tuthache, you fule V If you don't knoll had
difference 'tween true love and the tuthache 9°ll

better go to grass with the geese !"
RUSSIAN CREDIT.—The 44 in an
Russian credit, points out that Russian stocks hAttr,
fallen 25 per cent, since the beginning of the.lide.vieot
and would probably fall 25 per cent. more in the Zrie a
of'a war with England, but concludes " that le
a
further heavy fall in Russian stocks is inevitab igai
war with England, and Russian credit 1119!tiittle
to a very low point in a long war, yet there 18 the
reason during a short war to apprehend failure Woo
payment of the foreign debt interest or anY,.2,ce.
overwhelming embarrassment to Russian 131"—tios
The war, again, will most probably be short, becstbe
Russia must be disposed to make peace as soon i'surse,
first clear advantage is gained by England. Of gas
war is full of accidents, and Russia may gain °viler
early successes which would be more fatal 0 I,
financially than the worst defeats; but short a :Zit
accidents, thtre seems no reason why Russian c jai
should not again be maintained during a WO W.

England." -
JAPANESE PROGRESS.—Nothing could wore der
tinctly show the advancement of the Japaneselfcle
the enlightened rule of their Emperor, then I,S'ilent
velopment given to instruction and the eons"-
of
multiplication of native books and journals. Out -n•
Cow
scattered population of thirty millions, at the IA
mencement of this year, the number of scholars tat,lin
was 1,800 000, in 22,000 schoDls. Translations I..AriS
English, French, and German works of repute
great demand. The majority of the educatio
rir
establishments are organised on the Europeallit3g
ciple, a fact which proves the desires of the lerod
men of the country to adopt whatever may be of
available in Western culture to the advanceelLll, to
their race. The native journals are beginu"
acquire an extensive circulation.
tri'clei
THE COCKLE TRADE IN WALES.—The coc—e
at this charming little rural watering-place (Ferris the
is its staple support, and affords occupation I°fAigir
whole female portion of the population of the 11: 00
bouring village of Llansaint, numbering solli`boat
labourers. On an average they manage to clear olg
£1,500 by the cockle-fishing alone, while by
and other shellfish they make £l,OOO per annuni..4o,
trade, however, only lasts for the summer 133°Tarof
and is liable to great fluctuations, owing to the 11/lee
tory habits of the cockle tribe. The cockles
picked up are put into large sacks, two of which to
heavy load for the fine race of donkeys indige,ll°,lo9°
these parts. Towards evening some forty ae-rsia•
may be seen round the station awaiting the late Glow
by which these cockles are sent off to Bristoro
l, tuld
cester, and even London. The eountrY
Llansaint, some four miles from the sea, being et"-„bee•
with cockle-shells to the depth of three or four ,11'. to.
will aff.rd speculation to future inquiring geel
—l‘l. B. C. in Land and Water.
,f pa° ft

SAGACITY OF THE COLLEY.—" A Lover of - igst
writes in Land and Water:—Feeling sure that
the readers of your valuable journal you numbertiiiiiit
admirers of the colley, I send you an instance cP• wet
I con-ider remarkable sagacity. A friend of Mule 00
a shepherd who possessed one of these animaill:
shepherd did not live in the same house Tqtnce
master, but resided in a cottage some little 413:::tlie
away, and the dog never bF any chance went 'al': Ole
farm-house. It happened one day that when I'oo
act of " haltering" a young horse the shepherd„. rid
seriously injured that he was obliged to 13?,croor
home, his faithful dog accompanying him. "-",,eto 110
man lingered a few days when death put an eau sing
sufferings, the dog during that period never lefbAle
the house. The church being distant about
a °cot
away, it was necessary to eonvey the corpse in
and when this was done the dog walked under Olt:, of
all the way to the church, being really and trulY 104
shepherd's chief mourner." The coffin being P
in the centre aisle of the church the faithful seed It
laid down beside it, and afterwards accomPanid
to the grave, and when all was over he follovre
friend (who out of respect to a good servantwia
attended the funeral) to his own house, never, o#9l
attempting to go to his old home, as much as for
'You must take care of me now.' I can yotic,„o
the truth of this story. It is only one more fa°7-roin
proving how fine the line is that divides instinct '
Vetit".

reason.

THE VOLUNTEERS AND GARRISON DIITTP"'
Colonel Seely, of the Ist Notts Rifle VolunteerePe.oo
famous '‘ Robin Hoods" of Nottingham);iwrites tiog
Florence to Major Welby, of the same eorps, etAbliee
that he should consider it a mistake, however 131.10.,
spirited it might seem in the excitement of the ractarog
to offer to perform garrison duty when there is 11°60'
of an invasion. He points out that the old c.pl;:l44it,
tional force for that duty in time of war is the NZ eet
which, he says, ought always to be kept at a etli. -00 Y
strength to perform it. If, he adds, at the 00:,,sion
of a war in which there was no probability of an in vatitieS
the Volunteer force was expected to perform the force
of Militia, the characteristic principle of thea°
would be destroyed, the Volunteers would ,11-Te
simply another form of the Militia, and Wald WI
be recruited from the same classes. where
ANOTHER VlCTlM.—Mistress: I want Mall 13eg
is she? Why do you answer the bell r--000*.:siji0
pardon, mum, but Mary isn't at all well, nium-_.,d she
been trying the new fashionable tight-lacing, rot V
finds she can't stand it, mum, and that's the
Judy. ttieet"
THE CATTLE DISEASES BILL.—On MondaY Ito the
ing was held at Leeds of delegates connected wicOle,
Lancashire and Yorkshire -Union of the Foreign 00
Trade Association, when resolations were -,1
,) 011dstrongly condemning the Cattle Diseases /311.`triet,
appointing representatives from the different do_ 00
to attend in London when the Bill comes bekre 0"1/
House of Commons. It was asserted that, if WA 09
passed, the price of meat would be increased
lid. per lb.
ANOTHER METHOD OF DESTROYING
I have just heard of yet another method for nu_pe toege
ing sueken torpedoes (says "The Tatler
World). A large magnet is to be placed lulu°. lic"
A stIPP a piece of timber, shared boat fashion, an- Or
re
with a clock work apparatus for its motive Potioa
This magnet is so fixed that the slightest atprel
underneath it would immediately cause its tli ie
sion, and this action of depression would instano thef
loose a smaller magnet, which would kink cl° oeld
water to the torpedo, and as it came nearer v.' ;oho
course become violently attracted to it, which' ; 0011.
with the velocity of its descent, would causei°, the
siderable shock on its impact with the torPeuehoge,
shock being sufficient to cause the explosioa, thet,
of dynamite to be fastened to the small
in the blow up the torpedo would come to gri.
really do not think the idea is altogether alcsair7
any rate the Admiralty might turn a little tog a
attention to what might be dons against torPeu"
magnetism.
f Chi s litire 10
CHINA AND MAJOLICA.— The love o tog r
still continues to be a mania amongst certain upPC
this country. In the houses chiefly, of the —...4011
ten," we see scattered in lavish proftibion little it:720113i;
figures, shepherds and shepherdesses, 8 wfloossibei
smiling, fantastic little loves, leaning on 1 'bovie'
crooks, or ogling us from under trees vihosecroo/Led.
greenery embodies all that is idyllic in wail;
Wonderful little old tea-cups without
stpraenakspaorfe,ntfaadsed7weasghge-sdh.eoluli with
nngo,
acetlohn'ep[oolodtivolft
pointed to as almost priceless. From :
glories „.
great-great-grandmothers, in all the drunk thel
hoops and furbelows, are said to have ° °he
hyson and bohea in their great wainsc_ed t
tapestried rooms, discoursing as they erliel_grallbo
fragrant nectar, much as we their greatla, ; for 1.
dauehters do Ain, over our afternoon te
mannerworld
of changes,
vao tbutie s tghoe
thhuonor ao no o
or gossip; much tattling about the mote
bour's eye, and a careful avoiding, with commr
t
racte -e.°oin%
re
modesty, any reference even the most t cure.- 01
beam in our own. These pale transpare'? their or
their oft-repeated rounds may have sownLutrogedlo
the seeds of many a pathetic commonPlinbretal jJ
a
comedy, disseminating, as they circulated.—v"
od
boa uk rd, harmony a peace or dissenal
trust. ,--07teorMffiotti!irat hde;arttrivdaol;*otsie_neur'icleirep:-

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