The Stourbridge Observer, Cradley Heath, Halesowen & District Chronicle.
Stourbridge, West Midlands, England, 1883-06-16 00:00:00

Misteltantnits Afutelligtace.

tIOME, FOREIGN, AND COLONLIII.

A KANGAROO HLINT.—A novel pastime is in pre-
paration for the Viennese public (says the Morning
Pose). Mr. Henri Burkhardt has brought from the
Colony of Victoria 30 kangaroos for the purpose of a
royal hunt. The Prater is the locality selected, and
dogs and horsemen will be engaged in the sport. Some
of the kangaroos are of great height and proportionate
strength, and will give the Austrian hounds that may
be courageous enough to tackle them considerable
trouble. The hunt is to come off in the course of a
month.
YACHTING BY ELECTRICITY.—An electrical launch
Is now in the market which is said to travel six miles
an hour with the electricity obtained from a bsttery
she carries on board. The charging of this battery
costs about three shillings, and a charge lasts for four
hours. The launch is about the size of an ordinary
ship's boat.
SUNSHINE IN LONDON AND NEW YORIC.—At
Greenwich there were only 1,245 hours of sunshine in
1878, and 977 in 1879, although the sun was above the
horizon 4,447 hours in each year. At the New York
Observatory there were 2,936 hours of sunshine in 1878,
and 3,101 hours in 1879, the greatest possible number
of hours of sunshine in each year being 4,449. From
these figures it will be seen that New York enjoys on
an average between two and three thnes as much sun-
shine as Greenwich,

DROWNED IN THE THAMES. —ln London, on Monday
afternoon, while a number of children were at play at
the Whitehall Stairs, Victoria Embankment, a boy,
about eight years of age, was carried from the stone
steps by the wash of a passing steam vessel. The
Thames Police immediately manned one of their
police galleys, and dragged for the body, which they
failed to recover. Three boys have been drowned trona
the above stairs during the past fortnight.
THE SCOTTISH UNIVERSITIES. ---A Parliamentary
return relating to the expenditure of public money
upon the Universities of Scotland show that during
the ten years ending the 30th of March last, the sums
voted annually by Parliament or chargeable on the
Consolidated Fund to the four Universities amounted
to £65,821 7s. 93. for Aberdeen, 05,906 9s. 4d. for
Edinburgh, £66,182 2s. sd. for Glasgow, and
08,111 15s. 4d. for St. Andrews. These sums,
together with £11,616 Bs. 10d, for the Edinburgh
Observatory, and £32,855 7s. for the Edinburgh
Botanic Gardens, amount altogether to £309,493

A CURIOUS CALCULATION.—Each head of clover
contains about sixty distinct flower tubes, each of
which contains a portion of sugar not exceeding the
five hundredth part of a grain. The proboscis of the
bee must therefore be inseited into 500 clover tubes
before one grain of sugar can be obtained. There are
7,000 grains in a pound, and as honey contains three-
fourths of its weight of dry sugar, each pound of
honey represents 2,500,000 clover tubes sucked by
bees.

TWEED SALMON FISHING,—SaImon and grilse keep
very scarce. Trout look pretty well, but are under
the average. Prices on Saturday were :—Salmon,
grilse, and trout, is. 3d. per lb.
A QUID PRO Quo.—A curious bargain has been
made between the French and Dutch Governments.
The Dutch Government having authorised a lottery
with six millions of tickets at one franc each, M.
Waldeck. Rousseau has offered to permit two millions
of francs worth of them to be disposed of in France
on condition that the Dutch Executive committee o
the International Exhibition of Amsterdam shall
purchase at least one million francs worth of goods
of the exhibitors of the French Section. This offer,
which was made at the instigation of the French Com-
mission at the Exhibition, has been accepted.

THE ASHZURNHAM MANIISORIPTI3.—The Daily .News
says that the negotiations between the trustees of the
British Museum and the Government on the subject
of the Ashburnham manuscripts have not toncluded
satisfactorily. The trustees recommended the pur-
chase of the Stowe and Appendix sections for 00,000.
The Government declined, and offered £70,000. Lord
Ashburnham would not abate his price. In order to
make a last effort the trustees proposed to make up
the £20,000 by reductions in the museum estimates for
five years. The Government decline, and refuse to
give more they 270,000. The Treasury letter refusing
more than £7(.,000 was before the trustees on Satur-
day.
POTTERY AND THE NEW AMERICAN TARIFF—In
anticipation of the new tariff, to come into operation
on the Ist proximo, American dealers in pottery have
been buying heavily in the Staffordshire Potteries.
During the last four or five months manufacturers for
the United States market have been much pressed in
executing orders, most of which are now on their way
to New York. Between January 1 and May 19,
46,641 packages of ware were shipped for the States,
agkinst 37,502 in the corresponding period of 1882,
and the number has ;.ncreased since then.
THE NEW BROOKLYN BRIDGE.—The Pall Mall
Gazette says :—The papers have teemed with descrip-
tions for weeks past of the great triumph of engineer-
ing by which New York has been linked to Brooklyn
by a suspension bridge weighing 6,740 tons; but com-
paratively few have recorded the remarkable fact that
this, the largest bridge in the world, owned its exist-
ence partly to the genius of a woman. Mrs. Washing-
ton Roebling, the wife of the great engineer who was
entrusted with the construction of the Brooklyn Bridge,
has been chief of the engineering staff ever since her
husband first fell ill. When he was disabled, and could
not proceed with- his great work, Mrs. Roebling
began to study engineering, and her success was such
that in a short time she was able to take her husband's
place, and the enormous structure which Americans
not incorrectly call "one of the most conspicuous
marvels of the nineteenth century" was completed
under her direction. The honour of being the first to
drive across the new bridge was well earned by Mrs.
Roebling, and the peculiar share which she had taken
in its construction was rightly held to justify a die-
regard of the old superstition which dooms to ill luck
the structure over which a woman has been the first
to cross.

ORIGINALITY IN MENUS AND CARDS.—Many menus
and cards are done by hand and copyrighted; for some
of the hand•made specimens as high as 10 dole, apiece
is frequently paid (says an American paper). Animal
and vegetable life; every department of the culinary
art; forest, air and sea—all have to yield studies for
the designers of these works of art. The result is, that
while a new pleasure has been added to the enjoyments
of the table, a new and important branch of fancy
stationery has been established. For some time the
artists were restricted to the use of cardboard and
ordinary pigments or bronzes ; now, to satisfy the
thirst for originality, the menus and cards are occa-
sionally stamped on fine finger napkins, lace hand-
kerchiefs, and satin, and the aid of photography has
been called in.

THE MANUFACTURE OF SPIRITS, —On Saturday a
Parliamentary paper was published relating to the
manufacture and sale of spirits. There were
38,377,820 gallons of spirits distilled last year, of
which 19,206,892 gallons were manufaoed in Scot-
land ; 10,124 467 gallons were prodwred in England;
and 9,046,461 gallons were manufactured in Ireland.
The consumption of spirits was—in England 16,811,494
gallons ; in Scotland, 6,502,955 gallons; and in Ireland,
5,239,815 gallons.
"FIFTY YEARS IIIINCR."—" If the various countries
maintain their present rate of increase," says Mr.
Gosselin, Secretary of Embassy at Berlin, "fifty years
hence the United States will have a population of
190,000,000, Russia approximately 158,000,000, Ger-
many 83,000,000, the United Kingdom 63,000,000,
Austria-Hungary and Italy both 44,000,000, Francs
only 40,000,000. Germany has already in round num-
bers 7,500,000 more inhabitants than France; but in
this reckoning Algeria is not taken into account." For
war purposes, however, it is observed that the balance
is not so heavily against France, for whereas in Ger-
many there are only 965 males to every thousand
females, in France there are 991. Germany has, there-
fore, only 3i millions of males mole than France.

PROOF POSITIVE.—Young lady (about to go eut
with mamma) : "But the young fellows on the parade
look at one so at this time of the day. Don't you
think so? And the sun spoils one's complexion so."—
Landlady (of uncertain age) : "Lor' bless you, miss, /
often go along there, and I've never noticed teat they
look at me; and as for complexion, it's never made
any difference in mine I "—Pun.
THE SHOCK FROM A WHIITON MACHINE.—.The
Electrical World says :—A short time since one of the
line-men employed by the Citizens Electric Light
Company, of Toledo, Ohio, which is running a central
station supplying something over 100 Weston arc.
lights, received a shook from two twenty-light machines
coupled together and supplying a forty-light circuit.
He was making some change in the adjustment of one
of the lamps, and took it out of circuit just before the
time for starting up in the evening. Before he placed
it in position again the current had been turned on
without his knowledge, and he accidentally took hold
of both terminals of the circuit and received the
current from the two machines. The shock was so
severe as to close his hands on the wires, and he fell
from the step-ladder on which he was standing, his
weight tearing him from the wires. His bands were
somewhat burned, but he did not lose an hour's time
from his work, and suffered no other injury or incon-
venience. This shows the comparatively safe nature
of the continuous current, az compared with the in-
mittent or undulatory current, which is used in some
of the systems. A similar accident occurred in Boston
a short time since, in which a line-man, under the
same circumstances, suffered a shock from five ten-
ight m achines coupled without receiving any injury.

A MODAL SIRQE.—The German military papers an-
nounce that an exercise in the art of besieging and de-
fending a fortress will be held next autumn at
Coblentz. The object will be to illustrate by actual
practice all the manosuvres and methods which might
come into oreration in the attack or defence of a
modern fortress, employing, as far as possible, every-
thing, both in the way of weapons and material and
of tactics, likely to come into use in such operations.
A very large number of officers, selected from all
the branches that generally take part on either side,
in sieges, have been already Ordered to proceed to
Coblentz for this exercise; the majority of them
belong to the foot artillery and engineer corps. The
exercise will extend over 14 days. The Ist of October
has been appointed by the Ministry of War as the
date of commencing operations.

MARRIAGE% IN SCOTLAND.—Dr. Cunynghame, In
his report to the Registrar-General, notes the fact that
the number of marriages in r_roportion to the populei'
tion of Scotland has, since 1879, been gradually riinS
Between the latter year and 1873 inclusive it had stink
from 78 tc,no more than 64 per 10,000 of the inhabit.
ants; but the rate has since steadily risen till last year,
when it was 70. These numbers, Dr. Cunynghanie
observes, may be taktn as an indication that the clr.
cumetances of the people at 'ergs have been lin'
proving.
Hors IN AMERICA.—The extraordinary success which
has attended the labours of the hop•growers in vvu!'
oonsin, Central New York, and the Western Cali*
fornian districts, has stimulated them to increased
efforts on a large scale, for it is announced that in
Central New York State an immense breadth of plant.
ing has been completed, and every ground—fro
which a cutting could be obtained—has been laid under •
tribute for the purpose of planting out the new fieia,
Poles of all sizes and kinds have been passing Over
the Northern lines from Canada into the State, resd9
for the young plant next season.

MONSTHR PYTHONS.—The latest addition to the
curiosities of the Philadelphia Zoo is an immense
python from India, the largest ever imported lei°
America, which has just been placed in a big cage it
the aviary. This monster of the jungles is On
sixteen feet long and measures two-thirds of a Yss
round the body. A smaller snake of the sa°'
species was purchased in New York when its cote'
panion was bought, and the two immense reptiles are
coiled up quite lovingly together in their new horalle
They attract almost as much attention as the
monkeys.
CHINESE IMMIGR,ATION.—A consular return Pet
published at San Francisco states that since the,
cessation of immigration from China the wages Of
common labourers, domestic servants, vineyard, Willi
and fruit hands have increased from 3s. 4d. to 3. 9.•
a day to 4s. 2d. to ss. 2d. Accordinq to the Chinese
Consul at San Francisco, Mexico is to be the OW
field for Chinese immigration. The Chinese who have
already visited that country write to their friends to
come. Of the £8,751,250 of merchandise imported
into San Francisco last year, China and Japan Pre"
vided nearly one half between them, the Chinese
share being £2.218,060.
INDIAN POTENTATIS Ilf LONDON.—The Thakore of
Wudwan has arrived in Lsndon. The State of Wild'
wan, in Kathiawar, in Western India, has a polet"fr
tion of about 45,000 souls, distributed in thirty
and small townships, and yields a revenue of
The present ruler, Thakore Saheb Maharanis or
Dajiraj, a descendant of Thakore Saheb Rajisinglei, °
a Jahla Raj pout, and one of the principal chiefs of tli!
Jhalwara division of Kathiawar. His Higness is We
years of age, and entitled to a salute of nine guilt
which he received at the Imperial assemblage held 51
Delhi en the Ist of January, 1877. His Highness lea
the third Rajpoot Prince who has visitedlulll
during the present season, having been precede hY
the Thakores of Morvi and Gondal.
PROGRESS IN CANADA.—The'Marfinie of Lorne il,gas
bestowed some benefit on Canada. He has found
Royal Society there for the encouragement of science
and literature. The Parliament of the Dominion log
entered heartily into the scheme, and has voted a Orli,
of five thousand pounds towards helping to defray t".
expenses. A National Museum is in course of for'nir
tion, and there is an ambition to follow the examPle
of the mother country in devoting money to pusPnsed
of research and the dissemination of knowledge.
A GREAT WIRE ROM—The great driving-rOPe
which is to pull the cars across the new BrooklYn.
The
bridge has arrived at New York (says Iron).
rope is 1i inch in diameter, 11,760 ft. long, and WV
19 tons. It is accompanied by a duplicate rope of the
same weight and strength, which is to be held 10
reserve, for use when the first rope wears out. The
test which it has been subjected to gives ample Wye'
ance of its strength. Before it left the works, eori
wire held at least 1,0001 b., and was stretched froui
to 6 per cent. more. In order to protect it from the,
atmosphere, and also to supply to the interior a kin°
of lubricator when it comes to be used, the rope bl
received a coating of tar. The rope was manufacture
by the J. A. Roebling Company's Wireworks, Trott*
New Jersey.
AN OLD SALT.—Young Penpusher (who has bee:
putting on a little nautical "aide"): "You s's
man, I know something about seamanship."—Anele's
Mariner : "Jest what I lin to myself d'reckly Ye"
hailed me. I sez, 'l'm as sure this young gen'lman'e,,°
born sailor as I am he'll arsk me what l'm a•goin'
'ave.' "—[Penpusher " arsks " him.]-lun.
REVISION or THR AUTHORISED VERSION.—On thei
Bth inst. the company appointed for the revision e°4
the Authorized Version of the Old Testament finies,,,,,h
their 79th session at the Jerusalem Chamber.
Bath
following members attended :—The Bishop of ,
and Wells the Deans of Canterbury and Peterborouge'
Mr. Beniday, Dr. Chance, Dr. Davidson, Dr, Douglas,
Professor Driver, Dr. Ginsburg, Archdeacon Harrison,
Dr. Kay, Professor Leathes, Professor Lumbh 11°'
fessor Robertson Smith, Professor Wright, and
Aldis Wright (secretary). Communications Were. 111
ceived from Dr. Alexander, Mr. Cheyne, Dr. Fle`he
and Dr. Gotch, who were unable to be present. tri‘r
company carried the final reariew of their work se
as the end of Exodus Mail.
WHAT STARTLED SOME MINERS.—Down in Flowed
District, recently, a)me miners, who were prospectiq
about two miles north of Lady Bryan mine had girt;
an astonishing experience. They were drilling
into a quartz vein on the side of the mountain, Pre...co
ratory to putting in a blast. One of the men
holding and turning the drill, while the other 97,1
striking. Suddenly a blow of the hammer sent t'lo,
drill out of sight. Instantly a stream of water spoutlitiel
up to the height of forty or fifty feet. The vie. 6 I
came out the full size of the drill hole, and was 81)(A16
for over an hour, when it gradually failed and oslle,
to flow. The men finally put in a blast, and, blowirt);
off the top of the quartz vein, discovered some tqcs
feet below the surface a large crevice or cavity, vn's'bo
exten,ded up the hill as far as they were able to Pry
it. —Detroit Free Press.
4.hia
SALMON FISHING IN SCOTLAND.—The salmon ssa- bo
on Loch Tay has now closed, and there will not ro
much angling on the river till after the nets
taken off on the 20th of August. The loch seagon 13;
been aanuch better one than it was last year, wh,„e;
only 182 salmon were killed, while during this sPr'''of
157 have been taken, showing an average weight 03
nearly 201 b. The best season for many years Wl°
1878, when 828 fish were killed.
A PERMANENT WAY.—The way the money go'
Judy.
• e
HOSPITAL HORSE AMBITLANCES.-1 he Lancet
We are glad to learn that the committee of IS,
Northern Hospital of Liverpool has determined bYT,
unanimous vote to establish a horse ambulance eesa
vice in connection with the hospital. Those who 'es;
compare the present arrangements—or rather absell_ls
of all arrangements—for the conveyance of initiL;
persons to our hospitals with the excellent sY,sig
that is so efficiently workei in America will
hail this announcement. There is an undouhteelPsy
for these horse ambulances, and every praatical
periment which can show how best the need en° 0,
met in our large cities is eminently worthy of 5t1131101
and we trust the committee of the Northern 110513,1
will be successful in their appeal for the necese'"
funds.
A GIGANTIC TREE.—It seems that America, efeesr
esslo
all, is unable to make good her claim to the pose tbe
of the tallest and lsrgest tree in the world OP tse
St. James's Gazette). Every one has read of se
marvels of the Yosemite Valley, and the YellossePtio
Park, the huge national sporting-ground assail,
United States. But what are the giants of kiesif
fornia in comparison with a tree which has le eti
been discovered in Australasia? It has long hew
known that in Tasmania there are eucalypti teobt
suring 200 ft. from the ground to the first bray oi
and more than 350 ft. in total height; and therll,
lately was, on Mount Wellington, near Hobart Towro
a tree of this species, the trunk of which was 86 ft; of
circumference. • But a still more gigantic monat,e
the woods has been recently discovered in Vtiter,,s,ig'ita
Is a well-proportioned specimen of the EticcitYrthe
amygdalina, and its top is nearer to the sky thallho
cross of St. Paul's Cathedral, for it is no lers"""
430 ft. above the ground. • t saO
THE GERMAN ARMY.—The German army le "s 9 of
present time distributed over aO4 garrisons.
which have an effective of over 2,000 men.
with 17,813, and Metz, with 14,141, ars the em'i
towns which have garrisons of over Diann, The :00
neon of Strasburg numbers 8,968, that of Ig°lo
7,712, that of Cologne 7.655, that of Coblentz los
that of Konigsberg 6,383, and that of Magdesoll
6,068. The garrisons of Potsdam (6.580) and 5P700141
(4,339) are BO close to Berlin that 28,732 trockis tisa
be concentrated upon the capital at a few hours n°
Tflll RUSSIAN PRIESS.—Some statistical
intorno; to
lately published concerning the Russian Press ?1,4015
that, excluding Government journals or perio.
and some official ecclesiastical papers intended Wei
clergy, there were on the Ist of April last 594 POO
papers and periodicals published in Russia, class,o3
as follows :—Political and literary, 235- clericaidicsl
religious, 81; agricultural and economical, 20
and pharmaceutical, 16; commercial and Will, B,f
15; belles lettres, 10; popular journals, 9 ; ieSss OP
.
technical, 7; natural sciences, 4. The remain
philological, musical, ethnographical C. 110
•el
t •
number of newspapers and periodicals publisne. 0,6e1e
United States is estimated at 11,196, in France .e she
in England 2,076. In the single city of 13er,,oie
number is 478, or nearly as many as in the VIP
RUSSIA.
111
THE MILITARY ESTABLISHMIINTS FOR IgB3"Q-..---00"
details of the establishments for the regtlis%t ef,
auxiliary forces, which took effect from tbe A AP 1
April. 1883, have been approved by her Majestihoele
issued. These give a total of all ranks on the 00
A gQ
establishment of the regular forces of 101,aee, tool
Colonial, of 26,010, and on tha Indian establiallu
of 61,591, making a grand total of 165,386 of TeX' flits°
file, and 189,069 of all ranks. The artillerl 1331,40,
number 19,854 of all ranks, the engineer militia
_uois,
infantry militia 117,575, and Channel IslssndssTua
3,996. The yeomanry cavalry is 14,404. The I"
the volunteer force amounts to 247,922.
ASSYRIAN ANTIQUITIES.—The London o°e.assiler
dent of the Manehesfer Guardian writes :
interesting additions have been made to the oe
collections of the British Museum incleditl
curious early Babylonian contract tablets', datl,4al Siftt,
Lc. 2,700. They are from the mounds of ;is
in Southern Babylonia, and each tablet le, ':ontielitit,
cate. One is smaller than the other, anu.ll
within it a bull's head about four inches 1, cbaen
and depth, and two inches wide, carved r haanuts s orabir,
co
with great skill and finish out of sorne .se,
wood resembling ivory, which suggests e „
s"-ste'
parison with that found at Mycense f the leder
mann. Among other valuable records 0- , „slia
Babylonian Empire there is a fine barrel ;row-
whish beers an in•cr;ption relating to the r eol 0 frooli
of the Temple of Belus at Babylon, as well, adept'
ment of a similar inscription written blocriPtcop
Alexander the Great, called in the :obi° ae
Isakandir Makiduku. Some of the bricks_4lol3.%3
lection are covered with small writings, r joscrilos
been printed from metal plates, and 001:,, 130
after the manner,of former examPlee froa-
and Nineveh