The Stourbridge Observer, Cradley Heath, Halesowen & District Chronicle.
Stourbridge, West Midlands, England, 1885-09-26 00:00:00

GOSSIP ON DRESS.

Tun dominant point in the woollens prep.ared foi
autumn and winter wear (says the Queen) is the
troduction of silk stripes, that are bouclé or oovered
with tiny loops in imitation of Astrakan. Very few
dresEes of ordinary silk will be worn, but rich silk;
have lost none of theii:prestige for toilettes speciall3l
intended for receptions and evening dresses. The,
Lyons fabrics this year are inimitably beautiful; the
introduction of frig silk forming graceful designs on
the velvet grounds are most har dsome, and will make
up into exquisite mantles for dty and evenirig we ;
black, brown in all shades, blue, and grenat are the
vincipal colours.

Tun manufacturers have had an excellent idea 114
producing costly materials, such as velvet and plush,
in breadths trimmed with fringe, specially intended
for certain portions of a dress—panels, tabliere,
plastrons, &c.—the remainder of the toilette being in
rich plain velvet, satin, soft veloutine, or in plush,
which is now produced as thick in texture as that
formerly used for furniture. The principal colours
are dark orange, bleue de Roy, light violet shading to
red, dark dahlia, Roman purple, oreille d'ours (a
sort of brown, with a dash of dark red and yellow),
light wood brown, bronze and bottle-green, and a
host of rich intermediate shades difficult to describe.

Till 3 striped and figured velvets, and the beaded
and embroidered velvets that are to form combina-
tions with plain velvets, are endless in their variety.
The brown velvets, both for dresses and bonnets, are
in warm beautiful shades, and will be largely
trimmed with the rosary or carved wood buttons,
also in brown. These beads look well on the
plastron, collar, cuffs, and panel. There are also
many brown woollen laces for such dresses, and the
boustets to accompany them have wooden beads
forming a coronet or edging the brim the crowns
being embroidered in tinsel thread. Shaded plushes
in brown and grey tints—not across from selvedge to
selvedge as formerly, but shaded in stripes or close
patterns—are likely also to be used in combination
with plain plush.

Fon the intermediate season a vast quantity of
woollen lace dresses have been prepared. The lace is
woven in flounces a yard deep, so as to cover the
sk!rt, and, being made of mohair, is firmer than the
woollen laces of last season. The patterns are
small, many of them recalling antique guipure, and
every colour is represented in them, many showing
two contrasting colours.

Tun new autumn mantles which are a fair criterion
of what is likely to be worn during the coming season,
are thus described : —Astrakan—that is, woollen re-
productions of the fur—is a leading idea in thick
materials; and the new Litana, with its woollen
ground, covered with large Gothic rnd geometric
designs, carried out in frise velvet. the colourings
are browns of all tones, from a deep leather colour to
seal-brown and black. Otter is largely used, also
black furs, such as fox and skunk, with tail fringes
that are generally squirrel dyed.

EXTRAORDINARY TAKES OF HONEY.

Two extraordinary takes of honey have just been
made in West Surrey. For the last 16 or 18 years a
colony of bees has taken possession of a niche be-
tween the walls of the Hautboy and Fiddle Public-
house at Ockham, near Ripley. The outer walls of
the building are about three feet in thickness, and the
bees made choice of their storehouse at the very top
of the building, which is three storeys high. The land-
lord and landlady, with their daughters, resolved this
year upon finding out the exact whereabouts of the
colony. A diligent search was made one morning
under the roof of the house, and a piece of
comb was found immediately below the slates, but
in such a position that it could not be reached.
Mr. Smith, the landlord, then descended to the
bed-room, and with chisel and hammer removed a
number of bricks from the wall, where the whole
stock of bees were found. More than 2ft. square of
the wall had to be removed, when a wonderful sight
presented itself. A large mass of comb, about 2ft. in
thickness, filled with honey, was exposed. The bees
were fumigated, after. which large pieces of honey
were cut out, until dish after dish was filled with
a total quantity of about 1201 b. The bricks have not
been put into the wall again, but a glass door has
been inserted, so that any one interested in bee
culture may have an opportunity of seeing them.
Another and still more extraordinary take of honey
has been secured at Winter's Hall, Bromley, the
seat of Mr. George Barrett. Some men were sent to
take some bees which had got between the ceiling of
the coach-house and the granary. They succeeded in
taking 3cwt. of honey. The bees had been engaged
in their novel hiding-place several years. It was a
very interesting sight to see the way in which they
had worked.