The Stourbridge Observer, Cradley Heath, Halesowen & District Chronicle.
Stourbridge, West Midlands, England, 1883-06-09 00:00:00

Alisteltaitecrus

ROME, FOREIGN, AND COLONIAI:

AMOUNTED FOIL—We:S4EIy amateur (with a vocal
organ on him like unto that of a sucking dove, playing
Macduil) : "Ha I ha! My voice is in my sword !"
Critic in the gallery : " That's all right, then, ole
mumblechump. We was a-wondering up here wheres
it were."—Judv.

CURIOUS NESTING PACES.—In a greenhouse at
Woodburne Gardens, Ceres, in Fifeshire, a blackbird
has built its nest in a plant growing in a pot. Incuba-
tion proceeded favourably, and in time young birds
appeared, were reared, and have taken wing. The
bird, or another of its kind, has again resorted to the
greenhouFe, and is once more sitting on eggs. In the
same gardens, in a vinery, a chaffinch, with a similar
liking fer a glass structure, ha 3 built its nest. In a
ditch bank on the farm of Hillteasses, on the estate of
Teasse3, in the parish of Largo, Fifeshire, an old tin
can has been di,covered with a robin's nest, containing
eggs, inside.—" N.," in Land and Water.

Vur "FORWARD PLAT."—FOrId mamma (to juve-
nile batsman): "I'm afraid you play cricket too
much, Algy, and neglect your arithmetic, and such
things."—Algy : "Oh, no, ma! I've I,arned some
'rithmetic by it. You used to say a ' score ' was
twenty, you know; but it isn't always. I made ten
runs to-day, and that's a 'score '—a good one for me."
—Mamma: 'You stupid boy, I ought to scold
you— "—Algy : "If you do, ma dear, it might be
eleven, for I should try to make another run—out of
your way."—Fun.

INCREASE OF TIE JEWS.—" Instead of dying out,"
says the Central Presijiterian, "the Jewish body shows
Increasing vitality. They cannot be stamped out or
swallowfid up. They pass from country to country to
become practically masters wherever they go. They
get the land in Germany and Hungary, and grow rich
in Russia; they are the great bankers in Loudon and
Paris and the centres of European commerce. In tea
(recent) years the Rothschild furnished £100,00,000
in loans to England, Austria, Prussia, France,
Russia, and Brazil, They increase faster than Chris'
tians, and of every 100,000 persons only 89 Jews die
to 143 Christian."

THE CONSI7MPTION 07 GOLD IN AMERICA. —The New
York Commercial Chronicle points out that while there
is believed tJ be about 580.000,000 dole, of gold in the
United States the "visible supply" probably does
not exceed 260,500,000. Ever since spsoie payments
were resumed in the United States—since January let,
1879, that is—the people have been hoarding gold. It
was estimated that 120,000,000 dohs. in gold was in the
hands of the people at that date, while the total supply
as estimated by the United States Mint authorities,
was 278,000,000. On November Ist, 1882, the total
supply had risen to 567,000,000 dole.; of which the
public or individuals held 304,000,000. Thia total does
rot include the bullion expended in arts and manu-
factures; but adding that, the calculation is that in
good years the people of the Union absorb and in
some form consume 50,000,000 dol3, of gold p3v
annum.
TEIE IRISH FISHERIES.—The report c,l the Inspectors
of Irish Fisheries for 1882 hAs been issued as a Blue-
book. By the returns received from collectors cf
Customs and the Coa.stguard, it would appear that,
during 1882, the number of registered vessels-in Ire-
land fishing or sale amounted to 6,049, with crews
numbering 21,597 men atid 794 boys. Of these, 1,278
vessels, 7,310 men and 401 boys are returned as having
been exclusively einpl )yed in fishing, and 4,111 vessels,
14,287 men, and 393 boys as partially engaged. These
figures seem to show that there has been &considerable
decrease in fishing vessels, men, and boys employed in
1882, as compared with the previous year.
FATAL ACCIDENT IN A SWIMILINCI BATIL—In Lon-
don, on Monday, Mr. St. Ole: Bedford, coroner, held
an inquiry touching tha death of James Martin, aged
40 years, who mot with an accident while diving at the
Swimming aths, Smith.street, Westminster, on the
F afternoon of the Derby Day. The deceased had
Jumped into a shallow part of the bath, and although
ho was known to he a good swimmer he was soon
afterwards seen to be ineensihle, Mr. Butler, house
Burgeon at Westmiestes hospital, said the deceased
was suffering grcm conoussicin of the brain when ad.
mittesl, and he died on May 31st, the cause of death
being a fracture of the sixth cnrvioal vertebra of the
neckes-,The jury returned a verdict of "Accidental
&lath." . .
TEI‘,PIICWIDAIAKCHERTER • S RIP
ect ommittee on the Mens.heater Ship ()anal
Bill, Mr. Leader Williams's, the engineer, stated that
the length of tlso proposed Canal would be 21 miles,
rathsr leas than one-fourth of which would be entirely
tidal. Where the Canal will enter the Mersey at
Runcorn, space will be provided for four goodly•sizod
vessels to pass to and fro. The supply of water from
the two principal river feeders would be considerably
beyond the reauirements. The total length of the
%tiara would be 'about five and a half miles, and the
vest of the entire works about six millions sterling.

A GOOD Rwsoit—Lady: "How could you be so
awkward, Parker ?"—Parker : "Beg pardon, m'm;
but the pie was that heavy--cook must ha' forgot the
baking powder ! "—Funny Polka.
THE LATE TRAPEZE CHIMPANZEE AT THE
ZOOLOOGICAL GARDENS.—OId Jonathan says :—Who
that ever visited the Zoological Gardens does not re-
member the great favourite, poor old "Joe" ? We
hdiere he Was the only chimpanzee in England. He
died ,f c insumption, and many-were the grets at his
lo s. The monkey tribe is divided into three kinds—
apes, baboons, and monkeys. Thegreat tailless apes are
the gorilla, orang.outang, and chimpanzee. These can
be taught to behave like human beings, and can even
imitate men in the bad habit of smoking. Even in
thcir wild state they will walk a few steps erect like a
man. Of course they are not standing on their feet,
but on their hinder pair of hands. Those that are
caught young are very affectionate, and behave much
like spoiled children. There is only one place in
Europe where apes are found, and that is on the
famous rock of Gibraltar.

WILLIAM PENN'S HOUSE.—The work of transferring
William Penn's house from Letitia-street to Fair-
mount Park was begun at Philadelphia, Pa., on May
19. The building is being taken down in sections.
As each part is removed, it is carefully conveyed to
the western end of the Girard-avenue bridge in Fair-
mount Park. Within a week it will be erected in the
Park. The utmost care is being exercised to preserve
the component parts of the building. Before the work
was begun the building was photographed inside and
out, architectural designs made, and the different sec-
tions numbered.

Tax EDELWEISS.—An attempt has been made at
the Grand Ducal gardens at Schlackenweth, in north-
western Bohemia, to create a sort of nursery for rear-
ing young plants of Edelweiss, with the view of
transftrr.ng them when sufficiently matured to the
.Keilherg, one of the mountains of the Erzgebirge
chain, which divides Bohemia fro oa Saxony. If the
experiment succeds, and the Edelweiss, the most
beautiful flower of the Alps, beoomes acclimatized in
the Eragelirge, the flora of Northern Bohemia will
have received a valuable addition.
THE SANITARY VALUE OF THE Mosero
Spe.king at the Parkes Museum on the origin and
development of the science of hygiene, Professor de
Chaumont remarked that the observance of the
Mosaic Law would have preserved large masses of
people who had been from time to time swept away
prematurely by disease. That law was so connected
with religion that when pestilence befel the people it
was declared with truth that the evils arose from the
"disobedience to the law." The remarkable im-
znur.ity of the Jews, in all ages and countries, from
the ravages of disease which affected other peoples,
he attributed to hygienic causes—to the temperance
and frugality of the Jews, to the care shown in the
preparation of their food, in the selection of meat free
from disease, and in the religiptis law that the whole
household should be periodically cleansed in every part.

JUDGB STORT'S °LOGI. - Everything about the
Supreme Court at Washington is old (says the Detroit
Free Press). The clerk's room and the consultation
rooms have old furniture, and the cases are made for
books with green cloth inside of the glass after the
days of the revolution. In the clerk's rooms a great
round clock like a Brobdingnagian watch hangs against
the wall, and the legend is that Judge Story, becoming
disgusted with the difference of time displayed by the
watches of his associate Judges, said, "I will fix a
timepiece that all shall go by," sad be straightway
ordered this from Boston. It was made well, and it
goes to this day as truly as it did when Aaron Burr,
Daniel Webster, and Salmon P. Chase set their
watches by it.

SULPHUR LIR THE SOIL OF PIELEL-111149tillearinf says
that recent excavations for public works in Paris have
laid bare a store of native sulphur in mass-s of mixed
rubl'ish. The crystallisation is evident to the eye,
and under the microscope the crystals are seen to be
octahedral. M. Doubr6e explains its presence on the
supposition that sulphate of lime and organic
matters, such as manure, leather, bones, and vege-
tables, associated with it in the mass, have acted
chemically on each other. In some places the
sulphur is rich enough to pay for extracting. It
appears in a breccia of small pieces, incrusted with
crystals of sulphur. When the bed was opened by
the excavators it exhaled a powerful odour resembling
that of phosphorus, which was attributed to phois-
phuretted hydrogen.

CoLouns or FLOWBRS.—Mr. Grant Allen, in his
recently published work under this title, briefly sums
up bis views on the genesis of flower colours as follow.:
"M st of the very simplest flowers aie yellow.
Many of the simple flowers in each family (except the
highest) are apt to he yellow. The more advanced
memb.rs of very simple families are usually white or
pink. The simple members of s'ightly advanced
families are usually white or pink. The most advanced
members of all families are usually red, purple or blue.
Almost all the,,merilbers of the most advauced fanailies
are purple or blue. The more advanced members of
the most advanced families are almost always blue,
unless spotted or variegated."
• THE TWEED SALMON FISHERY.—There was au fm.
provement in trout last week; but salmon and grilse
remain the same. Prices are falling. On Saturday
they were :—Salmon, is. sd. ; grilse, is. 43. ; trout,
ls. 3d. per lb. For the corresponding day last year
prices were :—Salmon, is. 9d.; trout, is. 53. per lb.

A LEGEND 07 COLOONE.—fi L. A. R." call to mind
hi Notes and Queries the following legend of Cologne:
—" Most travellers on the Rhine have seen at Cologne
the two stone horses' heads which peep from the
window of the top floor of a house in the Netunarkt.
The legend they commemorate is that the wife of a
citizen who ha 3 been buried in the vault of the Church
of the Holy Apostles awoke from her deathlike trance
ami returned to the bowie of her husband, who declared,
btllo;nirg the apparition that he would gooner believe
that h Porsea could gallop up to the roof of his house
than that one should rise again from the dead. Scarcely
had he spoken the words when horses' hoofs were
heard mounting the stairs, and soon their heads were
seen looking out of the window of the upper storey."
A PIESIST KWH THZ QEZZN.-41, handsome silver
cup, standing 11. in, high, in a beautiful oak case, had
been forwarded by the Queen, through Sir H.
Ponsonby, to Sir Alfred BalllBton at Gosport. The
cup bears the inset iption :—" Presented by Queen
Victoria to Staff Captain Sir Alfred Balliston, in re-
memb ance of his services during thirty-four years in
the Royal yachts. 1883," On this other side are
engraved the Royal monogram and the Crown Star.
Captain Sir Alfred Balllston will retire from service
next month.

THE PEOIIIIESS or Cinceso.—The progress made
by Chicago still continues remarkably rapid. At the
present times it numbers about 600,000 inhabitant*,
and is the third largest industrial city in the. States.
In the year /882 it added 0,014 to its populs.tion.
The entire trade of the place in that year is estimated.
to have amminted to a turnover of 229,800,000 sterling.
1 he Bankers' Clearing-house returns rem to 478,800,000
sterling. In cattle, piga, and tinned meats Chicago
remains the first city in the Union; In 1883 there
were 4,000,000 pigs slaughtered, and 690,000,0001 k. of
meat and lard canned and packed, In the matter of
building the city continues to show the greatest
activity, Last year there were 3,000 new houses
erected, and the total amount spent in the city on the
building trades in 1882 is reckoned to have been not
less than 4,000,000 sterling. All the new streets ire
now paved with wood, blocks of cedar being generally
employed.

BAR/filet{ WRITE ELEMANT.-1/9.111111131, after muoh
trouble, recently succeeded in overcoming the scruples
of the Siamese Government so as to permit the ex-
port of a sacred white elephant, which was to be
placed on exhil,ition in America. Preparations were
being made for his departure, when he died on May 21.
A similar mi.sfortune happened in 1862. A magnificent
white elephant had been bagged in Siam and prepara-
tions had been made on a gorgeous scale to receive'
him. A. pavilion of great splendour was erecter!.
The people went wild with joy. Suddenly Caine
awfnl tidings—the elephant had died. The who
nation went into mourning. The body was; shrouded
in fine white linen, and, with mach wailing, was
thrown into the Gulf of Siam. Nothhig is more
sacred to the Buddhists of those parts than the white
elephant. It is supposed to be animated hy the souls
of dead hcroi s. It averts national ca;anaities, The
nation..l standard is a white elephant on a deep
erinpon ground. The animal destined-for America
had been procured, it was repotted, at great cost and
with infinite trouble.

A BIRD'S AMIIITt —The appetite of the bird is,
wonderful. A thrush will eat at a meal the largest
snail that England produces. If a man could eat as
much in proportion, he would consume a whole round
of beef for his dinner. The redbreast, again, is a most
voracious bird. It blas been calculated that to keep a
redbrehst up to his normal weight an amount of animal
food is required daily equal to an earthworm fourteen
feet in letztb. Taking a man of average weight, and
meanorir g bulk for bulk with the redbreast, I tried
to c“lculato how much food he would consume in
twenty f,•ur hours if he ate as much in proportion as
the bird. Assuming a sausage nine inches in dream.
fersnee to be a fair equivalent of the earthworm, Tied
that the man would have to eat sixty-seven feet of
such sausage in every twenty-four hours. I meption
this in order to illustrate the amount of work which is
done by inseot•eating birds.—Good Words.