The Stourbridge Observer, Cradley Heath, Halesowen & District Chronicle.
Stourbridge, West Midlands, England, 1878-07-13 00:00:00

SATURDAY, JULY 13, 1878„

sometimes earlier. His life was, in f ict, a long course
of " training," and hut for the Hecideut width caUsed
his death at eighty-four, he would prohahly have be-
come a "veritable centenarian."—Pull Mall Gazette.

---------
en r
BIRDS v. FRUIT.—This is how a clever gard
mai,wes to keep the buds from his fruit crops
Land aid Water). He states—'• I h NTe seen so triace!t
desponoing letters on this subject that I eon in:lseep"'
to send you the following. I fasten a small w , °,ie
shuttle into a long, li2ht pole, by means of an elan
ring. I thus can reach a low distance' and I fsot.
cover a great space with fine wefts, at atrifling
I preserve ninety five per cent. of the fruit, aed fur
are numberless birds here. nfirices will sooe leer!:
thread the cups and shuttle. as apertures
better than formerly. Our spoiled friends, the
sometimes venture in, but they are chid,' ;Jr
ground food.' rhe thrushes and others' havell't their
some fear of entanglement, and they screata 011_, ege
objections to our proceedings. As for nets, WI -stiff
little for them, as they learn first to hop throtlg
°ohs
wire netting near the fowls corn. For ten 11'
the birds have it all their own way, for two raonOle
have mine."
COLOUR BLINDNESS.—It results from the
M. Favre on this subject at the AcadeSmie des Sefee.th,
that 3,000,000 persons in France are afflicted Se,
inability to distinguish colours (Daltonisin.). u the,
number of women so affected, as compared wit'tes.
number of men, is in the proportion of one te„,„fecl
be
Nine cases of Daltonism out of ten may easily
in young subjects. The best means of treatraent,t,
sists in methodical exercise upon coloured
British Medical Journal.
TURKEY AND SAUSAGE MEAT.- ,Aperol
:--The osl
comparing the partition of Turkey now in coil
being carried out to the Finis Polonice.jeer
called, of some years ago. N 't • traoge—
ow, 18 3 8 hog
dence, to say the least, that the two conntrie toae
both come to be divided as they have, but at Weiiie of
time it is not an unnatural end: for the fate e-t
Turkey and " Polony " has ever been to be ee"
and not unfrequently in company.—Fun. rli
g
ASSYRIAN EXPLORATION. The .11077telf;01-
says :-Ir. Hornolzd Rassam, the successor 0. eo
late Mr. George Smith in Assyrian' exploration,,elew
his way home with the antiquities which '" thee3s
secured for the British Museum. He consider° Ile
too precious to be left to the care of others:lb of
writes to us from Smyrna, under date of the
June, that that he will wait in Constantinople the Pe, toot
sion which Mr. Layard will obtain for the e„ht,altir
of the antiquities. Mr. Rassam had much
in getting permission to carry on the resekno se
which Mr. George Smith was baffled. "As 11—,nced
I finished my political work (he writes) ICO 1b
my explorations in Nineveh. Niroroud,
Assyrian mounds, and I am glad to say tha' „ot
labours were crowned with success. If 1 _t8133.0/
mistaken, the relics which I discovered will "7.4 bia
much appreciated in England." Of the counweesi
reports that both Arabs and Koords are tfl °lthe'
rebellion against their Ottoman rulers, eLlut the
Government has no force to employ Wu'
refractory tribes.
AN ICE SHIP ON FIRE.—A very remark' hipe
dent occurred on the voyage of one of the fe°,lol.l
lately arrived at Bombay from America. The 9,eroceei
was struck by lightning, and the electric fluid, P.
into the body of the ship through the foremast, Ptemelt•
a hole some 10ft, in diameter through the Ve,eo.htlf
lug about thirty tons, and setting fire to and fotil'per
burning some of the beams of the ship in nraeig
sage. It is seldom that we hear of ships beiliglolg'
or damaged :in this way. This is the more
able, as thunderstorms at sea are frequentlY of,'''"ool4
violence, and the tall masts of an iron vessel! 0, It
appear to offer a great attraction to the lightilah'fla' ore
are f
is possible, however, that such catastrophes oes °
frequent than is imagined, and that ships, the k
which has never been explained have been
have been so seriously injured as to have goe:iact°73
in deep water without warning. Lightning-coe hoof.
are not as generally used on board ship as the)? ,1 pre
be, probably from a mistaken idea which large'f Ole
vails that they afford an additional attraction "%Le'
electricity, and so endanger the safety of the lees
The Colonies and India. ethi°ll
A "SEA MESSENGER."—A "sea messenger ,th•
the Marquis of Ailsa, Commodore of the ROY„el„,'-
ampton Yacht Club, threw overboard
Marchesa on January 5, 1878, in latitude, 11.' Mr)"
tio
longitude '56.0 west," was picked up on or ahetten ott
25 on the island of Barbada. The message, wr'bottle•
a piece of paper, was enclosed in an ordinal,' wee
Lord Ailsa threw overboard twenty-seven
messengers through the voyage.
g tact(
MR. GLADSTONE AT ETON COLLEGE.—%/11.,-ap ee,
night the Right Hon. W. E. Gladstone, 24-1 s 0'
livered a lecture to the members and their friee
the Eton College Literary Society on Homer ;eel:f-
right hon. gentleman was enthusiastically
,re,,ee„h-c,oler
After alluding to Eton College as the Queen ot thrl
and assuring them that, though nearly half eeu,iffee'
had elapsed since he was a student there, yet hie - the
tion increased for the college with lapse of Ye,ergni hi°,
right hon. gentleman entered upon the subje,Le`' hao
lecture, and said that of all books which f4le:hichi
handled, English or foreign, there was not one to Of
within the same compass, contained anything' l'fieece
same vast amount of human knowledge and exPe.
as Homer.
SUNSHINE IN JULY.—The Astronomer -,•,,e -
ports that the duration of registered aunty-a-1)0g
London last week was 21'6 hours, the sun beinglooe
the horizon during 115'1 hours; the recorded (I°'-eeet.
of sunshine was, therefore, only equal to 19 Per

-
of its possible duration.
• ,
IN BED WITH A SN desair
AKE.—A reptile of anY
tion is hardly a desirable bedfellow, and wbe%el,
bed is invaded by a venomous serpent the sittletlry tire
comes decidedly unpleasant. The Natal Me"l
lates an instance of a lady resident on the bot fog
the colony who lately awoke about midnight t!ne
herself in the company of a large specimen of
the most deadly of African snakes, the "ringhteelni
kind of cobra. The lady was disturbed bY,. leas
something moving in bed, and on putting behof.befa
down, discovered, to her horror, the nature op
midnight visitor. Under such circumstances a Cr
scream was excusable; her husband Wag
~ecv olsif;
light procured, and search made for the rePtue'
fortunately remained between the mattress se, fell
sheet, where it was speedily despatched with, t
blows from a stout stick, It is fortunate t_nPeterl,lci
position in which the reptile was found nr,"; bolt
from deing any mischief. The "ringhals ,18Aots
fighter, and will stand erect and make rapid
an enemy; besides which, it is credited, ln (1-th t'
with one or two species of African snakes, v1:101016
power of spitting a venomous saliva with 0)104
,
accuracy, of aim. The lady, consequentlY, trifore
narrow escape, and it will be some time ee cern'
gets rid of an unpleasant conviction that eel/
or heap conceals a snake.
eh Otits
MULBERRY TREES IN LONDON.—It ia Wor.-:11
that the mulberry is one of the trees that
,„,,,d°
London, and even in its central districts. "be" Alt
a fine specimen of it in an enclosed court in 7p-ii ftv,;
central distriet the other day, and we have ea— to t"
of it from trees growing in the garden betel:lo4 bs of?
Charter-house. There is no need to add that 1;„eael!
of the most beautiful of trees, though perhan.rsa
may as well be reminded of the fact, as cettlP'—
few seem to be pleated now-a-days.—Garden. Lord
SHAKESPERIAN.—A student of the
immorta
says he can prove that the early life of llailliftittilet
l t ifta
passed in the wilderness. We wrote at once for upl
iuformatiou, and find that he bases his convictieubore.
Hamlet's statement that "he was to the mans°
—Fun. ,A 0
A MODEST REQUEST.—That actors have Pe-- tase
quently considered as public property even ifegott'
private life is a frequent complaint of the nr,°, by alit.
and is not inaptly illustrated by a story to Ws"'
San Francisco Chronicle of Mr. Jefferson, theie g,
known Rip Van Winkle :—" The other morn.' 00
Mr. Jefferson was coming from rehearse', t ft°
stopped suddenly by a gentleman, evidently ine 0
Marysville, who was accompanied by his ,„,vl.l Aref
some six or eight children. "Are you -Pd
Winkle, mister?" Mr. J. J. admitted .rtio PIA°
"Well, I'm dern glad to hear it. You see,
trying to tell Maria and the children hoe'
elegant you acted last night. I'd take the WI bt thy
on 'em this evening, but you see, Johnny's 1301.§.' 14:j
mumps, and we're got to leave on the 4- reeli
having anything else to say, Mr. Jeffers°ll,ool,
"Indeed!' Yes, I was trying to show 'eula,t 10
told that story about your wife getting uPe- log
river. Couldn't you jest sit down on this fire, eot;e
show Maria how you did it ?" " t",b,laon.C„lsi
responded the first actor of his day, icilY-
why you won't show the children. I allura Pthe
the theater when I come up to sell hay. Ilia. oe tto
I was trying to catch the step when You ..--eatilg,:ot
the girls in the first act. Come now, US 3 Oro
this fruit store, that's a good fellow, and dolke o,°, to
twice for me, won't you? It'll tickle the o.oterin'
our way most to death." Jefferson says be 1
cfri
go armed after this.
THE I-LACE IN HOT WEATHER.—LaEISP""k. et..lcP-00
How HE CAME TO GRIEF ! A Pc'ea Ili 0
sharpener is a very simple implement 90,, oi
useful thing to carry when the cutler" pot..„ea
dinner-time (says a San Francisco paP t°ol,
estimable young broker's clerk, who has bee wow to
out of five boarding-houses in the last tlireet enooo.
has traced all his misfortunes in the deareLvell,tilalv
the apparently innocent and unoffending —ests"'
He accepted his notice to leave the first fottr,o, to
to
ments unconscious of any reasonable objectisteeed
presence; but on the last occasion be te„.uos „deLeg
courage and insisted upon the " 1,001
" hash-house " giving him an 'explanetien'.. prel'aig
man," she replied, sternly, "until Yo'
embittered my existence I had no difficultireten%ri
my butcher's bills ; but, like a traitorous °' a
have come into this peaceful private hotel,rtaecoev.
time you sit down to a meal you have sb,a.retsb4e.
or more knives. To-day the knives in t°,..,„i'v3t °P.:tt,oo
ment are so keen that, where a boarder,
' on dth
ing his wrist, used with difficulty to cutup AD too.
chop at breakfast, he now eats three clealti sstiot,t,
ain't enough on the bones to serve up ega" 1,10 w,, I
Go hence, young man—go and may the and ev° 0
of an outraged widow be with you for ever.,,akee,fres
THEATRE BURNING.—A few statistics,in ees
the list of theatres destroyed by fire, contaTAier,
work of Herr Fels* will teach us, if instrileogesb;o
needed, how highly dangerous our inec1.,,,e_,13:15
Nearly every theatre in London and re''the
burnt down in its turn' in London alone t° ofVOOl
of 31. During the last 30 years 57 fires;:oe,adoascrn:ajoegii:
recorded in London, and a great many pre other'
have never come to the knowledge of
Of 252 theatres, there have been bureLr oneeol,"
before opening. 70 in the first five years al—, iiileder"
38 in from six ta ten years after openin',,-. 34 id*
to 20 years after opening, 27 in from A•fte"-r
after opening, 12 in from 31 to 40 years a .nfrop joy
g.
20 in from 41 to 50 years after o,lr ;11-
from 51 to 60 years after opening,' 1.,,/ tilsyftett
to 80 years after opening, 8 in Ira—
years after opening, 3 upwards of le° Yooots 6.1
opening; total, 252. Toe above fienrea
the average age of those theatres .
destY4ge o°oo
amounts to about 222 years. On the aver,. :;t o°o4
theatres are destroyed each year, the w';e6 tiLkeo
being from January to March, the fewest %e0'5,1576
a placece n the nji ymtiod September.middle the ee w
in the mouth being, strangely, the Sth,.lso4chronl op;
Fortunately, of the many conflaerations_. aoingooet
0,,1y 36 broke out while representations wer' cies 0
hut those have, on the other hand, beel!e 001
Must
. lostt he of
ra thos ere
1:4001d
p
disastrous on record. Most of the .iires toe,
the middle of the night.