The Stourbridge Observer, Cradley Heath, Halesowen & District Chronicle.
Stourbridge, West Midlands, England, 1883-05-26 00:00:00

ali.tualtetatS 'llt,elligenrt.

HOME, FOREIGN, AND COLONIAL

TWEED SALMON FISHING.—The catches last week
rather decreased The diminution was noticeable
both in salmon and trout. Grilse, however, increased
in number, and the takes of these fish were satisfac-
tory. Prices on Saturday were :—Salmon, is. 7d. ;
grilse, is. 6d. ; trout, Is. sd. per lb.

AVERAGE PRICES OF BRITISH CORN.—The following
are the average prices of British corn for last week,
as received from the inspectors and officers of Ex-
cise :—Wheat, 435. 4d. ; barley, 30s. Bd. ; oats,
225. 9d. • per imperial qr. Corresponding week last
year :—Wheat, 475. Od. ; barley, 275. lid.; oats,
235, Od.
A HINT TO FRIIIT•GROWERS. —ln spite of east
winds and wet weather, the fruit trees and shrubs have
blossomed remarkably well this year (says the Globe).
Some persons may even be so exceptionally fortunate
as to secure a larger crop than is enough to supply
their immediate wants, and these may be pleased to
learn the method which our American cousins are
adopting to store perishable fruits in safety for
almost any length of time. An Illinois horticul-
turist last year constructed a fruit-house which proved
so successful that it is now being taken as a
model throughout the country. It is designed on the
simplest scientific principles, and costs very little.
The walls are double, being composed of two rows
of wooden poets, each row boarded within and
without. The intervening space, two and a half
feet wide, is packed as closely as possible with straw.
Above are two sets of rafters, three feet apart, with
boards on tteir upper sides, and with straw completely
filling the space between them. Over all is a cheap
board loot Inside, we are told, the temperature re.
na us approximately the same the whole year round.
When the thermometer is " perstAring " a': 98 deg. in
the shade the fruit house appears by contnst like an
ice-cellar. In the d..pth of winter the spirited pro.
prietor wades through the snow, to select fruit for the
market, and finds the fragrant atmosphere inside
"agreeably warm " and his apples "as sound as when
taken off the trees mouths before."

EMIGRATION TO QURENSLAND.—The fine iron ship
Scottish, Admiral, one of Messrs. M'llvitaith,
M'Eacharn, and Co's Scottish line of ships to Queens-
land was despatched from Gravesend on SaLurday for
Brisbane' with 268 passengers. This is the first ship
under the new emigration scheme of assisted pas-
sages.

AGRICULTURAL PROSPECTS.—The Magnet says
"The very tine weather of the past week has stimu-
lated vegetation, and the crops have made good pro-
gress. The prospect is on the whole satisfactory, and
beneficial results are anticipated. As regards the state
of affairs in Germany and Austria, a Vienna corre-
spondent writes : We have reached the time. when
all danger to the crops from frost is generally believed
to be at an end, and the weather is so exceptionally tine
that the hopes of a good harvest are rising high.
Winter corn and oilseed are in splendid condition,
and the vines and fruit trees also promise fine re-
sults.'"
PHYSICAL EDUCATION AMONG GIRLS. It is said,
remarks the Daily Telegraph, that young EnFlish-
women of the middle and upper ranks are physically
stronger than their compeers in any other European
country, or in the United States. Well•bred Ame-
rican girls are famous for an elegant and refined type
of loveliness ; French ladies are the best dressed in
the world; the youthful frauleins of Germany have
the finest heads of hair, tbe.Spanish girls the brightest
eyes to be found anywhere; and in Venice and
Florence may be seen to this day, direct descendants
of those old world blonde beauties till fresh and
fair upon the csnvas of Titian. When, however, all
is said that courtesy to the foreigner demands, young
English ladies remain stouter of limb, clearer of com-
plexion, and altogether more hearty than others else.
where. Plain food, round sleep, suitable clothing,
exercise in the open air, and the plentiful application
of soap ar!cl water are the hygienic open secrets for the
preservation of health in the human being; and the
use of those aids, helped by a climate favourable to
physical development and personal beauty, have made
young Englishwomen what they are, at their best.

THE PROGRESS OF TRADE.—There is no better
barometer of the state of trade in the country
than the
returns of goods traffic on the railways (,ayr, the Pa!!
Mall Gazette). From the analysis in the Statist,
appears that last week's returns for seventeen cow'
panies showed an increa-e of £16,000 on an aggregate
of £677,000, or 2i per cent., which is a satisfactory rate
,
of increaqe and tully up to the average of increase i?
go de traffic this year. At the present time it is
especially necessary to remember that trade is Pra.
gressive.
THE SLAUGHTER OF YOUNG ANIMALS.—In refer.
ence ta the subject of killing young animals for foot
arising out of the late notice from Royalty, Bdwar
Marshall, writing to Notes and Queiqes calls attentiot
to the fact that Henry VIII attempted a shoji°
course in respect of veal, The preamble of the stattlts
21 Hen. VIII. c. 8, states that, whereas there used t 6
be a great increise of cattle by the weaning, bring,iol
up, and rearing of calves, now of late the owners
their covetous myndes " have used to sell their young
calves to the butchers, to the dimini-hing of the stock
and increasing of the price; and the Act accordingll
provides that no such calves shall be sold fro°
January 1 to May 1 for three years.
DEFORESTING IN ONTARIO.—It would appear tbat
the process of deforesting Ontario has not yet
any considerable progress. Out of a total of 130,000,u'„„,,
acres of timber land in the province, only 10,000,Lm:,
have been even partially cleared. A Bill is 110"
before Parliament for the encouragement of tree
planting, offering a bonus not to exceed 23 cents. for
each tree of a certain named species, which shall be
planted along a highway or farm boundary line, cr
within six feet of such line. Trees planted alol3l
highways are to be the ptoperty of the owners 0
adjacent lands, but the trees are not to be cut doval
without permission of the authorities. 'Trees plants':
on a farm boundary are to be the joint property oft
owners of the two farms,
AGRICULTURE AND INDUSTRY IN MOZAMBIQUICI
Consul O'Neill has prepared an elaborate statereel'
regarding the condition of agriculture and labour
Mozambique. He states that various agriculturil
industries are taking a firm hold upon that coast,
that the production of valuable articles of export is
steadily and largely increasing. Among the subject°
of special sub•sections of the report are sugar, tobacco.
coffee, opium, cotton, and indigo; but at present oil'
producing seeds, gergelum or sesananm, india-rubbeto,
I calumba root, and orchilla weed form five-sixths °

the exports.
GEOGRAPHICAL TEACHING IN JAPAN.—The sch°°l
of the nobles in Tokio, Japan, has, in the court
behind the school building, a physical map of thet
country between three and four hundred feet long.
is made of turf and rock, and is bordered with pebble*
which look at a little distance much like water.,
Every inlet, river, and mountain is reproduced in thig
model with a fidelity to detail which is simply wonder'
fut. Latitude and longitude are indicated by telegrayb
11
wires, and tablets show the position of the cities.
genious devices are employed in illustrating botanic
studies also. For example, the pine is illustrated IV
a picture showing the cone, leaf, and dissected flower]
set in a frame which shows the bark and longitudifv"
and transverse sections of the wood.

DIDN'T UNDERSTAND.—" What makes the men to.
out between acts?" asked a Cincinnati girl at t v
theatre.—" Oh, they want fresh air, that is all." 1,
"But I can't understand it."—" Understand what
—"Why, I don't see what they want to come WI
wiping the fresh air off their mouths for. Cincinnt
fresh air must be very thick and heavy."--She SV
left in ignorance.
THE EMPRESS OF AUSTRIA.—The Empress
Austria has left Baden enchanted with her sojourn
that place, and promising to return (says the COP,
Journal). Her Majesty, whose stay had been linaitV
to a fortnight, has remained for five weeks. The li
of rest and solitude she has enjoyed coinoil
with her tastes. Every hour was employed, an
yet not one minute of the time wasted on ceremoo,
and etiquette. Her Majesty was accustomed tilt
rise at five o'clock, and to occupy the two fir,B.o
hours in the day in printing with her own hand
poems she is now composing. The portable press
this purpose forms part of the furniture of her ben'
room. At seven o'clock the Empress rode out int°
the solitudes of Ybourg, where the little yellow
salamander is found in great abundance, and seldol
returned home without having made a capture of oo_
or more of these little reptiles as a valuable additioo°
her collection of specimens of natural history, or sone
drawing of the scenery of Ybourg to increase tbe
interest of her album.

THE ASHES OF COLUMBUS.—It appears that a
burg glass manufact,lrer has taken the contract
waking an urn of plate glass for the ashes of Colulobl
(gays The Times). He was buried at the Convent °a
St. Francis, in Seville, but only temporarily, 011,t;
after several funerals, with an interval of snw,,d
years between each, his remains were conveY`p
across the Atlantic and deposited in Ai:aerie%
soil. Finally, his bones were removed to of
Cathedral of- S. Domingo. The custodians,ll
the remains sent a communication to a
burg firm requesting a design for an urn, wi a
the estimate of the cost. The letter stipule
that the urn most be large enough to hold the oasitbe
with the lid open, so that the inscription trial :0
visible; the urn must be ornamental, yet nothingL
the design must interfere with a clear view of tre
casket, while it was particularly stipulated that
urn, when completed, must be graceful and attractive
in appearance, The casket is not large. The 81310
within the urn must be 17 94in. in length, B.loin. 0,
width, and 13•5 in. in depth; and within those d_irn,Le
sions the casket and the dust can be held.
conditions have been accepted, and the work is beirig
proceeded with.
THE APPLE OF THE EYE.—This fruit will be foal°
good food for the mind.—Judy.
its
A RELIC OF OLD LONDON.—The Cock Tavertl4
Fleet•street, London, which is saii to date froo3 thlla
reign of Charles 1., was submitted for sale at
Auction Mart. The property offered was describe,.
as consisting of a lease for a term of eighty years IP,
yearly ground rent of £5OO, a plot of land, having:7:
area of 2,400 ft. with a frontage to Fleet-street of
and a depth of 130 ft. The conditions stated that tr,o
purchaser would have to remove the whole oftiti%
existing buildings and expend £5,500 at least in reb
log. The property was sold for 2,3,610.
ICE POLLS UP WHEAT.—A gentleman who reside:
on the lowlands on the Ohio River, tells how he los1;
field of whet in a curious manner, during the eP,rwet
flueds (says an American paper). He says the cintli
had come up nicely, when a heavy storm of sleet `O,
and covered his farm with a thick coating of ifa,
Before the ice melted, the river overflowed the 0.4
the ice arose to the surface of the water and pulled 40
with it every blade of wheat. The last he saw of v:te
crop it was following his fence down the Ohio, 013 •
road to the Gulf. The field now looks as bare s°
grindstone.
i,„coe
AN OPERA HOUSE ON WHEELS—An opera in,*
on wheels is the latest dramatic novelty in Ao3e,irrif,
and a company, with headquarters at Kansas u"tio
has been organised to build and manage it. It is.ucl
consist of eight railway cars, which can be expan""
by ingenious mechanism into a capacious structoriej
with auditorium and stage complete, and is desigtipoo
for the benefit of communities which do not
facilities for the production of plays. It will run 'he
place to place on the railroads, and carry a pertabr
track upon which it can be switched off and trail
formed into a theatre.
THE MONIS-DE PIETE IN FRANCE. —An official &GI:
merit just issued witn regard to the pawnbroking tnit;is
nese in France, which is entirely in the bands of Al
State, shows that there is at the present time on/37,i,ve
establishments or Monts-cle.Piet4 throughout
country. In nearly three-fourths of bile departnieno
there exist none whatever. The most important
that of Paris, after which come those of Lyons, .%
deaux, Marseilles, Lille, and Rouen. In Oleo,
branches the sums lent represent 82 per cent. on' 671
total for the whole of France. Last year 3,01 m to'
articles were received in pledge in the different Ce

blishments, representing 5,99',948 francs lent.
d
THE CORONATION AT MOSCOW.—A Parliame•„treThyr
paper was issued on Tuesday, containing a suPr./J0
mentary estimate, under the head of Diplo,'sn"
• et
Services, to defray the expenses of Her Male rer
Embassies and missions abroad. The amount;ooo
quired is £6,000. The details of the special
and servicec for which it is required are as folio° .0)
Mo•cow Uoronation.—(l) Rent of house, £2,000 ;aef
expense of transport and incidental charges forb,'"el
Majesty's Ambassador and members of the Erti",,v
and servant, maintenance of ditto, hire of horses of
carriages, and transport of ditto, £2,000 ; (3) cfas
transport and incidental expenses of special Ein'—eeS
£l,OOO ; (4) gratuities, illuminations, and onforeo
expenses, £4ooo—total, £6,000.
ricoo
TOWN AND COUNTRY TEMPERATI7RE.—An Arq-
eeS
scientific journal discusses the lack of accord bell a
the readings of standard thermometers °woe f tbl
persons living at a little distance from the heart,°,/os
city and the publishe3 observations of the °'''fot
Service observer of their locality. The resoolibicli
this discord is the disturbing action of the heat vlOOOO
the city emits. Professor Whitney has made,
pertinent remarks on this subject relating to nusfoct,,
'ions made in London. "It is a well-known„AblY
says the Professor, "that cities are consfae'tber
warmer than the more thinly•inhabited country ctistjas
wise under similar climatic conditions. Stg`
nbc tb° of
prove tbis to be true, and there could be no de,jori
such would be the effect ot an immense aggregn'erel
population within a limited space even if toe re %Iv 0 0
statistics bearing on this question. Many milloris%
tons of coal are burnt in and about London bjC
every year; and the whole mass of brick of 11,',
the city is built is heated during the entire wintee tb°
more or less in the summer, many, degrees sib°
natural temperature."