The Stourbridge Observer, Cradley Heath, Halesowen & District Chronicle.
Stourbridge, West Midlands, England, 1881-12-10 00:00:00

St. Paul's Cathedral will on possess the biggest
bell in the United Kingdom, so big, indeed, that the
Midland Railway Company have declined to be
responsible for its transport from Loughborough to
London, and it will therefore, have to be conveyed
by road. At present the mighty mass, which has ab-
sorbed something like twenty-one tons of molten
bell-metal, is cooling, a process which will occupy
several weeks. Its removal to the Cathedral, its
being placed in position, and the tone of its note,
will be matters of considerable- public interest.
The country which, of all others in Europe, is
especially fond of great bel:s, is Russia. There
is one in Moscow weighing 128 tons. The Chinese
have one of 53 tons at Pekin; the great bell of
Notre Dame in Paris immortalised by Victor Hugo,
is 17 tons in weight; Great Peter of York is 10 tons;
Great Tom of Oxford is 7 tons. Up to this time the
largest bell in these islands is Big Ben of West-
minster, which weighs about 13i tons, and whose
sonorous tones may be heard in the stillness of night
for a considerable distance.
The success of the French as cooks is well-known
and one of the greatest sources of satisfaction to an
Englishman on visiting Paris, and who passes several
hours in the clear pure air which distinguishes that
city, is the enjoyment of the excellently-prepared
food which is placed before him. Cookery has never
been a strong point with the English people; but
the steps which have for some years been taken in
this direction show that the importance of the subject
is becoming more and more appreciated. The
deputation which lately waited upon Earl Spencer
and Mr. Mundella bore witness to this in a remark-
able way. They asked the Education Department
for a grant in aid of cookery being taught throughout
the country, an 1 to allow it to take the place of other
but less useful classes of subjects for which grants are
allowed. It was pointed out to the Ministers that the
knowledge of cookery would conduce to home com-
fort, save much drunkenness, and obviate quarrels
which now, it is feared, too often arise between
husband culd wife, when the former, after his
day's work, comes home to a meal consisting of
Indifferently cooked food. Although the Lord Pre-
sident of the Council was enabled at the time only to
promise thi,t the subject should have his consideration,
there is little doubt that it will receive a great deal of
attention, and that this feeling will increase with the
advance of time and the recognition of the importance
which attaches to the question.

South Kensington has long been famous in connec-
tion with exhibitions of all descriptions; and one is
open there now, and will remain so for borile months,
which is of peculiar interest to the dwellers in great
cities. Those who live in small communities, where
the air is clear, and no smoke ascends from the factory,
scarcely appreciate at its true value their freedom from
the legion of abominations which contaminate the
atmosphere of a large community. Chief amongst the
agents of pollution is smoke itself, and se great has the
evil become in London, that after years of discussion
as to how it could be prevented, an exhibition of
smoke-abatement apparatus has been opened at South
Kensington, which it may be hoped will eventuate in
ultimate relief. The principal contributor to the
volumes of smoke sent into the air is without doubt
the kitchen fire; and out of a total of 236 entries,
there are 103 comprising open coal fire grates, stoves
of all kinds, kitcheners, kitchen ranges, draught regu-
lators, base burners, and so on, devised either to pre-
vent smoke from such fuel as naturally yields it, or to
consume smokeless fuel. It is, perhaps, too much to
expect a householder to alter the construction of the
whole of the grates in his dwelling; but there can be
little doubt that if a beginning were made in the
kitchen, a very sensible reduction would soon be per-
ceptible in th 3 quantity of smoke poured forth into
the atmosphere in which great populations are com-
pelled to live and move and have their being.
Another exhibition of considerable interest is pro-
posed for next year, and being of an international cha-
racter will command world-wide interest. It is a col-
lection of ship models. With all the skill of our ship-
wrights, there can be little doubt that we have not yet
advanced beyond the necessity of learning, and we shall
now bave an opportunity of receiving suggestions from
the Itafians and the French. Formerly there was an idea
that in times long gone by people did not know how to
build aship; but an inspection of the Norweaian vessel
built a thousand years ago, and but recently dug up
effectually dispelled this notion. The Tyrians and the
Ylacenicians were accustomed to make their way across
sUle Mediterranean in their primeval barges; the
creeks and the Persians improved upon these when
they fought at Salamis; and the two, three, and four-
galleyed banks of oars constructed by the Romans
and the Carthaginians were, for their day, very
efficient ships of war. The floating monstersi of to-
day have really yet to prove their value n actual war-
fare, for the naval supremacy of Great Britain was
,won, not by ironclads, but by the wooden walls of
,whose reputation Englishmen are so justly proud, and
.of which some excellent specimens may yet be seen
in Portsmouth Harbour.