The Stourbridge Observer, Cradley Heath, Halesowen & District Chronicle.
Stourbridge, West Midlands, England, 1880-10-23 00:00:00

SATURDAY, OCT. 23, 1E SO.

ABSENCE OF THE Su ENGLAND.—The DailY
News remarks :—" Those friendly Zulus who have
returned to their own land after having served t°t
entertain the British public at the Aquarium repef.t
against us an old accusation. They say that they d°
not like England because there is no sun there. Tile3i
declare that they looked eagerly for it for severa
days, but that it put in no appearance. This is thcei
charge which at one time every French writer agree,
in brining against England. A character in one 0'
Dumas? stories declares that England exists in per
petual fog, and there certainly are times when the
observation seems to be not without foundation. But
Zulus go farther. They evidently do not believe that
England even possesses a sun. They would not agree
with the English servant who looked one night at th?
moon through a telescope in the Champs Elys6es rtua
was heard to observe that if there was one thing ta'°r°
than another he despised it was national prejudice,
but that truth compelled him to declare that the En
lish moon was a great deal find' than the Frcncd
moon. The Zulus cannot say that the Zulu sun i 5
much finer than the English sun, for they evideutlY
consider that the British race do not possess that
luminary at all. The Zulus are hard upon our
climate. There are moments, however, when eveli
the most patriotic Briton may feel inclined ten'
porarily to agree with them."
A LETTER OF SYMPATHY FB.OM THE QtEEN.—Tdrs,'
Cleland, mother of Lieutenant-Colonel Cleland, 9tl;
Lancers, whe has lately died from the effects 0'
wounds received in action before Cabul in December
last, has received a letter from the Queen expressing
her Majesty's sympathy and sense of the great loss the
country has sustained in being deprived of the ea'
vices of so gallant a soldier.
SOMETHING LIKE A CROP !—Messrs. Dalryllll3l6:3
wheat farm in Dakota, 27,000 acres in extent, is esti-
mated to average 20 bushels per acre this year, or
540,000 bushels. This would require 13,500 wagon,
loads of 40 bushels each to take it to the railway; ad'
2,160 freight cars, carrying 250 bushels each, to trans'
port it to the eastern market. These wagon loads ill
line, 50 feet each, would extend 120 miles; and th°
train of cars over 12 miles long, if each car occupies
only 30 feet of track.
FoG SPECTRES.—A correspondent of Nature, writing
from Putney, says :—" Having occasion ten days ag°,
to go into my garden about half-past ten o'clock
night I found there was a thick white fog, throng
which, however, a star could be seen here and there
-
I had an ordinary bed-room candlestick in my /laud
with the candle lighted, in order to find the object
wanted. To my great surprise I found that the lighted
candle projected a fantastic image of myself on the
fog, the shadow being about twelve !feet high, and of
an oddly distorted character, just as the spectre of tho
Brocken is said to be. May not the gigantic spirits
of the Ossianic heroes, whose form is composed of mist,
through which the stars can be seen, be derived frail
the fantastic images thrown upon the mountain fog
from the camp fires of the ancient Gaels? In a 10_11
where mists abound a superstitious people might Vol
readily come to consider a mocking cloud-spectre to be
supernatural, though it was really their own image
magnified."
STAMPEDE OF HORSES.—The Times of India,. of
September 25, says :—" The inhabitants of Garden._
Reach were, on the night of the 17th September, the
witnesses of an extraordinary sight. Mr. Mackliu,
one of the well-known importers of horses from A-de'
tralia, had occasion to land from the ship Thessalus
some 2'o animals, and it became a subject of consider'
able anxiety how these 250 were to be conveyed fron
the Reach to the stables prepared for them in Dbur
rumtollah. At last the colonial plan was adoptedf
and it was agreed that the horses should be driven 9
by a few expert Australians. Accordingly at abo°
ten o'clock at night all was ready for a start. In the
dark compound itself, the drivers armed with the
traditional stock whip managed to keep the horl
under some sort of control, but the instant the ro g
was reached, the leader caught sight of the glare °L
the gas lamps and all was over. Breaking away frail
their would-be masters, the mob, in a state of abe°'
lute madness, dashed down the Garden Reach Road,
over Hastings Bridge, and on to the Maidan.
still kept well together, but, after skirting t""
fort, formed themselves into little bands to recon'
noitre the strange land. All night long men were eliv
ployed seeking these horses, and there is not o°B
section of Ualcutta that cannot boast of havill,g
effected the capture of its four or five head. UP
Saturday, we believe, some 60 or 70 horses remaine
to be accounted for. Some went so far as to Pel;
Howrah a visit, and four met with an untimely de3t
in Tolly's Nullah."

HUNTING A MAN-EATING TlGER.—lndian paP
just received report that a man-eating tiger, whle
had killed fifty persons during the last three ye3rs4
has been shot at Chakrata. This animal had
the terror of a large tract of country. On Sept.
leaving his usual haunts, the tiger appeared at
ban and killed two men close to the forest officer,
garden, one body only being found. On the mornifi°,
of the 15th he killed a bullock a mile and a half fr°T
Chakrata. The forest officer, Mr. A. Smythief,
Colonel Fitzroy, sth Fusiliers, and most of the officg;
in garrison then made arrangements to surround.wo
spot where the tiger was last seen. Several solckehe
also volunteered. After about two hours' beating
tiger was "marked down " under a cliff. Nothil
would persuade him to leave his cover, and it was
until a party with five or six guns advanced to
spot where he was lying that a shot was possible, (3,
Smythies drawing first blood. The tiger then bolh.tf
receiving the fire of several rifles, and was evento°7o
killed on the Jadi road, about 400 yards from scbtle
he was first hit. The Government reward Prwier-
tiger. was 500 rupees. He was a small but veryP'' bee
ful animal,measuring as he lay seven feet eight in°
from his nose to the tip of his tail.
*alb'
ON Pras.—The pig is the fireside pet, esp,e,
when he's cut up. His motto is "I ham here. .1;;:ii
suffer from measles, but after an application wn't,ii
sharp knife, and a good hot water bath, they are quie'of
"cured."- Pigs are called swine, probably becausie io
their hocks. These animals are very hardy. anu
some places are ironically called pig iron. Whe%
pig is married he wears a ring through his nose. Aga
he knows the way a sow-er wife will lead him.
never wear but one garment, and that is known as
pig's tie.
de
FasMON's SLAVES.—An American lady tlins
nounces fashion's follies : "The fashionable w°l/5
says to her dressmaker, 'Do what you will with n/fo
tie up my feet or straighten my arms till use of the'o",,
becomes impossible, deprive my figure of draperY,the
upholster it like a window frame nay, set me in to
centre of a moveable tent, make me a nuisance 4
myself and everybody else, but array me so tit'ile
people shall look at me, and so that I shall be in
fashion."
BARRELS PRO3I WOOD PULP.— An American iti/le;
ventor, although wood is cheap in his country, 111,1'71-
barrels of wood pulp, which for strength and 01.1
bility can give the wooden productions lural),Be9
waght and a good beating. 'l'lle-wood, small Veto,
will obviously answer, is pulped by the aid of 5te310
and is submitted to a pressure of about 400 tens on
square inch; the body of a barrel, for instance, hea,o
moulded in one piece, and the heads also moulcle,(l,!t,
a similar manner, being subsequently put into Pito
Various sizes of tubs, casks, and other vessels are tPtir
moulded, and besides being stronger than those put.
together by the cooper, they are said to be fifty per
cheaper. A cask thus made is as homogenous
tin-can, and as water-tight.
A NEWSPAPER IN THE WILDS.—The rem).— co
Macleod, in the Rocky Mountains, Dominioill,o
Canada, has its newspaper. The Rev. J. M'Leall bf
started the Excelsior, an eight page journal, 9irt.
7in. in lithogram. •
A WHITE HEADED MOLE.—Last week, whe'ioto
mole-catcher was prosecuting his labours on the e 6 the
of Dysart, belonging to the Right Honourable,* a
Earl of Rosslyn' in Fifeshire, he found a mole Noyi.ic•
pure white head, in one of his traps, and as a rale o
able specimen of this underground worker he
public exhibition of the specimen.—" N in
and Water. t(I
1,0
LECTURES ON AGRICULTURAL SCIENCE.
Burghley, M.P., writes to The Times to call atten"iog
to the lectures on agricultural science now be 11
deliaiered in various parts of the countlireo
Mr. Buckmaster :—" Without hearing an ad di
from him it is impossible to imagine how
valuable information he can impart, and MY
in writing is to urge the agricultural world to
allow any opportunity of attending his lectnre?to
escape them. I am, moreover, anxious to ei°loer4
warmer interest in the matter by reminding ni',kbeif
how great are the facilities thus placed withinakotli
reach by the Science and Art Department at tbe
Kensington. All who are interested in promotinc„ce,
agricultural education of the country could tbe 6er
for their respective neighbourhoods, obtain thefroo
vices of Mr. Butkmaster, and I am. sure that Oh
an hour spent in his company they will deriv°
enjoyment and instruction.'' jeo
GENEROUS BENEPACTIONS.—Legacies have beerrlijeth
by the late Mrs. Susan Gorery, of Maison,
Dover, to the following charities :—To the I%OIA
Sea-bathing Infirmary, £5,000; the Dover 1-10.1cocer
£l,OOO ; the Dover Sailors' Home, £1,000; the "'elesg
Orphanage, £OO ; the National Refuge for
and Destitute lioys Bloomsbury and St.
£3,000; the Hospital for Diseases of the ;iOtY
Golden-square, London, £500; the Kent Co
0e
H ospital, £1,000; the Corporation °/
Sons of the Clergy, £3,000; King's College 140000;
£5,000; the Kent and Canterbury Hospital tile
' f
the Church Missionary Society' £2,000; and to 450-
Ragged School Union, £2,000. To the incumbelitotl,
St. James's, Dover • St. Mary's, Dover ; Char relb
Dover; Christ Church, Dover; and of Trinity Ch°ioa
Dover, £5OO each, to be applied towards
of poor poor children in their respective parishes. 1,
THE GULF STB.EA3I.--The Americans, sais..,'•,lC&-
ing, are just now making a special survey of the -e1
Stream, that interesting ocean river which till\c'd
the Atlantic and brings the tepid waters of thepicAl
Indies to wash our western shores. The zteanier 00.;
Commander Bartlett, is engaged in the work, ''''),teayA
curious discovery already made by her is the
of a submarine table-land across the course
stream. The Blake ran a line of soundings alt
axis of the stream between latitudes 32 deg..;" ,
lati
33 deg. 30 min. N., and the depths obtained s''
from 233 to 450 fathoms. At the most norther 4,
tude the depth suddenly increased to 1,380
and Commander Bartlett is of opinion timt t.,11° ele
,4ber.i."
tion extends from South Carolina to the P,'t
Bahamas, an opinion which will be taated ne'
by special soundings.
i ids
RATE-AIDED LIBRAIIIES.—Some years sn.- a
A.lakillop, a wealthy resident of Bath, purchak`op, fbe,
presented to the city an extensive building', ,notA
provisional understanding that it should beccane,‘; awe
aided library. Many persons gave books to 'go tl'o
aided the institution financially. Three yearl
ratepayers were asked to accept the gift and ;seo
rate to maintain the institution. The burge-bierl
fused. The library AVEiS then carried on by to
tion, and another appeal has now been rnanece'',l
burgesses, to whom it was explained that the ra noaPcp
not, under the new law, exceed a penny in the rvirlil
without their option being taken. The decisiorlic
was made known recently, was decidedly af,
rate-aided library, the majority of opponen
nearly 2,000. The contest has caused much
ment in the borough, and many meetings his
held. The value of Mr. Makillop's gift was *•"''
is believed the' institution will now be closed.

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