The Stourbridge Observer, Cradley Heath, Halesowen & District Chronicle.
Stourbridge, West Midlands, England, 1881-01-01 00:00:00

Misrellaneaus &tettigentt.

HOME, FOREIGN, AND COLONIAL.

WICKEDNESS !—How do you know that mat-rimony
is favourable to living to a good age ?—Well, don't
you know, because yery few spinsters you may meet
with ever get beyond twenty-nine.—Judy.
AN ANCIENT CUSTOM—In te afternoon of Christ-
mas Day the ancient custom of serving up a boar's
head, "bedecked with bays and rosemary," was duly
observed at Queen's College, Oxford. The publil were
admitted as usual by the Provost and Fellows, and
the capacious hall was crowded to excess. At five
o'clock the blast of a trumpet proclaimed that the pro-
cession was ready, and preceded by the senior mem-
bers of the college and followed by Mr. Dobiglas, the
senior commoner of the society; Mr. Dodds, the col-
lege organist; the ch,oristers, and the singing men,
the heal, adorned with flags, evergreens, &c., was
borae slowly on a silver salver on the shoulders of two
waiting men up the middle of the hall, Mr. Douglas
singing the solo part of the celebrated Boar's Head
song, and the choir giving the chorus with excellent
effect. On reaching the high table, the head was de-
posited and formed the chief dish of the annual Christ-
mas dinner, which was attended by the Provost and
members of the college in residence and their friends.
The ceremony of presenting resident members of the
college with a needle threaded with black, blue, and
red silk on New Year's Day is also observed at
Queen's College.
THE GOOD GRAMMAR LESSON.—Schoolmistress.
What is an object? Spiteful Young Lady. You are,
miss. [Has her ears boxed, and properly, too.]—
Judu.

A GIGANTIC CHRIE3TBIAS TRER.—A Paris telegram
states that on Christmas Day 4,000 Alsatian children
had their usual Christmas tree, the Hippodrome,
instead of the Chabelet, being necessary this year to
accommodate the throng of children parents, and
visitors. The tree came from the Vosges, and was
'loft. high. It was surrounded with emblems of the
chief towns in Alsace-Lorraine. The objects with
which it was loaded had cost 60,000 f., and twigs from
it, with a small tricolour attached, were distributed by
the children among the visitors' M. Gambetta being
handed one by the daughter of the ex-stationmaster at
Reichshofen.

AVERAGE PRICES OP BRITISH CoßN.—The following
are the average prices of British corn for the week
ending Dec. 25, as received from the inspectors and
Officers of Excise :—Wheat, 425. Bd.; barley, 31s. 3d.;
oats, 20s. 3d. per imperial qr. Corresponding week
last year :—Wheat, 475. id. ; barley, 37a. lid.; oats
20s. 10d.

THERE'S A USE on EVERYTHING.—SmaII Child.
"B n E &n—bread."—Nurse. "Now, of course, you
know what bread is made from, and what it is for?"
—Small child. "It's made from flour and yeast, and
everybody knows what it's for."—Smaller child. "Yes,
I should tink so: it's to put jam and treacle and butter
on, that's what it's for."—Fur.
LOST IN THE SNOW.—A shepherd, while crossing a
moor near Inverary on Tuesday, came upon the
apparently lifeless body of a woman, who, under
•medical treatment, rallied. She states that for three
days and nights she had lain in the snow, having
while making for Inverary, become insensible from
the cold. Her feet are Urribly frostbitten, and will
have to be amputated.

THE PATENT Lews.—ln London, the other evening,
Mr. A. T. 'l,Valmisley, read a paper. on "The Patent
Laws, and their Influence on Trade," before the Civil
and Mechanical Engineers' Society, in the course of
which he said that it was evident that trade was
greatly influenced by the patent raws, inasmuch as
their prosperity as a nation depended upon the success
of their manufactures, which owed much to inventors.
The United States were able to undersell us in our
own market on account of their labour-saving
machinery, fostered and encouraged by cheap patent
laws, and that notwithstanding the fact that Americans-
had to pay more for materials and labour than English
manufacturers, America was becoming our principal
competitor in many things. In America inventors
could obtain a patent for seventeen years at a cost of
£7, while in England £175 for fourteen years was
demanded. The fact was that while the Society of
Arts encouraged invention to increase our trade, the.
Government repre'esed invention by the peteut law,

A NEW MATERIAL FOR SHOES.—Mica has been
applied to a new use—that of fashioning it into
middle soles to boots and shoes. nut invention, ac-
=ding to the American ManufacturPr, consists of a
sheet of mica imbedded in thin coatings of cement,
and placed. in the boot or shoe under and adjacent to
the insole, the upper leather of the shoe lapping over
its edges, or next under the filling, or between the
filling and the outer or bottom sole, and covering the
upper space from the toe to the instep.
QUITE RIGHT, Too.—New Master: "Hang it,
Thompson I—Johnson, or whatever your confounded
name is—didn't you hear me ask you, five minutes
ago, .whether-the cook had made a rice pudding
to-day?" .New- Well—yes—sir—l—did."
New Master: "Then why don't you go and see?"
New Butler :, "Well, you know best, sir, I dare say;
but, upon my word of 'honour, if this is a house rice
pudding comes up to the dining-room in, I should like
to give notice."—Judy.
RAILWAY TRAFFIO IN AMERICA.—A remarkable
state of affairs, says the American Manufacturer, is
existing on the great railroads of the country, which
may be described as suffocation from over-pressure of
business. There are indications of a "car famine"
which will cause serious trouble to many kinds of
business. It would scarcely be thought possible that
our trunk roads with their magnificent equipment of
cars and engines could be overcrowded with freight,
but it seems to be a fact at present writing. The
difficulty seems to be rather due to a lack of motive
power, or else a lack of proper distribution of it,
than to a lack of cars. There are said to be miles of
cars loaded with freight on the line of the Pennsyl-
vania railroad waiting to be moved to their destina-
tion, and the sidings are so full that they cannot be
moved as promptly as usual. This state of affairs
creates an artificial scarcity of cars by removing large
numbers from active service, and keeping them stand-
ing idle, alth'eugh full of freight, when they should
be in motion, and at the same time creates a blockade
which prevents the rapid transfer of the freight,
that is in motion. We learn that several freiFht
depots are refusing to receive freight until the piles
now on their platforms can be moved, and there is
danger of furnaces going out of blast and mills stop-
ping from scarcity of fuel and other material, and all
caused by a railroad•blockade.

A TiLLEGRAPHIC MISTAKE I—An American contem-
porary says that probably the worst blunder ever
made by the telegraphists was one that occurred in
the case of a St. Louis merchant, who, while in New
York, received a telegram informing him that his wife
was ill. He sent a message to his family doctor, ask-
ing the nature of the sickness, and if there was any
danger, and received promptly the answer, "No
danger. Your wife has had a child. If we can keep
her from having another to-night, she will do well."
The mystification of the agitated husband was not
removed until a second inquiry revealed the fact that
his indisposed lady had had a "chill."
A NOVEL PROJECT.—Among the private bills deposi-
ted for the ensuing session of Parliament is one of a
somewhat novel description, its leading provision being
the abolition of smoke, fogs, and impure air in large
buildings, (sAys the Daily Telegraph). For some time
past Captain Douglas Galton, CB., F.R.S., Mr. Le
.Fevre, CE., and other engineers have been taking
observations as to the altitude of fogs and
smoke over London. The result proves that at
a height equal to the Victoria 'rower or the
dome of St. Paul's, owing to the moisture of the
upper atmospheric strata, the air over the metro-
polis is particularly free from impurities. The bill
proposes to supply, by means of a small pipe fixed to
the highest part of our principal buildings, and with
the aid of a fan, to bring down the pure air from
above and force it into buildings such as St. Paul's
and the Houses of Parliament, thus displacing the
fogs and smoke and all impure air. At the same
time, by passing this pure air through a heated
chamber, the buildings can be warmed. The other
feature of the Bill is the synchronising and fixing of
clocks in the chief streets and public places of
London, by means of pneumatic motive power trans-
mitted through tubes, a system which has been found
io answer admirably in Paris.
THE WONDERS OF SCIENCE.—The Principal (from
the City, through the Telephone, to the Foreman at
the "Works "). "How do you get on, Pat?" Irish
Foreman (in great awe of the instrument). "Very
well. Sir. The goods is sent off." The lkincipal
(knowing Pat's failing). "What have you got to
drink there?" Pat (startled). " Och ! look at that
flow! It's me breath that•done it I "—Punch.
SHORT-WEIGHT COIN.—It is stated by Mr. R. H.
Hill, superintendent of the operative department of
the Royal Mint (says the City Press), that the pur-
chase of dirt adhering to gold costeno less than £3ll.
per 1,000,000 sovereigns, and £334 per 2,000,000 half-
sovereios. The delicate calculation, it is said, was
made by washing coin, which proved that the loss
of weight on 1,000 sovereigns was 0 'OB oz., and 0043 oz.
on 1,000 half-sovereigns.

INQUESTS IN MIDDLESEX.—A report has been issued
by Dr. Hardwicke, coroner for Central Middlesex,
from which it appears that last year he held 1,598 in-
quests at a cost of £5,805 45., or an average of £3 Bs. 11d.
for each inquest.. No fewer than 228 persons died, as
the juries found, from disease of the heart, 168 from
disease of the lungs, 94 from disease of the brain and
convulsions, and 85 horn apoplexy. Deaths of chil-
dren from suffocation in bed numbered 135, and in al
these cases verdicts of "Accidental death" were
returned. Forty-six persons died through injuries
caused by being run over in the streets, and 43 from
the effects of injuries caused by falling
.down in the
etreet., 1 dsilz iv:milted from :incidental poisoning,
Three persons only weselltilled machinery, and 67
succumbed to the results of burns and scalds.

Tua Pus 011' AMERICA.—An occasional corres- •
pondent of the New York, Tribune sends from the
Pacific coast an interesting account of San Francisco,
the wood-built Paris of America. Owing to the dread
of earthquakes and the influence of the climate,
which gives an unwholesome dampness to houses with
thick walls, nearly all the city is built of wood. You
can walk for two miles alqng some streets without
seeing a single building of brick or stone. Every
spring all the houses are painted white. It is on Sun-
day, he says, that the Parisian aspect of San Francisco
is most apparent. Three-fourths of its population
ignore the religious aspect of the day. All the concert
halls and theatres are open at night, and the day is
spent in picnics, games at base ball, and out-of-door
amusements.

THE CITY OF LONDON COMPANIES.—The Citizen
states :—"Seventy-eight of the 89 Livery Companies
of the City are in possession of over 1,000 trusts,
representing a capital of half-a-million of money, or
an income of nearly £190,006 a year. Considerably
more than half (If this sum is spent in pensions and
special gifts of money, coal, food, and clothing,"

A DANGEROUS MINE.--'-A burning coal mine is now
being worked in Pennsylvania, where it has been on
fire for four years. When first the conflagration
broke out the mine was abandoned; but gradually
the flames so spread as to reach a neighbouring col-
liery, where the miners are now endeavouring to arrest
the progress by isolation. An enormous tiench is
being dug round the fire-area, and in one place 100
men are working in a vein immediately below the
burning coal, where they suffer fearfully from the
heat and sulphureous vapours. , Every time they blast,
the men are in imminent danger from the sulphur
and volumes of dangerous gas, while the coal itself is
so hot that it blisters the hands, and comes up per-
fectly warm to the surface.
THE PRIME MINISTER.—Mr. Gladstone completed
his 71st year on Wednesday, having been born at
Liverpool on December 29, 1809.

•
RAILWAY CARRIAGE LIGHTING,—For some time past
the officials of the London and South-Western Railway
Company have had under trial on their line Pintsch's
system of lighting railway carriages by means of cm.
pressed oil gas. The results having proved perfectly
satisfactory, measures have been taken for lipting up
a section of the company's carriages upon this system.
For this purpose, and as an initiatory step, small gas-
works have been constructed at Clapham-junction,
and were opened a few days since in the presence of
some of the officials of the South-Western and other
railways. The works consist of a retort house with
condensers, a washer, purifiers, a meter, and a gas-
holder. There is a compressing engine for pumping
the gas from the gas-holder into wrought-iron tanks,
where it is stored under a pressure Of 1501 b. per square
inch. For delivering the gas to the carriages, which
are fitted with wrought-iron receivers, a number of
filling posts are fixed at intervals on a gas-distributing
main, laid in the ground along a siding. To supply
the carriage receivers, a flexible hose is slipped on to
the filling-post and connected with the receiver on the
carriage, the gas being admitted into and stored in the
receiver at a normal pressure of 901 b. per square inch.
The results of this method of illumination are found
t6-be in every way satisfactory, both to the companies
who have adopted it and to the travelling public who
use it.

M.P. FOB CHRISTMAS.—Mince-Pie.—Punch.
A PENNSYLVANIA DlANA.—According to the Scran-
ton Republican Miss Merrill, aged eighteen, can row a
boat, shoot a gun, or trap a bear as skilfully as any
man in the county. A few days ago she started to
row across a pond, carrying her rifle slung over her
back, when she discovered an object moving in the
gger the buck made a
closer
She
dew hthateir r
t was
aifle
' instead of reaching
)prhernndenc opulledaatdhihm
thei
ag caubl
tslkeck, making an ugly
rl
wound. The buck, enraged at the pain struck the
boat with its forelegs, shattering the frail bark. The
boat sank, leaving Miss Merrill in ihe water with the
isawtunnsa-ddt mdefierar:re akdn immensed
enteredovuAeupon
she
vnh: approaching
movement,
infuriated. animal. However, she was plucky and
couldswim. She grabbed the buck by the horns, and,
deliberately, drawing her hunting-knife, she plunged
it into the deer's neck, killing him almost instantly.
She then swam to shore, about an eigth of a mile.
When dressed the buck weighed over 2751 b. This is
the eighteenth deer Miss Merrill has killed.
A.MERIOAN WlNES.—European vine-growers must
look to their culture if they do not care to be distanced
by their American rivals, for the grape and wine in-
dustry is making great strides there (says Land and
Water.) For example, it is estimated that at Mis-
souri the 1,500 ares of vines under cultivation pro-
duced last year 500,000 gallons of wine. That Sane-
tusky, 0., and its vicinity, 4,000 acres, produced
16,000,000 pounds of fruit; California 60,000 acres of
grapes, and yet viniculture is said to be in its infancy
there. What will it be when arrived at maturity?
The disastrous failures in the European vineyards of
late have given an impetus to the American industry,
and with plenty of money, experience-and enterprise,
excellent results may be looked for from America.
EATING GLASS.—A correspondent of the Pall Mall
Gazette writes :—The feat of eating glass, or at least
breaking it with the teeth, is not confined to dervishes
or conjurors by profession. Jan Huygen van Line-
choten makes the following statement concerning Sir
Richard Grenvile, the hero of the Boven7e :—" He was
of so bard a complexion, that as he continued among
the Spanish captains while they were .at dinner or
supper with him, he would carouse three or four
glasses of wine, and in a bravery take the glasses be-
tween his teeth and crash them in pieces and swallow
them down, so that oftentimes the blood ran out of
his mouth without any Itarria at all unto him,- and this
was told me by divers credible persb'ns that many
time ?stood And beheld him,"