The Stourbridge Observer, Cradley Heath, Halesowen & District Chronicle.
Stourbridge, West Midlands, England, 1874-11-14 00:00:00

THE STOURBRIDGE OBSERVER.

among troops in the geld could not be otherwise than
disastrous in the extreme. Lately. however, experi-
ments have been made with 0 inch common shells,
which far exceed in effect that of any conducted with
the field service common shelL On this occasion the

bursting element employed was wet gun cotton in lieu
of water. It will be remembered that the danger
hitherto experienced in the employment of this explo-
sive has been obviated by wetting it, a discovery having
been made to the effect that it detonated equally well
wet as dry. Nine-inch shells were placed upright
upon the sands at Shoeburyness, a boarding being
erected around them at a convenient distance, to
confine the fragments. The projectiles being then
filled with some eight or nine pounds of wet compressed
gun-cotton. MA a "detonator,' as described above,
having been fitted into the fuse-hole socket, they were
fired by an ordinary electric fuse. The result was
extraordinary, the shells bursting literally into thou.
sands of pie&s. The effect of such an explosion upon
a vessel's deck among the crew can hardly be over-
estimated. It remains now only to prove whether the
shell filled with gun-cotton and its detonator will stand
the shock of discharge.—Army and Nary Gazetie.

reckoning time, no knowledge of the value of money,
nor even proper names. They call their children,' One,'
'Two,' 'Three,' Am. Their mode of saluting a superior
in to set down upon the earth cross-legged, bow the
head, and. placing their hands together with the palms
upward, raise them three times towards their faces,
as if in the act of casting dust or water upon them-
selves, after which they complacently stroke their long
black beards with both hands three times. Tide mode
of salutation, I believe, in analagous to that of the ancient
Hebrews, while the beard and physiognomy if the
people, in my mind, strongly resemble that nation.
Ancient mining works of a very extensive character
are found upon the island of Jesso, where these people
live, and are mentioned by Professor Pompelly, who
resided there for a period, while in the service of the
Japanese, in his work entitled 'A Tour Around the
World.' I trust you will pardon me for indulging for
a moment in what may seem to you to be a vagary.
We know that Solomon sent forth ships to a place
called Ophir after gold. The rude character of sailing
craft of that period forbids the supposition that they
could have voyaged to either Australia or California.
Sailing, as we are informed, from Arabia eastward, and,
like all small craft, naturally keeping near the shore,
they would, after crossing the northern portion of the
Indian Ocean, reach the Gulf Stream of the Pacific,
which, without effort upon their part, would bear
them to the Japanese Islands. With the death of
Solomon, or with the fall and captivity of the nation,
it is presumable that this commerce with Ophir sud-
denly ceased. In such a case it is fairly presumable
that workmen sent abroad may have been left there
by this accident, or that they voluntarily remained
there rather than return and share in the enslavement
of their people. Only by this theory can I account
for this strange and interesting race of men, for their
customs, which I have mentioned, or for the existence
of these ancient mining works, which is unaccounted
for by Japanese history or Aino legendry.