biglam/hmd_newspapers huggingface dataset:
The Stourbridge Observer, Cradley Heath, Halesowen & District Chronicle.
Stourbridge, West Midlands, England, 1875-08-21

THE POTATO CROP.

The Gardener's Magazine says that "the prevalence
of potato disease cannot surprise, however much it
may trouble, those who take an interest in the sub-
ject. It is with considerable satisfaction we are en-
abled to inform our readers that it is,by no means uni-
versal, and we believe no one distinct geographical
area can be at present , indicated as presenting an
example of the complete destruction of the potato
crop. We have seen disease in the fens and on the
mountains; on the starving land, the fat lands, the
badly-tilled and the well-tilled lands; but in every case
we could find healthy plantations, the present state of
which affords promise of a heavy crop. In many in-
stances, of course, where the plant appears at present
clean and doing well, it will be much damaged by
disease before it is fairly ripe ; but present appearances
favour the belief that the total production of potatoes
in this country will be nearly equal to our require-
ments, and that, consequently, prices will not rule
high. On our heavy land at home the Lapstones are
in a bad state, but the ashleaf section and most of
the Americans are as fine as we have ever seen them, the
cron in many instances being prodigous. The cleanest
crops are on the chalk downs in the south of England,
and the most terribly plague-struck are on the heavy
undrained lands in the east of England. The north
and the west have not escaped, but hitherto have suf-
fered little."

THE WATERSPOUT IN THE VALLEY
OF THE NAHE.
Mr. Christian P. Doll, 79i Sloane-street. London, writes to
The Times with reference to the waterspout which fell in
the Valley of the Nahe, in Rhenish Prussia, which nearly
caused the ruin of the little town of Kim. The fact was
mentioned in a brief telegram published in The Times of the
6th inst., but no details were given. Mr. Doll writes :

"Being a native of Kim (although residing over 40
years in London), L recliVed on Friday. horn the
Mayor and Town Council, further particulars of this
dreadful calamity. The waterspout fell a short dis-
tance above the town in the mountains, at midnight.
The waters of the Ilahnenbach, which falls into the
Nahe by Kim, rose, and rushed down with such force
into the town that all the cellars and houses up to
the first floors were in an instant filled, destroying all
the furniture. Twenty-six persons lost their lives,
five houses were entirely destroyed, and 20.1nore must
be pulled down. The foundations of the old church
were.very much shaken. In it four services have been
performed every Sunday for the last 200 years—two
for the Protestant and two for the Roman Catholic
congregation. The two bridges over the river were
also swept away, and the loss of cattle (which, in those
parts, are all housed) was very great. Thus desolation
stares the poor inhabitants in the face, and they now
appeal to the public and to all Germans, with these
words—' Helft deutsche Briider und helft bald.'" Mr.
Doll adds that he will /be happy to receive donations
for the sufferers.
Stourbridge, West Midlands, England, 1875-08-21

WORCESTERSHIRE. YEOMANRY.

On Tuesday last the Stourbridge troop of the
Worcestershire Yeomanry entered into competi-
tion at the Norton range, near Stourbridge, for the
troop badges and championship. The weapon
used was Westley-Eichards's carbine, and the dis-
tances were 200 and 300 yards, five shots at each
range. The followink are the four best scores :
Trooper J. B. Edge (Kidderminster), 40; Trooper
Turner (Stourbridge), 32; Trooper Davis (Stour-
bridge), 31; Corporal Dealey (Brierley Hill), 28.
Last year the winner of this, and also the regi-
mental prize at Worcester, was Mr. Edge.
Stourbridge, West Midlands, England, 1875-08-21

AN INDIAN ANTHEM.

The Times of India of, the 23rd ult. contains the fol.!
lowing :--`• The Lieutenant Governor of Bengal is now
at Dacca, where he has been feted and entertained by
the new Nawab, Khajah Abdul Gany. His honour is
expected in Calcutta next week, but bow.long .he will
remain there, or where he will qo z tiesxl, is not_knOwn.
He has just finished Cooch Behfir, and as an example
of the enthusiastic Welcomes, which he has everywhere
met with, we give the following translation of an
anthem in his honour's praise which was sung by the
school children on the Rajah's estate Brethren I let
us stand in a row and sing f,orth a hearty welcome to
our much beloved Govertny. Nay Reaves preserve
him who governs this extensive province of Bengal as if
it were a family, andloves all his subjects as fervently as
he does his children. May eternal Providence grant long
life to him at whose command ignorance is quitting the
land, and whose beneficent government is inducing the
light of knowledge to cheer the hearts, of even the
peasants of Cooch Behar, a state not tong ago the
abode of darkness and of ignorance. Let the blessings
of God be showered on him whose indomitable energy
has saved the people of Bengal and of Cooch Behar frolic'
the grim jaws of famine. Let us all feed-our souls with
the sight of such a benefactor to our country. What
have we to offer in return save that pure love which
wells up from the very core of the heart. 'Oh, thou
Patriarchal Governor of our mother country, who lie.'
ferrest before all monuments the devotion of the up-
right heart and pure, accept our humble offering, this
sincere token of our love and esteem. Thou favoured
of Heaven so highly,' may eternal sunshine illuminate
the fair brow of thy fame.'"

MEM. FOR YOUNG LADIES.—When your beau
is on the verge of a proposal, he usually has a quiver
in his voice. This is very 'arrowing—for him—Judy.
Stourbridge, West Midlands, England, 1875-08-21

THE EXECUTION AT JERSEY.

The Daily Telegraph, remarking upon the recent execution
in Jersey, says :
A wretched man, named Joseph Philippe Lebrun,
was recently hanged. at St. Heliers, Jersey: for the
cruel and treacherous murder of his married sister,
whose husband he had also attempted to slay. Although
the a,sassin to the last moment of his existence never
relaxed in his protestations of innocence, there does
not seem to be the slightest reason to doubt that he
was guilty, nor were there the slightest grounds for
justifying a commutation of the sentence passed upon
him. He was a deliberate' cold-blooded, and un-
natural murderer, and So .iety is well rid a him. At
the same time a widely spread feeling of surprise, not
unmineded, on this side of the Channel at least,
with disgust, may arise at learning that " the
provisions of the Private Executions Act not
extending to Jersey "—to which must be added, we
suppose, Guernsey, Alderney, and Sark—the punish-
ment was inflicted in public. On the morning of the
execution about'seven score persons paying quit rent on
property belonging to the Crown were called out and
armed with halberts to form a guard b.tween the con-
demned cell and the ,sciffolcl, And more javelin men
were mustered orntliii3, scaffold itself irckind the. 'drop:
We may be permitted to ask, in the interests of public
decency, why the provisions of the Private Executions
Act do not apply to the Channel Islands. It is suffi-
cientl:v well known that by an odd but harmless fiction
her Majesty the Queen is in those islands styled the
Duchess of Normandy, and that the islanders have
been permitted to retain a number of rusty old laws,
mainly derived from the "Grand Coustumier " of the
French mainland, but the majority of which do not
run in any mischievous degree counter to the course of
Imperial legislation. The private execution of orimi-
Stourbridge, West Midlands, England, 1875-08-21

THE PRINCE AND THE SCHOOL GIRL

Once upon a time (says an American contemporary)
a little Egyptian girl attended a missionary school on
the Isthmus of Suez. This little girl always learned
her lessons well, and on exhibition clays was always
pointed out as the brightest scholar of all her com-
rades. One day an Indian Prince came that way.
He was returning to his native land with the corpse of
his mother, who had died in England, where her son
had been spending his youth acquiring a knowledge of
English life, literature, and customs. His name was
Maharajah Duleep Singh, and he was very, very rich.
In fact, he was so rich, such a gentleman, and so ele-
gant in his social behaviour that there were many of
the great ladies of the court who would have deemed it
an honour to have obtained his hand in marriage.
Well, as were saying, the prince came to the Isthmus,
and being detained there a few days waiting for a ves-
sel, he strolled about the village, seeking to divert his
mind from brooding upon the sorrow that had so re-
cently befallen him. Attracted by a chance view of
the interior of the mission school, it occurred to him
to enter. Having introduced himself to the
teacher by one of his names that did not indi-
cate what a dignitary he was, a little extem-
pore exhibition of the attainments of the pupils
was resolved upon. Of course the pet of the school
was called upon to repeat a piece of poetry. 'This
she did so prettily that the Prince was charmed. The
next day he came again and asked the child, who was
scarcely thirteen years old, to speak the piece once
more. She did so, and the San of the Sun fell
desperately in love with her. When the school was
dismissed he told the teacher what a nobleman he
was, and proposed to marry the little girl on his
return from India. which would be in just
six weeks from that date. In that interval the
future princess was put through a course of instruction
that almost dazed her. But she was an apt
scholar; and when her royal betrothed came
to claim her hand she wa3 nicely Anglicized, and could
manage a long dress quite gracefully. The course
of this true case of true love at first sight ran ever so
smoothly, and, they were married. The Prince took
his child-wife to London, bought a grand palace,
endowed her with all the magnificent jewels he had
inherited from his family, and gave her unlimited
credit at the most fashionable milliners. And they
are still living in England, as happy as happy can be.
The Prince sends ten thousand dollars every year to
the missionary school where he first saw his wife who
has proved worthy of him. It is a very pretty wife,
and all little girls who go to school can find a moral in
it. They should always know their lessons thoroughly
and have a niece of poetry committed to memory, so
that they may be ready to captivate the first dis-
guied grand duke that wanders unawares into their
school-room.— Pictorial World.
Stourbridge, West Midlands, England, 1875-08-21

t

PRICE ONE PENNY.

AND THE ACTS INCORPORATED THEREWITH.

WANTED, a Good General SEIVANI ;
one who understands Cooking; froth 20 1.. 29
years of age.—Apply, 29, flagley-road. .

Agent WANTED with good connection
amongst Brewers and Victuallers, by an old Estab-
lished House in the:Malt Trade. Apply to Maltster,
office of this paper.

WANTED, an Experieneed MANAGER,
for FIBE-CLXY WORKS.—Apply to Messrs.
Harris and Pearson, Stourbridie.

CARTER WANTED, to attend to ONE
HORSE. A good character indispensAble.— I.pnly
Henry Robinson, Stewkins Foundry, near Stonrbridge.

WANTED; a Good ERRAND EOY. Any
reasonable Wages Given.—Apply, Mr. Jawed
Allsop, Architect, fragley-road, Stourbridge.

sTOURBRIDGE IMPROVEMENT ACT,
1866,
Stourbridge, West Midlands, England, 1875-08-21

CONSULT A LONDON PHYSICIAN BY LETTER

WITHOUT FEE.

AR. H. SMITH, the Eminent Specialist fo
J the cure of all debilitating and contagious diseases
will for the benefit of country patients who cannot consult
him personally, on receiving description of there case, send
his opinion, with advice and directions for the most success
ful restoration to health and vigour.

Address, Dr. H. SMITH, 8, Burton Crescent, London, W.C,

GLENFIELD. GLENFIELD

The
Queen's
Laundr(ss
Says this Starch
Is the best
She ever
Used.
GLENFIELD. GLENFIELD
Stourbridge, West Midlands, England, 1875-08-21

PRINCIPAL SOURCES OF HONEY.

We must not for a moment suppose that bees gather
all their rich stores from the garden. If they were to
depend upon the supply from cultivatrd flowers we
should have but little honey to e..!l instead of reaping
a substantial harvest. The chief sources of honey in
this country are the white or Dutch clover arrd the
heather; the buckwheat yields a large quantity, but it
is not cultivated sufficiently largely to make this supply
good. The honey gathered from the heather is dark
coloured, but of a rich wild flavour; this is principally
collected in the autumn. Our stocks are now known
to have the finest honey in April and May; this is
more pure and better flavoured than any other, and is
procured from the clover. Bees kept on open downs or
in the neighbourhood of extensive pasture lands always
pc.7 the best in a pecuniary point of view; they feed
• ,11.- At the clover We spoke recently to a -

principally on b— ty . poor
widow who gains the best part of her living from bee-
keeping—nay, it is her great boast that she has never
troubled the parish for a penny, but her bees have been
a sure source of income. When we have heard nothing
in other quarters but complaints about the wretched
honey harvest, she can often glean about 401 b. of rich
white honey from each stock. So we asked her opinion
as to where her bees pastured. Her reply was quite
characteristic; pointing to a long level stretch of sheep
lands lying before us, she said, "Ah 1 if I kept a
cow, I could not even be allowed to turn her in the
lanes, and if I allowed her to stray in the fields I
should be fined, but they cannot fine my bees, and
these can pasture upon all the duke's lands." The
borage, mustard, and raspberry are also excellent
honey plants, still, being limited in criltivation, the
supply of honey from them is uncertain. We once
tasted a beautiful sample of honey in Liverpool and
upon inquiries we found it came from near New
Brighton. Goingaf ter wards over th e extensive sand hills
on the coast we found it covered with a large quantity
of wild thyme. This gives a richly-flavoured honey,
but not so white and clear as that cf the white clover.
Mr. Pettigrew makes a calculation that a 20-acre field
sprinkled with clover will yield 101 b, of honey per day.
This may appear to many persons slightly exaggerated.
We hope to rever again soon to this interesting sabject
—one, too, of vast importance in a commercial point
of view.—Gardeners' Chronicle.