The Stourbridge Observer, Cradley Heath, Halesowen & District Chronicle.
Stourbridge, West Midlands, England, 1881-09-17 00:00:00

HOME, FOREIGN, AND COLONIAL.

A TEMPERANCE DRINK.—Among the thirsty ones
yesterday hunting up and down Woodward avenue for
something to quench thirst was a man in rusty black,
who entered a drug store and softly inquired: "Have
you a temperance drink?" "Two or three of 'em.
Will you take soda water or ginger ale ? " " Well,
now, our society does not regard either of those as a
strictly temperance drink. Both are associated with
stronger liquors." " How would root beer answer?"
"Suspicious—suspicious," was the whispered reply.
"Ah ! I've got it now!" "Ah ! " "I can give
you a straight temperance drink as cool as ice, but it
comes high." "How much ? " "Ten cents a glass."
"Very well," said the old man, as he put down his
dime. The druggist was absent only a minute and
then returned and placed a glass of liquid before him.
The old man drank half of it, smacked his lips and
asked: "May I ask what you call it?" " Certainly ;
it is called water. I just drew it from the hydrant."
The excursionist set the glass down much harder than
he needed to, buttoned his 'coat, and with a glance
meant to reduce the druggist's weight to 120 pounds
in five seconds marched out as stiff as a bean-pole, and
the street after a lemonade flavoured wieh
peppermint essence.—Detrait Free Press.
PLANTING SPRING CABBAGp.—The plants intended
to furnish the crop of cabbages for supplying the table
during the latter part of the spring and the early part
of the summer of next year must be planted out before
the month on which we have just entered has far ad-
vanced. After the middle of the month there is
hardly time for the plants to become well established
before the winter, and when not well rooted they
suffer more or less from very wet or severe weather.
A good distance at which to put the plants in rows is
15 inches for the small-growing sorts and 18 inches for
the large kinds, and the rows should be 18 inches
apart. In gardens of which the soil is naturally cold
and wet it is a good plan to allow only half the distance
between the plants in the rows, and then if they all
survive the winter every alternate plant can be drawn
out. Or if it should so happen that a portion only
live through the winter, no difficulty will be expe-
rienced in making up blanks. Amateurs especially
who purchase plants, and consequently have no re-
serve from which to draw in the spring, should cer-
tainly adopt this plan, for the plants are cheaper in
the autumn, and those which occupied a position in the
open will be far superior to those which have Lre-
mained in the seed bed.—Gardeners' MaAzine.

crossed

OSTRICH FRATHERS.—The French consul at Tripoli
directs attention to the remarkable increase in the
quantity of ostrich feathers despatched thence to
France last year. The total value is estimated at
nearly 5 millions of francs, against less than 3i
millions in the previous year. This increase is mainly
attributable to the fall in the price, consequent upon
the arrival in England of great quantities of feathers
from the Cape .of Good Hope. In England it is re-
marked that the Cape specimens are preferred, as
being perfectly white and full feathered, and lending
themselves easily to those harmonious tints of colour
in vogue nowadays. In Paris, North African feathers
oeem to be held in less disfavour, and hence strenuous
efforts are being made to acalimatise ostrithes from

Tripoli in Algeria.
BATTLE PANORAMAS.—An interesting fact with re-
gard to battle panoramas has come to light. They
are not, as generally believed, a new invention. In
1818 a panorama of the Battle of Waterloo, executed
under the patronage of the Duke of Wellington and
the Prince of Orange, was exhibited at Brussels, and
was afterwards taken to Amsterdam and to Aix-la-
Chapelle, on the occasion of the Congress, when it was
visited by the Emperors of Austria and Russia and
the King of Prussia. The inventor of the circular
panoramas is said to have been Mr. Robert Fulton,
who, in 1799, obtained from the French Government
the exclusive privilege for ten years of exhibiting cir-
cular panoramas in France.
METCH Too BAD.—What useful beast of burden is
to be found in the conjunction of the noisiest military
adjunct and the most peaceful farm attachment ?—The
drummer-dairy.--Funny Folks.
THE MILITARY ESTABLISHMENT.—Recent returns
shows that were stationed on the let inst., in England
and the Channel Islands, 11 regiments of cavalry, 41
battalions of infantry, 11 batteries of Royal Horse
Artillery, 68 batteries of field and garrison artillery,
and 22 companies of Royal Engineers. In Scotland
the total establishment is represented by only one
regiment of cavalry, two battalions of infantry, as
many batteries of artillery, and a company of Royal
Engineers; while it is still deemed necessary to
maintain in Ireland six regiments of cavalry, 25 bat-
talions of infantry, three batteries of Royal Horse
Artillery, eight batteries of field and garrison artil-
lery, and three c,empanies of Royal Engineers, or
about 30,000 men.
A DEFINITION.—Can you tell what is meant by
" Fair " Trade ?—Why, certainly. Lollipops, merry-
go-rounds, iced drinks, Aunt Sallys, and gingerbread-
nuts.—Fun.
A SCIENTIFIC INVESTIGATION.—The snake had
evidently not tasted food since last summer—you
know they sleep all winter—and quick as a flash he
darted at the lizard, but, as the boy says, he got left.
The little fellow was around the box lire a shot, but
finally the snake cornered him and caught him by the
claw. Now, a toad or frog will squirm around and
face a snake and get demoralized generally, and give
it a chance to catch hold of its head, but my lizard
knew a game worth two of that. When the snake
touched him he turned his head directly away. The
snake tried every way he could to edge up and get the
little fellow by the head, so he went to work to
swallow his tail first. He stretched out his jaw and
planted his long teeth into the legs and gradually
worked the body into his mouth with the smaller
teeth. When he had taken in as much as he could in
this way the long fangs were loosened and thrown
ahead and fresh hold taken, each side of the mouth
edging ahead in turn. Nothing could stand this pres-
sure long, and in ten minutes half of the patient
lizard was out of sight. He was only waiting his turn,
and it soon crme ; the snake's lips had reached his
neck, when) erations ceased. There were four or
five spines as sharp as needles' pointing out every
which way, that put an end to the swallowing busi-
ness. I didn't see the lizard laugh; he must have felt
like it, for he wasn't hurt in the least. It took the
snake half an hour to get rid of him, but it tried two
or three times to swallow him. At every jump the
lizard turned his back so that the spines faced the
snake, and at last I separated them. Yes, it was
rather cruel, but I looked at it as a scientific investiga-
tion.—Enchester Democrat.
BY THE "SAD SEA WAVES."—Terribly Sarcastic
Old Gentleman: "It appears, madam, that you are
fond of music (?)."—lngenuous Young Thing: "Oh,
yes! I doat on it !"—[Joy of band. "Over the
Garden Wall" all out of tune for another twenty
minutes.—Judy.
SUNDAY DRINKING.—For a long time a good deal
of drinking on the Liverpool boundary has resulted
from the diversity of the city and county hours of
Sunday trading. The county magistrates adopted
the hours of the Act—from half-past twelve until half.
past two—as the trading time in the middle of the
day, while the city bench retained the old local hours
—from one o'clock until three. As a consequence,
crowds of thirsty people have for years been in the
habit of walking over the boundary from all parts of
the city to take advantage of the earlier opening of
county public-houses and then recrossing the boundary
to take advantage of the later closing time in the city.
The magistrates of the city
Shave just decided by a
majority to assimilate Liverpool hours to those of the
county in respect of what is known as " dinnerr
beer" time on Sundays. This decision cannot take
effect for a month, legal notice being required.
SHAKESPEARE ON "POTATO CULTURE."—" Tuber or
not Tuber, that is the question "—after an excessive
rainfall."—Punch..
PARIS TELEGRAPH SYSTE3I.—The increased number
of telegrams from year to year shows that the reduc-
tion of tariff and the greater facilities offered for
using the telegraph are much appreciated by the
Parisians. In 1880 the number of messages (for the
capital only) was 969,177, yielding 579,857 francs. In
these figures are included the pneumatic telegrams
the adoption of which system took place in 1879; and
of these 334,445 were telegram cards, which produced
120,483 francs, and 123,800 closed messages, which
yielded 68,914 franca. The reduced tariff for the
pneumatic system came into force June 1, 1880, tele-
gram cards being reduced from 50c. to 30c., and other
messages from The. to 50c., and the increase in the
number of messages Was very • marked. Between
June and December, 1879, there were 100,335 tele,
gram cards and 25,657 closed messages, whereas in
the same period last year there were 234,907 cards and
95,713 messages, an increase of 134 and 259 per cent.
respectively.
AN INTERESTING STATUE.—A statue of Marco Polo,
discovered in Canton, has been received at his native
city, Venice. It is life-size, made of wood and gilt.
The famous Venetian traveiler is represented seated,
wearing the Chinese attire, although the cloak and
bat are after the European fashion. His moustache
and beard, which surround his face, are tinged dark
blue and while the Chinese artist has given him a
peculiar form, the features in no way resemble those
of a Mongolian type. Opposite the large red easy
armchair upon which Marco Polo is seated, is placed
a porcelain bowl, intended to receive perfumes with
which he was honoured in the same manner as is the
protecting genius of China in the Temple of Canton.
The statue has at the foot an inscription in Chinese
characters.