The Stourbridge Observer, Cradley Heath, Halesowen & District Chronicle.
Stourbridge, West Midlands, England, 1880-12-18 00:00:00

alisteitailenus -11-tettigence.

HOME, FOREIGN; AND COLONIAL.

CUM GRAINO.-It is all very well for the papers to
announce the average price of wheat per quarter, but
they should surely tell us which quarter it is—Lady
Day, or Midsummer, or Michaelmas, or what.
Fun.

-
PETROLEUM CASKS.—An attempt is being made in
the United States to utilise paper (by means of com-
pressed. paper pulp) for the making of the barrels in
which petroleum and kerosine are sent to this country
and elsewhere. Few persons are aware that the cost
of the barrels now Used is comparatively low; but the
number used is so enormous that a saving of one cent
per barrel would add 300 dollars a day to the income
of one company. The barrels are made and painted
by machines, tended by two men and a boy, which
turn out 1,200 as a day's work, at a cost of 1 dollar 35
cents each; and as the company make 30,000 a day,
an economy pf only one cent is equivalent to a saving
of £6O !

UNCLAIMED COLONIAL PROPERTY. The Crown
Agents for the Colonies have published in the Gazette,
at the request of the Government of the Cape of Good
Hope, a list of various unclaimed balances belonging
to persons no longer residing within the Cape Colony,
or to their representatives. These sums, the list of
which occupies 10i columns of the Gazette, range for
the most part between £2O and £5O, the lowest of all
being 3s. 10d., and the highest £991. A large number
of the persons named in the list are evidently of Dutch
extraction, such as Bantam, Van der Westhuysen,
Krebs, Blom, Van Zyl, Laubscher, Schoeman,
Lutgens, Maartens, and Bcheepers ; and among other
persons who possibly might "hear of something to their
advantage" are "the heirs of Jack, a Zulu," "the un-
known heirs of Lamakaai, a Hottentot," "the un-
known heirs of Adonis, a Manatee," and "Simon of
Malmesbury, a labourer." The total amount of un-
claimed assets published in the above-mentioned list is
over £lO,OOO.
FASHIONS FOR BONNETS,—Novelties for bonnets
are so eagerly sought after in Paris that the milliners
are fast exhausting the resources of the floral and
animal worlds for ornamentation. Bears' and tigers'
paws, as in England, now clutch knots of ribbon and
bunches of flowers, a whole stuffed white dove sur-
mounted the headgear of a belle at a recent Academy
seance; but the newest thing is a mechanical arrange-
ment in which butterflies are suspended on an invisible
wire over the floral garlands, and by means of clock-
work are made to flutter backwards and forwards at
the wearer's will.

• THE CHAMPION STEER.-Mr. J. J. Coleman's cham-
pion steer, which won so many prizes at the Smith-
field Club Cattle Show last week, was taken down to
Windsor on Saturday for Her Majesty's inspection.
It was conveyed by Great Western Railway, and on
arriving at Windsor was placed in a cattle-van sent
from the Prince Consort's Shaw Farm, and taken to
the Riding School of Windsor Castle. About eleven
o'clock, the Queen, accompanied by the Princess of
Wales, Princesses Louise, Victoria, and Maud of
Wales, and Princess Beatrice, and attended by Vis-
count Bridport and other members of the suite, en-
tered the building, where Mr. Garrett Taylor, Mr.
Coleman's manager, and Mr. Tait, manager of the
Prince Consort's Shaw Farm, were in attendance in
chvge of the prize animal. Her Majesty remained
about ten minutes and then retired. The beast was
dispatched in the afternoon for Ipswich, to be exhi-
ted at the local show, but not for competition.

A WANT SUPPLIED.—Scene: Street in French
Town.—Smithers : Why, Swellington, whatever are
you doing with two hats ?—Swellington : Idea of
my own, dear boy. In this country a fellow is always
lifting his hat. What are the consequences?—Dis-
reputable tiles; colds in the head. What's the
remedy ?—a bowing hat I—Fanny Folks.
A NEW ARCTIC EXPEDITION.—We (Standard)
understand that the President and Council of the
Royal Geographical Society have at present under
consideration the plans for a new Arctic Expedition.
The first active steps taken will probably be, as in
1874-75, to appoint a Committee of Experts to report
on the whole subject, anethough it is not expected
that anything will be done in the way of actual ex-
ploration in the course of the ensuing summer, the in-
terval will be fully occupied in weighing the many im-
portant questions which will have to be discussed. It
is understood that the route by way of Franz Josef
Land will be the one recommended, but the mere feat
of reaching the Pole will not be the main, or even one
of the principal objects of the Expedition. It will be
simply to explore an unknown area North of the 79th
and 80th degrees of latitude. The Society, while not
inimical to observing stations, can only consider them
as subsidiary to the work of Geographical Explora-
tion.

ANNIVERSARY OF PLEVNA.—The anniversary of the
capture of Plevna by the Russian and Roumanian
troops was celebrated at Bucharest on the 10th inst.
with great enthusiasm. After being present at a
"Te Deum " service in the cathedral, Prince Charles
held p. review of the troops, at which he presentid
colours to the newly-formed Roumanian regiments.
His Highness afterwards held a lev4e of the officers,
who presented to the Princess a marble statue repre-
senting her Highness tending a wounded soldier.

AVERAGE PRICES of BRITISH CORN.—The follow-
ing are the average prices of British corn for the week
ending Dec. 11, as received from the inspectors and
officers of Excise :—Wheat, 455. id. ; barley, 325. Bd. ;
oats, 20s. 9d. per imperial qr. Corresponding week
last year :—Wheat, 465. 2d.; barley, 38s. 5d.; oats,
21s. 4d.

"BUSINESS."—BeIIe. (She had tried him on the
Royal Academy and "Grosvenor," the decoration of
the ball-room, the last novels, mszig and the dramas,
operas, &c.—couldn't get an idea out of him! Happy
thought !—perhap's he's political.) "Is there any
news in the city this evening ?"—Beau (brightening
up). "Ah ! Grey shirtings stiffened, export yarns
hardened, and flax steady at Friday's currencies !"
[He was purely commercial !J—Punch.
AGRICULTURAL PROSPECTS.—Our reports this week
are very uniform in their testimony as to the strong
and healthy appearance of the young wheats, and as
to wkeat sowing being nearly completed (says the
Mark Lane Express). The mild and dry weather
which has obtained during the past• week has been
exceedingly favourable for securing the 'remainder of
the root crops, and work is now in a tolerably forward
state. The land has turned up well throughout the
season, and work has proceeded with very little
serious interruption, except in districts subject to
flood water. These have been exceedingly unfortu-
nate. Not only the young wheats, but all the early
autumn-sown crops have come up well and look
healthy. Foot-rot and liver-rot are ivery prevalent
amongst sheep, and foot-and-mouth disease is making
very rapid progress all over the country. Otherwise
stock of all descriptions are spoken of as doing well on
an abundance of keep.
A DEEP-SEA SOUNDER.—M. Paul C. Rousset, a
Russian engineer, has invented a novel and ingenious
deep-sea sounder. It consists of an ordinary register-
ing log attached to an inflated balloon, and a head hung
by a trigger at the bottom. The log is lowered into
the sea. It sinks in a vertical position ;as it sinks the
vanes of the indicator revolve, and the depth is cor-
rectly registered. When the sinker touches the
bottom the trigger sets free the balloon, which rises
with the log to the surface and floats until it is picked
up.
THE GERMAN ARMY ON A PEACE FOOTING.—It
appears from the Imperial Budget that the German
army on a peace footing, as supplemented by the
accession of strength recently voted, now consists of
18,128 officers, 427,274 men and 81,629 horses, the
addition including 901 officers, 25,615 men, 1,736
horses. Of these Prussia receives eight new infantry
regiments and one battalion, with one field artillery
regiment, 24 field batteries, and one fortress artil ery
regiment, the rest being distributed in small pro-
portions between Saxony, Wurtemberg, and Bavaria.

"THE WAITS AND WEIGHTS." First Passenger
(who•has just missed his train) :—" Let's go and see
what our weight is." Second ditto :—" Humph ! I
know what mine is, my wait's.about three-quarters of
an hour.—Fn.
THE CABUL-CANDAHAR MARCH. The Calcutta
Correspondent of The Times says, that "it is an-
nounced that the Star to be given for General
Roberts's March will be maJe from the guns captured
at the battle of Candahar, and will be attached to the
Candahar Clasp. Some of the guns have been
ordered to be sent to Calcutta for the purpose. The
Candahar Clasp will be confined to the troops actually
engaged in the action of the Ist of September. The
claim to the Star made on behalf of his division by
General Phayre has been rejected. It will be given
only to the troops who marched with General Roberts
from Cabul. The Cabul Clasp will be confined to the
troops actually engaged(in operations at and near that
place between the 10th and the 23rd of December last,
including Gough's column, which joined General
Roberts on the 24th,"

" REPARTY " A L'ANGLAISE.—Low Conductor (to
Swell Cabby). Now, then, mind where you're a-
comin' to with that chessboard o' yourn.—Cabby
(roused). What have you got to talk about? Why,
you've got a face like a work-hus puddin' jumped on.
Take it 'ome ? Take it 'ome, and bile it up agin !
Judy.
OLD AGE.—The Obituary of The Times of December
9 recorded the deaths of five ladies and one gentleman
whose united ages amounted to 504 years giving an
average of exactly 84 years to each. The following
were their respective ages :-92, 88, 82, two at.,81, and
one at 80.—The game Obituary contained the deaths
of nine septuagenarians whose ages averaged 73 years
and nine months.

REMARKABLE INSTANCE OF LONGEVITY. Judith
Singer, a Jewess, who recently died at Glowitz, a
small town of Silesia, attained the age of 112 years.
She was born on June 11, 1768, and was the mother of
two children when the present Emperor of Germpny
was born, nearly eighty-four years since. Of her
fifteen sons and daughters only three have survived
their mother. Mrs. 'Singer last year buried her eldest
daughter, aged eighty-four years. On her 112th
birthday, which coincided with the fiftieth anniversary
of the marriage of the Emperor, she wrote a congra-
tulatory letter to His Majesty, who answered it by an
autograph letter with a bank bill for 100 marks, which
she presented to a charity. At her death she was in
full possession of all her faculties save sight. She
used to recall many historic events—viz., the death
of Frederick the Great when she was eighteen, and
the oatbreak of the French Revolution when she had
come of age. She also remembers the rejoicings of her
native town on the first partition of Poland in 1771.
She has lived to a long old age during the most
eventful period of history.—J. M. WALKER, in Land
and Water.

AN AERIAL CARRIAGE.—The San Francisco News-
letter says :—" We alluded last week to the perfected
invention of an Aeroplane Machine for navigating the
air. What we then said we now repeat. The thing is
done. The well-known architect and original designer
of our New City Hall, Mr. Augustus Laver, is the
consulting and constructing engineer, which is a safe
guarantee of excellence of workmanship. The Pro-
visional Committee are confident that the first aerial
carriage for practical use will be in action before
Christmas.

A REVIVER.—The Americans want to buy the old
Temple Bar, and set it up in Central Park, New
York. Out of compliment to London having so many
"American Bars," they want to establish one
English one. What'll be its specialite in liquors ?
P u nch.

A NEW PEST.—The last Calcutta Gazette contains
some official correspondence regarding the insect lately
discovered in Monghyr, which threatens to become
very destructive to the rice crops. The specimens
forwarded to Mr. Wood Mason. deputy superinten-
dent of the India Museum, have been identified by
him as belonging to the genus Cecidoniyia, and as re-
lated to the Hessian fly which ravaged the wheat-
fields in the United States. This genus, Mr. Mason
says, has never before been found in India, and he
proposes to call the species Cecidcnnyia oryzae, or and,
rice-fly, He goes on to say that it is likely to prove
a most formidable pest, and recommends that the
district officers should be instructed to make further
inquiries and earefully watch its progress.
DIFFERENT DROVES.—At recent Live Meat Shows
much attention has been attracted by some particu-
larly fine specimens of Polled Scotch Cattle. Polled
howsoever these cattle may be, they are a breed inca-
pable of Bribery.— Punch.
THE RAILWAY SERVANTS AND THE EMPLOYERS'
LIABILITY ACT.—A mass meeting of the men employed
by the London and North-Western Railway has been
held inLiverpool todetermine their course of policy under
the Employers' Liability Act. A resolution was sub-
mitted and approved of, "That the men regret they
cannot adcept terms of insurance against accidents
offered by the Directors, but they are quite willing to
discuss the matter with them, with the view of avoid-
ing litigation." They appointed?delegates to meet the
Directors, and adjourned the meetinc, pending these
negotiations. It was likewise resolved that the Com-
pany's men employed in Liverpool would not be
bound' by any decision arrived at between the
Directors and Insurance Societies which had no autho-
rity to act on behalf of the men.
SPECULATION IN AMERICA.—The Bullion jet observes:
—" In illustration of the extent of the business novv
being done on the New York Stock Exchange, under
the prevailing excitement, it is stated that the deal-
ings in stocks alone on the 22nd November amounted
to 633,000 shares, representing probably about
45,000,000 dols., in value, to say nothing of very large
transactions in bonds. The game spirit of speculation
prevails at other centres. The American excitement
receives stimulus and nutriment from London and
-Paris. London buys American securities freely on
the face of the advancing prices, and thereby the sup-
ply of gold upon which the New York Market de-
pends so much is maintained. So long as London
feeds New York Market at the recent rate witnessed,
not much chance of a reaction is looked for on the
other side."

AN INTERESTING DISCOVERY. —A discovery of
Roman relics, consisting chiefly of fragments of
goblets, vases, and pottery, has been made at Schlei-
theim, in Schaffhausen, about 30 centimetres below
the surface of the ground, near a saline spring. Some
of the fragments are ornamented with figures in relief,
aud the vases of which they formed part must have
been of considerable size. The pottery is principally
grey, yellow., and red, and much of it is covered with a
coating of glass. The place where the discovery was
made is said to be strewed with similar fragments.

QUEBY ?—Can a railway map be called "a line
engraving"? Can the sea-board be said to be made
of beech? Can the waist of a very stout old lady be
properly described as "a waist of time?" Can
using the dumb languages be said to be "figuratively
speaking ? " Can delirium tremens be correctly defined
as a "tight fit? "—Judy.

A HINT TO GOVERNESSES.—The Graphic says :
" A Governess's occupation in England being but
weary and miserable paid nowadays, except in the
case of a favoured and talented few, desponding
teachers may take heart from the experiences of a
young governess in South Africa, described by a con-
temporary. This happy young lady, teacher in the
Port Elizabeth High School for Girls, tripled her
salary by going to Africa, and finds her duties most
pleagant and easy. Three months in the year are
holidays, and the stAdies are most agreeably inter-
mingled with excursions and delightful Colonial
experiences.

THE PRINTING OF " ENDYMION."—The Pall Mall
Gazette remarks :—"While Endymion' is still wander-
ing about the railway bookstalls in England in a
three-volume form, it is selling in the United States
for 15 cents a copy, in a single volume of eighty-four
pages. And yet Endymion,' which has been brought
out by Messrs. Harper in 'a leisurely, humdrum way'
in two weeks after the copy had arrived from Eng-
land, is not regarded by any means as a 'fast ' book.
Some calculations have been Made as to the time in
which it could have been produced, if need were.
Setting up the 497,448 pis which the book contains
would take twenty hours; in twelve hours more the
work would be electrotyped and plated ready for the
press. Fifteen hours would be consumed in printing
off the first 20,000 copies. Eight hours more would
be required to get these 20,000 copies dried, folded,
stitched, and trimmed. This gives a total of fifty-
five hours to produce 20,000 copies—a feat which could
have been performed without in any way interfering
with the other business in hand. It is suggested by
the collector of these figures that in 1980 the author
will improvise his work through a telephone, the
vibrations from which will set the type. it is a com-
fort to think that that dire possibility is still 100 years
distant."
MDLLE. BERNFIARDT IN AMERICA.—The American
Correspondent of The Times says ;--" Mdlle. Sarah
Bernhardt's four weeks' engagement in New York
produced 98,000 dols. gross receipts. She is now play-
ing in Boston, where her two weeks' engagements will
produce 48,800 dols. if the present receipts continue.
Thus the expectation is that Mdlle. Bernhardt and
lier manager will each make 200,000 dols, during the
season.—When Mine. Bernhardt arrived in America,
1,560 dols, was exacted as Customs' dues on her ward-
robe. This was paid under protest. The Treasury
Department have now decided to refund it, and the
New York collector was instructed to that effect, the
decision being that, as the wardrobe really comprised
her professional implements, it was therefore exempt
from duty."