The Stourbridge Observer, Cradley Heath, Halesowen & District Chronicle.
Stourbridge, West Midlands, England, 1881-01-22 00:00:00

HOME, FOREIGN, AND COLONIAL.

"THE SLIP TWIXT THE CuP AND THE Lip."—
Glasgow has just been compelled to illustrate the
proverb that "there's many a slip 'twixt the cup and
the up" (says the Architect). It was well known that
Mr. John Bell, of Northpark, intended to leave his
valuable collection of paintings ind the building in
which they were deposited to the Corporation, in
trust for the citizens. Among the works he possessed
were examples by Titian, Guido, Claude, Poussin,
Murillo' Gerard Douw' Rembrandt, and Reubens,
besides later masters. For Titian's " Ariadne " Mr.
Bell gave £3,700, and the collection is supposed to
have cost £200,000. But, unfortunately for Glasgow,
Mr. Bell's will was written in pencil and was without
a signature. The ambition of his life has conse-
quently been frustrated, for the Town Clerk has
advised the Corporation that they possess no claim to
the property. The pictures will be sold next week.

RAPID G-ROWTlL—Respecting rapidity of growth,
we glean from foreign statistics that roses were impor-
ted into British Guiana from England, and grew in
three months into bushes six to seven feet high, and
such things as goleus, alternanthera, amaranthus,
etc. appear to rush up to maturity in two or three
weeks. Malpighia glabra (the common cherry) is
mentioned as the best hedge plant. There are
two kinds of the cinchona tree, the "red bark"
and the "crown bark," the first of which will
not proter above 4,000 feet elevation and the
latter requires to be higher—at least in die Island of
Jamaica. There are thousands of acres on the Blue
Mountain slopes of that island suitable for the culti-
vation of cinchona. The sales frnm the public gardens
and plantations in Jamaica last year realised a nett
sum of £5,146. The cultivation of cinchona has made
immense progress in the hill districts of Ceylon, and.
has been in many cases highly remunerative. The
price of quinine has fallen considerably in consequence.
—Land and Water.
AN INTERESTING DISCOVERY:—A number of Roman
remains have been dug up outside the railway station
at Metz. Among them are three skulls, which,
according to Professor Schaffhausen, of Bonn, belonged
to three different peoples. One is that of a civilised
German, another that of a low German of the tribe of
the Trisians, and the third is of Lappish origin.
There were thirty-five vessels four metallic objects,
three coins, and two tombstones with inscriptions
found. The spot on which all the objects were dug
up was, it appears, the chief burial ground of Roman
Metz.

HABITS OF FLOWERS.—Students of horticulture have
from time to time recorded their experiences regarding
the habits of flowers; but the most noteworthy
features in this respect appear to be derived from the
records of travellers in remote regions; and Dr.
Seeman, who acted as naturalist of Kellett's Arctic
Expedition, mentions, in the records he compiled, the
regular closing of the flowers during the long day of an
arctic summer. "Although," he says, "the sun never
sets while it lasts, the plants make no mistake about
the time when, if it be not night it ought to be ; but
regularly as the evening hours approach, and when a
midnight sun is several degrees above the horizon,
they droop their leaves and sleep, even as they do at
sunset in more favoured climes." This naturalist adds
that, if ever man should reach the Pole, and be un-
decided which way to turn when his compass has
become sluggish and his timepiece out of order, the
plants will show him the way; their sleeping leaves
withtell him that midnight is at hand; and that at
that time the sun is standing in the north. In the.
case of a total eclipse at mid-day bringing darkness,
flowers and leaves have been known to fold up just as
at midnight.—Land and Water.
A CURIOUS MARIMAGE CUSTOM. —lt was the custom
among the Nestorian Christians, immediately upon
the conclusion of the marriage ceremony% to carry the
newly-made wife to the house of her husband's parents
and place an infant in her arms and three sets of baby-
clothes before her. If she succeeded in dressing and
undressing the baby three times to the satisfaction of
the critical matrons there assembled, well and good;
but, if she failed, she was sent to her old home again,
to stay there, a wife and no Wife. until able to face and
pass a second trial.

ILLUSTRATIONS IN BOOKS. AND NEWSPAPERS. —III
London, the other evening, a large number of ladies
and gentlemen attended at the London Institution for
the purpose of hearing a lecture delivered by Mr.
Henry Blackburn upon "The Possibilities of Ellis-
trations in Books and Newspapers." After dwelling
in general terms upon the great advantage and supe-
riority of pictorial over verbal or literary descriptions,
he proceeded to give examples, enlivened in many cases
by the use of the blackboard or by prepared pictures,
for the purpose of illustrating his meaning. For
instance, by means of a few rapid and skilful strokes
upon the blackboard he showed apparently to the
satisfaction of the spectators that the descriptions of
a special correspondent to a newspaper might be ren-
dered much more graphic by the use in the right place
between the printed lines of a system of pictorial
representation. As to the possibility of the ultimate
existenc- of illustrated daily newspapers, he said that
at present there were many difficulties in the way,
mechanical and otherwise, but he took upon himself to
prophecy that the day was not far distant when non-
illustrated daily papers would be the exception.
TIRED OF HER TAsK.—A four-year-old child, say-
ing her prayers at her mother's knee, having concluded,
as usual, with "God bless papa and mamma, grand.
papa and grandmammas, uncles and aunts," &c., gave
a great sigh, and said, " Oh, ma, dear ! I do wish
these people would pray for themselvas, for I am so
tired of praying for them."';
THE BELGIAN NATIONAL LOTTERY.—The prizes of
the Belgian National Lottery are now being exhibited
in the Brussels Palais de Beaux Arts °before the
drawing of the lots. There is as miscellaneous a
collection of articles as at the Paris Exhibition
Lotten,y, and the prizes make quite an interesting
show. The furniture is particularly good, one lot
including the complete furniture for six rooms—
drawing, dining, bed and bathrooms, library and
kitchen—while handsome carriages fill another
gallery. Amongst the jewellery are two diamond sets,
worth £4,000 apiece ; while further, for feminine
prize-winners may be mentioned the beautiful laces,
fans, flowers, dresses, shoes, &c., as well as china,
glass, and household linen in plenty ; even the
children being provided with toys. For the mascu-
line edification there are all kinds of weapons, boats,
scientific instruments, and •a, host of heterogeneous
articles of food, ornament, &c.

AMERICAN AND CANADIAN FOOD IMPORTS—The arH-
vale of live stock from the _United States and Canada last
week landed in Liverpool show a large decrease in
cattle, and were the smallest landed for many months
past, and as regards sheep there were none landed.
The quantity of fresh meat was also smaller than
that of the previous week, She total being 7,981
quarters of beef, 1,773 carcases of mutton, and 695
carcases of pigs: against a total of 2,008 cattle, 122
sheep, 11,767 quarters of beef, 1,448 carcases of
mutton, and 1,125 pigs in the preceding week.
FROM IRELAND.—The Bill that it is hoped may be
sent from the Lower to the Upper House this Session.
—The People's Bill (W. E. G.)—Judy.
ALL FOR THE BEST !—He was at breakfast, wrest.
ling with a piece of remarkably tough veal. His
wife said to him : " You always say there's something
to be thankful for in everything. I guess you'd be
puzzled to find something to be thankful for in that
veal." "Not at all he cheerfully responded,
stopping to breathe • "I was just thinking how grate-
ful we should be tha:t we met it when it was young."
NOT A WOMAN OF THE PERIOD.—A hatchet-faced
woman, of about 51 summers, with a wealth of freckles
in her face and a snuff-stick in her mouth, got into a
crowd4d car in Galveston. There were half a dozen
gentlemen on the car, but none of them offered her a
seat. After she had waited a reasonable time she
said: "Ef any of you galoots is waitin' for me to
squat in your laps, you are barkin up the wrong tree,
for I want you to understand Pm a lady."
THE BIRTHPLACE. School Board Inspector :
"Where was Cardinal Wolsey born ? "—Little Boy :
"Please, sir, in the cradle."—Fun.
A BOMB LANCE.—Mr. E. Pierce, of New Bedford,
Mass., has invented a new and deadly weapon in-
tended to take the place of the ordinary harpoon for
whaling. The invention consists of a gun mounted on
a suitable shaft and adapted to the bomb lance. The
gun has a lock which is operated by impact against the
body of the whale. The bomb lance has a cavity for
receiving a charge of powder, and is provided with a
wooden staff through which a fuse passes. The staff
of the lance is received by the gun barrel. On throw-
ing the lance the lock of the gun is released and the
gun discharged as the 'point of the lance touches
the body of the whale; the fuse of the lance
is at the same time ignited, so that _imme-
diately after the lance enters the body of the whale
its charge of powder is exploded, killing or injuring
the whale. The bomb-lance is provided with a rod
having an eye ia the end for receiving the line. The
projectile is generally fired from a rowing boat. The
instrument is a powerful one. In some instances
(Mr. Voy says) th.e projectile could be driven eighty
metres, in which case it and the cord drawn out would
weigh not less than 100 kilogrammes. Mr. Voy de-
• scribes a striking incident, in which a large yellow-
bellied (a kind very rarely attacked, on account
of its tremendous vigour) was shot at from a small
- five-ton steamer, when quite near. The projectile
went right through part of the body and exploded
beyond. The whale was attached, however, by the
cord, and it dragged the steamer four consecutive
hours at a speed sometimes of 16 kilom. an hour,
though the engine was reversed. Sunset came, and
the whale being still lively, the cord was cut.
CLEVER BOY !—Fanner (to son home from school).
"Lot o' cattle there, Tom. How many dye think ?"
Tom (who knows the number, but pretends to count
ic.)ilnidg wind, all
at a glaitce). " Seventy•five.—Farmer. "hang it !
How do ye get at that, now ? "^TOIII. "Why, I count
.the legs, and divide by four ! "—Funny Folks. .
• "THE BUCES."—At this period of the year, more
particularly than at any other time. the obstacles that
well" are
combine to Work their worst on the constitution and
IhnaLeyt and serious. contended
the mind of the healthy and the invalid alike. Hence
it is that the utmost determination alone will avail,
ifoagg,aicnosltd ndLkiz
at times, to free one from the presence and con-
sequence of what are by common consent termed
"the blues." 'the blues is not by any means a disease,
but it is a symptom, and an imnortant syin:Aorn, of
general unfitness that is deserving of careful attention.
Neither can it be regarded as being due to a single
disturbing element ; it is rather a compeund sign of
complicated disagreements calling for equally asso-
ciated remedies. The digestive organs have a good
deal to say ill the causation of " the blues," and they
ought to receive more than ordinary attention at
those times when the atmospheric conditions unite to
influence susceptible temperaments. The nervous
system so 'eadily reacts to digestive disturbances
that too much attention can hardly be directed to
them, especi'ally when, as lately has probably
occuried, an undue tax on theit' powers has been im-
posed. General recognition of the fact that " the
blues " is a sign of some disturbance in the system,
and that their dissipation will assuredly follow on the
correction of the altered condition, will do much to
remove one of the most distressing of the troubles in-
cident to civilization and overfeeding.—Medical Press
aiul Circular

THE "KINGDOM FOR A HORSE."—The Animal
Kingdom.—Funny
A SIMPLE POST OFFICE.—The simplest post-office
in the world is, 'says Nature' in Magellan Straits, and
has been established there for some years past. It
consists of a small cask, which is chained to the rock
of the extreme cape in the straits opposite Tierra del
Fuego. Each passing ship sends a boat to open the
cask and to take letters out and place others into it.
The post-office is self-acting, therefore ; it is under
the protection of the navies of all nations, and up to
the present there is not one case to report in which
any abuse of the privileges it affords has taken
place.
THE ORIGIN OF THE HOUSE.—The Builder re-
marks :—ln our consideration of the life of the primi:
tive builders on the plains of Chaldea, we are greatly
aided by the numerous vocabularies and lists of syno-
nyms which have been drawn up by the scribes of
the court of Nineveh, and which enable us to see the
various idea which were grouped round the ideographic
and once pictigial charactors. In our studies there
is no better starting point than the house or home
which formed the clwqlling of the primitive settler in
the plains of Chaldea. Among the characters which are
used ideographically to represent the house or home
we have a series which furnish an interesting history
of the origin and development of the dwelling.
place. The first and earliest idea is that of "hole,"
hollow," or "cave," which carries us back to the
mountain home where the primitive man was a trog-
lodite or cave-dweller. This notice of the early home
of the Akkadian mountaineer prior to his settlement
in Babylonia being caves and holes in the rocks, finds
an interesting confirmation in the important discovery
made by Mr. Lortet, near Tyre, of a -prehistoric
settlement with the traces of a cave-dwelling popula-
tion. In these people we may recognise the Horites
or cave-dwellers of the Scriptures (Gen. xiv. 5,6).
After their migration from the "mountain of the
East to the low alluvial plains of Shinar or Chaldea,
the settlers found no such natural resting-place as the
caves or hollows, made- by the giant hand of time; they
were compelled to construct the house.
MIXED.—Lady Visitor: Have you heard Miss
Robinson i married ?—Little Girl: Why, that Miss
Robinson's always getting married.—Mamma: No,
dear, not the same Miss Robinson • those were her
elder sisters you mean, who used to be Miss Robinson
before her.—Judy.

TIGER RAVAGES.—The Madras Mail says: "366
bullocks, 413 cows, 151 calves, 87 buffaloes, 113 sheep.
114 goats, 20 horses or ponies, 15 asses, 27 dogs, and 2
pigs were destroyed by tigers and cheetahs in the
Madras Presidency, during the Quarter ending Sept.
30."

DEATH OF A SEA-LlON.—Visitors to the Brighton
Aquarium will regret to hear of the death of the fine
male sea-lion (&taria stelleri ?), so long an inmate of the
Institution. Poor " Jack's " very sudden death is attri-
buted to dikase of the heart. The left lobe of that
organ was found, ruptured and in a state of complete
collapse. His female companion is still in good health.
The first offspring of the pair, a male cub, was born
in the spring of 1877; the second, a dead female, in
the following year. Jack was probably about twelve
years of age at his death. His length was 8 feet 5
inches, maximum girth 5 feet 3 inches; fore-feet 4 feet
2 inches, and hind flippers 17 inches; greatest circum-
ference of the head 2 feet 10 inches, frontal 2 feet 2
inches, round the jaws, under the eyes, 17 inches;
weight of skin 1 cwt., of lungs 221b.—Nature.

DEEP MINING SHAFTS.—It is somewhat singular
that Continental countries should be so much in ad-
vance of England in the matter of deep mining. The
deepest perpendicular shaft at present existing is that
of Adalbert at Przibram, in Bohemia, which has
reached the depth of 21,000 metres, or 3,280 ft.,
though there are others still deeper, though not quite
perpendicular. The rock-salt borehole at Spesenberg,
near Berlin, was carried down 4,175 ft. some few years
ago, and a coal mine at Viviers, Belgium is now
3,542 ft. Two other shafts in Belgium, at dilly, are
sunk to the depth of 2,847 ft., and from these an ex-
ploring shaft was carried 666 ft. further, though
it was unsuccessful as regards the finding of the
expected seam. The deepest shaft in Prussian mining
is the Samson shaft, at the Oberhartz lead and silver
works in Hanover, which is 2,437 ft. The Rosenridge
Colliery, near Wigan, is 2,458 ft. in depth, and that of
Dunhill Colliery, near Dukintield, 2,824 ft. France has
nothing beyond 1,881 ft., at a colliery at Ronchamp,
There is only one case on record where a depth
exceeding one mile from the earth's surface has been
reached--viz., at- the artesian well at Potsdam,
Missouri, in the United States, where the chisels have
been carried down to 5,500 ft, or 1 mile 220 ft.
WHICH ONE.—"You are now one," said the
minister to the happy pair he had just tied together
with a knot they could never undo. "Which one?"
asked the bride. "You will have to settle that for
yourselves," said the clergyman.
How TO TREAT A CHOKING BEAST.—"H," writes
to Land and Water :—When an animal gets anything
into its throat, the natural instinct is to bury the
head in the cheat, which is about the worst thing it
can do. A correspondent of an American paper says
that the best remedy for choking is to dash cold
water into the beast's ears. He will shake his head
violently, and usually the obstruction will be swal-
lowed or rejected. The idea is not a bad one, and
worthy of a trial.
SOMETHING PLEASANT FOR LANDLORDS TO CON.
TEMPLATE.—A rent--in the clouds;---Judy.
THE AUSTRALIAN CRICKETERS. —The South Austra•
lion Register of Nov. 27 says : "The Australian
Eleven have returned from their English tour, and
physically all look tbe better for it. They landed at
Adelaide, where they received a cordial welcome, and
they have since been entertained by the Mayor and
other leading colonists. They have played two
matches in the provincial towns of Ga,wler and
Kapunda, scoritrg a win in each case, and now they
are engaged in a warm struggle with fifteeen of the
leading Adelaide players." At the close of this game
they leave for Melbourne and Sydney, where other
matches are being arranged."'

THE NORTH-EAST PASSAGE .—The anxiety expressed
respecting the fate of the Oscar Dickson. trading by the
North-East Passage to the eastern shores of Siberia,
is now set at rest by a telegram sent from Tobolsk_by
M. Tibiriakoff, part-owner, who was on board. He
reports that the Oscar Dickson and Nordland, having
encountered icebergs, took refuge on the 24th of
September in the Bay of Gydansky, where they will
winter. All well on board.

THE GRAVITY OF ENGLAND.—Mark Twain had
some idea of writing a book about England lately, but
he found that he could not get any fun out of that part
of the world. "It is too grave a country," he hays,
"and its gravity soaks into the stranger and makes
him as serious as everybody else. When I was there,
I couldn't seem to think of any thing but deep problems
of government, taxes, free-ttade, finance; and every
night I went to bed drunk with statistics."

THE AGRICULTURAL DEPRESSION.—The Committee
on Agricultural Depression, under the presidency of
the Duke of Richmond and Gordon, have considered
the report which the chairman proposed should be
submitted to the Government on that branch of the
subject appertaining specially to Ireland. Thisreport,
it is stated, 'recommends, among other things, a
Government scheme of emigration—and one also of
migration from over-populated to less crowded dis-
tricts ; a plan for the reclamation of land, and the
establishment of a court of arbitration for the fixing
of rents. It approves of a modified form of peasant
proprietary, and suggests further facilities in the
transfer of land.

AVERAGE PRICES OF BRITISH CORN.—The follow.
ing are the average prices of British corn for the week
ending Jan. 15, as received from the inspectors and
officers of Excise :—Wheat, 425. id. ; barley, 325. ;
oats, 19s. sd. per imperial qr. Corresponding week
last year :—Wheat, 455. 11d. ; barley, 375. 2d. ; oats,
21s. id.

THE WEATHER IN FRANCE.—Heavy falls of snow
are reported from the French provinces, and in many
parts railway and telegraphic communication has been
stopped. In the neighbourhood of Havre the storm
on Monday was particularly severe. The snow fell
so rapidly and in such abundance that trains were
brought to a standstill, and the passengers had to seek
refuge in the nearest station. The military were
called oatt to clear the lines ; but some hours elapsed
b,Jore they could accomplish the task. From Nimes
similar reports have been published, Such a fall of
snow has not occurred in that district for ten years.
The wolves Made their appearance in the villages in
considerable numbers, and hunting parties were
organised to extermirtate them. All omnibus and
similar traffic ceased in these parts, and the stoppage
of communications caused the greatest inconvenience
and, in many cases, distress, as several small hamlets
were snowed up.
DISPLACEMENT.— Old Gentleman (Military man,
guest of the Squire's, conversing with smart-looking
Rustic) : "Wounded in the Crimea were you? Badly?"
—Rustic : "The bullet hit me in the chist, here, surr,
an' came out at me back ! "—Old Gentleman : "The
deuce! Come, come, Pat, that won't do ! Why, it
would have gone right through your heart, pan ! "
Rustic: " Och, fttix me heart was; in me moUth at the
thoime, Burr ! ! "—Punch.

NEW VARIETIES OF PoTATe.--Mr. James Torbitt,
of Belfast, has addressed a letter to Mr. Gladstone,
calling attention to concurrent testimony as to the
value of new varieties of potato, as the best means of •
diminishing the frequency of failures in the potato
crop. During the past four years Mr. Torbitt has
grown 5,000 varieties of the plant, which have shown
themselves to be disease proof, and he offers to deliver
to the Government next autumn 100,000 new varieties
of the plant, 20,000 or 30,000 of which would be dis-
ease proof, which he suggests shall be delivered gratis
among the people by the Post Office.

RAIN AND CANNONADING. —A correspondent writes
to the Scientific American with reference to an inven-
tion recently described in that journal for producing
rain by the excplosion of a charge of dynamite in a.
balloon. He says :—" The inventor assumes that it is
well-known ' that cannonading is always followed by
rain. Now I don't know how that comes to be se
well known ' by people who never witnessed the
effects of heavy cannonading, and I think it is time
that they should know that it is not the case. It may
rain after a heavy cannonade, or may not, or may rain
just before the cannonade. The cannonade has no
effect whatever. The cannon explosions in a
battle exceed the explosion in the inventor's
patent balloon twenty thousand times or more,
and if the former does not cause rain, the
patent balloon will not do it. I was at the
battle of Shiloh, which lasted two days, April 6
and 7, 1862. The cannonade was as rapid as the,
strokes a man could give a base drum with two
drum sticks, and it was continuous, to say nothing:
of the musketry fire, which was not a roll or rattle at
all, but a continuous even roar. What was the effect
on the weather? It rained before the action opened,
and rained all the first day and night. The second dv:P
of the battle was clear and sunny, and so were several
succeeding days. The battle of Corinth was fought in
a dry hot spell, October 3or 4, 1862. There had been:
no rain for two weeks. This was a good chance to.
test the thing. The cannonading was heavier than at.
Shiloh, and lasted for ten hours. No rain followedi
the battle. The dry, hot weather continued for two.
weeks more." If there is a popular delusion that heavy
cannonades cause rain it might as well be dispelled, aa
experience shows there is not the slightest foundation
for the notion.


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