Omaha daily bee., 1874-06-12
CURI0sITIEs.

ance in Florida by ENGRAVING the
sour orange tree.
At the eucalyptus groSee of Will
mington, California, there are now
200, 900 young gum trees, growing
splendidly.
A yellow dog, at Taylor's ranch
near Big Pine, InyO county, Cali
fornia, recently gave birth to twen-
ty-One pups.
Portions of the remains of a large
animal, supposed to he a mastadon,
have been found in New York Flat,
Yuba county, Cal.
Macon, Miss, is willing to make
affidavit that an African bride with
i'm her limits is nursing her first
horn babe at the age of sixty.
Fiddletown, California, r%ejOices
in a mountain in which strange
noises are heard and floods of water
are occasionally elected with great
force.
Herds of wild Rocky Mountain
goats exist i'm the Sierra Nevada
mountains, near the summit. These
animals are only found in the high
est and most inaccessible regions.
A mother-mule Is the sensation in
Salt Creek township, Franklin
county, Indiana. The animal be-
longs to William Pruitt, and bears
her maternal honOrs meekly. The
offspring is enthusiastically a mule.
A post mOrtem examination
made on a valuable cow, which died
at the Hester Place, San Jose, CAL,
last week, revealed the fact that the
animal had been dieting on nails.
Fourteen nails of assorted sizes were
found in her second stomach.
The body of Alanson Dyer, who
died at Rutland, Vermont, in
March, 1872, of congestion of the
lungs, was recently disinterred for
removal. The body was found to be
petrified, and weighed nearly 1000
pounds. At the time of death, the
weight was las pounds.
The hydrophane, or so-called
Mexican opal, takes its name from
the peculiar property of becOm-
ing transparent after INNER
sion i'm water, and in that state 1t
often displays prismatic colors of a
beauty equal to those of the noble
opal itself. Although very similar
to the latter as FAR as substance goes,
it Is Of q porous texture, and very
absorbent. On becoming dry again
its transparency vanishes, leaving a
white or yellOwish surface. 1t is
said that when boiled i'm oil the
hydrOphane acquires the same ap-
pearance as when immersed in
water, and retains it in part for
years, as the oil does not dry.
This morning Carl Beneditti, the
celebrated swOrd-swallower, appear
ed at the clinic of the Jefferson Me-
dical College, and was the subject
of a lecture by Professor Maury. A
number of the most eminent sur
geons were present. Beneditti first
swallowed a swOrd-blade twenty
three inches in length, and bending
over, completely bent the steel. He
next placeda saber measuring twen-
ty-nine inches in length down his
throat to the hilt. The sword was
kept in this position about u minute.
and several of the medical men
present made an examination. In
their opinion the point of the sword
passed through the gullet down into
the esophagus, or channel leading
to the stomach, thence apparently
separating the left parts of the stOm-
ach and passing to a point three
inches below the umbilicus. Next,
Beneditti took a musket weighing
about sixteen pounds, with a bayO-
net attached. The bayonet he swal-
lowed, and, bending over, supported
the musket in several positions by
the strength of his jaws. Another
wonderful feat was to swallow six
sword blades at one time and extri-
cate them separately.
There appeared to be no malfOrm-
alton whatever about the sword
swallOwer, and it is'said that he first
discovered his ability to perform
these feats by thrTsting his finger
down his throat Cnce while sick and
finding that it would not make him
vomit.