Pittsburg dispatch. [volume] (Pittsburg [Pa.]) 1880-1923, 1889-09-17
CURIOUS CONVERSATIONS.


"A Maine man has raised blue pig.
which he will exhibit ct the State Fair.
AN egg shaped like horn is Curl
osity now attracting attention &C CrterTille,
Mr.. Edison is said to receive no less
than LOO letters daily since his arrival IN
Paris
The mouth Of Calumet river, smptying
into Lake Michigan, has moved east 1850 feet
since 1896.
"A Swiss cheese which was received by
an Atchison grocery firm the other day weighed
700 pounds.
There is q sunfoBer stalk at Hannibal,
Mo-, which is l6 feet high and which contains
LOO blossoms
"A. N. Britten, of Bancroft, Mich, is
the owner Of pear tree which il now ripening
its second crop for this season.
The force which California pumpkin
exerts while growing is equal to the strength
Of large horse attached TO a stick Of timber.
The London Omnibus Company have
only % coaches running. and Yetthey carried
over 100000 passengers during the year Just
AN Austrian railway official has IN
vented portable telephone for speaking from
nearest station.
"A Californian named John Fessler has
quartz mine that has paid him $4,000 in two
years. he does his own work, and his only
NIL Is hand mortar.
"A TIN peddler who travels through Cam
ada can exhibit Al scars where farmers does
nave taken hold of him to see whether he was
dummy or live man.
The largest bar of gold ever cast was
turned out at the United States Assay Once
IN Helena Mont, recently. It weighed 500
pounds, apd is worth more than 100000
Lord Brasssy's London house Is lighted
by electric lamps, inclosed IN seashells Of ths
greatest beauty, whose transparency sheds a
glowing refrlgence over the whole apartment.
"A curious and interesting exhibition
will be opened in Cologne on June l, 1880, in
which viii be displayed vast collection Of
arms. Instruments, etc, serving to illustrate
the art Of warfare and bearing in any way on
the condition Of troops or armies.
Mr.. Jones. of Cisco, Tex, got the idea
that there were too many ratrlesnakes on his
farm. The other day he quit his plowine and
went cunning for them Under the edge Of
large rock he discovered . nest and begah firing
at the reptiles. Hekept ir up until he had
shot q large snakes. Scores Of young ones
got away.
The latest kind Of thieves that New
York has produced are men who make .
business OF stealing toothpisks. They lounge
around the cashiers desk in hotels and
restaurants and, when no one Is looking, press
their hand on the toothpicks. which are stand
ing end up, and then withdraw their hand into
. convenient pocket
"A curious historical document hangs in
the private Office of Judge John J. German. at
2 West Fourteenth street. New York. It pur-
ports to be the original commission granted By
John Hancock, President Of the United States,
on October TO- I76 to John Paul Jones' the
great naval hero Of the Revolution The sig
nature Of President Hancock is in his we'll
known round hand, and the script Of John
Paul Jones' name appears to have been written
in the same bold hand.
There is . real estate agent living at
Kingston, N. Y, who takes a gloomy view of
life, and especially Of house painters, these
days. A few days ago he hired an artistic
house painter to paint house which he has on
his list But unfortunately be gave the painter
the wrong number, so that it was the wrong
house which received q beautiful aud becoming
new coat. The agent is receiving good deal
of sympathy, and the man who got his house
painted for nothing is understood to be meas
urably resigned
"A thief has interfered with the matri-
monial plans Of q couple in Louisa county,
Virginia. Miss Mary Jones' prospective hus-
band made her his banker. He deposlted with
her g, 2,300 and to this sum the young lady
added $780, The couple expected to buy home
with the money but the other day, while Miss
Jones was at church, an employe on her fathers
farm entered the house and extracted the 81
9oU from her trunk. The marriage. which had
been set for an early date, viii NOT come on ae Z
the appointed time, unless the money should be
recovered.
-Guilford, Conn.,, now celebrating the
two hundred and fftieth anniversary Of its
foundation. has it is claimed, the oldest house
in this country. The house was built in 1870
for the Rev. Henry Whitfield. minister Of
the Church of England, a non-conformist. The
stones for 1t were brought on barrows from q
ledge q long distance from the site. The
cement used was brought from England. and is
now harder than the stone itself. At times is
was used by the early settlers as a kind OF fort
to defend themselves against the incursions OF
hostile savages, and the first marriage in Gull
ford was solemnized within its walls.
Here is an advertisement taken from
Yokohama, Japan. newspaper. which is printed
in English:
For Sale.
BestPeppermint OIL