Pittsburg dispatch. [volume] (Pittsburg [Pa.]) 1880-1923, 1889-06-11
CURIOUS CONVERSATIONS.

-Of the 334 inmates in the Fulton, No.,
insane asylum, but one is woman.
Some engineers are planning an aerial
railway, by which they propose to connect two
Of the peaks of Mount Pilatus with wire ropes
about 2Oo0 feet long and to send tourists from
summit to summit in cars snding along the
wires.
While Mrs. Mariman, of Laurel Hill,
L. L. was purchasing flowers in q store pass
ing locomotive caused heavy stone to be
hurled from the track. 1t struck ner on the
head, making big cash and rendering ner IN
conscious.
james Edwin Vardeman, who died last
week near Sparta, Ga, could repeat the names
OF all the Senators and Representatives in Con-
gress from the beginning Of the Government.
ret al this never brought him an engagements
IN dime museum and wasn't worth dollar 70
him.
"A Tennille, Ca, gentleman caught
number OF fish and threw them, with an eel, on
the grass. Later he prepared to string them,
but found that the eel had run his tail through
the gill OF each fish and tied the end into hard
Knot, tnus converting itself into genuine nsn
string.
MIR. Parish, of Berrien county, Georgia,
is doubtless the youngest Sheriff IN the State.
When elected he had to wait three months to
become of age before he could be sworn into
office. He is now confronted with the difficult
problem Of Jake Young, the murderer, and
how to arrest him.
Here is pretty stiff story about an En-
glish sparrow: A Boston small boy recently
gave some sparrows very hard cracker on
which they could make no impression. After
picking at it in vain for awhile, one of the spar.
rows took the cracker in his bill and flying with
it to the horse car track, carefully laid it on
rail. Then all the sparrows waited until car
came along and crushed it, when they few to
the spot in great glee and ate the pieces.
"A man down in Atlanta, Ca, carries
two Irish potatoes with him all the time. He
has reason for it. too, and here it is in his own
languages: 'Irish potatoes carried in the pock-
cts cure kidney troubles and relieve rheuma-
tism. did not believe it until an old gentle
man at Marietta insisted on my trying the
remedy, and have found it most efficacious.
1t relieved me of lumbago, and carry one in
each pocket now as preventive"
"A simple stove for warming rooms by
means of solar heat has been contrived by Prof.
L. S. Morse. 1t consists Of a shallow box, hay
ing bottom of corrugated iron and glass TOP
This device is placed outside the building
where the sun can shine directly into 1t. The
rays pass through the glass and are absorbed
by the metal heating it to high temperature
and warming the air of the box. The air,
which on sunny days rises to 900 Farenheit, is
conveyed into the room to be heated.
The number of building societies in
England and Wales is, according to recent
report, about 944, having membership of over
800 900 and share capital of s94,3l1, $50 The
receipts for one year we're over 100000 and
the societies held securities valued at sl500O0-
OO0 In Scotland the societies are reported to
have a membership of over I1,0O0 with a share
list valued at over S4045.0OO while they held
securities to the value of Sc, S54 los. In Ireland
such societies have made less progress, and
membership Of only 6.53S is reported.
The latest thing in fashions for men in
England is known as the American shoulder.
1t consists of a coat padded at the shoulders in
a manner quite unique. Pieces of lead of
quite an imposing size are employed in the
process, and when the dude is properly fixed
up" he appears with sort Of epaulet arrange
ment, calculated to transf1x the gaze of the less
enlightened observer. The american shOul-
der is only just coming into vogue. but it was
decidedly conspicuous In Piecadilly. Lon
don, last Sunday afternoon. A London tailor
says that he is putting Il ounces of lead into
some of his padding"
M. Topinard has been making statis-
tical inquiry into the eolors Of the eyes and
hair in France, and from his 10000 observa-
tions he deduces many interesting results, one
Of the most curious being that where the race
is formed of a mixture of blondes and
brunettes the hereditary blood eolor1ng comes
out In the eyes, and the brunette element re-
appears in the hair. To this tendency prob
ably is to be attributed the rarity of eOmbina-
tion of light hair with dark eyes, Several OBJ
servers have asserted that the American
people, WHO are pre-eminently mixed race,
are becoming dark-haired and bIue-eyed ma
tion, and if this be true, such Development
must be owing to the working Of the law forFn-
ulated by N. Top1nard. \
Richard Chandler, a prominent and
fnf z fhdf nf f.-s
miles south of Black River Falls, Wis, is on
the verge of the grave, as the result Of an af-
fiction that has puzzled the doctors and which
stands unique in the records of medical history.
For several years Chandler's mouth has been
gradually growing together, until now the ORR
flee is only about the size of a small marble.
All efforts to check the strange growth have
been unavailng Chandler is now unable to
take sufficient Bourishment to satisfy the de-
mands of his system. 1t is proposed to cut his
mouth open and prevent its further closing by
artificial means, but the patient says his afflie-
tion is fOreWarning of his approaching disso-
luton, and will not allow his physician to oper-
ate on him.
The whale, which belongs to the NAM
malta, no doubt holds the palm for thickness Of
skin. At some parts of the body the skin is
only two inches thick, but in many places its
pelt is fully two feet in thickness. The skin Of
the whale is the substance usually known as
blubber, and in large specimen will weigh al
together more than 20 tons. The distinction of
being the thickest-skinned quadruped belongs
to the Indian rhinoceros, whose hide has q
knotty or granulated surface, and is so impene-
trable as to resist the claws of the lion or tiger
the sword. OF the balls Of the oIdfashoned
musket. SO stiff and hard is this skin that
were IL not divided by creases or folds the ami
NAL imprisoned in its armour could scarcely
move. 1t Is manufactured into leather OF
great strength and durability and TARGETS and
shields are made of it that are absolutely proof
against darts CT sword strokes. The skin of the
runs that Of the rhinocerOs
very closely as regards thickness. When dried
it is also used for shields, which are highly
priced by the natives.