Pittsburg dispatch. [volume] (Pittsburg [Pa.]) 1880-1923, 1889-04-22
CURIOUS CONVERSATIONS.

Mimi, and there is wild rush Of prospectors
to the new field.
I'm the village of Strobeck, Germany,
every inhaDitant is a chess PLAYER, and the
game is regularly taught in the pu bile scOols.
In Oregon the public lands still undis-
posed of aggregate 90. .795 $50 acres; in Washing.
ton, 4A796 100 acres. Much of it is said to be Of
the very best.
! "A newly-born infant who was found in
an ash barrel on Marshall street. Philadelphia,
recently was taken to the Shelter1ng Arms,
where 1t was christened Marshall Ash.7
The largest pine tree ever cut in Michi-
gan was felled recently near Hobart. 1t meas
nred at the but six feet in diameter and scaled
lO55l feet Of mercantile lumber. In the fall
tne top was broken, destroying about 800 feet of
| choice lumber.
AN Eastport man hopes to keep his
lawn in fine condition this summer. Re re-
Gently distributed 2,5OO bright new marbles Of
assorted colors among the boys. in considera-
| tion of promise that they would keep out Of
his grass this season.
The Board of Education of New LON
don, Conn.,, reporting on orthography in the
schools there gives 40 different WAYS in which
the word "busy" was wrongly spelled, 81 ways
OF .misspelling (which, 50 ways of misspelling
whose" and 52 ways of msspelling scholar"
Mrs Mercy Chase, of North Woodstock,
nlc.s dRcQ 90 years, mas spun nine pounds Oh
rolls and doubled and twisted the same, has
knit seven pairs double mittens. eight pairs Of
stockings, is now drawing in a large rug and
has patched two quilts since the wool was
carded in the summer of 1888.
The biggest trout story of the season up
tn date comes from Winsted, Conn Robert 8.
Hubert went out last Wednesday and caught
90 trout that averaged IL pounds each. The
largest, weighed on the scales at the Nauga-
tuck depot by the agent, who is also a truthful
man, was pounds 81 ounces in weight.
I'm one block on Main street in Battle
Greek the other day "a reporter saw 3one-legged
men, 4 one-armed men and other men who
were SO lame they couldn't walk without
canes. The reporter went home and wrote up
the greatest railroad towns in the United
States"
AT church party held recently in Nc
Donough, Chenango county, N. Y. 40 young
ladies were put uD at auction and sold to the
highest bidder. A hayseed believed the sale
was bona hde and put up all his cash, 81 40. on
the prettiest lady bid of. It took considerable
persuasion to convince him that he could not
remove his purchase to the paternal ranch.
Sam Andrews has a curiosity in his
barn on Lacrosse street, Detroit, in the shape
of a six-legged COW. The cow is thorough
bred Durham, years old, and gives pail full
OF rich milk twice day. The two extra legs
arc ouSpe0u6Q ITOm LQ6 TlgQL sQOQlQeT. OQ0
OF them is fore leg and the other hind leg,
and they are nearly as long and have the joints
and muscles and hoofs of an ordinary
cows leg.
The ravsges Of the birds in the corn
fields in Barnwell county, South Carolina, is
almost without precedent. In many places the
fields have been planted the second time and
now the birds are deYourIng the young corn
fast as it appears There has never been found
any way to get rid of these birds. Poison has
no etfec. on them. And they are too wild to
reach with shot. Their numbers increase
yearly, and unless some way be discovered to
destroy them corn planting will have to be in
measure abandoned.
AT Bangor, Me-, a native went to fish
dealer to purchase salmon. He saw a fine
large fish marked 10" He had been living in
Oregon, where salmon are comparatively &C
cheap and he thought that was the price per
pound. 1t wasn't, butit represented the weight
of the fish. With patrcian wave of his hand
toward the Penobscot 2O-pOunder, carelessly re-
marked to the shopkeeper, That's rather a de-
cent fish; guess I'll take it home to my fam
ily." The fish was wrapped up. and the re-
turned Oregonian handed over $50 gold piece,
and stood waiting for about SIG change. when
the shopkeeper said, $50 more, please" The
his gold and departed, followed. by roars Of
laughter.
"A most interesting experiment has re-
Gently been made in taking photograph by
the light of the Cuban FREELY. After various
trials of the insects power, the experiment of
photographing by its light was successfully
carried out. A copy Of family portrait was
made, the insect being held within an inch of
the original, and in such way that the rays
fell perpendicularly on the negative. The time
of exposure to bug light was about 80 seconds.
A living specimen of these tropical insects was
recently presented to the Bridgeport Scientific
Society. 1t is about an inch and a half long
and bears upon each side of its body oval spots,
resembling eyes. In the dark these spots emit
greenish light, resembling that of tiny electric
lamps in full glow.
Jonas, Milton, of Patterson, ILL.,, tried
to prevent snake from creeping into his hem
house and sucking eggs. He got china nest
egg and the snake swallowed II. shortly
after" says Mr.. Milton, II went to Kansas. One
day my attention was directed toward the wood
shed BY peculiar noise. proceeded thither
and found my old acquaintance, the snake,
completely wedged in a jug handle. It had gone
as far through the jug handle as the china egg
would permit and had then swallowed another
egg, which prevented it from backing out. Mr..
Snake seemed to have trouble enough to last
him a lifetime. but as 1 could not see even an
enemy suffer, released him by breaking the
Jug. After recovering from the shock he re-
ceived he started East gave up his bad habits
and finally became the leader of a swell ;ribe Of
snakes living In New York, but have an i'm
preston ne always suffered from indigestion"
William Youmans, of Delhi, N. Y,
thinks his cat can charm fish. One day he
caught the cat eating trout, but was at loss
to see how the feline had captured it. This set
him to watching the cats. In day or two he
traced one of the cats to the pond, and, hiding
behind tree, saw the cat approach the edge
Of the water, put its nose level with the surface
Of the pond and fix its gaze intently upon some
object. After remaining in that position some
little time some strange noise near by fright
sned the cat away. Mr.. Youmans rushed to
the spot and found a good sized trout appar-
entity disabled within few inches of where the
cat was crouched. He touched it with his cane
when the fish acted as though it had been mes
nerized. 1t shortly came out of its dazed con-
lition and swan slowly off to the center of the
pond. His thery is that The cat mesmerized
The fish by looking it in the eve