Pittsburg dispatch. [volume] (Pittsburg [Pa.]) 1880-1923, 1890-11-20
CURIOUS CONVERSATIONS.

Over 5000, 900, 900, 900 envelopes are
manufactured in England annually.
Mr.. d'Auria concludes that the force OF
the waves which in 1883 moved three feet the
superstructure of the break-water at Oswego
Harbor, N Y, exhibited force per square
foot of O5O0 pounds.
"A new electric lantern has been designed
in Vienna for the use of lecturers and meoieal
classes. by combination Of lenses the magnl-
ned image of an object IS proJecIeu on "HA'9
screen IN Its natural colors
The expression. she is brick, !" is over
1000 years old. Agesilaus. King of Sparta, $50
3. T.. In showing his army of 10000 men. point
ing to them, said, There are the walls Oh
sparta, and every man is brick"
Scott received e269 IS as his share OF the
profits of the Lay" and then he sold the copy.
right for $500 AS many as 1900 copies were
disposed oil before 1890 when the edition OF MS
works with biographical Introduction was pre-
pared.
Apparently mid-winter9 was the time
when the MEDIEVAL British wolves asserted
themselves most savagely; so at least we may
judge from the fact that our Anglo-Saxon an
cestors bestowed on January the name OF
"Wolf-month."
In the vast majority of luminous ami
mails with which we are acquainted, the phos-
phorescent light is useful only in guiding one
sex in its search for the other and this is prob
ably the case with deep-sea fish as well as with
terrestrial creatures.
Ladies were not always excluded from
Parliament. In the reign of Henry III. and
Edward L. four abbesses were summoned to
Parliament, and in the reign Of Edward III.
great many countesseS were represented IN
Parliament by their proxies.
"A patent was issued in Washington re-
Gently for steel fence post 1t is to be made
of steel tubing seven feet high, with a neat cap,
and with bands to hold the barbed wire. 1t is
said that these posts can be furnished complete
for placing in position at "a cents each.
The Hobby falcon, a summer migrant
to Britain, hawks tor dragon hies-among the
swiftest OF insects-which it se1zes with Its foot
and devours in mid-air. 1t cuts down swifts,
larks. pigeons, and, where they are found, bee
birds-ail remarkable for their great powers of
flight.
I'm the photograph of the heavens, in
course OF preparation in the Paris Observatory,
it is calculated that 64OO0.O 900 Of stars will be
represented. In the neDula of the Lyre. NJ.
Bailand took photograph four by five and one
half inches, which revealed to the naked eye
4,S00 stars.
The large-brained horses are the clever
est. In the Household Cavalry the horses with
broad foreheads learn their drill more quickly
than the others. A gentleman measured the
heads of all his hunters and found that their
lnLelnRence and g0OQ sense was In prOpOrIlOn 70
the width of their fOreheads.
The large provincial towns OF the North Of
England are the great centers of pigeon-fying'
Recently as many as 2,5GO birds were liberated
at flight. All these pigeons were out of sight
in one minute from the time they were thrown
up, fact which shows how strong is the
"homing'' instinct within them.
Whether there may or NAV not be
ground for the opinion held by some, that all
dogs are descended from the primeval wolves,
their near kinship is proven by the fact that
hybrid offspring are by no means uncommon,
the pups or cubs, as might be expected, inner
iting more of the wolf than the dog nature.
The Spanish mackereI, with its smooth,
cone-shaped body, is among the swiftest Of
fishes, and for speed only finds parallel in the
dolphin. There is a great similarity in shape
between these two, and both cut the water like
| yacht. The first follows the fastest steamers
| with the greatest ease in its dashes swimming
| at five times their speed.
-Vivandieres may occasionally be seen
marching at the head of some French regi-
| ments of the line on review days, attired as Of
| yore in their gay costumes. and carrying a
| small barrel, painted in the national colors,
slung over their shoulders. The race however.
is fast dying out, although women still assist as
| cantnIeres in regimental refreshment depart
/ ments.
| The idea of attaching a dwelling or
| place of worship to a cavern's mouth corre-
spends to the plan of existing ruins in tho
north Pacific, as at Ponapa and Lele, at the
| latter place one still in as temple, having
| been erected across and Immediately over the
| entrance of q subterraneous passage OF grear
| extent to which access is afforded By steps de-
| scending through the foundation
| Juvenile criminals were seen very
early to present the most hopeful and the
most important material for reformation, The
| first systematic attempt was made by Pope
| Clement XI. in 1704 at Rome, in the Juvenile
| Prison OF st. Michael. In England, the Phil
| anthropic Society organized an asylum for
| poor children in l7S8 The United States fol-
| lowed with the New York House of Refuge in
| 1925
The following is given in the "Archiv
| fur Eisenbahnwesen" as the railway mileage at
the beginning of 1899: Europe, 133 900; America,
| 10000: Asia. 900; Africa, $500: Australia,
10 500; total, 357 800, as compared with 93OOO
| 1884. OF the increase of g. 900 miles during the
| four years, 900 is in America and 800 in the
| United States alone; 1l.000 miles we're opened
in 1885, 900 in 1885, % 900 in 1857 and 13 700 In
1855.
| "A new and valuable practical applica-
ton OF carbolic acid has been made in Central
| America, where it has been used with gratIfy-
ing success against the leaf-cutting ants. whose
| ravages upon cultivated trees in that country
| are destructive. The acid is mixed with
| water, and poured down the ant-burrows,
| whereupOn the ants desert their abode: and by
| persistent resort TO this method of attack, they
may be expelled from the neighborhood of
| cultivated plants
In order to tell the day of the week OF
| any date, take the last two figures of the year,
| add quarter to this disregarding the fraction;
| add the date of the month, and to this add the
| figure in the following list, one figure standing
| for each month: 3-6-62-4Q2-51-3-6-1. Divide
| the sum by T. and the remainder will give the
| number of the day in the week, and when there
| is no remainder the day Will be Saturday. As
| an example, take March Is, 1890. Take 30 add
! % add I9. add g. This gives I37, which, divided
| by T. leaves a remainder of l. which is the num-
| ber of the day or Wednesday.
THE COMICAL SIDE.