Pittsburg dispatch. [volume] (Pittsburg [Pa.]) 1880-1923, 1890-10-27
CURIOUS CONVERSATIONS.

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persons in London.
Most OF the so-called cases of hydropho-
bia are merely meningitis.
The total income OF the Church OF Eng
land is about s2O0. 900 week.
-Four-ffths of the engines now working
in the world have been constructed during the
last % years.
The finest grades of razors are SO deli
cate cate that even the famous Damascus sword
Dlaues cannot equal them in texture
Electrical mining apparatus and the
magnetic treatment of iron ores are exciting no
gineers.
-ln Il States of this country women may
vote Tor municipal officers and at school cleo
school districts
Within 62 years Mexico has had 81
presidents, one regency. and one empire, and
nearly every change of government has been
effected by violence.
"A mechanical genius has invented an
instrument which he calls the eophoue, by
which he claims that all sounds can be heard
and located on the darkest night and in the
thickest weather.
There is one lady stock broker, one ladv
landscape gardener and one lady dentist in
London. Curiously enough, these ladies have
found no imitators, though they have all been
established some time.
The chlorinatlon process for the extrac-
tion of gold from its ores has been greatly i'm
proved within recent years, and now promises
to be adapted to the treatment of Iow-gIade
non-coneentratable ores.
The Manchester ship canal is 80 miles
long, 26 feet deep, and has minimum breadth
at bottom of 100 feet. twill accommodate the
largest merchantmen a1oat, and it will be
opened for traffic before another year has ex-
pired.
England paid a21, 600, 900 last year to
continental countries for dairy products alone
The butter and margarine imported weighed
over 900 hundred weight, and the cheese
nearly 100000. The eggs England imported
amounted to 1,lOO,OOOOOO.
The worlds stock of diamonds has in
creased enormously in the last 15 years. In
1876 the output of the African mines was about
Lon, 900 carats; last year it was over 1000 900
and the great trust which controls all the prin-
clpal mines asserts that it has 10000 900 carats
IN slght at the present time.
In England, Scotland and Wales,
women, unless married, vote for all officers ex-
cept members of Parliament. and some of them
now hold offices as school directors, aldermen
ana CITY councllmen, and bill has now been
introduced to give them, whether married or
single. the absolute right of suffrage.
The following method of making paper
transparent for copying drawings has been
found very serViceable: Place blank sheet of
paper over the drawing and rub it lightly with
pure benzine. The tracing can then be readily
made, and the benzlne, upon evaporating,
leaves the paper as Opaque as before.
An English writer tells of two cats
which advanced daily from opposite ends of a
long and lofty wall, and, meeting in the mid
die. fought with great fury until one or both
were precipitated to the ground below upon
which the fight ceased Immediately. the COM
Datants remounting the wall and basking peace
tully side by side in the sunshine.
The first recorded case of a woman
holding an important office is Isabella de Cliff
ford, who acted as Sheriff of Westmoreland
county, England. in the 18th century, and sat
upon the bench with the Judges and siyned the
official papers of her position. At various
times since, women have acted as marshaIs
great chamberlains. constables, jailors and for
esters.
Her Majesty's family circle numbers 30
living descendants, including sons and daugh-
ters. grandsons and granddaughters, great
grandsons and great-granddaughters. Besides
whom she has four sons-in-law. four daughters
1n-law, five grandsOns-in-law, and one grand
daughter-in-law. The Queen has lost one SON
and one daughter. five grandsons, one grand
daughter, one great-grandson. and one son-in-
law. If these were living, her family circle
would number a.
"A new departure in the construction of
ships Designed for the nitrate trade was her.
aided by the launching of the largest sailing
ship in the world the other day. Nitrate of
soda has = strong attraction for water absorb
ing SO much of it from the air as to be dissolved
by it in large quantities when in bulk. The
custom is to discharge the nitrate liquor over
board, and SO lose it, but the new vessel
special tanks are fitted in the hold, into which
the liquor drains.
The probabilities of future scarcity Of
gutta percha has been subject of concern to
the French government. which accordingly
sent scientist IN. Serullas) to the Malay
peninsula and adjacent islands to investigate
and report on the matter. NJ. Serullas states
that until some substitute is discovered gutta
percha IS absolutely indispensable to submarine
telegraphy. for other gums cannot be used for
the purpose with any practical results, as they
do not possess the proper qualities.
"A man has with him a working pump
called his heart, a working bellows called his
lungs, working vat called his stomach,
working condenser called his brain, and a
working evaporator called his skin, all of
which must be at work, whether he will OF not.
The heart is expending over his body, day by
day, l22 foot-tons of work. He will go on
lifting so many millions of tons in so many
years. IF he meet with no accident, the time
will come when his last stroke will be finished
and he will die
"A duel was recently witnessed between
an old gray rat and aweaseI which lasted nearly
an hour, and resulted in the annihilation of
the former The rat fought with great pluck
and determination, but his antagonist was too
much for him, and drew blood at every bite;
while the rat, which displayed the most ac-
tlvity, rushing in again and again failed to
make much impression upon the yielding hide
of the weasel. After the death of the rat the
weasel was too exhaused to leave the spot. and
the stick OF the spectator made short work OF
him.