Pittsburg dispatch. [volume] (Pittsburg [Pa.]) 1880-1923, 1890-12-11
CURIOUS CONVERSATIONS.


of the 10 islands in the Sandwich group
only eight are inhabited.
A band stand is one of the luxuries in
the new Chicago Grand Central station
When completed, the new st. Louis
Union depot will be the largest in the country.
All over Mexico, except near the Q nited
States border, prices OF coal range from $40 to
SIS per ton.
When George I'LL was crowned, large
emerald fell from his crown; America was lost
in his reign.
Some philosopher has figured out that
II the sun were burning sphere of solid coal
1t could not last 5000 years.
Skeletons can be seen in the old Spanish
graveyard at st. Augustine, where time has
washed away the coverings to the bones buried
there.
All the postoffices in Italy receive money
on deposit, allowing interest at the rate of 31<
per cent per annum. and dividend paid every
tiVe years.
"A Kansas man made a small fortune
last season on potatoes When asked how he
did it, he answered: 81 planted them, and then
1 tended them"
While the United States had but IL
per cent of its area covered by forests. the EN-
pire of Germany has 26 per cent of its entire
area so covered
1t took ten men and boys to handle
drove of 200 turkeys that Butcher Amos Mace
drove through the town of Chalfont Bucks
county, few days ago.
When Baptist elder, in Sedalia, Mo-,
read the predictions of a cold wave he post
poned the baptismal ceremonies of ten candi-
dates to some more prOpiEious time.
The parrot has not the monopoly Of the
power of talking among birds. The mynah, a
species of starting. is very initiative and says
Good morning. very plainly in response to a
salutatlon.
"A Missouri exchange finds fault with
the annual report of Postmaster General Wan
amaker because it fails to furnish information
regarding the progress of the Sunday school
work OF the country.
The Mayor of Lexington, Mo-, has
started move among towns with populations
between 500 and 5000 to get into the Australian
paliot family A meeting OF Mayors is soon 70
De held in that town.
The Private Soldiers Monument on
Libby Hill at Richmond will be a reproduction
of Pompey's Pillar at Alexandria, Egypt. sur
mounted by a bronze figure of Confederate
lnfantryman musket in hand.
"A great deal Of complaint was being made
in Germany over the smuggling into the EN-
piTe through Holland of American bacon, and
steps are being taken to put stop to it. but il
seems that it cannot be entirely prevented
That section of the county along the
Berks and Lehigh railroad js the great potato
growing district of Berks county. and it is esti-
mated that this years crop in a few townships
in that section amounted to over 100 900 bushels.
An Alliance man was chosen police
Judge Of st. John, Kan, and the "boys" pro-
ceeded to initiate him by bringing up a couple
for marriage, the bride being a well-known
young man who was attired in women clothes.
The hand found in a trash pile at At
lanta Friday belonged to a railroad man
named Nash. DR.. Westmoreland had ampu-
tated it from Nash's arm last Sunday night
But how it got to the public trash dump no.
body knows.
To fell large mahogany tree is one
days task for two men. On account of the
wide SPURS which project from the trunk at its
base, scaffods have to be erected and the tree
cut off above the spurs, which leave a stump
from 10 to 10 feet, ,high-a waste Of the very
best wood.
"A Hannibal, Mo-, citizen who was an.
noyed by the town cows" strung a bare cop
per wire around his yard and attached it to the
electric wire with a switch connection. Before
going to bed he TUNED on the current. Next
morning there were two dead cows on his
flower beds.
There Is not railroad in this country
to-day" says railroad publication, where the
Knights of Labor could order strike and
carry it. There is not one afraid of them in the
least and most or them have openly discharged
all knights from their rolls. 1t is the fall of a
once great order"
There are about 40 citizens of the United
States residing IN Milan. They are not at
tracted there by the climate, by the public in
stitutions, or by business opportunities, but
solely by the reputation that Milan has for the
training SinperS- fudv
of vocal music in general.
About one-twentieth part of Costa Rics
is under cultivation or in use as pasture land,
three-twentieths has been reduced to pos
session as private property and three
twentieths has been granted to various
foreign corporations; the remainder NAV be
considered as public lands, obtainable by whom
soever they should be denounced in the form
prescribed by law.
"A Georgia man named Cough had
pet dog which usually like "Mary's little
lamb" wherever his master went he was sure
to 60" The other day the dog disappeared,
and Mr.. Coughs last recollection of him was
about his press while he was packing bale OF
cotton. Sure enough, the dog had found his
way into the press, and went down with the
cotton. OF course he was killed.
An old hen in one of the suburbs of
Chicago has been trying with all the earnest
ness of her nature for several weeks to hatch
something from ball of twine, piece of corn
cob and piece of dry putty. Her owner has
given up trying to dissuade her from the Job
and is now awaiting the result of the incuba-
tion with as much anxiety as the old hen her,
self.
-So-called Automatic" rifles have been
made from which it is possible to fire seven
rounds in one second. In these the force of the
recoil is utilized to eject the old shell and in
sert new one, close the breech and fire; this be-
Ing continued until the magazine is emptied- To
do all this it is only necessary to load once, cock
the hammer and pull the trigger once. The re-
mainder of the cartridges in the magazine are
then fired automatically.
AS science has advanced and the world
has become more and more known, problems
have been formulated which can be solved only
by observations in the regions of the poles;
and it is hardly possible to study geology me-
teorology, physical geography and many other
sciences without being stopped by important
questions which can be answered only in the
Arctic or Antarctic regions, and ii regard to
which we can offer now naught but uncertain
hypothesis.
1t isrelated of one of the engineers Of
the Georgia Southern that he ran his train to
Palatka one night recently schedule time
under adverse circumstances. Just after leay-
ing Valdosta the lamp exploded in the head
ngnt and occasioned considerable alarm for a
short time and what might have been a serious
affair was only averted by the GOODNESS and
presence of mind OF the engineer. Noticing
that all was not right ahead he sprang from his
seat and ran along the moving iron horse to the
front when. upon opening the headlight he
was confronted by blaze that proved threat
ening in aspect Nothing daunted he hurled
the burning missile into a ditch and ran his
train to this city, 150 miles, By the light Of the
moon.