Pittsburg dispatch. [volume] (Pittsburg [Pa.]) 1880-1923, 1891-02-05
CURIOUS CONVERSATIONS.

2 per cent levied on all bets on races.
The candles at Mrs. Roger A. Pryor's
receptions, in New York City, stand in CANDLE
sticks 200 years old.
During the fine weather of last week
several farmers near Calgary, Canada, sowed
wheat as an experiment.
CLAY Center has an interesting curiosity
in the shape of a man who is the editor Of
newspaper and the cashier of a bank.
The development of smokeless coal
mines in Tonouin shows much larger deposits
than were at first believed to be possible.
"A Springport, Mich, mans greatest
feat was the drinking of six barrels of cider In
one winter. He actually feels proud of it.
1t was an old lady from the rural dis.
tricts who said she envied boneless sardines
because they never could have the rheumatism.
One of the employees of the postal tele-
graph Office in st. Petersburg has invented q
watch which will run 45 days at a single wind
ing.
The results of the recent expedition to
Greenland prove that north of 75o the land is
covered with a sheet OF Ice 5000 to 5000 feet
thick over the valleys.
The numerically smallest religious de-
nomination discovered by Porter's census
takers is that of the Schwankfeldians. There
are QUO OF them and all dwell in Pennsylvania.
Joseph Bond. colored. Lying near
Toronto, has lain in bed in the sulks for q
years and is now approaching death. all be-
cause his mother sold her farm against his will.
Newfoundland is just now in the throes
of a fearful scourge of diphtheria. One of every
IL inhabitants of st. Johns is suffering with
the dread disease. The plague is not by any
means confined to the cities. but seems to have
extended over the whole country
The Rock wood, Tenn, Times says: A
young lady from our sister city of Cardiff has
started out on the most sensible plan, which il
becoming very popular, of riding astride on
horseback. We can see no reason why this
practice should not. become the general custom.
1t was found from careful termination
tests at the Wisconsin station that the huIled
grains Of timothy seed neither germinate so
well nor retain their vitality so long as those
not hulled; also that timothy seed, when prop
erly stored, is fairly reliable up to five years
Prof Vaughn. of the Ann Arbor Uni
versity. has manufactured a lymph for the cure
OF typhoid fever upon the same principles as
koch's lymph. He has experimented with the
lymph upon small animals He will try il upon
human patients as soon as he has thoroughly
tested the Koch lymph. 1000 injections Of
which have been received at the university.
"A young woman of Athens detects the
presence Instantly of any feline that enters the
room where she is. She need not see or hear
the animal when it enters, but has intimation
OF Its disagreeable presence by strage sensa-
tions that she invariably experiences when she
is brought into contact with a cat and she en-.
tertalns an uncomfortable repugnance to these
animals.
Petroleum was discovered near the sur
face at Lafayette. La, recently Drilling was
commenced at once in the hope Of tapping
reservoir of the fluid. At depth of so feet
bed of solid coal of fine quality was struck
The oil, which tests So per cent pure kerosene
and small per cent of lubricating oil. naphtha
and Vaseline. has SO far appeared only in linn
tied quantities.
Lucy Tucker, colored, of Trigg county,
KY, aged los years. has cut full set of new
teeth, the old ones having decayed and disap-
peared about 40 years ago. She had also been
nearly blind for many years. but recently her
sight began to improve, and she can now see as
well as when a young woman She Is the
mother of 10 children, and has ninety odd
grandchildren now living.
The Princess Ghika, sister of Queen
Natalie. has one child. boy. So displeased is
the Princess with the sex of the child who is
now about years old, that she calls him BY a
girls name. dresses him exactly like little
girl in frillS and lace, and is bringing him up
much after the fashion of girls. What the re-
suit Of this treatment will be on the boy nature
Pay cars are familiar sights on Ameri-
can railways. but this country has not yet en-
ployed the locomotive IN banking operations
One of the New Zealand banks has special
car which visits the rural districts, cashes
checks and receives deposits. The experiment.
is said to be profitable, and is great conven-
ience to settlers who would otherwise be COM
PEELED to leave their farms and visit town on
numerous occasions.
Great anxiety is felt in Switzerland con-
cerning the deea6ence of the matchmaking in
dustry, which, next to the textile industry, is
the mainstay of the inhabitants of the country
The profits are dwindling down. as the United
States ana England are every year becoming
more powerful rivals in this field. The de-
mand, too. for Swiss watches IS falling off con-
sderablv in certain countries, notably in this
country and in France.
"A bill has been introduced in the lower
branch of the Minnesota Legislature providing
that any public officer. state, municipal or
county, accepting any gifts. free pass or other
favors. no. granted to the general public from
any railroad or other corporation in the State
shall be held guilty of felony. and be punished
by fine not less than 81 900 nor more than
S5O00 or by imprisonment in the State prison
not less than six months, nor more than one
year, or both.
-Aswhite book is published in Berlin
containing Emin Pasha's reports to the middle
of November last. They form record Of
Emin's extravaganza aud disregard of instruc-
tions. He ignored the order TO found a station
on the Victoria NyanZ7, and hoiSted his flag at
TGbora. Emin spent 10000 marks instead of
the $1,000 marks allowed him. He repeatedly
complains OF the insufficiency of his supplies,
owing to which, he says. his men are becoming
mutinous. He therefore declines responsible
ity for the failure of the expedition.
"A recent microscopical study by Herr
Gob g Oh elri IL
has yielded some interesting results. There
are two kinds of glands, mucous and poison
glands. The former are numerous over the
whole body, while the latter are on the body
and limbs, and there are groups in the ear re-
gion behind the eye and in the salamander at
the angle of the jaw. The poison glands are, of
course, protective. and the corrosive juice is
differently in toadS and salamanders
on stimulating electrically; in the latter it is
spurted out in fine jet sometimes more than a
foot in length; whereas in the toad, after
long action of the current, it exudes sparingly
in drops. There is no reason for supposing
that the mucous glands become poisonous.