Pittsburg dispatch. [volume] (Pittsburg [Pa.]) 1880-1923, 1891-08-24
CURIOUS CONVERSATIONS.
=Astor,s daily income is s23, ,OOO.

| -ASbOE 3 10 r@cJOOO-
The interior of Labrador is said to be
the largest unexplored area on the contt-
| nent.
The manufacture of false teeth for
horses is q new industry just started in
| Paris.
1t has been estimated that the perma-
nent tramp population of the United States
| numbers 5000
"A painter locked up in the Jail at Du-
buque Iowa, is decorating the walls with
landscape pictures.
"A turtle four feet across the back is said
to have frequented Current river, in Mis-
/ souri, for the past 30 years.
| The tobacco crop in California promises
| to he great success, and the industry VIII
probably become profitable one.
Pure rock salt has been discovered in
Kansas ut depth of 500 feet, and the supply
is said to be practically inexhaustable.
| "A lad of years bound for Oregon, ar
| rived at New York on Monday after travel
ing unattended all the way from England
On the Missouri Pacific road, 25O miles
west of st. Louis, is Waterloo, and in the i'm
mediate vicinity are Napoleon and Yelling
| ton.
The only foreign cadet at West Point,
| it is stated, is a 20-year-Old son of Gen. ISL
dore Urtecho, commander-in-chief Of the
Nicaraguan army.
Women in Kansas at any rate seem'to
be availing themselves of the privilege Of
voting at the last election in Cawker City
Ii more women than men voted.
"A new antiseptic, called microc1dins
has been discovered. 1t is powder, formed
of naphthol and soda. 1t is almost harmless
and is neither poisonous nor irritant
Experiments at the McGill University,
Montreal, show that signal may be flashed
through the round circuit of 5000 miles Of
ocean cable in the average time of only Los
seconds.
Winter forcing of tomatoes Is very
profitable, especially near large cities. A
high temperature, plenty of sunlight, and
great care in the growing are all that is re-
qufred to produce good results.
The great seal of the United States is
affixed to nothing but treaties, proclama-
tions, commissions pardons and passports.
| The Government has had but two seals in
| the 100 years since its foundation.
The largest gun ever made by Krupp is
| the property of the Russian government. It
| is made of cast steel, and has barrel 40 feet
| long, with n bore of 1871 inches. 1t costs ST.,
| 800 to fire single shot from the gum
| "A bed of pure rock salt that has been
discovered in the Colorado desert has been
| found to contain the fossil remains of mill
/ lOliS vi SIdSSuOppCIS ldhb SChbIDCUOS
that fell into the salt when it wasin liquid
| state.
| The catacombs of Rome contain the re-
mains of about 100000 human beings, and
those of Paris about s3,OO0,OOO The latter
| were formerly stone quarries. Many of the
| victims OF the revolution of 1924 are buried
| there.
Since Brazil became republic it has
\ vastly increased in favor as a field for Ger
4 of yyb 7 !,
| there during the first six months of the
present year, as compared with 2, 1872 during
/ the whole of last year, while in 1888 there
! were only 22S
| "A drowning person usually but not al
ways rises to the surface once or twice be-
| fore sinking, partly because the air in the
| lungs when he first fell in, is not all instant
| ly expelled and replaced by water: partly
| because of reaction and partly as q result OF
| mis- struggles.
! The new force may yet be useful in
! horticulture and Horticulture. Electric light
has been employed advantageously on
| board OF West India steamer crossing the
| ocean to keep alive and f1OuriShing certain
| plants which were being transported for
| acclimatization.
| "A new steel cuirass, covering the breast
! only will shortly be introduced into the
| Austrian army. 1t is said to be impenetrable
| to the bullets of any rifle yet invented 10
| can be folded up and packed in an ordinary
knapsack. The armies of the Triple ALI
| ance will he provided with it.
by novel device heavy guns can now
be aimed and fred with the greatest accu-
racy, without exposing the gunners, and
| without their even seeing the object to be
| fired at. The principle used is that of so
| training the gun as to cause the object to be
| reflected upon screen at the rear of the
| gun.
| The amount of phosphorus consumed
I
| used in match making. Hitherto chemicals
| were used in its manufacture, but by a recens
| Improvement the raw material and coke are
placed in a specially prepared furnace and
| is condensed, and marketable phosphorus is
| produced.
And there were giants in those days.
There is a tract in Levy county, Fla, In
which three holes have been dug 30 fees
apart, and each excavation has laid bara
parts of the skeletons of huge animal. Tho
diggers take it for granted that the bones all
belonged to the same creature and are won
dering what sort of beast 1t was whose re-
mains underlie the county.
-Pawnee Rock, on the old Santa Fe
trail, is an immense pile of historic sand
stone in Barton county, where the Pawneo
Indians used to gather, and rumor says that
in its shadow they made their last stand in
bloody battle against Caucasian encroach-
ment. But greed of gain has been the ruina-
tion of an interesting landmark, and it is be-
ing quarrfed and sold at 81 90 load
The deepest mine in the world it at st.
Andre de Poirer, France, and yearly pro
duces 3000 900 tons of coal The mine is
worked with two shafts, one 1882 feet deep
and the other 3OS3. The latter shaft is now
being deepened and will soon touch the
4OO0-foot level. A remarkable feature is the
comparatively low temperature experienced,
which seldom rises above 75o Farenheit.
The stock of paid notes in the Bank Of
England for five years is about Il, ,745 900 in
number, and they will fill 13,4OO boxes,
which, II placed side by side, would reach
21l miles. If the notes were placed in pile
they would reach to q height of 523 miles, or
if Joined end to end would form a ribbon
12455 miles long. The superficial extent is
rather less than that of Hyde Park Their
original value was over El 750, 0,626OOO, and
their weight over 962s tons.
1t is said that the ingenious Mr.. Naye-
mura Sakusaboro, the japanese druggist,
has made excellent success of his expert-
ment of converting wild hemp into textile
impossible to distinguish from silk. Many
trials were made at first of the hempen
thread at various silk-weaving manufactor-
les in kiotO and elsewhere, and the reports
softness, and more than the durability OF
silk, while the plant as it grows is much
cheaper than the slow and expensive prod.