Pittsburg dispatch. [volume] (Pittsburg [Pa.]) 1880-1923, 1891-08-31
CURIOUS CONVERSATIONS.

| Southern Pacific locomotives will soon
use for fuel bricks made of coal dust and
asphaltum.
"A vegetable cartridge shell, which is
entirely consumed In firing, is now coming
into general use in the French army.
There are now q royal families in
Europe, which have about 4s0 male members.
OF these 27 families, no less than Is are Ger
man.
In Sicily pigs are usedas the scavengers
OF the towns. They eat the filthiest of street
| spread
/ A man at Shelton, Conn, has acquired
| IN appetite for live bullfrogs, which he swal-
| lows easily, If not too large, and with evi-.
| dent relish.
! "A sugar Is times sweeter than cane
sugar and 20 times sweeter than beet sugar
| has been extracted from cottonseed meal by
| q German chemist.
! "A man In Concord, Mich, makes his
living by raising English sparrows. When
the birds feather out he cuts of their heads
| and gets the per cent on them.
The man-faced crab of Japan has a body
| hardly an inch in length, yet the head is
\ fitted with a face which is the perfect coun-
| terDart of that of a Chinese coolie.
Eskimo women are boot and shoemakers,
are made of sealskin throughout, or else
| the legs of sealskin and the sOles of walrus
| skin.
| -Subterranean Florida is honeycombed
| by underground streams. When these are
| obstructed from any cause they work their
way to the surface, making tho great
| swamps which are Characteristic of the
| State.
Prof Law has experimental with sew
eral different forms which were capable of
doubling their number every hOur. When
in the best condition a single bacterium Will
give 16,777,200 individuals i'll the short space
of 81 hours.
Stone forests are found in variotis parts
of the world. In many cases they are hard
ened by some popularity of the atmosphere,
and are found standing just as they were
when clothed with green foliage thousands
of years ago.
The provincial cities of France are
being entertained by remarkable artist.
With plates of various colored sand before
her, she takes the sand in her right hand
| and causes it to fall in beautiful designs
upon table.
"A herd of halfbred bison exists in
| England. The animals are descended from
| American bison imported several years ago
| by Viscount Combermere and crossed on
| British cows. The halfbison beef has al
| ways sold at the highest prices.
On the road leading from Atglen to
Cochranville, Chester county, Pa, two good
| sized streams meet at right angles on al
most level ground each having heavy fall
| in reaching the point. The streams cross
| each other and continue on their way in
| separate beds.
The revenue of the Brooklyn bridge
amounts to s15O 900 a year, derived almost
exclusively from fares. The other items of
revenue, last year, were $50, 900 from rentals
and $4,000 from telegraph and telephone
companies The lightest month In the year
for business on the bridge is July.
AT Guilford, Conn, there is Shanghai
rooster endowed with an ear for music ands
sweet voice. It is owned by the pastor of
the Congregational Church, and as it has had
frequent opportunities to hear the doxology
IL has learned the tune. and sings 1t, too,
much to the amusement of the congregation.
The street railways of Paris are under
the Government control and the rules for
their guidance are very strict. Only four
passengers are allowed to stand on the back
platform, and they must pay the same fare
as the frst-class passengers inside, viz, 8
cents, while those on the roof OF the car ride
at half rates.
Indian Agent Cole has completed his
work of enrolling the Cosur d'Alene Indians
entitled to share in the distribution Of
recently ceded. 1t is found that 426 Indians
are entitled to share of the money, and
that oaCl VIII receive SI, SONIC OI IQ6U
are already well-to-do.
,---Eskimo women are nearly all expert
jugglers. They make all sorts of figures
with string-reindeer, bears, geese, musk
oxen dogs and the hl<e-and there is one
thing they can do TO perfection-a woman
will change her coat right in front of your
eyes, and there will not be the slightest sug-
gestion of indeIicacy in the act.
-Bothin Vienna and Berlin organ grinders
are obliged to pay heavily for a license and
are restricted under severe penalties to
playing in court yards or cafes or liquor
stores. Playing in the streets is absolutely
forbidden. In Paris the lceuse Is equally
COSTLY and the artist" is only allowed to
piav within authorized hours at the places
specially mentioned in his license.
A Los Angeles man suffered so intense
ly from an obstruction in his intestines that
an operation was found necessary to save
his life. A switch of woman's hair, half Off
black and half of it blonde, was found lodged
tnere The man had during his life two
wives onea brunette and the other blonde.
After the victim had recovered from the
operation he denied having ever swallowed
the switch.
The sword carried by Ethan Allen at
the battle of Ticonderoga ia now in Jack
son, Mich. 1t has an old-fashioned blade 81
inches long, nicked and venerable: the
handle, WHICH is of bone, is seven inches
long the mounting is of silver washed with
gold: on one of the bands of the scabbard
the name "Ethan Allen is engraved A
doQ's head of silver forms the end of the
handle, and from this to the guard is a silver
chain.
"A farmer living near Sulphur Springs,
o. was at O cranberry marsh at work when
he found six pretty round eggs, and so
greatly pleased was he at their appearance
that he picked them up and put them in his
pocket to take home to the children. The
warmth of his pocket spoiled the eggs as
playthings for the children, for when he
reached home the farmer found he had five
little blacksnal<es in his pocket, one of the
eggs failing to hatch.
A party from the Portland OregoniGp
office lately ascended Mount Hood. On the
summit they saw n very lively mouse, which
had made its nest in the copper box left by
the Alpine Club. 1t had gnawed one corner
off the book and cut mp newspaper to
make a nest. Some of the boys threw stones
at tbe mouse but soon desisted when they
thought what n struggle for existence the
little beast must have. What the mouse or
the foxes live on is difficult to imagine. The
Marty left some food for the mouse, and
probably everyone who ascends the mount
ain leaves some crusts or crumbs there, but
such stray fodder must furnish a very pre-
carious existence even for mouse and his
mate.
JEsrs FROM THE JOURNALS.