Pittsburg dispatch. [volume] (Pittsburg [Pa.]) 1880-1923, 1891-10-08
CURIOUS CONVERSATIONS.

| The largest railroad station in the world
is at Birmingham, England. 1t covers II
acres.
Ripe strawberries we're gathered at
Southington, Conn, and at Pennington, n.
| H. last week.
Russia is experimenting very exten-
sively with the idea of using metal sleepers
upon the railroa dis in that country.
1t is claimed that the Eiffel Tower ID
Paris attracts so much electricity as to cause
great cloudi ness and an increased amount OF
rain in that vicinity.
"A foolish partridge flew into the shop
ofa Connecticut taxideFnista few days ago.
Five minutes later preparations were being
made to stuff and mount it.
"A recent invention introduced in facto-
ries enables any person in any part of the
factory to stop the main engine simply by
pushing an electric button.
"A peculiar bird was captured few days
ago near Cheyenne, Wyo. 1t has the head,
beak and talons of an eagle, but its plumage
is shaded green and blue, resembling that OF
parrot.
"A Charlottesville, Va, man was few
days ago sent to Jail for stealing 10 cents
worth of corn fodder. 1t required two men
to arrest him and cost the State $40 for the
proceedings.
In 20 life insurance companies doing
business in Massachusetts, to-day, there were
in force at the close of last year ,2l34 4t2 pol
cies, and the number is increasing at the
rate of over 120,G year.
The recent losses by fire in the cargo of
ships carrying cotton has shown that cot
ton seed oil, when held in the cotton on the
outside of the bale, rapidly oxidizes and
generates sp ontaneous combustion.
"A Truckee saloonkeeper has curiosity
in the shape of couple of big trout joined
together like the Siamese twins. The body
of each is perfect, but they are united by q
membrane attached to their bellies. They
are alive and frisky.
The Dublin National Gallery has been
curiously fortunate in making its recent
purchases, having acquired portrait by Sir
Peter Lely for 80 shillings, a portrait of Sir
Richard Steele by Kneller for f20 and q
group of saints by Paul Eeronase for ESQ.
During the year ending March 81, 1891,
the inhabitants of Great Britain consumed
p, ,S2s, 2s4 gallons of whisky. OF this amount
489l, l46 gallons were disposed of in Ireland.
almost q gallon per head. In Scotland the
average was even greater, amounting to N
gallons per head.
When Chinese compositor sets type
he places them in a wooden frame 22x15
inches. This frame has % grooves, each for
line of type, and the type rests in clay to
the depth of quarter of an inch. The types
are of wood, perfectly square, and the COM
positor handles them with pincers.
There is boy in Nebraska, according
to the Niobrara Tribune, who is now she'd
ding his skin for the sixth time in IL years.
This time he caught bad cold about the
time it came on, and he is now having the
second attack. The skin peels off from head
to foot in pieces as large as the hand.
The profits from fruit culture in Cali
fornia are seen from the following: Raisin
culture in Fresno county yields from $3.50 to
s400 per acre, walnuts from 5000 TO S400 april
cots, peaches and prunes average $3.50 per
acre. and in the vicinity of Riverside the re-
ceipts per acre on oranges have been as high
as 81, 200.
Artificial bitter almonds are produced
at trifiing cost, and with such skill that
they can scarcely be detected when used as
an adulterant of the genuine. This is
favored with a very small quantity of nitro
benzole, and when pressed in molds the pro-
duct is made to resemble the natural seeds
very closely.
If it were possible for man to construct
q globe 500 feet in diameter, and to place
upon any part of its surface an atom one
four thousand three hundred and eightieths
OF an inch in diameter and one-hundred and
twentieth OF an inch in height, it would cor
rectly denote the proportion man bears to
the earth upon which he stands.
A little girl of Los Angeles, while
visiting the ostrich farm with her father tine
other day. had her thumb bitten off by one
of the bears kept confined there. The father
dared not let go the child to get help or a
weapon, but beat the brute over the jaw
with his fist until his knuckle bones were
barred, before bruin would release his hold
on the child's hand.
The astronomer roval for Scotland
states that when the moon is half fun its
brilliancy is not nearly one-half as great as
when it is quite full He attributes the
brightness of the full moon to the bright
streaks which are then seen over the lunar
surface, starting from the craters. He sup
poses these to be convex or concave, and
largely invisible under cross lights, and
brilliantly illuminated when the sun shines
full upon them.
The recent advocacy by some of the use
of atmospheric air as fuel is pronounced one
of the most remarkable results of modern
experiments with one of the essential ele-
ments of the universe. As is well under
stood air is mixed with coal gas and with
hydrocarbon vapors, and the compound,
when burned, generates much greater heat
than if the air was absent. The new fuel,
however, is the air itself. which, in power
full blast is directed upon an incandescent
substance-say, coal made white hot, pure
carbon. or any other materials that can be
made to glow.
-frOI. a. L. hdy, Oh AS0ldnu, va, WHO
has been studying the moon through a tel
escope says there has recently been eX-
traordinary volcanic action on the planet.
He says that on the night of June p, tre-
mendous energy over the whole surface pre-
sented itself. 81 saw that what of late have
been considered great gray plains are in
reality g1 eat seas, or else a molten mass, as
1 saw immense sheets, seemingly of water,
thrown through the lunarian atmosphere
and find a resting place at least q thousand
miles from where they formerly were. 1
saw several great mountains sink-the whole
moon swayed to and fro and everything in
the lunar heavens was in the widest confu-
sion gaZed with intensest awe upon this
awful spectacle for hours, until the confusion
finally subsidized and there seemed to be
dead calm as before. l feel fully confident
that the moon was thrown several degrees
out of her course and she is also perceptibly
nearer, perhaps 20 600 miles, No other as
tronomer appears to have noticed these dis
turDaDceS.