Pittsburg dispatch. [volume] (Pittsburg [Pa.]) 1880-1923, 1891-09-27
CURIOUS CONVERSATIONS.

Rosewood comes from South Amer
ica.
The fireworks of the future will be
electrical
"A great deal of California fruit" has
been exported from Missouri this year.
Seven acres Of land under cultivation
sold at Riverside, Cal, the other day for
13,O01N
"A London juurnal Is trying to increase
its popularity by publishing itself on
scented paper.
A mischievous Camden, n. j., boy is
in jailfor painting whiskers on the figure OF
an angel on gravestone.
BY a recent legislative enactment
Georgia physicians who indulge in intoxi-
cants are disqualified from practice.
The Vienna Prefect of Police has or
dered an investigation of whether the long,
sweeping skirts of ladies tend to spread con-
tagious diseases.
The accommodations of the Vatican
may be imagined when the Pope put 200
beds in at the disposal of the French pill
grtms, free of charge.
The locust appears to have met his
match In Afghanistan, where u bird, called
by the Afghans "Saneh," has appeared in
vast numbers and eaten up the insects.
In the Chicago city directory many
names were omitted owing to a refusal Of
the members of labor organizations to give
their names and addresses because it was
printed at a scab printing house.
AN Englishman who has been travelling
in Siberia says that the life of the Russian
exiles there Is not so hard as has been de-
pteted. They enjoy society, indulge in fancy
dress balls and have good time generally
but with limitations.
The Eitfel tower is evidently financial
success Over fI7,OO0 has been paid for adj
mission to IL by visitors since March y last.
when this years season commenced. Dur
ing August. when Paris is always crowded
with tourists, the receipts exceed $4,000.
"A wind storm which swept over New
Orleans on Monday, says a dispatch, Grid
that city entirely of fEnglish sparrows, which
were swept by the thousands into Lake
Pontchartrain and the Gulf and drowned
Many were also killed by being driven
against houses"
According to Edward Everett Hale the
beautiful name California" was the erea-
tion of Senior Don Ordonez de Montalvo, in
his Spanish romance entitled "Lergas de
Esplandian, published in 1870 in which he
mentioned the Island of California on the
right hand of the Indies, very near the ter
restrial paradise"
Sfamese are not produced, as has been sup
posed heretofore, by coating them with a
mixture of betel and lime, but by rubbing
the teeth with paste made from charred
coeoanut kernels. This is carefully applied
to the teeth again and again. until a black
varnish hides the natural white.
"A huge toad-stool has appeared every
fall forthe .astten years on a low branch of
an elm tree, near Woldeck Park, Berlin. 1t
stands about 25 inches high and has q cap
almost feet in diameter. Two years ago a
policeman picked it, cooked it, and ate and
suffered no bad results from the meal. On
September the big toad-stool sprouted for
the eleventh time.
Officer Musgroye sscended to the dome of
the granite capitol at Austin, Tex, to in
spect the swarm of bees which had settled
in the nostrils of the statue of the Goddess
of Liberty. The figure is II feet high and
high. Over Musgrove says there are prob
ably several barrels of honey in the bronze
head of the goddess.
"A Georgia doctor has a different method
OF dealing with burglars from locking them
up or shooting them. The other night he
caught one in a closet in an upstairs room,
and, seizing him. bore him to the yard.
where he fastened him to a post and pro-
ceeded to fog him. The man begged for
mercy, but the doctor did not stop until he
had administered $50 lashes.
The Arlington (Wash. } Times puts it
about right when it says: Chinese wishing
to get into this country go over to Victoria
and take out naturalization papers, swearing
allegiance to the Queen of England. Then,
as naturalized British subjects, they jauntily
step across the line into the United States,
"Wbat are you going TO do,
brother, what are you going to do2" as they
pass the customs officers
"A remarkable weather change is re-
ported to have occurred at Orenburg, Rus
sin, OIL November 10, 1899. After a tempera-
ture of Sc degrees with heavy rain there was
= fall to Is degrees below zero in 20 minutes.
Some 80 Kirghises who were returning to
Orenburg, were drenched with the rain, then
frozen on their horses. Ten of them had
been found and the others we're being sought
for. Many horses and other animals sue
cumbed to the cold.
The conditions of warfare have been so
changed by smokeless powder and
magazine rifles, effective asa mile and a half
that European Governments are seeking for
devices that will afford protection to SOL
1iers. Austria and France arc experiment
ing with shields for this purpo.e. COM
mittee of the French War Office have re-
ported in favor of buckler OF aluminium
ind copper. They think that a shield can
be made ont of this combination light
enough to be carried without serious diff
,ulty and strong enough to stop even the
rifle bullet, except at very close
quarters.
An English syndicate recently sent an
expert mining engineer to look up the old
,old mines in Portugal. He struck one Of
he old Roman mines worked in the days of
Cesar Augustus. In those days they cut
lown the vein and this vein wns 500 feet
ieep before pay rock was reached. The
nine was open for an area OF ten acres or
more up to the surface, every foot of ground
laving been taken or The debris around
hese old mines could be worked over at
,rofit were they in America, but in Portugal
{ would cost too much for the transporta-
ion of machinery.
-Aletter nine wears on its travels lisa rare
occurrence nowadays. On September 6, 1859,
Ierr L., living in PrenzIau, sent letter to
lis brother at the Wellington Hotel, Christ
hurch, New Zealand. The letter arrived
afely, but never reached the hands of the
erson to whom it was addressed: and now,
fter nine years straying, has been, through
he postofice in Berlin, returned to the
ender. Numerous German, English and
rench postmarks and remarks cover the
nvelope and apparently it was for a long
me unnotieed in the letter box at the
Vellington Hotel. The envelope bears the
.nglish postmark October 8, 1882, the date Of
une 8, 1891, with the inscription, "Non re-
lame" and Not called for.'' It then went
ack to Germany. On August Is il fell into
he hands of the sender at Prenzlau. His
rother, TO whom it was sent, died long
nee.