Pittsburg dispatch. [volume] (Pittsburg [Pa.]) 1880-1923, 1891-03-19
CURIOUS CONVERSATIONS.

/ sAAcc sAnos budb OF CauIOrQl1-
"A Snow Hill, Md, man ate half
gallon of peanuts at one sitting the other day.
1t has been raining in Sumner county,
Ga, incessantly for 80 days. The damage TO
| farms is estimated at S5O,OOO
| Among flock of blackbirds that Wis
tied Gardner, Miss. few days ago was one
| that was pure white.
| "A woman heavily veiled visited Sher.
mans grave recently and besought the guard
to sell her some dirt from it.
An immense 200-ton piece of granite
which will dress to pillar feet in diameter
BY 45 feet long has recently been quarried near
| Petersburg. Va.
"A foreign matchmaker has patented Q
device by which an hour two before clock
opening in the dial.
"A new departure in cremation is re-
ported. A patent has been taken out in France
for electric furnace for the rapid incinera-
ton of human remains.
The first game of modern baseball ever
seen in Grant parish La, was played Sunday,
March /. The contestants were railroad con-
struction and sawmill men.
The poundmaster of Oakland. Cal, sold
for s12 at an estray auction an unclaimed horse.
The animal was subsequently identified as
$1,000 thoroughbred trotter.
Ingenious engineers suggest that the ar
tesian wells may be developed by means Of cleo
trical appliances into a powerful and cheap
source OF almost unlimited power.
"A Wisconsin lady. the wife of Secre-
tary in the Brazilian War Department, has the
somewhat solitary distinction of being the only
newspaper woman in South America.
"A speculator in Oronogo, Jasper county,
NO.. advertised himself as Jack" buyer,
meaning zinc ore. Imagine his astonishmenI
when he had four carloads of asses shipped to
him.
"A Union veteran of Charlotte, N. c.,
who applied for Federal pension in 1881, re-
ceived word last week that it had been granted.
1t will be Of no use to him, as he died the next
day alter the news came to him.
1t is proposed doing away with the old
system Of lightning rod protection and replac-
ing the rods with narrow ribbons of copper.
which will use up the energy Of the lightning
and save the building from destruction.
"A trouser button manufacturer at Bar
men adyertises his willingness to pay $50 to the
heirs of any man who may be killed in q rail-
way accident, provided he Is shown to have
been wearing at least six Of the manufacturers
buttons.
The waltz had its beginning in Ger
many, and thence was taken to France, shortly
after which it was introduced into England.
Hungary was the birthplace of the galopade or
galop. and from Poland came the stately
polonaise or polacca and mazourka.
The present postmistress in North
Penobscot mnst be an official who is not an
offensive partisan. She has held the office q
years, and is now 20 years of age. She attends
10 the mails three times every day. and in all
sorts Of weather, although the postoffice is sit-
uated about 20 rods from her house.
is known as an "a. Bechtler Carolina gold
dollar" 1t contains q grains of gold, and was
made by A. Bechtler. of South Carolina who
had permit for the purpose from the Govern
ment shortly after the end of the Revolution
ary War. 1t contains 81 on worth of gold.
1t is strange that the use of points for
purposes of punctuation should be such a
comparatively modern invention. OF the four
generally-used points only the period C) dates
y is said to have been first introduced about
1485. the comma ~ some IS years later, and the
semi-colon (;) about 1870.
A large block of wooden buildings in
the Chinatown of Victoria, B. c., has been
burned by order of the City Council to make
room for a new public market. 1t was deemed
advisable to get rid of the old rookeries in this
way instead Of by removal, so as to avoid all
danger of sickness. The Chinese theater was
among the buildings burned.
Mine years ago a resident of California
imported the first ostriches from Africa, and
from these birds have been bred 468 ostriches
now in the State. One man. who runs an
ostrich farm in Santa Monica. and has IS birds.
says that each bird Yields 500 q year. making
his gross revenue $1,000; deducting expenses, he
has clear IS, 500 on sl5, QUO investment.
"A professor of the North Dakota Ex-
perimental station says that the most prolific,
and in his estimation one of the most profitable,
fruits is the buffalo berry. There flourish in
the State three varieties of cherries, two Of
raspberrles, one of currantS. one of juneberry,
one OF strawberry and one Of wild grape. the
fruitage being the largest in North Dakota,
where the plants are dwarfed.
Among the unusual inventions patented
by women are improved bottle stopper i'm
proved method of fastening door knobs to
their spindles. an appliance for plucking hair
to be used IN the dressing of furs, improved
method of preparing leather for the soles of
boots and shoes. for improvements in electric
arc lamps and for more reliable indicators
specially applicable for use on the rolling stock
Of railways.
When coal was first used in England
the prejudice against 1t was so strong that the
House of Commons petitioned the King to pro-
hibit the use of the "noxious'' fuel. A royal
proclamation having failed to abate tSs
nuisance, a commission was issued to ascertain
It's neighborhood. to punish them by force for
the first otfense. and by the demolition Of their
furnaces if they persisted In transgressing. A
aw wBs finally passed making it a capital
offepse to burn coal in the city and only per-
hitting it TO be used by torges in the vicinity
It is stated that among the records IN the Tower
of London a document was found, according to
which, a man was hanged in the time Of Ed
ward for no other crime than having been
,aught burning coal.
The forces of nature were utilized in
-emarkable manner at the West Hartford,
Conn, reservoirs during the past winter-and .
rood deal of money was saved 20 the city
hereby The new reservoir, No. 5, was drawn
iown last summer in order to be cleaned out
rhe Job had not been finished when cold
Weather came on, about one-third of the bot
om still being untouched. The water was
hut out, but small quantity Of rain and
Melted snow afterward covered the bottom
With several inches of water This froze solid
,yer the muck which covered the uncleaned
portion of the reservoir bed. Later on the gate
vas opened ana the reservoir allowed to I'LL
With water. As the water rose the layer of ice
N the bottom rose also, bringing with it the
mass of muck on which 1t lay and to which is
vas firmly attached. This operation was per.
ormed gradually. and the ice kept growing
Kicker. At length the water rose to its full
leighth, and then the ice with its burden Of
muck was hauled ashore, where it now lies
The bottom of the reservoir was perfectly
leaned. and the work thus easily done would
ave kept large gang Of men at work Tor
period.