Pittsburg dispatch. [volume] (Pittsburg [Pa.]) 1880-1923, 1891-12-05
CURIOUS CONVERSATIONS.

Glass has been made il the United
States since 1720.
"A sweet potato was recently dug up In
Fresno that weighed 4474 pounds.
"A farmer at Mission Bottom, Ore, dug
up a turnip in his patch the other day that
weighed Is pounds.
"A KEY for the unlocking of the most
intricate lock exists in every watch, says a
Rochester lockmaker.
"A hawk shot recently near Rolph's
Wharf, Nd, had brass band around one Of
its legs marked 1852"
The skeletons of what are supposed to
have been nine Indians were dug up few
days ago near Easton, Md
The population of London is now A.
42l, ,661. That of Paris, which comes next in
the list of large cities, 2,344,35O.
The famine in Russia involves 40, ,000,-
900 human beings-nearly two-thirds OF the
population OF the United States
Great Britain poured nearly 150, 900 emil
grants into the United States during the first
seven months of the present year.
The hour of four is usually marked on
clock dials by four "I's," or straight lines,
instead of the Arabic numerals, Nv.
December was with the Dutch the
winter month, with the saxons, the mid
winter month, and with the French, Fri
maire, the month OF hoar frost. ...-
The last of New England's historic elms
was cut down q few days ago, the tree being
the famous Winchester elm, in Boston It
was standing full grown when the white
man fl rst came in 1860. Under it was signed
the last treaty with the Indians, and under
it stood Captain Brooks, when in f75 he
was summoned to arm against the British
by the flying courier.
AN arc lamp that combines the princi-
Piles of the incandescent and arc lamps has
been invented. One carbon is O tube and
the other round rod, the rod fitting into
tube and being insulated from it by layer
of asbestos. When the fianged head OF the
inner carbon is il contact with the cylinder
an arc is formed. The carbons are consumed
slowly in vacuum.
Two boys near Boston Island, Booth
Bay harbor, last week, saw two big eagles
fighting in the air 200 feet above the water.
The talons of one bird became entangled in
wing of the other, and both fell into the
sea- when the boys rowed out to them one
OF the eagles showed fight and they were
obliged to kill it, but the other was captured
alive, and measures six feet from tip TO rip.
Least attractive among the insects which
give fight are the socalled electric cent?
pedes' black crawlers with many legs,
which have been likened to serpents' skele-
TONS IN immature Iley move IN o snake
like fashion, forward or backward, leaving
behind them bright track of phosphoric
light. However, they are most accustomed
to appear in the day time. when the illumi-
nation they afford is not visible.
Near Horn Head. County Donegal, Ire
land, there is a hole in the rocks called Nc
Swiney's gun. 1t is on the seacoast and is
said to have connection with a cavern
When the north wind blows and the sea is
at half flood the wind and the waves enter
the cavern and send up jets of water from
the '9un" to a height of more than 100 feet.
The jets of water are accompanied by ex-
plosions which may be heard for miles,
1t has been demonstrated that all per-
sons ordinarily read a clock dial by the
position of the figures and disregard the
figures themselves. One of the best known
public diaIs in Boston has no mark save .
straight line at each of the places usually oc-
. cupied by the Roman numerals, and the
maker of the great clock of the London Par
lament Houses made another great dial,
upon which he indicated each hour by q
single straight line.
Differences in character between the
people of the various sections of Brazil, q
country about as big as the United States
are very marked. The States south of the
equator are industrious and enterprising,
but the northern States, in which the heat
is oppressive and the means of Hfecan easily
ural resources of the northern section OF
Brazil surpass those of the southern section,
and vet the SouthernerS are more prosper
GUS than the NOrtherners-
"A mandatory at Springfield, o.. has
been seriously endangered by the burrowing
OF small insect into the woodwork, the
floor joists, frames and posts All OF the
woodwork is full of holes, and the support
ing posts are rendered very weak. The mat
ter has grown so serious that a number of
the insects were sent to the State Entomolo-
gist to be investigated to ascertain whether
there is any wav of getting rid of them. Un-
less this can be done soon the entire wood
work of the manufactory will have to be re-
placed by new material
Eminent men in some cases had the
benefit of early start. Webster was in coll
lege at Ii, and at 80 he was the peer OF the
abest man in Congress. Martin Luther had
become distinguished at "a, and at 56 had
reached the topmOst round of fame. Napo-
leon at 25 commanded the Army of Italy. Ao
so he was not only the most illustrious Gen.
eral of the time, but one of the great law
oiyers of the world. William Pitt entered
the ministry at IA. was Chancellor of the
Exchequer at y. Prime Minister at "a, and at
35 the most powerful uncrowned head
in Europe.
The total coal product last year was
H1, ,229 5l3 tons. OF this quantity 5000, ,4s7
tons were anthracite-all from Pennsyl-
vania. except 2, 900 tons from New England
and SSH tons from Colorado and New
Mexico The bituminous product yearly is
about 81, ,625, 900, or more than twice that OF
asthracite. The annual output has nearly
doubled in ten years. The output of differ
ent States is as follows: Pennsylvania,
nearly - 600 900 tons: Illinois, l3.0000OG; Ohio,
TO- GOOCO0: West Virginia. 1000, 0,00O Iowa,
500 OOO Alabama. 100000: MARYLAND. Indi-
ana, kentucky and Missouri, 3000,0C0, and
Tennessee, .. 100000.
Canadians are making an exodus from
their country to the United States. During
last August 10 families left the vicinity of
Hamilton, Ont, for the United States, ac-
cording to the Hamilton Times, and from
January to october l this year 9I families,
an estimated total of $50 persons, emigrated
from that region to this side of the line. The
exodus from Windsor has been fully as
markable. In four months of last year 42
more persons had emigrated from Windsor
to Detroit than in the corresponding months
of the entire preceding nine years. Besides
these families, many young persons left the
country while the heads of the families re-
manned.