Pittsburg dispatch. [volume] (Pittsburg [Pa.]) 1880-1923, 1891-01-13
CURIOUS CONVERSATIONS.

"A man in Lancaster county, Pa, catches
rabbits with hook and line.
I'm Italy e3 per cent of the population
are unable to read and write.
An Oroville, CAL, man keeps thieves
from his orange trees by tying cow bells to
them.
AT the beginning Of the new year, IN
Paris, everyone Is expected TO put on a new
suit of clothes.
There are 1000 unclaimed Christmas
presents in the New York postoffice because Of
the senders' carelessness.
Artificial eyes are supplied to all the
world from Thuringis, Germany. Nearly all
the grown inhabitants of some of the villages
are engaged in their manufacture.
The stupidest man in New York is a
member of three fashionable clubs, and Is
much petted by mothers with manageable
daughters. His income is s20o,OOO year.
The Macon, Ca, police force has re-
ceived an addition. His name is Burrows; he
is "a cousin of the daring but deceased Rube,
and he measures just feet 81 inches high in
his stocking feet"
One of the city school teachers at Abb
lene was frightened into Mysteries BY toy
snake in the hands of a bad boy the other day.
She has not entirely recovered from the shock
yet-neither has the boy.
-Hedgehogs are occasionally cannibal-
istic, the larger ones. when hard up for din
ner chasing the smaller at a wonderful rate,
and devouring them without sauce or mercy
when caught and conquered.
1t is generally supposed that the life OF
a bird is not very long. but "a pet yellow bird be-
longing to Mrs. E. R. Haynes, of Monson, Me-,
that recently died. was taken from its nest in
the field in the summer of 1877
Clinton. Ga, has freak. 1t is a man
with an iron jaw. Aaron Harris, of African
descent has thrust himself into fame by lifting
900 pounds dead weight with his teeth He
yanks barrel Of flour as if it was feather.
Charlie Griffith, of Athens, Ga, has a
queer curiosity in the shape of pipe. Tho
bowl is fashioned out of a costly variety Of
brierwood, while the stem was taken from the
leg of some lordly gobbler of the days of long
ago.
DIR. Widner, of California, who has
lived among the Indians for 30 years. says no
white man can hope to equal their physical de-
velopment. The average Indian boy of 10 can
bear more fatigue than an athlete among
white men.
One of the greatest marvels of all the
rich possessions of the Maharajah Of Baroda is
a carpet, about ten feet by six. made entirely of
strings of pearls, with center and corner pieces
of diamonds. 1.-The carpet took three years to
weave and cost f2O0, ,UOO."
-Driitwood is IN great demand for open
fires among fashionable dwellers by the sea,
because the. remains of old copper nails and
perhaps chemical substances from the sea
water cause 1t to burn with brilliant green
flame that IS very beautiful.
Wisconsin aud Minnesota appear to be
doing well in the way of the formation of
school Libraries. During the past year the two
bav fol chodn I Tha
for each OF these libraries are selected from a
list prepared by the State Superintendent
Some preachers put their listeners
asleep with dreamy diseourses; but the Rev.
David Kaufman, OF Indiana, reverses this. and
puts himself asleep while in the pulpit. While
apparently asleep and unconscious, 1t Is SAID
that he delivers sermons of amazing elo-
Quence.
The velocity of sound In air at low tenn
peratures has recently been measured by de-
termining the interval between the flash of a
gun l2S meters distant and the report. The
velocity of sound diminlshes 0603 meter per
second for each degree (centigrade) or rise In
temperature.
The increased tariff has given lift to
the hop industry and 1t bids fair to be, In this
respect of great advantage to Maine farmers,
many of whom have made lots of money on
hons in bygone years. Hops built uD a Maine
village or two. but there has been no money in
raising them of late.
The finest furs come from those animals
tnat inhabit the coldest climates. and the sea-
son of the year in which any of them are killed
greatly influences the quality of the fur.
summer skin of some of these animals being
comparatively valueless however excellent is
might be in the winter season
-Spectaeles were invented Just 500 years
ago, The use of glass to aid the sight Of de-
fective eyes is, however, much older. Nero
looked through concaye glass in watching
the gladlatorial games, and many other histor-
ical men of his day were dependent on similar
devices for lengthening their sight
Henry Lasker, II years old, living near
wathena, Kan, had an almost miraculous es-
cape from death, a few days ago, in the waters
of the Missouri. He fell through the ice while
skating and was carried beneath the ice for %
feet where he emerged into clear water. from
which he was rescued in an exhausted con-
dition by some companions.
Mrs. Mary A. Grant, widow who owns
a place in Oxford village, has raised so bushels
of fine potatoes, 8 bushels of beans and consid-
erable garden truck the past year, doing nearly
all the planting, hoeIng and harvesting herself.
Her land is by no means the most productive in
years, having several grandchildren
-Leando Galindo, believed to be the last
member of a once noted Spanish California
family, died in the Alameda County Infrmary
last week. The Gallindos once owned about
half of Alameda county, ncluding the site of
the present city of Oakland. He was a squirrel
hunter and lived on the bounty Of cents
pelJ that he received from the county.
During the Hungarian revolution In
1S49 40 prisoners of war were thrown into a
deep pool near Hermannstadt A few weeks
ago the bodies were recovered, after i'm
mersion of Al years, and they were in perfect
state of preservation. their organs unchanged
the minerals in the water passed in solution
through the pores and had preservatlve effect
upon the internal organs, as well as upon the
entire body.
Over q million pounds of haddock were
smoked in one establishment in Portland last
year. Why is it that the haddock is SO much
nicer than other fish when smoked A smoked
cod or hake, or pollock or cusk, is not good,
neirher is a salted haddock. The flesh has so
much more water in it than the others that
when salted it shrinks to almost nothing. For
the same reason probably it is better than the
others when smoked. During shat process it
sbrinks one-half its weight. Fishermen used
In oreer the appearance of a paddock on their
hooks with oaths and the fish were thrown
hack into the water as one would treat soul
min They WIRE considered Valueless. Nov
they are as much sought after as the cod itself,
and are used for chowders well as for smok-
inv. They are caught with travis.