Pittsburg dispatch. [volume] (Pittsburg [Pa.]) 1880-1923, 1891-06-15
CURIOUS CONVERSATIONS.


"A child was born at Streator, Ill, with
out arms and only one leg.
"A Johnstown barber proposes to shave
| every tenth man free this week.
Detroit undertakers must wear rubber
coats when they handle diphtheria corpses-
"A Wilbur, Wash, man is proud of two
strawberries, one 81 inches and the other
inches in circumference.
Eleven hundred purses were left in
public vehicles in London during 1889 Out
/ of the number $50 contained from E1 to f5,
Al from f5to ED, and z from slO to s55.
Charles Warner, of Lebanon, Conn.,,
now in his 18th year, has recently expert
enced much pain in his jaw. He consulted q
dentist and has found that a new set of
teeth are cutting. This will make his third
set.
The Upper CaloOsahatchee is full of
tarpon. This is f;he time of the year they
devote to raising their families, and as the
average spawn con tains upward of 100000
eggs, a good idea can be formed of the cares
OF the parent tarpOn.
AT Rome, Ga, stalk of cotton was
exhibited. 1t was planted April A. meas
ured 26 inches in height and had IL branches
and p squares. This is remarkable when ft
is considered that the average height of
inches.
1t is said there is tract of forest trees
in Southern Oregon embracing about $4,000
square miles, which, cut and sold at $40 per
1000 feet would pay our national debt twice
over 1t is estimated that the amount OF
merchantable timber standing will reach
400 600, ,OOO.O 900 feet.
The reclamation of the OkensenOkee
swamp in Georgia, by means of drainage
TO sg
posed. The area of the swamp is 676 square
miles. There viii be about 81 miles of main
and 1000 miles of lateral canals, and many
small agricultural drains.
ID. J. Barnett, of CrOssville, Ga, set
out his tobacco plants two years ago and
raised good crop of tobacco Last year
the old stalks suckered out and made better
tobacco than they did the year before and
this year they have suckered out again, and
bid fair to make another good crop.
j. T. Rupert, of Altoona, is the proud
possessor of a Plymouth Rock hen which
accomplished a. remarkable feat the other
day. 1t, with great deal of ado. laid an
egg IKE inches in size, with n regulation
hard covering, and inside this was another
egg equally hard and well formed.
"A few years ago gentleman bought 100
acres several miles below Macon, Ca. on the
East Tennessee road for which he paid $40
an acre. He improved the property at q
cost of only 81 per acre, and within four
years from the date of the purchase cleared
$27 900 from the sales OF fruit grown ON this
land.
Belgian railway officials, after three
years of investigation, report that under or
dinary circumstances the average railway
train in passing over one mile of track
wears from it two and One-fifth pounds
The natural destruction of track amounts
for the whole world to about $780, 900 pounds
daily.
"A strange looking snake was killed at
Marietta, Ca. last Friday. 1t was about ls
or 20 inches long and its tail was pointed
like q horned snake, but pliable Its skin
was of small checks of black, green and
pale blue, with a yellow belly. 1t was
killed by a negro who was+at work near
the pond.
DIR. W. Hanford White and Helen
Paulding Smith, of New York were married
in South Dakota the other day. According
to the divorce laws of that State it was nee
essary to have the marriage performed
there, as the lady was divorced at YanktOn.
S. D., when Dakota was under territorial
government.
Among all classes of people in Great
Britain there is a widespread belief that the
common white pigeon is the herald of death.
Thus, white pigeon alighting on chimney
or flying against window betokens the
death of some occupant of the house ON
account of this curious belief, English house
| wives cannot be persuaded to use pigeon
feathers about their beds.
The longest bridge across the Danube is
1890 feet in length, the Waterloo bridge over
the Thames is LAO feet, the Westminster
bridge over the Thames I,22O feet, the Sara
tov bridge across the Velga 4S72 feet and
the Freiburg in Switzerland l095 feet. One
half million dollars is to be expended in inl-
proving and extending the approaches to
the RrOOI(lVn bridge the New York Side,
In usefulness it exceeds them all.
The Philosophical Society of Berlin has
offered a prize of 1000 marks for the best
paper upon "The Relations of Philosophy to
the Empirical Science of Nature" The es-
says may be written in English, German,
French or Latin, and must be sent to the
secretary, DR.. Adolf Lassen, No IL Phem-
strasse, Friedeman, by April l. 1888. The
winner of the prize will receive his money
in January, 1894, and he will have to do some
hard thinking, too.
AN autograph letterof Abraham Lin
coin to friend is said to contain the fol-
lowing: "Do not worry. Eat three square
meals day Say your prayers Think of
your WIFE Be courteous to yOur creditors.
Keep your digestion good. Steer clear of
biliOusness. Exercise. Go slow and go
easy. May be there are other things that
your especial case requires to make you
happy, but, my friend, these, reckon, will
give you good lift"
"A curious story is told of the manner in
which the Rothschilds aided Carafa, the
composer. The latter was far from rich.
His principal income was derived from q
snuff-box And this was the way of it: The
snuff-bOX was given to the author of "La
Prison d 'Edimbourgh" about 80 years ago by
Baron James de Rothschild as a token Of
esteem. Carafa sold 1T "a hours later for IS
napoleons to the same jeweler from whom it
had been bought. This became known to
Rothschild. who gave it again to the musi-
clan ON the following year. The next day it
returned to the jewelers.. This traffic con-
tinued till the death of the banker and
longer still, for his sons kept up the tradi-
ton, to the great satisfaction of Carafa.