Pittsburg dispatch. [volume] (Pittsburg [Pa.]) 1880-1923, 1891-09-26
CURIOUS CONVERSATIONS.

Passenger engineers "OlA SIX hourS
day.
-Earls are dying off at the rate of 20 per
annum.
-Connecticut's tobacco crop is worth
$50, 100000.
The Sydney, Australia, lighthouse has
an electric light equal to Il, OoO,OO candles.
The British War Office has presented
10000 worn-out helmets to the Salvation
Army.
India, it is estimated, will produce no.
OOO, 900 pounds of tea during the coming
season.
English hunting men are importing
has sent over Co.,
Umbrellas are now made of paper In
France. They are made waterproof by gela-
tined bfchromate of potassium.
of the 16 species of trees grown in the
United States whose wood will sink in
water, the heaviest is the black ironwood OF
Southern California
"A petrifed rabbit was found in hole
near Charlottesville, CD 1t is supposed
that he ran in to escape pursuer and was
unable to get out
The United States leads the world in
the number and extent of it's libraries. The
public libraries of all Europe put together
contain about q, 900, 900 volumes; those OF
this country contain so, 0O0,00O
"A wave of hysterical religion is pass
ing over some parts of France. A number
of Protestant peasants are travelling with
tents preaching the end of the word, bare
headed and with naked feet.
"A Paris paper publishes list of Gamer
ican!drinks" furnished at a hotel in that city.
TIna1-o -
them never heard of in this country, and
lager beer is not on the list at all.
Stone forests are found in various parts
Of the world. In many cases they are
hardened by some popularity of the atmos-
phere, and are found standing Just as they
were when clothed with green foliage
thousands of years ago.
in the Partisan cemeteries it is custo-
mary to place metal boxes on the tomb
stones. Each box has a slit on the top and
in it visitors drop their cards. The relatives
can thus see the names of persons who
cherish the memory of the deceased
I'm Raleigh, n. c., two colored prison.
ers condemned to received 80 lashes were
whipped in the presence of spectators, who
paid 25 cents each to get in, the gate money
going to the prisoners, who took it as the
silver lining of their particular cloud.
"A ACCOMPLISHMENTS is being
built in Sweden for the navigation of
chain of small lakes separated by falls The
boat is to be fitted with wheels fitting n
track, and power can be applied either to
the propeller or to the locomotive driving
wheels.
From San Francisco comes story-the
second of the kind within a short while
about q woman who jumped overheard to
end her existence, but was so stout she
would not sink She was towed ashore be-
for ho1 rQl FOL irofc
the boat.
The sporting citizens of Houston, Tex,
to the number of 5,OOO turned out a few days
ago to witness q goat race. There were 63
entries, big books were made on the event
and hundreds of dollars in pools were sold.
Some of the goats made 200 yards in 80
seconds in harness.
About 430 miles of track have been
added to Frances strategical railways this
year. Next year 800 miles more will be built.
The work of increasing the strategical avail
ability of the French railway system was
planned by NJ Freycinet in 1870, and will be
completed probably in 1893.
The British Government has decided to
erect powerful Notifications on Thursday
Island, and make it the Gibraltar of Austria
point of the coast, at the entrance to the
narrow strait between the Great Barrier reef
and the mainland, and has been called the
key to the Pacific Ocean.
"A gigantic tunnel, which is estimated
TO cost $75OOO0 and require ten years to
finish, is being constructed in the Leadville
mining district for the purpose of draining
the mines. 1t will be at least five miles long
and will wfien completed leave to easy ac-
cess millions OF tons of good ore that cannot
now be properly got at and probably never
can be handled without the use of proper
drainage.
The practice of placing green boughs Of
eucalyptus, or blue gum tree, in sick rooms
as a disin fectant is growing in Australia.
Dr. Curgenven states that if placed under
the bed in cases of scarlet fever they will
thoroughly disinfect the couch and every
article in the room. The volatile scent has
also a favorable influence on consumptlve
patients as an antiseptic and sedative tend
ing to promote sleep.
"A fresh discovery of tin is reported to
have been made, and this time as far away
as Kowloon, opposite Hong Kong. It seems
that the deposits were exposed through the
heavy rain storms of recent years, and eI-
tend to a considerable depth. Thousands of
tons are said to eprocurable merely for the
labor of removing the surface ore, besides
which stream tin can be traced in many OF
the ravineS.
Persons unacquainted with the qualities
Of swamp gum have no idea of the wonder
full things that can be accomplished with
this wood. When boiled it may be handled
almost like paper. 1t is used extensively in
lower Delaware in the manufacture of berry
boxes, and boiled gum log Is inches in
diameter may by the use of proper instru-
ments, be literally drawn out into ribbons.
It cuts like cheese, and may be tied into bow
knots or bent into almost any conceivable
shape.
Close to the circular boundary that
separates Pennsylvania and Delaware is the
graveyard in which legend locates the IA
nous clicking tombstone" 1t is the grave
7ard of the London Tract Quaker meeting
rouse, known in local parlance as the Lon
ion Track The region was settled more
han 200 years ago by QuakerSs from London.
rhe tombstone, according to local legend,
ives forth constant ticking sound. The
possibility is that the ticking is caused by
he trickling of n subterranean stream.