Pittsburg dispatch. [volume] (Pittsburg [Pa.]) 1880-1923, 1891-04-07
CURIOUS CONVERSATIONS.

been founded in st. Louis
"A four-winged duck was hatched 3
short time ago at Bar Harbor, Me.
AN instrument called the hematokrit,
based on centrifugal action, has been invented
for determining the volume of corpuscles pres
ent in blood.
In the new Anglo-French telephone
cable the four cores are wound around each
other in a spiral or strand to obvate the effects
| of induction.
The dust collected by a small patch of
snow between November q and December q
last indicates that 1000 tons of SCOT settle
monthly on the ITO square miles of London.
"A new theory in relation to the moon
has lately been advanced, to the effect that the
lights and shadows of the moon are incom-
patibe with the theory of its spherical shape.
] To obviate the waste of steam in steam
hammers an improvement has been introduced
in fitting the hammers with TWO pistons of diff
| ferent diameters, compoupding them in fact
| An arc lamp with four carbons ar
ranged radially in a nearly horizontal plane,
but having their centrally meeting points
| slightly depressed has lately appearedin Paris.
In the United States annually about
$500 persons are tried for murder. with an aver
age of about 100 legal executions. In five Of
| the States imprisonment for life has been
established for the death penalty.
| M. Marcy has succeeded in photograph
| ing the movements of animal under water.
A ray has been taken in profile while waving
| the edges of its fat body. and the curious mode
| OF progression of a comatula has been taken.
| A Chattanooga dentist lost valuable
diamond ring the other day in a curious man.
| ner. He was examining the back teeth of a
patient, when the ring slipped down the latter's
throat. The ring has not yet been recovered.
The proportion of actual cash used in
| mercantile transactions is very small, most OF
| the business being done through the medium
of cheques and bills. The percentage Of cash
used in New York is l.3, while in London it is
| only 81
In prehistoric times the Ohio Valley
was great inland sea, extending from the site
| of Pittsburg to the Indiana line The hump
| of Allegheny and the hills separating the East
| End from Pittsburg proper were probably
| Islands.
AN italian in New York, who was in
terviewed on the war question, said: "The Ital-
| ian Government couldn't carry on q war against
the United States because it hasn't money
enough to buy coal with which to send her gun
boats here"
"A farmer was seen plowing few days
ago near Beloit Kan, with his overcoat and
mittens on. His nelghbors laughed at him, Dut
| he will probably be able to laugh at his neigh
bors about the time the hot winds begin to get
| in their work,
AT Mont Dol, in Brittany the remains
Of about 100 elephants have been discovered,
gathered on a small surface of about 1900
| square meters. All the bones are broken and
it is thought that the animals must have been
eaten by prehistoric men.
"A wedding took place the other day in
picture gallery at Paola, Kan. While the
| fba
artist turned his camera upon the happy couple
and photographed them Just as they were
registering their nuptial vows.
"A building site in Washington pre-
sented nothing extraordinary from outside
appearances, but upon excavating the builders
were unable to find the earth sufficiently solid
for the foundation to rest upon. The difficulty
was overcome by driving piles.
The first water mill ever built was
erected on the River Tiber, at Rome, A. D. 50.
Windmills were in original use in the twelfth
century. Tidemills were operated in Venice
about 170S. Sawmills are said to have been in
use at Augsberg, Germany, about 1857
Last week humoristic member intro
duced in the Illinois Legislature bill requiring
every railroad in the State to employ man on
each train. to be known as "hog Killer" his
duty being to club passengers who pay for one
Seat, but occupy TWO while others are standing.
A Wisconsin ex-Judge has been re
tanned by a woman to appeal for her from
decision made by him when he was on the
bench. To succeed in his last case he will have
to successfully contend against the generally
accepted proposition that law IS the perfection
of reason.
The latest cure for alcoholism is hypnot-
ism. The subject is filed with the delusion,
while in the sensitive state. that the wine cup
holds deadly poison and he abhors it forever
after. The inventor of the device Is said to
have testimonials froHetwo sons of Senator
Fair, who were cured by it.
"A new kind. of metal is reported from
Birmingham, England, which is said to be
non-corrosive and will adhere to other
metals OF all kinds when properly applied
Its greatest use will probably be found in
marine engineering. for coating iron and steel
for propellers to prevent their pitting.
BY a comparison of records extending
over a number of years, it has been concluded
that the moon has an influence in lowering the
height of tie barometer in the months from
September to January at the time of full moon,
and in raising it during the first quarter No
effect has been perceived in the other months
Inquiry into the subject of explosions
in mines being caused by dry coal dust has led
to some very valuable experiments and plans
for clearing the galleries of foul air. One of
these consists in moving open water butts
through the affected localities. The coal smut
collects in the water, and the air is thereby
cleared before the danger limit is reached.
"A Young man at Peck'S Island, Me-,
lost his rubber oyershoe in the road the other
night, thereby bringing great good luck to his
father That gentleman lost pocketbook last
fall that contained s., 200 in notes and money
and all his search for it was un1vailing. But
while the son was hunting for his lost rubber he
came upon the ng-missinS wallet, with its
contents intact.
The influence of food upon the rate of
formation Of carbonic acid has been made
matter of study in France and il has been
found out that during the first hour after
meal the quantity of carbonic acid exhaled in
creases till it reaches maximum, three or four
hours after the meal, when il falls OF again.
Plenty of fresh air is desirable from one to
three hours after meal.
"A butcher of Seymour, Ind, is said to
have found in the stomach of slaughtered
COW a silver halt dollar several small bones, a
lot of needles and pins and q quarter of a
pound of iron nails. But a more remarkable
discovery was that made by servant in a st.
Louis restaurant. While he was opening clans
the other day there dropped from one Of the
bvalves gold ring inscribed IS. 5. to X. s."
The CLAIMS had been purchased from New
York house and were gathered from the ocean
bed near Fire Island.
The files of the United States Corpora
tion Bureau make the following exhibit Of new
corporations incorporated in the United States
during the month of March: Mercantile and
manufacturing companies, 677, SIG 7S5.5 so; gold
and silver and other mining and smelling COM
panies. los, s95 U32 000 coal and iron companies,
81, S. So7. $50; banks and Investment companies,
n Sc 376 900; municipal light. heat power and
TRANSFORMATION companies IO6 S36, ,O59. 500; build
ing and loan associations. 81. SZI5l0O,OVU' mis-
cellaneous 393 SIS 403. .7S5; total number OF cor
porations 1563; total capitalization, s04-VZV,I0A