Pittsburg dispatch. [volume] (Pittsburg [Pa.]) 1880-1923, 1891-01-12
CURIOUS CONVERSATIONS.


Sea Of Galilee.
The Chinese do not permit their women
to be photographed.
AN Ionia, Mich, concern is shipping
corn cob pipes to England.
AN idol collector in San Francisco, who
has just died. bad collection of 500 little gods.
"A st. Louis justice has decided that
young woman is bound to return the gifts made
by rejected lover.
Colonel Debanse and NJ. Schneider, tho
directors of the Gail and Creusot Works, re-
spectively declare thar it is unnecessary to re-
place steel guns by bronze cannon, in view of
the adoption Of smokeless powder.
Charlie Griffith, of Athens, Ca, has a
curiosity in the shape of pipe. The bowl of
the pipe is fashioned out of costly variety Of
briarwood, while the stem was taken from the
leg Of some lordly gobbler of the days of long
ago.
OF the LOO, 900 Lutheran communi-
cants In the United States, about three-fourths
are Germans: the others are Scandinavian
English, etc. In no fewer than II languages do
Lutheran pastors preach the Gospel TO this
country.
Now, in advanced civilization, love
and care prolong life to a great age. This is
not an unmixed good. Almost the very exist
ence Of slow decay and long disease has been
brought about by the love and care that dis
tinguish humanity.
Blankets are loaned to the poor during
the winter months, cree of cost, by kind
hearted citizen in Brunswick. Germany. They
are stamped, to prevent them from being sold
or pawned and they are returned at the close
OF the cold weather.
One Of the essentials to a good photo
graph is a clean face-not a relatively but an
ia 1aid hat nh
tographers have much trouble because they do
not like to make a suggestion which might be
resented by their sitters
The strength of spider silk is incredible.
Size for size it is considerably tougher than
bar Of steel. An ordinary spiders thread is
capable of bearing a weight of three grains,
while steel thread of the same thickness
wonld support less than two.
AN old colored woman living in Atchi-
son used to prepare herself every night for
death by dressing in a blue grown. and she was
always surprised to find herself alive the next
morning. She kept this up until she wore out
three or four blue dresses and then she quit
The alabama Sentinel, labor paper
published at Birmingham. is running a daily
strike edition." for the benefit of the striking
miners and iron workers. The paper is not
only keeping up the courage of the men but
procuring good bit Of revenue for their
support.
Last June a covey of II partridges was
found dead in Southern Prussia, with their
heads together. 1t was discovered that the
whole covey must have been struck by light
ming. One could plainly see where the flash
had struck a little mound and from thence pro-
ceeded along the ground.
The true French plum-large, jet-black,
soft and juicy-comes from the shores of the
Garonne and its affiuent the Lot, and is the
fruit of the tree known as the prunier d'ente.
or grated plum. The center of the district Is
Clairac, quaint little old-fashioned town built
on steep hillside overlooking the Lot.
The garbage scow in the. Seattle harbor
attracts vast multitudes of sea gals. When
ever the boat is towed out from L5O0 to 1000
follow it to its destination. and the men en-
ployed on it claim that they scarcely have room
to work. as the gulls cluster around them in
swarms, all fighting one another to get on the
scow and select their food.
Probably the most unique Christmas
present given this year was received by the
editor of Missouri newspaper. IL was the
left hind foot of a common gray rabbit, which
had been killed in graveyard at midnight in
the dark of the moon by a cross-eyed negro.
The charm is warranted to keep away all mis-
fortune and bad luck.
1t is stated that while foreigners in
France number per cent of the population
they are IL per cent of the convict class InS
con-
victed, the number of English being So and 81
respectively. Italians head the list IN 1888 with
49, then come 24S BelgiaDs 1872 Germans, SO
Spaniards, So Swiss and 43 Austrians.
Though much is said about the de-
cadence of New England. during the last ten
years the population has increased more than
during any other decade In all its history The
onlv State in which there has been no increase
is Vermont, and the conditions in Vermont are
such as make it probable that the State never
will have more population than now.
The Department of Justice of Canada
has decided to purchase a newly patented
Photographic apparatus of great value in de-
tecting crime. The invention will enable a
copy to be taken of the image in the retina Of
the eye of dead person. This Is regarded as
very important. especially in cases where there
is no other clew to the perpetrator of the mur-
der.
Spiders differ from insects in five mi
mute particulars; their eyes are simple instead
of compound they have eight legs instead of
SIX they do not pass through the metamor-
phoses which are characteristic of insects they
have no autenn8. and their breathing is accom-
plished by means of organs which combine the
functions of lungs and gills, instead of by tubes
their bodies.
Scientists have by no means abandoned
the attempt to reach the North Pole. The
prospects are fair that another year will see an
into Antarctic regions for purposes
Of exploration and discovery. 1t is quite prob
able also that our Government will, during the
coming year, send out expedition which
shall penetrate into the vet unknown interior
Of our own Territory of Alaska.
The first goldfish brought to Europe,
from where this country received its earliest
supplies were of the poorest and commonest
breed; they were of a golden color, hence the
name for the entire genus; and it will thus be
understood why people speak of black. white,
red or blue goldfish. The old-fashioned gold
ish lives now in a wild state in this country,
and Is in fact counted among the native fishes
of North America.
Mrs John NJ. Weigle, of Augusta, Ga,
,xcitedly called the attention of her husband
20 little animal which was sporting on her
sitting room hearth one night. Mr.. Weigle
'oon saw that it was a pretty flying squirrel.
He tried to capture it but it escaped from the
room and was overhauled by the dogs. There
was no possible way for the little fellow TO get
uto the room except down the chimney in the
.ace of hot burning coal hre.
We are first indebted to Herodotus for
he discovery of the pigmies. and secondly, to
Andrew Battel, of Leigh. Then Moffat and
Livingstone introduced us to the Bushmen of
south Africa. But the earliest knowledge Of
he pigmies of Central Equatorial Africa was
riyen us by Schweinfurth and Piaggia who
lad travelled to Niam-Niam and Monburta
and, which countries are situated on the
northern edge of the Great Forest.
AT Straubing, in Bavaria, some Celtic
ombs have been opened and found to contain
most interesting bronze ornaments and iron
Weapons belonging to the people Of RhBtia be-
ore the Roman conquest. The elong-soughtfor
through the unearthing Of Roman tomb con-
aiming cinerary urns-hanking the old military
Dad from Serviodurum (Straubing) to ADu-
ina, both situated on the Danube.