Pittsburg dispatch. [volume] (Pittsburg [Pa.]) 1880-1923, 1891-10-15
CURIOUS CONVERSATIONS.

-Persia's ruler has salary of S50, ,000 00
per year.
New York girls chew Sc, 200, 900 worth
of gum each year.
"A petrifed elephant has been unearthed
near Jasper, Florida.
Electricity is now used in heating fat
irons used in tailor shops.
Experiments in growing the tea plant
are being tried in Southern California.
"A cargo of copper recently carried out
of Lake Superior was valued at 100000.
The value of the timber in Fresno
county, California, is estimated at s96. OGOOOO
AT the time of birth the octopus, the re-
nowned devil fish, is not larger than com
mon flea.
"A scheme is on foot in Washington tc
elevate the condition of monkey intellectby
breeding.
Green Lake, Colorado. is the highest
lake in the world. The surface is 10, $50 feet
above the sea level.
Birds are disappearing from France.
Their nests have been destroyed and they
are migrating elsewhere.
Taking the whole land surface of the
globe into consideration, there is, on an
average, 2219 acres to each person.
AiO hAobOIJ VI 1CCAdAlu d u LeLblOh GA
tends back more than 1000 years, yet the
1ecords show but two thefts in all that time.
I'm India hotelkee per has had printed
on his bill of fare, "In this hotel the wines
leave the traveller nothing to hope for"
The Oldest church in Continental Eu-
rope is the church of Sta. Maria in Traste-
we're in Rome. 1t was erected in 22l and re-
paired in 1lS9.
The average age of British soldiers is
27 years; their death rate is nine per 1000.
and of every 100, 70 are English, 20 Irish,S
scotch and Colonial.
One of the largest hospitals in the
world, containing accommodation for from
1000 to 1850 patients, has been opened at
Constantinople Turkey.
An English clergyman recently i'm
plored his hearers to consider the "deplor-
able condition of 10000 Englishm en- being
without Christian burial"
In Africa there are 800 missionaries and
100000 converts. An average of %, 900 year
become converted and in five years more
than 200 martyrs have lost their lives there.
I'm computing a mans age Cinnamon
always reckon two years back from the day
when he celebrated his first birthday; or, in
other words, as though he were year old at
the time of his birth.
"A late writer on social affairs in Iceland
says there is not a single prison on tho
island; that such things as locks, bolts and
bars are unknown, and that there are neither
watchmen nor policemen.
Blood travels from the heart through
the arteries, ordinarily, at the rate of about
capillaries is at the rate of three one-hun-
dredths of an inch per second.
There are six tunnels in the world which
have q length exceeding 21,0OO feet-St.
Gothard, Mont Cents, Hoosac, Severn. Noch-
istongs and Suits. st. Gothard, the longest,
is $40 feet; Suits, the shortest, is 81 2O feet
The following item appeared in Mis-
sissippi paper: "Rev. A. Cathy, q Methodist
minister, aged 20 years, living at huntsville,
recently eloped with Miss Millie Marlor,
aged 81 years. The lady's parents objected"
There are 25 mills now working in
Bangkok capable of milling 3375 tons of
cargo rice daily or somewhat less of clean
rice. OF these nine ara fitted with machn-
cry capable of milling $40 tons of white rice
per day.
Prof Kohlbranch, who has been making
some curious experiments with lightning,
finds that the amount of electricity in an or
dinnry flash is so small that it would require
81 flashes to keep a common incandescent
lamp burning one hour.
of the many curious customs which
mark Brittany as especially interesting
field for the traveller is this one relating to
marriage. At the close of the wedding cere-
mony che bridegroom gives the bride a box
on the ear saying: ''That is how it feels
when you make me vexed," after which he
kisses her, adding, "and thus when you
treat me well"
Among the recent products of wire
manufacturing is one having measurement
of 1-5OOth of an inch in diameter-much finer,
of course, than the hair of ones head. The
wire is drawn through what is practically a
hole in diamond, to which there is no wear.
These diamond plates are made by woman
in New York, who has a monopoly of the art
in this country.
The excess of women and girls over men
and boys in Great Britain is 100000. an in
crease of 100000 in ten years. In Germany
the nun Der OF females in excess of males is
about 100000 In Sweden and Norway the
"weaker sex" is in the majority by about
250,o00; in Austro- Hungary by 600 600, and in
Denmark by 10000. In the United States,
Canada and Australia the males are in the
majority. In this country there are about
1000 900 more men than women.
"A curious live cargo has been landed
in Hamburg. 1t consists OF a collection of
snakes and serpents made by the agent of a
naturalist in that city. For the purpose of
transit they were placed in long coffn-lfke
cases, with holes bored for ventilation and
feeding When unpacked they became
much excited. Some OF the assistants, in
endeavoring to capture them as they wound
themselves rOunu pOStS anu SIdlF DaluslerS,
sustained bites which, however, have not
proved serious. Some of the larger ones
also took to swallowing the smaller fry.
The demand for them from geological So
cieties. snake charmers and others appears
to be considerable.
France possesses 1, 102 mineral springs,
of which 1O97 are turned to account, and
Algeria has AZ in use. OF the total in France
319 are sulphurous, like that of Amolie-les-
Bains; 34 are alkaline, such as Vichy: 135 arc
ferrnginous, for instance OrezZa: and 2lO are
of various sorts, some containing common
salt, others sulphate of sodium, and third
group sulphate of lime. They are hot or cold,
rs the case may be, and are distributed all
over the country; but they are chiefly found
in the southea half, from the Pyrenees to
They are a source of
wealth to the nation, Vichy alone haying