Pittsburg dispatch. [volume] (Pittsburg [Pa.]) 1880-1923, 1891-08-22
CURIOUS CONVERSATIONS.

Inc russian laIlgudSe is W Dc tduShI LIE
all of the japanese schools.
A man is about to attempt to walk on
stills from Paris to Moscow.
More than 200, 900 people are confirmed
in the English Church every year.
"A flea can jump over barrier 500 times
his own height. At that rate a man could
| jump over a wall nearly mile high.
A horse belonging to a man living near
Baltimore while grazing cut its tongue with
n blade of sword grass, from which it bled to
death.
There are exactly 1000 lodging houses
in London, accommodating 3lG6l persons,
and 475 blocks of model dwellings, with 35, $50
tenements and ie9, los inhabitants.
Doors and windows are taxed in France.
In a peasants hut the tax amounts to about
francs per annum: on houses in cities it
family.
"A couple in Hannibal, Mo-, who sup
posed that a marriage license was all that
was necessary to legalize their union, lived
together whole year without being spl1ced
by the preacher.
According to Herr Japing, the hourly
rate of water falling over Niagara Falls is
l00,OO0OOO tons, representing 16,OO00cO horse
power, and the total daily production of coal
pump the water back again.
The tree on which bulletins of Presi-
dent Garffeld's condition were posted during
his last illness has been cut down at WASH
ingtOn. 1t stood Just outside the east gate of
the White House grounds, and was removed
to make room for pending Improvements
Of spirits distilled from apples, peaches
and grapes in the United States last year,
there were 1,219,436 gallons. OF spirits dis
titled from other materials than those just
named there were 81, ,254, ,262 gallons. The
barrels of 1ermented liquors numbered 3d.
AIS, 1872.
-California's variety of temperature was
illustrated last month by the fact that,
while the heat in the valleys reached 1909 in
the shade, party in the mountains were ex-
plOring a glacier and camping upon the
shores of lake on which traces of ice could
be found in the morning.
During the session of England's Parlia-
ment which has just ended 1872 luncheons
and 10. 1876 dinners were served in the dining
room, /, l,564 luncheons and l069 dinners were
served in the strangers dining room, and 2lO
luncheons and lS0l dinners were served in
the terrace dining room.
"A lake has q wonderfully tempering
effect on the climate. Thus, according to NJ.
Forel, the quantity of heat accumulated in
the Lake OF Geneva during the summer of
bustion OF 200 900 tons of coal, or the
amount carried by coal train 1.l20 miles in
length.
One of the London street car companies
has in use an automatic starter" Two
powerful spiral springs fastened to the front
axle are wound up through being applied for
the cars stoppage, so that when it Is desired
to go on again they are capable of starting
it. The device effects u tremendous saving
and is mercy to horses
Few persons have fully realized how
terrible scourge the second visitation of
influenza epidemic has been. Sir Brydges
Henniker's return shows that in the three
months ending June 30 the deaths registered
in England and Wales were III ,555, the high
est rate, with three exceptions, recorded
since civil registration began.
The movements OF an intoxicated man
are variable, depending upon the beverage
which ne has imbibed. Scientific expert
ments recently made in London demon
strated that intoxication by beer or WINE
makes q man fall on his side; whisky topers
fall on their faces, while those overcome by
hard cider almost invariably fall backward.
I'm the year 1401, or thereaboIts, work
men were employed to put choir stalls in the
Lincoln Cathedral and were told to hurry
the job up. But the workmen struck, and
the stalls were left unfinished. At last, how
ever, dean and chapter think they see their
way to complete this fifteenth century job,
and are now calling for estimates from wood
carvers.
The Xerobates Agassizii, the grass-eat-
ing turtle of the Mojave Desert, is said to be
the only one of the turtle species which
lives Dy grazing like horse or an OK. Xero-
bates digs u hole in the sand to escape the
intense heat, is about ten inches in length
when full grown, and weighs from six to
eight pounds. Coast dealers in curiosities
value them at IS each.
al
Sciences has been making experiments
which have resulted in convincing him that
the rabbit is of all living things the most
capable OF withstanding very low temper
ature. Inclosed all night in q block of ice,
Il rabbit was found next day getting on
very comfortably and evidently not aware
of anything very peculiar in his cireum-
stances.
According to the Victoria Nqt1raliSt, the
butterflies of Australia are in the habit of
bathing. An observer says he saw butter
fly alight close to the water into which it
backed until the whole ot the body and the
lower part of the hind legs were submerged,
the two forelegs alone retaining their hold
on the dry land. After remaining in this po-
sition for something like half Il minute it
flew away, apparently refreshed.
1t has been demonstrated that, while
the greatest velocity impaired to u cannon
ball scarcely exceeds $50 meters a second
about 100 miles an hOur-meteorS from
space penetrate;the air with a velocity, it is
Claimed, of 1900, sometimes 6O,0O0, meters
per second. This tremendous speed raises
the temperature of the air at once to 4OOOo
or 5000 centigr1lde, causing in many cases
the complete destruction of the meteorlte
by combustion.
The following story is told of Madam
Antoinette Sterling Dy the British Weekly:
"She was present at one of the Quaker meet
ings at Devonshire square, and the breth-
rem and sisters remained some long time
without the spirit moving any of them to
utterance. At last Madam Sterling got up
and sang, %, Rest in Lie Lord which ere
ated no small stir. The clerk aIterward ap-
preached her and said, Thou knowest SIS
ter it's against the rules; but if the Lord tell
eth the to sing, thou must"
In dry air at 92O sound travels l, 142 feet
per second, or about 775 miles per hour: in
water, 1900 feet per second; in iron, 1850
feet: in copper, 1885 feet, and in wood from
Z 900 to l6,0 900 feet per second. bell heard
at distance OF A., 900 feet in water could be
heard only 656 feet in the air out of the water.
The barking of uogs on the earth can be
heard in balloon at an elevation OF four
miles. On o still day the report of rifle can
be heard at 800 yards. The fire OF the En-
glish on landing i'll Egypt was distinctly
neard $50 miles.