Pittsburg dispatch. [volume] (Pittsburg [Pa.]) 1880-1923, 1892-04-27
CURIOUS CONVERSATIONS.

| CUklUUS CUNDENSAilUNS.
| The Chinese cultivate an odorless onion.
| -Marigolds and camomile in North Africa
grow to . height Of 4 or feet. In India,
| the rhododendron grows to the height OF %
| feet.
A man-eating shark, 1871 feet long.
with a head as big as barrel, came ashore
on the beach at Trescott, Me-, recently. Its
stomach contained sheep and several dog
| fish.
Manchester has 1,72S public houses,
Birmingham. 5ss; shefield. 6is; Bristol. S3s;
Portsmouth, SIT: Leeds, ais, and Bradford.
! lie houses.
Or Waterloo veterans France has eight
left. There are two who took part in the
retreat from Moscow: and altogether there
are now living Is OF 20 OF Napoleon's vet
Grams, of whom several are centenarians.
According to Mr.. G. Mulhall, F. s. s.,
the annual earnings per head in Australia
are over E43 as against EDS in the United
Kingdom, EFT in the United States f2S in
Canada and Holland, and f25 in France.
Many establishments for the supply of
fishing tackle employ women to make the
flies. Although the humber parts Of the
business are overstocked, there is very re-
munerative demand for artistic workman
ship.
1t is a curious fact that, notwithstand-
ing the strong prejudices which the French
entertain toward England and the English,
the French gentlemen have decided pre-
ference to English ladies when they mean to
marry.
Among the Hottentots, if widow mar
ries again, she Is obliged to cut on the joint
of finger for every husband she marries
after the first: this she presents to her new
ahon her ed heDfnniuu ak
one of the little fingers.
1t Paris, as soon as snow begins to fall,
out comes the hose and it is washed away
as it comes down. Every morning in ortlin-
ary weather $500 street cleaners, men and
women, sally forth, divided into H9 gangs,
each with a leader and his deputy.
The Malagasy who chances to find
partridge's nest is. according to sakalava
superstition, placed in an awkward predica-
ment. If he should break the eggs. he
causes the death of his father! But IL he
does not break them, he causes the death Of
his mother!
A snake has been found in Ireland at
last. A Belfast newspaper says that snake
~ feet long and nearly seven inches in cir
cumference has been killed at Nora's Glen.
1t was taken to a contractors yard In the
town. where the reptile was inspected by
large number of people.
Within the past decade nearly all the
English bishops have changed the form Of
their signature into its latin equivalent.
When DIR. Temple succeeded the late Bishop
Jackson, he set the example by signing him
self "F. Loudin." Even the younger Welsh
bishops now adopt the same style.
London alone requires 600, 900 cows to
supply it with the products Of the dairy, a.
900 Of them being needed for milk alone.
Some 10. 900 are kent within the metropolitan
radius itself, in ], 100 Sheds by 395 cowkeep-
e-s and there are probably no fewer than
1000 horses engaged in the delivery of milk
in London.
We owe the invention of visiting cards
to the Chinese. So long ago as the period Of
the Tong dynasty (Gls-9O7), visiting cards
were known to he in common use in China.
and that is also the date of the Introduction
of the red silken cords whi ch figure SO
consnicuously on the engagement cards OF
that country.
I'm Scotland the commonest name is
found to be Smith; Macdonald holds the
second place, and Brown the third. As to
the Christian names, William had. it appears,
got good start before surnanes were in
vented, for 6s Williams figure in Domesday
Book. together with AZ Roberts, % Walters,
and 10 Johns.
The witch plant, which is the astonish-
ment OF the native Australians as well as
the foreigners, resembles our common PLAN
these leaves, sometimes an inch and three
quarters broad and five inches long. often
spring from single "Stool," which sits nat
on q bare spot without the least sign OF
root!
When an Egyptian dog wishes to drink
at the Mile, he goes short distance up tho
river and howIs for som time. The croco
diles being attracted by the sound, infmedf
ately crowdito the plac-. while the dog hast
ily runs to the part which the crocod1les
Iosk r.S, rs irlG fatv nd an
resort to a similar ruse when they wish to
cross the rivers.
One of the most significant features Of
the liquor returns of Great Britain is the in
crease in the consumption Of all kinds Of
alcohol in Ireland. When a nation can af-
ford 70 drink 81. 264 more gallons of spirits,
and e. 3I3 more barrels of beer in one year
than in the preceding, it Is fair sign OF the
improved commercial and social condition
OF the country.
The Sanders family, of Henderson
county, Tenn. are prepared to measure feet
with any other family in the country Mrs.
Sanders wears No. IS shoes and her five
in sizes ranging from 15s to 12's, the young
est OF them, "Baby," being content with the
smallest pair. Averaged, the six pair os
shoes snow up as lRs.
The old stone house in Kingston, N. Y,
in which the State Constitution was framed
ana adopted, Is no" Opcu
Among the curiosi.ies already displayed
within its walls are fax wheel used bv
Teunis Swart's wife in 17s7 and q dresser 200
years old, once the property of Peter Marius
Green. on the shelves Of which are several
pewter dishes used by old-time Dutch peo-
pie.
1t is rather curious that in 1862 the
principal sovereigns reigning in Europe were
the third of their respective names. They
were George Ill, King of Great Britain;
Charles III, King of Spain: Augustus I'LL.
King of Poland; Frederick I'LL. King of Prus-
sia: Charles Emmanuel Ill, King of Sardinia;
Mustapha Ill, Emperor of the Turks; Peter
ILL., Emperor of Russia: Francis I'LL, Duke
of Modena, and Frederick I'LL, Duke of SAKE
Gotha-
A cocoanut tree weighing six tons has
been transferred from Honolulu to the
public park in San Francisco. In trench
round the tree, which stood in q grove at
Honolulu massive box was built to 1ncloso
the roots Above the DoX was a frame thae
had lack screws for lifting the entire mass.
fter the tree had been raised 1t was canted,
and its long leaves were gathered together
and tied. The nuts were wrapped In soft
,acking By hydraulic power the whole
ma as was raised on n truck that carried fs
to the beach for shipment.
LIGHT LITTLE LAUGHS.