Pittsburg dispatch. [volume] (Pittsburg [Pa.]) 1880-1923, 1892-03-09
CURIOUS CONVERSATIONS.

CURIOUS CONVERSATIONS.
The Kafirs, with only 13 paradises,
; have more than double that number oi
hells.
Tho greatest enemy Of the oyster be-
sides man is the star fish. which destroy
whole beds Of oysters in q season.
"A potato was found at Union Springs,
Ala a few days ago. through which grow.
ing blade Of grass had forced It's way.
Margaret Patten, the Scotch cook to
James vi, did not give up the ghost until
she had ground out almost exactly H7 years.
"A race of wild dogs is said to exist in
Newfoundland, keeping near the coast, and
subsisting on what the sea casts to the
shore.
AN elephants digestive functions are
very rapid, and the animal, therefore, re-
quires daily large amount OF fodder-6O0
pounds at least.
! "A foreign matchmaker has patented q
device by which an hour or two before .
clock runs down the word wind" will ap-
pear at an opening in the dial.
The viper's bite, it is we'll known,
causes death by paralyzing the action Of the
poison is similar in nearly every detail.
There is q man living in Calhoun, Ga,
10 years old, who boasts that he never wore
| a pair of boots, bought a suit of clothes
| white shirt or any store clothes in his life,
or wore collar or necktie.
BY simply boring holes in pearl oysters
and dropping in minute glass beads and her.
metically sealing the holes, NJ. Bouchon
Brandeley, distinguished Frenchman, has
| auccaoned N NAL king noarIe Qrtificfallv
I'm the city of London there was no
registered sunshine at all in December, 1884.
in January, 1885, or December. 1880. Seven
years ago, therefore, London was withous
sunshine for two consecutive months.
In the tropics are found many kinds Of
great hairy spiders, some Of which have q
spread OF legs that will cover a teaplate.
\ One of these unpleasant creatures will
sometimes weigh as much as half pound.
| The question as to whether the 29th Of
February is legally day or not has often
| There is authority in that State to the ef-
feet that the 2sth and 29th of February in
leap year are to be counted as one day.
An immense tusk of a mammoth has
been taken out of the peat at Kingsbridge,
New York city, by one Of the officers in
charge of the ship canal in process of con-
a. a
of the sea.
"A French chemist, who has been giving
considerable attention to the problem of
heating and lighting from q single source,
has devised novel stove, which in appear
ance resembles an ordinary heating stove.
1t is SO arranged internally that the waste Of
heat is utilized for the generation OF elec-
tricity.
-Pontresina, q locality of the Grisons
Ho1% cs%,, <oA oil do 0f
5000 feet above the level of the sea, in q vale
running parallel with the Inn Valley, on the
road leading to the celebrated Bernina
mountain pass, is understood to claim the
possession of the highest electric central
station.
The Manassah Society is a peculiar or
ganization of Chicago, said to be composed
of colored men who have married white
wives. The society was organized January
g. lS9., and now has 120 members. 1t is said
there are 4S0 colored men living in that city
with white wives. The society recently gave
banquet.
The census enumerator at Warrensburg
found child, three months old, the mother,
Mrs. Fred Chandler, one month less than IS
years, the grandmother, Mrs. John Allen,
aged SO years, and the great-grandmother,
Mrs. Oscar Greene, aged 81 years, all resfd-
ing in close proximity about six miles north
OF Warrensburg.
"A modern compilation Of engineering
maxims states that horse can drag, as
compared with what he can carry on his
back. in the following proportions: On the
worst earthen road, three times; on a good
macadamized road, nine; on plank, 25: on q
stone trackway, 80, and on good railway,
81 times as much.
The cast of RaphaePs skull shows that
it was very small, much smaller than. the
average. Cardinal Mezzofanti. who under
stood more languages than any other man
who has ever lived, had q small head. So
too, had Dickens, Lord Byron and Charles
Lamb From this it would seem that there
Is more in the qvality than the quantity Of
the brain.
Three men from Carson, New. took
whisky to Washoe Lake and with it satu-
rated a quantity of wheat which they spread
out for wild ducks, thinking the birds could
be caught easily after becoming intoxicated.
The hunters hid themselves the game came,
ate the grain and became exceedingly noisy,
but all flew away to the Carson Sink. where
many were found afterward in a boozy con-
dition. The hunters reaped no profit.
-Aniline dyes are noted for their great
coloring power, one part of ros-aniline salt
in l, 200, 900 parts of water still possessing o
deep crimson color and instantly dyeing
skein of silk moistened with vinegar. The
dyes are used for many purposes-coloring
other articles The fugitive nature of some
of them Is rather a drawback. Germany is
now the headquarters of the manufacture of
these dyes. Large quantities are produced
and used in this country also.
IN. G. Barney, retired New York
banker, has an interesting collection of
pipes. One of them represents the trunk Of
an old tree, around which are grouped .
party of sporting gentlemen with their guns
and dogs, enjoying hunters meal. One Of
the members of the party is cleverly shown
to be cutting with his jackknffe the name N
c. Barney on the trunk OF the tree-to COM
no doubt, the occasion. Each
figure is correct likeness of an individual
member of the party.
AT the Central Park, in New York,
Caliph, the hippopotamus, recently had
stomach ache and was given the following
in three pills, each about the size Of a base
BALL Twenty-nine hundred and forty grains
of aloes and 40 drops of croton oil. Al
though the dose was mixed with linseed oil
and ginger and wrapped in paper, Calph
strenuously objected to taking 1t, and it was
only by lettering him with three-inch ropes
and with the aid of nine men that the medi-
cine was finally pushed down his throat on
the end of pole. 1t is said that Caliph got
well.
JOKELETs FROM JUDGE.
'Sha1 you go to the party tomorrow
night?'' ask Miss Emerson Of Boston Of her friend
Miss Bleecker.