Pittsburg dispatch. [volume] (Pittsburg [Pa.]) 1880-1923, 1892-09-11
CURIOUS CONVERSATIONS

100000
Parrots cost but 10 cents each to the
dealers in South America.
Benjamin franklin was the earliest
American china collector.
France is to establish commercial mu-
seums in each OF its colonies.
Platform scales were the invention Of
Thaddeus Fairbanks in the year 1881
The Sketches by Boz" were printed
by Dickens when he was "a years old.
Washington State, it is reported, is to
furnish all the flagstafrs for the Worlds Fair
buildings.
There are said to be !, ,142 patent reme-
dies for cholera in the list at the United
States patent office.
The Krupp Works, of Essen, costsea
5,542 furnaces, which consume 1865 tons Of
coal and coke daily.
Porto d'Anzio, in Italy, was recently
overwh elmed by a waterspout, and the city
and beach nearly swept away.
There are in the field six Presidential
tickets-the Democratic. Republican, Popu-
lite, Prohibitionist, Nationalist and Social
ist.
Mrs. Gaines, the property of Richard
j. Auchmuty, Of Lenox. Mass. is said to oo
the oldest war horse living. She is 36 years
old.
"A tulip show has been held annually at
the Orange Tree Inn, Butley, a small y"sage
near Macclesf1eld, England, for the e,ast 81
years.
"A scheme for a cable across the British
Channel was presented as early as 1s47 to
Louis Philippe by q Frenchman named
Brett.
"A tomahawk, said to have belonged to
the famous Indian chief Tecumseh, is now
in possession of Mrs. Lizzie Skinner, of West
Point, KY.
IF it were not for the crows and similar
birds the amount of corn and wheat raised
in this country would be diminished by one
third in single year.
The menu card of P Philadelphia Dutch
beer cellar is appropriately called the
"Spijskuart," and has on it "visch, win,
room, koffie, pijpen and tabak."
"A resident of Buckingham county, Va,
killed and opened 20 hawks before he found
out that the reward OF So each offered by
Governor Mckinley Tor hawks gizzards was
hoax.
The most powerful and heaviest gun in
the world weighs 135 tons, is 40 feet in length
and has a 1gI-inch bore. Its range is IL
miles, with pfojectile weighing 1880
pounds.
"A marvellous lake is reported to have
been discovered in the mountains above
1efcle creek in the Big Bend country, Idaho.
The lake 1s said to be of considerable size
and brimful of boiling water.
The deepest soundings ever taken in
the Pacific ocean, or, in fact, any place on
the globe, were made in the vicinity of the
Ladrone Islands, where the depth was found
to be q, 500 feet or about five miles
Paper manufacture is one of the chief
9r,6 II,
the most primitive manner from the bark Of
tree which is indigenous to the country
and which is closely allied to the mulberry
The Central Pacific Railroad has some
monster engines in use on the Western end
OF Its route-those maze at the Sacramento
shops in 1888. Each of these gigantic loco
motives weighs, exclusive of tender, 123, 900
pounds,
The latest triumph of Yankee inventive
genius is an India rubber fish worm. 1t Is
said to be remarkably good immitation of
the common earth worm, is indestructible,
and in actual use proves as alluring to the
fishes as the genuine article.
There lately appeared an advertise
ment in an English paper for an editor of
first class journal, it being expressly stipu,
lated that she must be a practical man OF
the world. No one who has graduated al
Oxford or Cambridge need apply"
IL appears LndG q COlOIcu OF uaIk Dig
ment In the olfactory regions is essential to
perfect smell. In cases where animals are
pure white they are usually totally devoid
of both smell and taste; and some, the white
cat for instance, are almost invariably deaf
About four millions and half sterling
are spent on hunting in Great Britain and
Ireland, independents of the expenses Of
carriage horses, covered hacks, and travel-
ing expenses. There are $50 packs of bounds
and about l00, 900 horses are required to fol-
low them
in Bellavista, near Portici, a small col
ony includes more than 20 people who are
more than 30 years old, headed by q farmer
aged los, who still works in the fields. They
are all natives. and have lived with hardly
any meat in their diet and drinking only
rain water from a cistern.
while workmen were deepening an
old stock well on the farm of Andrew von-
derah, near Kokomo, they struck flowing
stream of water, which flushed out and
overfiowed part of the farm. The flow con-
tinues at the rate of eight barrels per
minute, with no sign of abatement.
Tobacco consumption is increasing in
Great Britain. For the last year it averaged
one and six-tenths pounds per head of the
population. In France it averages nearly
two pounds. In England the consumption
of tea is rapidly increasing and coffee di.
minishing. Cocoa has increased 81 per cent
III i've years.
The chateau of Urville, where Emperor
William is to spend the middle Of Septem-
ber was bought three years ago, but this
will be his first visit. It is near Metz, and
was acquired with q view to political effect
in Lorraine. 1t is rather large, unimpres-
sive in architecture, and not luxurious. It
cost $4,000.
The side-wheel steamer Goliah was the
first steamer that came to the Pacific coast
her trip having been made in 1S49 and later
in 1871, she came for the first time to Puget
Sound. She is now owned by the Puget Mill
Company, and is still in use as towboat.
She still has her original machinery, which
is in excellent condition.
"A man found i'll in shanty on the out
skirts of Sacramento was taken to the hos
pital, and when stripped for bath each leg
was found encircled with a garter made of
canvas doubled and the edges sewed
together. Each contained Is $40 gold pieces,
making $500 in all. He also had IS in his
pockets. He had every appearance OF being
tramp.