Pittsburg dispatch. [volume] (Pittsburg [Pa.]) 1880-1923, 1892-02-09
CURIOUS CONVERSATIONS.

Parsley is poisonous to many kinds
birds.
A bequest of 5000, 900 has been made
DIR. Ignaz Hoppe, of the University of Base
Switzerland. for the investigation of Il
nature of tho soul. -.-~
in the year 1863 Parliament passed
! law which prohibited anyone from wearir
shoes with toes more than two fncht
longer than the foot"
The Egyptian fellah is apparently tn
worst taxed man in the world. Even on tt
palm tree, which gives him food and shelte
lie pays 30 cents year.
Children are not numerous in Franc.
Ont of 10 900 coo families in the republic on
NTH have no children atall and another lift
nave only one child each. -
Parents cannot name their children ju.
what they please in Germany. By imperis
order Government functionaries are forbit
den henceforth to register any infant in
Christian name bearing the slightest rel;
tion to politics. 10y
The sugar insect is of interest to th
physician, as it may possibly be that th
larger numbers found in raw sugar woul
make it mi urious to the health of the COZ
sumer, and, moreover, thereis a skin diseas
produced by handling unrefned sugar.
III well could be dug to the depth
40 miles, the density OF the air at the bottoI
would be as great as that of quick-silve
by the same law cubic inch of air take
1900 miles above the earth's surface woul
expand sufficiently to fill a sphere 100000
OOO miles in diameter.
Gloves are the unopened flower of
small evergreen tree that resembles in al
pearance the laurel or the bay. 1t is natiy
20 MnTo -
been carried to all the warmer parts of tn
Wofld, and it is now cultivated in tn
tropical regions of America.
1t is said that two poor Partisan womer
who earn livelihood by making artificif
noWers, have hit on a process for dyein'
natural flowers in brilliant hues Public
tention WAS called to the matter by florist
VINO received III q lot of flowers some swee
Williams OF a bright green color. i'
The throwing the shoe is relic of
AnSlo-Saxon custom. In those early day
the brides father delivered her shoe to tn
husband, who touched her with it on tn
forehead, to denote his authority over heI
In1s custom was probably founded upon
possible misinterpretation of Ruth iv., Z.
"A man weighs less when the baromete
is high, Notwithstanding the fact that th
atmosphere pressure on him is more thai
when the barometer is low. As the pressur
OF air on an ordinary-sized man is about l
tons. the rise of the mercury from 20 to
lnches ADDS about one ton to the load he ha
to carry. tFss
-Malarial invalids who consume grea
quantities of quinine will be panied t,
know that in the manufacture of this -dru;
there is quite as much misery as in tin
disease which it alleviates. The maxim:
produces cutaneous eruptions accompanied
by fever, the vapor from boiling solution
being the chief cause. 70
The Timber Indians used to bury thei
dead in very curious way, selecting 70
the purpose living sepulchers. They lef
the corpses of defunct persons to be de
Voured by beasts or birds of prey.
similar custom is said to have been followef
by the ancient Persians who threw out til,
bottles of their dead on the roads.
In Africa floating bridges have beer
constructed of trees and bamboos bounC
together and forming a continuous ant
flexible roadway. There are examples o
bridges of boats upon the Chinese rivers
some with two or three boats removable t.
allow of the passage of river traffic, anC
one which carries also custom house.
There are many ore-produeing ledge:
on the precipitous sides of hills in the Rocky
Mountains. These lodges are so lofty as tt
be inaccessible by ordinary methods, there
fore, Mr.. S. G. Rees, an experienced miner
proposes to reach them by means of al
anchored balloon. This will enable him Il
secure foOtholds on the ledges and MAKE
entrance through the sides Of tie precipitou
hills.
The number of murders in this countr,
last year amounted to 3 906, or 1916 mor
than in 1890, and 1899 more than in 1889. 0 Th
executions in 1891 numbered only 49, o
which 27 took place in the North and 90 il
the South. That is, one murder in 4s re
IN u,Nff fn1 nscI,,
same period, the lynchings which outraged
instead of avenged the law numbered 1876, o,
68 more than in any previous year. --l
An Argentine physician, NJ Serger
states that the mussels are seldom injuriou.
at the time of maximum growth, which
corresponds with full moon, but that+the1
become poor and often poisonous as the
moon wanes. During this period many O
the moilusks die, and the survivors seem to
absorb the products of the putrefaction o,
their bodies. In consequence a form o.
liver complaint is common among the native
consumers OF mussels. r-e
"A few years ago it was suspected that
the latitude OF places on the earth's surface
changes. A number of astronomers agreed
to make observations for two years. and the
result has just been made public Latitudes
do chance. Berlin: for example was 59feet
nearer the North Pole in September than il
was in March. This change is not, of course
a shifting of any one point on the earth's
surface. 1t is fitting of the axis of the
earth. 'is'-
Mrs. Sarah Hampton, of Roswell Ga,
has hat made of cows horn that has been
in the Hampton family for over 400 years
The hat is about inches long and 3 wide
at one end and at the other. The box is
minutely fastened together with brass riYets
On the lid is "W. G. H.. 1699" cut with
knife. In the bottom of the box is piece OF
paper, but part OF the writing is so dim that
it cannot be read under glass. One can
read three lines. 1t SAYS that "This hat
has been in the Hampton family 236 years.
1922"
The japanese have unique ways OF
doing things. Here, for example, is the
advertisement of Toxic bookseller: -'SThe
OF our establishment-Q) Prices
cheap as lottery: (3) books elegant as
singing girl; (3) print clear as crystals; "a
pa per tough as elephants hide; (5) customers
treated as politely as by the rival steamship
companies; (6) articles as plentiful assin
library; (T goods dispatched as expedite
ousfy as a cannon ball: (S) parcels done up
with as much care as that bestowed on her
husband by n loving wife: (9) all defects,
such as dissipation and idleness will be
cured in young people paying us frequent
visits, and they will become solid men;. (10)