Pittsburg dispatch. [volume] (Pittsburg [Pa.]) 1880-1923, 1892-09-29
CURIOUS CONVERSATIONS.

| OUnlUUO NEUTRALITY-SUSPICIOUS.
| -sulphuric ether contains no sulphur.
The rent of land in England 300 year,
ago was about shilling an acre.
twenty million acres of the land OF the
United States are held by Englishmen.
London photographers cannot meet the
| demand for pictures of our Buffalo Bln.
Apricot growing in Damascus is worth
to cultivators between 100000 and slooOoO q
year.
The best corks come from Algeria
There are nearly 2,50O,000 acres OF cork Tor
ests in that country.
The forces of Tammany are SAID to
number more than the present standing
army of the United States.
Very few Scotch peasantry now wear
| the kilt. Most of the peasants dress alter
| the manner of EnglishmeD-
in 1881 there were ,008 persons in India
who returned Sancris as their mother
| tongue: in 1891 the return was 3oa
Australia is diligently cultivsting her
butter trade. Between 1000 and aoCo tons
are annually exported. mostly to LONDON.
Only IL out of 1876 original plays re-
| ceived by Mr.. Fletcher, Director OF the
School of Acting in New York, were success
full.
Telephone communication IN Tunls,
Africa, is available between that city, the
suburbs Of Goletta and UIarsa, and also the
port OF Susa.
"A diamond now being cut at Antwerp
is probably one of the largest in the world.
It now weighs 44 carats, but will lose abous
214 in the cutting.
The smallest Bible in existence has re-
Gently been issued by the Oxford University
press. 1t is 81 inches long, 2H inches wide
and T OF an inch thick.
A French prince adyertises that he de-
s1res to sell his title and arms, which are
guaranteed by genuine sheepskin documents
OF the reign of Henry Nv.
-Porphyry boulders, which greatly re-
semble watermelons in size. shape and
color, are to be found in the Cascade Mount
aims east OF Ro5eburg, Ore.
The smallest representatives. of the
sheep species are the tiny "Bretons," natives
of Breton, France. When full grown they
are not much larger than rabbit.
"A remarkable West African ostrich has
arrived at Sierra Leone. The bird is ten
feet high, has come from Central Africa,
and walked a distance at least 500 miles to
the British Colony.
The first coins minted in North America
were produced in Mexico in 1885 and the
coinage of the colonies that afterward be-
came the United States used the Mexican
dollar as the standard OF value.
The cotton crop OF last season was 9,035,-
S79 bales, by lar the largest ever raised. or
this crop 5933 4S7 bales have been exported;
Northern mills took 219O,766 bales, which
leaves 81, l76 bales undisposed OF.
Two hundred and sixty-two years ago
last Saturday Boston was born. st. Au-
gustine, Fla, New York and Salem Mass,
are the only three cities in the United
States that are older than Boston.
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 26, $50 feet, or about five miles.
The amount of coIoring matter in q
pound of coal is enormous. 1t will yield
enough magenta to color 800 yards OF flannel,
vermilion Tor $500 yards aurine Ior 100
yards and alizarine sufficient for 155 yards
OF Turkey red cloth.
"A strange sinecure in Paris the place
of dentist of the Paris Opera House, has just
been filled by the election of the lucky man,
from list of 150 applicants. The salary at
tached to the position is nominal but the
number of applicants shows how eagerly the
place is sought.
Great expectations had been formed of
ruby mines alleged to have been discovered
by the Ameer of AfghanIstan about six miles
from Paghman, near Cabul The specimens
sent by the British agent at Cabul to the In
dian Government have, however, proved to
be worthless quartz.
The Lord Lieutenancy of Ireland is, to
use phrase in vogue among lawyers
damnosa hereditas. The salary attached to
the office of 100000 per annum, and is
necessary expenses of the post are, how
ever, far in excess OF the salary.
Volcanic ashes often travel a long dis
tance. A remarkable shower of volcanic
ashes has occurred recently in several parts
OF Finland. The ground in some places has
been covered to the depth OF nearly an inch.
The phenomenon is attributed to volcanic
eruptions in Iceland, hundreds of miles
away.
Emperor Alexander has freed the Kali
mucks of Astrakhan from serfdom. These
rowing people are Buddhists, and they num-
ber 15O,O,0 souls. When the other Russian
serls were freed, in 1861, the Kaimucks were
not permitted to en- joy the results of that
reformation, for It was thought that SO wild
people would abuse their privileges.
English oak is scarce, lots offered for
sale nowadays commanding large prices.
At a sale ofsome oak trees in BurghIey Park,
recently, from ESQ to ESQ each were paid for
trees, Half dozen OF the best trees sold for
ES1, ESQ, E72. E66 E64 and eel. One tree,
containing. l5J feet OF lumber, sold for ESQ
A year ago an oak was sold for S1l0-nearly
$500.
The true Indian name of Lake Mohonk
is Moggonck, and its meaning is "On the
great Sky Top" Sky Top, as persons famil-
lar with the region about Lake Mohonk are
aware, is the mountain upon which the lake
is situated. Sky Top, by the way, is an apt
and picturesque name for this mountain,
for it is outlined with peculiar distinctness
against the sky when seen from certain
points of view.
Some workmen were making some al
terations to the parish church or Long Claw
son, near Melton Mowbray, England, when
they discovered a large quantity of honey. 1t
is thought that portion of the west end Of
the church has been inhabited by bees for
more than 20 years, as during the whole of
that time they have been seen in the vicin-
ity, and not unfrequently have been OBJ
served fitting about inside the building
during divine service.