Pittsburg dispatch. [volume] (Pittsburg [Pa.]) 1880-1923, 1892-02-04
CURIOUS CONVERSATIONS.

Missouri has grass widow IA years
old.
Boston has now licensed female under
talxer.
The theaters in London regularly en-
ploy over L, 900 people.
"A Rio Grande engineer recently sho
wildcat near New Castle, Col, from the cab
of his engine.
The smallest known insect, the Pterato-
mas Putnamii, parasite of the ichneumon,
Is about one-ninetieth Of an inch in length.
"A bill has been introduced in the Vir-
ginia House of Delegates to tax dogs at their
true value, the tax thus derived to go to the
state school fund.
How important to Chile are its nitrate
beds is shown by last years output, which
aggregated 100000 tons. representing
Last week Charles A. Dean, of Boston,
caught IN Florida the largest tarpon ever
taken with rod and reel. 1t weighed 1861
pounds, and was over seven feet in length.
Should man in China be unfortunate
enough to save the life of another from
drowning he is saddled with the expense of
supporting the saved one for the remainder
OF that persons life.
Paper quilts are said to be coming into
extensive use abroad for the poorer classes.
Ihey are composed of sheets of white paper
seWed together and perforated all over at a
Instance OF an inch or two apart.
The toys that have been used by the
royal children of France were sold at auc-
tion in Paris the other day. A little doll
less than l2 inches high, dressed in armor
Oh the time of Louis KILL, sold for Sis francs.
"A superb new bridge has been con-
structed in Rome, over the picturesque
Ilber, and it is considered one of the finest
modern works in the city. 1t has been chris
OF Italy.
"A giant tree, 200 years old, was cut at
hochester, N. H., last week, in the presence
OF Goyernor Tuttle. 1t was five feet
through at the butt, and six choppers were
Kept hard at work for two hours before the
tree fell.
"A Lutner, Mich, man has made dis
covery that should send his name resound-
ing down fame's corridors In order to keen
ms pump>from freezing he hangs a lighted
antern around 1t, and then covers the
whole thing with barrel
Last year Persia was the only country
"hien appeared in the shipping lists of the
world as owning but one vessel. and this
year it still occupies its solitary nIace the
EesSei-a steamer of S3S tons-having wealth
ereu all the accidents of the year.
AT meeting of the Essex County
council, the Lunatic Asylum Committee re-
ported that the ,ate superintendent of the
asylum had informed them that the chief
cause OF lunacy there was the marriage of
cousins and the next principle cause was
drink.
The British Museum originated with a
grant by Parliament in 1853 of 10000 to the
daughter of Sir Hans Sloane, in payment for
ms hne library and vast collection of the
productions of nature and art To this COL
lection we're added the Cottonian, Harleian
and other collections.
"A Utica, N. Y, church has placed in its
Sunday school room what is known rs a
Sunday school Thermometer 1t is novel
device for registering the attendance of the
sunday school every Sunday as announced
Dy the secretary. 1t runs from zero to 56O
and changes every Sunday
"A notable decrease in the number of
deaths from hydrophobia is observed by the
Registrar General of London The deaths
from this disease had been 30 in 1859 and had
averaged annually in three years, ISs7-lssS-
1883: but there were only eight in 1880 and
ie"er tnan IN any year since 1865.
There are said to be 200 women in New
York who go to Europe twice year to buy
their dresses The number of men who
cross the water for their new wardrobe is
much greater, as many men take the 0Dpor-
tunlty OF running over to the other side for
res' recreatlon and business all combined.
"A knowledge of the physiology of the
human larynx has made it possible to sup
ply artlnc1ai voices to people who have been
deprived of the one nature gave them. and
number Of cases exist where the cavity
has been opened and a larynx made of suit
able material with rubber membranes has
in speech.
An ho1l
cens1on in California last week. 1t was suc-
cessful all but the financial part, for when
the hat was passed and the contribution
counted he had s3, out of which to nav a
hotel bill for himself and lady accompani-
ment, pay off those who had assisted in fill
ing the balloon and compensate himself for
the risk he took.
Ten years ago the ice scenery of the
New Zealand Alps was almost unknown
even to the colonists. But in 1882 the Rev.
W. S. Green, with Two first-class guides, ex-
plored the glacier region beneath the high
est peak-Aorangi, or Mount Cook-and ar
rived, after long, difficult and dangerous
climb, on the summit Of that mountain
Since then the Britain of the South has
become proud ofpossessing the playground
of Australasia"
The monkeys of India have game like
the English boys cock of the dunghiIl or
king of the castle, but instead of pushing
each other from the top of knoll or dust
heap, the castle is a pendant branch of a
tree. The game is to keep a place on the
bough which swings with their weight as
with cluster of fruit, while the PLAYERS
struggle to dislodge one another, EACH as he
drops, running round and climbing up again
to begin anew.
From the big timber region in Clatsop
county comes a novel notion of cutting off
section of a big tree The length of an ordi-
nary railroad car, and then with an adze
ana other proper tools, cut the door in the
end, the windows at the sides, and make q
regular sure enough car for folks to ride in,
Dut of one solid section cut from tree
That would be great object lesson, and
would give the Eastern people q correct and
vivid idea of the kind of trees on the coast
-Profs Waldron and McArdle, of the
North Dakota Agricultural College, are COL
Letting grasses for a State exhibit at the
Worlds Fair. Among the specimens se-
cured along the shores of DEVILS Lake was
species of slough grass which had attained
the unprecedented length of 25 feet. The
samples were so long that they wound them
up in coils. They also found what seems to
be new variety of wheat growing wild on
he prairies this season, very much higher
,han tire cultivated kind.