Pittsburg dispatch. [volume] (Pittsburg [Pa.]) 1880-1923, 1892-03-24
CURIOUS CONVERSATIONS.

The French still fight an average Of
1000 duels year.
There are said to be 20, 900 kinds Of but
ter1ies, Of which two-th1rds are named.
One of the smallest coins in size is the
new cuatroreal gold piece of Guatemala.
-Four pounds of gold have been col
lected from the SCOT of the chimney Of the
Royal Mint in Berlin. .--'-.-
There are nearly 10, 900 steamships in
the world, and their aggregate burden
amounts to about 10, 900 900 tons.
The people of Rome get their supply Of
water, which is said to be remarkably pure,
from the Appenntnes through an ancient
aqueduct tnat was constructed by their
forefathers.
During the prosecution of the Chris
t1ans by Nero, men and women were covered
with tar. or some other combustible mate
| rial, and set fire to, to serve as torches for
| the chariot races.
| 1t has been reckoned that if the whole
ocean should be dried up, all water passing
| away in vapor, the amount of salt remaining
would be enough to cover 5000 900 square
| miles with layer one mile thick.
Several of the higher apes share with .
man the involuntary habit of blushing.
Indeed, they seem to possess it to a higher
degree than we do, for the blush of an ape
extends over larger portion of the body
than that of human being.
| In France the custom of shaving came
in with Louis XIII. who was young and
beardless. The Anglo-Saxons wore their
| boards until the time of the conquest, when
| they were compelled to follow the example
of the smooth-faced Normans.
| Money is called "sterling" because in
the time of Richard 1 money coined in the
east Of Germany became, ON account of its
| purity, in especial request in England and
was called Easterling money, as the people
| of that part OF Germany were called Easter
lings.
November is ST. Hubert's Day, and
Hubert is, in measure, the patron saint of
dogs. He is. first of all, the patron saint of
hunters; but he is held to have special au-
| thority over dogs, and to him are addressed
prayers for cure Or protection from hydro
phoDia.
The stock of Bank of England notes
which are paid in five years fill l3, 400 boxes,
which If placed side by side would reach
over two miles. If the notes themselves
were placed in pile they would reach to a
height OF five miles. They weigh 30 tons
aod represent $50 millions sterling.
The following advertisement appeared
recently in a Western newspaper: "wanted
"A young lady as Clerk of the County Court
of Ebert County. 1t will be necessary for
her to marry the County Judge.-Address,
County Judge, Elberton." There were nearly
LOCO applications.
The Japanese papers, it appears, were
not content with announcing that General
Won Caprivi, Chancellor of Germany, had
become Count of Zanzibar Another enter
prising Japanese has written to O Toxic
paper that Emperor William had made
Prince Bismarck King of Switzerland.
Some experimental tests in regard to
the strength of waterproof bricks have re-
suited in exhibiting resistance to crushing
on their part of from 5000 to 1900 pounds
per square inch. according to the quality or
grade of the bricks-the average of ten vari-
ties being !, l50 pounds per square inch.
The best ivory comes from Zanzibar,
the African elephant being more highly
priced than the Asiatic on that account.
Little ivory comes now from India, where
the animal is so highly priced as a beast of
burden that only the tusks OF elephants that
have died natural death are obtaihable.
Korean native coin is copper cash.
Mexican dollars and Japanese yen are used
in the ports to a moderate extent, but are al
most unknown in the interior, ana the cum
brous nature Of the medium employed, to-
gether with the great fluctuations in its
value, is serious obstacle to the expansion
OF trade.
AN American lady, bent on being
original in the selection of her attire, has
just invested in a wonderful dress, the trim
ming of which consists of 1900 buttons of
various colors. shapes and sizes. There are
100 buttons on each sleeve, $50 on the collar
and the remainder are distributed all over
the garment. ---...---
Elijah Davidson, who went to Oregon
in 1850. was the father of II children, six
boys and six girls. The first child born to
Mr.. and Mrs. Davidson had red hair, the
next one black hair, the next one red hair
again, and so on alternating red and black
through the whole Il, no two in succession
having hair OF the same color.
There are many kinds of beetles in the
United States, which are as good for the
purpose of blistering as the Spanish fly. be-
longing to the same family with it. One
species in and about Washington preys
destructively upon the petals of chrysanthe
NUNS and asters, but has the redeemihg
habit of devouring grasshoppers' eggs.
"A singular casualty attended the suicide
of an artillery man in the barracks in Vienna
on Saturday. The man shot himself with
Werral rifle. The bullet, after passing
through the suicides breast, plowed through
the head of a second soldier standing near,
killing him, and then imbedded itself in the
arm of q third soldier, inflicting a serious in
jury.
Photography has been utilized as evil
dence in the question as to the destruction
of seals Sir G. Boden Powell paid visit to
the Ber1nT sea anu LOOK q nulnDeT OIL puO-
tozraphs, especially of those spots known as
the Breeding Islands. These plates have
now been developed, and the prints disclose
the presence of seals in hundreds of thou
sands.
Out of every 900 persons, men, women
and children, in the population, COZ are un-
married. 345 are married, and 50 are widows
or widowers. During the year 1889, the last
year for which the complete figures are avail
able there were 2l3 565 marriages registered
i'm England and Wales. OF the husbands. "a
6S0 were widowers, and OF the wives, H,3s1
were widows.
According to the last report of the
Michigan Bureau of Labor Statistics, the
farmers number more than one-half the
population, but their profits constitute only
one-eighth of the total net proceeds of the
in ther state. One-fortieth of the
lands railroad lands, city, railroad and farm
mortgages and manufactures in the State.
An interesting experiment is being
made on some of the engines of the Great
EASTERN Railway Company to test the ad-
oil as fuel in the ordinary loco
motives Several of the engines have been
supDlied with oil tanks, and the firemen have
the option of using the oil or the coal as they
think fit. Experience has shown that the
men prefer the oil. 1t requires less stocking
and produces steadier body of steam.
"a very novel feature was introduced at
ahoeatsstafndiie4lt given recently by Mrs,
AstoT. It consisted OF the turning loose of a
lot of automatic toys, tiny alligators, papier
mache roosters, tin toads and other AMI
mails, which were wound up and then set
nan closely followed the progress OF the
,njmal which he had wOund ND, ana S6-