Pittsburg dispatch. [volume] (Pittsburg [Pa.]) 1880-1923, 1892-01-21
CURIOUS CONVERSATIONS.

"A cubic foot of newly fallen snow weighs
51S pounds, and has II times the bulk OF an
equal weight of water.
"A New York man, who was liberated
from a hospital n few days ago, danced so
violently for Joy that he burst blood ves-
sci and died. s
1t is probable that Cornelius Drebbel, .
Hollander, in the year 1880 first discovered
method for indicating changes Of tempera-
ture by means of glass bulb
The passenger cars of the world are
capable of seating 900 people, and upon
the freight cars could be loaded the weight
of all the pyramids Of Egypt, and all the
State capitol buildings in the United States
beside.
Some univalves do great deal of dam
age by destroying oysters in beds, drilling
through the shells with their file-like tongues
and sucking out the occupants of the houses
into which they have thus forced an en-
trance.
The members of the Japanese Club In
New York City issue Japanese newspaper.
1t IS printed on hektograph, and only
small number of copies are made. It is in
tended chiefly for the information Of their
friends at home.
The bronze statue of Liberty which has
crowned the dome of the Capitol building
at Washington for the past 90 years 10 feet
inches high and weighs a. 9s5 pounds. The
ngure was cast in i've sections, the heaviest
being OF 4,740 pounds weight
Snuff has been made from very early
period, first and most largely by the Span
ish, who prepared it with care and scented
1t with various materials. Next the low
countries, Scotland and England, extended
and populsrized the use of snuff.
Swords of prehistoric and even much
later times were often OF bronze, but for
many ages steel has been the material ex-
oiiH oiiiITixe1y so empIoyea, except that oeacsion-
swords designed for state occasions and
paseants. .. .
The opal was once looked upon as q
thuader stone, and although many women
now appear to have strong superstitious
prejudice against wearing one, it was in BY
gone days held in the highest estimation,
for it was supposed to combine the virtues
OF several other gems.
The chief element in the composition
Of a tear is water, but with water is associ-
ated minute proportions of salt, soda, phos-
phate of lime, phosphate of soda and mucus,
and when seen under the microscope tear
after evaporation looks like . very small
fish bone, owing to the salines forming them
selves into heightened CROSSINGS.
A most curiously wrought funeral pail,
nearly 400 years old, presented some time
previous TO the year 1516 to a fraternity or
brotherhood, dedicated 20 st. John the Bap-
t1st at Dunstable, by Henry Fayrey and
Agnes his wife, has just been forwarded to
Canon Macauley, the rector, and church.
wardens of the parish church, in trust as q
valuable relic.
In Utica brewery the iron nozzle Of
hose used in steaming out barrels was acct-
dentally dropped into a keg, and the keg
was filled with beer. Some time afterward
a customer reported that he had received
one keg of iron bitters with his last load of
beer, which gave his patrons such appetites
that three men and a boy couldn't keep the
Tree lunch counter stocked.
Dan, the male ostrich of Robinson's
Circus, died on Thursday afternoon in
Cincinnati of la grippe, wife which he was
seized some days ago. A post-mortem was
held. The lungs were found congested and
the throat was enlarged and liberated, while
firmly fastened in the coating OF the stomach
the $500 diamond that Dan picked last sum-
mer from gentleman's shirt front in Mon
rreal was found imbedded-
The Royal Library at Berlin contains
300 coo volumes; the library at Copenhagen,
$1,000; the library at Dresden, 500 900; the
University Library at Gottingen, Germany,
100000. The Royal Library at Vienna has
400 900 volumes, and the University Library
in the same city $4,000 volumes: at Buda
Pesth the University Library has 100000
books, the corresponding library at Cracow
nearly the same number, and at Prague 205,-
O0O
The latest count of the population of
the city of Rio de Janeiro, the Brazilian
capital, computed mp to about year ago
just published in the Diorfo Official, gives
the population at SIS, $50 classified as follows:
Males 2s7 49U; females. 22S 069; whites, 522 293;
blacks, 81 OBS: native Indians, II, 26t Mestizos,
Ill, ,967 single, 81 0o6; married, 1883; wild
dowed, 30,432, and divorced. ASS. 1t is esti-
mated f faas oo the o @ POPULATION a Is BE-
600.
1t was largely the fashion in the six
teenth, seventeenth and eighteenth GEN.
turies with ladies of wealth to have their
watches richly incrusted with precious
stones. lady's watch made toward the
end of the reign of Queen Elizabeth hada
gold case set with 200 turquoise stones ar
ranged in eight concentric circles with
single one in the middle. On the upper por-
tfon of the case was Tudor rose OF crimson
and green in translucent enamel, and on the
margin crimson and blue leaves and fruit in
enamel. The balance wheel was protected
by gilt cock.
One of the first settlers of Wayne
county, Pa. was John Swingle who settled
in South Canaan nearly lG0 years ago. lie
came from Germany. His wife presented
him with O child every two years for 80
years and was only 6S when she died. When
Swingle died the 25 children were all living.
Eighteen of them married and had large
families. One of the children, Mrs. Catharine
Maines, died few days ago in Dunmore in
her Goth year. She was the last but of the
25 brothers being alive, both octogenari-
ans. Besides them she is survived by chill
dren. l2 Grandchildren and Is great grand
children 1t is estimated that the descend
ants of John Swingle in Pennsylvania num-
ber over 600.
Patrons of an unpretentious restaurant
in New York have been Interested in
curious case of herediry. A year or more
ago a small and extremely lively jet black
kitten became feature of the restaurant.
As the kitten grew q small lump appeared
on its belly, and by the time the kitten had
reached cathood this lump had developed
into wen as big a small hens egg In
due course the cat became the mother OF
five black kittens, all of which, save one,
were entirely normal. That one, however,
inherited the maternal wen, and the custom
ers are waiting with interest until the old
cat shall become u grandmother, and won
iering whether the wen will extend to the
third generation. ..