OUR CURIOSITY SHOP. (continued 6)

When the eggs are hatched keep the chicks in the incubator till dried, anywhere from twelve to eighteen hours, but not longer. Put them in the brooder, or “artificial mother,” which will be described hereafter. Give them their first food when they are about 18 or 20 hours old. Use bread crumbs wet with milk, or corn meal thoroughly soaked, or hard-boiled eggs, and feed regularly at intervals of three or four hours from 5 o’clock a. m. to 9 o’clock p. m. Do not over-feed; give them only what they will eat clean. When old enough give them dry grain.

CERTAIN LUMBER GRADES.

Dows, Iowa.

Please give the inspection rules for grading flooring, fence-boards, siding, and six-inch, half-round, live cedar posts.

H. H. Oberton.

Answer.—There are different inspection rules at nearly all the great centers of the lumber trade. There are the “Albany Inspection,” governing the lumber product of Northern New York, the “Maine survey,” the “Boston inspection,” the “Saginaw inspection,” the “Chicago cargo inspection,” “Chicago yard grading,” “St. Louis inspection,” “Minneapolis inspection,” and several others. The differences at the several Western centers do not differ very greatly. The following grading is according to the rules of Chicago yard grading:

Flooring—A, or firsts, should have one face nearly clear, with but one or two small, sound knots; the other side may have more knots or sap. B, or seconds, may have two to four sound, medium knots, and bright sap equal to 1 or 1¼ inches width. C, or thirds, will allow of three to six small, sound knots, or 1½ to 2 inches of bright sap.

Fencing flooring is good common flooring from selected fence boards, and may have a large number of small, sound knots, but the general character of the piece must be such as to make a good, tight floor, practically free from “shake” and loose knots.

Fencing—No. 1, or common, contains sound knots only, not to weaken the piece, and may have considerable sap, bright, dull, or stained. No. 2 contains black sap, coarse knots, and boards shaky or otherwise defective, provided they are not unfit for coarse fencing.

Strips and Siding—First and second clear, No. 1, must be perfect in thickness, width, and quality, as clear lumber, free from knots and sap. No. 2 will admit of a narrow, bright sap on one side, or one or two knots. A, or first common, if free from knots, may have two or three small sound knots, or bright sap, one-half or three-quarters of an inch wide. B, or second common, may have three or four medium-sized sound knots, or bright sap of 1 to 1½ inches wide. C, or third common, may have two to six medium knots, 2 to 3 inches of sap, or both sap and knots to equal these. Six-inch half-round live cedar posts must be of trees alive when felled, free from rot or decay of any kind, and not less than six inches at small end.

The St. Louis inspection rules for white pine lumber are almost identical with those of Chicago. Minneapolis rules allow 1 inch sap and three small knots, but no other imperfections in first flooring; six small knots and 1½-inch sap in second flooring; 1-inch sap on thin edge, but no other imperfections in first siding, dressed; three small knots and 1-inch sap on either side in second siding. Grading in the Upper Mississippi River towns is influenced strongly by the Minneapolis rules.

HOMESTEAD RIGHTS OF WOMEN.

Fort Collins, Col.

1. Does the homestead law allow single men and women to leave their claims to earn their living? 2. If a woman holding land under the homestead and timber-culture laws marries a man holding land in the same way, does she forfeit her right to either claim?

M. Soper.

Answer.—A single woman who makes a homestead or timber-culture entry, or both, does not forfeit her rights by marriage, provided the requirements as to residence and cultivation are complied with; but if a single woman marry after filing her declaratory statement under the pre-emption laws, she abandons her rights as a pre-emptor. A party, while having an actual residence on his or her claim, may work elsewhere for other people a few weeks at a time.

BLACK LETTER BOOKS.

Precept, Neb.

1. I saw an account of a black letter Bible recently and should like to know the reason for its value. 2. Please explain the expression “court in banc.”

Constant Reader.

Answer.—The type commonly known in this country as black letter, or Gothic, was the first used in printing, being a copy of the letters used in Germany and the Netherlands during the fifteenth century. In the next century the Gothic style was superseded by the Roman. Books in black letter are highly prized because of their antiquity and rarity. 2. The meaning is that all of the judges of the court in question hear and decide the case: that is, occupy the “banc,” or bench, together.

BIBLE QUESTIONS.

Chicago, Ill.

1. How many days were the Israelites in gathering manna? 2. How many furlongs is Bethany from Jerusalem?

A. Lewis.

Answer.—In Exodus, xvi., we read that for forty years the children of Israel gathered manna daily, excepting the seventh or Sabbath, a double allowance being granted on the sixth day. 2. The distance is three miles or twenty-four furlongs.

MRS. MARY ASHTON LIVERMORE.

Oxford, Ind.

Please give a short biography of Mrs. Mary Livermore.

John Morgan.

Answer.—Mrs. Mary Ashton Livermore, the popular platform orator and reformer, is the daughter of Timothy Rice. Esq. She was born in Boston in 1821, educated in the Baptist Seminary for Girls at Charlestown, Mass., where she gave brilliant promise of a useful future. She married the Rev. D. P. Livermore, of the Universalist Church, and assisted him in editing a paper of this denomination in Chicago. She was in this city during the late civil war and took a prominent part in the various movements to ameliorate the sufferings of soldiers on the field, in hospitals and prisons. She was an ever active, devoted and most efficient worker in the cause of the U. S. Sanitary Commission, and was one of the ablest associates of that eminent philanthropist, Mrs. A. C. Hoge, in the organization and marvelous success of the Chicago Sanitary Fair near the close of the war. She is now undoubtedly one of the ablest leaders in the cause of woman, in the various movements of the times. An eloquent speaker, a brilliant and powerful writer, a remarkable organizer and parliamentarian, she never fails to command respect and carry a strong influence. She is one of the associate editors of the Boston Woman’s Journal, and is recognized as one of the most eloquent lecturers in the cause of temperance, woman suffrage, and other social reforms.

POINTS IN THE ROAD LAW.

Somonauk, Ill.

1. The law of Illinois says that any one who forbids or hinders a person while he is working on the public road shall be fined $2. I quote from memory. Who should make the complaint and before what court? 2. What rights, exclusively his own, has a man to one-half of the road adjoining his farm, and what rights have the public?

Amasa C. Lord.

Answer.—Section 33 of chapter on roads and bridges, Revised Statutes, says: “If any person, after appearing (to work on the roads), remain idle, or do not work faithfully, or hinder others from working, such offender shall, for every offense, forfeit to the town the sum of $2.” It is the duty of the overseer of highways to make the complaint, in case of a violation of this law, before a justice of the peace. 2. In case of the vacation of a road, the title to the land reverts to the original owner, his heirs, assigns, or grantees. If the roadway was condemned for highway purposes, and damages for public appropriation of the same paid to the owner, several nice legal questions would be likely to arise in case of vacation of the road. When land has been given or legally taken for a highway, the abutting owner has the right to insist that it shall be used for no other purpose. The tree-culture laws of most States give him the right to plant trees along it, subject, however, to State, county, and town regulations. These can hardly be called “exclusive rights;” it can scarcely be said that he has any such, so long as the land is used as a highway; but the public have no right to use it for any other purpose, or do anything therewith inconsistent with such use.

FIELD MARSHAL SCHWERIN.

Fairmont, Neb.

Who was “Field Marshal Schwerin”?

W. P. Jacks.

Answer.—He was a distinguished military commander, born in Swedish Pomerania, in 1684. His full designation is Count Kurt Christian von Schwerin. He entered the Dutch army as ensign when only 16 years of age, fought under the famous Prince Eugene and the great Marlborough against the French in the “War of the Spanish Succession,” and subsequently entered the service of Frederick the Great of Prussia. He won the decisive victory over the Austrians at Mollwitz in 1741 which resulted in the cession of Silesia to Prussia; and Frederick signalized his admiration of the great captain by conferring on him the title of Count and making him a Field Marshal. He fell in battle before Prague in 1757, during the Seven Years War, better known to Americans as the French and Indian war, which was a part of the same general war.

CANADIAN TARIFF ON BRITISH GOODS.

Chicago, Ill.

Does Canada collect import duties on goods that are received from England?

A Constant Reader.

Answer.—The Canadians did not wait long after securing their virtual commercial independence, through the establishment of the present Dominion Government, before resolving to foster home manufactures by means of a tariff which should serve the double purpose of public revenue and protection to home industry. This tariff by no means exempts goods of British manufacture; indeed, such goods pay much the larger share of the total duty, as is shown in the following table, stating the value of goods entered for consumption in the Dominion of Canada, that paid duty, the countries whence imported, and the amount of duty collected thereon during the fiscal year ending June 30, 1882:

Dutiable Free Duty

COUNTRIES. goods. goods. collected.

Great Britain $41,459,730 $9,137,611 $10,011,811.00

Brit. W. Indies 1,765,024 83,700 662,514.52

Brit. Guiana 198,979 4,379 117,655.12

Brit. E. Indies 61,403 12,279 24,774.20

Australia 1,895 262 519.36

British Africa 204,745

Total British $43,487,031 $9,442,916 $10,817,274.20

United States 32,941,061 15,347,991 7,073,912.49

France 1,988,698 108,660 742,774.93

Germany 1,331,271 148,733 338,691.39

Span. W. Indies 2,122,373 13,795 943,791.41

Brazil 1,068,876 259,440 491,556.26

All other countries 2,818,123 1,569,959 1,292,016.95

Grand total $85,757,133 $26,891,494 $21,700,027.63

From which it appears that Canada collects over a half more duties from British goods than she does from American goods, while the total value of her imports from the United States is over six millions greater than that of her British imports.

TELEPHONING.

Aledo, Ill.

How is the telephone operated in the city of Chicago? Give an illustration of how messages are conveyed by telephone. Is electricity used on all telephone instruments? Does each person having an instrument have a separate wire at the central office?

S. Grady.

Answer.—In telegraphy the wire between stations is a magnet only so long as the electrical current is passing over it, which is the case so long as the wire is connected with the battery. This connection is made or broken by means of a small lever under the finger of the operator at the transmitting station, known as the transmitting key. While the current is on and the wire is a magnet it attracts to itself a piece of soft iron at the receiving station, known in the Morse writing telegraph as the recording style. The instant the connection between the battery and the wire is broken the latter ceases to be a magnet, and the soft iron at the receiving station springs back to its old place. By this means every movement of the transmitting key is instantly repeated at the receiving station. In the telephone two thin metallic plates or diaphragms are substituted for the key and the soft iron recording style. The undulations of the air produced by the voice of the speaker cause the thin plate in the transmitting instrument to vibrate more or less violently, in harmony with the voice. This plate is so connected with the wires running between the battery and the receiving station that the electrical current over the circuit is entirely closed or broken, or varied in intensity, according to the degree of vibration, while the receiving plate, at the other end of the wire, vibrates in unison with the transmitting plate, reproducing undulations in the air at that end of the wire directly corresponding with the undulations made by the voice of the speaker—that is, reproducing the sounds of his voice. Electricity is used in all telephones of any practical value. In Chicago the main wires and the branches from the down-town offices center at a common office, known as the central station, where, by means of couplings made by the movement of certain keys, separate wires are instantly joined or disconnected. Any one wishing to communicate by telephone turns a small crank, which rings a bell at the central office. The operator at the latter place responds by signal. The person who wishes to communicate generally inquires, “Is this the central office?” Having received an affirmative reply, he requests to be put into communication with the number in the telephone register corresponding to the office or residence of the person with whom he wishes to speak. He may now sit down until signaled that some one at the place called for is ready to communicate with him, or the operator at the central office notifies him that he can get no response from the number called for. Besides the main central office there is a district center in each of the principal divisions of the city, North, West, and South, all under the control of the former. It is not necessary for a separate wire to run from each instrument in the city directly to one of these centers. Several individual wires may unite with one common wire before reaching either the central office or a district center.

THE ALHAMBRA—MUNICH.

Marengo, Ill.

1. Will you please give me some information respecting the Alhambra? 2. For what is the city of Munich celebrated?

Ray.

Answer.—1. The Alhambra is the fortress of Grenada, within which is the ancient palace of the Moorish kings. The most of it was built between 1248 and 1354, and though defaced and ruined, the wonderful beauty and skill of its workmanship is still apparent. It is one of the finest examples of Moorish architecture, remarkable for peculiar grace and delicate elaboration. It stands on a terraced hill north of Grenada and overlooking the city, surrounded by a strong wall, nearly a mile in circumference, studded with towers. Passing through the Gate of Pomegranates and the neglected gardens, the visitor finds himself surrounded by beautiful arches and open courts, all leading to the chief object of attraction, the Moorish palace. Though severely plain upon the exterior, within it is exquisitely beautiful, with floors of the choicest marbles, “fretted ceilings, partitions colored and gilt, and filigree stuccos of veil-like transparency.” Slender columns support the galleries, and gracefully bending palm leaves of marble form the arches, while beautiful fountains are scattered here and there. Besides the halls, courts, reception rooms, and sleeping apartments, the building contains a whispering gallery, a labyrinth, and vaulted sepulchers. After the expulsion of the Moors from Spain their conquerors took pleasure in defacing and destroying their works of art, and the Alhambra was remodeled and partly blocked up. In 1812 the French blew up a portion of it, and in 1821 it was shaken by an earthquake. Attempts have been made to restore it, but the sums of money contributed have been too small to accomplish much. 2. Munich is noted for the variety and elegance of its architecture, for its schools of art and music, and for possessing a larger and more valuable collection of art treasures than any other city in Germany. Nearly all its magnificence in architectural splendor and elegance, sculpture, painting, and music, date from the reign of Ludwig I., who ascended the throne in 1825 and during his reign spent nearly 7,000,000 thalers in the embellishment of his capital.

NAVY STATISTICS OF 1865.

Waukegan, Ill.

1. What was the increase of the United States navy during the civil war? 2. How many naval officers deserted to the Confederate cause?

Constant Reader.

Answer.—1. According to the annual report of the Secretary of the Navy, for 1865, there were at the outbreak of the war 7,600 men in the United States navy, and at its close there were 51,500. The force in the navy yards increased from 3,844 to 16,880. This latter was exclusive of about an equal number employed in private ship yards under contracts with the government. During the war 208 vessels were commenced for the navy and most of them completed; and 418 vessels were purchased (of which 313 were steamers), at a cost of $18,366,681.83; and of these 340 vessels were sold during and immediately subsequent to the war, for $5,621,800.27. 2. There were 322 commissioned officers of the navy who “traitorously abandoned the service” at the beginning of the conflict.

ARKANSAS.

Minneapolis, Minn.

Please give a description of Arkansas and Washington Territory, climate, price of cattle, horses, sheep, and farm products. 2. Which is best adapted to Northerners?

A. H. Chase.

Answer.—A description of Washington Territory was given in answer to another subscriber a week ago. In Arkansas the land gradually rises from the Mississippi westward, reaching its greatest elevation in the Ozark Mountains. Unlike the Eastern portion of the State, which is alluvial in character, the country near these mountains is high and the climate is healthful. Throughout the State the soil along the river “bottoms” is rich and deep, producing large crops of corn, wheat, cotton, and tobacco. The river surface is 540 square miles, and the area covered by lakes and ponds 265 square miles. The temperature varies in the southern part from 20 degrees to 94 degrees; in the north from 10 degrees to 92 degrees. The rainfall in the south is 48-56 inches; in the north 42 inches. Below we give the average prices in Oregon, being unable to obtain them in Washington Territory. In Oregon the average price per bushel of Indian corn is 82 cents; of wheat, 78 cents; rye, 82 cents; oats, 40 cents; potatoes, 59 cents; hay, $12.14; horses, $56.22; milch cows, $21.17; oxen and other cattle, $13.72; sheep, $1.46. In Arkansas corn is 49 cents; wheat, $1.02; rye, 86 cents; oats, 53 cents; potatoes, 74 cents; hay, $11.50; cotton, 10 cents per pound; horses, $49.36; milch cows, $14.56; oxen and other cattle, $10.11, and sheep $1.48. 2. The effects of climate depend largely upon individual peculiarities, but, generally speaking, the heavy rains of Western Washington and the malaria of Eastern Arkansas are about equally injurious. Western Arkansas and the Eastern part of Washington Territory are favorable to consumptives.

DR. KANE, THE EXPLORER.

Normal, Ill.

1. Please give a sketch of the life of Dr. E. K. Kane. 2. Are any members of his expedition still living?

F. A. Walker.

Answer.—1. This celebrated explorer was born in Philadelphia in 1820. When about 25 years of age he visited China, India, and the East Indies as surgeon in the navy, and later traveled through Arabia, Egypt, Greece, and Western Europe. He acted as surgeon, naturalist, and historian to the first Grinnell expedition, in 1850, which led to the discovery of Grinnell Land, and in 1853 himself commanded the second expedition in search of Franklin. Returning home in 1855 he published the account of his travels, and in the following year went to England for his health. Thence he sailed to Cuba, where he died, at Havana, Feb. 16, 1857. 2. Dr. Hayes, who subsequently commanded another American Arctic expedition, died in New York Dec. 17, 1881. Several of the men are still alive.

RESTORING THE FLAG ON FORT SUMTER.

Galveston, Texas.

On what occasion was the flag of Fort Sumter restored to its place, and how?

Subscriber.

Answer.—General Sherman, on his march to join General Grant near Richmond, captured several rebel strongholds, and among them Charleston, which was evacuated by the rebels on Feb. 17, 1865. On April 14, 1865, the identical Union flag which had been hauled down at the time of the surrender, exactly four years before, was formally restored with befitting ceremonies.

THE OLDEST AMERICAN MINE.

Chicago, Ill.

What is the oldest mine of any kind in the United States?

C. D. Adams.

Answer.—It is generally conceded by those who are read up in the history of mining and metallurgy in this country that the oldest mining enterprise of the United States, still active, is the Mine La Motte, in the lead district of Eastern Missouri, opened about 1720 under Renault, of Law’s notorious Mississippi Company. It was named after La Motte, the mineralogist of the expedition. It has been worked at intervals ever since it was opened, and is in successful operation now. There are silver mines in New Mexico and Arizona, some of which may have been opened by the Spanish adventurers of the latter part of the sixteenth century and the beginning of the seventeenth. Some of these ancient mines were operated by the Toltecs and Aztecs years before the Spanish invasion, but it is not easy to identify them. So there are copper mines in the Lake Superior region in which the tools and mining marks of ancient miners of pre-historic times were found by the pioneers of the present American mining companies. Where the first colonists of Virginia got the ship-load of “fool’s gold” which they sent back to England, to the great disgust of the London company, is not certainly known; but it is known that at the same time, in 1608, they shipped a quantity of iron from Jamestown, which yielded seventeen tons of metal, the first pig iron ever made from American ore. There are diggings in North and South Carolina and Georgia, now overgrown with forests, which are supposed to have been excavated by the followers of De Soto and his immediate successors between 1539 and 1600. The first recorded account of the discovery of coal in the United States is contained in Hennepin’s narrative of his explorations in the West, between 1673 and 1680, when he saw the coal outcrop in the bluffs of the Illinois River, not far from Ottawa and LaSalle; but coal was first mined in the Eastern States in the beginning of this century.

LAWYER PRESIDENTS AND CONGRESSMEN.

Wilmington, Ill.

What per cent of our Presidents and representatives in Congress have been professional lawyers? Is it growing more or less common to elect lawyers to these places?

L. F. Hazelton.

Answer.—Of the Presidents, John Adams, Jefferson, John Quincy Adams, Jackson, Van Buren, Tyler, Polk, Fillmore, Pierce, Buchanan, Lincoln, Hayes, and Garfield were lawyers; and Arthur was a successful legal practitioner until appointed Collector of the Port of New York by President Grant. Washington was a surveyor until he entered the army. Madison was studying law when elected to the Virginia Convention of 1776, after which he became absorbed in political life. Monroe studied law under Jefferson, but did not really enter the profession, being called off into military and political affairs. Harrison entered military and political life early, and was kept in it most of his days. Taylor and Grant rose to the Chief Magistracy by distinguished military services. Johnson was a tailor until he got into political life. As to Congress, its membership has been too numerous for a full investigation. The proportions indicated below will hold good, in all probability, for the whole of the last or Forty-seventh Congress. The two Senators and six of the eight Representatives from Alabama, both Senators and three of the five Representatives from South Carolina, one Senator and seven of the nine Congressmen from Virginia, both Senators and all the four Representatives of Arkansas, in that Congress were lawyers, or, at least, had been admitted to the bar; so were both Senators and twelve of the nineteen Representatives from Illinois, the two Senators and six of the nine Representatives from Iowa, both Senators and eight of the eleven Representatives of Massachusetts, one Senator and sixteen of the thirty-three Representatives of Pennsylvania. The South is more given to the practice of choosing lawyers, or persons with a smattering of the law, to represent them in Congress and the Legislature than the North. Planters, who never seriously expected their sons to practice, educated them in the law formerly, as one of the qualifications for political life. The olden prestige of the law as one of the learned professions, and the one that led most directly to political promotions, had its influence on the sons of the wealthy and their sires, not in the South only, but in the North; nor on them only, but on the people. There is some rational force also in the popular conception that lawyers are or should be peculiarly fitted to be law-makers. The tendency in the North for some years past, as indicated by the above statistics, is to choose fewer lawyers and have commerce and the great industries of the country represented by their conspicuous leaders.

SCHOOLS FOR THE COLORED RACE.

Gonzales, Texas.

How many institutions of learning for the colored race are there in the United States, and how many persons attending them?

John Crawford.

Answer.—According to the report of the Commissioner of Education, for 1880, the educational institutions for the colored race in the United States were then in number and attendance as follows:

Class of Institutions. Schools. Enrolled.

Public schools 17,081 806,106

Normal schools 44 7,408

High schools and academies 36 5,237

Universities and colleges 15 1,717

Schools of theology 22 800

Schools of law 3 33

Schools of medicine 2 87

Schools for deaf, dumb, and blind 2 122

Total 17,205 821,570

Besides this there are a number of colored public schools in States that fail to report them separately from the white schools; and there are many colored children attending the same schools with the whites.

THE WYOMING MASSACRE.

Chicago, Ill.

To settle a dispute, please give the particulars of the massacre of the Wyoming colonists during the revolutionary war, together with the names of the military commanders and Indians, and oblige

A Constant Reader.

Answer.—In the summer of 1778 the beautiful valley of Wyoming, Penn., was invaded by a band of tories and Indians, and in the battle that followed, on July 3, the American patriots, commanded by Colonel Zebulon Butler, were defeated with horrible slaughter. Then followed a general massacre, which some escaped by fleeing to the mountains, while a few took refuge in Fort Forty (now Wilkesbarre). This fort was besieged the morning of the 4th by the tories and Indians under Colonel John Butler, and ordered to surrender; and being without any means of defense, Colonel Dennison yielded to the entreaties of the women and children to enter into articles of capitulation. It was agreed upon the surrender of their arms, and the destruction of the fort, the inhabitants of the valley should return peaceably to their homes, but no sooner was the fort surrendered than the Indians fell upon the houses, which they plundered and burned, killing all the women and children who had not escaped to the mountains. The entire village of Wilkesbarre was burned to the ground.

THE ILLINOIS BLACK LAWS.

Western Springs, Ill.

What were the “black laws” of Illinois?

J.L. Wells.

Answer.—Under the Territorial laws of Illinois persons were allowed to bring slaves into the Territory under the name of indentured servants. As such they might be held in bondage for a term of ninety-nine years or less. This was in direct violation of the spirit of the ordinance of 1787, which interdicted slavery or involuntary servitude in all the territory north of the Ohio River. The first State constitution, adopted in 1818, prohibited the further introduction of slaves, but did not abolish this species of slavery by liberating the victims of the barbarous Territorial enactments. Thus slavery existed in Illinois in defiance of the ordinance of 1787 until the adoption of the constitution of 1848, which contained the following provision: “There shall be neither slavery nor involuntary servitude in this State, except as a punishment for crime.” After the adoption of the constitution of 1818, the first Legislature re-enacted the wicked law “respecting free negroes, mulattoes, servants, and slaves” of Territorial times. No severer law was to be found in any slave State. It forbade negroes or mulattoes to settle in the State without certificates of freedom. No person was to employ any negro or mulatto without such certificate, under a penalty of $1.50 for each day. To harbor any slave or servant, or hinder the owner in retaking a slave, was made a felony, punishable by restitution or a fine of two-fold value, and whipping not to exceed thirty stripes. Every black or mulatto without a proper certificate was subject to arrest as a runaway slave, to be advertised for six weeks by the sheriff, when, if not reclaimed or his freedom established, he was sold for one year, after which he was entitled to a freedom certificate. Any slave or servant found ten miles from home without permit was liable to arrest and thirty-five stripes, on the order of a justice. For misbehaving to his master or family he was punishable with the lash. Indeed, punishment with the lash to the number of thirty-nine and forty stripes was prescribed for each of a long list of offenses, real or of legal construction. Even after the adoption of the constitution of 1848, which required the General Assembly at its first session to pass such laws as would effectually prohibit free persons of color from immigrating to, or settling in this State, and prohibit the owners of slaves from bringing them here for the purpose of setting them free, the Legislature passed an act, Feb. 12, 1853, which imposed on every such colored person a fine of $50. If the fine was not paid forthwith, he was to be advertised and sold to any one who would pay the fine and costs for the shortest period of such person’s service. A case under this law was carried up to the Supreme Court, and decided so late as 1864, to be valid. Other provisions of these enactments were almost equally detestable. Such were the infamous “black laws” of Illinois, which were continued, with slight modifications, from Territorial times down to 1865, when by act of Feb. 7, of that year, they were repealed. Had it not been for these black laws the census of Illinois would not be blotted with an enrollment of “168 slaves” in 1810; 917 in 1820; 747 in 1830; and 331 in 1840—the last census that carries such a stain. Fortunately, the masters and people at large were better than their laws. The horrors of Southern slavery would not have been tolerated here. During the last twenty-five years of their existence the black laws were practically a dead letter, being retained upon the statute book more out of opposition to abolitionism, and deference to the pro-slavery sentiment of the dominant parties than for any other reason.

FIRST EXPLORERS OF THE FAR WEST.

Kill Creek, Kan.

Is it a fact that early French explorers were the first to cross the continent through the northern part of what is now the United States?

Samuel Ritter.

Answer.—No French explorers, known as explorers, traveled farther West than Minnesota, but doubtless the French trappers reached the head waters of the Missouri, if they did not go even farther. These, however, have left no record of their wanderings, and we know nothing of what they discovered. To Lewis and Clarke who in 1804-5 ascended to the head waters of the Missouri and descended the Columbia to the Pacific Ocean, belongs the honor of having given the first written account of the far West.

PENNSYLVANIA WHISKY WAR.

Prairie City, Ill.

Did the distillers of Pennsylvania at one time create an insurrection on account of certain excise laws? If so, please state the facts, and what means was used by the government to quell the disturbance?

S. T. Young.

Answer.—In 1791 a tax was imposed upon domestic liquors. This created especial dissatisfaction in Western Pennsylvania, where, in 1794, the distillers rose en masse and refused to pay the duty. But upon the approach of militia sent by Washington, they yielded.

GAY-LUSSAC—BALLOONS.

Pawnee Rock, Kan.

1. Who was Gay-Lussac? 2. Who invented balloons? 3. Why was Sir Walter Raleigh executed?

Stephen J. Willard.

Answer.—Louis Joseph Gay-Lussac was one of the most eminent chemists of this century. He was born at St. Leonard, France, Dec. 6, 1778. He distinguished himself as a student in the Polytechnic College, Paris, and was selected to become the assistant of the great French physicist and chemist, Berthollet, who was so impressed with his originality and skill in research that on a certain occasion he exclaimed: “Young man, it is your destiny to make discoveries. You shall be henceforth my companion. I wish—it is a title of which I am sure I shall have cause to be proud—I wish to be your father in science.” While investigating terrestrial magnetism he was led to make a balloon ascent, on Aug. 24, 1804, when he reached an altitude of about 13,000 feet. Not satisfied, he procured a greater balloon, and on Sept. 16 of the same year rose to an altitude of 23,000 feet, a height never before reached in a balloon, and seldom exceeded since then. He made many valuable observations before descending. Together with the famous Alexander von Humboldt, he made the discovery that hydrogen and oxygen unite in the proportions of two of the latter to one of the former, by bulk, to form water; also that when gases combine with one another, either by weight or by volume, they do so in very simple proportions, as 1 to 1, 1 to 2, 2 to 3, and so on. He analyzed many chemical compounds, proved the elementary nature of several substances, such as iodine, to which he gave the name it now bears, and he formed by chemical combinations many valuable compounds. The French Academy elected him a member of that distinguished body of savants; the French Government honored him with important and highly honorable appointments; he became a member of the Chamber of Deputies in 1831, and in 1839 was made a peer of the realm. He devoted himself to scientific research to the last, and was associated with the distinguished scientist Arago, in the editorship of the Annals of Chemistry and Physics. He died in 1850. 2. Stephen and Joseph Montgolfier, of Annonay, France, a town about forty miles from Lyons, were the inventors of hot air balloons, just one hundred years ago, and the same year two brothers of the name of Robert made and charged the first hydrogen gas balloon, under the superintendence of Mr. Charles, a professor of natural philosophy, in Paris. 3. Sir Walter Raleigh was executed under a trumped up charge of conspiracy against the life of James I., of England; but really at the instigation of certain rivals and to gratify the king of Spain, toward whom he had always manifested the greatest hostility.

QUARTER SECTIONS, SHORT OR LONG.

Orleans, Neb.

There is a case in dispute here in regard to the government survey. They say that the government surveyor who ran the section lines here started at the Kansas line from the wrong corner, and, running north, made one tier of sections fifteen or twenty rods too narrow and the next tier as much too broad. Now, after twenty years, when the land is all occupied and more or less improved, can the line be moved? All the old corners are plainly defined and recognized as government corners.

B. F. Polhumus.

Answer.—In the case of Peder O. Aanrud (see Copp’s Land Owner) the Commissioner of the General Land Office made the following ruling: “The term ‘quarter-section’ is used to designate a certain legal subdivision of the public land ascertained by official survey. It generally contains just 160 acres; but, through unavoidable inaccuracy of surveys in adjusting meridians etc., it often exceeds or falls below that amount. It is still, however, the technical legal quarter section defined by law and ascertained by official survey. A homestead settler may enter 160 acres in legal subdivisions lying contiguous to each other without reference to the quarter-section lines, or he may enter a technical quarter-section as such, in which case he can take the amount of land contained therein, as shown by the official survey. In entering a quarter section he cannot depart from the ascertained lines, but must take 160 acres, more or less, as the case may be.” The case stated in this question is extraordinary, and may not be fully covered by the above ruling, but it is almost certain that in all cases where patents have issued and owners have been in undisturbed possession for sixteen years or more the titles cannot be disturbed.

ATCHISON, THE BORDER RUFFIAN SENATOR.

Tiskilwa, Ill.

Kindly inform us who Dave Atchison, of Kansas and Missouri notoriety, was.

G. S. Battery.

Answer.—He was a politician of the desperado order, who figured in an unenviable light in the early days of Kansas. Born in Fayette County, Ky., in 1807, he removed to Missouri in 1830. In 1841 he was appointed by the Governor to fill an unexpired term in the United States Senate, of which, through re-election, he continued a member until 1855. For some time he acted with the Benton wing of the Democratic party, which accepted the Jacksonian doctrine as opposed to pro-slavery radicalism. In time, however, he adopted Calhounism, including the doctrine of secession, and during the early Kansas troubles devoted himself to making Kansas a slave State. In 1854-56 he encouraged and abetted the outrages committed by the bands of Missouri border ruffians, who repeatedly invaded that Territory, taking an active part in driving free-soil voters from the polls and instigating the bloody attacks on Lawrence and Ossawatamie, and in other villainies of those terrible times preceding the triumph of the Free State party in Kansas.

MURDERS AND SUICIDES.

Melrose, Wis.

Give, if you can, the number of murders and suicides in the United States in the course of a year.

Ira Jones.

Answer.—According to the census for 1880 there were 1,336 cases of homicide, or murder, and manslaughter, and 2,517 cases of suicide, of which 472 were by self-shooting, 155 by drowning, 340 by poison, 1,550 by other means.

RAINFALL IN NEBRASKA.

Van Cleve, Iowa.

What part of Nebraska has the greatest rainfall? What parts have the second and the third largest average rainfall? In what month is this fall the greatest?

J. W. Johnson.

Answer.—During the ten years from 1869 to 1879 the average annual rainfall in that part of Nebraska lying between the Missouri River and a line drawn to where Blue River crosses the Kansas-Nebraska Line, was thirty-eight inches. In the extreme southeastern corner of the State, near the Missouri River, it was nearly forty inches. West of the line above described to a line starting from the Missouri River a little south of the mouth of Bow River, running with a slight eastern curve to Kearney and then southwesterly to the State line, the average rainfall was thirty-two inches. From this last line to another starting near the mouth of the Niobrara, curving southwesterly to a point a little east of North Platte, and thence curving slightly to the southwest to a point a little west of Culbertson, the rainfall averaged twenty-six inches. Between this last line and another starting on the State line at the mouth of the Keya Paha and running southwesterly to a point on the Kansas-Nebraska line, midway between Culbertson and the southwest corner of the State, the average was nineteen inches. West of this section the rainfall is not well determined, but it diminishes from nineteen to less than seventeen inches. The heaviest rainfall is in June.

THE SIRENS.

I have an engraving representing a lady about to go into a boat, or a sailor about to land. It is entitled, “The Siren.” What is the story?

Bachelor.

Answer.—Among the old Greek legends is one that near the island of Caprera, in the Mediterranean Sea, there dwelt two—some versions say three—damsels whose music was so sweet that no one who heard it could resist its seductive charms. The passing sailor, listening to it, forgot his country, home, and all former friends, and, unable to escape the entrancement of their songs, remained on the barren rocks until he died of starvation. It is further related that Ulysses, one of the most crafty of the Greek heroes of the olden time, by the advice of Circe, filled his sailors’ ears with wax before passing the rock and had them lash him to the mast until the danger was passed. When he heard the music he struggled hard to free himself and escape to the rock, but his companions only bound him the more firmly until their ship had passed out of hearing, whereupon the fated sisters hurled themselves into the deep and were changed into two great rocks. The whole legend may be regarded as an allegory, the sirens personifying seductive pleasures.

THE FIVE POINTS IN CALVINISM.

Michigan City, Ind.

What are the “Five Points” considered essential to pure Calvinism? Did not the Pan-Presbyterian Council held at Philadelphia a few years ago indorse them all?

Freemason.

Answer.—The “Five Points” in the confession of the Synod of Dort, generally regarded as the essentials of Calvinism, are the following doctrines: 1. Predestination; 2. The atonement; 3. The total depravity of the natural man; 4. That salvation is purely of the grace and free will of God; 5. The final perseverance of all who have once experienced justification by faith. For a more extended presentation of these five points see Our Curiosity Shop for 1881, page 91. These doctrines are differently construed by Presbyterian divines; so that in fact they are held in quite different senses by organizations usually classed together as Calvinists. The Pan-Presbyterian Council recognized the rights of the several bodies represented in it to construe the Scriptures as regards these doctrines according to their own judgments so long as they subscribed to the general declarations of the Westminster Confession of Faith, or the confession of the Synod of Dort.

CLAUDE DE BONNEVAL.

Kill Creek, Kan.

Please sketch briefly the career of Claude de Bonneval.

Samuel Ritter.

Answer.—Count Claude Alexandre de Bonneval, born at Limousin, France, began his eventful career as a soldier in the French army, but being condemned to death for insolence toward the Minister of War, provoked by being refused promotion, on account of bad conduct, he fled to Germany. He entered the Austrian army, and in 1723 was appointed Master of Ordnance to the Netherlands. But he became involved in a disgraceful quarrel with the Governor, and was sentenced to death. The sentence was, however, commuted to a year’s imprisonment. Upon his release he went to Constantinople, and under the name of Achmed he entered the service of the Porte, who made him Pasha, and gave into his hands the organizing of the artillery after the European manner. In the Turco-Russian war he achieved great success, and won the appointment of Governor of Chios, but soon lost the position through his imprudence. His death occurred at Constantinople in 1747.

TO FIND THE DAY OF THE WEEK.

Bath, Ohio.

I am puzzled. Please give me a rule for ascertaining the day of the week on which any day of the year comes.

Seliva Q. Yolvare.

Answer.—To find the day of the week on which any particular date of the current year will fall, divide the whole number of days from the time when computation is made by 7. If there is no remainder the day sought will be the same day of the week as the day when the computation is made. If there is a remainder of one it is the next day of the week, and so on. Illustration: Suppose it is Monday, July 9, and the question is, what day of the week will Aug. 10 be, proceed as follows: In July after July 9 there are 22 days. Add 10 days in August, making 32 days. Divide 32 by 7, and the quotient is 4 and 4 remainder. Now July 9 was Monday, so Aug. 10 will be the fourth day of the week after Monday, or Friday. To find the day of the week for dates in other years than the current one is a much more serious matter. It involves many elements, and is, withal, an arithmetical problem, and therefore excluded from Our Curiosity Shop by one of its standing rules. There are tables for this class of questions, as explained in an answer given not long ago.

SUPPORT OF PAUPER RELATIVES.

Longmont, Col.

What States, if any, require persons to support their pauper parents and other near relatives?

C. Watson Brown.

Answer.—The statutes of Illinois require “that every poor person who shall be unable to earn a livelihood in consequence of any bodily infirmity, idiocy, lunacy, or other unavoidable cause, shall be supported by the father, grandfather, mother, grandmother, children, grandchildren, brothers or sisters of such person, if they, or either of them, be of sufficient ability; provided that when persons become paupers from intemperance or other bad conduct they shall not be entitled to support from any relative except parent or child.” These relatives are to be called on in the following order: Children are to be first called on for parents, if the children are of sufficient ability, and, if not, then the parents of the poor person; next brothers and sisters; next grandchildren; next grandparents. Married females cannot be required to support their poor relatives unless they have property in their own right. Similar laws exist in most if not all the other States of the Union. Not having the statutes of Colorado at hand, we must refer you to them, at the nearest justice’s office or at the county court house, for definite information as to your own State.

THE FIRST RAILROAD IN ILLINOIS.

Altona, Ill.

In a recent answer in Our Curiosity Shop it was asserted that “a section of the Northern Cross Railroad, from Naples to Springfield, was the first railroad in this State; also, that it was operated by mule power until 1849.” Now let me say: 1. That the road was built from Meredosia toward Jacksonville and Springfield in 1838. [It was begun in 1837, and was opened through to Springfield in 1838—Editor.] 2. A locomotive was shipped by way of the rivers to Meredosia, where it arrived and was placed on the track in November, 1838. I went from Peoria, June 15, 1839, by steamboat to Meredosia, where I saw the locomotive on the new railroad, coupled to a train of cars ready to pull out. A few years later there was a branch constructed from the bluff, four or five miles from Meredosia, to Naples. The road from Naples to Jacksonville and Springfield became the main line, and the spur to Meredosia was regarded as the branch. [The use of steam was very soon abandoned, as the road was operated at a loss, and mule power was resorted to until 1849—Editor.]

A. G. Little.

DU CHAILLU, THE TRAVELER.

Postville, Iowa.

Please give a short sketch of the life of Paul B. Du Chaillu. How is his name pronounced?

Maud Mayo.

Answer..—Du Chaillu, a great African explorer, began his travels when but a boy, with his father. For many years they lived upon the Gaboon River, and in 1855, after spending some years in New York, he returned to Western Africa, where he devoted four years to travel and discovery. During this time he traveled about 8,000 miles on foot, and collected many valuable specimens in natural history. His works contain the result of his study during this and a later expedition, their chief interest and value being due to the account they contain of many hitherto strange tribes, and to his description of the gorilla and many curious apes. Du Chaillu was born in France about 1820. His name is pronounced Du Sha-yu, with accent on second syllable, and sounding a as in far.

SALE OF TOBACCO BY PRODUCER.

Orleans, Ind.

Has Congress changed the internal revenue laws so as to allow the producer to sell to the consumer?

A. N. W.

Answer.—Yes, within a narrow limit: as shown by the following communication from Mr. Milton C. Springer, the efficient and obliging Chief Deputy Internal Revenue Collector of this district, showing changes in the law relating to the sale of leaf tobacco by the producer:

“The law (see section 3.244, United States Revised Statutes, paragraph 7) defines a retail dealer in leaf tobacco as a person whose business it is to sell leaf tobacco in quantities less than an original hogshead, case, or bale; or who sells directly to consumers; or to persons other than dealers in leaf tobacco, who have paid a special tax as such, or to manufacturers of tobacco, snuff, or cigars who have paid a special tax, or to persons who purchase in original packages for export.

“Section 2 of the act of March 3, 1883, provides that on and after May 1, retail dealers in leaf tobacco shall pay two hundred and fifty dollars ($250), and thirty cents for each additional dollar on the amount of their monthly sales, in excess of the rate of five hundred dollars ($500) per annum. Provided that farmers and producers of tobacco may sell at the place of production tobacco of their own growth and raising, at retail directly to consumers to an amount not exceeding $100 annually. This proviso, as in the case of all provisos to general provisions of law, must be construed literally:

“1. The sales must be made at the place of production.

“2. They must be made strictly to consumers and to no other persons.

“3. The tobacco must be of the growth and raising of the farmer or producer who makes the sales.

“4. The sales must be of leaf tobacco in the form and condition of leaf as it is ordinarily dried and cured for the market. If the tobacco is ‘twisted by hand or reduced into a condition to be consumed, or in any manner other than the ordinary mode of drying and curing prepared for sale or consumption, even if prepared without the use of any machine or instrument and without being pressed or sweetened,’ it is liable to a tax of 8 cents a pound. (See section 14, act of March 1, 1879).

“5. If the farmer or producer sells ordinary leaf at retail directly to consumers, as hereinbefore stated, to an amount exceeding $100 annually, he becomes liable to pay a special tax as retail dealer in leaf tobacco. He also becomes liable if he violates any of the conditions of the said proviso, as herein stated.”

RAIN-GAUGE AND TEMPERATURE.

Osborne City, Kan.

1. How should a rain-gauge be set in order to register rainfall correctly? 2. At what hours per day are the observations of thermometer taken to get a mean temperature?

S. B. F.

Answer.—There are different kinds of rain-gauges, and instructions for using accompany each instrument. As a rule the mouth of a rain-gauge is larger than the graduated chamber which measures the fall. For special observations different forms of gauges are used, horizontal, inclined, or vertical. For ordinary observations the mouth of the instrument should be horizontal. Instructions of the United States Signal Service direct observers to set the rain-gauge “whenever practicable, with the top of the funnel-shaped collector twelve inches above the surface of the ground, firmly fixed in a vertical position. When a position at the level of the ground cannot be found with a sufficiently clear exposure, the gauge will be placed on the top of the instrument-room or roof of the building occupied by the observer, who will measure the height above the ground and report it to the Chief Signal Officer. The measuring-rod is graduated in inches and tenths of an inch, and the proportion between the cylinder and funnel is as ten to one, so that ten inches upon the rod correspond to one inch of actual rainfall.” “Snow will be melted and measured, and reported in the same manner as rain. If for any reason it cannot be melted, the depth will be measured, and ten inches of snow reported as one inch of rainfall.” There is a great difference in measure of rain at several elevations above the ground, not wholly explainable. Professor Phillips found the fall of rain at York, England, for the year 1833-34 to be 14.16 inches at 213 feet from the ground; 19.85 inches at 44 feet; and 25.71 on the ground. Daily mean relative humidity observations, according to the United States Signal Service, are obtained by dividing 7 a. m., 2 p. m., and 9 p. m. observations by three; the monthly means by dividing the sum of the daily means by the number of the days in the month. 2. The daily mean temperature is obtained by dividing the sum of the 7 a. m., 2 p. m., and twice the 9 p. m. observations by four.

When a rain-gauge is not at hand, a perfectly cylindrical pan or tub may be used to measure the rainfall, but it should be elevated at least a foot above the level lawn or roof.

NEAREST APPROACH TO THE POLE.

Chicago, Ill.

What is the nearest that any explorer has got to the north pole?

Subscriber.

Answer.—The nearest approach to the north pole, 83 degrees 20 minutes 26 seconds was made May 12, 1876, by a sledge party sent off from one of the two vessels of the Nares expedition, fitted out by the British Government. The point is almost exactly half the distance from Chicago to New York City by the shortest railroad route.

OUR BROAD REPUBLIC.

Garden City, Kan.

Has the United States any territory outside of the States and Western Territories, Alaska, and District of Columbia?

E. C. W.

Answer.—No; unless this government should conclude to reduce to possession the lands discovered in the Arctic and Antarctic regions by Dr. Kane, Dr. Hayes, Commodore Wilkes, and other American explorers. Several of these bold discoverers planted the American flag in the ice of those inhospitable lands and gave names to coasts and islands of large extent, so situated that if “Uncle Sam” insists on his title he can now boast, with “John Bull,” that the sun never sets on his possessions.

JOHN RUSKIN’S ST. GEORGE’S COMPANY.

Petoskey, Mich.

Be kind enough to give a sketch of the life of John Ruskin. Did he not attempt to found a society or colony on a novel plan and fail of success?

E. I. L.

Answer.—John Ruskin, the eminent English art critic, commenced the publication, in 1871, of a monthly periodical, entitled Fors Clavigera, addressed particularly to workingmen, and urging them to join him in forming an organization to be known as “St. George’s Company,” for the purpose of developing among the working classes a greater love of the beautiful and raising the common standard of architecture and home surroundings in rural life. He protested against “the tyranny and defilement of machinery” in country life. He set apart about $35,000 (£7,000), the tenth of his private fortune, to promote the success of this society, of which he was chosen Grand Master. The workingmen responded but poorly to all his appeals, and the undertaking is regarded as a failure. A sketch of Ruskin’s life is contained in Our Curiosity Shop of 1880, page 85.

AN EXCEPTIONAL VICE PRESIDENT.

Ann Arbor, Mich.

What would be done in case of the failure of the people to elect a Vice President?

A Possible Candidate.

Answer.—Just what was done in the only instance since the adoption of the twelfth amendment to the Constitution when such a failure has occurred. In 1836, no one having received a majority of the votes cast for Vice President, Richard M. Johnson, of Kentucky, was chosen by the United States Senate, he being one of the highest on the list of persons voted for by the people.

CENTRAL AMERICA.

Blalock, Ore.

1. What is the present political condition of Central America? 2. Are the States united under one federal government, or are they independent of each other?

W. Marimer.

Answer.—After much civil strife the people are becoming accustomed to republican forms of government, and educational and commercial advantages are increasing; though it must be said that the progress is not rapid. At present the country is quiet. 2. Until 1839 the republics of Central America were united into a confederation; but now each is an independent republic, governed by a president and at least one legislative body, chosen by universal suffrage. As a rule the president is elected for four years, but few have held this office for an entire term. These States consist of Guatemala, Costa Rica, Nicaragua, San Salvador, and Honduras.

EXPLORERS OE THE SOUTHWEST.

Wichita, Kan.

Our Curiosity Shop has told us of the first American explorers who crossed the Northern part of the United States, now please tell us who were the first Americans to cross the continent on or about the line of the Union Pacific Railroad, or south of that? Name some work on the explorers of the Southwest that is instructive and reliable, but not expensive.

A Subscriber.

Answer.—It was long believed, and is still generally supposed, that, after Lewis and Clarke, General John C. Fremont, then a Captain of Engineers in the United States Army, with a small force, guided by the famous Kit Carson, was the first explorer who crossed the continent within the present boundaries of the United States. This he did in 1843, following much of the way the route afterward adopted by the Union and Central Pacific Railroads. However, Mr. William E. Curtis, in his intensely interesting little book entitled “A Summer Scamper Along the Old Santa Fe Trail, and Through the Gorges to Zion,” shows conclusively that, while the world is indebted to Fremont for the first maps and published descriptions of the country between Central Colorado and the California coast, hunters and trappers had wound their way through these savage wilds years before him, and that as early as Jan. 20, 1824, a bold adventurer by the name of Sylvester Pattie, a Virginian, and his son, with a party of five other men, left the Missouri River in company with a trading party for Santa Fe, and some three years later groped his way down the Gila River into California; where he visited San Francisco, then an insignificant Mexican trading post and Jesuit mission station. Arrested as spies by the jealous Mexicans, and imprisoned, it was some time before these daring adventurers obtained their release and secured a passage from San Diego to Vera Cruz, whence they got back to the United States. “The Summer Scamper” and another book by the same author, “Children of the Sun,” both by The Inter Ocean Publishing Company, are full of spirited sketches of the early explorers of the Southwest, graphic descriptions of the scenery of this wonderful region, and observations on its natural resources and the progress of the civilization which is invading it from all directions.

LIVINGSTONE, THE EXPLORER.

Albia, Iowa.

Please give a brief account of Dr. Livingstone’s life and explorations.

J. H. Rowles.

Answer.—David Livingstone was a Scotchman, born in Lanarkshire in 1817, and when a boy worked in a cotton factory. In 1840 he landed in Port Natal, Africa, as a medical missionary of the London Missionary Society, and became an associate of the Rev. Robert Moffat, whose daughter he afterward married. For sixteen years he labored earnestly in the mission work, and during that time discovered Lake Ngami (1849), and crossed the continent from the Zambesi to Loando, a journey which occupied eighteen months. While in England, in 1857, Livingstone published his “Missionary Travels and Researches in South Africa.” Returning to Africa he devoted himself to exploration, and in 1865 resolved to find the source of the Nile. During the remainder of his life he was often not heard from for months, and it was during one of these protracted absences that Mr. Stanley began his travels to search for him, and found him in great destitution at Ujiji. Dr. Livingstone died while exploring the river system of the Chambeze in the belief that these were the head waters of the Nile, having reached Ulala, beyond Lake Bemba, in 1873. In 1874 his body was interred in Westminster Abbey.

SUBDIVISIONS OF GOVERNMENT SECTIONS.

Ventura, Mich.

1. In subdividing a township into sections, to what part of the township do the fractional sections belong? 2. Sections sometimes overrun or fall short in the subdivision of quarter sections into “forties” by the County Surveyor: Is this overplus or deficit divided equally among the “forties,” or is it all thrown into one side?

Charles Owens.

Answer.—1. The sections on the northern and western boundaries of a township are fractional—i. e., they do not contain exactly 640 acres. The small fragments of these fractional sections are called “lots,” and they are numbered from 1 upward in each section. 2. The course that surveyors are directed by the regulations of the General Land Office to pursue in the subdivision of sections is to run straight lines from the quarter section corners established by the United States survey to the opposite corresponding corners, and the point of intersection of lines so run will be the common corner to the several quarter sections, or, in other words, the legal center of the section. In the subdivision of fractional sections, where no opposite corresponding corners have been or can be fixed, the subdivision lines should be ascertained by running from the established corners due north, south, east, or west lines, as the case may be, to the water-course, Indian boundary line, or other external boundary of such fractional section. Where the lines marked in the field by the United States Deputy Surveyors are not due north and south or east and west lines, “mean courses” must be adopted. Where there is no opposite section line the subdivision line must be run parallel to the section line that is marked. The purpose is to divide the overplus or deficit arising from the unavoidable irregularities and errors of the United States survey as nearly equal as possible among the minor subdivisions of the section.

TEA, COFFEE, AND WHISKY.

When and by whom were tea, coffee, and whisky first used as a beverage?

H. G. Clayton.

Answer.—The use of tea among the Chinese, from whom it has extended to all parts of the world, cannot be traced with certainty further back than to 350 A. D., or thereabouts. This use did not become general in China until about A. D. 800. It was first introduced into Europe by the Dutch in 1610. How long coffee has been used in Arabia, its native country, is not certainly known. It was introduced into Egypt in the sixteenth century. The first coffee house in Europe was established in Constantinople in 1551. The first person to make it known to Western Europe seems to have been Leonhard Rauwolf, a German physician, a great traveler. Once introduced, the use of this delightful beverage extended rapidly. Coffee houses sprung up in all the chief cities. The first one in London was opened by a Greek in Newman’s court, Cornhill, in 1652; the first one in France was opened in Marseilles in 1671; the first one in Paris in 1672. The earliest manufacture of whisky is generally referred to the middle of the sixteenth century, but there are some reasons for believing that it had an earlier origin. It was made by the Gaels from barley, which still yields the best quality, and was called by them uisge beatha, later usque baugh, the water of life—of which first word “whisky” is a corruption.

CONVICT LABOR.

Rutland, Ill.

If convicts can make a better article than those who are not convicts, why should other mechanics complain? At least, why shouldn’t the public be permitted to utilize the labor of convicts for its own good?

Wm. Marshall.

Answer.—No doubt it is sound policy to make use of convict labor for the public good and the improvement of the criminals themselves, but the real question is, How is this to be done? Manufacturers and honest mechanics complain that the present system of hiring out convicts to contractors puts the labor of the untaxed criminals, housed at the expense of the State, without families to support, and free from all social and civil burdens, in unfair competition with the labor or industrial products of honest workmen who have families to maintain, taxes to pay, and social and civil duties to perform. Whether the contract system can be so adjusted as to remove any just ground of complaint of the nature here pointed out is a question that is eliciting the earnest study of some of our most profound social and political economists. We cannot discuss it in this place, nor have we any dictum to proclaim. It must be said for the system that it is the only one, with few, if any, exceptions, that has rendered American penitentiaries self-sustaining.

MUSHROOM GARDENING.

Chicago, Ill.

Tell us how to raise mushrooms. Are they produced from seed or not?

W.

Answer.—The mushroom spawn is sold in bricks, and should be used in the following manner: Procure a quantity of good horse dung and make it into a heap, which must be frequently turned for a fortnight, until the rankness has disappeared. Then build it into beds twelve inches in height and four feet wide, under a shed ten feet wide. This will allow room for a walk through the center of the shed. Pack the dung tightly, and cover it with long straw for ten days, when the straw must be removed and an inch of fine loam spread upon the beds. On this plant the spawn, which has been broken into pieces the size of a walnut, in rows six inches apart, and cover with another inch of mold, over which spread the straw. When the mold is too dry sprinkle it with tepid water. In five or six weeks the young mushrooms should appear.

BATTLE OF THE PYRAMIDS.

Ravanna, Mo.

I have a picture entitled “The Battle of the Pyramids.” Where, when, and by whom was that battle fought?

C. E. J.

Answer.—The “Battle of the Pyramids” was fought at Embabeh, opposite Cairo, Egypt, July 21, 1798, between the French, commanded by Napoleon Bonaparte, and the Egyptian Mamelukes, commanded by Murad Bey. The latter fought with desperate valor, but they were completely bewildered by European tactics. The French infantry, formed into squares, received the fierce charges of the magnificent Mameluke cavalry, which swarmed around them, on their serried bayonets, while a galling fire of grape and musketry virtually annihilated whole divisions of their army. Out of an army of over 60,000 men Murad Bey escaped with barely 2,500 horse, leaving 15,000 men on the field of battle and the rest of his troops, their arms abandoned, fleeing in utter rout in all directions completely disorganized. From the circumstance that this battle was fought within sight of the famous pyramids of Gizeh, near Cairo, it took the name above mentioned.

FIRES OCCASIONED BY LOCOMOTIVES.

Adeline, Ill.

Are railway companies responsible for damage to farm property occasioned by locomotives or must the farmer bear the loss.

Adeline Reader.

Answer.—State laws require railway companies to use certain precautions against fire from locomotive sparks or coals from ash pan. If it can be shown that damage to property has resulted from neglect of these laws or through culpability of railway employes, the company is responsible. The spark extinguishers on locomotive smoke stacks check the draft and on this account engines frequently run considerable distances with them uncovered. Again they often dump panfuls of live coals on the track, when the prairie grass and stubble are like tinder and the wind is blowing a gale. Damage done through such culpability is fairly chargeable to the railway companies, and, if the facts can be proved, they can be made to pay the loss.

SERGEANT MASON’S SENTENCE.

Galt, Mich.

What was Sergeant Mason’s sentence? Please answer and settle a dispute. State main facts.

Subscriber.

Answer.—Sergeant Mason, one of the soldiers detailed to guard Guiteau, fired into his cell on Sept. 12, 1881, with the intention, as he confessed, to kill him. He was tried by court martial early in 1882, and sentenced to be dismissed from the army, with loss of pay, and to be imprisoned for eight years in the Penitentiary at Albany.

AUTHOR OF DYING CALIFORNIAN.

Grand Detour.

Seeing no response to the question as to who is the author of the poem entitled the “Dying Californian,” I wish to say that this poem was written by Kate Harris, of Pascoag, R. I., now Mrs. Charles Plass, of Napa City, Cal. It was suggested by hearing a letter which was dictated by Brown Owens when dying, on his way to California. It was read at his funeral services at Chepachet, R. I.

M. W. Gilman.

THE CHRISTIAN ERA—WHEN FIRST USED.

1. When was the practice of reckoning time from the birth of Christ instituted, and by whom? 2. What nations now reckon time according to this era?

G.

Answer.—Dionysius the Little, a learned monk, introduced the use of this epoch in Italy in the sixth century. It began to be made use of in Gaul and England about two centuries later. It is now followed in nearly all Christian countries and in several Eastern nations.

THE TWELVE CÆSARS.

Saopi, Minn.

Who were the twelve Cæsars?

M. H. Miller.

Answer.—The twelve Cæsars are Julius Cæsar and the eleven Emperors following him, most of whom were from his family. Nerva was chosen by the Senate, and was the first to select a successor without regard to family. Following are the names and dates of the reigns of the twelve: Julius Cæsar, 44; Augustus, 31 B. C.-14 A. D., Tiberius, 14-37; Caius, 37-41; Claudius, 41-54; Nero, 54-68; Galba, 68-69; Otho, 69; Vitellius, 69; Vespasian, 69-79; Titus, 79-81; Domitian, 81-96. The title Cæsar was given to all of the Roman Emperors, until the time of Hadrian, after whom Cæsar was the title of the heir of the throne, and the title of the Emperor was Augustus.

SINKING BRIDGE PIERS.

Freeport, Ill.

Please explain the use of compressed air in sinking the caissons of the great Brooklyn and New York bridge.

F. R. Smith.

Answer.—The method of sinking cylinders by use of compressed air was invented by Mr. Triger, of England, in 1841, but has been carried to greater results in the United States than anywhere else. Tubular cast-iron shells are used to form a large hollow pile, which may be forced downward by its own weight and superincumbent masonry built on it as it descends. Compressed air is employed inside such shells to force the water out at the bottom, where the pile or caisson is open, while it is air-tight and water-tight at all other points. It was formerly supposed men could not work under a pressure of more than three atmospheres, which is required in most cases to keep out water at a depth of sixty-five feet, but in the case of the St. Louis bridge, caissons were sunk a depth of 110 feet below the surface. So, in the case of sinking the Brooklyn bridge piers, the men at work in the compressed air chamber, excavating the earth as the pier descended, worked in an atmosphere from three to four times as heavy as in the open air; a strain which they could endure but a short while at a time, and which proved fatal in many instances.

PROPERTY OF ALIENS.

Griswold, Iowa.

If a Welshman who has not been naturalized dies in this country, who inherits his estate? Would the making of a will make any material difference as to the control of his property?

Flora K. Smith.

Answer.—Each of the States has its own laws in regard to the rights of aliens. In Iowa aliens, that is persons of foreign birth who have not been naturalized by their own act or that of their parents, may acquire, inherit, hold, and dispose of property, real or personal, precisely as if they were citizens. The same is true in most of the States. In Pennsylvania alien friends may buy lands not exceeding 5,000 acres, nor in net annual income $20,000, and hold the same as citizens may, but there are certain differences between them and citizens in the matter of real estate conveyances, inheritance, etc. A will prevents the property of an alien from escheating to the State in case of non-appearance of heirs; and, as in the case of citizens, transcends the statute and common law as to the division of property among the heirs of persons who die intestate, i. e. without testamentary wills.

LAND WARRANTS.

Cove, Oregon.

Is there anything to prevent a person from locating a land warrant on public lands in this State? For what wars were land warrants given, and what are they worth?

James M. Selders.

Answer.—Military bounty land warrants are issued by the Commissioner of Pensions for services in the several wars before the year 1855. No warrants are issued for services during the war for the Union; but soldiers can be credited on homestead entries for the terms of their enlistments, up to four years of the time of residence required as a condition of title in cases of ordinary homesteaders. These warrants call for 40, 60, 80, 120, or 160 acres of land, as the case may be, and being assignable can be located by any purchaser. They should be bought only of responsible dealers, with a written guarantee that, in case of error or defect, the settler will not lose anything thereby. The market price of such warrants is from $1 to $1.20 per acre. There is no reason why these cannot be used in paying for public lands in Oregon as well as in other States or Territories. Applications must be made as in cash cases, but accompanied with a warrant duly assigned as payment for the land. Yet where the land is $2.50 per acre, as the warrant pays only for land at $1.25 per acre, the remaining $1.25 per acre must be paid in cash. However, a tract of eighty acres, rated at $2.50 per acre, for example, can be paid for by two eighty-acre warrants without any cash, except fees chargeable by land officers, as follows: For a forty-acre tract, 50 cents each to Register and Receiver; for sixty acres, 75 cents each; for eighty acres, $1; and so on.

NOON BY CLOCK AND BY SUN-DIAL.

Sun River, M. T.

The following rule will enable any one to determine the true difference between noon by clock-time and noon by the sun-dial or noon-mark; which seems to be a vexing question with some of your correspondents: Rule: From any almanac take the time from sunrise to 12 o’clock and from 12 o’clock to sunset. Half of the difference between the two is the number of minutes which the dial shows wrong, either plus or minus. This is called the equation of time and varies about fifteen minutes either way, at its highest.

John Kerler.

THREE AMERICAN AUTHORESSES.

Englewood, Ill.

Please name the author of “The Lamplighter”—an old book, but a good one—and who wrote “The Wide, Wide World.”

E. O. G.

Answer.—The author of “The Lamplighter” was Maria S. Cummins, born in Massachusetts in 1827; died in 1866. The writer of “The Wide, Wide World,” of which there were 500,000 copies sold in the first ten years, and of “Queechey,” is Susan Warner, born in New York in 1818. Her sister Anna is the popular author of “The Fourth Watch,” “The Other Shore,” and other works published under the pseudonym of “Amy Lathrop.”

BONANZA FARMS—U.S. MARINE.

Pleasant Plains, Ill.

1. Who owns the largest farm in Dakota and how many acres does it contain? Which is the largest in the United States? 2. How many ships has the United States engaged in commerce?

Albin C. Demary.

Answer.-The largest farm in the United States is the estate of the late Dr. Glenn, of California, over 60,000 acres. The largest farm in Dakota is the Grandin Farm, covering about 50,000 acres, and requiring the labor of 150 men at seed time and 250 at harvest. The largest cultivated area under one control is the 28,000 acres farmed by Oliver Dalrymple. 2. June 30, 1880, the shipping of the United States was classified as follows: Sailing vessels, 16,830; steam vessels, 4,717; barges, 1,930, and canal-boats, etc., 1,235; total, 24,712, measuring 4,069,035 tons. In 1882 (June 30) the commercial navy of this country numbered 24,368 vessels, of 4,165,933 tons.

WHERE POSTAL SERVICE IS SELF-SUPPORTING.

Longmont, Col.

In what States is the United States postal service self-supporting.

C. Watson Brown.

Answer.—In Connecticut, Delaware, Illinois, Indiana, Iowa, Maine, Massachusetts, Michigan, Minnesota, New Hampshire, New Jersey, New York, Pennsylvania, Rhode Island, Vermont, Wisconsin, and Alaska, in which States and Territory the excess of receipts over expenditures in the year ending June 30, 1882, amounted to $6,951,696, while the excess of expenditures over receipts in the rest of the Union amounted to $5,114,930, leaving a surplus, for the first time in several years, amounting to $1,836,765.

THOMAS NAST, THE CARICATURIST.

Ashkum, Ill.

Give a short biographical sketch of Thomas Nast, the great “caricaturist.”

C. K. Langley.

Answer.—Thomas Nast is a Bavarian, having been born at Landau, Sept. 27, 1840. At six years of age he came to the United States with his father, and at 15, with six months instruction from Theodore Kaufmann, he began to furnish illustrations for newspapers. His reputation, by the caricatures he made, was won during the civil war.

MAXIMILIAN I.

Urbana, Ill.

Please give me a short biography of Maximilian I., of Germany.

Nettie Ayers.

Answer.—Maximilian I., one of the greatest German Emperors, was born in 1459, and at the age of 19 married Maria, daughter of Charles the Bold. This union led to war with Louis XI. of France, who tried to seize some of Princess Maria’s possessions. In 1486 he was crowned King of the Romans, and in 1493, at the death of his father, Maximilian became Emperor of Germany. Later he married the daughter of the Duke of Milan. He was led to war with the Swiss, Venetians, and French. He died in 1519.

ORPHAN ASYLUMS.

Carthage, Ill.

Is there an asylum for orphan children in Illinois? If so, where is it?

H. L. Rand.

Answer.—The only State orphan asylum in Illinois is the Soldiers Orphans’ Home at Normal. There are several orphan asylums in Chicago and vicinity, sustained by churches or by private benefactions. Among these are the Chicago Protestant Orphan Asylum, 2228 Michigan avenue; Chicago Nursery and Half Orphan Asylum, 855 North Halsted street; German Orphan Asylum, at Rose Hill (Havelock Postoffice); St. Joseph’s Orphan Asylum, Douglas avenue, corner of Lake; and St. Mary’s Orphan Asylum, 2928 Archer avenue; Uhlich Orphan Asylum. There are others of similar nature in other parts of the State, as the German Evangelical Lutheran Orphan Asylum, at Addison; Orphan Home, Jacksonville; Asylum of St. Casimir for Polish children, LaSalle; Home for the Friendless, Peoria; Woodland Home, Quincy. Besides these there are in Chicago several houses for foundlings.

LANGUAGES AND TONGUES.

Chicago, Ill.

What is the difference between a language and a tongue? How many languages and tongues are now spoken?

J. G. Smith.

Answer.—Language is a term that is applicable to any mode of conveying ideas, whether by speech, writing, hieroglyphics, or a system of gestures or pantomime. Even the deaf and dumb have several languages, but cannot be properly said to have “tongues.” Tongue is an English term for the spoken language of a particular people, as the French tongue, the German tongue, and so on. The number of languages of all the kinds above designated or the number of tongues in all the world is not known. There are over 6,000 known languages and dialects: how many more will be discovered when we have thoroughly explored Africa and Central and Northern Asia is still a matter of conjecture.

AMERICAN VESSELS SOLD.

Sheboygan, Wis.

What proportion of American shipping was sold to foreigners during the civil war? How much was sold last year?

Subscriber.

Answer.—During the four years, 1861 to 1865, inclusive, the tonnage of American vessels sold to foreigners, mainly to escape capture, or because it could not be profitably employed while exposed to war risk, compared with our total merchant marine as follows:

Years. Total tonnage. Tons sold.

1861 5,539,813 26,649

1862 5,112,164 117,756

1863 5,155,056 222,199

1864 4,986,400 300,865

1865 1,579,994 133,832

Total tons sold 801,301

As the laws of the United States interdict the re-enrollment of any of these vessels, and restoration of the privileges of our flag, this was a permanent loss to the tonnage of our merchant marine, although it is certain that many of them continued to be the property in fact of American citizens, sailing under foreign colors. The sale of American vessels to foreigners in 1879 amounted to 43,312 tons, and in 1880 to 26,883 tons.

QUEEN VICTORIA’S SURNAME.

Panora, Iowa.

Having noticed in Our Curiosity Shop what is said in regard to the surname of the Queen of England, I send you the following extract from the Whitehall Review on this subject: “At dinner the other night the conversation lapsed, as it sometimes will lapse with the best, into questions hardly distinguishable from conundrums. A celebrated historian was present, and I put a question to him which I know has puzzled a great many people at different times: ‘What is the surname of the royal family?’ ‘Guelph, of course.’ That is the usual answer, and it was the historian’s. I ventured to suggest that although the royal family are Guelphs by descent, her Majesty’s marriage with Prince Albert of Saxe-Cobourg must have the effect which the marriage of a lady has in all other cases, and that the surname of the present house must be the Prince Consort’s. But what is the surname of the Prince Consort’s family? Simple, but staggering. No one knew. All guessed, and all were wrong. I happened to have looked up the subject a few months ago, so I knew that the name was ‘Wettin.’ Of course no one had heard it before. Every one smiled at the horrible idea of the Guelphs being reduced to Wettins! The point was referred to Theodore Martin. ‘You are quite right,’ said the graceful biographer of the Prince Consort. ‘Wettin is the family name of the house of Saxony, to whom the dominion of Saxony in the year 1420. The king of Saxony and the minor princes of the house are, therefore, all Wettins; or, German, Wettiner.’” [Nevertheless, the fact remains that none of the royal family sign either of the names, Guelph or Wettin, or are addressed by either name in any form of address, oral or written.—Ed.]

Mrs. H. R. Bryan.

NATIONAL, STATE AND LOCAL WEALTH AND DEBT.

Sioux City, Iowa.

Tell us what is the total public indebtedness of the United States of all kinds, National, State, county, city, township, district, etc. Also what part of the Union, the East, West, or South, owes the most. Finally, give the wealth per capita East, West and South.

Disputant.

Answer.—According to statistics in “The West in 1880,” since confirmed by the census returns, the local indebtedness of the several States (consisting of county, city, town and district debts, bonded and floating) added to State indebtedness, aggregated $1,117,821,671, or $22.28 per capita; and the wealth, measured by the assessed valuation, amounted to $336.89 per capita, distributed by States and Territories as follows:

Per Wealth

States and Territories. Debt. capita. per cap.

New Eng. States $178,654,977 $44.54 $661.27

Mid. States 488,638,655 41.57 473.55

South. States 204,887,805 13.43 155.29

West. States 243,984,183 13.17 333.63

Territories 1,656,051 2.73 211.29

Total $1,117,821,671 $22.28 $336.89

In some States local indebtedness has diminished since 1880, while in others it has increased. Assuming that the total local indebtedness is about the same, we may add to the above $1,117,821,671, the National debt at close of June 30, 1883, say $1,884,171,728, and it appears that the total public debt of this country is about $3,001,993,399.

PERVERSITY OF THE MISSISSIPPI.

Opdyke, Ill.

Seeing that the earth’s diameter at the equator is greater than at the poles, and Lake Itasca is nearer the center of the earth than the surface of the Gulf of Mexico, why isn’t it proper to say that the Mississippi River runs up hill?

Harry.

Answer.—This notion that the Mississippi, in order to accommodate itself to theories as to the shape of the earth, is performing the remarkable feat of running up hill, is sufficiently prevalent to lead to the iteration and reiteration of the above question as often as once a week at least. Of course we cannot reiterate answers so frequently, and hence generally pass the question unnoticed, as correspondents have passed our by-gone replies. A lengthy answer will be found in Our Curiosity Shop of last year, page 95. Here and now we will merely say that the United States Hydrographical Survey flatly contradicts the notion that Lake Itasca is lower than the Gulf of Mexico. It gives the levels at numerous points between that lake and the mouth of the Mississippi, and, surprising as it may seem, considering that the equator has “got the bulge” on all the rest of the world, this survey demonstrates that this old-fashioned river, following the custom of other rivers, with unyielding perversity, is running down hill; in some places at the rate of twenty-five feet and more per mile, and in others at the rate of only several inches. Perhaps this all comes of its never having been “to high school,” or a gymnasium. In fact its education has been totally neglected, except down South, where it has been trained into a bad habit of climbing levees. Whatever the shape of the earth—whether its equatorial diameter is twenty-six miles greater than its axial diameter, or more or less; and whether the waters of the ocean are or are not drawn toward the equator by the centrifugal force of the earth’s diurnal motion, until they stand several miles higher there than they would if the globe had no diurnal motion—one fact is established beyond all equivocation, and that is, that tide level at the mouth of the Mississippi is about 1,575 feet lower than Lake Itasca; which entirely relieves this grand old son of Neptune of any necessity for waging war with the laws of nature and fighting his way up hill to revisit the halls of his father, the “Trident-bearer,” in the briny chambers of the sea. Probably if the earth’s motion on its axis were to cease there would be a reflux of waters from the equatorial region into the Gulf of Mexico, up the Mississippi Valley, across into the Red River of the North and the Mackenzie, submerging the greater part of North America. Let us hope that the earth will continue to spin on its axis at about the same rate as now, at least until we have sold out all our farms and corner lots and moved to equatorial America, where land will then be considerably higher than it is at present in more senses than one.

FIRST CHAPLAINS OF CONGRESS.

Leighton, Iowa.

When was the first prayer offered in the Congress of the United States and by whom? Is there any official record of the matter? If so, where can it be found?

H. Clew.

Answer.—The first chaplain of the Senate of the United States was the Rt. Rev. Samuel Provoost, of the Episcopal Church, Bishop of New York. The first chaplain of the House of Representatives was the Rev. Wm. Lynn, D. D., of the Presbyterian Church. Both of these officiated in the first Congress organized under the present Constitution in the spring of 1789. The Congressional proceedings of that time are preserved in the “American State Papers,” selected and edited under authority of Congress.

THE HARMONICA.

Union City, Ind.

Please give a history of the harmonica.

Ford A. Carpenter.

Answer.—The original harmonica consisted of drinking glasses, played with moistened fingers. We read that about 1750 Mr. Packeridge, an Irish gentleman, was noted as a player upon glasses, whose pitch was regulated by the amount of water contained in each. Benjamin Franklin greatly improved the harmonica by making the glasses revolve about a spindle and fixing the pitch by the size of the glass. He also adopted a different color for each note in the scale, and moistened the rims by passing them through water. Miss Davis, a relative of Franklin, became a celebrated harmonica player, and performed at concerts with great credit. The mouth organ, which is now commonly called the harmonica, is a toy in which the sounds are produced by the vibration of metallic reeds, moved by the breath. Reed instruments essentially similar have been in use in China, Germany, and Holland from very early times. The inventor is unknown.

OREGON AND WASHINGTON TERRITORY.

Alta, Iowa.

Please inform your readers about Northern Oregon and Washington Territory. Is any part of them safe from Indian depredations? Is the land mainly government or railroad grants? State chief facts as to soil, climate, and the various kinds of grain raised.

R.

Answer.—The Indians in Oregon and Washington Territory are all gathered into reservations, and are now peaceable. They are not so fierce and restless as the tribes on this side of the Rockies, being more inclined to pastoral life, farming, and fishing. Little trouble is to be apprehended from this source, particularly in Oregon, the Indian population of which is not large. There are great bodies of public lands. The railroad land-grants are not so extensive as in the Missouri Valley States. There are immense quantities of fine timber lands open to purchase at the minimum price of $2.50 per acre under the “timber lands act” of June 3, 1878, which applies only to such lands in Oregon, Washington Territory, California, and Nevada. There are also wide sections in these States for sale at 25 cents an acre under the “desert lands” act of March 3, 1877. Great bargains have been made in lands passed under this description which are capable of easy irrigation, and are then remarkably productive. Oregon is divided into two parts, differing essentially in climate and productions by the Cascade Range of mountains, running nearly parallel with the Pacific coast, with an average breadth of 50 to 60 miles, and an average elevation of 8,000 feet. The portion of the State west of this range, constituting about one-third of its total area, is well watered, is generally very fertile, and, for the most part, covered with forests of valuable timber. The eastern two-thirds of the State, with the exception of the broad, fertile valleys of the Colombia and Wallawalla Rivers, is mainly made up of elevated plains, with insufficient rainfall for agriculture, except in districts where artificial irrigation is practicable.

The description of Washington Territory corresponds in the main with that of Oregon. The Territory is similarly divided, as regards climate and productions, by the Cascade Range. The rainfall is even greater in the western portion of Washington Territory than in the corresponding portion of Oregon, ranging from 70 inches in the south to the remarkable measure of 125 inches in the north, where it borders on Puget Sound. In this same region the temperature is remarkably equable, varying but 27 degrees during the year between the lowest and highest points. East of the Cascades a narrow strip on the north is mountainous and covered with forests, but south of this lies the Great Plain of the Columbia. Along the western border of this vast region, next the Cascade Range, it is claimed that the rainfall is sufficient for good cereal crops. The same is asserted of its eastern edge, bordering the Coeur d’Alene Mountains of Idaho; but the rest of it, like the southern extension of the same plain into Oregon, is fit only for grazing, except where irrigation is possible. It resembles very much the western portions of Kansas and Nebraska and the western parts of Colorado and Wyoming. In both regions the nutritious, self-curing bunch grasses, which form the chief reliance of the herdsmen east of the Rockies, abound. The grazing and agricultural interests of Oregon and Washington are increasing with great rapidity. The census of 1880 credits Oregon with 500,000 cattle and 1,250,000 sheep, and Washington with 250,000 cattle and 200,000 sheep, and since then the increase has been nearly 100 per-cent. The wheat crop of Oregon, according to the census, was 7,480,010 bushels, the oat crop 4,385,650 bushels, and the barley crop 920,977 bushels. At the same time in Washington Territory the wheat crop was 1,921,322 bushels, the oat crop 1,571,706, and the barley crop 566,537 bushels. Undoubtedly the completion of the Northern Pacific Railroad this year will open an era of marvelous growth in the State and Territory above described.

WILLIAM COBBETT, THE AGITATOR.

Alder Grove, Neb.

Who was William Cobbett? He is spoken of as a reformer.

J. M. K.

Answer.—He was an English political writer of the latter part of the last and the first third of the present century. Born at Farnham, Eng., in 1762, the son of a farmer of moderate means, he acquired habits of industry and self-dependence. Not liking rural pursuits, he went to London and engaged as a copying clerk. Soon tiring of this occupation, he enlisted in the British army, where he rose by merit to the rank of Sergeant Major. His spare time in barracks was given to self-education, and on obtaining his discharge, in 1791, he married and emigrated to Philadelphia, where he entered upon his after career as a political writer under the pseudonym of “Peter Porcupine.” At this period he satirized American democracy and French republicanism, attacking the inconsistencies and political fallacies of the time in terms of scorn and bitter denunciation. He was denounced by the American press, particularly by the Democrats, or “Republicans” of those times, as a Tory aiming at reviving the royalistic element in this country, not then completely eradicated. Not pleased with the reception of his political diatribes he returned in 1800 to England, and in 1802 began the publication of his Weekly Political Register, now famous, which he continued to his death, June 18, 1835. At first Tory, the Register gradually changed its politics until it became the most fierce and unrelenting opponent of the government, then conducted by Pitt, and the foremost champion of English Radicalism. He advocated the abolition of flogging in the army, and for strictures on the government and satires and charges claimed to be libellous against certain high officials, he was condemned to imprisonment for two years in Newgate Prison, and to pay a fine of £1,000. He attacked the six acts of the British Parliament for the suppression of free discussion, pouring vials of abuse on the leaders of the government party; and to escape pecuniary embarrassments and the dread of again going to Newgate, he once more came to America, where his change of politics had raised up many friends. He virtually edited his Weekly Political Register from this side the Atlantic until some years later when he returned to England. Radicalism had made great strides, and he found himself one of its recognized champions. In 1829-30 he delivered political lectures in several of the principal towns of England and Scotland, and was everywhere met with enthusiastic welcome as the boldest and most powerful advocate of the people’s rights. In 1832 he was elected to the first reformed Parliament as the member for Oldham. He was re-elected in 1834, and continued in this relation until his death the following year. Among his many popular works may be named “Cottage Economy,” “Rural Riches,” “Advice to Young Men and Women,” “The Emigrant’s Guide,” “Parliamentary History,” and an “English Grammar.”