Clerk, Clarence Kellogg, $5 per day and fees.

The terms of the first four officers named, and of the Superintendent
of Public Schools, began Jan. 2, 1882, and will end Jan. 7, 1885;
the Adjutant General is appointed by the Governor, as is also the
State Librarian; the Secretary of the State Agricultural society is
elected by the board; the term of the Insurance Commissioners began
Jan. 5, 1882, and will end Jan. 5, 1885. Your first question has been
answered recently as well as we can do it.

MAINE LIQUOR LAW.

  MT. AYR, Iowa.

  Please tell us what the Maine liquor law is, and its effects. Are
  the Prohibitionists generally satisfied with the law?

  M. J. DONAHOE.

_Answer._—The “Maine law,” briefly stated, is this: The sale of all
intoxicating liquors shall be controlled exclusively by a special
agent, appointed by the State; and he shall superintend their
lawful sale for medicinal, mechanical, and manufacturing purposes.
All other persons are prohibited from selling any liquors, except
unadulterated cider and wine, and from manufacturing for unlawful
sale. The authorized commissioner, violating the law, shall be fined
not less than $30, and imprisoned for not more than three months. A
common seller shall be fined not less than $100 nor more than $250,
with imprisonment for from three to four months. Any one receiving
injury from an intoxicated person may sue the one who sold the
liquor. The lessee or owner of the saloon is also liable. As to the
effect of the law, we quote from the address of Governor Dingley to
the Legislature, in 1875: “The statistics (in the Attorney General’s
report) show that during the past year, in the Supreme Court alone,
there have been 276 convictions, 41 commitments to jail, and $30,898
collected in fines under these laws—more of each than in any other
year, and four times as many convictions and ten times as many
fines as in 1866, when the general enforcement of these laws was
resumed after the close of the war. It is significant, also, that
during these nine or ten years of gradually increasing efficiency
in the enforcement of the laws against dram-shops, the number of
convicts in the State Prison has fallen off more than one-fourth.”
Governor Sidney Perham, in his message to the Legislature in 1872,
says; “The present law, when it is enforced, is, so far as I can
judge, as effective in the suppression of the traffic as are other
criminal laws against the crimes they are intended to prevent.”
And Governor Chamberlain, in his message of 1870, said; “The laws
against intoxicating liquors are as well executed and obeyed as the
laws against profanity, unchastity, and murder.” These are a few
of the testimonies given to the efficiency of the Maine law. As a
rule prohibitionists are satisfied with the efficiency, but not the
sufficiency, of the legislation. Still the cause of temperance has
been greatly aided by the Maine legislation, and the progress has
probably been as great as could be expected.

GREAT SALT LAKE.

  FREDONIA, N. Y.

  What is the extent of Great Salt Lake? Has it any outlet? Are the
  waters salt enough to make good salt? Is Salt Lake City on the
  margin of the lake, or some distance off? Is it navigable?

_Answer._—Great Salt Lake is a remarkable body of water, in some
respects the most remarkable in the world. Like the Dead Sea and the
Aral Sea, in Asia, it has no outlet. Its extent is given variously
by different authors. One explanation of this may be the generally
conceded fact that the rainfall of the region between the Rocky
Mountains and the Sierra Nevada is increasing, and the average level
of Salt Lake seems to be steadily rising, so whereas one authority
states the length of the lake as about ninety miles and the breadth
as from twenty to thirty-five miles, another says it is seventy miles
long and forty-five broad. One says its area is about 3,200 square
miles, and another says it is between 3,000 and 4,000 square miles.
One says it is about 4,200 feet above sea level, while another says
it is 4,250 feet above, and still rising, and a still later statement
sets it at 4,260 feet above tidewater. One gives the mean depth
at 12 feet, and another at about twenty feet. Its maximum depth is
variously given at sixty feet and seventy-eight feet. It contains
numerous rocky islands, the longest of which, Antelope, is fifteen
miles long. Some of these islands are used as sheep pastures. The
Bear, the Weber, and the Jordan rivers empty into this lake, and are
for the most part absorbed by the sandy plain or evaporated by the
dry air of the Great Fremont Basin. Only the Bear River is navigable,
and that near its mouth. A line of steamers plies between Corinne,
on the north shore, and Black Rock, on the south. Its waters contain
about 20 per cent of common salt; some salt is manufactured from this
natural brine, and there is no doubt that in time this industry will
develop here into great importance. Unlike the Dead Sea, this lake
abounds with animal life, insects, shrimps, etc., but not, like the
Aral Sea, with fish. The United States Fish Commission has undertaken
the experiment of stocking it with certain salt-water fish, and with
some prospect of success. Salt Lake City is about eleven miles from
the lake in a straight line, and fifteen miles by the traveled road.

INDIAN EDUCATION.

  CARLINVILLE, Ill.

  An Indian-hater in this neighborhood asserts very positively
  that the attempts made to educate the Indians are all time and
  money thrown away. What figures can you give us to disprove this
  assertion?

  A READER.

_Answer._—The last report of the Commissioner of Indian Affairs
furnishes proof positive that “Indian-hater” is either utterly
unprepared to make assertions on this subject, or wilfully
misrepresents the facts. Last year there were 5,113 Indian pupils
being taught at boarding-schools, and 5,014 in day-schools. There are
seventy-eight boarding-schools upon Indian reservations, having in
all 4,396 pupils, and in these industrial training has been carried
on so successfully that the pupils have cultivated 1,526 acres,
raising 18,334 bushels of corn, 4,952 bushels of oats, 19,340 bushels
of vegetables, and have made 1,171 tons of hay, and 4,325 pounds
of butter. Of the boarding pupils in schools not on reservations,
641 have attended the Indian training-schools at Hampton (109),
Carlisle (390), and Forest Grove (151), and 106 have been distributed
among various white schools in the States. At Hampton, since 1878,
the government has contributed in all $52,000, and private charity
$81,000, or, taking the existing number of students as the standard
for the five years, $244 per year per student. In these training
schools the industrial and mechanic arts are kept in the foreground,
and the main object is to inspire the minds of the young Indians with
habits of faithful, continuous work. During the past year Carlisle,
in addition to much other work, has turned out ten spring wagons
to be sent to Indian agencies, and Carlisle and Hampton propose to
furnish during the present fiscal year 2,000 pair of shoes, 3,350
dozen articles of tinware, 22 dozen bridles and halters, and 450
sets of harness. An effort is made to teach every Indian girl pupil
sewing and housework and the boys farming and mechanical trades.
The various religious societies have expended $74,689 in aid of the
government work of education strictly, besides $70,142 expended
on their own missionary work. This is besides $13,278 contributed
by them in aid of Forest Grove and Carlisle training schools, the
$26,668 in aid of the pupils at Hampton, $30,504 expended by the
societies on their own seminaries, academies, and missions among the
five civilized tribes, and $24,149 devoted to schools and missions
in Alaska. The Commissioner pays a high tribute to the value of this
religious aid.

CHINESE PROVERBS.

  LASALLE, Ill.

  I have just read that the Chinese are exceedingly fond of proverbs,
  and make great use of them. That many of these proverbs are full of
  lofty sentiment and wisdom. Can the Curiosity Shop give us a few of
  them as specimens?

  A REGULAR READER.

_Answer._—The Chinese are indeed remarkably fond of proverbs. They
not only employ them in conversation—and even to a greater degree
than the Spaniards, who are noted among Europeans for the number
and excellence of their proverbial sayings—but they have a practice
of adorning their reception rooms with these sententious bits of
wisdom, inscribed on decorated scrolls or embroidered on rich
crapes and brocades. They carve them on door posts and pillars, and
emblazon them on the walls and ceilings in gilt letters. In 1875,
W. Scarborough published a collection of 2,720 Chinese proverbs;
and these are but a small part of the great collections to be found
in the “Jeweled Mirror for Illumining the Mind,” “The Coral Forest
of Ancient Matters,” and other Chinese works. The following are a
few specimens of this sort of literature, taken from “The Middle
Kingdom,” by S. Wells Williams, for many years Secretary of the
United States Legation at Peking, and several times de facto United
States Minister. As a sneer at the use of unnecessary force to crush
a contemptible enemy, they say; “He rides a fierce dog to catch a
lame rabbit.” Similar to this is another, “To use a battle-ax to
cut off a hen’s head.” They say of wicked associates: “To cherish a
bad man is like nourishing a tiger; if not well fed he will devour
you.” Here are several others mingling wit with wisdom: “To instigate
a villain to do wrong is like teaching a monkey to climb trees;”
“To catch fish and throw away the net,” which recalls our saying,
“Using the cat’s paw to pull the chestnuts out of the fire;” “To
climb a tree to catch a fish,” is to talk much to no purpose; “A
superficial scholar is a sheep dressed in a tiger’s skin;” “A cuckoo
in a magpie’s nest,” equivalent to saying, “he is enjoying another’s
labor without compensation;” “If the blind lead the blind they will
both fall into the pit;” “A fair wind raises no storm;” “Vast chasms
can be filled, but the heart of man is never satisfied;” “The body
may be healed, but the mind is incurable;” “He seeks the ass, and
lo! he sits upon him;” “He who looks at the sun is dazzled; he who
hears the thunder is deafened,” i. e., do not come too near the
powerful; “Prevention is better than cure;” “Wine and good dinners
make abundance of friends, but in adversity not one of them is to be
found.” “Let every man sweep the snow from before his own door, and
not trouble himself about the frost on his neighbors’ tiles.” The
following one is a gem of moral wisdom: “Only correct yourself on
the same principle that you correct others; and excuse others on the
same principles on which you excuse yourself.” “Better not be, than
be nothing.” “One thread does not make a rope; one swallow does not
make a summer.” “Sensuality is the chief of sins, filial duty the
best of acts.” “The horse’s back is not so safe as the buffalo’s”—the
former is used by the politician, the latter by the farmer. “Too much
lenity multiplies crime.” “If you love your son give him plenty of
the rod; if you hate him, cram him with dainties.” “He is my teacher
who tells me my faults, he my enemy who speaks my virtues.” Having a
wholesome dread of litigation, they say of one who goes to law, “He
sues a flea to catch a bite.” Their equivalent for our “coming out
at the little end of the horn” is, “The farther the rat creeps up
(or into) the cow’s horn, the narrower it grows.” The truth of their
saying that “The fame of good deeds does not leave a man’s door, but
his evil acts are known a thousand miles off,” is illustrated in our
own daily papers every morning. Finally, we close this list with a
Chinese proverb which should be inscribed on the lintel of every
door in Christendom; “The happy hearted man carries joy for all the
household.”

SHINTUISM—BUDDHISM—CONFUCIANISM.

  CASTLETON, Ill.

  Please give us a statement in the “Curiosity Shop” of what is known
  as Shintuism, Buddhism, and Confucianism, as now existing in China
  and Japan.

  W. H. JORDAN.

_Answer._—Shintuism, Sintuism, Sintoism, or Sin-syuism, is the
prevailing religion of Japan, the worship of the sun-goddess,
Ten-sio-dai-sin. The descendant and viceregent on earth of this
deity is the Mikado, who is therefore worshiped as a demi-god.
Two ecclesiastical judges, with monks and priests, complete the
hierarchy, and the latter minister at innumerable shrines and
temples, raised for the worship of the chief deity and a legion of
canonized heroes and benefactors. In these temples there is no idol
visible, but on the shrine is a mirror, symbolizing purity. Sintuism
requires pre-eminently heart purity and general temperance, and as
aids to these prescribes pilgrimages to holy places, observance
of holy days, and mortification of the body. Buddhism, one of the
oldest existing religions, traces its origin 2,460 years back, to
Siddhartha, or Buddha, a Hindoo prince. Its two most prominent
doctrines are the transmigration of the soul and the cursed condition
or total depravity of human existence in its natural state. The first
teaches that at death every soul immediately assumes another body,
corresponding in form and habitation to the previous character of
the spirit. If noble, it may become a divinity, or dwell in some
high place upon the earth, while the wicked wander as reptiles and
vermin, or inhabit the hells in the interior of the earth. The least
term of suffering is 10,000,000 years, of happiness 10,000,000,000
years. But however long or short, it must have an end, and the soul
enters a new body. Buddha himself, it is said, has passed through
every form of existence. The second doctrine is embodied in the “Four
Sublime Verities:” Pain exists; its cause is desire; it may be ended
by Nirvana; the way to Nirvana is a rise through eight gradations,
from simple faith to complete regeneration. Theoretically this
religion has no priests nor clergy nor public religious rites. Every
man is his own priest and confessor, and the monks are ascetics only
for their own advancement in holy living; but, in fact, Buddhist
countries swarm with priests, or religious teachers, so reputed.
Confucianism is epitomized in the following words of the great
teacher: “I teach you nothing but what you might learn yourselves,
viz., the observance of the three fundamental laws of relation
between sovereign and subject, father and child, husband and wife;
and the five capital virtues—universal charity, impartial justice,
conformity to ceremonies and established usages, rectitude of heart
and mind, and pure sincerity. Confucius did not profess to have
received any revelation from “Shan-te”—the Supreme Ruler—or to have
any clear conceptions of Him, although he acknowledged the existence
of such a being, and taught that His will as learned by studying
and practicing the wisdom of the ancients by the light of nature,
should be implicitly obeyed, as the only means of living virtuously
and happily and avoiding both in this life and the life to come the
penalties of evil-doing.

MERMAID TAVERN AND CLUB.

  CHICAGO, Ill.

  Please give in the Curiosity Shop a description of the famous club
  founded by Sir Walter Raleigh and called the “Mermaid Club.” I have
  searched in vain for information on this subject.

  FANNIE MACK.

_Answer._—Tradition states that Sir Walter Raleigh, before his
unfortunate engagement with Cobham, gathered a number of his most
eminent friends in “The Mermaid,” and there instituted what was known
as the “Mermaid Club.” “The Mermaid” was a tavern so situated as to
have three entrances—on Bread, Cheap, and Friday streets, and was the
favorite resort of the leading actors and literary men in the reign
of Queen Elizabeth; but the Raleigh club was acknowledged to combine
“more talent and genius than ever met together before or since.” Here
Jonson, Beaumont, Fletcher, Selden, Carew, Donne, and Shakespeare
met for convivial enjoyment, and this was the scene of the famous
disputes between Jonson and Shakespeare, the two eminent dramatists.

THE BLACKSMITH KING.

  QUINCY, Ill.

  Did any king crown the blacksmith king of all trades, as
  illustrated in the heading of the _Industrial Worker_? If so, what
  is the story?

  JAMES ALBERTS.

_Answer._—In reply to this query we received the following
explanation from the editor of the paper mentioned: Our heading
illustrates an old Scriptural and Masonic legend, that of “Solomon
and the Iron-worker,” otherwise known as “Tubal Cain.” The scene is
the celebration of the completion of the great temple at Jerusalem.
It has been announced that on this occasion the one who of all others
has been most instrumental in the erection of the sacred structure
shall be given the chief seat of honor, and the guests are horrified
to perceive that the lowly blacksmith has, unobserved, placed himself
in it. Loud murmurs arise, and a movement is made having for its
object his ejectment. Nothing daunted, the man rises and declares
his supremacy over all the other artificers, in that he wrought all
their tools, and without his work they could have done nothing.
The correctness of his position is thus proven to the satisfaction
of the king, complaints are silenced, and all honor accorded the
humble smith. The dignity of labor, however unpretending, is thus
demonstrated. The Rabbinical legend of which we have here traced
a sketch, is full of beauty in its entirety, giving in detail the
challenge of the assembled guests, the defense of the man, and the
speech of the king.

NEBRASKA STATE NORMAL.

  WAHOO, Neb.

  What are the principal facts as to the State Normal School of this
  State? How long has it been in operation? What is the amount of the
  normal school fund? What is the amount of the annual appropriation
  to meet current expenses? What results have been obtained? Please
  answer and throw as much light as possible upon this subject, about
  which there is a good deal of discussion going on in this part of
  Nebraska just at the present time.

  SUBSCRIBER.

_Answer._—The State Normal School of Nebraska is located at Peru,
near the Missouri River, about fifty miles north of the Kansas
line. This is a town of 567 inhabitants, according to the census,
accessible only by a branch of the Burlington and Missouri Railroad.
It secured the location of the school by a donation of site and other
inducements at a time when the population of the State was only about
100,000. It graduated its first class, consisting of two members, in
1870. The total number of graduates to date is 73. Total enrollment
last year, 318—the largest number in the history of the school. The
normal endowment fund, in notes and bonds, aggregated $16,308.35
last year, and the income from all sources in 1881 amounted to
$2,423.58. The total appropriation asked of the last Legislature, was
as follows, the several items being represented by the principal as
“absolutely necessary to the efficient working of the school for each
of the next two fiscal years:”

  Salaries for teachers, per year                     $11,000
  Fuel and lights, per year                             1,000
  Repairs, per year                                       500
  Board’s expenses, per year                              500
  Janitor’s wages and help, per year                      500
  Apparatus, per year ..............                      500
  Printing, stationery, advertising, per y’r.             300
  Furniture, per year                                     300
  Wells and cisterns, per year                            200
  Imp’ts of grounds and buildings, per y’r.               200
  Incidentals, per year                                   200
  Postage and postal expenses, per year                   100
  Expense special inst’n and lectures, p. yr.             100
                                                      ———————
      Total                                           $15,400

The total amount granted averaged about $14,300 a year.

BLACK HAWK’S TOWER.

  SPRINGFIELD, Ill.

  Where is Black Hawk’s Tower, and what is it like? Is it built of
  masonry or earth?

  A. H. C.

_Answer._—It is a natural rock near the Falls of Rock River, near
the southeastern angle of Rock Island bluffs, a few miles from the
city of Rock Island. It commands an extensive view of the surrounding
country for ten miles up the Rock River Valley, and northward nearly
eight miles to the Mississippi. Black Hawk’s chief village was
situated in the forks of the Mississippi and Rock River, just below
this, and this wooded rock formed a natural lookout tower for him
on the side most open to attack. The name was given to it by the
pioneers.

WILLIAM ELLERY CHANNING.

  CHARLES CITY, Iowa.

  Please give a short account of the life and writings of Dr.
  Channing.

  MRS. R. W. MAY.

_Answer._—The great apostle of Unitarianism, as he has been called,
was born at Newport, R. I., April 7, 1780, and in his 15th year
entered Harvard University. In 1798, on his graduation day, he
delivered an oration that captivated the whole audience, and foretold
his future fame as an orator and writer. While teaching in Richmond,
Va., he became impressed with the evils of slavery, and deemed the
surest cure for all such abuses to be the spread of Christianity.
Returning to Harvard, he began his theological studies, acting at
the same time as regent of the university. In 1803 he assumed the
pastorate of Federal Street Church, Boston, and at once became
known as an eloquent and brilliant orator, as well as an efficient
minister. His finest oration, perhaps, is the one delivered upon
the fall of Napoleon, in 1814, and entitled “The Goodness of God in
Delivering the Christian World from Military Despotism.” In 1820 he
received the title of Doctor of Divinity from Harvard. Two years
later, while visiting in Europe, he met Coleridge, who said of him,
“He has the love of wisdom and the wisdom of love.” His “Remarks
Upon the Life and Character of Napoleon Bonaparte,” which appeared
in 1828, did much to spread his fame throughout the civilized world.
His greatest theological work is, probably, the “Evidences of
Christianity.” An earnest minister of the Unitarian Church, he was
always a sincerely devout Christian. A friend of the anti-slavery and
temperance movements, when they had but few, his last public speech
was in commemoration of the abolition of slavery in the British West
Indies. His death occurred in 1842, and his body was laid in the
cemetery of Mount Auburn.

SIR WILLIAM WALLACE.

  POSTVILLE, Iowa.

  1. Please give a sketch of Sir William Wallace, the Scottish
  patriot. 2. In what year was the Crimean war.

  MAUD MURLIN.

_Answer._—William Wallace was the youngest son of a knight of good
family in southwestern Scotland. The place of his birth is uncertain,
but the date was probably about the middle of the reign of Alexander
III. When Edward offered pardon to the Scottish leaders, after the
subjugation of Scotland and the surrender of Baliol, Wallace was
excepted by name, being ordered to surrender unconditionally. This
he refused to do, and for many years eluded the search of those who
coveted the handsome price put upon his head. In 1305, however, he
was seized and carried to London, and there, after a mock trial,
on the 23d of August, he was hanged, drawn, and quartered, as a
traitor. But his cause lived, and a year later Robert Bruce was
crowned at Scone, King of independent Scotland. 2. The Crimean war
lasted nearly two years, from 1854 to 1856.

“HOBSON’S CHOICE.”

  MARSHALLTOWN, Iowa.

  Please tell us the origin of the expression,“Hobson’s choice.”

  F. W. WILDER.

_Answer._—The _Atlantic Monthly_ for December, 1883, contained the
following: “The explanation of the proverbial saying about ‘Hobson’s
choice’ is given by Steele in the _Spectator_, No. 509,” The passage
referred to is this: “Tobias Hobson was the first man in England that
let out hackney horses. * * * When a man came for a horse he was led
into the stable where there was a great choice, but Hobson obliged
him to take the horse which stood nearest to the stable door: so that
every customer was alike well served, according to his chance, from
whence it became a proverb, when what ought to be your election was
forced upon you, to say, ‘Hobson’s choice.’”

CALIFORNIA.

  FONDA, Iowa.

  Will you be kind enough to give your readers a description of
  California—the climate and resources of the different parts of the
  State, and the price of land to each; what places are best adapted
  to fruit trees, and what fruits grow there, and the amount of
  teachers’ wages?

  HENRY JOHNSON.

_Answer._—The State of California is divided into three entirely
distinct sections: the coast region, the valleys of the Sacramento
and San Joaquin rivers, and the deserts. Owing to the irregularity
of the surface, only about one-third of the State is arable, and in
northern California the crops are wholly dependent upon the rainfall.
In the southern part of the State the land is irrigated by numerous
streams. The chief products of California are wheat, barley, fruit,
timber, and gold; the raising of cattle and sheep is also profitable
business. The coast region is fertile and beautiful, abounding in
vineyards and orchards. The climate, varying from 51 degrees to 75
degrees in summer, and in winter seldom colder than 15 degrees, is
well suited to the cultivation of such fruits as apples, peaches,
pears, oranges, lemons, almonds, olives, and figs. In this region
also, is the great gold belt, most of the mines being on the western
slope of the Sierra Nevadas. All of the gold, however, is not found
here, as the earliest mining was on the southeastern slope, and the
precious metal is distributed over the most of the State. The valleys
of the Sacramento and San Joaquin Rivers occupy the country between
the coast range and the Sierras. This fertile region is devoted to
farming and grazing, and produces more barley than is raised in any
other State, while its wheat harvests increased 133 per cent from
1860 to 1870. Here, during the rainy season, the mercury falls to 45
deg., and seldom rises higher than 85 deg. In the Colorado desert
the difference between the mean temperature of January and July is
greater, being some 45 deg., while the mean annual temperature ranges
from 68 to 75 deg. Little land here is arable, owing to the lack
of irrigation. California has an excellent public school system,
closely resembling that of Massachusetts. In 1880 the average monthly
pay of male teachers was $79.50; of female teachers, $64.73. Land
in California is by no means cheap. The fruit lands are scarce, and
for the most part in the hands of private individuals; when well
cultivated and irrigated they sell for $150 to $300 per acre. Grain
lands in Northern and North Central California sell for $50 to $100
per acre, though some at a great distance from railroads and rivers
may be bought for $20 to $30. Grazing lands vary in price from $1.25
to $10 per acre, according to locality. There are fruit lands in
Southern California, far from Los Angeles and any good market, which
can be had for from $30 to $50 per acre.

THE “BRANDED HAND.”

  BEAVER CITY, Neb.

  Please give an account of the “Man with the Branded Hand,” who died
  a few years since. Why was he branded, and what was the name of the
  miscreant who officiated?

  B. W. HAWKINS.

_Answer._—The man who has become so famous was Jonathan Walker,
captain of a small vessel off the Florida coast. He was born at
Harwich, Mass., March 22, 1799, and died at Lake Harbor, Mich.,
April 20, 1878. June 23, 1844, though quite ill, and daily expecting
death, he attempted to carry seven slaves to Nassau, in the British
island, New Providence; but, when only a short distance out, he was
challenged by the sloop Catharine, and taken back to Key West. There
he was brought before a justice of the peace, and committed first to
jail, and afterward to the filthy hold of a steamboat that carried
him to Pensacola, where a new trial awaited him. This time, when he
was imprisoned, a chain of half-inch iron secured him to a huge ring
bolt, being fastened at the other end to a shackle around his ankle
that weighed half a ton. Owing to his feeble health his sufferings
were excruciating, but his further sentence read thus; “One hour in
the pillory, pelted with unmerchantable eggs; one year in prison for
each slave—seven in all; $600 for each slave, and all the costs;
and to be branded on the right hand with a large S, by a redhot
branding-iron.” But he bore his tortures without flinching, and lived
to be restored to his family after much unjust litigation. We do not
know who may have officiated at the branding; but Ebenezer Dorr, of
Maine, was at that time the United States Marshal for that district.
A beautiful monument to the memory of Captain Walker has been erected
in Muskegon, Mich.

THE OLDEST ARCHITECTURAL RUINS.

  DES MOINES, Iowa.

  What is the oldest architectural work known to exist?

  SCHOLAR.

_Answer._—Perhaps it is safe to say, with the editor of the “People’s
Cyclopedia,” that it is the remarkable rock-cut temples at Ipsambul
of Abousambul, in Nubia, on the left bank of the Nile. The largest
temple contains fourteen apartments hewn out of the solid rock. The
first and largest of these is 57 feet long and 52 feet broad, and is
supported by two rows of massive square pillars, four in each row,
and 30 feet high. To each of these pillars is attached a standing
colossus, or human figure, of enormous proportions, reaching to the
roof, overlaid with a kind of stucco and painted with gaudy colors,
apparently as brilliant now, after the lapse of over 4,000 years, as
when first laid on. In front of this temple are seated four still
larger human figures, two of them being 65 feet in height—presumed to
represent Rameses the Great, more frequently termed Sesostris, whose
marvelous military exploits are depicted in drawings and paintings on
the temple walls.

PRODUCTION OF SPIRITS.

  HURON, D. T.

  Is the production of spirits increasing or decreasing? Some
  temperance advocates maintain that it is growing less, owing to the
  efforts of the various temperance organizations.

  ANTI-SALOONIST.

_Answer._—The best answer to this question is contained in the latest
report of the Secretary of the Treasury. Mr. Folger says: “The
quantity of spirits produced and deposited in distillery warehouses
during the fiscal year ended June 30, 1883, is less than the
production of 1882 by 31,839,853 gallons, and of 1881 by 43,741,842
gallons.” He distributes this decrease as follows:

  Decrease in production of—                Gallons.

  Bourbon whisky                           20,913,422
  Rye whisky                                4,440,123
  Alcohol                                   4,482,965
  Gin                                          23,366
  Highwines                                 2,260,428
  Miscellaneous                               241,385
                                           ——————————
      Total decrease                       32,361,689

  Increase in production of—     Gallons.

  Rum                               97,876
  Pure neutral or Cologne spirits  423,960
                                   ———————
      Total Increase                          521,836
                                           ——————————
      Net decrease                         31,839,853

There were remaining in distillery warehouses at the dates below
specified distilled spirits as follows:

  Dates.                                     Gallons.

  June 30, 1883                            80,499,993
  June 30, 1882                            89,962,645

There should come out of bonded warehouses, under the present law,
and pay tax, distilled spirits as follows:

  Dates.                                     Gallons.

  By June 6, 1884                          26,104,531
  By July 6, 1884                           3,495,512
                                           ——————————
      Total                                29,600,043

It is to avert taking this large amount of spirits out of warehouse
and throwing it upon the market more rapidly than it is called for
that the distillers are so lustily petitioning Congress to postpone
the date of withdrawal. Several causes have conspired to bring about
the decrease in production of spirits above shown, of which the vigor
with which the temperance movement has been pushed of late years is
indisputably one.

ART, HISTORICAL, AND SCIENTIFIC SOCIETIES.

  BATTLE CREEK, Mich.

  I am satisfied that many keen observers of climatic changes and
  other scientific phenomena, and many old residents of this country
  who are in possession of historical information of pioneer times
  which should be preserved, would communicate what they know to
  societies interested in such matters if THE INTER OCEAN would only
  publish a list of some of the most important of such societies.
  “Will not Our Curiosity Shop favor us with such a list? Also, give
  the names of a few of the most noted societies or academies of
  Europe.

  AMATEUR.

_Answer._—Taking the world at large there are many hundreds of
societies for the promotion of science, literature, or the arts.
It is not worth while to enumerate more than a few of those in
foreign countries. In France they have the famous Institute of
France, with its four academies, viz: The French Academy, the Academy
of Inscriptions and Belles Lettres, the Academy of Sciences, the
Academy of Fine Arts. There is the Royal Academy of Sciences at
Berlin; the Academy of Science at Manheim; the Electoral Bavarian
Academy of Sciences at Munich; the Imperial Academy of Sciences at
St. Petersburg; the Academy of Sciences at Stockholm; the Royal
Academy of Sciences at Copenhagen; the Royal Academy of Sciences
at Amsterdam; the Academy of Sciences at Madrid; the de Screti. or
Academia Secretorum Naturæ, at Naples; the Royal Academy of Sciences
at Turin; the Academy of Sciences at Lisbon; the Royal Academy,
London; and the Royal Irish Academy. Then there are academies for
the advancement of literature in nearly all European countries.
There were no fewer than 171 of these in Italy alone as early as
the sixteenth century, many of which still exist. Then there are
many academies of archæology and history, such as the Academy of
Herculaneum, Italy; the Academy of Inscriptions and Belles Lettres,
constituting one of the four academies of the Institute of France,
as above shown; the Celtic Academy, and others. There are academies
of medicine and surgery in various parts of the old world. As to
painting, sculpture, and music, they have such powerful auxiliary
societies as the Royal Academy of Arts, the Royal Academy of Music,
and the Academy of Ancient Music, in London; the Academy of Painting
and Sculpture and the Royal Academy of Music, in Paris; and similar
academies at Rome, Turin, Madrid, Berlin, Munich, and elsewhere.
There are geographical societies at all the principal capitals of
Europe. Of these the most conspicuous are the Royal Geographical
Society, London, the Geographical Society of France, Paris, the
Geographical Society of Berlin, and the Royal Asiatic Society,
London, with branches at Calcutta and Shanghai.

For the practical purposes stated above, and other laudable causes,
which are certainly worthy of encouragement, the following list of
some of the most important societies in the United States is of much
greater consequence to readers of THE INTER OCEAN:

  Academy of Sciences, Chicago.
  Albany Institute, Albany, N. Y.
  American Academy of Arts and Sciences, Boston, Mass.
  American Antiquarian Society, Worcester, Mass.
  American Association for Advancement of Science, Salem, Mass.
  American Association for Advancement of Social Science, Boston, Mass.
  American Bible Society, New York.
  American Colonization Society, Washington.
  American Geographical Society, New York.
  American Institute, New York.
  American Museum of Natural History, New York.
  American Numismatic and Archæological Society, New York.
  American Oriental Society, New Haven, Conn.
  American Peace Society, Boston, Mass.
  American Philological Society, New York.
  American Philosophical Society, Philadelphia.
  American Public Health Association, Washington.
  American Society of Civil Engineers and Architects, New York.
  American Society for Prevention of Cruelty to Animals, New York.
  Anthropological Society, Washington.
  Board of Trustees of Peabody Academies and Model Schools, New Orleans.
  Buffalo Historical Society, Buffalo, N. Y.
  Chicago Historical Society, Chicago.
  Connecticut Historical Society, Hartford, Conn.
  Cooper Union for the Advancement of Science and Art, New York.
  Essex Institute, Salem, Mass.
  Franklin Institute, Philadelphia, Pa.
  Georgia Historical Society, Savannah, Ga.
  Iowa Historical Society, Iowa City, Iowa.
  Lowell Institute, Boston, Mass.
  Maine Historical Society, Brunswick, Me.
  Maryland Historical Society, Baltimore, Md.
  Massachusetts Historical Society, Boston, Mass.
  Metropolitan Museum of Art, New York.
  Minnesota Historical Society, St. Paul, Minn.
  National Academy of Design, New York.
  National Academy of Sciences, Washington.
  New England Historic-Geneological Society, Boston, Mass.
  New Hampshire Historical Society, Concord, N. H.
  New Jersey Historical Society, Newark, N. J.
  New York Academy of Sciences, New York.
  New York Historical Society, New York.
  Ohio Philosophical and Historical Society, Cincinnati.
  Philadelphia Academy of Natural Sciences, Philadelphia.
  Peabody Academy of Sciences, Salem, Mass.
  Peabody Institute, Baltimore, Md.
  Pennsylvania Historical Society, Philadelphia.
  Rhode Island Historical Society, Providence, R. I.
  Smithsonian Institute, Washington,
  South Carolina Historical Society, Charleston, S. C.
  Southern Historical Society, Richmond, Va.
  Virginia Historical and Philosophical Society, Richmond, Va.
  Vermont Historical Society, Montpelier, Vt.
  Washington Philosophical Society, Washington.
  Western Reserve Historical Society, Cleveland, Ohio.
  Wisconsin Academy of Sciences, Madison, Wis.
  Wisconsin Historical Society, Madison, Wis.

WILLIAM EWART GLADSTONE.

  CHICAGO, Ill.

  Please give a short biography of William E. Gladstone.

  C. B.

_Answer._—The Hon. William Ewart Gladstone was born of Scottish
parents in Liverpool, Dec. 29, 1809. He received a thorough education
at Eton and Oxford, graduating from both with the highest honors.
In 1832 he entered politics, being returned for Newark. He early
joined himself with the Conservative party, under the leadership of
Robert Peel, in which his abilities were soon recognized by that
distinguished statesman, who gave him the position of Junior Lord
of the Treasury in 1834, and in the following year made him Under
Secretary of State; but with Peel’s retirement he relinquished that
office, in 1841, when Peel again became Premier, Gladstone served
under him as Vice President, and afterward as President of the Board
of Trade, in which capacity he derived much information concerning
the commerce of the nation. He left the Conservative party in his
support of Peel’s free-trade policy, and again retired in 1845. In
1859 he became Chancellor of the Exchequer in Lord Palmerston’s
administration, which office he held to his credit until 1866.
Two years afterward he was elevated into the premiership; but
his defeat in 1874 resulted in the elevation of his great rival,
Disraeli. He then resolved to remain out of politics; but the
policy of Beaconsfield in the Eastern question called forth his
earnest disapprobation, and again brought him before the people
in opposition to the administration. The year 1880 signalized his
triumph, a triumph which was universally acknowledged as the result
of his own personal popularity and sterling qualities. Gladstone
has always been recognized as a man of strong character, who has
conscientiously endeavored to advance the interests of the nation
and people. In oratory he possesses the wonderful faculty of making
statistics eloquent. He quickly perceives a difficulty, and with wise
discernment unravels it. The past three years have only added honor
to his name, and it is to be hoped that so favorable a beginning may
be the dawn of a fruitful administration, and that ere long the vexed
Irish question or questions will be solved forever.

INTERNAL REVENUE.

  MADISON Wis.

  Let us know how the receipts from internal revenue in 1883 compare
  with those in 1882, and oblige an opponent of the proposition to
  take off the tax on spirits and tobacco. Add cost of collecting the
  same.

  JAMES.

_Answer._—The total receipts under the internal revenue laws for the
two fiscal years ending June 30, 1882, and June, 1883, were as shown
in the table below;

  Objects taxed.                 1882.             1883.

  Distilled spirits         $69,873,408.18     $74,368,775.20
  Tobacco                    47,391,988.91      42,104,249.79
  Fermented liquors          16,153,920.42      16,900,615.81
  Banks and bankers           5,253,458.47       3,748,994.60
    Adhesive stamps—
  Bank checks                 2,318,455.14       1,946.272.10
  Friction matches            3,262,258.00       2,920,545.20
  Patent medicines, etc.      1,978,395.56       2,186,236.16
  Penalties                     199,830.04         305,803.57
  Collections not otherwise
  provided for                   81,559.00          71,852.43
                           ———————————————    ———————————————
      Total                $146,523,273.72    $144,553,344.86

The increase of revenue from spirits during the last fiscal year
was $4,495,367.02; from fermented liquors was $746,695.39: the
decrease from tobacco, $5,287,739.12; and from banks and bankers,
$1,504,463.87. The total decrease of internal revenue from all
sources up to June 30, 1883, was $1,969,928.86. This decrease was
due mainly to the removal of certain taxes and the reduction of
others effected by the legislation of the last Congress. The cost
of collecting the internal revenue in the last year above named
was $5,113,734.88. Owing to the recent action of the President
consolidating collection districts, which dispenses with the services
of a number of collectors, and other curtailments rendered possible
by the legislation of the Republican Congress of 1881-1883, the
estimated cost of collecting internal revenue during the current
fiscal year is $4,999,190, and from present indications the actual
cost will be considerably less than this.

INTEREST PAID BY PACIFIC R. R. COMPANIES.

  COLUMBUS, Neb.

  What amount, if anything, have the Pacific Railroad Companies
  repaid on account of interest on their bonds advanced by the
  General Government?

  ANTI-MONOPOLIST.

_Answer._—We are not prepared to give the whole amounts, but during
the fiscal year ending June 30, 1883, the total amount received by
the Secretary of the United States Treasury toward repayment of
Pacific Railroad bonds, of various names and descriptions, guaranteed
by it, was $1,556,866.90, an increase of $716,312.53 over the sum
received on this account during the next previous year. During the
same period the sum of $1,322,103.11 was collected for the various
Pacific railway sinking funds toward liquidation of their bonds. This
was $525,831.69 more than during the fiscal year ending June 30, 1882.

SALT REVENUE OF NEW YORK STATE.

  MUSKEGON, Mich.

  Please let us know what income New York State has derived from salt
  since the manufacture was brought under State control, or monopoly,
  whichever you please to call it.

  A MICHIGAN SALT.

_Answer._—The following statistics on this subject, derived from
official sources, have been compiled for these columns by David H.
Mason, Esq., who is authority on questions of revenue obtained from
industrial products, either by Federal or State authorities. It
should be observed in this connection that the State of New York
supplies the brine to the manufacturers at the cost here indicated.
That is to say, for example, for the thirty-six years, 1846 to 1881,
inclusive, it supplied the brine for all salt made, and collected in
return therefor 1 cent for every bushel of salt produced within the
State.

Salt expenditures and revenues of New York in undermentioned years:

                             Rate       Duties
           Expenditures.    per bu.    received.

  1843      $29,816.72        6c      $187,650.00
  1844       33,286.58        6c       240,213.24
  1845       30,407.77        6c       225,741.48
            ——————————        ——      ———————————
            $93,511.07                $653,604.72
  Deduct expenditures                   93,511.07
                                      ———————————
  Net revenue                         $560,093.65

The total net revenue to the State from this industry from 1818 to
1881, inclusive, was as follows:

  Net revenue—

  1818 to 1824, 7 years             $452,393.39
  1825 to 1845, 21 years           2,900,916.50
  1846 to 1881, 36 years             706,319.58
                                  —————————————
      Sixty-four years            $4,059,629.47

The State tax of 12½c per bushel was levied previous to 1834: from
that time to April 20, 1846, the tax was 6c per bushel; since then 1c.

Another statement—

  1818 to 1833, 16 years, 12c per bu.  $1,746,719.45
  1834 to 1845, 12 years, 6c per bu.    1,606,590.44
  1846 to 1881, 36 years, 1c per bu.      706,319.58
                                       —————————————
  Net revenue in 64 years              $4,059,629.47

THE ORIGINAL MONITOR.

  CHICAGO, Ill.

  Is not the statement recently made that the original Monitor, which
  fought the rebel ram Merrimac, is still afloat a mistake? I am of
  the impression that she foundered at sea.

  OLD CITIZEN.

_Answer._—You are quite correct. According to G. V. Fox, at one time
Assistant Secretary of the Navy, “At 1 o’clock a. m., Dec. 31, 1862,
Cape Hatteras bearing N. N. E., distant twenty miles, this little
Monitor—whose fame, ‘following the sun and keeping company with the
hours, had circled the earth,’ found a resting place at the bottom of
the ocean.”

FOOTNOTES:

[1] Prohibition.

[2] Liberal.

[3] Independent Republican.

[4] Independent Democrat.

[5] Independent.

[6] Readjuster.

[7] By union of anti-Prohibition Republicans with Democrats.
Lieutenant Governor and Legislature went Republican.

[8] By union of Democrats, Greenbackers, and Independents.

[9] By fusion of Democrats and Greenbackers.

[10] By combination of Readjusters and Republicans.

[11] Republican, elected for term of one year, beginning May 29, 1883.

[12] This is what is known as “Police London,” its broadest
definition. The London covered by “Mortality Bills” contained but
3,831,719 inhabitants.

[13] Glasgow and its suburbs.

[14] Dublin County, most of the population of which is in Dublin and
its suburbs.

  MISCELLANEOUS ANSWERS

  AND

  EXECUTIVE AND CONGRESSIONAL DIRECTORY.

R. D. M., Edwardsburg, Mich.—THE DAILY INTER OCEAN first took that
name in March, 1872.

S. L. Moore, Prior Lake, Minn.—General Sheridan was married to Miss
Irene Anna Rucker, daughter of General D. H. Rucker, U. S. A., June
3, 1875, by the Rt. Rev. Bishop Foley, of Chicago.

A School Girl, Westville, Ill.—The Russians held Alaska by the right
of Behring’s discovery, in 1741, and the subsequent settlement of the
territory. In 1799 Paul VIII. granted this land to the Russo-American
Fur Company. The charter of the corporation was renewed in 1839, but
finally expired in 1863, and in 1867 Alaska was ceded to the United
States for $7,200,000.

Willis Hollings, Albany, Ill.—Greenwich, situated upon the right bank
of the Thames, six miles southeast of London Bridge, is a favorite
suburb of Londoners, on account of its fine parks and picturesque
views. Its meridian was selected as the one from which to reckon
standard time because from it navigators generally, the world over,
are in the practice of reckoning time and longitude.

G. H. S., McLean, Ill.—Snow-shoes consist of a flat wooden frame,
of lanceolate form, from four to seven feet long, and from eight to
fourteen inches in width at the broadest part. This frame is filled
with wicker-work or thongs, and furnished with straps upon the upper
side, for the feet. The sole may be wholly of wood. By the extreme
length and breadth the shoe is prevented from sinking in the snow.

S. S. H., Smith Center, Kan.:—“The Little Old Sod Shanty on the
Claim” was composed by Mr. F. E. Jerome, and first published in the
_Smith County Pioneer_ in 1878, and refers to a claim one mile from
Smith Center.

John Stuart, Lyneville, Wis.—The ordinary expenditures of the United
States Government for the year 1881 amounted to $178,204,146.41.

Constant Reader, Chicago—The first negro slave owned in Chicago, it
is believed, was Black Jim, the property of John H. Kinzie, brought
here by him in 1804.

A Subscriber, Morris, Ill.—“Johnson’s Universal Cyclopædia” says
that Miles Standish lost his wife, Rose, during the first winter in
America.

Daisy, Emporia, Kan.—The sections of one mile square are the smallest
tracts, the out-boundaries of which the law requires to be actually
surveyed. The minor subdivisions are defined by law, and the
Surveyors General, in protracting township plats from the field notes
of sections, designate them in red ink, the lines connecting being
imaginary.

Mary Maxwell Call, Fulda, Minn., evidently agrees substantially
with another correspondent, whose communication on this subject was
published a few days ago, as to the origin of the saying “All is
lovely and the goose hangs high.” She writes: “It is a corruption of
the sentry call, ‘All is lovely and the goose honks high,’” meaning,
the weather is pleasant and the high flying of the geese indicates
that it will continue so. She thinks, therefore, that it is not
“slang.” Webster, however, does not recognize “honk” as an English
word in good standing, though we are not sure but he should do so.

W. F. Smith, Manning, Iowa.—The steeple of Trinity Church, New York
City, is 284 feet in height.

W. H. L., Springfield, Ill.—“Lady’s Day” is the name given in England
to “Annunciation Day,” which always comes on the 25th of March. In
France it is known as Notre Dame de Mars. This year it and Easter
Sunday corresponded.

James Wilson, Pontiac, Ill.—Journeymen printers on Chicago morning
dailies are paid 40 cents, on evening and weekly papers and book
work 37 cents per 1,000 ems. Job printers get from $18 a week, the
minimum, to $21. The expenses of living are greater in the city than
in the country; this is one reason why wages should be higher in the
city. Another is that most of the work on a daily paper must be done
at night.

W. D. Doane, Kokomo, Col.—The government farms out the seal fur
fisheries of Alaska to a commercial company for a stipulated revenue,
and under strict laws regulating the business.

C. L. Gilbert, Eau Claire, Wis.—“The Fall of Jerusalem” was written
by Henry Hart Milman, who lived from 1791 to 1868.

L. Brock, Oswego, Kan.—Patented articles must bear notice of some
kind that they are patented, and date of patent.

S. M. Sinclair, Marshalltown, Iowa.—Homesteaders and pre-emptors must
file their claims in person. They cannot legally do it by proxy of
any kind.

James Allen, Chicago—The name of the village at the mouth of the
Mississippi, Balize, is the Spanish for beacon. A beacon-light has
shone here from early times.

George S. L., Attica, N.Y.—The deepest artesian well in the world is
at Sperenburg, about twenty miles from Berlin, Prussia. It is 4,194
feet deep.

“Lunatic,” Vermont, Ill.—The nineteenth century began Jan. 1, 1801,
and will end with Dec. 31, 1900.

F. P., Amherst, Wis.—The Michigan Central Railroad was completed to
Ypsilanti, Feb. 3, 1838; to Jackson, Dec. 30, 1841.

J. F. Clymer, Silver Lake, Ind.—The total colored population of the
United States in 1880 was 6,580,793.

M. B. Hilts, Towanda, Ill.—The present capital of West Virginia is
Charleston. Wheeling was the capital until recently.

Charles Shick, Imogene, Iowa.—In the contest between John C. Heenan
and Tom Sayers for the championship of the prize-ring, Sayers carried
off the belt.

Harry, Creston, Iowa.—Dealings in “futures” or “puts and calls” are
contrary to the laws of Illinois. These laws have not been strictly
put in force. There is a disposition to do that now.

Mr. Thompson, Monona, Iowa—There are about 320 acres inclosed in the
Union Stock Yards, Chicago.

G. M. Ford, Chicago.—The total imports of the United States for the
fiscal year ending June 30, 1882, amounted to $767,111,964; the total
exports to $799,959,736.

C. Allen, Rock Island, Ill.—The great earthquake which destroyed so
many lives in the Island of Scio in 1881 occurred on the 3d of April.
About 4,000 persons perished.

Subscriber, Emmetsburg, Iowa—Chore is a corruption of the old English
noun char or chare, derived from the verb _to char_ or _to chare_,
signifying to work by the day, take one’s turn at doing jobs, instead
of working as a regularly hired servant.

A. Annubehale, Chicago.—None but native Americans are eligible to the
office of President of the United States; but children of American
citizens residing abroad are legally regarded as natives of this
country so far as this and all other civil rights are concerned.

G. W. Carter, Blair, Neb.—The fastest mile recorded of a running
horse was made by Ten Broeck at Louisville, Ky., May 24, 1877, in
1:39¾. The fastest mile recorded of a trotting horse was made by Maud
S. at Rochester, N. Y., Aug. 17, 1881, in 2:10¼.

J. S. Ewell, Adrian, Ill.—The term “thoroughbred” means bred to a
high point from stock of good pedigree. It may be applied to any
species of animals, although, owing to the extensive breeding of
horses for speed, there has resulted what is now a distinct class
known as “thoroughbreds.”

Blonde and Brunette, Chicago—The phrase “Bread is the staff of life”
is attributed to Dr. Jonathan Swift. It is in his “Tale of the Tub.”
It is not a Bible phrase. The original of “Uncle Tom’s Cabin” is
still alive. He has published an autobiography. He was in Chicago
not many months ago. His name is Rev. Josiah Henson.

Non-voter, Rockford, Ill.—The fact that you are not a citizen and
are, therefore, a non-voter does not exempt you from payment of
poll-tax in case you do not wish to work out your assessment on the
highways. The public roads are enjoyed by citizens and aliens alike,
and—so are the taxes for keeping them in proper order.

C. T. Smith, Braddyville, Iowa—The United States Government has
erected a line of towers in Illinois on about the meridian of Urbana,
and similar towers in other places, including the one near South
Bend, Ind., for the purpose of effecting a more accurate survey of
the country, and for other scientific purposes.

D. W. Barlow, Nettleton, Mo.—Honey-dew is a sweet substance found
on the leaves of certain trees and plants in small drops, like dew.
There are two kinds of honey-dew, one which exudes from plants,
and the other which is deposited on leaves by an insect called the
_aphis_, or vine-fretter.

H. M. Eastman, Fourche, D. T.—The oldest form of religion now extant
is the Hebrew religion. The next oldest, probably, are Parseeism,
or the religion of Zoroaster, and Brahmanism. All of these have
changed materially as regards ceremonial, but in doctrine they are
essentially consistent with the faith of their founders.

“306,” Dana, Iowa—General P. H. Sheridan was at Sedan, by courtesy of
the King of Prussia, at the time of the surrender of Napoleon III.
and Marshal MacMahon’s army. At the opening of the battle, according
to the account of the correspondent of the New York _Tribune_,
written on the field, “the King, Count Bismarck, General Von Roon,
the War Minister, General von Moltke, and Generals Sheridan and
Forsythe stood in a group overlooking the principal field of attack.”

Leonard Bauman, Clarence, Iowa—The most productive salt region of the
United States is the Saginaw salt district, Michigan. The most famous
and productive salt mines in the world are those of the rock salt
region of Wieliczka, in Gallicia, a province of Polish Austria. Great
chambers have been excavated in the solid salt, some of them fully
150 feet in height, and of immense length and breadth. One of these
is fitted up as a chapel dedicated to St. Anthony.

An Engineer, Des Moines, Iowa—The assertion that State prisons are
filled with criminals of good education is a gross exaggeration.
Unhappily, the laws of all the different States do not provide for
full and carefully kept statistics, but in all cases where such
statistics are kept they go to show that, as a rule, ignorance is
the accompaniment, if not the foster parent, of crime. For the
most reliable report on this subject write to the Commissioner of
Education, Washington, D. C., asking for copy of the paper of Dr.
Wickersham, read at a recent session of the National Teachers’
Association.

P. L. Stevens, Montfort, Wis.—Coal oil is much better as a
preservative of fence posts than kerosene oil, which is more
expensive and is not so effective.

Peter Sanborn, Chicago.—Every soldier who, prior to June 22, 1874,
had made a homestead entry of less than 160 acres, may enter so much
more as, when added to the quantity previously entered, shall not
exceed 160 acres.

S. G. Salisbury, Independence, Kan.—You are right in the opinion that
the President may call the militia from one State to another.

Subscriber, Chicago.—The great single span of the Brooklyn bridge
is 1,595½ feet, or about one-half longer than the great span in the
Cincinnati suspension bridge, which is 1057 feet.

F. V. Noggle, Galien, Mich.—Probably the deepest mine in the world
in actual working is a shaft in the Rosebridge colliery, near Wigan,
Eng., which is 2,445 feet deep.

C., Muscatine, Iowa—According to the laws of Iowa, one-third of the
estate, real and personal, of a wife who dies without issue and
intestate goes to her husband as dower, and the rest goes to her
parents or heirs on the parents’ side.

A Subscriber, Pittsburg, Ind.—1. The total number of troops called
for by the President during the late civil war was 2,763,670 men, and
there were 2,772,408 men furnished, besides 86,724 paid commutations,
making an aggregate of 2,859,132 men.

A. O. A., Cambridge, Wis.—The total tobacco crop of the United States
in 1880, as given by the statisticians of the Bureau of Agriculture,
was 446,296,889 pounds, valued at $36,414,615. The crop of 1881 was
449,880,014 pounds, valued at $43,372,336.

A Farmer, Cresco, Iowa.—Trichinæ may sometimes be seen with the
naked eye, appearing as minute specks. They average in size
one-seventy-eighth of an inch in length and one-thirtieth in breadth,
and it does not require a very powerful microscope to disclose them.

R. A. Santer, Hitesville, Iowa.—To kill white willow, cut it close
to the ground in February or March to encourage the wood growth, and
then cut again about the middle of the following August. If any of
them sprout after that, keep them cut back and the roots must perish.

Minnie Brumfield, Perry, Iowa.—“Sheridan’s Ride” was written by
Thomas Buchanan Read, one of the most delightful of American poets.

John Nail, Xenia, Ill.—Your question has been answered very recently.
A husband and wife cannot, both, make pre-emption or homestead
entries. A married woman can do so only where she is held to be
the virtual head of the family, as in case of the insanity or
imprisonment of her husband, or abandonment.

A Subscriber, Hobart, Ind.—The proportion of butter in milk varies
with the breed of cattle and their food. The average is about 5 per
cent in good milk. It is nearer 6 per cent in the milk of Jersey
cows on good feed. The proportion of butter in cream also varies
considerably. It will average about 5½ pounds of butter to ten of
cream.

C. S. Hasbrouck, Mendon, Mich.—The ancient language of the Irish was
of Celtic origin, and specimens of it are still extant in old legal
documents. As a living written language it no longer exists, but a
corruption of it is still spoken among the natives of the mountain
districts.

S. M., Moline, Ill.—Northwestern Arkansas has been partially
described in another part of “Our Curiosity Shop” to-day. The more
common trees are the poplar, oak, pine, sycamore, ash, elm, and
hickory. This part of the State is watered by the White and Arkansas
rivers, and their tributaries. The principal railroads are the
St. Louis and the Little Rock and Fort Smith. Upon the former the
important towns are: Van Buren, population, 1,029; Fayetteville,
population, 1,788, and Bentonville, population, 784; on the latter,
Ozark, population, 824, and Clarksville, population, 656.

A. B., Chicago—At the census of 1880 the “West Side” division of this
city had the largest population. The Fourteenth Ward contained the
most inhabitants, 56,464; the First Ward, the business center, the
fewest, 14,770.

E. H. Topper, Greensburg, Pa.—Historians disagree as to the number
in Xerxes’ army when he invaded Greece, but no one of them was ever
so insane as to assert that he had 35,000,000 men. According to
Herodotus, the whole number of fighting men in the military and naval
force was nearly 2,500,000. He supposes, and it was evidently a wild
guess, that with the raw recruits picked up in passing through the
territories of Thrace, Macedonia, Magnesia, and other half-savage
districts, who hoped to share in the spoils of Greece, and the
servants and camp followers, there was a total multitude of about
6,000,000 persons. Other Grecian writers regard this as a gross
exaggeration.

James Dunnoon, Davenport, Iowa—The extent of the Victoria Nyanza, or
great fresh water lake at the head of the Nile, is a little more than
that of Lake Huron and a trifle less than that of Lake Michigan. It
does not vary in size 1,000 square miles from either.

De Lesseps, Peoria, Ill.—The average height of the Atlantic Ocean
at the Isthmus of Darien above the Pacific is given in “Haswell’s
Engineer’s Pocket-book” as 6.56 feet.

W. I. Pratt, Tuscola, Ill.—The nickname “gentle shepherd” belonged to
the Hon. George Grenville (born in 1712), and originated thus: He was
a Whig, and while urging a tax upon cider, asked his opponents where
they would have it. Becoming excited, he exclaimed: “Let them tell me
where; I repeat it, sir, tell me where;” when Pitt, who was one of
the opposition, raised a laugh by repeating the words of an old song,
“Gentle shepherd, tell me where.” Your other questions we cannot
answer.

N. Johnson, Peoria, Ill.—The three most level States in the Union are
Delaware, Louisiana, and Illinois; the latter being more broken than
either of the others.

Readers, Chicago—John Wilkes Booth was shot in a barn near Bowling
Green, Va., April 26, 1865 twelve days after the assassination—while
resisting arrest—by Boston Corbett.

L. D. Nickerson, Appleton, Wis.—The name of the author of “Ecce Homo”
and “Ecce Deus” is John Robert Seeley.

A Reader, Freeport, Ill.—The essential difference between a galvanic
and a Faraday battery is that the former uses a connecting fluid
between zinc and copper, and the latter uses the magnetic coil.

“Anxious Mother”—Kansas has established a reform school for boys at
North Topeka. The Nebraska Legislature has voted $10,000 to open an
industrial reform school at Kearney.

F. G. Day, Strahn, Iowa—Cole Younger is working out a life sentence
in the Stillwater State Penitentiary, Minn.

An Inquirer, Joliet, Ill.—Prince Gortschakoff skillfully retreated
with his garrison from Sebastopol when beleaguered by the allied
armies.

Frank C. Mercer, Kansas City, Mo.—1. A troy ounce weighs 480 grains;
an avoirdupois ounce, 437½ grains. 2. Aaron Burr was the third Vice
President of the United States, having been elected with Thomas
Jefferson in 1800.

Samuel Burt, Girard, Kan.—The distillery having the largest capacity
in the United States is located at Peoria, Ill. If the great
distillery at Des Moines, Iowa, were fully equipped, as originally
intended, it would be the largest in the world.

L. D. Crotchett, Edwardsville, Kan.—1. The salary of United States
Senators and Representatives is $5,000 each. 2. The Vice President
and Speaker of the House each receive $8,000. 3. According to a
decision of Attorney General Brewster, a Congressman is not a United
States officer within the meaning of that term in certain statutes;
but in the broader sense of the word he is an officer. See definition
of officer in Webster’s Dictionary.

B. Frank Hoover, Penrose, Ill.—The days you name are not made school
holidays by statute, although they are legal holidays as regards
commercial paper. Saturdays, New Years, Fourth of July, and Christmas
are the only legal school holidays in Illinois, unless the board of
directors agrees to grant other holidays, which it has power to do.

M. L. Karney, Brodhead, Wis.—The Chicago, Milwaukee and St. Paul
Railroad pays Mr. Lawler twenty-five cents for every freight car,
and fifty cents for every coach which he transports across the
Mississippi upon his pontoon bridges at Prairie du Chien. The company
has no other means of crossing at that place.

J. H. Rhodes, Big Rock, Ill.—The Erie Canal, extending from Buffalo
to Albany, has at the western end an eastern flow for a short
distance—from Buffalo to Seneca River, then a western flow from Lodi
to the Seneca River, and finally an eastern flow from Lodi into
the Hudson River near Albany. The motion of the water is greatly
moderated by the numerous locks, which serve to impede the current.
The expense of constructing this canal was much less per mile than
the cost of the Suez Canal.

George W. Robbins, Peru, Neb.—The United States statutes are silent
upon the subject of National holidays, except that they provide that
as to negotiable paper, bills of exchange, promissory notes, etc.,
the effect of July 4, Dec. 25, and Thanksgiving Day shall be the same
as that of Sunday, or the first day of the week.

C. E. Stevenson, Bryant, Ill.—Sam Patch made his last and fatal leap
at Genesee Falls, New York.

P. A. Brooks, Mt. Vernon, Iowa.—The Constitution of the United States
was framed by a convention of delegates from all the States except
Rhode Island, held at Philadelphia in September, 1787. Tom Paine was
not a delegate.

J. R. Cripper.—Adelaide Neilson was a distinguished actress. She
filled several successful engagements in this city, and died in Paris
in 1852.

R. S., Kill Creek, Kan.—The height of mountains is determined from
the relative height of the barometer. Ascending from the sea level
the air becomes lighter, and the mercury in the barometer falls.
Civil engineers, knowing the height of the barometer at sea level,
and also at the place whose height they desire to determine, are able
to compute the elevation of the place. Other methods are sometimes
used.

Harry T. Ashton, Chicago—Emile Gaboriau is a man. 2. “Ouida” is the
assumed name of Miss Louisa De la Rame, an English novelist of French
extraction.

V. G. Bush, Cayuga, Ill.—A young lady ceases to be a minor when she
attains the age of 18. 2. Brokerage is computed on the face, or par
value of stock.

H. Joint, Logan, Kan.—The statutes of California declare the marriage
of white and colored persons unlawful. The Constitution of the United
States does not forbid it.

Milton T. Cox, Fairmount, Ind.—The steamship Alaska, which made the
quickest time on record from New York to Queenstown, viz., 6 days 18
h 37 m, sailed 2,925.7 miles. This may be considered a fair estimate
of the sailing distance between the two places.

Ex-Soldier, Kellerton, Iowa—1. Alcohol thermometers are used for
observing temperature below 38 degrees, though ordinarily they are
not as accurate as mercurial thermometers.

John A. Hughes, Grapeland, Texas—For the election of members of
the lower house of the General Assembly of Illinois the State is
districted so that three members represent each district. Then every
elector is permitted to cast three votes. He may give three to one
candidate, one and a half to each of two, or one to each of the three.

Subscriber, Belmond, Iowa—The real name of Eli Perkins is M. D.
Landon.

G. W. D., Chicago.—As nearly as one can judge from the names, about
four-fifths of the Chicago saloon-keepers are foreign born. As to
their politics, it is hard to tell where to place them, except in a
local election, when a majority of them are sure to be in favor of
low license and anti-Sunday legislation.

F. M. P., Clipper, Iowa.—It is probable Saint John died at Ephesus
during the reign of the Emperor Trajan. Jerome states that he was 100
years old, Suidas 120 years. There is no reference to the age of Job,
save that he lived 140 years after his trials ended. 2. Molasses is a
singular noun.

R. P. Drake, Shenandoah, Iowa—The origin of the word dude, is not
certainly known. It has been in English slang for a 100 years
at least. It has not been widely used in this country until
comparatively recently, but in Salem, Mass., and vicinity, it has
held a place in local slang for many years.

Subscriber, Houghton, Mich.—St. Patrick’s Day is the day set apart in
the Romish calendar for special religious observances in honor of the
founder of the Christian church in Ireland, canonized by the Church
of Rome as St. Patrick. It is probably not the day of his birth,
since it is generally conceded that it is impossible to determine
that.

Mrs. J. R. Dowling, Wheatland, Iowa.—After the death of the great
Roman general and statesman, Cæsar became a title of all of the
Roman emperors, and from them has passed into several other European
countries to designate the chief ruler. In Germany it appears as
Kaiser, and in Russia as Czar. 2. We have lately answered your other
questions.

E. C. W., Garden City, Kan.—The Dry Tortugas and several other
islands off the Florida coast belong to the United States. The
government has a military station, hospital, etc. on the Dry
Tortugas, and sometimes sends convicts there.

A. V. Bacon, Lansing, Minn.—The principal reasons for outgoing
trans-Atlantic steamers from the United States bearing north, are:
the influence of the gulf stream running from the southern extremity
of Florida up the American coast, making to northeastward between
New Foundland and Ireland; the higher latitude of the British Isles;
and in certain seasons the prevailing winds. “Imaginary lines” have
nothing to do with their choice of this course. If the form of the
earth was the only thing to be considered, the steamers would sail
on the great circle connecting the port of departure and the port of
destination, both going and coming, because such a circle marks the
shortest distance between the two points on the sphere. But winds and
currents are more important than shortest distances.

E. D. Vorhes, Peotone, Ill.—We believe Whittier is sometimes
referred to as the “bachelor poet,” but we know of no living poet of
distinction referred to as “the boy poet.” Isaac Watts wrote verses
at a very early age, despite of all the attempts of his father to
reform him of this weakness. Our own William Cullen Bryant, who was
very fond of declaiming some of Watts’ hymns at 7, 6, and even 5
years of age, began to make verses of his own at 8 years, and wrote
a poem for a school examination at 10 years, which was of sufficient
merit to become a stock declamation in other schools. He wrote “The
Embargo” and “The Spanish Revolution” when he was but 13. Henry Kirke
White wrote good poetry before he was 15, and published a volume of
poems when he was not quite 17. Other “boy poets” there have been,
but who is the “boy poet,” so recognized, of this prosaic age?

Fred Cooke, Butte City, M. T.—Probably New York State leads all
others in the quantity and quality of marketable apples produced and
in the prices realized.

Adaline, Moline, Ill.—A lady writing to a person who does not know
whether she is single or married should sign Mrs. or Miss ——, as
otherwise the receiver cannot tell how to address his reply.

A. P. Hargrave, Lowden, Iowa.—The rectangular system of survey was
adopted by the United States Government May 20, 1785, several years
before the adoption of the present constitution. It was put to
practice first in Southwestern Ohio; the first principal meridian
being run from the mouth of the Great Miami.

Theodore Wiltz, Dana, Ill.—Yes, “a person who has resided in the
United States but one year, and has only taken out his first
naturalization papers can pre-empt or make a homestead entry in
Dakota.” He does not need to reside in the country a year; fifteen
minutes is long enough after he has formally declared his intention
to become a citizen: so great-hearted and liberal is “Uncle Sam.”

Charles W. Collins, Louisville, Wis.—In cases of simultaneous
applications to enter under the homestead laws, the rule is as
follows: Where neither party has improvements on the land, it should
be sold to the one who bids highest. Where one has actual settlement
and improvements and the other none, it should be awarded to the
actual settler. Where both allege settlement and improvements, an
investigation must be had, and the lands awarded to him who shows the
prior actual settlement and substantial improvements, each as to be
notice on the ground to any competitor.

Inquirer, ——, Kan.—The law making it necessary for an officer of one
State to have a requisition from the Governor of the same upon the
authorities of another State before he can arrest and take therefrom
any person charged with crime is designed to prevent persons from
being transported to other States, in some cases far from home,
friends, business interests, to be tried among strangers, without
good evidence that a crime of some magnitude has been committed.
Similar reasons, but of much less cogency, apply in support of laws
limiting the authority of sheriffs and constables to the counties to
which they belong, except when armed with special warrants.

L. J. Martin. Bowling Green, Ky.—The following States cast their
electoral votes for Mr. Lincoln for his first term: California,
Connecticut, Illinois, Indiana, Iowa, Maine, Massachusetts, Michigan,
Minnesota, New Hampshire, New York, Ohio, Oregon, Pennsylvania, Rhode
Island, Vermont, Wisconsin.

J. S. White, Paw Paw, Mich.—The largest ratio of colored population
in Kansas in 1880 was in Bourbon County, being as 7,314 to 8,642, or
nearly 47 per cent of the total. The next was in Christian County,
where it was as 14,639 to 17,043, or a little over 45 per cent. The
ratio in Fayette County was almost as great, say as 12,974 to 16,049,
or over 44 per cent. There were no other counties where it was nearly
so great.

Subscriber, Blendon, Kan.—1. The Penitentiary at Sing Sing, N. Y., is
a State institution. Prisoners convicted in Federal courts are sent
there under an arrangement between State and Federal authorities.
2. Rip Van Winkle is the fictitious hero of one of Washington
Irving’s “Sketch Book” tales, entitled the “Legend of Sleepy Hollow.”
The popular play of the same name is the same story, with some
alterations, as dramatized by Dion Boucicault.

B. F. McCormick, Rock Valley, Iowa.—“Sunset Cox” takes this nickname
from a really vivid but rather grandiloquent description of an Ohio
sunset, which was widely copied into exchanges at the time it was
written, many years ago. “Extra Billy Smith,” not “of New York,” but
ante bellum Representative from Virginia, and subsequently Governor
of that State when in rebellion, fairly won this name from his
predilection for recommending and voting extras in appropriation
bills.

W. I. Pratt.—1. Thomas Green Fessenden was an early American author
and journalist of wide reputation. He was born in New Hampshire
in 1771; graduated at Dartmouth College in 1796; studied law, but
made more reputation as a writer. His poem, “The Country Lovers,”
was popular, as was also his humorous, satirical poem, “Terrible
Tractoration.” He settled in Boston in 1804, where he became editor
of the _New England Farmer_, He died in 1837.

A Subscriber, Walnut, Iowa.—Whether persons who have been shipwrecked
shall be carried free of charge upon other vessels is optional with
the captains of said vessels. If landed in a strange country, they
may seek aid from the consul representing their own government. The
American consul is furnished with funds to help shipwrecked seamen
only, but he is under obligation to do what he can for all American
citizens in distress.

Dicke, Dana, Ill.—There is no “Senator at large.” A “Representative
at large” is one elected by the entire State, instead of a district,
in those States failing to redistrict before the election following
the reapportionment of Representatives according to the latest
census. For instance, the four additional Representatives given to
Kansas by the last Congressional apportionment were elected on a
general State ticket and not from single districts. In Maine, where
the number of Congressmen was reduced, the Legislature having failed
to redistrict the State all the Representatives were elected on a
general State ticket.

David E. Gray.—1. The treaty of St. Ildefonso was an offensive and
defensive alliance between the first French Republic and Spain,
negotiated Aug. 19, 1796, resulting, among other things, in a war
between these allied powers and England. 2. Oregon and Washington
Territory fix the weight of a bushel of green apples at 45 pounds.
Other States and Territories fix the legal weight of dried apples,
but not of green apples, so far as we can discover.

A Reader, Crete, Neb.—The greater weight of a body at the poles, as
compared with its weight at the equator, is attributed, principally,
to two causes, viz., the estimated shorter distance from the pole to
the center of the earth; and the centrifugal force resulting from the
revolution of the earth on its axis, which is zero at the poles and
at its maximum at the equator.

John Steele, Chicago—Yes, a fine watch may easily be ruined by too
close approach to a powerful electrical machine. The hair-spring and
balance wheel become magnetized, and it is difficult and costly to
get them demagnetized.

James McNulty, Chicago—The pitch of a roof is the ratio of its
height divided by its span. Consequently a half pitch roof is one
whose height is half its span, a quarter pitch one whose height is
one-fourth the span, and so on. The answer you refer to was defective
in omitting the word “span” after “foot.”

Charles Seymour, Chicago, Ill.—The Emperor Maximilian I., of Mexico,
had two foreign legions besides his French allies, one known as the
“Belgic Legion,” the other as the “Austrian Legion.”

O. Clark.—In the case of Wright vs. Wood it was decided that “four
pre-emptors may combine to erect a house upon the corner common to
their claims, but each pre-emptor must reside in his own part of
the house.” If you will send your address and a postal-card we will
answer your other question.

Taylor Lee, Sammon’s Landing, Mich.—Great Abaco is an island in the
Bahama group. It is about eighty miles long and twenty wide. Little
Abaco, about twenty-eight miles long, is near it. They are both
specially adapted to the raising of early vegetables for the great
American markets. Being at the northern end of the Bahamas, they lie
directly east of the most eastern projection of Florida. They belong
to Great Britain.

L. J. Worden, Bowling Green, Ky.—The first railroad on which a
locomotive was operated was the Merthyr-Tydvil Railway, England. This
was in 1804. But the first railway built for general traffic was
constructed by Pease and Stephenson in 1825. It was the Stockton and
Darlington Railroad in England. For further particulars see Curiosity
Shop of last year, in book form, page 101.

E. Judkins, Alpowa, W. T.—1. The author of “The Beautiful Snow” is
James W. Watson.

C. L. N., Cresco, Mich.—1. The talent of the Scriptures, or Hebrew
talent, has been variously estimated at from $1,645 to $1,916. 2. To
take care of your live oyster ask advice of the Superintendent of
State Fisheries, Lansing, Mich.

D. S., Winters, Ill.—The inventor of Sharps’ rifles for military and
sporting purposes was Christian Sharps, a scientific machinist, born
in New Jersey in 1811, died in 1874. The manufacture of these rifles
was begun at Hartford, Conn., in 1854.

W. Bird, Bolivar, Mo.—The Maas (or Meuse, as it is called in the
upper part of its course) is a river of Belgium and Holland, which,
after uniting with the River Rhine, discharges into the North Sea
not far from Rotterdam. During the winter months the Dutch travel
and amuse themselves on skates and runners on the ice of their many
canals, lakes, and rivers, these being their thoroughfares in winter
as well as in summer. Owing to moderate temperature and an unexpected
rise in the river in the winter of 1512, the ice suddenly gave way at
a point on the Maas, near Rotterdam, and a large number of people,
some say about 8,000, were precipitated into the water, where the
most of them perished.

Joe Davidson, White Rock, Kan.—1. The District of Columbia contains
an area of sixty-four square miles. 2. The yearly salary of the
President is $50,000; that of the Vice President $8,000; of each of
the members of the Cabinet $8,000; of Senators, $5,000 each, 20 cents
per mile mileage, stationery $125, franking privilege, and expenses
when serving on special committees; Representatives the same as
Senators.

Leonard Smith, Atalissa, Iowa—The fastest time on record for any
locomotive in this country (and we find no faster for any other) is
fourteen miles in eleven minutes, made by locomotive Hamilton Davis
and 6 cars on the New York Central Railroad in 1855. This was an
average of a mile in 47⅐ seconds.

Prosy, Busti, Iowa.—1. Rice was introduced into this country from
Madagascar through the gift of a sack of rice by the captain of a
vessel driven into Charleston, S. C., in 1694, to Thomas Smith, who
planted it in his garden and distributed the seed.

M. V., Suez, Ill.—“Gulliver’s Travels” were written by Jonathan
Swift, who was born in Dublin, Ireland, Nov. 30, 1667; died in the
same city, Oct. 19, 1745. The above named work was a series of
humoristic satires on the weaknesses of human nature, the follies of
society, and the foibles of certain individuals against whom Swift
cherished personal antipathies.

Phillip Blunn, Seward, Kan.—Fremont in early life was a bold,
original spirit, as is fully shown by his daring and at times almost
reckless adventures during the explorations by which he discovered
the overland route to California and opened up the regions of the
great Salt Lake and Upper California to American settlement. He
chafed under the restraints of military discipline, and was charged
with disobeying or exceeding his instructions, which he sometimes
undoubtedly did: and in his case it nearly always turned out
fortunately for the country. He was placed under military arrest and
found “guilty of mutiny and insubordination” for acting as Governor
of California by appointment of Commodore Stockton in 1846, contrary
to orders of General Kearney. The “Old Pathfinder,” as he was
subsequently called, rather gained by the event.

Soper Bros. & Co., Chicago—In the destruction of the Southern Hotel,
St. Louis, April 11, 1877, thirteen lives were lost and thirty-five
persons seriously injured. The hotel was rebuilt, and was reopened to
the public about one year ago last summer.

P. L. F., Swan Lake, Dak.—1. There are two State Normal schools in
Illinois—one at Bloomington and the other at Carbondale. 2. There is
no part of the earth’s surface where the sun’s rays, if unobstructed
by some intervening object, would not shine into a north window at
some time in the year.

M. L. Scott, Boulder, Col.—1. The Chief Justices of the United States
since 1789 have been John Jay, John Rutledge, Oliver Ellsworth, John
Marshall, Roger B. Taney, Salmon P. Chase, and the present incumbent,
Morrison R. Waite. 2. The corner-stone of our first Federal Capitol
was laid by George Washington Sept, 18, 1793. The corner-stone of the
extension of 1851 was laid by Millard Fillmore.

A. C., Streator, Ill.—Inauguration Day, of the 4th of March, on
which the term of office of the President of the United States
must necessarily begin, has occurred on Sunday fourteen times this
century. It occurred so the last time on the occasion of President
Hayes’ inauguration, and he quietly took the oath of office in the
White House Sunday afternoon. The inauguration ceremonial at the
Capitol took place the next day. Inauguration Day will not fall on
Sunday again during this century.

James Harman, Central City, Neb.—The total receipts from saloon
licenses in this city in 1880 amounted to $182,226.40. The expenses
entailed through pauperage, damage to property and person, increased
cost of police, jails, etc., cannot be accurately determined. It is a
matter of estimate.

A Subscriber, Chicago.—In the Massachusetts gubernatorial election,
Butler received 133,946 votes: Bishop, 119,997, and Almy, 2,137,
making Butler’s plurality 13,949, and his majority 11,812.

The ten-mile race at the State fair held at Minneapolis last fall was
won by Miss Belle Cook, with five horses, in 20:02. Little Cricket
won the twenty-mile race in 40:59.

John Allen, Topeka, Kan.—The real name of “Mary Blake,” contributor
to the _Century_, is Mrs. Blakesley.

A. B. E.—The authoress of “Curfew Must Not Ring To-night” is Rose
Hartwicke Thorpe.

J. M. H., Stanberry, Mo.—The President pro tempore of the Senate
draws the same salary as the Vice President when filling the same
office. You are right as to the apportionment of members of Congress.
The whole question is explained on page 75 of Our Curiosity Shop
of 1882, in book form, costing 25 cents, postage included. It
answers hundreds of such questions as you and your fellow-students
are discussing. There is no instance of a State’s returning to the
condition of a Territory, unless the rebel States were in that
condition before they adopted their “reconstruction constitutions”
just after the war, when they were under provisional governments.
Your other questions have all been answered very recently.

“She-cau-oh,” Chicago, Ill.—We give your note just as it comes
to us: “Man-i-_to_-ba—that is not the way it is pronounced, but
Ma-nit-a-_bah_. Chicago should be She-cau-_oh_ (Potawatome)—‘all
gone,’ ‘far-off-place.’ Sioux, pronounce Sou. I could speak the
Indian language better than the English once.—She-cau-_oh_.” It
is too late in the world’s history to change the pronunciation of
Chicago back to the original, and, for that matter, the pronunciation
of Manitoba is hopelessly anglicized into Man-i-_tow_-ba. Still we
thank you for your note, and will preserve it in our bound Curiosity
Shop as another witness for the original pronunciation of all these
names, and what is admitted to be one of the Indian meanings of
Chicago, the others, vouched for by good authority, being “strong”
and “wild onion,” the sense in each case being dependent on the
connection.

Ida, Milo, Ill.—1. George III. was King of England during the whole
period of the American revolution. His Prime Minister from 1770 until
after the surrender of Cornwallis was Lord North, and two other of
the principal members of his Cabinet were Lords Gower and Weymouth.
In 1779 the latter, seeing the hopelessness of the effort to subdue
the Americans, resigned, but North continued in power until after the
capture of Cornwallis at Yorktown, when he resigned March 20, 1782,
and was succeeded by the Marquis of Rockingham, who at once opened
negotiations for peace.

Alfred Gates, Lafayette, Ind.—The dower right of a married woman
in her husband’s real estate has been abolished in Indiana and
California. In States where married women are entitled to dower, it
is the general rule that relinquishments of dower made by any such
woman under 21 years of age are of no effect unless ratified by her
after she has attained that age. Even in most States where women are
“of age,” or become mistresses of themselves at an earlier age than
21, they cannot convey real estate until they have attained the full
legal majority of 21 years.

Martha J. McCoy, Mt. Pleasant, Iowa.—If the paint is scaling off your
recently painted house it proves that there is not much pure white
lead and good boiled linseed oil in it. Unless one employs an honest
painter and contracts for these substantial ingredients he is almost
certain to get white lead adulterated with earths, sulphate of
baryta, or other cheap materials, mixed with worthless substitutes
for linseed oil. The lowest-priced paints are usually the dearest in
the long run, particularly for outside work.

Georgia L. Brown, West Salem, Wis.—1. The salary of the President
was increased to $50,000 a year—making it the same as that of
the Governor General of Canada—on the last day of the first term
of President Grant, who drew pay according to this law from the
beginning of his second term.

S., Greenfield, Ill.—“Red Line Poets” is a trade name given to
certain editions of selected poems printed on pages bordered with
red lines. There are one or two English books of this description,
and one or more American books. No two of them embrace the same list
of authors. A Boston red-line edition contains only selections from
Longfellow, Whittier, Bryant, Holmes, Lowell, and Emerson.

Amateur Antiquary, Chicago, Ill.—“Empire State of the South” is a
popular appellation for Georgia in allusion to its being the leading
State in wealth and enterprise. Tennessee is sometimes called the
“Big-bend State,” in allusion to the spoon-like bend of the Tennessee
River. West Virginia is sometimes called the “Pan-handle State,”
because it includes that singular strip of land between the Ohio
River and the boundary of Pennsylvania.

H. N. Kinney, Mantone, Ill.—The leading corn county of this State in
1881 was McLean, with a crop of 9,750,000 bushels; the next largest
was Livingston, with 6,983,522 bushels. The same year Kankakee County
produced 2,743,300 bushels.

R. D. Silsby, Modale, Iowa.—Your friend is right in asserting that
there are yellow and brownish varieties of cotton. The valuable
Orleans cotton staples are naturally white, but there is cheap yellow
and brownish staple used for nankeen cloth, and one sort known as
Bourbon cotton.

A Reader, Glenwood, Iowa.—1. The great Chicago fire of 1871 began
Sunday evening, Oct. 8, and lasted until Tuesday morning. 2. Henry
Wilson, the late Vice President, changed his name, by birth Colbath.
Why, he always treated as a strictly private matter. His childhood
was one of extreme poverty, and he was apprenticed when he was but
ten years old.

Normal Student, Stanbury, Mass.—There is no State in the Union where
a man can vote before he is 21 years of age. However, if a man’s
birthday is Feb. 1 he becomes of age Jan. 31, as the law takes no
account of fractions of a day in a matter of this kind.

C. H. Martin, Cheboygan, Mich.—St. Patrick was sent by Pope Celestine
as a missionary to Ireland, after being a monk in the celebrated
monastery of Lerius, in France. His father was a deacon in the Church
of Rome, and his mother was a sister of St. Martin of Tours.

A Reader, Chicago.—In Wisconsin it is not necessary to take out a
marriage license.

A. G. Damson, Vienna, Ill.—W. H. Russell, war correspondent of the
London _Times_ during “the recent unpleasantness,” is called “Bull
Run Russell” because of his overdrawn description of the first battle
of Bull Run, and prediction of the speedy collapse of the Union as a
consequence. He is still alive.

Geo. T. L., Attica, N. Y.—The President of Mexico at this time is
General Gonzales; installed Dec. 1, 1880, for four years. There is a
Senate composed of the Vice President and two members of each of the
twenty-seven States. The House of Representatives consists of one
member for each 80,000 population, and in 1879 numbered 331. During
the recess of Congress a Council of Government, composed of the Vice
President and half of the Senate, sits, to advise the President.

A. C., Englewood, Ill.—The silkworm spins its cocoon and passes into
the torpid state of a chrysalis or pupa. If allowed to remain in this
state too long it becomes active, begins to gnaw its way through the
cocoon, and finally comes forth in the butterfly state. The cocoon
is then of little value. But if, just before the chrysalis begins to
grow active, the cocoons are dropped into boiling water the insect is
instantly killed, and the silk is easily unwound and reeled for the
market.

B. B. Williams, Parsons, Kan.—The Golden Horn is the name of the
inlet from the Bosphorus, which divides the city of Constantinople
and constitutes its magnificent harbor.

A. M. A., Union Grove, Ill.—When Governor Ford’s term as Governor
expired, in 1846, he moved to Peoria and went into the practice of
the law. He had been called from the office of Associate Judge of the
Supreme Court to that of Governor, but although a good judge, he was
not well suited for an advocate. Moreover, he had become addicted to
overdrinking and during his gubernatorial term had made many violent
enemies in his own party, some of whom spared no opportunity to wound
him. He had retired from the Governorship “poorer than when he was
inaugurated,” and failing to secure a remunerative practice against
all the discouragements above mentioned, he fell into despondency,
and died at Peoria in 1850 in indigent circumstances, but not “a
pauper.”

N. K. Pierce, Mentor, Kan.—The most elegant Pullman palace cars cost
from $20,000 to $25,000, but such cars have been made in only a few
special cases. The ordinary Pullman car costs from $11,000 to $15,000.

Inquirer, LeRoy.—1. The American Almanac for 1883 states the total
number of churches in the United States at 92,477, omitting the
churches of the Methodist Episcopal Church South, which numbers about
8,000. 2. The membership of all the Protestant churches is stated
at 8,974,400, and the “adherents” of the Roman Catholic church at
6,370,858, according to the Catholic Directory for 1882. Protestant
churches enumerate only those who become members by profession of
faith or letters from other churches; Roman Catholics enumerate
all who have been baptized in their faith, either in infancy or
after years. 3. Church attendance can only be estimated from church
sittings, which average for the United States about two and a half
times the membership. 4. The total number of newspapers, magazines,
and other periodicals published in the United States in the census
year is given as 11,314.

Old Subscriber, Lincoln, Ill.—In most of the States the marriage of a
female partner in any business firm dissolves the partnership.

J. L. Orr, Glen Haven, Wis.—Evidently the north window of a house
situated on the north pole would be a sky light. All side wall
windows would look to the south.

J. J. Stark, LaCygne, Kan.—1. The most celebrated picture of “Christ
and the Last Supper” was painted by Leonardo da Vinci in 1497. 2.
Your second question we cannot answer.

E. Finley, Pontiac, Ill.—The total precipitation of moisture for the
year 1882 observed by the officer of the Signal Service at Riley,
McHenry County, Ill., was 35.36 inches, or 1.46 inches above the
annual average for twenty-one years.

A. N. Smith, Davenport, Iowa—To destroy chicken lice keep the
hen-house clean and well ventilated and sprinkle the dusting bins
with carbolic acid.

T. L., Winona, Minn.—You are wrong. B wins the wager, because “a son
born to an American minister while his parents are on official duty
abroad” is in the eye of the law as much an American as if born in
this country, and is eligible to the Presidency of the United States.

Mrs. S. E. E., Fredericksburg, Iowa—For some years there was no
general agreement as to the time of observing “Decoration Day,” but
when it became desirable to settle on a specific day to be kept every
year, May 30 having been fixed upon by one or more Legislatures, it
was adopted generally.

Charles Hallas, Adrian, Minn.—1. Congress raised the salary of the
President, by act of March 3, 1873, to $50,000 per annum, at the
same time cutting off certain allowances made to former Presidents,
aggregating several thousands a year. Before that act the salary of
Congressmen of both houses had been $5,000 and mileage, but by this
act they were raised to $7,500. By act of Jan. 20, 1874, the salaries
of Congressmen were reduced to the old amount.

C. J., Topeka, Kan.—It certainly is customary when ladies or
gentlemen write to any one for information for them to inclose a
postal stamp or postal card for the reply. It is quite as much as
one should ask of a business man that he take time to give desired
information. To request this much and expect him to pay postage
on the reply is what is termed in the emphatic vocabulary of the
slang-slinger, “cheeky.” The very fact that postage is such a trifle
makes the omission to inclose it all the more inexcusable. But while
postage is a mere trifle on the single letter, to a person in a
public position, called on to answer thousands of questions in a
year, the aggregate postage would be a serious matter were it not for
the above rule.

E. J. Bristo.—The whites of Virginia number 880,858; the colored
population is 631,616. That State has one of the most healthful
climates in the world. The water is excellent except in the swamp
regions in the eastern part, and the soil of about two-thirds of
the State is fertile except where worn out by long tobacco culture
without proper use of fertilizers and alternation of crops. Virginia
can produce anything that grows in the temperate zone.

Wm. G. Miller, Arkansas City, Kan.; No method of manufacturing
merchantable diamonds has ever been discovered. A French chemist
claims to have made very minute crystals of diamond by an extremely
expensive process, simply to prove that the thing is possible, but
the crystals, whether diamonds or not, were of no value as gems or
for any other commercial or mechanical purpose. For anything more on
this subject see Our Curiosity Shop for 1882, page 147. Price per
mail, 25 cents in paper covers and 50 cents in cloth.

George H. Gifford, West Point. Neb.—1. The total net ordinary
expenditures of the United States Government in 1880 amounted to
$171,885,382.67. Figure out for yourself “the cost per minute.” It
will be a delightful pastime for idle moments; editors have none.

Jacob Vanaernam, Mount Morris, Wis.—In Illinois the State is
districted for State representatives, so that three representatives
are chosen from one district. Every voter may either give each of the
three candidates one vote, or one of them all three of his votes,
or he may give one and a half votes to each of two of them. This
explains why you saw “half votes” in Illinois election returns. This
system of voting is designed to place it in the power of a minority
party to secure at least one out of three representatives, where by
the old method all three representatives might be elected by the
majority party.

A. Tyler, DeWitt, Ill.—The Declaration of Independence was not
adopted by Congress until the 4th of July, 1776, about 2 o’clock p.
m., as fully explained in Our Curiosity Shop some weeks ago. It was
not adopted on July 2. A resolution was adopted on that day asserting
that “these United Colonies are, and of right ought to be, free and
independent States,” but the Congress sat the rest of that day, all
the next, and a part of the Fourth, discussing the Declaration before
It was adopted. Some of the delegates to that Congress never signed
it; others not until some time after July 4.

W. L. Murphy, Tuscola, Ill.—1. The distance from St. Paul to Portland
via the Northern Pacific Railroad is 1,911 miles; from Chicago to St.
Paul is 409 miles, making the total distance to Portland 2,320 miles.

M. R. Huntington, Chicago—The five longest rivers in the world are
the following, named in the order of length from greater to less: The
Missouri, measured from its source to the Gulf of Mexico; the Amazon;
the Nile; the Yang-tse-kiang, China, and the Murray, Australia.

A. C. Hess, Central P. O., Pa.—Ginseng is exported to China in large
quantities, where it is in high repute as a medicine. It is used
in pharmacy to some degree in this country and Europe. In 1880 our
export of ginseng amounted to 391,083 pounds, valued at $533,042.

C. F. S., Denmark, Iowa—The autographic process of telegraphing,
which transmits a facsimile of the original dispatch, was first
brought forward in 1848 by F. C. Bakewell, of London, England. It was
improved by Abbe Casselli, of Florence; Lenoir and Meyer, of France,
and Professor Sawyer, of Washington, D. C. It is not so economical,
so expeditions, or so well adapted in some other respects to ordinary
telegraphic purposes as the Morse system with modern improvements.

A. J., Dern, Ind.—1. The eclectic school of medicine lays great
stress on the avoidance of depletion, either by blood-letting or
severe purging, and the use of agents calculated to build up the
system. Vegetable remedies largely predominate in its medical agents.

M. K. C., Park, Col.—The air-tube of an argand-burner lamp should
always be open, as its use is to supply air to the inside of the wick
while other air is being furnished upon the outside. If the wick be
turned too high the oil will rise in it by the principle of capillary
attraction (not siphon) too rapidly to be properly consumed. Some of
this oil passes off as unconsumed carbon, and some may drip, in its
original form. 2. The amount of carbon in the atmosphere varies with
local circumstances, such as population, rainfall, sewerage, etc.,
from 2 to 10 in 10,000 volumes of air. The oxygen and nitrogen of the
atmosphere are invariable in their proportional parts: twenty-three
parts (by weight) of oxygen and seventy-seven of nitrogen.

Lile E. Argile, Kilbourne City, Wis.—The final cause of the war of
1812 was the search of American vessels by the English, and the
impressment of United States sailors into the service of Great
Britain. All of this trouble, however, probably grew out of the
ill-feeling that had existed between the two nations since the
Revolutionary war. The cause of the Mexican war was the annexation of
Texas to the United States.

R. L. Stevensun, Quincy, Minn.—Half-morocco binding consists of a
fine quality of cloth covers with morocco corners and morocco spring
back. Library binding is all leather.

P. S. Williams, Fort Lyon, Mo.—The largest ship in the world is the
Great Eastern, described on page 63 of Our Curiosity Shop for 1880.
Length, 680 feet; breadth, 118 feet; height to top of bulwarks, 70
feet.

E. E., Stralm, Iowa.—The first watch was made by Peter Hele, a
clockmaker of Nuremberg, Germany, in the year 1477.

George Searle, Langworthy, Iowa.—After the war Horace Greeley
advocated a general amnesty and a policy of conciliation. As a step
in this direction he advised the release of Jefferson Davis on
bail, and when this course was determined upon he became one of the
bondsmen.

E. H. T., Greensburg, Pa.—1. The Dead Sea is 1,312 feet below the
Mediterranean, and the Caspian Sea is 84 feet below the Black Sea. 2.
The two rivers which unite to form the Upper Amazon are the Marancon
(or Tunguraguas, as it is called by some writers) and the Ucayale (or
Apurimac).

M. B. J., Union Hill, Ill.—1. The direct cable from Ireland to Rye
Beach, N. H., is 3,060 miles in length. 2. The length of the Union
and Central Pacific Railroad, extending from Omaha to San Francisco,
is 1,916 miles.

R. Hancock, Columbus, Wis.—Andrew Johnson was impeached, but not
convicted. See definition of impeach in Webster’s unabridged
dictionary.

Samuel Adams, Chicago—Francis Hanford was killed by Alexander
Sullivan in this city, Aug. 7, 1876, about 7 o’clock in the evening.

U. W. G., Union, Iowa—At the Battle of Cold Harbor, General Meade
ordered some of the troops to advance; but they by common consent
refused to obey.

S. B., Oconee, Ill.—Illinois has had three State constitutions,
including the one now in force. The first went into force in 1818:
the second in 1848, and the third in 1870.

W. H., Brockport, N. Y.—A painting may be copyrighted by sending to
the Librarian of Congress a full description of the work, together
with $1, the price of recording the application and issuing the
certificate.

Subscriber, Verdon, Neb.—By a Joint resolution of Congress, adopted
Dec. 29, 1845, Texas was declared to be admitted to the Union.

Edith Allen, Milwaukee, Wis.—The highest mountain in the Philippine
Islands is 4,531 feet higher than Mount Washington, N. H. It is a
volcano, named Alpi, and has been ascended recently and found to be
10,824 feet high.

S. N. W.. Deep River, Iowa—Read verse 49 of the thirty-first chapter
of Genesis and the marginal note, and you and she will understand the
beautiful appropriateness of Mizpah on an engagement ring.

Lizzie J. Clark, Lawrenceburg, Tenn.—The nightingale proper is a
migratory bird, common to Northern Africa, Western Asia, and the
greater part of Europe. The European nightingale spends the winter
in Northern Africa. It may be said to be a native of all the regions
above named, although its hatching places are in Europe. Your other
question will be answered elsewhere.

George E. White, Englewood—There is more silver in a trade dollar
than in the standard United States silver dollar, but it is at a
discount in business dealings because it is not a legal tender for
debt. Congress has the constitutional authority to declare what coins
are a legal tender and what are not. In this case it has outlawed the
trade dollar; whether wisely and justly or not is a matter in dispute.

Lillie G. Hendee, Sandwich, Ill.—1. There is a snake with a straight
horn on the end of its tail, which, when in rapid motion, looks like
a revolving hoop. It is found in Southern Illinois and Missouri, and
the country east and south of the same. It is popularly known as the
hoop snake. 2. Naturalists are generally agreed that the worms seen
after showers do not fall from the clouds; they are not fully agreed
as to the proper explanation of their sudden appearance at such
times. For further particulars address Professor Forbes, curator of
the Laboratory of Natural History, Normal, Ill.

M. S. H., Chicago.—Pierre, the present Western terminus of the
Chicago and Northwestern Railroad is the railway station nearest to
Deadwood, from which it is about 190 miles distant. The Northwestern
Express Stage and Transportation Company runs a line of Concord
stages between these points.

C. H. F., Weldon, Ill.—The term creole as used in our Gulf States
applies to descendants of French and Spanish settlers, in distinction
from French and Spanish immigrants, and mulattoes or half-breeds:
also to natives of the West Indies of European descent. But in the
West Indies the word is applied to natives, whether of white, black,
or mixed races.

George Fair, Fairmont, Neb.—1. The velocity of light, as determined
by the latest experiments, is 186,300 miles per second. 2. The
velocity of electricity traveling on metal wires was calculated
by Wheatstone at 194,000 miles per second. But It travels at
different rates on different wires, and as a consequence the reports
of different observers do not agree. 3. We can only furnish the
Curiosity Shop volumes of 1880, 1881, and 1882.

J. M. Simpson, Cherokee City, Ark.—The present form of government in
France is republican. The constitution bears date Feb. 25, 1875. It
vests the legislative power in an assembly of two houses, the Chamber
of Deputies and the Senate, and the executive power in a President,
who is elected by a majority of votes of the Senate and Chamber of
Deputies united in National Assembly. The President at this time is
Francois J. P. Jules Grevy.

S. A. Maxwell, Morrison, Ill.—The term “O grab me act” was applied
to the embargo act of Dec. 27, 1807. This embargo, laid by our
government on all its own ports and vessels in retaliation for
certain decrees of France and England sorely restricting the rights
of neutral vessels, bore particularly hard on New England, which
had been increasing its shipping very rapidly. Inverting the word
“embargo,” the malcontents called it the “O grab me act,” referring
to the fact that it operated to the advantage of one part of the
country at the expense of the shipping interest in another. These
murmurings grew until the act was repealed in February, 1809. When
Congressmen voted themselves an increase of back salary a few years
ago there was an attempt to transfer the name of O grab me act to
this law.

UNITED STATES GOVERNMENT.

_The Executive._

Chester A. Arthur, of New York, President of the United States;
salary, $50,000.

G.F. Edmunds, of Vermont, President pro tem. of Senate, and Acting
Vice President: salary, $8,000.

_The Cabinet._

Frederick T. Frelinghuysen, Secretary of State; salary, $8,000.

Charles J. Folger. Secretary of the Treasury; salary, $8,000.

Robert T. Lincoln, Secretary of War; salary, $8,000.

William E. Chandler, Secretary of the Navy; salary, $8,000.

Henry M. Teller, Secretary of the Interior; salary, $8,000.

Walter Q. Gresham, Postmaster General; salary, $8,000.

Benjamin Harris Brewster, Attorney General; salary, $8,000.

FORTY-EIGHTH CONGRESS.

_March 4, 1883, to March 3, 1885._

THE SENATE.

Republicans (in Roman), 38; Democrats (in _italics_), 36; Readjuster
(in SMALL CAPS), 2. Total, 76.

  Term ex.                          Home Postoffice.

      Alabama—
  1889 _John T. Morgan_             Selma.
  1885 _James L. Pugh_              Eufaula.

      Arkansas—
  1889 _Augustus H. Garland_        Little Rock.
  1885 _James D. Walker_            Fayetteville.

      California—
  1885 _James T. Farley_            Jackson.
  1887 John F. Miller               San Francisco.

      Colorado—
  1889 Thomas M. Bowen              Rio Grande.
  1885 Nathaniel P. Hill            Denver.

      Connecticut—
  1885 Orville H. Platt             Meriden.
  1887 Joseph R. Hawley             Hartford.

      Delaware—
  1889 _Eli Saulsbury_              Dover.
  1887 _Thomas Francis Bayard_      Wilmington.

      Florida—
  1885 _Wilkinson Call_             Jacksonville.
  1887 _Charles W. Jones_           Pensacola.

      Georgia—
  1889 _A. H. Colquitt_             Atlanta.
  1885 _Joseph E. Brown_            Atlanta.

      Illinois—
  1889 Shelby M. Cullom             Springfield.
  1885 John A. Logan                Chicago.

      Indiana—
  1885 _Daniel W. Voorhees_         Terre Haute.
  1887 Benjamin Harrison            Indianapolis.

      Iowa—
  1889 J. F. Wilson                 Fairfield.
  1885 William B. Allison           Dubuque.

      Kansas—
  1889 Preston B. Plumb             Emporia.
  1885 John J. Ingalls              Atchison.

      Kentucky—
  1889 _James B. Beck_              Lexington.
  1885 _John S. Williams_           Mt. Sterling.

      Louisiana—
  1889 _Randall L. Gibson_          New Orleans.
  1885 _Benjamin F. Jonas_          New Orleans.

      Maine—
  1889 William P. Frye              Lewiston.
  1887 Eugene Hale                  Ellsworth.

      Maryland—
  1885 _James B. Groome_            Elkton.
  1887 _Arthur P. Gorman_           Laurel.

      Massachusetts—
  1889 George F. Hoar               Worcester.
  1887 Henry L. Dawes               Pittsfield.

      Michigan—
  1889 T. W. Palmer                 Detroit.
  1887 Omar D. Conger               Port Huron.

      Minnesota—
  1889 D. M. Sabin                  Stillwater.
  1887 Samuel J. R. McMillan        St. Paul.

      Mississippi—
  1885 _Lucius Q. C. Lamar_         Oxford.
  1887 _James Z. George_            Jackson.

      Missouri—
  1885 _George G. Vest_             Kansas City.
  1887 _Francis M. Cockrell_        Warrensburg.

      Nebraska—
  1889 Charles F. Manderson         Omaha.
  1887 Charles H. Van Wyck          Nebraska City.

      Nevada—
  1885 John P. Jones                Gold Hill.
  1887 _James G. Fair_              Virginia City.

      New Hampshire—
  1889 Austin F. Pike               Franklin.
  1887 Henry W. Blair               Plymouth.

      New Jersey—
  1889 _John R. McPherson_          Jersey City.
  1887 William J. Sewell            Camden.

      New York—
  1885 Elbridge G. Lapham           Canandaigua.
  1887 Warner Miller                Herkimer.

      North Carolina—
  1889 _Matt W. Ransom_             Weldon.
  1885 _Zebulon B. Vance_           Charlotte.

      Ohio—
  1887 John Sherman                 Mansfield.
  1885 _George H. Pendleton_        Cincinnati.

      Oregon—
  1889 Joseph N. Dolph              Portland.
  1885 _James H. Slater_            Le Grande.

      Pennsylvania—
  1885 J. Donald Cameron            Harrisburg.
  1887 John I. Mitchell             Wellsboro.

      Rhode Island—
  1889 Henry B. Anthony             Providence.
  1887 Nelson W. Aldrich            Providence.

      South Carolina—
  1889 _Matthew C. Butler_          Edgefield.
  1885 _Wade Hampton_               Columbia.

      Tennessee—
  1889 _Isham G. Harris_            Memphis.
  1887 _Howell E. Jackson_          Jackson.

      Texas—
  1889 _Richard Coke_               Waco.
  1887 _Sam Bell Maxey_             Paris.

      Vermont—
  1885 Justin S. Morrill            Strafford.
  1887 George F. Edmunds            Burlington.

      Virginia—
  1889 HARRISON H. RIDDLEBERGER     Richmond.
  1887 WILLIAM MAHONE               Petersburg.

      West Virginia—
  1889 _John E. Kenna_              Kanawha.
  1887 _Johnson N. Camden_          Parkersburg.

      Wisconsin—
  1885 Angus Cameron                LaCrosse.
  1887 Philetus Sawyer              Oshkosh.

HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES.

Republicans (in Roman), 117; regular Democrats, (in _italics_), 196;
Readjusters (in SMALL CAPS), 5; Greenback-labor (in SMALL CAPS), 1;
Independent (in SMALL CAPS), 3; vacancies, 3: Total, 325; majority,
163. Representatives in the Forty-seventh Congress marked with a
[18]; those in a preceding Congress with a [19].

  Alabama—

  1 _James T. Jones._[18]
  2 _Hilary A. Herbert._[18]
  3 _Wm. C. Oates._[18]
  4 _Charles M. Shelley._[18]
  5 _Thomas Williams._[18]
  6 _Goldsmith W. Hewitt._[18]
  7 _Wm. H. Forney._[18]
  8 _Luke Pryor._[15]

  Arkansas—

  _1 Poindexter Dunn._[18]
  _2 James K. Jones._[18]
  _3 John H. Rogers._
  _4 Samuel W. Peel._
  _At Large_—_C. R. Breckinridge_.

  California—

  1 _Wm. S. Rosecrans._[18]
  2 _James H. Budd._
  3 _Barclay Henley._
  4 _Patrick B. Tulley._
  _At Large_—_Chas. A. Sumner_, _John. R. Glascock_.

  Colorado—

  James B. Bedford.[18]

  Connecticut—

  1 _Wm. W. Eaton._[15]
  2 _Charles L. Mitchell._
  3 John T. Wait[18]
  4 _Edw. W. Seymour._

  Delaware—

  _Charles B. Lore._

  Florida—

  1 _Robert H. H. Davidson._[18]
  2 Horatio Bisbee, Jr.

  Georgia—

  1 _John C. Nicholls._[19]
  2 _Henry G. Turner._[18]
  3 _Charles F. Crisp._
  4 _Hugh Buchanan._[18]
  5 _Nathaniel J. Hammond._[18]
  6 _James H. Blount._[18]
  7 _Judson C. Clements._[18]
  8 _Seaborn Reese._[18]
  9 _Allen C. Candler._
  _At Large_—_Thomas Hardeman._[19]

  Illinois—

  1 Ransom W. Dunham.
  2 JOHN F. FINERTY, Ind.
  3 George R. Davis.[18]
  4 George E. Adams.
  5 Reuben Ellwood.
  6 Robert R Hitt.[18]
  7 Thomas J. Henderson.[18]
  8 William Cullen.[18]
  9 Lewis E. Payson.[18]
  10 _Nicholas E. Worthington._
  11 _William H. Neece._
  12 _James M. Riggs._
  13 _William M. Springer._[18]
  14 Jonathan H. Rowell.
  15 Joseph G. Cannon.[18]
  16 _Aaron Shaw._
  17 _Samuel W. Moulton._[18]
  18 _William R. Morrison._[18]
  19 _Richard W. Townshend._[18]
  20 John R. Thomas.[18]

  Indiana—

  1 _John J. Kleiner._
  2 _Thomas R. Cobb._[18]
  3 _S. M. Stockslager._[18]
  4 _William S. Holman._[18]
  5 _Courtland C. Matson._[18]
  6 Thomas M. Browne.[18]
  7 Stanton J. Peelle.[18]
  8 _John E. Lamb._
  9 _Thomas B. Ward._
  10 _Thomas J. Wood._
  11 George W. Steele.[18]
  12 _Robert Lowry._
  13 William H. Calkins.[18]

  Iowa—

  1 Moses A. McCoid.[18]
  2 _Jermiah H. Murphy._
  3 David B. Henderson.
  4 L. H. WELLER, _Gbk._
  5 James Wilson.[19]
  6 John C. Cook.[16]
  7 John A. Kasson.[18]
  8 William P. Hepburn.
  9 _Wm. H. M. Pusey._
  10 Adoniram J. Holmes.
  11 Isaac S. Struble.

  Kansas—

  1 John A. Anderson.[18]
  2 Vacancy.
  3 Thomas Ryan.[18]
  _At Large_—Edmund N. Morrill, Lewis Hanback,
    Samuel R. Peters, Bishop W. Perkins.

  Kentucky—

  1 _Oscar Turner._[18]
  2 _James F. Clay._
  3 _John E. Halsell._
  4 _Thomas A. Robertson._
  5 _Albert S. Willis._[18]
  6 _John G. Carlisle._
  7 _Joseph C. S. Blackburn._[18]
  8 _Philip B. Thompson, Jr._[18]
  9 William W. Culbertson.
  10 John D. White.[18]
  11 _Frank L. Wolford._

  Louisiana—

  1 _Carleton Hunt._
  2 _E. John Ellis._[18]
  3 William P. Kellogg.[15]
  4 _Newton C. Blanchard._[18]
  5 _J. Floyd King._[18]
  6 _Edward T. Lewis._

  Maine—

  _At Large_—Thos. B. Reed.[18]
  Nelson Dingley, Jr.[18]
  Chas. A. Boutelle.
  Seth L. Milliken.

  Maryland—

  1 _George W. Covington._[18]
  2 _J. Frederick C. Talbott._[18]
  3 _Fetter S. Hoblitzell._[18]
  4 _John V. L. Findlay._
  5 Hart B. Holton.
  6 Louis E. McComas.

  Massachusetts—

  1 Robert T. Davis
  2 John D. Long.
  3 Ambrose A. Ranney.[18]
  4 _Patrick A. Collins._
  5 _Leopold Morse._[18]
  6 _Henry B. Lovering._[16]
  7 Eben F. Stone.[18]
  8 William A. Russell.
  9 THEODORE LYMAN.[17]
  10 William W. Rice.[18]
  11 William Whiting.
  12 Vacancy.

  Michigan—

  1 _William C. Maybury._
  2 _Nathan B. Eldredge._
  3 Edward S. Lacey.[18]
  4 _George L. Yaple._
  5 _Julius Houseman._
  6 _Edwin B. Winans._
  7 _Ezra C. Carleton._
  8 Roswell G. Horr.[18]
  9 Byron M. Cutcheon.
  10 Herschel H. Hatch.
  11 Edward Breitung.

  Minnesota—

  1 Milo White.
  2 James B. Wakefield.
  3 Horace B. Strait.[18]
  4 William D. Washburn.[18]
  5 Knute Nelson.

  Mississippi—

  1 _Henry L. Muldrow._[18]
  2 J. R. CHALMERS,[18] _Ind._
  3 E. S. Jeffords.
  4 _Hernando D. Money._[18]
  5 _Otho R. Singleton._[18]
  6 _Henry S. Van Eaton._
  7 _Ethelbert Barksdale._

  Missouri—

  1 _William H. Hatch._[18]
  2 _A. M. Alexander._
  3 _Alexander M. Dockery._
  4 _James N. Burnes._
  5 _Alexander Graves._
  6 _John Cosgrove._
  7 _Aylett H. Buckner._[18]
  8 _John J. O’Neill._
  9 _James O. Broadhead._
  10 _Martin L. Clardy._[18]
  11 _Richard P. Bland._[18]
  12 _Charles H. Morgan._[19]
  13 _Robert W. Ryan._
  14 _Lowndes H. Davis._[18]

  Nebraska—

  1 Archibald J. Weaver.
  2 James Laird.
  3 Edward K. Valentine.[18]

  Nevada—

  _George W. Cassidy._[18]

  New Hampshire—

  1 Martin A. Haynes.
  2 Ossian Ray.[18]

  New Jersey—

  1 _Thomas W. Ferrell._
  2 J. Hart Brewer.[18]
  3 John Kean. Jr.
  4 Benjamin F. Howey.
  5 William Walter Phelps.[19]
  6 _William H. F. Fiedler._
  7 _William McAdoo._

  New York—

  1 _Perry Belmont._[18]
  2 _William E. Robinson._[18]
  3 Darwin R. James.
  4 _Felix Campbell._
  5 _Nicholas Muller._[19]
  6 _Samuel S. Cox._
  7 _William Dorsheimer._
  8 _John J. Adams._
  9 _John Hardy._[18]
  10 _Abram S. Hewitt._[18]
  11 _Orlando B. Potter._
  12 _Waldo Hutchins._[18]
  13 John H. Ketcham.[18]
  14 _Lewis Beach._[18]
  15 _John J. Bagley, Jr._[19]
  16 _Thomas J. Van Alstyne._
  17 Henry G. Burleigh.
  18 Frederick A. Johnson.
  19 Abraham X. Parker.[18]
  20 _Edward Wemple._
  21 George W. Ray.
  22 Charles R. Skinner.[18]
  23 _J. Thomas Spriggs._
  24 Newton W. Nutting.
  25 Frank Hiscock.[18]
  26 Sereno E. Payne.
  27 James W. Wadsworth.[18]
  28 Stephen C. Millard.
  29 _John Arnot._
  30 _Halbert S. Greenleaf._
  31 _Robert S. Stevens._
  32 _William F. Rogers._
  33 Francis B. Brewer.
  _At Large_—_Henry W. Slocum._[19]

  North Carolina—

  1 _Thomas G. Skinner._
  2 James E. O’Hara.
  3 _Wharton J. Green._
  4 _William R. Cox._[18]
  5 _Alfred M. Scales._[18]
  6 _Clement Dowd._[18]
  7 TYRE YORK, _Ind._
  8 _Robert B. Vance._[18]
  _At Large_—_R. I. Bennett._

  Ohio—

  1 _John F. Follett._
  2 _Isaac M. Jordan._
  3 _Robert M. Murray._
  4 _Benjamin Le Fevre._[18]
  5 _George E. Seney._
  6 _William D. Hill._[19]
  7 Henry L. Morey.[18]
  8 J. Warren Keifer.[18]
  9 James S. Robinson.[18]
  10 _Frank H. Hurd._[19]
  11 John W. McCormick.
  12 Alphonso Hart.
  13 _George L. Converse._[18]
  14 _George W. Geddes._[18]
  15 _Adoniram J. Warner._[19]
  16 _Beriah Wilkins._
  17 Joseph D. Taylor.
  18 William McKinley, Jr.[18]
  19 Ezra B. Taylor.[18]
  20 _David R. Paige._
  21 _Martin A. Foran._

  Oregon—

  Melvin C. George.[18]

  Pennsylvania—

  1 Henry H. Bingham.
  2 Charles O’Neill.[18]
  3 _Samuel J. Randall._[18]
  4 William D. Kelley.[18]
  5 Alfred C. Harmer.[18]
  6 James B. Everhart.
  7 I. Newton Evans.[19]
  8 _Daniel Ermentrout._[18]
  9 A. Herr Smith.[18]
  10 _William Mutchler._[18]
  11 _John B. Storm._[19]
  12 _Daniel W. Connolly._
  13 CHAS. N. BRUMM,[18] _Gbk._
  14 Samuel F. Barr.[18]
  15 _George A. Post._
  16 William W. Brown.
  17 Jacob M. Campbell.[18]
  18 Louis E. Atkinson.
  19 _William A. Duncan._
  20 _Andrew G. Curtin._[18]
  21 _Charles E. Boyle._
  22 _James H. Hopkins._[19]
  23 Thomas M. Bayne.[18]
  24 George V. Lawrence.[19]
  25 _John D. Patton._
  26 Samuel H. Miller[18]
  27 Samuel M. Brainard.
  _At Large_—_Mortimer F. Elliott._

  Rhode Island—

  1 Henry J. Spooner.[18]
  2 Jonathan Chace.[18]

  South Carolina—

  1 _Samuel Dibble._[18]
  2 _George D. Tillman._[18]
  3 _D. Wyatt Aiken._[18]
  4 _John H. Evins._[18]
  5 _John J. Hemphill._
  6 _Geo. W. Dargan._
  7 Edmund W. M. Mackey.[18]

  Tennessee—

  1 Augustus H. Pettibone.
  2 Leonidas C. Houk.[18]
  3 _Geo. G. Dibrell._[18]
  4 _Benton McMillin._[18]
  5 _Richard Warner._[18]
  6 _Andrew J. Caldwell._
  7 _John G. Ballentyne._
  8 _John M. Taylor._
  9 _Rice A. Pearce._
  10 _Casey Young._[19]

  Texas—

  1 _Charles Stewart._
  2 _John H. Reagan._[18]
  3 _James H. Jones._
  4 _David B. Culberson._[18]
  5 _Jas. W. Throckmorton._[19]
  6 _Olin Wellborn._[18]
  7 T. P. OCHILTREE, _Ind._
  8 _James F. Miller._
  9 _Roger Q. Mills._[18]
  10 _John Hancock._[19]
  11 _Samuel W. T. Lanham._

  Vermont—

  1 John W. Stewart.
  2 Luke P. Poland.[19]

  Virginia—

  1 ROBERT M. MAYO, _Re._
  2 HARRY LIBBEY, _Re._
  3 _George D. Wise._[18]
  4 BENJ. S. HOOPER, _Re._
  5 _George C. Cabell._[18]
  6 _John Randolph Tucker._[18]
  7 Vacancy.
  8 _John S. Barbour._[18]
  9 HENRY S. BOWEN, _Re._
  _At Large_—JOHN S. WISE, _Re._

  West Virginia—

  1 Nathan Goff, Jr.
  2 _William L. Wilson._
  3 _Charles P. Snyder._
  4 _Eustace Gibson._

  Wisconsin—

  1 _John Winans._
  2 _Daniel H. Sumner._
  3 _Burr W. Jones._
  4 _Peter F. Deuster._[18]
  5 _Joseph Rankin._
  6 Richard Guenther.[18]
  7 _Guibert M. Woodward._
  8 William T. Price.
  9 Isaac Stephenson.

FOOTNOTES:

[15] Formerly United States Senator.

[16] And Greenback.

[17] Civil Service Reform and Democrat.

INDEX.

  A.
        Page.

  A and ap in names, meaning of, 113

  Abaco Great, island of, 179

  Aboukir, battle of, 54

  Acre, battle of, 54

  Acre, rule for measuring, 21

  Adams, John, birthday of, 46

  ADAMS, J. Q.—
    And the Whigs, 19
    Descent of, 20

  Adams, Samuel, 53

  Addington’s fatal flint, 137

  Africa, Sunday schools in, 117

  AFRICANS—
    In Chicago, 23
    In New York, 23

  Agassiz, Louis, sketch of, 143

  Agnosticism, 60

  ALABAMA—
    Gold mines, 57
    Governors and Senators of, 102

  ALASKA—
    Area of, 33-34
    Early history of, 174
    Fur fisheries of, 174
    Natural features of, 33-34
    Alaska, steamer, time of trip, 177

  ALBANY, N. Y.—
    Burning of, 50
    Settlement of, 62

  Albemarle County Colony, 67

  ALCOHOL—
    Amount in grain, 163
    Production of, 171

  Alderney cattle, 51

  Alexandria, Library of, 60

  Alhambra, the, 87

  ALIENS—
    Heirs of, 96
    Property of, 96

  Alloys, fusibility of, 72

  Almanacs, perpetual, 73

  ALTITUDES—
    How ascertained, 177
    Of Western cities, 21

  Amazon River, sources of the, 184

  Amazon Valley, extent of, 67

  Amendments, Constitutional, 129

  America, Central, 94

  America, Sunday schools in, 117

  AMERICAN—
    Coins, 122-123
    Heroes, 61
    Statesmen, 61
    “Knights”, 130

  Americans, foreign born, 182

  Aminta, 10

  Anchor ice, 83

  Anderson, John, 143

  Andersonville, Providence Spring, 121

  Andorra, 58

  Angelo, Michael, paintings by, 18

  Angora fleeces, 44

  Animals, cruelty to, 52

  Antietam, Lee at, 16

  Antiquity of man, 111-112

  Apocrypha, the, 102

  APPLES—
    Largest market for, 178
    Weight of when green, 179

  Arch Rock, Mackinac, 14

  Architectural ruins, 170-171

  Arctic Explorations, 16-17, 139-140

  Arctic huts, warming and furniture of, 69

  AREA OF—
    England, 31
    Ireland, 31
    Palestine, 104
    Scotland, 31

  Argand burner, 183

  Argentine Confederation, 155

  ARKANSAS—
    Descriptions of, 87-88, 131
    Military road in, 6
    Rivers and towns of, 176
    Trees in, 176

  ARMY. U. S.—
    Chaplains in the, 138
    Cost of the U. S., 164
    Highest rank in the, 20

  Armies, British commanders of, 111

  Arnold, Benedict, age of, 34

  Art societies, 171-172

  ARTHUR, CHESTER A.—
    Descent of, 20
    In the Custom House, 118

  Artision well, the deepest, 175

  Artichokes for hogs, 162

  Artificial Brooders, 76

  Aryan race, ancient home of, 7

  ASBESTOS—
    Charlemagne, table-cloth of, 84
    Where found, 84

  Ashler River colony, 67

  Ashtabula disaster, 61

  Asia, Sunday-schools in, 117

  ASIATICS—
    In Chicago, 23
    In New York, 23

  Assay offices of U. S., 67

  “Assembly of Notables”, 122

  Assessments of deposits, 102

  Astor, John Jacob, 13

  Astrological superstition, 31

  Atchison, Gen. Dave, sketch of, 91

  ATLANTIC ISLANDERS—
    In Chicago, 23
    In New York, 23

  Atlantic Ocean higher than the Pacific, 176

  Augustus, home of, 112

  AURORA BOREALIS—
    Known to ancients, 6
    Superstition respecting, 6

  AUSTRALIA—
    Distance and fare to, 124
    Sketch of, 50-51
    Tin mines in, 58
    Australia, South, 51
    Australia, Western, 51

  AUSTRALIANS—
    In Chicago, 23
    In New York, 23

  Austria, wealth of, 142

  AUSTRIANS—
    In Chicago, 23
    In New York, 23

  AUTHOR OF—
    “A Bundle of Letters”, 8
    “An International Episode”, 8
    “A Little Bird Told Me”, 123
    “A Skeleton in Every Closet”, 123
    “A Summer Scamper”, 94
    “A Woman’s Shortcomings”, 119
    “Beautiful Snow”, 179
    “Children of the Sun”, 94
    “Christianity, the Logic of Creation”, 8
    “Church not an Ecclesiasticism”, 8
    “Cover Them Over”, 135
    “Daisy Miller”, 8
    “Famous Single and Fugitive poems”, 129
    “Farm Festival”, 136
    “Farm Ballads”, 136
    “Fax”, 135
    “French Poets and Novelists”, 8
    “From Recesses of a Lowly Spirit”, 157
    “Gulliver’s Travels”, 180
    “Hawthorne, Nathaniel”, 8
    “Hobson’s Choice”, 170
    “I am Dying, Egypt, Dying”, 129
    “Jerusalem Liberated”, 10
    “Little Old Sod Shanty,” etc., 174
    “Mariomne”, 18
    “Millions for Defense,” etc., 81
    “Moralism and Christianity”, 8
    “Naval History of U. S.”, 13
    “Not One Cent for Tribute, but,” etc., 81
    “Opus Majus”, 118