“The Market Book,” “The Market Assistant,” and other works of similar
nature, gives the following account of this now popular cut of beef:
Martin Morrison kept a favorite porterhouse at No. 327 Pearl street,
New York, near the old Walton House. It was a popular resort with
many of the New York pilots, because here they were always sure
of a pot of ale or porter and “a hot bite,” including one or two
substantial dishes. On one occasion, in 1814, Morrison had enjoyed
an unusual number of calls for steaks, and when an old pilot, who
dropped in at a late hour, called for something substantial to
eat, he was forced to cut from a sirloin roasting piece which he
had got for the next day’s family dinner. The old pilot relished
his steak amazingly and called for another. This disposed of, “he
squared himself in front of his host and vociferated, ‘Look ye here,
messmate, arter this I want my steaks off the roasting piece! Do
you hear that? So mind your weather eye, old boy!’” The old pilot’s
companions soon learned to appreciate these cuts, and it was not
long before they were all insisting on having them. Accordingly,
Morrison’s butcher, Thomas Gibbons, of the Fly Market, asked him why
he had ceased to order the large sirloin steaks. Morrison explained
that he had found that cuts from the small end of the sirloin of the
beef suited his single customers best, both in size and quality,
and directed that thereafter, instead of sending him the sirloin
roasts uncut, he have them cut into chops or steaks, as he should
direct. Gibbons’ daily order, “Cut steaks for the porterhouse,” soon
gave these the name of “porterhouse steaks,” by which they became
known all through the Fly Market, particularly as this excellent cut
rapidly became popular in all the public houses of the city. The name
is now familiar to housekeepers on both sides of the Atlantic, at
least wherever the English language is spoken.
SOLDIERS’ HOMESTEADS.
CEDAR FALLS, Iowa.
Is a soldier who served more than three years in the army during
the late rebellion, and who almost immediately afterwards took up
a homestead claim of 120 acres of land, whereon he is now living,
entitled to enter forty acres more in another place?
A. N. WILSON.
_Answer._—The following letter from Commissioner McFarland, in answer
to a similar inquiry from Mr. A. H. Field, of Indian River, Mich.,
answers this question officially. Observe that the answer turns upon
the important fact that Mr. Field entered his homestead of only
eighty acres after the passage of the act approved June 22, 1874,
hence the Commissioner holds that he is not entitled to the benefits
of the act, whereas if he had made final proof of his claim before
June 22, 1874, he would be entitled to an additional eighty acres.
“WASHINGTON, D. C., Feb. 14, 1883.—A. H. Field, Esq., Indian River,
Mich.—Sir: I am in receipt of your letter of the 31st ult., in which
you state that you served four years in the army during the late
civil war, and that in 1878 you made a homestead entry of eighty
acres—all that you could get in that locality—and have lived on
the same ever since, and made final proof. You ask if you are not
entitled to an additional entry of eighty acres. In reply, I have to
state that _you are not_. The homestead act of June 8, 1872, provides
that any soldier who served for ninety days in the army during the
war of the rebellion, and was honorably discharged, who may have
_heretofore_ entered under the homestead laws a less quantity than
160 acres, shall be permitted to enter a sufficient quantity of land,
which, added to that embraced in the original entry, shall not exceed
160 acres. Such provision was carried into the Revised Statutes of
the United States (Sec. 2306), which statutes were approved June 22,
1874, and since that date if such a soldier elects to enter a less
amount of land than 160 acres, he must abide by his election. Very
respectfully,
“A. C. MCFARLAND, Commissioner.”
Mr. Field writes to THE INTER OCEAN, inclosing this letter from the
Commissioner of the General Land Office, and complaining that this
law inflicts a hardship on him and other soldiers in the late war,
who, like himself, deferred their entries until after the passage of
the above act. He says: “It seems that it is unfortunate for me, as
an old soldier, that I did not locate my land previous to June, 1874.
I ought to be entitled to eighty acres of land more as well as any
other class of soldiers.” Whether this complaint is or is not well
founded, the fact remains that the law is as above stated.
FINDING ONE’S POSITION AT SEA.
PLYMOUTH, Wis.
By what method do sailors at sea determine their exact position?
DOBS.
_Answer._—The mariner determines his latitude by observing the
meridian altitude of a celestial star whose declination or distance
from the equator is known. In the northern hemisphere for an
approximate answer the pole star is generally taken, the altitude
of which is nearly the latitude of the place. If an observer were
standing upon the equator and looking to the north he would see the
pole star on the horizon, with no altitude. If he should move three
degrees north the pole star would have an altitude corresponding.
At Chicago it is above the horizon about 41 degrees 50 minutes,
corresponding to the latitude of this city. Owing to the apparent
revolution of the pole star about a central axis, which is the true
pole of the heavens, the accurate latitude can only be obtained by
observing its least and greatest altitude and taking one-half their
sum. The longitude of any place computed from Greenwich, Washington,
or other prime meridian, is easily determined by observing the
Greenwich or Washington time when the sun passes the zenith meridian.
In other words, knowing the difference in time between Greenwich and
the place of observation, the longitude of the place may be readily
computed. A difference of time amounting to one hour represents 15
degrees of longitude east or west, as the case may be. The difference
in time between Chicago and Washington is forty-three minutes, which
makes the longitude of Chicago 10 degrees 45 minutes, reckoning
from the legal prime meridian of the United States, which is that
of Washington. Every ship carries a marine chronometer, which is a
time-keeper of the most careful construction, whose accuracy has been
tested with the utmost precision—which is plainly a matter of the
utmost importance to a vessel when it is remembered that an error
of four seconds of time represents about one and one-tenth statute
miles, enough to wreck a ship on a lee shore when the captain,
following the chronometer, supposed himself at a safe distance from
the shoal or shore.
YEARS FOR PRESIDENTIAL ELECTION.
STREATOR, Ill.
Is there any easy rule for finding the years on which Presidential
elections have been held or are to be held?
A. C.
_Answer._—Every year divisible by four, without exception, is the
year for the election of President and Vice President of the United
States.
U. S. BONDED DEBT—WHEN PAYABLE.
BARTON, Wis.
When and in what sums does the bonded debt of the United States
fall due?
W. MUNGER.
_Answer._—Several of the later issues of bonds are payable at the
pleasure of the government, but the following cannot be redeemed
except by purchase in the market until specified dates. Four per
cents payable July 1, 1907, $738,829,600; 4½ per cents payable Sept.
1, 1891, $250,000,000; Pacific Railway 6’s payable Sept. 1, 1895,
$3,002,000; Pacific Railway 6’s payable Sept. 1, 1896, $8,000,000;
Pacific Railway 6’s payable Sept 1, 1897, $9,712,000; Pacific Railway
6’s payable Sept. 1, 1898, $29,383,000; Pacific Railway 6’s payable
Sept. 1, 1899, $14,526,512.
THE SIGNS OF THE ZODIAC.
GENEVA, N. Y.
Who first devised the signs of the zodiac, and for what purpose?
CHAS. W. SMITH.
_Answer._—Representations of the zodiacal signs are found among
the ancient writings of the Hindoos, Persians, and Chinese, and
among the carvings on the ruins of Egyptian temples. There is such
a degree of similarity in the characters that a common origin must
be supposed. The signs of the zodiac embrace the twelve important
constellations, which, owing to the motions of the earth, appear to
revolve through the heavens within a belt extending nine degrees
on each side of the sun’s apparent annual path, and within or near
which all the planets revolve. Since the sun appears successively
in each of these twelve constellations during the year, the zodiac
was divided into twelve equal parts, corresponding to the months.
These signs and their subdivisions were used in measuring time and
as the basis of astronomical and astrological calculations and
predictions. Astronomers now, for convenience, use the same signs,
giving to each constellation an extent of thirty degrees, although
the constellations vary in size. These signs are Aries representing
the ram; Taurus, the bull; Gemini, the twins; Cancer, the crab;
Leo, the lion; Virgo, the virgin; Libra, the balance; Scorpio, the
scorpion; Sagittarius, the archer; Capricornus, the goat; Aquarius,
the water-bearer; and Pisces, the fishes. On the 20th of March the
sun enters Aries, and at midnight Virgo, the opposite constellation,
will be overhead. During the month of April the sun will pass
into Taurus, and at midnight Libra will be overhead. The early
astronomers were astrologers, and claimed to be able to predict the
future careers of individuals and nations by observing the positions
and movements of the planets, and condition of the weather, at the
most important periods of men’s lives. A man born when the sun was in
the constellation Scorpio was believed to be naturally bent toward
excessive indulgence of the animal passions; one born when the sun
was in Aries was destined to be a great scholar or ruler; one born
when the sun was in Pisces was predestined to grovel or be a servant,
and so on. All this is regarded now as exploded superstition, except
by fortune-tellers and their dupes.
AREAS OF ENGLAND, SCOTLAND, AND IRELAND.
HOUGHTON, Mich.
What are the areas of England, Ireland, Scotland, and Wales? Also,
what is the area of the county of Cornwall?
W. J. UREN.
_Answer._—England has an area of 50,914 square miles, or 32,584,735
acres; Ireland, 32,524 square miles, or 20,815,460 acres; Scotland,
30,462 square miles, or 19,496,132 acres; Wales, 7,397 square miles,
or 4,734,486 acres. The county of Cornwall contains 1,390 square
miles, or an acreage of 869,898.
TO SELECT HOUDAN FOWLS.
CLINTON, Iowa.
By what marks can I tell Houdan fowls I am about to purchase a
pair, if they are what they are represented to be—of pure breed.
J. ALLEN.
_Answer._—Houdans stand and walk erectly; the males weigh from eight
to nine pounds; the hens from five to seven pounds. They are lumpy in
shape, are evenly speckled white and brown, with large comb, crest,
and beard. Refuse any that have not pink-white feet, black and white
plumage, and good crests.
THE FIRST CABLE MESSAGE.
FAIRPOINT, Minn.
What was the first message sent on the Atlantic cable?
FRANK PALMER.
_Answer._—The first message on the Atlantic cable of 1858, which soon
proved a failure, was a congratulatory dispatch from Queen Victoria
to President Buchanan. The first message on the successful cable
completed in 1866 was the announcement of the treaty of peace between
Prussia and Austria.
PRINCE NAPOLEON.
AURORA, Ill.
Will Our Curiosity Shop tell us what relation the Prince Jerome
Bonaparte, lately arrested in France for issuing an insurrectionary
proclamation, bears to Napoleon I. and oblige many readers?
T.
_Answer._—Jerome Bonaparte, the father of this Prince Jerome, was
the youngest brother of Napoleon I. In 1803, when he was only 18
years of age, he married Miss Elizabeth Patterson, of Baltimore. This
act was displeasing to Napoleon, who passed a decree annulling the
marriage on the ground that his brother was not of age and the bans
were not published in France. Soon after the return of Jerome to his
native country he was made King of Westphalia, and at the suggestion
of Napoleon, married Catherine, daughter of the King of Wurtemburg.
Of this marriage three children were born—Jerome Napoleon, in 1814,
who died in 1847; Napoleon Joseph Charles Paul, the subject of this
sketch, in 1822, who afterward took his elder brother’s name, and
the Princess Mathilde. The Prince first came into prominence by his
denunciation of the government of Louis Philippe and his sympathy
with the revolutionists, which caused his banishment in 1845. But,
in 1848, he returned and participated in the revolution. In 1852
he took his seat in the Senate and Council of State, receiving the
title of Prince and being declared by decree of the Senate the heir
of his cousin, Napoleon III., in case the latter should die without
issue. He took part in the Crimean war, commanding a reserve force at
Alma and at Inkerman. Before the close of the war he was recalled,
ostensibly on account of his health, and soon entered upon the
duties of several important civil offices. In 1859 he was married
to Princess Clothilde, daughter of the late Victor Emanuel, King of
Italy, by whom he has three children. In 1861 he visited the United
States, and, with his suite and the French Minister, accompanied
the Army of the Potomac, pushing as far South as Richmond. After
his return he sympathized to a certain extent with the democratic
feeling arising in France. For this seeming absurdity he was given
the name Plon-Plon. In 1876 he was returned to the French Assembly
from Corsica, but in the year following he was rejected. On the death
of the Prince Imperial, as the son of Napoleon III. is called, in
Zululand, in 1879, Jerome became the head of the Bonaparte family.
He was not popular with a majority of the leading Bonapartists,
many of whom refused to acknowledge him as their chief, and urged
the proclamation of the elder of Jerome’s two sons as the heir of
Napoleon III. Of late, however, there has been a reconciliation
between the ex-Empress Eugenie and Jerome, and the Bonapartists
generally seem disposed to acquiesce; so that, in case of the
Bonaparte’s coming to the front once more, his title of Prince may
become something more than an empty sound.
THE CORN CROP ESTIMATES FOR 1882.
DUNLAP, Iowa.
How much corn was produced in 1882? Are there any reliable
statistics on the subject?
W. H. DEDRICK.
_Answer._—According to the report of the Department of Agriculture
the corn crop of 1882 amounted to 1,624,917,800 bushels. These
figures have been questioned, but they are based on the estimates
of about 1,500 agricultural observers and reporters employed by the
bureau, and they are generally conceded to be a fair estimate. Of
course, all our crop statistics are only estimates.
CEDAR COUNTY, NEBRASKA.
MELON, Iowa.
Please give a short description of Cedar County Nebraska.
SUBSCRIBER.
_Answer._—This county lies on the northern boundary of the State,
being washed by the Missouri River and drained by the several
branches of the Bow and Beaver Creeks. In many portions the land is
very rich and yields abundantly wheat, corn, and other cereals. In
1879 the corn crop of Cedar County amounted to 2,826,259 bushels, or
40 bushels per acre, which was the largest yield of any county in the
State. Orchards of choice fruit trees have been set out and thrive
well. The climate is like that of Southern Dakota and Northwestern
Iowa, very warm in summer and cold in winter, which latter, from the
dryness of the climate, is rendered more endurable than a higher
temperature in some of the more Eastern States. The population in
1880 was 2,899. St. Helena, the county seat, is a thriving little
town of 300 inhabitants.
THE SITE OF EDEN.
WESTFIELD, Wis.
In Our Curiosity Shop of Jan. 11, C. A. Sharp asks for the location
of the Garden of Eden. The Bible tells us that “a river went out of
Eden to water the garden, and from thence it was parted and became
into four heads.” It then proceeds to give them in the order of
distance above the mouth of the Euphrates. But one of these rivers
is now known by its original name, and that is the Euphrates. Let
us, therefore, go down that and see if we can find the other three
tributary to it that will agree with the narrative. The first is a
large stream from the north. We at once recognize it as the Hiddekel.
This is the third river, and its head is far to the north, as is also
that of the Euphrates. The text says, “it goeth toward the east of
Assyria.” The marginal reading, I think, will be found to explain
this. It says “it goeth east to Assyria,” and the great Assyrian
Empire was upon it. As we go down these united rivers we find a
considerable stream from the northeast, the head of which is in the
mountains toward the Caspian Sea. If this is the second river, the
Gihon, the text says it “compasseth the whole land of Ethiopia.” This
expression has doubtless led to much confusion, as the mind has been
turned to Ethiopia, in Africa, and which seemed irreconcilable with
the text. But turn to the passage and we find the marginal reading
to be Cush, and Cush, or Cutha, was a country east of the Hiddekel,
through which this stream flows. We turn again to the narrative and
it says the first river is the Pison, and that it compasseth the land
of Havilah, where there is gold and precious stones. After leaving
the mouth of the second river, the Gihon, we find a stream having
its head in the mountains east of the Persian Gulf, and also a place
called Havilah. The country abounds in precious stones and valuable
minerals, and this, with the other three rivers, seems to fill the
conditions of the text. We will now hastily review the above to see
more clearly its coincidence with the account as given by Moses 2,500
years afterward, in the second chapter of Genesis. A river went out
of Eden to water the garden, and from thence it was parted into four
heads. The name of the first is Pison, etc.; this we find in the
stream coming from Persia, which fulfills its conditions. The second
is the Gihon; it too coming from the land of Cush agrees with the
text. The third, the Hiddekel, all admit to be the modern Tigris and
its connections with Assyria agree well with the record. The fourth
is the Euphrates, which flows as of old. But was there a place called
Eden from which these streams flowed? Turn to Isa. xxxvii., 12, in
the blasphemous letter sent to King Hezekiah by the commander of the
Assyrian army, and among the nations he has destroyed is Eden, which
from its connections with the other nations is supposed to have been
near the junction of the third and fourth rivers. And in the list of
nations trading with Tyre we find Eden connected with the nations in
the same vicinity. See Ezekiel xxiii., 23. Here then, at no great
distance above the Persian Gulf, near 30 degrees north latitude, in
a mild climate on a noble river, we may look for the home of the
progenitors of our race.
E. H. FISHER.
OVER 2,700 COUNTIES.
TOPEKA, Kan.
I have just read a statement in a newspaper that there are 2,400
counties in the United States, which is doubted. We therefore ask
THE INTER OCEAN to give us the facts.
R. E. HINCKLEY.
_Answer._—This is an understatement, since in 1880, according to the
census, there were 2,671 counties in the United States, including the
fifty-nine in Louisiana, locally called parishes. Here is the full
list of States and Territories:
No. of
States. Counties
Alabama 66
Arkansas 75
California 53
Colorado 32
Connecticut 8
Delaware 3
Florida 45
Georgia 137
Illinois 102
Indiana 92
Iowa 99
Kansas 113
Kentucky 117
Louisiana 59
Maine 16
Maryland 24
Massachusetts 14
Michigan 82
Minnesota 86
Mississippi 75
Missouri 117
Nebraska 80
Nevada 17
New Hampshire 10
New Jersey 21
New York 60
North Carolina 94
Ohio 88
Oregon 26
Pennsylvania 67
Rhode Island 5
South Carolina 33
Tennessee 94
Texas 232
Vermont 14
Virginia 99
West Virginia 54
Wisconsin 63
—————
2,472
Territories.
Arizona 7
Dakota 94
Idaho 13
Montana 11
New Mexico 14
Utah 27
Washington 25
Wyoming 7
Dis. of Columbia 1
—————
Total 2,671
There have been a number of new counties organized since the census
year, particularly in Dakota, Nebraska, Kansas, Texas, and other
States and Territories where the settlement of the country is
proceeding most rapidly. There are now about 2,730 counties in the
United States.
CARDINAL WOLSEY.
_Colfax_, Ind.
Please give a short biography of Cardinal Wolsey.
SAMUEL SMITH.
_Answer._—Thomas Wolsey, the wily, skillful statesman and ambitious
Cardinal, whose life was so intimately associated with that of the
profligate king, Henry VIII., studied theology at Oxford, and in
1500, at the age of 29, took holy orders and became the rector at
Lymington. He was introduced into the royal court of Henry VII. as
chaplain, in which office he obtained the confidence of the king,
and was often consulted in important state affairs. His successful
diplomacy at the court of the Emperor Maximilian secured for him,
as a reward, the deanery of Lincoln. When Henry VIII. ascended
the throne he employed Wolsey as his almoner. With the talents of
a skillful diplomat, the ambitious priest obtained an influence
over this monarch even greater than he had previously held over
his royal father. In 1514 he was appointed Archbishop of York, and
in the following year became Lord Chancellor of England. The Pope
was not unmindful of his able supporter, who in the same year that
he became Chancellor was clothed in the resplendent robes of a
cardinal. Four years after he became legate. In the height of his
power he was the virtual sovereign of the kingdom, and in addition
he exercised throughout England and its dependencies, and to some
extent beyond these boundaries, nearly all the prerogatives of the
sovereign pontiff. His income was scarcely surpassed by that of the
king himself. Princes and even monarchs were among the suppliants for
his favor and influential offices. He aspired to sit on the papal
throne, and twice it seemed as if he would realize this aspiration,
but he was defeated through the intrigues and power of Charles V.,
whose elevation to the imperial throne, left vacant by the death of
the Emperor Maximilian, he had opposed in behalf of Henry VIII. His
almost regal power continued until Henry desired to put away his
wife, Catharine, aunt of Charles V., when Wolsey’s dilatoriness in
securing the divorce exasperated the king, and upon his refusing to
sanction Henry’s marriage with Anne Boleyn, he was soon dismissed
in disgrace. He was stripped of all his honors and estates, but
was suffered to retain his episcopal see of Winchester until the
following year, 1530, when a conspiracy against the king’s life
having been discovered, Wolsey was arrested us an abettor. He was on
his way to London to undergo trial on a charge of treason, when he
fell ill and died Nov. 29, 1530, at the Monastery of Leicester. Among
his last words were the following addressed to the Lord Lieutenant
of the Tower: “Master Kyngston, if I had served my God as diligently
as I have done the king, He would not have given me over in my gray
hairs.” As paraphrased by Shakespeare, these last words of the fallen
Cardinal are now immortal.
ALASKA.
ROCK ISLAND, Ill.
How does Alaska compare in size with New York State or Illinois;
and what are its principal natural characteristics?
A. N. BROWN.