is best to use water lime, or a mixture of Portland cement or water
lime and quick lime in the proportions of two shovelfuls of the
former and one of quick lime putty to fourteen of fine gravel (or
fine and coarse mixed) and one of coarse sand. Above the ground or
embankment use quick lime in the proportions of one shovelful of lime
putty to six or eight of gravel sand. The proportions depend on the
strength of the lime, which varies according to the quality of the
stone from which it is made. Slake the quick lime into putty ready
for use, mix it partially with the gravel, and only add the water
lime at the last moment before filling the barrow or hod. For the
foundation dig a ditch of the proper size and dump the concrete into
it. Cover it and give it a couple of days to set and harden before
starting the upper walls. Take fence boards for mold boards; make
clamps of three-quarter inch strips, tapering from two inches to one
and one-half inches, so as to drive out of the wall easily before
the concrete is hard; bore a half-inch hole in each and two inches
further apart than the thickness of the wall, and make half-inch pegs
four inches long for these holes. Set one tier of these molds on
top of the foundation all around, resting on clamps at distances of
five to six feet, and with as many clamps on upper edge to gauge the
molds. Now shovel or dump in the fresh concrete as fast as you can
mix it. If the weather is fine you can set a second tier of molds on
top of the first, twenty-four hours, or even eight hours, after the
first were filled, and fill in at the same rate as before, provided
you leave the first molds undisturbed. As soon as the second tier
is filled, draw the pegs from the taper ends of the lowest tier of
clamps and drive them out. Remove the lower set of mold boards and
begin a third tier at once. Leave the holes left by clamps, for the
air to circulate through. A foot wall for first story and ten-inch
above that, with eight-inch for partitions, will make a good strong
building. The outside should have a coat of plaster made of medium
fine sand, mixed with equal portions of quick lime and water lime;
and this plaster should be marked out, before it becomes fully
hardened, into blocks, to resemble stonework. As concrete houses,
like brick ones, are apt to be damp if plastered directly on the
walls, it is best to run in small blocks or strips sixteen inches
from center to center, on top of every third or fourth course, before
filling the molds with concrete, keep these flush with the inside of
walls. Nail inch strips to these blocks to serve for scantling, and
lath and plaster over this “furring,” as it is called, and you will
have dry walls. Have window and door frames ready to build in as you
go; securing them by blocks nailed to jambs, around which pack the
concrete to hold them firm. Level up the course of concrete when
you reach the height for the first joists, and lay an inch board
four inches wide on concrete to rest joists on. Have ends of joists
that enter wall cut beveling, so that in case the inside of building
burns the joists will drop without prying the walls down. Set joists,
leveling them carefully, and go on building wall as before. A
concrete house built in this way is as substantial as brick.
LAS VEGAS HOT SPRINGS.
BATAVIA, Iowa.
Are the hot springs of Las Vegas, N. M., beneficial in cases of
chronic rheumatism? How far are they from Chicago, and what is the
route to them? Also, kindly state the fare.
E. C.
_Answer._—The Las Vegas hot springs are reputed to be highly
beneficial in cases of chronic and inflammatory rheumatism;
particularly in the latter. They are situated on the New Mexico
line of the Atchison, Topeka and Santa Fe Railroad, 770 miles from
Kansas City, which makes them 1,259 miles from Chicago, via the
Chicago and Alton. The regular fare from Chicago to Kansas City is
$14.90; from Kansas City or Atchison to Las Vegas and return it is
$42.80. It is claimed also that these springs are of great benefit
to patients suffering with blood-poisons, paralysis, dyspepsia, and
nervous diseases. In the mountain streams the fishing is good, and
game is plenty in neighboring localities. From this point to Santa
Fe, sixty-five miles, the railroad runs through one of the most
interesting portions of this continent, historically considered; a
region filled with the wonderful ruins of the old Aztec civilization,
the birthplace of the Montezumas.
BASKET WILLOW
LOVELAND, Col.
Is the basket willow marketable in the United States at rates that
pay for cultivating it? If so, how is it cultivated, and what soil
is best suited for it.
I. H. DAVIS.
_Answer._—Repeated efforts have been made to cultivate the osier, or
basket willow, in the United States, but the labor of peeling and
preparing it for the market costs so much more here than in Europe,
where this work is done by women and children at trivial wages, that
it has been found difficult to compete with the imported stock. The
annual importation of prepared willow during the ten years ending
in 1879 averaged $33,000, and the willow-work $170,000 a year. The
soils best adapted for the osier are rich alluvions and reclaimed
swamps. If liable to overflow in spring floods, the ground should
have drainage ditches. It is well to have means of irrigating the
land in very dry weather. It is propagated from cuttings, selected
from the wood grown the year before, cut smoothly into lengths of
about ten inches, thrust into soil butt-end first, so as to leave
only about an inch above ground. Care must be taken not to peel the
bark in setting these slips, and for this reason it is sometimes best
to use a hard wood or iron rod to make the hole. They should slope
at an angle of 45 degrees toward the north. It is best to plant in
straight rows from 20 to 28 inches apart, according to whether they
are to be cut every year or every other year, and at intervals of
six or eight inches. It is sometimes preferable to set in trenches,
and, if the soil is poor, to fertilize with leaf-mold, stable manure,
or bonedust, and irrigate with the soakings of manure during dry
weather. The ground should be kept mellow and well weeded. The time
of cutting should be late in the fall or in winter. The rods should
be sorted into sizes, tied in bundles, dried in the sun, and stored
in a dry place until ready for peeling. When peeled they should be
dried for a day or so in the sun, when if properly prepared they will
be white and brilliant; otherwise they will look dull, which impairs
their value in market. If exposed to cold and dry winds, the growing
osier should be protected by wind-breaks. Dr. F. B. Hough, Chief of
the Forestry Division of the Department of Agriculture, Washington,
D. C., says: “An osier plantation costs about $20 per acre for
cultivation and yields about $100 to $125 per acre.” If this holds
good anywhere in this country, it is strange that osier cultivation
is so generally reported unprofitable.
CHEAP PROCESS OF SILVERING METALS.
WEST LIBERTY, Iowa.
Please give us instructions for plating or silvering cups, spoons,
and other metal articles.
A. H. COX.
_Answer._—Electro-plating is a process that requires apparatus, and
a degree of skill in using the same which render it scarcely worth
while to enter into a detailed description of it. We outlined the
process not long ago, and cannot reiterate it. A cheap and simple
method of silvering metals, that any one can put in practice, is as
follows:
Clean the articles to be silvered with nitric acid, rub them with
a mixture of cyanide of potassium and powdered silver, and wash
thoroughly in clear, warm water. Then plunge them into a liquor
composed of two parts, by weight, of grape sugar or sugar of milk,
two of gallic acid, and 650 parts of distilled water, filtered and
kept from the air in tightly-corked bottles until the instant of use.
After a few minutes take them out of this liquor and immerse them in
another composed of twenty parts, by weight, of nitrate of silver,
twenty parts of ammonia solution, and 650 parts of distilled water.
Repeat this process, plunging the articles first into one liquor and
then into the other, every few minutes, until they are all well
coated. The process can be accelerated by heating either the mixture
or the articles to a moderate degree. Some persons prefer to mix the
two liquors at the moment of use in equal quantities. In such case,
shake the mixture thoroughly and filter before immersing the metals.
The ammonia solution should be of standard strength. If there is any
doubt of this, dissolve the nitrate of silver for the second liquor
in the distilled water, add the first liquor, mix thoroughly, and
add only enough ammonia to clear the mixture. This is the process
for copper, brass, German silver, and similar articles, but before
silvering iron or steel they should be coated with copper by leaving
them for a little time in a solution of sulphate of copper.
THE GUILLOTINE.
FAIRMONT, Neb.
I should like to know who was the inventor of the guillotine. How
was it constructed and operated.
W. P. JACKS.
_Answer._—For many years the invention of the guillotine, the
instrument for inflicting capital punishment adopted by the French
during the reign of terror, was accredited to Joseph Ignace
Guillotine, a French physician, born in 1738, who in 1785 recommended
its use in France from motives of humanity, in place of the barbarous
gibbet. However, there is in the Antiquarian Museum of Edinburgh a
guillotine made before 1581, which served to behead the Scottish
Regent, Morton, who had introduced it into use in that country. It
was used in Italy in the thirteenth century in a form resembling
the instrument now used in France. The guillotine is composed of
two upright beams, grooved upon the inside, and surmounted by a
cross-beam. Between these beams and sliding in the grooves is a
sharp, iron blade, which falls by its own weight with great speed and
certainty, severing the head from the body.
ASSESSMENT OF DEPOSITS.
ANDOVER, D. T.
Has an assessor in Dakota any right to assess money on deposit in a
bank in Michigan?
SUBSCRIBER.
_Answer._—According to the laws of most States and Territories
a certificate of deposit is just as assessable as the money it
represents. Money is subject to assessment wherever it belongs.
GOVERNORS OF ALABAMA.
GREENVILLE, Ala.
Please give the names of all of the Governors and Senators of
Alabama since the admission of the State into the Union, with the
years during which they served.
SEA.
_Answer._—The Governors were the following: William W. Bibb, 1819-20;
Thomas Bibb, 1821; Israel Pickens, 1821-25; John Murphy, 1825-29;
Gabriel Moore, 1829-31; John Gayle, 1831-35; Clement C. Clay,
1835-37; Arthur P. Bagby, 1837-41; Benjamin Fitzpatrick, 1841-45;
Joshua L. Martin, 1845-47; Reuben Chapman 1847-49; Henry W. Collier,
1849-53; John A Winston, 1853-57; Andrew P. Moore, 1857-61; John G.
Shorter, 1861-63; Thomas H. Watts, 1863-65; Lewis E. Parsons, 1865;
Robert M. Patten, 1865-68; William H. Smith, 1868-70; Robert B.
Lindsay, 1872; David P. Lewis, 1872-74; George S. Houston, 1874-79;
Rufus W. Cobb, 1879-81. The present Senators are John T. Morgan,
1883-89; James L. Pugh, 1879-85. For former Senators see “Lanman’s
Biographical History of the Civil Government of the United States;”
it is too long a list to copy here.
BACCHUS—TRADE MARKS.
WILMINGTON, Ill.
1. Explain the use of trade marks. 2. Who was Bacchus?
L. F. HAZELTON.
_Answer._—1. Trade marks secure a proprietary right of a single firm
in the article thus marked. They are intended to prevent an unknown
manufacturer from palming off upon the public imitations of goods
that have acquired a reputation from the original manufacturer; or
they are a certain warrant of the quality of articles bearing them.
2. Bacchus, or Dionysius, was the Greek god of wine, and, according
to the myth, the son of Zeus and Semele, the daughter of Cadmus of
Thebes. At his birth he was carried by Hermes to Nysa, to be reared
by the nymphs. Being struck with madness, at the command of Juno, he
wandered from land to land, attended by nymphs having their heads
wreathed with vine and ivy leaves and bearing in their hands the
thyrsus. To him is ascribed the knowledge of the cultivation of the
vine and the manufacture of intoxicating wine, for in his wanderings
he carried to men of many lands this information. Those who received
him hospitably were rewarded, but all who rejected him brought upon
themselves some form of misery. This hero and demigod was worshiped
throughout Greece, but chiefly at Thebes, with sacrifices of goats
and oxen, and many noisy and indecent rites, until, in 186 B. C.,
the Roman Senate suppressed the mysteries, which were the principal
feature of the worship.
APOCRYPHA AND THE SACRED CANON.
ALGONA, Ill.
I should like to know in what year the Bishops of the Church of
Rome accepted the Apocrypha as a part of the canon.
LAURA A. BARSLON.
_Answer._—As early as the latter part of the first century of the
present era discussions arose among Christians regarding the books
rejected by the Jews as profane, and at the Council of Laodicea
(360 A. D.) the Greek Church rejected all books except those in the
present Protestant canon. In 474 Pope Gelasius convened a council of
seventy Bishops, which confirmed the opinion of Pope Innocent I.,
recognizing the Apocryphal books as sacred, and rejecting some of the
doubtful books of the New Testament. The Council of Trent (1545-1563)
finally settled the mooted question for the Roman Catholic Church,
accepting the “Apocrypha” as a part of the sacred canon. The Greek
Church has much the same books, while the Protestants retain only the
Hebrew canon of the Old Testament.
CHURCH REFORMATION—PAPAL INFALLIBILITY.
DANVILLE, Ill.
Did any reformatory movements or discussions occur in the Roman
Catholic Church before the time of Luther? 2. Are all of the Popes
considered infallible?
JOHN SHORT.
_Answer._—After the union of church and state, during the reign of
Constantine the Great, as the church attained great temporal power
and wealth, imposing rites and ceremonies were added to her service,
and, with these, abuses and corruption crept in. The first great
evil was the assumption by the church of spiritual dictatorship, and
to oppose it arose St. Ambrose, St. Martin, and St. Stephen. Then
occurred the great reform within the church itself, inaugurated by
Pope Gregory III. for the purification of the clergy; and at the same
time came Abelard, preaching liberty of thought in theology. But
the growth of new sects specially characterized the four centuries
immediately preceding the Lutheran Reformation. Of these the
principal ones were the Lollards (1324), the Hussites (1373), the
Moravian Brethren (1417), and the Mystics (1340-1471). 2. The supreme
authority of the Pope in all religious matters has been generally
acknowledged in the Roman Catholic Church from very early times, but
the infallibility of the Pope, in regard to faith and morals, was not
formulated and decreed by the Vatican Council until July 18, 1870.
A COMPARISON OF NATIONS.
MEDIA, Kan.
What effect does the present system of tariff have upon American
commercial and industrial interests of the United States? How do
the commerce and industrial products of the United States compare
with those of other countries?
J. H. VICK.
_Answer._—There are several articles on the tariff in Our Curiosity
Shop for 1880, to which we must refer you; particularly one on
page 149, entitled “The Tariff and the Farmers.” According to high
statistical authority the commerce and principal industries of this
country, Great Britain, France, and Germany in 1880 compared as
follows:
Countries— Commerce. Manufactures.
United States $1,505,000,000 $4,440,000,000
Great Britain 3,460,000,000 3,790,000,000
France 1,660,000,000 2,425,000,000
Germany 1,920,000,000 2,135,000,000
The commerce above referred to is mainly foreign commerce. In the
case of Great Britain, what corresponds to our inter-State commerce
(the trade between the different portions of the one extended
government) is included under the head of “Commerce,” swelling the
aggregate largely, whereas but a small portion of the interstate
commerce of the United States is included in the above estimate
of our “Commerce.” Our fifty million people buy and sell among
themselves to supply each other’s wants, and consume a much larger
proportion of their domestic products per capita for their own
comfort than do the English, French, or Germans. The effects of the
tariff in building up American manufactures are shown in the above
table, and in the table below are indicated some of the effects on
mining, agriculture, and the carrying trade:
Carrying
Countries— Mining. Agriculture. Trade.
United States $360,000,000 $3,000,000,000 $830,000,000
Great Britain 325,000,000 1,200,000,000 805,000,000
France 60,000,000 2,000,000,000 810,000,000
Germany 105,090,000 1,700,000,000 845,000,000
Comparatively few of our manufactures are exported, because our
agriculture, mining, manufacturing, commercial, and professional
classes consume them at home. So, too, the products of our mines are
mostly kept at home, and four-fifths of our agricultural products. If
our foreign carrying trade is not so large as Great Britain’s, our
coasting and other domestic carrying trade exceeds hers. By division
of labor we are creating a world of our own, setting up our own
standards of wages, and modes of living, and are, as a consequence,
living better, enjoying more of the comforts of life, man for man,
than any other people under the sun.
THE JEWISH SCRIPTURES.
ALGONA, Iowa.
I come to you for a little light. In Abbott’s “Life of Cleopatra”
the author states that in early times the Bible was not kept by
the Jews as any other than a vulgar history. I should like to know
whether there is any authority for the assertion.
LAURA A. BARSLOW.
_Answer._—For hundreds of years before the birth of Christ the books
of Moses and other works sanctioned by the prophets (whose duty it
was to guard the people against spurious writings or the loss of what
was genuine) were regarded by the Jews as so sacred that “no one
dared to add to or omit or alter anything;” so Josephus tells us.
An authentic copy was kept in the Temple, while others copied from
it were circulated for use in the synagogues of different places.
A Jewish tradition ascribes to Ezra, after the return of the Jews
from the captivity, and the college of learned men called the “Great
Synagogue,” the collection and selection of writings which form the
Jewish and the present Protestant Old Testament canon. There is no
good authority for the statement in your question.
SHOOTING NIAGARA.
KANSAS CITY, Mo.
Did any steamboat ever go through the great whirlpool in Niagara
River with anybody on board and without being wrecked?
CONTROVERSY.
_Answer._—The little excursion steamer Maid of the Mist, which used
to ply on the Niagara River, between the falls and the whirlpool, ran
through the seething rapids and the great whirlpool of that river in
1861, with the captain and two companions on board, one of whom was
hurt on the passage. It was a foolhardy feat, and came near ending in
the wreck of the vessel and the death of all on board.
THE SUN’S STAY IN THE NORTH.
GILMAN, Ill.
To settle a dispute, state whether the sun stays north of the
equator longer than it does south of it; and if so, why.
YOUNG READER.
_Answer._—The earth’s orbit is not a perfect circle, but an ellipse
with the sun in one of the foci, at a point on the long diameter of
the orbit something more than a million miles from the center in the
direction of perigee, or the place where the earth approaches nearest
to the sun. In 1882 the sun was in perigee Dec. 31, and in apogee—the
point furthest from the earth—on July 3. For several thousand years
to come the perigee point will be south of the equator, as it has
been for several thousand years past. As a consequence of this and
because the earth moves more rapidly the nearer it gets to the sun,
it takes it less time to travel through that part of its orbit south
of the equator than through the portion north of it. In the year 1800
the sun was north of the equator seven days 16 hours and 51 minutes
longer than it was south of it. The sun crossed the equator, coming
north, March 21, 1882, at 12:02 o’clock at night, and crossed it on
the return Sept. 22, 1882, at 10:29 o’clock p. m., an interval of
185 days 10 hours and 27 minutes. It reached the equator next on its
return northward, March 20, 1883, at 5:39 o’clock p. m., an interval
of 177 days 19 hours and 10 minutes. So that the northern hemisphere
had a longer spring and summer than the southern hemisphere last
year by seven days 15 hours and 27 seconds. The Brazilians and Terra
del Fuegans may console themselves with the reflection that in
about 6,000 years they will get even with us, and that in a little
more than 12,000 years from now the sun will linger in the southern
hemisphere a full week longer than in the northern.
AREA OF PALESTINE.
OSCEOLA, Iowa.
What is the extent of Palestine? Where can I get a first-class map
and geographical description of Palestine?
C. M. F.
_Answer._—The area is variously estimated as from 11,000 to 12,000
square miles. The former is Kitto’s estimate, and according to that
Palestine has not quite one-fifth the extent of Illinois (56,650) or
Iowa (56,025). Maps of Palestine, ranging in cost from $4 to $30,
with or without descriptive pamphlets, or geographies, may be ordered
of any of the church publication societies in this city by yourself
or through the nearest bookseller.
DATES OF CONSTITUTIONAL AMENDMENTS.
NEWTON, Kas.
Please give the dates of the amendments to the Constitution of the
United States.
C. A. HERRICK.
_Answer._—The first ten were added before the adoption of the
Constitution, in 1791; the eleventh in 1798, the twelfth in 1804, the
thirteenth in 1865, the fourteenth in 1868, and the fifteenth in 1870.
SENATOR SHARON.
MANLY JUNCTION, Iowa.
Please give a brief sketch of Senator Sharon.
A SUBSCRIBER.
_Answer._—William Sharon was born in Smithfield, Ohio, Jan. 9, 1821.
After preparing himself for admission to the legal profession he
decided to enter the banking business, and upon his removal to Nevada
became interested in mining operations. He is at present a trustee of
the Bank of California, and has great influence in the business of
the Pacific slope. He was United States Senator from Nevada for the
term 1875-81.
THREE BLACK FRIDAYS.
ODESSA, Neb.
What was “Black Friday,” and what part did ex-President Grant take
in it?
ED. S. JELLEY.
_Answer._—September 24, 1869, Jay Gould and James Fisk, Jr.,
attempted to create a corner in the gold market by buying all the
gold in the banks of New York City, amounting to $15,000,000. For
several days the value of gold rose steadily, and the speculators
aimed to carry it from 144 to 200. Friday the whole city was in a
ferment, the banks were rapidly selling, gold was at 162½ and still
rising. Men became insane and everywhere the wildest excitement
raged, for it seemed probable that the business houses must be
closed, from ignorance of the prices to be charged for their goods.
But in the midst of the panic it was reported that Secretary
Boutwell, of the United States Treasury, had thrown $4,000,000 on the
market, and at once gold fell, the excitement ceased, leaving Gould
and Fisk the winners of $11,000,000. There is no good evidence that
President Grant had any connection with the sales. The fact that his
brother-in-law was interested in Wall street operations at that time
led to the charge against Grant by his enemies. The day noticed above
is what is generally referred to as Black Friday in this country,
but the term was first used in England, being applied in the first
instance to the Friday on which the news reached London that the
young Pretender, Charles Edward, had arrived at Derby, creating a
terrible panic: and finally to May 11, 1866, when the failure of
Overend, Guerney & Co., London, the day before, was followed by a
widespread financial ruin.
FORFEITURE OF HOMESTEAD.
CAMARGO, Ill.
Is it absolutely necessary for a homesteader to commence his bona
fide residence on his claim within six months?
G. H. SNEDAKER.