the length, height, and width by 15, if the stack be well packed.
If shallow, and the hay recently stacked, divide by 18, and by any
number from 15 to 18 according to the density of the stack. In square
or long stacks the number of tons is the quotient of the product of
the length of the base, the width, and half the height, in yards,
divided by 15.
3. In loads the number of tons of hay is found by multiplying
together the length, width, and height, in yards, and dividing the
product by 20.
BRAVE BARCLAY’S BRAVE BRIDE.
CHICAGO, Ill.
The allusion to the British commander in the battle of Lake Erie,
made last week in Our Curiosity Shop, when giving the fragment of
the popular old song of the war of 1812, reminds me of an incident
I have read which goes to show that Captain, afterward Commodore,
Barclay, our defeated enemy, was not only a brave but a noble-minded
man. He was sadly crippled in that battle, and having been previously
engaged to marry a lady of rank and fortune in England, after his
return to that country he sent a message to her by a mutual friend,
saying that although his love for her was not abated, yet, as he was
so badly mutilated, if she desired it, he would release her from her
engagement. The noble lady replied “Tell Commodore Barclay that I
will marry him if he has only body enough left to _hold the soul_.”
A READER.
DEFINITION OF LITERATURE.
WEYAUWEGA, Wis.
What is included under the term “Literature?” Is all prose
literature?
H. L. A.
_Answer._—It would be difficult to improve upon the definition of
literature in Webster, quarto edition: “1. Learning; acquaintance
with letters or books. 2. The collective body of literary
productions, embracing the entire results of knowledge and fancy
preserved in writing; also the whole body of writing upon a given
subject, as the _literature_ of biblical literature, of chemistry,
etc. 3. Belles-lettres, or the class of writings distinguished for
beauty or style of expression—as poetry, essays, or history—in
distinction from scientific treatises and works on positive
knowledge.” Which of the above senses is intended must be judged
from the subject and context. Webster further says: “Literature,
in its widest sense, embraces all compositions, except those on
the positive sciences, mathematics, etc. It is usually confined,
however, to belles-lettres, or works of taste and sentiment, as
poetry, eloquence, history, etc., excluding abstract discussions
and mere erudition. A man of _literature_ is one who is versed in
the belles-lettres; a man of _learning_ excels in what is taught
in the schools, and has a wide extent of knowledge, especially in
respect to the past; a man of _erudition_ is one who is skilled in
the more recondite branches of learned inquiry.” The perspicuity of
the above definitions leaves nothing obscure. Prose is the common
language of men, in distinction from verse. All of literature that
is not in verse may be classed as prose, but so may ordinary social
and business correspondence, text-books of science, court records,
State statutes, and city ordinances, and much else which is plainly
excluded from literature by the definitions given above.
“OLD GRIMES.”
MARION, Ind.
Your correspondent, C. N. H., of Chicago, says: “For several years
I have seen notices, or sketches, of ‘Old Grimes,’ generally
without age, date, and other items to identify the real ‘Old
Grimes’ as I knew him. Ephraim Grimes was born about 1770, in
Connecticut.” C. N. H. further states, after giving something of
his history, that he finally “landed at Fort Covington, N. Y.,
where he remained, making shingles, until about 1834, when his son
came and took him to Connecticut.”
Now, I wish simply to say that I am sure that Ephraim “Grimes,”
born in 1770, and living and making shingles in 1834, was not, as
C. N. H. declares, the real “Old Grimes” about whom was composed
the song:
Old Grimes is dead, that good old soul.
We ne’er shall see him more;
He used to wear a long blue coat
All buttoned down before.
I heard this old song sung when I was a lad going to school, about
1825. So that if “Old Grimes” was dead in 1825 your correspondent
is mistaken in stating that he has seen and known the “real Old
Grimes.” Again, the real “Old Grimes” is said, in the rhyme, to be
a “good old soul;” but C. N. H. states that “Ephraim Grimes was a
dealer in counterfeit money, was convicted, imprisoned, and had the
tip of his right ear taken off and was banished the State.” Not a
very “good old soul,” was he?
H. H. H.
_Answer._—The article above referred to, as from “C. N. H.,” was not
published in Our Curiosity Shop. Beyond doubt the subject of the
rhyme quoted was not the Grimes who died in Connecticut in 1834. The
original Grimes was first immortalized by the English poet Crabbe,
who was born in 1754 and died in 1832. Grimes was the subject of one
of his tales in rhyme. Later, the American poet Albert G. Greene,
of Rhode Island, wrote the humorous ballad which has rendered “Old
Grimes” familiar to every American boy and girl.
LORD CHANCELLOR AND CHIEF JUSTICE.
MATTOON, Ill.
What are the duties of the Lord Chancellor of England, and of the
Lord Chief Justice? Tell something of the courts over which they
preside.
READER.
_Answer._—The Lord High Chancellor of Great Britain is the highest
legal authority in the kingdom, the confidential adviser of the
sovereign, and in rank precedes all except the members of the
royal family and the Archbishop of Canterbury. He is a political
officer, and one of the Cabinet, the President of the Supreme Court
of Judicature, and also a member of the Privy Council, a Court of
Appeal composed of the Lord Chancellor, the Judges of the High Court
of Justice, and four other judges. He is created without writ or
patent, by the simple delivery of the great seal, of which he becomes
the keeper, and during his term of office he acts as prolocutor for
the sovereign in Parliament.
The High Court has five divisions: The Queen’s Bench—the Supreme
Court of Common Law—presided over by the Lord Chief Justice of
England, assisted by four “puisne justices;” the Chancery, presided
over by the Master of Rolls and three vice chancellors; the Common
Pleas, by the Lord Chief Justice of Common Pleas, and four “puisne
justices;” the Court of Exchequer, by the Lord Chief Baron and four
“puisne barons;” the Court for Probate, Divorce, and Admiralty cases,
by a president, judge, and admiralty advocate, Queen’s proctor, and
admiralty proctor.
RIVERS, RAILROADS, AND MINES.
BERLIN, Neb.
Please to give the coal area, product of gold and silver, and
number of miles of river navigation and railroads in the United
States and in other countries.
PETER THOMAS.
_Answer._—The coal area of the world is distributed as follows,
according to a late estimate made by the geologist Le Conte:
Square Miles.
United States 192,000
British America 18,000
Great Britain 12,000
Spain 4,000
France 2,000
Germany 1,800
Belgium 518
Rest of Europe 100,000
China 2,000
Japan 5,000
The estimated production of gold and silver from 1800 to 1880 is,
according to “The West in 1880,” as follows:
U.S. $1,780,000,000
Australia 1,260,000,000
Spanish A $900,000,000
Other coun’ts 330,000,000
The railroads of the world were distributed thus in 1880:
Square Miles.
United States 93,000
Canada 6,145
Rest of N. America 1,738
Germany 21,275
Great Britain 17,696
France 15,375
Russia 14,698
Austria 12,160
Spain and Portugal 5,260
Scandinavia 5,167
Italy 5,096
Belgium and Holland 3,910
Turkey, etc 1,870
Switzerland 1,650
South America 6,830
Africa 5,897
Australia 4,350
India 8,611
Rest of Asia 1,203
We have not within reach the number of miles of river navigation,
except by the tedious process of adding the navigable waters of all
the rivers and streams of the world. It may be said, however, that
the corps of United States civil engineers has estimated that there
are 20,000 miles of navigable waters, or waters that can easily
be rendered navigable, in the Mississippi system, and in the St.
Lawrence system there are about 15,000 miles more, under the control
of the United States alone and with Canada.
COPYRIGHTED ILLUSTRATIONS.
CHICAGO, Ill.
Is it right or permissible for one paper to copy engravings or cuts
appearing in another paper or magazine? If not, why?
CONSTANT READER.
_Answer._—Not if the paper, magazine, or book is copyrighted in this
country, as most American illustrated papers, magazines, and books
are. The copyright law is intended to give artists and publishers
exclusive control of their productions. The right course to take
to get the privilege of using copyrighted works of any kind is to
negotiate with the publishers, who will, in some cases, make very
moderate terms, particularly for the use of wood-cuts and other
engravings that are several years old. There is no law against
pirating the illustrations published in European periodicals, and
this is done in this country by photo-engraving and other means,
to an unlimited extent. Last winter an enterprising contemporary
astonished all Chicagoans by loading our newsboys with illustrations
of the still flaming ruins of the Newhall House, Milwaukee, before
noon of the day of the conflagration. It turned out that the
illustration was a photo-engraving of the ruins of a London theater,
pirated from the London _Illustrated News_.
CHRISTADELPHIANS.
PEWAUKEE, Wis.
Please give a description of the sect called Christadelphians.
H. G. PURINTON.
_Answer._—This sect is one lately organized in America. The
principles of the church are thus briefly stated: The Old and New
Testaments are equally important; those who love God in this life He
will restore to immortality; others He will annihilate; there is no
personal devil; Christ is the son of God, deriving from Him moral
perfection, but from his mother a human nature. He appeared upon the
earth as a prophet; He now mediates between God and man as a priest;
he will again appear on earth to reign as a king of the house of
David.
A BEAUTIFUL HYMN.
ANN ARBOR, Mich.
The lines asked for in THE INTER OCEAN of Nov. 3, beginning:
“Those everlasting gardens, etc.”
are from the concluding stanza of Sir John Bowring’s hymn, “From the
Recesses of a Lowly Spirit.” I found it as No. 2,546, in Foster’s
Cyclopedia of Poetical Illustrations. It is set to a beautiful chant
in Baker’s Church Music.
R. B. POPE.
THE GLACIAL PERIOD.
MIDLAND, Wis.
How long has it been since the “Glacial Period” ended? How far
south did the glaciers extend.
D. W. BROWN.
_Answer._—It would be a rash geologist who would undertake to say how
many years it has been since the Glacial Period. Geological periods
cannot be reckoned by years with any approach to certainty. Even
the dates of geological events in the “Recent,” or “Human Period,”
immediately following the Glacial Period, cannot be arithmetically
computed. The order of their succession is about all that can
be established with reasonable certainty. Such events belong,
practically speaking, to an era of which it has been said: “Then time
was not.” In America evidences of glacial action extend as far south,
at least, as Washington and the Ohio River; in Europe to 50 degrees
north latitude, and in some places down to 45 degrees.
LOUIS PHILIPPE.
ARGYLE, Minn.
In what year did Louis Philippe ascend the throne? Give a brief
history of his life and death.
J. G. LEGRANGE.
_Answer._—Louis Philippe, son of Louis Philippe Joseph, Duke of
Orleans, was born at Paris in 1773, and, having held the title of
Lieutenant of the Kingdom since the abdication of Charles X., as a
result of the revolution of July, 1830 ascended the throne of France
Aug. 9, 1830. During the first revolution, in which he fought on the
side of the people, he became suspected of aspiring to the throne,
and, his arrest having been ordered, he sought refuge for himself
and sister in Switzerland. There for a time he taught under the
assumed name of Chabaud-Latour. Later he visited Northern Europe and
America, and in 1800 settled at Twickenham, near London. Upon the
restoration of the royal family, he returned to Paris, and recovered
his estates. Though coldly received by his suspicious kinsman, Louis
XVIII., he was extremely popular elsewhere, and in recognition of his
plain manners and attention to the bourgeoisie he received the title
“Citizen King.” His reign was prosperous, and his wise government did
much to restore France to a state of quiet industry. But suddenly
the cry arose for a reform in the electoral system, and receiving
no friendly response from the King or ministry, the people grew
rebellious. The King used military force, the people became their
own army, and Feb. 24, 1848, Louis Philippe fled from Paris, with
his faithful minister, Guizot. He and his queen were concealed in
Normandy for a few days, and then passed on a British steamboat to
Newhaven, Eng., as Mr. and Mrs. Smith. He died quietly at Claremont
in 1850.
POSTAL EXPENDITURES NORTH AND SOUTH.
NASHVILLE, Tenn.
It was stated not long ago, in Our Curiosity Shop, that the postal
expenses in the Southern States have long exceeded the postal
revenue from the same States, while in the Northern States the
opposite is true. I challenge you to show that this was the case
before the late civil war.
A CONFEDERATE.
_Answer._—That is not at all hard to show. It has been the case
pretty much ever since the government was formed. In the Northern
States the postal revenue has almost always been in excess of the
expenditures, while the reverse has been true in the South. In
1846-7 the transportation of the mails throughout New England cost
$256,464, while the postal revenue collected in those States amounted
to $443,648. The expense of mail transportation in New York and
Pennsylvania was only $384,719, while the postal revenue collected
amounted to nearly double that amount, say $746,933. In Virginia,
Maryland, the Carolinas, and Georgia, during the same time, the
expenditures aggregated $770,044, while the amount received for
postage was but $311,569, or less than half as much. At the same
time Alabama paid in less than $50,000, while the expenditures were
over $136,000; and Texas returned but $3,246 for an expenditure of
$24,102; though Wisconsin, in which the expenditure reached but
$15,043, returned to the general postoffice $56,703, and Iowa, then
in its infancy, came within less than $500 of meeting all the cost of
her postal service. This is a fair sample of how it was before the
war.
WEALTHIEST STATES.
CHICAGO, Ill.
Will you kindly state in Our Curiosity Shop which State in the
Union is considered to be the richest? Say if Pennsylvania does not
rank the highest in the aggregate of products. If not, what State
does? and what is Pennsylvania’s rank?
ENQUIRER.
_Answer._—According to the census of 1880 the four States showing
the highest assessed valuation of real estate and personal property
are: New York, $2,651,940,006; Pennsylvania, $1,683,459,016;
Massachusetts, $1,584,756,802; Ohio, $1,534,360,508. Assessed
valuations are so far from being the true values of property, and
there is such divergency in the practice of the various States—some
assessing at nearly the true value, others at scarcely 25 per cent
of it, and most of them at rates ranging between 40 per cent and
50 per cent of it—that there is no great amount of satisfaction
in a comparison based on these valuations. For example, the total
assessed valuation of personal property for the State of New York
is $322,657,647, when it is generally believed that four men, Mr.
Vanderbilt, Jay Gould, Russel Sage, and Augustus Belmont, together,
own very nearly this amount in bonds, mortgages, and other personal
property.
As to the value of their chief products, the States holding the
highest rank are as follows:
Number of Value of
States. establishments. products.
New York 43,739 $1,080,696,596
Pennsylvania 31,232 744,818,445
Massachusetts 14,352 631,135,284
Illinois 14,549 414,864,673
Ohio 20,699 348,298,390
In agriculture: Value of Value of all
States. live stock. farm products.
Illinois $132,437,762 $203,980,137
New York 117,868,283 178,025,695
Ohio 103,707,730 156,777,152
Iowa 124,715,103 136,103,473
Pennsylvania 84,242,877 129,760,476
In mining: Value of product of Value of
States. precious metals. non-precious metals
Pennsylvania .......... $65,559,576
Colorado $19,249,172 1,041,350
California 18,301,828 .........
Nevada 17,318,909 .........
Michigan 25,858 14,279,437
Illinois .......... 8,911,279
Ohio .......... 8,077,488
From the above it appears that in the aggregate value of their
agricultural, manufacturing, and mining products, New York leads all
the other States, with a total of over $1,381,000,000; Pennsylvania
follows, with $1,024,000,000; Illinois marches third, with over
$760,000,000; Massachusetts fourth, with over $676,000,000; and Ohio
fifth, with nearly $617,000,000.
PENSION-ATTORNEY’S FEES.
TIPTON, Iowa.
Is it true that a pension attorney cannot lawfully charge more than
$10 for his services in procuring a pension? If so, when was this
law passed? It used to be $25: at least that was what pensioners
around here paid.
OLD SOLDIER.
_Answer._—Prior to June 20, 1878, it was lawful for an attorney to
make a contract with a pension claimant for $25 as a fee, which
amount was paid by the Commissioner of Pensions, or on his order,
when the pension was allowed, out of the first pension payment. It
was wholly contingent upon the successful prosecution of the claim.
In 1878 Mr. Bentley, then Commissioner of Pensions, arrayed himself
against claim attorneys, and procured the enactment of the present
law, approved June 10, 1878, making it unlawful for an attorney
to receive a greater sum than $10 for his services in procuring a
pension. This amount the attorney can collect from the applicant and
keep, whether the claim is allowed or not. It is doubtful whether
Mr. Bentley’s well intended endeavors to benefit applicants through
this law have not resulted in more harm than good, as hundreds, if
not thousands, of applicants have paid attorneys this $10 in advance,
and therefore the latter, having nothing more to gain, have merely
filed the applications, and left the cases to take the regular
red-tape course, and be thrown out for informalities or for want of
a little additional testimony, which defects the attorneys would
have strived to cure if the fee had remained at $25, and been wholly
contingent on the allowance of the pensions.
HEADLIGHT OIL.
ALDEN, Iowa.
Please give the composition and properties of “headlight oil,” such
as is used by the railroad companies in lanterns and headlights.
P. M. EDWARDS.
_Answer._—Strictly speaking, headlight oil of the first quality
is what its discoverer, Joshua Merrill, named mineral sperm. It
is an illuminating oil intermediate between kerosene and neutral
lubricating oil, the specific gravity of kerosene being .804, that
of mineral sperm .847, and that of lubricating oil .883. The boiling
points of these are respectively, 350 deg. Fahr., 425 deg., and 575
deg. It is volatile only at very high temperature, therefore, and
cannot be ignited at less than 300 deg. Fahr., which is one reason
why it is preferred to kerosene, particularly on railroad cars and
locomotives and ocean steamers. The headlight oils in common use do
not conform strictly to the above descriptions, being, some of them,
only a fine quality of kerosene. The chemical constituents of refined
petroleum are hydrogen and carbon, in the proportions of 75 of the
former to 85 of the latter. We have not the precise chemical formula
for headlight oil.
UNITED STATES NATIONAL CEMETERIES.
BUCYRUS, Ohio.
How many United States National cemeteries are there, and where are
they? What salaries are paid to superintendents? Are they kept in
good condition?
OLD SOLDIER.
_Answer._—The National cemeteries consecrated to the remains of
the fallen patriots of the late civil war are all well cared for
by salaried superintendents, and are examined from time to time
by competent inspectors, whose duties require them to report any
neglect. Every grave is marked with a headstone; the grounds are
handsomely laid out; the walks, winding among the green swarded lots,
are neatly graveled; and shade trees, ornamental shrubs and flower
beds are tastefully arranged to beautify these “God’s acres,” sacred
to the Nation’s dead. The cemeteries west of the Missouri contain the
graves of a good many soldiers who have died since the rebellion,
in the regular army service on the frontiers. There is an United
States National cemetery near the City of Mexico, consecrated to the
gallant fellows who fell at Chapultepec, and Contreras, and in other
brilliant actions of the war with Mexico. The locality of the awful
massacre of General Custer and his entire command by the Indians, led
by Sitting Bull and Crazy Horse, is marked by a National cemetery and
a suitable monument. The following is a full list of the National
cemeteries, with the salaries of their superintendents:
Cemeteries. Salaries.
Mobile. Ala. $840
Little Rock, Ark. 900
Fort Smith, Ark. 840
Fayetteville, Ark 780
Soldiers’ Home, D. C. 900
Battle Ground, D. C. 720
Barrancas, Fla. 780
St. Augustine. Fla.
Andersonville, Ga. 900
Marietta, Ga. 900
Camp Butler, Ill. 780
Mound City, Ill. 900
Quincy, Ill.
Rock Island, Ill.
Crown Hill, Ind. 720
New Albany, Ind. 780
Fort Gibson, I. T. 780
Keokuk, Iowa 780
Ft. Leavenworth, Kan. 840
Fort Scott, Kan. 840
Cave Hill, Ky 720
Camp Nelson, Ky. 900
Danville. Ky.
Lebanon, Ky. 720
Lexington, Ky. 840
Logan’s Cross Roads, Ky. 840
Mill Springs, Ky.
Alexander, La. 840
Baton Rouge, La. 480
Chalmette, La. 900
Port Hudson, La. 900
Annapolis, Md. 780
Antietam, Md. 900
Laurel, Md.
Loudon Park, Md. 720
City of Mexico, Mex. 900
Corinth, Miss. 900
Natchez, Miss. 900
Vicksburg, Miss. 900
Jefferson Barracks, Mo. 900
Jefferson City, Mo. 780
Springfield, Mo. 780
Custer Battlefield, M. T.
Fort McPherson, Neb. 720
New Berne, N. C. 840
Raleigh, N. C. 840
Salisbury, N. C. 900
Wilmington, N. C. 840
Beverly, N. J. 720
Finn’s Point, N. J. 720
Cypress Hills, N. J. 720
Woodlawn, N. J.
Gettysburg, Pa. 900
Philadelphia, Pa. 840
Florence, S. C. 840
Beaufort, S. C. 900
Chattanooga, Tenn. 900
Ft. Donelson, Tenn. 780
Knoxville, Tenn. 840
Memphis, Tenn. 900
Nashville, Tenn. 900
Pittsburg Landing, Tenn. 900
Stone River, Tenn. 900
San Antonio, Texas 720
Brownsville, Texas 840
Alexandria, Va. 840
Arlington, Va. 900
Balls Bluff, Va.
City Point, Va. 840
Cold Harbor, Va. 780
Culpeper, Va. 840
Danville, Va. 780
Fort Harrison, Va. 720
Fredericksburg, Va. 900
Glendale, Va. 720
Hampton, Va. 900
Poplar Grove, Va. 900
Seven Pines, Va. 720
Richmond, Va. 900
Staunton, Va. 720
Winchester, Va. 720
Yorktown, Va. 780
Grafton. W. Va. 720
In all, there are 315,555 graves under the supervision of the
Quartermaster General, according to a late report, only 172,409 of
which had been identified.
A TRULY REMARKABLE EGG.
CHAMPAIGN, Ill.
SIR: Having read a short time since in your columns an account of a
“Wisconsin hen” having laid a double egg, I enclose the following:
“About fifteen years ago a Mr. Green, of Toledo, Ill., had a hen
which laid an egg as large as a goose egg. Inside the outer shell was
another perfect egg inclosed in a shell, and between the two shells,
two yolks and two whites. It is needless to remark that the hen died
in a few hours. There are a number of people now living in or about
Toledo who can vouch for the truth of this story.
L. W. A.”
FOREIGN POSTAGE.
CHICAGO, Ill.
Please state the rates of postage between this country and Europe
as far back as possible, but particularly the rates in force twenty
years ago.
J. M.