subsequently wrote a number of other poems of rural life for the Harpers' publications, and in 1873 this firm issued these in book form under the title of "Farm Ballads." Since then Mr. Carleton has written many other quite successful poems, and has had two more volumes published under the titles of "Farm Legends" and "Farm Festivals." He is now married and living at Brooklyn.

GEODES.

DANVILLE, Iowa. Give a description of geodes, how formed and where found. E. E. MOORE. Answer. The word geode means earthform, and is given to round hollow stones whose center is usually filled with crystallized matter, or sometimes with water and silex or sand. They are most commonly found filled with quartz crystals, perfect in form and all pointing toward the center. Geodes with crystals of amethyst, agate, chalcedony, garnet and other valuable stones are also occasionally found. They are supposed to have been formed by the fusion of the rock about a few drops of water holding silex in solution. In the lapse of time, through the influence of external heat or cold, or both, the silex has become crystallized in beautiful forms within its little prison. Geodes are found in the river-beds and also imbedded in quartz and other crystalline rocks. In the latter case, the nodules are of various shapes, but when found on the banks or in the beds of rivers they are usually smooth, round stones, having been worn to this shape and condition by glacial action.

ICE MEASURES.

G. W. Keister, Kent, Ill.-A block of ioe two feet square and one foot thick contains four cubic feet, or 6,912 cubic inches. There are 231 cubic inches in a standard gallon, therefore your block of ice contains nearly 2912 gallons of water.

EARLY RACES OF AMERICA.

ANCHORAGE, Wis. Who lived here before the Indians, and what became of them? How many races have inhabited this continent? G. H. Answer.-There is abundant evidence that the Indians were preceded in the occupation of this continent by a race whom, for lack of any specific knowledge concerning their true name, their appearance, or habits, antiquarians have agreed to call the Mound Builders. The relics which testify of their existence are mounds and other earthworks, pits dug in rocks, traces of mining in excavated metals and heaps of rubbish, utensils wrought in stone or copper, or molded in clay, and the ruins of fortifications. These antiquities show a knowledge of art far surpassing that ever attained by the red men, and also indicate a people whose habits of life and modes of labor were altogether different from those known to belong to the American Indian. They are found not only all through the Mississippi Valley, but also in New York and Pennsylvania, and es far West in the interior as the head waters of the Missouri, while they line the shores of the Gulf of Mexico from Texas to Florida, and abound in New Mexico, Arizona, and the Pacific States. Of the nations who left these relics the Indians were wnolly ignorant, or possessed only

traditionary knowledge. It is believed that they were a peaceful race, not given to warlike pursuits, and that they were overcome and driven southward from the country by the fiercer and more savage Indian tribes. The Indians have shadowy traditions of powerful races which their ancestors overcame in battle and drove from the country, and the first explorers of Mexico found there traditions of a vast and wealthy empire that once existed in the north. Skulls supposed to belong to the Mound Builders have been found, which differ greatly from those of the Indians. As the Mound Builders probably disappeared long years anterior to the discovery of the continent by Europeans, antiquarians have not speculated much on races that may have preceded them and disappeared before their encroachment and conquest.

CALEB CUSHING AND DAVID HENSHAW. UNION, Iowa. On what grounds did the United States Senate refuse to confirm the nominations of Caleb Cushing for Secretary of the Treasury and David Henshaw for Becretary of the Navy? U. G. WHITNEY.

Answer.-When President Tyler succeeded to office on the death of President Harrison, one of his first acts was to veto a bill establishing a United States bank, a favorite Whig measure, and one which the President had hitherto been supposed to favor. This embittered his partythe Whigs-very strongly against him. The Cabinet members, who had been appointed by President Harrison, immediately resigned their places-all excepting Daniel Webster, the Secre tary of State-and published a statement censuring Mr. Tyler severely. Caleb Cushing, who was one of the few Northern Whigs who continued to support the President, was accounted a traitor to his party, and when Mr. Tyler, in appointing a new Cabinet, sent in Mr. Cushing's name as Seoretary of the Treasury, the Senate refused to confirm the nomination. The new Cabinet chosen by the President at this time were all Whigs or at least they were opponents of the Democratic party. The resignation of two of the members of the Cabinet early in the following year, and the death of a third, making a reorganisation of the body necessary, the President took the opportunity in July, 1843, when Congress was not in session, to appoint three Democrats to fill the vacancies. These were David Henshaw, of Massachusetts, as Secretary of the Navy: James M. Porter, of Pennsylvania, as Secretary of War; and John Nelson, of Maryland, Attorney General. The first two of these were positively rejected by the Senate, though after some debate Mr. Nelson's name was passed for certain rea

sons.

NEW ENGLAND SOBRIQUETS.

SCOTT LAND, 111. Will Our Curiosity Shop give the nick-names of the New England States and some of the principal cities? S. J. D.

Answer. The popular names of the States are quite as familiar to the New Englander as the proper ones. It may interest our reader now to learn some of these sobriquets, although they will be found in Our Curiosity Shop volume for 1881. The popular names are: Maine, the Pine Tree or Lumber State; New Hampshire, the

Granite State; Vermont, the Green Mountain State: Massachusetts, the Old Colony or the Bay State; Connecticut, the Free Stone or the Nutmeg State, and the Land of Steady Habits; Rhode Island, Little Rhoda or Rhody.

A few cities in New England have come in for a large share of public attention and fun, and the wits of the past and present generation have not failed to christen them more or less appropriately. Boston, of course, bears the most of this, as may be seen from the following, which are some of the names applied to it: The Hub of the Universe, the Athens of America or Modern Athens, the Cradle of Liberty. the City of Notions, and the Puritan City. New Haven is the City of Elms, and Lowell is the City of Spindles, because of the large cotton manufactories located there.

UNITED STATES DEBT- WATERING STOCKS.

IONIA, Mich. Will Our Curiosity Shop tell us: 1. What caused the increase in the United States debt in the year 1878 over what it was in 1877? 2. What is the meaning of watering stocks when used in reference to railroads? GEO. H. MOCALL.

Answer. -1. The addition of $100,000,000 to the 4 per cent funded loan of 1891 and the issue of $98,850,000 of the 4 per cent funded loan of 1907 made an increase in the debt of about $50,000,000, in spite of its large reduction in other particulars. 2. Railroad stocks are said to be "watered" when they are issued in an amount exceeding the market value of the road. That is, suppose the road was worth $10,000,000, and its owners put its stock on the market to an amount aggregating in face value $20,000,000— that would be "watering," a metaphor no doubt derived from the method by which the vendors of milk are supposed to increase their profits.

FUGITIVE SLAVE LAW. MONTROSE, Iowa. What time and by what party was the fugitive slave law enacted by Congress? J. T. CRANE, SR. Answer.-In September, 1850, the Fugitive Slave Law was passed by Congress. It had been drawn up by Senator James M. Mason, of Virginia, was first passed by the Senate, then went to the House, where it was passed without amendment, and became a law by the signature of President Fillmore. It was not passed by a strict party vote, as parties were then divided, but on a sharp division line, between the proslavery and the anti-slavery factions of the existing parties, foreshadowing the mighty convulsion so soon destined to separate the people into two great armies, the advocates of freedom to be on one side, and on the other the defenders of human slavery. The two prominent parties at the time were the Whigs and the Democrats, or Locofocos. There was also a wing of the Whig party known as Free-Soilers, which was the beginning of the Republican party. Of the 109 members of the House of Representatives who voted for the Fugitive Slave Law eighty-one were Democrats and twenty-eight were Whigs; while of the seventy-six members opposing the bill fifty

crats, the entire Southern vote aggregating eighty-four. With the help of a few Whigs and more Democrats from the Northern States, who generally favored the measure rather from the hope that it would secure peace on this vexed question of slavery than from any moral approval of it, the law was passed.

HAWK'S BELLS.

ARTHUR. ILL. Will Our Curiosity Shop explain what are hawk's bells? M. J. SOUFFLE. Answer.-The term is a technical one, and used by architects to describe an ornament much in Vogue in the work of the thirteenth and fourteenth centuries. It is in the form of a ball inserted in the cup of a flower, and is called by some authorities on architecture ball flowers. It is usually placed in rows at equal distances in the hollow of a molding, frequently by the sides of mullions. It is an ornament very common in old English cathedrals. The name hawk's bells is believed to have been given it because of a supposed resemblance of the ball to the small bell usually attached by a thin strip of tough leather to the leg of trained falcons or hawks in order more easily to trace the bird if lost or wounded.

BRITISH PARLIAMENTARY OFFICERS.

OSCEOLA, Neb. Please answer in Our Curiosity Shop the following questions: 1. Who is the presiding officer of the British House of Lords, what is his title of office, and is he appointed or elected by the Lords? What is his term, and what his salary? 2. Who is the presiding officer of the House of Commons, his term of office, is he elected by the Commons or appointed, and what is his salary? 3. What part does the Premier take in legislation? G.

Answer.-The Lord High Chancellor of Great Britain, who is the custodian of the Queen's Great Seal and presiding judge of the Appellate Court of the House of Lords, is also, ex-officio, the Speaker of the House of Lords. This gentleman is the legal adviser of the sovereign, and the court. over which he presides tries appeal cases from the Court of Chancery, and impeachment cases of the Commons. He is also a member of the Cabinet, and is thus a very important offiloer independent of his position as Speaker in the House' of Lords. He is appointed by the Crown, and theoretically holds his office during the Queen's pleasure. Actually, however, he holds it subject to the will of the people as represented in their assembly, the Commons. For though his posi tion as Chancellor is independent of his Cabinet appointment, custom-which rules everything in Great Britain-decrees that when a Cabinet is dissolved, its ministers shall resign their high official positions also. Of course when a man has given up the office of Lord Chancellor he can no longer be Speaker of the Upper House. Or, on the other hand, in the wholly improbable instance of a ministry remaining unchanged through a half dozen or more Parliamentary terms, the same official would-did he retain health and vigor and the favor of the sovereigncontinue to preside over the House of Lords. The Lord Chancellor is usually a peer, though there is nothing in the laws of the realm to deter the sovereign from appointing a commoner to this position. As Speaker this official has ne title. Members as they rise to speak do not ad

dress him, but the House; he has not the right to decide who has the floor, nor the right to maintain order; in fact he is, as Speaker, a mere figure-head. His salary is £10,000 (about $50,000) a year, £6,000 of which he draws as Judge and £4,000 as Speaker. On retiring from the office he receives a pension of £5,000 a year for iife. The present Chancellor is Lord Selborne. There are also several deputy speakers appointed by commission from the Crown to fill the place during the absence of the Chancellor. The honor is generally conferred on the Chief Justice of the King's Bench and the Chief Baron of the Exchequer. In the absence of all of these the Lords elect one of their own number as Speaker pro tempore. 2. The Speaker of the House of Commons is elected by that body. subject to the approval of the Crown. That is, one of the constitutional prerogatives of the British Sovereign is the right to negative the Commons' choice of a presiding officer. However. no sovereign of these modern days would be rash enough to attempt to exercise this ancient right, but the form of approval is regularly gone through with. The Speaker is chosen for the session, and does not lose his place in the event of a change of ministry. A parliamentary session is seven years, unless sooner dissolved by order of the Crown. Omnipotent custom, however, decrees that this officer, after having been elected. shall retain the position until he prefers to resign it, and when a new parliament meets the Speaker of the preceding House of Commons, if present and willing, is promptly called upon to resume his seat. The present Speaker of the Commons is the Hon. Arthur Peel; his predecessor in office, Sir E. W. Brand, who resigned last winter, had been Speaker during three consecutive parliaments. The duties of this officer are about the same as those of the Speaker in the House of Representatives in this country. As here, he has no vote on questions except in the case of a tie, and is similarly addressed as Mr. Speaker. He draws a salary of £5,000 yearly while in office, and when he retires he is raised to the peerage and receives a pension of £4,000. The Deputy Speaker, who holds his office for life, has a salary of £2,500. These are the only members of the House of Commons who are paid for their services. In the absence of both the Speaker and Deputy Speaker the Chairman of the Committee of Ways and Means fills the office. 3. The British Premier is the recognized leader of the party having a majority in the House of Commons, and is chosen as Prime Minister by the Crown for this reason. He is at liberty to take such one of the chief executive offices as he may prefer, and, with the concurrence of the sovereign, to name the officials whom he wishes to have associated with himself as a Cabinet. The object of the Cabinet is to act as the advisers of the Crown and as intermediaries between the crown and the Commons. They must on all important matters act as a unit, and always in accord with the wishes of the majority in the House of Commons. The Premier, as head of the Cabinet and leader of the Commons' majority. is really re

sponsible for all legislation. He must be made acquainted with the nature of all bills, and if the bills are of a very important nature he usually prefers to introduce them himself. There has been no important measure discussed in the House of Commons during Mr. Gladstone's ministry which was not introduced, with the accompaniment of a long speech, by that statesman himself. If the Premier advocates some measare, however, which the House refuses to support, he must either yield it or resign his office. A disagreement between members of the Cabinet and the Commons, or the Cabinet and the Crown, must always cause a dissolution of that body and the substitution for it of another that can preserve in itself and between the two important parts of the government for which it is required to act-the Commons and the Crown-the harmony which is so essential to the well being of a state.

VULCANIZING INDIA RUBBER.

W. E. G., Grand Rapids, Mich.-India rubber is vulcanized by combination with sulphur at a high temperature. The proportion is six parts of the caoutchouc to one of sulphur. Compress in a mold while still warm, and then subject to a steam heat ranging from 250 degrees to 280 degrees Fahrenheit.

TO COPY FROM COMMON INK.

ASHTABULA, Ohio. Is there any process by which old letters and manuscript written with common ink or writing fluid, and printing done with common printer's ink, can be. copied by impression? PERRY.

Answer.-Any common black ink or writing fluid can be made into good copying ink by adding some sugar or other saccharine matter to it. To prepare, dissolve one ounce of lump sugar in one and one-half pints of writing fluid. Within five or six hours after writing letters or other documents with this prepared ink they can be copied by pressure on damp unsized paper. If old writing be wet with a weak solution of sulphate of iron, to which a small portion of sugarsirup has been added, a faint reproduction can be taken with firm pressure upon unsized paper, with the result of rendering the original much paler than before, as this process simply dissolves the original ink used and transfers it. To copy printing ink, dampen the surface with a weak solution of acetate of iron and press on any paper of absorbent nature.

CHICAGO, Ill.

THE FALLS OF THE ZAMBESI RIVER. How high are the falls of the Zambesi River, in Southern Africa, and how wide is the river at that point? How wide is the cross chasm into which it falls, and what are the peculiarities of the cataract? L. R.

Answer.-The falls of the Zambesi are known to the natives 88 the Mosiostunya, and to travelers 85 the Victoria Falls. Just above the falls the river is 1,000 yards wide; the chasm into which it falls. is 400 feet deep, bounded by perpendicular walls of basalt, and is less than 200 feet in width. After a descent of a few feet the water breaks into a white mass like a sheet of driven snow, and sends up a column of vapor reaching to height of 800 feet above the brink of the falls.

The roar of the falling water is terrific, and this, with the rising cloud, gave it the native name, which means "sounding smoke." The cataract sweeps a long distance through a ravine not over 100 feet wide, and at its outlet, where it widens to 270 feet, there is a whirlpool, over which hovers in the sunlight several concentric rainbows. Just below the outlet the channel makes several zigzag turns, and the bed of the river falls, making three other cataracts, separated by islands, the first about 100 feet wide, the other two nearly half a mile each. The bed of the river then widens on the plain below.

BARTHOLDI'S STATUE OF LIBERTY. CHICAGO. Please give dimensions of the statue of Liberty Enlightening the World," now in course of erection in New York harbor. A SUBSCRIBER.

Answer.-The figure of this statue, which is made of repousse, or hammered work—that is, thin sheets of copper beaten into shape and fastened about an iron skeleton-is 11012 feet high and weighs 100,000 pounds. The uplifted torch, however, is raised 26 feet, and adding to this the pedestal, the tip of the torch will be raised 220 feet from the ground. The pedestal is of stone, 82 feet high. Some idea of the enormous proportions of the statue may be given by the fact that the forefinger is 8 feet long, and 4 feet in circumference at the second joint. The head is 14 feet high and forty persons can stand in it.

Answer. A knowledge of the expansion and moving power of steam dates back to very early times, and the discovery of its practical application is claimed by various nations: but its extensive employment in manufactures and in transportation, and the improvements which have given us the steam engine in its present perfect condition, belong to modern times, and have been made almost wholly by the British and American people. As early as 200 years before Christ a writer of Alexandria, Egypt, describes a mechanical contrivance for producing rotary motion by allowing steam to escape through orifices. In 1543, a Spanish captain is said to have applied this principle to the propulsion of a boat. About the same time the Germans had a machine for raising water by the power of steam, and in 1629, an Italian engineer constructed a mill which was moved by forcing steam from a boiler against the vanes of a wheel. But the first really successful effort in this line was an invention by the Marquis of Worcester in 1655 of an apparatus by which water was raised by the force of confined steam to a height of forty feet. The first patent for the application of steam to machinery was taken out in England in 1698 by Captain Savery. His invention was the first used to any extent in industrial operations, being employed for a number of years in pumping water from the mines in

Devonshire and Cornwall. In all these early inventions, the power was to act directly upon the water. In 1690 Dr. Papin, a celebrated Frenchman, invented the piston, which gave a great increasing power. In 1705 Savery, in connection with Newcomen and another, patented the Newcomen engine, which was the most complete specimen of a steam-engine thus far made. This engine received several improvements, and was extensively used during the next fifty years for pumping water both in England and in European countries. But the improvements made by James Watt, of Glasgow, Scotland, were of so much greater importance than anything previously invented that they virtually inaugurated a new era in the history of steam-power, and have given rise to the popular idea that Watt was the first inventor of the steam-engine, and a very pretty story is told of how its idea was first suggested to him when a boy by watching the steam rushing out of the spout of his mother's tea-kettle. There is no doubt, however, that we owe the universal application of steam-power and the complete and adaptable invention which we now know as the steam-engine directly to Watt's genius. He invented the separate condenser, thus doubling the power of the steam used; the steam-jacket inclosing the cylinder to prevent radiation of heat; the double-acting engine, and the conversion of the reciprocating motion of the beam into & rotary motion by means of a crank; also parallel motion, the throttle valve, the governor, and the indicator, all of which inyentions are still in universal use.

GENERAL BUTLER AND THE SILVER SPOONS. CRAB ORCHARD, Neb. Will Our Curiosity Shop relate the circumstances which gave rise to the story of Ben Butler and the silver spoons? W. C. REDFIELD.

Answer.-The following is General Butler's aocount of the origin of the spoon story: In July, 1862, he ordered all property in New Orleans belonging to persons in the Confederate service to be declared confiscated to the United States Government. Among the property seized under this order was the handsome mansion of General Twiggs, of the Confederate army, who had been in command at New Orleans, but had withdrawn to Georgia on hearing of the approach of the United States forces. To this mansion General Butler transferred his headquarters from the St. Charles Hotel. Soon after his occupation here one of the family servants came to him carrying a load of silver salvers, spoons, forks, etc., and saying that his "old massa" had meant to hide them from the Yankees, but that he (the negro) had "marked whar de silber was buried, an' hyar it all is, sure 'nuff." General Butler used this plate while he occupied the house, and when he retired he turned every fork, spoon, etc., over to the quartermaster's department. He asserts that he has in his possession vouchers to show that all these were passed over to the Government, and how they subsequently disappeared he says that he has no means of knowing. Two handsome swords belonging to General Twiggs, one of which had been voted to him by Congress in

recognition of his valuable services in the Mexican war, and the other the weapon which he used in the Confederate army, were sent by Butler to the Government at Washington, with the suggestion that one of them be donated to Annapolis Academy and the other to West Point, "as exemplars of what base uses may be made of honorable weapons." His advice was not taken. The swords were locked up in one of the Treasury vaults for safe-keeping, and one of the duplicate keys given to the General. A daughter of General Twiggs went to Washington several years ago to obtain these swords, and we think that they were restored to her. On making an application to General Butler first, he disclaimed all personal right to the property, and referred her to the Government.

THE EMANCIPATION IN TENNESSER.

SHELBYVILLE, Tenn. Were the slaves in Tennessee free before those of any other States? J. C. MOADAMS.

Answer.-No. The slaves in all the seceded States were set free on the same day, Jan. 1, 1863, by President Abraham Lincoln's emancipation proclamation. Tennessee, however, was the first State to ratify the thirteenth and fourteenth amendments, and thus to secure re-admission into the Union after the war. It was readmitted, by joint resolution of the two Houses of Congress, July 25, 1866. In accordance with a pledge given to the leaders of the Republican party, previous to the passage of the above resolution, the Legislature of the State, during the following winter, passed an act, extending the franchise to the blacks, so that Tennessee became the first of the slave States to give her negroes a right to vote.

Answer.-It is not a fact. The statement has been made by irresponsible writers and speakers, but it has not any authority to substantiate it. Mr. Buchanan may be not unjustly charged with timidity and irresolution. However, let it be remembered that he was in a very painful position; that whatever course of decisive action he might adopt would be certain to bring down upon him the wrath of one, if not of both, of the excited sections of the country, and precipitate the outbreaks of violence which he dreaded, for he was a man of peace and warmly attached to the Union, and would have been as unwilling to aid the South as the North in any scheme to disrupt it, or to bring on civil war, which he firmly believed would end in permanent disruption. Besides, Mr. Buchanan could not have disposed of the navy on any such plan, even had he desired to do so. The responsibility for this course would have been with the Secretary of the Navy, Mr. Toucey, of Connecticut, had it been taken. Such a charge was indeed, brought against the Secretary some time later, and was investigated by the Committee on the Conduct of War.

It was there shown that the larger proportion of the ships of the American navy had been employed in the foreign squadron for more than twenty years; that the number in the home squadron at the outbreak of the war, in 1861, though small, was proportionately greater than it had been for a number of years previous, and that the dispatch of some of the best vessels of the home squadron to foreign stations in the autumn of 1860 was only a necessary change, made fully in accordance with previous precedent, to enable other vessels to be sent home for needed reDairs. So Mr. Toucey was exonerated from the charge of treasonable action by the committee. As for sending the vessels to Southern ports, that charge is proved erroneous by the report of the condition of the navy in 1861. By that report we learn that all of the navy then in Southern waters were: One steam sloop, at Hampton Roads, Va.; one frigate and two sloops of war. at Pensacola, Fla.; one ship of the line, at Norfolk, Va., and, in the Norfolk Navy Yard, laid un for repairs, two sloops and four frigates. One steamer only, of those at Pensacola, was seized by the Southerners, and they also got possession of the disabled vessels still on the dry docks at Norfolk, but those in Norfolk harbor, whose repairs had been completed, three in number, were burned by Commodore Paulding to prevent their falling into the hands of the enemy, April 20, 1861.

THE BATTLE OF MONTEREY.

DAVID CITY, Neb. Give a short sketch of the battle of Monterey, September, 1846. Did the Americans dig their way through the stone walls and thus pass from house to house? How could they do this without being apprehended? F. L.

Answer.-In May, 1846, General Taylor had crossed the Rio Grande and taken possession of the city of Matamoras. There he remained until September, when, having been re-enforced, the main division of his army, under General Worth, marched toward Monterey. That city, the capital of New Leon, was a strongly fortified place, and then defended by General Ampudia with about 9,000 Mexican troops. The city had been very thoroughly barricaded in expectation of an attack from the Americans, both without and within. Strong forts with cannon commanded the roads leading into the town, and on the flat roofs of the houses were parapets of sand bags to protect the soldiery. The first assault was made by the Americans Sept. 21, on the eastern side of the city, where, after a terrible struggle in which many of the Americans were killed, the troops under General Quitman captured one of the forts and turned its guns against the city. On the following day General Worth's division captured the fortifications overlooking the Saltillo road, to the northwest of the city. This loss was felt by General Ampudia to be such a serious one that he drew the main body of his army from the eastern part of the city to attempt to recover it, but they were met with such fierce resistance by the Americans that they rapidly retreated and intrenched themselves on the Grand Plaza, or great square of the town. On Sept. 23 the American army forced its way into the city, Gen