Part 22

_Answer._—Asbestos is a fibrous, white, gray, or green mineral, not easily fusible. The most beautiful specimens come from Corsica and Savoy, though some are found in the Alps, Pyrenees, and Ural Mountains, and in North America and New South Wales, while commoner varieties, such as mountain cork and mountain wood, are found in Lanarkshire, Tyrol, Dauphiny and parts of Scotland. Its chief value is its infusibility, and though it possesses little consistency, it was by the ancients woven into garments, towels, and handkerchiefs, and has in later times become useful as fireproof roofing, flooring, and packing in safes, journal boxes, and around steam pipes. Paper has been made of it, but though at red heat the paper remains uninjured, the writing disappears. As cloth it is desirable, needing only to be thrown into the fire to be cleansed. It is said that Charlemagne had a table cloth of asbestos, which he was wont to throw into the fire at the close of the meal for the amusement of his guests.

HOW TO USE AN INCUBATOR.

ELK GROVE, Wis.

Our Curiosity Shop has explained how to make an artificial incubator; how do you use one after it is made?

“I.”

_Answer._—Mrs. P. G. Gilman, Paola, Kan.; Mrs. L. R. Stanley, Cameron, Neb.; C. D., Kalamazoo, Mich., make substantially the same inquiry.

In the first place be sure to get fresh eggs, which have not been chilled to death in the nest, and sort out all unfertile ones. After the eggs have been in the incubator two, or at most three days, you can tell every egg that is not fertile. By placing the small end to the eye, looking toward the sun, and moving the head up and down, you will see a dark spot floating on the top of every fertile egg. Any egg that remains perfectly clear after being in the incubator until the fourth day may as well be taken out for use or for market, since it will never hatch. Some persons recommend the use of a cheap egg-tester, which can be got by writing to the Secretary of the National American Poultry Association, New Concord, Ohio, but others think this is not needed. The eggs must be kept at a regular heat of between 102 and 105 degs. After the third day take out the egg-drawer once a day and let the eggs cool down to about 70 or 80 degs., but not below 65 degs. Turn the eggs every four or five hours during the day, by moving the muslin frame on which the eggs rest backward or forward a couple of inches, as indicated in the instructions for making the incubator. It is all done in a trice; it will be well to do this once during the night, and see that the temperature is up to proper grade. Be careful that it does not rise above 105 degs., as there is even more danger of killing the eggs by over-heating than by letting the temperature run a little low. After the third day set two or more soup-plates or tin pie-pans on the sawdust in the ventilator, under the eggs to moisten them; and from the ninth to the twelfth day sprinkle a little tepid water on the eggs by hand, in addition to the evaporation from the water in the pans. From the twelfth to the fifteenth day hand-sprinkle them twice a day, and thereafter three times a day until they hatch. The water acts on the lime of the shells to make it brittle. Perhaps it is best not to have any fire in the incubator-room, which may be a cellar, wood shed, or unoccupied room in the house. A writer in the _American Agriculturist_ says: “If any one doubts that pine sawdust in an incubator will kill his eggs let him try it.” There may be something in this warning, but it is doubtful. Study your lamps to learn about how high to turn the wicks, in order to keep the temperature just right, and observe the thermometers in the front and back of your egg drawer frequently. See that the escape pipes in the heater do not slip down so close to the zinc as to check the draft. Better keep them from one to two inches above the zinc. Keep the ventilators open.

When the eggs are hatched keep the chicks in the incubator till dried, anywhere from twelve to eighteen hours, but not longer. Put them in the brooder, or “artificial mother,” which will be described hereafter. Give them their first food when they are about 18 or 20 hours old. Use bread crumbs wet with milk, or corn meal thoroughly soaked, or hard-boiled eggs, and feed regularly at intervals of three or four hours from 5 o’clock a. m. to 9 o’clock p. m. Do not over-feed; give them only what they will eat clean. When old enough give them dry grain.

CERTAIN LUMBER GRADES.

DOWS, Iowa.

Please give the inspection rules for grading flooring, fence-boards, siding, and six-inch, half-round, live cedar posts.

H. H. OBERTON.

_Answer._—There are different inspection rules at nearly all the great centers of the lumber trade. There are the “Albany Inspection,” governing the lumber product of Northern New York, the “Maine survey,” the “Boston inspection,” the “Saginaw inspection,” the “Chicago cargo inspection,” “Chicago yard grading,” “St. Louis inspection,” “Minneapolis inspection,” and several others. The differences at the several Western centers do not differ very greatly. The following grading is according to the rules of Chicago yard grading:

Flooring—A, or firsts, should have one face nearly clear, with but one or two small, sound knots; the other side may have more knots or sap. B, or seconds, may have two to four sound, medium knots, and bright sap equal to 1 or 1¼ inches width. C, or thirds, will allow of three to six small, sound knots, or 1½ to 2 inches of bright sap.

Fencing flooring is good common flooring from selected fence boards, and may have a large number of small, sound knots, but the general character of the piece must be such as to make a good, tight floor, practically free from “shake” and loose knots.

Fencing—No. 1, or common, contains sound knots only, not to weaken the piece, and may have considerable sap, bright, dull, or stained. No. 2 contains black sap, coarse knots, and boards shaky or otherwise defective, provided they are not unfit for coarse fencing.

Strips and Siding—First and second clear, No. 1, must be perfect in thickness, width, and quality, as clear lumber, free from knots and sap. No. 2 will admit of a narrow, bright sap on one side, or one or two knots. A, or first common, if free from knots, may have two or three small sound knots, or bright sap, one-half or three-quarters of an inch wide. B, or second common, may have three or four medium-sized sound knots, or bright sap of 1 to 1½ inches wide. C, or third common, may have two to six medium knots, 2 to 3 inches of sap, or both sap and knots to equal these. Six-inch half-round live cedar posts must be of trees alive when felled, free from rot or decay of any kind, and not less than six inches at small end.

The St. Louis inspection rules for white pine lumber are almost identical with those of Chicago. Minneapolis rules allow 1 inch sap and three small knots, but no other imperfections in first flooring; six small knots and 1½-inch sap in second flooring; 1-inch sap on thin edge, but no other imperfections in first siding, dressed; three small knots and 1-inch sap on either side in second siding. Grading in the Upper Mississippi River towns is influenced strongly by the Minneapolis rules.

HOMESTEAD RIGHTS OF WOMEN.

FORT COLLINS, Col.

1. Does the homestead law allow single men and women to leave their claims to earn their living? 2. If a woman holding land under the homestead and timber-culture laws marries a man holding land in the same way, does she forfeit her right to either claim?

M. SOPER.

_Answer._—A single woman who makes a homestead or timber-culture entry, or both, does not forfeit her rights by marriage, provided the requirements as to residence and cultivation are complied with; but if a single woman marry after filing her declaratory statement under the pre-emption laws, she abandons her rights as a pre-emptor. A party, while having an actual residence on his or her claim, may work elsewhere for other people a few weeks at a time.

BLACK LETTER BOOKS.

PRECEPT, Neb.

1. I saw an account of a black letter Bible recently and should like to know the reason for its value. 2. Please explain the expression “court in banc.”

CONSTANT READER.

_Answer._—The type commonly known in this country as black letter, or Gothic, was the first used in printing, being a copy of the letters used in Germany and the Netherlands during the fifteenth century. In the next century the Gothic style was superseded by the Roman. Books in black letter are highly prized because of their antiquity and rarity. 2. The meaning is that all of the judges of the court in question hear and decide the case: that is, occupy the “banc,” or bench, together.

BIBLE QUESTIONS.

CHICAGO, Ill.

1. How many days were the Israelites in gathering manna? 2. How many furlongs is Bethany from Jerusalem?

A. LEWIS.

_Answer._—In Exodus, xvi., we read that for forty years the children of Israel gathered manna daily, excepting the seventh or Sabbath, a double allowance being granted on the sixth day. 2. The distance is three miles or twenty-four furlongs.

MRS. MARY ASHTON LIVERMORE.

OXFORD, Ind.

Please give a short biography of Mrs. Mary Livermore.

JOHN MORGAN.

_Answer._—Mrs. Mary Ashton Livermore, the popular platform orator and reformer, is the daughter of Timothy Rice. Esq. She was born in Boston in 1821, educated in the Baptist Seminary for Girls at Charlestown, Mass., where she gave brilliant promise of a useful future. She married the Rev. D. P. Livermore, of the Universalist Church, and assisted him in editing a paper of this denomination in Chicago. She was in this city during the late civil war and took a prominent part in the various movements to ameliorate the sufferings of soldiers on the field, in hospitals and prisons. She was an ever active, devoted and most efficient worker in the cause of the U. S. Sanitary Commission, and was one of the ablest associates of that eminent philanthropist, Mrs. A. C. Hoge, in the organization and marvelous success of the Chicago Sanitary Fair near the close of the war. She is now undoubtedly one of the ablest leaders in the cause of woman, in the various movements of the times. An eloquent speaker, a brilliant and powerful writer, a remarkable organizer and parliamentarian, she never fails to command respect and carry a strong influence. She is one of the associate editors of the Boston _Woman’s Journal_, and is recognized as one of the most eloquent lecturers in the cause of temperance, woman suffrage, and other social reforms.

POINTS IN THE ROAD LAW.

SOMONAUK, Ill.

1. The law of Illinois says that any one who forbids or hinders a person while he is working on the public road shall be fined $2. I quote from memory. Who should make the complaint and before what court? 2. What rights, exclusively his own, has a man to one-half of the road adjoining his farm, and what rights have the public?

AMASA C. LORD.

_Answer._—Section 33 of chapter on roads and bridges, Revised Statutes, says: “If any person, after appearing (to work on the roads), remain idle, or do not work faithfully, or hinder others from working, such offender shall, for every offense, forfeit to the town the sum of $2.” It is the duty of the overseer of highways to make the complaint, in case of a violation of this law, before a justice of the peace. 2. In case of the vacation of a road, the title to the land reverts to the original owner, his heirs, assigns, or grantees. If the roadway was condemned for highway purposes, and damages for public appropriation of the same paid to the owner, several nice legal questions would be likely to arise in case of vacation of the road. When land has been given or legally taken for a highway, the abutting owner has the right to insist that it shall be used for no other purpose. The tree-culture laws of most States give him the right to plant trees along it, subject, however, to State, county, and town regulations. These can hardly be called “exclusive rights;” it can scarcely be said that he has any such, so long as the land is used as a highway; but the public have no right to use it for any other purpose, or do anything therewith inconsistent with such use.

FIELD MARSHAL SCHWERIN.

FAIRMONT, Neb.

Who was “Field Marshal Schwerin”?

W. P. JACKS.

_Answer._—He was a distinguished military commander, born in Swedish Pomerania, in 1684. His full designation is Count Kurt Christian von Schwerin. He entered the Dutch army as ensign when only 16 years of age, fought under the famous Prince Eugene and the great Marlborough against the French in the “War of the Spanish Succession,” and subsequently entered the service of Frederick the Great of Prussia. He won the decisive victory over the Austrians at Mollwitz in 1741 which resulted in the cession of Silesia to Prussia; and Frederick signalized his admiration of the great captain by conferring on him the title of Count and making him a Field Marshal. He fell in battle before Prague in 1757, during the Seven Years War, better known to Americans as the French and Indian war, which was a part of the same general war.

CANADIAN TARIFF ON BRITISH GOODS.

CHICAGO, Ill.

Does Canada collect import duties on goods that are received from England?

A CONSTANT READER.

_Answer._—The Canadians did not wait long after securing their virtual commercial independence, through the establishment of the present Dominion Government, before resolving to foster home manufactures by means of a tariff which should serve the double purpose of public revenue and protection to home industry. This tariff by no means exempts goods of British manufacture; indeed, such goods pay much the larger share of the total duty, as is shown in the following table, stating the value of goods entered for consumption in the Dominion of Canada, that paid duty, the countries whence imported, and the amount of duty collected thereon during the fiscal year ending June 30, 1882:

————————————————————+—————————————+—————————————+——————————————— | Dutiable | Free | Duty COUNTRIES. | goods. | goods. | collected. ————————————————————+—————————————+—————————————+——————————————— Great Britain | $41,459,730 | $9,137,611 | $10,011,811.00 Brit. W. Indies | 1,765,024 | 83,700 | 662,514.52 Brit. Guiana | 198,979 | 4,379 | 117,655.12 Brit. E. Indies | 61,403 | 12,279 | 24,774.20 Australia | 1,895 | 262 | 519.36 British Africa | | 204,745 | +—————————————+—————————————+——————————————— Total British | $43,487,031 | $9,442,916 | $10,817,274.20 United States | 32,941,061 | 15,347,991 | 7,073,912.49 France | 1,988,698 | 108,660 | 742,774.93 Germany | 1,331,271 | 148,733 | 338,691.39 Span. W. Indies | 2,122,373 | 13,795 | 943,791.41 Brazil | 1,068,876 | 259,440 | 491,556.26 All other countries | 2,818,123 | 1,569,959 | 1,292,016.95 +—————————————+—————————————+——————————————— Grand total | $85,757,133 | $26,891,494 | $21,700,027.63 ————————————————————+—————————————+—————————————+———————————————

From which it appears that Canada collects over a half more duties from British goods than she does from American goods, while the total value of her imports from the United States is over six millions greater than that of her British imports.

TELEPHONING.

ALEDO, Ill.

How is the telephone operated in the city of Chicago? Give an illustration of how messages are conveyed by telephone. Is electricity used on all telephone instruments? Does each person having an instrument have a separate wire at the central office?

S. GRADY.

_Answer._—In telegraphy the wire between stations is a magnet only so long as the electrical current is passing over it, which is the case so long as the wire is connected with the battery. This connection is made or broken by means of a small lever under the finger of the operator at the transmitting station, known as the transmitting key. While the current is on and the wire is a magnet it attracts to itself a piece of soft iron at the receiving station, known in the Morse writing telegraph as the recording style. The instant the connection between the battery and the wire is broken the latter ceases to be a magnet, and the soft iron at the receiving station springs back to its old place. By this means every movement of the transmitting key is instantly repeated at the receiving station. In the telephone two thin metallic plates or diaphragms are substituted for the key and the soft iron recording style. The undulations of the air produced by the voice of the speaker cause the thin plate in the transmitting instrument to vibrate more or less violently, in harmony with the voice. This plate is so connected with the wires running between the battery and the receiving station that the electrical current over the circuit is entirely closed or broken, or varied in intensity, according to the degree of vibration, while the receiving plate, at the other end of the wire, vibrates in unison with the transmitting plate, reproducing undulations in the air at that end of the wire directly corresponding with the undulations made by the voice of the speaker—that is, reproducing the sounds of his voice. Electricity is used in all telephones of any practical value. In Chicago the main wires and the branches from the down-town offices center at a common office, known as the central station, where, by means of couplings made by the movement of certain keys, separate wires are instantly joined or disconnected. Any one wishing to communicate by telephone turns a small crank, which rings a bell at the central office. The operator at the latter place responds by signal. The person who wishes to communicate generally inquires, “Is this the central office?” Having received an affirmative reply, he requests to be put into communication with the number in the telephone register corresponding to the office or residence of the person with whom he wishes to speak. He may now sit down until signaled that some one at the place called for is ready to communicate with him, or the operator at the central office notifies him that he can get no response from the number called for. Besides the main central office there is a district center in each of the principal divisions of the city, North, West, and South, all under the control of the former. It is not necessary for a separate wire to run from each instrument in the city directly to one of these centers. Several individual wires may unite with one common wire before reaching either the central office or a district center.

THE ALHAMBRA—MUNICH.

MARENGO, Ill.

1. Will you please give me some information respecting the Alhambra? 2. For what is the city of Munich celebrated?

RAY.

_Answer._—1. The Alhambra is the fortress of Grenada, within which is the ancient palace of the Moorish kings. The most of it was built between 1248 and 1354, and though defaced and ruined, the wonderful beauty and skill of its workmanship is still apparent. It is one of the finest examples of Moorish architecture, remarkable for peculiar grace and delicate elaboration. It stands on a terraced hill north of Grenada and overlooking the city, surrounded by a strong wall, nearly a mile in circumference, studded with towers. Passing through the Gate of Pomegranates and the neglected gardens, the visitor finds himself surrounded by beautiful arches and open courts, all leading to the chief object of attraction, the Moorish palace. Though severely plain upon the exterior, within it is exquisitely beautiful, with floors of the choicest marbles, “fretted ceilings, partitions colored and gilt, and filigree stuccos of veil-like transparency.” Slender columns support the galleries, and gracefully bending palm leaves of marble form the arches, while beautiful fountains are scattered here and there. Besides the halls, courts, reception rooms, and sleeping apartments, the building contains a whispering gallery, a labyrinth, and vaulted sepulchers. After the expulsion of the Moors from Spain their conquerors took pleasure in defacing and destroying their works of art, and the Alhambra was remodeled and partly blocked up. In 1812 the French blew up a portion of it, and in 1821 it was shaken by an earthquake. Attempts have been made to restore it, but the sums of money contributed have been too small to accomplish much. 2. Munich is noted for the variety and elegance of its architecture, for its schools of art and music, and for possessing a larger and more valuable collection of art treasures than any other city in Germany. Nearly all its magnificence in architectural splendor and elegance, sculpture, painting, and music, date from the reign of Ludwig I., who ascended the throne in 1825 and during his reign spent nearly 7,000,000 thalers in the embellishment of his capital.

NAVY STATISTICS OF 1865.

WAUKEGAN, Ill.

1. What was the increase of the United States navy during the civil war? 2. How many naval officers deserted to the Confederate cause?

CONSTANT READER.

_Answer._—1. According to the annual report of the Secretary of the Navy, for 1865, there were at the outbreak of the war 7,600 men in the United States navy, and at its close there were 51,500. The force in the navy yards increased from 3,844 to 16,880. This latter was exclusive of about an equal number employed in private ship yards under contracts with the government. During the war 208 vessels were commenced for the navy and most of them completed; and 418 vessels were purchased (of which 313 were steamers), at a cost of $18,366,681.83; and of these 340 vessels were sold during and immediately subsequent to the war, for $5,621,800.27. 2. There were 322 commissioned officers of the navy who “traitorously abandoned the service” at the beginning of the conflict.

ARKANSAS.

MINNEAPOLIS, Minn.

Please give a description of Arkansas and Washington Territory, climate, price of cattle, horses, sheep, and farm products. 2. Which is best adapted to Northerners?

A. H. CHASE.