such a phenomenon could occur? If yes, how is it explained? MANY SUBSCRIBERS. Answer.-Some time ago the "Curiosity Shop" gave two instances of the growth of human hair after death. The Scientific American was our authority for both statements. In one case the hair protruded through open joints of the coffin. The hair of the head was found to measure eighteen inches, the whiskers eight inches, and the hair on the breast five to six inches. The man had been shaved before being buried. In 1847 a similar circumstance occurred in Mercer County, Pa. Perhaps some of our readers can give further information on the subject.

WATCH OIL.

BERRIEN CENTER, Mich., Jan. 2, 1880. Please state what kind of oil watch and clock-makers use to oil the works of a clock.

IKE HESS. Answer.-Put one ounce pure olive oil in a tumbler, add two ounces of 96 per cent alcohol, stirring well; set it away in a dark plaee for twenty-four hours or more, well covered; then pour into a clean bottle, containing ten ounces distilled or clean rain water. Shake violently for five minutes, allow the mixture to stand half an hour or so, then freeze with salt and ice. You will find a good article of limpid watch oil, perfectly fluid at top. Draw off with a siphon.

SAILING ROUND THE WORLD-HOW DAYS ARE "LOST" AND "PICKED UP."

CAMP POINT, Ill., Dec. 30, 1879. Will you please give your opinion in your next paper on this question? The question is this: Suppose that two men started to sail around the world (or globe). Say they sail from any point on the Atlantic, one sailing east and the other sailing west until they meet. Supposing that they met exactly at the same point, would there be twenty-four hours', or one day's, time difference with those two men?-viz., would it be Monday noon with one and Tuesday noon with the other? If so, how does it occur that one has gained a day on the other? Please give all the light you can on this question in your next issue. By so doing you will very much oblige JOHN F. HARTICK.

Answer.-We have had this question up in various forms before, and disposed of it, but at intervals it comes round again in a little different form. There are 360 degrees of longitude in the entire circle of the earth. As the world rotates on its axis in 24 hours, 1-24th of 360 degrees, which equals 15 degrees, corresponds to a difference of one hour in time. Now, imagine a ship sailing from New York eastward. When it has reached a point 15 deg. east of New York, the sun will come to the noon line (or meridian) one hour sooner than at New York. When it has

reached to 30 deg. of longitude east of New York, it will be noon on shipboard two hours earlier than at New York, and so on, until when it is 180 deg. east of that city, when it will be noon on shipboard twelve hours earlier than at New York. Now,imagine another ship sailing from New York westward. It is easy to comprehend that for every 15 deg. in that direction there will be a difference of one hour later in the time of the sun's coming to the noon line, and at 180 west of New York it will not be noon on the ship until twelve hours after it was noon in New York. If the two ships meet at this point, the one will have gained twelve hours and the other will have lost twelve hours, and if there were no rule cf navigation to regulate their calendars one crew would insist on calling the time noon of one day, while the other would insist that it was noon of the day before or day after. The rule of the calendar-makers and all navigators is to drop out a day for the lost day when a ship crosses the 180th deg. of longitude bailing westward (that is, the 180th deg. from

Greenwich, near London), and to add a day to the week, or double the day on which they reach the same degree in sailing eastward. For example, when a ship reaches the 180th deg. sailing eastward on Wednesday it calls both that day and the next day Wednesday. When a ship comes to this same meridian, sailing westward, on Wednesday, instead of calling it Wednesday they call it Thursday. The one ship's crew has two Wednesdays together in the same week, and the other ship's crew has a week without any Wednesday in it. The sailors say that the Wednesday the one ship "lost," the other "picked up,"

THE DANISH CONSULS. KENDALL, Wis., Jan. 1, 1880, Will you be so kind as to tell me the name and ad dress of the Danish Consul to the United States? C. P.

Answer.-Mr. J. de Hegermann-Lindencrone, Minister Resident, No. 1340 I street, Washington.

VOTING IN THE ARMY.

GALESVILLE, Wis., Dec. 27, 1879. Is there any law against officers or soldiers of the United States army voting? Should they be where they claim (by residence) citizenship? CHICKAMAUGA. Answer.-No.

GRAIN PRODUCT OF THE MISSISSIPPI VAL-LEY. No. 205 SOUTH MORGAN STREET, CHICAGO, Jan. 8, 1880.

I send you the names of the States embraced in the Mississippi Valley, though there are others that might with propriety be classed among the number. I do not wish to trouble you in regard to the cereal products of all, and will only ask for the number of bushels of corn and wheat produced during the last two years in the following States, viz: Missouri, Illinois, Ohio, Kentucky, Iowa, Wisconsin, Minnesota, Kansas, Nebraska, Colorado, and Nevada, leaving out Louisiana, Arkansas, Mississippi, and Tennessee. S. H.

Answer.-The following table shows the number of bushels of wheat and corn raised in the States in question during the year 1877:

CENCI.

OF BEATRICE

PALO, Mich., Dec. 30, 1879. 1. Please give in your "Curiosity Shop" a short sketch of Mercedes, the former wife of Alphonso, King of Spain. 2. Also glve the name of some history in which I can find an account of the life and execution of Beatrice. W. J. P.

Answer-Princess Marie-de-las-Mercedes was Alphonso's cousin, and youngest daughter of Prince Antoine d'Orleans, Duc de Montpensier. Thirty years ago Isabella and Donna Louisa, daughters of King Ferdinand VII. of Spain, were to be married, and all Europe was agitated. Louis Philippe was the dictator of the marriage;

and. as Europe protested against the marriage of Isabella to a Bourbon of France, the French King originated a scheme that he thought would finally bring a French Bourbon to the Spanish throne. Isabella was married to the dull and incapable Don Francisco de Assis, and it was believed she would have no children. Her sister Louisa was married to the Duke de Montpensier, in the belief that her children would succeed childless Isabella. The old King was foiled, as Isabella had children, and her son is now the Spanish King, while her sister's daughter, for the short space of six months, was Queen of Spain. The Princess was born June 24, 1860, married to Alphonso Jan. 23, 1878, and died June 26, 1878. 2. You can find a brief history in any good encyclopædia. Read also Shelley's fine tragedy. The poet has dealt freely with much of his material, but the result is of unapproachable excellence. See also the Chroniques et Nouvelles of H. Boyle. The Edinburgh Review of January, 1879, contained a valuable article on this subject.

"SMALL-POX" BLACKBURN.

WEST OLIVE. Mich., 1880. To settle a dispute, please inform me if Luke P. Blackburn, recently elected Governor of Kentucky, is the same gentleman who represented Kentucky in Congress last session? J. C. ROBART.

Answer.-No. The present Governor of Kentucky is the distinguished rebel who, during the war, conceived the idea of sending garments impregnated with small-pox into the North to weaken our forces by the ravages of the loathsome disease. The member of Congress for the Seventh Kentucky District is the Hon. Joseph C. S. Blackburn, of Versailles, a lawyer, who entered the Confederate army in 1861, and served through the war. Was elected to the Fortyfourth and Forty-fifth Congresses, and re-elected to the present Congress.

CHEAP ICE HOUSES. CLARENCE, Cedar Co., Iowa, Dec. 23, 1876. I would like to know how to build a small ice house, and cheap also? ELLA GROSS.

Answer.-Cheap ones may be quickly constructed in the form of strong board shanties with good, but not tight, floor. Place a few inches of sawdust on the floor, pile up the ice compactly in square blocks; leaving a space of 8 to 12 inches all around, next to the boards, to be filled with sawdust, trodden in as the structure, of ice is built upward. Cover the whole with 8 or 10 inches of sawdust, and let plenty of fresh air blow through the shanty over the top. Ice will keep this way as well as in the most costly and elaborate building. Chaff or finely cut straw may be substituted for the sawdust; but being less perfect non-conductors, should be in thicker layers.

PLUTARCH.

EAGLE CITY, Hardin Co., Iowa, Dec. 11, 1879. Who was Plutarch? Give us a brief history of him. E. H. SMITH. Answer.-He was a celebrated Greek biographer and moralist, was a native of Chæronia, in Boeotia. In A. D. 66 he was a pupil of the philosopher Ammonius at Delphi. He held several public positions, and was appointed priest of Apollo. He was living in A. D. 120, but date of his death is unknown. His great work is entitled "Parallel Lives," and consists of biographies of forty-six eminent Greeks and Romans, arranged in pairs, each pair accompanied by a comparison of characters. They are written with a moral

SPEED OF ICE BOATS.

HUDSON, Wis., Jan. 12, 1880. Please answer in "Curiosity Shop" if ice boats can go faster than the wind prevailing at the time, and, if So, why? We have had a discussion on the fact, and opinions differ. B. H.

Answer.-There is no known mode of locomotion which outrivals the ice yacht in speed. It travels at a mile a minute with ease, outstrips fast railway trains, and, when contrasted with the ordinary sailing vessels, is handled with ease and safety. It travels faster than the wind because it acquires momentum, and, in the lulls of the wind, its inertia carries it along.

SAUDE, Iowa, Dec. 30, 1879. Will you be kind enough to inform me, through the "Curiosity Shop," of what ingredients potash is composed and the best way of making it? For what is it used? READER.

Answer.-The crude carbonate of potash of commerce is obtained by lixiviating the ashes of plants with water and boiling down the liquid to dryness in iron pots. The dark-colored residue is called potashes, and this, when calcined in a furnace so as to burn off most of the coloring impurities, affords the impure carbonate known as pearlash. These ashes find extensive use in technical operations, such as soap making, glass making, dyeing, metallurgical, and chemical operations, and are the source of nearly all the potassium preparations and salts in use.

THE HICKORY WOOD WORM.

SOUTH BEND, Ind., Jan. 7, 1880. Can you inform me in regard to the history and habits of the small dust-worm which is so destructive to hickory and the sap of other hard woods after the process of manufacture, such as carriage-spokes, axehandles, etc., and if there is no preventive against them? F. H.

Answer.-But little is known of the habits of this destructive little insect. Sprinkle or (better) wash the wood with pyroligneous acid (crude wood vinegar) containing creosote. This will destroy the insects, and preserve the wood, in a great measure, from decay in damp air.

THE ATMOSPHERE.

OSCODA, Iosco County, Mich., Jan. 3, 1880. Having never seen, either in print or otherwise, a theory of the atmosphere of our earth, that is, how it was formed, how it came here, whence it originated, or anything pertaining to the formation of the atmosphere, if you are in possession of any work containing that information, or containing a theory thereof, please give the name of the work containing it. HOBART GREGG.

Answer.-It is composed of air (a mixture of 77 parts by weight of nitrogen and 21 of oxygen), with variable proportions of carbonic acid, aqueous vapor, and ammonia, the latter in exceedingly small amounts. How it came here and whence it originated, no man can venture to say. At present we know that the sun and planets possess atmospheres, and the revelations of the spectrum begin to show what these atmospheres consist of. The moon shows no trace of an atmosphere. It is probable that the volcanic scoriæ and lavas of the moon have long ago absorbed all the air and water which may once have enveloped it. The best work on the atmosphere is Flammarion's, published by Harper & Brothers.

BROOM CORN.

DELAVAN, Ill., Dec. 26, 1879. Do you think raising broom corn profitable in Illinois? Where can we get good instruction for raising? A READER.

Answer.-It succeeds best in alluvial soils, but will generally produce a fair crop on any land that is adapted to maize. Broom corn is largely and profitably cultivated by the Shakers, who make brooms of good quality. The average produce of an acre is about 500 pounds of the

brush or material for brooms. It is successfully cultivated in several parts of Illinois. Write to Mr. Bogardus, of Champaign, who is probably one of the most prominent broom-corn raisers in the State.

WILLIAM CULLEN BRYANT.

CHICAGO, Jan. 12, 1880. 1. Where and when William Cullen Bryant was born? 2. And where and when he died? C. C. P. Answer. He was born at Cummington, Mass., Nov. 3, 1794, and died in New York June 12 1878.

GREAT RAILROAD ACCIDENTS. WARSAW, Ind., Dec. 25, 1879. Please give a few of the greatest railroad accidents in the United States and England. Also facts in regard to their causes. W. L. MATTHEWS. Answer.-The first years of railroading in England and this country witnessed but few serious accidents, and between 1830 and 1841 not a single really serious disaster occurred. Among the most serious railroad accidents in England and the United States, that we can now recall, are the following: The Angola horror, in this country, in 1867, in which 41 perished. A similar accident occurred in England in 1874, at which 34 lost their lives and 65 were injured. There was a great English railway catastrophe in 1841, and within a few months

after that came the famous and one of the most horrible slaughters ever recorded at Versailles, It took place 8th of May, 1842. But even this accident was surpassed by the accident at Campbell Station, twelve miles from Philadelphia, July 17, 1856, which befell an excursiontrain carrying some 1,100 children. In this case the two locomotives struck each other, the cars were thrown off the track and caught fire, and sixty-six persons, mostly little children, were consumed. The terrible collision which took place at Thorpe, England, Sept. 10, 1874. In 1868 an accident happened the famous "Irish Mail," and 33 persons were burned to death. Feb. 6 a similar accident befell au express train on the Hudson River Railroad, and 21 were killed. One of the most appalling accidents was that on the Grand Trunk Road, in which a whole train was plunged into the Richelieu River, on the night of June 29, 1884. During the years 1873-78, there occurred in this country alone 23 disasters from the same cause as the above-at draw-bridges. The Norwalk disaster, that at the Richelieu River, the Ashtabula horror, and the accident, Jan. 15, 1878, at Tariff ville, are the chief bridge accidents. But these are only a few of the most noted aecidents. There is a total lack of reliable statistics as respects this field of inquiry. We have no trustworthy data. but the following is a list of accidents especially described by Adams in his work on railroad accidents: Abergele, Aug. 20, 1868; Angola, Dec. 18, 1867; Ashtabula, Dec. 29, 1876; Brainard, July 27, 1875; Brimfield, October, 1874; Bristol, March 7, 1865; Carr's Rock, April 14, 1867; Camphill, July 17, 1856; Charlestown Bridge, Nov. 21, 1862; Claypole, June 21, 1870; Communipaw Ferry, Nov. 11, 1876; Croyden Tunnel, Aug. 25, 1861: Des Jardines Canal, March 17, 1857: Foxboro, July 15, 1872; Franklin street, New York City, June, 1879; Gasconade River, Nov. 1, 1855; on Great Western Railway of Canada, October, 1856; on Great Western Railway of England, Dec. 24, 1841; Heeley, Nov. 22, 1876; Helmshire, Sept. 4, 1860; on Housatonic Rail

road, Aug. 16, 1865; Lackawaxen, July 15, 1864; Morpeth, March 25, 1877; New Hamburg, Feb. 6, 1871; Norwalk, May 6, 1853; Penruddock, Sept. 2, 1870; Port Jervis, June 17, 1858; Prospect, N. Y., Dec. 24, 1872; Rainhill, Dec. 23, 1832; Randolph, Oct. 13, 1876; Revere, Aug. 26, 1871; Richelieu, River, June 29, 1864; Shipton, Dec. 24, 1874; Shrewsberry River, Aug. 9, 1877; Tariffville, Jan. 15, 1878; Thorpe, Sept. 10, 1874; Tyrone, April 4, 1875; Versailles, May 8, 1842; Welwyn Tunnel, June 10, 1866; Wemyss Bay Junction, Dec. 11, 1878; Wollaston, Oct. 8, 1878. As respects accidents, and the deaths and injuries resulting therefrom, some facts may be gathered from a record preserved by the Railroad Gazette. According to this during the five years, 1874-8, there have been, included in this record, 4,846 accidents, resulting in 1,160 deaths and 4,650. cases of injury; being an average of 969 accidents a year, resulting in 232 deaths and 930 cases of injury. If we compare this report with the English Board of Trade report, it is somewhat as follows:

Defects in rolling stock...

10

8

Misplaced switches..

16

14

Collisions between trains going in

opposite directions.

3

18

0838

than among the Irish in Ireland there is no question, and that the government of England, as well as the benevolent, are doing nobly to aid the sufferers, while our own government is doing nothing, and the benevo-lent next to nothing, to help our own poor is equally true. If the horrible crimes committed on our own! citizens were told of some Irish or Hindoo people the civilized world would be aroused to redress the wrong. Why is it thusly? Have the votes of the Irish anything to do with the Irish boom? FAIR PLAY.

Answer. The above queries, from a prominent and thoughtful gentleman of Hillsdale, are worthy of consideration. No matter how great the desire to aid suffering across the Atlantic, it will not release the benevolent people of the United States from protecting her own poor and rectifying their wrongs. The oppression of Ireland's laborers has doubtless been grievous; it has at no time compared with that constantly practiced upon the colored people of the South. We cannot compel them to remain and endure it,. and their sudden resolution not to do so is going to tax to the utmost the benevolence of the nation. It has but just begun as yet. Unless the strong arm of the government is given to the blacks of the South, and unless there is an entire revolution of sentiment, there will be thousands where there are now hundreds seeking homes in the States of the North and West.

FACTS ABOUT CANADA.

BAPTIZE AND IMMERSE.

GOODING'S GROVE, Ill., Jan. 14, 1880. It is well known, I suppose, that a large company of the best educated men (religiously) of our own country and of England have been engaged some years in revising the Scriptures-both of the Old and New Testaments; and we are promised that the revised Testament will be published this year. I heard Baptist minister say, not long since, that the revisers (probably the American company) agreed unanimously that the true meaning and interpretation of the word baptize, as found in our common version, is immerse; but that afterward, by a majority vote, they agreed to retain the word baptize, instead of immerse. Can you tell us what action has been had, and what we may expect from those now engaged in the work?

ONE OF THE PEOPLE. Answer.-The Baptist minister's story is undoubtedly pure fiction. The opinion of a number of the eminent scholars in the different sections of the Revision Committee is a matter of public note and record, and renders such an unanimous agreement (that baptize means immerse) impossible. Equally impossible would be a reversal of such an agreement by a mere majority vote. Even if these extraordinary fluctuations had taken place, the Baptist minister could not have known it, unless he is a member of the Revision Committee; for each member is pledged to the most absolute secrecy concerning all discussions and decisions. There has been no accusation in England or America of the violation of that pledge, except the extravagant story of this clergyman, which has never reached us through any other channel. The likelihood is that "baptize" will be rendered "baptize;" but, outside of the committee, no one knows what action has been taken on this interpretation, or any other.

THE COLORED REFUGEES.

HILLSDALE, Mich., Jan. 16, 1880. Will you be so kind as to explain why it is that. Americans are so much more ready to aid the poor and suffering in Ireland than the poor of our own country? That there is a greater amount of suffering and oppression among the colored people in the United States

1873..$89,789,922 $128,011,282 $127,514,594

1874.. 89,351,928 1875.. 77,886,979 1876.. 80,966,435 1877.. 75,875,393

128,213,582 127,404,169

123,070,283 119,618,657 93,210,346

94,733,218 99,327,962 96,300,483

2. The Provinces of Quebec and Ontario have separate school laws, adapted to the religious elements prevailing in either. The common schools are supported partly by government and partly by local self-imposed taxation,and occasionally by the payment of a small fee for each scholar. 3. The constitution is similar to that of England. The executive authority is vested in the sovereign of Great Britain and Ireland, and carried on in her name by Governor General and Privy Council, and the legislative power is exercised by a parliament of two houses, called the Senate and House of Commons. 4. It would undoubtedly benefit both Canada and the United States. 5. We think possibly it would, but a question of this kind cannot be answered in a paragraph.

REFORM SCHOOL AND HOUSE OF CORRECTION. PLAINFIELD, Ill., Jan. 5, 1880. 1. Will the General Government interfere in State affairs, as, for instance, in case of violence or bloodshed in the State of Maine? 2. The difference, if any, between a reform school and a house of correction. Are boys sent to reform schools or house of correction for some crime committed, or simply upon evidence that they are ungovernable by their parents or guardians? S. L. MOTTINGER.

Answer.-1. Yes. 2. The State Reform School of the State of Illinois is located at Pontiac, and is a school for the confinement, discipline, education, employment, and reformation of juvenile offenders. Whenever any boy between the ages of 10 and 16 years is convicted, before auy court of competent jurisdiction, of any crime which, if committed by an adult, would be pun

ishable by imprisonment in the county jail or penitentiary, such juvenile offender may be sent to the reform school for a term not less than one year nor more than five years. Any municipal authorities of any city within this State may establish a house of correction, which is totally different to the State Reform School. The houses of correction are used for the confinement and punishment of criminals, or persons sentenced or committed thereto, regardless of sex or age.

LONG AND SHORT TERMS IN THE SENATE. LEON, Iowa, Jan. 21, 1880. When a Territory is admitted as a State it chooses two Senators, one for the long and one for the short term. Query; What is the length of the short term? W. H. ALBAUGH.

Answer.--The present Senate is composed of seventy-six members. The terms of office of twenty-five of them will expire on March 3, 1881, the terms of twenty-six of them on March 3, 1883, and the terms of twenty-five on March 3, 1885. If a new State should be admitted tomorrow, one of the new Senators would fall into the class whose terms expire March 3, 1881, and the other into the class whose terms expire March 3, 1885, and the Senate would consist of twenty-six members of each class.

THE GUM ON POSTAGE STAMPS. CHICAGO, Jan. 21, 1880. Please publish the formula for making the paste that the government uses on postage stamps. M. D. Answer.-Dissolve two oz. of dextrin in 5 oz. of hot water, and 1 oz. of acetic acid and 1 oz. spirits of wine.

MAINE.

COTTAGE HOME, Ill., Jan. 12, 1880. Will you please tell me why it is that Governor Garcelon is the present Governor, after receiving the minority, and why they voted on Governor in 1878 and 1879? A. M. TOWNSEND.

Answer.-There was no election by the people in 1878, and the Legislature elected. The House was controlled by the Fusionists, and sent the names of Garcelon, Democrat, and Smith, Greenbacker, to the Senate. Compelled to choose one or the other of these men, the Senate, controlled by the Republicans, named Garcelon Governor. The Governor in Maine holds office for only one year, gubernatorial elections occurring annually. The candidates in 1879 were: Davis, Republican, Smith, Greenbacker, and Garcelon, Democrat. Particulars as to the election have been given in our dispatches.

MINISTER TO HOLLAND. ELGIN, Minn., Jan. 17, 1880. Please name the United States Minister to Holland, and where to address him. MOSES Ross, Answer.-The Hon. James Birney, Minister Resident, Hague, the Netherlands,

EGG PRODUCING.

GRAND RAPIDS, Wis., Jan. 1, 1880. 1. How many eggs will a hen lay a year? 2. At what age do they commence to lay? 3. How much corn do chickens eat? 4. Which are the best layers?

Answer.-1. A good hen will lay twelve dozen eggs in one year. 2. Most chickens lay at eight months old. 3. One hundred chickens wili live and thrive on six quarts of corn per day, with meal or other light feed. 4. The brown leghorns are considered by many to be the best layers.

road ever built in the State. For a number of years it was operated by mule-power, and in the year 1849 the first locomotive was placed on the road. This engine was a second-hand one purchased of an Eastern road. 2. The Illinois Central Railroad Co. was chartered in December, 1850, and organized in March, 1851. The surveys were commenced in December, 1851,and construction in the summer of 1852. By January, 1854, 218.25 miles were completed, and by January, 1855, the line from Cairo to LaSalle, 301 miles, was in operation, and the Chicago branch open from Chicago southward 152 miles. whole road, as it now exists, was opened for traffic in September 1855. 3. The corporate names of over fifty rai.roads embrace that of Chicago. The numerous petty roads about Boston included, her name appears in but twelve; of Philadelphia, but ten, and of New York, but eleven. There are forty-three railroads that have direct connection with Chicago and their offices in this city.

SPELLING REFORM.

The

CRETE, Neb., Jan. 12, 1880. 1. Please mention a few leading educators, linguists, philologists, etc., for and against the spelling reform. 2. Also name the the best article on the subject published recently. 3. Does THE INTER OCEAN favor reform? If so, why? If not, why not?

Answer.-Professor Max Muller, the philologist, has recently come out in an article favoring spelling reform. The American Philological Association some time ago appointed a committee on spelling reform, consisting of Professor W. D. Whitney, of Yale College; Dr. J. Hammond Trumbull, of Yale College; Professor F. J. Child, of Harvard University; Professor F. A. March, of Lafayette College; and Professor S. S. Haldermann, of the University of Pennsylvania. Professor Lounsberry, of Yale College, speaks of the reform as one "which numbers among its advocates every linguistic scholar of any eminence whatever, and which includes every one who has made the scientific study of the English a specialty." If this be true, why there are not many learned men against the reform, but there are thousands of learned and distinguished men who prefer to see the needed reform made by degrees, and do not favor radical steps. 2. The best and most recent article vet published on the subject will be found in the Princeton Review for January, which can be obtained at any bookstore for thirty-five cents, or by sending to the publisher, 37 Park Row, New York. 3. It is one of those subjects which THE INTER OCEAN is glad to discuss in its columns, but which it does not believe in forcing too much. Such reforms must be gradual and not violent.

SELF-PRESERVATION, ETC. CHICAGO, Jan. 22, 1879. Who is the author of the quotation, "Self-preservation is the first law of nature?" INQUIRER. Answer.-Blackstone uses the quotation as a legal maxim, but we think it ante-dates his time. Possibly our readers can assist "Inquirer."

DEPTH OF THE ATLANTIC. CAMBRIDGE, Iowa, Jan. 12, 1880. Will you please tell me how deep the Atlantic Ocean is, or has the bottom ever been found. H. MCKEE.

Answer.-The depth of the Atlantic Ocean has been more carefully and systematically examined than that of any other oceanic basin; and the general contour of its undulating sea-bed may now be regarded as pretty well determined