munists, and others, voted with the Socialists, so that their real number is small in Chicago. STATE LAWS OF LIMITATION. found PILOT MOUND, Iowa. If a note is drawn up May 15, 1856, and no one comes to collect it until Sept. 16, 1879, state if such note can be collected. How long should a note run after due until it couldn't be collected by law? J. ADAMSON. Answer.-In Illinois, actions on bonds, promissory notes, bills of exchange, written leases, written contracts, or other evidences of indebtedness in writing, shall be commenced within ten years next after the cause of action accrued; but if any payment or new promise to pay shall have been made, in writing, on said evidence of indebtedness, within or after the said period of ten years, then an action may be commenced thereon at any time within ten years after the time of such payment or promise to pay. Below we give the limit of time in which action may be brought on the following in a number of Western States: ILLITERACY OF EUROPE. was of Answer.-There are no regular statistics in England, but of the number of marriage licenses granted in England and Wales last year 16 per cent of the males and more than 22 per cent of the females were unable to sign their names to the marriage register. On the average of every 100 marriages in 1841 the proportion of men who signed their names with marks thirty-three, and the proportion women was 49. In France, in 1872, it was found that 30.8 per cent of the total number above 6 years of age were unable to read or write, and that 11 per cent more were only able to read. In Germany, education is compulsory, and there are but very few persons unable to read or write. The mass of the population of Russia is as yet without education. In 1860 only 2 out of every 100 recruits levied for the army were able to read and write, but the proportion had largely increased in 1870, when 11 out of every 100 were to be possessed of these elements of knowledge. In the Grand Duchy of Finland,. which has a system of public instruction separate from that of the rest of the empire, education is all but universal, the whole of the inhabitants being able at least to read, if not to write. In Belgium, it appears from official returns based upon recent examinatious of the National Guards, or civic militia of the kingdom, that nearly one-fifth of the grown-up population are unable to read or write. In Spain at the last general census in 1860, of the total population of the kingdom there were 2,414,015 men and 715,906 women able to read and write, 316,517 men and 389.211 women able to read but not write, and that all the rest--upward of 5,000,000 men and 6,800,000 women-could neither read nor write. In the United States there are over fourteen per cent of the population over 10 years of age unable to write, and nearly twelve per cent unable to read. GENERAL H. HALLECK. MADISON, Neb., March 10, 1880. In Answer.-General Henry Halleck was born at Waterville, Oneida County, N. Y., Jan. 16, 1815; graduated at West Point Military Academy July 1, 1839; entered the army as Second Lieutenant of Engineers; was in charge of fortifications in New York harbor, where he remained till 1846. the same year he was sent by the government to study the principal military establishments in Europe. In 1846 he was also ordered to California, where he served in various military and civil capacities, and was also Director General of Entered the New Almaden quicksilver mines. upon the practice of iaw in San Francisco, and was President of a railroad. On the outbreak of the civil war he was appointed a Major Gen-eral in the United States army. He directed the military operations in the West and took command in the field in the spring and. early summer of 1862. In July, 1862, he was called to Washington and appointed General-inChief of all the armies of the United States, a position which he held till March 12, 1864. Halleck then received the appointment of Chief of Staff to the army, which he held till April, 1865, when he was placed in command of the Military Division of the James, his headquarters being at Richmond. In the following August he was transferred to the Division of the Pacific, and in March, 1869, to that of the South, his headquarters being at Louisville. He published several works upon military and scientific topics. Died in Louisville, Ky., Jan. 9, 1872. HASHISH. BOAZ, Wis., April 4, 1880. What is hashish, where does it grow. by whom is it: used, and what are its effects on the human system? ELIZA DENNISON. Answer.-Hashish is cultivated in India for the production of the dark green stalks and leaves used in smoking and in medicine. It is a species of the hemp plant, and it has been shown that an extract of the hemp grown in the United States possesses some of the same qualities, but in a less degree, as the hemp of hot countries ⚫ has more of the active resin than that of temperate climates. Hashish has long been employed as a medicine in Asia. Arabs, Persians, Indians, Chinese, and South Africans esteem it for its intoxicating powers; but there are many people of European races who are scarcely influenced by it, and upon those who are intoxicated by its use its effects are so varied that it is little used as a medicine. On some persons, however, in certain diseases, it has a happy effect. but of all Christian churches. The work of revision and translating has been given to the leading Biblical scholars of this country and Europe, and is still under way. A committee was appointed to receive all the manuscript, and revise and select such as they deem correct and proper, and the design is to make a new publication which shall be free from many errors found in the present. Phillip Schoff, of New York City, is the leader of the work in this country. SOLAR TIME. AUGUSTA, Me., 1880. 1. The sun is said to be fast or slow of true clock time at noon, from one to fourteen minutes almost every day in the year. My question is whether it is equally fast or slow at its rising and setting? 2. The sun's rays are so refracted (bent down) by our atmosphere that we see it a few minutes before it actually rises, and after it sets. Now, the question is, do our almanacs, in giving the time of the sun's rising and setting, give the time of its actual rising or setting, or the time when it appears to us to rise and set, and what is the difference? A MAINE SUBSCRIBER. Answer.-The sun's time is too fast by clock time Nov. 2 by 16 minutes and 20 seconds, and the slowest about Feb. 12, when it is nearly 1412 minutes too slow. The dates of agreement between solar and clock time are April 15, June 15, Sept. 1, and Dec. 24. There would be a slight difference between the rising and setting and midday, varying with the latitude, but it would be very little. 2. Most almanacs give the apparent time of the sun's rising or setting, making the proper variation of atmospheric refraction. The difference between the actual and apparent rising varies with the latitude. It is considered in this latitute to be the width of the sun's diameter, or about 32 minutes of a degree. ADULTERATION OF TOBACCO. OKETO, March 22, 1880. Give us facts concerning the adulteration in the manufacture of tobacco in its various forms. MRS. P. COONRADT. Answer.-Cut tobacco, for both smoking and thewing, is prepared in different ways to suit the laste of its consumers. Molasses, licorice, paste, a decoction of figs, and glycerine are used to impart a sweet taste. Common salt and other salts are used for flavoring, and nitrate of potash or soda is added to increase its combustibility. Anise and other aromatics are added for their davor, and smoking tobacco has its odor, if not its taste, improved by the introduction of coscorilla bark. Cabbage and other leaves are often ased to adulterate chewing tobacco. These are the principal elements used in the manufacture of tobacco. FREE LOVEISM. What is free love? H. S. Answer-Free loveism is of comparative recent origin, and has but few believers. It holds that All mrariage is contrary to God's law, and that it should be entirely done away with. In short, that persons could love and live together without the restraint of any laws governing them, and that when they became tired of each other they might separate and select whomsoever they pleased to habitate with. REVISION OF THE BIBLE. RED OAK, Iowa, March 29, 1880. Where and how is the revision of the Bible being conducted? Any other information concerning it gladly received. STALWART. Answer.-A revision of the Bible is going on ander the direction of the Evangelical Alliance. It is not in the interest of any creed or creeds, HATCHING CHICKENS BY MACHINES. CARBONDALE, Ill., March 24, 1880. What was the process by which chickens were hatched every few minutes in the Exposition Building at the Fat Cattle Show last November? Was it a kind of incubator? If so, how long after the eggs were put in before they were hatched? E. PATTEN. Answer.-Eggs may be hatched by artificial heat. The ordinary way of doing this is to place the eggs on shelves, one above the other, in an oven. The temperature is kept of uniform warmth by steam or hot water conveyed in pipes. Nearly the same temperature as if the hen was sitting upon them is maintained, and about the same length of time is required. These parties on exhibition must have employed essentially the same means, and, in order to hatch the chickens every hour, placed the eggs under this artificial heat, in a portable oven, some three weeks before. BATTLE OF LODI, FORT COLLINS, Col., March 25, 1880. Give a short history of the bridge of Lodi, and the battle fought May 10, 1790. 'E. M. REED. situated in Answer.-The town of Lodi is Northern Italy, on the right bank of the Adda River, which is here crossed by a bridge. There is nothing remarkable about the bridge, except that it was on May 10, 1790, that Napoleon, after the terrible passage of this long and narrow bridge, under the full fire of the Austrian batteries, won one of his most memorable victories, and secured possession of all Lombardy. LAUNCHING THE GREAT EASTERN. CHICAGO, April 2, 1880. When was the steamship Great Eastern launched, when did she make her first trip, and where to? What are her dimensions? -Answer.-This question we have answered several times before; but, as we have received several inquiries of the above character, we will answer once for all. The Great Eastern, the largest ship in the world, was built by Mr. Scott Russell for the Eastern Steam Navigation Company, at Maxwall-on-the-Thames. Work was commenced on her May 1, 1854, The launching process was by means of hydraulic pressure, and occupied from Nov. 3, 1857, to Jan. 31, 1858, at a cost of $300,000. Her length is 680 feet, breadth 118 feet, and height 58 feet, or to top of bulwarks, 70 feet. Total weight when launched, 12,000 tons. Her first long trip was made i 1860 to New York. ANCHORS. HIXTON, Jackson Co., Wis., April 1, 1880. How large is an anchor to a ship, and how much does it weigh? How do they let it down into the water, and how do they get it out? C. A. SHERWOOD. Answer.-An anchor consists of a shank of rounded or octagonal bar of iron, tapering toward one end, where it becomes square. Upon this end is a heavy transverse beam, and on the other curved arms, pointed, so as to enter the ground if pulled. The transverse bar keeps it in its position when upon the ground. The cable OSHKOSH, Wis., March 22, 1880. 1. What do the letters X, XX and XXX on envelope boxes indicate? How is the weight of the envelopes determined? 2. Do the figures 4, 5, 6, etc., have anything to do with the weight? R. V. SMITH. Answer.-1. They show the weight of the envelopes. The letters X, XX, and XXX, indicate that the standard reams of paper, 24 by 36 inches, from which they are made, are respectively 40, 50, and 60 pound paper. The terms light medium, and heavy are also applied, signifying the same. 2. The figures on envelope boxes indicate the size in inches of the envelopes, and have nothing to do with the weight. For example, the figure 6 means that the envelope is 6 inches in length, and so on, but the envelopes do not always quite accord with their marks. ASTRONOMICAL. GLENCOE, Minn., March 27, 1880. 1. What is the (thermometer) scale of Celsius, spoken of about 100 years ago? is it the centigrade? 2, Were the files of "Long John's" weekly Chicago Democra destroyed in the great fire, and were any of the old volumes of the Chicago Journal saved from the conflagration? 3. What is the sun's horizontal parallax, as determined by observations on the last transit of Venus? 4. Sir John Hershel gives the length of the 'equinoctial year as 365 days 5 hours 48 minutes and 49.7 seconds. Do more recent authors make any correction? E. CRANDALL. Answer.-1. Yes. 2. Mr. Wentworth has only a partial file of his paper, but there is probably a file of it in Chicago. A complete file of the Journal was saved, and is now at that office. 3. The sun's mean parallax is 8. 86 seconds. The results of the observations of 1876 have never been officially announced. 4. No. LEGAL RATE OF INTEREST. ROCKFORD, Ill., March 26, 1880. The legal rate of interest has lately been changed to 8 per cent in this State. Can more than 8 per cent be collected? What is the limit, if any? A. HAMILTON. Answer.-In Illinois, where rate of interest is mentioned, 6 per cent is taken, but as high as 8 per cent is legal. More than that is usury, and none of the interest on such a note or mortgage can be collected in law. Only the principal on such notes can be collected. country last year was 906,615,313 pounds, valued at $1,776,741. Our own production is stated at between 18,000,000 and 20,000,000 bushels. Our total consumption is from 36,000,000 to 40,000,000 bushels, which represents about one bushel to every inhabitant. SWORD OF BUNKER HILL. ADMAH, Neb., March, 7, 1880. Who is the author of the song entitled, "The Sword of Bunker Hill?" P. S. HOGAN. Answer.-The music is by J. G. Clarke, and it is also thought that the words were written by him. CLEANING PAINT AND BRASS. MINERAL POINT, Wis., April 4, 1880. 1. What will remove paint from locomotive boiler heads without scraping much? I have always re moved it by scraping it off-a very laborious proceeding. 2. What will clean locomotive brass-work the quickest, and leave a polish that will stand the longest in damp weather? Answer.-1. There is no way that we know of to clean paint from iron or wood-work, exeept to scrape it off. 2. There are several articles that are considered good for cleaning brass; tripoli is one of the most excellent. VOTE FOR FREMONT AND BUCHANAN. CHICAGO, March 20, 1880. Did Fremont or Buchanan receive the larger popular vote in the election of 1856, and what was the majority? R. Answer. Of the total votes cast, Fremont received 1,341,812 votes, and Buchanan 1,834,337 giving Buchanan a total over Fremont of 492,525. In the free States, Fremont's majority over Buchanan was 115,868. JOHNSTON'S SURRENDER. To whom did the Confederate General Johnston surreneer, and where was Grant at the time of the surrender? READER. Answer. On the 18th of April, 1865, Generals Sherman and Johnston agreed upon terms under which General Joe Johnston should not only surrender his own army but all the Confederate armies then in existence. These terms included conditions on which the rebel States should reenter the Union, and touched on other matters not properly within the jurisdiction of military commanders. Understanding this, Generals Sherman and Johnston agreed upon an armistice, so that the result of their conference might be submitted to their respective governments. During the armistice the hostile armies were to remain as they were, the armistice to end on forty-eight hours notice from either party The terms were not approved by President Johnson and his Cabinet, and there was much excitement about the matter at Washington. Sherman s position was misunderstood both by the President and leading officers of the army, and some of the latter went so far as to advise the corps Commanders in Virginia to disregard the armistice and move into North Carolina against Johnston's army. General Grant, then as always, cool and clear-headed, advised against all hasty action, and defended the motives of Sherman, while he disapproved the plan sub mitted. He volunteered to carry the President's instructions to Sherman, and arrived at Raleigh,' April 23. On the same day Sherman demanded the surrender of Johnston's army on the conditions given to Lee. These were accepted on the 26th, and the whole force under Johnston's command was surrendered to Sherman. General Grant was present at Raleigh, and was, of course, Sher-. mans superior in command, but, as a mark of confidence in his trusted Lieutenant, he chose to take no part in the negotiations. So well did he sustain this policy of non-interference, and so quiet was he while at Raleigh, that General Johnston did not know of or suspect his pres ence. EQUALIZATION OF HOMESTEADS. RICE'S, Minn., April 11, 1880. Please give Senator Paddock's bill to equalize homesteads. L. D. FORBES. Answer.-The bill provides that every person entitled, under the provisions of section 2,289, Chapter 5, Revised Statutes of the United States, to enter a homestead, who may have heretofore entered under the homestead laws a quantity of land less than 160 acres, shall be permitted to enter so much land as, when added to the quantity previously entered, shall not exceed 160 acres; provided that when such additional entry cannot be made of lands contiguous to the original entry of the applicant, he may select lands elsewhere within the State or Territory in which his or her homestead is located; but he shall not be entitled to a pat n therefor without satisfactory proof at the Ger eral Land Office of the planting and continuous cultivation of crops or forest or fruit trees on an area of the same equal to one acre for each orty acres thereof during the period of three years, and all assignments and transfers of the right hereby secured, and all contracts to assign or transfer such right, made prior to the patent, shall be null and void; and provided, further, that any person who has entered less than 160 acres may, if he so elect, surrender his original entry to the United States for cancellation, and thereupon be entitled to enter lands under the homestead laws, the same as if the surrendered entry had not been made. THE MOUND BUILDERS. FAIRBANKS, Ind., April 1, 1880. Give a short history of the early Mound Builders in the "Curiosity Shop." D. W. CUSHMAN. Answer.-The Mound Builders were a race of people very different in their habits and modes of life from the Indians who occupied all the country at the time of the advent of the whites. They are now regarded as a distinct and extinct race. Of their history very little is known, except what can be gathered from the mounds and walls which they built; most of these are made of earth or gravel. They are usually found overgrown by living and decaying trees, from which we have the proof that they have been abandoned at least a thousand years. We have proof also that the Mound Builders worked the copper mines of Lake Superior, lead mines near Lexington, Ky., and oil wells in Canada and Pennsylvania. The remains of the Mound Builders are spread over a vast extent of country. They are found in the sources of the Allegheny, in the western part of the State of New York, and in nearly all of the Western nates. States, including Michigan and Iowa. They line the Roman Catholic religion iargely predomithe shores of the Gulf of Mexico from Texas to Florida, whence they extend through Alabama and Georgia into South Carolina. From all the facts known, little more can be said than this: That the valley of the Mississippi and the Atlantic coast were once densely populated by a sedentary, agricultural, and partially civilized race, quite different from the modern Indians, though possibly the progenitors of some of the Indian tribes; and that after many centuries of occupation, they disappeared from our country at least one thousand, perhaps many thousands, of years before the advent of the Europeans. ARMIES OF THE WORLD. PEOTONE, April 3, 1880. 1. What are the standing armies of the different nations of the world? 2. What the respective salaries of the principal rulers of the world? 3. What religious denomination has the largest membership? HOSMER JOHNSON. Answer.-1. The following table, which has been carefully compiled, shows the regular army, the annual cost of the same, and the cost per head of all the principal nations of the world: COUNTRIES. Austria-Hungary Chili.. China. Colombia. Denmark. Cost per head. .97 LEGISLATION OF GERMANY. BOZIM, Kan., March 25, 1880. 1. Do the people under the King of Prussia elect their officers the same as the people of the United States? 2. Can their houses pass a bill over the King's veto? If so, what is the difference between that and a republican form of government? 3. Are there any Ro man Catholic convents or nunneries in the United States? If so, how many, and where are they located? SUBSCRIBER Answer.-1. No; the crown is hereditary in the male line. 2. The assent of the King and both Chambers is requisite for all laws. The First Chamber is composed of princes of the royal blood, including scions of former sovereign families; chiets of the medietized princely houses to the number of sixteen; heads of territorial families formed by the King, numbering about fifty: a number of life peers, chosen from the great manufacturers, rich landowners, and national celebrities; eight titled noblemen, elected in the eight provinces of Prussia by the resident land-owners of all degrees; representatives of universities, the heads of "chapters," and the burgomasters of towns with above 50,000 inhabitants, besides an unlimited number of members nominated by the king for life, or for a more or less restricted period. The Second Chamber consists of 433 members, who are elected by the people. The kingdom of Prussia must not be confounded with the Ger man Empire. .56 The empire, as now constituted, was organized April 16, 1871, or at the close of the Franco-Prussian war. King William of Prussia was elected Emperor by the Reichstag of the North German Confederation, the movement receiving the encouragement and sanction of all the reigning princes of Germany. The office is made hereditary in the family of the King of Prussia, and not elective, as it was under the old Germanic Empire, overthrown by Napoleon in 1806. The Emperor is the executive of the Empire, with limited powers. The legisThe lative powers are exercised by two houses. Bundesrath, or Federal Council, consisting of fifty-nine members, appointed by the governments of the individual States and the Reichstag or Diet, consisting of 397 members, elected by universi sauffrage and ballot. In other words, the Bundesrath, like our Senate, represents the states of the empire, and the Reichstag corresponds to our House of Representatives. In the Bundesrath Prussia has seventeen members, and in the Reichstag 236 members. Remembering these facts, "Subscriber" will have little difficulty in understanding the complications that led Bismarck to tender his resignation some weeks ago. 3. There are 101 Roman Catholic institutions of secondary instruction in the United States, fourteen institutions for the superior instruction of woman, and forty-nine universities and colleges owned and controlled by the Catholics. .16 1.26 .20 2.70 92,573,403 2.16 65,161,015 1.90 1,494,800 1.02 .40 Regular Annual cost 296,218 $50,680,000 $1.35 Argentine Republic.. 8,283 Belgium. 46,277 Bolivia Brazil... Canada 3,000 1,013,944 288,000 35,703 2,406,109 Egypt.. 62,920 *4,452,422) France.. 470,600 100,007,623 Germany. 419,659 Great Britain. 133,720 2. Queen Victoria received $1,925,000 last year for the support of her Majesty's household, and of the honor and dignity of the crown. Besides, $725,000 was paid for annuities to members of the royal family. The expenses of the Emperor of Germany and Imperial Chancery are about $1,200,000. The President of France receives an annual allowance of $180,000. The civil list of the King of Italy has been settled at $3,250,000. The Czar of Russia has an income from the crown domains of more than a million of square miles of cultivated lands and forests, beside gold and other mines in Siberia, the income of which is estimated at $12,250,000. Of this about $2,250,000 is spent in charities, schools, theaters, etc., leaving a net revenue to the crown of $10,000,000. Beside this vast amount the $50,000 paid our head ruler sinks into comparative insignificance. 3. Among the Christian denominations BANKS AND EXPLORATIONS. BUSHNELL, Ill., April 3, 1880. Answer.-1. England was undoubtedly known 4: |