Sacramento daily record-union. [volume] (Sacramento [Calif.]) 1875-1891, 1882-03-04
OUR LgTTER-Box.
Curious Questions, and Repirs to the
ssma-I1terestipg Matter.

IT should not be necessary to repeat that in this de
| pattment no attention whatever viii De paid x
| ANONYMOUS communications.
Sylvia. ValIeio-The Howard referred to
was John Howard, the great English phi
! lanthropist and worker in prison reform.
He was born at Hackney, County Middle
sex. England, September 2, 1926. You
will find TO difficulty in getting access to
numerous works that speak in detail OF his
labors in the cause of humanity.
s. A.. Windsor-Coal was not used as
an article of fuel in England until 1888.
We believe that the first coal gas that was
actually made and tested was made by
DR.. John Clayton, Dean of Kildare, about
1860, but his letter describing 1t was not
made public till 1879.
Thomas B., Sacramento-No; the cleo.
trio telegraph was not the result OF sudden
discovery, but was of slow and gradual
origin. Many experimental on this subject
long before it became a practical reality.
The electrical discharge was sent over con-
siderable lengths of wire as early as l747,
but the experimenters did not dream OF ap-
plying the discharges to communicating
signals of intelligence, and it is, as you
suggest, and has been, matter OF surprise
to others as well, that the learned men who
knew of these discharges being so sent
never thought of setting up code OF sig
mails for speedy communication. Even
Franklin, who experimental with these
discharges, seems to have made no further
inquiry in that line
Annie l., Sueanville-The lines you re.
fer to begin as follows
We coop us up and tax our bread
And wonder why We pine;
But We are fat, and round, and red,
Aud filled with tax bought wine.
1t is from bitter piece of Corn Law
poetry, by Ebenezer Elliott, whose polit-
ical rhymes appeared in England in 1881.
In the histories of the Corn Law agitation
you can find some of Eiliott's poems.
Student, Chico-The last of Isaac DIS.
raeli's books of gatherings was published
in lS4l, two years after he became blihd.
1t was called the Amenities of Litera.
ture"
Song, Millville- Angles ia the au,
thor Of Molly Bawn." Miss Florence
Marrayatt is now Mrs. Francis Lean.
Miss Thackeray is now Mrs. Richie.
Allen, Sacramento-We know of scarcely
any more graceful and fitting introduction
to the study of German literature than
"Studies in German Literature" by Bay.
ard Taylor, as edited by Marie Taylor,
and to which George ii. Boxer has written
an introduction. You will find that wol
pleasure indeed.
Scholar, Ione-At Elton the highest form
now is the sixth The fourth form is un.
der the jurisdiction of the lowest master,
while the old first, second and third of
which you speak have almost, if not en-
tirely ceased.
johnson, Stockton-The formation of
which you speak is not uncommon. Per-
haps the most striking example of it,
however, is found in the celebrated earth
pillars near Botzen, in the Tyrol. You
must have noticed when the rain falls, that
if it is on soft ground it makes small round
holes in which it collects, and then sinks
into the earth, forcing its way between the
grains of the soil matter. In just that
way were the earth pillars of Botzen formed.
Where these pillars nov stand there was
once solid mass of clay and stones, into
which the raindrops crept, loosening the
earthly particles, and then when the sun
dried the earth again cracks were
formed, so the next shower loosened
it still more, and carried some of the mud
down into the valley below. But here and
there large stones were buried in the clay,
and where this happened the rain could
not penetrate, and the stones became the
tops of tall pillars of clay which were
washed into shape by the rain beating on
~ n .;Jao hut arna Diuo tho o,aneral dactrun
ton of the rest OF the mud. In this way
the whole valley was carved into fine
pillars, some still having the Gaping
stones and others having lost them. Of
course these latter are soonest washed
away. We know of no such formation
here, but you may have noticed under
bridges or leaky shelters, where there is
much drip in time of rain, that the earth
wears away between the pebbles, and there
you will see the principle .ustrated con-
corning which you have written. In
"LyelIs Principles you will find the sub
iect treated very clearly.