Chapter M: H. Miller

_Answer._—The twelve Cæsars are Julius Cæsar and the eleven Emperors following him, most of whom were from his family. Nerva was chosen by the Senate, and was the first to select a successor without regard to family. Following are the names and dates of the reigns of the twelve: Julius Cæsar, 44; Augustus, 31 B. C.-14 A. D., Tiberius, 14-37; Caius, 37-41; Claudius, 41-54; Nero, 54-68; Galba, 68-69; Otho, 69; Vitellius, 69; Vespasian, 69-79; Titus, 79-81; Domitian, 81-96. The title Cæsar was given to all of the Roman Emperors, until the time of Hadrian, after whom Cæsar was the title of the heir of the throne, and the title of the Emperor was Augustus.

SINKING BRIDGE PIERS.

FREEPORT, Ill.

Please explain the use of compressed air in sinking the caissons of
the great Brooklyn and New York bridge.

F. R. SMITH.

_Answer._—The method of sinking cylinders by use of compressed air was invented by Mr. Triger, of England, in 1841, but has been carried to greater results in the United States than anywhere else. Tubular cast-iron shells are used to form a large hollow pile, which may be forced downward by its own weight and superincumbent masonry built on it as it descends. Compressed air is employed inside such shells to force the water out at the bottom, where the pile or caisson is open, while it is air-tight and water-tight at all other points. It was formerly supposed men could not work under a pressure of more than three atmospheres, which is required in most cases to keep out water at a depth of sixty-five feet, but in the case of the St. Louis bridge, caissons were sunk a depth of 110 feet below the surface. So, in the case of sinking the Brooklyn bridge piers, the men at work in the compressed air chamber, excavating the earth as the pier descended, worked in an atmosphere from three to four times as heavy as in the open air; a strain which they could endure but a short while at a time, and which proved fatal in many instances.

PROPERTY OF ALIENS.

GRISWOLD, Iowa.

If a Welshman who has not been naturalized dies in this country,
who inherits his estate? Would the making of a will make any
material difference as to the control of his property?

FLORA K. SMITH.

_Answer._—Each of the States has its own laws in regard to the rights of aliens. In Iowa aliens, that is persons of foreign birth who have not been naturalized by their own act or that of their parents, may acquire, inherit, hold, and dispose of property, real or personal, precisely as if they were citizens. The same is true in most of the States. In Pennsylvania alien friends may buy lands not exceeding 5,000 acres, nor in net annual income $20,000, and hold the same as citizens may, but there are certain differences between them and citizens in the matter of real estate conveyances, inheritance, etc. A will prevents the property of an alien from escheating to the State in case of non-appearance of heirs; and, as in the case of citizens, transcends the statute and common law as to the division of property among the heirs of persons who die intestate, i. e. without testamentary wills.

LAND WARRANTS.

COVE, Oregon.

Is there anything to prevent a person from locating a land warrant
on public lands in this State? For what wars were land warrants
given, and what are they worth?

JAMES M. SELDERS.

_Answer._—Military bounty land warrants are issued by the Commissioner of Pensions for services in the several wars before the year 1855. No warrants are issued for services during the war for the Union; but soldiers can be credited on homestead entries for the terms of their enlistments, up to four years of the time of residence required as a condition of title in cases of ordinary homesteaders. These warrants call for 40, 60, 80, 120, or 160 acres of land, as the case may be, and being assignable can be located by any purchaser. They should be bought only of responsible dealers, with a written guarantee that, in case of error or defect, the settler will not lose anything thereby. The market price of such warrants is from $1 to $1.20 per acre. There is no reason why these cannot be used in paying for public lands in Oregon as well as in other States or Territories. Applications must be made as in cash cases, but accompanied with a warrant duly assigned as payment for the land. Yet where the land is $2.50 per acre, as the warrant pays only for land at $1.25 per acre, the remaining $1.25 per acre must be paid in cash. However, a tract of eighty acres, rated at $2.50 per acre, for example, can be paid for by two eighty-acre warrants without any cash, except fees chargeable by land officers, as follows: For a forty-acre tract, 50 cents each to Register and Receiver; for sixty acres, 75 cents each; for eighty acres, $1; and so on.

NOON BY CLOCK AND BY SUN-DIAL.

SUN RIVER, M. T.

The following rule will enable any one to determine the true
difference between noon by clock-time and noon by the sun-dial or
noon-mark; which seems to be a vexing question with some of your
correspondents: Rule: From any almanac take the time from sunrise
to 12 o’clock and from 12 o’clock to sunset. Half of the difference
between the two is the number of minutes which the dial shows
wrong, either plus or minus. This is called the equation of time
and varies about fifteen minutes either way, at its highest.

JOHN KERLER.

THREE AMERICAN AUTHORESSES.

ENGLEWOOD, Ill.

Please name the author of “The Lamplighter”—an old book, but a good
one—and who wrote “The Wide, Wide World.”

E. O. G.

_Answer._—The author of “The Lamplighter” was Maria S. Cummins, born in Massachusetts in 1827; died in 1866. The writer of “The Wide, Wide World,” of which there were 500,000 copies sold in the first ten years, and of “Queechey,” is Susan Warner, born in New York in 1818. Her sister Anna is the popular author of “The Fourth Watch,” “The Other Shore,” and other works published under the pseudonym of “Amy Lathrop.”

BONANZA FARMS—U.S. MARINE.

PLEASANT PLAINS, Ill.

1. Who owns the largest farm in Dakota and how many acres does it
contain? Which is the largest in the United States? 2. How many
ships has the United States engaged in commerce?

ALBIN C. DEMARY.

_Answer._-The largest farm in the United States is the estate of the late Dr. Glenn, of California, over 60,000 acres. The largest farm in Dakota is the Grandin Farm, covering about 50,000 acres, and requiring the labor of 150 men at seed time and 250 at harvest. The largest cultivated area under one control is the 28,000 acres farmed by Oliver Dalrymple. 2. June 30, 1880, the shipping of the United States was classified as follows: Sailing vessels, 16,830; steam vessels, 4,717; barges, 1,930, and canal-boats, etc., 1,235; total, 24,712, measuring 4,069,035 tons. In 1882 (June 30) the commercial navy of this country numbered 24,368 vessels, of 4,165,933 tons.

WHERE POSTAL SERVICE IS SELF-SUPPORTING.

LONGMONT, Col.

In what States is the United States postal service self-supporting.

C. WATSON BROWN.

_Answer._—In Connecticut, Delaware, Illinois, Indiana, Iowa, Maine, Massachusetts, Michigan, Minnesota, New Hampshire, New Jersey, New York, Pennsylvania, Rhode Island, Vermont, Wisconsin, and Alaska, in which States and Territory the excess of receipts over expenditures in the year ending June 30, 1882, amounted to $6,951,696, while the excess of expenditures over receipts in the rest of the Union amounted to $5,114,930, leaving a surplus, for the first time in several years, amounting to $1,836,765.

THOMAS NAST, THE CARICATURIST.

ASHKUM, Ill.

Give a short biographical sketch of Thomas Nast, the great
“caricaturist.”