Questions and Answers.

H. M. Kimball says he made a battery after the suggestions given in the Table, and that it worked well when he put one cell in the circuit. But when he connected two, the battery seemed to give out. He asks for an explanation. The matter is, probably, that he connected the negative to the negative and the positive to the positive poles, in which case one cell nullified the strength of the other. The positive should be connected to the negative pole, and the negative to the positive. That is to say, the zinc to the copper, not the zinc to the zinc. Yes, the Calland cell is dirty and easily upset. In these days of improvements in batteries it is cheaper and cleaner to buy one's cells outright. The only thing lost then is the experience gained in putting them together—and the fun of doing the thing one's self.—Edgar W. Hall asks for a charter for a Chapter, and fails to give the name of the latter. What does he call his society? Tell us what name to fill in, and we will send charter promptly.

James D. Waite says his school battalion went to Washington last year, and is going again this year, and he offers to write a morsel describing the trip. By all means let us have the morsel. You are a member of the Order if you have a Patent in the Camera Club. One Patent admits to all divisions of the Order. Henry T. Smith asks what the new process is by which so much more gold than formerly is now gotten out of quartz and gold ore. Here it is. It is somewhat technical. It was invented in Australia. The machine consists of vertical distributors and mercury baths, placed as follows:—The crashed materials or slum enter a cast-iron trough or distributor, which is from 3 feet to 6 feet long and 5 inches wide; its sectional shape is half round. At the bottom of this distributor, and in a straight line from end to end, is a row of 1-4-inch holes, 5-6 inch from centre to centre. Below this is placed a mercury bath 2-1/8 inches wide by 5/16 inch deep, running the whole length of the distributor, and placed at a distance sufficient to cause the materials passing through the holes to form an indentation in the silver about the size of half a pea. These jets strike the mercury in the centre of the ripple at right angles. By these means the whole of the stuff is brought into forcible contact with the silver without separating it, and flows over its surface into another distributor below; and from there it again passes through another row of holes, and brought into contact with a second bath of silver. This operation is repeated until every particle of tailings has passed over eight mercury baths.

This Department is conducted in the interest of stamp and coin collectors, and the Editor will be pleased to answer any question on these subjects so far as possible. Correspondents should address Editor Stamp Department.

The old-style St. Helena stamps have been displaced by the current issue of the De la Rue type. The immediate advance in prices of the obsolete set prompts the Weekly Era to warn the dealers and speculators that the extreme rise in ordinary stamps, simply because they have become obsolete, will tend to kill the goose that lays the golden eggs. In many cases such advances are not only unjustifiable, but foolish also, in view of the fact that large stocks are in existence. Every one except speculators will heartily agree with the Era in trying to abolish an evil which threatens the popularity of stamp-collecting.

Philately is only one of the many forms of "collecting" which are a part of our human nature, but it seems exceptionally conducive to sociability, good-fellowship, and general jollity. The Collectors' Club House in New York was taken in hand by a Christmas entertainment committee, who decorated the house with greens, put up a big Christmas tree, and made the whole house seem homelike. The entertainment was given on the night of the 28th of December, and those members who were unavoidably absent missed a great treat. The Christmas tree was stripped, and almost every one received a present of something he did not want—upon the condition, however, that the parcel should be opened by the recipient in full view of all the audience. The burlesque presents showed both good-humor and wit.

New Issues.—British Central America.—

1d. black.
2d. black and green.
4d. black and orange.
6d. black and blue.

The above watermarked Crown C A.

2s. 6d. black and violet.
3s. black and yellow.
5s. black and violet.
£1 black and orange.
£10 black and vermilion.
1s. on £1 blue and red.
2s. on 6d. lilac and red.
With black surcharge.

The above watermarked Crown C C.

Congo.—

15c. black and ochre, banana-tree.
40c. black and green, canoe.

Nankin.—

1/2c. gray, two figures.
1c. rose, pagoda.
2c. green, two elephants.
3c. yellow, landscape.
4c. claret, pagoda.
5c. violet, bell.

Salvador.—

The 1, 2, 3, 5, 10, 12, 15, 20, 24, 30, 50 centavos and 1 peso of the current series have been issued with "Official" surcharge.

South African Republic.—

4d. olive and green.
6d. mauve and green.

Sweden.—

25 ore, orange.
15 ore, light brown.

J. Fetteridge.—The "Officially Sealed" stamps are losing favor rapidly, and probably will be omitted in future catalogues. They are interesting as labels connected with the postal service, but they cannot be called postage-stamps.

F. G. Elliott.—During the first half of this century the mint frequently made use of old dies when making a later issue. For instance, the 1838 1c. die was used for the 1839 issue. The figure 8 was changed to a figure 9 in a bungling manner, with the result that the date looks as if it had been struck 1838, and then restruck 1839.

C. Rawson.—The 3c. U. S. Revenue "Telegraph" stamp, unperforated, is worth 75c.; perforated, 15c. The 3c. "Playing Cards," unperforated, $15; perforated, $4. The 3c. "Proprietary" and "Foreign Exchange" are not known unperforated; perforated they are worth from 5c. to 10c. each. The other stamps mentioned are worth 1c. each.

Ole C. Olsen, 2912 Quinn Street, Chicago, would like to exchange stamps, both common and rare, and U. S. adhesive and revenues.

K. H. Truax.—The 1882 Nicaragua is worth 2c.; the 1/8 Philippine Islands, 1886, is worth 5c. The dealers named are responsible men.

H. M. Ormiston.—The 20 para, Turkey, 1865, is yellow, and worth 6c. The 1869 issue is green; worth 3c. The 40 para, pink and black, is a local stamp worth 30c.

J. Gordon.—The English compound envelopes are good for postage, but the fact that they were made for anybody who was willing to pay the cost, on any kind of paper, of almost any size, and almost any combination of stamps, leads collectors to disregard them, as a rule.

A. Bull.—Do not hoard any Columbian stamps. They keep turning up in quantities, and are offered at a discount of five or ten per cent. on values 1c. to 50c.; twenty-five per cent. on values $2, $3, $4, and $5. I know of one lot offered which contained 12,000 6c. Columbians in complete sheets.

C. B. Viner.—I recommend applying to some dealer. There are three 1798 dollars, worth $2, $3, and $6 respectively. See answer to George Jay.

George Jay.—There are three 1799 dollars—the five star, worth $4; the six star, worth $2; the 1799 over 1798, worth $3. The old German and Spanish coins are worth bullion only.

Philatus.