| Duty | |||
| Collected, | Per | ||
| Value. | Ad valorem. | Cent. | |
| Sizes not exceeding 10x15 | $288,927 | $190,815 | 66 |
| Sizes 16 x 24 | 265,919 | 305,357 | 114.83 |
| Sizes 24 x 30 | 346,486 | 440,685 | 127.15 |
| All above that | 477,132 | 626,740 | 131.35 |
| ————— | |||
| Total | $1,563,497 |
We have squeezed out of the neediest, most hard-working of our population $1,563,000 taxes on their "daylight" or window tax, which has gone into the Treasury; but we have squeezed at least $5,000,000 more and put it into the pockets of people who made similar glass. Our Pan-American guests may reflect on the above statistics and come to the conclusion that having flourishing window-glass industries may, after all, not be the highest blessing.
I beg to assure Mr. Carnegie that I am "not" a grumbler, as I don't want to run the risk of having the door of heaven shut in my face when he succeeds St. Peter in office.
THE NATURAL-GAS SUPPLY.—At the recent meeting in New York of the American Geological Society, Prof. Edward Orton, State Geologist of Ohio, and a professor in the State University, in his paper answered those who claim that the great natural gas fields of the country are practically inexhaustible, and that nature is manufacturing the gas by chemical combination in the subterranean cavities as rapidly as it is consumed by man at the surface. He claimed that the supply of natural gas in those States was not only limited, but was being exhausted very rapidly and would be drained in less than nine years. The gas, he said, is now being used as the basis of a varied line of manufactures, the annual products of which aggregate many millions of dollars, and it is driving, besides the iron and steel mills of Pittsburgh, potteries and brick works, over forty glass furnaces and a long list of factories in which cheap power is a desideratum. The gas is the product of ages, which has been accumulated in the porous limestone of Ohio and Indiana. It has been produced so slowly that when once exhausted it will take many thousands of years for it to again accumulate in sufficient quantities to be used, even if the elements necessary for its production were preserved, which he thought was not at all probable. The pressure which forces the gas out with such tremendous power that it sometimes reaches 1,000 pounds pressure per square inch, is not due to the pressure of the gas itself, but to the hydrostatic pressure brought to bear by the column of salt water that enters the porous stratum of rock containing the gas at the sea-level, and which by its weight tends to force the gas out. To the explanation and elucidation of this phenomenon, Professor Orton's paper was more especially devoted. The men who are engaged in the practical development of gas and oil fields, said he, made great account of rock-pressure. It is the first fact they inquire after in a new gas-field. They appreciate its importance, knowing that the distance of the markets they care to reach and the size of the pipes they can employ are entirely dependent upon this element. He defined the term "rock-pressure", and showed the decrease of its rate westward. He said four hundred thousand people in Northwestern Ohio and Central Indiana alone depended upon natural-gas for fuel and illumination.
STATUE GIVING A DOUBLE IMAGE.—At the Italian exhibition in the Champ de Mars there was a statue that attracted much attention from the visitors. It represented Goethe's Marguerite standing before a mirror. This latter gave by reflection the image of Faust. The artifice was well concealed by the sculptor. In reality, it was not a double statue, but the figure of Faust was skilfully obtained by means of the folds of Marguerite's robe.
Marguerite holds her arms in front of her, and these same arms form those of Faust, who holds them crossed behind his back. Faust's face is carved in Marguerite's back hair, and the man's figure is obtained, as before stated, by means of the folds of the woman's robe. This curious object might inspire some of our sculptors with an analogous idea. We do not know the name of the author of the statue, but we can say that it was exhibited by Mr. Francesco Toso, a Venetian manufacturer of mirrors. The statue was of wood, and of nearly life-size.—La Nature.
SITE FOE THE KAISER'S MONUMENT.—Three or four Berlin banks have secured the preemption of all the buildings in Schlossfreiheitstrasse, with a view to pulling them down and fulfilling the Emperor's wish to have his grandfather's monument erected there. Only a few days ago three of the most eminent Berlin architects declared that the place was absolutely unsuited for that purpose. The banks are said to have agreed to pay 5,000,000 marks for the houses, and an equal amount as compensation, and intend to form a lottery of 40,000,000 marks, with prizes to the amount of 30,000,000.—The London Standard.