Rensselaer Republican, Volume 12, Number 13, Rensselaer, Jasper County, 11 December 1879 — FACTS AND FIGURES. [ARTICLE]

FACTS AND FIGURES.

Georgia’s gold mines yield over a million dollars a year. Over 400 miles of railroad are being built in Nebraska this year. The Yuken River, in Alaska, is navigable for steamers 2,500 miles. San Joaquin County, California, has this year paid bounty on the scalps of 65,000 squirrels. Upward of 2,000,000 acres of land have been taken by settlers in Manitoba during the past two years. During October 0ver35,000,000 postal cards were sent from the factory—the largest month’s business ever done. The Chinese are invading the Sandwich Islands. Over 2,000 Chinamen arrived at Honolulu in the second half of last year. France had 21,992 vessels, with a tonnage of 164,000 tons, and manned by 82,481 sailors, engaged in the fisheries last year. There are 80,000 deaf mutes in the United States, and fifty places of worship where services are conducted in the sign language. M. de Candolle, the French statistician, estimates that, a century hence, English will be the speech of 860,000,000 persons, German of 124,000,000, and French of 69,000,000. The biggest area of oil lands ever disposed of in Pennsylvania at once was the recent sale of the 700 acres com{>rised in the Moody tract near Bradord to three companies for 8105,000. The earnings of the Chicago & Northwestern Railroad for the fourth week in October, 1879, show an increase of 8138,000, and for the month of October, 1879, show an increase of 8362,020. An experienced apple-buyer estimates that 150,000 barrels will be bought at Lockport, New York, this season, and that the crop is about one and one-half times larger than usual. In the month of October the elevated railroads of New York City carried 4,958,853 passengers—nearly five millions! This is an average of about 160,000 a day, counting seven days in the week. Chautauqua County, N. Y,. has been very productive this year. Its 1 cheese shipments are about 5,000,000 pounds, and its grape crop is estimated at 1,309,740 pounds. Apples, potatoes and quinces nave been no less bountiful. The President ot the California State Vinicultural Society has reported 60,000 acres covered with vineyards, numbering 45,000,000 vines, and representing, with the land, a capital of 830,000, (XX). Another complete report is to be made ten years hence.

India now produces, without calculating what is grown in the native States, from 30,000,000 to 35,000,900 quarters of wheat per annum, or about the same as France and Russia. With this may be compared the production of the United Kingdom, which amounts only to from 10,000,000 to 13,000,000 quarters per annum. The total number of miles of new railroad constructed in this country during the month of October last was 55, making 3,042 miles thus far this year, against 1,840 miles reported for the corresponding period of 1878; 1,890 miles in 1877 ; 1,970 miles in 1876 ; 1,156 miles in 1875 ; 1,664 miles in 1874 ; 3,272 miles in 1873, and 6,202 miles in 1872. Letter-writing in Great Britain goes largely ahead of this country, it being thirty-one per capita there, compared with sixteen per capita here for the past year. The use of postal cards, however is nearly twice as great in this country as in Great Britain, and the number of newspapers sent through the mails is seven times as great, while the number forwarded through the express agencies is supposed to largely exceed a similar distribution there. The money-order system is more largely made use of in Great Britain than here. France produces, on an average, 60,000,000 hectoliters of wine annually —each hectoliter being equal to twentytwo gallons; Italy produces 30,000,000 hectoliters; Austria-Hungary, about 28,000,000; Spain, about 20,000,000, and Germany 4,500,000 hectoliters. The annual production of sparkling wines in Germany does not exceed from 3,000,000 to 4,000,000 bottles, of which from 1,000,000 to 1,500,000 are consumed in the country, while from 2,000,000 to 2,500,000 are exported. The importation of French champagne into Germany amounts to about 2.500,000 bottles a year. The annual wine produce of Portugal is estimated at 4,000,000 hectoliters, of which 3,000,000 are consumed in the country, 500,000 exported, and the remainder distilled or turned into vinegar.