THE AMERICAN ALMANAC AND REPOSITORY OF USEFUL KNOWLEDGE, FOR THE YEAR 1850. BOSTON: CHARLES C. LITTLE AND JAMES BROWN. 1849. Entered according to Act of Congress, in the year 1849, by G. P. SANGER AND F. E. PARKER, in the Clerk's Office of the District Court of the District of Massachusetts. CAMBRIDGE: METCALF AND COMPANY, PRINTERS TO THE UNIVERSITY. PREFACE. THE twenty-first volume of the American Almanac, being the first volume of the third series, is now offered to the public. Unwearied pains have been taken to collect full, authentic, and varied information concerning the complex affairs of the general and State governments; and a mass of official documents and private correspondence has been digested relating to the government, finances, legislation, public institutions, internal improvements, and resources of the United States. It is believed that the present volume is equal to its predecessors in fulness and accuracy, and that it will sustain the high character of the American Almanac as a trustworthy manual for reference, and a full repository of useful knowledge. The Astronomical Department has been, as usual, under the direction of Professor Peirce, whose high reputation is a sufficient guaranty of the completeness and accuracy of the computations. The article upon “Melloni's Researches in Radiant Heat" is a treatise in itself, and will be useful and instructive to all classes of readers. The earlier volumes of the Almanac contained articles upon various scientific matters. Since that time, the achievements of science have been so numerous, as to require a new series of articles upon subjects of the same class. The series is commenced this year, and will be continued in future volumes. The Meteorological Information is full and general; new and carefully prepared tables are given. Some favors were received too late for publication. In the Second Part of the volume, the chapters upon the several Departments will be found to be full and accurate, having been corrected at Washington to the latest dates possible for publication. New lists have been added of Pension Agents, Indian Agents, and of Registers, Receivers, &c. connected with the Land Office. Later changes in these and in the various other lists are noted in the "Additions and Corrections" at the end of the volume. The rates of postage under the present postal arrangements have been carefully compiled, and are believed to be as accurate and intelligible as any thing that has been published. The chapter upon Public Lands contains an abstract of the Land Commissioners' Report for 1848, and the valuable tables appended thereto, in which the condition of the public lands and the various donations and grants thereof, from the founda RECAP) 41870 |