Part 10
=Type.=--Movable metallic type was invented by Gutenberg, of Germany, about 1450. Before this time, all books and papers were either hand-written or printed from engraved wooden blocks. To-day there are over 50,000 faces and sizes of type. Type is divided into three great classes: (1) Roman or body type, which is used for the reading matter in newspapers, magazines, and books; (2) display type, which appears in headings, and is used for circulars and the like; and (3) ornamental type, which has a fancy face. The different sizes of type formerly bore arbitrary names, like Nonpareil, Pica, etc., but now all type is under the point system, Nonpareil being known as 6 Point and Pica as 12 Point. The reading matter in all large daily newspapers is set in 6 Point, but most books are printed from either 10, 11, or 12 Point. Twelve Point type has twice the depth of 6 Point type. Type to be set is placed in two cases, one known as upper case and the other as lower case, the former holding capitals and small capitals; the latter small letters and figures, both cases containing boxes for spaces and other characters. The compositor holds in his left hand what is known as a composing stick, or stick. It is made of metal, with a bottom and three sides, the left side being movable and adjustable. The compositor places one piece of type at a time in the stick, setting the type from left to right and upside down. He places metal spaces between each word. When a line is completed, he sets another, with or without a piece of thin metal between the lines, known as a lead. When the stick is full, he dumps his type into a galley, which is a receptacle made of wood or metal, from one to three feet long, framed at the bottom and at the sides, but open at the other end. The type is then locked up in a steel frame or chase, and is ready to be stereotyped, electrotyped, or to be printed from.
=United States Flag.=--On June 14, 1777, the United States Congress declared "that the flag of the thirteen United States be thirteen stripes, alternate red and white; that the Union be thirteen stars, white in a blue field, representing the new constellation." In 1794 Congress decreed that after May 1st, 1795, "The flag of the United States be fifteen stripes, alternate red and white, and that the Union be fifteen stars, white in a blue field." At that time the stars and stripes were of equal number, and it was the intention to add both a star and stripe with the addition of each new State. Subsequently, it was found that the addition of a stripe for each new State would produce a flag altogether too large. Accordingly, Congress, on April 4th, 1818, reduced the number of stripes to thirteen and made the number of stars twenty, that being the number of States at that time. It was further enacted that a new star should be added as each new State was admitted into the Union. By act of Congress, the flag has become a sacred emblem, and cannot be used for other than decorative or patriotic purposes, and cannot serve as a part of an advertisement or other announcement.
United States History in Brief
1492, August 3, Columbus sailed from Palos, Spain.
1492, October 12, Columbus discovered America.
1607, May 13, the English made first permanent settlement at Jamestown, Virginia.
1609, September 11, Henry Hudson, commanding the "Half Moon," sailed into New York Harbor.
1620, November 11, the "Mayflower," containing the Pilgrims, arrived at Provincetown, Massachusetts.
1620, December 22, the "Mayflower" landed at Plymouth Rock, Plymouth, Massachusetts.
1690, September 25, the first American newspaper was published at Boston, Massachusetts.
1732, February 22, George Washington, first President of the Republic, was born.
1743, April 13, Thomas Jefferson was born.
1765, March 22, Passage of the Stamp Act.
1767, March 15, Andrew Jackson born.
1770, March 5, massacre and riot in the streets of Boston, Massachusetts.
1773, December 16, the famous Boston Tea party was organized.
1775, April 18, the ride of Paul Revere, warning inhabitants of the coming battles of Lexington and Concord, Massachusetts.
1775, April 19, the battle of Lexington and Concord, Massachusetts.
1775, May 20, the first Declaration of Independence was signed at Mecklenburg, North Carolina.
1775, June 17, Battle of Bunker Hill, at Charlestown, Massachusetts.
1776, March 17, the British evacuated Boston.
1776, June 17, George Washington was appointed Commander-in-Chief of the American forces.
1776, July 4, The Declaration of Independence was formally signed at Philadelphia.
1776, August 27, Battle of Long Island.
1776, December 26, Battle of Trenton.
1781, October 19, Cornwallis surrendered his army, at Yorktown, Virginia.
1783, January 20, the United States and Great Britain agreed upon secession of hostilities.
1783, November 25, New York was evacuated by the British.
1789, April 30, George Washington was inaugurated first President of the United States.
1790, June 28, Washington, District of Columbia, was made the Capital of the United States.
1791, August 30, Issue of the first United States patent.
1792, April 2, United States Mint established at Philadelphia, Pennsylvania.
1793, September 18, Laying of the corner stone of the capitol, at Washington, District of Columbia.
1784, May 8, Congress established the Post-Office Department.
1796, September 17, President Washington issued his Farewell Address.
1799, December 14, death of President Washington.
1807, January 19, birth of General Robert E. Lee.
1807, August 11, first trial trip of a steamboat, by Robert Fulton, its inventor, on the Hudson River.
1809, February 12, birth of Abraham Lincoln.
1813, September 10, Perry's victory on Lake Erie.
1815, January 8, Battle of New Orleans.
1816, December 13, establishment, at Boston, Massachusetts, of the first Savings Bank in the United States.
1819, May 22, the first steam vessel to cross the Atlantic Ocean sailed from Atlanta, Georgia.
1844, May 27, first telegraph message sent by Professor Morse, the inventor of telegraphy.
1846, April 23, beginning of the Mexican War.
1847, February 22, Battle of Buena Vista.
1847, September 14, capture of the city of Mexico by the United States Army.
1851, August 27, the Yacht "America" won the international cup race, at Cowes, England.
1858, August 16, the Old World and the New World connected by telegraphic cable.
1859, October 18, capture of John Brown, at Harper's Ferry, Virginia.
1860, December 20, South Carolina seceded from the Union.
1861, April 12, Fort Sumter, South Carolina, bombarded.
1861, April 15, President Lincoln issued his first call for volunteers.
1861, July 21, Battle of Bull Run.
1862, March 9, Fight in Hampton Roads, Virginia, between the "Monitor" and the "Merrimac."
1862, April 28, New Orleans evacuated.
1862, June 6, capture of Memphis, Tennessee.
1862, September 15, General Stonewall Jackson captured Harper's Ferry.
1862, September 17, Battle of Antietam.
1863, January 1, President Lincoln issued the Proclamation of Emancipation.
1863, February 25, passage of the National Bank Act.
1863, July 1 to 3, Battle of Gettysburg.
1863, September 19, Battle of Chickmauga.
1864, March 6 to 8, Battle of the Wilderness.
1864, June 19, the Warship "Kearsarge" sank the "Alabama."
1864, September 2, General Sherman captured Atlanta, Georgia.
1865, April 9, General Lee surrendered at Appomattox.
1865, April 14, John Wilkes Booth assassinated President Lincoln.
1867, March 30, Treaty for the purchase of Alaska signed.
1869, May 10, completion of the Union Pacific Railroad.
1871, October 8, great fire at Chicago.
1881, July 2, President Garfield shot by Charles J. Guiteau.
1886, May 4, Haymarket riot at Chicago.
1889, May 31, great flood at Johnstown, Pennsylvania.
1893, February 14, the Hawaiian Islands annexed to the United States.
1897, June 14, Venezuela boundary line treaty ratified by Congress.
1898, February 15, United States Battleship "Maine" blown up in Havana Harbor.
1898, April 21, Severance of diplomatic relations between Spain and the United States.
1898, April 27, Matanzas, Cuba, fired upon by American warships.
1898, May 1, Admiral Dewey destroyed the Spanish fleet at Manila.
1898, May 6, United States fleet bombarded Santiago, Cuba.
1898, May 12, Admiral Sampson fired upon San Juan, Porto Rico.
1898, June 3, Hobson sank the Merrimac in the harbor of Santiago, that he might block the channel.
1898, June 22, first landing of the United States troops in Cuba.
1898, July 3, the Spanish fleet destroyed at Santiago.
1898, July 16, Santiago surrendered.
1898, August 13, Manila surrendered.
1898, November 28, end of the Spanish-American War.
1901, September 6, President McKinley killed by Leon Czolgolz.
1901, September 16, Hay-Pauncefote Canal Treaty ratified by Congress.
1902, July 4, Declaration of Peace with Philippine Islands, and amnesty granted to all insurgents.
1904, May 4, the United States took control of the Panama Canal.
=University Extension.=--A scheme for extending to people at large the advantages of a university education, by means of courses of lectures and classes in various important cities. The scheme originated at the University of Cambridge, England, in 1872, and was introduced into the United States in 1890.
=University Settlements.=--Homes established in the poorer parts of cities, where educated and cultured people may live and try to improve the lives of their neighbors. Lectures, studies, and various other devices are resorted to. The movement started in England in 1867, and appeared in New York in 1887, as a "Neighborhood Guild." University settlements are now found in all the chief cities of the United States.
=Utopia.=--An imaginary island, with an ideal commonwealth, the inhabitants of which enjoy perfect laws and institutions. It is described in Sir Thomas More's political romance, "De Optimo Reipublicae Statu, deque Nova Insula Utopia," published in Latin in 1516, and translated into English in 1551. His purpose was to describe his idea of social arrangements by which the people's most absolute happiness and improvement might be secured.
=Vaccination.=--Vaccination, a preventive of smallpox, was discovered by Dr. Edward Jenner of England. It consists of injecting into the blood a virus made from the sores or scabs of cows suffering from cowpox, or the virus may be taken from the sore coming from vaccination itself. Comparatively few people, properly vaccinated, can have the smallpox, and are largely exempt from any disease resembling it, except that which is known as varioloid, which is a mild form of smallpox. It is not known how long vaccination remains a preventive, but probably for seven years, when one should be vaccinated again. The prejudice against vaccination, which was very intense at its discovery, no longer exists except among a few. Practically every physician advocates it, and it is compulsory in some towns and cities. Deaths have occurred from it, but they are very infrequent.
=Vacuum.=--The perfect vacuum, which it is impossible to produce, is space without air or atmosphere. Vacuums are made by pumping all the air out of a receptacle or chamber. In a vacuum, everything falls at the same rapidity, as there is nothing to buoy it up, a feather descending as rapidly as lead shot.
=Vedas.=--Sacred writings of the Hindus, hymns, prayers, and liturgies, said to have been compiled by Vyasa about 1200 B. C. They are written in Sanskrit, and divided into four parts.
=Voodooism.=--A degraded form of religion prevalent among the negroes of Hayti and the Southern States of America. Supposed to be a relic of the religion of equatorial Africa.
=Watered Stock.=--It is said that the late Commodore Vanderbilt originated what is known as watered stock. Watered stock is capitalizing an industry at a figure in advance of its real value. For example: a railroad has tangible assets of $10,000,000, and an earning capacity sufficient to pay a 6 per cent. dividend on its capitalization; financial giants manipulate the stock and increase it to, say, $20,000,000, watering it to the extent of 100 per cent. In other words, the real value of the stock then is one-half of what it was in the first place. Stock watering has become epidemic, and is the cause of hundreds of thousands of financial failures. The stock waterers, however, as a rule, win, the public being the victims.
=Wealth of the Nations.=--The estimated wealth of the principal nations of the earth is given in billions: United States, 130; Great Britain and Ireland, 80; France, 65; Germany, 60-1/2; Russia, 40; Austria-Hungary, 25; Italy, 20; Belgium, 9; Spain, 5.4; Netherlands, 5; Portugal, 2.5; Switzerland, 2.4.
Weather Flags
The Weather Bureau maintained by the United States Department of Agriculture displays at its stations flags which indicate probable changes in the weather.
A white flag indicates clear or fair weather.
A blue flag, rain or snow.
A flag with the upper half white and the lower half blue, local rain or snow.
A black triangular flag indicates temperature.
A white flag with black square in center, a cold wave.
When the black triangular flag is placed above the white flag, the black flag or the white and blue flag, it indicates warmer weather; when below, colder.
When the black triangular flag is not displayed at all, the temperature is likely to remain stationary.
Flags are displayed by the Weather Bureau as storm warnings in the following manner:
Small Craft Warning: A red pennant indicates that moderately strong winds are expected.
Storm Warning: A red flag with a black center indicates that a storm of marked violence is expected.
The pennants displayed with the flags indicate the direction of the wind--white, westerly (from southwest to north); red, easterly (from northeast to south). The pennant above the flag indicates that the wind is expected to blow from the northerly quadrants; below, from the southerly quadrants.
By night a red light indicates easterly winds, and a white light below a red light, westerly winds.
Hurricane Warning: Two red flags with black centers, displayed one above the other, indicate the expected approach of a tropical hurricane, or one of those extremely severe and dangerous storms which occasionally move across the Lakes and Northern Atlantic coast.
No night small craft or hurricane warnings are displayed.
=Wedding Anniversaries.=--First, cotton; Second, paper; Third, leather; Fourth, fruit and flowers; Fifth, wooden; Sixth, sugar; Seventh, woolen; Eighth, India rubber; Ninth, willow; Tenth, tin; Eleventh, steel; Twelfth, silk and fine linen; Thirteenth, lace; Fourteenth, ivory; Fifteenth, crystal; Twentieth, china; Twenty-fifth, silver; Thirtieth, pearl; Fortieth, ruby; Fiftieth, golden; Seventy-fifth, diamond.
Weights and Measures
LONG MEASURE
12 inches 1 foot 3 feet 1 yard 2 yards 1 fathom 16-1/2 feet 1 rod 4 rods 1 chain 10 chains 1 furlong 8 furlongs 1 mile 3 miles 1 league
SQUARE MEASURE
9 square feet 1 square yard 30-1/4 square yards 1 square rod 40 square rods 1 rood 4 roods 1 acre 640 acres 1 square mile
An acre is 43,560 square feet.
DRY MEASURE
2 pints 1 quart 8 quarts 1 peck 4 pecks 1 bushel
LIQUID MEASURE
4 gills 1 pint 2 pints 1 quart 4 quarts 1 gallon
TROY WEIGHT
24 grains 1 pennyweight 20 pennyweights 1 ounce 12 ounces 1 pound
AVOIRDUPOIS WEIGHT
16 drams 1 ounce 16 ounces 1 pound 25 pounds 1 quarter 4 quarters 1 hundred 20 hundreds 1 ton
APOTHECARIES' WEIGHT
20 grains 1 scruple 3 scruples 1 dram 8 drams 1 ounce 12 ounces 1 pound
CUBIC MEASURE
1728 cubic inches 1 cubic foot 27 cubic feet 1 cubic yard 16 cubic feet 1 cord foot 8 cord feet 1 cord 128 cubic feet 1 cord
LAND MEASURE
7.92 inches 1 link 25 links 1 rod 4 rods 1 chain 80 chains 1 mile
CIRCULAR MEASURE
60 seconds 1 minute 60 minutes 1 degree 30 degrees 1 sign 60 degrees 1 sextant 90 degrees 1 quadrant 360 degrees 1 circle
METRIC SYSTEM
MEASURES OF WEIGHT
(Unit Gramme)
Oz. Lbs. Grains Troy Avoir. Cwt.
Centigramme 0.15432 ..... ..... ..... Decigramme 1.54323 0.003 ..... ..... Gramme 15.43235 0.032 0.002 ..... Decagramme 154.32349 0.321 0.022 ..... Hectogramme 1543.23488 3.215 0.220 0.001 Kilogramme 15432.34880 32.150 2.204 0.019
MEASURES OF LENGTH
(Unit Metre)
Inches Feet Yards Miles
Millimetre 0.03937 0.003 0.001 ..... Centimetre 0.39371 0.032 0.010 ..... Decametre 393.70790 32.808 10.936 0.006 Metre 39.37079 3.280 1.093 ..... Decimetre 3.93708 0.328 0.109 ..... Hectometre 3937.07900 328.089 109.363 0.062 Kilometre 39370.79000 3280.899 1093.633 0.621
BOARD AND TIMBER MEASURE
BOARD MEASURE
In board measure boards are assumed to be one inch in thickness.
To compute the measure of surface in square feet--
When all dimensions are in feet, multiply the length by the breadth, and the product will give the surface required.
When either of the dimensions are in inches, multiply as above and divide by 12.
When all dimensions are in inches, multiply as before and divide product by 144.
TIMBER MEASURE
To compute the volume of round timber--
When all dimensions are in feet, multiply the length by the square of one-quarter of the main girt, and the product will give the measurement in cubic feet.
When length is given in feet and girt in inches, multiply as before and divide by 144.
When all the dimensions are in inches, multiply as before and divide by 1,728.
Sawed or hewed timber is measured by the cubic foot.
To compute the volume of square timber--
When all dimensions are in feet, multiply the product of the breadth by the depth by the length, and the product will give the volume in cubic feet.
When either of the dimensions are in inches, multiply as above and divide the product by 12.
When any two of the dimensions are in inches, multiply as before and divide the product by 144.
WHAT TO DO IN EMERGENCIES
Many books and pamphlets have been written advising the layman what to do in a case of emergency, and in the absence of a physician or surgeon.
Much of the information presented is altogether too technical, and is not likely to be understood by the public at large.
The author has attempted to cover, in a few pages, the fundamentals of first aid to the injured, and has carefully avoided technical and medicinal terms. No amount of information, no matter how carefully or plainly written, can take the place of the physician or surgeon. Self-doctoring and -dosing is, or should be, considered a crime, and no one is justified in attempting to relieve any one suffering from accident or any other ailment, if it is of possible seriousness, unless a good physician or surgeon cannot be procured.
First and always, keep your head, and keep cool. Don't get excited. Work rapidly, but deliberately. If the injury or trouble is at all serious, summon a surgeon or physician immediately. If you are alone with the sufferer, it may not be safe for you to leave him, but unless he is in immediate danger, it is better to call a competent physician, even though you have to absent yourself from him for a few moments. If the accident occurs in a crowd, solicit some one who looks trustworthy, and request him to telephone or otherwise communicate with a doctor.
If you know the cause of the accident or trouble inform the physician in advance, so that he may be better prepared to meet it and bring with him instruments and remedies.
The patient or sufferer should be placed in a comfortable position, a doctor or surgeon summoned, and in the interval the layman may follow the instructions presented here. If he does so, no harm will be done, and in many cases suffering will be relieved, and death or serious illness prevented. But the author again, and most emphatically, urges the layman to send for a physician or surgeon, and to follow the instructions or information given in this chapter only as preliminary to the arrival of the doctor or surgeon, unless the injury be of slight consequence.
If possible, remove the patient to a quiet place, where there is plenty of air, and where the temperature is normal.
If there are many people about, request them to keep away.
Place the injured person in a comfortable position, usually upon his back, and straighten out his legs and arms. If the head is injured, better lift it above the level of the body; but if it is not, allow the body to lie on a level.
If the patient is breathing hard, it may be well to lift him into a sitting position. Loosen his collar, waist-band, and clothing. If he faints, his head should be slightly lower than his feet. If an arm or leg is injured, lift it slightly and place it upon a cushion, pillow, or other support.
If the one injured is unconscious, watch him very carefully. If he is vomiting, or that tendency is apparent, turn him over on one side so that the discharge will run out easily and not go into the lungs.
If he is wounded, cut away the clothing covering the wound, but don't remove any more than is necessary. If he has been burned, pour lukewarm water, containing a little saleratus or bicarbonate of soda, over the clothing before you remove it. If he is bleeding severely, stop the bleeding before dressing the wound. After the wound is dressed there is nothing for the novice to do, except bring the patient to consciousness, if unconscious, and remove him to a place of safety and comfort.
If the accident or injury be serious, or the patient is unconscious, it is well to request more than one bystander to summon a physician, because the first one sent may fail, or the physician he telephones to or calls upon may be unavailable.
Use the telephone, if there is one at hand or nearby, and tell the physician what you think is the matter with the sufferer or what caused the accident, that he may be better prepared to bring with him the instruments necessary.
If you are alone with the patient, and cannot notify a physician or surgeon without leaving the patient, you must use your best judgment; but you should make every possible effort to reach a physician at the earliest possible moment. Remain with the patient long enough to place him in a comfortable position, and to stop the flow of blood, if bleeding; then make all haste to notify a physician or surgeon.
The author acknowledges his indebtedness to Johnson's First Aid Manual, published by Johnson & Johnson of New Brunswick, N. J., and to Jay W. Seaver, M. D., of New Haven, Conn., and recently of Yale University.
=Accidents.=--Convey the sufferer to a place of safety, and give him plenty of air. If a shock follows, follow instructions given for shock. Do not touch the wound with the bare hand. Wear absolutely clean gloves or wrap the fingers in clean cloth or gauze. Do not attempt to cleanse the wound. Summon a surgeon immediately.