the profession, is more reliable than one who doctors by his wits,
even though he may appear to be successful. Although there are some
charlatans in the profession, who practice in their own interest more
than in that of their patients, the average physician represents
the highest order of civilization. He knows at the start that his
profession is not likely to bring him heavy financial return. He
goes into it with his eyes open. He is under the strictest rules and
regulations, and cannot maintain his standing in the associations, or
with the public, if he does not practice legitimately. He has every
facility at his command, and although he is not always successful, he
is far better able to produce results than is one who has not been
properly educated, and who lacks experience and association with
other doctors, and who has not had hospital practice. Every reputable
physician has not only graduated from a medical school, but was given
opportunity to practice in hospitals and elsewhere before he became a
family physician. The so-called specialist began as a family physician,
and gives his time somewhat exclusively to one disease or to surgery.
The surgeon, while a regular physician, specializes in surgery, and
comparatively few family practitioners will handle a serious surgical
case, except in emergencies. They refer the patient to the skilled
surgeon.
The physician is both a curer and preventor of disease. I would advise
every one, no matter how healthy he may be, to consult a reputable
physician once a year, and to be overhauled, so to speak. Most troubles
can be obviated if taken in time. A symptom seemingly serious to the
one having it may be of little consequence, and yet it may be the
forerunner of an incurable disease. If a good physician is consulted
in time, he may either obviate the trouble or prevent its rapid
increase. No one should attempt to diagnose his own condition. Even
the physician will not do so for himself, because no one can tell by
his feelings exactly what is the matter with him or what would better
be done. The physician when sick, consults other physicians, if his
trouble is of any seriousness. The expense of an annual examination
need not exceed two or three dollars, and some physicians will make
it for a dollar. They are likely to locate any trouble, although it
may have just appeared and the symptom be slight. They will prescribe
a treatment, which cannot fail to be of benefit to those who consult
them. Therefore, I say, visit a good physician at least once a year,
irrespective of your health.
In every city, and in many of the towns, are practicing alleged
physicians or doctors, who claim to be unusually expert and able to
cure where others fail, or even to cure what cannot be cured. Some of
them are graduates of medical schools, and are really good physicians,
but most of them are irresponsible and without real ability. Their
method frequently makes the patient feel that he is being cured, and
cured rapidly. They use appliances and drugs which have an immediate
effect, usually to the patients' injury; or they practice the same as
regular physicians do and give the patient false encouragement. It
seems to me obvious that no so-called outside practitioner, who is not
a member of the associations, can possibly possess any information or
know of any method of treatment with which the regular physicians are
unfamiliar. These charlatans play upon the feelings of the patient,
and it is said that some of them keep him sick for financial reasons.
Therefore, I warn the reader against any physician who is not a member
of one of the two great associations, and who is not recognized by the
profession at large. Even though some of them are skillful, it is safer
to employ a physician of standing than to take one who makes a business
of practicing, and who is not answerable to the rules and regulations
enforced by the associations, and who cannot, because of his removal
from them, obtain and enjoy the privilege of consultation with other
members of his craft. Do not take chances with your body. Better risk
the few mistakes made by physicians than by your own doctor.
=Perpetual Motion.=--Scientists, particularly early ones, made frantic
and continuous endeavors to invent what was supposed to be perpetual
motion; that is, a machine which will keep perpetually in motion
without being replenished or supplied with outside energy. About 60
years ago scientific bodies refused to consider it, as it was proved
to be impossible. The "Scientific American," many years ago, likened
perpetual motion to an energy which will permit a man to lift himself
by his boot-straps.
=Petroleum Industry.=--The annual production is considerably more than
9,000,000,000 gallons a year.
=Philippine Islands.=--The Philippine Islands consist of over 3,000
islands, having an area of about 115,000 square miles. The population
exceeds 7,500,000; and the density of population is about 67 to the
square mile, as against 26 to the square mile in the United States. The
climate is tropical.
=Pianoforte.=--The piano or pianoforte is said to have been invented in
Italy and to have appeared in 1714. Germany, however, claims the honor
of its invention. It was introduced into England in 1766.
=Plate Glass.=--The sand, out of which glass is made, is melted until
it is of about the consistency of molasses. It is then poured into a
casting trough or a table mounted on wheels so it can be run close to
the mouth of the furnace. The molten glass is poured into the trough
through a sluice-way, and before it hardens, heavy rollers pass over
it, reducing it to the required thickness. It is rolled to about 9-16
of an inch, and then by further rolling and polishing it is reduced to
the required thickness. It further passes through a smelting oven which
thoroughly hardens it. Then, it is again polished.
=Playing Cards.=--The origin is unknown, although they appeared in
Europe in 1350. It is claimed that the Arabs used playing cards at a
much earlier date. It is estimated that over sixteen million packs of
playing cards are made annually in the United States.
=Pole Star.=--This is a star of the second magnitude, found at the
extremity of the handle of the Little Dipper.
Population and Land Area of the United States
Land area
Geographic Division Population, (square
and State 1910 miles),
1910
CONTINENTAL UNITED STATES 91,972,266 2,973,890
GEOGRAPHIC DIVISIONS:
New England 6,552,681 61,976
Middle Atlantic 19,315,892 100,000
East North Central 18,250,621 245,564
West North Central 11,637,921 510,804
South Atlantic 12,194,895 269,071
East South Central 8,409,901 179,509
West South Central 8,784,534 429,746
Mountain 2,633,517 859,125
Pacific 4,192,304 318,095
---------- --------
NEW ENGLAND:
Maine 742,371 29,895
New Hampshire 430,572 9,031
Vermont 355,956 9,124
Massachusetts 3,366,416 8,039
Rhode Island 542,610 1,067
Connecticut 1,114,756 4,820
MIDDLE ATLANTIC:
New York 9,113,614 47,654
New Jersey 2,537,167 7,514
Pennsylvania 7,665,111 44,832
EAST NORTH CENTRAL:
Ohio 4,767,121 40,740
Indiana 2,700,876 36,045
Illinois 5,638,591 56,043
Michigan 2,810,173 57,480
Wisconsin 2,333,860 55,256
WEST NORTH CENTRAL:
Minnesota 2,075,708 80,858
Iowa 2,224,771 55,586
Missouri 3,293,335 68,727
North Dakota 577,056 70,183
South Dakota 583,888 76,868
Nebraska 1,192,214 76,808
Kansas 1,690,949 81,774
SOUTH ATLANTIC:
Delaware 202,322 1,965
Maryland 1,295,346 9,941
District of Columbia 331,069 60
Virginia 2,061,612 40,262
West Virginia 1,221,119 24,022
North Carolina 2,206,287 48,740
South Carolina 1,515,400 30,495
Georgia 2,609,121 58,725
Florida 752,619 54,861
EAST SOUTH CENTRAL:
Kentucky 2,289,905 40,181
Tennessee 2,184,789 41,687
Alabama 2,138,093 51,279
Mississippi 1,797,114 46,362
WEST SOUTH CENTRAL:
Arkansas 1,574,449 52,525
Louisiana 1,656,388 45,409
Oklahoma 1,657,155 69,414
Texas 3,896,542 262,398
MOUNTAIN:
Montana 376,053 146,201
Idaho 325,594 83,354
Wyoming 145,965 97,594
Colorado 799,024 103,658
New Mexico 327,301 122,503
Arizona 204,354 113,810
Utah 373,351 82,184
Nevada 81,875 109,821
PACIFIC:
Washington 1,141,990 66,836
Oregon 672,765 95,607
California 2,377,549 155,652
Population Per Square Mile
=Continental United States.=--The following summary shows, for
continental United States, the total population, land area in square
miles, and population per square mile of land area at each census from
1790 to 1910, inclusive:
Land area Population
Census Year Population (square per
miles) sq. mile
1910 91,972,266 2,973,890 30.9
1900 75,994,575 2,974,159 25.6
1890 62,947,714 2,973,965 21.2
1880 50,155,783 2,973,965 16.9
1870 38,558,371 2,973,965 13.0
1860 31,443,321 2,973,965 10.6
1850 23,191,876 2,944,337 7.9
1840 17,069,453 1,753,588 9.7
1830 12,866,020 1,753,588 7.3
1820 9,638,453 1,753,588 5.5
1810 7,239,881 1,685,865 4.3
1800 5,308,483 867,980 6.1
1790 3,929,214 867,980 4.5
According to the census of 1910, there are in continental United
States, on the average, 30.9 inhabitants to each square mile of land
area, or nearly seven times the number per square mile shown for the
much smaller area of 1790, and nearly three times the number shown for
1860. The decrease in the average number of inhabitants per square mile
at the census of 1810 and 1850 was due in each case to large accessions
of thinly populated territory during the decade preceding the census.
In the order of their density of population the nine geographic
divisions of the country rank as follows: Middle Atlantic, 193.2
inhabitants per square mile; New England, 105.7; East North Central,
74.3; East South Central, 46.8; South Atlantic, 45.3; West North
Central, 22.8; West South Central, 20.4; Pacific, 13.2; and Mountain,
3.1. The changes in density from census to census correspond precisely
with the changes in area and the total number of inhabitants. It
may be noted, however, that on account of the rapid increase in
their population the Pacific states in 1910 for the first time are
approaching, in density of population, conditions found in the states
between the Mississippi River and the Rocky Mountains.
=Porto Rico.=--Porto Rico contains about 3,600 square miles, and has a
population of considerable more than a million. The climate is tropical
and the land is extremely fertile.
=Postage Stamps.=--They were invented in 1834, and were introduced into
America in 1847.
=Poultry and Egg Industry.=--Nearly 500,000,000 of poultry, including
chickens, turkeys, geese, and pigeons, are raised in the United
States annually. The total value is about $203,000,000. Each year the
production of eggs is about 1,600,000,000 dozen. The people of the
United States eat about 5-1/2 fowls per year per capita, and a little
over 17 dozen eggs.
Presidents of the United States
(1) George Washington.
(2) John Adams.
(3) Thomas Jefferson.
(4) James Madison.
(5) James Monroe.
(6) John Quincy Adams.
(7) Andrew Jackson.
(8) Martin Van Buren.
(9) William Henry Harrison.
(10) John Tyler.
(11) James K. Polk.
(12) Zachary Taylor.
(13) Millard Fillmore.
(14) Franklin Pierce.
(15) James Buchanan.
(16) Abraham Lincoln.
(17) Andrew Johnson.
(18) Ulysses S. Grant.
(19) Rutherford B. Hayes.
(20) James A. Garfield.
(21) Chester A. Arthur.
(22) Grover Cleveland.
(23) Benjamin Harrison.
(24) William McKinley.
(25) Theodore Roosevelt.
(26) William H. Taft.
(27) Woodrow Wilson.
Principal Countries of the World
COUNTRY CAPITAL SQ. MILES POPULATION
Abyssinia Addis Abeba 200,000 11,000,000
Afghanistan Kabul 250,000 4,750,000
Argentina Buenos Aires 1,135,840 6,210,428
Australia 2,974,581 4,197,037
Austria-Hungary Vienna, Budapest 241,333 45,176,230
Belgium Brussels 11,373 6,693,548
Bolivia Sucre 605,400 1,953,916
Brazil Rio de Janeiro 3,292,991 17,388,556
British Empire London 11,343,706 394,246,882
Bulgaria Sofia 38,080 4,035,623
Canada Ottawa 3,745,574 6,153,789
Chile Santiago 307,620 3,399,928
Chinese Empire Peking 4,277,170 426,047,325
Colombia Bogota 505,000 4,303,000
Costa Rica San Jose 18,400 351,176
Cuba Havana 44,000 2,048,980
Denmark Copenhagen 15,592 2,605,268
Ecuador Quito 116,000 1,400,000
Egypt[A] Cairo 400,000 11,189,978
France Paris 207,054 39,252,245
Germany Berlin 208,780 60,641,278
Great Britain & Ireland London 121,390 44,538,718
Greece Athens 25,014 2,631,952
Guatemala New Guatemala 48,290 1,882,992
Haiti Port au Prince 10,204 1,500,000
Honduras Tegucigalpa 46,250 650,000
India Calcutta 1,776,517 294,317,082
Italy Rome 110,550 33,909,776
Japanese Empire Tokyo 175,000 50,000,000
Luxemburg Luxemburg 998 236,543
Mexico Mexico 767,005 13,605,919
Montenegro Cettinie 3,630 250,000
Morocco Fez, Morocco 219,000 5,000,000
Netherlands The Hague 12,648 5,747,269
Nicaragua Managua 49,200 500,000
Norway Christiania 124,129 2,240,032
Panama Panama 31,571 300,000
Paraguay Asuncion 157,000 631,347
Persia Teheran 628,000 9,500,000
Peru Lima 695,733 4,609,999
Portugal Lisbon 35,490 5,423,132
Roumania Bukharest 50,720 5,956,690
Russia St. Petersburg 8,647,657 152,009,300
Salvador San Salvador 7,225 1,700,000
San Marino San Marino 38 11,439
Santo Domingo Santo Domingo 18,045 610,000
Servia Belgrade 18,650 2,493,882
Siam Bangkok 195,000 6,686,846
Spain Madrid 190,050 18,618,086
Sweden Stockholm 172,876 5,377,713
Switzerland Bern 15,976 3,463,609
Turkey and trib. states[B] Constantinople 1,165,020 25,414,300
United South Africa Pretoria. C. T. 473,184 5,450,217
United States Washington 3,567,563 88,566,034
Uruguay Montevideo 72,210 1,140,799
Venezuela Caracas 364,000 2,646,835
[A] Under suzerainty of Turkey, but actual administration controlled by
Great Britain.
[B] Exclusive of Egypt.
=Printing Presses.=--There are three distinct classes of printing
presses: (1) The ordinary job press which is used for the printing of
cards, letter-heads, billheads, and other small matter. It is run by
power or by a foot treadle. Each card or piece of paper is fed into
the press by hand and removed by hand. The average speed is from 1,000
to 1,200 an hour, but the most expert feeders can handle about 1,500
cards an hour, and the record is not far from 2,000. (2) The cylinder
press. This press is used for the printing of weekly newspapers, books,
catalogues, and other large work. The type is placed upon a flat bed
having a lateral movement, and the paper is fed by hand onto a cylinder
which revolves over the moving bed. These presses have a speed of
from 1,000 to 2,000 an hour, but comparatively few hand-feeders can
handle more than 1,500, or 1,600 sheets in an hour. (3) The perfecting
press. This press is used exclusively for the printing of large city
newspapers, and some books, and catalogues are printed upon it. The
type matter is cast into to a cylinder. The paper to be printed upon
stereotypes of circular form which are attached is in a continuous
roll and passes between the stereotype cylinder and another roller.
The paper is fed into the press automatically, and is automatically
folded and counted. The largest perfecting press in the world will
print, fold, and count both sides of an eight-page paper at the rate
of 300,000 copies an hour, but the average perfecting press does not
deliver more than 75,000 copies an hour. The perfecting presses used
for books, magazines, and catalogues run at a much slower speed.
=Production of Books.=--In 1911, 8,183 books were produced by American
authors of which 1,024 were fiction; 917 were on theology and
religion; 919 of essays and literature; 527 on hygiene; 734 juvenile;
685 of poetry and drama; 300 educational; 196 were devoted to the fine
arts; and 86 to music.
=Public Debt of the United States.=--The interest-bearing debt of
the United States is $964,631,630, and the non-interest-bearing debt
is $375,974,389. The United States has issued $946,242,270 in gold
certificates, $482,367,666 in silver certificates, and treasury notes
to the amount of $2,846,260. At the last accounting the United States
treasury had on hand in cash $1,564,416,169.
=Public Schools.=--The public school system originated in Massachusetts
and Connecticut shortly after the settlement of those States. Schools
were not entirely free when originally established. They have now
become common all over the United States, and their maintenance is
required by law.
=Pure Food.=--Pure food laws enacted by the United States Government,
and by State and City Governments, are supposed to protect the consumer
against adulterated foods. The United States law, however, has no
jurisdiction over food manufactured or put out in any of the States,
unless it is carried from one State to another. The local food laws
have to do only with the communities covered. The present law does
not appear to be sufficient to protect the public fully. The statement
written on many food packages, reading "Guaranteed Under The Food and
Drugs Act, June 30, 1906. No. ----," must not be considered as proof
positive of purity. It simply means that the contents of the package
or bottle is according to the prescription or formula registered with
the Government, and does not stand for quality or purity. Benzoate
of soda and other preservatives may be legally used, provided a
statement to that effect is made upon the package. Chemists differ as
to the injurious effect of benzoate of soda, but it is not advocated
by any eminent authority. Most of the pure food experts are opposed
to its use, irrespective of any injurious effect it may have upon
the consumer, because this preservative will effectively kill the
odor of putrefaction and disguise the taste and smell of rotten or
spoiled fruit and other products. The consumer will do well to refuse
to purchase any article or food containing benzoate of soda or other
preservative, for first-class and healthy meat, fruit, and vegetables
do not require a chemical preservative. Artificial coloring may not
be injurious, as so little of it is required, but food artificially
preserved may be dangerous, and very likely is impure, and may not have
been fresh when canned.
=Pyramids.=--the pyramids were supposed to have been constructed
between the fifth and twelfth dynasties in Middle Egypt, and not to
have been used for tombs. They are built upon a square base, with
sides facing the points of the compass, and the earlier pyramids were
constructed of horizontal layers of rough blocks fastened together
with mortar. In the center of the pyramid, near the base, was built a
chamber reached by a passage from the north side. It is said that some
of them contain emblems or symbols, which are now used in masonry.
Whether or not there were masons at the time they were built, has not
yet been discovered. Many of the stones weigh as much as thirty tons
each, and no one has yet been able to ascertain the power used for
their transmission.
=Railroads.=--The railroads of the United States employ nearly
1,700,000 men, or about 680 per hundred miles of track. The railroads
occupy over 244,000 miles of track. The most powerful locomotive in
the world runs in Virginia, and weighs 540,000 pounds. The heaviest
electric locomotive is maintained by the Boston & Maine Railroad and
weighs about 192,000 pounds. The most expensive locomotives cost about
$37,000, and an ordinary locomotive costs from $15,000 to $20,000. An
ordinary box car weighs 36,000 pounds, and a day coach about 112,000
pounds. Sleeping cars weigh from 115,000 to 152,000 pounds. The fastest
short-distance run on record was made by the Empire State Express, at
the rate of 112-1/2 miles per hour. A New York train ran a distance
of 44 miles in 33 minutes, or at the rate of 80 miles an hour, and a
New York Central train made the distance between New York and Chicago,
965 miles, in 15 hours and 43 minutes, or at the rate of 62-1/2 miles
per hour. A New York Central train ran a short distance at the rate
of about 112-1/2 miles an hour, and a Florida train ran 5 miles at
the rate of 120 miles an hour. During the last year there were 5,483
accidents by collision and 8,215 by derailments, and a total of 15,743
accidents; 318 passengers were killed, and 16,386 were injured; 3,635
employees were killed, and 142,442 injured; 6,632 persons not connected
with the railroads and not riding on trains were killed, and 10,710
injured. The number of passengers carried during the year was nearly
a billion. The railroads of the United States, not including the
switching and terminal companies, employ nearly 670,000 men, or about
678 men to every 100 miles of track.
=Referendum.=--A law by which all legislation may be referred to the
people, either for its ratification or rejection. The Initiative is a
process by which any law may be enacted, if requested by a specified
number of citizens. The Initiative and Referendum are becoming common,
and their advocates believe that they are the solution to many of our
political problems.
=Religious Denominations.=--In the United States there are 95,800
Adventists, about 5,635,000 Baptists, about 739,000 Congregationalists,
about 1,534,000 Disciples of Christ, about 2,290,000 Lutherans, about
6,280,000 Methodists, about 1,944,000 Presbyterians, about 957,000
Protestant Episcopalians, about 312,000 United Brethren, about 71,000
Unitarians, about 53,000 Universalists, and about 13,000,000 Roman
Catholics.
=Roads.=--The mileage of all public roads in the United States is about
2,200,000 miles, there being a little over 59,000 miles of stone road
and about 103,000 of gravel road. A sand-clay road costs about $725.00
per mile, gravel a little over $2,000.00, macadam about $5,000.00, and
bituminous macadam about $10,350.
=Round Table.=--Tradition says that it was modeled after a table
made by Joseph of Arimathea, and was an imitation of the one used at
the Last Supper. It is said to have had a seating capacity variously
estimated at from thirteen to one hundred and fifty. According to the
legend dealing with King Arthur and his knights, it was a round marble
table made by the Enchanter Merlin for Uther Pendragon. Later it came
into the possession of the King of Camelard, and was given by him to
Arthur on his marriage to the king's daughter Guinevere. The term Round
Table is much used in the United States, and refers to a table, usually
round, occupied habitually by the same diners.
=Royal Academy.=--Founded in London in 1768. It is an association
of artists, and maintains a free school of art. It holds an annual
exhibition of paintings and sculptures.
=Royal Society.=--One of the most celebrated associations in the
world. Organized in London in 1660 for the promotion of scientific
investigation.
=School Statistics.=--There are, in the United States, 36,260 men and
5,025 women acting as professors and instructors in universities,
colleges, and technical schools. The common schools contain nearly
18,000,000 enrolled pupils, with an average daily attendance of nearly
13,000,000. These schools employ nearly 525,000 teachers, who receive
an average monthly salary of about $62.00. The estimated value of
public school property is considerably more than $1,000,000,000, and
the annual cost of maintaining these schools exceeds $426,000,000.
=Seasickness.=--Although there are several advertised remedies which
claim to prevent or to cure seasickness, it is probable that none of
them are efficacious for all persons. Seasickness is not perfectly
understood. Some people suffer from it and some do not. Of course, the
condition of the stomach and liver has much to do with it. If one is
bilious he is pretty sure to become seasick. Before taking a voyage,
it is well to diet or to live on plain food for a while. Do not remain
in your stateroom or in the cabin. Get all of the fresh air you can.
Lie down and don't refuse to eat sparingly. Many persons ward off
seasickness by retiring before the vessel leaves the port. Some people,
even sailors, suffer from seasickness with every voyage. A good remedy
is an emetic, either warm salt water, or warm mustard water.
=Seven Chief Virtues.=--These, as defined by the Roman Catholic Church,
are as follows: (1) Faith, (2) Hope, (3) Charity, (4) Prudence, (5)
Temperance, (6) Justice, (7) Fortitude.