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.
=Apparent Death.=--Never assume that a person is dead because he
appears to be. Summon a physician. A fairly good test of death is to
hold the hand of the person apparently dead before a candle or other
light, with the fingers stretched out, each touching the other. Gaze
intently between the fingers, and if the person is alive, a red or pink
color will undoubtedly be seen where the fingers touch each other.
Another method is to take a cold piece of polished steel, like a razor
blade or table knife, and hold before the mouth or nose of the person
apparently dead. If moisture does not gather on it, it may be safe to
assume that breathing has stopped; but these tests are not infallible.
=Bandaging.=--There are two kinds of bandages,--the roller bandage
or the triangular or handkerchief bandage. They may be purchased at
any drug store or be made on the spot in an emergency. The purchased
bandages are made of gauze, or muslin, crinolin, elastic webbing,
rubber, or other material. The roller bandages are absorbent, and are
very thin and pliable. They should be placed next to the wound and hold
the fluids. Muslin bandages are stronger than those made of gauze, and
should be used for pressure and outside bandages. Bandages should be
kept in a perfectly clean place, and always covered, either by being
enclosed in a box or wrapped in paper. If an improvised bandage is
used, care should be taken to use a clean cloth. The triangular bandage
is made by cutting a piece of cloth about 36 inches square into two
pieces diagonally. It can be purchased at a drug store, or any clean
cloth can be used if it is of firm texture.
=Baths.=--Cold baths may be taken to reduce fever and in sunstroke
and other cases when the temperature is high. It is well to have the
temperature in the bath at 70° or 80° Fahrenheit, and to reduce the
water until it reaches 60° or 65°. Tepid baths have a temperature of
80° or 90°, and warm baths are of a temperature from 90° to a little
less than 100°. Hot baths may be used in case of shock, apparent
drowning, depression, and similar troubles. The temperature of the
water should vary from 98° to 110°. When the patient leaves the bath,
he should be dried quickly and put to bed. Hot baths may produce
fainting, and should be taken in the presence of an attendant. Do not
guess at the temperature of the water; use a thermometer.
=Bleeding.=--Arterial blood, or blood coming from the arteries, is
bright red, and is discharged in spurts or jets. Such bleeding is
very dangerous, and unless a physician arrives almost immediately the
patient is not likely to survive.
Venous blood, which comes from the veins, is of dark purple color and
flows freely and steadily.
Capillary bleeding comes from injured small veins. It flows slowly,
and such bleeding is dangerous only if it continues. Always summon
a surgeon or physician, and put in a hurry call for him. Force the
patient to lie down in a level position, preferably upon his back.
If the leg or arm is wounded, elevate it. Cut away the clothing
quickly, so that it may be exposed. Press the bleeding places, but
cover your finger with gauze or a clean handkerchief, or compress the
part by using a strong cloth bandage.
If the bleeding comes from an artery, cover your finger with a few
thicknesses of gauze or clean cloth, and press hard upon the wound and
maintain the pressure, which may stop the bleeding. If the wound is
large, crowd a lot of gauze into it, and push it in, then press on the
flesh a little distance above the wound, that is, between the wound and
the heart. This can be done by winding a bandage, a piece of rubber
tubing, string, or rope, or a pair of suspenders may be used, above the
wound.
If the arm or leg is crushed, do not press on the wound, but bring
pressure to bear above it.
=Bleeding from the Veins.=--Lay a piece of gauze over the wound and
bind it on with a firm bandage. Be very careful not to apply your
naked fingers or hand to the wound unless you have washed them in some
antiseptic, but even then it is better to cover your fingers with clean
gauze or cloth. If the bleeding is very severe, apply cracked ice
wrapped in gauze, and hard pressure below the wound. Varicose veins
occasionally bleed. Elevate the arm or leg and bandage it very tightly,
the bandage to be placed directly over the bleeding spot.
=Bleeding from Capillary Veins.=--As the blood oozes, and does not
flow rapidly, expose the wound to the air for a short time, which will
usually check it. The application of hot water is advisable, but warm
water should not be used. Extremely cold water or cracked ice will stop
some bleeding. If copious bleeding occurs around a tooth, it may be
stopped by packing the place with plaster of Paris, or absorbent cotton
may be used. In every case, keep the places warm. After the bleeding is
stopped, give hot drinks, like hot tea, coffee, or milk, if much blood
has been lost.
=Broken Bones.=--Do not attempt to set the break. Handle the patient
carefully. Place him in a comfortable position and undress him,
removing the clothing by cutting it to save time. If it is necessary
to carry him a distance, improvise a splint made of wood or heavy
pasteboard and fasten it around the broken part with bandages. Carry
him to a physician or summon one at once, but let him lie quietly if a
physician can reach him. It is well to have two splints, one on each
side, to be held in place by the same bandages. If the arm is broken,
bandage it and place it in a sling. In every case, summon a physician
or carry the patient to one.
=Chilblains.=--Keep the feet warm and dry. Don't warm them at a fire or
place them in hot water, but bathe them in cold water and rub with a
dry towel. Apply turpentine, camphorated spirits, or oil of wintergreen.
Cleanliness
It is said that cleanliness is next to godliness. Good health is
dependent upon the care of the body, and the body will not remain in a
healthful state unless frequently bathed.
The fact that thousands of persons enjoy good health without even
taking an infrequent bath, must not be used as an argument against
regular bathing. These persons, if in health, live out of doors, and
Nature seems to take care of them; but it is obvious that they would
be healthier and stronger if they gave proper attention to bodily
cleanliness.
The majority of city dwellers, and a large proportion of those living
in the country, work indoors, and their health is dependent upon their
personal cleanliness.
Opinions differ, and some hygienists do not consider the daily bath
essential, but the majority of those who have studied the subject
maintain that perfect health requires the daily bathing of the entire
body.
Without the daily bath one does not begin his work refreshed or with
exhilaration.
A scrub is not to be recommended more than once a week, but a bath
should be taken daily, and the entire body rubbed with a dry towel,
a bath towel to be preferred. Emersion in a tub of water is not
necessary, although it is the best and easiest way of taking a bath,
next to a shower bath. A sponge bath answers all purposes.