The Handy Cyclopedia of Things Worth Knowing

J >> Joseph Triemens >> The Handy Cyclopedia of Things Worth Knowing

Pages:
1 | 2 | 3 | 4 | 5 | 6 | 7 | 8 | 9 | 10 | 11 | 12 | 13 | 14 | 15 | 16 | 17 | 18 | 19 | 20 | 21 | 22 | 23 | 24 | 25

It is of very great importance that the feeding-bottles be always clean
and sweet. It is an advantage to have several bottles on hand, and also
two or three brushes for cleaning. Keep a special vessel, with water in
which there is a little bicarbonate of soda, so that the moment the
bottle is used it may be thoroughly washed and kept in the water. Do not
use a nipple with a rubber tube, but the short, black rubber nipples,
which fit over the mouth of the bottle. Do not enlarge the hole in the
nipple, so as to make it too easy for the baby to draw its food,
otherwise the food being taken so rapidly into the stomach will often
cause pain or vomiting. In washing the nipples turn them inside out and
see that they are as thoroughly cleaned as possible, and keep them for
use in a bottle filled with boiled water with a pinch of boric acid
added.

The First Nursing.

It is very important that the child should be put to the breast
immediately after it is washed. This is very necessary, both for the
mother and the child, and prevents subsequent troubles. The fluid
contained in the breast is at this stage called colostrum, and is
intended by Nature to act upon the child as a laxative. This first
nursing stimulates the secretion of the milk and causes uterine
contraction, which is very much needed at this time. It is well to wash
the infant's mouth out with sterilized water every time it feeds. For
this purpose use clean water which has been boiled and allowed to cool,
or a solution of boric acid in boiled water--5 grains to the ounce of
water.

Infants, as a rule, should be bathed once a day, but never immediately
after being nursed or fed. In very warm weather a child may be sponged
in the evening as well as in the morning. The water for the bath of a
young baby should be warm, and the temperature can be judged by testing
it with the elbow, which is more sensitive than the hand. Lay a small
blanket on the lap, cover the child with a flannel and sponge it under
the clothes. This prevents it from taking cold from exposure, The room
should not be cooler than 68 deg. F., and the door must be kept closed
to avoid drafts. Use only pure white soap, and a soft cloth is better
than a sponge. The body should be carefully dried and lightly powdered
to absorb any moisture that may remain.

THE NAMES OF THE MONTHS.

THE DERIVATIONS OF THE NAMES OF THE MONTHS.

January.--The Roman god Janus presided over the beginning of everything;
hence the first month of the year was called after him.

February.--The Roman festival Februs was held on the 15th day of this
month, in honor of Lupercus, the god of fertility.

March--Named from the Roman god of war, Mars.

April.--Latin, Aprilis, probably derived from aperire, to open; because
spring generally begins, and the buds open in this month.

May.--Lat. Maius, probably derived from Maia, a feminine divinity
worshiped at Rome on the first day of this month.

June.--Juno, a Roman divinity worshiped as the Queen of Heaven.

July (Julius)--Julius Caesar was born in this month.

August.--Named by the Emperor Augustus Caesar, B. C. 30, after himself,
as he regarded it as a fortunate month, being that in which he had
gained several victories.

September (septem, or 7).--September was the seventh month in the old
Roman calendar.

October (octo, or 8).--Eighth month of the old Roman year.

November (novem, or 9).-November was the ninth month in the old Roman
year.

December (decem, or 10).--December was the tenth month of the early
Roman year. About the 21st of this month the sun enters the Tropic of
Capricorn, and forms the winter solstice.

DAYS OF THE WEEK.

Sunday, (Saxon) Sunnandaed, day of the sun,

Monday, (German) Montag, day or the moon.

Tuesday, (Anglo-Saxon) Tiwesdaeg, from Tiw, the god of war.

Wednesday, (Anglo-Saxon) Wodnesdaeg, from Odin, the god of storms.

Thursday, (Danish) Thor, the god of thunder.

Friday, (Saxon) Frigedaeg, day of Freya, goddess of marriage.

Saturday, the day of Saturn, the god of time.

The names of the seven days of the week originated with the Egyptian
astronomers. They gave them the names of the sun, moon, and five
planets, viz.: Mars, Mercury, Jupiter, Venus and Saturn.

WHAT HOUSEKEEPERS SHOULD REMEMBER.

That cold rain water and soap will remove machine grease from washable
fabrics.

That fish may be scaled much easier by first dipping them into boiling
water for a minute.

That fresh meat beginning to sour will sweeten if placed outdoors in the
cool air over night.

That milk which has changed may be sweetened or rendered fit for use
again by stirring in a little soda.

That a tablespoonful of turpentine boiled with your white clothes will
greatly aid the whitening process.

That kerosene will soften boots and shoes that have been hardened by
water and will render them as pliable as new.

That thoroughly wetting the hair once or twice with a solution of salt
and water will keep it from falling out.

That salt fish are quickest and best freshened by soaking in sour milk.

That salt will curdle new milk; hence, in preparing porridge, gravies,
etc., salt should not be added until the dish is prepared.

That one teaspoonful of ammonia to a teacup of water, applied with a
rag, will clean silver or gold jewelry perfectly.

That paint stains that are dry and old may be removed from cotton and
woolen goods with chloroform. It is a good plan to first cover the spot
with olive oil or butter.

That clear boiling water will remove tea stains. Pour the water through
the stain and thus prevent it spreading over the fabric.

That charcoal is recommended as an absorbent of gases in the milk-room
where foul gases are present. It should be freshly powdered and kept
there continually, especially in hot weather, when unwholesome odors are
most liable to infect the milk.

That applying kerosene with a rag, when you are about to put your stoves
away for the summer, will prevent them from rusting. Treat your farming
implements in the same way before you lay them aside for the fall.

That a teaspoonful of borax, put in the last water in which clothes are
rinsed, will whiten them surprisingly. Pound the borax so it will
dissolve easily. This is especially good to remove the yellow that time
gives to white garments that have been laid aside for two or three
years.

That a good agency for keeping the air of the cellar sweet and wholesome
is whitewash made of good white lime and water only. The addition of
glue or size, or anything of that kind, only furnishes organic matter to
speedily putrefy. The use of lime in whitewash is not only to give a
white color, but it greatly promotes the complete oxidation of effluvia
in the cellar air. Any vapors that contain combined nitrogen in the
unoxidized form contribute powerfully to the development of disease
germs.

CHARACTER AS SEEN IN FACES.

Thick lips indicate genius and conservatism. Large dilating nostrils are
a sign of poetic temperament and a sensitive nature. A long forehead
denotes liberality. Arched eyebrows, good ancestry and amiability. A
bold, projecting Roman nose indicates enterprise. Delicate nose, good
nature. A large nose, strength of will and character. An eye that looks
one cheerfully and frankly in the face shows honesty and faithfulness.
Lips slightly curved upward at the ends indicate a fine sense of humor.
Soft round cheeks denote gentleness and affection; dimples in the
cheeks, roguery; in the chin, one who falls easily in love. A broad chin
denotes firmness. Straight lips, firmly closed, resolution. Large ears
denote generosity.

BELL TIME ON SHIPBOARD.

Time on shipboard is divided into periods of four hours--from midnight
to midnight--and the lapse of every half hour is marked by one or more
strokes of the bell--from one stroke for the end of the first half hour
to eight strokes or, in nautical language, eight bells, for the end of
the fourth hour. Thus 12:30 a. m. is 1 bell; 1:00 a. m., 2 bells; 1:30
a. m., 3 bells; 2:00 a. m., 4 bells; 2:30 a. m., 5 bells; 3:00 a. m., 6
bells; 3:30 a. m., 7 bells; 4:00 a. m., 8 bells. Then 4:30 a. m. is
indicated by 1 bell; 5:00 a. m., 2 bells, etc.; 8 bells being sounded at
8:00 a. m., 12:00 m., 4:00 p. m., 8:00 p. m. and 12:00 p. m.

Four to 8:00 p. m. is divided into two "dog watches" called "first dog
watch" and "last dog watch," so as to change the watches daily;
otherwise starboard or port watch would be on deck the same hours day
after day.

QUEER ANALOGIES IN NATURE.

The cocoanut is, in many respects, like the human skull, although it
closely resembles the skull of the monkey. A sponge may be so held as to
remind one of the unfleshed face of the skeleton, and the meat of an
English walnut is almost the exact representation of the brain. Plums
and black cherries resemble the human eyes; almonds, and some other
nuts, resemble the different varieties of the human nose, and an opened
oyster and its shell are a perfect image of the human ear. The shape of
almost any man's body may be found in the various kinds of mammoth
pumpkins. The open hand may be discerned in the form assumed by
scrub-willows and growing celery. The German turnip and the eggplant
resemble the human heart. There are other striking resemblances between
human organs and certain vegetable forms, The forms of many mechanical
contrivances in common use may be traced back to the patterns furnished
by nature. Thus, the hog suggested the plow; the butterfly, the ordinary
hinge; the toadstool, the umbrella; the duck, the ship; the fungous
growth on trees, the bracket. Anyone desirous of proving the oneness of
the earthly system will find the resemblances in nature a most amusing
study.--Scientific American.

MODERN FABLES.

Luxury.

Of two cats, one, thinking to be very fine, hunted only humming birds,
and the other hunted only mice. The first had to hunt much longer than
the other, because humming birds were scarce, so that it spent nearly
all its life in getting food, while the other had little trouble to get
all it wanted. "How unfortunate it is," said the first cat, "that I have
formed my liking for what is so hard to get and is so little when I have
it."

Fastidiousness.

A fastidious ox would not drink while standing in the water with his
head turned down stream lest he should soil the water with his feet. But
once when drinking with his head turned up stream he saw a whole drove
of hogs washing in the water above him.

Attracting Attention.

A flea, which saw many people trying to get the attention of a king and
waiting long for that purpose, said: "Though I am but a little thing, I
will get his attention." So he jumped up the throne until he got on the
king's head. Here he received recognition from the king by a slap, and
when he boasted to a dog of his success, the latter said: "Some get
attention by their merit, others by their demerit. In making yourself a
nuisance you get recognition before the lords of the realm, but only as
a flea."

Gambling.

A monkey playing with a steel trap got his tail cut off. He went back
the next day to get his tail, when he got his foot cut off. "Now," he
said, "I will go back and get both my foot and my tail." He went back,
and the third time he got his head cut off, which ended his monkeying
with the trap.

Mugwumpery.

A mule on one side of a fence was discontented because he was not on the
other side. He finally jumped over, when he was equally discontented
because he was not back again. "Which side of the fence do you want to
be on?" asked a horse. "It does not matter," replied the mule, "provided
I am on the other side."

The Non-Partisan.

A dog, running about in an irregular way, was asked where he was going.
"I am not going anywhere," replied the dog, "but only running about to
learn where to go."

Partisanship.

The swans, wishing to drive the peacocks from a park, procured a law
against big feet. The peacocks retaliated by getting a counter law
against big necks. Soon one side could see nothing but ugly feet, and
the other nothing but long necks. At last they came to think peacocks
were all feet and swans all neck.

NUMBER OF MILES BY WATER FROM NEW YORK.

To Amsterdam, 3,510;
Bermudas, 660;
Bombay, 11,574;
Boston, 310;
Buenos Ayres, 7,110;
Calcutta, 12,425;
Canton, 13,900;
Cape Horn, 8,115;
Cape of Good Hope, 6,830;
Charleston, 750;
Columbia River, 15,965;
Constantinople, 5,140;
Dublin, 3,225;
Gibraltar, 3,300;
Halifax, 612;
Hamburg, 3,775;
Havana, 1,420;
Havre, 3,210;
Kingston, 1,640;
Lima, 11,310;
Liverpool, 3,210;
London, 3,375;
Madras, 11,850;
Naples, 4,330;
New Orleans, 2,045;
Panama, 2,358;
Pekin, 15,325;
Philadelphia, 240;
Quebec, 1,400;
Rio Janeiro, 3,840;
Sandwich Islands, 15,300;
San Francisco, 15,858;
St. Petersburg, 4,420;
Valparaiso, 9,750;
Washington, 400;
around the Globe, 25,000.

BUSINESS LAW IN BRIEF

It is a fraud to conceal a fraud.

Ignorance of the law excuses no one.

A contract made on a Sunday is void.

A contract made with a lunatic is void.

The act of one partner binds all the others.

An agreement without consideration is void.

The law compels no one to do impossibilities.

Agents are liable to their principals for errors.

Principals are liable for the acts of their agents.

A receipt for money paid is not legally conclusive.

Signatures made with a lead pencil are good in law.

The seal of a party to a written contract imports consideration.

A contract made with a minor cannot be enforced against him. A note made
by a minor is voidable.

Each individual in a partnership is liable for the whole amount of the
debts of the firm.

A note which does not state on its face that it bears interest, will
bear interest only after due.

A lease of land for a longer term than one year is void unless in
writing.

An indorser of a note is exempt from liability if notice of its dishonor
is not mailed or served within twenty-four hours of its non-payment.

In case of the death of the principal maker of a note, the holder is not
required to notify a surety that the note is not paid, before the
settlement of the maker's estate. Notes obtained by fraud, or made by an
intoxicated person, are not collectible.

If no time of payment is specified in a note it is payable on demand.

An indorser can avoid liability by writing "without recourse" beneath
his signature.

A check indorsed by the payee is evidence of payment in the drawer's
hands.

An outlawed debt is revived should the debtor make a partial payment.

If negotiable paper, pledged to a bank as security for the payment of a
loan or debt, falls due, and the bank fails to demand payment and have
it protested when dishonored, the bank is liable to the owner for the
full amount of the paper.

Want of consideration--a common defense interposed to the payment of
negotiable paper--is a good defense between the original parties to the
paper; but after it has been transferred before maturity to an innocent
holder for value it is not a defense.

Sometimes the holder of paper has the right to demand payment before
maturity; for instance, when a draft has been protested for
non-acceptance and the proper notices served, the holder may at once
proceed against the drawer and indorsers.

Negotiable paper, payable to bearer or indorser in blank, which has been
stolen or lost, cannot be collected by the thief or finder, but a holder
who receives it in good faith before maturity, for value, can hold it
against the owner's claims at the time it was lost.

If a note or draft is to be paid in the State where it is made, the
contract will be governed by the laws of that State. When negotiable
paper is payable in a State other than that in which it is made, the
laws of that State will govern it. Marriage contracts, if valid where
they are made, are valid everywhere. Contracts relating to personal
property are governed by the laws of the place where made, except those
relating to real estate, which are governed by the laws of the place
where the land is situated.

THE RIGHT OF DOWER.

Dower is one-third of the husband's estate, and in general cannot be
destroyed by the mere act of the husband. Hence, in the sale of real
estate by the husband, his wife must, with the husband, sign the
conveyance to make the title complete to the purchaser. In the absence
of such signature, the widow can claim full dower rights after the
husband's death. Creditors, also, seize the property subject to such
dower rights.

The husband in his will sometimes gives his wife property in lieu of
dowry. In this case, she may, after his death, elect to take either such
property or her dower; but she cannot take both. While the husband lives
the wife's right of dower in only inchoate; it cannot be enforced.
Should he sell the land to a stranger, she has no right of action or
remedy until his death.

In all cases the law of the State in which the land is situated governs
it, and, as in the case of heirship, full information must be sought for
in statute which is applicable.

MARRIAGE AND DIVORCE.

Marriage may be entered into by any two persons, with the following
exceptions: Idiots, lunatics, persons of unsound mind, persons related
by blood or affinity within certain degrees prohibited by law, infants
under the age of consent, which varies in the different States, and all
persons already married and not legally divorced.

The causes for which a divorce may be obtained vary greatly in the
different States. In South Carolina only fraud and force are recognized
as invalidating the marriage tie, this State having no divorce law. In
the District of Columbia and all the other States with the exception of
Maryland, Massachusetts, Michigan and Virginia, cruelty is a statutory
cause, and desertion in all but New York. In most of the States neglect
is also recognized as a valid cause. Imprisonment for crime is a cause
in all except Florida, Maryland, Massachusetts, New Jersey and New York.
Physical inability is a cause in all the States except California,
Connecticut, Idaho, North Dakota and Texas. Intemperance, in all but
Massachusetts, New Jersey, North Carolina, North Dakotah, Rhode Island,
Vermont, Virginia and West Virginia. The time of residence required to
secure a divorce varies from 6 months in Idaho, Nebraska, Nevada and
Texas to 3 to 5 years in Massachusetts. In most States it is one year.
Remarriage is permitted in all the States having divorce laws except
Georgia, and alimony is also provided for in all these States.

RIGHTS OF MARRIED WOMEN.

Any and all property which a woman owns at her marriage, together with
rents, issues and profits thereof, and the property which comes to her
by descent, devise, bequest, gift or grant, or which she acquires by her
trade, business, labor, or services performed on her separate account,
shall, notwithstanding her marriage, remain her sole and separate
property, and may be used, collected and invested by her in her own
name, and shall not be subject to the interference or control of her
husband, or be liable for his debts, unless for such debts as may have
been contracted for the support of herself or children by her as his
agent.

A married woman may likewise bargain, sell, assign, transfer and convey
such property, and enter into contracts regarding the same on her
separate trade, labor or business with the like effect as if she were
unmarried. Her husband, however, is not liable for such contracts, and
they do not render him or his property in any way liable therefor. She
may also sue and be sued in all matters having relation to her sale and
separate property in the same manner as if she were sole.

In the following cases a married woman's contract may be enforced
against her and her separate estate: 1. When the contract is created in
or respecting the carrying on of the trade or business of the wife. 2.
When it relates to or is made for the sole benefit of her sole or
separate estate. 3. When the intention to charge the separate estate is
expressed in the contract creating the liability.

When a husband receives a principal sum of money belonging to his wife,
the law presumes he receives it for her use, and he must account for it,
or expend it on her account by her authority or direction, or that she
gave it to him as a gift. If he receives interest or income and spends
it with her knowledge and without objection, a gift will be presumed
from acquiescence.

Money received by a husband from his wife and expended by him, under her
direction, on his land, in improving the home of the family, is a gift,
and cannot be recovered by the wife, or reclaimed, or an account
demanded.

An appropriation by a wife, herself, of her separate property to the use
and benefit of her husband, in the absence of all agreement to repay, or
any circumstances from which such an agreement can be inferred, will not
create the relation of debtor and creditor, nor render the husband
liable to account.

Though no words of gift be spoken, a gift by a wife to her husband may
be shown by the very nature of the transaction, or appear from the
attending circumstances.

A wife who causelessly deserts her husband is not entitled to the aid of
a court of equity in getting possession of such chattels as she has
contributed to the furnishing and adornment of her husband's house. Her
legal title remains, and she could convey her interest to a third party
by sale, and said party would have a good title, unless her husband
should prove a gift.

Wife's property is not liable to a lien of a sub-contractor for
materials furnished to the husband for the erection of a building
thereon, where it is not shown that the wife was notified of the
intention to furnish the materials, or a settlement made with the
contractor and given to the wife, her agent or trustee.

The common law of the United States has some curious provisions
regarding the rights of married women, though in all the States there
are statutory provisions essentially modifying this law. As it now
stands the husband is responsible for necessaries supplied to the wife
even should he not fail to supply them himself, and is held liable if he
turn her from his house, or otherwise separates himself from her without
good cause. He is not held liable if the wife deserts him, or if he
turns her away for good cause. If she leaves him through good cause,
then he is liable. If a man lives with a woman as his wife, and so
represents her, even though this representation is made to one who knows
she is not, he is liable the same way as if she were his wife.

THE LAW OF FINDING.

The general rule is that the finder has a clear title against every one
but the owner. The proprietor of a hotel or a shop has no right to
demand property of others found on his premises. Such proprietors may
make regulations in regard to lost property which will bind their
employes, but they cannot bind the public. The finder has been held to
stand in the place of the owner, so that he was permitted to prevail in
all action against a person who found an article which the plaintiff had
originally found, but subsequently lost. The police have no special
rights in regard to articles lost, unless those rights are conferred by
statute. Receivers of articles found are trustees for the owner or
finder. They have no power in the absence of special statute to keep an
article against the finder, any more than the finder has to retain an
article against the owner.

THE LAW OF COPYRIGHT.

The new copyright law, which went into effect July 1, 1909, differs in
many respects from the law previously in force. Its main provisions are
given below, but those desiring to avail themselves of its protection
should write to the Register of Copyrights, Library of Congress,
Washington, D. C., for full instructions and the necessary blanks. etc.
The new law provides that the application for registration of any work
"shall specify to which of the following classes the work in which
copyright is claimed belongs": (a) Books, including composite and
cyclopedic works, directories, gazetteers, and other compilations; (b)
periodicals, including newspapers; (c) lectures, sermons, addresses
prepared for oral delivery: (d) dramatic or dramatico-musical
compositions; (c) musical compositions; (f) maps; (g) works of art;
models or designs for works of art; (h) reproductions of a work of art;
(i) drawings or plastic works of a scientific or technical character:
(j) photographs; (k) prints and pictorial illustrations.

Necessary Steps to Secure Copyright.

For works reproduced in copies for sale: 1. Publish the work with the
copyright notice. The notice may be in the form "Copyright, 19 .....
(year date of publication) by (name of copyright proprietor)." 2.
Promptly after publication, send to the Copyright Office, Library of
Congress, Washington, D. C., two copies of the best edition of the work,
with an application for registration and a money order payable to the
Register of Copyrights for the statutory registration fee of $l.

In the case of books by American authors, or permanent residents of the
United States, the copies deposited must be accompanied by an affidavit,
under the official seal of an officer authorized to administer oaths,
stating that the typesetting, printing and binding of the book have been
performed within the United States. Affidavit and application forms will
be supplied on request.

Pages:
1 | 2 | 3 | 4 | 5 | 6 | 7 | 8 | 9 | 10 | 11 | 12 | 13 | 14 | 15 | 16 | 17 | 18 | 19 | 20 | 21 | 22 | 23 | 24 | 25