The Handy Cyclopedia of Things Worth Knowing

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A Wash for Cleaning Silver.--Mix together half an ounce of fine salt,
half an ounce of powdered alum, and half an ounce of cream of tartar.
Put them into a large white-ware pitcher, and pour on two ounces of
water, and stir them frequently, till entirely dissolved. Then transfer
the mixture to clean bottles and cork them closely. Before using it,
shake the bottles well. Pour some of the liquid into a bowl, and wash
the silver all over with it, using an old, soft, fine linen cloth. Let
it stand about ten minutes, and then rub it dry with a buckskin. It will
make the silver look like new.

To Remove the Odor from a Vial.--The odor of its last contents may be
removed from a vial by filling it with cold water, and letting it stand
in any airy place uncorked for three days, changing the water every day.

To Loosen a Glass Stopper.--The manner in which apothecaries loosen
glass stoppers when there is difficulty in getting them out is to press
the thumb of the right hand very hard against the lower part of the
stopper, and then give the stopper a twist the other way, with the thumb
and forefinger of the left hand, keeping the bottle stiff in a steady
position.

To Soften Boots and Shoes.--Kerosene will soften boots and shoes which
have been hardened by water, and render them as pliable as new.

To Remove Stains, Spots, and Mildew from Furniture.--Take half a pint of
ninety-eight per cent alcohol, a quarter of an ounce each of pulverized
resin and gum shellac, add half a pint of linseed oil, shake well and
apply with a brush or sponge. Sweet oil will remove finger marks from
varnished furniture, and kerosene from oiled furniture.

To Freshen Gilt Frames.--Gilt frames may be revived by carefully dusting
them, and then washing with one ounce of soda beaten up with the whites
of three eggs. Scraped patches should be touched up with gold paint.
Castile soap and water, with proper care, may be used to clean oil
paintings. Other methods should not be employed without some skill.

To Fill Cracks in Plaster.--Use vinegar instead of water to mix your
plaster of Paris. The resultant mass will be like putty, and will not
"set" for twenty or thirty minutes, whereas if you use water the plaster
will become hard almost immediately, before you have time to use it.
Push it into the cracks and smooth it off nicely with a table knife.

To Toughen Lamp Chimneys and Glassware.--Immerse the article in a pot
filled with cold water, to which some common salt has been added. Boil
the water well, then cool slowly. Glass treated in this way will resist
any sudden change of temperature.

To Remove Paint from Window-Glass.--Rub it well with hot, sharp vinegar.

To Clean Stovepipe.--A piece of zinc put on the live coals in the stove
will clean out the stovepipe.

To Brighten Carpets.--Carpets after the dust has been beaten out may be
brightened by scattering upon them cornmeal mixed with salt and then
sweeping it off. Mix salt and meal in equal proportions. Carpets should
be thoroughly beaten on the wrong side first and then on the right side,
after which spots may be removed by the use of ox-gall or ammonia and
water.

To Keep Flowers Fresh exclude them from the air. To do this wet them
thoroughly, put in a damp box, and cover with wet raw cotton or wet
newspaper, then place in a cool spot. To preserve bouquets, put a little
saltpetre in the water you use for your bouquets, and the flowers will
live for a fortnight.

To Preserve Brooms.--Dip them for a minute or two in a kettle of boiling
suds once a week and they will last much longer, making them tough and
pliable. A carpet wears much longer swept with a broom cared for in this
manner.

To Clean Brassware.--Mix one ounce of oxalic acid, six ounces of rotten
stone, all in powder, one ounce of sweet oil, and sufficient water to
make a paste. Apply a small proportion, and rub dry with a flannel or
leather. The liquid dip most generally used consists of nitric and
sulphuric acids, but this is more corrosive.

To Keep Out Mosquitoes.--If a bottle of the oil of pennyroyal is left
uncorked in a room at night, not a mosquito, nor any other blood-sucker,
will be found there in the morning.

To Kill Cockroaches.--A teacupful of well bruised plaster of Paris,
mixed with double the quantity of oatmeal, to which a little sugar may
be added, although this last named ingredient is not essential. Strew it
on the floor, or into the chinks where they frequent.

To Destroy Ants.--Drop some quicklime on the mouth of their nest, and
wash it with boiling water, or dissolve some camphor in spirits of wine,
then mix with water, and pour into their haunts; or tobacco water, which
has been found effectual. They are averse to strong scents. Camphor, or
a sponge saturated with creosote, will prevent their infesting a
cupboard. To prevent their climbing up trees, place a ring of tar about
the trunk, or a circle of rag moistened occasionally with creosote.

To Prevent Moths.--In the month of April or May, beat your fur garments
well with a small cane or elastic stick, then wrap them up in linen,
without pressing them too hard, and put betwixt the folds some camphor
in small lumps; then put your furs in this state in boxes well closed.
When the furs are wanted for use, beat them well as before, and expose
them for twenty-four hours to the air, which will take away the smell of
the camphor. If the fur has long hair, as bear or fox, add to the
camphor an equal quantity of black pepper in powder.

To Get Rid of Moths--
1. Procure shavings of cedar wood, and inclose in muslin bags, which can
be distributed freely among the clothes.

2. Procure shavings of camphor wood, and inclose in bags.

3. Sprinkle pimento (allspice) berries among the clothes.

4. Sprinkle the clothes with the seeds of the musk plant.

5. To destroy the eggs, when deposited in woolen cloths, etc., use a
solution of acetate of potash in spirits of rosemary, fifteen grains to
the pint.

Bed Bugs.--Spirits of naphtha rubbed with a small painter's brush into
every part of the bedstead is a certain way of getting rid of bugs. The
mattress and binding of the bed should be examined, and the same process
attended to, as they generally harbor more in these parts than in the
bedstead. Ten cents' worth of naphtha is sufficient for one bed.

Bug Poison.--Proof spirit, one pint; camphor, two ounces; oil of
turpentine, four ounces; corrosive sublimate, one ounce. Mix. A
correspondent says: "I have been for a long time troubled with bugs, and
never could get rid of them by any clean and expeditious method, until a
friend told me to suspend a small bag of camphor to the bed, just in the
center, overhead. I did so, and the enemy was most effectually repulsed,
and has not made his appearance since--not even for a reconnoissance!"
This is a simple method of getting rid of these pests, and is worth a
trial to see if it be effectual in other cases.

Mixture for Destroying Flies--Infusion of quassia, one pint; brown
sugar, four ounces; ground pepper, two ounces. To be well mixed
together, and put in small, shallow dishes when required.

To Destroy Flies in a room, take half a teaspoonful of black pepper in
powder, one teaspoonful of brown sugar, and one tablespoonful of cream,
mix them well together, and place them in the room on a plate, where the
flies are troublesome, and they will soon disappear.

To Drive Flies from the House.--A good way to rid the house of flies is
to saturate small cloths with oil of sassafras and lay them in windows
and doors. The flies will soon leave.

Aging Oak.--Strong ammonia fumes may be used for aging oak. Place the
piece to be fumed, with an evaporating dish containing concentrated
ammonia, in a box, and close it airtight. Leave for 12 hours and finish
with a wax polish, applying first a thin coat of paraffine oil and then
rubbing with a pomade of prepared wax made as follows: Two ounces each
of yellow and white beeswax heated over a slow fire in a clean vessel
(agate ware is good) until melted. Add 4 oz. turpentine and stir till
entirely cool. Keep the turpentine away from the fire. This will give
the oak a lustrous brown color, and nicking will not expose a different
surface, as the ammonia fumes penetrate to a considerable depth.

OPPORTUNITY.

They do me wrong who say I come no more
When once I've knocked and failed to find you in;
For every day I stand outside your door,
And bid you wake and ride, to fight and win.

Wail not for precious chances passed away,
Weep not for golden ages on the wane;
Each night I burn the records of the day;
At sunrise every soul is born again.

Laugh like a boy at splendors that have sped;
To vanished hopes be blind and deaf and dumb;
My judgments seal the dead past with its dead,
But never bind a moment yet to come.

Though deep in mire, wring not your hands and weep:
I lend my arm to all who say. "I can."
No shamefaced outcast ever sank so deep
But yet might rise and be again a man!

Dost thou behold thy lost youth all aghast?
Dost reel from righteous retribution's blow?
Then turn from blotted archives of the past.
And find the future's pages white as snow.

Art thou a mourner? Rouse thee from thy spell!
Art thou a sinner? Sins may be forgiven;
Each morning gives thee wings to flee from hell.
Each night a star to guide to Heaven!
--Walter Maloney.

WEIGHTS AND MEASURES

Troy Weight.--24 grains make 1 pennyweight, 20 pennyweights make 1
ounce. By this weight, gold, silver and jewels only are weighed. The
ounce and pound in this are same as in Apothecaries' weight.

Apothecaries' Weight.--20 grains make one scruple. 3 scruples make 1
dram. 8 drams make 1 ounce, l2 ounces make 1 pound.

Avoirdupois Weight.--6 drams make 1 ounce, 16 ounces make 1 pound, 25
pounds make 1 quarter, 4 quarters make 1 hundredweight, 2,000 pounds
make 1 ton.

Dry Measure.--2 pints make 1 quart, 8 quarts make 1 peck, 4 pecks make 1
bushel, 36 bushels make 1 chaldron.

Liquid or Wine Measure.--4 gills make 1 pint, 2 pints make 1 quart, 4
quarts make 1 gallon. 31-1/2 gallons make 1 barrel, 2 barrels make 1
hogshead.

Time Measure.--60 seconds make 1 minute, 60 minutes make 1 hour, 24
hours make 1 day, 7 days make 1 week, 4 weeks make 1 lunar month, 28,
29, 30 or 31 days make 1 calendar month (30 days make 1 month in
computing interest). 52 weeks and 1 day, or 12 calendar months make a
year; 365 days, 5 hours, 48 minutes and 49 seconds make 1 solar year.

Circular Measure.--60 seconds make 1 minute, 60 minutes make 1 degree,
30 degrees make 1 sign, 90 degrees make 1 quadrant, 4 quadrants or 360
degrees make 1 circle.

Long Measure.--Distance--3 barleycorns 1 inch, 12 inches 1 foot. 3 feet
1 yard. 5-1/2 yards 1 rod, 40 rods 1 furlong, 8 furlongs 1 mile.

Cloth Measure.--2-1/2 inches 1 nail, 4 nails 1 quarter, 4 quarters 1
yard.

Miscellaneous.--3 inches 1 palm, 4 inches 1 hand, 9 inches 1 span, 18
inches 1 cubit, 21.8 inches 1 Bible cubit. 2-1/2 feet 1 military pace.

Square Measure.--144 square inches 1 square foot, 9 square feet 1 square
yard, 30-1/4 square yards 1 square rod, 40 square rods 1 rood, 4 roods 1
acre.

Surveyors' Measure.--7.92 inches 1 link, 25 links 1 rod, 4 rods 1 chain,
10 square chains or 160 square rods 1 acre, 640 acres 1 square mile.

Cubic Measure.--l,728 cubic inches 1 cubic foot. 27 cubic feet 1 cubic
yard, 128 cubic feet 1 cord (wood), 40 cubic feet 1 ton (shipping),
2,150.42 cubic inches 1 standard bushel, 268.8 cubic inches 1 standard
gallon, 1 cubic foot four-fifths of a bushel.

Metric Weights.--10 milligrams 1 centigram, 10 centigrams 1 decigram, 10
decigrams 1 gram, 10 grams 1 dekagram, 10 dekagrams 1 hektogram, 10
hektograms 1 kilogram.

Metric Measure.--(One milliliter--Cubic centimeter).--10 milliliters 1
centiliter, 10 centiliters 1 deciliter, 10 deciliters 1 liter, 10 liters
1 dekaliter, 10 dekaliters 1 hektoliter, 10 hektoliters 1 kiloliter.

Metric Lengths.--10 millimeters 1 centimeter, 10 centimeters 1
decimeter, 10 decimeters 1 meter, 10 meters 1 dekameter, 10 dekameters 1
hektometer, 10 hektometers 1 kilometer.

Relative Value of Apothecaries' and Imperial Measure.

Apothecaries'. Imperial.
pints ounces drams minims

1 gallon equals 6 13 2 23
1 pint equals 16 5 18
1 fluid ounce equals 1 0 20
1 fluid dram equals 1 2-1/2

Handy Metric Table.

The following table gives the equivalents of both the metric and common
systems, and will be found convenient for reference:

Approximate Accurate
Equivalent. Equivalent.
1 inch [length] 2-1/2 cubic centimeters 2.539
1 centimeter 0.4 inch 0.393
1 yard 1 meter 0.914
1 meter (39.37 inches) l yard 1.093
1 foot 30 centimeters 30.479
1 kilometer (1,000 meters) 5/8 mile 0.621
1 mile 1-1/2 kilometers 1.600
1 gramme [weight] 15-1/2 grains 15.432
1 grain 0.064 gramme 0.064
1 kilogramme (1,000 grammes) 2.2 pounds avoirdupois. 2.204
1 pound avoirdupois 1/2 kilogramme 0.453
1 ounce avoirdupois (437-1/2 grains) 28-1/3 grammes 28.349
1 ounce troy, or apothecary (480 grains) 31 grammes 31.103
1 cubic centimeter [bulk] 1.06 cubic inch. 0.060
1 cubic inch 16-1/3 cubic centimeters 16.386
1 liter (1,000 cubic centimeters). 1 United States standard quart 0.946
1 United States quart. 1 liter 1.057
1 fluid ounce 29-1/2 cubic centimeters 29.570
1 hectare (10,000 square meters) [surface] 2-1/2 acres 2.471
1 acre 0.4 hectare 0.40

[Transcriber's noted: 1 inch is about 2-1/2 centimeters, not cubic
centimeters. 1 cubic centimeter is about 0.06102 cubic inch (not 1.06).]

HANDY WEIGHTS AND MEASURES.

One quart of wheat flour is one pound. One quart of corn meal weighs
eighteen ounces. One quart of butter, soft, weighs 14 to 16 ounces. One
quart of brown sugar weighs from a pound to a pound and a quarter,
according to dampness. One quart of white sugar weighs 2 pounds. Ten
medium-sized eggs weigh one pound. A tablespoonful of salt is one ounce.
Eight tablespoonfuls make 1 gill. Two gills, or 16 tablespoonfuls, are
half a pint. Sixty drops are one teaspoonful. Four tablespoonfuls are
one wineglassful. Twelve tablespoonfuls are one teacupful. Sixteen
tablespoonfuls or half a pint, are one tumblerful.

The Meaning of Measures.--A square mile is equal to 640 acres. A square
acre is 208.71 feet on one side. An acre is 43,560 square feet. A
league, 3 miles. A span, 10-7/8 inches. A hand, 4 inches. A palm, 3
inches. A great cubit, 11 inches. A fathom, 6 feet. A mile, 5,280 feet.

Domestic and Drop Measures Approximated.--A teaspoonful, one fluid dram
4 grams; a dessertspoonful, two fluid drams 3 grams; a tablespoonful,
half fluid ounce 16 grams; a wineglassful, two fluid ounces 64 grams; a
tumblerful, half pint 256 grams.

TO TELL THE AGE OF ANY PERSON.

Hand this table to a young lady, and request her to tell you in which
column or columns her age is contained, and add together the figures at
the top of the columns in which her age is found, and you have the
secret. Thus, suppose her age to be seventeen, you will find that number
in the first and fifth columns: add the first figures of these two
columns.

1 2 4 8 16 32
3 3 5 9 17 33
5 6 6 10 18 34
7 7 7 11 l9 35
9 10 12 12 20 36
11 11 13 13 21 37
13 14 14 14 22 38
15 15 15 15 23 39
17 18 20 24 24 40
19 19 21 25 25 41
21 22 22 26 26 41
23 23 23 27 27 43
25 26 28 28 28 44
27 27 29 29 29 45
29 30 30 30 30 46
31 31 31 31 31 47
33 34 36 40 48 48
35 35 37 41 49 49
37 38 38 42 50 50
39 39 39 43 51 51
41 42 44 44 52 52
43 43 45 45 53 53
45 46 46 46 54 54
47 47 47 47 55 55
49 50 52 56 56 56
51 51 53 57 57 57
53 54 54 58 58 58
55 55 55 59 59 59
57 58 60 60 60 60
59 59 61 61 61 61
61 62 62 62 62 62
63 63 63 63 63 63

DR. SPURZHEIM'S PHRENOLOGY.

The first claim put forth by the teachers and professional demonstrators
of phrenology makes it a system of mental philosophy, besides at the
same time presenting a much more popular aspect as a method whereby the
disposition, character and natural aptitude of the individual may be
ascertained.

[Illustration: Side and front view of a head, with several numbered
areas above the eyes and ears.]

These two features of the subject are quite distinct from each other,
for, while it can serve as a reliable guide for reading character only
on the assumption of its truth as a philosophic system, yet the
possibility of its practical application does not necessarily follow
from the establishment of the truth of its theoretical side.

Two of the earliest founders of the science of anatomy, Erasistratus and
Herophilus, who lived in the age of Ptolemy Soter, taught that the brain
was the seat of sensation and intellect, and that there was therein a
certain degree of localization of function. Galen later taught that the
brain is the seat of the soul and intellect. From these facts of history
the system of phrenology, though formulated by Dr. Gall, Dr. Spurzheim,
the Fowler Brothers and others, rests upon deductions derived from the
teachings of the demonstrators of anatomy and students of philosophy.

The formulated system of phrenology is very generally believed to be a
modern expansion of an old empirical philosophy, but, according to Dr.
Gall's account, it arose with him as the result of independent
observations. The popularity of phrenology has waned in the public mind,
and cultivation of the system is confined to a few enthusiasts, such as
pose as teachers of it as a vocation. These claim that phrenology is a
practical and important science and that it rests upon the following
principles:

First--That the human brain is the organ of the mind.

Second--That the mental powers of man can be analyzed into a definite
number of measurably independent faculties.

Third--That these faculties are innate, and each has its seat in a
definite region of the brain.

Fourth--That the size of each of these regions is the measure of the
power of manifesting the faculty associated with it.

The faculties and their localities, as originally constructed by Dr.
Gall, were for the most part identified on slender grounds. His
procedure was as follows: Having selected the place of a faculty, he
examined the heads of his friends and casts of persons with that
peculiarity in common, and in them sought for the distinctive feature of
their characteristic trait. Some of his earlier studies were among low
associates in jails and lunatic asylums, and some of the qualities
located by him were such as tend to perversion to crime. These he named
after their excessive manifestations, and thus mapped out organs of
theft, murder, etc. This, however, caused the system to be discredited.
Later his pupil, Dr. Spurzheim, claimed that the moral and religious
features belonging to it greatly modified these characteristics of Dr.
Gall's work. The chart of the human head as invented by Dr. Gall
represented 26 organs; the chart as improved by Dr. Spurzheim makes out
35 organs. This is the chart now generally used and which is shown on a
preceding page. The number specifies the location of each organ, which
is followed by its phrenological name, and classified as follows:

Propensities. (1) Amativeness. (2) Philoprogenitiveness. (3)
Concentrativeness. (4) Adhesiveness. (5) Combativeness. (6)
Destructiveness. (6a) Alimentiveness. (7) Secretiveness. (8)
Acquisitiveness. (9) Constructiveness.

Lower Sentiments. (10) Self-esteem. (11) Love of Approbation. (12)
Cautiousness.

Superior Sentiments. (13) Benevolence. (14) Veneration. (15)
Conscientiousness. (16) Firmness. (17) Hope. (18) Wonder. (19) Ideality.
(20) Wit. (21) Imitation.

Perceptive Faculties. (22) Individuality. (23) Form. (24) Size. (25)
Weight. (26) Color. (27) Locality. (28) Number. (29) Order. (30)
Eventuality. (31) Time. (32) Tune. (33) Language.

Reflective Faculties. (34) Comparison. (35) Causality. The judgment of
the phrenologist is determined by the size of the brain in general, and
by the size of the organs that have been formulated, and these are
estimated by certain arbitrary rules that render the boundaries of the
regions indefinite.

The controversy over phrenology has served undoubtedly the very useful
purpose of stimulating research into the anatomy of the brain.

It is generally conceded that any psychological theory which correlates
brain-action and mental phenomena requires a correspondence between the
size of the brain and mental power, and generally observation shows that
the brains of those whose capacities are above the average are larger
than those of the general run of their fellow men.

A study of the cuts and comparison of the sizes of different heads and
their shape will prove very entertaining with most any group of persons
intellectually inclined, and it will be found that persons who are
naturally good readers by instinct of human nature can, with its help,
make remarkable readings in the delineation of character.

PRINCIPLES OF PARLIAMENTARY LAW.

List of Motions Arranged According to Their Purpose and Effect.

[Letters refer to the rules below.]

Modifying or amending.
8. To amend or to substitute, or to divide the question K

To refer to committee.
7. To commit (or recommit) D

Deferring action.
6. To postpone to a fixed time. C
4. To lay on the table A E G

Suppressing or extending debate
5. For the previous question A E M
To limit, or close debate A M
To extend limits of debate. A

Suppressing the question.
Objection to consideration of question A H M N
9. To postpone indefinitely. D E
4. To lay upon the table. A E G

To bring up a question the second time.
To reconsider--
Debatable question D E F I
Undebatable question A E F I

Concerning orders, rules, etc.
3. For the orders of the day. A E H N
To make subject a special order M
To amend the rules M
To suspend the rules A E F M
To take up a question out of its proper order A E
To take from the table A E G
Questions touching priority of business A

Questions of privilege.
Asking leave to continue speaking after indecorum A
Appeal from chair's decision touching indecorum A E H L
Appeal from chair's decision generally. E H L
Question upon reading of papers. A E
Withdrawal of a motion. A E

Closing a meeting.
2. To adjourn (in committees, to rise),
or to take a recess, without limitation A E F
1. To fix the time to which to adjourn B

Order of Precedence--The motions above numbered 1 to 9 take precedence
over all others in the order of the numbers, and anyone of them, except
to amend or substitute, is in order while a motion of a lower rank is
pending.

Rule A--Undebatable, but remarks may be tacitly allowed.

Rule B--Undebatable if another question is before the assembly.

Rule C--Limited debate allowed on propriety of postponement only.

Rule D--Opens the main question to debate. Motions not so marked do not
allow of reference to main question.

Rule E--Cannot be amended. Motion to adjourn can be amended when there
is no other business before the house.

Rule F--Cannot be reconsidered.

Rule G--An affirmative vote cannot be reconsidered,

Rule H--In order when another has the floor.

Rule I--A motion to reconsider may be moved and entered when another has
the floor, but the business then before the house may not be set aside.
This motion can only be entertained when made by one who voted
originally with the prevailing side. When called up it takes precedence
of all others which may come up, excepting only motions relating to
adjournment.

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