Barkham Burroughs' Encyclopaedia of Astounding Facts and Useful Information Part 17

Take of sulphate of iron 5 grains, magnesia 10 grains, peppermint water 11 drachms, spirits of nutmeg 1 drachm. Administer this twice a day. It acts as a tonic and stimulant and so partially supplies the place of the accustomed liquor, and prevents that absolute physical and moral prostration that follows a sudden breaking off from the use of stimulating drinks.

LADIES' STAMPING POWDER.

For use in stamping any desired pattern upon goods for needle work, embroidery, etc. Draw pattern upon heavy paper, and perforate with small holes all the lines with some sharp instrument, dust the powder through, remove the pattern and pa.s.s a warm iron over the fabric, when the pattern will become fixed. Any desired color can be used, such as Prussian blue, chrome green, yellow, vermilion, etc. Fine white rosin, 2 ounces; gum sandarach, 4 ounces; color, 2 ounces. Powder very fine, mix, and pa.s.s through a sieve.

SALARIES OF THE UNITED STATES OFFICERS, PER ANNUM.

President, Vice-President and Cabinet.--President, $50,000; Vice-President, $8,000; Cabinet Officers, $8,000 each.

United States Senators.--$5,000, with mileage.

Congress.--Members of Congress, $5,000, with mileage.

Supreme Court.--Chief Justice, $10,500; a.s.sociate Justices, $10,000.

Circuit Courts.--Justices of Circuit Courts, $6,000.

Heads of Departments.--Supt. of Bureau of Engraving and Printing, $4,500; Public Printer, $4,500; Supt. of Census, $5,000; Supt. of Naval Observatory, $5,000; Supt. of the Signal Service, $4,000;

Director of Geological Surveys, $6,000; Director of the Mint, $4,500; Commissioner of General Land Office, $4,000; Commissioner of Pensions, $3,600; Commissioner of Agriculture, $3,000; Commissioner of Indian Affairs, $3,000; Commissioner of Education $3,000; Commander of Marine Corps, $3,500; Supt. of Coast and Geodetic Survey, $6,000.

United States Treasury.--Treasurer, $6,000; Register of Treasury, $4,000; Commissioner of Customs, $4,000.

Internal Revenue Agencies.--Supervising Agents, $12 per day; 34 other agents, per day, $6 to $8.

Postoffice Department, Was.h.i.+ngton.--Three a.s.sistant Postmaster-Generals, $3,500; Chief Clerk, $2,200.

Postmasters.--Postmasters are divided into four cla.s.ses. First cla.s.s, $3,000 to $4,000 (excepting New York City, which is $8,000); second cla.s.s, $2,000 to $3,000; third cla.s.s, $1,000 to $2,000; fourth cla.s.s, less than $1,000. The first three cla.s.ses are appointed by the President, and confirmed by the Senate; those of fourth cla.s.s are appointed by the Postmaster-General.

Diplomatic appointments.--Ministers to Germany, Great Britain, France and Russia, $17,500; Ministers to Brazil, China, Austria-Hungary, Italy, Mexico, j.a.pan and Spain, $12,000; Ministers to Chili, Peru and Central Amer., $10,000; Ministers to Argentine Confederation, Hawaiian Islands, Belgium, Hayti, Columbia, Netherlands, Sweden, Turkey and Venezuela, $7,500; Ministers to Switzerland, Denmark, Paraguay, Bolivia and Portugal, $5,000; Minister to Liberia, $4,000.

Army Officers.--General, $13,500; Lieut.-General, $11,000; Major-General, $7,500; Brigadier-General, $5,500; Colonel, $3,500; Lieutenant-Colonel, $3,000; Major, $2,500; Captain, mounted, $2,000; Captain, not mounted, $1,800; Regimental Adjutant, $1,800; Regimental Quartermaster, $1,800; 1st Lieutenant, mounted, $1,600; 1st Lieutenant, not mounted, $1,500; 2d Lieutenant, mounted, $1,500; 2d Lieutenant, not mounted, $1,400; Chaplain, $1,500.

Navy Officers.--Admiral, $13,000; Vice-Admiral, $9,000; Rear-Admirals, $6,000; Commodores, $5,000; Captains, $45,000; Commanders, $3,500; Lieut.-Commanders, $2,800; Lieutenants, $2,400; Masters, $1,800; Ensigns, $1,200; Mids.h.i.+pmen, $1,000; Cadet Mids.h.i.+pmen, $500; Mates, $900; Medical and Pay Directors and Medical and Pay Inspectors and Chief Engineers, $4,400; Fleet Surgeons, Fleet Paymasters and Fleet Engineers, $4,400; Surgeons and Paymasters, $2,800; Chaplains, $2,500.

CHRONOLOGY OF IMPORTANT EVENTS.

BEFORE CHRIST.

The Deluge: 2348 Babylon built: 2247 Birth of Abraham: 1993 Death of Joseph: 1635 Moses born: 1571 Athens founded: 1556 The Pyramids built: 1250 Solomon's Temple finished: 1004 Rome founded: 753 Jerusalem destroyed: 587 Babylon taken by Jews: 538 Death of Socrates: 400 Rome taken by the Gauls: 835 Paper invented in China: 170 Carthage destroyed: 146 Caesar landed in Britain: 55 Caesar killed: 44 Birth of Christ: 0

AFTER CHRIST.

Death of Augustus: 14 Pilate, governor of Judea: 27 Jesus Christ crucified: 33 Claudius visited Britain: 43 St. Paul put to death: 67 Death of Josephus: 93 Jerusalem rebuilt: 131 The Romans destroyed 580,000 Jews and banished the rest from Judea: 135 The Bible in Gothic: 373 Horseshoes made of iron: 481 Latin tongue ceased to be spoken: 580 Pens made of quills: 635 Organs used: 660 Gla.s.s in England: 663 Bank of Venice established: 1157 Gla.s.s windows first used for lights: 1180 Mariner's compa.s.s used: 1200 Coal dug for fuel: 1234 Chimneys first put to houses: 1236 Spectacles invented by an Italian: 1240

The first English House of Commons: 1258 Tallow candles for lights: 1200 Paper made from linen: 1302 Gunpowder invented: 1340 Woolen cloth made in England: 1341 Printing invented: 1436 The first almanac: 1470 America discovered: 1492 First book printed in England: 1507 Luther began to preach: 1517 Interest fixed at ten per cent. in England: 1547 Telescopes invented: 1549 First coach made in England: 1564 Clocks first made in England: 1568 Bank of England incorporated: 1594 Shakespeare died: 1616 Circulation of the blood discovered: 1619 Barometer invented: 1623 First newspaper: 1629 Death of Galileo: 1643 Steam engine invented: 1649 Great fire in London: 1666 Cotton planted in the United States: 1759 Commencement of the American war: 1775 Declaration of American Independence: 1776 Recognition of American Independence: 1782 Bank of England suspended cash payment: 1791 Napoleon I. crowned emperor: 1804 Death of Napoleon: 1820 Telegraph invented by Morse: 1832 First daguerreotype in France: 1839 Beginning of the American civil war: 1861 End of the American civil war: 1865 Abraham Lincoln died: 1865 Great Chicago Fire: 1871 Jas. A. Garfield died: 1881

INTERESTING FACTS ABOUT OUR BODIES.

The weight of the male infant at birth is 7 lbs. avoirdupois; that of the female is not quite 6-1/2 lbs. The maximum weight (140-1/2 lbs.) of the male is attained at the age of 40; that of the female (nearly 124 lbs.) is not attained until 50; from which ages they decline afterward, the male to 127-1/4 lbs., the female to 100 lbs., nearly a stone. The full-grown adult is 20 times as heavy as a new-born infant. In the first year he triples his weight, afterwards the growth proceeds in geometrical progression, so that if 50 infants in their first year weigh 1,000 lbs., they will in the second weigh 1,210 lbs.; in the third 1,331: in the fourth 1464 lbs.; the term remaining very constant up to the ages of 11-12 in females, and 12-13 in males, where it must be nearly doubled; afterwards it may be continued, and will be found very nearly correct up to the age of 18 or 19, when the growth proceeds very slowly. At an equality of age the male is generally heavier than the female. Towards the age of 12 years only an individual of each s.e.x has the same weight. The male attains the maximum weight at about the age of 40, and he begins to lose it very sensibly toward 60. At 80 he loses about 13.2328 lbs., and the stature is diminished 2.756 inches. Females attain their maximum weight at about 50. The mean weight of a mature man is 104 lbs., and of an average woman 94 lbs. In old age they lose about 12 or 14 lbs. Men weigh most at 40, women at 50, and begin to lose weight at 60. The mean weight of both s.e.xes in old age is that which they had at 19.

When the male and female have a.s.sumed their complete development they weigh almost exactly 20 times as much as at birth, while the stature is about 3-1/2 times greater. Children lose weight during the first three days after birth; at the age of a week they sensibly increase; after one year they triple their weight; then they require six years to double their weight, and 13 to quadruple it.

It has been computed that nearly two years' sickness is experienced by every person before he is 70 years old, and therefore that 10 days per annum is the average sickness of human life. Till 40 it is but half, and after 50 it rapidly increases. The mixed and fanciful diet of man is considered the cause of numerous diseases from which animals are exempt. Many diseases have abated with changes of diet, and others are virulent in particular countries, arising from peculiarities.

Human Longevity.--Of 100,000 male and female children, in the first month they are reduced to 90,396, or nearly a tenth. In the second, to 87,936. In the third, to 86,175. In the fourth, to 84,720. In the fifth, to 83,571. In the sixth, to 82,526, and at the end of the first year to 77,528, the deaths being 2 to 9. The next four years reduce the 77,528 to 62,448, indicating 37,552 deaths before the completion of the fifth year.

At 25 years the 100,000 are half, or 49,995; at 52, one-third. At 58-1/2, a fourth, or 25,000; at 67, a fifth; at 76, a tenth; at 81, a twentieth, or 5,000; and ten attain 100. Children die in large proportions because their diseases cannot be explained, and because the organs are not habituated to the functions of life. The mean of life varies in different countries from 40 to 45. A generation from father to son is about 30 years; of men in general five-sixths die before 70, and fifteen-sixteenths before 80. After 80 it is rather endurance than enjoyment. The nerves are blunted, the senses fail, the muscles are rigid, the softer tubes become hard, the memory fails, the brain ossifies, the affections are buried, and hope ceases. The remaining one-sixteenth die at 80; except a one-thirty-third, at 90. The remainder die from inability to live, at or before 100.

About the age of 36 the lean man usually becomes fatter and the fat man leaner. Again, between the years of 43 and 50 his appet.i.te fails, his complexion fades, and his tongue is apt to be furred on the least exertion of body or mind. At this period his muscles become flabby, his joints weak; his spirits droop, and his sleep is imperfect and unrefres.h.i.+ng. After suffering under these complaints a year, or perhaps two, he starts afresh with renewed vigor, and goes on to 61 or 62, when a similar change takes place, but with aggravated symptoms.

When these grand periods have been successively pa.s.sed, the gravity of inc.u.mbent years is more strongly marked, and he begins to boast of his age.

In Russia, much more than in any other country, instances of longevity are numerous, if true. In the report of the Holy Synod, in 1827, during the year 1825, and only among the Greek religion, 848 men had reached upward of 100 years of age; 32 had pa.s.sed their 120th year, 4 from 130 to 135. Out of 606,818 men who died in 1826, 2,765 were above 90; 1,432 above 95, and 848 above 100 years of age. Among this last number 88 were above 115; 24 more than 120; 7 above 125, and one 130.

Riley a.s.serts that Arabs in the Desert live 200 years.

On the average, men have their first-born at 30 and women at 28.

The greatest number of deliveries take place between 25 and 35. The greatest number of deliveries take place in the winter months, and in February, and the smallest in July, i.e., to February, as 4 to 5 in towns and 3 to 4 in the country. The night births are to the day as 5 to 4.

Human Strength.--In Schulze's experiments on human strength, he found that men of five feet, weighing 126 lbs., could lift vertically 156 lbs. 8 inches; 217 lbs. 1.2 inches. Others, 6.1 feet, weighing 183 lbs., 156 lbs. 13 inches, and 217 lbs. 6 inches; others 6 feet 3 inches, weighing 158 lbs., 156 lbs. 16 inches, and 217 lbs. 9 inches.

By a great variety of experiments he determined the mean human strength at 30 lbs., with a velocity of 2.5 feet per second; or it is equal to the raising half a hogshead 10 feet in a minute.

RULES FOR SPELLING.

Words ending in _e_ drop that letter before the termination _able_, as in move, movable; unless ending in _ce_ or _ge_, when it is retained, as in change, changeable, etc.

Words of one syllable, ending in a consonant, with a single vowel before it, double the consonants in derivatives; as, s.h.i.+p, s.h.i.+pping, etc. But if ending in a consonant with a double vowel before it, they do not double the consonant in derivatives; as, troop, trooper, etc.

Words of more than one syllable, ending in a consonant preceded by a single vowel, and accented on the last syllable, double that consonant in derivatives; as, commit, committed; but except chagrin, chagrined.

All words of one syllable ending in _l_, with a single vowel before it, have _ll_ at the close; as mill, sell. All words of one syllable ending in _l_, with a double vowel before it, have only one _l_ at the close; as mail, sail.

The words foretell, distill, instill and fulfill, retain the _ll_ of their primitives. Derivatives of dull, skill, will and full also retain the _ll_ when the accent falls on these words; as dullness, skillfull, willfull, fullness.

Words of more than one syllable ending in _l_ have only one _l_ at the close; as delightful, faithful; unless the accent falls on the last syllable; as befall, etc.

Words ending in _l_, double the letter in the termination _ly_.

Participles ending in _ing_, from verbs ending in _e_, lose the final _e_; as have, having; make, making, etc; but verbs ending in _ee_ retain both; as see, seeing. The word dye, to color, however, must retain the _e_ before _ing_. All verbs ending in _ly_, and nouns ending in _ment_, retain the _e_ final of the primitives; as brave, bravely; refine, refinement; except words ending in _dge_; as, acknowledge, acknowledgment.

Nouns ending in _y_, preceded by a vowel, form their plural by adding _s_; as money, moneys; but if _y_ is preceded by a consonant, it is changed to _ies_ in the plural; as bounty, bounties.

Compound words whose primitives end in _y_, change the _y_ into _i_; as beauty, beautiful.