The Handy Cyclopedia of Things Worth Knowing Part 71

The Garden of the G.o.ds is near Colorado Springs and consists of a tract some 50 acres in area surrounded by mountains and ravines of red sandstone. A number of large upright rocks, some as high as 350 feet, have given the beautiful valley its name. It is entered by a very narrow pa.s.s called the "Beautiful Gate."

The Trans-Siberian Railway is 6,003 miles long and was built at a cost of $201,350,860.

The longest reigns in English history were; Victoria, 64 years; George III., 60; Henry III, 56; Edward III, 50; Elizabeth, 45; Henry VIII., 38.

The highest mountain in North America is Mt. McKinley, at the headwaters of the Suswhitna and Kuskokwim rivers, Alaska. Its height is 20,464 feet.

The largest viaduct in the world was designed and built by American engineers for the English railway in Burma. It crosses the Gokteik gorge, eighty miles from Mandalay. It is 2,260 feet long and 325 feet high, and was constructed in 1900.

The degrees of alcohol in wines and liquors are: Beer, 4.0; porter, 4.5; ale, 7.4; cider, 8.6; Moselle, 9.6; Tokay, 10.2; Rhine, 11.0; orange, 11.2; Bordeaux, 11.5; hock, 11.6; gooseberry, 11.8; Champagne, 12.2; claret, 13.3; Burgundy, 13.6; Malaga, 17.3; Lisbon, 18.5; Canary, 18.8; sherry, 19.0; vermouth, 19.0; Cape, 19.2; Malmsey, 19.7; Marsala, 20.2; Madeira, 21.0; Port, 23.2; Curacoa, 27.0; aniseed, 33.0; Maraschino, 34.0; Chartreuse, 43.0; gin, 51.6; brandy, 53.4; rum, 53.7; Irish whisky, 53.9; Scotch, 54.3. Spirits are said to be "proof" when they contain 57 per cent. The maximum amount of alcohol, says Parkes, that a man can take daily without injury to his health is that contained in 2 oz. Brandy, 1/4 pt. of sherry, 1/2 pt. of claret, or 1 pt. of beer.

The measurement of that part of the skull which holds the brain is stated in cubic inches thus: Anglo-Saxon, 105; German, 105; negro, 96; ancient Egyptian, 93; Hottentot, 58; Australian native, 58. In all races the male brain is about ten per cent heavier than the female. The highest cla.s.s of apes has only 16 oz. of brain. A man's brain, it is estimated, consists of 300,000,000 nerve cells, of which over 3,000 are disintegrated and destroyed every minute. Everyone, therefore, has a new brain once in sixty days. But excessive labor, or lack of sleep, prevents the repair of the tissues, and the brain gradually wastes away.

Diversity of occupation, by calling upon different portions of the mind or body successively, affords, in some measure, the requisite repose to each. But in this age of overwork there is no safety except in that perfect rest which is the only natural restorative of exhausted power.

The King James version of the Bible contains 3,566,480 letters, 773,746 words, 31,173 verses, 1,189 chapters, and 66 books. The word and occurs 46,277 times. The word Lord occurs 1,855 times. The word Reverend occurs but once, which is in the 9th verse of the 111th Psalm. The middle verse is the 8th verse of the 118th Psalm. The 21st verse of the 7th chapter of Ezra contains all the letters of the alphabet except the letter J.

The 19th chapter of II Kings and the 37th chapter of Isaiah are alike.

The longest verse is the 9th verse of the 8th chapter of Esther. The shortest verse is the 35th verse of the 11th chapter of St. John. There are no words or names of more than six syllables.

SOME OF NATURE'S WONDERS.

The human body has 240 bones.

Man's heart beats 92,160 times in a day.

A salmon has been known to produce 10,000,000 eggs. Some female spiders produce 2,000 eggs. A queen bee produces 100,000 eggs in a season.

There are 9,000 cells in a square foot of honeycomb.

It requires 2,300 silkworms to produce one pound of silk.

It would take 27,600 spiders to produce one pound of web.

THE RULE OF THE ROAD.

The "rule of the road" in the United States is "turn to the right"; in England it is the reverse. The rule holds in this country in the case where two vehicles going in opposite directions meet. When one vehicle overtakes another the foremost gives way to the left and the other pa.s.ses by on the "off side"; and when a vehicle is crossing the direction of another it keeps to the left and crosses in its rear. These two rules are the same in this country as in England, and why the rule concerning meeting vehicles should have been changed it is impossible to say.

CANARY BIRDS.

How to Keep Them Healthy and in Good Song.

Place the cage so that no draught of air can strike the bird.

Give nothing to healthy birds but rape, hemp, canary seed, water, cuttle-fish bone, and gravel, paper or sand on floor of cage.

A bath three times a week;

The room should not be overheated.

When moulting keep warm and avoid all draughts of air.

Give plenty of German summer rape seed. A little hard-boiled egg mixed with cracker, grated fine, once or twice a week, is excellent.

Feed at a certain hour in the morning.

Diseases and Cures.

Husk or Asthma.--The curatives are aperients, such as endive, water cresses, bread and milk, and red pepper.

Pip.--Mix red pepper, b.u.t.ter and garlic and swab out the throat.

Sweating.--Wash the hen in salt and water, and dry rapidly.

Costiveness.--Plenty of green food and fruit.

Obstruction of the Rump Gland--Pierce with a needle. Press the inflamed matter out, and drop fine sugar over the wound.

Lice.--Keep a saucer of fresh water in the cage and the bird will free itself.

Overgrown Claws or Beak.--Pare carefully with a sharp knife.

Moulting.--Give plenty of good food and keep warm. Saffron and a rusty nail put in the drinking water is excellent.

Loss of Voice.--Feed with paste of bread, lettuce and rape seed with yoke of egg. Whisky and sugar is an excellent remedy.

RECIPES, TRADE SECRETS ETC.

Toothache Cure.--Compound tinct. benzoin is said to be one of the most certain and speedy cures for toothache; pour a few drops on cotton, and press at once into the diseased cavity, when the pain will almost instantly cease.

Toothache Tincture.--Mix tannin, 1 scruple; mastic, 3 grains; ether, 2 drams. Apply on cotton wool, to the tooth, previously dried.

Charcoal Tooth Paste.--Chlorate of potash, 1/2 dram; mint water, 1 ounce. Dissolve and add powdered charcoal, 2 ounces; honey, 1 ounce.

Excellent Mouth Wash.--Powdered white Castile soap, 2 drams; alcohol, 3 ounces; honey, 1 ounce; essence or extract jasmine, 2 drams. Dissolve the soap in alcohol and add honey and extract.

Removing Tartar from the Teeth.--This preparation is used by dentists.

Pure muriatic acid, one ounce; water, one ounce; honey, two ounces; mix thoroughly. Take a toothbrush, and wet it freely with this preparation, and briskly rub the black teeth, and in a moment's time they will be perfectly white; then immediately wash out the mouth well with water, that the acid may not act on the enamel of the teeth. This should be done only occasionally.

Test for Glue.--The following simple and easy test for glue is given: A weighed piece of glue (say one-third of an ounce) is suspended in water for twenty-four hours, the temperature of which is not above fifty degrees Fahrenheit. The coloring material sinks, and the glue swells from the absorption of the water. The glue is then taken out and weighed; the greater the increase in weight the better the glue. If it then be dried perfectly and weighed again, the weight of the coloring matter can be learned from the difference between this and the original weight.

Bad Breath.--Bad breath from catarrh, foul stomach or bad teeth may be temporarily relieved by diluting a little bromo chloralum with eight or ten parts of water, and using it as a gargle, and swallowing a few drops before going out. A pint of bromo chloralum costs fifty cents, but a small vial will last a long time.