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Image 7445
59 visits
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Image 7444
24 visits
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Image 7443
33 visits
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Image 7442
51 visits
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Image 7440
45 visits
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Image 7441
42 visits
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Image 7439
28 visits
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Image 7438
33 visits
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Image 7437
43 visits
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41 visits
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Image 7435
41 visits
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Image 7434
35 visits
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Image 7433
57 visits
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Image 7432
51 visits
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Image 7431
55 visits
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Image 7430
60 visits
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Image 7429
67 visits
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Image 7428
42 visits
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Image 7427
49 visits
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Image 7426
43 visits
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36 visits
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51 visits
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Image 7423
31 visits
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50 visits
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Image 7421
33 visits
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Image 7420
40 visits
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Image 7419
32 visits
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Image 7418
61 visits
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Image 7417
31 visits
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51 visits
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Image 7415
48 visits
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Image 7414
48 visits
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Image 7413
38 visits
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Image 7412
58 visits
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Image 7411
49 visits
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Image 7410
29 visits
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Image 7409
27 visits
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Image 7408
34 visits
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28 visits
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Image 7407
28 visits
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Image 7405
46 visits
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47 visits
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34 visits
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33 visits
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Image 7401
48 visits
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Image 7400
31 visits
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Image 7399
29 visits
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Image 7398
43 visits
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About 1820, the State of Illinois was being rapidly settled by people from the eastern states. Prior to this time, very few white settlements had been made in the state. These early pioneers, drawn from the population of the eastern states, were composed of almost all nationalities. They pushed their way across the mountains of Pennsylvania and Virginia in crude wagons, drawn by oxen, bringing with them their household goods and a few milk cows.
49 visits
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About 1820, the State of Illinois was being rapidly settled by people from the eastern states. Prior to this time, very few white settlements had been made in the state. These early pioneers, drawn from the population of the eastern states, were composed of almost all nationalities. They pushed their way across the mountains of Pennsylvania and Virginia in crude wagons, drawn by oxen, bringing with them their household goods and a few milk cows. They came into Illinois, built new homes, and laid out new fields on the broad, unsettled prairies.
107 visits
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In April, 1869, a charter was granted by the state of Illinois to the East St. Louis Stock Yards Company. This company was authorized to issue stock to an amount not to exceed $200,000. The original charter of the company, which later operated the National Stock Yards, fixed the capital stock thereof at $1,000,000, which was, subsequently, raised, by a vote of the stock holders, to an amount of $250,000, to meet the requirements of the rapidly growing business. When the National Stock Yards were completed, they were more convenient than were any others of their kind in the country.
85 visits
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The great drouths caused the price of corn to fluctuate but the aggregate corn yield kept on increasing with increased acreage and usually the year following a drouth was one of superabundance of corn. Such was the year of 1895 following the drouth of 1894. The proportion of cattle per thousand population steadily increased. Meanwhile our cattle markets became centralized and were always full to overflowing. Everybody wondered where the cattle came from.
138 visits
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The “Swan with Two Necks,” whence many coaches set out, until the end of such things, was often known by waggish people as the “Wonderful Bird,” and obtained its name from a perversion of the “Swan with Two Nicks”: swans that swam the upper Thames and were the property of the Vintners’ Company being marked on their bills with two nicks, for identification. Lad Lane is now “Gresham Street,” but, apart from its mere name, is a lane still; but the old buildings of the “Swan with Two Necks” were pulled down in 1856.
78 visits
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A hundred and fifty years later than Piers Plowman we get another picture of an English ale-house, by no less celebrated a poet. This famous house, the “Running Horse,” still stands at Leatherhead, in Surrey, beside the long, many-arched bridge that there crosses the river Mole at one of its most picturesque reaches. It was kept in the time of Henry the Seventh by that very objectionable landlady, Elynor Rummyng, whose peculiarities are the subject of a laureate’s verse.
71 visits
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A hundred and fifty years later than Piers Plowman we get another picture of an English ale-house, by no less celebrated a poet. This famous house, the “Running Horse,” still stands at Leatherhead, in Surrey, beside the long, many-arched bridge that there crosses the river Mole at one of its most picturesque reaches. It was kept in the time of Henry the Seventh by that very objectionable landlady, Elynor Rummyng, whose peculiarities are the subject of a laureate’s verse. Elynor Rummyng, and John Skelton, the poet-laureate who hymned her person, her beer, and her customers, both flourished in the beginning of the sixteenth century. Skelton, whose genius was wholly satiric, no doubt, in his Tunning (that is to say, the brewing) of Elynor Rummyng, emphasised all her bad points, for it is hardly credible that even the rustics of the Middle Ages would have rushed so enthusiastically for her ale if it had been brewed in the way he describes.
124 visits
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The bibulium, that is to say, the ale-house or tavern, displayed its sign for all men to see: the ivy-garland, or wreath of vine-leaves, in honour of Bacchus, wreathed around a hoop at the end of a projecting pole. This bold advertisment of good drink to be had within long outlasted Roman times, and indeed still survives in differing forms, in the signs of existing inns. It became the “ale-stake” of Anglo-Saxon and middle English times.
The traveller recognised the ale-stake at a great distance, by reason of its long pole—the “stake” whence those old beer-houses derived their name—projecting from the house-front, with its mass of furze, or garland of flowers, or ivy-wreath, dangling at the end. But the ale-houses that sold good drink little needed such signs, a circumstance that early led to the old proverb, “Good wine needs no bush.”
174 visits
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The famous “Seven Stars”, in Withy Grove, proudly bearing on its front the statement that it has been licensed over 560 years, and is the oldest licensed house in Great Britain.
63 visits
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The tottering, crazy-looking tavern called “Ye Olde Rover’s Return,” on Shude Hill, claiming to be the “oldest beer-house in the city,” and additionally said once to have been an old farmhouse “where the Cow was kept that supplied Milk to The Men who built the ‘Seven Stars"
70 visits
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The City of London’s oldest licensed inn is, by its own claiming, the “Dick Whittington,” in Cloth Fair, Smithfield, but it only claims to have been licensed in the fifteenth century, when it might reasonably—without much fear of contradiction—have made it a century earlier. This is an unusual modesty, fully deserving mention. It is only an “inn” by courtesy, for, however interesting and picturesque the grimy, tottering old lath-and-plaster house may be to the stranger, imagination does not picture any one staying either in the house or in Cloth Fair itself while other houses and other neighbourhoods remain to choose from; and, indeed, the “Dick Whittington”[Pg 6] does not pretend to be anything else than a public-house. The quaint little figure at the angle, in the gloom of the overhanging upper storey, is one of the queer, unconventional imaginings of our remote forefathers, and will repay examination.
77 visits
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The “Fighting Cocks” inn at St. Albans, down by the river Ver, below the Abbey, claims to be—not the oldest inn—but the oldest inhabited house, in the kingdom: a pretension that does not appear to be based on anything more than sheer impudence.
70 visits
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The Kitchen of a Country Inn, 1797: showing the Turnspit Dog. (From the engraving after Rowlandson)
79 visits
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Image 7384
56 visits
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Spirochætosis of Fowls—One of the best known of the spirochætes transmitted by arthropods is Spirochæta gallinarum, the cause of a very fatal disease of domestic fowls in widely separated regions of the world. According to Nuttall, it occurs in Southeastern Europe, Asia, Africa, South America and Australia.
In 1903, Marchoux and Salimbeni, working in Brazil, made the first detailed study of the disease, and showed that the causative organism is transmitted from fowl to fowl by the tick Argas persicus. They found that the ticks remained infective for at least five months. Specimens which had fed upon diseased birds in Brazil were sent to Nuttall and he promptly confirmed the experiments.
90 visits
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(a) Anterior part of venter
(b) second stage nymph
(c) capitulum
(d) dorsal aspect of female
(e) ventral aspect of female
(f) ventral aspect of nymph
(g) capitulum of nymph
Ornithodoros moubata, the carrier of African relapsing fever, or "tick-fever," is widely distributed in tropical Africa, and occurs in great numbers in the huts of natives, in the dust, cracks and crevices of the dirt floors, or the walls. It feeds voraciously on man as well as upon birds and mammals. Like others of the Argasidæ, it resembles the bed-bug in its habit of feeding primarily at night. Dutton and Todd observed that the larval stage is undergone in the egg and that the first free stage is that of the octopod nymph.
74 visits
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By trypanosomiasis is meant a condition of animal parasitism, common to man and the lower animals, in which trypanosomes, peculiar flagellate protozoa, infest the blood. Depending upon the species, they may be harmless, producing no appreciable ill-effect, or pathogenic, giving rise to conditions of disease. A number of these are known to be transferred by insects.
The trypanosomes are elongated, usually pointed, flagellated protozoa in which the single flagellum, bent under the body, forms the outer limit of a delicate undulating membrane. It arises near one end of the organism from a minute centrosome-like body which is known as the blepheroplast, and at the opposite end extends for a greater or less distance as a free flagellum. Enclosing, or close beside the blepheroplast is the small kinetonucleus. The principal nucleus, round or oval in form, is situated near the center of the body. Asexual reproductions occurs in this stage, by longitudinal fission, the nucleus and the blepheroplast dividing independently of one another. From the blepheroplast of one of the daughter cells a new flagellum is formed.
60 visits
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When the blood of an infested individual is sucked up and reaches the stomach of such a mosquito, the larvæ, by very active movements, escape from their sheaths and within a very few hours actively migrate to the body cavity of their new host and settle down primarily in the thoracic muscles. There in the course of sixteen to twenty days they undergo a metamorphosis of which the more conspicuous features are the formation of a mouth, an alimentary canal and a trilobed tail. At the same time there is an enormous increase in size, the larvæ which measured .3 mm. in the blood becoming 1.5 mm. in length. This developmental period may be somewhat shortened in some cases and on the other hand may be considerably extended. The controlling factor seems to be the one of temperature.
The transformed larvæ then reenter the body cavity and finally the majority of them reach the interior of the labium. A few enter the legs and antennæ, and the abdomen, but these are wanderers which, it is possible, may likewise ultimately reach the labium, where they await the opportunity to enter their human host.
71 visits
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Stomoxys calcitrans, the stable-fly—It is a popular belief that house-flies bite more viciously just before a rain. As a matter of fact, the true house-flies never bite, for their mouth-parts are not fitted for piercing. The basis of the misconception is the fact that a true biting fly, Stomoxys calcitrans , closely resembling the house-fly, is frequently found in houses and may be driven in in greater numbers by muggy weather. From its usual habitat this fly is known as the "stable-fly" or, sometimes as the "biting house-fly."
72 visits
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The house-fly breeds by preference in horse manure. Indeed, It has been found that they would develop in almost any fermenting organic substance. Thus, they have been bred from pig, chicken, and cow manure, dirty waste paper, decaying vegetation, decaying meat, slaughter-house refuse, sawdust-sweepings, and many other sources. A fact which makes them especially dangerous as disease-carriers is that they breed readily in human excrement.
65 visits
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Sarcophagidæ—The larvæ of flies of this family usually feed upon meats, but have been found in cheese, oleomargerine, pickled herring, dead and living insects, cow dung and human feces. Certain species are parasitic in insects. Higgins (1890) reported an instance of "hundreds" of larvæ of Sarcophaga being vomited by a child eighteen months of age. There was no doubt as to their origin for they were voided while the physician was in the room. There are many other reports of their occurrence in the alimentary canal. We have recorded elsewhere (Riley, 1906) a case in which some ten or twelve larvæ of Sarcophaga were found feeding on the diseased tissues of a malignant tumor. The tumor, a melanotic sarcoma, was about the size of a small walnut, and located in the small of the back of an elderly lady.
79 visits
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The chigoes, or true chiggers, are the most completely parasitic of any of the fleas. Of the dozen or more known species, one commonly attacks man. This is Dermatophilus penetrans, more commonly known as Sarcopsylla penetrans or Pulex penetrans.
This species occurs in Mexico, the West Indies, Central and South America.
The males and the immature females of Dermatophilus penetrans closely resemble those of other fleas. They are very active little brown insects about 1-1.2 mm. in size, which live in the dust of native huts and stables, and in dry, sandy soil. In such places they often occur in enormous numbers and become a veritable plague.
90 visits
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Image 7375
71 visits
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The whitish larvæ on hatching are slightly flattened ventrally, and each segment bears posteriorly three foot-pads transversely arranged. At night the larvæ find their way into the low beds or couches of the natives and suck their blood.
72 visits
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Of the twenty or more species of this genus occurring in the United States the following are known to bite: C. cinctus, C. guttipennis, C. sanguisuga, C. stellifer, C. variipennis, C. unicolor.
50 visits
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The larvæ are elongate, with the head and thorax sharply distinct. The larval antennæ are prominent, consisting of a single cylindrical and sometimes curved segment. The outer third is often narrower and bears at its base a fan-shaped tuft of hairs, the arrangement and abundance of which is of systematic importance. About the mouth are the so-called rotary mouth brushes, dense masses of long hairs borne by the labrum and having the function of sweeping food into the mouth. The form and arrangement of thoracic, abdominal, and anal tufts of hair vary in different species and present characteristics of value. On either side of the eighth abdominal segment is a patch of scales varying greatly in arrangement and number and of much value in separating species. Respiration is by means of tracheæ which open at the apex of the so-called anal siphon, when it is present. In addition, there are also one or two pairs of tracheal gills which vary much in appearance in different species. On the ventral side of the anal siphon is a double row of flattened, toothed spines whose number and shape are likewise of some value in separating species. They constitute the comb or pecten.
46 visits
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Accessory to the salivary apparatus there is on the ventral side of the head, underneath the pharynx, a peculiar organ which the Germans have called the "Wanzenspritze," or syringe. The accompanying figure of the structure in Fulgora maculata shows its relation to the ducts of the salivary glands and to the beak. It is made up of a dilatation forming the body of the pump, in which there is a chitinous piston. Attached to the piston is a strong retractor muscle. The function of the salivary pump is to suck up the saliva from the salivary ducts and to force it out through the beak.
54 visits
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A "No. 2 flying boat," just built by Mr. Curtiss, and successfully tested on Lake Keuka, Hammondsport, in July, 1912, is the "last word" in aviation so far. An illustration in this book, made from photographs taken in mid-July, 1912, shows fully the bullet-shape of the "flying fish."
It is a real boat, built with a fish-shaped body containing two comfortable seats for the pilot and passenger or observer, either of whom can operate the machine by a system of dual control, making it also available for teaching the art of flying.
All the controls are fastened to the rear of the boat's hull, which makes them very rigid and strong, while the boat itself, made in stream-line form, offers the least possible resistance to the air, even less than that offered by the landing gear upon a standard land machine. Above the boat are mounted the wings and aeroplane surface. In the centre of this standard biplane construction is situated the eighty horse-power motor with its propeller in the rear, thus returning to the original practice, as in the standard Curtiss machines, of having a single propeller attached direct to the motor, thus doing away with all chains and transmission gearing which might give trouble, and differing from the earlier model flying boat built in San Diego, California, last winter (1911-12), which was equipped with "tractor" propellors propellers in front driven by chains.
The new flying boat is twenty-six feet long and three feet wide. The planes are five and a half feet deep and thirty feet wide. It runs on the water at a speed of fifty miles an hour, and is driven by an eighty horse-power Curtiss motor. At a greater speed than this it cannot be kept on the water, but rises in the air and flies at from fifty to sixty miles per hour.
109 visits
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Following the success of the "White Wing" we started in to build another machine, embodying all that we had learned from our experience with the two previous ones. Following our custom of giving each machine a name to distinguish it from the preceding one, we called this third aeroplane the "June Bug." The name was aptly chosen, for it was a success from the very beginning. Indeed, it flew so well that we soon decided it was good enough to win the trophy which had been offered by The Scientific American for the first public flight of one kilometer, or five-eights of a mile, straightaway. This trophy, by the way, was the first to be offered in this country for an aeroplane flight, and the conditions specified that it should become the property of the person winning it three years in succession. The "June Bug" was given a thorough try-out before we made arrangements to fly for the trophy, and we were confident it would fulfill the requirements.
80 visits
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1. Cylinder; 2. Engine Bed; 3. Fuel Tank: 4. Oil Pan; 5. Radiator; 6. Propeller; 7. Crank Case; 8. Carbureter; 9. Gasoline Pipe; 10. Air Intake; 11. Auxiliary Air-pipe; 12. Drain Cock; 13. Water Cooling System; 14. Gas Intake Pipe; 15. Rocker Arm; 16. Spring on Intake Valve; 17. Spring on Exhaust Valve; 18. Exhaust Port; 19. Rocker Arm Post; 20. Push Rod.
82 visits
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1. Motor; 2. Radiator; 3. Fuel Tank; 4. Upper Main Plane; 5. Lower Main Plane; 6. Aileron; 7. Vertical Rudder; 8. Tail Surface; 9. Horizontal Rudder, or Rear Elevator; 10. Front Elevator; 11. Vertical Fin; 12. Steering Wheel; 13. Propeller; 14. Foot Throttle Lever; 15. Hand Throttle Lever; 16. Foot Brake.
78 visits
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Haydn saw with surprise a butcher call upon him one day, who being as sensible to the charms of his works as any other person, said freely to him, “Sir, I know you are both good and obliging, therefore I address myself to you with full confidence;—you excel in all kinds of composition; you are the first of composers: but I am particularly fond of your minuets. I stand in need of one, that is pretty, and quite new, for my daughter’s wedding, which is to take place in a few days, and I cannot address myself better than to the famous Haydn.”—Haydn, always full of kindness, smiled at this new homage, and promised it to him on the following day. The amateur returned at the appointed time, and received with joyful gratitude the precious gift. Shortly after, the sound of instruments struck Haydn’s ear.—He listened, and thought he recollected his new minuet. He went to his window, from whence he saw a superb Ox, with gilded horns, adorned with festoons and garlands, and surrounded by an ambulating orchestra, stopping under his balcony. Haydn was roused from his reverie by the butcher, who made his appearance in his apartment, and again expressed his sentiments of admiration, and concluded his speech, by saying, “Dear Sir, I thought that a butcher could not express his gratitude for so beautiful a minuet better than by offering you the finest Ox in his possession.”—Haydn refused—the butcher entreated, till at length Haydn, affected at the butcher’s frank generosity, accepted the present, and from that moment the minuet was known throughout Vienna by the name of the Ox Minuet, and has lately been introduced as a musical curiosity in England.
59 visits
