Chapter 29
LITERATURE Literature is not, and probably never will be, satisfactorily defined. Broadly speaking, it is any form of written or printed words upon any subject. More specifically defined, the term literature would apply to essays, poetry, stories, and other works of fiction of the grade acceptable to the best magazines and book publishers.
Works of history may be called literature, and scientific works come under this classification, but historical writers are usually called historians, and scientific writers are known as scientists. Story writers are usually classified as novelists, and newspaper writers as journalists. A book, commonly, if not technically, speaking is a volume usually bound in board covers and containing one hundred or more pages, but it may be a book if there are only a dozen
pages with covers of paper. Magnetic poles The magnetic poles are not, as most people suppose, identical with the geographic poles, the North Magnetic Pole being south of the geographical North Pole, and the South Magnetic Pole being north of the geographical South Pole. The North Magnetic Pole is located at about 77 degrees, 59 minutes, and the South at about
72 degrees, 23 minutes. Mammoth Cave Mammoth Cave, probably the best known of similar freaks of nature, is located in Kentucky and has a length of nine miles. It contains many avenues, chambers, domes, lakes, rivers, and waterfalls. Echo River, inside of the cave, is three-quarters of a mile in length, from a few feet to two hundred feet wide,
and has a depth of from ten to thirty feet. It is well filled with fish, none of which have eyes. Meat Industry There are in the United States about 1650 slaughterhouses employing nearly 110,000 people, with about $4 million capital invested. The annual product of the meat industry is not far from $1,400,000,000.
Medicine Chests Everyone should maintain a medicine chest or shelf containing simple remedies, but these should never be selected without the advice of a physician. Thousands of persons injure themselves by self-dosing. When in the slightest doubt, visit or call your doctor. Most ailments can be prevented or cured by a skillful physician, but if allowed to run they may result seriously or fatally. Do not take chances with yourself.
Microscope The first microscope is said to have been invented by a Dutchman in 1590, but its invention has been attributed to Galileo in 1610. The microscope has been perfected until a millionth part of a grain of blood may be detected by means of the spectrum lens. Mineral Industry The minerals mined in the United States every
year have a value of about $904 million. Mining Industry Nearly 1,104,000 men are engaged in the mines of the United States, over 90% of whom are wage earners. Moon The moon is the Earth's only satellite. It circles around the Earth every 27 days, 7 hours, and 43.2 minutes, on the average, but
because its motion is common with the Earth around the Sun, the mean duration of the lunar month is 29 days, 12 hours, 44.05 minutes. The distance from the Earth to the moon is from 238,850 to 252,820 miles, although at times the moon is only 216,477 miles from the Earth. The moon's diameter is 2,162 miles. The surface of the moon contains about 14,640,000 square miles, or about four times the area of Europe. The moon, although very much smaller
than the planets, exerts a stronger attractive force on the Earth because of its nearness. The moon is, unscientifically speaking, drawing everything on the Earth towards it, while at the same time the Earth is exerting the same attractive force upon the moon. Because of this, the oceans, being composed of water, which is easily movable, respond and move with the moon, causing the tides. This same attractive force is brought to bear upon the
Earth itself, but because it is of greater density it is not perceptibly affected. Theoretically, every lake and pond has a tide, but the motion of the water is too slight to be measured. The moon is supposed to possess neither atmosphere nor water. Thousands of ages ago the lunar surface was subjected to terrible volcanic actions which forced the land into ridges, some of them supposed to exceed 20,000 feet in height, and rents and depressions of corresponding
depths. The surface of the moon appears to be desolate and to be unfitted to support any form of life. End of Section 29
