THE HUMAN INTEREST LIBRARY VISUALIZED KNOWLEDGE EDITORS RT. REV. SAMUEL FALLOWS, D.D., LL.D. HENRY W. RUOFF, M.A., Litt.D., D.C.L. VOLUME I. > J ' o J, » • J -1 o', -> ^o^> •." . ,; :« • '. »;,o ;• « i' CHICAGO THE MIDLAND PRESS na V- j - a Copyright 1914, by The Midland Press ^ - C I - ' ' ^ C t C c c c 'c C t^ :^ ' c' c 'c' c c ccc c c . ITS PURPOSE ITS METHOD ITS ILLUS- TRATIONS CUMULATIVE HOME LIBRARY PUBLISHER'S STATEMENT Today — every day — there is something we would hke to know and to understando "Learn one thing every day" might be the legend of The Human Interest Library. Its purpose is to acquaint the reader with the human interest facts of the world's knowledge through his devoting five minutes of spare time each day to interesting read- ing and to looking at instructive pictures. In order that this knowledge may be acquired agreeably and without special effort, the facts have been woven into gripping human interest stories — stories that give in concise manner and without unnecessary detail, just what everyone wants to know about a famous person, place, picture or event. Each story is complete in itself and can be read in a few moments of spare time. If one story only is read every day, every day something worth while will be learned, and the reader will be quite unaware of any effort to acquire knowledge. More than a thousand illustrations, selected for their educational and inspirational value ; nearly two hundred beautiful full-page engravings and numerous drawings by special artists have been used to fully illustrate all subjects treated and to visualize to a remarkable degree the story of man's achievements. Gathered from all available sources throughout the world, the paintings and photo- graphs reproduced form a veritable picture gallery of the world's great men and great events. The volumes now issued are the basic volumes of a cumulative set of books to which additional volumes are to be added from time to time. Each volume as purchased is complete in itself but so planned as to cover a special field, or to form a dis- tinct part of the whole. ^141080 NO REPETI- TION OF MATTER PERSONAL TO THE SUBSCRIBER Succeeding volumes will contain no duplication of matter, but rather an orderly continuation of the departments already projected, or possibly new departments. When all volumes have been issued, The Human Interest Library will present in picture and story the sum total of a practical and liberal education in Science, Fine Arts, History, the Kingdoms of Nature, Literature, Biography and Travel. The final volume will contain a general index, minutely analyzing and indexing the con- tents of the entire set. If some favorite subjects or authors, or perhaps the story of what seems a most important event, do not appear in the initial volumes of the set, they may be confidently expected in the volumes that are to follow. Each volume affords only a given amount of space and the editors keeping in mind the comprehensive plan of the complete library, have exercised unrestricted judgment in the selections they have made. Some favorite human interest topic — the story that you may have looked for and failed to find — is sure to be told in its most interesting form in the volumes that are to follow. SAVE YOUR Upon inquiry the publishers will be glad to A??OWANrE ^^^i^^ subscribers of the approximate date upon FOR which succeeding volumes will be ready for delivery. SUCCEEDING TJ^e advance subscriptions received for these vol- umes will be filled with First Edition copies. Save a portion of your annual book money for the forth- coming volumes and your home will soon possess a comprehensive library of the world's best knowledge. VOLUMES X ^^ .-^ou^^^Y ^'—^'^^'^'^-- A^^C;^^^^.^ EDITORS RT. REV. SAMUEL FALLOWS, D.D., LL.D. Bishop of the Reformed Episcopal Church; Ex-President Illi- nois Wesleyan University; editor Popular and Critical Bible Encyclopedia; Webster's Encyclopedic Dictionary, etc. HENRY W. RUOFF, M.A., Litt.D., D.C.L. Editor The Century Book of Facts; The Capitals of the World; The Standard Dictionary of Facts; Masters of Achievement; The Volume Library, etc. CONTRIBUTORS AND REVISERS ROBERT E. PEARY, LL.D., U.S.N. Rear-Admiral U. S. Navy; Discoverer of the North Pole; ■author of Northward Over the Great Ice, etc. RT. REV. WILLIAM A. QUAYLE, D.D., Litt.D., LL.D, Bishop of the Methodist Episcopal Church; author of The Poet's Poet and other Essays; Eternity in the Heart; God's Calendar; The Song of Songs, etc. WINFIELD S. HALL, M.A., Ph.D., M.D. Professor of Physiology, Northwestern University Medical School; author oi Essentials of Physiology; Sexual Hygiene, etc. FREDERIC STARR, Ph.D., D.Sc. Professor of Anthropology, University of Chicago; author of First Steps in Human Progress; Strange Peoples, etc.; editor of the Anthropological Series. DOROTHY CANFIELD FISHER, Ph.D. Author of Corneille and Racine in England; What Shall We Do Now?; The Montessori Mother, etc. CHARLES A. McMURRY, Ph.D. Professor of Psychology and Pedagogy, Illinois State Normal School; author of The Eight Grades, Methods in Elementary Science, Nature Study Lessons, etc. dy-c.dui~<^^~XiC vJTXA/i^ tsrr<. ^^^~d± CONTRIBUTORS AND REVISERS BENJAMIN C. ALLIN Writer, Traveler, Lecturer. GRANVILLE WALTER BARR, M.D. Former Editor Keokuk Standard; Lecturer on Popular Science; author of Shacklett, etc. JAMES T. CASE, M.D. Roentgenologist to Battle Creek Sanitarium, Battle Creek, Mich., and to St. Luke's Hospital, Chicago; lecturer on Roent- genology, Northwestern University Medical School, etc. GEORGE LUCIUS COLLIE, M.A., Ph.D., LL.D. Dean Beloit College; geologist; educator and traveler; writer on Geological and Educational topics. CHARLES AARON CULVER, Ph.D. Professor Physics, Beloit College; author of papers on subject of electromagnetic waves, etc. Contributor to Physical Review- Electrical World; Science, etc. HENRY PURMORT EAMES, LL.B., Mus.D. Formerly Director Piano Department and Lecturer on Theory of Music, L'niversity of Nebraska; founder of Omaha School of Music; concertized in France, Great Britain and United States. EMIL GERBER, C.E. Late General Manager of Erection, American Bridge Company, Pittsburgh, Pa. CURVIN H. GINGRICH, M.A., Ph.D. Professor Astronomy, Carleton College; associate editor of Popular Astronomy, etc. JEANNETTE RECTOR HODGDON Teacher of History in New York City High School; author of A First Course in American History, etc. BEVERLY W. KUNKEL, Ph.D. Professor of Zoology, Beloit College. Writer on zoology and anatomy. SAMUEL A. LOUGH, M.A., Ph.D. Professor in the University of Denver; Educator, Writer. ARTHUR MEE Journalist and author. Editor Harmsworth'a Self-Educator; Children's Encyclopedia; Children's Magazine; author of Life Story of Edward VII, etc. E. L. C. MORSE, B.A., LL.B. Principal Phil Sheridan Public School, Chicago; periodical writer, etc. WILLIAM LEWIS NIDA, Ph.B. City Superintendent Schools, River Forest, 111. Author, Ele- mentary Agriculture; Farm Animals and Farm Crops; City, State and Nation, etc. CHARLES ELSTON NIXON, B.A. Dramatic and Music Critic; writer of dramatic Sketches, songs and historic dramas. Formerly western manager Music Trades and Musical America, and The Philharmonic, Chicago. ALBERT J. NORTON, B.Sc. Writer and Lecturer on Spanish American Subjects; author of Norton's Complete Handbook of Havana and Cuba, etc. ETHEL COOPER PIERCE, M.A. Editorial writer Home and School Reference Work; teacher science and mathematics; contributor to periodical literature. MARA L. PRATT Author of America's Story for America's Children; World History in Myth and Legend; etc. GEORGE ROCKWELL PUTNAM, C.E. United States Commissioner of Lighthouses; director United States Coast Surveys, Philippine Islands, 1900-6; author Nautical Charts, and numerous technical papers. ANNA E. REURY Assistant editor Home and School Reference Work; former as- sistant editor The Freeman, Kingston-on-Hudson; contributor to periodical literature, etc. LEW R. SARETT, B.A. Department of Rhetoric and Public Speaking, University of Illinois; lecturer on out-of-door subjects; magazine writer, etc. FREDERIC BENNETT WRIGHT, M.A. Author, traveler, lecturer. Editor Records of the Past, etc. DESCRIPTION OF CONTENTS VOLUME ONE Page EVERYDAY WONDER BOOK 11 This book concerns many of the commonest things in life about which we, and especially those of us who are children, are continually wondering what the explanation may be. Very often these questions remain unanswered through life; because, perhaps, they are so simple. Here is a very marvelous book in which the ever recurring "Why" is answered. Whether it concerns the mysteries of the body or the far-off wonders of sun, moon and stars, the explanation is equally lucid. BOOK OF OUR OWN LIFE .89 In an age replete with discussion of matters relative to our physical well being, with public interest as never before focussed on physical culture, sex hygiene, eugenics and pubUc sanitation, nothing is more timely than this very Book of Our Own Life. It traces human life from the cell to the full grown man and shows how the tiny microbes, the enemy of man, enter the blood stream, and the havoc they make. How the senses stand guard over the avenue of approach to the body and how the central nervous system from its seat in the brain, guides and directs all, is beautifully told in text and illustration. BOOK FOR PARENT AND TEACHER 169 Here is a book prepared especially to aid the parent and the teacher. For the pre-school days the book gives a delightful description of Dr. Montessori's system of self-instruction for children. This is followed by courses in other elementary studies to aid the parent in instructing the child when necessarily detained from school. The section on Rural Economy is especially adapted to rural and suburban districts. Home life in the country has never been surpassed in natural environment. It is the problem of today to enhance it still more by enlarging its educational and cultural opportunities; by utilizing every product of invention and science for the improvement of scientific agriculture, horticulture, stock raising and the domestic arts; by providing an improved system of rural banking and credits; and by affording new facilities for the distribution and marketing of farm products. THE CHILDREN'S OWN BOOK 263 The many things a boy or girl wants to do, whether work or amusement, is provided for here : carpentry, wood carving, kites, flying machines, telephones, etc., for boys; sewing, millinery and fancy work, for girls; and stories, plays, games, puzzles, private theatricals and magic for all. The section on stories and plays is replete with fancy, anecdote, moral, description, episode and dramatic settings intended to appeal to the imagination and moral sense of children. The play instincts of children are so evident that it seems superfluous to argue the need of proper material in story and dramatic form to keep pace with the growth and expansion of the child mind. The world of childhood is peopled with fairies, myths, flowers, animals, ogres, and wonderful characters at once humorous- pathetic, cruel and kind. LIST OF ILLUSTRATIONS IN VOLUME I FULL PAGE COLOR PLATES Page The Archer Fish opp. 10 The Pygmies and Storks opp. 1 1 FULL PAGE ENGRAVINGS AND DRAWINGS Spectre of the Brocken 12 How the World's Story was First Told 15 How a Magnifying Glass Makes Things Bigger 70 How the Camera Takes a Photograph 71 Airship Attacked by Aeroplanes . , 82 Birth of the American Flag 84 Ventilation of the Human House 90 Blood Circulation in the Human House 92 Brain Signals of the Human House 93 Machinery of the Ear 118 How Sound Reaches the Brain 120 Blindfolded Man's Walk Across Niagara 124 Pictures Drawn by the Human Voice 128 The Cells and Nerves of Smell 140 Inside and Outside of Brain 150 Statue of Liberty Enlightening the World 168 Dr. Maria Montessori 170 Self-Education by Montessori System 173 Montessori Sense Training Apparatus 177 Montessori Self-Instructing Devices 178 Children Directing Their Own Lessons 184 Grace Before Meals 199 Plowing by Machinery 248 Thumbeline Floated Down the Stream 264 Alphabet Illustrated 266 Picture Words 267, 268, 269 The World at Work to Fill the Paint Box 273 A Warrior of the Vanishing Race 310 Knots in General Use by Sailors and Builders 323 The Boy Who Would Not Grow Up 367 AND 110 ADDITIONAL TEXT ILLUSTRATIONS 10 ■s. ir. i .£ ' — ' '/ U- — ' — u :; v3 2: xt:; c ^ c «2 ~ ^ < !•- _2 w z ■^ 2^ < 2 "^ "7 *^ ^ ■/. ~ T* H \ «• ^ ■Z '— ■J-. ._ n < ~ '" 1 . y. ^ X V ^» ~ ~ ^"-^ w ^ :^ •^ r < — .E THE BATTLE OF THE PVG^^ES AND THE STORKS Homer and other ancient writers frequently refer to pygmy races which they represent as waging desperate warfare with the storks that came to raid their crops. Recently various expeditions have proved their existence in several parts of the globe. The Everyday Wonder Book WONDERS OF THE HUMAN BODY WONDERS OF ANIMALS AND PLANTS WONDERS OF LIGHT AND SOUND WONDERS OF AIR, FIRE AND WATER WONDERS OF EARTH, SUN AND STARS THE CHILDREN'S "WHYS" AND "HOWS' MISCELLANEOUS QUESTION-BOX 19 THE MYSTERIOUS SPECTRE OF THE BROCKEN An enormously magnified image of the observer, cast upon a bank of mist, is sometimes seen in high mountain regions when the sun is low in the heavens and the observer is between the cloud bank and the sun; it is seen oftenest in the Harz Mountains, Germany. 12 THE REASON WHY We are asking questions continually; all our lives we keep saying, "I Wonder Why." Where does the day begin? How do I remember? What makes the rain- bow? To all of us come such questions, and as long as we live, such questions will come, however wise we grow. The questions will never stop as long as the world lasts, because out of the answer to one question another arises; and so, all over the world and down the ages of time, grown-ups and children have been saying, "I Wonder Why." All through these volumes we shall find the answers to our questions, but in this especial Book we shall find questions about many things which we par- ticularly want to know. First of all, we learn how the world was peopled; then, how nations lived; how men know things that happened long ago, and how they gathered up the knowledge that is in the world. Later follows the answers to the puzzling workings of our own bodies, and the multitude of questions that come up from day to day about animals and plants; light and sound; air, fire and water; earth, sun and stars; and numerous other things we want to know about. HOW THE WORLD WAS PEOPLED IN the childhood of the world, there were not nearly so many people on the earth as there are today. We cannot tell exactly what happened then, because it is so very long ago; but we can make believe that all the people lived in one small part of the world all by themselves. They were like a big family living together in the same house. By-and-by the family grew bigger; more boys and girls began to come, and at last the house became too small for them to live in. So some of them had to go out and find another home. They wandered up and down over the earth, and when any of them found a comfortable place to live in, there they stopped and settled. So, we are all one big family, and though now some nations seem very different from others, yet they are each some relation to the other, brother or sister, or cousin, or some- thing. This is why we find so many of the same words used by different nations ; the words father and mother, for instance, are alike in manv dif- ferent languages. Nations live and die and pass away as you and i Some of these early nations have died, but others are still living today; for nations, just as we do, are born, grow up, and die, only it takes them a great deal longer time than it takes us. And perhaps some of the nations that are alive today will die and pass away some time in the future. You may have wondered how we know about what happened long ago, before there were any books or news- papers, even before there was writing 13 u THE HUMAN INTEREST LIBRARY f c f. r < of any sort. ' It is quite easy to find out what happe)aed only^ 3, hundred years ago, because there are plsutyo^t books that will tell us all about it. But what about things that happened thousands of years ago.'^ How WE KNOW THE STORY OF THE WORLD The boys and girls who lived long ago were just as fond of stories as the children of today. They, too, would ask for stories; and when they grew up, they, too, would tell these stories to their children. So the stories came down to us, right from the earliest time, when there was no reading or writing, but simply story-telling. That is the first way in w hich we know what happened far back. Boys and girls have been among the most important people in handing on to us our story of the world. What a great loss it would have been if those boys and girls who lived once upon a time had forgotten the stories that were told them! The next way of finding out what happened long ago is by reading the earliest books. What do you think these books were.'* Not books such as we have now, but bricks; just clay bricks, with writing and pictures marked on them while the clay was soft, and then baked hard in the heat of the sun. Thousands of these bricks have been dug out of the earth at Babylon and other places. When these cities were destroyed long ago, they became gradually covered with earth; the houses, the streets, the libraries, and everything in them were buried under the ground. And down under the ground these bricks have been kept dry and clean and fresh, and so today we are able to read the writing and the pictures, and find out what the people in those days were doing. In ancient times, also, when a king did anything of which he was very proud, such as conquering his enemies and taking them captive, he had an account of it carved on a big stone or pillar, and set it up so that people could read all about what he had done. Thousands of these monuments have been found, and there probably are thousands still buried in Eg;y'pt, and parts of Asia. The writing on these stones looks very strange to us. Most of those found in Egypt have pictures upon them, instead of words and letters. When you are in New York, you should visit Central Park and look at the tall column called Cleo- patra's Needle. This was brought from Egypt, and is covered with pic- tures; we call these pictures hiero- glyphics, which means sacred carvings. When the first of these old pillars was found, no one could read the writing or understand the pictures. It was like a hard riddle. At last, when all the learned men were very nearly giving up the riddle, a great piece of good fortune hap- pened. Some French officers who were in Egypt about a hundred years ago, in 1799, happened to dig up a stone with writing on it, and, to their great delight, the writing was in three languages. One of these was the picture writing, and another was Greek. Now, it w^as easy enough to read the Greek, and when they had made out what that meant they guessed that the picture writing would mean just the same thing. And so it did. That gave people the key to the riddle, and the whole mystery was made clear. They found that an eagle stood for the letter a, a leg and foot for h, a serpent with horns for /, a hand for t, an owl for m, a chicken for V, and so on. A man w^ith his hands lifted up meant prayer. After reading this one stone, it was easy to read all the other writings on stones and pillars found in Egypt. HOW THE WORLD'S STORY WAS FIRST TOLD The Egyptians painted tlie walls of their temples and tombs with strange letters and pictures which tell the history Egypt. This is from the wall of a tomb where the paint is still fresh, though it Is thousands of years old. "^*- -J* .Hy Cleopatra's Needle, once in Egypt, and now standing in Central Parli, New York, shows the strange writing on the Egyptian monuments. The Rosetta Stone, which taught us to read the strange writing the Egyptians left behind. It said the same thing in three kinds of writing, and one kind was the Egyptian. Men knew one of the other kinds of writing, so that they were able to find out what the Egyptian writing meant. There was no paper In old Egypt, and the people wrote on bricks and on the dried bark ol the papyrus plant, here shown growiag. i.