The voice of freedom. [volume] (Montpelier, Vt.) 1839-1848, 1847-09-23

"N"' '0iCc UcIINlhS SrcaleT power 10 resist
blows, &c.
The aaA2eJoint is a perfect hinge of great
strength. There is in front Oft an %annuIar
ligament, by which the greater part of the
tendons, passing downwards to the foot and
toes, are kept in their places One Of these
tendons passes under the bony projection of
the inner ANGLE, in a smooth, appropriate
groove, exactly us if a little fixed pulley were
: there.
The heel, by projecting so far backwards,is
a lever for the strong muscles to act by,which
form the calf of the leg, and terminate in the
:, t!endo achiHis. These muscles, by drawing at
it, lift the body, in the actions Of standing on
the toes, walking, dancing, &c. In the foot of
the negro, the heel is 50 long as to be ugly in
rendering the effort ofsmaller muscles sufi-
I cient for the various purposes, the calf of the
leg in the negro is smaller in proportion than
in other races ofmcn
The arch ollie f0otis to be noticed as an
body from shocks by the elasticity ofthe sup
ports. The heels and the balls OF the toes are
the two extremes Of The elastic arch, and the
leg rests between them.
Connected with elasticity, il is interesting
to remark how imperfectly a wooden leg an
swers to a natural one. With the wooden
leg, which always remains Of the same length,
the centre ofthe body must describe, at each
step, or portion Of the circle Of which the bot
tom mob ofthc leg is the centre, and the body
is therefore constantly rising and falling
while, with the natural legs, which, by gentle
~tlcXure at the knee, are made shorter or lon
ger in different parts Of the step, as required,
the body is carried along in a manner per-
fectly level. In like manner, a man riding
on horseback, if he keep his back upright
and stiff, has his head jolted by every step of
the trotting animal but the experienced
horseman, even without rising in the %stirrups,
by letting the back yield at each moment, as
a bent spring yields during the motion of a
carriage, can carry his head quite smoothly
along.
In a general review of the skeleton, we
have to remark, /. The nice adaptation of
all the parts to each other, and to the strains
Which they have respectively to bear as in
the size ofthe spinal yertebra increasing from
above downwards the bones OF the leg being
larger than those Of the arm, and so on
,. The objects Of strength and lightness
combined as by the hollowness of the long
bones their angular form their t%hickcning
and ileXure in particular places where great
strains to be borne the enlargement Of the
eXtremities to which the muscles are at
tached, lengthening the lever by which these
act, &c. 3. We have to remark the nature
and strength of material in different parts, so
admirably adapted to the purposes which the
parts serve. There is a bone, for instance,in
one place, nearly as hard as iron, where, COW
cred with enamel, it has the form ofteeth, with
the o flee of chewing and tearing all kinds ct
matter used as food. In the Uranium, again,
bono is softer, but tough and resisting in
the middle Of the long bones, it compact and
a little bulky, to leave room for the swelling
Of the muscles lying there while, at either
end, it is large and spongy, with the same
quantity of matter, to give a broad surface
for articulation; and, in the spine, the bod
les of the vertebrG, which rest on an elastic
bed of intcrvertebral substance, are light and
spongy, which their articulating surfaces and
processes are very hard. In the joints we
see the tough, elastic, smooth substance, called
c~mtldge, covering the ends of the bones, de-
Tending and padding them, and destroying
friction. In infants, we find all the bones
soft or gristly, and therefore calculated to
bear, with impunity, the falls and blows una
voidabIe at their age; and we contain certain
parts ofremaining carthage or g@ristle for life,
where their elasticity is necessary or useful,
as at the anterior c~Xtrcmities of the ribs. A
bout the Joints, we have to remark the liga-
ments which bind the bones together, possess
ing q ~tcnacity scarcely eQualled in any other
known substance and we sec that the mus
cular flores, whose contractions move the
bones, and thereby the body,--bccause they
would have made the limbs clumsy even to
detorm!ty had they all passed over the joints
to the parts which they have to pull,-attAch
themselycs,a at convenient d~istances,to strong
cord called a teRd0a, by means Of which, like
a hundred sailors at a rope, they make their
effort effective at any distance. The ten
dons are remarkable for the great strength
which resides in their slender forms, and for
the fabricated smoothncss Of their surfaces.
Many other striking particulars might be G.
numerated; but these may suffice. Such,
then, is the skeleton, or general frame. work
Of the human body-less curious and compli-
Gated, perhaps, than some other parts Of the
system, but SO perfect and so wonderful, that
the mind which can attontivcly consider it
without emotion, is in a. state not to be en-
We'd.
RAILROAD TROUBLE. The contractors,
on the section below this, Van Pelt and Ea-
ton, absconded just after receiving their last
monthly payment, of about $1,000 andlc0 the
workmen, backcr8, &c, minus their pay.
Mr.. Davis Of Duttonsyillc, is largely in
volved, and many Others are likely to lose
considerable, besides the IriShmen. The sec
ton was likely to provo, not only Al un-
profitable job, but a disastrous concern to
the Contractors. Hencc,thcir disappearance.
The work OF course, has ceased on that sec
tion.-Genjus ofLberty.
VALUE OF KNOWLEDGE.--A now article
has OF late been discovered in Maine, called
the American Metallic Lustre,' which seems
to be uneqnalled for cleaning and polishing
metals. Its discovery was in this wise: a
young man from Boston,, who had paid con-
siderable attention to geology and chemistry,
was travelling for the purpose of obtaining