davidaulloa/AmericanStories huggingface dataset:
The Bolivar bulletin. [volume] (Bolivar, Hardeman County, Tenn.) 1865-1888, 1871-12-01
Vaccination and Disease.

The most experienced TaCcinatOrs,
On the one hand, and those who have
had most to do with the treatment of
infantile ailments, on the other, agree
in the belief that disease is not CON-
municable by vaccination. Mr.. Mar
son, an English physician, in the per-
formance of more than fifty thousand
vaccinations, +" has never seen other
diseases communicated with the vac
cine disease, nor does he believe in
the popular reports that they are so
communicated" Mr.. Lee, whose
observations are equally extensive,
has borne similar testimony. DR.. W.
Jenner, who in six years had some
thirteen thousand sick adults and
children under observation, states
"that in no case had he reason to be-
lieve or even to suspect, that any con-
stitutional faint had been conveyed
from one person to another by vacci-
nation" During period of seventeen
years 5Dr. West treated tRenty-six
thousand infants and children with a
like experience and Prof. Paget, after
an extensive familiarity with the dis
eases of children, expresses the Opin-
ion that the worst which can be
charged upon vaccination Is that, by
disturbing for a time the general
health, it may rarely give Opportuni-
ty for the external manifestation and
complete evolution of some constitu-
tionaI affection which but for #
might have remained rather longer
latent.
Where every person in a commu-
nifty has been vaccinated, there is lit
tie chance for smallpox to obtain a
foot-hOld ; and it is also verv certain
that the presence of the unvaccinated
is a standing invitation to the devel-
opemeDt and spread of epidemics.
The opponents of vaccination, and a
far larger number who from ignor-
ance or carelessness neglect the pre-
caution, thus become, so far as the
public health is concerned, a dan
geroUs class" which like other dan
gerous classes it is for the interest OF
the community at large to remove
! Galaxy.
The Bolivar bulletin. [volume] (Bolivar, Hardeman County, Tenn.) 1865-1888, 1871-12-01
Density Ofthe Rarth's Interior.

It is known that scientific men
commonly assume that the density of
the globe increases toward the centre
in arithmetical progression. BIr.
Ericsson, in recently published pa
per on this subject, argues that such
an assumption is not sustained by
sound reasoning. Thus, at a distance
Of only 1-20 of the eaTth's radius, or
l,O44, 900 feet from the surface, the
weight of superincumbent mass of
fused granite would exceed nine hun
DIRE thousand pounds to the square
inch, equal to six thousand atmOs-
pheres. Under this pressure the
weight ofair would be seventy times
that Of water, and thirty-five times
that Of the heaviest metals. Gold, at
the point Of fusion, is seven times
heavier than fused granite, while
neither of these solids loses more than
3-IO0 Of specific gravity on melting
heat-a fact which proves conclusive
" that high temperature Of metals
and minerals is not incompatible with
great density. Hence, fused granite
in the earth's interior, may be many
times heavier than the cold mineral
at the surface.
BIr. Ericsson argues, therefore, ir
view Of the phenomena thus present
ed, that unless physicists are prepar
ed to dispute the assumption that fus
ed granite, under u pressure of nine
hundred thousand pounds to tho
square inch, viii have its specific
gravity doubled-invOlving q density
/ less than one third Of Tused gold nOt
subject to compassionate must be adj
mitted that the specific gravity Of the
earth, at the depth of1-20 of the radius
/ Is so great that If the density, as scien-
I tific men have assumed, increases IN
| arithmetical progression toward the
( centre, our planet would be many
! times heavier than it is. Mr. Erice
son, therefore, rejects the usually ac
! ceDted theory on this subject, and
/ even If his grounds for doing 50 appear
/ not, at first thought convincing, they
are by no means wanting ia plausi
biHty.
The Bolivar bulletin. [volume] (Bolivar, Hardeman County, Tenn.) 1865-1888, 1871-12-01
CuriOsltres of Memory.


John Kemble used to say that h
! could learn a whole number of IN,
/ Morning Post in four days: anC
Gen. Christie made a similar asser
/ ton, but it is not known how far eli
ther of them verified this statement
Robert Dillon could repeat in the
| morning six columns of a newspaper
he had read over night. During the
repeal debates in the house of com
| mons thirty seven years ago one OF
the members wrote out his speech,
sent it to the new spapers, and repeat
ed it to the house in the evening; il
was found 10 be the same verbatim
as that he had written out. John
Fuller, a land agent in Norfolk,
could remember every word of a ser
mon, and write it out correctly after
going home; this was tested by
comparing his written account with
the clergyman's manuscript. Scali-
ger could repeat hundred verses or
more after having read them single
time. Seneca could repeat 1000
words on hearing them once. Mag
liabecchi, who had a pCodigious
memory, was once put to a severe
test. a gentleman lent him a manu-
script, which was read and returned.
The owner, some time afterward,
pretending he had lost it, begged
Magliabecchi to write out as much
as be could remember; Whereupon
the latter, appealing to his memory,
wrote out tho whole essay. Cyrus,
if some Of the old historians are to
be credited, could remember the
name of every soldier in his immense
army. There was a Corsican boy
who could rehearse 10000 words,
whether sense or nonsense, as they
were dictated, and then repeat them
in a reversed order, without m ns
a single mistake. a physiciava of
Massachusetts,, about half a century
ago, could repeat the whole of"Para-
disc Lost" without mistake, although
he had not read it for twenty years
Eueler, the great mathematician,
when he became blind, couLI repeat
the whole of Virgil's Enid" and
could remember the first line and the
last line on every page Of the par
ticular edition which he had been
accustomed to read before he became
blind.
One kind of retentive memory
may be considered as the result or
sheer hard work, determination to-
wards one particular achievement,
without reference either to cultiYa-
tiOn or to memory on other subjects.
This is frequently shown by persons
in humble life in regard to the Bible.
An old beggarman at Stirling,
known some forty years ago as
Blind Aleck, afforded an instance OF
this. He knew the whole of the Bi-
BILE by heart, inasmuch as if a SEN
tence were read to him, he could
name book, chapter ard verse; or if
the book, chapter and verse were
named, he> could give the exact
words. a gentleman, to test him,
repeated a verse, pUrposely making
one verbal inaccuTacy: Aleck hesi-
tated, named the place where the
passage is to be found, but at the
same time pointed out the verbal er-
rOr The same gentleman asked him
to repeat the ninetieth verso of the
seventh chapter of the book Of Num-
bers. Aleck almost instantly re-
piled, "Thcre is no such verse; that
chapter has only eighty-nine verses.
The Bolivar bulletin. [volume] (Bolivar, Hardeman County, Tenn.) 1865-1888, 1871-12-01
Irish Bulls.

The Irish, rightly or wrongly, get
credit for almost all the bulls that 90
the rounds of the papers. IT was an
ITishman who wanted to find q place
where there was no death, that he
might go and end his days there. 1t
was an Irish editor that exclaimed,
when speaking of the wrongs Of Ire
land, "Her cup of misery has been
for ages OverfiOwing, and is not yet
full" Itwas an Irish newspaper that
said of Robespierre that "he left no
children behind him except a brother,
who was killed at the same time" 1t
was an Irish Coroner who, when ask
ed how he accounted for an exits or
binary mortality IN Limerick, replied
sadly: az cannot tell. There are peo-
nle diving this year that never died
Before. y 1t was an Irish handbiIl
that announced, with boundIess liber-
aIity, in reference to a great political
demonstration in the ROdunda, that
ssI.adies, without distinction OF sex.
would be welcome" Sir Boyle Roche
said: Single misfOFtuues never come
alone, and the greatest Of all possible
misfOrtunes is generally followed by &
much greater" An eminent spirit
merchant ia Dublin announces in az
Irish paper, that he has still a small
quantity fthe whisky on hand which
was drunk by George ", when II
Dublin.
The Bolivar bulletin. [volume] (Bolivar, Hardeman County, Tenn.) 1865-1888, 1871-12-01
MUSHROOM CONCERNS.
A Few Suggestive Facts About Life
Insurance,

According to the reports made to
the Life Insurance Superintendent of
the State of New York, there are sew
enty-One life insurance companies do
ing business in the United States,
with aggregate assets of over $243, :
600, 900. Twenty-Five of these, which
were organized from two to seven years
since, show an aggregate deficit Of
over 81 ,382, 600. And the peculiar fea-
lures of the matter is that, nOtwith-
standing this enormous deficit, they
have during the year 1S70-1 paid tO
stockholders dividends amounting in
the aggregate to SI72, 900. The ques-
ton that naturally arises in this
connection is why, do these cOmpan-
les jeopardize the interests of policy
holders by paying these large divi-
dends to stockholders, instead of al
lowing the profits to go toward max
ing up their deficits?
There is another class of DOM panies,
twenty-nine in number, which are
only able to show surplus of premi-
ums by reckoning their premium
notes as assets. Some of the best au-
thOrites on life insurance hold that
premium notes are not assets. If notes
are assets, why not take all notes and
be done with it, charging simply the
interest? These same companies
show deficit of over S26, 100000 in
cash. We might ask, what does the
! superintendent, Mr.. Miller, proposes
| to DO with such companies? Does he
/ intend to serve them as he has done
/ the Farmers and Mechanics Life, the
| Merchants Life and the Great Wes-
| tern Life Insurance Companies, by
compelling them to wind up their af-
| fairs and cease to do business2 1t
seems but Just that he should do so to
! protect the public generally against
| imposition and probable disaster. The
remaining thirteen companies are, il
appears by Mr.. Miller's report, sound
and reliable, from the fact that they
have a surplus, over and above all liza
biHties, of over SIC, 600, 0000-an aver
age of nearly $500, 600 each. It 10 not
to be presumed that the fifty-eight
companies referred to are hopeIessly
bankrupt. Provided no serious cpl
uemic, causing large loss of life, over
takes them, they may continue to dc
business and pay losses indefinitely
But since the great Chicago disaster
which proves fatal to so many fire in
surance companies that conducted
their business in the same manner
it would seem to be the part of wisdom
to inquire into the condition of all Iif,
insurance companies, and to compel
all who show dificits to either qui
business place themselves upon a ba
siSsuch as would enable tbemto weathe
! the death-stOrIn that an epidemic is a
/ any TIME liable to occasion. WOul'
it not he well for the state authoritie
, to look into this important matter witt
q view to protect the people by prOpe
: legislation against imposition and loss
While we shall have noting to sa
, against life insurance as a whole, W
shall ever insist upon the suppression
, of the bogus mushroom concerns
, which, from their own showing, mus
l inevitably 80 10 the wall when tn
: storm comes and the policy-hOldeT
; stand most III need Of the benetl
for which they have paid so liberal
: ly.
The Bolivar bulletin. [volume] (Bolivar, Hardeman County, Tenn.) 1865-1888, 1871-12-01
The Tunnel Under the Sea.

The grand project of tunn cling
under the sea from Dover to Calais,
which was necessarily suspended
during the progress of the Franco
Prussian war, has been revived, with
improved prospects of success.
communications on the subject have
passed between the French and
English Governments, and it is
thought that the necessary privileges
will soon be accorded, and the pre-
liminaries arranged for entering in
earnest upon the work.
Some of the difficulties (which it
was feared would defeat the enter
sgineers who made survey in 1867
and 1868 feared that the tunnel, if
completed, might prove useless for
want of sufficient ventilation. This
apprehension has been disposed OF
by the opening of the Mont Gents
Tunnel. 1t is found that the differ
ence of temperature at the opposite
ends of tie tunnel is sufficient to
cause a strong draft and keep the
air perfectly wholesome. The same
cause would doubtless operate az
strongly in the case of the Dover
tunnel. Another difficulty appre-
hended was rush of sea water
through seams in the chalk fOrma'
ton underlying the the channel. Ii
answer to this, the fact is cited that
in mining operations galleries have
been successfully carried far under
the sea. The obstacle of time ha;
been largely overcome by the inven
ton of q machine capable of eXcavat
ing a passage seven feet in diameter
and fifty-four feet long, in twenty
four hours. BY the use of this ma
chine, it is estimated that the worl
can be completed within fiv'
years, instead of ten, as was at frs
.estimated. Those who have occa
sion to make the passage on the sur
face of the water will hope that
further exercise of ingenuity will
reader the completion of the Worl
possible within a much shorter tim
than this.
The Bolivar bulletin. [volume] (Bolivar, Hardeman County, Tenn.) 1865-1888, 1871-12-01
Spontaneous Combustion OF Rags.

In view of the recent destruction of
Chicago, it viii not be miss to speak
of some late experiments in spontane-
Gus combustion. a Detroit chemist,
last March, took piece of thFeadbare
cettOn cloth, smeare1 II with boiled
inseed oil, and packed it in the center
Of chest filed with paper and rags.
Although the room was not tight and
the weather was cold, there was a
smell Of fire about the trunk in eight
days. UnpackiDg 1t the eSperimenteF
found the rag half chaTred. In April
he made a similar experiment with q
pair of painters oveThalls, which he
rolled up with pine shavings, and
crowded in next to the roof boards of
a loft. Ia a week the smell Of smoke
alarmed 8 workman in the next room,
and the overhalls were found to be on
FIRE. And during the hottest weather
a handful Of old cotton rags, not
smeared with oil, became hot enough,
when hung up In tin box in the sun,
to light matches which had been
placed among them. These facts show
the necessity OfcautiOn IL putting away
rags, especially those that may De
saturated with oil, beRzine or other in~
aammable substance.
The Bolivar bulletin. [volume] (Bolivar, Hardeman County, Tenn.) 1865-1888, 1871-12-01
A Persian Tale.

There was once a prince, who,
having been much displeased with
one of his mobiles, determined TO
punish him. The prince command
ed that he should be shut up in a
high tower. In this tower there
was only one entrance, which was
walled up Immediately after the no.
bleman had been placed there. Thus
all hope of escape seemed TO be cut
of, and the unhappy man was left TO
perish. Inside the tower there was
a long winding staircase, by which
the prisoner reached the top. While
looking down from there he observ-
ed his wife, who had come, indul-
ging a faint hope that she might be
able, by some means or other, to aid
her husband in escaping from his
place of confinement. On inquirinS
if she could be of any service to him,
be replied: ooh, yes; go and pro-
cure a black beetle, little grease, a
skein of silk, a skein of twine, and a
long rope" The poor wife FASTENED
to obtain what her husband asked
for, wondering, no doubt, at the
strangeness of his request. She
soon returned. furnished with the
things. Her husband then directed
her to put the grease on the beetles
head, to fasten the silk to it's hind
leg, the twine to the silk, and the
rOpetO the twine, and then TO place
the beetle on the wall of The tower.
On being set at liberty on the wall,
the beetie-smelIing the grease on its
head, and not being able to discover
where it was, crept up the tower in
search of it, till it arrived at the top.
The nObleman caught it, and taking
the silk from its hind leg, carefully
drew it up. When he came to the end
of the silk, he found the twine, and
next he came to the rope. Fastening
this to a crook, he thus made his es-
cane.
The Bolivar bulletin. [volume] (Bolivar, Hardeman County, Tenn.) 1865-1888, 1871-12-01
The FORMATION Of Caves.

II becomes an interesting question
to find out how this subterranean sys-
tenn was made; for in so many cases a
valley passes into a ravine, and that
into cave, that the cause which has
formed one must have formed all. 1t
requires but a cursOry glance to see at
once that running water was the main
agent. The limestone Is so traYersed
by joints and lines of shrinkaZe that
the wat er rapidly sinks down into its
mass, and collects in small streams,
which owe their direction to the dip
of the strata and the position of the
Hssure. These channels are being
continually deepened and widened by
the mere mechanical action of the
passage of stones and silt. But this
Is not the only way in which the rock
is gradually erOded. The limestone
is eOmpOsed in great part of pure car
Donate of lime, which is insOIuble in
water. 1t is, however, readily dis
solved In any liquid containing car
bOnic acid, which is an essential part
of our atmosphere, and is invariably
present in the rain-water, and is given
on by organic bodies. BY this invisi-
bic agent the hard chrystaline rock is
always being attacked in some form
or another. The very snails that take
refuge in It's crannies leave an endur-
AAOAC nAtlh n VI bllClL DiESCllCO III u buIIdCC
fretted with their acid exhalations,
which very often pass current among
geOlogists for the bOTings OF pholades,
and are the innocent cause of much
speculation as to the depression of the
mountain tops beneath the sea in
comparatively modern times. The
earbOnic acid taken up by the rain is
derived in the main from the decom-
posing vegetable matter which gener-
ally forms the surface of the soil on
the limestone. Its effects are to be
seen in a most marked degree in the
bare gray masses Ofrock termed "pave-
ments," that stand out like TOches
nOUtOTl51ess from the purple heather,
and are worn and fissured into the
strangest possible shapes. Sometimes
the surface is made up of a sheaf of
sword-blades; at others there are ra-
vines and caves in miniature; and
generally the strata is divided into
series of large angular blocks, which
rock with the greatest freedom. The
minute fossil shells and fragments of
crinoids standing out in bold relief
testify that the agent which has re-
moved so much rock is chemical, not
mechanical. This invisible agent is
equally at work in the caves as well
as above ground, everywhere attack
ing the surface even out of the reach
of the streams. The endless varieties
of stalactites and stalagmites are
merely so much solid matter taken by
it out of the rock, and Tedeposited
where the excess of carbOnic acid in
the water happens to be taken up by a
free current of air. To it then, as well
as to the mechanical power of the
stream, the formation and enlarge
ment of caves must be assigned
.BE1cDlilLjoR's Magazine.
The Bolivar bulletin. [volume] (Bolivar, Hardeman County, Tenn.) 1865-1888, 1871-12-01
Paper Clothing.

In civilized countries, the manufac'
turing of paper into various articles Of
clothing has only been the business
OF a very brief period, but among bar
barOus people it is an industry that has
been cultivated for years. With US,
the employment still remains in its
infancy, and it has taken US many
years to master the difficulties attend
ing its introduction. At first, our
manufacturers confined their prOduc-
ton almost entirely to collars, cuffs,
fFills, and similar minor articles.
Prejudice having been ina great meas
ureS overcome, our inventors extended
their area of production to many IA
brics of universal use, but requiring
greater strength and pliability than
those worn about the neck or arms.
The garments made by this prOct IS
failed to answer the requirements OF
our day, anj were not received with
general favor.
AT this juncture of affairs, it remains
for an English inventor to solve the
difficulty, and give US a really servi-
ceable paper fabric. 1t is a mixture OF
various animal and vegetable sub
stances, the former being wool, silk,
and skins; the latter fax, jute, hemp,
aud cotton. These articles are all re-
duced to a fine pulp, bleached and
then felted by machinery. The mix
tuIe of these several substance pro-
duces a fabric of wonderful fieXibiiity
aud strength. 1t can be seWed to-
gether with a machine as readily as
woven fabrics, and makes as strong a
seam.
This paper is of a very serviceabl ma
ture, and is made into table-clOth,
napkins, handkeTchief5, pants, cur
tains, shirts and other articles of dress.
The petticOats made from this felted
paper are of very elaborate design,
and wonderful beauty. They are
either printed or stamped, and bear so
close a resemblance to linen or cotton
goods OF like description as to almost
defy the scrutiny of the ablest experts.
The stamped open work shirts dis
play a delicacy of pattern that it
would be almost impossible to initiate
by any ordinary skill with the needle.
Imitation blankets and chintz for
beds, furniture, or curtains, are also
made very cheaply. Embossed ta-
bie-cloths and figured napkins made
of felted paper, so closely resemble
the genuine damask linen as to palm
ed off upon the unsuspecting as the
genuine article.
In Germany, paper napkins have
been used for several years. Their
cost is but trifle, and they pay for
themselves before they are required to
be cast aside.
Felted paper is capable of being
made into lace, fringe, and trimming {;
and for these several purposes it is
unequaled in point of cheapness and
durability. Imitation leather is also
made from the same material, which
is perfectly imperviOus to water. 1t is
soft aud pliable, and is a very useful
fabric for covering furniture, making
into shoes, for belts, and for many
other purposes.
III China and Japan, paper clothing
has long been worn by the inhabitants.
It is very cheaply prOduced there, a
good paper coat costing only ten cents,
while the expense of an entire suit is
limited to twenty-five cents United
States Economist.
The Bolivar bulletin. [volume] (Bolivar, Hardeman County, Tenn.) 1865-1888, 1871-12-01

man before him, nothing was left to
them but rushing journey to GER
tain valley farm near San lose, where
the best, truest, and staunchest, would
at once be the most surprised and hap
piest little woman in the world
"Ere this" concluded the story,
''there has been a meeting" The de-
cline of life will pass in ease, COM
fort, and happiness to a man who for
twenty years believed himself the
victim of woman's perfidy.
The Bolivar bulletin. [volume] (Bolivar, Hardeman County, Tenn.) 1865-1888, 1871-12-01

L DOOMED ENTERPRIBE.-IEe Suez
Canal is filling up with sand. This
news sounds like the death-knel OF
the grandest monument Of human
enterprise and skill and patience. The
shifting sand of the desert will ke the
destruction Of the canal. IL the an
nouncement prove true, the hundred
million dollars which the cutting OF
the isthmus cost-Who msy compute
it's cost in human sweat and blOod?-
has been sunk In shifting sand indeed.
If the accumulation of sand already
threatens to impede navigation, there
will be no such thing as a SueZ Canal
in few years hence. The company
which carried cut the enterprise seems
anxious to get rid of the canal al
ANYTHING like a reasonable or partial
return of its outlay. For this purpose
the company has asked the KhedivC
TO purchase it. The Khedive who
encouraged the work when in coursC
of construction, seems 10 have giveI
ii up as a losing speculation and al
though the proposition is supported bJ
All the authority which a recOmmen
dation of y sultan to his vassal may
convey, the Khedive has refused Il
have anything mOre to do with tn,
enterprise.