Evening star. [volume] (Washington, D.C.) 1854-1972, 1893-11-22
Two Subjects Discussed Before the
Anthropological Society.
PROF. MCGEE ON PRIMITIVE TREPHINING
Prof. Flint Gives Some Statistics as
to Public Libraries.
THE DISTRICTS STATUS.

| The inclement weather of last night I'M
doubtedly affected the attendance at the
regular meeting of the Anthropological
Society at the hall of the Cosmos Club. The
few who were present were well rewarded
however for Drawing the elements. Two
very interesting papers were read-one by
Prof. w. j. MCGEE, on Primitive Trephin-
ing" and the other by Prof. Weston Flint
of the bureau of statistics. on the "Compar-
alive growth of public Libraries in the
United States in late years"
Nineteen grewsome, glistening skulls were
intelligently employed by Prof. MCGEE in
demonstrating the main point of his lee
ture, that the operation of trephining was
used in the prehistoric days of Peru in the
surgical treatment of wounds and diseases
of the skull. The collection of specimens
Is a valuable one. 1t belongs to Senior
MuniZ, surgeon general of the Peruvian
army, delegate to the late Pan-American
medical congress, and was exhibited al the
worlds fair at Chicago. 1t is temporarily
In the custody of the bureau of ethnology
III this city. Prof. MCGEE stated that two
| OF the most interesting specimens would,
through the kindness of Senior Muniz, re-
main in this city, one at the Army Medical
Museum and the other at the bureau of
ethnology- The remainder were to be re-
turned to Lima, Peru; but excellent casts
OF them have been taken for scientific use
in this city.
Primitive Trephining.
Prof. MCGEE said in substance that the
specimens exhibited demonstrated in each
instance that the operation of trephining.
while primitive, had been surgical and ante
norton; that it was performed some times
by scraping with a pointed arrow or the
sharp edge of a stone. and at others by
saving with an arrow or spear point; that,
In some instances, the patient had survived
the operation and that in one case in par
tlcular the operation had been resorted to
Tor the relief of facial paralysis. In one
case a hole was made in the skull that
looked just as though IL had been produced
/ by holding the patients head against a
grindstone. All the specimens constituted
heads of aborigines. who fourished in Gen.
tral Peru, in the neighborhood of the pres
ent city of Cuzzo, before the discovery OF
America. They are all in good state of
preservation and form a most valuable COL
lection.
Some Public Library Statistics.
Prof. Flint's paper in regard to public
libraries in the United States was mainly
statistical. He gave a general summary
of statistics of public libraries of loo vol.
umes and over in 1891. from which it ap-
] pears that there were 3,SO3 libraries with
81 1854 bound volumes and pamphlets
ana that the average number of books TO
every hundred of the population was ffty.
The average percentage of hooks IN 1nI
OF population was % in the North Atlantis
DIVISION, ~ in = South Atlantic division
| INCLUDING the District of Columbian - in
the south central division, 80 in the north
central division and 80 in the western di-
vision. "a
The average size of libraries was s.1ei
volumes; the average population to a libra
~ was l6,462, and the average number of
books to every 100 of the ,on,,ia 60 -,
| fifty.
As to the average size of Libraries i'm the
dilterent divisions, the North Atlantic d.
VISION has an average number of s $40 vol
ulnes to a library; the South Atlantic
l-42o; the south central. 5.257; the north
central, cess. and the western SO46 As 10
| the average population to library, the
| North Atlantic division has $500; the South
Atlantic, 26,2O6; the south central ~ SGD:
the north central, 20.3iS, and the western,
| 15,290.
| The District Of Columbia.
The largest proportion of books to the
population is in the District of Columbia
which has 924 books to every 100, and the
next is the state of Massachusetts. having
2o1 to every 100.
The increase in the number of libra ies IN
the United States since 1885 was from
2,9S7 to 1884, an increase of sl7 or OF .,
per cent. The largest increase in the nun,
Der or libraries was in the western division
| and of the number of volumes the create
increase was in the north central division.
| iiAO OI increase in the whole
country was 663 for six years or an aver
age of over eleven per cent each wear
which at This rate would double the num-
Der of volumes and libraries every nine
years
MISS the average size of the libraries of
over LOO volumes was 6,3S1 volumes and
| In 1881, S,l9i, an average increase of 81;
volumes to each library, or 2S4 per cent
The Libraries OF the largest average size are
| found in the South Atlantic division. hur
PNDlllnal a foe Of
| average size of libraries in the District of
Columbia, notably increased by the rapid
growth of the library of Congress during
| the last few years.
In the United States in 1885, there vras ona
| library to each 1S,S22 of the populatfon-
while in 1891 there was one to every l6 462
! or decrease of population to a library of
$50, or 10 per cent. The distribution OF
| libraries in the North Atlantic division
shows the smallest average population to a
| library and the least change in the number.
except the western division, where the in
| crease of population from immigration ha :
been greater than the inrease in the
| number of libraries But, generally the
establishment and growth in the size of
| libraries have been very large in nearly
every section.
| Increase Since 1855.
| In 1885 there were in the United States
in the libraries of 1000 volumes and over
"a books to every 100 of the population.
while in 1891 this number was 80. or an in
| crease of 16 books, or AZ per cent In the
North Atlantic division the increase was
! from Sc to %, an increase of 20 books or
"A per cent; in the South Atlantic from 3.
to ~, an Increase of Ia, or IL per cent. in
the south central, from . TO L. an increa So
| of 3, or 1922 per cent; in the north central
| from 20 to 30, an increase of H. Or e. nor
cent and in the western, from 43 to n an
increase of 10, or % per cent. These figures
show tat. comparatively, the largest in
crease of books to population has beeu i'm
the great northwest, over IL per cent each
year. In the whole country there has been
an average increase of IS per cent per an
mum; that is, the increase of the number of
books in the libraries of the country has
been as per cent per annum greater than
the increase of the population during the
past six years
The Districts Increase
The table and diagram by states showed
the District of Columbia as having about
eighteen times the average number of books
to the whole country, being 924 to every 100
population Massachusetts has 251 and so
in varying numbers for all the states, in
which in all but three cases there has been
an increase of books greater than the
growth of population.