606 



THE CENTURY BOOK OF FACTS. 



which time she had upward of 20,000 slaves, 

 and slavery was totally abolished in the state 

 from July 4, 1827. In 1850 there were still 

 236 persons living in bondage in New Jersey, 

 although the state had adopted the gradual 

 emancipation plan in 1804. The census of 

 1810 showed that there were no slaves held in 

 Massachusetts, New Hampshire, or Vermont, 

 New Hampshire having emancipated the few 

 slaves held in the state between 1800 and 

 1810. In Pennslyvania, New York, and New 

 Jersey, large numbers of slaves who could not 

 be held in those states were nefariously sold to 

 Southern slave-dealers by unprincipled owners, 

 notwithstanding the fact that each state had 

 adopted, at the time of emancipation, the most 

 stringent laws regarding the exportation of 

 slaves. By the census of 1860 it was shown 

 that slavery was entirely abolished north of 

 Mason and Dixon's line. 



Mardi-Gras. The Mardi-Gras is the fes- 

 tival preceding the first day of Lent, or Ash 

 Wednesday. Most of the distinctive ceremo- 

 nies now annually performed in New Orleans 

 were originally introduced by the French pop- 

 ulation as early as 1827. The day is a legal 

 holiday, and the entire city is for the time 

 ostensibly placed under the control of a king 

 of the carnival, the great "Rex." There are 

 two principal pageants. The first, in the day- 

 time, is the escort of the "beloved Rex," 

 through his favorite city ; the other, or night 

 pageant, is known as the " Mystick Krewe of 

 Comus." This has a character altogether 

 unique. The first display was in 1857. On 

 Twelfth night (January 6), the "Knights of 

 Momus " have a display analogous to the 

 Mardi-Gras, but more exclusively burlesque, 

 and in which they satirize the follies of the 

 age. The arrangements for these celebrations 

 come within the control of quite an elaborate 

 organization. The Mardi-Gras is held on 

 Shrove Tuesday, a day of pleasure in most 

 Roman Catholic countries. It is the carnival 

 of the Italians, the Mardi-Gras of the French, 

 and the Pancake Tuesday of former times in 

 England. 



Suicides. In European cities the number 

 of suicides per 100,000 inhabitants is as fol- 

 lows : Paris, 42 ; Lyons, 29 ; St. Petersburg, 

 7 ; Moscow, 11 ; Berlin, 36 ; Vienna, 28 ; Lon- 

 don, 23 ; Rome, 8 ; Milan, 6 ; Madrid, 3 ; 

 Genoa, 31; Brussels, 15; Amsterdam, 14; 

 Lisbon, 2 ; ChristSania, 25 ; Stockholm, 27 ; 

 Constantinople, 12 ; Geneva, 11 ; Dresden, 51. 

 Madrid and Lisbon show the lowest, Dresden 

 the highest, figure. 



The average annual suicide rate in countries 

 of the world per 100,000 persons living is 

 given by Barker as foljpwg : Saxony, 31.1 ; 



Denmark, 25.8 ; Schleswig-Holstein, 24.0 ; 

 Austria, 21.2; Switzerland, 20.2; France, 

 15.7; German Empire, 14.3; Hanover, 14.0; 

 | Queensland, 13.5 ; Prussia, 13.3 ; Victoria, 

 11.5 ; New South Wales, 9.3 ; Bavaria, 9.1 ; 

 New Zealand, 9.0 ; South Australia, 8.9 ; Swe- 

 den, 8.1; Norway, 7.5 ; Belgium, 6.9 ; Eng- 

 land and Wales, 6.9; Tasmania, 5.3; Hun- 

 gary, 5.2 ; Scotland, 4.0 ; Italy, 3.7 ; Nether- 

 lands, 3.6 ; United States, 3.5 ; Russia, 2.9 ; 

 Ireland, 1.7; Spain, 1.4. 



The causes of suicide in European countries 

 are reported as follows : Of 100 suicides : Mad- 

 ness, delirium, 18 per cent.; alcoholism, 11; 

 vice, crime, 19 ; different diseases, 2 ; moral 

 sufferings, 6 ; family matters, 4 ; poverty, want, 

 4; loss of intellect, 14; consequence of crimes, 

 3; unknown reasons, 19. 



The number of suicides in the United States, 

 six years, 1882-87, was 8,226. Insanity was 

 the principal cause, shooting the favorite 

 method ; 5,386 acts of suicide were committed 

 in the day, and 2,419 in the night. Summer 

 was the favorite season, June the favorite 

 month, and the llth the favorite day of the 

 month. The month in which the largest num- 

 bor of suicides occur is July. 



The number of suicides in twenty American 

 cities in 1897 was as follows : New York, 436 ; 

 Chicago, 384; Brooklyn, 194 ; St. Louis, 162 ; 

 Philadelphia, 146 ; Boston, 92 ; Cincinnati, 

 69 ; Baltimore, 60 ; Providence, 16 ; Cleveland, 

 54 ; Washington, 52 ; Milwaukee, 62 ; Min- 

 neapolis, 34 ; New Orleans, 40 ; Buffalo, 23 ; 

 Pittsburg, 33 ; Jersey City, 24. Total, with 

 ten smaller cities, 2,014. The same cities in 

 1896, 1,999 ; increase 15, or .75 of one per 

 cent. These figures are by Frederick L. Hoff- 

 man, in the New York Spectator for July 1, 

 1898. 



Facts About the Earth. According 

 to Clark, the equatorial semi-diameter is 20,- 

 926,202 feet=3,963.296 miles, and the polar 

 semi-diameter is 20,854,895 feet=3,950.738 

 miles. One degree of latitude at the pole= 

 69.407 miles. One degree of latitude at the 

 equator=68.704 miles. 



POPULATION OF THE EARTH BY CONTINENTS. 



