ARTIFICIAL LIMBS 



402 



ARTILLERY 



Nations, such development had gone further 

 than in any other country, but Europe's vast 

 needs in this direction led to notable perfec- 

 tion in the art of limb making. As the cost of 

 artificial limbs would be beyond the means 

 of many of the maimed soldiers in the War 

 of the Nations, the various governments sup- 

 plied them to those who suffered loss of arms 

 or legs. The United States set the example 

 in this matter by supplying the maimed vet- 

 erans of its wars with artificial limbs, which 

 are renewed every five years. Artificial legs, 

 arms, eyes and even ears and noses are now 

 made with wonderful skill, both in Europe and 

 America. 



Artificial legs are usually made of strong, 

 light wood, or aluminum, with certain portions, 

 such as the soles of the feet, of rubber. When 

 amputation is necessary, surgeons carefully con- 

 sider how best to fit the remaining stump of 

 arm or leg to the requirements of an artificial 

 limb. A leg is made with joints at knee and 

 ankle, to allow of a natural swing when walk- 

 ing, and are attached by means of a hollow 

 portion surrounding the stump to which it is 

 laced. Arms are fitted at the shoulder, at- 

 tached to a corset, or below the shoulder with 

 bands around the stump. Elbow joints are 

 provided, and hands which with the aid of 

 springs can be made to perform many duties, 

 such as holding a pen or clasping a piece of 



ARTIFICIAL, LIMBS 



(a, a) Shape when amputation Is above the 

 knee; (b) wood and rubber foot; (c) shape 

 when amputation is below the knee. 



paper. Sometimes a hand has a socket in 

 which a knife or fork can be held. The hand 

 usually is removable and can be replaced by 

 a hook screwed into the arm socket and capable 

 of supporting considerable weight. Artificial 



arms and legs made on the latest scientific prin- 

 ciples may now be obtained for a sum varying 

 from $30 to $60. 



The making of artificial eyes requires ^reat 

 care and is a drlir;ttr operation. A shell of glass 

 is molded and made to the exact size required; 

 then pieces of colored glass are worked into 

 it in exact imitation, even to tiny blood- 



ARTIFICIAL ARM 



vessels, of the eye it is to match. An ear is 

 made of papier-mache or metal, painted in 

 natural colors and supported in its place by 

 a spring passing over the head. An artificial 

 nose is molded of papier-mache and held in 

 place by spectacles or clamped to the remain- 

 ing stump. In the manufacture of all arti- 

 ficial limbs the greatest care is taken to ensure 

 a perfect fit, as on that depends entirely the 

 comfort, and often the health, of the wearer. 

 A limb well fitted enables the wearer to use 

 it with a good degree of satisfaction. In case 

 of a leg, if the natural knee joint is saved, a 

 person can walk with sometimes only the 

 least perceptible defect; when amputation is 

 above the knee the peculiar swing of the 

 wooden leg to bring the knee joint to a straight 

 angle discloses the wearer's affliction. F.ST.A. 



ARTILLERY, artil' eri, the name given to 

 guns which are so large they must be mounted 

 or fastened on platforms and cannot be carried 

 and fired by hand. The term is also applied 

 to the troops who operate such guns. Since 

 the fourteenth century, when artillery was first 

 introduced into warfare, every war has led to 

 alterations in the type of guns and the tactics 

 governing their employment. Napoleon was 

 an emphatic believer in the power of big guns 

 and whenever possible concentrated his artil- 

 lery attack on a point of his enemy's lines 

 which he intended to break. In the Franco- 

 German War the French artillery was always 

 outclassed in numbers and power, with the 

 result that German victories were quickly se- 

 cured. In the War of the Nations greater 

 reliance than ever before in history was placed 

 on artillery, and after the very early stages 

 the conflict developed into contests between 

 big guns. 



Modern artillery can hardly be divided into 

 mobile and immobile, as was the previous cus- 



