YOU OUGHT TO KNOW

CLEARLY EXPLAINED,

CONTAINING

THINGS SOCIAL, DOMESTIC, PERSONAL, PROFITABLE, SCIENTIFIC,
STATISTICAL, CURIOUS, AND USEFUL.

JAMES BLACKWOOD AND CO., 8, LOVELL'S COURT,

A USEFUL BOOK.

Just Published,

TAKE MY ADVICE:

A BOOK FOR EVERY HOME,

Giving complete and trustworthy information on everything pertaining to Daily Life.

Crown 8vo, cloth, Illustrated, 28. 6d.; wrapper in colours, 28.; 36) pp. CONTENTS: Household Management-Domestic Cookery-Brewing and DistillingDomestic Medicine-Domestic Chemistry-Clothing-Garden Management-Law of Agreements, Leases, I O U's, Bills of Exchange, &c.-Trade, Artistic, and Scientifi: Facts Etiquette and Manners-In-door and Out-door Games-Domestic PetsDomestic Pests-Ladies' Work-Something for Everybody-and other matters. BY THE LATE EDITOR OF THE "FAMILY FRIEND."

THE

BOOK

ALSO,

OF DATES;

Or, TREASURY OF UNIVERSAL REFERENCE,

Comprising the Principal Events in all ages, from the Earliest Records to the Present Time. With Index of Events and numerous Tables of permanent interest to the Student.

Demy 8vo, cloth, price 10s. 6d., more than 800 pages of closely printed matter.

PREFACE.

To conciliate those who think a book is not complete without a preface, and to meet the expectations of others who like to see the intentions and purposes of a book succinctly stated before reading it, is the object of this introduction.

In no previous age in the history of this country has knowledge been more profusely circulated, or the facilities of acquiring it been so great as at the present time; and it is equally true that at no former period has there been greater necessity for concentrating such knowledge and placing it in a handy and portable form in the hands of readers.

An age of high pressure power in locomotion, and electric speed in the diffusion of thought, has impressed itself on the mode of acquiring knowledge. Years of laborious study are now compressed into days, and there is no time for poring over ponderous volumes, or spending the midnight oil of classic celebrity, in searching after hidden thought, or utilising practical knowledge. Such knowledge is therefore placed here, at the finger's end, and in concise, clear, and pithy sentences, is laid at the service of the reader. To acquire that knowledge of every-day life and its multifarious duties, without trouble or research, will be the reward of those who read this volume.