Page:LA2-NSRW-3-0154.jpg

MANCHESTER They live equally well in salt and fresh water, and ascend the Amazon to Peru and Ecuador. They feed upon water-grasses and marine algae. Their size has been greatly overstated — about eight feet is the length now given by the best authorities (Flower and Lydekker). They are hunted by the Indians for their flesh. They yield a soft, clear oil.  Manchester, Conn., town in Hartford County, on Hockanum River, about eight miles from Hartford. It has extensive manufacturing plants, which produce cotton and woolen goods, paper, needles and electrical goods. It also manufactures much tinware, but its most important plant is the Cheney Silk-Mills. The town has two public libraries, one in Manchester and one in South Manchester, each village being incorporated in the town. It has the service of the New York, New Haven and Hartford Railroad. Population 13,641.  Manchester, a city in Lancashire, England, lies on the east bank of the Irwell, 31 miles east of Liverpool. Sixteen bridges, besides railroad viaducts, join it to Salford on the opposite bank, which really is a part of Manchester. Manchester is the center of the largest manufacturing district in the world. It is surrounded by a circle of suburban cities, and within a few miles is a second ring of cities with populations ranging from 10,000 to 50,000. Thirty miles from Manchester is a third cluster of towns and cities, most of them engaged in manufacture. Manchester and Salford have 11 parks, containing 300 acres. The free reference-library contains over 250,000 volumes, and there are six branch libraries. Chetham Library, founded in 1653, contains 40,000 volumes, many of them rare and very valuable. It was the first free library in England. The “Old Church,” built in 1422, is a fine Gothic structure. The magnificent town-hall is a

Gothic, triangular building, costing $5,250,000. The hospital, the royal infirmary, was first used in 1755. Other buildings of note are the royal institution, the royal exchange, the free-trade hall and the assize courts. Victoria University and, especially, the Technical School are well known.

Manchester was the first town to introduce, about the middle of the 18th century, the factory-system, where large numbers of men work together, in place of the older method of men working in their homes. In 1756 Bridgewater Canal was constructed, which joins Manchester to the coalfields of Lancashire and salt-mines of Cheshire, and makes an outlet to the sea. In 1830 Manchester had the first perfect railroad in operation. In 1887-91 a great ship-canal was built at a cost of $28,750,000, which made Manchester an inland seaport. There are 750 industries carried on, but the great business is cotton-manufacture, and in and around Manchester are located two thirds of the cotton-mills of Great Britain and Ireland. Manchester University in 1906 had a teaching faculty of 190 in number, with a student attendance of 1,153. Population 716,354. See Saintsbury's Manchester.

 Manchester, the largest city of New Hampshire, stands mostly on the east bank of the Merrimac, 57 miles northwest of Boston. The river falls 54 feet, and affords water-power to many factories. Manchester yearly manufactures nearly 100,000 bales of cotton-cloth. There also are woolen-factories and shoe, edge-tool, locomotive, machinery and carriage works. The main street is 100 feet wide; there are five public squares; and the streets are well-paved. The city is justly proud of its beautiful trees. The state reform-school and a Roman Catholic orphan asylum are located at Manchester. Population 70,063.  Manchester, Va., a city in Chesterfield County, on James River, opposite Richmond, with which it is connected by several bridges. It is located in a coal and agricultural region. The James falls about 100 feet in six miles at Manchester. This affords excellent water-power, which is utilized by both cities. The manufacturing establishments are cotton,