When either of the dimensions are in inches, multiply as above and divide the product by 12.
When any two of the dimensions are in inches, multiply as before and divide the product by 144.
WHAT TO DO IN EMERGENCIES
Many books and pamphlets have been written advising the layman what to do in a case of emergency, and in the absence of a physician or surgeon.
Much of the information presented is altogether too technical, and is not likely to be understood by the public at large.
The author has attempted to cover, in a few pages, the fundamentals of first aid to the injured, and has carefully avoided technical and medicinal terms. No amount of information, no matter how carefully or plainly written, can take the place of the physician or surgeon. Self-doctoring and -dosing is, or should be, considered a crime, and no one is justified in attempting to relieve any one suffering from accident or any other ailment, if it is of possible seriousness, unless a good physician or surgeon cannot be procured.
First and always, keep your head, and keep cool. Don't get excited. Work rapidly, but deliberately. If the injury or trouble is at all serious, summon a surgeon or physician immediately. If you are alone with the sufferer, it may not be safe for you to leave him, but unless he is in immediate danger, it is better to call a competent physician, even though you have to absent yourself from him for a few moments. If the accident occurs in a crowd, solicit some one who looks trustworthy, and request him to telephone or otherwise communicate with a doctor.
If you know the cause of the accident or trouble inform the physician in advance, so that he may be better prepared to meet it and bring with him instruments and remedies.
The patient or sufferer should be placed in a comfortable position, a doctor or surgeon summoned, and in the interval the layman may follow the instructions presented here. If he does so, no harm will be done, and in many cases suffering will be relieved, and death or serious illness prevented. But the author again, and most emphatically, urges the layman to send for a physician or surgeon, and to follow the instructions or information given in this chapter only as preliminary to the arrival of the doctor or surgeon, unless the injury be of slight consequence.