Chapter V: Part 5

It is very remarkable that in Hahnemann's enumeration of authors who
anticipated him in regard to the doctrine of _Similia_, he makes no
mention of the views of Paracelsus, though the very words seem to be
taken from the works of that physician. The other point in
Hahnemann's doctrine--that medicines should be tried first on healthy
persons--he admits to have been enunciated by Haller. Roughly it has
been acted on by physicians in all ages, but certainly more
systematically since Hahnemann's time. In the most characteristic
feature of Hahnemann's practice--"the potentizing," "dynamizing," of
medicinal substances--he appears to have been original.

[3] Two methods of preparing medicines are recognized, one on the
decimal, the other on the centesimal scale. The pure tinctures are
denominated "mother tinctures," and represented by the Greek [phi].
To make a first decimal dilution or first decimal trituration, 10
drops of the mother tincture, or 10 grains of a crude substance, are
mixed with 90 drops of alcohol, or 90 grains of _saccharum lactis_
(sugar of milk) respectively. The liquid is thoroughly shaken, or the
powder carefully triturated, and the bottles containing them marked 1
X, meaning first decimal dilution or trituration. To make the 2 X
potency, 10 drops or 10 grains of this first dilution or trituration
are mixed with 90 drops of pure alcohol, or 90 grains of milk sugar,
and are succussed or triturated as above described, and marked 2 X
dilution or trituration. This subdivision of particles may be
continued to an indefinite degree. On the Hahnemannian or centesimal
scale the medicines are prepared in the same manner, the difference
being that 1 drop or grain is mixed with 99 drops or grains, to make
the first centesimal, which is marked 1 c or 1 simply, and so on for
the second and higher dilutions.

HOMONYM (Gr. [Greek: homonomos], having the same name, from [Greek: homos], same, alike, and [Greek: onoma], name), a term in philology for those words which differ in sense but are alike either in sound or spelling or both. Words alike only in spelling but not in sound, e.g. "bow," are sometimes called _homographs_; and words alike only in sound but not in spelling, e.g. "meat," "meet," _homophones_. Skeat (_Etymol. Dict._) gives a list of English homonyms.

HOMS, or HUMS (anc. _Emesa_ or _Emessa_, near the Hittite _Kadesh_), a town of Syria, on the right bank of the Orontes, and capital of a sanjak in the vilayet of Syria (Damascus). Pop. 30,000 (20,000 Moslem, 10,000 Christian). The importance of the place arises from its command of the great north road from Egypt, Palestine and Damascus by the Orontes valley. Invading armies from the south have often been opposed near Homs, from the time of Rameses II., who had to fight the battle of Kadesh, to that of Ibrahim Pasha, who broke the first line of Ottoman defence in 1831 by his victory there. Ancient Emesa, in the district of Apamea, was a very old Syrian city, devoted to the worship of Baal, the sun god, of whose great temple the emperor Heliogabalus was originally a priest (A.D. 218). As a centre of native influences it was overawed by the Seleucid foundation of Apamea; but it opposed the Roman advance. There Aurelian crushed, in A.D. 272, the Syrian national movement led by Zenobia. Caracalla made it a Roman colony, and later it became the Capital of a small province, _Phoenicia Libanesia_ or _ad Libanum_. About 630 it was captured by the Moslem leader, Khalid ibn Walid, who is buried there. It now became the capital of a _jund_, or military district, which under the Omayyad Caliphs extended from Palmyra to the sea. Under the Arabs it was one of the largest cities in Syria, with walls and a strong citadel, which stood on a hill, occupying perhaps the site of the great sun temple. The ruins of this castle, blown up by Ibrahim Pasha, are still the most conspicuous feature of Homs, and contain many remains of ancient buildings. Its men were noted for their courage in war, and its women for their beauty. The climate was extolled for its excellence, and the land for its fertility. A succession of gardens bordered the Orontes, and the vineyards were remarkable for their abundant yield of grapes. When the place capitulated the great church of St John was divided between the Christians and Moslems, an arrangement which apparently lasted until the arrival of the Turks. At the end of the 11th century it fell into crusading hands, but was recovered by the Moslems under Saladin in 1187. Its decay probably dates from the invasion of the Mongols (1260), who fought two important battles with the Egyptians (1281 and 1299) in its vicinity. The construction of a carriage road to Tripoli led to a partial revival of prosperity and to an export of cereals and fruit, and this growth has, in turn, been accentuated by the railway, which now connects it with Aleppo and the Damascus-Beirut line. The district is well planted with mulberries and produces much silk, most of which is worked up on the spot. (D. G. H.)

HO-NAN, a central province of China, bounded N. partly by the Hwang-ho (which it crosses to the west of Ho-nan Fu, forming an arm northwards between the provinces of Shan-si and Chih-li), on the W. by Shen-si, on the S. by Hu-peh, and on the E. by Ngan-hui. It occupies an area of 81,000 sq. m., with a population of about 22,100,000, and contains nine prefectural cities. Its capital is K'ai-feng Fu. The prefecture of Hwai-k'ing, north of the Hwang-ho, consists of a fertile plain, "rendered park-like by numerous plantations of trees and shrubs, among which thick bosquets of bamboo contrast with the gloomy groves of cypress." All kinds of cereals grow luxuriantly, and the general productiveness of the district is indicated by the extreme denseness of the population. The most noticeable feature in that portion of the province which is properly called Ho-nan is the Fu-niu Shan range, which runs east and west across this part of the province. Coal is found on the south of the Hwang-ho in the districts of Ho-nan Fu, the ancient capital, Lushan and Ju Chow. The chief products of the province are, however, agricultural, especially in the valley of the Tang-ho and Pai-ho, which is an extensive and densely populated plain running north and south from the Fu-niu Shan. Cotton is also grown extensively and forms the principal article of export, and a considerable quantity of wild silk is produced from the Fu-niu Shan. Three roads from the east and south unite at Ho-nan Fu, and one from the west. The southern road leads to Ju Chow, where it forks, one branch going to Shi-ki-chen, connecting the trade from Fan-cheng, Han-kow, and the Han river generally, and the other to Chow-kia-k'ow near the city of Ch'en-chow Fu, at the confluence of the three rivers which unite to form the Sha-ho; the second road runs parallel with the Hwang-ho to K'ai-feng Fu; the third crosses the Hwang-ho at Mengching Hien, and passes thence in a north-easterly direction to Hwai-k'ing Fu, Sew-wu Hien and Wei-hui Fu, at which place it joins the high road from Peking to Fan-cheng; and the western road follows the southern bank of the Hwang-ho for 250 m. to its great bend at the fortified pass known as the Tung-kwan, where it joins the great wagon road leading through Shan-si from Peking to Si-gan Fu. Ho-nan is now traversed north to south by the Peking-Hankow railway (completed 1905). The line crosses the Hwang-ho by Yung-tse and runs east of the Fu-niu Shan. Branch lines serve Ho-nan Fu and K'ai-feng Fu.

HONAVAR, or ONORE, a seaport of British India, in the North Kanara district of Bombay. Pop. (1901) 6929. It is mentioned as a place of trade as early as the 16th century, and is associated with two interesting incidents in Anglo-Indian history. In 1670, the English factors here had a bull-dog which unfortunately killed a sacred bull, in revenge for which they were all murdered, to the number of eighteen persons, by an enraged mob. In 1784 it was bravely defended for three months by Captain Torriano and a detachment of sepoys against the army of Tippoo Sultan.

HONDA, or SAN BARTOLOMEO DE HONDA, a town of the department of Tolima, Colombia, on the W. bank of the Magdalena river, 580 m. above its mouth. In 1906 Mr F. Loraine Petre estimated the population at 7000. It is about 650 ft. above sea-level and stands at the entrance to a narrow valley formed by spurs of the Central Cordillera, through which a picturesque little stream, called the Guali, flows into the Magdalena. The town overlooks the rapids of the Magdalena, and is shut in closely by spurs of the Eastern and Central Cordilleras. The climate is hot and damp and the temperature frequently rises to 102 deg. F. in the shade. Honda dates back to the beginning of the 17th century, and has been one of the important centres of traffic in South America for three hundred years. Within the city there is an iron bridge across the Guali, and there is a suspension bridge across the Magdalena at the head of the rapids. A railway 18 m. long connects with the landing place of La Dorada, or Las Yeguas, where the steamers of the lower Magdalena discharge and receive their cargoes (the old landing at Carocali nearer the rapids having been abandoned), and with Arrancaplumas, 1(1/2) m. above, where navigation of the upper river begins. Up to 1908 the greater part of the traffic for Bogota crossed the river at this point, and was carried on mule-back over the old _camino real_, which was at best only a rough bridlepath over which transportation to Bogota (67 m. distant) was laborious and highly expensive; now the transshipment is made to smaller steamboats on the upper river for carriage to Girardot, 93 m. distant, from which place a railway runs to the Bogota plateau. Honda was nearly destroyed by an earthquake in 1808.

HONDECOETER, MELCHIOR D' (c. 1636-1695), Dutch painter, was born at Utrecht, it is said, about 1636, and died at Amsterdam on the 3rd of April 1695. Old historians say that, being the grandson of Gillis and son of Gisbert d'Hondecoeter, as well as nephew of J. B. Weenix, he was brought up by the last two to the profession of painting. Of Weenix we know that he married one Josina d'Hondecoeter in 1638. Melchior was, therefore, related to Weenix, who certainly influenced his style. As to Gillis and Gisbert some points still remain obscure, and it is difficult to accept the statement that they stood towards each other in the relation of father and son, since both were registered as painters at Utrecht in 1637. Both it appears had practised art before coming to Utrecht, but where they resided or what they painted is uncertain. Unhappily pictures scarcely help us to clear up the mystery. In the Furstenberg collection at Donaueschingen there is a "Concert of Birds" dated 1620, and signed with the monogram G. D. H.; and we may presume that G. D. H. is the man whose "Hen and Chickens in a Landscape" in the gallery of Rotterdam is inscribed "G. D. Hondecoeter, 1652"; but is the first letter of the monogram to stand for Gillis or Gisbert? In the museums of Dresden and Cassel landscapes with sportsmen are catalogued under the name of Gabriel de Heusch (?), one of them dated 1529, and certified with the monogram G. D. H., challenging attention by resemblance to a canvas of the same class inscribed G. D. Hond. in the Berlin Museum. The question here is also whether G. means Gillis or Gisbert. Obviously there are two artists to consider, one of whom paints birds, the other landscapes and sportsmen. Perhaps the first is Gisbert, whose son Melchior also chose birds as his peculiar subject. Weenix too would naturally teach his nephew to study the feathered tribe. Melchior, however, began his career with a different speciality from that by which he is usually known. Mr de Stuers affirms that he produced sea-pieces. One of his earliest works is a "Tub with Fish," dated 1655, in the gallery of Brunswick. But Melchior soon abandoned fish or fowl. He acquired celebrity as a painter of birds only, which he represented not exclusively, like Fyt, as the gamekeeper's perquisite after a day's shooting, or stock of a poulterer's shop, but as living beings with passions, joys, fears and quarrels, to which naturalists will tell us that birds are subject. Without the brilliant tone and high finish of Fyt, his Dutch rival's birds are full of action; and, as Burger truly says, Hondecoeter displays the maternity of the hen with as much tenderness and feeling as Raphael the maternity of Madonnas. But Fyt was at home in depicting the coat of deer and dogs us well as plumage. Hondecoeter cultivates a narrower field, and seldom goes beyond a cock-fight or a display of mere bird life. Very few of his pictures are dated, though more are signed. Amongst the former we should note the "Jackdaw deprived of his Borrowed Plumes" (1671), at the Hague, of which Earl Cadogan has a variety; or "Game and Poultry" and "A Spaniel hunting a Partridge" (1672), in the gallery of Brussels; or "A Park with Poultry" (1686) at the Hermitage of St Petersburg. Hondecoeter, in great favour with the magnates of the Netherlands, became a member of the painters' academy at the Hague in 1659. William III. employed him to paint his menagerie at Loo, and the picture, now at the Hague museum, shows that he could at a pinch overcome the difficulty of representing India's cattle, elephants and gazelles. But he is better in homelier works, with which he adorned the royal chateaux of Bensberg and Oranienstein at different periods of his life (Hague and Amsterdam). In 1688 Hondecoeter took the freedom of the city of Amsterdam, where he resided till his death. His earliest works are more conscientious, lighter and more transparent than his later ones. At all times he is bold Of touch and sure of eye, giving the motion of birds with great spirit and accuracy. His masterpieces are at the Hague and at Amsterdam. But there are fine examples in private collections in England, and in the public galleries of Berlin, Caen, Carlsruhe, Cassel, Cologne, Copenhagen, Dresden, Dublin, Florence, Glasgow, Hanover, London, Lyons, Montpellier, Munich, Paris, Rotterdam, Rouen, St Petersburg, Stuttgart and Vienna.

HONDURAS, a republic of Central America, bounded on the N. by the Caribbean Sea, E. by Nicaragua, S. by Nicaragua, the Pacific Ocean and Salvador, and W. by Guatemala. (For map see CENTRAL AMERICA.) Pop. (1905) 500,136; area, about 46,500 sq. m. Honduras is said to owe its name, meaning in Spanish "depths," to the difficulty experienced by its original Spanish explorers in finding anchorage off its shores; Cape Gracias a Dios (Cape "Thanks to God") is the name bestowed, for analogous reasons, on its easternmost headland, which shelters a small harbour, now included in Nicaragua. Modern navigators are not confronted by the same difficulty; for, although the north coast is unbroken by any remarkable inlet except the Carataska Lagoon, a land-locked lake on the east, with a narrow entrance from the sea, there are many small bays and estuaries, such as those of Puerto Cortes, Omoa, Ulua, La Ceiba and Trujillo, which serve as harbours. The broad basin of the Caribbean Sea, bounded by Honduras, Guatemala and British Honduras, is known as the bay or gulf of Honduras. Several islets and the important group of the Bay Islands (q.v.) belong to the republic. On the Pacific the Hondurian littoral is short but of great commercial value; for it consists of a frontage of some 60 m. on the Bay of Fonseca (q.v.), one of the finest natural harbours in the world. The islands of Tigre, Sacate Grande and Gueguensi, in the bay, belong to Honduras.

The frontier which separates the republic from Nicaragua extends across the continent from E.N.E to W.S.W. It is defined by the river Segovia, Wanks or Coco, for about one-third of the distance; it then deflects across the watershed on the east and south of the river Choluteca, crosses the main Nicaraguan Cordillera (mountain chain) and follows the river Negro to the Bay of Fonseca. The line of separation from Salvador is irregularly drawn, first in a northerly and then in a westerly direction; beginning at the mouth of the river Goascoran, in the Bay of Fonseca, it ends 12 m. W. of San Francisco city. At this point begins the Guatemalan frontier, the largest section of which is delimited along the crests of the Sierra de Merendon. On the Caribbean seaboard the estuary of the Motagua forms the boundary between Honduras and Guatemala.

_Physical Features._--The general aspect of the country is
mountainous; its southern half is traversed by a continuation of the
main Nicaraguan Cordillera. The chain does not, in this republic,
approach within 50 or 60 m. of the Pacific; nor does it throughout
maintain its general character of an unbroken range, but sometimes
turns back on itself, forming interior basins or valleys, within which
are collected the headwaters of the streams that traverse the country
in the direction of the Atlantic Ocean. Nevertheless, viewed from the
Pacific, it presents the appearance of a great natural wall, with
many volcanic peaks towering above it and with a lower range of
mountains intervening between it and the sea. It would almost seem
that at one time the Pacific broke at the foot of the great mountain
barrier, and that the subordinate coast range was subsequently thrust
up by volcanic forces. At one point the main range is interrupted by a
great transverse valley or plain known as the plain of Comayagua,
which has an extreme length of about 40 m., with a width of from 5 to
15 m. From this plain the valley of the river Humuya extends north to
the Atlantic, and the valley of the Goascoran extends south to the
Pacific. These three depressions collectively constitute a great
transverse valley reaching from sea to sea, which was pointed out soon
after the conquest as an appropriate course for inter-oceanic
communication. The mountains of the northern half of Honduras are not
volcanic in character and are inferior in altitude to those of the
south, which sometimes exceed 10,000 ft. The relief of all the
highlands of the Atlantic watershed is extremely varied; its
culminating points are probably in the mountain mass about the sources
of the Choluteca, Sulaco and Roman, and in the Sierra de Pija, near
the coast. Farther eastward the different ranges are less clearly
marked and the surface of the country resembles a plateau intersected
by numerous watercourses.

The rivers of the Atlantic slope of Honduras are numerous and some of
them of large size and navigable. The largest is the Ulua, with its
tributary the Humuya. It rises in the plain of Comayagua and flows
north to the Atlantic; it drains a wide expanse of territory,
comprehending nearly one-third of the entire state, and probably
discharges a greater amount of water into the sea than any other river
of Central America, the Segovia excepted. It may be navigated by
steamers of light draught for the greater part of its course. The Rio
Roman or Aguan is a large stream falling into the Atlantic near
Trujillo, with a total length of about 120 m. Its largest tributary is
the Rio Mangualil, celebrated for its gold washings, and it may be
ascended by boats of light draft for 80 m. Rio Tinto, Negro or Black
River, called also Poyer or Poyas, is a considerable stream, navigable
by small vessels for about 60 m. Some English settlements were made on
its banks during the 18th century. The Patuca rises near the frontier
of Nicaragua, and enters the Atlantic east of the Brus or Brewer
lagoon. The Segovia is the longest river in Central America, rising
within 50 m. of the Bay of Fonseca, and flowing into the Caribbean Sea
at Cape Gracias a Dios (see NICARAGUA). Three considerable rivers flow
into the Pacific--the Goascoran, Nacaome and Choluteca, the last named
having a length of about 150 m. The Goascoran, which almost interlocks
with the Humuya, in the plain of Comayagua, has a length of about 80
m. The lake of Yojoa or Taulebe is the only large inland lake in
Honduras, and is about 25 m. in length, by 6 to 8 in breadth. Its
surface is 2050 ft. above the sea. It has two outlets on the south,
the rivers Jaitique and Sacapa, which unite about 15 m. from the lake;
and it is drained on the north by the Rio Blanco, a narrow, deep
stream falling into the Ulua. It has also a feeder on the north, in
the form of a subterranean stream of beautiful clear water, which here
comes to the surface. The Carataska or Caratasca lagoon is a shallow
salt-water lake connected by a narrow channel with the Atlantic, and
near the mouth of the Segovia. It contains several large sandy
islands.

Honduras resembles the neighbouring countries in the general character
of its geological formations, fauna and flora. Here, as in other
Central American states, there are but two seasons, the wet, from May
to November, and the dry, from November to May. On the moist lowlands
of the Atlantic coast the climate is oppressive, but on the highlands
of the interior it is delightful. At Tegucigalpa, on the uplands, a
year's observations showed the maximum temperature to be 90 deg. F. in
May, and the minimum to be 50 deg. F. in December, the range of
variation during the whole year being within 40 deg. F.

See also CENTRAL AMERICA: _Geology, Fauna, Flora, Climate_.

_Inhabitants._--The inhabitants of Honduras are in many cases of the Indian or aboriginal type, and the European element is very small, although it shares in the social, political and economic preponderance of the Spanish-speaking half-castes (_Ladinos_ or _Mestizos_), who are the most numerous section of the population. Throughout the country there are many interesting relics of the native civilization which was destroyed by the Spanish invaders in the 16th century. In the eastern portion of the state, between the Rio Roman, Cape Gracias a Dios, and the Segovia river, the country is almost exclusively occupied by native Indian tribes, known under the general names of Xicaques and Poyas. In many districts the Indians are known as Lencas, a generic name which includes several tribes akin to the Mayans of Guatemala. Portions of all of these tribes have accepted the Roman Catholic religion, and live in peaceful neighbourhood and good understanding with the white inhabitants. There are, however, considerable numbers, probably about 90,000 in all, who live among the mountains and still conform closely to the aboriginal modes of life. They all cultivate the soil, and are good and industrious labourers. A small portion of the coast, above Cape Gracias, is occupied by the Sambos, a mixed race of Indians and negroes, which, however, is fast disappearing. Spreading along the entire north coast are the Caribs, a vigorous race, descendants of the Caribs of St Vincent, one of the Windward Islands. These, to the number of 5000, were deported in 1796 by the English and landed on the island of Roatan. They still retain their native language, although it tends to disappear and be replaced by Spanish and a bastard dialect of English; they are active, industrious and provident, forming the chief reliance of the mahogany cutters on the coast. A portion of them, who have a mixture of negro blood, are called the Black Caribs. They profess the Roman Catholic religion, but retain many of their native rites and superstitions. In the departments of Gracias, Comayagua and Choluteca are many purely Indian towns.

The aggregate population, according to an official estimate made in 1905, is 500,136, but a complete and satisfactory census cannot be taken throughout the country, since the ignorant masses of the people, and especially the Indians, avoid a census as in some way connected with military conscription or taxation. The bulk of the Spanish population exists on the Pacific slope of the continent, while on the Atlantic declivity the country is uninhabited or but sparsely occupied by Indian tribes, of which the number is wholly unknown. In 1905 there were fewer than 11 inhabitants per sq. m., but all the available data tend to show that the population increases rapidly, owing to the continuous excess of births over deaths. The first census, taken in 1791, gave the total population as only 95,500. There is little emigration or immigration.

_Chief Towns._--The capital is Tegucigalpa (pop. 1905, about 35,000); other important towns are Jutigalpa (18,000), Comayagua (8000), and the seaports of Amapala (4000), Trujillo (4000), and Puerto Cortes (2500). These are described in separate articles. The towns of Nacaome, La Esperanza, Choluteca and Santa Rosa have upwards of 10,000 inhabitants.

_Communications._--Means of communication are very defective. In 1905
the only railway in the country was that from Puerto Cortes to La
Pimienta, a distance of 57 m. This is a section of the proposed
inter-oceanic railway for which the external debt of the republic was
incurred. For the completion of the line concessions, one after
another, were granted, and expired or were revoked. Other railways are
projected, including one along the Atlantic coast, an extension from
La Pimienta to La Brea on the Pacific, and a line from Tegucigalpa to
the port of San Lorenzo. The capital is connected with other towns by
fairly well made roads, which, however, are not kept in good repair.
In the interior generally, all travelling and transport are by mules
and ox-carts over roads which defy description.

Honduras joined the Postal Union in 1879, The telegraph service is
conducted by the government and is inefficient. Telephones are in use
in Tegucigalpa and a few of the more important towns.

_Commerce and Industry._--Although grants of land for mining and
agricultural purposes are readily made by the state to companies and
individual capitalists, the economic development of Honduras has been
a very slow process, impeded as it has been by political disturbances
and in modern times by national bankruptcy, heavy import and export
duties, and the scarcity of both labour and capital. The natural
wealth of the country is great and consists especially in its
vegetable products. The mahogany and cedar of Honduras are
unsurpassed, but reckless destruction of these and of other valuable
cabinet-woods and dye-woods has much reduced the supply available for
export. Rubber-planting, a comparatively modern industry, has proved
successful, and tends to supplement the almost exhausted stock of wild
rubber. Of still greater importance are the plantations of bananas,
especially in the northern maritime province of Atlantida, where
coco-nuts are also grown. Coffee, tobacco, sugar, oranges, lemons,
maize and beans are produced in all parts, rice, cocoa, indigo and
wheat over more limited areas. Cattle and pigs are bred extensively;
cattle are exported to Cuba, and dairy-farming is carried on with
success. Sheep-farming is almost an unknown industry. Turtle and fish
are obtained in large quantities off the Atlantic seaboard. In its
mineral resources Honduras ranks first among the states of Central
America. Silver is worked by a British company, gold by an American
company. Gold-washing was practised in a primitive manner even before
the Spanish conquest, and in the 18th century immense quantities of
gold and silver were obtained by the Spaniards from mines near
Tegucigalpa. Opals, platinum, copper, lead, zinc, nickel, antimony,
iron, lignite and coal have been found but the causes already
enumerated have prevented the exploitation of any of these minerals
on a large scale, and the total value of the ores exported was only
L174,800 in 1904 and L239,426 in 1905. The total value of the exports
in a normal year ranges from about L500,000 to L600,000, and that of
the imports from L450,000 to L550,000. Apart from minerals the most
valuable commodity exported is bananas (L209,263 in 1905); coco-nuts,
timber, hides, deer-skins, feathers, coffee, sarsaparilla and rubber
are items of minor importance. Nearly 90% of the exports are shipped
to the United States, which also send to Honduras more than half of
its imports. These chiefly consist of cotton goods, hardware and
provisions. The manufacturing industries of Honduras include the
plaiting of straw hats, cigar-making, brick-making and the
distillation of spirits.

_Finance._--Owing to the greater variety of its products and the
possession of a metallic currency, Honduras is less affected by
fluctuations of exchange than the neighbouring republics, in which
little except paper money circulates. The monetary unit is the silver
_peso_ or dollar of 100 cents, which weighs 25 grammes, .900 fine, and
is worth about 1s. 8d.; the gold dollar is worth about 4s. The
principal coins in circulation arc the 1-cent copper piece, 5, 10, 20,
25 and 50 cents, and 1 peso silver pieces, and 1, 5, 10 and 20 dollar
gold pieces. The metric system of weights and measures, adopted
officially on the 1st of April 1897, has not supplanted the older
Spanish standards in general use. There is only one bank in the
republic, the _Banco de Honduras_, with its head office at
Tegucigalpa. Its bills are legal tender for all debts due to the
state.

In July 1909 the foreign debt of Honduras, with arrears of interest,
amounted to L22,470,510, of which more than L17,000,000 were for
arrears of interest. The principal was borrowed between 1867 and 1870,
chiefly for railway construction; but it was mainly devoted to other
purposes and no interest has been paid since 1872. The republic is
thus practically bankrupt. The revenue, derived chiefly from customs
and from the spirit, gunpowder and tobacco monopolies reached an
average of about L265,000 during the five years 1901-1905; the
expenditure in normal years is about L250,000. The principal spending
departments are those of war, finance, public works and education.

_Constitution and Government._--The constitution of Honduras, promulgated in 1839 and frequently amended, was to a great extent recast in 1880. It was again remodelled in 1894, when a new charter was proclaimed. This instrument gives the legislative power to a congress of deputies elected for four years by popular vote, in the ratio of one member for every 10,000 inhabitants. Congress meets on the 1st of January and sits for sixty consecutive days. The executive is entrusted to the president, who is nominated and elected for four years by popular vote, and is re-eligible for a second but not for a third consecutive term. He is assisted by a council of ministers representing the departments of the interior, war, finance, public works, education and justice. For purposes of local administration the republic is divided into sixteen departments. The highest judicial power is vested in the Supreme Court, which consists of five popularly elected judges; there are also four Courts of Appeal, besides subordinate departmental and district tribunals. The active army consists of about 500 regular soldiers and 20,000 militia, recruited by conscription from all able-bodied males between the ages of twenty and thirty. Service in the reserve is obligatory for a further period of ten years.

_Religion and Education._--Roman Catholicism is the creed of a very
large majority of the population; but the constitution grants complete
liberty to all religious communities, and no Church is supported by
public funds or receives any other special privilege. Education is
free, secular and compulsory for children between the ages of seven
and fifteen. There are primary schools in every convenient centre, but
the percentage of illiterates is high, especially among the Indians.
The state maintains a central institute and a university at
Tegucigalpa, a school of jurisprudence at Comayagua, and colleges for
secondary education, with special schools for teachers, in each
department. The annual cost of primary education is about L11,000.

_History._--It was at Cape Honduras that Columbus first landed on the American continent in 1502, and took possession of the country on behalf of Spain. The first settlement was made in 1524 by order of Hernando Cortes, who had heard rumours of rich and populous empires in this region, and sent his lieutenant Christobal de Olid to found a Spanish colony. Olid endeavoured to establish an independent principality, and, in order to resume control of the settlers, Cortes was compelled to undertake the long and arduous march across the mountains of southern Mexico and Guatemala. In the spring of 1525 he reached the colony and founded the city which is now Puerto Cortes. He entrusted the administration to a new governor, whose successors were to be nominated by the king, and returned to Mexico in 1526. By 1539, when Honduras was incorporated in the captaincy-general of Guatemala, the mines of the province had proved to be the richest as yet discovered in the New World and several large cities had come into existence. The system under which Honduras was administered from 1539 to 1821, when it repudiated the authority of the Spanish crown, the effects of that system, the part subsequently played by Honduras in the protracted struggle for Central American unity, and the invasion by William Walker and his fellow-adventurers (1856-1860), are fully described under CENTRAL AMERICA.

War and revolution had stunted the economic growth of the country and retarded every attempt at social or political reform; its future was mortgaged by the assumption of an enormous burden of debt in 1869 and 1870. A renewal of war with Guatemala in 1871, and a revolution three years later in the interests of the ex-president Medina, brought about the intervention of the neighbouring states and the provisional appointment to the presidency of Marco Aurelio Soto, a nominee of Guatemala. This appointment proved successful and was confirmed by popular vote in 1877 and 1880, when a new constitution was issued and the seat of government fixed at Tegucigalpa. Fresh outbreaks of civil war occurred frequently between 1883 and 1903; the republic was bankrupt and progress again at a standstill. In 1903 Manuel Bonilla, an able, popular and experienced general, gained the presidency and seemed likely to repeat the success of Soto in maintaining order. As his term of office drew to a close, and his re-election appeared certain, the supporters of rival candidates and some of his own dissatisfied adherents intrigued to secure the co-operation of Nicaragua for his overthrow. Bonilla welcomed the opportunity of consolidating his own position which a successful war would offer; Jose Santos Zelaya, the president of Nicaragua, was equally ambitious; and several alleged violations of territory had embittered popular feeling on both sides. The United States and Mexican governments endeavoured to secure a peaceful settlement without intervention, but failed. At the outbreak of hostilities in February 1907 the Hondurian forces were commanded by Bonilla in person and by General Sotero Barahona his minister of war. One of their chief subordinates was Lee Christmas, an adventurer from Memphis, Tennessee, who had previously been a locomotive-driver. Honduras received active support from his ally, Salvador, and was favoured by public opinion throughout Central America. But from the outset the Nicaraguans proved victorious, largely owing to their remarkable mobility. Their superior naval force enabled them to capture Puerto Cortes and La Ceiba, and to threaten other cities on the Caribbean coast; on land they were aided by a body of Hondurian rebels, who also established a provisional government. Zelaya captured Tegucigalpa after severe fighting, and besieged Bonilla in Amapala. Lee Christmas was killed. The surrender of Amapala on the 11th of April practically ended the war. Bonilla took refuge on board the United States cruiser "Chicago." A noteworthy feature of the war was the attitude of the American naval officers, who landed marines, arranged the surrender of Amapala, and prevented Nicaragua prolonging hostilities. Honduras was now evacuated by the Nicaraguans and her provisional government was recognized by Zelaya. Miguel R. Davila was president in 1908 and 1909.

BIBLIOGRAPHY.--Official documents such as the annual presidential
message and the reports of the ministries are published in Spanish at
Tegucigalpa. Other periodical publications which throw much light on
the movement of trade and politics are the British Foreign Office
reports (London, annual), United States consular reports (Washington,
monthly), bulletins of the Bureau of American Republics (Washington),
and reports of the Council of the Corporation of Foreign Bondholders
(London, annual). For a more comprehensive account of the country and
its history, the works of K. Sapper, E. G. Squier, A. H. Keane and T.
Child, cited under CENTRAL AMERICA, are important. See also E.
Pelletier, _Honduras et ses ports: documents officiels sur le
chemin-de-fer interoceanique_ (Paris, 1869); E. G. Squier, _Honduras:
Descriptive, Historical and Statistical_ (London, 1870); C. Charles,
_Honduras_ (Chicago, 1890); _Handbook of Honduras_, published by the
Bureau of American Republics (1892); T. R. Lombard, _The New
Honduras_ (New York, 1887); H. Jalhay, _La Republique de Honduras_
(Antwerp, 1898); Perry, _Directorio nacional de Honduras_ (New York,
1899); H. G. Bourgeois, _Breve noticia sobre Honduras_ (Tegucigalpa,
1900).

HONE, NATHANIEL (1718-1784), British painter, was the son of a merchant at Dublin, and without any regular training acquired in his youth much skill as a portrait-painter. Early in his career he left Dublin for England and worked first in various provincial towns, but ultimately settled in London, where he soon made a considerable reputation. His oil-paintings were decidedly popular, but he gained his chief success by his miniatures and enamels, which he executed with masterly capacity. He became a member of the Incorporated Society of Artists and afterwards a foundation member of the Royal Academy; but he had several disagreements with his fellow-members of that institution, and on one occasion they rejected two of his pictures, one of which was regarded as a satire on Reynolds and the other on Angelica Kauffman. Most of his contributions to the Academy exhibitions were portraits. The quality of his work varied greatly, but the merit of his miniatures and enamels entitles him to a place among the ablest artists of the British school. He executed also a few mezzotint plates of reasonable importance, and some etchings. His portrait, painted by himself two years before his death, is in the possession of the Royal Academy.

HONE, WILLIAM (1780-1842), English writer and bookseller, was born at Bath on the 3rd of June 1780. His father brought up his children with the sectarian narrowness that so frequently produces reaction. Hone received no systematic education, and was taught to read from the Bible only. His father having removed to London in 1783, he was in 1790 placed in an attorney's office. After two and a half years spent in the office of a solicitor at Chatham he returned to London to become clerk to a solicitor in Gray's Inn. But he disliked the law, and had already acquired a taste for free-thought and political agitation. Hone married in 1800, and started a book and print shop with a circulating Library in Lambeth Walk. He soon removed to St Martin's Churchyard, where he brought out his first publication, Shaw's _Gardener_ (1806). It was at this time that he and his friend, John Bone, tried to realize a plan for the establishment of popular savings banks, and even had an interview on the subject with the president of the Board of Trade. This scheme, however, failed. Bone joined him next in a bookseller's business; but Hone's habits were not those of a tradesman, and bankruptcy was the result. He was in 1811 chosen by the booksellers as auctioneer to the trade, and had an office in Ivy Lane. Independent investigations carried on by him into the condition of lunatic asylums led again to business difficulties and failure, but he took a small lodging in the Old Bailey, keeping himself and his now large family by contributions to magazines and reviews. He hired a small shop, or rather box, in Fleet Street but this was on two separate nights broken into, and valuable books lent for show were stolen. In 1815 he started the _Traveller_ newspaper, and endeavoured vainly to exculpate Eliza Fenning, a poor girl, apparently quite guiltless, who was executed on a charge of poisoning. From February 1 to October 25, 1817, he published the _Reformer's Register_, writing in it as the serious critic of the state abuses, which he soon after attacked in the famous political squibs and parodies, illustrated by George Cruikshank. In April 1817 three _ex-officio_ informations were filed against him by the attorney-genera, Sir William Garrow. Three separate trials took place in the Guildhall before special juries on the 18th, 19th and 20th of December 1817. The first, for publishing Wilkes's _Catechism of a Ministerial Member_ (1817), was before Mr Justice Abbot (afterwards Lord Tenterden); the second, for parodying the litany and libelling the prince regent, and the third, for publishing the _Sinecurist's Creed_ (1817), a parody on the Athanasian creed, were before Lord Ellenborough (q.v.). The prosecution took the ground that the prints were calculated to injure public morals, and to bring the prayer-book and even religion itself into contempt. But there can be no doubt that the real motives of the prosecution were political; Hone had ridiculed the habits and exposed the corruption of the prince regent and of other persons in power. He went to the root of the matter when he wished the jury "to understand that, had he been a publisher of ministerial parodies, he would not then have been defending himself on the floor of that court." In spite of illness and exhaustion Hone displayed great courage and ability, speaking on each of the three days for about seven hours. Although his judges were biassed against him he was acquitted on each count, and the result was received with enthusiastic cheers by immense crowds within and without the court. Soon after the trials a subscription was begun which enabled Hone to get over the difficulties caused by his prosecution. Among Hone's most successful political satires were _The Political House that Jack built_ (1819), _The Queen's Matrimonial Ladder_ (1820), in favour of Queen Caroline, _The Man in the Moon_ (1820), _The Political Showman_ (1821), all illustrated by Cruikshank. Many of his squibs are directed against a certain "Dr Slop," a nickname given by him to Dr (afterwards Sir John) Stoddart, of _The Times_. In researches for his defence he had come upon some curious and at that time little trodden literary ground, and the results were shown by his publication in 1820 of his _Apocryphal New Testament_, and in 1823 of his _Ancient Mysteries Explained_. In 1826 he published the _Every-day Book_, in 1827-1828 the _Table-Book_, and in 1829 the _Year-Book_; all three were collections of curious information on manners, antiquities and various other subjects. These are the works by which Hone is best remembered. In preparing them he had the approval of Southey and the assistance of Charles Lamb, but pecuniarily they were not successful, and Hone was lodged in King's Bench prison for debt. Friends, however, again came to his assistance, and he was established in a coffee-house in Gracechurch Street; but this, like most of his enterprises, ended in failure. Hone's attitude of mind had gradually changed to that of extreme devoutness, and during the latter years of his life he frequently preached in Weigh House Chapel, Eastcheap. In 1830 he edited Strutt's _Sports and Pastimes_, and he contributed to the first number of the _Penny Magazine_. He was also for some years sub-editor of the _Patriot_. He died at Tottenham on the 6th of November 1842.

HONE (in O. Eng. _han_, cognate with Swed. _hen_; the root appears in Skt. _cana_, _co_ to sharpen), a variety of finely siliceous stone employed for whetting or sharpening edge tools, and for abrading steel and other hard surfaces. Synonyms are honestone, whetstone, oilstone and sharpening stone. Hones are generally prepared in the form of flat slabs or small pencils or rods, but some are made with the outline of the special instrument they are designed to sharpen. Their abrading action is due to the quartz or silica which is always present in predominating proportion, some kinds consisting of almost pure quartz, while in others the siliceous element is very intimately mixed with aluminous or calcareous matter, forming a uniform compact stone, the extremely fine siliceous particles of which impart a remarkably keen edge to the instruments for the sharpening of which they are applied. In some cases the presence of minute garnets or magnetite assists in the cutting action. Hones are used either dry, with water, or with oil, and generally the object to be sharpened is drawn with hand pressure backward and forward over the surface of the hone; but sometimes the stone is moved over the cutting edge.

The coarsest type of stone which can be included among hones is the bat or scythe stone, a porous fine-grained sandstone used for sharpening scythes and cutters of mowing machines, and for other like purposes. Next come the ragstones, which consist of quartzose mica-schist, and give a finer edge than any sandstone. Under the head of oilstones or hones proper the most famous and best-known qualities are the German razor hone, the Turkey oilstone, and the Arkansas stone. The German razor hone, used, as its name implies, chiefly for razors, is obtained from the slate mountains near Ratisbon, where it forms a yellow vein of from 1 to 18 in. in the blue slate. It is sawn into thin slabs, and these are cemented to slabs of slate which serve as a support. Turkey oilstone is a close-grained bluish stone containing from 70 to 75% of silica in a state of very fine division, intimately blended with about 20 to 25% of calcite. It is obtained only in small pieces, frequently flawed and not tough, so that the slabs must have a backing of slate or wood. It is one of the most valuable of all whetstones, abrading the hardest steel, and possessing sufficient compactness to resist the pressure required for sharpening gravers. The stone comes from the interior of Asia Minor, whence it is carried to Smyrna. Of Arkansas stones there are two varieties, both found in the same district, Garland and Saline counties, Arkansas, United States. The finer kind, known as Arkansas hone, is obtained in small pieces at the Hot Springs, and the second quality, distinguished as Washita stone, comes from Washita or Ouachita river. The hones yield on analysis 98% of silica, with small proportions of alumina, potash and soda, and mere traces of iron, lime, magnesia and fluorine. They are white in colour, extremely hard and keen in grit, and not easily worn down or broken. Geologically the materials are called novaculites, and are supposed to be metamorphosed sandstone silt, chert or limestone resulting from the permeation through the mass of heated alkaline siliceous waters. The finer kind is employed for fine cutting instruments, and also for polishing steel pivots of watch-wheels and similar minute work, the second and coarser quality being used for common tools. Both varieties are largely exported from the United States in the form of blocks, slips, pencils, rods and wheels. Other honestones are obtained in the United States from New York, New Hampshire, Vermont, Ohio (Deerlick stone) and Indiana (Hindostan or Orange stone). Among hones of less importance in general use may be noted the Charley Forest stone--or Whittle Hill honestone--a good substitute for Turkey oilstone; Water of Ayr stone, Scotch stone, or snake stone, a pale grey carboniferous shale hardened by igneous action, used for tools and for polishing marble and copper-plates; Idwal or Welsh oilstone, used for small articles; and cutlers' greenstone from Snowdon, very hard and close in texture, used for giving the last edge to lancets.

HONEY (Chin. _me_; Sansk. _madhu_, mead, honey; cf. A.S. _medo_, _medu_, mead; Gr. [Greek: meli], in which [theta] or [delta] is changed into [lambda]; Lat. _mel_; Fr. _miel_; A.S. _hunig_; Ger. _Honig_),[1] a sweet viscid liquid, obtained by bees (see BEE, _Bee-keeping_) chiefly from the nectaries of flowers, i.e. those parts of flowers specially constructed for the elaboration of honey, and, after transportation to the hive in the proventriculus or crop of the insects, discharged by them into the cells prepared for its reception. Whether the nectar undergoes any alteration within the crop of the bee is a point on which authors have differed. Some wasps, e.g. _Myrapetra scutellaris_[2] and the genus _Nectarina_, collect honey. A honey-like fluid, which consists of a nearly pure solution of uncrystallizable sugar having the formula C6H14O7 after drying in vacuo, and which is used by the Mexicans in the preparation of a beverage, is yielded by certain inactive individuals of _Myrmecocystus mexicanus_, Wesmael, the honey-ants or pouched ants (_hormigas mieleras_ or _mochileras_) of Mexico.[3] The abdomen in these insects, owing to the distensibility of the membrane connecting its segments, becomes converted into a globular thin-walled sac by the accumulation within it of the nectar supplied to them by their working comrades (Wesmael, _Bull. de l'Acad. Roy. de Brux._ v. 766, 1838). By the Rev. H. C. M'Cook, who discovered the insect in the Garden of the Gods, Colorado, the honey-bearers were found hanging by their feet, in groups of about thirty, to the roofs of special chambers in their underground nests, their large globular abdomens causing them to resemble "bunches of small Delaware grapes" (_Proc. Acad. Nat. Sci. Philad._, 1879, p. 197). A bladder-like formation on the metathorax of another ant, _Crematogaster inflatus_ (F. Smith, _Cat. of Hymenoptera_, pt. vi. pp. 136 and 200, pl. ix. fig. 1), which has a small circular orifice at each posterior lateral angle, appears to possess a function similar to that of the abdomen in the honey-ant.

It is a popular saying that where is the best honey there also is the best wool; and a pastoral district, since it affords a greater profusion of flowers, is superior for the production of honey to one under tillage.[4] Dry warm weather is that most favourable to the secretion of nectar by flowers. This they protect from rain by various internal structures, such as papillae, cushions of hairs and spurs, or by virtue of their position (in the raspberry, drooping), or the arrangement of their constituent parts. Dr A. W. Bennett (_How Flowers are Fertilized_, p. 31, 1873) has remarked that the perfume of flowers is generally derived from their nectar; the blossoms of some plants, however, as ivy and holly, though almost scentless, are highly nectariferous. The exudation of a honey-like or saccharine fluid, as has frequently been attested, is not a function exclusively of the flowers in all plants. A sweet material, the manna of pharmacy, e.g. is produced by the leaves and stems of a species of ash, _Fraxinus Ornus_; and honey-secreting glands are to be met with on the leaves, petioles, phyllodes, stipules (as in _Vicia sativa_), or bracteae (as in the _Maregraviaceae_) of a considerable number of different vegetable forms. The origin of the honey-yielding properties manifested specially by flowers among the several parts of plants has been carefully considered by Darwin, who regards the saccharine matter in nectar as a waste product of chemical changes in the sap, which, when it happened to be excreted within the envelopes of flowers, was utilized for the important object of cross-fertilization, and subsequently was much increased in quantity, and stored in various ways (see _Cross and Self Fertilization of Plants_, pp. 402 sq., 1876). It has been noted with respect to the nectar of the fuchsia that it is most abundant when the anthers are about to dehisce, and absent in the unexpanded flower.

Pettigrew is of opinion that few bees go more than 2 m. from home in
search of honey. The number of blossoms visited in order to meet the
requirements of a single hive of bees must be very great; for it has
been found by A. S. Wilson ("On the Nectar of Flowers," _Brit. Assoc.
Rep._, 1878, p. 567) that 125 heads of common red clover, which is a
plant comparatively abundant in nectar, yield but one gramme (15.432
grains) of sugar; and as each head contains about 60 florets,
7,500,000 distinct flower-tubes must on this estimate be exhausted for
each kilogramme (2.204 lb.) of sugar collected. Among the richer
sources of honey are reckoned the apple, asparagus, asters, barberry,
basswood (_Tilia americana_), and the European lime or linden (_T.
europaea_), beans, bonesets (_Eupatorium_), borage, broom, buckwheat,
catnip, or catmint (_Nepeta Cataria_), cherry, cleome, clover, cotton,
crocus, currant, dandelion, eucalyptus, figwort (_Scrophularia_),
furze, golden-rod (_Solidago_), gooseberry, hawthorn, heather,
hepatica, horehound, hyacinth, lucerne, maple, mignonette, mint,
motherwort (_Leonurus_), mustard, onion, peach, pear, poplar, quince,
rape, raspberry, sage, silver maple, snapdragon, sour-wood
(_Oxydendron arboreum_, D.C.), strawberry, sycamore, teasel, thyme,
tulip-tree (more especially rich in pollen), turnip, violet and
willows, and the "honey-dew" of the leaves of the whitethorn (Bonner),
oak, linden, beech and some other trees.