Chapter M: M. J. SUTHERLAND, D.Sc., F.I.C (2)

ABERNETHY (ab-[.e]r-neth'i), John, an eminent English surgeon, of somewhat eccentric habits, born in 1764 in London, a pupil of the celebrated John Hunter. In 1787 he became assistant surgeon at St. Bartholomew's Hospital, and shortly after lecturer on anatomy and surgery. In 1815 he was elected principal surgeon, and under his auspices the hospital attained a celebrity which it had never before enjoyed. He published _Surgical Observations_; _The Constitutional Origin and Treatment of Local Diseases_; and _Lectures_, explanatory of Hunter's opinions of the vital processes; besides smaller essays. He died in 1831.

ABERRA'TION, in astronomy, the difference between the true and the observed position of a heavenly body, the result of the combined effect of the motion of light and the motion of the eye of the observer caused by the annual or diurnal motion of the earth; or of the motion of light and that of the body from which the light proceeds. When the auxiliary cause is the annual revolution of the earth round the sun it is called _annual aberration_, in consequence of which a fixed star may appear as much as 20.4" from its true position; when the auxiliary cause is the diurnal rotation of the earth on its axis it is called _diurnal aberration_, which amounts at the greatest to 0.3"; and when the auxiliary cause is the motion of the body from which the light proceeds it is called _planetary aberration_.

ABERSYCHAN (ab-[.e]r-sik'an), a town of Monmouthshire, England, about 10 miles north of Newport, in a rich coal-mining district. Pop. (1921), 27,089.

ABERTIL'LERY, an urban district or town of England, Monmouthshire, 16 miles north-west of Newport, with tinplate works, coal-mines, &c. Since 1918 it gives its name to a parliamentary division of the county. Pop. (1921), 38,805.

ABERYSTWITH (ab-[.e]r-ist'with), a seaport and fashionable watering-place of Wales, county of Cardigan, on Cardigan Bay. The town is well built, and the surrounding country is picturesque. There is here a University College of the University of Wales, occupying a handsome Gothic building. Pop. (1921), 12,289.

ABEYANCE, in law, a legal term meaning that the title to dignity, office, or real or personal property is not vested in anyone, but is suspended until the right thereto is determined by the appearance of the true owner. Under English law, when a nobleman dies leaving no male issue, the title, if descendible to his heirs general, as in the case of baronies by writ, is said to be in abeyance, until the king, by his prerogative, terminates the abeyance in favour of one of the co-heiresses. See _Property_.

ABGAR, title of the Syrian rulers at Edessa. The fourteenth prince of the dynasty, a contemporary of the Roman emperor Tiberius (A.D. 14-37), is said to have written a letter to our Saviour.

ABHOR'RERS, in English history a name given to the Court party in 1679-80, who, on petitions being presented to Charles II praying him to summon Parliament, signed counter-petitions expressing _abhorrence_ for those who were thus attempting to encroach on the royal prerogative.

A'BIB, the first month of the Jewish ecclesiastical year, and the seventh of the civil year, corresponding to the latter part of March and the first of April. Also called _Nisan_.

ABIES (ab'i-es), a genus of trees. See _Fir_ and _Spruce_.

AB'INGDON, a town of England, in Berkshire, 50 miles north-west of London, on the right bank of the Thames. It was an important place in Anglo-Saxon times, and Offa, King of Mercia, had a palace in it. Formerly a parliamentary borough, it now gives name to a parliamentary division of Berks. Pop. (1921), 7167.

ABIOGENESIS (a-b[=i]-o-jen'e-sis), the doctrine or hypothesis that living matter may be produced from non-living; spontaneous generation. See _Generation (Spontaneous)_.

ABJURA'TION, Oath of, an oath which by an English Act passed in 1701 had to be taken by all holders of public offices, clergymen, teachers, members of the universities, and lawyers, abjuring and renouncing the exiled Stuarts: superseded in 1858 by a more comprehensive oath, declaring allegiance to the present royal family.--_Abjuration of the realm_ was an oath that a person guilty of felony, who had taken sanctuary, might take. This oath permitted him to go into exile, and not return on pain of death, unless by the king's permission. In ecclesiastical language the term is applied to renunciation of heresy.

ABKHA'SIA, a Russian district, at the western extremity and south of the Caucasus, between the mountains and the Black Sea. The Abkhasians form a race distinguished from their neighbours in various respects. At one time they were Christians, but afterwards adopted Mahommedanism. Many of them migrated into Turkish territory in 1864 and 1878.

ABLAINCOURT. See _Somme_.

AB'LATIVE, a term applied to a case of nouns, adjectives, and pronouns in Latin, Sanskrit, and some other languages; originally given to the case in Latin because separation from (_ab_, from _latus_, taken) was considered to be one of the chief ideas expressed by the case.

ABNAKI, a Confederacy of Algonquin tribes, formerly occupying what is now Maine and Southern New Brunswick. Their territory, to which they removed after 1724, is in Canada on the St. John River and at St. Francis.

ABO ([=o]'b[=o]), a town and port in Finland, the see of an archbishop, and the capital of Finland till 1819, when it was supplanted by Helsingfors. Pop. (1919), 56,168.

ABOLITIONISTS. See _Slavery_.

ABOMA'SUM, or ABOMA'SUS, the fourth stomach of ruminating animals, next the _omasum_ or third stomach.

ABO'MEY, or AGBO'MEY, the capital of the French territory and former kingdom of Dahomey, in West Africa, in a fertile plain, near the coast of Guinea. Pop. 11,000.

ABORIGINES (ab-o-rij'i-n[=e]z), the name given in general to the earliest known inhabitants of a country, those who are supposed to have inhabited the land from the beginning (Lat. _ab origine_). (The singular of the word is _Aboriginal_, or sometimes _Aborigine_.)

ABORTION, in medicine, the expulsion of the foetus before it is capable of independent existence. This may take place at any period of pregnancy before the completion of the twenty-eighth week. A child born after that time is said to be _premature_. Abortion may be the result of the general debility or ill-health of the mother, of a plethoric constitution, of special affections of the uterus, of severe exertions, sudden shocks, &c. Various medicinal substances, generally violent emmenagogues or drastic medicines, are believed to have the effect of provoking abortion, and are sometimes resorted to for this purpose. Attempts to procure abortion are punishable by law in all civilized states. When the death of the woman ensues as a result of the attempt, the crime is murder.--The term is applied in botany to denote the suppression by non-development of one or more of the parts of a flower, which consists normally of four whorls--namely, calyx, corolla, stamens, and pistil.--BIBLIOGRAPHY: Sir W. O. Russell, _Crimes and Misdemeanours_ (3 vols.); A. S. Taylor, _Principles and Practice of Medical Jurisprudence_.

ABOUKIR ([.a]-b[:o]-k[=e]r'; ancient ZEPHYRION, near ruins of Can[=o]pus), a small village on the Egyptian coast, 10 miles east of Alexandria. In Aboukir Bay took place the naval battle in which Nelson annihilated a French fleet on the night of 1st and 2nd Aug., 1798, thus totally destroying the naval power of France in the Mediterranean. Near this place, on 25th July, 1799, Napoleon defeated the Turks under Mustapha; and on 8th March, 1801, Sir Ralph Abercromby effected the landing of a British army against the French.

ABOU-SIMBEL. See _Ipsambul_.

ABOUT ([.a]-b[:o]), Edmond Francois Valentin, a French novelist and miscellaneous writer, born 14th Feb., 1828, died 17th Jan., 1885. He was educated at the Lycee Charlemagne and the Ecole Normale, Paris; and was sent at Government expense to the French school at Athens; on his return to Paris, he devoted himself to literature. Principal novels: _Tolla_, _Le Roi des Montagnes_, _Germaine_, _Madelon_, _Le Fellah_, _La Vieille Roche_, _L'Infame_, _Les Mariages de Province_, _Le Roman d'un Brave Homme_ (against Zola and the naturalist school), &c.; miscellaneous works: _La Grece Contemporaine_, _La Question Romaine_, _La Prusse en 1860_, _Rome Contemporaine_, &c. In 1884 he was elected a member of the Academy. About wrote in a bright, humorous, and interesting style, and his novels have been very popular.

ABRACADAB'RA, a word of Eastern origin used in incantations. When written on paper so as to form a triangle, the first line containing the word in full, the one below it omitting the last letter, and so on each time until only one letter remained, and worn as an amulet, it was supposed to be an antidote against certain diseases.

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A'BRAHAM, originally ABRAM (Assyrian _Aburamu_, lofty father), the greatest of the Hebrew patriarchs, was born at Ur in Chaldea in 2153 B.C. according to Hales, in 1996 B.C. according to Ussher, while Bunsen says he lived 2850 B.C. He migrated, accompanied by his wife Sarah and his nephew Lot, to Canaan, where he led a nomadic life, which extended over 175 years. His two sons, Isaac and Ishmael, were the progenitors of the Jews and Arabs respectively.

ABRAHAM, Heights or Plains of. See _Quebec_.

ABRAHAM A SANTA CLARA, a German pulpit orator, whose real name was Ulrich Megerle, born in 1644. As a preacher he acquired so great a reputation that, in 1669, he was appointed court-preacher in Vienna, where he died in 1709. His sermons are full of homely, grotesque humour, often of coarse wit, and impartial severity towards all classes of society. His principal work and masterpiece is _Judas, the Archknave_ (4 vols.), 1686-95.

ABRAHAMITES, 1, A sect of Syrian Deists of the ninth century, whose doctrines were allied to those of the Paulicians.--2, A sect of Bohemian Deists of the late eighteenth century, who professed to be followers of John Huss and claimed that they followed the religion of Abraham before his circumcision. Believing in one God, they rejected the Trinity, and accepted nothing of the Bible except the Ten Commandments and the Lord's Prayer. Refusing to join either the Jewish or Christian folds, they were excluded from the edict of toleration promulgated by the Emperor Joseph II, and expelled to Transylvania in 1783. Some were martyred, others became Roman Catholics.

ABRAHAM-MEN, originally a set of vagabonds who had been discharged from Bethlehem Hospital, London; but as many assumed, without right, the badge worn by them, the term came to signify an impostor who travelled about the country seeking alms, under the pretence of lunacy.

ABRAM, a town (urban district) of England, Lancashire, 3-1/2 miles from Wigan; a colliery centre. Pop. (1921), 6858.

AB'RAMIS, a genus of fishes. See _Bream_.

ABRAN'TES, a fortified town of Portugal, on the right bank of the Tagus (here navigable), 73 miles north-east of Lisbon, with which it carries on an active trade. Pop. 8000.

ABRANTES, Duke of. See _Junot_.

ABRAX'AS (or ABRASAX) STONES, the name given to stones or gems found in Syria, Egypt, and elsewhere, cut into almost every variety of shape, but generally having a human trunk and arms, with a cock's head, two serpents' tails for the legs, &c., and the mystico-theosophical word Abraxas or Abrasax in Greek characters engraved upon them. Eventually they came to be used as charms and amulets. Basilides (A.D. 130) and other gnostics gave the name of Abraxas to Almighty God, the Supreme Deity, since the numerical value of its letters in Greek gave the sum of 365, and they believed that 365 orders of spirits emanated from God. Not all abraxas stones, however, are of gnostic origin, just as the name of abraxas cannot be applied to all gnostic stones. Cf. King: _The Gnostics and their Remains_, London, 1887.

ABRIN, or ABRINE, a poisonous substance, being the active principle in the seeds of _Abrus precatorius_ (see _Abrus_). A minute quantity introduced into the blood is fatal to many animals, but it is employed in ailments of the eyes, and as a remedy for lupus and certain skin diseases.

ABROGA'TION, the repealing of a law by a competent authority.

ABROLHOS (a-brole'-yoce) a group of rocky islands 50 miles off the east coast of Brazil, the largest of which is Santa Barbara. Another group called Abrolhos lies off the west coast of Australia.

ABRO'MA, a genus of small trees, natives of India, Java, &c., one species of which, _A. augusta_, has a bark yielding a strong white fibre, from which good cordage is made.

ABRUPT', in botany, terminating suddenly, as if a part were cut short off.

AB'RUS, a genus of papilionaceous plants, order Leguminosae, one species of which, _Abrus precatorius_, a delicate twining shrub, a native of the East Indies, and found also in tropical parts of Africa and America, has round brilliant scarlet seeds, used to make necklaces and rosaries. Its root is sweetish and mucilaginous, and is used as a substitute for liquorice _(Indian liquorice_). The seeds yield a strong poison.

ABRUZZI ([.a]-br[u:]t's[=e]), a division of Italy on the Adriatic, between Umbria and the Marches on the north, and Apulia on the south. It is united with Molise to form a _compartimento_, comprising the four provinces of Aquila degli Abruzzi, Campobasso, Chicti, and Teramo. The sea-coast of about 80 miles does not possess a single harbour. The interior is rugged and mountainous, being traversed throughout by the Apennines. The lower parts consist of fertile plains and valleys, yielding corn, wine, oil, almonds, saffron, &c.; area, 6387 sq. miles. Pop. 1,480,748.

AB'SALON, or AXEL, a Danish prelate, statesman, and warrior, born in 1128, died 1201. He became the intimate friend and counsellor of his sovereign Waldemar I, who appointed him Archbishop of Lund. He cleared the sea of the Slavonic pirates who had long infested it, secured the independence of the kingdom by defeating a powerful fleet of the Emperor Barbarossa, and built the castle of Axelborg, the nucleus of Copenhagen. He ultimately became Primate of Denmark and Sweden. Turning his thoughts to literature he caused the _History of Denmark_ to be drawn up by Saxo Grammaticus and Svend Aagesen.

AB'SCESS, any collection of purulent matter or pus formed in some tissue or organ of the body, and confined within some circumscribed area, of varying size, but always painful and often dangerous.

ABSENTEEISM, a term applied to landlords who absent themselves from their estates and live and spend their money elsewhere; in its more extended meaning it refers to all those whose fixed residence is outside their own country but who derive their income from sources within it. The social, economic, political, and moral evils resulting from such a system are considerable and hurtful to the interests of a region, the absentee being apt to lose his interest in things and persons and the public welfare generally. Some economists, however, have adduced arguments in favour of it, as it may sometimes be for the good of the community that a rich and luxurious landlord should be absent from his estate.

The absenteeism of the Irish nobility, which became worse after the Union with Great Britain and the transfer of Parliament from Dublin to London, has been a constant source of mischief, whilst France before the Revolution, Russia under the Tsars Alexander I and Nicholas I, and Hungary in the eighteenth century suffered greatly from the practice. The first statute concerning absentees was passed in the English Parliament in 1379, and in 1729 a tax was levied on all moneys paid out of Ireland.

AB'SINTH, French _Absinthe_ ([.a]b-sa[n.]t), a liqueur consisting of an alcoholic solution strongly flavoured with an extract of several sorts of wormwood, oil of anise, &c. When taken habitually, or in excess, its effects are very pernicious. A favourite drink of the Parisians, it was suppressed entirely throughout France by a law passed on 12th Feb., 1915.

AB'SOLUTE, in a general sense, loosed or freed from all limitations or conditions. In politics, an _absolute_ monarchy is that form of government in which the ruler is unlimited or uncontrolled by constitutional checks. In modern metaphysics _the Absolute_ represents the unconditioned, infinite, and self-existent.

ABSOLU'TION, remission of a penitent's sins in the name of God. It is commonly maintained that down to the twelfth century the priests used only what is called the _precatory_ formula, "May God or Christ absolve thee", which is still the form in the Greek Church; whereas the Roman Catholic uses the expression "I absolve thee", thus regarding the forgiveness of sins as in the power of the priest (the _indicative_ form). This theory of absolution was confirmed by the Council of Trent. The passages of Scripture on which the Roman Catholic Church relies in laying down its doctrine of absolution are such as _Mat._ xvi. 19, xviii. 18; _John_, xx. 23. Among Protestants absolution properly means a sentence by which a person who stands excommunicated is released from that punishment.

ABSOLUTISM, a system of government in which the supreme power is vested in a ruler not controlled or limited by any constitution or laws. It has prevailed in Oriental countries, including Japan, until the latter part of the nineteenth century. There are now no absolute monarchies in Europe.

ABSOR'BENTS, the system of minute vessels by which the nutritive elements of food and other matters are carried into the circulation of vertebrate animals. The vessels consist of two different sets, called respectively _lacteals_ and _lymphatics_. The former arise from the digestive tract, the latter from the tissues generally, both joining a common trunk which ultimately enters the blood-vessel system. Absorbents in medicine are substances such as chalk, charcoal, &c., that absorb or suck up excessive secretion of fluid or gas.

ABSORP'TION, in physiology, one of the vital functions by which the materials of nutrition and growth are absorbed and conveyed to the organs of plants and animals. In vertebrate animals this is done by the lymphatics and lacteals, in plants chiefly by the roots. See _Absorbents_.

In physics, _absorption of colour_ is the phenomenon observed when certain colours are retained or prevented from passing through transparent bodies; thus pieces of coloured glass are almost opaque to some parts of the spectrum, while allowing other colours to pass through freely. In chemistry absorption is the taking up of a gas by a liquid, or by a porous solid.

AB'STINENCE. See _Fasting, Temperance_.

ABSTRAC'TION, the operation of the mind by which it disregards part of what is presented to its observation in order to concentrate its attention on the remainder. It is the foundation of the operation of generalization, by which we arrive at general conceptions. In order, for example, to form the conception of a horse, we disregard the colour and other peculiarities of the particular horses observed by us, and attend only to those qualities which all horses have in common. In rising to the conception of an animal we disregard still more qualities, and attend only to those which all animals have in common with one another.

ABU (a-b[:o]'), a granitic mountain of India in Sirohi State, Rajputana, rising precipitously from the surrounding plains, its top forming a picturesque and varied tract 14 miles long and 2 to 4 broad; highest point 5653 ft. It is a hot-weather resort of Europeans, and is the site of two most beautiful Jain temples, built in 1031 and 1200.

ABU-BEKR, or FATHER OF THE VIRGIN, born 570 died 634, the father-in-law and first successor of Mahomet. His right to the succession was unsuccessfully contested by Ali, Mahomet's son-in-law, and a schism took place, which divided the Mahommedans into the two great sects of Sunnites and Shiites, the former maintaining the validity of Abu-Bekr's and the latter that of Ali's claim.

ABUKIR'. See _Aboukir_.

ABU KLEA, a group of wells, surrounded by steep, black mountains, about 120 miles from Khartoum, in the Sudan, where, on the 17th Jan., 1885, Sir Herbert Stewart, with 1500 men, defeated the Mahdi's troops numbering 10,000.

ABULFARA'GIUS, Gregory, a distinguished scholar, a Jew by birth (hence the name of _Barhebraeus_, often given him), author of numerous works in Arabic and Syriac, was born in Armenia in 1226, died in 1286. About 1264 he was consecrated Bishop of Gubas; he was afterwards translated to Aleppo and was appointed primate of the Jacobite Christians. His principal work is a _History of the World_ from the Creation to his own day, written in Syriac, with an abridged version in Arabic, entitled _The Abridged History of the Dynasties_.

ABUL'FEDA, Arab writer, Prince of Hamah, in Syria, of the same family as Saladin, famous as an historian and geographer, was born at Damascus 1273, died 1331. Amid the cares of government he devoted himself with zeal to study, drew the learned around him, and rendered his power and wealth subservient to the cause of science. His most important works are his _History of the Human Race_ (the portion from the birth of Mahomet to his own time being valuable), and his geography called _The True Situation of Countries_.

ABUNDA, a Bantu race of Angola, living on the coastlands and on the terraces rising towards the interior, and divided into 'highlanders' and 'lowlanders'. They speak Portuguese and Umbunda, a trade language.

ABUSHEHR ([:a]-b[:o]-sh[=a]r'). See _Bushire_.

ABU-SIMBEL. See _Ibsambul_.

ABU'TILON, a genus of plants, order Malvaceae, sometimes called Indian mallows, found in the East Indies, Australia, Brazil, Siberia, &c. Several of them yield a valuable hemp-like fibre, as _A. indicum_ and _A. Avicennae_. The latter, now a troublesome weed in the Middle United States, has been recommended for cultivation, and is sometimes called American jute.

ABUT'MENT, the part of a bridge which receives and resists the lateral outward thrust of an arch; the masonry, rock, or other solid materials from which an arch springs.

ABY'DOS, 1, an ancient city of Asia Minor, on the Hellespont, at the narrowest part of the strait, opposite Sestos. Leander, say ancient writers, swam nightly from Abydos to Sestos to see his loved Hero--a feat in swimming accomplished also by Lord Byron.--2, an ancient city of Upper Egypt (Egyptian Abotu), about 6 miles west of the Nile, now represented only by ruins of temples, tombs, &c. It was celebrated as the burial-place of the god Osiris, and its oldest temple was dedicated to him. Here, in 1818, was discovered the famous _Abydos Tablet_, now in the British Museum, and containing a list of the predecessors of Rameses the Great, which was supplemented by the discovery of a similar historical tablet in 1864. The tomb of Osiris was discovered in 1898 by Amelinau. Cf. Flinders Petrie, _The Royal Tombs of the Earliest Dynasties_ (2 vols.), London, 1900-9.

ABYSSIN'IA (Ar. _Habesha_), a country of Eastern Africa, which, with dependencies, may be said to extend from lat. 5deg to 15deg N. and long. 35deg to 42deg E., having the Anglo-Egyptian Sudan on the W., British E. Africa on the S., and on the S.E. and E. Somali-land and Eritrea (Italian Red Sea coast); area, 350,000 sq. miles. Pop. over 8,000,000. The country is now divided into 9 provinces, the principal being Harrar, Tigre, Amhara or Gondar. Each province is governed by a ras, or prince, but Ras Michael, the governor of Wollo and father of the deposed negus, Lij Yasu, was crowned king on 1st June, 1914. Abyssinia proper is an elevated region, with a general slope to the north-west. The more marked physical features are a vast series of tablelands, of various and often of great elevations, and numerous masses or ranges of high and rugged mountains, dispersed over the surface in apparently the wildest confusion. Along the deep and tremendous ravines that divide the plateaux rush innumerable streams, which impart extraordinary fertility to the plains and valleys below. The mountains in various parts of the country rise to 12,000 and 13,000 feet, while some of the peaks are over 15,000 feet (Ras Dashan being 15,160), and are always covered with snow. The principal rivers belong to the Nile basin, the chief being the impetuous Tacazze ('the Terrible') in the north, and the Abai in the south, the latter being really the upper portion of the Blue Nile. The principal lake is Lake Tzana or Dembea (from which issues the Abai), upwards of 6000 feet above the sea, having a length of about 45 and a breadth of 35 miles. Round this lake lies a fertile plain, deservedly called the granary of the country.--According to elevation there are several zones of vegetation. Within the lowest belt, which reaches an elevation of 4800 feet, cotton, wild indigo, acacias, ebony, baobabs, sugar-canes, coffee trees, date palms, &c., flourish, while the larger animals are lions, panthers, elephants, rhinoceroses, hippopotamuses, jackals, hyenas, bears, numerous antelopes, monkeys, and crocodiles. The middle zone, rising to 9000 feet, produces the grains, grasses, and fruits of southern Europe, the orange, vine, peach, apricot, the bamboo, sycamore tree, &c. The principal grains are millet, barley, wheat, maize, and teff, the latter a small seed, a favourite bread-stuff of the Abyssinians. Two, and in some places three, crops are obtained in one year. All the domestic animals of Europe, except swine, are known. There is a variety of ox with immense horns. The highest zone, reaching to 14,000 feet, has but little wood, and generally scanty vegetation, the hardier corn-plants only being grown; but oxen, goats, and long-woolled sheep find abundant pasture.--The climate is as various as the surface, but as a whole is temperate and agreeable; in some of the valleys the heat is often excessive, while on the mountains the weather is cold. In certain of the lower districts malaria prevails.--The chief mineral products are sulphur, copper, coal, and salt, the last-named serving to some extent as money. Iron is very abundant and is manufactured into knives, hatchets, and spears. There has been a great intermixture of races in Abyssinia. Those who may be considered the Abyssinians proper seem to have a blood-relationship with the Bedouin Arabs. Their complexion varies from very dark through different shades of brown and copper to olive, and they are usually well built. Other races are the black Gallas from the south; the Falashas, who claim descent from Abraham and retain many Jewish characteristics; the Agows, Gongas, &c. The great majority of the people profess Christianity, belonging, like the Copts, to the sect of the Monophysites. The head of the church is called the Abuna ('our father'), and is consecrated by the Coptic patriarch of Alexandria. Geez or Ethiopian is the language of their sacred books: it has long ago ceased to be spoken. The chief spoken language is the Amharic; in it some books have been published. Mohammedanism appears to be gaining ground in Abyssinia. A corrupt form of Judaism is professed by the Falashas.--The bulk of the people are devoted to agriculture and cattle-breeding. The trade and manufactures are of small importance. A good deal of common cotton cloth and some finer woven fabrics are produced. Leather is prepared to some extent, silver filagree-work is produced, and there are manufactures of common articles of iron and brass, pottery, &c. Trade is carried on through Zeila and Djibouti (French Ethiopian Railway was completed in 1915) on the Gulf of Aden, and Massowa on the Red Sea (Italian), exports being hides, coffee, wax, gum, ivory, &c., imports textile fabrics, &c. The Abyssinians were converted to Christianity in the fourth century, by some missionaries from Alexandria. In the sixth century the power of the sovereigns of their kingdom, which was generally known as Ethiopia, had attained its height; but before another had expired the Arabs had invaded the country, and obtained a footing. For several centuries subsequently the kingdom continued in a distracted state, being now torn by internal commotions and now invaded by external enemies (Mahommedans and Gallas). To protect himself from the latter the Emperor of Abyssinia applied, about the middle of the sixteenth century, to the King of Portugal for assistance, promising, at the same time, implicit submission to the Pope. The solicited aid was sent, and the empire saved. The Roman Catholic priests endeavoured to induce the emperor and his family to renounce the tenets and rites of the Coptic Church, and to adopt those of Rome. This attempt, however, was resisted by the ecclesiastics and the people, and ended, after a long struggle, in the expulsion of the Catholic priests about 1630. The kingdom gradually fell into a state of anarchy, and was broken up into several independent States. An attempt to revive the power of the ancient kingdom of Ethiopia was made by King Theodore about the middle of the last century. He introduced European artisans, and went to work wisely in many ways, but his cruelty and tyranny counteracted his politic measures. In consequence of a slight, real or fancied, which he had received at the hands of the British Government, he threw Consul Cameron and a number of other British subjects into prison, in 1863, and refused to give them up. To effect their release an army of nearly 12,000 men, under Sir Robert (afterwards Lord) Napier, was dispatched from Bombay in 1867. The force landed at Zoulla on the Red Sea, and marching up the country came within sight of the hill-fortress of Magdala in April, 1868. After being defeated in a battle, Theodore delivered up the captives and shut himself up in Magdala, which was taken by storm on the 13th April, Theodore being found among the slain. After the withdrawal of the British, fighting immediately began among the chiefs of the different provinces, but at last the country was divided between Kasa, who secured the northern and larger portion (Tigre and Amhara) and assumed the name of King Johannes, and Menelek, who gained possession of Shoa. Latterly Johannes made himself supreme and in 1881 assumed the title of emperor (_negus negusti_--king of kings), having under him the Kings of Shoa and Gojam. Debra Tabor, about 30 miles east of Lake Dembea, was his chief residence. During the troubles in Abyssinia the Egyptians annexed Massowa and the region adjacent, Abyssinia being thus shut out from the sea. Afterwards the Italians gained and still hold Massowa and the Red Sea littoral (Eritrea). Johannes fell at Metemmeh in 1889, whilst fighting against the Mahdists, and was succeeded by Menelek II. In 1916 Lij Yasu, who succeeded Menelek II in 1913, was deposed and Waizeru Zauditu (born 1876) became empress.--BIBLIOGRAPHY: R. P. Skinner, _Abyssinia of Today_. A. B. Wylde, _Modern Abyssinia_.

ACA'CIA, a genus of plants, nat. ord. Leguminosae, sub-order Mimoseae, consisting of trees or shrubs with compound pinnate leaves and small leaflets, growing in Africa, Arabia, the East Indies, Australia, &c. The flowers, usually small, are arranged in spikes or globular heads at the axils of the leaves near the extremity of the branches. The corolla is bell- or funnel-shaped; stamens are numerous; the fruit is a dry unjointed pod. Several of the species yield gum-arabic and other gums; some having astringent barks and pods, used in tanning. _A. Catechu_, an Indian species, yields the valuable astringent called catechu; _A. dealb[=a]ta_, the wattle tree of Australia, from 15 to 30 feet in height, is the most beautiful and useful of the species found there. Its bark contains a large percentage of tannin, and is exported in large quantities. Some species yield valuable timber; some are cultivated for the beauty of their flowers.

ACAD'EMY, an association for the promotion of literature, science, or art; established sometimes by Government, sometimes by the voluntary union of private individuals. The name Academy was first applied to the philosophical school of Plato, from the place where he used to teach, a grove or garden at Athens which was said to have belonged originally to the hero Acad[=e]mus. The home of Academies as associations of learned men (not institutes for instruction), was Hellenized Egypt and afterwards Italy of the Renaissance. The flourishing Academies at Florence, Naples, and Rome became the models of academies in other countries. Academies devote themselves either to the cultivation of science generally or to the promotion of a particular branch of study, as antiquities, language, and the fine arts. The most celebrated institutions bearing the name of academies, and designed for the encouragement of science, antiquities, and language respectively, are the French Academie des Sciences (founded by Colbert in 1666), Academie des Inscriptions (founded by Colbert in 1663), and Academie Francaise (founded by Richelieu in 1635), all of which are now merged in the National Institute. The most celebrated of the academies instituted for the improvement of language is the Italian Accademia della Crusca, or Furfuratorum (now the Florentine Academy), formed in 1582, and chiefly celebrated for the compilation of an excellent dictionary of the Italian language (_Vocabulario della Crusca_, Venice, 1612), and for the publication of several carefully-prepared editions of ancient Italian poets. The (Imperial) Academy of Science of St. Petersburg was projected by Peter the Great and established by Catherine I in 1725. The Academy of Science in Berlin was founded by Frederick I in 1700. It was opened in 1711 and had Leibnitz as its first president. In Britain the name of academy, in the more dignified sense of the term, is confined almost exclusively to certain institutions for the promotion of the fine arts, such as the Royal Academy of Arts and the Royal Scottish Academy. The Royal Academy of Arts (usually called simply the Royal Academy) was founded in London in 1768, "for the purpose of cultivating and improving the arts of painting, sculpture, and architecture". The number of academicians is now limited to forty-two, among whom are two engravers. There are also thirty associates, from whom the academicians are elected. Of the associates five are engravers. Any person who is possessed of sufficient proficiency may be admitted as a student and receive instruction gratis, and prizes are annually bestowed on meritorious students. The annual exhibition of the Academy is open to all artists whose works show sufficient merit. The Royal Scottish Academy of Painting, Sculpture, and Architecture was founded in 1826 and incorporated in 1838. It consists of thirty academicians and twenty associates. The Royal Hibernian Academy at Dublin was incorporated in 1823 and reorganized in 1861. It consists of thirty members and ten associates. A British Academy for the Promotion of Historical, Philosophical, and Philological Studies was incorporated in 1902. (See _British Academy_.) In the United States, the American Academy of Arts and Sciences at Boston was founded in 1780, and since then various other societies of similar character and name have been instituted, as the New York Academy of Sciences, the Chicago Academy of Science, &c.

ACA'DIA (Fr. _Acadie_), the name formerly given to Nova Scotia. It received its first colonists from France in 1604, being then a possession of that country, but it passed to Britain, by the Peace of Utrecht, in 1713. In 1756, 18,000 of the French inhabitants were forcibly removed from their homes on account of their hostility to the British, an incident on which is based Longfellow's _Evangeline_. Many Acadians afterwards wandered back to their old homes, and their descendants are at present supposed to number 270,000, 100,000 of them living in French Canada.

ACALE'PHA (Gr. _akal[=e]ph[=e]_, a nettle, from their stinging properties), a term formerly used to denote the Medusae, or jelly-fishes, and allied species.

ACANTHA'CEAE, or ACANTHADS, a nat. ord. of dicotyledonous herbaceous plants or shrubs, with opposite leaves and monopetalous corolla, mostly tropical; species about 1400. See _Acanthus_.

ACANTHOP'TERI, ACANTHOPTERYGII (Gr. _akantha_, a spine, _pterygion_, a fin), a group of fishes, distinguished by the fact that at least the first rays in each fin exist in the form of stiff spines; it includes the perch, mullet, mackerel, gurnard, wrasse, &c.

ACANTH'US, a genus of herbaceous plants or shrubs, order Acanthaceae, mostly tropical, two species of which, _A. mollis_ and _A. spin[=o]sus_ (the bear's-breech or brankursine), are characterized by large white flowers and deeply-indented shining leaves. They are favourite ornamental plants in British gardens.--In architecture the name is given to a kind of foliage decoration said to have been suggested by this plant, and much employed in Greek, Roman, and later styles.

ACAPUL'CO, a seaport of Mexico, on the Pacific, with a capacious, well-sheltered harbour; a coaling station for steamers, but with no great trade. Pop. 5950.

ACAR'IDA, a division of the Arachnida, including the mites, ticks, and water-mites. See _Mite_.

ACARNA'NIA, the most westerly portion of Northern Greece, together with Aetolia now forming a nomarchy with a pop. of 188,597. The Acarnanians of ancient times were behind the other Greeks in civilization, living by robbery and piracy.

AC'ARUS, the genus to which the mite belongs.

ACCA'DIANS (Akkad), the primitive inhabitants of Northern Babylonia (Akkad), who had descended from the mountainous region of Elam on the east, and to whom the Assyrians ascribed the origin of Chaldean civilization and writing. This race is believed to have belonged to the Turanian family, or to have been at any rate non-Semitic. What is known of them has been learned from the cuneiform inscriptions. See _Babylonia_ and _Summerians_.

ACCELERA'TION is the rate of change of the velocity of a body under the action of a force. A body falling from a height is one of the most common instances of acceleration.--_Acceleration of the Moon_, the increase of the moon's mean angular velocity about the earth, the moon now moving rather faster than in ancient times. This phenomenon has not been fully explained, but it is known to be partly owing to the slow process of diminution which the eccentricity of the earth's orbit is undergoing, and from which there results a slight diminution of the sun's influence on the moon's motions.--_Diurnal acceleration of the fixed stars_, the apparent greater diurnal motion of the stars than of the sun, arising from the fact that the sun's apparent yearly motion takes place in a direction contrary to that of his apparent daily motion. The stars thus seem each day to anticipate the sun by nearly 3 minutes 56 seconds of mean time.

AC'CENT, a term used in several senses. In English it commonly denotes superior stress or force of voice upon certain syllables of words, which distinguishes them from the other syllables. Many English words, as _as'pi-ra"tion_, have two accents, a secondary and primary, the latter being the fuller or stronger. Some words, as _in-com'pre-hen'si-bil"i-ty_, have two secondary or subordinate accents. When the full accent falls on a vowel, that vowel has its long sound, as in _vo'cal_; but when it falls on a consonant, the preceding vowel is short, as in _hab'it_. This kind of accent alone regulates English verse, as contrasted with Latin or Greek verse, in which the metre depended on _quantity_ or length of syllables. In books on elocution three marks or accents are generally made use of, the first or _acute_ (') showing when the voice is to be raised, the second or _grave_ (`), when it is to be depressed, and the third or _circumflex_ (^) when the vowel is to be uttered with an undulating sound. In some languages there is no such distinct accent as in English (or German), and this seems to be now the case with French.--In music, accent is the stress or emphasis laid upon certain notes of a bar. The first note of a bar has the strongest accent, but weaker accents are given to the first notes of subordinate parts of the bars, as to the third, fifth, and seventh in a bar of eight quavers.

ACCEN'TOR (_Accentor modul[=a]ris_), or HEDGE ACCENTOR, a British bird of the warbler family. See _Hedge Warbler_.

ACCEP'TANCE, in law, the act by which a person binds himself to pay a bill of exchange drawn upon him. (See _Bill_.) No acceptance is valid unless made in writing on the bill, but an acceptance may be either absolute or conditional, that is, stipulating some alteration in the amount or date of payment, or some condition to be fulfilled previous to payment.

AC'CESSARY, or AC'CESSORY, in law, a person guilty of an offence by connivance or participation, either before or after the act committed, as by command, advice, concealment, &c. An accessary _before the fact_ is one who procures or counsels another to commit a crime, and is not present at its commission; an accessary _after the fact_ is one who, knowing a felony to have been committed, gives assistance of any kind to the felon so as to hinder him from being apprehended, tried, or suffering punishment. An accessary before the fact may be tried and punished in all respects as if he were the principal. In high treason, all who participate are regarded as principals.

ACCIDEN'TALS, notes introduced in the course of a piece of music in a different key from that in which the passage where they occur is principally written. They are represented by the sign of a sharp, flat, or natural immediately before the note which is to be raised or lowered.

ACCIPITRES (ak-sip'i-tr[=e]z), the name given by Linnaeus and Cuvier to the rapacious birds now usually called Raptores (q.v.).

ACCLIMATIZA'TION, the process of accustoming plants or animals to live and propagate in a climate different from that to which they are indigenous, or the change which the constitution of an animal or plant undergoes under new climatic conditions, in the direction of adaptation to those conditions. The systematic study of acclimatization has only been entered upon in very recent times, and the little progress that has been made in it has been more in the direction of formulating anticipative, if not arbitrary hypotheses, than of actual discovery and acquisition of facts. The best-known society founded, for the purpose of naturalizing animals and plants, is the Societe d'Acclimatation in Paris. It opened the Jardin d'Acclimatation in 1860. See _Tropical Hygiene_. The term is sometimes applied to the case of animals or plants taking readily to a new country with a climate and other circumstances similar to what they have left, such as European animals and plants in America and New Zealand: but this is more properly _naturalization_ than acclimatization.--In agriculture the word is used with reference to stock, principally sheep, 'acclimatized' to a particular area, a special allowance being made by the landlord on transference of the farm and stock in respect of the acclimatization of the sheep. The value assigned to the advantages resulting from acclimatization of stocks varies considerably. In Argyllshire, for instance, Dumbartonshire, and the western portion of Perthshire the rates are high, while in the south of Scotland and the north of England they are much lower.

ACCOLADE (ak-o-l[=a]d'; Fr., from Lat. _ad_, to, _collum_, the neck), the ceremony used in conferring knighthood, anciently consisting either in the embrace given by the person who conferred the honour of knighthood or in a light blow on the neck or the cheek, latterly consisting in the ceremony of striking the candidate with a naked sword.

ACCOL'TI, Benedetto, an Italian lawyer, born at Arezzo in Tuscany in 1415, died at Florence in 1466. He was secretary to the Florentine republic, 1459, and author of a work on the Crusades which is said to have furnished Tasso with matter for his _Jerusalem Delivered_.

ACCOMMODA'TION BILL, a bill of exchange drawn and accepted to raise money on, and not given, like a genuine bill of exchange, in payment of a debt, but merely intended to accommodate the drawer: colloquially called a _wind bill_ and a _kite_.

ACCOMMODA'TION LADDER, a light ladder hung over the side of a ship at the gangway to facilitate ascending from, or descending to, boats.

ACCOM'PANIMENT, in music, is that part of music which serves for the support of the principal melody.

ACCOR'DION, a keyed musical wind-instrument similar to the concertina, being in the form of a small box, containing a number of metallic reeds fixed at one of their extremities, the sides of the box forming a folding apparatus which acts as a bellows to supply the wind, and thus set the reeds in vibration, and produce the notes both of melody and harmony. The accordion was invented by Damian of Vienna in 1829.

ACCOUNTANT, a person whose chief business is with accounts and the drawing up of financial statements and balance-sheets. An accountant is an important official in banks, railways, and certain other institutions, and many persons carry on the business of accountant as a distinct profession, auditing the books of merchants, joint-stock companies, &c. There are several bodies of accountants in the United Kingdom incorporated by royal charter, and hence specially distinguished as 'chartered accountants' (C.A.). Since 1919 women are admitted as members of the Society of Incorporated Accountants.--BIBLIOGRAPHY: L. R. Dicksee, _Advanced Accounting_; G. Lisle, _Encyclopaedia of Accounting_ (8 vols.).

AC'CRA, a British settlement in Africa, in a swampy situation, capital of Gold Coast, about 75 miles east of Cape Coast Castle. Exports gold-dust, ivory, gums, palm-oil; imports cottons, cutlery, &c. Pop. 20,000.

AC'CRINGTON, a municipal borough of England, Lancashire, 5 miles east of Blackburn, with large cotton factories, print-works and bleaching-greens, and coal-mines. Pop. 43,610. Accrington was created a parliamentary borough in 1918.

ACCU'MULATOR, a name applied to a kind of electric battery by means of which electric energy can be stored and rendered portable. In the usual form each battery forms a cylindrical leaden vessel, containing alternate sheets of metallic lead and minium wrapped in felt and rolled into a spiral wetted with acidulated water. On being charged with electricity the energy may be preserved till required for use.

ACCU'SATIVE CASE, in Latin and some other languages, the term applied to the case which designates the object to which the action of any verb is immediately directed, corresponding, generally speaking, to the _objective_ in English.

ACE, in aviation the name 'ace' is given to a flying-man who has distinguished himself by bringing down a large number (sometimes given as ten) of enemy machines. The word is used colloquially, and was borrowed from the French Air Force during the European War.

ACEPH'ALA, in zoology, the headless Mollusca or those which want a distinct head, corresponding to those that have bivalve shells and are also called _Lamellibranchiata_.

A'CER, the genus of plants (nat. ord. Aceraceae) to which belongs the maple.

ACERRA ([.a]-cher'[.a]), a town in South Italy, 9 miles north-east of Naples, the see of a bishop, in a fertile but unhealthy region. Pop. 17,878.

ACETAB'ULUM, an anatomical term applied to any cup-like cavity, as that of a bone to receive the protuberant end of another bone, the cavity, for instance, that receives the end of the thigh-bone.

ACETATES (as'e-t[=a]ts), salts of acetic acid. The acetates of most commercial or manufacturing importance are those of aluminium and iron, which are used in calico-printing; of copper, which as verdigris is used as a colour; and of lead, best known as sugar of lead. The acetates of potassium, sodium, and ammonium, of iron, zinc, and lead, and the acetate of morphia, are employed in medicine.

ACET'IC ACID, an acid produced by the oxidation of common alcohol, and of many other organic substances. Pure acetic acid has a very sour taste and pungent smell, burns the skin, and is poisonous. From freezing at ordinary temperatures (58deg or 59deg) it is known as _glacial acetic acid_. Vinegar is simply dilute acetic acid. Acetic acid is largely used in the arts, in medicine, and for domestic purposes. See _Vinegar_.

ACET'IC ETHERS, or ACETIC ESTERS, acetates of alcohol radicals. The common ester--ethyl acetate--is a volatile colourless liquid, manufactured by distilling a mixture of alcohol, oil of vitriol, and acetic acid, and used for flavouring purposes.

ACETONE (as'), a constituent of ordinary wood spirit, a colourless volatile liquid used as a solvent, the simplest of the _ketones_.

ACET'YLENE, C_2H_2, is a substance composed of two elements, carbon and hydrogen, and belonging to a class of compounds known as hydrocarbons. It is formed in the incomplete combustion of many hydrocarbons and also of coal-gas, and may be produced in a variety of ways, but is now made almost entirely from calcium carbide. Acetylene has been known for a long time, but only since 1870 has it been produced in any quantity. After the development of the electric furnace it was found that calcium oxide, quicklime, heated with carbon to the high temperature possible in such a furnace, is transformed into calcium carbide, and this compound reacts with water, generating acetylene. A great deal of heat is developed on adding water to calcium carbide, so that care has to be taken in generating acetylene. Various devices are in use for bringing the two substances in contact slowly, and for keeping the temperature low. When carbon and hydrogen combine to form acetylene a large amount of heat is used up, so that much heat is evolved when acetylene decomposes again, and once decomposition starts sufficient heat is developed to decompose the whole volume of gas.

Acetylene is a colourless gas slightly soluble in water and very sparingly soluble in brine. When pure it has little or no odour, but as ordinarily prepared it has a strong unpleasant odour due to traces of impurities such as sulphuretted hydrogen, phosphine, &c. The gas can be liquefied easily, and in the liquid state is highly explosive. It burns with an exceedingly sooty flame, but if it is allowed to pass through a very small orifice the carbon liberated becomes incandescent and acetylene burns with an intense white flame. It is largely used as an illuminant and for the production of great heat. As an illuminant the gas is produced in specially-constructed generators. It is led through iron pipes and burned from an acetylene burner, or it may be used with special types of incandescent mantles. Acetylene readily combines with copper and with silver to form metallic acetylides which are very explosive, hence pipes through which acetylene is passing must not be made of brass or copper. Acetylene mixed with air and brought in contact with an ignited body explodes even more violently than a mixture of air and coal-gas.

Large quantities of acetylene are generated and stored for oxy-acetylene welding. Acetylene, burning in oxygen, gives an intensely hot flame (about 2000deg-3000deg C.), sufficiently hot to melt iron. Although liquid acetylene is unstable, and even the gas, under slight pressure, is also unstable, it may be transported safely if dissolved in acetone. Acetone dissolves a large volume of acetylene, and this solution is quite stable and may be stored in iron cylinders and used for various purposes. If it is to be stored it must be carefully purified from phosphine, which is apt to cause sudden decomposition. Recently, numerous patents have been taken out for the preparation of compounds such as acetaldehyde, acetic acid, acetic anhydride, &c., using acetylene as starting-point, so that many substances may be prepared from acetylene just as many substances may be prepared from benzene.

ACHAEANS (a-k[=e]'anz), one of the four races into which the ancient Greeks were divided. In early times they inhabited a part of Northern Greece and of the Peloponnesus. They are represented by Homer as a brave and warlike people, and so distinguished were they that he usually calls the Greeks in general Achaeans. Afterwards they settled in the district of the Peloponnesus, called after them Achaia, and forming a narrow belt of coast on the south side of the Gulf of Corinth. From very early times a confederacy or league existed among the twelve towns of this region. After the death of Alexander the Great it was broken up, but was revived again, 280 B.C., and from this time grew in power till it spread over the whole Peloponnesus. It was finally dissolved by the Romans, 147 B.C., and after this the whole of Greece, except Thessaly, was called Achaia or Achaea. Achaia with Elis now forms a nomarchy of the kingdom of Greece. Pop. 254,728. Cf. Freeman, _History of Federal Government in Greece and Italy_, London, 1893.

ACHAEMENIDAE (ak-[=e]-men'i-d[=e]) a dynasty of ancient Persian kings, being that to which the great Cyrus belonged.

ACHAIA (a-k[=a]'ya). See _Achaeans_.

ACHALZIK. See _Akhalzik_.

ACHARD ([.a]_h_'[.a]rt), Franz Karl, a German chemist, born 1753, died 1821, principally known by his invention (1789-1800) of a process for manufacturing sugar from beetroot. In 1801 the first beet-sugar factory ever established was started by him in Silesia.

ACHARD ([.a]-sh[:a]r), Louis Amedee Eugene, born 1814, died 1875, French journalist, novelist, and playwright. He was best known as a novelist; wrote the novels _Belle Rose_, _La Chasse royale_, _Chateaux en Espagne_, _Robe de Nessus_, _Chaines de fer_, &c. His _Lettres Parisiennes_ were published in 1838 under the pseudonym of Grimm.

ACHATES (a-k[=a]'t[=e]z), a companion of Aeneas in his wanderings subsequent to his flight from Troy. He is always distinguished in Virgil's _Aeneid_ by the epithet _fidus_, 'faithful', and has become typical of a faithful friend and companion.