Authorities.—See generally A. Maskell,Ivories(1906), and the bibliography there given.On Early Christian and Early Byzantine ivories, the following works may be mentioned: Abbé Cabrol,Dictionnaire de l’archéologie chrétienne(in progress); O. M. Dalton,Catalogue of Early Christian Antiquities in British Museum(1902); E. Dobbert,Zur Geschichte der Elfenbeinsculptur(1885); H. Graeven,Antike Schnitzereien(1903); R. Kanzler,Gli avori ... Vaticana(1903); Kondakov,L’Art byzantin; A. Maskell,Cantor Lectures, Soc. of Arts (1906) (lecture II., “Early Christian and Early Byzantine Ivories”); Strzygowski,Byzantinische Denkmäler(1891); V. Schulze,Archäologie der altchristlichen Kunst(1895); G. Stuhlfauth,Die altchristl. Elfenbeinplastik(1896).On the consular diptychs, see H. F. Clinton,Fasti Romani(1845-1850); A. Gori,Thesaurus veterum diptychorum(1759); C. Lenormant,Trésor de numismatique et de glyptique(1834-1846); F. Pulszky,Catalogue of the Féjérváry Ivories(1856).On the artistic interest generally, see also C. Alabaster,Catalogue of Chinese Objects in the South Kensington Museum; Sir R. Alcock,Art and Art Industries in Japan(1878); Barraud et Martin,Le Bâton pastoral(1856); Bouchot,Les Reliures d’art à la Bibliothèque Nationale; Bretagne,Sur les peignes liturgiques; H. Cole,Indian Art at Delhi(1904); R. Garrucci,Storia dell’ arte Christiana(1881); A. Jacquemart,Histoire du mobilier(1876); J. Labarte,Histoire des arts industriels(1864); C. Lind,Über den Krummstab(1863); Sir F. Madden, “Lewis Chessmen” (inArchaeologia, vol. xxiv. 1832); W. Maskell,Ivories, Ancient and Medieval in the South Kensington Museum(1872); A. Michel,Histoire de l’art; E. Molinier,Histoire générale des arts(1896); E. Oldfield,Catalogue of Fictile Ivories sold by the Arundel Society(1855); A. H. Pitt Rivers,Antique Works of Art from Benin(1900); A. C. Quatremère de Quincy,Le Jupiter Olympien(1815); Charles Scherer,Elfenbeinplastik seit der Renaissance(1903); E. du Sommerard,Les Arts au moyen âge(1838-1846); G. Stephens,Runic Caskets(1866-1868); A. Venturi,Storia dell’ arte Italiana(1901); Sir G. Watt,Indian Art at Delhi(1904); J. O. Westwood,Fictile Ivories in the South Kensington Museum(1876). Sir M. D. Wyatt,Notices of Sculpture in Ivory(1856).
Authorities.—See generally A. Maskell,Ivories(1906), and the bibliography there given.
On Early Christian and Early Byzantine ivories, the following works may be mentioned: Abbé Cabrol,Dictionnaire de l’archéologie chrétienne(in progress); O. M. Dalton,Catalogue of Early Christian Antiquities in British Museum(1902); E. Dobbert,Zur Geschichte der Elfenbeinsculptur(1885); H. Graeven,Antike Schnitzereien(1903); R. Kanzler,Gli avori ... Vaticana(1903); Kondakov,L’Art byzantin; A. Maskell,Cantor Lectures, Soc. of Arts (1906) (lecture II., “Early Christian and Early Byzantine Ivories”); Strzygowski,Byzantinische Denkmäler(1891); V. Schulze,Archäologie der altchristlichen Kunst(1895); G. Stuhlfauth,Die altchristl. Elfenbeinplastik(1896).
On the consular diptychs, see H. F. Clinton,Fasti Romani(1845-1850); A. Gori,Thesaurus veterum diptychorum(1759); C. Lenormant,Trésor de numismatique et de glyptique(1834-1846); F. Pulszky,Catalogue of the Féjérváry Ivories(1856).
On the artistic interest generally, see also C. Alabaster,Catalogue of Chinese Objects in the South Kensington Museum; Sir R. Alcock,Art and Art Industries in Japan(1878); Barraud et Martin,Le Bâton pastoral(1856); Bouchot,Les Reliures d’art à la Bibliothèque Nationale; Bretagne,Sur les peignes liturgiques; H. Cole,Indian Art at Delhi(1904); R. Garrucci,Storia dell’ arte Christiana(1881); A. Jacquemart,Histoire du mobilier(1876); J. Labarte,Histoire des arts industriels(1864); C. Lind,Über den Krummstab(1863); Sir F. Madden, “Lewis Chessmen” (inArchaeologia, vol. xxiv. 1832); W. Maskell,Ivories, Ancient and Medieval in the South Kensington Museum(1872); A. Michel,Histoire de l’art; E. Molinier,Histoire générale des arts(1896); E. Oldfield,Catalogue of Fictile Ivories sold by the Arundel Society(1855); A. H. Pitt Rivers,Antique Works of Art from Benin(1900); A. C. Quatremère de Quincy,Le Jupiter Olympien(1815); Charles Scherer,Elfenbeinplastik seit der Renaissance(1903); E. du Sommerard,Les Arts au moyen âge(1838-1846); G. Stephens,Runic Caskets(1866-1868); A. Venturi,Storia dell’ arte Italiana(1901); Sir G. Watt,Indian Art at Delhi(1904); J. O. Westwood,Fictile Ivories in the South Kensington Museum(1876). Sir M. D. Wyatt,Notices of Sculpture in Ivory(1856).
(A. Ml.)
1Lecture before the Society of Arts (1856).
1Lecture before the Society of Arts (1856).
IVORY COAST(Côte d’Ivoire), a French West African colony, bounded S. by the Gulf of Guinea, W. by Liberia and French Guinea, N. by the colony of Upper Senegal and Niger, E. by the Gold Coast. Its area is approximately 120,000 sq. m., and its population possibly 2,000,000, of whom some 600 are Europeans. Official estimates (1908) placed the native population as low as 980,000.
Physical Features.—The coast-line extends from 70° 30′ to 3° 7′ W. and has a length of 380 m. It forms an arc of a circle of which the convexity turns slightly to the north; neither bay nor promontory breaks the regularity of its outline. The shore is low, bordered in itseastern half with lagoons, and difficult of access on account of the submarine bar of sand which stretches along nearly the whole of the coast, and also because of the heavy surf caused by the great Atlantic billows. The principal lagoons, going W. to E. are those of Grand Lahou, Grand Bassam or Ebrié and Assini. The coast plains extend inland about 40 m. Beyond the ground rises in steep slopes to a general level of over 1000 ft., the plateau being traversed in several directions by hills rising 2000 ft. and over, and cut by valleys with a general south-eastern trend. In the north-east, in the district of Kong (q.v.), the country becomes mountainous, Mt. Kommono attaining a height of 4757 ft. In the north-west, by the Liberian frontier, the mountains in the Gon region rise over 6000 ft. Starting from the Liberian frontier, the chief rivers are the Cavalla (or Kavalli), the San Pedro, the Sassandra (240 m. long), the Bandama (225 m.), formed by the White and the Red Bandama, the Komoe (360 m.) and the Bia. All these streams are interrupted by rapids as they descend from the highlands to the plain and are unnavigable by steamers save for a few miles from their mouths. The rivers named all drain to the Gulf of Guinea; the rivers in the extreme north of the colony belong to the Niger system, being affluents of the Bani or Mahel Balevel branch of that river. The watershed runs roughly from 9° N. in the west to 10° N. in the east, and is marked by a line of hills rising about 650 ft. above the level of the plateau. The climate is in general very hot and unhealthy, the rainfall being very heavy. In some parts of the plateau healthier conditions prevail. The fauna and flora are similar to those of the Gold Coast and Liberia. Primeval forest extends from the coast plains to about 8° N., covering nearly 50,000 sq. m.
Physical Features.—The coast-line extends from 70° 30′ to 3° 7′ W. and has a length of 380 m. It forms an arc of a circle of which the convexity turns slightly to the north; neither bay nor promontory breaks the regularity of its outline. The shore is low, bordered in itseastern half with lagoons, and difficult of access on account of the submarine bar of sand which stretches along nearly the whole of the coast, and also because of the heavy surf caused by the great Atlantic billows. The principal lagoons, going W. to E. are those of Grand Lahou, Grand Bassam or Ebrié and Assini. The coast plains extend inland about 40 m. Beyond the ground rises in steep slopes to a general level of over 1000 ft., the plateau being traversed in several directions by hills rising 2000 ft. and over, and cut by valleys with a general south-eastern trend. In the north-east, in the district of Kong (q.v.), the country becomes mountainous, Mt. Kommono attaining a height of 4757 ft. In the north-west, by the Liberian frontier, the mountains in the Gon region rise over 6000 ft. Starting from the Liberian frontier, the chief rivers are the Cavalla (or Kavalli), the San Pedro, the Sassandra (240 m. long), the Bandama (225 m.), formed by the White and the Red Bandama, the Komoe (360 m.) and the Bia. All these streams are interrupted by rapids as they descend from the highlands to the plain and are unnavigable by steamers save for a few miles from their mouths. The rivers named all drain to the Gulf of Guinea; the rivers in the extreme north of the colony belong to the Niger system, being affluents of the Bani or Mahel Balevel branch of that river. The watershed runs roughly from 9° N. in the west to 10° N. in the east, and is marked by a line of hills rising about 650 ft. above the level of the plateau. The climate is in general very hot and unhealthy, the rainfall being very heavy. In some parts of the plateau healthier conditions prevail. The fauna and flora are similar to those of the Gold Coast and Liberia. Primeval forest extends from the coast plains to about 8° N., covering nearly 50,000 sq. m.
Inhabitants.—The coast districts are inhabited by Negro tribes allied on the one hand to the Krumen (q.v.) and on the other to the people of Ashanti (q.v.). The Assinis are of Ashanti origin, and chiefly of the Ochin and Agni tribes. Farther west are found the “Jack-Jacks” and the “Kwa-Kwas,” sobriquets given respectively to the Aradian and Avikom by the early European traders. The Kwa-Kwa are said to be so called because their salutation “resembles the cry of a duck.” In the interior the Negro strain predominates but with an admixture of Hamitic or Berber blood. The tribes represented include Jamans, Wongaras and Mandingos (q.v.), some of whom are Moslems. The Mandingos have intermarried largely with the Bambara or Sienuf, an agricultural people of more than average intelligence widely spread over the country, of which they are considered to be the indigenous race. The Bambara themselves are perhaps only a distinct branch of the original Mandingo stock. The Baulé, who occupy the central part of the colony, are of Agni-Ashanti origin. The bulk of the inhabitants are fetish worshippers. On the northern confines of the great forest belt live races of cannibals, whose existence was first made known by Captain d’Ollone in 1899. In general the coast tribes are peaceful. They have the reputation of being neither industrious nor intelligent. The traders are chiefly Fanti, Sierra Leonians, Senegalese and Mandingos.
Towns.—The chief towns on the coast are Grand and Little Bassam, Jackville and Assini in the east and Grand Lahou, Sassandra and Tabu in the west. Grand and Little Bassam are built on the strip of sand which separates the Grand Bassam or Ebrié lagoon from the sea. This lagoon forms a commodious harbour, once the bar has been crossed. Grand Bassam is situated at the point where the lagoon and the river Komoe enter the sea and there is a minimum depth of 12 ft. of water over the bar. The town (pop. 5000, including about 100 Europeans) is the seat of the customs administration and of the judicial department, and is the largest centre for the trade of the colony. A wharf equipped with cranes extends beyond the surf line and the town is served by a light railway. It is notoriously unhealthy; yellow fever is endemic. Little Bassam, renamed by the French Port Bouet, possesses an advantage over the other ports on the coast, as at this point there is no bar. The sea floor is here rent by a chasm, known as the “Bottomless Pit,” the waters having a depth of 65 ft. Abijean (Abidjan), on the north side of the lagoon opposite Port Bouet is the starting-point of a railway to the oil and rubber regions. The half-mile of foreshore separating the port from the lagoon was in 1904-1907 pierced by a canal, but the canal silted up as soon as cut, and in 1908 the French decided to make Grand Bassam the chief port of the colony. Assini is an important centre for the rubber trade of Ashanti. On the northern shore of the Bassam lagoon, and 19 m. from Grand Bassam, is the capital of the colony, the native name Adjame having been changed into Bingerville, in honour of Captain L. G. Binger (see below). The town is built on a hill and is fairly healthy.In the interior are several towns, though none of any size numerically. The best known are Koroko, Kong and Bona, entrepôts for the trade of the middle Niger, and Bontuku, on the caravan route to Sokoto and the meeting-place of the merchants from Kong and Timbuktu engaged in the kola-nut trade with Ashanti and the Gold Coast. Bontuku is peopled largely by Wongara and Hausa, and most of the inhabitants, who number some 3000, are Moslems. The town, which was founded in the 15th century or earlier, is walled, contains various mosques and generally presents the appearance of an eastern city.Agriculture and Trade.—The natives cultivate maize, plantains, bananas, pineapples, limes, pepper, cotton, &c., and live easily on the products of their gardens, with occasional help from fishing and hunting. They also weave cloth, make pottery and smelt iron. Europeans introduced the cultivation of coffee, which gives good results. The forests are rich in palm-tree products, rubber and mahogany, which constitute the chief articles of export. The rubber goes almost exclusively to England, as does also the mahogany. The palm-oil and palm kernels are sent almost entirely to France. The value of the external trade of the colony exceeded £1,000,000 for the first time in 1904. About 50% of the trade is with Great Britain. The export of ivory, for which the country was formerly famous, has almost ceased, the elephants being largely driven out of the colony. Cotton goods, by far the most important of the imports, come almost entirely from Great Britain. Gold exists and many native villages have small “placer” mines. In 1901 the government of the colony began the granting of mining concessions, in which British capital was largely invested. There are many ancient mines in the country, disused since the close of the 18th century, if not earlier.Communications.—The railway from Little Bassam serves the east central part of the colony and runs to Katiola, in Kong, a total distance of 250 m. The line is of metre gauge. The cutting of two canals, whereby communication is effected by lagoon between Assini and Grand Lahou via Bassam, followed the construction of the railway. Grand and Little Bassam are in regular communication by steamer with Bordeaux, Marseilles, Liverpool, Antwerp and Hamburg. Grand Bassam is connected with Europe by submarine cable via Dakar. Telegraph lines connect the coast with all the principal stations in the interior, with the Gold Coast, and with the other French colonies in West Africa.Administration, &c.—The colony is under the general superintendence of the government general of French West Africa. At the head of the local administration is a lieutenant-governor, who is assisted by a council on which nominated unofficial members have seats. To a large extent the native forms of government are maintained under European administrators responsible for the preservation of order, the colony for this purpose being divided into a number of “circles” each with its local government. The colony has a separate budget and is self-supporting. Revenue is derived chiefly from customs receipts and a capitation tax of frs. 2.50 (2s.), instituted in 1901 and levied on all persons over ten years old. The budget for 1906 balanced at £120,400.
Towns.—The chief towns on the coast are Grand and Little Bassam, Jackville and Assini in the east and Grand Lahou, Sassandra and Tabu in the west. Grand and Little Bassam are built on the strip of sand which separates the Grand Bassam or Ebrié lagoon from the sea. This lagoon forms a commodious harbour, once the bar has been crossed. Grand Bassam is situated at the point where the lagoon and the river Komoe enter the sea and there is a minimum depth of 12 ft. of water over the bar. The town (pop. 5000, including about 100 Europeans) is the seat of the customs administration and of the judicial department, and is the largest centre for the trade of the colony. A wharf equipped with cranes extends beyond the surf line and the town is served by a light railway. It is notoriously unhealthy; yellow fever is endemic. Little Bassam, renamed by the French Port Bouet, possesses an advantage over the other ports on the coast, as at this point there is no bar. The sea floor is here rent by a chasm, known as the “Bottomless Pit,” the waters having a depth of 65 ft. Abijean (Abidjan), on the north side of the lagoon opposite Port Bouet is the starting-point of a railway to the oil and rubber regions. The half-mile of foreshore separating the port from the lagoon was in 1904-1907 pierced by a canal, but the canal silted up as soon as cut, and in 1908 the French decided to make Grand Bassam the chief port of the colony. Assini is an important centre for the rubber trade of Ashanti. On the northern shore of the Bassam lagoon, and 19 m. from Grand Bassam, is the capital of the colony, the native name Adjame having been changed into Bingerville, in honour of Captain L. G. Binger (see below). The town is built on a hill and is fairly healthy.
In the interior are several towns, though none of any size numerically. The best known are Koroko, Kong and Bona, entrepôts for the trade of the middle Niger, and Bontuku, on the caravan route to Sokoto and the meeting-place of the merchants from Kong and Timbuktu engaged in the kola-nut trade with Ashanti and the Gold Coast. Bontuku is peopled largely by Wongara and Hausa, and most of the inhabitants, who number some 3000, are Moslems. The town, which was founded in the 15th century or earlier, is walled, contains various mosques and generally presents the appearance of an eastern city.
Agriculture and Trade.—The natives cultivate maize, plantains, bananas, pineapples, limes, pepper, cotton, &c., and live easily on the products of their gardens, with occasional help from fishing and hunting. They also weave cloth, make pottery and smelt iron. Europeans introduced the cultivation of coffee, which gives good results. The forests are rich in palm-tree products, rubber and mahogany, which constitute the chief articles of export. The rubber goes almost exclusively to England, as does also the mahogany. The palm-oil and palm kernels are sent almost entirely to France. The value of the external trade of the colony exceeded £1,000,000 for the first time in 1904. About 50% of the trade is with Great Britain. The export of ivory, for which the country was formerly famous, has almost ceased, the elephants being largely driven out of the colony. Cotton goods, by far the most important of the imports, come almost entirely from Great Britain. Gold exists and many native villages have small “placer” mines. In 1901 the government of the colony began the granting of mining concessions, in which British capital was largely invested. There are many ancient mines in the country, disused since the close of the 18th century, if not earlier.
Communications.—The railway from Little Bassam serves the east central part of the colony and runs to Katiola, in Kong, a total distance of 250 m. The line is of metre gauge. The cutting of two canals, whereby communication is effected by lagoon between Assini and Grand Lahou via Bassam, followed the construction of the railway. Grand and Little Bassam are in regular communication by steamer with Bordeaux, Marseilles, Liverpool, Antwerp and Hamburg. Grand Bassam is connected with Europe by submarine cable via Dakar. Telegraph lines connect the coast with all the principal stations in the interior, with the Gold Coast, and with the other French colonies in West Africa.
Administration, &c.—The colony is under the general superintendence of the government general of French West Africa. At the head of the local administration is a lieutenant-governor, who is assisted by a council on which nominated unofficial members have seats. To a large extent the native forms of government are maintained under European administrators responsible for the preservation of order, the colony for this purpose being divided into a number of “circles” each with its local government. The colony has a separate budget and is self-supporting. Revenue is derived chiefly from customs receipts and a capitation tax of frs. 2.50 (2s.), instituted in 1901 and levied on all persons over ten years old. The budget for 1906 balanced at £120,400.
History.—The Ivory Coast is stated to have been visited by Dieppe merchants in the 14th century, and was made known by the Portuguese discoveries towards the end of the 15th century. It was thereafter frequented by traders for ivory, slaves and other commodities. There was a French settlement at Assini, 1700-1704, and a French factory was maintained at Grand Bassam from 1700 to 1707. In the early part of the 19th century several French traders had established themselves along the coast. In 1830 Admiral (then Commandant) Bouët-Willaumez (1808-1871) began a series of surveys and expeditions which yielded valuable results. In 1842 he obtained from the native chiefs cessions of territory at Assini and Grand Bassam to France and the towns named were occupied in 1843. From that time French influence gradually extended along the coast, but no attempt was made to penetrate inland. As one result of the Franco-Prussian War, France in 1872 withdrew her garrisons, handing over the care of the establishments to a merchant named Verdier, to whom an annual subsidy of £800 was paid. This merchant sent an agent into the interior who made friendly treaties between France and some of the native chiefs. In 1883, in view of the claims of other European powers to territory in Africa, France again took over the actual administration of Assini and Bassam. Between 1887 and 1889 Captain Binger (an officer of marine infantry, and subsequently director of the African department at the colonial ministry) traversed the whole region between the coast and the Niger, visited Bontuku and the Kong country, and signed protectorate treaties with the chiefs. The kingdom of Jaman, it may be mentioned, was for a few months included in the Gold Coast hinterland. In January 1889 a British mission sent by the governor of the Gold Coast concluded a treaty with the king of Jaman at Bontuku, placing his dominions under British protection.The king had, however, previously concluded treaties of “commerce and friendship” with the French, and by the Anglo-French agreement of August 1889 Jaman, with Bontuku, was recognized as French territory. In 1892 Captain Binger made further explorations in the interior of the Ivory Coast, and in 1893 he was appointed the first governor of the colony on its erection into an administration distinct from that of Senegal. Among other famous explorers who helped to make known the hinterland was Colonel (then Captain) Marchand. It was to the zone between the Kong states and the hinterland of Liberia that Samory (seeSenegal) fled for refuge before he was taken prisoner (1898), and for a short time he was master of Kong. The boundary of the colony on the west was settled by Franco-Liberian agreements of 1892 and subsequent dates; that on the east by the Anglo-French agreements of 1893 and 1898. The northern boundary was fixed in 1899 on the division of the middle Niger territories (up to that date officially called the French Sudan) among the other French West African colonies. The systematic development of the colony, the opening up of the hinterland and the exploitation of its economic resources date from the appointment of Captain Binger as governor, a post he held for over three years. The work he began has been carried on zealously and effectively by subsequent governors, who have succeeded in winning the co-operation of the natives.
In the older books of travel are often found the alternative names for this region, Tooth Coast (Côte des Dents) or Kwa-Kwa Coast, and, less frequently, the Coast of the Five and Six Stripes (alluding to a kind of cotton fabric in favour with the natives). The term Côte des Dents continued in general use in France until the closing years of the 19th century.
SeeDix ans à la Côte d’Ivoire(Paris, 1906) by F. J. Clozel, governor of the colony, andNotre colonie de la Côte d’Ivoire(Paris, 1903) by R. Villamur and Richaud. These two volumes deal with the history, geography, zoology and economic condition of the Ivory Coast.La Côte d’Ivoireby Michellet and Clement describes the administrative and land systems, &c. Another volume also calledLa Côte d’Ivoire(Paris, 1908) is an official monograph on the colony. For ethnology consultCoutumes indigènes de la Côte d’Ivoire(Paris, 1902) by F. J. Clozel and R. Villamur, andLes Coutumes Agni, by R. Villamur and Delafosse. Of books of travel seeDu Niger au Golfe de Guinée par Kong(Paris, 1892) by L. G. Binger, andMission Hostains-d’Ollone 1890-1900(Paris, 1901) by Captain d’Ollone. ACarte de la Côte d’Ivoireby A. Meunier, on the scale of 1:500,000 (6 sheets), was published in Paris, 1905. Annual reports on the colony are published by the French colonial and the British foreign offices.
SeeDix ans à la Côte d’Ivoire(Paris, 1906) by F. J. Clozel, governor of the colony, andNotre colonie de la Côte d’Ivoire(Paris, 1903) by R. Villamur and Richaud. These two volumes deal with the history, geography, zoology and economic condition of the Ivory Coast.La Côte d’Ivoireby Michellet and Clement describes the administrative and land systems, &c. Another volume also calledLa Côte d’Ivoire(Paris, 1908) is an official monograph on the colony. For ethnology consultCoutumes indigènes de la Côte d’Ivoire(Paris, 1902) by F. J. Clozel and R. Villamur, andLes Coutumes Agni, by R. Villamur and Delafosse. Of books of travel seeDu Niger au Golfe de Guinée par Kong(Paris, 1892) by L. G. Binger, andMission Hostains-d’Ollone 1890-1900(Paris, 1901) by Captain d’Ollone. ACarte de la Côte d’Ivoireby A. Meunier, on the scale of 1:500,000 (6 sheets), was published in Paris, 1905. Annual reports on the colony are published by the French colonial and the British foreign offices.
IVREA(anc.Eporedia), a town and episcopal see of Piedmont, Italy, in the province of Turin, from which it is 38 m. N.N.E. by rail and 27 m. direct, situated 770 ft. above sea-level, on the Dora Baltea at the point where it leaves the mountains. Pop. (1901) 6047 (town), 11,696 (commune). The cathedral was built between 973 and 1005; the gallery round the back of the apse and the crypt have plain cubical capitals of this period. The twocampaniliflanking the apse at each end of the side aisle are the oldest example of this architectural arrangement. The isolated tower, which is all that remains of the ancient abbey of S. Stefano, is slightly later. The hill above the town is crowned by the imposing Castello delle Quattro Torri, built in 1358, and now a prison. One of the four towers was destroyed by lightning in 1676. A tramway runs to Santhià.
The ancient Eporedia, standing at the junction of the roads from Augusta Taurinorum and Vercellae, at the point where the road to Augusta Praetoria enters the narrow valley of the Duria (Dora Baltea), was a military position of considerable importance belonging to the Salassi who inhabited the whole upper valley of the Duria. The importance of the gold-mines of the district led to its seizure by the Romans in 143B.C.The centre of the mining industry seems to have been Victumulae (seeTicinum), until in 100B.C.a colony of Roman citizens was founded at Eporedia itself; but the prosperity of this was only assured when the Salassi were finally defeated in 25B.C.and Augusta Praetoria founded. There are remains of a theatre of the time of the Antonines and the Ponte Vecchio rests on Roman foundations.
In the middle ages Ivrea was the capital of a Lombard duchy, and later of a marquisate; both Berengar II. (950) and Arduin (1002) became kings of Italy for a short period. Later it submitted to the marquises of Monferrato, and in the middle of the 14th century passed to the house of Savoy.
(T. As.)
IVRY-SUR-SEINE,a town of northern France, in the department of Seine, near the left bank of the Seine, less than 1 m. S.S.E. of the fortifications of Paris. Pop. (1906) 30,532. Ivry has a large hospital for incurables. It manufactures organs, earthenware, wall-paper and rubber, and has engineering works, breweries, and oil-works, its trade being facilitated by a port on the Seine. The town is dominated by a fort of the older line of defence of Paris.
IVY(A.S.ifig, Ger.Epheu, perhaps connected withapium,ἄπιον), the collective designation of certain species and varieties ofHedera, a member of the natural order Araliaceae. There are fifty species of ivy recorded in modern books, but they may be reduced to two, or at the most, three. The European ivy,Hedera Helix(fig. 1), is a plant subject to infinite variety in the forms and colours of its leaves, but the tendency of which is always to a three- to five-lobed form when climbing and a regular ovate form of leaf when producing flower and fruit. The African ivy,H. canariensis, often regarded as a variety ofH. Helixand known as the Irish ivy, is a native of North Africa and the adjacent islands. It is the common large-leaved climbing ivy, and also varies, but in a less degree thanH. Helix, from which its leaves differ in their larger size, rich deep green colour, and a prevailing tendency to a five-lobed outline. When in fruit the leaves are usually three-lobed, but they are sometimes entire and broadly ovate. The Asiatic ivy,H. colchica(fig. 2), now considered to be a form ofH. Helix, has ovate, obscurely three-lobed leaves of a coriaceous texture and a deep green colour; in the tree or fruiting form the leaves are narrower than in the climbing form, and without any trace of lobes. Distinctive characters are also to be found in the appendages of the pedicels and calyx,H. Helixhaving six-rayed stellate hairs,H. canariensisfifteen-rayed hairs andH. colchicayellowish two-lobed scales.
The Australian ivy,H. australiana, is a small glabrous shrubwith pinnate leaves. It is a native of Queensland, and is practically unknown in cultivation.
It is of the utmost importance to note the difference of characters of the same species of ivy in its two conditions of climbing and fruiting. The first stage of growth, which we will suppose to be from the seed, is essentially scandent, and the leaves are lobed more or less. This stage is accompanied with a plentiful production of the claspers or modified roots by means of which the plant becomes attached and obtains support. When it has reached the summit of the tree or tower, the stems, being no longer able to maintain a perpendicular attitude, fall over and become horizontal or pendent. Coincidently with this change they cease to produce claspers, and the leaves are strikingly modified in form, being now narrower and less lobed than on the ascending stems. In due time this tree-like growth produces terminal umbels of greenish flowers, which have the parts in fives, with the styles united into a very short one. These flowers are succeeded by smooth black or yellow berries, containing two to five seeds. The yellow-berried ivy is met with in northern India and in Italy, but in northern Europe it is known only as a curiosity of the garden, where, if sufficiently sheltered and nourished, it becomes an exceedingly beautiful and fruitful tree.
It is stated in books that some forms of sylvestral ivy never flower, but a negative declaration of this kind is valueless. Sylvestral ivies of great age may be found in woods on the western coasts of Britain that have apparently never flowered, but this is probably to be explained by their inability to surmount the trees supporting them, for until the plant can spread its branches horizontally in full daylight, the flowering or tree-like growth is never formed.
A question of great practical importance arises out of the relation of the plant to its means of support. A moderate growth of ivy is not injurious to trees; still the tendency is from the first inimical to the prosperity of the tree, and at a certain stage it becomes deadly. Therefore the growth of ivy on trees should be kept within reasonable bounds, more especially in the case of trees that are of special value for their beauty, history, or the quality of their timber. In regard to buildings clothed with ivy, there is nothing to be feared so long as the plant does not penetrate the substance of the wall by means of any fissure. Should it thrust its way in, the natural and continuous expansion of its several parts will necessarily hasten the decay of the edifice. But a fair growth of ivy on sound walls that afford no entrance beyond the superficial attachment of the claspers is, without any exception whatever, beneficial. It promotes dryness and warmth, reduces to a minimum the corrosive action of the atmosphere, and is altogether as conservative as it is beautiful.
The economical uses of the ivy are not of great importance. The leaves are eaten greedily by horses, deer, cattle and sheep, and in times of scarcity have proved useful. The flowers afford a good supply of honey to bees; and, as they appear in autumn, they occasionally make amends for the shortcomings of the season. The berries are eaten by wood pigeons, blackbirds and thrushes. From all parts of the plant a balsamic bitter may be obtained, and this in the form ofhederic acidis the only preparation of ivy known to chemists.
In the garden the uses of the ivy are innumerable, and the least known though not the least valuable of them is the cultivation of the plant as a bush or tree, the fruiting growth being selected for this purpose. The variegated tree forms ofH. Helix, with leaves of creamy white, golden green or rich deep orange yellow, soon prove handsome miniature trees, that thrive almost as well in smoky town gardens as in the pure air of the country, and that no ordinary winter will injure in the least. The tree-form of the Asiatic ivy (H. colchica) is scarcely to be equalled in beauty of leafage by any evergreen shrub known to English gardens, and, although in the course of a few years it will attain to a stature of 5 or 6 ft., it is but rarely we meet with it, or indeed with tree ivies of any kind, but little attention having been given to this subject until recent years. The scandent forms are more generally appreciated, and are now much employed in the formation of marginal lines, screens and trained pyramids, as well as for clothing walls. A very striking example of the capabilities of the commonest ivies, when treated artistically as garden plants, may be seen in the Zoological Gardens of Amsterdam, where several paddocks are enclosed with wreaths, garlands and bands of ivy in a most picturesque manner.
About sixty varieties known in gardens are figured and described inThe Ivy, a Monograph, by Shirley Hibberd (1872). To cultivate these is an extremely simple matter, as they will thrive in a poor soil and endure a considerable depth of shade, so that they may with advantage be planted under trees. The common Irish ivy is often to be seen clothing the ground beneath large yew trees where grass would not live, and it is occasionally planted in graveyards in London to form an imitation of grass turf, for which purpose it is admirably suited.
The ivy, like the holly, is a scarce plant on the American continent. In the northern United States and British America the winters are not more severe than the ivy can endure, but the summers are too hot and dry, and the requirements of the plant have not often obtained attention. In districts where native ferns abound the ivy will be found to thrive, and the varieties ofHedera Helixshould have the preference. But in the drier districts ivies might often be planted on the north side of buildings, and, if encouraged with water and careful training for three or four years, would then grow rapidly and train themselves. A strong light is detrimental to the growth of ivy, but this enhances its value, for we have no hardy plants that may be compared with it for variety and beauty that will endure shade with equal patience.
The North American poison ivy (poison oak),Rhus Toxicodendron(nat. order Anacardiaceae), is a climber with pinnately compound leaves, which are very attractive in their autumn colour but poisonous to the touch to some persons, while others can handle the plant without injury. The effects are redness and violent itching followed by fever and a vesicular eruption.
The ground ivy,Nepeta Glechoma(nat. order Labiatae), is a small creeping plant with rounded crenate leaves and small blue-purple flowers, occurring in hedges and thickets.
IWAKURA, TOMOMI,Prince(1835-1883), Japanese statesman, was born in Kiōto. He was one of the court nobles (kuge) of Japan, and he traced his descent to the emperor Murakami (A.D.947-967). A man of profound ability and singular force of character, he acted a leading part in the complications preceding the fall of the Tokugawashōgunate, and was obliged to fly from Kiōto accompanied by his coadjutor, Prince Sanjō. They took refuge with theDaimyōof Chōshū, and, while there, established relations which contributed greatly to the ultimate union of the two great fiefs, Satsuma and Chōshū, for the work of the Restoration. From 1867 until the day of his death Iwakura was one of the most prominent figures on the political stage. In 1871 he proceeded to America and Europe at the head of an imposing embassy of some fifty persons, the object being to explain to foreign governments the actual conditions existing in Japan, and to pave the way for negotiating new treaties consistent with her sovereign rights. Little success attended the mission. Returning to Japan in 1873, Iwakura found the cabinet divided as to the manner of dealing with Korea’s insulting attitude. He advocated peace, and his influence carried the day, thus removing a difficulty which, though apparently of minor dimensions, might have changed the whole course of Japan’s modern history.
IXION,in Greek legend, son of Phlegyas, king of the Lapithae in Thessaly (or of Ares), and husband of Dia. According to custom he promised his father-in-law, Deïoneus, a handsome bridal present, but treacherously murdered him when he claimed the fulfilment of the promise. As a punishment, Ixion was seized with madness, until Zeus purified him of his crime and admitted him as a guest to Olympus. Ixion abused his pardon by trying to seduce Hera; but the goddess substituted for herself a cloud, by which he became the father of the Centaurs. Zeus bound him on a fiery wheel, which rolls unceasingly through the air or (according to the later version) in the underworld (Pindar,Pythia, ii. 21; Ovid,Metam.iv. 461; Virgil, Aeneid, vi. 601). Ixion is generally taken to represent the eternally moving sun. Another explanation connects the story with the practice (among certain peoples of central Europe) of carrying a blazing, revolving wheel through fields which needed the heat of the sun, the legend being invented to explain the custom and subsequently adopted by the Greeks (see Mannhardt,Wald- und Feldkulte, ii. 1905, p. 83). In view of the fact that the oak was the sun-god’s tree and that the mistletoe grew upon it, it is suggested by A. B. Cook (Class. Rev.xvii. 420) thatἸξίωνis derived fromἰξός(mistletoe), the sun’s fire being regarded as an emanation from the mistletoe. Ixion himself is probably a by-form of Zeus (Usener inRhein. Mus.liii. 345).
“The Myth of Ixion” (by C. Smith, inClassical Review, June 1895) deals with the subject of a red-figure cantharus in the British Museum.
“The Myth of Ixion” (by C. Smith, inClassical Review, June 1895) deals with the subject of a red-figure cantharus in the British Museum.
IXTACCIHUATL,orIztaccihuatl(“white woman”), a lofty mountain of volcanic origin, 10 m. N. of Popocatepetl and about 40 m. S.S.E of the city of Mexico, forming part of the short spur called the Sierra Nevada. According to Angelo Heilprin (1853-1907) its elevation is 16,960 ft.; other authorities make it much less. Its apparent height is dwarfed somewhat by its elongated summit and the large area covered. It has three summits of different heights standing on a north and south line, the central one being the largest and highest and all three rising above the permanent snow-line. As seen from the city of Mexico the three summits have the appearance of a shrouded human figure, hence the poetic Aztec appellation of “white woman” and the unsentimental Spanish designation “La mujer gorda.” The ascent is difficult and perilous, and is rarely accomplished.
Heilprin says that the mountain is largely composed of trachytic rocks and that it is older than Popocatepetl. It has no crater and no trace of lingering volcanic heat. It is surmised that its crater, if it ever had one, has been filled in and its cone worn away by erosion through long periods of time.
Heilprin says that the mountain is largely composed of trachytic rocks and that it is older than Popocatepetl. It has no crater and no trace of lingering volcanic heat. It is surmised that its crater, if it ever had one, has been filled in and its cone worn away by erosion through long periods of time.
IYRCAE,an ancient nation on the north-east trade route described by Herodotus (iv. 22) beyond the Thyssagetae, somewhere about the upper basins of the Tobol and the Irtysh. They were distinguished by their mode of hunting, climbing a tree to survey their game, and then pursuing it with trained horses and dogs. They were almost certainly the ancestors of the modern Magyars, also called Jugra.
The readingΤῦρκαιis an anachronism, and when Pliny (N.H.vi. 19) and Mela (i. 116) speak of Tyrcae it is also probably due to a false correction.
The readingΤῦρκαιis an anachronism, and when Pliny (N.H.vi. 19) and Mela (i. 116) speak of Tyrcae it is also probably due to a false correction.
(E. H. M.)
IZBARTA,orSparta[anc.Baris], the chief town of the Hamid-abad sanjak of the Konia vilayet, in Asia Minor, well situated on the edge of a fertile plain at the foot of Aghlasun Dagh. It was once the capital of the Emirate of Hamid. It suffered severely from the earthquake of the 16th-17th of January 1889. It is a prosperous place with an enlightened Greek element in its population (hence the numerous families called “Spartali” in Levantine towns); and it is, in fact, the chief inland colony of Hellenism in Anatolia; Pop. 20,000 (Moslems 13,000, Christians 7000). The new Aidin railway extends from Dineir to Izbarta via Buldur.
IZHEVSK,a town of Russia, in the government of Vyatka, 140 m. S.W. of Perm and 22 m. W. from the Kama, on the Izh river. Pop. (1897) 21,500. It has one of the principal steel and rifle works of the Russian crown, started in 1807. The making of sporting guns is an active industry.
IZMAIL,orIsmail, a town of Russia, in the government of Bessarabia, on the left bank of the Kilia branch of the Danube, 35 m. below Reni railway station. Pop. (1866) 31,779, (1900) 33,607, comprising Great and Little Russians, Bulgarians, Jews and Gipsies. There are flour-mills and a trade in cereals, wool, tallow and hides. Originally a Turkish fortified post, Izmail had by the end of the 18th century grown into a place of 30,000 inhabitants. It was occupied by the Russians in 1770, and twenty years later its capture was one of the brilliant achievements of the Russian general, Count A. V. Suvarov. On that occasion the garrison was 40,000 strong, and the assault cost the assailants 10,000 and the defenders 30,000 men. The victory was the theme of one of the Russian poet G. R. Derzhavin’s odes. In 1809 the town was again captured by the Russians; and, when in 1812 it was assigned to them by the Bucharest peace, they chose it as the central station for their Danube fleet. It was about this time that the town of Tuchkov, with which it was later (1830) incorporated, grew up outside of the fortifications. These were dismantled in accordance with the treaty of Paris (1856), by which Izmail was made over to Rumania. The town was again transferred to Russia by the peace of Berlin (1878).
IZU-NO-SHICHI-TŌ,the seven (shichi) islands (to) of Izu, included in the empire of Japan. They stretch in a southerly direction from a point near the mouth of Tokyo Bay, and lie between 33° and 34° 48′ N. and between 139° and 140° E. Their names, beginning from the north, are Izu-no-Oshima, To-shima, Nii-shima, Kozu-shima, Miyake-shima and Hachijo-shima. There are some islets in their immediate vicinity. Izu-no-Oshima, an island 10 m. long and 5½ m. wide, is 15 m. from the nearest point of the Izu promontory. It is known to western cartographers as Vries Island, a name derived from that of Captain Martin Gerritsz de Vries, a Dutch navigator, who is supposed to have discovered the island in 1643. But the group was known to the Japanese from a remote period, and used as convict settlements certainly from the 12th century and probably from a still earlier era. Hachijo, the most southerly, is often erroneously written “Fatsisio” on English charts. Izu-no-Oshima is remarkable for its smoking volcano, Mihara-yama (2461 ft.), a conspicuous object to all ships bound for Yokohama. Three others of the islands—Nii-shima, Kozu-shima and Miyake-shima—have active volcanoes. Those on Nii-shima and Kozu-shima are of inconsiderable size, but that on Miyake-shima, namely, Oyama, rises to a height of 2707 ft. The most southerly island, Hachijo-shima, has a still higher peak, Dsubotake (2838 ft.), but it does not emit any smoke.
JA letter of the alphabet which, as far as form is concerned, is only a modification of the Latin I and dates back with a separate value only to the 15th century. It was first used as a special form of initial I, the ordinary form being kept for use in other positions. As, however, in many cases initialihad the consonantal value of the Englishyiniugum(yoke), &c., the symbol came to be used for the value of y, a value which it still retains in German:Ja! jung, &c. Initially it is pronounced in English as an affricatedzh. The great majority of English words beginning withjare (1) of foreign (mostly French) origin, as “jaundice,” “judge”; (2) imitative of sound, like “jar” (the verb); or (3) influenced by analogy, like “jaw” (influenced bychaw, according to Skeat). In early Frenchgwhen palatalized byeorisounds became confused with consonantali(y), and both passed into the sound ofjwhich is still preserved in English. A similar sound-change takes place in other languages,e.g.Lithuanian, where the resulting sound is speltdž. Modern French and also Provençal and Portuguese have changedj = dzhintož(zh). The sound initially is sometimes represented in English byg:gem,gaolas well asjail. At the end of modern English words the same sound is represented by -dgeas injudge, Frenchjuge. In this position, however, the sound occurs also in genuine English words likebridge,sedge,singe, but this is true only for the southern dialects on which the literary language is founded. In the northern dialects the pronunciation asbrig,seg,singstill survives.
(P. Gi.)
JA’ALIN(fromJā’al, to settle,i.e.“the squatters”), an African tribe of Semitic stock. They formerly occupied the country on both banks of the Nile from Khartum to Abu Hamed. They claim to be of the Koreish tribe and even trace descent from Abbas, uncle of the prophet. They are of Arab origin, but now of very mixed blood. According to their own tradition they emigrated to Nubia in the 12th century. They were at one time subject to the Funj kings, but their position was in a measure independent. At the Egyptian invasion in 1820 they were the most powerful of Arab tribes in the Nile valley. They submitted at first, but in 1822 rebelled and massacred the Egyptian garrison at Shendi. The revolt was mercilessly suppressed, and the Jā’alin were thenceforward looked on with suspicion. They were almost the first of the northern tribes to join the mahdi in 1884, and it was their position to the north of Khartum which made communication with General Gordon so difficult. The Jā’alin are now a semi-nomad agricultural people. Many are employed in Khartum as servants, scribes and watchmen. They are a proud religious people, formerly notorious as cruel slave dealers. J. L. Burckhardt says the true Jā’alin from the eastern desert is exactly like the Bedouin of eastern Arabia.
SeeThe Anglo-Egyptian Sudan, edited by Count Gleichen (London, 1905).
SeeThe Anglo-Egyptian Sudan, edited by Count Gleichen (London, 1905).
JABIRU,according to Marcgrave the Brazilian name of a bird, subsequently called by LinnaeusMycteria americana, one of the largest of the storks,Ciconiidae, which occurs from Mexico southwards to the territory of the Argentine Republic. It stands between 4 and 5 ft. in height, and is conspicuous for its massive bill, slightly upturned, and its entirely white plumage; but the head and neck are bare and black, except for about the lower third part of the latter, which is bright red in the living bird. Very nearly allied toMycteria, and also commonly called jabirus, are the birds of the generaXenorhynchusandEphippiorhynchus—the former containing one or (in the opinion of some) two species,X. australisandX. indicus, and the latter one only,E. senegalensis. These belong to the countries indicated by their names, and differ chiefly by their feathered head and neck, while the last is sometimes termed the saddle-billed stork from the very singular shape of its beak. Somewhat more distantly related are the gigantic birds known to Europeans in India and elsewhere as adjutant birds, belonging to the genusLeptoptilus, distinguished by their sad-coloured plumage, their black scabrous head, and their enormous tawny pouch, which depends occasionally some 16 in. or more in length from the lower part of the neck, and seems to be connected with the respiratory and not, as commonly believed, with the digestive system. In many parts of IndiaL. dubius, the largest of these birds, thehargilaas Hindus call it, is a most efficient scavenger, sailing aloft at a vast height and descending on the discovery of offal, though frogs and fishes also form part of its diet. It familiarly enters the large towns, in many of which an account of its services it is strictly protected from injury, and, having satisfied its appetite, seeks the repose it has earned, sitting with its feet extended in front in a most grotesque attitude. A second and smaller species,L. javanicus, has a more southern and eastern range; while a third,L. crumenifer, of African origin, and often known as the marabou-stork, gives its name to the beautifully soft feathers so called, which are the under-tail-coverts; the “marabout” feathers of the plume-trade are mostly supplied by other birds, the term being apparently applied to any downy feathers.
(A. N.)
JABLOCHKOV, PAUL(1847-1894), Russian electrical engineer and inventor, was born at Serdobsk, in the government of Saratov, on the 14th of September 1847, and educated at St Petersburg. In 1871 he was appointed director of the telegraph lines between Moscow and Kursk, but in 1875 he resigned his position in order to devote himself to his researches on electric lighting by arc lamps, which he had already taken up. In 1876 he settled in Paris, and towards the end of the year brought out his famous “candles,” known by his name, which consisted of two carbon parallel rods, separated by a non-conducting partition; alternating currents were employed, and the candle was operated by a high-resistance carbon match connecting the tips of the rods, a true arc forming between the parallel carbons when this burnt off, and the separators volatilizing as the carbons burnt away. For a few years his system of electric lighting was widely adopted, but it was gradually superseded(seeLighting:Electric) and is no longer in use. Jablochkov made various other electrical inventions, but he died in poverty, having returned to Russia on the 19th of March 1894.