ElmCommon Elm (Ulmus campestris)Fruit, flowers, and leaves.
Fruit, flowers, and leaves.
Elm, a genus of trees (Ulmus; nat. ord., Ulmaceæ), consisting of eighteen species, natives of the northern temperate zone and mountains of Tropical Asia. They have bisexual flowers with a campanulate calyx, as many stamens as there are divisions in the limb of the calyx, and two styles. Two species are common in Britain,Ulmus campestrisandUlmus montāna, with many varieties. TheUlmus campestris, or common elm, is a fine tree, of rapid and erect growth, and yielding a tall stem, remarkable for the uniformity of its diameter throughout. It is very common as a timber tree in England; but as it rarely produces seed it is questionable whether it is indigenous. It is a native of the south and middle of Europe, and the west of Asia. The average height of a mature tree is 70 or 80 feet, but some reach a height of 150 feet. The wood is brown, hard, of fine grain, not apt to crack, and is used for many purposes. The tree generally attains maturity in seventy or eighty years.Ulmus montāna(the mountain or wych elm), a native of Scotland, grows to a less height than the English elm, is of slower growth, and yields a much shorter bole, but it is far bolder in its ramification and more hardy. It usually attains to the height of about 50 feet. It does not produce suckers, like the English elm, but yieldsseed freely. The timber is strong and elastic, and the tree often yields large protuberances of gnarled wood, finely knotted and veined, and much esteemed for veneering.Ulmus glabra, the smooth-leaved elm, is a variety common in some parts of Britain. It first appeared about the middle of the eighteenth century. The most ornamental tree of the genus isUlmus montāna, varietypendŭla, the weeping elm. The American or white elm (Ulmus americāna) is abundant in the Western States, attaining its loftiest stature between lat. 42° and 46°; here it reaches the height of 100 feet, with a trunk 4 or 5 feet in diameter, rising sometimes 60 or 70 feet before it separates into a few primary limbs. Its wood is not much esteemed. The red or slippery elm (Ulmus fulva) is found throughout a great extent of country in Canada, Missouri, and as far south as lat. 31°; it attains the height of 50 or 60 feet, with a trunk 15 or 20 inches in diameter; the wood is of better quality than that of the white elm. The leaves and bark yield an abundant mucilage. The wahoo (Ulmus alāta), inhabiting from lat. 37° to Florida, Louisiana, and Arkansas, is a small tree, 30 feet high. The branches are furnished on two opposite sides with wings of cork 2 or 3 lines wide; the wood is fine-grained and heavy.
Elmi´na, a British town and seaport on the west coast of Africa, 8 miles west of Cape Coast Castle. It was acquired by Britain in 1872 with the other Dutch possessions on the Gold Coast, when it was claimed by the King of Ashanti, the result being the Ashanti Wars of 1873-4. Pop. 12,500.
Elmi´ra, a town of the United States, N. York, on the Chemung River; with a college for women, founded in 1855, the State reformatory, and a fine court-house. Its industrial establishments comprise rolling-mill, blast-furnace, foundries, and machine-works. Pop. 37,176.
Elmo's Fire, St., a meteoric appearance often seen playing about the masts and rigging of ships. If two flames are visible (Castor and Pollux) the sailors consider it a good omen; if only one (Helena), they regard it as a bad one. The name is derived from St. Elmo, or St. Erasmus, who was broken on the wheelA.D.304.
Elmshorn, a town in Schleswig-Holstein, 20 miles north-west of Hamburg, on the Krückau, a navigable stream. Pop. 14,790.
Elmsley, Peter,D.D., English scholar, born in 1773, died in 1825. Educated at Oxford, he was one of the original contributors to theEdinburgh Review, and wrote occasionally, at a subsequent period, in theQuarterly. He finally settled at Oxford, on obtaining the headship of St. Alban's Hall and the Camden professorship of ancient history in 1823. He published editions of theŒdipus Tyrannus(1811),Heraclidæ(1815),Medea(1818),Bacchæ(1821), andŒdipus Coloneus(1823).
El Obeid.SeeObeïd.
Elodea, a genus of submerged water-plants, nat. ord. Hydrocharitaceæ.E. canadensis, the Canadian water-weed, was accidentally introduced into Britain about 1840, and spread throughout Europe with extraordinary rapidity, and entirely by vegetative reproduction, as only the ♀ plant exists on this side of the Atlantic. The plant is much used for physiological experiments, e.g. for showing the movements of protoplasm.
Elo´him(plural ofEloah), one of the Hebrew names for God, of frequent occurrence in the Bible. Elohim is used in speaking both of the true God and of false gods, while Jehovah is confined to the true God. The plural form of Elohim has caused a good deal of controversy, some considering it as containing an allusion to the doctrine of the Trinity, others regarding it as the plural of excellence, others holding it as establishing the fact of a primitive polytheism. The Elohistic passages in thePentateuch, or, in other words, the passages in which the Almighty is always spoken of as Elohim, are supposed to have been written at an earlier period than those in which he is spoken of as Jehovah. The Elohistic passages are simpler and more primitive in character than the Jehovistic; thusGen.i, 27 is Elohistic;Gen.ii, 21-4 is Jehovistic.
El Paso('the pass' or crossing), a town of the United States, in Texas, at an important ford or crossing of the Rio Grande del Norte, where there is now a railway bridge, with extensive railway connections and large trade with Mexico, the smaller Mexican town of same name being on the opposite bank of the river. Pop. (including suburbs), 39,280.
Elphinstone. Hon. Mountstuart, Indian administrator, son of the eleventh Lord Elphinstone, born in Scotland in 1778, died in 1859. He joined the Bengal Civil Service in 1795, was Ambassador to the Afghan Court in 1808, Resident at the Court of Poonah from 1810 to 1817, and British commissioner to that province from 1817 to 1819, when he became Governor of Bombay. During a government of seven years he established a code of laws, lightened taxes, and paid great attention to schools and public institutions. He resigned in 1827. A college established by the natives was called after him Elphinstone College. He was the author of anAccount of the Kingdom of Cabul and its Dependencies(1815), and aHistory of India(1841). He was offered the governor-generalship of India in 1835, and afterwards that of Canada, both of which he declined.
Elphinstone, William, a Scottish prelate, founder of King's College and University,Aberdeen, born at Glasgow in 1431, died in 1514. He was educated at Glasgow College, and served four years as priest of St. Michael's in that city. He then went to France and became professor of law, first at Paris and subsequently at Orleans, but before 1474 he returned home at the request of Muirhead, Bishop of Glasgow, who made him commissary of the diocese. In 1478 he was made commissary of the Lothians, and in 1479 Archdeacon of Argyle. Soon after he was made Bishop of Ross; and in 1483 was transferred to the see of Aberdeen. In 1484 and 1486 he was commissioned to negotiate truces with England, and in 1488 was Lord High-Chancellor of the kingdom for several months. He was next sent on a mission to Germany, and after his return held the office of Lord Privy Seal till his death in 1514. In 1494 he obtained a papal bull for the erection of the university of King's College at Aberdeen.
Elsinore´(Dan.Helsingör), a seaport of Denmark, in the Island of Seeland, at the narrowest part of the Sound, here only 3½ miles broad, 24 miles north by east of Copenhagen, opposite Helsingborg in Sweden, and connected with it by train-ferry. Near Elsinore is the castle of Kronberg, built by Frederick II of Denmark about 1580, and commanding the Sound. The castle, now chiefly used as barracks, is associated with Shakespeare'sHamlet. Before the abolition of the Sound dues in 1857 all merchant ships passing through were bound to pay toll here. Pop. 13,990.
Elstertwo German rivers, the White or Great Elster, a tributary of the Saale; the Black Elster, a tributary of the Elbe.
Elswick(els´ik), a suburb of Newcastle, England, containing the great ordnance-works of Armstrong, Mitchell, & Co. Pop. 58,352.
Elton, Charles Isaac, English jurist and archæologist, born 1839, died 1900. He was educated at Cheltenham and Oxford, became a barrister and a member of Parliament, and wrote various works on legal and other subjects, the most important beingOrigins of English History. In this work he traces the development of England and its inhabitants, from the earliest times regarding which we have any knowledge, to the acceptance of Christianity by the Anglo-Saxons, the investigation of the evidence furnished by Greek and Roman writers, and the discussion of prehistoric ethnology and archæology being especially thorough. Other works are:Commons and Waste Lands, andW. Shakespeare: His Family and Friends.
Elu´triation(Lat.elutriare, to wash out), the process of separating the finer particles of a clay, earth, or similar mass, from the coarser, consisting in stirring up the substance in water, letting the coarser particles subside, running off the liquid containing the finer particles, and then waiting till they subside.
Elvas, a fortified city of Portugal, province of Alemtejo, near the Spanish frontier, 12 miles north-west of Badajoz, on a height flanked by two others, each crowned by a castle. It has a cathedral, partly Moorish and partly Gothic, and a Moorish aqueduct, a magnificent work which brings water from a distance of 15 miles. Pop. 10,645.
Ely(ē´li), an episcopal city of England, in the county of Cambridge, on an eminence on the left bank of the Ouse. The ecclesiastical structures comprise the cathedral, one of the largest in England, and the churches of St. Mary, and the Holy Trinity, the last belonging to the time of Edward II, and one of the most perfect buildings of that age. The superb cathedral occupies the site of a monastery founded about the year 673 by Etheldreda, daughter of the King of East Anglia. Its entire length, east to west, is 517 feet, and its west tower is 270 feet high. The whole structure comprises an almost unbroken series of the various styles of architecture which prevailed in England from the Conquest to the Reformation, yet with no loss of impressiveness as a whole. It was begun in 1083, completed in 1534, and since 1847 has undergone extensive additions and restoration. A fine gateway, built in the reign of Richard II, forms the principal entrance to the cathedral precincts. There are a few manufactures, but most of the inhabitants are engaged in agricultural labour. Pop. 7917.
Ely, Isle of, a portion of the county of Cambridge, separated by the Ouse from the rest of the county, and forming itself a sort of county. It is about 28 miles long by 25 miles broad; area, 239,259 acres. The name is also given to a smaller tract, about 7 miles long by 4 miles broad. The soil is very fertile. Pop. 69,752.
Elymus, a genus of grasses, natives chiefly of the north temperate zone. The British species,E. arenarius(lyme grass) is a good sand-binder.
Elys´ium, orElysian Fields, among the Greeks and Romans the regions inhabited by the blessed after death. They are placed by Homer at the extremities of the earth, by Plato at the antipodes, and by others in the Fortunate Islands (the Canaries). They were at last supposed to be in the interior of the earth, where Virgil described them as being. The happiness of the blessed consisted in a life of tranquil enjoyment in a perfect summer land, where the heroes, freed from all care and infirmities, renewed their favourite sports.
Ely´tra, the horny cases into which the front wings of beetles are modified, and which meet in a straight line down the middle of the back. The membranous hind-wings are here the organs of flight, and when not in use arefolded longitudinally and transversely, and tucked away under the elytra.
Elze(el´tse), Karl, German writer, distinguished for his studies in English literature, born 1821, died 1889. He studied in Leipzig and Berlin, was long a teacher in the gymnasium of his birth-place, Dessau, and in 1875 was appointed to the chair of English language and literature at Halle. Among his writings were valuable biographies of Sir Walter Scott and Lord Byron (the latter translated into English), and a biographical and critical work on Shakespeare, also translated into English (1888).
El´zevir, orElzevier, the name of a family of publishers and printers, residing at Amsterdam and Leyden, celebrated for the beauty of the editions of various works published by them, principally between 1595 and 1680. Louis, the founder of the family (born 1540, died 1617), settled in Leyden, and between 1583 and his death produced about 150 works. Five of his seven sons followed his business:—Matthæus at Leyden; Louis (II) at the Hague; Gilles at the Hague and afterwards at Leyden; Joost in Utrecht; and Bonaventure, who in 1626 associated himself with Abraham, the son of Matthæus. From the press of Abraham and Bonaventure issued the exquisite editions of the classics which have made the name of Elzevir famous. Of these theLivyandTacitusof 1634, thePlinyof 1635, theVirgilof 1636, and theCiceroof 1642 are perhaps the most beautiful. The Elzevir books are distinguished by the types and the choice of the paper rather than by the critical preparation of their texts.
Emanation, in a specific sense, an idea at the centre of many philosophic systems which seek to explain the universe as an eternal efflux or emanation from the Supreme Being, comparable with the efflux of light from the sun. The idea of emanation came from the East, and traces of the doctrine are found in the system of Zoroaster. It had a powerful influence on the ancient Egyptian philosophy, as also on that of the Greeks, as may be seen in Pythagoras. It was subsequently developed by Plotinus,the Gnostics, Manicheans, Pantheists, and other sects.
Eman´uel the Great, King of Portugal, born in 1469, died in 1521. He ascended the throne in 1495, and during his reign were performed the voyages of discovery of Vasco da Gama, of Cabral, of Americus Vespucius, and the heroic exploits of Albuquerque, by whose exertions a passage was found to the East Indies, the Portuguese dominion in Goa was established, and the Brazils and Moluccas were discovered. The commerce of Portugal, under Emanuel, was more prosperous than at any former period. The treasures of America flowed into Lisbon, and the reign of Emanuel was justly called 'the golden age of Portugal'. He died at the age of fifty-two, deeply lamented by his subjects, but hated by the Moors and the Jews, whom he had expelled from the country. He was a patron of learned men, and himself left memoirs on the Indies. He married three times: in 1497 Isabella, daughter of Ferdinand and Isabella, heiress of Castile; in 1500 her sister Maria; and in 1519 Eleonora of Austria, sister of Charles V.
Embalming(em-bäm´ing; Gr.balsamon, balm), the process of so treating dead bodies with aromatic and antiseptic substances as to preserve them from corruption and decomposition. The ancient Egyptians employed this art on a great scale, embalming not only human corpses, but also the bodies of cats, ibises, crocodiles, and other animals held sacred. The mummy of King Mer-en-rē, who lived about 2500 years before our era, found in 1880, was in an excellent state of preservation. Other peoples, such as the Assyrians and Persians, also followed the practice, though hardly equalling Egyptian methods. The abdomen was emptied through an incision, and the brains drawn through the nostrils by means of a special instrument. The ancient Peruvians appear to have injected and washed the corpses with a fluid that flows from imperfectly burned wood, in which pyroligneous acid, creosote, and other antiseptics are present. Pliny alludes to the use of a similar fluid by the Egyptians. In more recent times bodies have been preserved for centuries by embalming, especially when they have remained at a low and uniform temperature and have been protected from the air. The corpse of Edward I, buried in Westminster Abbey in 1307, was found entire in 1770. Canute died in 1036, and his body was discovered very fresh in Winchester Cathedral in 1776. The bodies of William the Conqueror and of his wife Matilda were found entire at Caen in the sixteenth century. Of the various modern artificial means of preserving bodies, impregnation with corrosive sublimate appears to be one of the most effective, next to immersion in spirits. An injection of sulphate of zinc into the blood-vessels is also stated to be satisfactory; while natron, various spices, and other aromatic compounds are sometimes employed. The original reason for embalming was most probably the preservation of the body to await a resurrection and a future life.—Bibliography: W. Budge,The Mummy; G. Elliot Smith,A Contribution to the Study of Mummification in Egypt; Myers,Textbook of Embalming.
Embank´ment, a mound of earth, &c., thrown up either for the purpose of forming a roadway at a level different from that of the natural surface of the ground, or for keeping a large body of water within certain limits. Whenconstructed wholly of earth or clay, it is triangular in cross-section, with the apex cut off parallel to the base line, the angle of the sloping sides varying with the nature of the material used. Thus the slope of loose rubble, chalk, stone, loamy sand, or gravel requires about 1½ base to 1 vertical; dry, loose, and ordinary clay, 2 horizontal to 1 vertical, while some clays require a much wider base. To prevent subsidence on marshy or peaty soils, either the weight of the heart of the embankment is diminished, as in Holland, by introducing layers of reeds or fascines, or artificial foundations are prepared. The embankment may be prevented from slipping laterally by forming steps in the earth of the subsoil, or by cutting deep trenches at the feet of the slopes. In cases where embankments are raised for the storage of water, a 'puddle-dike', that is, a water-tight wall, must be inserted through the whole depth of the bank down to the impermeable strata beneath. To resist the action of wind and rain, or of the waters of a slow-flowing stream, the banks should in all possible cases be covered with turf. Among the largest embankments hitherto executed are those on the banks of the Po, the Meuse, the Scheldt; on the shores of the Netherlands; the Oberhäuser embankment on the Augsburg and Lindau Railway, the Gadelbach cutting on the Ulm and Augsburg line, and the Tring cutting on the London and North-Western Railway.
Embar´go, in commerce, an arrest on ships or merchandise by public authority; or a prohibition of State, commonly on foreign ships, in time of war, to prevent their going out of or coming into port. A breach of embargo, under knowledge of the insured, discharges the underwriters of all liability.
Em´bassy, in its strict sense, signifies a mission presided over by an ambassador, as distinguished from a legation or mission entrusted to an envoy. An ambassador, as the representative of the person of his sovereign, can demand a private audience of the sovereign to whom he is accredited, while an envoy must communicate with the Minister for Foreign Affairs.
Ember-days, in the Anglican and Roman Catholic Churches, fast-days occurring at the times in the year appointed for ordinations. As now observed they are the Wednesday, Friday, and Saturday after the first Sunday in Lent, after the feast of Pentecost or Whitsunday, after the festival of the Holy Cross (14th Sept.), and after the festival of St. Lucia (13th Dec.). The weeks in which these days fall are calledEmber-weeks.
Ember-goose(Colymbus septentrionalis), an aquatic bird, known also as the great northern diver and loon. The latter name, however, is also applied to the great crested grebe.
Emberizī´dæ, a family of small perching birds, typical genus Emberīza. It includes the buntings, the snow-flake, the yellow-hammer, and reed sparrow. The ortolan belongs to this family. By some naturalists it is classified as a sub-family of the finches.
Embez´zlementis the appropriation, by a clerk or servant, to himself, of money or property put into his hands in trust. In English law it is a felony punishable by penal servitude for not more than fourteen years, or by imprisonment; and in the case of a male under the age of sixteen, by whipping in addition to the imprisonment.
Em´blements(Fr.emblaver, to sow with grain), in law, the crops actually growing at any time upon land. They are considered in law as personal property, and pass as such to the executor or administrator of the occupier, if the latter die before he has actually cut, or reaped, or gathered the same.
Em´bolismis the obstruction of a blood-vessel by an embolus, the name given to a blood-clot or other body carried by the blood-stream, and obstructing the circulation at the point of lodgment. An embolism in a vital organ gives rise to serious symptoms which may cause death in a short time, or more remotely by the production of gangrene or pyæmia.
Embos´sing, the art of producing raised figures upon plane surfaces, such as on leather for bookbinding; on paper for envelopes; on wood or bronze, in architecture or sculpture. Embossing in needlework is effected by embroidery over figures padded with wool felt.
Embra´cery, an attempt to corrupt or influence a jury by money, promises, letters, entertainments, persuasions, or the like.
Embra´sure, in fortification, an opening in the breastwork or parapet of a battery or fortress, to admit of a gun being fired through it.
Embroi´dery(O. Fr.embroder, frombord, border), figured work in gold, or silver, or silk thread, wrought by the needle, upon cloths, stuffs, or muslins. In embroidering stuffs a kind of stretching-frame is used, because the more the piece is stretched the easier it is worked. The art was common in the East in very ancient times. The Jews appear to have acquired it from the Egyptians; Homer makes frequent allusion to it; and Phrygia was celebrated for its embroidery, which was in great demand at Rome. The Nineveh mural reliefs in the British Museum show Assyrian robes with floral ornaments, and a relief (now in the Louvre, Paris) from the palace of Darius I shows Persian robes with embroidery. The Anglo-Saxons had a Continental reputation, and from the eleventh to the sixteenth century the art of pictorial needlework was of the highest importance both as arecreation and as an industry. Embroidery is commonly divided into two classes: white embroidery applied to dress and furniture, in which the French and the Swiss excel; and embroidery in silk, gold, and silver, chiefly in demand for ecclesiastical vestments. The Chinese, Hindus, Persians, and Turks excel in such work.—Cf. Christie,Embroidery and Tapestry Weaving.
Embrun(a˙n-bru˙n), a picturesque walled town, France, department Hautes-Alpes, on a rocky eminence on the Durance. It was sacked successively by Vandals, Huns, Saxons, and Moors, by the Protestants in 1573, and by the Duke of Savoy in 1692. It has a fine cathedral. Pop. 3556.
Em´bry, an immature organism, especially in the earlier stages of development from the fertilized ovum onwards. The embryo of a mammal (except in the egg-laying duck-bill and spiny ant-eater), which develops internally, is known as afœtus. The dormant plantlet in a seed is also known as an embryo.
Embryol´ogy, the branch of biology concerned with the fertilization of the ovum and its development into the adult. Aristotle and Galen made some observations on the subject, as regards animals, while Harvey and his successors considerably advanced our knowledge, but as a distinct and important subject embryology only dates from the nineteenth century. In the course of its development an organism repeats the evolution of its group in an abbreviated fashion, thus furnishing a clue to its actual affinities. The subject also throws light on the problems of heredity.
Embryo-sacAlmost Ripe Embryo-sac of Lilium MartagonA, Antipodals.P, Polar nuclei.E, Egg-cell.S, Synergidæ.
A, Antipodals.P, Polar nuclei.E, Egg-cell.S, Synergidæ.
Embryo-sac, the name given to the megaspore of seed-plants. In Angiosperms the ripe embryo-sac is typically a large ovoid sac enclosed in a thin membrane and lined by cytoplasm; it contains seven or sometimes eight nuclei with associated masses of cytoplasm, distributed in a characteristic manner. At the apical end, next the micropyle, is the egg-apparatus, comprising the egg-cell or ovum flanked by the two synergidæ or helping-cells, while the basal or chalazal end is occupied by the three antipodal 'cells'. The cavity of the sac is filled with cell-sap traversed by stout protoplasmic strands, suspended in which, near the centre, are two polar nuclei, or a single fusion-nucleus formed by the union of these. A characteristic feature of Angiosperms is the process of 'double fertilization'. The pollen-tube contains two male gametes, both functional; one fertilizes the egg-cell, the resulting zygote or oospore giving rise by cell-division and growth to the embryo; the other unites with the fusion-nucleus (or the two polar nuclei), and the product is the origin of the special nutritive tissue or endosperm, which is used up by the embryo, either during ripening of the seed (exalbuminous seeds), or at germination (albuminous seeds). SeeGymnosperms;Ovule.
Em´den, a town of Prussia, province of Hanover, near the mouth of the Ems, occupying a low flat intersected by numerous canals. It was raised to the rank of a free Imperial city in 1595, was made a free port in 1751, was incorporated with the kingdom of Hanover in 1815, and in 1866 was united to Prussia. The principal building is the great church, built in 1455. The harbours admit large vessels, and several canals run inland. It exports grain, dairy produce, and gin, and has shipbuilding yards, and manufactures hosiery and leather. Pop. 24,000.
Em'erald, a variety of beryl, a well-known gem of pure green colour, somewhat harder than quartz; specific gravity, 2.67 to 2.73. It is a silicate of aluminium and the rare element glucinum or beryllium, which was detected in it by Vauquelin after it had been discovered by the same chemist in the beryl. Its colour is due to the presence of chromium, of which there may be 0.2 to 0.3 per cent present. Its natural form is either rounded or that of a short six-sided prism. It is one of the softest of the precious stones, but is not acted on by acids. Emeralds of large size and at the same time free from flaws are rare and more valuable than diamonds or rubies; the largest on record is said to have been possessed by the inhabitants of the valley of Manta in Peru when the Spaniards first arrived there. It was as big as an ostrich egg, and was worshipped asthe mother of emeralds. The ancients, who valued them, especially for engraving, are said to have procured them from Ethiopia and Egypt. The finest are now obtained from Colombia. The Oriental emerald is a variety of the ruby, of a green colour, and is an extremely rare gem.
Emerald Green, a vivid light-green pigment, an aceto-arsenite of copper, used both in oil and water-colour painting. It is extremely poisonous. Hydrated chromium sesquioxide is another mineral emerald green. There is also an aniline dye of this name.
Emerald LoreThe emerald as a sacredstone was anciently believed to blind a serpent which gazed at it, but to strengthen human eyes, and was, according to Theophrastus, worn as a ring-stone on account of this property. It was confused with 'false emerald', a kind of malachite. This fact explains the reference to ancient kings presenting blocks of emerald 1 or 2 cubits long to temples. The Babylonian name wasbarraktu, the Sanskritmarakata, the Hebrewbareketorbarkat, the Greekmaragdosorsmaragdos.
Emergences, in botany. SeeHairs of Plants.
Em´erson, Ralph Waldo, an American poet and prose writer, born at Boston, 25th May, 1803, died 27th April, 1882. He graduated at Harvard in 1821, for five years taught in a school, and in 1829 became minister of a Unitarian Church in Boston, but in 1832 resigned his charge. He spent the greater part of 1833 in Europe, and on his return began his career as a lecturer on various subjects, in which capacity he acted for a long series of years. In 1835 he took up his permanent residence at Concord, Mass., and in 1836 published a small volume calledNature. He was one of the original editors ofThe Dial, a transcendental magazine begun in 1840. Two volumes of his essays were published, in 1841 and 1844, and his poems in 1846. His miscellaneous addresses had been published in England in 1844, and on visiting Great Britain in 1847 he was welcomed by a large circle of admirers. In 1850 he publishedRepresentative Men; in 1856,English Traits; in 1860,The Conduct of Life; in 1869,May Day and Other Poems, andSociety and Solitude; in 1871,Parnassus, a collection of poems; in 1876,Letters and Social Aims. Emerson showed certain similarities with Carlyle, of whom he was a friend and correspondent. Their correspondence appeared in 1883. He was not only one of the most original and influential writers that the United States have produced, but also one of the most helpful and influential ethical teachers of the nineteenth century. His gospel of self-reliance, his insistence on the duty of self-respect, and the obligation to listen to the voice of one's own soul, have exerted a wide influence which has grown steadily.—Bibliography: J. E. Cabot, Emerson's Complete Works (11 vols.); G. W. Cooke,Ralph Waldo Emerson: his Life, Writings and Philosophy; J. Elliott Cabot,A Memoir of Ralph Waldo Emerson; R. Garnett,Life of Ralph Waldo Emerson; G. S. Woodberry,Ralph Waldo Emerson; J. A. Hill,Emerson and his Philosophy.
Em´ery(formerlyemeril, from O. Fr.emeril; Gr.smiris, emery), an impure variety of corundum, of blackish or bluish-grey colour, chiefly found in shapeless masses and mixed with other minerals. It contains about 82 per cent of alumina, and a small portion of iron; is very hard; is practically infusible, and is not attacked by acids. The best emery is brought from the Levant, chiefly from the Island of Naxos. It is employed in cutting and polishing precious stones; in smoothing the surface of the finer kinds of lenses preparatory to their being polished; in the polishing of marble; by cutlers, locksmiths, glaziers, and other artisans. For all these purposes it is pulverized in large iron mortars or in steel mills, and the powder, which is rough and sharp, is carefully washed and sifted into eight or ten different degrees of fineness. Emery-paper and emery-cloth are made by laying a thin coat of glue upon the fabric, and dusting the emery from a sieve of the required size.
Emet´icis a substance given to produce vomiting, either acting directly on the nerves of the stomach, or indirectly through the bloodstream on the vomiting centre in the brain. In the first group are common salt, mustard, ipecacuanha, and sulphate of zinc; and apomorphine, which is given hypodermically, is an example of the second. Emetics are not now so widely used, as in many cases the stomach can be more effectively emptied and then washed out by the passage of the stomach-tube.
Em´etineis an alkaloid present in ipecacuanha. It is a powerful emetic, and whether given by the mouth or hypodermically produces vomiting with nausea and depression. It acts chiefly as a local irritant to the lining of the stomach. In minute doses it stimulates expectoration from the lungs.
EmuEmeu or Emu (Dromæus novæ-hollandiæ)
Emeu, orEmu, a large flightless running bird (Dromæus novæ-hollandiæ, andD. irroratus), formerly dispersed over the whole Australian continent, but now almost extinct in many districts. It is allied to the cassowary, but is distinguishedby the absence of a 'helmet' on the top of the head. It nearly equals the ostrich in bulk, being thicker in the body, though its legs and neck are shorter. Its feet are three-toed (the ostrich has two toes), and its feathers, which are double, are of a dull sooty-brown colour, those about the neck and head being of a hairy texture. The wings are small and useless for flight, but the bird can run with great speed. The flesh of the young emeu is by some considered a delicacy. The emeu is a bird of the plain, the cassowary of the forest. It is easily tamed, and may be kept out of doors in temperate climates. It feeds on vegetable matter, fruits, and roots.
Emeu Wren(Stipitūrus malachūrus), a small Australian bird allied to the warblers, somewhat similar to a wren, but having the tail-feathers long, soft, and thinly barbed, similar to emeu feathers.
Emigration, the movement of individuals or groups from one state or country to a colony or another country, to be distinguished frommigration, which describes the movement of peoples or races from one geographical area to another, and fromcolonization, which implies the foundation of a new state or extension of the sway of the colonists' state of origin. Thus the term does not strictly apply to the migrations of prehistoric times; nor to the movements of the Indo-European races (to which reference occurs in the Old Testament) which took place before the state as a territorial conception had developed; nor does it describe the great barbarian invasions of the early Christian era. There was comparatively little emigration among the Greeks and Romans, movement among the former being usually for the foundation of colonies or new states, and among the latter as a means of consolidating conquests. In Europe up to the seventeenth century, emigration was sporadic, notable instances being the movement from Flanders to England in the fourteenth century, and of Protestants from France to England in the sixteenth and seventeenth centuries. In the seventeenth century, with the growth of European colonies in America and the East, there was much emigration to those places, notably from Spain, Portugal, and Great Britain to America, and from the Netherlands to the East. In the eighteenth century the movement slackened, but in the nineteenth century, largely as the result of the industrial revolution and the decay of agriculture, the great era of emigration began, especially from the United Kingdom. During the nineteenth century the main stream has flowed westward into America from Europe. Particularly important have been the emigration of Irish to the United States, and of Germans to South America. There has also been considerable movement from Russia into the United Kingdom, in many cases as a half-way house to the United States. In the East, emigration from China and Japan to the United States and Australia, and from India to British tropical colonies, has been important. It is noticeable that the Latin and Yellow races as a rule emigrate with the idea of returning ultimately to their native country; with the Anglo-Saxon, Teutonic, and Slav races the aim of a permanent domicile is predominant.
The most important causes of emigration are love of adventure, political or religious difficulties, and economic pressure. Forced emigration, in the shape of transportation, was formerly of some importance, especially in the case of America and Australia, but is now negligible; and before the European War, emigration from Russia was chiefly for political or religious reasons. To-day economic forces are the most powerful. The direction of the flow of emigration is partly determined by its causes. When these are political or religious, emigrants go where they expect to find freedom, as with the Huguenots in the seventeenth century. When economic forces are at work, emigration takes place towards newer and less developed countries, where pressure on the means of subsistence is less marked than elsewhere. Assistance given to emigrants, such as grants of land, loans of capital, and passages at reduced rates also has an influence, likewise the regulations of the countries concerned regarding emigration and immigration. In Australia and the United States, regulations forbidding the entrance of Yellow races have checked the movement of Chinese and Japanese to those countries; and the Government of India discourages emigration save under adequate safeguard for proper pay and treatment.
The results of emigration vary with the economic and other circumstances of the countries concerned. The country from which the movement takes place loses intellectual and physical labour power which the other country gains; but may benefit by relief given to a congested labour market. This was the case with the Netherlands in the seventeenth century, and the United Kingdom in the early nineteenth century. The general tendency is for emigration to benefit the world as a whole by enabling labour to go where it can be most productively employed. This increases world production, opens up new markets, and so indirectly benefits the older countries. Sometimes, however, emigration may cause an industry merely to be transferred from one country to another, as in the case of the fourteenth-century Flemish emigration to England. The importance of these results of emigration in any particular case depends on the class of people who emigrate,and on the volume of emigration. Deportation of criminals obviously benefited only the deporting country. Emigration on political or religious grounds has frequently deprived one country of, and given to another, a vigorous and industrious stock, as in the case of the French Huguenots driven from France to England in the late seventeenth century by the revocation of the Edict of Nantes. Economic pressure tends to send abroad agricultural and other unskilled labour. The majority of emigrants from Great Britain in the nineteenth century belonged to this class. Youth and adaptability, however, are more important qualities for an emigrant than a high level of skill in any trade; and it is probable, therefore, that on the whole emigration has relieved Europe of labour whose supply was in excess of the demand for it, and has never given newer countries the material they require. The political consequences of emigration may also be important. Some writers claim that it has assisted the spread of democracy. Whether this is an advantage is a matter for individual judgment. But emigration may certainly have much influence in creating and maintaining friendly relations between States; or, as shown by Irish influence in the United States, it may embitter the feeling between them.—Bibliography: Mayo-Smith,Emigration and Immigration; S. C. Johnson,History of Emigration from the United Kingdom to North America, 1763-1912.
Émigrés(ā-mi-grās), a name given more particularly to those persons who left France during the Revolution of 1789. At the head of these emigrants stood the royal princes of Condé, Provence, and Artois, the first of whom collected a part of the fugitives to co-operate with the allied armies in Germany for the restoration of the monarchy. At Coblentz a particular court of justice was established to settle causes relating to the Frenchémigrés. The corps of Condé was finally taken into the Russian service, and was disbanded in the Russian-Austrian campaign of 1799. When Napoleon became emperor he granted permission to all but a few of the emigrants to return to their country; but many declined to return until after his downfall. By the Charter of 1814 they were shut out from the recovery of their estates and privileges; and though, by a law of 27th April, 1825, some compensation was decreed to them, the grant was withdrawn again after the July revolution.
Emilian Provinces, a term applied to certain Italian provinces annexed to the kingdom of Sardinia in 1860. They comprised the northern part of the States of the Church (Romagna) and the Duchies of Modena and Parma.
Em´inence, an honorary title formerly applied to the Emperor and higher officials of the Empire, but restricted in 1630 by Pope Urban VIII to cardinals. Up to that time they had been calledillustrissimiandreverendissimi.
Emir(em´ēr), the title given by Mohammedans to independent chiefs or princes,AmirorAmeerbeing the same word (theAmirof Afghanistan). When associated with other words it may designate various dignitaries. Thus the caliphs styled themselvesEmir-al-Mumenin, Prince of the Faithful;Emir-al-Omrah, Prince of Princes, was the title of governors of certain provinces. The title is also given in Turkey to all the real or supposed descendants of Mohammed, through his daughter Fatimah.
Emmerich(em´e-rih), a town, Rhenish Prussia, on the right bank of the Rhine, 5 milesN.E.of Cleves. It joined the Hanseatic League in 1407. It carries on an active trade chiefly with Holland. Pop. 13,418.
Em´met, Robert, an Irish rebel, born at Cork in 1778. He was expelled from Trinity College, Dublin, in 1798, on the ground of exciting disaffection and rebellion, and having become an object of suspicion to the Government, quitted Ireland. He returned there on the repeal of the suspension of the Habeas Corpus Act, and became a member of the Society of United Irishmen for the establishment of the independence of Ireland. In July, 1803, he was the ringleader in the foolish rebellion in which Lord Kilwarden and others perished. He was arrested a few days afterwards, tried, and executed. His fate excited special interest from his attachment to Sarah Curran, daughter of the celebrated barrister. Their sad fates were commemorated by his college friend, Moore, inOh, Breathe Not his Name, andShe is Far from the Land where her Young Hero Sleeps.
Emotion, a term variously used by psychologists; sometimes as one of the divisions of feeling, the other being sensation; sometimes as opposed to feeling when the latter is identified with sensation, and sometimes as distinct from both sensation and feeling, when the last term is rigidly confined to the sense of pleasure or pain. In any of these uses, however, emotions are distinguished from sensations in that sensations are primary forms of consciousness arising by external excitation, are comparatively simple and immediately presentative phenomena, and are definite in character and capable of localization; while emotions are secondary or derived forms of consciousness, are complex and representative, and are vague and diffused. Sensations are said to be 'peripherally initiated', while emotions are centrally initiated. When, in addition to its being distinguished from sensation, it is also distinguished from feeling, emotion is applied to the whole physical condition accompanying the sense of pleasure or pain (feeling). The muscles of the body andthe organic functions of the system are often considerably influenced by emotion, which naturally seeks an outward expression unless held in check by what Darwin has called serviceable associated habits.—Bibliography: A. Bain,The Emotions and the Will; J. M‘Cosh,The Emotions.
Emped´ocles(-klēz), a Greek philosopher of Agrigentum, in Sicily, born about 490B.C.He is said to have introduced the democratic form of government into his native city, and the Agrigentines regarded him with the highest veneration as public benefactor, poet, orator, physician, prophet, and magician. Aristotle states that he died in obscurity, at the age of sixty years, in the Peloponnesus; but he is also said to have thrown himself into the crater of Mount Etna, in order to make it be believed, by his sudden disappearance, that he was of divine origin, and had been translated to heaven alive (cf. Matthew Arnold'sEmpedocles on Etna). According to Lucian, however, his sandals were thrown out from the volcano, and the manner of his death revealed. Empedocles held earth, water, fire, air, as the four fundamental and indestructible elements from whose union and separation everything that exists is formed. To these material elements are added the two moving or operative principles of love and hatred, or attraction and repulsion. He wrote his philosophy in verse; of his chief work,On Nature, about 400 lines out of the original 5000 are preserved.
Em´peror(from the Lat.imperātor; in Ger.Kaiser, fromCæsar), the title of the highest rank of sovereigns. The wordimperator, fromimperāre, to command, in its most general sense signified the commander of an army. After the overthrow of the Roman republicimperatorbecame the title of the rulers or emperors, and indicated their supreme power. Victorious generals were still, however, sometimes saluted with the titleimperator, in its original sense. With the fall of Rome the title was lost in the West, but was kept up in the Eastern or Byzantine Empire for nearly ten centuries. In 800 it was renewed in the West when Charlemagne was crowned, by Leo III, as 'Carolus Augustus, the God-sent, pious, and great emperor of Rome'. It was, however, for many centuries considered necessary to be crowned at Rome, in order to be formally invested with the title ofemperor. The imperial dignity became extinct in the East after the conquest of Constantinople in 1453, but the title was adopted by Peter I of Russia in 1721. Napoleon I adopted the old idea of an empire as a general union of states under the protection, or at least political preponderance, of one powerful state; and he was followed in this by his nephew, Napoleon III. In 1806 the first German Empire, 1000 years old, became extinct, and the German Emperor, Francis II, adopted the title of Francis I, Emperor of Austria. In Dec., 1870, the second German Empire was formed, King William of Prussia having accepted the imperial office and title offered him at Versailles. This empire came to an end in Nov. 1918. Britain is considered as an empire, the crown as imperial, and the Parliament is styled theImperial Parliament of Great Britain and Ireland. Queen Victoria assumed the title ofEmpress of Indiain 1876, but the British sovereign has not the imperial title in reference to the home dominions. The sovereigns of Japan and Morocco are often, though with little propriety, calledemperors.—Cf. ArticlesImperatorandPrincepsin Smith'sDictionary of Greek and Roman Antiquities.
Emperor Moth(Saturnia pavonia) a British moth belonging to a family Saturniidæ, of which some Indian species produce tussore silk. The colour is greyish-brown, with a faint purple tinge. The wings are about 3 inches in expanse, and in the centre of each is a large eye-like spot. The larva is of a bright-green colour, and studded with large rose-coloured or yellow tubercles.
Empetra´ceæ, a small nat. ord. of heath-like Dicotyledons, of which the type is the crow-berry.
Em´phasis, in rhetoric, a special stress or force given to some syllable, word, or words in speaking, in order to impress the hearers in some desired manner, thus differing fromaccent, the position of which is fixed.
Emphyse´mais a distention of the tissues with air or other gases. Several forms are recognized:pulmonary emphysema, due to dilatation of the minute air-passages with loss of elasticity of the lung tissues;surgical emphysema, due to distention of the subcutaneous tissues by air, seen in certain wounds and injuries;atrophic emphysema, due to a senile condition of the lung tissues.
Empire Day, a British imperial celebration which is held annually on the 24th of May, the birthday of Queen Victoria. The celebration was officially held for the first time in 1904, and has since gained wide recognition, mainly owing to the unremitting efforts of the twelfth Earl of Meath.
Empir´ic(Gr.empeiria, experience) was used in medical history to denote one of a sect of physicians who held that observation and experience were the basis of medicine. The modern use of the term, medically, is restricted to one who practises medicine without any professional education or training.
Empiricism(Gr.empeiria, experience), the philosophical theory according to which sense-experience is the source of all knowledge, i.e. that we can investigate the world only throughthe experience of our senses. It denies the existence of anya prioripossibility of knowledge, and maintains that the mind is at first atabula rasa, a clean slate, upon which all the characters are inscribed by experience. The term empiricism is, however, now applied to any philosophical system which finds all its material in experience. The philosophy of empiricism has been particularly developed by English writers of the seventeenth, eighteenth, and nineteenth centuries, such as Locke, Hume, and J. S. Mill. John Locke was the first to express the view in a systematic form. Among more modern empiricists are William James and John Dewey.—Bibliography: Green,Prolegomena to Ethics; James,Essays in Radical Empiricism.
Employers' Liability Act, a British Act of Parliament passed in 1880, by which, within certain limits, an injured workman or, in event of his death, his relatives or representatives may claim from the employer compensation for injuries received in his service. The law on this subject was improved by the Workmen's Compensation Act (1897) and its amending Act (1900). These applied to those employed on, in, or about railways, factories, mines, quarries, engineering works, buildings, and to agricultural labourers. An Act of 1906 added other classes of workers, including domestic servants. The maximum compensation on death is three years' earnings or £150, whichever is larger, but not more than £300. Contracting-out is carefully safeguarded. The maximum weekly benefit was raised from £1 to £1, 5s. in 1917, and £1, 15s. in 1920, in cases of total incapacity. Recommendations by the Board of Trade Departmental Committee were made public in July, 1920. These suggest greater powers of Government control, compulsory insurance, and greatly increased compensation in cases of death and total incapacity.
Employment Bureauswere first established on a considerable scale in the United Kingdom by the Labour Exchanges Act, 1909. They were to some extent based upon the German public labour exchanges, which came into being after 1893 in most large towns, and were either municipal or maintained by voluntary associations and supported by the municipality. Their chief object was to put employers and work-people into touch with a view to employment. Before 1909 a few public employment bureaus had been established in Great Britain. An Act of 1905 established distress committees in boroughs and urban districts, which were given power to establish labour exchanges. These powers were in some cases exercised, either by taking over existing bureaus or establishing new ones. Only in London was the system of importance. The 1909 Act gave the Board of Trade power to establish labour exchanges; and, by regulations under the Act, the United Kingdom has been divided into divisions in each of which are a number of exchanges of different grades. The system is industrial and not eleemosynary, aiming solely at providing a recognized market-place for labour. No fees are charged, and use of the exchanges is voluntary. Work-people may register at an exchange between certain hours, and, when a suitable vacancy occurs, the applicant is sent to the employer. Applications for work-people are generally received by telephone, and are recorded if no suitable applicant is available. An important part of the work of the labour exchange is in connection with Unemployed Insurance, under Part II, National Insurance Act, 1911. This provided for payment of unemployed benefit in a limited number of occupations. Subsequent Acts (notably that of 1920) have extended the system to cover the majority of occupations. The scheme is contributory, but the State shares the cost with employers and work-people.—Bibliography: W. H. Beveridge,Unemployment; F. A. Keller,Out of Work: a study of unemployment.
Em´poli, a town in North Italy, on the left bank of the Arno, 16 milesW.S.W.of Florence; it has an old collegiate church with good paintings, and manufactures of straw-bonnets. Pop. 21,500.
Empo´ria, a town of the United States, in Kansas, on the Neosho River, with a normal school, and a good trade in grain and cattle. Pop. 9050.
Empyreu´ma, the smell arising from organic matter when subjected to the action of fire, but not enough to carbonize it entirely. The products of imperfect combustion, as from wood heated in heaps or distilled in close vessels, are frequently distinguished as empyreumatic.
Ems, orBad Ems, a beautiful watering-place in the Prussian province of Hesse-Nassau, on the River Lahn, not far from its confluence with the Rhine. Its mineral waters are warm—from 70° to 118° F.,—contain large quantities of carbonic acid gas, and are used in chronic catarrhs, pulmonary complaints, diseases of the stomach, gout, and some diseases of the urinary vessels. There are about 8000 visitors each season. Pop. 6850.
Ems, a river of North-West Germany, which flows north-west through Rhenish Prussia and Hanover, and falls into the Dollart Estuary near Emden; length 230 miles.
Emu.SeeEmeu.
Emul´sine, orSynaptase, originally the name given to the mixture of enzymes in bitter and sweet almonds. Emulsine has the property of being able to hydrolyse the glucoside amygdalin to glucose, benzaldehyde, and hydrocyanic acid.
E´mys, a genus of water-tortoises native to Europe and North America, and belonging to the family Testudinidæ, which includes most reptiles of the tortoise kind.
Enaliosau´rians('sea-lizards'), a group of gigantic Mesozoic reptiles of which the ichthyosaurus and plesiosaurus were the chief.