LV. CHEMISTRY
We have traveled far since Chemistry had as its simple basis four elements: fire, air, water, and earth, regarded as perfect and complete since they embody every essence of which a body was supposedly capable: for fire was hot and dry; air, hot and wet; water, cold and wet; earth, cold and dry. We have outlived the belief in the philosopher’s stone which animated the Middle Ages. Yet these fallacies are but manifestations of the effort—old as thought—to reduce the manifoldness of matter to primordial elements, from which, in one form or other, every substance should be capable of being built up. The ultimate problem of chemistry is, therefore, the constitution of matter, and the fight around this is waged on the marches of the physical and chemical sciences.
[Sidenote: Triumphs of Chemistry]
The great commercial triumphs of chemistry are, of course, those due to the conquest of waste, to the utilization of by-products which for thousands of years had been regarded as useless. We are all familiar with the uses to which the by-products of coal-tar are put; we swallow one derivative to relieve headache, we may sugar our tea and flavour our ice-cream with others; with one derivative we clean our clothes which have been dyed with others; and we disinfect them with yet another. Phenacetin, saccharin, synthetic vanilla, benzine, naphthaline, analine dyes, carbolic acid, are only a few of the many substances won to the consumer by the chemist in his laboratory; and this is only one field of research. The chemist is always busy (as now with rubber, camphor, etc.), working at the synthesis of natural products in the hope that he will be able to find a means of manufacturing them in quantities at a cost which will make them, commercially possible, and thus lessen the drain on the world’s natural supply. In almost every detail of our lives this science enters so familiarly that we forget that the many things made possible by the chemist do not simply “happen,” but are the result of laborious research in the laboratory.
It is not possible to attain proficiency in any experimental science without laboratory work; but to the student of chemistry the lucid and original articles in the Britannica will provide a most useful commentary on his work with test-tube and burner. The general reader will find in these articles an admirable survey of the subject, and of its bearings on problems of daily life. The main article CHEMISTRY (Vol. 6, p. 33) generally covers the ground, and serves as an introduction to separate articles on important divisions of the subject. Following its arrangement the scheme outlined below suggests a useful course of reading.
(i.) Chemistry, History (Vol. 6, p. 33). Supplementary to this section are the articles ALCHEMY (Vol. 1, p. 519), ELEMENT (Vol. 9, p. 253), MOLECULE (Vol. 18, p. 654), ATOM (Vol. 2, p. 870); and reference may also be made to MEDICINE, Iatro-chemical School (Vol. 18, p. 50).
(ii.) Chemistry, General Principles (Vol. 6, p. 39), with reference to VALENCY (Vol. 27, p. 847), CHEMICAL ACTION (Vol. 6, p. 26), CATALYSIS (Vol. 5, p. 501), ISOMERISM (Vol. 14, p. 881), STEREO-ISOMERISM (Vol. 25, p. 890), RADIOACTIVITY (Vol. 22, p. 793).
(iii.) Inorganic Chemistry (Vol. 6, p. 44). See also ACID (Vol. 1, p. 145), ALKALI (Vol. 1, p. 674), and the list of 138 elements and compounds under this heading below.
(iv.) Organic Chemistry (Vol. 6, p. 47), with all the 240 articles enumerated under this heading below, especially that on POLYMETHYLENES (Vol. 22, p. 29); see also EXPLOSIVES (Vol. 10, p. 81).
(v.) Analytical Chemistry (Vol. 6, p. 60), with which may be consulted, BLOW PIPE (Vol. 4, p. 89), DISTILLATION (Vol. 8, p. 318), ELECTROLYSIS (Vol. 9, p. 217), INDICATOR (Vol. 14, p. 482), SOLUTION (Vol. 25, p. 368), STOICHIOMETRY (Vol. 25, p. 939).
(vi.) Physical Chemistry (Vol. 6, p. 65) supplemented by ENERGETICS (Vol. 9, p. 390), CHEMICAL ACTION (Vol. 6, p. 26), THERMOCHEMISTRY (Vol. 26, p. 804), SOLUTION (Vol. 25, p. 368), DISTILLATION (Vol. 8, p. 318), CONDENSATION OF GASES (Vol. 6, p. 844), with the important articles PHOTOCHEMISTRY (Vol. 21, p. 484), ELECTROCHEMISTRY (Vol. 9, p. 208), METALLURGY (Vol. 18, p. 203), ELECTROMETALLURGY (Vol. 9, p. 232), ASSAYING (Vol. 2, p. 776).
Among the contributors to the chemical department of the Britannica are: Professor Ernest Rutherford, of the University of Manchester; Walter Nernst, professor of physical chemistry in the University of Berlin; W. C. D. Whetham, author of Theory of Solution, etc.; Prof. James Walker of the University of Edinburgh; Johannes Diderik van der Waals, professor of physics, University of Amsterdam; W. R. E. Hodgkinson, professor of chemistry and physics, Ordnance College, Woolwich, perhaps the greatest living authority on explosives.
The following is a classified list of the articles on Chemistry which are contained in the Britannica. For discussions of the application of chemistry to photography, the reader should consult the article PHOTOGRAPHY (Vol. 21, p. 485), of which the chemical section is by Sir W. de W. Abney, adviser in Science to the English Board of Education.
CHEMISTRY—GENERAL
Affinity, Chemical Alchemy Alembic Allotropy Amorphism Analysis Assaying Atmolysis Atom Blowpipe Catalysis Chemical Action Chemistry Combustion Condenser Crystallization Decolourizing Desiccation Dialysis Dissociation Distillation Electrochemistry Electrolysis Element Elixir Equivalent Explosives Flame Formula Gas Hydrolysis Iatrochemistry Indicator Isomerism Matrass Molecule Photochemistry Pigments Pyrophorus Radioactivity Solution Stereochemistry Stereo-isomerism Stoichiometry Thermochemistry Valency
INORGANIC CHEMISTRY
Acid Algaroth, Powder of Alkali Alkali Manufacture Alkaline Earths Alum Aluminium Amalgam Ammonia Antimony Argon Arsenic Azoimide, or Hydrazoic Acid Azoth Barium Base Beryllium, or Glucinum Bichromates and Chromates Bismuth Bittern Borax Boric Acid, or Boracic Acid Boron Brimstone Bromine Cadmium Caesium Calcium Calomel Carbide Carbon Carbonates Carbon Bisulphide Carbonic Acid Carborundum Caustic Cerium Charcoal Chlorates Chlorine Chromium Cobalt Colcothar Columbium, or Niobium Copper Copperas Corrosive Sublimate Didymium Earth Epsom Salts Erbium Europium Fluorine Gadolinium Gallium Germanium Glauber’s Salt Glucinum Gold Gunpowder Halogens Hartshorn, Spirits of Helium Hydrate Hydrazine Hydrochloric Acid Hydrogen Hydroxylamine Hyposulphite of Soda Ice Indium Iodine Iron Kelp Kermes Lamp-black Lanthanum Lead Lime Lithium Magnesium Manganese Mercury Microcosmic Salt Molybdenum Nickel Niobium Nitre Nitric Acid Nitrogen Ochres Orpiment Osmium Oxide Oxygen Oxyhydrogen Flame Ozone Palladium Phosphates Phosphorus Plaster of Paris Platinum Potashes Potassium Radium Rare Earths Rhodium Rouge Rubidium Rust Ruthenium Sal Ammoniac Salt Saltpetre Samarium Scandium Schlippe’s Salt Selenium Silica Silicon Silver Sodium Steam Strontium Sulphur Sulphuric Acid Tantalum Tellurium Terbium Thallium Thorium Tin Titanium Tungsten Ultramarine Umber Uranium Vanadium Vermilion Vitriol Ytterbium (Neo-ytterbium) Yttrium Zinc Zirconium
ORGANIC CHEMISTRY
Acenaphthene Acetic Acid Aceto-acetic Ester Acetone Acetophenone Acetylene Acid Amides Acridine Adenine Adipocere Albumin, or Albumen Alcohol Alcohols Aldehydes Alizarin Alkahest Alkaloid Alkanet Allantoin Alloxan Alloxantin Allyl Alcohol Amidines Amines Amygdalin Amyl Alcohols Amyl Nitrate Aniline Anthracene Anthraquinone Antipyrine Argol Asparagine Azo Compounds Azoximes Benzaldehyde Benzene Benzidine Benzoic Acid Benzoin Benzophenone Benzyl Alcohol Berberine Betaïne Brucine Butyl Alcohols Butyric Acid Caffeine Camphors Carbazol Carbohydrate Carbolic Acid, or Phenol Carvacrol Cellulose Chloral Chloroform Chlorophyll Chlorpicrin Chrysene Cinnamic Acid Cinnolin Citric Acid Coal-tar Cocaine Collodion Conine Coumarin Coumarones Creosote Cresols Crotonic Acid Cyanamide Cyanic Acid and Cyanates Cyanide Cyanogen Cytisine Dextrine Diazo Compounds Diphenyl Durene Dynamite Ecgonine Erythrite Esters Ether Ethers Ethyl Ethyl chloride Ethylene Eugenol Eupion Flavin Fluoranthene Fluorene Fluorescein Formalin, or Formaldehyde Formic Acid Fructose, or Fruit-sugar Fuchsine Fulminic Acid Fumaric and Maleic Acids Furazanes Furfurane, or Furane Fusel Oil Gallic Acid Gelatin or Gelatine Glucose Glucoside Glutaric Acid Glycerin Glycols Guanidine Guncotton Hippuric Acid Hydantoin Hydracrylic Acid Hydrastine Hydrazone Hydrocarbon Imidazoles or Glyoxalines Indazoles, or Glyoxalines Indazoles Indene Indigo Indole Indulines Inulin Iodoform Isatin Isoxazoles Ketenes Ketones Lactic Acid Lactones Laevulinic Acid Litmus Malic Acid Malonic Acid Mandelic Acid Marsh Gas Mellitic Acid Mercaptans Mesoxalic Acid Methyl Alcohol Mucic Acid Murexide Mustard Oils Naphtha Naphthalene Naphthols Naphthylamines Nicotine Nitrobenzene Nitro Compounds Nitroglycerin Olefine Oleic Acid Orcin Oxalic Acid Oxazoles Oximes Palmitic Acid Paraffin Paraldehyde Phenacetin Phenanthrene Phenazine Phenolphthalein Phthalazines Phthalic Acids Picene Picric Acid Pilocarpine Piperazin Piperine Piperonal Polymethylenes Primuline Propiolic Acid Propyl Alcohols Prussic Acid Purin Pyrazines Pyrazoles Pyrene Pyridine Pyrimidines Pyrocatechin Pyrogallol Pyrones Pyrrol Pyruvic Acid Quercitron Quinazolines Quinoline Quinones Quinoxalines Resorcin Retene Saccharic Acid Saccharin Safranine Salicylic Acid Stearic Acid Styrolene Succinic Acid Sugar Sulphonal Sulphonic Acids Tannin or Tannic Acid Tar Tartar Tartaric Acid Terpenes Tetrazines Tetrazoles Thiazines Thiazoles Thiophen Thymol Toluene Triazines Triazoles Triphenylmethane Tropine Urea, or Carbamide Urethane Uric Acid Urotropin Valeric Acid Verdigris Veronal Xanthic Acid Xanthone Xylene
BIOGRAPHIES
Abel, Sir Frederick A. Achard, F. C. Andrews, Thomas Baeyer, Adolf von Balard, Antoine J. Baumé, Antoine Becher, J. J. Bell, Jacob Bergman, Torbern Olof Berthelot, M. P. E. Berthollet, C. L. Berzelius, J. J. Black, Joseph Boussingault Brande, William Thomas Brown, S. M. Bunsen, R. W. von Calvert, F. Crace Cannizzaro, Stanislao Cavendish, Henry Chevreul, M. E. Clark, Thomas Crookes, Sir William Dalton, John Daniell, John F. Davy, Sir Humphry Dewar, Sir James Döbereiner, J. W. Dulong, Pierre Louis Dumas, J. B. A. Erdmann, Otto Linné Fehling, Hermann von Fischer, Emil Fittig, Rudolf Flamel, Nicolas Fourcroy, A. F., de Frankland, Sir Edward Frémy, Edmond Fresenius, Karl R. Friedel, Charles Fuchs, Johann N. von Gannal, J. N. Gay-Lussac, J. L. Geber Geoffroy, E. F. Gerhardt, Charles F. Gibbs, Oliver Wolcott Gilbert, Sir Joseph H. Gladstone, John Hall Glaser, Christopher Glauber, Johann R. Gmelin (family) Graham, Thomas Guimet, Jean B. Guyton de Morveau Harcourt, W. Vernon Helmont, Jean B. van Henry, William Hofmann, A. W. von Homberg, William Kekulé, F. August Klaproth, M. H. Kolbe, A. W. Hermann Kopp, Hermann F. M. Kunkel von Lowenstjern Lavoisier, A. L. LeBlanc, Nicolas Lemery, Nicolas Liebig, J. von, baron Lunge, Georg Magnus, H. G. Marggraf, Andreas S. Marignac, J. C. G. de Mayow, John Mendeléeff, Dmitri I. Meyer, J. Lothar Meyer, Victor Mitscherlich, E. Mohr, K. Friedrich Moissan, Henri Mond, Ludwig Murray, John Muspratt, J. and J. S. Newlands, John A. R. Nobel, Alfred B. Pasteur, Louis Pelouze, T. Jules Perkin, Sir W. H. Pettenkofer, M. J. von Plattner, K. F. Priestley, Joseph Proust, Joseph Louis Prout, William Ramsay, Sir William Raoult, François M. Regnault, H. V. Richter, J. B. Roebuck, John Roscoe, Sir H. E. Rose (family) Rouelle, G. F. Sainte-Claire Deville Scheele, K. W. Schönbein, C. F. Schützenberger, P. Silliman, Benjamin Stahl, G. E. Stas, J. S. Tennant, Charles Tennant, Smithson Thénard, L. J. Thomsen, Julius Thomson, Thomas Van’t Hoff, J. H. Vauquelin, L. N. Weldon, Walter Wenzel, K. F. Williamson, A. W. Wislicenus, J. Wöhler, Friedrich Wollaston, W. H. Wurtz, C. A. Young, James
LVI. GEOLOGY
[Sidenote: The Province Geology or Sermons in Stones]
Shakespeare tells us that “there are sermons in stones.” No science, except possibly astronomy, appeals more to the imagination or carries one further away from our present workaday world than geology. While geology “claims as its peculiar territory the rocky framework of the globe,” its object is, says the Encyclopaedia Britannica (Vol. 11, p. 638) “to trace the structural progress of our planet from the earliest beginnings of its separate existence through its various stages of growth down to the present condition of things.” It goes back millions and hundreds of millions of years to the first beginnings of things and unravels complicated processes by which the earth and each of the continents on it has been built up.
“It follows, even into detail, the varied sculpture of mountain and valley, crag and ravine.” It shows “that the present races of plants and animals are the descendants of other and very different races which once peopled the earth. It teaches that there has been a progressive development of the inhabitants.” Dead and cold though the rocks seem, they are filled, to one who can read their secret, with the tragedy of past life. Parts of Florida are but the graves where millions of corals, now crushed into massive limestone, once lived and died; the coal of Pennsylvania tells of ferns and other terrestrial plants matted together into a bed whence they originally grew; “the snails and lizards which lived and died within a hollow tree, the insects which have been imprisoned within the exuding resin of old forests, the footprints of birds and quadrupeds, the trails of worms left upon former shores—these and innumerable other pieces of evidence” tell of the tragedies of former times and “enable the geologist to realize in some measure what the faunas and floras of successive periods have been.”
The foundation for the study of the whole subject in the Britannica is the article GEOLOGY (Vol. 11, p. 638), equivalent to 125 pages of this Guide. It is by the highest authority in the world, Sir Archibald Geikie, long director general of the Geological Survey of the United Kingdom, and director of the Museum of Practical Geology, London. It deals with the general principles and gives an outline of the subject matter of the science. In particular it treats of,
The historical development of geological science;
The cosmical aspects of geology; Geognosy; Dynamical Geology; Geotectonic or Structural Geology; Palaeontological Geology; Stratigraphical Geology; Physiographical Geology.
[Sidenote: Age of the Earth]
While the student will doubtless be interested equally in each of these departments, the general reader will be especially interested in the historical development which—it is worthy of note—is almost the only concise account of geological history hitherto published in English. Especially interesting is the question, fully discussed, of the age of the earth. Lord Kelvin (Vol. 11, p. 653) declared some few years ago that the time “was more than twenty and less than forty millions of years and probably much nearer twenty than forty.” But the trend of later investigations, and especially the study of radio-activity, has led to the belief that the period must have been much longer. Sir Archibald Geikie sums up the evidence as follows (Vol. 11, p. 653): “In the present state of science it is out of our power to state positively what must be the lowest limit of the age of the earth, but we cannot assume it to be less, and it may possibly have been much more than one hundred millions of years.”
[Sidenote: Geological Formations]
The general reader will find of interest, too, the table (Vol. 11, p. 670) representing the geological record or order of succession of the formations of the earth’s crusts from the earliest Archean, through Cambrian, Silurian, Devonian and Carboniferous to the Post-glacial or Human of to-day. A separate article is to be found on each of these different formations, namely: ARCHEAN (Vol. 2, p. 360); CAMBRIAN (Vol. 5, p. 86); SILURIAN (Vol. 25, p. 109); DEVONIAN (Vol. 8, p. 124); CARBONIFEROUS (Vol. 5, p. 309); PERMIAN (Vol. 21, p. 176); TRIASSIC (Vol. 27, p. 258); JURASSIC (Vol. 15, p. 567); CRETACEOUS (Vol. 7, p. 414); EOCENE (Vol. 9, p. 661); OLIGOCENE (Vol. 20, p. 81); MIOCENE (Vol. 18, p. 565); PLIOCENE (Vol. 21, p. 846); PLEISTOCENE (Vol. 21, p. 835); Recent, Post-glacial or Human under article QUATERNARY (Vol. 22, p. 718).
Full local geological information is found in geographical articles. See, for instance, in the article UNITED STATES, the section on Geology (Vol. 27, pp. 624–632), by Professors R. D. Salisbury and T. C. Chamberlin of the University of Chicago; the section Geology in the article ENGLAND (Vol. 9, pp. 415–416), by H. R. Mill, editor of The International Geography; the section Geology in the article AFRICA (Vol. 1, pp. 323–325), by Walcot Gibson, author of Mineral Wealth of Africa, etc. These special treatments are accompanied by sketch maps. Similarly, the articles on each of the different states of the Union has a section giving information on the geology, the flora and fauna, the climate, and the geography of the state. And in such articles on geographic topics as GREAT SALT LAKE, NIAGARA, by G. Karl Gilbert, and GRAND CANYON, by R. S. Tarr, there is valuable geological information.
Other important articles which the reader should consult are PETROLOGY (Vol. 21, p 323), equivalent to 40 pages of this Guide, largely illustrated, by Dr. J. S. Fleet, petrographer to the Geological Survey of Great Britain; MINERALOGY (Vol. 18, p. 509), equivalent to 25 pages of this Guide, by L. J. Spencer, editor of the Mineralogical Magazine; MINERAL DEPOSITS (Vol. 18, p. 504), equivalent to 15 pages of this Guide, by James F. Kemp, professor of geology of Columbia University, and geologist to the United States and New York Geological Surveys; CRYSTALLOGRAPHY (Vol. 7, p. 569), equivalent to 60 pages of this Guide, also by L. J. Spencer; MINING (Vol. 18, p. 528), equivalent to 40 pages of this Guide, by Henry Smith Munroe, professor of mining, Columbia University, New York; PALAEONTOLOGY (Vol. 20, p. 579), profusely illustrated, equivalent to 35 pages of this Guide, by Prof. Henry Fairfield Osborn of Columbia University, and president of the American Museum of Natural History of New York; PALAEOBOTANY (Vol. 20, p. 524), profusely illustrated, equivalent to 100 pages of this Guide, written by three of the leading geological writers of the day: Dr. D. H. Scott, president of the Linnean Society, author of Studies in Fossil Botany; A. E. Steward, professor of botany of the University of Cambridge; and Clement Reid, author of Fossil Flora of Tegelen.
Of more popular interest are the three articles, Earthquake, Seismometer and Volcano. The article EARTHQUAKE is in two parts. The first (Vol. 8, p. 817) is an historical account telling of the extent and damage done by many earthquakes, including the terrible San Francisco earthquake of April 18, 1906, and that of Calabria and Sicily, December 28, 1908, by F. W. Rudler, president of the Geologists’ Association; the other part (Vol. 8, p. 820), by Dr. J. Milne, late professor of geology in the Imperial University of Tokio, deals with the physical theory of earthquakes. The article VOLCANO (Vol. 28, p. 178), equivalent to 45 pages of this Guide, is by F. W. Rudler, and gives us the reasons for and the history of volcanic disturbances. It is of interest both to the scholar and to the casual reader. Thus we learn that “while Herculaneum was buried beneath a flood of mud swept down from Vesuvius” in 79 A.D., Pompeii “was overwhelmed in great measure by loose ashes, capable of removal with comparative ease.” Nearly everyone of middle age remembers the famous eruption of Krakatoa in 1883 and the famous sunsets of that year. Concerning this the Britannica article tells us (p. 180):
Enormous quantities of dust ejected from Krakatoa in 1883 were carried to prodigious distances, samples having been collected at more than a thousand miles from the volcano; whilst the very fine material in ultramicroscopic grains which remained suspended for months in the higher regions of the atmosphere seems to have enjoyed an almost world-wide distribution, and to have been responsible for the remarkable sunsets at that period.
The article DUST (Vol. 8, p. 713), by John Aitken, inventor of the machine for counting particles of dust, explains the mechanical causes of this suspension. Besides there is much concrete information about volcanoes in articles on volcanic regions: for instance, on volcanoes in the possessions of the United States, see articles HAWAII, ALASKA, PHILIPPINES.
The student should read also the articles on the different minerals, many of them long and important and all by well-known authorities. Thus the article DIAMOND (Vol. 8, p. 158), illustrated, equivalent to 20 pages of this Guide, is by Henry Alexander Miers, editor of the Mineralogical Magazine. Besides dealing with the general character of this stone, the article pays particular attention to diamond mining in South Africa, the text being illustrated by plates showing the Kimberley and DeBeers workings. The article GEM (Vol. 11, p. 560), is equivalent to 25 pages of this Guide. The article GEM, ARTIFICIAL (Vol. 11, p. 569) is by the well-known chemist and physicist, Sir William Crookes. It tells of the changes induced by radioactive emanations and of the artificial production of the diamond, ruby, sapphire, Oriental emerald, amethyst and topaz. The reader will be interested, too, in the article LAPIDARY AND GEM CUTTING (Vol. 16, p. 195), by Dr. George F. Kunz, gem expert for Messrs. Tiffany & Co., New York.
There are special biographical articles in the Britannica on all the well-known geologists, and in these articles special stress has been laid on the part played by the subject of the memoirs in promoting the science. This is well shown, for instance, in the articles AGASSIZ (Vol. 1, p. 367); HUTTON (Vol. 14, p. 16) and LYELL (Vol. 17, p. 158).
Geology, by its study of earth deposits, age of rocks, etc., and by its estimate of the date of certain extinct animals like the mammoth and hairy elephant, or of the time when certain animals, e.g., the elephant and reindeer, were found in parts of the world where they no longer occur, is an important adjunct to the science of anthropology, especially in the question of the antiquity of man. On this see the section of antiquity of man in the article ANTHROPOLOGY (Vol. 2, p. 114), and, in general, the chapter in this Guide on Anthropology and Ethnology.
From one point of view geology is only a branch of geography and the student of geology should consult the elaborate article on GEOGRAPHY in the Britannica, especially all parts dealing with physical geography or physiography. For a clue to this part of the book see the chapter in this Guide on Geography.
The following is a list of the more important articles on Geology in the Encyclopaedia Britannica:
LIST OF ARTICLES IN THE ENCYCLOPAEDIA BRITANNICA OF SPECIAL INTEREST TO STUDENTS OF GEOLOGY
Abich, O. W. H. von Abraum salts Acadian Acmite, or Aegirite Agalmatolite Agate Agglomerate Agricola, Georg Aikin, Arthur Alabaster Albertite Albian Albite Alexandrite Allophane Allport, Samuel Alluvium Almandine Alquifou Alunite, or Alumstone Amazon Stone, or Amazonite Amber Amblygonite Amethyst Amianthus Amphibole Amphibolite Amygdaloid Analcite Anatase Andalusite Andesine Andesite Anglesite Anhydrite Ankerite Annabergite Anning, Mary Anorthite Ansted, David Thomas Anthracite Apatite Aphanite Aplite Apophyllite Aptian Aquamarine Aragonite Archean System Archiac, vicomte d’ Arenig Group Argentite Argyrodite Asbestos Assise Asteria, or Star-stone Atacamite Atherstone, W. G. Augite Autunite Aventurine, or Avanturine Avonian Axinite Aymestry Limestone Azurite, or Chessylite Bagshot Beds Baily, William Hellier Bain, Andrew Geddes Bajocian Bakewell, Robert Bala Series Barrande, Joachim Barrett, Lucas Barrois, Charles Barton Beds Barytes Barytocalcite Basalt Basin Batholite Bathonian Series Bathvillite Bauxite Bed Beecher, C. E. Belt, Thomas Bembridge Beds Benett, Etheldred Benitoite Bernician Series Beryl Beryllonite Beudant, François S. Beyrich, H. E. von Bigsby, J. J. Binney, E. W. Biotite Bismuthite Bitumen Blanford, W. T. Blende, or Sphalerite Bloodstone Boase, Henry Samuel Bole Bomb Bone Bed Bonney, Thomas George Boracite Born, I. von Borolanite Bort, or Boart Bostonite Boucher de Crévecoeur de Perthes, J. Boué, Ami Boulder Boulder Clay Bournonite Bovey Beds Bowerbank, J. S. Bracklesham Beds Bradford Clay Brander, Gustavus Breccia Breislak, Scipione Bristow, H. W. Brocchi, G. B. Brochant de Villiers, A. J. F. M. Brochantite Brodie, P. B. Brogger, W. C. Bromlite Brongniart, Alexandre Bronn, Heinrich Georg Bronzite Brookite Brucite Brückmann, Franz Ernst Buch, Baron von Buckland, William Bunter Bytownite Cainozoic Cairngorm Calamine (Smithsonite) Calcite Callovian Cambrian System Cancrin, F. L. von Caradoc Series Carbonado Carboniferous System Carnelian Cassiterite Cat’s-eye Cave Celestine Cerargyrite Cerussite Chabazite Chalcedony Chalk Chalybite Charnockite Childrenite Chlorite Chromite Chrysoberyl Chrysocolla Chrysolite Chrysoprase Cinnabar Cinnamon Stone Clarke, William B. Clay Clay-with-Flints Clinoclastite Clintonite Close, Maxwell H. Cobaltite Colemanite Columbite Concretion Conglomerate Connellite Conybeare, W. D. Copalite, or Copaline Cope, Edward D. Copper-glance Copper-pyrites, or Chalcopyrite Coprolites Corallian Cornbrash Corundum Cotta, Bernard von Covellite Crater Credner, C. F. H. Cretaceous System Crocidolite Crocoite Croll, James Crosskey, Henry W. Cryolite Crystallite Crystallography Culm Cumming, Joseph G. Cuprite Cyanite Dacite Dalradian Dana, James D. Danburite Datolite Daubeny, Charles G. B. Daubree, G. A. Davidson, Thomas Dawson, Sir John W. Dechen, E. H. K. von De la Beche, Sir H. T. Delesse, A. E. O. J. Deluc, Jean Andre Demantoid Des Cloizeaux, Alfred Descloizite Deshayes, G. P. Deslongchamps, J. A. E. Desmarest, Nicolas Desnoyers, J. P. F. S. Desor, P. J. E. Devonian System Diabase Diallage Diamond Diaspore Dick, Robert Diluvium Diopside Dioptase Diorite Dolerite Dolomieu Dolomite Dopplerite Drift Dufrenoy, O. P. A. P. Dumont, André Hubert Dumortierite Duncan, Peter Martin Durocher, J. M. E. Earth pillar Earthquake Eclogite Egerton, Sir P. de M. Ehrenberg, C. G. Eichwald, K. E. von Elaterite Elie De Beaumont Emerald Emery Emmons, Ebenezer Enniskillen, 3rd earl of Enstatite Eocene Epidiorite Epidosite Epidote Erubescite Erythrite Escher von der Linth Esker Etheridge, Robert Ettingshausen, Baron Euclase Fall-line Farey, John Faujas de Saint-Fond Fault Favre, Jean Alphonse Felsite Felspar Fitton, William Henry Flint Fluor-spar Flysch Fold Forbes, David Forchhammer, J. G. Foster, Sir C. le Neve Fouque, F. A. Fournet, J. J. B. X. Fox, Robert Were Franklinite Freestone Freieslebenite Fulgurite Fuller’s Earth Fumarole Gabbro Galena Garnet Gaudry, Jean Albert Gault Geikie, Sir Archibald Geikie, James Geinitz, H. B. Gem Geology Gesner, Abraham Geyser Giebel, C. G. A. Gilbert, Grove K. Gilsonite Glacial Period Glauconite Gneiss Godwin-Austen, R. A. C. Goldfuss, G. A. Goniometer Göthite, or Goethite Granite Granulite Graphite Gravel, or Pebble Beds Green, A. H. Greenockite Greenough, G. B. Greensand Greisen Greywacke Griffith, Sir Richard J. Groth, P. H. von Guettard, J. E. Gumbel, K. W. von Guyot, A. H. Gypsum Haast, Sir J. F. J. von Haematite Haidinger, W. K. von Hall, James Hall, Sir James Halleflinta Harkness, Robert Harmotome Hatchettite Hauer, F. von Haughton, Samuel Hausmann, J. F. L. Hayden, F. V. Hebert, Edmond Heddle, M. F. Heer, Oswald Heim, A. von St. Gallen Helmersen, Gregor von Hemimorphite Henslow, John Stevens Henwood, William Jory Heulandite Hicks, Henry Hiddenite Hitchcock, Edward Hochstetter, F. C. von Holocene Hone Hopkins, William Hornblende Horner, Leonard Hornes, Moritz Hornfels Hulke, J. W. Humite Hunt, Robert Hunt, T. Sterry Hutton, James Hyacinth Hypersthene Idrialin Ijolite Ilmenite Iolite Itacolumite Jade Jameson, Robert Jargoon Jarosite Jasper Jet Joints Jones, T. Rupert Jukes, J. B. Jurassic System Kaolin Karrer, Felix Karsten, K. J. B. Kayser, F. H. E. Kenngott, G. A. Keuper Kidd, John Kimeridgian King, Clarence Kirwan, Richard Kjerulf, Theodor Kobell, W. X. F. von Koenig, K. D. E. Koksharov, N. I. von Koninck, L. G. de Kunzite Labradorite Laccolite Lacroix, A. F. A. Lamprophyres Lapilli Lapis Lazuli Lapparent, A. A. C. de Lapworth, Charles Lasaulx, A. C. P. F. von Laterite Laumont, F. P. N. G. de Lava Leadhillite Le Conte, Joseph Lehmann, J. G. Lepidolite, or Lithia-Mica Lesley, J. Peter Leucite Lévy, A. M. Lewis, Henry Corvill Lias Lignite Limburgite Limestone Limonite Lindstróm, Gustaf Liroconite Lister, Martin Llandeilo Group Llandovery Group Llwyd, Edward Loess Logan, Sir William E. London Clay Lonsdale, William Lory, Charles Ludlow Group Lyell, Sir Charles McCoy, Sir Frederick Macculloch, John Maclure, William Magnesite Magnetite Malachite Mallet, Robert Manganite Mantell, G. A. Marble Marcasite Marcou, J. B. Marl Martin, William Meek, F. B. Meerschaum Melaconite Mesozoic Metamorphism Metasomatism Meteorite Meyer, C. E. H. von Mica Mica-schist Microcline Micropegmatite Miller, Hugh Miller, W. H. Millerite Millstone Grit Mimetite Mineral deposits Mineralogy Miocene System Mispickel Mocha Stone Mofetta Mohs, Friedrich Mojsisovics von Mojsvar, J. A. G. E. Moldavite Molybdenite Monazite Monzonite Moonstone Morris, John Münster, Georg, count zu Murchison, Sir R. I. Muschelkalk Muscovite Mylonite Napoleonite Natrolite Naumann, G. A. C. F. Neck Neocomian Nepheline Nepheline-syenite Nephelinites Neumayr, Melchior Newberry, J. S. Niccolite Nicholson, H. A. Nicol, James Nitre Noeggerath, J. J. Obsidian Oldham, Thomas Oligocene System Oligoclase Olivenite Olivine Omalius d’Halloy, J. d’ Onyx Oolite Opal Oppel, C. A. Orbigny, A. D. d’ Ordovician System Orthoclase Osborn, H. F. Oxfordian Ozokerite, or Ozocerite Palaeozoic Parisite Parkinson, James Peach, C. W. Pegmatite Pendleside Series Pengelly, William Peperino Peridot Peridotite Perlite Permian System Perovskite Petalite Petrology Pharmacosiderite Phenacite Phillips, John Phillips, William Phillipsite Phlogopite Phonolite Phosgenite Phosphates Phosphorite Phyllite Picrite Pictet, de la Rive, F. J. Pitchblende, or Uraninite Pitchstone Plagioclase Pleistocene System Pliocene System Plot, Robert Plumbago Pneumatolysis Pollux, or Pollucite Porphyry Portlandian Portlock, J. E. Powell, J. W. Pre-Cambrian Prehnite Prestwick, Sir Joseph Prévost, Constant Proustite Psilomelane Pumice Purbeckian Puy Pyrargyrite Pyrites Pyrolusite Pyromorphite Pyrope Pyrophyllite Pyroxene Pyroxenite Pyrrhotite Quartz Quartzite Quartz-porphyry Quarternary Quenstedt, F. A. von Rammelsberg, K. F. A. Ramsay, Sir Andrew C. Rath, Gerhard von Reading Beds Realgar Renard, A. F. Renevier, Eugène Retinite Reusch, Hans Henrik Reuss, A. E. von Rhaetic Rhodochrosite Rhodonite Rhyolite Rock Rock-crystal Roemer, F. A. Rogers, H. D. Rome de l’Isle, J. B. L. Roth, J. L. A. Rubellite Ruby Russell, Israel Cook Rutile Rutley, Frank Salt Salter, John William Sand Sandberger, K. L. F. von Sandstone Sapphire Sard Sardonyx Satin-spar Savi, Paolo Scapolite Scheelite Schists Schlotheim, Baron von Schorl Scolecite Scoria Scrope, G. J. Poulett Sedgwick, Adam Seismometer Selwyn, A. R. C. Sénarmont, H. H. de Serpentine Sharpe, Daniel Sill Sillimanite Silurian System Sinter Slate Smaltite Smith, William Smithson, James Smyth, Sir W. W. Sodalite Soffioni Solfatara Sorby, Henry C. Speeton Beds Sphene Spherulites Spinel Spodumene Spratt, Thomas A. B. Stalactites Stannite Staurolite Steno, Nicolaus Stephanite Stibnite Stilbite Stoliczka, Ferdinand Stone Stoppani, Antonio Stratigraphy Strickland, Hugh E. Strontianite Studer, Bernhard Suess, Edward Sunstone Syenite Sylvanite Sylvite Symonds, William S. Szabó von Szentmiklos Tachylytes Talc Tate, Ralph Tchihatcheff, P. A. de Tertiary Tetradymite Tetrahedrite Theralite Thorianite Thorite Tonalite Topaz Torbernite Torell, Otto Martin Torridonian Tourmaline Trachyte Trass Tremolite Triassic System Tridymite Trimmer, Joshua Tuff Turquoise Vanadinite Variolite Variscite Veins Verneuil, P. E. P. de Vesuvianite Vivianite Vogt, Karl C. Volcano Waagen, W. H. Wachsmuth, Charles Wad Walcott, Charles D. Waltershausen Wavellite Wealden Webster, Thomas Wenlock Group Werner, A. G. Whiteaves, J. F. Whitney, J. D. Willemite Witherite Wolframite Wollastonite Wood, S. V. Woodward, John Woodward, Samuel Woolwich-and-Reading Beds Wright, Thomas Wulfenite Yoredale Series Zoelites Zincite Zircon Zirkel, Ferdinand Zittel, Karl A. von Zoisite
LVII. BIOLOGY GENERAL AND INTRODUCTORY
The Britannica tells us that Sir Thomas Browne, the famous 17th century physician and author, once ventured to doubt “whether mice may be bred by putrefaction,” and Alexander Ross, the poet scientist of 200 years ago, commenting on his scepticism wrote, “So may he doubt whether in cheese and timber worms are generated; or if beetles and wasps in cows’ dung; or if butterflies, locusts, grasshoppers, shell-fish, snails, eels, and such like, be procreated of putrefied matter, which is apt to receive the form of that creature to which it is by formative power disposed. To question this is to question reason, sense and experience. If he doubts of this let him go to Egypt, and there he will find the fields swarming with mice, begot of the mud of Nylus, to the great calamity of the inhabitants” (Vol. 1, p. 64). To-day science gives no offhand answer to the question of the origin of life. Abiogenesis, or “spontaneous generation,” so-called, finds a far less simple definition and research still in vain bends its best energies to solving this problem of problems.
The subject is so vast, dealing as it does with all the phenomena manifested by living matter, that in this Guide that branch of the subject which studies the human organism is separately dealt with in the chapter Health and Disease. This chapter, therefore, is confined to the still enormous subject of biology considered as dealing with the general problem of life; botany and zoology are treated in the following chapters. The student of either of the two last subjects should preface, or at least supplement, his studies, by reading the main general articles included below.
[Sidenote: The Study of Life]
The guiding article BIOLOGY (Vol. 3, p. 954), which should be read first, serves as a key to the discussion of the biological sciences. It is not long, for the main divisions of the subject are treated more conveniently and logically under their own appropriate headings. P. Chalmers Mitchell, secretary of the Zoological Society of London, who organized the whole subject for the new Britannica, is the contributor. Supplementing this, the article LIFE (Vol. 16, p. 600), also by Chalmers Mitchell, should be read, with those on PROTOPLASM (Vol. 22, p. 476), SPECIES (Vol. 25, p. 616), ABIOGENESIS (Vol. 1, p. 64), BIOGENESIS (Vol. 3, p. 952). In the two articles last named the theory of spontaneous generation is examined and found wanting, or at best unproved.
[Sidenote: Structure]
Living matter may be regarded under four aspects: structure, distribution, physiology, evolution. For the first, the article MORPHOLOGY (Vol. 18, p. 863) leads the discussion, followed by CYTOLOGY (Vol. 7, p. 710), and EMBRYOLOGY (Vol. 9, p. 314), in which the growth of cell structures is discussed. These articles are introductory to the whole subject. Supplementing them reference may be made to the Morphology sections of the articles PLANT (Vol. 21, p. 728) and ZOOLOGY (Vol. 28, p. 1022).
[Sidenote: Distribution]
A most fascinating branch is that which is concerned with the where and when of the existence of organisms. The articles in the Britannica are worthy of the interest of the subject. Under PALAEONTOLOGY (Vol. 20, p. 579) H. F. Osborn, Columbia University, New York, president of the American Museum of Natural History, New York, treats of the archaeology of the biological sciences, of the extinct species which once inhabited the earth; while Clement Reid, of the Geological Survey of Great Britain, A. C. Seward, professor of botany, Cambridge University, and Dr. D. H. Scott, president of the Linnean Society, perform the same service for plant life in the article PALAEOBOTANY (Vol. 20, p. 524). The distribution of present types is discussed under ZOOLOGICAL DISTRIBUTION (Vol. 28, p. 1002), PLANTS, Distribution (Vol. 21, p. 777), and PLANKTON (Vol. 21, p. 720), in which Prof. G. H. Fowler of University College, London, describes a science which is still young—that of tracing the drift and distribution of deep sea life. See also ACCLIMATIZATION (Vol. 1, p. 114), by Alfred Russel Wallace and Frank Finn, of the Indian Museum of Calcutta.
[Sidenote: Physiology]
The properties, processes, and functions of living things fall in the province of PHYSIOLOGY (Vol. 21, p. 554), and kindred articles; among the latter the following may profitably be consulted: ANIMAL HEAT (Vol. 2, p. 48), and PLANTS, Physiology (Vol. 21, p. 744).
[Sidenote: Evolution]
The gradual development of species is considered in a number of valuable articles such as EVOLUTION (Vol. 10, p. 22), HEREDITY (Vol. 13, p. 350), REPRODUCTION (Vol. 23, p. 116), MENDELISM (Vol. 18, p. 115), TELEGONY (Vol. 25, p. 509), VARIATION AND SELECTION (Vol. 27, p. 906).
Following is an alphabetical list of the general biological articles (those not dealing directly with either Botany or Zoology), which are to be found in the Britannica:
Abiogenesis Acclimatization Acephalous Acuminate Adaptation Aestivation Albino Alveolate Anabolism Anastomosis Aporose Auricle Autogeny Bathybius Biogenesis Biology Bipartite Catabolism Chemotaxis Cilia Cytology Embryology Enzyme Evolution Fermentation Habitat Heredity Hibernaculum Histology Hybridism Life Longevity Mendelism Metabolism Microtomy Monotypic Morphology Oecology, or Ecology Osteology Parasitism Protoplasm Reproduction Rhacis, or Rachis Species Telegony Variation and Selection
BIOGRAPHIES OF BIOLOGISTS
The life and work of the world’s great biologists may be studied in the Britannica, and an alphabetical list of the principal articles follows.
Acharius, Erik Adams, A. L. Adanson, Michel Afzelius, Adam Agassiz, A. E. Agassiz, J. L. R. Aiton, William Albinus (Weiss), B. S. Aldrovandi, Ulissi Allman, George James Alpini, Prospero Alston, Charles Ambrosini, Bartolomeo Anderson, James Arrenotokous, A. Artedi, Peter Audebert, J. B. Audouin, Jean Victor Audubon, John James Avebury, J. Lubbock, Baron Baer, Karl Ernst von Baird, S. F. Balfour, F. M. Banks, Sir Joseph Barton, B. S. Bates, Henry Walter Bauhin, Gaspard Belon, Pierre Bentham, George Berkeley, M. J. Blainville, H. M. Ducrotay de Bloch, Mark Eliezer Blumenbach, J. F. Bonpland, A. J. A. Bory de Saint-Vincent, J. B. G. M. Bose, L. A. G. Brisson, M. J. Broderip, W. J. Brongniart, A. T. Broussonet, P. M. A. Brown, Robert Buckland, F. T. Buffon, G. L. L. de Caesalpinus, Andreas Camerarius, Joachim Camerarius, R. J. Camper, Peter Candolle, A. P. de Carpenter, W. B. Cavanilles, A. J. Claparède, J. L. R. A. E. Cobbold, T. S. Cohn, Ferdinand Julius Combe, George Coues, E. Cuvier, Baron Darwin, Charles R. Darwin, Erasmus Daubenton, L. J. M. De Bary, H. A. Desfontaines, R. L. Dillen (Dillenius), J. J. Donovan, Edward Dryander, Jonas Duhamel de Monceau Dutrochet, R. J. H. Edwards, George Eschscholtz, J. F. Fabricius, J. C. Falconer, Hugh Flourens, M. J. P. Flower, Sir William H. Forbes, Edward Forskal, Peter Fortune, Robert Fraas, Karl Nikolas Fries, Elias Magnus Fuchs, Leonard Gall, Franz Joseph Gaudichaud-Beaupré Gegenbaur, Carl Geoffroy Saint-Hilaire, E. Geoffroy Saint-Hilaire, I. Gerard, John Gervais, Paul Gesner, K. von Gosse, Philip Henry Gould, A. A. Gray, Asa Gray, John Edward Grew, Nehemiah Haeckel, E. H. Hagenbeck, Carl Hales, Stephen Hasselquist, Frederik Hofmeister, W. F. B. Hooker, Sir Joseph D. Hooker, Sir William J. Huber, François Huxley, T. H. Hyatt, Alpheus Jäger, Gustav Jesse, Edward Jussieu, De (family) Kaup, Johann Jakob Kirby, William Kölliker, R. A. von Kühne, Willy Lacépède, B. G. E. de La Ville, comte de Lamarck Latreille, P. A. Lawes, Sir John B. Leeuwenhoek, A. van Leidy, Joseph Lindley, John Linnaeus Lombroso, Cesare Ludwig, K. F. W. Macgillivray, W. and J. Malpighi, Marcello Marsh, O. C. Martius, C. F. P. von Martyn, John Michaux, André Milne-Edwards, Henry Mivart, St. George J. Mohl, Hugo von Morgagni, G. B. Müller, F. von, baron Müller, J. P. Naegeli, K. W. van Nees von Esenbeck Newton, Alfred North, Marianne Nuttall, Thomas Oken, Lorenz Ormerod, Eleanor A. Owen, Sir Richard Pennant, Thomas Pringsheim, Nathanael Quatrefages de Bréau Ray (or Wray), John Réaumur, R. A. F. de Richardson, Sir John Romanes, G. J. Royle, John Forbes Sachs, Julius von Saint-Hilaire, A. de Saussure, N. T. de Schleiden, M. J. Schultze, M. J. S. Schwann, Theodor Senebier, Jean Sibthorp, John Siebold, C. T. E. vo Sowerby, James Spallanzani, Lazaro Sprengel, Kurt Spurzheim, J. C. Swammerdam, Jan Swartz, Olof Thomson, Sir C. W. Thunberg, K. P. Thuret, G. A. Tiedemann, Friedrich Torrey, John Tournefort, J. P. de Treviranus, G. R. Tylor, E. B. Virchow, Rudolf Wagner, Rudolph Wallace, A. Russel Waterton, Charles Weismann, August White, Gilbert Williamson, W. C. Willughby, Francis Wilson, Alexander Wolff, C. F. Wood, John George Yarrell, William
LVIII. BOTANY
There are many gardeners and lovers of gardens, but comparatively few have even the most elementary knowledge of botany. How many, for instance, know or remember that in the leaves of plants are situated the kitchens in which they prepare their food, or more than vaguely recognize the presence of a nervous system in plant organisms (Vol. 21, p. 747)? The majority, indeed, ignore the fact that a little study will add a hundred-fold to their enjoyment, and that, unlike most scientific subjects, botany can be studied with a minimum of trouble or toil, and with the simplest apparatus. His own garden, the woods and fields, will give the inquirer ample subjects for his investigations, and, as in every other undertaking, the longer he pursues it the more he will see, and the more intense will be his pleasure in the contemplation of the garden of his cultivation.
Botany is, of course, one branch of an enormous subject. The student will, therefore, do well to familiarize himself with the general articles which cover the science of living matter, as outlined in the chapter on Biology. In that chapter references have in fact already been given to certain sections of the strictly botanical articles. The general arrangement of the subject in the Britannica is as follows:—(i.) articles dealing with the broad aspects of the science; (ii.) articles on “systematic” botany treating of the various families of plants; (iii.) articles describing members of their families.
[Sidenote: General Principles]
Following the most convenient and at the same time the most logical course, the article BOTANY (Vol. 4, p. 299) gives a key to the treatment of the whole subject in the Britannica. This is by A. B. Rendle, keeper of the Department of Botany, British Museum, who acted as general adviser to the editor in the arrangement of this branch of biology in the Britannica. The main article on the subject is under the heading PLANTS (Vol. 21, p. 728), by a number of eminent authorities. The article is divided as follows: Classification, by A. B. Rendle; Anatomy and History and Bibliography, by A. G. Tansley, lecturer in botany in the University of Cambridge; Physiology, by J. R. Green, formerly lecturer on plant physiology, University of Liverpool; Pathology, by H. M. Ward, formerly professor of botany, University of Cambridge; Ecology, which comprises the study of the relations of the individual plant, or species, or the plant community, with its habitat, by C. E. Moss, curator of the Cambridge University Herbarium; Cytology, which treats of the cell structure of plant organisms, by H. W. T. Wager, president of the Botanical section of the British Association, 1905; Morphology, by S. H. Vines, professor of botany, University of Oxford, and president of the Linnean Society, 1900–1904; Distribution, by Sir W. T. Thiselton-Dyer, director of the Kew Botanical Gardens. Supplementary to the article PLANTS are the following, which should all be read carefully: ROOT (Vol. 23, p. 712), STEM (Vol. 25, p. 875), LEAF (Vol. 16, p. 322), FLOWER (Vol. 10, p. 553), FRUIT (Vol. 11, p. 254). A very important article is that on PALAEOBOTANY (Vol. 20, p. 524), which treats of the distribution, etc., of plant life in prehistoric periods. The contributor is Clement Reid of the Geological Survey of England and Wales, an original investigator in this important field. The advances in the study of minute plant organisms in the past few years have been very great and they receive treatment in the brilliant article BACTERIOLOGY (Vol. 3, p. 156), by Prof. H. M. Ward of Cambridge University, and V. H. Blackmann, professor of botany in the University of Leeds.
Other articles in the Britannica which refer to the general principles of the science will be found enumerated at the end of this chapter.
[Sidenote: Divisions and Classification]
The student must, of course, make himself familiar with the primary divisions of the vegetable kingdom. These are considered in order below. By far the biggest and the most important is that of the Angiosperms. They will be treated first.
[Sidenote: Angiosperms: Dicotyledons]
The division ANGIOSPERMS (Vol. 2, p. 9) includes all those flowering plants whose seeds are enclosed in capsules. This division is again divided into two classes: the Dicotyledons (Vol. 8, p. 185), which are distinguished by the presence of a pair of seed-leaves or cotyledons in the embryo contained in the seed; and the Monocotyledons (see Vol. 2, p. 13), which contain only one. The former embraces most of the flowerbearing plants, and includes the following families:—BORAGINACEAE (Vol. 4, p. 242) to which order belongs such plants as forget-me-nots, borage, heliotrope, etc. CAPRIFOLIACEAE (Vol. 5, p. 290), which include elder, honeysuckle, etc. CARYOPHYLLACEAE (Vol. 5, p. 439), with the pinks, carnations, etc. COMPOSITAE (Vol. 6, p. 811), which is the largest order in this division and includes one-tenth of the whole number of flowering plants, with such varieties as lettuce, dandelion, artichoke, sunflower, chrysanthemum, etc. CONVOLVULACEAE (Vol. 7, p. 67), among which are the convolvulus, sweet potato, bindweed. CRASSULACEAE (Vol. 7, p. 380), which include a quantity of African plants. CRUCIFERAE (Vol. 7, p. 521), with the wallflower, stock, mustard, cabbage, radish, nasturtium, etc. CUCURBITACEAE (Vol. 7, p. 611), among which are the cucumber, melon, etc. CUPULIFERAE (Vol. 7, p. 635), with the hazel, oak, beech, alder. ERICACEAE (Vol. 9, p. 739), with the rhododendron, arbutus, whortleberry, heather. EUPHORBIACEAE (Vol. 9, p. 892), which include the castor-oil plant, box, euphorbia, etc. GENTIANACEAE (Vol. 11, p. 601), with the gentian, yellow-wort, bog-bean, etc. GERANIACEAE (Vol. 11, p. 762), whose name is derived from the geranium. LABIATAE (Vol. 16, p. 3), with peppermint, marjoram, thyme, sage, ground-ivy. LEGUMINOSAE (Vol. 16, p. 381), which embrace gorse, furze, scarlet runner, mimosa, acacia, rest-harrow, etc. MALVACEAE (Vol. 17, p. 517), with the mallow, hibiscus, hollyhock. The MORACEAE (Vol. 18, p. 814), with the fig, mulberry, banyan, etc. ONAGRACEAE (Vol. 20, p. 104), including the evening primrose, fuschia, etc. POLYGONACEAE (Vol. 22, p. 26), with dock, rhubarb, buckwheat, etc. PRIMULACEAE (Vol. 22, p. 341), including primrose, cowslip, pimpernel. RANUNCULACEAE (Vol. 22, p. 895), with the varieties buttercup, clematis, aconite, larkspur, columbine, marsh marigold, anemone. ROSACEAE (Vol. 23, p. 722), to which the rose gives the name, and which include strawberry, raspberry, apple, pear, plum, spiraea, blackthorn, etc. RUBIACEAE (Vol. 23, p. 808), with gardenias, chincona, coffee, madder. SAXIFRAGACEAE (Vol. 24, p. 263), saxifrage, japonica, gooseberry, hydrangea. SCROPHULARIACEAE (Vol. 24, p. 485), with veronica, foxglove, snapdragon, etc. SOLANACEAE (Vol. 25, p. 356), which embrace henbane, tobacco, deadly nightshade, cape gooseberry, capsicum. UMBELLIFERAE (Vol. 27, p. 575), to which belong ivy, carrot, hemlock, celery, caraway, parsley. URTICACEAE (Vol. 27, p. 805), which include the nettle tribes.
[Sidenote: Angiosperms: Monocotyledons]
The Monocotyledons include the ALISMACEAE (Vol. 1, p. 671), to which belong the arrow-head, the water plantain, the butomus (so called because the leaves cut the tongues of oxen feeding on them), and other water plants. AROIDEAE (Vol. 2, p. 640), so called from the Arum family. The BROMELIACEAE (Vol. 4, p. 632), including pineapple, Spanish-moss. CYPERACEAE (Vol. 7, p. 692), with bulrush, cotton grass, etc. GRASSES (Vol. 12, p. 369), a most valuable article. HYDROCHARIDEAE (Vol. 14, p. 112), which include a number of water plants. Iridaceae (Vol. 14, p. 793), which include besides the iris, the crocus, gladiolus, etc. The JUNCACEAE (Vol. 15, p. 555), or Rush family; and the LILIACEAE (Vol. 16, p. 683), which include asparagus, hyacinth, star of Bethlehem, fritillary, bluebell, etc.
[Sidenote: Other Divisions]
Another big division is that of the GYMNOSPERMS (Vol. 12, p. 754). These have naked seed pods; that is to say, the seeds are not enclosed in capsules. The best known and largest division of this class contains the conifers: pines, firs, cedars, larches, etc.
PTERIDOPHYTA (Vol. 22, p. 605), or spore-producing plants, including the fern families as the largest and most important of its members.
BRYOPHYTA (Vol. 4, p. 700), the second great sub-division of the vegetable kingdom, comprises the mosses and liverworts.
ALGAE (Vol. 1, p. 585), plants usually devoid of differentiation into roots, stem, and leaf, coming under the general class of Bryophyta, and including sea-weeds as the main group.
LICHENS (Vol. 16, p. 578), compound dual organisms, part algae and part fungus, interesting because the dual organism enables the plant to live where neither of its compounds could live alone. Iceland moss, valuable both for its nutritive and medicinal qualities, comes under this division.
FUNGI (Vol. 11, p. 333), an enormous class, comprising, according to Saccardo, 32,000 different species.
Bacteria (see BACTERIOLOGY, Vol. 3, p. 156), minute organisms, also known as microbes, bacilli, etc., technically called Schizomycetes.
INSECTIVOROUS PLANTS (Vol. 14, p. 644), more correctly termed Carnivorous, belong to a number of distinct natural orders, but agree in the extraordinary habit of adding to the supplies of nitrogenous material offered them by the soil and atmosphere by the capture and consumption of insects and other small animals.
These are the main divisions, and from the articles describing them the student will acquire a sound knowledge of the characteristics which distinguish each. As a matter of fact, interest in botany as a subject is first inspired by the particular rather than the general—that is to say, the love of individual flowers leads to the study of their habits and life history, thence to a comparison which leads to the recognition of similar characteristics in plants having apparently widely different functions, so that the following section of the subject, touching the natural history of plants, though really placed last in a logical course of reading in botany, will contain much that is already known to the student who wishes to pursue the subject systematically.
[Sidenote: Natural History]
In the Britannica from the various articles concerning the natural history of individual plants it is easy to trace back to what family and main division each plant belongs. To the student beginning the subject it will be most suggestive to look up the accounts of the plants which are cultivated in his garden, or which he can find near his home, and find out the family relationship between subjects which appear to differ very widely both in habits and characteristics. From the outline given above in the paragraph devoted to systematic botany an indication will be given him of the surprises which are in store for him as he pursues his investigation. He would not at first suspect, for example, that asparagus and hyacinths were cousins, that roses, apples, and blackthorn are closely related, or that chrysanthemums and artichokes have any connection with one another, let alone cabbage and wallflowers. An excellent scheme to arouse the interest of the young student would therefore be to encourage him to pick out from the list below the names of plants with which he is familiar and of which he can get specimens, and thence work backward until the meanings of the main divisions of the vegetable kingdom are clear to him.
In the natural history section of the following list will be found in alphabetical order the plants which have separate articles in the Britannica. Many plants besides these are of course described. They will be found in the Index, where the volume and page on which a description will be found are given.
CLASSIFIED LIST OF ARTICLES IN THE BRITANNICA ON BOTANY
(For biographies of botanists, see the end of the chapter on Biology)
=Botany: General=
Acaulescent Acerose Acinus Acorn Alburnum Angulate Ascus Autogamy Auxanometer Axile, or Axial Bacteriology Botany Boll Bur, or Burr Caducous Caespitose Cane Capsule Cataphyll Chlorosis Colleter Corn Cystolith Deciduous Fairy Ring Flower Fruit Galls Glaucous Graft Herb Herbarium Humus Idioblast Leaf Marcescent Meristem Nut Palaeobotany Pin-eyed Pistil Plants Pollination Root Ruderal Sap Sarcocarp Sarmentose Scion Secund Seed Stem Synanthy Thorn Thrum-eyed Tree Vegetable Witch brooms
=Botany: Systematic=
Acotyledones Acrogenae Algae Alismaceae Amentiferae, or Amentaceae Angiosperms Aroideae (Arum family) Boraginaceae Bromeliaceae Bryophyta Caprifoliaceae Caryophyllaceae Compositae Convolvulaceae Crassulaceae Cruciferae Cucurbitaceae Cupuliferae Cyperaceae Diatomaceae Dicotyledons Dictyogens Ericaceae Euphorbiaceae Fungi Gentianaceae Geraniaceae Grasses Gymnosperms Hydrocharideae Insectivorous Plants Iridaceae Juncaceae Labiatae Leguminosae Lichens Liliaceae Malvaceae Moraceae Onagraceae Polygonaceae Primulaceae Pteridophyta Ranunculaceae Rosaceae Rubiaceae Saxifragaceae Scrophulariaceae Solanaceae Umbelliferae Urticaceae
=Botany: Natural History=
Aal Aaron’s Rod Abaca Abutilon Acacia Acanthus Achimenes Acorus Calamus Adonis African Lily Agave Agrimony Ailanthus Alder Aleurites Alexanders Algum, or Almug Tree Allamanda Alliaria officinalis Allium Almond Aloe Amadou Amanita Amaranth Amaryllis Ammoniacum, or Gum Ammoniac Ampelopsis Anatto Anemone Angelica Animé Anise Apple Apricot Araucaria Arbor Vitae Archil Aristolochia Arrowroot Artichoke Ash Asparagus Aspen Asphodel Aspidistra Aster Aubergine Aucuba Auricula Avocado Pear Azalea Bael Fruit Balm Bamboo Banana Baneberry Banksia Baobab Barberry Barley Bdellium Bean Beech Beet Begonia Benzoin, or Gum Benjamin Betel Nut Bilberry Birch Bird’s Eye Blackberry Bladder-wort Boletus Borage Botrytis Bottle-brush Plants Bouvardia Boxwood Bracket-fungi Brazil Nuts Brazil Wood Bread-fruit Brooklime Broom Broom-rape Buchu, or Buka Leaves Buck-bean, or Bog-Bean Buckthorn Buckwheat Bulrush Burnet Buttercup Butter-nut Butterwort Cabbage Cactus Calabash Calabash Tree Calceolaria Camellia Campanula Candytuft Cannon-ball Tree Capers Caraway Cardamom Cardoon Carnation Carrot Cashew Nut Cassava Cassia Casuarina Catalpa Catha Cayenne Pepper Ceanothus Cecropia Cedar Celandine Celery Centaurea Centaury Chantarelle Chenopodium Cherry Chestnut Chicory Chive Chrysanthemum Cicely Cimicifuga Cinchona Cineraria Cinnamon Citron Cleavers Clematis Climbing Fern Cloudberry Clover Cloves Coca, or Cuca Cocculus Indicus Cock’s-comb Cocoa Coco de Mer Coco-nut Palm Codiaeum Coffee Colchicum Coleus Colocynth Colt’s-foot Columbine Compass Plant Cotton Copaiba, or Copaiva Copal Coriander Cork Corn-salad Correa Cotoneaster Cow-tree Cranberry Cress Crinum Crocus Crowberry Cryptomeria Cucumber Cumin, or Cummin Currant Custard Apple Cyclamen Cypress Daffodil Dahlia Daisy Dame’s Violet Dammar, or Dammer Dandelion Daphne Darlingtonia Date Palm Dewberry Dividivi Dock Dodder Dogwood Dracaena Dragon’s Blood Dropwort Duckweed Dulse Duramen Durian Durra Earth-nut Earth-star Ebony Edelweiss Eglantine Elder Elecampane Elephant’s Foot Elm Endive Entada Esparto, or Spanish Grass Eucharis Euonymus Euphorbia Evergreen Everlasting, or Immortelle Fennel Fenugreek Fern Fig Filmy Ferns Finger-and-toe Fir Flax Fool’s Parsley Forget-me-not Foxglove Freesia Fritillary Frog-bit Fuchsia Fumitory Funkia Furze, Gorse, or Whin Fustic Gale Gardenia Garlic Genista Gentian Geranium Geum Gillyflower Ginger Gladiolus Glasswort Gloriosa Gloxinia Golden Rod Gooseberry Gourd Grains of Paradise Gram, or Chick-pea Granadilla Grass of Parnassus Greenheart Ground Nut Groundsel Guava Guelder Rose Gulfweed Gum Gumbo, or Okra Gutta Percha Hackberry Harebell Hawthorn Hazel Heath Heliotrope, or Turnsole Hellebore Hemlock Hemp Henbane Henna Hickory Hippeastrum Holly Hollyhock Honey Locust Honeysuckle Hop Horehound Hornbeam Horseradish Horsetail Houseleek Huckleberry Huon Pine Hyacinth Hydrangea Hyssop Iceland Moss Ice-plant Impatiens Iris Irish Moss, or Carrageen Iron-wood Ivy Jarrah Wood Jasmine, or Jessamine Jew’s Ears Job’s Tears Judas Tree Jujube Juniper Jute Kaffir Bread Kauri Pine Kerguelen’s Land Cabbage Kumquat Labrador Tea Laburnum Lac Lace-bark Tree Lancewood Larch Larkspur Lattice Leaf Plant Laurel Laurustinus Lavender Leek Lemon Lentil Lettuce Lilac, or Pipe Tree Lily Lime, or Linden Liquidambar, or Sweet Gum Litchi, or Lee-Chee Lobelia Loco-weeds, or Crazy Weeds Locust-tree Loosestrife Loquat Lotus Lucerne Lupine Lycopodium Madder, or Dyer’s Madder Magnolia Mahogany Maidenhair Maize, or Indian Corn Mallow Mammee Apple Mandrake Mangel-Wurzel Mango Mangosteen Mangrove Manila Hemp Manna Maple Mare’s-tail Marguerite Marigold Marjoram Mastic, or Mastich Maté, or Paraguay Tea Medlar Melon Mesquite, or Honey Locust Mignonette Mildew Milkwort Millet Mimosa Mimulus Mint Mistletoe Moly Momordica Moonseed Moonwort, or Moonfern Moreton Bay Chestnut Mucuna Mulberry Mushroom Mustard Myrobalans Myrrh Myrtle Narcissus Nasturtium Nettle Nettle Tree Nightshade Nutmeg Oak Oat Oleander Oleaster Olive Onion Orach, or Mountain Spinach Orange Orchids Orris-Root Osier Oxalis Paeony Palm Palmetto Pansy, or Heartsease Papyrus Parsley Parsnip Passionflower Pea Peach Pear Pellitory Pennyroyal Pentstemon Pepper Peppermint Pepper Tree Persimmon Petunia Phlox Phormium, or New Zealand Flax Pimento Pine Pine-apple Pink Pistachio Nut Pitcher-plants Plane Plantain Plum Poinsettia Pokeberry, or Pokeweed Polyanthus Polypodium Pomegranate Pondweed Poplar Poppy Potato Potentilla Primrose Privet Puff-ball Pumpkin Purslane Pyrethrum Quince Radish Ramie Ramsons Ranunculus Rape Raspberry Reed Rhododendron Rice Richardia Robinia, or Locust-tree Rocambole Rose Rosemary Rosewood Rosin, or Colophony Royal Fern Rubber Rue Rush Rye Sabicu Wood Safflower Saffron Sago Sainfoin St. John’s Wort Salsafy, or Salsify Salvia Sapan Wood Sarracenia Satin Wood Saxifrage Scammony Scorzonera Screw-pine Sea-kale Seawrack Sedum Sequoia Service Tree Sesame Shaddock Shallot Sisal Hemp Skirret Snake-root Snapdragon Snowdrop Soap-bark Sorghum Sorrel Spanish Broom Spikenard, or Nard Spinach Spruce Stink-wood Strawberry Strophanthus Sudd Sumach Sundew Sunflower Sunn, or India Hemp Sweet Potato Sweet-sop Switch Plants Tallow Tree Tamarind Tamarisk Tea Teak Teasel Terebinth Thistle Thyme Tiger-flower Toadstool Tobacco Tomato Tonqua Bean Toothwort Traveller’s Tree Tree-fern Truffle Tuberose Tulip Tulip Tree Tumble-weed Turmeric Turnip Vanilla Vegetable Marrow Venus’s Fly-trap Venus’s Looking-glass Veratrum Verbena Vetch Vine Violet Walnut Water-lily Water-thyme Wax-tree Wheat Willow Willow-herb Wintergreen Winter’s-bark Witch-hazel Woad Wormwood Yam Yew Yucca Zinnia
LIX. ZOOLOGY
At the very outset of his zoological studies the reader will find that the doctors still differ as to the best and most scientifically logical system to be employed in classification. So important is it that the connotation and denotation of every zoological designation should be definite, that Sir Edwin Ray Lankester devotes the title article ZOOLOGY (Vol. 28, p. 1022) mainly to a discussion of systems of classification, and besides there is a separate article ZOOLOGICAL NOMENCLATURE (Vol. 28, p. 1021) by P. Chalmers Mitchell, Secretary of the Zoological Society of London, university demonstrator in comparative anatomy and assistant to the Linacre Professor at Oxford, and adviser to the editor in the organization of the whole subject of zoology in the Britannica.
The Britannica articles may be classified in three divisions: dealing with (i) General Principles, (ii) Systematic, (iii) Natural History.
[Sidenote: General Principles]
The student should read at any rate some of the general articles mentioned in the chapter on Biology; and these will prepare him for the difficult questions involved in the articles ZOOLOGY and ZOOLOGICAL NOMENCLATURE. Supplementary to these are the following: ANIMAL (Vol. 2, p. 48), in connection with which should be read the article PROTISTA (Vol. 22, p. 476) where the borderland between the animal and vegetable kingdoms is further discussed, and the very valuable article PROTOZOA (Vol. 22, p. 479) in which E. A. Minchin, professor of protozoology in the University of London, discusses the minute animal organisms, which in the last decade have proved immensely important in the study of parasitic diseases. In LARVAL FORMS (Vol. 16, p. 224), and METAMORPHOSIS (Vol. 18, p. 221) Prof. Adam Sedgwick, of the Imperial College of Science and Technology in London, discusses the early history of larvae and their change from larval to adult growth. The articles METAMERISM (Vol. 18, p. 215), by Sir Edwin Ray Lankester, and Regeneration of Lost Parts (Vol. 23, p. 36), by P. Chalmers Mitchell, discuss the capacity for repeating parts (as in the case of the common earth worm) and for the formation of new parts to take the place of those lost by accident or injury. The article MONSTER (Vol. 18, p. 740) by Dr. Charles Creighton will be found very suggestive.
[Sidenote: Protective Modifications]
The eyes of most of us are shut to the wonders of the animal kingdom. We know by hearsay that the colouring of an animal or insect, brilliant and startling though it often be, is designed by nature for protection by enabling it to assimilate itself to that of its surroundings. But how many of us have taken the trouble to verify this? The articles COLOURS OF ANIMALS, Bionomics (Vol. 6, p. 731), by Prof. Poulton of Oxford, and MIMICRY (Vol. 18, p. 495), by R. I. Pocock, superintendent of the Zoological Gardens in London, will suggest to the reader many objects for observation. Especially interesting in the former article is the section on the use of colour for warning and signaling. In connection with these articles, those on EGG (Vol. 9, p. 13) and FEATHER (Vol. 10, p. 224), by W. P. Pycraft, of the British Museum, may be read, and NIDIFICATION (Vol. 19, p. 666), by Prof. Alfred Newton of Cambridge University, and Hans Gadow, Strickland curator and lecturer on zoology in the University of Cambridge; especially those sections concerned with the precautions taken by the birds for protection and concealment. A very fascinating subject is discussed in the articles dealing with the distribution and movements of animal life. These are ZOOLOGICAL DISTRIBUTION (Vol. 28, p. 1002), by the well-known zoologist Richard Lydekker; MIGRATION (Vol. 18, p. 433), by Hans Gadow; and PLANKTON (Vol. 21, p. 720), by G. H. Fowler of University College, London. Reference to these articles has already been made in the chapter on Biology. Closely connected with them is the article on PALAEONTOLOGY (Vol. 20, p. 579), by Prof. H. F. Osborn, Columbia University and American Museum of Natural History, in which the distribution of prehistoric life is discussed; and, as will be seen from the list below, all the principal species now only found in fossil remains are described in separate articles.
[Sidenote: Intelligence of Animals]
The editor succeeded in getting the psychologist, Prof. C. Lloyd Morgan, of the University of Bristol, who has made a specialty of this particular subject, to write extremely illuminating articles on INSTINCT and on INTELLIGENCE IN ANIMALS (Vol. 14, pp. 648 and 680). Interesting as throwing a side light on either the instinct or intelligence of birds, is the section on their song in the article SONG (Vol. 25, p. 413). It is hardly possible to look through any of these articles, or those on mimicry and colour, above alluded to, without coming across some striking and interesting fact, as for instance, the sudden change from a divine melody to an anxious croak in the utterance of the male nightingale as soon as the brood is hatched. These articles will be read for their great interest by many who do not intend systematically to pursue the subject of Zoology.
[Sidenote: Animals in Captivity]
The housing of animals in captivity is discussed in the articles AQUARIUM (Vol. 2, p. 237), by Professor G. H. Fowler, University College, London; AVIARY (Vol. 3, p. 60), by D. Seth-Smith, curator of birds to the Zoological Society of London; and ZOOLOGICAL GARDENS (Vol. 28, p. 1018), by P. Chalmers Mitchell. The first two contain some very useful hints for the care of small aquaria and aviaries; and young people who like to have aquaria at home, and are often disappointed by their failure to keep alive some of their specimens, especially larval and other surface-swimming animals, will find one of their difficulties solved. These surface-swimming animals die of exhaustion from their unaided efforts to keep off the bottom, lacking the support given in their surroundings by the natural flow of the water, native tides, and surface currents. The article describes a very simple arrangement by which this motion of the water can be simulated.
Other articles which will be found very interesting are those on HIBERNATION (Vol. 13, p. 441) and on INCUBATION AND INCUBATORS (Vol. 14, p. 359). In the latter many will be surprised to note that incubators have been in use in Egypt from time immemorial under the name MAMAL. In one district of Egypt alone 90,000,000 eggs are annually hatched out in these old time incubators, of which the secret has been handed down, jealously guarded, from father to son. In the article TAXIDERMY (Vol. 26, p. 464), Montagu Browne, a practical taxidermist, deals with the artistic as well as the technical aspects of the craft.
[Sidenote: Classification and Divisions]
Turning to the articles of the chief divisions of the animal kingdom, the most useful arrangement will be to enumerate them in their order. As has been already said, zoologists do not yet agree as to the best system of classification; the one which is given in the Britannica is that upon which the very eminent zoologists who have contributed the special articles, agree as being the most suitable. There are two main grades. The PROTOZOA (Vol. 22, p. 479) contain the animalcules, mainly microscopic. These are the most elementary forms of life and consist of single cells. The other and more important grade is that of the METAZOA, which are built up of many cells.
[Sidenote: Protozoa]
The main subdivisions (called phyla) of the Protozoa are: phylum i. SARCODINA (Vol. 24, p. 208); phylum ii. MASTIGOPHORA (Vol. 17, p. 873); phylum iii. SPOROZOA (Vol. 25, p. 734); phylum iv. INFUSORIA (Vol. 14, 557).
[Sidenote: Metazoa]
Coming next, the Metazoa in their order are, as follows: phylum i. Porifera (see SPONGES, Vol. 25, p. 715); phylum ii. HYDROMEDUSAE or HYDROZOA (Vol. 14, pp. 135 and 171) which include aquatic animals of the coral kind; phylum iii. SCYPHOMEDUSA (Vol. 24, p. 519) which include groups of shell fish; phylum iv. ANTHOZOA (Vol. 2, p. 97) with the corals; phylum v. CTENOPHORA (Vol. 7, p. 592) including the jelly fish; phylum vi. PLATYELMIA (Vol. 21, p. 826) a group of animals in which creeping first became habitual; phylum vii. Nematoidea (see NEMATODA, Vol. 19, p. 359) which include certain kinds of worms; phylum viii. CHAETOGNATHA (Vol. 5, p. 789) an isolated class of transparent pelagic organisms; phylum ix. NEMERTINA (Vol. 19, p. 363) worm families; phylum x. MOLLUSCA (Vol. 2, p. 669) shell-bearing animals.
Phylum xi. APPENDICULATA (Vol. 2, p. 220) which include the sub-phyla ROTIFERA (Vol. 23, p. 759), CHAETOPODA (Vol. 5, p. 789), and ARTHROPODA (Vol. 2, p. 673), the sub-phylum which comprises practically the whole insect family. Important articles on animals in this class are: HEXAPODA (Vol. 13, p. 418) which include the wasp, beetle, and other families; the CRUSTACEA (Vol. 7, p. 552) which cover a field wide enough to embrace species as different outwardly as lobsters, wood-lice, and minute water fleas; and ARACHNIDA (Vol. 2, p. 287) the spider family. Phylum xii. ECHINODERMA (Vol. 8, p. 871) with all the sea-urchins and star fish.
Phylum xiii. VERTEBRATA (Vol. 27, p. 1047) to which man belongs as an order of a sub-class of a class of a sub-phylum. The most important sub-phylum of the Vertebrata is the Craniata (see Vol. 27, p. 1048). The sub-phyla HEMICHORDA (Vol. 13, p. 257), Urochorda (see TUNICATA, Vol. 27, p. 379), and Cephalochorda (see AMPHIOXUS, Vol. 1, p. 886) deal with the lower orders of Vertebrata. The sub-phylum Craniata comprises the following classes: class i. Pisces, see ICHTHYOLOGY (Vol. 14, p. 243) with the fishes; class ii. BATRACHIA (Vol. 3, p. 521), with the frog tribe; class iii. Reptilia (see REPTILES, Vol. 23, p. 136); and in close connection with this—class iv. Aves (see BIRD, Vol. 3, p. 959, and ORNITHOLOGY, Vol. 20, p. 299); class v. MAMMALIA (Vol. 17, p. 520) to which man belongs.
Phylum xiv. MESOZOA (Vol. 18, p. 187) minute parasitic animals intermediate between the Protozoa and the Metazoa. Phylum xv. POLYZOA (Vol. 22, p. 42) aquatic animals forming colonies by budding. Phylum xvi. ACANTHOCEPHALA (Vol. 1, p. 109) including the parasitic worms. Phylum xvii. PODAXONIA (Vol. 28, p. 1023), and phylum xviii. GASTROTRICHA (Vol. 11, p. 526) minute animals living at the bottom of ponds and marshes.
[Sidenote: Natural History]
This is an outline of the main division of the animal kingdom in their order as now classified. The subject of zoology is so vast that the student will probably confine himself to one branch of the subject, perhaps to one small fraction of a division, of which he proposes to investigate the complete natural history. As will be seen from the list below, which is classified, the Britannica offers an immense amount of material bearing on the subject. But of course the study of any one sub-class needs a general knowledge of the foundations of zoological science, so that some acquaintance with the principles on which the animal world is classified is indispensable. As in Botany, it will be easy to see from the article on any individual animal to which family it belongs so that the young student can work back from the particular to the general and find out the whole relationship of the subject in which he is interested by reference to the “systematic” article.
LIST OF ARTICLES IN THE ENCYCLOPAEDIA BRITANNICA ON ZOOLOGY
(For biographies of Zoologists, see the end of the chapter on Biology)
=Zoology: General=
Abomasum Acetabulum Animal Aquarium Aviary Beak Breeds and Breeding Carapace Colours of Animals Comparative Anatomy Conch Contractile Vacuole Crepuscular Dew-claw Dewlap Dorsiventral Dredge Egg Feather Grub Herd Hibernation Incubation and Incubators Instinct Intelligence in Animals Karyogamy Larval Forms Meganucleus Membranelle Metamerism Metamorphosis Micronucleus Migration Mimicry Mongrel Monster Moult Nest Nidification Plankton Proboscis Pylome Quill Regeneration of Lost Parts Sex Song (of Birds) Taxidermy Vermin Zoology Zoological Distribution Zoological Gardens Zoological Nomenclature
=Zoology, Systematic=: Invertebrata
Acanthocephala Acineta Actinozoa Algae Amoeba Annelida Anthozoa Appendiculata Aptera Arachnida Arcella Arthropoda Articulata Aspirotrochaceae Brachiopoda Campodea Cephalopoda Chaetognatha Chaetopoda Ciliata Coccidia Coelentera Coleoptera Crustacea Ctenophora Cystoflagellata Dendrocometes Desmoscolecida Difflugia Dinoflagellata Diptera Echinoderma Echiuroidea Ectospora Endospora Entomostraca Epistylis Filosa Flagellata Foraminifera Gastropoda Gastrotricha Gephyrea Globigerina Gnathopoda Gregarines Gymnostomaceae Haemosporidia Haplodrili Heliozoa Hemiptera Heterokaryota Hexapoda Hydromedusae Hydrozoa Hymenoptera Infusoria Kinorhyncha Labyrinthulidea Lamellibranchia Lepidoptera Malacostraca Mastigophora Medusa Mesozoa Mollusca Molluscoida Mycetozoa Myonemes Myriapoda Myzostomida Nematoda Nematomorpha Nemertina Neuroptera Nummulite Opalina Orthoptera Paramecium Pedipalpi Pelomyxa Pentastomida Peripatus Perissodactyla Phoronidea Planarians Platyelmia Polyp Polyzoa Priapuloidea Proteomyxa Protista Protogenes Protomyxa Protozoa Pseudopod Pycnogonida, or Pantopoda Radiata Radiolaria Rhizopoda Rotifera Sarcodina Scaphopoda Scyphomedusae Sipunculoidea Sponges Sporozoa Stentor Thyrostraca Thysanoptera Thysanura Trematodes Trypanosomes Vampyrella Vorticella
=Zoology, Systematic=: Vertebrata
Amphibia Artiodactyla Amphioxus Balanoglossus Batrachia Bovidae Caecilia Carnivora Cetacea Chaetosomatida Chiroptera Cyclostomata, or Marsipobranchii Cyprinodonts Edentata Equidae Hemichorda Hyracoidea Insectivora Marsupialia Monodelphia Monotremata Pecora Proboscidea Pterobranchia Ratitae Rodentia Ruminantia Salmon and Salmonidae Sauropsida Selachians, or Elasmobranchii Suina Tardigrada Teleostomes Tunicata Tylopoda Ungulata Vertebrata
=Zoology, Natural History=: Mammals
Aard-vark Aard-wolf Addax Agouti Alpaca Ant-eater Antelope Anthropoid Apes Aona Ape Argali Armadillo Ass Aurochs Avahi Aye-aye Babirusa Baboon Badger Bandicoot Bandicoot-rat Bantin Barbary Ape Bat Bear Beaver Beluga Bharal Binturong Bison Black Ape Black Buck Boar Bongo Bottlenose Whale Bronco Buck Buffalo Bushbuck Ca’ing Whale Calf Camel Capuchin Monkey Capybara Caracal Cat Catarrhine Ape Cattle Cavy Chacma Chamois Cheeta Chevrotain Chimpanzee Chinchilla Chiru Civet Clouded Leopard Coati Colugo Coyote Coypu Dasyure Deer Diana Monkey Dingo Dog Dolphin Dormouse Douroucouli Dromedary Dugong Duiker Echidna Eland Elephant Elk Ermine Eyra Fallow-deer Ferret Field-mouse Filander Flying-fox Flying Squirrel Foussa Fox Galago Galeopithecus Gaur Gayal Gelada Genet Gerbil Gerenuk Gibbon Giraffe Glutton, or Wolverine Gnu Goat Gopher Goral Gorilla Green Monkey Grison Grivet Groove-toothed Squirrel Ground-squirrel Guanaco Guenon Guereza Hamster Hare Hartebeest Hedgehog Heifer Heron Hind Hippopotamus Horse Hound Howler Humpback-whale Hunting Dog Hyena Ibex Ichneumon Indri Jackal Jaguar Jaguarondi Jennet Jerboa Jumping-hare Jumping-mouse Jumping-shrew Kangaroo Kangaroo-rat Kinkajou Kit-fox Klipspringer Koala Kudu Langur Lemming Lemur Leopard Linsang Lion Llama Loris Lynx Macaque Macrauchenia Mammalia Manati Mandrill Mangabey Manul Mare Markhor Marmoset Marmot Marshbuck Marsupial Mole Marten Merino Mink Mole Mole-rat Mole-shrew Mona Monkey Monkey Moose Mouflon Mouse Mule Muntjac Musk-deer Musk-ox Musk-rat Musk-shrew Mustang Nilgai Ocelot Octodon Okapi Opossum Orang-utan Oribi Oryx Otter Ox Paca Palla Palm-civet Panda Pangolin Panther Pariah Dog Patas Monkey Peccary Père David’s Deer Phalanger Pica Pig Pithecanthropus Erectus Platypus Pluto Monkey Pocket-gopher Pocket-mouse Polecat Pony Porcupine Porpoise Potoroo Potto Pouched-mouse Prairie-marmot Primates Proboscis-monkey Prongbuck Puma Quagga Rabbit Raccoon Raccoon-dog Ram Rat Ratel Reedbuck Reindeer Rhinoceros Rhytina River-hog Rocky-Mountain Goat Roebuck Rorqual Sable Antelope Saiga Saki Seal Serow Serval Sheep Shrew Sifaka Sirenia Skunk Sloth Snow-leopard Souslik Sperm-whale Spider-monkey Spiny Squirrel Springbuck Squirrel Squirrel Monkey Star-nosed Mole Suricate Swine Tahr Takin Tapir Tarsier Tenrec Thylacine Tiger Tiger-cat Timber-Wolf Tree Kangaroo Tree-shrew Udad, Aoudad, or Audad Uakari Vampire Vervet Vicugña Viscacha Vole Wallaby Walrus Waltzing Mouse Wanderu Wart-hog Waterbuck Water-deer Water-opossum Weasel Whale Wolf Wombat Yak Zebra
=Zoology, Natural History=: Birds
Albatross Auk Beccafico Bird Birds of Paradise Bittern Blackbird Blackcock Bullfinch Bunting Bustard Buzzard Canary Capercally Cassowary Chaffinch Cockatoo Cock-of-the-Rock Condor Coot Cormorant Crane Crossbill Crow Cuckoo Curassow Curlew Diver Dodo Dove Duck Eagle Eider Emeu Falcon Fieldfare Finch Flamingo Flycatcher Fowl Frigate-bird Fulmar Gadwall Gannet Gare-fowl Garganey Goatsucker Godwit Golden-eye Goldfinch Goose Gos-hawk Grackle Grebe Greenfinch Greenshank Grosbeak Grouse Guacharo Guan Guillemot Guinea Fowl Gull Harpy Harrier or Hen Harrier Hawfinch Hawk Hen Heron Hoactzin, or Hoatzin Honey-eater Honey-guide Hoopoe Hornbill Humming-bird Ibis Icterus Jabiru Jacamar Jacaná Jackdaw Jay Kakapo Kestrel Killdeer King-bird Kingfisher Kinglet Kite Kiwi, or Kiwi-Kiwi Knot Lammergeyer Lapwing Lark Linnet Loom, or Loon Lory Love-bird Lyre-bird Macaw Magpie Mallemuck Manakin Manucode Martin Megapode Merganser Mew Moa Mocking-bird Moor-hen Morillon Motmot Mouse-bird Nestor Nightingale Noddy Nonpareil Nutcracker Nuthatch Ocydrome Oriole Ornithology Orthonyx Ortolan Osprey Ostrich Ousel, or Ouzel Owl Oyster-catcher Parrot Partridge Peacock Pelican Penguin Petrel Pheasant Pica Pigeon Pipit Pitta Plover Pochard, Pockard, or Poker Pratincole Ptarmigan Puff-bird Puffin Quail Quezal, or Quesal Rail Raven Razorbill Redbreast, or Robin Redshank Redstart Redwing Rhea Rifleman-bird Roller Rook Ruff Sand-grouse Sandpiper Scaup Scoter Screamer Scrub-bird Secretary-bird Seriema, or Cariama Shearwater Sheathbill Sheld-drake Shoe-bill Shoveler Shrike Siskin Skimmer Skua Snake-bird Snipe Sparrow Spoonbill Starling Stilt, or Long-legged Plover Stork Sugar-bird Sun-bird Sun-bittern Swallow Swan Swift Tanager-bird Tapaculo Teal Tern Thrush Tinamou Titmouse Tody Toucan Touracou Tree-creeper Trogan Tropic-bird Trumpeter Turkey Turnstone Vulture Wagtail Warbler Waxwing Weaver-bird Wheatear Whitethroat Wigeon, or Widgeon Woodchuck Woodcock Woodpecker Wren Wry-neck Zosterops
=Zoology, Natural History=: Reptiles
Adder Alligator Alytes Amphisbaena Anaconda Asp Basilisk Boa Chameleon Cobra Cockatrice Crocodile Cryptobranchus Dragon Gecko Iguana Lizard Proteus Python Rattlesnake Reptiles Sea-serpent Snakes Sphenodon Tortoise Viper
=Zoology, Natural History=: Fishes
Anchovy Angler Barbel Beluga Bitterling Bleak Bream Brill Burbot Carp Cat-fish Char Chub Cichlid Coal-fish Cod Dace, Dare, or Dart Dog-fish Dory, or John Dory Eel Electric Eel File-fish and Trigger Fish Flat-fish Flounder Fluke Flying-fish Gar-fish Globe-fish Goby Goldfish Goramy, or Gouramy Grampus Grayling Gudgeon Gurnard Gwyniad Haddock Hag-fish Hair-tail Hake Halibut Hammer-Kop, or Hammerhead Herring Horse Mackerel Ichthyology Kipper Lamprey Ling Loach Lump-sucker Mackerel Mahseer, or Mahaseer Menhaden Miller’s Thumb Minnow Mormyr Mullet Muraena Murray Cod Narwhal Opah Parr Parrot-fishes Perch Pike Pike-perch Pilchard Pilot-fish Pipe-fishes Plaice Pollack Pollan Pout Ray Ribbon-fishes Roach Rudd, or Red-eye Salmon Sand-Eel Sea-horse Sea-wolf Shad Shark Sheepshead Silverfish Smelt Sole Sprat Stickleback Sturgeon Sun-fish Sword-fish Tench Trout Tunny Turbot Vendace Weever Whitebait Whitefish Whiting Wrasse
=Zoology, Natural History=: Batrachians
Axolotl Batrachia Frog Newt Salamander Siren Surinam Toad Tadpole Toad Tree Frog
=Zoology, Natural History=: Insects
Acarus Alder-fly Ant Ant Lion Aphides Bee Beetle Bird-louse Bug Butterfly and Moth Caddis-fly and Caddis-worm Caterpillar Chafer Cicada Cochineal Cockroach Cricket Cuckoo-spit Death-watch Dragon-fly Earwig Entomology Fire Brat Fire-fly Flea Fly Glow-worm Gnat Grasshopper Ground-pearl Harvest-bug Harvester Hemimerus Ichneumon-fly Insect Katydid Lacewing-fly Lantern-fly Leaf-insect Locust Louse Mantis Mantis-fly May-fly, or Ephemeridae Mosquito Moth Palmer Phylloxera Saw-fly Scale-insect Scorpion-fly Snake-fly Springtail Stick-insect Stone-fly Tarantula Termite Ticks Tsetse-fly Wasp Water-boatman Water-scorpion Weevil Wireworm
=Zoology, Natural History=: Other Invertebrata
Abalone Asterid Barnacle Bêche-de-Mer, or Trepang Book-scorpion Centipede Chiton Cockle Cowry Crab Crayfish Cuttle Fish Earthworm King-crab Leech Lobster Millipede Mite Mussel Nautilus Octopus Oyster Prawn Scorpion Sea-urchin Shrimp Snail Spider Starfish Tapeworms Teredo Water-flea Wood-louse Worm
=Zoology, Palaeontology=
Amblypoda Anclyopoda Anthracotherium Archaeopteryx Arsinoïtherium Creodonta Dinotherium Diplodocus Dryopithecus Ganodonta Glyptodon Graptolites Ichthyosaurus Iguanodon Litopterna Machaerodus Mammoth Mastodon Megatherium Multituberculata Mylodon Odontornithes Oreodon Ostracoderms, or Ostracophores Palaeontology Palaeospondylus Palaeotherium Phenacodus Phorohacos Plesiosaurus Pterodactyles Sparassodonta Tillodontia Titanotheriidae Toxodontia Trilobites
LX. PHILOSOPHY AND PSYCHOLOGY
[Sidenote: Definitions]
Philosophers, says Plato, are “those who are able to grasp the eternal and immutable”; their pursuit is wisdom. The history of philosophy is, therefore, the history of the ideas which have animated successive generations of man; so that in the wide sense the investigation includes all knowledge; the natural as well as the moral sciences; and the Greeks, to whom the western world owes the direction of its thought, so understood it. The several divisions of PHILOSOPHY (Vol. 21, p. 440), as we reckon them, were all fused by Plato in a semi-religious synthesis, with resulting confusion. Aristotle, the encyclopaedist of the ancient world, saw that the several issues should be regarded as separate disciplines, and became the founder of the sciences of logic, psychology, ethics, and aesthetics. His “first philosophy,” or, as we should say, “first principles,” which stood as introductions to his separate special inquiries, gradually acquired the name metaphysics. In more recent times the natural sciences: biology, physics, chemistry, medicine, etc., have been regarded as outside the strict boundaries of the philosophic schools; and theology, is excluded on the ground that its subject matter is so extensive that it may be looked upon as a separate science. The main divisions of philosophy are: EPISTEMOLOGY (Vol. 9, p. 701), which is concerned with the nature and origin of knowledge, i. e., the possibility of knowledge in the abstract; METAPHYSICS (Vol. 18, p. 224), the science of being, often called ONTOLOGY (Vol. 20, p. 118), dealing, that is to say, with being as being; and PSYCHOLOGY (Vol. 22, p. 547), the science of mind, an analysis of what “mind” means.
[Sidenote: Some Important Articles and Their Writers]
[Sidenote: Metaphysics and Logic]
It will be of interest to the reader if, at this point, we enumerate some of the more important articles in the Britannica covering this field with the names of their authors. Andrew Seth Pringle-Pattison, professor of logic and metaphysics in the University of Edinburgh, wrote the general article PHILOSOPHY, which is a key to the whole subject, as well as the articles MYSTICISM (Vol. 19, p. 123), SCEPTICISM (Vol. 24, p. 306), SCHOLASTICISM (Vol. 24, p. 346), SPINOZA (Vol. 25, p. 687), and others. Of fundamental importance is the article LOGIC (Vol. 16, p. 879), which would occupy 124 pages of this Guide. It is divided into two parts: the first, by Thomas Case, president of Corpus Christi College, Oxford, formerly professor of moral and metaphysical philosophy in that university, treats of the science generally, and examines in detail the processes of inference. The second, by H. W. Blunt, of Christ Church, Oxford, and formerly fellow of All Soul’s, gives a brilliant account of the history of logic, that is, the history of the ideas which have been the basis of all attempts to regulate these processes of inference. This account is unique in that it is the first critical review of the types of logical theory that has been attempted. A lucid discussion of a most difficult subject is that given under METAPHYSICS (Vol. 18, p. 224); equivalent to 100 pages in this Guide by Professor Case, to whom, as one of the most distinguished of modern Aristotelians, the article ARISTOTLE (Vol. 2, p. 501) was also assigned. The life and work of PLATO are examined in a valuable article (Vol. 21, p. 808), the equivalent in length to 54 pages of this Guide, by the late Professor Lewis Campbell, of St. Andrews, one of the best known Platonists of the time.
Henry Sturt, author of Personal Idealism and many other books, is responsible for brilliant discussions of UTILITARIANISM (Vol. 27, p. 820), NOMINALISM (Vol. 19, p. 735), METEMPSYCHOSIS (Vol. 18, p. 259), SPACE AND TIME (Vol. 25, p. 525), etc. And F. C. S. Schiller, of Corpus Christi College, Oxford, who, under the wider, and historically more significant title “Humanism,” has further developed the pragmatic philosophy of William James, contributed the articles on PRAGMATISM, HERBERT SPENCER, and NIETZSCHE.
[Sidenote: Psychology]
The very important article on PSYCHOLOGY (Vol. 22, p. 54), equal to nearly 200 pages of this Guide was contributed by James Ward, professor of mental philosophy, Cambridge, who has devoted his whole life to psychological research. In addition to PSYCHOLOGY he also contributed the articles HERBART (Vol. 13, p. 335), and NATURALISM (Vol. 19, p. 274). James Sully, the well-known psychologist, former professor of the philosophy of the mind and logic, at University College, London, contributes the article AESTHETICS (Vol. 1, p. 277). The article ETHICS (Vol. 8, p. 808), equivalent to about 100 pages of this Guide, and WILL (Vol. 28, p. 648), both of primary importance, were the work of the Rev. H. H. Williams, lecturer in philosophy, Hertford College, Oxford.
Very interesting articles are ASSOCIATION OF IDEAS (Vol. 2, p. 784), DREAM (Vol. 8, p. 588), INSTINCT (Vol. 14, p. 648) and, very important, WEBER’S LAW (Vol. 28, p. 458), which expresses the relation between sensation and the stimulus which induces it.
Of recent years the psychology of crowds has received a good deal of attention; in fact, the need of an understanding of the phenomena attending it is of increasing importance in this age of universal suffrage. Interesting light is thrown upon the subject in the articles SUGGESTION (Vol. 26, p. 48), by W. M. McDougall, Wilde reader in mental philosophy at Oxford; IMITATION (Vol. 14, p. 332); and RELIGION (Vol. 23, p. 66). A line of inquiry of vital importance to the social body is examined in the articles CRIMINOLOGY (Vol. 7, p. 464), by Major Griffith, for many years H. M. Inspector of Prisons, in which Lombroso’s theory of the possession by criminals of special anatomical and physiological characteristics is criticized, and the problem is shown to be one of abnormal psychology; see also CESARE LOMBROSO (Vol. 16, p. 936). For discussions of other forms of abnormal psychology, see the chapter For Physicians and Surgeons in this Guide, and in particular the article INSANITY (Vol. 14, p. 597).
[Sidenote: Psychical Research]
Perhaps more popular, certainly more sensational, than the more legitimate branches of psychology, is that classed under PSYCHICAL RESEARCH (Vol. 22, p. 544). The title article was written by Andrew Lang, who wrote POLTERGEIST (Vol. 22, p. 14), as well as articles on SECOND SIGHT (Vol. 24, p. 570), APPARITIONS (Vol. 2, p. 209), etc. The article DIVINATION (Vol. 8, p. 332) was written by Northcote Thomas, government anthropologist to Southern Nigeria, and author of Thought Transference and other books; and Mrs. Henry Sidgwick, formerly principal of Newnham College, Cambridge, and secretary to the Society for Psychical Research, was responsible for the article SPIRITUALISM (Vol. 25, p. 705). Among the biographical articles in this section, interest will be felt in the biography of Daniel Dunglas HOME, the original of Robert Browning’s poem, “Sludge the Medium.”
[Sidenote: Classification]
We now may classify the principal subjects belonging to the main divisions of philosophy, the sciences of epistemology, metaphysics, and psychology. The wider phases of thought roughly belonging to the division of metaphysics are, in their historical order: Platonism (see PLATO, Vol. 21, p. 808), and Aristotelianism (see ARISTOTLE, Vol. 2, p. 501), the two great Greek systems of the classical period; NEOPLATONISM (Vol. 19, p. 372), the last school of pagan philosophy, which grew up mainly among the Greeks of Alexandria from the 3rd century A.D. onwards; SCHOLASTICISM (Vol. 24, p. 346), which gave expression to the most typical products of medieval thought; IDEALISM (Vol. 14, p. 281), the philosophy of the “absolute,” which, though it has given a tinge to philosophic thought from the days of Socrates to the present time, is in its self-conscious form a modern doctrine; MATERIALISM (Vol. 17, p. 878), which regards all the facts of the universe as explainable in terms of matter and motion; REALISM (Vol. 22, p. 941), which is a sort of half-way house between Idealism and Materialism; PRAGMATISM (Vol. 22, p. 246), the philosophy of the “real,” which expresses the reaction against the intellectualistic speculation that has characterized most of modern metaphysics. LOGIC (Vol. 16, p. 879), the art of reasoning, or, as Ueberweg expresses it, “the science of the regulative laws of thought,” clearly belongs to the division of epistemology. Aspects of psychology, since they depend essentially upon perceptions of the human mind in relation to itself or its environment, are ETHICS (Vol. 9, p. 808), or moral philosophy, the investigation of theories of good and evil; and AESTHETICS (Vol. 1, p. 277), the philosophy or science of the beautiful, of taste, or of the fine arts.
[Sidenote: History of Thought Personal]
The articles enumerated will give the reader a clear idea of the drift of thought currents throughout the course of history, and they will introduce him to the detailed discussions of the various systems which have been propounded by the little band of men who have contributed something vital to the treasury of thought. Each has been in and out of fashion at different times. In the Britannica the contributions to philosophic thought by the great philosophers are discussed in biographical articles, to which we now turn.
[Sidenote: Breaking the Ground]
The father of Greek philosophy and indeed of European thought was THALES of Miletus (Vol. 26, p. 720), who founded the IONIAN SCHOOL (Vol. 14, p. 731) at the end of the 7th century B.C. He first, as far as we know, sought to go behind the infinite multiplicity of phenomena in the hope of finding an all embracing infinite unity. This unity he decided was water. HERACLITUS (Vol. 13, p. 309), the “dark philosopher,” nicknamed from his aristocratic prejudices “he who rails at the people,” later selected fire. The never ending fight between advocates of the “One” and the “Many” had therefore begun. Sophistry (see SOPHISTS, Vol. 25, p. 418) has now an unpleasant connotation, inherited from the undisciplined reasonings of the schools of which PROTAGORAS (Vol. 22, p. 464), GORGIAS (Vol. 12, p. 257), PARMENIDES of Elea (Vol. 20, p. 851), and ZENO, also of Elea (Vol. 28, p. 970), were leaders. The “science of the regulative laws of thought” had not yet been developed and fallacies were the rule rather than the exception. Protagoras, the first of the Sophists, in his celebrated essay on Truth, said that “Man is the measure of all things, of what is, that it is, and what is not, that it is not.” In other words, there is no such thing as objective truth. After nineteen-hundred years we are still seeking the answer to Pilate’s question, “What is truth?” Gorgias, in his equally famous work on Nature or on the Nonent (notbeing) maintained that “(a) nothing is, (b) that, if anything is, it cannot be known, (c) that, if anything is and can be known, it cannot be expressed in speech.” The paradoxes with which Zeno, the pupil and friend of Parmenides, adorned his arguments are proverbial. Who has not heard of Achilles and the tortoise? And it is a little curious that in quite modern times his sophisms have, after centuries of scornful neglect, been reinstated and made the basis of a mathematical renaissance by the German professor Weierstrass, who shows that we live in an unchanging world, and that the arrow, as Zeno paradoxically contended, is truly at rest at every moment of its flight (Vol. 28, p. 971).
[Sidenote: The Socratic Schools]
The teaching of SOCRATES (Vol. 25, p. 331) was oral, and his philosophy is handed down to us in the refined and elaborated system which PLATO (Vol. 21, p. 808) developed in his dialogues. The “One” and the “Many” were united in the philosophy of Plato. To him we owe a debt which is simply incalculable, for, as is shown in the Britannica, “to whatever system of modern thought the student is inclined he will find his account in returning to this wellspring of European thought, in which all previous movements are absorbed, and from which all subsequent lines of reflection may be said to diverge.” The germs of all ideas, even of most Christian ones, are, as Jowett remarked, to be found in Plato. The teaching of Socrates bore fruit in strangely divers forms. Plato, his legitimate successor, and the expounder of his philosophy, has been referred to, but there were other very different developments. The CYNICS (Vol. 7, p. 691), of whom DIOGENES (Vol. 8, p. 281) is the notorious prototype, uncouthly preached the asceticism which was to become so fashionable in a later era; but, their central doctrine, “let man gain wisdom—or buy a rope,” contains more than a germ of truth. The CYRENAICS (Vol. 7, p. 703), under ARISTIPPUS (Vol. 2, p. 497), starting from the two Socratic principles of virtue and happiness, differed from the Cynics in emphasizing the second. The MEGARIANS (Vol. 18, p. 77), the “friends of ideas,” as Plato called them, united the Socratic principles of virtue (as the source of knowledge) with the Eleatic doctrine (Vol. 9, p. 168) of the “One” as opposed to the “Many.” Their strength lay in the intellectual pre-eminence of their members, not so much in the doctrine, or combination of doctrines, which they inculcated.
[Sidenote: Aristotle]
Plato had done much, he had laid the foundation of modern thought; it remained to classify it and to systematize it. This task was reserved for ARISTOTLE (Vol. 2, p. 501), one of the greatest geniuses of any age. He invented the sciences of logic, ethics, aesthetics, and psychology, as separate sciences. He was at once a student, a reader, a lecturer, a writer, and a book collector. He was the first man whom we know to have collected books, and he was employed at one time by the kings of Egypt as consulting librarian. His system of aesthetics still remains the best foundation of the critic’s training. The fundamental difference between Aristotle and Plato is that Platonism is a philosophy of universal forms, and Aristotelianism one of individual substances. As Professor Case puts it in the Britannica: “Plato makes us think first of the supernatural and the kingdom of heaven, Aristotle of the natural and the whole world.” His inquiries, therefore, pre-eminently implied that “transvaluation of all values,” of which Nietzsche was to boast more than two thousand years later. A contemporary of Aristotle, whose philosophy occupies a somewhat independent position, is EPICURUS (Vol. 9, p. 683). His advice to a young disciple was to “steer clear of culture.” His system, in fact, led him to go back from words to realities in order to find in nature a more enduring and a wider foundation for ethical doctrine; “to give up reasonings, and get at feelings, to test conceptions and arguments by a final reference to the only touchstone of truth—the senses.” A famous Roman who subscribed to the doctrines of Epicurus was the poet-philosopher-scientist, LUCRETIUS (Vol. 17, p. 107), whose theories in his poem De Rerum Natura so curiously anticipated much of modern physics and psychology.
[Sidenote: The Last Greek Schools]
Two schools remain to be considered before the Greek philosophy can be dismissed: the STOICS (Vol. 25, p. 942) and the Neoplatonists (see NEOPLATONISM, Vol. 19, p. 372). The Stoics caught the practical spirit of the age which had been evoked by Aristotle and provided a popular philosophy to meet individual needs. They showed kinship with the Cynics, but under the inspiration of their founder, Zeno of Citium, they avoided the excesses of that school, and formulated a system which fired the imagination of the time and finally bequeathed to Rome the guiding principles which were to raise her to greatness. Zeno is regarded as the best exponent of anarchistic philosophy in ancient Greece, and he and his philosophers opposed the conception of a free community without government to the state-Utopia of Plato; see ANARCHISM (Vol. 1, p. 915). Of Neoplatonism Adolph Harnack says in the Britannica (Vol. 19, p. 372):
Judged from the standpoint of empirical science, philosophy passed its meridian in Plato and Aristotle, declined in the postAristotelian systems, and set in the darkness of Neoplatonism. But, from the religious and moral point of view, it must be admitted that the ethical “mood” which Neoplatonism endeavored to create and maintain is the highest and purest ever reached by antiquity.
The most famous exponents of this system were PLOTINUS (Vol. 21, p. 849), an introspective mystic, and PORPHYRY (Vol. 22, p. 103), who edited Plotinus’s works and wrote his biography. Neoplatonism, coming as it did early in our era, formed a link between the pagan philosophy of ancient Greece and Christianity.
[Sidenote: Medieval Ecclesiasticism]
With the death of BOETIUS (Vol. 4, p. 116), in 524 A.D., and with the closing of the philosophical schools in Athens five years later, intellectual darkness settled over Europe and hung there for centuries. When in the Middle Ages, the speculative sciences once again attracted men’s minds, Christianity had already impressed its mark. SCHOLASTICISM (Vol. 24, p. 346) as a system began with the teaching of SCOTUS ERIGENA (Vol. 9, p. 742) at the end of the 9th century, and culminated three centuries later with ALBERTUS MAGNUS (Vol. 1, p. 504), with his greater disciple THOMAS AQUINAS (Vol. 2, p. 250), whose ideas have animated orthodox philosophic thought in the Catholic Church to this day, and with MEISTER ECKHART (Vol. 8, p. 886), the first of the great speculative mystics (see MYSTICISM, Vol. 19, p. 123).
[Sidenote: Modern Ideas]
With the Reformation an assertion of independence made itself heard. Man’s relation to man assumed an importance comparable to that of his relation to God; and the first steps on the path which was to lead to the rationalism of the French Encyclopaedists and of the English Utilitarians were taken by Albericus GENTILIS (Vol. 11, p. 603), and Hugo GROTIUS (Vol. 12, p. 621). In England, FRANCIS BACON (Vol. 3, p. 135) was independently working out the same problems. In philosophy his position was that of a humanist. The remarkable success of Grotius’s treatise De Jure Belli et Pacis brought his views of natural right into great prominence, and suggested such questions as: “What is man’s ultimate reason for obeying laws? Wherein exactly does their agreement with his rational and social nature exist? How far and in what sense is his nature really social?” The answers which HOBBES (Vol. 13, p. 545), who was considerably influenced by Bacon, gave to these fundamental questions in his Leviathan marked the starting point of independent ethical inquiry in England. [Sidenote: The Utilitarians] From this time on the drift of thought in England, though of course often profoundly affected by the speculations of continental philosophers, mainly ran in utilitarian channels; and the succession of ideas may be traced through LOCKE (Vol. 16, p. 844), whose influence on the French Encyclopaedists was far reaching, HUME (Vol. 13, p. 876), Jeremy BENTHAM (Vol. 3, p. 747) with his famous principle of the “greatest happiness for the greatest number,” J. S. MILL (Vol. 18, p. 454), and Herbert SPENCER (Vol. 24, p. 634), with his philosophy of the “unknowable.”
[Sidenote: Back to Dreams]
Meanwhile, on the continent of Europe, DESCARTES (Vol. 7, p. 79), in the Discourse of Method, had stated his famous proposition “Cogito, ergo sum,” and had laid down those fundamental dogmas of logic, metaphysics, and physics, from which started the subsequent inquiries of LOCKE, LEIBNITZ (Vol. 16, p. 385), and NEWTON (Vol. 19, p. 583). But CARTESIANISM (Vol. 5, p. 414), as Dr. Caird points out in the Britannica, includes not only the work of Descartes, but also that of MALEBRANCHE (Vol. 17, p. 486) and of SPINOZA (Vol. 25, p. 687), who, from very different points of view, developed the Cartesian theories, the former saturated with the study of Augustine, the latter with that of Jewish philosophy.
[Sidenote: The Rights of Man]
There follows a group of men whose speculations left a deep mark on the course of events in Europe and America: VOLTAIRE (Vol. 28, p. 199), MONTESQUIEU (Vol. 18, p. 775), Jean Jacques ROUSSEAU (Vol. 23, p. 775), and Denis DIDEROT (Vol. 8, p. 204). The antiecclesiastical animus which informed the writings of the first, the Esprit des Lois of the second, the Contrat Social of the third, and the famous encyclopaedia of the last, had political results, but their influence on metaphysical inquiry was practically nil.
[Sidenote: Transcendentalism]
Outstanding, of course, in the 18th century was the influence of Immanuel KANT (Vol. 15, p. 662), who summed up the teachings of Leibnitz and Hume, carried them to their logical issues, and immensely extended them. In fact, Kant and his disciple FICHTE (Vol. 10, p. 313), as Prof. Case shows in the article METAPHYSICS (Vol. 18, p. 231), “became the most potent philosophic influences on European thought in the 19th century, because their emphasis was on man.” They made man believe in himself and in his mission. They fostered liberty and reform, and even radicalism. They almost avenged man on the astronomers, who had shown that the world is not made for earth, and therefore not for man. Kant half asserted, and Fichte wholly, that Nature is man’s own construction. The Kritik and the Wissenschaftslehre belonged to the revolutionary epoch of the “Rights of Man,” and produced as great a revolution in thought as the French Revolution did in fact. Instead of the old belief that God made the world for man, philosophers began to fall into the pleasing dream “I am everything, and everything is I”—and even “I am God.” The term TRANSCENDENTALISM (Vol. 27, p. 172) has been specially applied to the philosophy of Kant and his successors, which is based on the view that true knowledge is intuitive, or supernatural. The famous Transcendental Club founded, 1836, by EMERSON (Vol. 9, p. 332) and others in New England, was not “transcendental” in the Kantian sense; its main theme was regeneration, a revolt from theological formalism, and a wider literary outlook; see also BROOK FARM (Vol. 4, p. 645), THOREAU (Vol. 26, p. 877), A. BRONSON ALCOTT (Vol. 1, p. 528), and MARGARET FULLER (Vol. 11, p. 295).
[Sidenote: Idealism]
SCHELLING’S position (Vol. 24, p. 316), like that of his disciple HEGEL (Vol. 13, p. 200), differed from the transcendentalism of Kant and Fichte in regarding all noumena, or things comprehended (Vol. 19, p. 828), as knowable products of universal reason—the Absolute Ego, and, the absolute being God, nature as a product of universal reason, “a direct manifestation not of man but of God.” This was the starting point of noumenal idealism in Germany, and showed a reversion to the wider opinions of Aristotle. Hegelianism in which this idealism is carried to its limit is professedly one of the most difficult of philosophies. Hegel said “One man has understood me and even he has not.” His obscurity lies in the manner in which, as William Wallace shows in his article on the philosopher (Vol. 13, p. 204), he “abruptly hurls us into worlds where old habits of thought fail us.” The influence of Hegel on English thought has been wide and lasting.
[Sidenote: Realism]
SCHOPENHAUER (Vol. 24, p. 372) was essentially a realist. He led the inevitable reaction against the absorption of everything in reason which is the keynote of the Kantian system. In the very title of his chief work, The World as Will and Idea, he emphasizes his position in giving “will” equal weight with “mind” or “idea” (Vorstellung). His “Will to Live” embodies a wholesome practical idea. Eduard von HARTMANN (Vol. 13, p. 36) in his sensational Philosophy of the Unconscious established the thesis: “When the greater part of the Will in existence is so far enlightened by reason as to perceive the inevitable misery of existence, a collective effort to will non-existence will be made, and the world will relapse into nothingness, the Unconscious into quiescence.” He thus goes a step further in pessimism than did Schopenhauer, and the essence of his doctrine is the will to non-existence—not to live, instead of a will to live. German realism is, however, so strongly coloured by the idealistic cast of the national thought that we have to go to France and England for the most thorough-going statement of the realist position. In France the eclecticism of V. COUSIN (Vol. 7, p. 330) marked a doctrine of comprehension and toleration, opposed to the arrogance of absolutism and to the dogmatism of sensationalism which were the tendencies of his day. In England a reversion to Baconian ideas produced the natural or intuitive realism of REID (Vol. 23, p. 51), DUGALD STEWART (Vol. 25, p. 913), SIR WILLIAM HAMILTON (Vol. 12, p. 888) and their followers, and led to the synthetic philosophy of HERBERT SPENCER (Vol. 25, p. 634).
[Sidenote: Materialism]
The materialists go a step further than the realists. In its modern sense materialism is the view that all we know is body (or matter), of which the mind is an attribute or function. This attitude was induced by the rapid advances of the natural sciences, and by the unifying doctrine of gradual evolution in nature. It was also heralded by a remarkable growth in commerce, manufactures, and industrialism. The leaders of the movement were BÜCHNER (Vol. 4, p. 719) whose Kraft und Stoff became a text book of materialism, and HAECKEL (Vol. 12, p. 803) who in his Riddle of the Universe asserts that, sensations being an inherent property of all substance, neither mind nor soul can have an origin.
[Sidenote: The 19th Century and Beyond]
In the inquiries of LOTZE (Vol. 17, p. 23), and FECHNER (Vol. 10, p. 231), the latter an experimental psychologist, lies the germ of much of the speculative thought of the present day. Lotze, as the well-known psychologist Henry Sturt says in his article in the Britannica (Vol. 17, p. 25), “brought philosophy out of the lecture room into the market place of life.” He saw that metaphysics must be the foundation of psychology, and that the current idealist theories of the origin of knowledge were unsound; and he concluded that the union of the regions of facts, of laws, and of standards of values, can only become intelligible through the idea of a personal deity. Like a brilliant meteor NIETZSCHE (Vol. 19, p. 672) flashed across the philosophic sky. His theories of the super-man are known to everyone. His brilliant essays are all in the nature of prolegomena to a philosophy which, embodied in a master work, the “Will to Power,” was to contain a transvaluation of all existing ethical values. Unfortunately he did not live to complete the work, which remains a fragment; but the drift of his thought is clearly indicated. One other system should be mentioned, that of POSITIVISM (Vol. 22, p. 172), which its founder, AUGUSTE COMTE (Vol. 6, p. 814) hoped would supersede every other system. Comte’s philosophy confines itself to the data of experience and declines to recognise a priori or metaphysical speculations. The system of morality which he built up on it, and in which God is replaced by Humanity, has largely failed, in spite of the brilliant ideas which animate it, because it is in many of its aspects retrograde. A most interesting review of present day tendencies in the regions of Metaphysics will be found at the end of that article, with special reference to the brilliant work of WUNDT (see also Vol. 28, p. 855), who constructing his system on the Kantian order—sense, understanding, reason, exhibits most clearly the necessary consequence from psychological to metaphysical idealism. His philosophy is the best exposition of modern idealism—that we perceive the mental and, therefore, all we know and conceive is mental.
[Sidenote: The Historical Clue]
This sketch of the course of events in philosophical speculation will at least enable the reader to follow the historical clue to the evolution of ideas. Every student must, in order to attain a true perspective, know the genealogy of the ideas he is studying. It will therefore be best that he first read the general articles referred to in the beginning of this chapter, supplementing them by the accounts given of the separate systems under the headings of their authors.
A list of the philosophical and psychological articles (more than 500 in number) in the Britannica will be found in the Index (Vol. 29, p. 939) and it is not repeated here.
LXI. FOR PARENTS
[Sidenote: The Science of Rearing Children]
The new Encyclopaedia Britannica is full of encouragement for parents who are tempted to feel that the proper care and training of a child require almost superhuman skill and energy. Many of the fears and doubts by which they are beset rest upon vague traditions, handed down from a day when a child’s health was threatened by more dangers and greater dangers than now, and when much less was known than is known to-day about the training of a child. Statistics are dull things, as a rule, but it would be difficult to find pleasanter reading than the statistical tables which show how much the modern progress of science has done for children. And these figures, in many Britannica articles on various diseases and localities, by showing how much safer children’s lives are than they used to be, also indicate a decrease of children’s suffering and an increase of children’s happiness which cannot be expressed in numbers. Sheer ignorance caused much of the pain that children used to suffer and also much of the neglect that led to bodily and mental deficiency in later life. There is still room for improvement; but it is no exaggeration to say that the child of the average American mechanic is more intelligently cared for than was, a hundred years ago, the heir to a European kingdom.
Every branch of science has contributed to these improved conditions. Medical and surgical research have no doubt been the great factors, as disease and deformity were the worst evils; but the child’s mind has been as carefully studied as its body. Here, again, figures cannot tell the whole story. They can show the universal benefits of our public school system, but they cannot show how greatly the children of well-read and thoughtful parents benefit by home influences intelligently exerted. That element of education begins as soon as a child is born, and it is based upon such observation of its individual needs as only a parent’s affection and sympathy can achieve. And in this part of the parent’s task, as in the case of the child’s health, it is essential to be guided by specialists of the highest authority, such as those who wrote for the Britannica the articles of which a brief account is given in this chapter.
The child’s individuality, physical and mental, is largely inherited.
[Sidenote: What is Known about Heredity]
The vast subject of heredity has indeed not yet been reduced to an exact science, but the newest theories advanced by Weismann, Hertwig, and others, with such confirmation as has already been obtained, are clearly set forth in Dr. P. Chalmers Mitchell’s article HEREDITY (Vol. 13, p. 350). As for our knowledge of the physiological process of heredity, the foundation may be said to have been laid by the labours of the Austrian monk Mendel, and biologists are rapidly extending his work in various directions. What has been done in the past thirteen years since scientists rediscovered Mendel’s work is described in MENDELISM (Vol. 18, p. 115), by R. C. Punnett, professor of biology, Cambridge University. There is no subject of greater interest or fascination before the world to-day, and there is no better or simpler introduction to it than Professor Punnett’s able article. As he says, “Increased knowledge of our heredity means increased power of control over the living thing.” We know very little as yet, but that little “offers the hope of a great extension at no very distant time. If this hope is borne out, if it is shown that the qualities of man, his body and his intellect, his immunities and his diseases, even his very virtues and vices, are dependent upon the ascertainable presence or absence of definite unit-characters whose mode of transmission follows fixed laws, and if also man decides that his life shall be ordered in the light of this knowledge, it is obvious that the social system will have to undergo considerable changes.”
The relations between parent and offspring are also dealt with in REPRODUCTION (Vol. 23, p. 116), by Dr. Mitchell; and those who wish to study the development of the organism will find such information in EMBRYOLOGY (Vol. 9, p. 314), by Adam Sedgwick, who is professor of zoology at the Imperial College of Science and Technology, London. This masterly account is supplemented by a section (p. 329) on the Physiology of Development by Dr. Hans A. E. Driesch, of Heidelberg University.
[Sidenote: The New-Born Child]
The article INFANCY (Vol. 14, p. 513), by Dr. Harriet Hennessy, is devoted to the care of the child during its first year. The first bath, care of the eyes, clothing, increase of weight, etc., are thoroughly discussed, and the directions for artificial feeding contain tables of milk-dilution and of the amounts to be given. In CHILD (Vol. 6, p. 136) will be found a valuable table of average heights and weights of children from the ages of one to fifteen, and a full bibliography of works relating to child-study.
The main points to be considered for each sex in the difficult period between childhood and maturity are concisely set forth in ADOLESCENCE (Vol. 1, p. 210). An ideal system of child raising is outlined, dealing with hygiene, clothing, and moral and physical training. See also GYMNASTICS AND GYMNASIUM (Vol. 12, p. 752), by R. J. McNeill.
[Sidenote: The Vital Question of Food]
Parents must have a thorough and clear understanding of the question of bodily nourishment. This is most imperative. It means sound bodies for the children, their good health in after years, their efficiency and success in life. On this point the new Britannica provides information of a character that for authoritativeness and completeness can nowhere else be matched.
The important matter of feeding a family is treated at great length in DIETETICS (Vol. 8, p. 214), by the late Prof. W. O. Atwater of Wesleyan University, known the world over as an authority on this subject, and R. D. Milner, formerly assistant in the U. S. Department of Agriculture. The article gives information as to the composition and nutritive values of foods and their adaptation to the use of people in health. There are tables of food composition, of the digestibility of nutrients, of the quantities of available nutrients, etc. The hygienic and pecuniary economy of food are discussed in such a way as to be of real service. For those who desire further information on the subject of food assimilation reference may be made to NUTRITION (Vol. 19, p. 920), by Dr. D. Noel Paton, professor of physiology, University of Glasgow, and Dr. E. P. Cathcart, lecturer in chemical physiology in the same institution.
[Sidenote: Maintenance of Health]
In regard to the maintenance of general health of children without reference to specific ailments there is a vast fund of information to be extracted by consulting the new Britannica. The titles of a few of the articles will sufficiently indicate information to which every parent should have constant access: ANTISEPTICS (Vol. 2, p. 146); DISINFECTANTS (Vol. 8, p. 312); CARBOLIC ACID, Pharmacology and Therapeutics, (Vol. 5, p. 305); SALICYLIC ACID, Medicine and Therapeutics (Vol. 24, p. 70); EMETICS (Vol. 9, p. 336); ACONITE, Therapeutics (Vol. 1, p. 152); COLCHICUM, Pharmacology (Vol. 6, p. 662); PHENACETIN (Vol. 21, p. 363); PEPSIN (Vol. 21, p. 130); RHUBARB (Vol. 23, p. 273); SENNA (Vol. 24, p. 646); POISON, with list of poisons and antidotes (Vol. 21, p. 893); HAEMORRHAGE, how to tell the different kinds (Vol. 12, p. 805); WOUND, nature of bruises and treatment (Vol. 28, p. 837); BURNS AND SCALDS (Vol. 4, p. 860); SUNSTROKE, nature of heat prostration (Vol. 26, p. 110); nature and treatment of frost-bite, MORTIFICATION (Vol. 18, p. 878); ULCER (Vol. 27, p. 565); CHILBLAINS (Vol. 6, p. 134); ECZEMA (Vol. 8 p. 920); relief from choking, OESOPHAGUS (Vol. 20, p. 14); BONE, Fractures, special fractures in the young (Vol. 4, p. 201); DROWNING AND LIFE SAVING (Vol. 8, p. 592); SLEEP, amount of sleep necessary at different ages (Vol. 25, p. 238); DISEASES OF VISION (Vol. 28, p. 142); with its special section (p. 144) on the care of the eyesight of children; BLINDNESS, Causes and Prevention (Vol. 4, p. 60), by Sir F. J. Campbell, principal, Royal Normal College for the Blind, London; SHOCK, injuries and accidents (Vol. 24, p. 991). There is a section on Action of Baths on the Human System, in BATHS AND BATHING (Vol. 3, p. 518), telling of the effects of cold, tepid, warm, hot, and very hot baths.
Parents will be most grateful to the Britannica for the complete descriptions of infantile diseases, dealing with symptoms and principles of cure and treatment.
[Sidenote: Treatment of Infantile Diseases]
The British Medical Journal commenting on the nature of the medical section of the new Britannica has said that it is “an admirable example of the kind of exposition which will enable the head of a family, without embarrassing him with technical details, to deal with a situation with which he may be confronted at any moment.” Realizing the great necessity for a popular yet authentic discussion of diseases, the editors have produced a work which has received the highest approval of the medical world for its quality of practical usefulness.
In the first place, parents should devote much study to Sir T. Lauder Brunton’s most clear and able discussion of THERAPEUTICS (Vol. 26, p. 793), dealing in a general manner with the means employed to treat disease. Here we learn about the action of microbes, the nature of inflammation and fever (which are protective processes calculated to defend the organism against the attacks of microbes but which often become injurious), about defensive measures and principles of cure, proper nutrition and elimination, flatulence, constipation, etc. It is also important to know something about the action of drugs, and this is fully explained in PHARMACOLOGY (Vol. 21, p. 350), by Dr. Ralph Stockman, of Glasgow University, while Dr. H. L. Hennessy in the same article (p. 352) explains the terms used in the classification of drugs.
Before describing the material devoted to the special diseases of children, it is well to remind parents of a valuable illustrated article on PARASITIC DISEASES (Vol. 20, p. 770), by Dr. G. Sims Woodhead, professor of pathology in Cambridge University. It is about the length of 52 pages in this Guide. The information as to the origin of various diseases, of those which are due to vegetable and those due to animal parasites, of the infective diseases in which no organism yet discovered has surely been connected with the malady (as is the case with scarlet fever), and of infective diseases, such as measles, mumps, and whooping-cough, not yet traced to microorganisms, will prove of the highest interest because the facts related have a most important influence upon present methods of treatment.
[Sidenote: Diseases most Common to Childhood]
CROUP (Vol. 7, p. 511) is a concise account of spasmodic croup—so terrifying to all parents. The treatment is carefully described. The same is true of TONSILLITIS (Vol. 27, p. 11). For other common throat diseases see BRONCHITIS (Vol. 4, p. 634); RESPIRATORY SYSTEM, Pathology of (Vol. 23, p. 195) by Dr. Thomas Harris, a noted authority, and Dr. Harriet Hennessy, and LARYNGITIS (Vol. 16, p. 228), which fully describes the paroxysmal laryngitis so peculiarly fatal to infants. In all these articles reference is made to adenoids as a contributing cause of the maladies described. There is a separate account of these recently discovered troublesome growths, ADENOIDS (Vol. 1, p. 191), and of the comparatively simple operation for their removal, by Dr. Edmund Owen, consulting surgeon to the Children’s Hospital, London.
The great attention which, in recent years, has been paid to DIPHTHERIA (Vol. 8, p. 290) has produced most striking results. We know its cause and nature, we understand the conditions which influence its prevalence; and a “specific” cure in an antitoxin has been found. Specialists now trace to diphtheria many of the serious cases which would formerly have been thought due to other diseases, and especially to croup.
WHOOPING COUGH (Vol. 28, p. 616) is one of the most common diseases of infancy, but, except in the most extreme cases, does not require the regular attendance of a physician. The malady has three recognized stages, in the second of which complications are apt to arise which may become a source of danger greater than the malady itself. Parents should also understand the curious structural changes in the lungs which sometimes remain after the disease has run its course.
Of all the diseases of earlier childhood, MEASLES (Vol. 17, p. 947) is the most prevalent, and its spread is largely due to the fact that its initial symptoms are slight and not easily recognizable. The proper understanding of these is, therefore, most necessary, as well as a thorough appreciation of possible complications and their consequences. The best mode of treatment is also indicated in this article. There are several well-marked varieties of SCARLET FEVER (Vol. 24, p. 303) of which the chief are simple scarlatina, septic scarlatina, and malignant scarlatina; and the complications and effects of the disease are among the most important features which should be understood. The list of infantile diseases is too long for specific description, but parents can appreciate the value and significance of this valuable department of the work by referring to such articles as MUMPS (Vol. 18, p. 968); DYSENTERY (Vol. 8, p. 785); CHOLERA (Vol. 6, p. 262), with a special section on children’s simple cholera; see also DIGESTIVE ORGANS, General and Local Diseases (Vol. 8, p. 262) by Dr. A. L. Gillespie, lecturer on modern gastric methods, Edinburgh Post-Graduate School, and MENINGITIS, Cerebro-Spinal (Vol. 18, p. 130), with an account of the new and successful serum treatment.
[Sidenote: Mental Training]
In planning the groundwork of education, parents should have a clear idea of the principles of modern instruction. Here the Britannica again comes to their assistance. The biographies of PESTALOZZI (Vol. 21, p. 284) and of FROEBEL (Vol. 11, p. 238) describe the insistence of these leaders on the need of educating a child through his own activity, and the results they obtained by this method. Further elaboration of the subject is given in EDUCATION, Theory (Vol. 8, p. 951), by James Welton, professor of education in the University of Leeds, to which article there are added detailed accounts of national systems of education. An interesting supplementary article is SCHOOLS (Vol. 24, p. 359), by A. F. Leach, describing the stages of experiment by which our modern idea of a school has been developed. There is an admirably instructive article, TECHNICAL EDUCATION (Vol. 26, p. 487), by Sir Philip Magnus, formerly member of the Royal Commission of Technical Instruction.
[Sidenote: Assistance at Home in School Education]
The new Britannica performs a service of the greatest importance in responding to the opening mind of the child. Children are the greatest of question askers, and the Britannica is the best question answerer ever devised. They want to know about the races of men, the different animals and plants they see; in fact, almost every object that comes under their observation. The inestimable advantage of answering an inquiry fully and correctly and not in an offhand manner is too obvious to need mention. Let your young children see you go to your Britannica for information and as soon as they are old enough they will naturally do the same, and then the volumes will be performing their most efficient work in the household.
For helping children with their school “themes” and “compositions,” for elucidation or amplification of any topic that comes up in the course of their studies, there is no medium so useful as the new Britannica—the most exhaustive compendium of knowledge which has ever been devised, with its elaborate index of 500,000 alphabetical references, giving instant access to every fact in the whole work. Of equal assistance will be its employment in connection with Sunday School lessons; for the accounts of the Bible and its separate books, giving the latest results of Biblical criticism, are the product of the highest learning of the age.
[Sidenote: The World of Nature]
For the instruction of children about the history of mankind, the nature of the universe, the animal, plant, and mineral world, the new Britannica offers a complete fund of necessary knowledge. There are 277 astronomical articles, including biographies; 889 zoological articles; 675 on plants; 380 on minerals and rocks. The classified subject-list in the Index Volume places the whole of this material immediately before the eye.
The articles ANTHROPOLOGY (Vol. 2, p. 108), by Dr. Edward B. Tylor of Oxford University, dean of living anthropologists, and ETHNOLOGY AND ETHNOGRAPHY (Vol. 9, p. 849) describe the races of mankind, man’s place in nature, the origin of man, and his antiquity. The main article ZOOLOGY (Vol. 28, p. 1022), by Sir Edwin Ray Lankester, of London University, is an introduction to knowledge of the whole of the animal world, which is amplified, with minute details, in separate accounts of all members of the animal kingdom. ZOOLOGICAL DISTRIBUTION (Vol. 28, p. 1002), by the noted naturalist, Richard Lydekker, is a mine of information about the distribution of living animals and their forerunners on the surface of the globe. Articles of great importance are BOTANY (Vol. 4, p. 299), by Dr. A. B. Rendle of the British Museum, and the great article PLANTS (Vol. 21, p. 728), in the various sections of which the whole story of the vegetable world is told by eight famous specialists. There are, of course, separate articles on all plants. We also recommend to parents a careful study of the section (Vol. 23, p. 120) of REPRODUCTION, Reproduction of Plants, by Dr. S. H. Vines, and POLLINATION (Vol. 22, p. 2), from which they can give their children much necessary instruction. Such a course is now strongly advised by educators and authorities in child-study as the best method of preparing the mind for a healthy, sane knowledge of sex matters in later years.
[Sidenote: What Happens on the Earth and in the Air]
All the facts about the earth’s surface will be found in GEOGRAPHY, in the section Principles of Geography (Vol. 11, p. 630), by Dr. H. R. Mill, formerly president of the Royal Meteorological Society; and see also OCEAN AND OCEANOGRAPHY (Vol. 19, p. 967), by Dr. Otto Krümmel, professor of geography, University of Kiel, and Dr. H. R. Mill. Everything about the weather, storms, etc., may be learned from METEOROLOGY (Vol. 18, p. 264), by Dr. Cleveland Abbe, professor of meteorology in the U. S. Weather Bureau; and from ATMOSPHERIC ELECTRICITY (Vol. 2, p. 860), by Dr. Charles Chree of the National Physical Laboratory, England.
Clouds always appeal strongly to a child’s imagination. The article CLOUD (Vol. 6, p. 557), by A. W. Clayden, author of Cloud Studies, has beautiful illustrations of cloud forms, with explanations.
Lord Rayleigh, a winner of the Nobel prize and one of the most distinguished of living scientists, in the article SKY (Vol. 25, p. 202) explains why the blue of the sky varies as it does.
Parents will find a great deal to tell their children about phenomena of nature in such articles as EARTHQUAKE (Vol. 8, p. 817), by F. W. Rudler, formerly president of the Geologists’ Association, England, and Dr. John Milne, author of Earthquakes; and VOLCANO (Vol. 28, p. 178), by F. W. Rudler. Glaciers and their effects are described in GLACIER (Vol. 12, p. 60), by E. C. Spicer.
In teaching rudimentary things about the heavens, it is well to note that CONSTELLATION (Vol. 7, p. 11), by Charles Everitt, contains star-maps by which the positions may easily be recognized. After reading STAR (Vol. 25, p. 784), by A. S. Eddington, of the Royal Observatory, Greenwich, many wonders of the heavens about the number of the stars, their distances, the variable and double stars, etc., may be told the child. The same is true of the articles PLANET (Vol. 21, p. 714), by Dr. Simon Newcomb, director of the American Nautical Almanac and professor of mathematics in the Navy, and of the separate accounts of all the different planets; COMET (Vol. 6, p. 759), by Dr. Newcomb; and NEBULA (Vol. 19, p. 332), by A. S. Eddington, etc. These are all very fully illustrated. Ideas as to the structure of the universe, the origin of the solar system, etc., will be found in NEBULAR THEORY (Vol. 19, p. 333), by Sir Robert S. Ball, professor of astronomy, Cambridge University.
[Sidenote: The Training of the Hand]
A great many children show a liking for the mechanical arts and are curious about processes of manufacture. Parents will find in the new Britannica complete information about the marvelous things ingenious machines do and how they do them; for example, SPINNING (Vol. 25, p. 685), by T. W. Fox, professor of textiles in the University of Manchester; COTTON-SPINNING MACHINERY (Vol. 7, p. 301), also by Professor Fox; WEAVING (Vol. 28, p. 440), by Professor Fox, with illustrations; HOSIERY (Vol. 13, p. 788), by Thomas Brown, of the Incorporated Weaving, Dyeing and Printing College, Glasgow; CARPET (Vol. 5, p. 392), by A. S. Cole, assistant secretary for art, Board of Education, England; SILK (Vol. 25, p. 96), by Frank Warner, president of the Silk Association of Great Britain and Ireland; Richard Snow, examiner in silk throwing and spinning for the City and Guilds of London Institute, and Arthur Mellor; FLOUR AND FLOUR MANUFACTURE (Vol. 10, p. 548), by G. F. Zimmer, author of Mechanical Handling of Material; ROPE AND ROPE MAKING (Vol. 23, p. 713), by Thomas Woodhouse, head of the weaving and textile department, Technical College, Dundee; SUGAR, Sugar Manufacture (Vol. 26, p. 35), by A. Chapman, designer and constructor of sugar machinery, and Valentine W. Chapman.
[Sidenote: The Foundation of Good Taste]
An important service to education is rendered by the Britannica in the way that it supplements and extends education received in the school. There, far too often children learn little or nothing of the world of art, of the beautiful creations of the human intellect by means of which, even before the dawn of history, men attempted to express in concrete form their sense of beauty. It is surely most desirable for children to have an idea, at least, of principles and styles of architecture; of ancient and modern painting and sculpture—to know the chief characteristics of schools of art; to have a little knowledge of musical forms, of what a symphony, a concerto, a sonata, an opera, are; to be able to recognize a piece of Dresden, Sèvres, Italian faience, Copenhagen, or Wedgwood ware when they see it; to know the different periods and styles of furniture; to tell Bohemian from Venetian glass; to be familiar with lovely textiles and fabrics and to appreciate their true value. Such knowledge is the foundation of good taste. It serves to arouse appreciation of, and respect for, the objects with which a child is surrounded, and leads to delightful interests, recreations and occupations in later years. There are few better and more constant uses to which the Britannica can be put than the systematic education of children in matters of general culture and refined taste.
[Sidenote: Knowledge of the Fine Arts]
A list of articles to serve this purpose would be too long to give here. They are easily found by means of other chapters in this Guide. But special mention may be made of ARCHITECTURE (Vol. 2, p. 369), by R. Phené Spiers, master of the architectural school, Royal Academy, London, by John Bilson, of the University of Manchester, and others; PAINTING (Vol. 20, p. 459), by Prof. G. B. Brown of Edinburgh University; L. Bénédite, keeper of the Luxembourg Gallery, Paris; Richard Muther, professor of modern art, Breslau University; and John C. Van Dyke, professor of history of art, Rutgers College; SCULPTURE (Vol. 24 p. 488), by Marion H. Spielmann, formerly editor, Magazine of Art, P. G. Konody, art critic of the Observer, L. Bénédite, and Dr. J. H. Middleton, Slade professor of fine art, Cambridge University; CERAMICS (Vol. 5, p. 703), by Hon. William Burton, chairman, Joint Committee of Pottery Manufacturers of Great Britain, R. L. Hobson of the British Museum, and other authorities; GLASS (Vol. 12, p. 86), by Alexander Nesbitt, H. J. Powell, author of Glass Making, and Dr. W. Rosenhain of the National Physical Laboratory, England; LACE (Vol. 16, p. 37), by A. S. Cole, author of Embroidery and Lace; FURNITURE (Vol. 11, p. 363), by J. Penderel-Brodhurst. All of these articles are superbly illustrated, and this feature alone would give them a direct educational value for young people.
[Sidenote: The Best Picture-Book in the World]
In fact, the new Britannica may be said to be the greatest and most varied picture book in existence. There are 7,000 text illustrations and 450 full-page plates. This suggests at once a special use for the work in making children familiar, by purely pictorial means, with objects they should learn to recognize. When a child asks for a description of some object whose name has aroused his curiosity, it is safe to say that an accurate picture of it will be found in the new Britannica. Suppose that he has heard of a dirigible balloon and wants to know how it differs from the ordinary balloon which he has seen. The index will guide his instructor to the article AERONAUTICS (Vol. 1, p. 260), with two full-page plates of dirigible balloons. A child can learn to distinguish the breeds of domestic animals from the illustrations alone. Thirst for mechanical knowledge may be satisfied by such articles as STEAM ENGINE (Vol. 25, p. 818), with about 70 illustrations, by Prof. J. A. Ewing, of Cambridge University; WATCH (Vol. 28, p. 362), by Lord Grimthorpe and Sir H. H. Cunynghame; LIGHTHOUSE (Vol. 16, p. 627), by W. T. Douglass and N. G. Gedye; TELEPHONE (Vol. 26, p. 547), by Emile Garcke; and LOCK (Vol. 16, p. 841), by A. B. Chatwood—all fully illustrated.
[Sidenote: Sport and Recreation]
The new Britannica is an exhaustive and practical compendium of sports, games, and recreations of all kinds. Part 6 of this Guide contains a survey of this department in the book. There are over 260 articles on sports and games alone, and they describe clearly how each is played, and also give expert advice. There is also much that is extremely interesting in the historical development of pastimes, a knowledge of which heightens the interest and pleasure of those who participate in them; and parents can be of real assistance to their children in instructing them about their sports, and by acquiring this information themselves can give sympathetic appreciation to the children’s amusements. Among the noteworthy contributions on sports and games there are CHILDREN’S GAMES (Vol. 6, p. 141), an article for parents by Alice B. Gomme, an expert on this subject; GAMES, CLASSICAL (Vol. 11, p. 443), an account which every boy will read with pleasure, by Francis Storr, editor of the Journal of Education, London; ATHLETIC SPORTS (Vol. 2, p. 846); BASE-BALL (Vol. 3, p. 458), by Edward Breck; BASKET-BALL (Vol. 3, p. 483), FOOTBALL (Vol. 10, p. 617), of which the American section is written by Walter Camp, the football expert; KITE-FLYING (Vol. 15, p. 839), by Major-Gen. Baden Powell; MARBLES (Vol. 17, p. 679), by W. E. Garrett Fisher; LAWN TENNIS (Vol. 16, p. 300), by R. J. McNeill; SWIMMING (Vol. 26, p. 231), by William Henry, founder and chief secretary of the Royal Life Saving Society; SKATING (Vol. 25, p. 166), and COASTING (Vol. 6, p. 603).
[Sidenote: Diverting Occupations]
Recreation in the form of diverting occupations is sometimes more attractive to children, especially to those of a practical turn of mind, than sports and games. It is often difficult for parents to encourage these inclinations, since they themselves may not be familiar with the subjects for which their children show a special aptitude, and a real talent may thus fail to be cultivated. As soon as any particular bent in the child is discovered, a parent ought to consider it a duty to learn to help the boy or girl.
The new Encyclopaedia Britannica will, on all subjects of diverting occupations, prove of immense practical assistance to parents. They will find all that they need to know to help their children under such headings as PHOTOGRAPHY (Vol. 21, p. 485), by Sir William de Wiveleslie Abney, formerly president of the Royal Photographic Society, James Waterhouse also a former president of the same society, who writes on photographic apparatus, and A. H. Hinton, author of Practical Pictorial Photography, etc.; BEE, Bee Keeping (Vol. 3, p. 628), by W. B. Carr, formerly editor of the Bee-Keeper’s Record; the article AVIARY, on the keeping of birds (Vol. 3, p. 60), by David Seth-Smith, formerly president of the Avicultural Society; POULTRY AND POULTRY FARMING (Vol. 22, p. 213), by Lewis Wright, author of The Practical Poultry-Keeper; BASKET, Basket Making (Vol. 3, p. 481); HORTICULTURE (Vol. 13, p. 741), by M. T. Masters, late editor of The Gardener’s Chronicle, W. R. W. Williams, superintendent of London County Council Botany Centre, John Weathers, author of Practical Guide to Garden Plants, Prof. Liberty Hyde Bailey, director of the College of Agriculture, Cornell University, and Peter Henderson; CARPENTRY (Vol. 5, p. 386), by James Bartlett, lecturer on construction, at Kings College, London; CONJURING (Vol. 6, p. 943), by John Algernon Clarke, G. Faur, and John Nevil Maskelyne.