Wasp
Wasp, The Ordinary Name For A Well-known Kind Of Stinging Insect Belonging To The Order Hymenoptera (q.v.). At Least Ro,000 Species Of Wasps Are Known And Unlike Bees, They Are Primarily Predacious In Habit, Feeding Their Young Mainly Upon Other Insects. They Form Two Great Groups, Sphecoidea And Vespoidea, With ...
Wassail
Wassail, The Ancient Form Of "toasting" (0.e. Waes Hcil, "be Whole"), The Term Being Applied Later To The Christmas Feasting And Revelries And Particularly To The Bowl Of Spiced Ale Or Wine Which Was A Feature Of The Mediaeval Christmas. At The Reception Of King Vortigern By Hengist, Rowena "came ...
Wassermann Reaction
Wassermann Reaction. The Wassermann, Or, Per Haps More Correctly, The Bordet-wassermann Test Of The Blood Serum And Of The Spinal Fluid For Active Syphilis Was Elaborated In 1906 By Wassermann, Neisser And Bruck. It Depends On The Fact Well-known To Bacteriologists That Foreign Organic Substances, E.g., Disease Germs In The ...
Waste
Waste, A Term Used In English Law In Several Senses, Of Which Four Are The Most Important. (i) "waste Of A Manor" Is That Part Of A Manor Subject To Rights Of Common, As Distin Guished From The Lord's Demesne (see Commons, Manor). (2) "year, Day, And Waste" Was A ...
Watches
Watches. The Word Watch By Derivation Means That Which Keeps Observation. It Is Thus The Term For The Body Of Persons Who Patrolled The Streets, Called The Hours, And Performed The Duties Of The Modern Police. The Application Of The Term To A Period Of Time Is Due To The ...
Water Boatman
Water-boatman, An Aquatic Hemipterous Insect Of The Family Notonectidae, Of Which The Best-known Species (notonecta Glauca) Is Common In The Ponds Of Great Britain. The Technical Name, Notonecta ("back-swimmer"), Alludes To The Habit Of The Insect Of Swimming Upside Down, The Body Being Propelled Through The Water By Powerful Strokes ...
Water Chinquapin
Water Chinquapin (nelumbium Luteum), A North American Aquatic Plant Of The Water-lily Family (nymphaeaceae), Called Also American Nelumbo Or Lotus, Rare And Local In Ponds And Slow Streams From Connecticut To Michigan And Southward To Florida And Louisiana. It Is A Stout Plant, Rising From A Hori Zontal Tuber-bearing Rootstock, ...
Water Colour Painting
Water-colour Painting. The Art Of Water-colour Has Passed Through A Renaissance Since About 1890 And Has Again Assumed A Recognized Place Among The Mediums Of Artistic Ex Pression. For Many Years The Medium Had Been Looked Down Upon And Considered Unimportant, And Of Use Only In Young Ladies' "finishing Schools." ...
Water Cress
Water-cress (nasturtium Officinale), An Aquatic Salad Plant Of The Family Cruciferae, Native To Europe And Asia, Com Mon In Great Britain, Widely Naturalized In The United States And Canada And Introduced Also Into The West Indies And South Amer Ica. It Is A Creeping Or Floating Perennial, Rooting In Clear, ...
Water Deer
Water-deer, Hydrelaphus Inermis, A Small Member Of The Deer-tribe From Northern China Differing From All Other Cervi Dae Except The Musk-deer (with Which It Has No Affinity) By The Absence Of Antlers In Both Sexes. To Compensate For This The Bucks Are Armed With Long Sabre-like Upper Tusks (see Deer) ...
Water Flea
Water-flea, A Name Given By The Earlier Microscopists (swammerdam, 1669) To Minute Aquatic Crustacea (q.v.) Of The Order Of Cladocera, But Applied Also To The Smaller Members Of Other Groups. The Cladocera Are Abundant Everywhere In Fresh Water. One Of The Commonest Species, Daphnia Pulex, Found In Ponds And Ditches, ...
Water Gas
Water Gas. When Steam Is Passed Over Red-hot Anthra Cite Or Coke It Is Decomposed, And The Resultant Gas, Consisting Of A Mixture Of Hydrogen And Carbon Monoxide, Is Termed Water Gas. Enriched With Gas From Cracked Oil, It Is Termed Carburetted Water Gas And Is Largely Employed In Industrial ...
Water Hemlock
Water Hemlock, Also Known As Cow-bane, Is Botani Cally Cicuta Virosa, A Poisonous Weed Found Growing At The Edges Of Ponds, Ditches And Rivers In Great Britain. It Is A Perennial Plant Of The Family Umbelliferae, And Has Large Compound Leaves And Small White Flowers Appearing From July To August. ...
Water Opossum Or Yapock
Water-opossum Or Yapock (chironectes Mini Mus), Distinguished From Other Opossums By Its Aquatic Habits, Webbed Hind-feet, And Peculiar Coloration. Its Ground Colour Is Light Grey, With Four Or Five Sharply Contrasted Brown Bands Passing Across Its Head And Back Giving It A Very Peculiar Mottled Appearance; The Head And Body ...
Water Polo
Water Polo, A Game Which Has Done Much To Advance Swimming In Popular Favour And To Improve The Stamina Of Swimmers. It Is Played Either In A Bath Or Open Water, The Teams Consisting Of Seven On A Side. The Field Of Play Must Not Exceed 3oyd. Or Be Less ...
Water Power
Water Power: See Electrical Power Generation, Hydro-electric Generation; Hydraulic Power Transmission; Hydraulics ; Turbine, Water. ...
Water Purification
Water Purification. The Partial Purification Of Water Probably Dates Back To The Earliest Times. No Doubt, When A Water Looked Very Turbid, It Was Strained Through Any Convenient Material, Or The Suspended Matters Were Allowed To Settle Out On Standing. We Know, Too, That Mariners Found That Dirty Ill-tasting Water ...
Water Rights
Water Rights. By The Law Of England The Property In The Bed And Water Of A Tidal River Is Presumed To Be In The Crown Or As A Franchise In A Grantee Of The Crown, And To Be Extra Parochial. The Bed And Water Of A Non-tidal River Are Presumed ...
Water Supply
Water Supply. A Sufficient Supply Of Potable Water Is Essential To Man. The Word Potable Means That The Water Shall Be Bright, Clear And Sparkling, Free From Suspended Matters, Reasonably Soft, Free From Chemical Poisons And In Such Condition That It Cannot Cause Typhoid Fever, Cholera, Diarrhoea Or Other Water-borne ...
Water Thyme
Water-thyme (elodea Canadensis), A Small Submerged Water-weed, Native Of North America; It Is Also Known As Ameri Can Water-weed. It Was Introduced Into Co. Down, Ireland, About 1836, And Appeared In England In 1841, Spreading Through The Country In Ponds, Ditches And Streams, Which Were Often Choked With Its Rank ...
Water Turkey
Water-turkey, The Popular Name In U.s.a. For The American Darter (anhinga Anhinga). (see Snake-bird.) ...
Waterbuck
Waterbuck, A Large South African Antelope (cobus Ellipsiprymnus) Of The Subfamily Cervicaprinae, Characterized By The White Elliptical Ring On The Buttocks And The General Reddish Grey Colour Of The Long Coarse Hair. They Have Heavily Fringed Necks And Tufted Tails ; Long Sub Lyrate, Ringed Horns Are Carried By The ...
Waterbury
Waterbury, A City Of Western Connecticut, U.s.a., One Of The County Seats Of New Haven County; On The Naugatuck River, 21 M. N.n.w. Of New Haven. Pop. (1920) 91,715 (33% Foreign-born White) ; Federal Census 99,902 In 1930. It Is The Centre Of The Brass Industry Of The Country. Other ...
Waterfall
Waterfall, A Point In A Watercourse Where Descent Is Perpendicular Or Nearly So. The Beauty Of A Waterfall Is De Pendent On Its Height Rather Than On The Volume Of Water. Small But Immensely Deep Falls Are Common, For A Small Stream Has Insufficient Power To Erode A Steady Slope, ...
Waterford
Waterford, A County Of Ireland In The Province Of Munster. The Area Of Waterford Is 458,108 Acres, Or About 716 Sq.m. Pop. (1926), Exclusive Of Waterford City, 51,892. The Coast Line Is In Some Parts Bold And Rocky, And Is Indented By Numerous Bays And Inlets, The Principal Being Waterford ...
Waterford_2
Waterford, The Chief Town Of Co. Waterford, Ireland. Pop. (1926) 26,646. It Is Situated On The Suir 4 M. Above Its Junction With The Barrow At The Head Of The Tidal Estuary Called Waterford Harbour. The Suir Is Crossed By A Wooden Bridge Of 39 Arches, And 832 Ft. Long, ...
Waterford_3
Waterford, A Village Of Saratoga County, New York, U.s.a., On The West Bank Of The Hudson River, Near The Mouth Of The Mohawk River, And About I O Miles North Of Albany. The Population Was 3,225 In 1910, 2,637 In 1920, 2,921 In 1930. Water Ford Is Served By The ...
Waterloo With Seaforth
Waterloo-with-seaforth, An Urban District In The Bootle And Ormskirk Parliamentary Divisions Of Lancashire, England, At The Mouth Of The Mersey, 4 M. N. By W. Of Liverpool. On Account Of Its Facilities For Bathing, Firm Sands, Pleasant Scenery And Nearness To Liverpool, Of Which It Is A Suburb, It Is ...
Waterloo
Waterloo, A City Of Eastern Iowa, U.s.a., On The Cedar River, About 90 M. West Of Dubuque And 275 M. West Of Chicago. Pop. (192o) 36,230 (go% Native White) ; 1930 Federal Census 46,191. It Is In A Rich Farming And Stock-raising Region, And Is Headquarters Of The Dairy Cattle ...
Waterloo
Waterloo First Phase.—about 11.3o A.m. The Battle Was Opened With An Attack By One Of Reille's Divisions On Hougoumont. This Was Merely To Draw Wellington's Attention To His Right, And In This It Failed. Half-an-hour Later A Battery Of 8o Guns Unlimbered On The Long Spur To The S.e. Of ...
Watermarks
Watermarks, The Emblems Or Designs In Paper Used Originally In Italy In The Latter Part Of The 13th Century. The Ori Entals, Who Were The First To Make Paper, Did Not Employ Water Marks, Although Their Method Of Fabricating Sheets Of Paper Was Almost Identical With That Introduced Into Europe ...
Watershed
Watershed, The Land-form Separating The Head Streams Tributary To Two Different River Basins. Alternative Terms Are "water-parting" And "divide" (q.v.). ...
Waterspout
Waterspout, The Name Applied To The Funnel-shaped Cloud Of The Tornado (q.v.) When It Occurs At Sea. The Funnel Point Seems To Descend Slowly From The Lower Side Of The Heavy Nimbus Clouds. Beneath This Point The Sea Appears Agitated And A Cloud Of Spray Forms, Into Which The Funnel ...
Watertown
Watertown, A Town Of Massachusetts, On The Charles River. Pop. (192o) Foreign-born White) ; 1930 Federal Census 34,913. There Are Two Interesting Old Burying Grounds, One Of Wnich Has Been In Use Since 1642, And A Number Of Colonial Houses. The Town Includes Mounds And Earthworks Thought By Prof. E. ...
Watertown_2
Watertown, A City Of Northern New York, U.s.a. It Has A Municipal Airport. Pop. (1920) 31,285 (81% Native White) ; 193o Federal Census 32,205. The Thousand Islands Are 22 M. N. And The Adirondacks 45 M. N.e. The City's Parks Include One Of 196 Ac., Two Large Athletic Fields, Municipal ...
Watertown_3
Watertown, A City Of South Dakota, U.s.a., On The Big Sioux River, Near Lake Kampeska And Lake Pelican, 200 M. W. Of Minneapolis. Pop. 1930 Federal Census 10,214. The City Has A Large Meat-packing Plant, Flour Mills And Machine Shops. The City Was Founded In 1882 And Incorporated In 1885. ...
Watertown_4
Watertown, A City Of Wisconsin, U.s.a., On The Rock River. Pop. 9,299 In 1920, 10,613 In 1930. It Is The Seat Of Northwestern College (lutheran, 1865) ; A Shipping Point For But Ter And Cheese; A Market For Imported Horses. Watertown Was Founded About 1836 By Colonists From Watertown, N.y. ...
Waterville
Waterville, A City Of Maine, U.s.a. Pop. (1q20) 13,351 (22% Foreign-born White) ; 1930 Federal Census Water-power From The Ticonic Falls, And More Recently An Ample Supply Of Hydro-electric Current, Have Made Waterville An Im Portant Manufacturing Centre. It Has Large Cotton And Worsted Mills And Other Plants, With Products ...
Watervliet
Watervliet, A City Of New York, U S.a. Pop. (1920) 16,073 (84% Native White) ; 1930 Federal Census 16,083. It Has Railroad Shops And Extensive Manufactures Of Bells, Iron And Steel Castings, Stoves, Ladders, Woollen Goods, Paper And Wooden Boxes, Asbestos Products, Spun Silk, Men's Clothing And Various Other Com ...
Watford
Watford, A Town Of Hertfordshire, England. Pop. (1930 56,799. The Church Of St. Mary Contains Good Monumental Work Of The Early 17th Century. There Are Large Breweries, Also Corn Mills, Malt-kilns And An Iron Foundry. Bushey, On The South Side Of The Colne, Is A Suburb, Chiefly Residential, With A ...
Watkins Glen
Watkins Glen, A Village Of New York, U.s.a., At The South End Of Seneca Lake, In The Heart Of The Finger Lake Re Gion. Resident Pop. 1930, 2,956 Federal Census. Medicinal Springs And The Beauty Of The "glen" Have Made It One Of The Noted Health And Pleasure Resorts Of ...
Watling Street
Watling Street, The Early English Name For The Great Road Made By The Romans From London Past St. Albans (roman Verulamium) To Wroxeter (roman Viroconium) Near Shrewsbury And Used By The Anglo-saxons, Just As A Great Part Of It Is Used To-day. According To Early Documents The Name Was At ...
Watsonville
Watsonville, A City Of Santa Cruz County, California. Pop. (1920) 5,013; In 1930 It Had Increased To By The Federal Census. Over 15,000 Ac. Of The Beautiful Fertile Pajaro Valley Are Planted To Apples, Which Supply Work For 75–zoo Packing Houses, 25 Driers, Canneries And Cider And Vinegar Works In ...
Wattignies
Wattignies, A Village Of France 51 M. S.s.e. Of Mau Beuge, The Scene Of A Battle In The French Revolutionary Wars (q.v.), Fought On Oct. 15-16, The Allied Army, Chiefly Aus Trians, Under Coburg, Was Besieging Maubeuge, And The Revolu Tionary Army, Preparing To Relieve It, Gathered Behind Avesnes. Even ...
Wattle And Daub Or
Wattle And Daub Or Dab, A Term In Architecture Applied To A Wall Made With Upright Stakes With Withes Twisted Between Them And Then Plastered Over. It Is Probably One Of The Oldest Systems Of Construction. The Egyptians Employed The Stems Of Maize For The Upright Stakes; These Were Secured ...
Wattmeter
Wattmeter, An Instrument For The Measurement Of Elec Tric Power Or The Rate Of Supply Of Electric Energy To Any Circuit. For Direct Current (d.c.) Circuits The Power Supplied Is Given In Watts By Multiplying Together The Current (in Amperes) And The Voltage; But, When Alternating Currents (a.c.) Are Used ...
Waukegan
Waukegan, A City Of Illinois, U.s.a., On Lake Michigan, 40 M. N. By W. Of Chicago. Population 19,226 In 1920 (25% Foreign-born White) 33,499 In 1930 By Federal Census. The City Lies On A Plateau Ioo Ft. Above The Lake. The Streets Are Inter Sected By Beautiful Wooded Ravines, Which ...
Waukesha
Waukesha, A City Of Wisconsin, U.s.a., 16 M. W. Of Mil Waukee, On The Little Fox River. Population (1920) 12,558 (85% Native White) ; 17,176 In 1930 Federal Census. There Are Mineral Springs Which Were First Exploited In 1868 And Have Led To The Establishment Of Institutions Of Healing. The ...
Waupun
Waupun, A City Of Wisconsin, U.s.a., 6o M. N.w. Of Milwaukee. Pop. 4,44o In 1920; In 1930, 5,768 By The Federal Census. It Is The Seat Of The State Prison And Of The Central State Hospital For The Insane. It Was Founded In 1838 And Incorporated In 1857. The Name ...
Wausau
Wausau, A City Of Wisconsin, U.s.a. Pop. (1920) 18,66r (82% Native White) ; And 23,758 In 1930 By The Federal Census. The German Element Predominates Wausau Is In The Red-clover Belt Of The State, Where Dairying Is The Principal Occupation. Honey, Corn, Small Grains And Potatoes Are Also Products. The ...
Wauwatosa
Wauwatosa, A City Of Wisconsin, U.s.a. Pop. 5,818 In 192o (84% Native White) And Was 21,194 In 193o By The Federal Census. It Is A Suburb Of Milwaukee, And Is The Seat Of The Evangelical Lutheran Theological Seminary. The City Was Founded In* 1847 And Incorporated In 1892. The Name ...
Wave Antenna
Wave Antenna, A Horizontal Radio Aerial, The Physical Length Of Which Is Of The Same Order Of Magnitude As That Of The Signaling Waves To Be Received, And Which Is So Used As To Be Strongly Directional. ...
Wave Length
Wave Length, In Radio, The Distance Traveled In One Period Or Cycle By A Periodic Disturbance. The Distance Between Corresponding Phases Of Two Consecutive Waves Of A Wave Train. The Quotient Of Velocity By Frequency. For A Discussion Of Theory See Physics, Articles On ; Electric Waves ; For Wave ...
Wave Scroll
Wave Scroll, In Architecture And The Decorative Arts, A Continuous Line Which Starts As A Spiral, Then Suddenly Reverses Its Curvature And By A Long, Concave Sweep Rises To Form The Be Ginning Of The Next Spiral Of The Series. ...
Wavellite
Wavellite, A Mineral Consisting Of Hydrated Aluminium. Phosphate, Crystallizing In The Ortho Rhombic System. Distinct Crystals Are Of Rare Occurrence, The Mineral Usually Taking The Form Of Hemispherical Or Globular Aggregates With An Internal Radiated Structure. It Is Translucent And Varies In Colour From Grey Or White To Greenish, Yellowish, ...
Waverly
Waverly, A Village Of Tioga County, New York, U.s.a. Pop. 1930, 5,662, Federal Census. The Pennsylvania Borough Of South Waverly (pop. 1,251 In 1920) Is Separated From Waverly Only By The State Line; And The Neighbouring Boroughs Of Sayre (q.v.) And Athens (8,078 And 4,384 Respectively In 192o) Are Also ...
Waves Of The Sea
Waves Of The Sea. It May Easily Be Observed That When Smooth Water Is Struck By Wind The Surface Is Imme Diately Covered By A Ribbed Pattern Of Transverse Inequalities About One Inch From Crest To Crest Travelling Very Slowly In The Direction Of The Wind, And However Long The ...
Wax Figures
Wax Figures. Beeswax Is Possessed Of Properties Which Render It A Most Convenient Medium For Preparing Figures And Models, Either By Modelling Or By Casting In Moulds. At Ordinary Temperatures It Can Be Cut And Shaped With Facility; It Melts To A Limpid Fluid At A Low Heat ; It ...
Wax Myrtle Or Candleberry
Wax Myrtle Or Candleberry, Popular Names Of Species Of Myrica, Especially M. Cerifera And M. Carolinensis (bay-berry Or Wax-berry), Small Shrubs Native To Eastern North America, The Fruits Of Which Have A Waxy Covering And Are Utilized As A Source Of Vegetable Wax, Used Especially In New England For Making ...
Waxahachie
Waxahachie, A Town Of Texas, U.s.a. Pop. 7,958 In 1920 (23% Negroes) And Was 8,042 In 1930 Federal Census. It Is The Seat Of Trinity University (presbyterian), Established In 1869. The City Has Flour, Cottonseed-oil, And Cotton Mills, And A Petroleum Refinery. The Midlothian Oilfield Is Io M. N.w. Waxa ...
Waxwing
Waxwing, A Bird (bombycilla Garrulus), The Type Of The Passerine Family Ampelidae. It Is Distinguished From Almost All Other Birds By The Curious Expansion Of The Shaft Of Some Of Its Wing-feathers At The Tip Into A Flake That Looks Like Scarlet Sealing-wax. An Irregular Winter Visitant, Sometimes In Countless ...
Waycross
Waycross, A City Of Georgia, U.s.a. Pop. 15,510 In 1930 Federal Census. Waycross Ships Lumber, Naval Stores, Tobacco, Corn, Sugar-cane, And Other Agricultural Products; And Has Rail Road Shops, Meat-packing Plants, Fruit And Vegetable Canneries, Lumber Mills, A Bee-hive Factory And Other Manufacturing Estab Lishments. The City Was Founded In ...
Wayland The Smith
Wayland The Smith, Hero Of Romance (stand. V Olundr, Ger. Wieland). The Legend Of Wayland Probably Had Its Home In The North, Where He And His Brother Egill Were The Types Of The Skilled Workman, But There Are Abundant Local Tradi Tions Of The Wonderful Smith In Westphalia And In ...
Waynesboro
Waynesboro, A Borough Of Pennsylvania, U.s.a., Near The Maryland Boundary (the "mason And Dixon Line"). Pop. (1930) 10,167 By Federal Census. Waynesboro Lies 710 Ft. Above Sea-level, At The Foot Of South Mountain, In The Beautiful Blue Ridge Region. Beneath Are Many Caves And Caverns. At Mont Alto, 6 M. ...
Wayzgoose
Wayzgoose, A Term For The Annual Outing Of English Printers And Their Employees. It May Be A Misspelling For "wase Goose," From Vase, M.e. For "sheaf," Thus Meaning Harvest Goose, The "stubblegoose" Mentioned By Chaucer In "the Cook's Prologue." It Is More Probable That The Merry-making Was An Imi Tation ...
Wazirabad
Wazirabad, A Town Of British India, In Gujranwala Dis Trict Of The Punjab, Near The Right Bank Of The River Chenab, 62 M. N. Of Lahore. Pop. (1931) 20,707. It Is An Important Railway Junction. The Main Line Of The North-western Railway Here Crosses The Chenab By The Alexandra Bridge, ...
Waziristan
Waziristan, A Mountain Tract In The North-west Frontier Province Of India Within The British Sphere Of Influence, The Boundary With Afghanistan Having Been Demarcated In Only A Portion, Consisting Of The Tochi Valley, With An Area Of About 70o Sq.m. And A Population (1903) Of 24,670, Is Directly Administered. Northern ...
Wazzan
Wazzan, A Small Town, 6om. N.w. By N. Of Fez, Morocco, On The Slopes Of The Djebel Bu-hallal. Wazzan, Chief Town Of A Territory, Has 12,910 Inhabitants, Of Whom 594 Are Europeans. It Manufactures A Coarse White Woollen Cloth, From Which The Hooded Cloaks (called Jelldbs) Are Made. Its Proudest ...
Weakfish
Weakfish (cynoscion Regalis), An Important North Ameri Can F Ood-fish, So-called From Its Tender Mouth. It Inhabits Sandy Shores Of The Atlantic Coast From Cape Cod To Florida And Is Greenish-brown Above, Silvery Below, With Brown Markings. The Weakfish Is Also Known As Squeteague And Sea-trout (its Trade Name). It ...
Wealth
Wealth. In Economics Wealth May Mean Either A Stock Or Fund Existing At A Given Time Or A Flow Of Valuable Goods And Services During A Period Of Time. In Dealing With The Production, Exchange, Distribution And Consumption Of Wealth, Economics Is Concerned Very Largely With The Origins Of The ...
Weapon
Weapon: See Arms And Armour; Halbert, Lance, Sword, Gun, Pistol, Small Ardis And Ordnance. ...
Wear
Wear, River, Durham, England, Rising In The Pennine Chain, And Traversing A Valley Of 6o M. To The North Sea. Through A Narrow And Picturesque Valley, The Stream Flows To Bishop Auck Land, Then Meanders Past The Bold Peninsula Which Bears The Cathedral Of Durham. Later The River Becomes Navigable, ...