Wren
Wren, The Popular Name For Birds Of The Passerine Family Troglodytidae, Of Which The Best Known Is Troglodytes Troglo Dytes, The Little Brown Bird With Its Vigorous Song And Its Short Tail Cocked On High, That Braves The Winter Of The British Islands, And Even Of The European Continent, And ...
Wrestling
Wrestling, A Sport In Which Two Persons Strive To Throw Each Other To The Ground. It Is One Of The Most Primitive And Universal Of Sports. Upon The Walls Of The Temple-tombs Of Beni Hasan, Near The Nile, Are Sculptured Many Hundreds Of Scenes From Wrestling Matches, Depicting Practically All ...
Writ
Writ, In Law, Is A Species Of Formal Order From The Crown Or A Delegated Officer To An Inferior Officer Or To A Private Person, En Joining Some Act Or Omission. The Word Represents The Latin Brevis Or Breve (sometimes Englished Into "brief" In The Older Authorities), So Called From ...
Writing
Writing. The Earlier History Of Writing Is Dealt With In The Articles Alphabet, Palaeography, Pictography. The Subject Of The Present Article Is Handwriting In Its Common Uses In Europe Since The Period When The Invention Of Printing Super Seded Its Employment For The Making Of Books. Speaking Broadly, The Ordinary ...
Wryneck
Wryneck, A Bird, Jynx Torquilla, So Called From Its Way Of Writhing Its Head And Neck. It Is A Summer Visitant To Most Parts Of Europe, Generally Arriving A Few Days Before The Cuckoo, And Is Often Known As "cuckoo's Leader" And "cuckoo's Mate." The Unmistakable Note Of The Wryneck ...
Wurttemberg
Wurttemberg, A Land, And A Component State Of The German Reich, Forming A Tolerably Compact Mass In The South West Angle Of Germany. In The South It Is Cleft By The Long Narrow Territory Of Hohenzollern, Belonging To Prussia; And It Encloses Several Small Enclaves Of Baden And Hohenzollern, While ...
Wurzburg
Wurzburg, A University Town And Episcopal See Of Bavaria, Germany, Capital Of The Province Of Lower Franconia, Situated On The Main, 6o M. By Rail S.e. From Frankfort And At The Junction Of Main Lines To Bamberg And Nurnberg. Pop. (1933) 100,937. The Site Of The Leistenberg Was Occupied By ...
Wyandotte Cave
Wyandotte Cave, A Cave In Crawford County, South Em Indiana, U.s.a., 38° 14' N. Lat. And 86° 18' W. Longitude. It Is But One Of The Many Caves Of Southern Indiana Dissolved And Eroded In The Relatively Pure, Massive, Horizontally Bedded Mississippian Limestones That Extend Southward Into The Cave Bearing ...
Wycliffe
Wycliffe (or Wyclif) , John (c. 1320-1384) , English Reformer, Was Born, According To John Leland, At Ipreswel (evi Dently Hipswell), In Yorkshire'. The Wycliffes Were Connected 'the Form Of Spelling Of The Name Wycliffe Adopted In This Article Is That Of The Village Wycliffe-on-tees, From Which Leland Says That ...
Wycombe
Wycombe (officially Chepping Wycombe. Also Chipping Or High Wycombe), A Town And Municipal Borough In Bucking Hamshire, England, 264 M. W. By N. Of London By The G.w. Rail Way. Pop. (1931) 27,987. The Principal Industry Is The Making Of Cane- And Rush-seated Chairs And Furniture. There Are Various British ...
Wyoming
Wyoming, Popularly Known As The State Be Cause It Was The Pioneer In Woman Suffrage, Is One Of The Central Western States Of The United States Of America, And Is Situated Between And Ii 3' Long. W. And And N. Lat. It Is Bounded North By Montana, East By South ...
Wyoming Valley
Wyoming Valley, A Valley On The North Branch Of The Susquehanna River, In Luzerne County, Pennsylvania, U.s.a. The Valley, Properly Speaking, Is About 31m. Wide And About 25m. Long, But The Term Is Sometimes Used Historically To Include All Of The Territory In The North-east Of The State Once In ...
X Rays And Crystal Structure
X-rays And Crystal Structure. The Idea Of A Regular, Underlying Structure Has Always Been At The Back Of Scientific Studies Of Crystals. It Is Suggested By Their Very Appear Ance, And It Becomes Almost A Necessity To Explain The Regularities Of The Laws Of The Arrangements Of The External Faces, ...
Xanthus
Xanthus (mod. Giiniik), An Ancient City Of Lycia, On The River Xanthus (eshen Chai) About 8 M. Above Its Mouth. It Was Besieged By The Persian General Harpagus (546 B.c.), When The Acropolis Was Burned And All The Inhabitants Perished (herod. I. 176). The City Was Afterwards Rebuilt; And In ...
Xenophanes
Xenophanes Of Colophon, The Reputed Founder Of The Eleatic School Of Philosophy, Is Supposed To Have Been Born In The Third Or Fourth Decade Of The 6th Century B.c. An Exile From His Ionian Home, He Resided For A Time In Sicily, At Zancle And At Catana, And Afterwards Established ...
Xenophon
Xenophon, Greek Historian And Philosophical Essayist, The Son Of Gryllus, Was Born In Athens About 43o B.c. As The Descrip Tion Of The Ionian Campaign Of Thrasyllus In 410 (hellenica, I. 2) Is Clearly Derived From Xenophon's Own Reminiscences, He Must Have Taken Part In This Campaign, And Cannot Therefore ...
Yacht
Yacht, A Light And Comparatively Small Vessel, Propelled By Means Other Than Oars. The Term Is Now Limited To Vessels Used For Pleasure, Or For Racing Purposes. For Sailing Yachts See Yachting. Since 1840 Power Yachts Have Been Increasingly Used, Especially As Long Distance Cruising Became A Favourite Pastime Of ...
Yachting
Yachting, The Sport Of Racing In Yachts And Also The Pas Time Of Cruising For Pleasure In Sailing, Steam, Or Motor Vessels. Yacht Racing Dates From The Beginning Of The 19th Century ; For, Although There Were Sailing Yachts Long Before, They Were But Few, And Belonged Exclusively To Princes ...
Yaksas
Yaksas. The Sanskrit Designation Yaksa, Of Uncertain Deri Vation, Is Applied Upon Occasion To Practically Every Indian Deity, And Even To The Buddha, In An Honorific Sense. Later, In Sectarian And Especially In Buddhist Literature, The Yaksas Are Represented In The Interests Of Edification Either As Devoted Assistants And Defenders ...
Yakutsk
Yakutsk, An A.s.s.r. Of Asiatic Russia Formed In 1922, Stretching From The Siberian Area On The West To The Far Eastern Area On The East, And From The Arctic Ocean On The North To About Lat. 54° N., Where It Is Again Bordered By The Far Eastern Area. It Covers ...
Yale University
Yale University, The Third Oldest Institution Of Higher Education In The United States, Situated At New Haven, Conn. In I 700 The Needs Of New England In The Way Of Higher Education Were Supplied By Harvard College, At Cambridge. Massachusetts Bay Colony Was Naturally The Chief Patron Of Harvard, But ...
Yangtze Kiang
Yangtze Kiang (yahng-ts-ke-ahng), The Principal Commercial River Of The Country. This River, The Length Of Which Is Estimated At Some 3,00o Miles, Is Known As The Yangtze By Europeans Throughout Its Course, But Among The Chinese This Term Indicates Only The Last Three Or Four Hundred Miles Where It Flows ...
Yaos Or Ajawa
Yaos Or Ajawa, A Bantu-negroid People Of East-central Africa, Whose Home Is The Country Around The Upper Reaches Of The Rovuma River, And The North Of Portuguese East Africa. They Have Spread Into The Territory South Of Lake Nyasa And Throughout The Shire Districts. They Are The Tallest And Strongest ...
Yarkand
Yarkand (chinese Name Soche Fit), The Largest Town In One Of The Two Chief Oases Of The Tarim Basin In The Dominion Of Sinkiang, 38° 25' N. And 77° 16' E., 3,900 Ft. Above Sea-level. The Oasis Lies Along Several Rivers Of The South-west Part Of The Tarim Basin And, ...
Yarmouth Great Yarmouth
Yarmouth (great Yarmouth), A Municipal, County And Parliamentary Borough, Watering-place, And Seaport Of Norfolk, England (with A Small Portion In Suffolk), 121 M. N.e. From London By The L.n.e.r., Served Also By The M. And G.n.r. Pop. (1931) 56,769. Yarmouth (magna Gernemutha), Which Lies Near The Site Of The Roman ...
Yarn
Yarn. The Derivation Of This Word From "garn," A Word Com Mon To The Scandinavian Languages, Meaning "guts," Is Interesting Since Today "cat-gut," Which May Be The Drawn-out "guts" Of The Silk-worm, Is A Well-known Commodity ; And The Same "guts" Spun By The Silk-worm Itself Into A Fine Filament ...
Yaws
Yaws, The Name In Use In The British West Indies For A Con Tagious Inoculable Tropical Disease, Running A Chronic Course And Characterized By A Peculiar Eruption, Together With More Or Less Constitutional Disturbance. It Is Known By Various Local Names In Different Parts. The Name Framboesia Was First Given ...
Yazoo City
Yazoo City, A City Of Western Mississippi, U.s.a., About Midway Between Memphis And New Orleans, On The (navigable) Yazoo River ; The County Seat Of Yazoo County. It Is On Federal Highway 49, And Is Served By The Illinois Central Railroad. Pop. 5,244 In 1920 (52% Negroes) ; 5,579 In ...
Yeast
Yeast. The Botanist And Microbiologist Apply The Term Yeast To A Group Of Plants Many Of Which Exhibit A Marked Ability To Change Sugar Into Alcohol And Carbon Dioxide. The Characteristics Of The Group, Which Includes Hundreds Of Species, Are Quite Restricted. These, Together With Discussion Of Taxonomy, Are Given ...
Yellow Fever
Yellow Fever, A Specific Infective Tropical Fever, The Virus Of Which Is Transmitted By A Mosquito. The Disease Occurs Endemically In Certain Limited Areas. The Area Of Distribution In Cludes The West Indies, Mexico, Part Of Central America, The W. Coast Of Africa And Brazil. The Incubation Period Of Yellow ...
Yellowstone National Park
Yellowstone National Park, A National Ameri Can Public Park, The First And Most Noted Of A Number Of Such National Reserves Set Apart By The U.s. Government To Preserve, For The Benefit And Enjoyment Of The People, Certain Regions Of Extraordinary Or Unique Natural Grandeur And Impressiveness. Yellowstone National Park ...
Yemen
Yemen ( Yaman), An Extensive Region Forming The South Western Portion Of Arabia. The Limits Of Power Exercised By The 'various Rulers Are Not Clearly Defined, But Yemen Includes The Province Of Asir And Reaches In The North Towards The Hejaz And The Nejd. On The East Its Limits Merge ...
Yenisei
Yenisei (from A Tungus Word Meaning Great River), A River Of Asiatic Russia, Rising In Mongolia And Flowing Into The Arctic Ocean, Having A Total Length Of 2,700 M. And A Basin Ex Tending Over A Million Square Miles. It Marks A Structural Bound Ary Of Great Antiquity In The ...
Yeomanry
Yeomanry, The Name Given To The Volunteer Mounted Troops Of The Home Defence Army Of Great Britain, Ever Since Their Original Formation ; It Indicated That Recruiting, Organization And Command Were Upon A County Basis, The County Gentlemen Officer Ing The Force, The Farmers And Yeomen Serving In Its Ranks, ...
Yeomen Of The Guard
Yeomen Of The Guard, Originally "yeomen Of The Guard Of (the Body Of) Our Lord The King"—"valecti Garde (corporis) Domini Regis"—the Title Maintained With But A Slight Variation Since Their Institution In 1485, Of A Permanent Mili Tary Corps In Attendance On The Sovereign Of England, As Part Of The ...
Yezd
Yezd, A Province And Town Of Persia. The Former Is Bounded On The West By The Province Of Isfahan, On The North By Sam Nan-damghan, On The East By Khurasan And On The South By Kerman And Fars. Much Silk Is Produced In This District, But Not Sufficient For The ...
Yezo
Yezo, The Most Northerly Of The Five Principal Islands Form Ing The Japanese Empire, The Five Being Yezo, Hondo, Shikoku, Kyushu And Formosa. It Is Situated Between 3o' And 41° 21' N. And Between 146° 7' And 139° Ii' E.; Its Coast-line Measures 1,423.32 M., And It Has An Area ...
Yiddish Language And Literature
Yiddish Language And Literature. The Word Yiddish Is Derived From The Modern German Judisch Deutsch Or Jewish German. It Is The Language Spoken By The Polish And Russian Jews Whose Forbears, Early In The Middle Ages, Were Invited To Poland From The Rhineland, To Form A Trading Class In Between ...
Yokohama
Yokohama, A Seaport Of Japan On The West Shore Of Tokyo Bay, 18 M. South Of Tokyo By Rail. It Stands On A Plain Shut In By Hills, One Of Which, Towards The South-east, Terminates In A Promontory Called Honmoku-misaki Or Treaty Point. The Temperature Ranges From 95° To F, ...
Yonkers
Yonkers, A City Of Westchester County, New York, U.s.a., On The East Bank Of The Hudson River, Adjoining New York City On The North And Facing The Palisades. It Is Served By The New York Central And Electric Railways, Motor-bus Lines, A Ferry To Alpine, N.j., And River Steamers. Pop. ...
Yonne
Yonne, A Department Of Central France, Formed Partly From The Province Of Champagne Proper (with Its Dependencies, Salon Ais And Tonnerrois), Partly From Burgundy Proper (with Its De Pendencies, The County Of Auxerre And Avallonnais) And Partly From Gatinais (orleanais And Ile-de-france). It Is Bounded By Aube On The North-east, ...
York
York, A City Of South-eastern Pennsylvania, U.s.a., The County Seat Of York County; On Federal Highways 3o (the Lin Coln) And Iii, 90 M. W. Of Philadelphia And 28 M. S. By E. Of Harrisburg. It Is Served By The Maryland And Pennsylvania, The Pennsylvania And The Western Maryland Railways. ...
York
York, A County And Parliamentary Borough, Archiepiscopal City, County Town Of Yorkshire And County In Itself, On The L.n.e.r. And Derwent Valley Light Railway, 188 M. N.w. Of Lon Don. Pop. (1931) 84,81o. It Is Situated In The Low Lying Vale Of York At The Junction Of The Ouse With ...
Yorkshire
Yorkshire, A North-eastern County Of England, Bounded By Durham, The North Sea, The Humber Estuary (separating It From Lincolnshire), Nottinghamshire, Derbyshire, Cheshire, Lancashire And Westmorland. It Is The Largest County In England, Having An Area Of 6,046.3 Sq.m. (exclusive Of Water) And Being More Than Double The Size Of Lincolnshire, ...
Yorkshire Electric Power Company
Yorkshire Electric Power Company. A Group Of Men In The West Riding, Interested In The Woollen And Colliery Industries, Promoted A Bill In 1901 Which Incorporated The Yorkshire Electric Power Company With An Authorized Share Cap Ital Of £2,000,000. The Concern Was Vested With Powers Of Supply Ing Over A ...
Yorktown
Yorktown, A Town And The County Seat Of York County, Virginia, U.s.a., On The York River Iorn. From Its Mouth, And About 6om. E.s.e. Of Richmond. In 1930 The Population Of Nel Son District, Which Includes Yorktown Town, Was 1,146. It Is Served By A Steamship Line, And About 61m. ...
Yosemite
Yosemite, The Name Given To A Beautiful Valley And Its Picturesque Environs In East-central California On The West Slope Of The Sierra Nevada Mountains Almost 150 M. Due E. From San Francisco. It Embraces 1,125 Sq.m. Of Magnificent Mountain Scenery, Of Which The Valley Is The Crowning Glory. The Park ...
Yoshihito 1879 1926
Yoshihito (1879-1926), 123rd Emperor Of Japan, Third Son Of The Emperor Meiji (mutsuhito), Was Born At Tokyo On Aug. 31, 1879. On The Eighth Anniversary Of His Birthday The Prince Was Proclaimed Heir-apparent, The First And Second Sons Of The Emperor Meiji Having Died In Infancy. In Sept. 1887 The ...
Youghal
Youghal (pronounced Yawl), A Seaport And Watering Place Of Co. Cork, Ireland, On The West Side Of The Blackwater Estuary, And On The Cork And Youghal Branch Of The Great Southern Railway, M. E. Of Cork. Pop. (1926) Hal Was A Settlement Of The Northmen In The 9th Century, And ...