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Title: Encyclopaedia Britannica, 11th Edition, Volume 6, Slice 5 - "Clervaux" to "Cockade"
Author: Various
Language: English
As this book started as an ASCII text book there are no pictures available.
*** Start of this LibraryBlog Digital Book "Encyclopaedia Britannica, 11th Edition, Volume 6, Slice 5 - "Clervaux" to "Cockade"" ***
Transcriber's notes:
(1) Numbers following letters (without space) like C2 were originally
printed in subscript.
(2) Side-notes were relocated to function as titles of their respective
paragraphs.
(3) Letters topped by Macron are represented as [=x].
(4) The following typographical errors have been corrected:
Article CLINTON, GEORGE: "he was more popular than any of them, as
is attested by his service as governor for eighteen successive
years." 'service' amended from 'serivice'.
Article CLOISTER: "Pop. of urban district (1901), 2068. The town
has a considerable agricultural trade, and there are corn mills and
manufactures of agricultural implements." 'agricultural' amended
from 'argicultural'.
Article COAL: "Commissioners that owing to physical considerations
it is highly probable that the present rate of increase of the
output of coal can long continue." 'output' amended from 'putput'.
Article COAL: "about five times that obtained from an equal volume
of air at 60 lb pressure." 'volume' amended from 'volumne'.
Article COAL-TAR: "are carried out on a much larger scale in that
than in any other country." 'much' amended from 'march'.
Article COAL-TAR: "Most manufacturers employ ordinary stills as
described." 'employ' amended from 'emply'.
Article COBDEN, RICHARD: "He was not successful in either case, nor
did he expect to be." 'nor' amended from 'not'.
ENCYCLOPAEDIA BRITANNICA
A DICTIONARY OF ARTS, SCIENCES, LITERATURE
AND GENERAL INFORMATION
ELEVENTH EDITION
VOLUME VI, SLICE V
Clervaux to Cockade
Articles in This Slice:
CLERVAUX CLOVELLY
CLETUS CLOVER
CLEVEDON CLOVES
CLEVELAND, BARBARA VILLIERS CLOVIO, GIORGIO GIULIO
CLEVELAND, JOHN CLOVIS
CLEVELAND, STEPHEN GROVER CLOWN
CLEVELAND CLOYNE
CLEVER CLUB
CLEVES CLUB-FOOT
CLEYNAERTS CLUE
CLICHTOVE, JOSSE VAN CLUENTIUS HABITUS, AULUS
CLICHY CLUMP
CLIFF-DWELLINGS CLUNES
CLIFFORD (English family) CLUNY
CLIFFORD, JOHN CLUSERET, GUSTAVE PAUL
CLIFFORD, WILLIAM KINGDON CLUSIUM
CLIFFORD OF CHUDLEIGH CLUWER
CLIFTON CLYDE, COLIN CAMPBELL
CLIM CLYDE (river of Scotland)
CLIMACTERIC CLYDEBANK
CLIMATE AND CLIMATOLOGY. CNIDUS
CLIMAX, JOHN CNOSSUS
CLIMBING COACH
CLINCHANT, JUSTIN COAHUILA
CLINIC; CLINICAL COAL
CLINKER COALBROOKDALE
CLINOCLASITE COAL-FISH
CLINTON, DE WITT COALING STATIONS
CLINTON, GEORGE COALITION
CLINTON, SIR HENRY COAL-TAR
CLINTON, HENRY FYNES COALVILLE
CLINTON (city of Iowa) COAST
CLINTON (township of Massachusetts) COAST DEFENCE
CLINTON (city of Missouri) COASTGUARD
CLINTON (village of New York) COASTING
CLINTONITE COATBRIDGE
CLISSON, OLIVIER DE COATESVILLE
CLISSON (town of France) COATI
CLITHEROE COB
CLITOMACHUS COBALT
CLITUMNUS COBALTITE
CLIVE, CAROLINE COBÁN
CLIVE, CATHERINE COBAR
CLIVE, ROBERT CLIVE COBB, HOWELL
CLOACA COBBETT, WILLIAM
CLOCK COBBOLD, THOMAS SPENCER
CLODIA, VIA COBDEN, RICHARD
CLODIUS COBET, CAREL GABRIEL
CLOGHER COBHAM
CLOISTER COBIJA
CLONAKILTY COBLE
CLONES COBLENZ
CLONMACNOISE COBOURG
CLONMEL COBRA
CLOOTS, DE GRÂCE COBURG
CLOQUET COCA
CLOSE, MAXWELL HENRY COCAINE
CLOSE COCANADA
CLOSURE COCCEIUS
CLOT, ANTOINE BARTHÉLEMY COCCIDIA
CLOTAIRE COCCULUS INDICUS
CLOTH COCHABAMBA (department of Bolivia)
CLOTHIER COCHABAMBA (city of Bolivia)
CLOTILDA, SAINT COCHEM
CLOUD COCHERY, LOUIS ADOLPHE
CLOUDBERRY COCHIN, DENYS MARIE AUGUSTIN
CLOUD-BURST COCHIN (state of India)
CLOUDED LEOPARD COCHIN (town of India)
CLOUET, FRANÇOIS COCHIN-CHINA
CLOUET, JEAN COCHINEAL
CLOUGH, ANNE JEMIMA COCHLAEUS, JOHANN
CLOUGH, ARTHUR HUGH COCK, EDWARD
CLOUTING COCKADE
CLERVAUX (_clara vallis_), a town in the northern province of Oesling,
grand-duchy of Luxemburg, on the Clerf, a tributary of the Sûre. Pop.
(1905) 866. In old days it was the fief of the de Lannoy family, and the
present proprietor is the bearer of a name not less well known in
Belgian history, the count de Berlaymont. The old castle of the de
Lannoys exists, and might easily be restored, but its condition is now
neglected and dilapidated. In 1798 the people of Clervaux specially
distinguished themselves against the French in an attempt to resist the
institution of the conscription. The survivors of what was called the
Kloppel-krieg (the "cudgel war") were shot, and a fine monument
commemorates the heroism of the men of Clervaux.
CLETUS, formerly regarded as the name of one of the early successors of
St Peter in the see of Rome, or, according to Epiphanius and Rufinus, as
sharing the direction of the Roman Church with Linus during Peter's
lifetime. He has been identified beyond doubt with Anencletus (q.v.).
See Père Colombier, in _Rev. des questions hist._ Ap. 1st, 1876, p. 413.
CLEVEDON, a watering-place in the northern parliamentary division of
Somersetshire, England, on the Bristol Channel, 15½ m. W. of Bristol on
a branch of the Great Western railway. Pop. of urban district (1901)
5900. The cruciform church of St Andrew has Norman and later portions;
it is the burial-place of Henry Hallam the historian, and members of his
family, including his sons Arthur and Henry. Clevedon Court is a
remarkable medieval mansion, dating originally from the early part of
the 14th century, though much altered in the Elizabethan and other
periods. The house is considered to be the original of "Castlewood" in
Thackeray's _Esmond_; the novelist was acquainted with the place through
his friendship with the Rev. William Brookfield and his wife, the
daughter of Sir Charles Elton of Clevedon Court.
CLEVELAND, BARBARA VILLIERS, DUCHESS OF (1641-1709), mistress of the
English king Charles II., was the daughter of William Villiers, 2nd
Viscount Grandison (d. 1643), by his wife Mary (d. 1684), daughter of
Paul, 1st Viscount Bayning. In April 1659 Barbara married Roger Palmer,
who was created earl of Castlemaine two years later, and soon after this
marriage her intimacy with Charles II. began. The king was probably the
father of her first child, Anne, born in February 1661, although the
paternity was also attributed to one of her earliest lovers, Philip
Stanhope, 2nd earl of Chesterfield (1633-1713). Mistress Palmer, as
Barbara was called before her husband was made an earl, was naturally
much disliked by Charles's queen, Catherine of Braganza, but owing to
the insistence of the king she was made a lady of the bedchamber to
Catherine, and began to mix in the political intrigues of the time,
showing an especial hatred towards Edward Hyde, earl of Clarendon, who
reciprocated this feeling and forbad his wife to visit her. Her house
became a rendezvous for the enemies of the minister, and according to
Pepys she exhibited a wild paroxysm of delight when she heard of
Clarendon's fall from power in 1667. Whilst enjoying the royal favour
Lady Castlemaine formed _liaisons_ with various gentlemen, which were
satirized in public prints, and a sharp quarrel which occurred between
her and the king in 1667 was partly due to this cause. But peace was
soon made, and her influence, which had been gradually rising, became
supreme at court in 1667 owing to the marriage of Frances Stuart (la
belle Stuart) (1648-1702) with Charles Stuart, 3rd duke of Richmond
(1640-1672). Accordingly Louis XIV. instructed his ambassador to pay
special attention to Lady Castlemaine, who had become a Roman Catholic
in 1663.
In August 1670 she was created countess of Southampton and duchess of
Cleveland, with remainder to her first and third sons, Charles and
George Palmer, the king at this time not admitting the paternity of her
second son Henry; and she also received many valuable gifts from
Charles. An annual income of £4700 from the post office was settled upon
her, and also other sums chargeable upon the revenue from the customs
and the excise, whilst she obtained a large amount of money from seekers
after office, and in other ways. Nevertheless her extravagance and her
losses at gaming were so enormous that she was unable to keep up her
London residence, Cleveland House, St James's, and was obliged to sell
the contents of her residence at Cheam. About 1670 her influence over
Charles began to decline. She consoled herself meanwhile with lovers of
a less exalted station in life, among them John Churchill, afterwards
duke of Marlborough, and William Wycherley; by 1674 she had been
entirely supplanted at court by Louise de Kéroualle, duchess of
Portsmouth. Soon afterwards the duchess of Cleveland went to reside in
Paris, where she formed an intrigue with the English ambassador, Ralph
Montagu, afterwards duke of Montagu (d. 1709), who lost his position
through some revelations which she made to the king. She returned to
England just before Charles's death in 1685. In July 1705 her husband,
the earl of Castlemaine, whom she had left in 1662, died; and in the
same year the duchess was married to Robert (Beau) Feilding (d. 1712), a
union which was declared void in 1707, as Feilding had a wife living.
She died at Chiswick on the 5th of October 1709.
Bishop Burnet describes her as "a woman of great beauty, but most
enormously vicious and ravenous, foolish but imperious, ever uneasy to
the king, and always carrying on intrigues with other men, while yet she
pretended she was jealous of him." Dryden addressed Lady Castlemaine in
his fourth poetical _Epistle_ in terms of great adulation, and Wycherley
dedicated to her his first play, _Love in a Wood_. Her portrait was
frequently painted by Sir Peter Lely and others, and many of these
portraits are now found in various public and private collections. By
Charles II. she had three sons and either one or two daughters. She had
also in 1686 a son by the actor Cardonnell Goodman (d. 1699), and one or
two other daughters.
Her eldest son, Charles Fitzroy (1662-1730), was created in 1675 earl of
Chichester and duke of Southampton, and became duke of Cleveland and
earl of Southampton on his mother's death. Her second son, Henry
(1663-1690), was created earl of Euston in 1672 and duke of Grafton in
1675; by his wife Isabella, daughter of Henry Bennet, earl of Arlington,
he was the direct ancestor of the later dukes of Grafton; he was the
most popular and the most able of the sons of Charles II., saw a
considerable amount of military service, and met his death through a
wound received at the storming of Cork. Her third son, George
(1665-1716), was created duke of Northumberland in 1683, and died
without issue, after having served in the army. Her daughters were Anne
(1661-1722), married in 1674 to Thomas Lennard, Lord Dacre (d. 1715),
who was created earl of Sussex in 1684; Charlotte (1664-1718), married
in 1677 to Edward Henry Lee, earl of Lichfield (d. 1716); and Barbara
(1672-1737), the reputed daughter of John Churchill, who entered a
nunnery in France, and became by James Douglas, afterwards 4th duke of
Hamilton (1658-1712), the mother of an illegitimate son, Charles
Hamilton (1691-1754).
The first husband of the duchess, Roger Palmer, earl of Castlemaine
(1634-1705), diplomatist and author, was an ardent Roman Catholic, who
defended his co-religionists in several publications. Having served in
the war against Holland in 1665-67, he wrote in French an account of
this struggle, which was translated into English and published by T.
Price in London in 1671. Having been denounced by Titus Oates as a
Jesuit, he was tried and acquitted, afterwards serving James II. as
ambassador to Pope Innocent XI., a mission which led to a brief
imprisonment after the king's flight from England. Subsequently his
Jacobite sympathies caused him to be suspected by the government, and
his time was mainly spent either in prison or in exile. The earl died at
Oswestry on the 21st of July 1705.
The title of duke of Cleveland, which had descended in 1709 to Charles
Fitzroy, together with that of duke of Southampton, became extinct when
Charles's son William, the 2nd duke, died without issue in 1774. One of
the first duke's daughters, Grace, was married in 1725 to Henry Vane,
3rd Baron Barnard, afterwards earl of Darlington (d. 1758), and their
grandson William Henry Vane (1766-1842) was created duke of Cleveland in
1833. The duke was succeeded in the title in turn by three of his sons,
who all died without male issue; and consequently when Harry George, the
4th duke, died in 1891 the title again became extinct.
Previous to the creation of the dukedom of Cleveland there was an
earldom of Cleveland which was created in 1626 in favour of Thomas, 4th
Baron Wentworth (1591-1667), and which became extinct on his death.
See the article CHARLES II. and the bibliography thereto; G.S.
Steinmann, _Memoir of Barbara, duchess of Cleveland_ (London, 1871),
and _Addenda_ (London, 1874); and the articles ("Villiers, Barbara"
and "Palmer, Roger") in the _Dictionary of National Biography_, vols.
xliii. and lviii. (London, 1895-1899).
CLEVELAND (or CLEIVELAND), JOHN (1613-1658), English poet and satirist,
was born at Loughborough, where he was baptized on the 20th of June
1613. His father was assistant to the rector and afterwards vicar of
Hinckley. John Cleveland was educated at Hinckley school under Richard
Vines, who is described by Fuller as a champion of the Puritan party. In
his fifteenth year he was entered at Christ's College, Cambridge, and in
1634 was elected to a fellowship at St John's. He took his M.A. degree
in 1635, and was appointed college tutor and reader in rhetoric. His
Latinity and oratorical powers were warmly praised by Fuller, who also
commends the "lofty fancy" of his verse. He eagerly opposed the
candidature of Oliver Cromwell as M.P. for Cambridge, and when the
Puritan party triumphed there Cleveland, like many other Cambridge
students, found his way (1643) to Oxford. His gifts as a satirist were
already known, and he was warmly received by the king, whom he followed
(1645) to Newark. In that year he was formally deprived of his
Cambridge fellowship as a "malignant." He was judge-advocate in the
garrison at Newark, and under the governor defended the town until in
1646 Charles I. ordered the surrender of the place to Leslie; when there
is a curious story that the Scottish general contemptuously dismissed
him as a mere ballad-monger. He saw Charles's error in giving himself
into the hands of the Scots, and his indignation when they surrendered
the king to the Parliament is expressed in the vigorous verses of "The
Rebel Scot," the sting of which survives even now. Cleveland wandered
over the country depending on the alms of the Royalists for bread. He at
length found a refuge at Norwich in the house of Edward Cooke, but in
1655 he was arrested as being of no particular occupation, and moreover
a man whose great abilities "rendered him able to do the greater
disservice." He spent three months in prison at Yarmouth, but was
released by order of Cromwell, to whom he addressed a manly appeal, in
which he declared his fidelity to the royal house, pointing out at the
same time that his poverty and inoffensiveness were sufficient assurance
that his freedom was no menace to Cromwell's government. He was released
early in 1656, and seems to have renewed his wanderings, finding his way
eventually to Gray's Inn, where Aubrey says he and Samuel Butler had a
"club" every night. There he died on the 29th of April 1658.
Cleveland's poems were more highly esteemed than Milton's by his
contemporaries, and his popularity is attested by the very numerous
editions of his works. His poems are therefore of great value as an
index to the taste of the 17th century. His verse is frequently obscure
and full of the far-fetched conceits of the "metaphysical" poets, none
of whom surpassed the ingenuity of "Fuscara, or the Bee Errant." His
satires are vigorous personal attacks, the interest of which is, from
the nature of the subject, often ephemeral; but the energy of his
invective leaves no room for obscurity in such pieces as "Smectymnuus,
or the Club Divines," "Rupertismus" and "The Rebel Scot."
Cleveland's works are: "Character of a London Diurnal," a broadside;
_Monumentum regale ..._ (1649), chiefly by Cleveland, containing three
of his elegies on the king; "The King's Disguise" (1646); "On the Memory
of Mr Edward King," in the collection of verse which also included
Milton's "Lycidas," and many detached poems.
For a bibliographical account of Cleveland's peoms see J.M. Berdan,
_The Poems of John Cleveland_ (New York, 1903), in which there is a
table of the contents of twenty-three editions, of which the chief
are: _The Character of a London Diurnal, with Several Select Poems_
(1647); _Poems. By John Cleavland. With additions, never before
printed_ (1659); _J. Cleaveland Revived ..._ (1659), in which the
editor, E. Williamson, says he inserted poems by other authors,
trusting to the critical faculty of the readers to distinguish
Cleveland's work from the rest; _Clievelandi Vindiciae ..._ (1677),
edited by two of Cleveland's former pupils, Bishop Lake and S. Drake,
who profess to take out the spurious pieces; and a careless
compilation, _The Works of John Cleveland ..._ (1687), containing
poems taken from all these sources. A prefatory note by Williamson
makes it clear that only a small proportion of Cleveland's political
poems have survived, many of them having been dispersed in MS. among
his friends and so lost, and that he refused to authenticate an
edition of his works, although most of the earlier collections were
genuine.
CLEVELAND, STEPHEN GROVER (1837-1908), president of the United States
from 1885 to 1889, and again from 1893 to 1897, was born, the fifth in a
family of nine children, in the village of Caldwell, Essex county, New
Jersey, on the 18th of March 1837. His father, Richard F. Cleveland, a
clergyman of the Presbyterian Church, was of good colonial stock, a
descendant of Moses Cleveland, who emigrated from Ipswich, England, to
Massachusetts in 1635. The family removed to Fayetteville, N.Y., and
afterwards to Clinton, N.Y. It was intended that young Grover should be
educated at Hamilton College, but this was prevented by his father's
death in 1852. A few years later he drifted westward with twenty-five
dollars in his pocket, and the autumn of 1855 found him in a law office
in the city of Buffalo. At the end of four years (1859), he was admitted
to the bar.
In 1863 he was appointed assistant district attorney of Erie county, of
which Buffalo is the chief city. This was his first public office, and
it came to him, like all later preferments, without any solicitation of
his own. Two years later (1865) he was the Democratic candidate for
district attorney, but was defeated. In 1869 Cleveland was nominated by
the Democratic party for the office of sheriff, and, despite the fact
that Erie county was normally Republican by a decisive majority, was
elected. The years immediately succeeding his retirement from the office
of sheriff in 1873 he devoted exclusively to the practice of law, coming
to be generally recognized as one of the leaders of the western New York
bar. In the autumn of 1881 he was nominated by the Democrats for mayor
of Buffalo. The city government had been characterized by extravagance
and maladministration, and a revolt of the independent voters at the
polls overcame the usual Republican majority and Cleveland was elected.
As mayor he attracted wide attention by his independence and
business-like methods, and under his direction the various departments
of the city government were thoroughly reorganized. His ability received
further recognition when in 1882 he was nominated by his party as its
candidate for governor. The Republican party in the state was at that
time weakened by the quarrels between the "Stalwart" and "Halfbreed"
factions within its ranks; and the Democrats were thus given an initial
advantage which was greatly increased by the Republicans' nomination for
governor of Charles J. Folger (1818-1884), then secretary of the
treasury. Secretary Folger was a man of high character and ability, who
had been chief justice of the New York supreme court when placed in
control of the treasury department by President Arthur in 1881. But the
cry of Federal interference was raised as a result of the methods
employed in securing his nomination, and this, together with the party
division and the popularity of Cleveland, brought about Cleveland's
election by the unprecedented plurality of 192,854. As governor
Cleveland's course was marked by the sterling qualities that he had
displayed in his other public positions. His appointees were chosen for
their business qualifications. The demands of party leaders were made
subordinate to public interests. He promoted the passage of a good civil
service law. All bills passed by the legislature were subjected to the
governor's laborious personal scrutiny, and the veto power was used
without fear or favour.
In 1884 the Democratic party had been out of power in national affairs
for twenty-three years. In this year, however, the generally
disorganized state of the Republican party seemed to give the Democrats
an unusual opportunity. Upon a platform which called for radical reforms
in the administrative departments, the civil service, and the national
finances, Cleveland was nominated for president, despite the opposition
of the strong Tammany delegation from his own state. The nominee of the
Republican party, James G. Blaine (q.v.) of Maine, had received the
nomination only after a contest in which violent personal animosities
were aroused. The campaign that followed was one of the bitterest
political contests in American history. The Republican party was still
further weakened by the defection of a large body of independents, known
as "Mugwumps." The result was close, but Cleveland carried New York, and
was elected, obtaining a majority in the electoral college of 219 to
182.
Cleveland's first term was uneventful, but was marked by firmness,
justice and steady adherence on his part to the principles which he
deemed salutary to the nation. He was especially concerned in promoting
a non-partisan civil service. Congress in 1883 had passed the "Pendleton
Bill" (introduced by Senator George H. Pendleton) to classify the
subordinate places in the service, and to make entrance to it, and
promotion therein, depend upon competitive examination of applicants,
instead of mere political influence. The first test of the efficiency
and permanence of this law came with the shifting of political power at
Washington. The new president stood firmly by the new law. It applied
only to places of the rank of clerkships, but the president was
authorized to add others to the classified service from time to time. He
added 11,757 during his first term.
President Cleveland made large use of the veto power upon bills passed
by Congress, vetoing or "pocketing" during his first term 413 bills,
more than two-thirds of which were private pension bills. The most
important bill vetoed was the Dependent Pension Bill, a measure of
extreme profligacy, opening the door, by the vagueness of its terms, to
enormous frauds upon the treasury. In 1887 there was a large and growing
surplus in the treasury. As this money was drawn from the channels of
business and locked up in the public vaults, the president looked upon
the condition as fraught with danger to the commercial community and he
addressed himself to the task of reducing taxation. About two-thirds of
the public revenue was derived from duties on imports, in the adjustment
of which the doctrine of protection to native industry had a large
place. Cleveland attacked the system with great vigour in his annual
message of 1887. He did not propose the adoption of free trade, but the
administration tariff measure, known as the Mills Bill, from its
introducer Congressman Roger Q. Mills (b. 1832) of Texas, passed the
House, and although withdrawn owing to amendments in the Republican
Senate, it alarmed and exasperated the protected classes, among whom
were many Democrats, and spurred them to extraordinary efforts to
prevent his re-election.
In the following year (1888), however, the Democrats renominated
Cleveland, and the Republicans nominated Benjamin Harrison of Indiana.
The campaign turned on the tariff issue, and Harrison was elected,
receiving 233 electoral votes to 168 for Cleveland, who however received
a popular plurality of more than 100,000. Cleveland retired to private
life and resumed the practice of the law in New York. He had married on
the 2nd of June 1886 Miss Frances Folsom, a daughter of a former law
partner in Buffalo.
Congress had passed a law in 1878 requiring the treasury department to
purchase a certain amount of silver bullion each month and coin it into
silver dollars to be full legal tender. As no time had been fixed for
this operation to cease, it amounted to an unlimited increase of a kind
of currency that circulated at a nominal value much above its real
value. Both political parties were committed to this policy, and strong
passions were aroused whenever it was called in question. Cleveland had
written a letter for publication before he became president, saying that
a financial crisis of great severity must result if this coinage were
continued, and expressing the hope that Congress would speedily put an
end to it. In 1890 Congress, now controlled by the Republican party,
passed the McKinley Bill, by which the revenues of the government were
reduced by more than $60,000,000 annually, chiefly through a repeal of
the sugar duties. At the same time expenditures were largely increased
by liberal pension legislation, and the government's purchase of silver
bullion almost doubled by the provisions of the new Sherman Silver
Purchase Act of 1890.
In 1892 Cleveland was nominated for president a third time in
succession. President Harrison was nominated by the Republicans.
Cleveland received 277 electoral votes and Harrison 145, and 22 were
cast for James B. Weaver (b. 1833) of Iowa, the candidate of the
"People's" party. Cleveland's second term embraced some notable events.
The most important was the repeal of the silver legislation, which had
been a growing menace for fifteen years. Nearly $600,000,000 of "fiat
money" had been thrust into the channels of commerce in addition to
$346,000,000 of legal tender notes that had been issued during the Civil
War. A reserve of $100,000,000 of gold had been accumulated for the
redemption of these notes. In April 1893 the reserve fell below this
sum. President Cleveland called an extra session of Congress to repeal
the Silver Law. The House promptly passed the repealing act. In the
Senate there was a protracted struggle. The Democrats now had a majority
of that body and they were more decidedly pro-silver than the
Republicans. The president had undertaken to coerce his own party to do
something against its will, and it was only by the aid of the Republican
minority that the passage of the repealing bill was at last made
possible (October 30th). The mischief, however, was not ended. The
deficit in the treasury made it inevitable that the gold reserve should
be used to meet current expenses. Holders of the government's legal
tender notes anticipating this fact presented them for redemption.
Borrowing was resorted to by the government. Bonds were issued and sold
to the amount of $162,000,000. The business world was in a state of
constant agitation. Bank failures were numerous and commercial distress
widespread. Among the consequences of the panic was a reduction of wages
in many employments, accompanied by labour troubles more or less
serious. The centre of disturbance was the Pullman strike at Chicago
(q.v.), whence the disorder extended to the Pacific coast, causing riot
and bloodshed in many places. President Cleveland waited a reasonable
time, as he conceived, for Governor Altgeld of Illinois to put an end to
the disorder in that state. On the 6th of July 1894, despite Governor
Altgeld's protest, he directed the military forces of the United States
to clear the way for trains carrying the mails. The rioters in and
around Chicago were dispersed in a single day, and within a week the
strike was broken.
Another important event was the action of the government as regards the
question of arbitration between Great Britain and Venezuela (q.v.), in
which Richard Olney, the secretary of state, played a somewhat
aggressive part. On the 17th of December 1895 President Cleveland sent
to Congress a special message calling attention to Great Britain's
action in regard to the disputed boundary line between British Guiana
and Venezuela, and declaring the necessity of action by the United
States to prevent an infringement of the Monroe Doctrine. Congress at
once appropriated funds for an American commission to investigate the
matter. The diplomatic situation became for the moment very acute, but
after a short period of bellicose talk the common-sense of both
countries prevailed. Negotiations with Great Britain ensued, and before
the American special commission finished its work, Great Britain had
agreed, November 1896, to arbitrate on terms which safeguarded the
national dignity on both sides.
Cleveland's independence was nowhere more strikingly shown during his
second term than in his action in regard to the tariff legislation of
his party in Congress. A tariff bill introduced in the House by William
Lyne Wilson (1843-1900), of West Virginia, chairman of the Committee of
Ways and Means, was so amended in the Senate, through the
instrumentality of Senator Arthur Pue Gorman and a coterie of
anti-administration democratic senators, that when the bill eventually
came before him, although unwilling to veto it, the president signified
his dissatisfaction with its too high rates by allowing it to become a
law without his signature. Cleveland's second administration began by
vigorous action in regard to Hawaii; he at once withdrew from the Senate
the annexation treaty which President Harrison had negotiated.
During his second term Cleveland added 44,004 places in the civil
service to the classified list, bringing them within the rules of the
merit system. This was a greater number than all that had been placed in
the list before, and brought the whole number up to 86,932. Toward the
end of his second term the president became very much out of accord with
his party on the free-silver question, in consequence of which the
endorsement of the administration was withheld by the Democratic
national convention at Chicago in 1896. In the ensuing campaign the
president and his cabinet, with the exception of Hoke Smith (b. 1855),
secretary of the interior, who resigned, gave their support to Palmer
and Buckner, the National, or "Sound Money" Democratic nominees.
Cleveland's second term expired on the 4th of March 1897, and he then
retired into private life, universally respected and constantly
consulted, in the university town of Princeton, New Jersey, where he
died on the 24th of June 1908. He was a trustee of Princeton University
and Stafford Little lecturer on public affairs. Chosen in 1905 as a
member of a committee of three to act as trustees of the majority of the
stock of the Equitable Life Assurance Company, he promoted the
reorganization and the mutualization of that company, and acted as
rebate referee for it and for the Mutual and New York Life insurance
companies. He published _Presidential Problems_ (New York, 1904), made
up in part of lectures at Princeton University, and _Fishing and Hunting
Sketches_ (1906).
A large amount of magazine literature has been devoted to President
Cleveland's career. W.O. Stoddard's _Grover Cleveland_ (1888; "Lives
of the Presidents" series) and J. Lowry Whittle's _Grover Cleveland_
(1896; "Public Men of To-day" series) are judicious volumes; and
"Campaign Biographies" (1884) were written by W. Dorsheimer, F.E.
Goodrich, P. King and D. Welch. See articles by Woodrow Wilson
(_Atlantic Monthly_, vol. 79; "Cleveland as President"); Carl Schurz
(_McClure's Magazine_, vol. ix.; "Second Administration of Grover
Cleveland"); William Allen White (_McClure's_, vol. 18, "Character
Sketch of Cleveland"), and Henry L. Nelson (_North American Review_,
vol. 188). Also Jesse L. Williams, _Mr Cleveland: A Personal
Impression_ (1909), and G.W. Parker, _Recollections of Grover
Cleveland_ (1909). (H. WH.)
CLEVELAND, a city and port of entry in the state of Ohio, U.S.A., and
the county-seat of Cuyahoga county, the sixth largest city in the United
States. It is on Lake Erie at the mouth of Cuyahoga river, about 260 m.
N.E. of Cincinnati, 357 m. E. of Chicago, and 623 m. W. by N. of New
York. Pop. (1890) 261,353; (1900) 381,768, of whom 124,631 were
foreign-born, 288,591 were of foreign parentage (i.e. having one or both
parents foreign-born), and 5988 were negroes; (1910) 560,663. Of the
124,631, who in 1900 were foreign-born, Germans were greatly predominant
(40,648, or 32.6%), with the Bohemians (13,599, or 10.9%) and Irish
(13,120, or 10.6%) next in importance, the Bohemians being later comers
than the Irish.
The city commands pleasant views from its position on a plateau, which,
at places on bluffs along the shore, has elevations of about 75 ft.
above the water below, and rises gradually toward the S.E. to 115 ft.
and on the extreme E. border to more than 200 ft. above the lake, or
about 800 ft. above sea-level; the surface has, however, been cut deeply
by the Cuyahoga, which here pursues a meandering course through a valley
about ½ m. wide, and is also broken by several smaller streams. The
city's shore-line is more than 12 m. long. The city varies considerably
in width, and occupies a total area of about 41 sq. m., much the greater
part of which is E. of the river. The streets are of unusual width
(varying from 60 ft. to 132 ft.); are paved chiefly with Medina dressed
stone, brick and asphalt; and, like the parks, are so well shaded by
maples, elms and other trees, that Cleveland has become known as the
"Forest City." The municipality maintains an efficient forestry
department. About ½ m. from the lake and the same distance E. of the
river is the Public Square, or Monumental Park, in the business centre
of the city. Thence the principal thoroughfares radiate. The river is
spanned with bridges, and its valley by two viaducts, the larger of
which (completed in 1878 at a cost of more than $2,000,000), 3211 ft.
long, 64 ft. wide, and 68 ft. above water, connects Superior Avenue on
the E. with Detroit Avenue on the W. The Central Viaduct, finished in
1888, extends from Central Avenue to W. 14th Street, and there connects
with a smaller viaduct across Walworth Run, the combined length of the
two being about 4000 ft. Another viaduct (about 830 ft. long) crosses
Kingsbury Run a short distance above its mouth. Lower Euclid Avenue (the
old country road to Euclid, O., and Erie, Pa.) is given up to commercial
uses; the eastern part of the avenue has handsome houses with spacious
and beautifully ornamented grounds, and is famous as one of the finest
residence streets in the country. Sections of Prospect Avenue, E. 40th,
E. 93rd, E. 75th, E. 55th, W. 44th and E. 79th streets also have many
fine residences. The principal business thoroughfares are Superior
Avenue (132 ft. wide), the W. part of Euclid Avenue, and Ontario St. The
manufacturing quarters are chiefly in the valley of the Cuyahoga, and
along the railway tracks entering the city, chiefly on the E. side. In
1902 the city arranged for grouping its public buildings--in the
so-called "Group Plan"--at a cost of $25,000,000. The court-house and
city hall are on the bluff overlooking Lake Erie; 1000 ft. south are the
Federal post-office and the public library. The Mall connecting the
court-house and city hall with the post-office and library is 600 ft.
wide; on one side of it is the grand music-hall, on the other a fine art
gallery. The six granite buildings forming this quadrangle were built
under the supervision of Arnold Brunner, a government architect, and of
John M. Carrere and D. H. Burnham, who planned the buildings at the
Pan-American Exposition and the Chicago World's Fair respectively. The
city has, besides, numerous fine office buildings, including that of the
Society for Savings (an institution in which each depositor is virtually
a stockholder), the Citizens', Rose, Williamson, Rockefeller, New
England and Garfield buildings; and several beautiful churches, notably
the Roman Catholic and Trinity cathedrals, the First Presbyterian ("Old
Stone"), the Second Presbyterian, the First Methodist and Plymouth
(Congregational) churches. The Arcade, between Euclid and Superior
avenues, and the Colonial Arcade, between Euclid and Prospect avenues,
are office and retail store buildings worthy of mention. The former,
finished in 1889, is 400 ft. long, 180 ft. wide, and 140 ft. high, with
a large interior court, overlooked by five balconies. The Colonial
Arcade contains a hotel as well; it was finished in 1898. In the Public
Square is a soldiers' and sailors' monument consisting of a granite
shaft rising from a memorial room to a height of 125 ft., and surmounted
with a figure of Liberty; in the same park, also, is a bronze statue of
Moses Cleaveland, the founder of the city. On a commanding site in Lake
View Cemetery is the Garfield Memorial (finished in 1890) in the form of
a tower (165 ft. high), designed by George Keller and built mostly of
Ohio sandstone; in the base is a chapel containing a statue of Garfield
and several panels on which are portrayed various scenes in his life;
his remains are in the crypt below the statue. A marble statue of
Commodore Oliver H. Perry, erected in commemoration of his victory on
Lake Erie in 1813, is in Wade Park, where there is also a statue of
Harvey Rice (1800-1891), who reformed the Ohio public school system and
wrote _Pioneers of the Western Reserve_ (1882) and _Sketches of Western
Life_ (1888).
The parks contain altogether more than 1500 acres. A chain of parks
connected by driveways follows the picturesque valley of Doan Brook on
the E. border of the city. At the mouth of the brook and on the lake
front is the beautiful Gordon Park of 122 acres, formerly the private
estate of William J. Gordon but given by him to the city in 1893; from
this extends up the Doan Valley the large Rockefeller Park, which was
given to the city in 1896 by John D. Rockefeller and others, and which
extends to and adjoins Wade Park (85 acres; given by J. H. Wade) in
which are a zoological garden and a lake. Lake View Park along the lake
shore contains only 10½ acres, but is a much frequented resting-place
near the business centre of the city, and affords pleasant views of the
lake and its commerce. Monumental Park is divided into four sections
(containing about 1 acre each) by Superior Avenue and Ontario Street. Of
the several cemeteries, Lake View (about 300 acres), on an elevated site
on the E. border, is by far the largest and most beautiful, its natural
beauty having been enhanced by the landscape gardener. Besides Garfield,
John Hay and Marcus A. Hanna are buried here.
_Education._--Cleveland has an excellent public school system. A general
state law enacted in 1904 placed the management of school affairs in the
hands of an elective council of seven members, five chosen at large and
two by districts. This board has power to appoint a school director and
a superintendent of instruction. The superintendent appoints the
teaching force, the director all other employés; appointments are
subject to confirmation by the board, and all employés are subject to
removal by the executive officials alone. The "Cleveland plan," in force
in the public schools, minimizes school routine, red tape and frequent
examinations, puts great stress on domestic and manual training courses,
and makes promotion in the grammar schools depend on the general
knowledge and development of the pupil, as estimated by a teacher who is
supposed to make a careful study of the individual. In 1909 there were 8
high schools and 90 grammar schools in the city; more than $2,500,000 is
annually expended by Cleveland on its public schools. Besides the public
school system there are many parochial schools; the University school,
with an eight years' course; the Western Reserve University, with its
medical school (opened in 1843), the Franklin T. Backus Law School
(1892), the dental department (1892), Adelbert College (until 1882 the
Western Reserve College, founded in 1826, at Hudson, Ohio), the College
for Women (1888), and the Library school (1904); St Ignatius College
(Roman Catholic, conducted by the Fathers of the Society of Jesus;
incorporated 1890), which has an excellent meteorological observatory;
St Mary's theological seminary (Roman Catholic); the Case School of
Applied Science, founded in 1880 by Leonard Case (1820-1880), and opened
in 1881; the Cleveland College of Physicians and Surgeons (founded in
1863; from 1869 until 1896 the medical department of the University of
Wooster; since 1896 a part of Ohio Wesleyan University, Delaware, Ohio),
the Cleveland Homeopathic Medical College, the Cleveland School of
Pharmacy, the Cleveland Art School, and a school for the deaf, dumb and
blind. In 1907-1908 Western Reserve University had 193 instructors and
914 students (277 in Adelbert College; 269 in College for Women; 20 in
graduate department; and 102 in medical, 133 in law, 75 in dental and 51
in Library school); and the Case School of Applied Science 40
instructors and 440 students. The public library contained 330,000
volumes in 1908, the Case library (subscription) 65,000 volumes, the
Hatch library of Adelbert College about 56,000 volumes, the library of
the Western Reserve Historical Society 22,500 volumes, and the Cleveland
law library, in the court house, 20,000 volumes.
The city has a highly developed system of charitable and corrective
institutions. A farm of more than 1600 acres, the Cleveland Farm Colony,
11 m. from the city, takes the place of workhouses, and has many
cottages in which live those of the city's poor who were formerly
classed as paupers and were sent to poorhouses, and who now apply their
labour to the farm and are relieved from the stigma that generally
attaches to inmates of poorhouses. On the "farm" the city maintains an
"infirmary village," a tuberculosis sanatorium, a detention hospital, a
convalescent hospital and houses of correction. On a farm 22 m. from the
city is the Boyville Home (maintained in connexion with the juvenile
court) for "incorrigible" boys. The "cottage" plan has been adopted;
each cottage is presided over by a man and wife whom the boys call
father and mother. The boys have a government of their own, elect their
officials from among themselves, and inflict such punishment on any of
their number as the boys deem merited. Besides the city, there are the
Northern Ohio (for the insane, founded in 1855), the Cleveland general.
Lake Side (endowed), St Alexis and the Charity hospitals (the last
managed by Sisters of Charity). The Goodrich House (1897), the Hiram
House and the Alta House are among the best equipped and most efficient
social settlements in the country. Cleveland has also its orphan
asylums, homes for the aged, homes for incurables, and day nurseries,
besides a home for sailors, homes for young working women, and retreats
for unfortunate girls. The various charity and benevolent institutions
are closely bound together on a co-operative basis by the agency of the
associated charities.
The principal newspapers of the city are the _Plain Dealer_ (1841,
independent), the _Press_ (1878, independent), the _Leader_ (1847,
Republican), and the _News_ (1889, Republican). Bohemian, Hungarian and
German dailies are published.
_Municipal Enterprise._--Municipal ownership has been a greater issue in
Cleveland than in any other large city in the United States, chiefly
because of the advocacy of Tom Loftin Johnson (born 1854), a
street-railway owner, iron manufacturer, an ardent single-taxer, who was
elected mayor of the city in 1901, 1903, 1905 and 1907. The municipality
owns the water-works, a small electric-light plant, the garbage plant
and bath houses. The city water is pumped to reservoirs, through a
tunnel 9 ft. in diameter 60 ft. below the bottom of the lake, from an
intake situated a distance of 26,500 ft. from the shore. The system has
a delivery capacity of 80,000,000 gallons daily. The department serves
about 70,000 consumers. All water is metered and sells for 40 cents per
thousand cub. ft., or 5 barrels for 1 cent. The municipal
electric-lighting plant does not seriously compete with the private
lighting company. The municipal garbage plant (destructor) collects and
reduces to fertilizer 100 tons of garbage per day. The sale of the
fertilizer more than pays for the cost of reduction, and the only
expense the city has is in collecting it. In the city's six bath houses
the average number of baths per day, per house, in 1906, was 1165. The
municipal street cleaning department cleans all streets by the wet
process. To do this the city maintained (1906) 24 flushing wagons
working 2 shifts of 8 hours each per day. A new street car company began
operations on the 1st of November 1906, charging a 3 cent fare. The
grants of this company were owned by the Forest City Railway Company and
the property was leased to the Municipal Traction Company (on behalf of
the public--the city itself not being empowered to own and operate
street railways). In 1908 the Cleveland Electric Street Railway
Corporation (capital $23,000,000), which owned most of the electric
lines in the city, was forced to lease its property to the
municipality's holding company, receiving a "security franchise,"
providing that under certain circumstances (_e.g._ if the holding
company should default in its payment of interest) the property was to
revert to the corporation, which was then to charge not more than
twenty-five cents for six tickets. In October 1908, at a special
election, the security franchise was invalidated, and the entire railway
system was put in the hands of receivers. In 1909 Johnson was defeated.
In 1910 a 25-year franchise was granted to the Cleveland Railway
Company, under which a 3-cent fare is required if the company can earn
6% on that basis, and 4 cents (7 tickets for 25 cents) is the maximum
fare, with a cent transfer charge, returned when the transfer is used.
_Commerce._--To meet the demands of the rapidly increasing commerce the
harbour has been steadily improved. In 1908 it consisted of two distinct
parts, the outer harbour being the work of the federal government, and
the inner harbour being under the control of the city. The outer harbour
was formed by two breakwaters enclosing an area of 2 m. long and 1700
ft. wide; the main entrance, 500 ft. wide, lying opposite the mouth of
the Cuyahoga river, 1350 ft. distant. The depth of the harbour ranges
from 21 to 26 ft.; and by improving this entrance, so as to make it 700
ft. wide, and 1000 ft. farther from the shore, and extending the east
breakwater 3 m., the capacity of the outer harbour has been doubled. The
inner harbour comprises the Cuyahoga, the old river bed, and connecting
slips. The channel at the mouth of the river (325 ft. wide) is lined on
the W. side by a concrete jetty 1054 ft. long, and on the E. side by
commercial docks. The river and old river bed furnish about 13 m. of
safe dock frontage, the channel having been dredged for 6 m. to a depth
of 21 ft. The commerce of the harbour of Cleveland in 1907 was
12,872,448 tons.
Cleveland's rapid growth both as a commercial and as a manufacturing
city is due largely to its situation between the iron regions of Lake
Superior and the coal and oil regions of Pennsylvania and Ohio.
Cleveland is a great railway centre and is one of the most important
ports on the Great Lakes. The city is served by the Lake Shore &
Michigan Southern; the New York, Chicago & St Louis; the Cleveland,
Cincinnati, Chicago & St Louis; the Pennsylvania; the Erie; the
Baltimore & Ohio; and the Wheeling & Lake Erie railways; by steamboat
lines to the principal ports on the Great Lakes; and by an extensive
system of inter-urban electric lines. Cleveland is the largest ore
market in the world, and its huge ore docks are among its most
interesting features; the annual receipts and shipments of coal and iron
ore are enormous. It is also the largest market for fresh-water fish in
America, and handles large quantities of lumber and grain. The most
important manufactures are iron and steel, carriage hardware, electrical
supplies, bridges, boilers, engines, car wheels, sewing machines,
printing presses, agricultural implements, and various other commodities
made wholly or chiefly from iron and steel. Other important manufactures
are automobiles (value, 1905, $4,256,979) and telescopes. More steel
wire, wire nails, and bolts and nuts are made here than in any other
city in the world (the total value for iron and steel products as
classified by the census was, in 1905, $42,930,995, and the value of
foundry and machine-shop products in the same year was $18,832,487), and
more merchant vessels than in any other American city. Cleveland is the
headquarters of the largest shoddy mills in the country (value of
product, 1905, $1,084,594), makes much clothing (1905, $10,426,535),
manufactures a large portion of the chewing gum made in the United
States, and is the site of one of the largest refineries of the Standard
Oil Company. The product of Cleveland breweries in 1905 was valued at
$3,986,059, and of slaughtering and meat-packing houses in the same year
at $10,426,535. The total value of factory products in 1905 was
$172,115,101, an increase of 36.4% since 1900; and between 1900 and 1905
Cleveland became the first manufacturing city in the state.
_Government._--Since Cleveland became a city in 1836 it has undergone
several important changes in government. The charter of that year placed
the balance of power in a council composed of three members chosen from
each ward and as many aldermen as there were wards, elected on a general
ticket. From 1852 to 1891 the city was governed under general laws of
the state which entrusted the more important powers to several
administrative boards. Then, from 1891 to 1903, by what was practically
a new charter, that which is known as the "federal plan" of government
was tried; this centred power in the mayor by making him almost the only
elective officer, by giving to him the appointment of his cabinet of
directors--one for the head of each of the six municipal
departments--and to each director the appointment of his subordinates.
The federal plan was abandoned in 1903, when a new municipal code went
into effect, which was in operation until 1909, when the Paine Law
established a board of control, under a government resembling the old
federal plan. (For laws of 1903 and 1909 see OHIO.) Few if any cities in
the Union have, in recent years, been better governed than Cleveland,
and this seems to be due largely to the keen interest in municipal
affairs which has been shown by her citizens. Especially has this been
manifested by the Cleveland Chamber of Commerce and by the Municipal
Association, an organization of influential professional and business
men, which, by issuing bulletins concerning candidates at the primaries
and at election time, has done much for the betterment of local
politics. The Cleveland Chamber of Commerce, an organization of 1600
leading business men, is a power for varied good in the city; besides
its constant and aggressive work in promoting the commercial interests
of the city, it was largely influential in the federal reform of the
consular service; it studied the question of overcrowded tenements and
secured the passage of a new tenement law with important sanitary
provisions and a set minimum of air space; it urges and promotes
home-gardening, public baths and play-grounds, and lunch-rooms, &c., for
employés in factories; and it was largely instrumental in devising and
carrying out the so-called "Group Plan" described above.
_History._--A trading post was established at the mouth of the Cuyahoga
river as early as 1786, but the place was not permanently settled until
1796, when it was laid out as a town by Moses Cleaveland (1754-1806),
who was then acting as the agent of the Connecticut Land Company, which
in the year before had purchased from the state of Connecticut a large
portion of the Western Reserve. In 1800 the entire Western Reserve was
erected into the county of Trumbull and a township government was given
to Cleveland; ten years later Cleveland was made the seat of government
of the new county of Cuyahoga, and in 1814 it was incorporated as a
village. Cleveland's growth was, however, very slow until the opening of
the Ohio canal as far as Akron in 1827; about the same time the
improvement of the harbour was begun, and by 1832 the canal was opened
to the Ohio river. Cleveland thus was connected with the interior of the
state, for whose mineral and agricultural products it became the lake
outlet. The discovery of iron ore in the Lake Superior region made
Cleveland the natural meeting-point of the iron ore and the coal from
the Ohio, Pennsylvania and West Virginia mines; and it is from this that
the city's great commercial importance dates. The building of railways
during the decade 1850-1860 greatly increased this importance, and the
city grew with great rapidity. The growth during the Civil War was
partly due to the rapid development of the manufacturing interests of
the city, which supplied large quantities of iron products and of
clothing to the Federal government. The population of 1076 in 1830
increased to 6071 in 1840, to 17,034 in 1850, to 43,417 in i860, to
92,829 in 1870 and to 160,146 in 1880. Until 1853 the city was confined
to the E. side of the river, but in that year Ohio City, which was
founded in 1807, later incorporated as the village of Brooklyn, and in
1836 chartered as a city (under the name Ohio City), was annexed. Other
annexations followed: East Cleveland in 1872, Newburg in 1873, West
Cleveland and Brooklyn in 1893, and Glenville and South Brooklyn in
1905. In recent history the most notable events not mentioned elsewhere
in this article were the elaborate celebration of the centennial of the
city in 1896 and the street railway strike of 1899, in which the workers
attempted to force a redress of grievances and a recognition of their
union. Mobs attacked the cars, and cars were blown up by dynamite. The
strikers were beaten, but certain abuses were corrected. There was a
less violent street car strike in 1908, after the assumption of control
by the Municipal Traction Company, which refused to raise wages
according to promises made (so the employees said) by the former owner
of the railway; the strikers were unsuccessful.
AUTHORITIES.--_Manual of the City Council_ (1879); _Annuals_ of the
Cleveland Chamber of Commerce (1894- ); E. M. Avery, _Cleveland in a
Nutshell: An Historical and Descriptive Ready-reference Book_
(Cleveland, 1893); James H. Kennedy, _A History of the City of
Cleveland_ (Cleveland, 1896); C. A. Urann, _Centennial History of
Cleveland_ (Cleveland, 1896); C. Whittlesey, _The Early History of
Cleveland_ (Cleveland, 1867); C. E. Bolton, _A Few Civic Problems of
Greater Cleveland_ (Cleveland, 1897); "Plan of School Administration,"
by S. P. Orth, in vol. xix. _Political Science Quarterly_ (New York,
1904); Charles Snavely, _A History of the City Government of
Cleveland_ (Baltimore, 1902); C. C. Williamson, _The Finances of
Cleveland_ (New York, 1907); "The Government of Cleveland, Ohio," by
Lincoln Steffens, in McClure's Magazine, vol. xxv. (New York, 1905);
and C. F. Thwing, "Cleveland, the Pleasant City," in Powell's
_Historic Towns of the Western States_ (New York, 1901).
CLEVER, an adjective implying dexterous activity of mind or body, and
ability to meet emergencies with readiness and adroitness. The etymology
and the early history of the word are obscure. The earliest instance
quoted by the _New English Dictionary_ is in the _Bestiary_ of _c._ 1200
(An Old English Miscellany, ed. R. Morris, 1872, E.E.T.S. 49)--"On the
clothed the neddre (adder) is cof (quick) and the devel cliver on
sinnes," _i.e._ quick to seize hold of; this would connect the word with
a M. Eng. "cliver" or "clivre," a talon or claw (so H. Wedgwood, _Dict.
of Eng. Etym._). The ultimate original would be the root appearing in
"claw," "cleave," "cling," "clip," &c., meaning to "stick to." This
original sense probably survives in the frequent use of the word for
nimble, dexterous, quick and skilful in the use of the hands, and so it
is often applied to a horse, "clever at his fences." The word has also
been connected with O. Eng. _gléaw_, wise, which became in M. Eng.
_gleu_, and is cognate with Scottish _gleg_, quick of eye. As to the use
of the word, Sir Thomas Browne mentions it among "words of no general
reception in English but of common use in Norfolk or peculiar to the
East Angle countries" (_Tract._ viii. in Wilkins's ed. of _Works_, iv.
205). The earlier uses of the word seem to be confined to that of bodily
dexterity. In this sense it took the place of a use of "deliver" as an
adjective, meaning nimble, literally "free in action," a use taken from
Fr. _delivre_ (Late Lat. _deliberare_, to set free), cf. Chaucer,
_Prologue to Cant. Tales_, 84, "wonderly deliver and grete of strength,"
and _Romaunt of the Rose_, 831, "Deliver, smert and of gret might." It
has been suggested that "clever" is a corruption of "deliver" in this
sense, but this is not now accepted. The earliest use of the word for
mental quickness and ability in the _New English Dictionary_ is from
Addison in No. 22 of _The Freeholder_ (1716).
CLEVES (Ger. _Cleve_ or _Kleve_), a town of Germany in the kingdom of
Prussia, formerly the capital of the duchy of its own name, 46 m. N.W.
of Düsseldorf, 12 m. E. of Nijmwegen, on the main Cologne-Amsterdam
railway. Pop. (1900) 14,678. The town is neatly built in the Dutch
style, lying on three small hills in a fertile district near the
frontier of Holland, about 2 m. from the Rhine, with which it is
connected by a canal (the Spoykanal). The old castle of Schwanenburg
(formerly the residence of the dukes of Cleves), has a massive tower
(Schwanenturm) 180 ft. high. With it is associated the legend of the
"Knights of the Swan," immortalized in Wagner's _Lohengrin_. The
building has been restored in modern times to serve as a court of
justice and a prison. The collegiate church (Stiftskirche) dates from
about 1340, and contains a number of fine ducal monuments. Another
church is the Annexkirche, formerly a convent of the Minorites; this
dates from the middle of the 15th century. The chief manufactures are
boots and shoes, tobacco and machinery; there is also some trade in
cattle. To the south and west of the city a large district is laid out
as a park, where there is a statue to the memory of John Maurice of
Nassau-Siegen (1604-1679), who governed Cleves from 1650 to 1679, and in
the western part there are mineral wells with a pump room and bathing
establishment. Owing to the beautiful woods which surround it and its
medicinal waters Cleves has become a favourite summer resort.
The town was the seat of the counts of Cleves as early as the 11th
century, but it did not receive municipal rights until 1242. The duchy
of Cleves, which lay on both banks of the Rhine and had an area of about
850 sq. m., belonged before the year 1000 to a certain Rutger, whose
family became extinct in 1368. It then passed to the counts of La Marck
and was made a duchy in 1417, being united with the neighbouring duchies
of Jülich and Berg in 1521. The Reformation was introduced here in 1533,
but it was not accepted by all the inhabitants. The death without direct
heirs of Duke John William in 1609 led to serious complications in which
almost all the states of Europe were concerned; however, by the treaty
of Xanten in 1614, Cleves passed to the elector of Brandenburg, being
afterwards incorporated with the electorate by the great elector,
Frederick William. The French held Cleves from 1757 to 1762 and in 1795
the part of the duchy on the left bank of the Rhine was ceded to France;
the remaining portion suffered a similar fate in 1805. After the
conclusion of peace in 1815 it was restored to Prussia, except some
small portions which were given to the kingdom of Holland.
See Char, _Geschichte des Herzogtums Kleve_ (Cleves, 1845); Velsen,
_Die Stadt Kleve_ (Cleves, 1846); R. Scholten, _Die Stadt Kleve_
(Cleves, 1879-1881). For ANNE OF CLEVES see that article.
CLEYNAERTS (CLENARDUS or CLÉNARD), NICOLAS (1495-1542), Belgian
grammarian and traveller, was born at Diest, in Brabant, on the 5th of
December 1495. Educated at the university of Louvain, he became a
professor of Latin, which he taught by a conversational method. He
applied himself to the preparation of manuals of Greek and Hebrew
grammar, in order to simplify the difficulties of learners. His _Tabulae
in grammaticen hebraeam_ (1529), _Institutiones in linguam graecam_
(1530), and Meditationes graecanicae (1531) appeared at Louvain. The
_Institutiones_ and _Meditationes_ passed through a number of editions,
and had many commentators. He maintained a principle revived in modern
teaching, that the learner should not be puzzled by elaborate rules
until he has obtained a working acquaintance with the language. A desire
to read the Koran led him to try to establish a connexion between Hebrew
and Arabic. These studies resulted in a scheme for proselytism among the
Arabs, based on study of the language, which should enable Europeans to
combat the errors of Islam by peaceful methods. In prosecution of this
object he travelled in 1532 to Spain, and after teaching Greek at
Salamanca was summoned to the court of Portugal as tutor to Don Henry,
brother of John III. He found another patron in Louis Mendoza, marquis
of Mondexas, governor-general of Granada. There with the help of a
Moorish slave he gained a knowledge of Arabic. He tried in vain to gain
access to the Arabic MSS. in the possession of the Inquisition, and
finally, in 1540, set out for Africa to seek information for himself. He
reached Fez, then a flourishing seat of Arab learning, but after fifteen
months of privation and suffering was obliged to return to Granada, and
died in the autumn of 1542. He was buried in the Alhambra palace.
See his Latin letters to his friends in Belgium, _Nicolai Clenardi,
Peregrinationum ac de rebus machometicis epistolae elegantissimae_
(Louvain, 1550), and a more complete edition, _Nic. Clenardi
Epistolarum libri duo_ (Antwerp, 1561), from the house of Plantin;
also Victor Chauvin and Alphonse Roersch, "Étude sur la vie et les
travaux de Nicolas Clénard" in _Mémoires couronnés_ (vol. lx.,
1900-1901) of the Royal Academy of Belgium, which contains a vast
amount of information on Cleynaerts and an extensive bibliography of
his works, and of notices of him by earlier commentators.
CLICHTOVE, JOSSE VAN (d. 1543), Belgian theologian, received his
education at Louvain and at Paris under Jacques Lefèbvre d'Etaples. He
became librarian of the Sorbonne and tutor to the nephews of Jacques
d'Amboise, bishop of Clermont and abbot of Cluny. In 1519 he was elected
bishop of Tournai, and in 1521 was translated to the see of Chartres. He
is best known as a distinguished antagonist of Martin Luther, against
whom he wrote a good deal. When Cardinal Duprat convened his Synod of
Paris in 1528 to discuss the new religion, Clichtove was summoned and
was entrusted with the task of collecting and summarizing the objections
to the Lutheran doctrine. This he did in his _Compendium veritatum ...
contra erroneas Lutheranorum assertiones_ (Paris, 1529). He died at
Chartres on the 22nd of September 1543.
CLICHY, or CLICHY-LA-GARENNE, a town of northern France, in the
department of Seine, on the right bank of the Seine, immediately north
of the fortifications of Paris, of which it is a manufacturing suburb.
Pop. (1906) 41,516. Its church was built in the 17th century under the
direction of St Vincent de Paul, who had previously been curé of Clichy.
Its industries include the manufacture of starch, rubber, oil and
grease, glass, chemicals, soap, &c. Clichy, under the name of
_Clippiacum_, was a residence of the Merovingian kings.
CLIFF-DWELLINGS, the general archaeological term for the habitations of
primitive peoples, formed by utilizing niches or caves in high cliffs,
with more or less excavation or with additions in the way of masonry.
Two special sorts of cliff-dwelling are distinguished by archaeologists,
(1) the cliff-house, which is actually built on levels in the cliff, and
(2) the cavate house, which is dug out, by using natural recesses or
openings. A great deal of attention has been given to the North American
cliff-dwellings, particularly among the canyons of the south-west, in
Arizona, New Mexico, Utah and Colorado, some of which are still used by
Indians. There has been considerable discussion as to their antiquity,
but modern research finds no definite justification for assigning them
to a distinct primitive race, or farther back than the ancestors of the
modern Pueblo Indians. The area in which they occur coincides with that
in which other traces of the Pueblo tribes have been found. The niches
which were utilized are often of considerable size, occurring in cliffs
of a thousand feet high, and approached by rock steps or log-ladders.
See the article, with illustrations and bibliography, in the _Handbook
of American Indians_ (Washington, 1907).
CLIFFORD, the name of a famous English family and barony, taken from the
village of Clifford in Herefordshire, although the family were mainly
associated with the north of England.
Robert de Clifford (c. 1275-1314), a son of Roger de Clifford (d. 1282),
inherited the estates of his grandfather, Roger de Clifford, in 1286;
then he obtained through his mother part of the extensive land of the
Viponts, and thus became one of the most powerful barons of his age. A
prominent soldier during the reigns of Edward I. and Edward II.,
Clifford was summoned to parliament as a baron in 1299, won great renown
at the siege of Carlaverock Castle in 1300, and after taking part in the
movement against Edward II.'s favourite, Piers Gaveston, was killed at
Bannockburn. His son Roger, the 2nd baron (1299-1322), shared in the
rebellion of Thomas, earl of Lancaster, and was probably executed at
York on the 23rd of March 1322. Robert's grandson Roger, the 5th baron
(1333-1389), and the latter's son Thomas, the 6th baron (c. 1363-c.
1391), served the English kings on the Scottish borders and elsewhere.
The same is true of Thomas, the 8th baron (1414-1455), who was killed at
the first battle of St Albans in May 1455.
Thomas's son John, the 9th baron (c. 1435-1461), was more famous. During
the Wars of the Roses he fought for Henry VI., earning by his cruelties
the name of the "butcher"; after the battle of Wakefield in 1460 he
murdered Edmund, earl of Rutland, son of Richard, duke of York,
exclaiming, according to the chronicler Edward Hall, "By God's blood thy
father slew mine; and so will I do thee and all thy kin." Shakespeare
refers to this incident in _King Henry VI._, and also represents
Clifford as taking part in the murder of York. It is, however,
practically certain that York was slain during the battle, and not
afterwards like his son. Clifford was killed at Ferrybridge on the 28th
of March 1461, and was afterwards attainted. His young son Henry, the
10th baron (c. 1454-1523), lived disguised as a shepherd for some years,
hence he is sometimes called the "shepherd lord." On the accession of
Henry VII. the attainder was reversed and he received his father's
estates. He spent a large part of his time at Barden in Lancashire,
being interested in astronomy and astrology. Occasionally, however, he
visited London, and he fought at the battle of Flodden in 1513. This
lord, who died on the 23rd of April 1523, is celebrated by Wordsworth in
the poems "The white doe of Rylstone" and "Song at the feast of Brougham
Castle." Henry, the 11th baron, was created earl of Cumberland in 1525,
and from this time until the extinction of the title in 1643 the main
line of the Cliffords was associated with the earldom of Cumberland
(q.v.).
Richard Clifford, bishop of Worcester and London under Henry IV. and
Henry V., was probably a member of this family. This prelate, who was
very active at the council of Constance, died on the 20th of August
1421.
On the death of George, 3rd earl of Cumberland, in 1605, the barony of
Clifford, separated from the earldom, was claimed by his daughter Anne,
countess of Dorset, Pembroke and Montgomery; and in 1628 a new barony of
Clifford was created in favour of Henry, afterwards 5th and last earl of
Cumberland. After Anne's death in 1676 the claim to the older barony
passed to her daughter Margaret (d. 1676), wife of John Tufton, 2nd earl
of Thanet, and her descendants, whose title was definitely recognized in
1691. After the Tuftons the barony was held with intervening abeyances
by the Southwells and the Russells, and to this latter family the
present Lord De Clifford belongs.[1]
When the last earl of Cumberland died in 1643 the newer barony of
Clifford passed to his daughter Elizabeth, wife of Richard Boyle, 2nd
earl of Cork, and from the Boyles it passed to the Cavendishes, falling
into abeyance on the death of William Cavendish, 6th duke of Devonshire,
in 1858.
The barony of Clifford of Lanesborough was held by the Boyles from 1644
to 1753, and the Devonshire branch of the family still holds the barony
of Clifford of Chudleigh, which was created in 1672.
See G. E. C(okayne), _Complete Peerage_ (1887-1898); and T. D.
Whitaker, _History of Craven_ (1877).
FOOTNOTE:
[1] The original writ of summons (1299) was addressed in Latin,
_Roberto domino de Clifford_, i.e. Robert, lord of Clifford, and
subsequently the barons styled themselves indifferently Lords
Clifford or de Clifford, until in 1777 the 11th lord definitively
adopted the latter form. The "De" henceforth became part of the name,
having quite lost its earliest significance, and with unconscious
tautology the barony is commonly referred to as that of De Clifford.
CLIFFORD, JOHN (1836- ), British Nonconformist minister and politician,
son of a warp-machinist at Sawley, Derbyshire, was born on the 16th of
October 1836. As a boy he worked in a lace factory, where he attracted
the notice of the leaders of the Baptist community, who sent him to the
academy at Leicester and the Baptist college at Nottingham to be
educated for the ministry. In 1858 he was called to Praed Street chapel,
Paddington (London), and while officiating there he attended University
College and pursued his education by working at the British Museum. He
matriculated at London University (1859), and took its B.A. degree
(1861), B.Sc. (1862), M.A. (1864), and LL.B. (1866), and in 1883 he was
given the honorary degree of D.D. by Bates College, U.S.A., being known
therefrom as Dr Clifford. This degree, from an American college of minor
academic status, afterwards led to sarcastic allusions, but Dr Clifford
had not courted it, and his London University achievements were evidence
enough of his intellectual equipment. At Praed Street chapel he
gradually obtained a large following, and in 1877 Westbourne Park
chapel was opened for him. As a preacher, writer, propagandist and
ardent Liberal politician, he became a power in the Nonconformist body.
He was president of the London Baptist Association in 1879, of the
Baptist Union in 1888 and 1899, and of the National Council of
Evangelical Churches in 1898. His chief prominence in politics, however,
dates from 1903 onwards in consequence of his advocacy of "passive
resistance" to the Education Act of 1902. Into this movement he threw
himself with militant ardour, his own goods being distrained upon, with
those of numerous other Nonconformists, rather than that any
contribution should be made by them in taxation for the purpose of an
Education Act which in their opinion was calculated to support
denominational religious teaching in the schools. The "passive
resistance" movement, with Dr Clifford as its chief leader, had a large
share in the defeat of the Unionist government in January 1906, and his
efforts were then directed to getting a new act passed which should be
undenominational in character. The rejection of Mr Birrell's bill in
1906 by the House of Lords was accordingly accompanied by denunciations
of that body from Dr Clifford and his followers; but as year by year
went by, up to 1909, with nothing but failure on the part of the Liberal
ministry to arrive at any solution of the education problem,--failure
due now not to the House of Lords but to the inherent difficulties of
the subject (see EDUCATION),--it became increasingly clear to the public
generally that the easy denunciations of the act of 1902, which had
played so large a part in the elections of 1906, were not so simple to
carry into practice, and that a compromise in which the
denominationalists would have their say would have to be the result.
Meanwhile "passive resistance" lost its interest, though Dr Clifford and
his followers continued to protest against their treatment.
CLIFFORD, WILLIAM KINGDON (1845-1879), English mathematician and
philosopher, was born on the 4th of May 1845 at Exeter, where his father
was a prominent citizen. He was educated at a private school in his
native town, at King's College, London, and at Trinity College,
Cambridge, where he was elected fellow in 1868, after being second
wrangler in 1867 and second Smith's prizeman. In 1871 he was appointed
professor of mathematics at University College, London, and in 1874
became fellow of the Royal Society. In 1875 he married Lucy, daughter of
John Lane of Barbados. In 1876 Clifford, a man of high-strung and
athletic, but not robust, physique, began to fall into ill-health, and
after two voyages to the South, died during the third of pulmonary
consumption at Madeira, on the 3rd of March 1879, leaving his widow with
two daughters. Mrs W. K. Clifford soon earned for herself a prominent
place in English literary life as a novelist, and later as a dramatist.
Her best-known story, _Mrs Keith's Crime_ (1885), was followed by
several other volumes, the best of which is _Aunt Anne_ (1893); and the
literary talent in the family was inherited by her daughter Ethel (Mrs
Fisher Dilke), a writer of some charming verse.
Owing to his early death, Professor Clifford's abilities and
achievements cannot be fairly judged without reference to the opinion
formed of him by his contemporaries. He impressed every one as a man of
extraordinary acuteness and originality; and these solid gifts were set
off to the highest advantage by quickness of thought and speech, a lucid
style, wit and poetic fancy, and a social warmth which made him
delightful as a friend and companion. His powers as a mathematician were
of the highest order. It harmonizes with the concrete visualizing turn
of his mind that, to quote Professor Henry Smith, "Clifford was above
all and before all a geometer." In this he was an innovator against the
excessively analytic tendency of Cambridge mathematicians. In his theory
of graphs, or geometrical representations of algebraic functions, there
are valuable suggestions which have been worked out by others. He was
much interested, too, in universal algebra, non-Euclidean geometry and
elliptic functions, his papers "Preliminary Sketch of Bi-quaternions"
(1873) and "On the Canonical Form and Dissection of a Riemann's Surface"
(1877) ranking as classics. Another important paper is his
"Classification of Loci" (1878). He also published several papers on
algebraic forms and projective geometry.
As a philosopher Clifford's name is chiefly associated with two phrases
of his coining, "mind-stuff" and the "tribal self." The former
symbolizes his metaphysical conception, which was suggested to him by
his reading of Spinoza. "Briefly put," says Sir F. Pollock, "the
conception is that mind is the one ultimate reality; not mind as we know
it in the complex forms of conscious feeling and thought, but the
simpler elements out of which thought and feeling are built up. The
hypothetical ultimate element of mind, or atom of mind-stuff, precisely
corresponds to the hypothetical atom of matter, being the ultimate fact
of which the material atom is the phenomenon. Matter and the sensible
universe are the relations between particular organisms, that is, mind
organized into consciousness, and the rest of the world. This leads to
results which would in a loose and popular sense be called materialist.
But the theory must, as a metaphysical theory, be reckoned on the
idealist side. To speak technically, it is an idealist monism." The
other phrase, "tribal self," gives the key to Clifford's ethical view,
which explains conscience and the moral law by the development in each
individual of a "self," which prescribes the conduct conducive to the
welfare of the "tribe." Much of Clifford's contemporary prominence was
due to his attitude towards religion. Animated by an intense love of
truth and devotion to public duty, he waged war on such ecclesiastical
systems as seemed to him to favour obscurantism, and to put the claims
of sect above those of human society. The alarm was greater, as theology
was still unreconciled with the Darwinian theory; and Clifford was
regarded as a dangerous champion of the anti-spiritual tendencies then
imputed to modern science.
His works, published wholly or in part since his death, are _Elements
of Dynamic_ (1879-1887); _Seeing and Thinking_, popular science
lectures (1879); _Lectures and Essays_, with an introduction by Sir F.
Pollock (1879); _Mathematical Papers_, edited by R. Tucker, with an
introduction by Henry J. S. Smith (1882); and _The Common Sense of the
Exact Sciences_, completed by Professor Karl Pearson (1885).
CLIFFORD OF CHUDLEIGH, THOMAS CLIFFORD, 1ST BARON (1630-1673), English
lord treasurer, a member of the ancient family of Clifford, descended
from Walter de Clifford of Clifford Castle in Herefordshire, was the son
of Hugh Clifford of Ugbrook near Exeter, and of Mary, daughter of Sir
George Chudleigh of Ashton, Devonshire. He was born on the 1st of August
1630, matriculated in 1647 at Exeter College, Oxford, where he showed
distinguished ability, supplicated for the B.A. degree in 1650, and
entered the Middle Temple in 1648. He represented Totnes in the
convention parliament and in that of 1661; and he joined the faction of
young men who spoke "confidently and often," and who sought to rise to
power by attacking Clarendon. The chancellor, according to Burnet, had
repulsed his advances on account of his Romanism, and Clifford
accordingly offered his services to Arlington, whose steady supporter he
now became.
On the 16th of February 1663 Clifford obtained the reversion of a
tellership in the exchequer, and in 1664, on the outbreak of the Dutch
war, was appointed commissioner for the care of the sick, wounded and
prisoners, with a salary of £1200. He was knighted, and was present with
James at the victory off Lowestoft over the Dutch on the 3rd of June
1665, was rewarded with the prize-ship "Patriarch Isaac," and in August,
under the earl of Sandwich, took a prominent part in the unsuccessful
attempt to capture the Dutch East India fleet in Bergen harbour. In
August he was appointed by Arlington's influence ambassador with Henry
Coventry to the north of Europe. Subsequently he served again with the
fleet, was present with Albemarle at the indecisive fight on the 1st to
the 4th of June 1666, and at the victory on the 25th of July. In October
1667 he was one of those selected by the Commons to prepare papers
concerning the naval operations. He showed great zeal and energy in
naval affairs, and he is described by Pepys as "a very fine gentleman,
and much set by at court for his activity in going to sea and stoutness
everywhere and stirring up and down." He became the same year controller
of the household and a privy councillor, in 1667 a commissioner for the
treasury, and in 1668 treasurer of the household. In the Commons he
supported the court, opposing the bill for frequent parliaments in 1668
and the Coventry Act (see COVENTRY, SIR JOHN) in 1670.
Clifford was an ardent Roman Catholic, a supporter of the royal
prerogative and of the French alliance. He regarded with favour the plan
of seeking French assistance in order to force Romanism and absolute
government upon the country, and his complete failure to understand the
real political position and the interests of the nation is reflected in
the advice he was said to have given to Charles, to accept the pension
from Louis, and "be the slave of one man rather than of 500." As one of
the Cabal ministry, therefore, he co-operated very zealously with the
king in breaking through the Triple Alliance and in effecting the
understanding with France. He was the only minister besides Arlington
entrusted with the secret treaty of Dover of 1670, signing both this
agreement and also the ostensible treaty imparted to all the members of
the Cabal, and did his utmost to urge Charles to join France in the
attack upon the Dutch, whom he detested as republicans and Protestants.
In 1672, during the absence of Arlington and Coventry abroad, Clifford
acted as principal secretary of state, and was chiefly responsible for
the "stop of the exchequer," and probably also for the attack upon the
Dutch Smyrna fleet. He was appointed this year a commissioner to inquire
into the settlement of Ireland. On the 22nd of April he was raised to
the peerage as Baron Clifford of Chudleigh, and on the 28th of November,
by the duke of York's interest, he was made lord treasurer; his conduct
to Arlington, whose claims to the office he had pretended to press, was,
according to Evelyn, the only act of "real ingratitude" in his career.
Arlington, however, quickly discovered a means of securing Clifford's
fall. The latter was strongly in favour of Charles's policy of
indulgence, and supported the declaration of this year, urging the king
to overcome the resistance of parliament by a dissolution. Arlington
advocated the contrary policy of concession, and after Charles's
withdrawal of the declaration gave his support to the Test Act of 1673.
Clifford spoke with great vehemence against the measure, describing it
as "monstrum horrendum ingens," but his speech only increased the
anti-Roman Catholic feeling in parliament and ensured the passing of the
bill. In consequence Clifford, as a Roman Catholic, followed the duke of
York into retirement. His resignation caused considerable astonishment,
since he had never publicly professed his religion, and in 1671 had even
built a new Protestant chapel at his home at Ugbrook. According to
Evelyn, however, his conduct was governed by a promise previously given
to James. He gave up the treasuryship and his seat in the privy council
in June. On the 3rd of July 1673 he received a general pardon from the
king. In August he said a last farewell to Evelyn, and in less than a
month he died at Ugbrook. In Evelyn's opinion the cause of death was
suicide, but his suspicions do not appear to have received any
contemporary support. Clifford was one of the worst advisers of Charles
II., but a sincere and consistent one. Evelyn declares him "a valiant,
uncorrupt gentleman, ambitious, not covetous, generous, passionate, a
most constant, sincere friend." He married Elizabeth, daughter of
William Martin of Lindridge, Devonshire, by whom he had fifteen
children, four sons and seven daughters surviving him. He was succeeded
as 2nd baron by Hugh, his fifth, but eldest surviving son, the ancestor
of the present Lord Clifford of Chudleigh. (P. C. Y.)
CLIFTON, a suburb and residential district of Bristol, England,
adjoining it on the west; 122 m. W. of London by the Great Western
railway. The river Avon (q.v.) here runs in a gorge, followed closely by
a railway on either side, and having several quarries, which have in a
measure spoiled the beauty of its hanging woods. At a height of 245 ft.
above high water Isambard Brunel's famous suspension bridge bestrides
this gorge. It was begun in 1832 and completed in 1864. It has a span of
702 ft., and its total weight is 1500 tons, and it is calculated to bear
a burden of 9 tons per sq. in. The long famous hot springs of Clifton,
to which, in fact, the town was indebted for its rise, issue from an
aperture at the foot of St Vincent's Rock, in the portion of Clifton
known as Hotwells. The water has a temperature of about 76° F. A
hydropathic establishment is attached to them. Immediately above the
suspension bridge the Clifton Rocks railway ascends from the quays by
the river-side to the heights above. The Clifton and Durdham Downs (both
on the Gloucestershire side of the river), form the principal
pleasure-grounds of Bristol. They lie high above the river, extend for
some 5000 acres, and command a beautiful prospect over the city, with
its picturesque irregular site and many towers, and over the surrounding
well-wooded country.
Three ancient British earthworks bear witness to an early settlement on
the spot, and a church was in existence as far back as the time of Henry
II., when it was bestowed by William de Clyfton on the abbot of the
Austin canons in Bristol; but there are no longer any architectural
vestiges of an earlier date than the 18th century. Clifton gives name to
a Roman Catholic bishopric. Of the churches the most important are St
Andrew's parish church; All Saints, erected in 1863 after the designs of
G. E. Street, and remarkable for the width of its nave and the
narrowness of its aisles; and the Roman Catholic pro-cathedral church of
the Holy Apostles, with a convent and schools attached. Clifton College,
a cluster of buildings in Gothic style, was founded in 1862 by a limited
liability company, and takes rank among the principal modern English
public schools. Down the river from Clifton is Shirehampton, a favourite
resort from Bristol.
CLIM (or CLYM) OF THE CLOUGH, a legendary English archer, a supposed
companion of the Robin Hood band. He is commemorated in the ballad _Adam
Bell, Clym of the Cloughe and Wyllyam of Cloudeslee_. The three were
outlaws who had many adventures of the Robin Hood type. The oldest
printed copy of this ballad is dated 1550.
CLIMACTERIC (from the Gr. [Greek: klimaktêr], the rung or step of a
[Greek: klimax] or ladder), a critical period in human life; in a
medical sense, the period known as the "change of life," marked in women
by the menopause. Certain ages, especially those which are multiples of
seven or nine, have been superstitiously regarded as particularly
critical; thus the sixty-third and the eighty-first year of life have
been called the "grand climacteric." The word is also used, generally,
of any turning-point in the history of a nation, a career or the like.
CLIMATE AND CLIMATOLOGY. The word _clima_ (from Gr. [Greek: klinein], to
lean or incline; whence also the English "clime," now a poetical term
for this or that region of the earth, regarded as characterized by
climate), as used by the Greeks, probably referred originally either to
the supposed slope of the earth towards the pole, or to the inclination
of the earth's axis. It was an astronomical or a mathematical term, not
associated with any idea of physical climate. A change of _clima_ then
meant a change of latitude. The latter was gradually seen to mean a
change in atmospheric conditions as well as in length of day, and
_clima_ thus came to have its present meaning. "Climate" is the average
condition of the atmosphere. "Weather" denotes a single occurrence, or
event, in the series of conditions which make up climate. The climate of
a place is thus in a sense its average weather. Climatology is the study
or science of climates.
_Relation of Meteorology and Climatology._--Meteorology and climatology
are interdependent. It is impossible to distinguish sharply between
them. In a strict sense, meteorology deals with the physics of the
atmosphere. It considers the various atmospheric phenomena individually,
and seeks to determine their physical causes and relations. Its view is
largely theoretical. When meteorology (q.v.) is considered in its
broadest meaning, climatology is a subdivision of it. Climatology is
largely descriptive. It aims at giving a clear picture of the
interaction of the various atmospheric phenomena at any place on the
earth's surface. Climatology may almost be defined as geographical
meteorology. Its main object is to be of practical service to man. Its
method of treatment lays most emphasis on the elements which are most
important to life. Climate and crops, climate and industry, climate and
health, are subjects of vital interest to man.
_The Climatic Elements and their Treatment._--Climatology has to deal
with the same groups of atmospheric conditions as those with which
meteorology is concerned, viz. temperature (including radiation);
moisture (including humidity, precipitation and cloudiness); wind
(including storms); pressure; evaporation, and also, but of less
importance, the composition and chemical, optical and electrical
phenomena of the atmosphere. The characteristics of each of these
so-called _climatic elements_ are set forth in a standard series of
numerical values, based on careful, systematic, and long-continued
meteorological records, corrected and compared by well-known methods.
Various forms of graphic presentation are employed to emphasize and
simplify the numerical results. In Hann's _Handbuch der Klimatologie_,
vol i., will be found a general discussion of the methods of presenting
the different climatic elements. The most complete guide in the
numerical, mathematical and graphic treatment of meteorological data for
climatological purposes is Hugo Meyer's _Anleitung zur Bearbeitung
meteorologischer Beobachtungen für die Klimatologie_ (Berlin, 1891).
Climate deals first of all with _average_ conditions, but a satisfactory
presentation of a climate must include more than mere averages. It must
take account, also, of regular and irregular daily, monthly and annual
changes, and of the departures, mean and extreme, from the average
conditions which may occur at the same place in the course of time. The
mean minimum and maximum temperatures or rainfalls of a month or a
season are important data. Further, a determination of the frequency of
occurrence of a given condition, or of certain values of that condition,
is important, for periods of a day, month or year, as for example the
frequency of winds according to direction or velocity; or of different
amounts of cloudiness; or of temperature changes of a certain number of
degrees; the number of days with and without rain or snow in any month,
or year, or with rain of a certain amount, &c. The probability of
occurrence of any condition, as of rain in a certain month; or of a
temperature of 32°, for example, is also a useful thing to know.
_Solar Climate._--Climate, in so far as it is controlled solely by the
amount of solar radiation which any place receives by reason of its
latitude, is called _solar climate_. Solar climate alone would prevail
if the earth had a homogeneous land surface, and if there were no
atmosphere. For under these conditions, without air or ocean currents,
the distribution of temperature at any place would depend solely on the
amount of energy received from the sun and upon the loss of heat by
radiation. And these two factors would have the same value at all points
on the same latitude circle.
The relative amounts of insolation received at different latitudes and
at different times have been carefully determined. The values all refer
to conditions at the upper limit of the earth's atmosphere, i.e. without
the effect of absorption by the atmosphere. The accompanying figure
(fig. 1), after Davis, shows the distribution of insolation in both
hemispheres at different latitudes and at different times in the year.
The latitudes are given at the left margin and the time of year at the
right margin. The values of insolation are shown by the vertical
distance above the plane of the two margins.
At the equator, where the day is always twelve hours long, there are two
maxima of insolation at the equinoxes, when the sun is vertical at noon,
and two minima at the solstices when the sun is farthest off the
equator. The values do not vary much through the year because the sun is
never very far from the zenith, and day and night are always equal. As
latitude increases, the angle of insolation becomes more oblique and the
intensity decreases, but at the same time the length of day rapidly
increases during the summer, and towards the pole of the hemisphere
which is having its summer the gain in insolation from the latter cause
more than compensates for the loss by the former. The double period of
insolation above noted for the equator prevails as far as about lat. 12°
N. and S.; at lat. 15° the two maxima have united in one, and the same
is true of the minima. At the pole there is one maximum at the summer
solstice, and no insolation at all while the sun is below the horizon.
On the 21st of June the equator has a day twelve hours long, but the
sun does not reach the zenith, and the amount of insolation is therefore
less than at the equinox. On the northern tropic, however, the sun is
vertical at noon, and the day is more than twelve hours long. Hence the
amount of insolation received at this latitude is greater than that
received on the equinox at the equator. From the tropic to the pole the
sun stands lower and lower at noon, and the value of insolation would
steadily decrease with latitude if it were not for the increase in the
length of day. Going polewards from the northern tropic on the 21st of
June, the value of insolation increases for a time, because, although
the sun is lower, the number of hours during which it shines is greater.
A maximum value is reached at about lat. 43½° N. The decreasing altitude
of the sun then more than compensates for the increasing length of day,
and the value of insolation diminishes, a minimum being reached at about
lat. 62°. Then the rapidly increasing length of day towards the pole
again brings about an increase in the value of insolation, until a
maximum is reached at the pole which is greater than the value received
at the equator at any time. The length of day is the same on the Arctic
circle as at the pole itself, but while the altitude of the sun varies
during the day on the former, the altitude at the pole remains 23½°
throughout the 24 hours. The result is to give the pole a maximum. On
the 21st of June there are therefore two maxima of insolation, one at
lat. 43½° and one at the north pole. From lat. 43½° N., insolation
decreases to zero on the Antarctic circle, for sunshine falls more and
more obliquely, and the day becomes shorter and shorter. Beyond lat.
66½° S. the night lasts 24 hours. On the 21st of December the conditions
in southern latitudes are similar to those in the northern hemisphere on
the 21st of June, but the southern latitudes have higher values of
insolation because the earth is then nearer the sun.
[Illustration: From Davis's _Elementary Meteorology_.
FIG. 1.--Distribution of Insolation over the Earth's Surface.]
At the equinox the days are equal everywhere, but the noon sun is lower
and lower with increasing latitude in both hemispheres until the rays
are tangent to the earth's surface at the poles (except for the effect
of refraction). Therefore, the values of insolation diminish from a
maximum at the equator to a minimum at both poles.
The effect of the earth's atmosphere is to weaken the sun's rays. The
more nearly vertical the sun, the less the thickness of atmosphere
traversed by the rays. The values of insolation at the earth's surface,
after passage through the atmosphere, have been calculated. They vary
much with the condition of the air as to dust, clouds, water vapour, &c.
As a rule, even when the sky is clear, about one-half of the solar
radiation is lost during the day by atmospheric absorption. The great
weakening of insolation at the pole, where the sun is very low, is
especially noticeable. The following table (after Angot) shows the
effect of the earth's atmosphere (coefficient of transmission 0.7) upon
the value of insolation received at sea-level.
_Values of Daily Insolation at the Upper Limit of the Earth's
Atmosphere and at Sea-Level_.
+-----------------+---------------------------+--------------------------+
| | Upper Limit of Atmosphere.| Earth's Surface. |
| Lat. +----------+------+---------+---------+------+---------+
| | Equator. | 40°. | N. Pole.| Equator.| 40°.| N. Pole.|
+-----------------+----------+------+---------+---------+------+---------+
| Winter solstice | 948 | 360 | 0 | 552 | 124 | 0 |
| Equinoxes | 1000 | 773 | 0 | 612 | 411 | 0 |
| Summer solstice | 888 | 1115 | 1210 | 517 | 660 | 494 |
+-----------------+----------+------+---------+---------+------+---------+
The following table gives, according to W. Zenker, the relative
thickness of the atmosphere at different altitudes of the sun, and also
the amount of transmitted insolation:
_Relative Distances traversed by Solar Rays through the Atmosphere,
and Intensities of Radiation per Unit Areas_.
+------------------+----+----+----+----+----+----+----+----+----+----+----+
|Altitude of sun | O° | 5° | 10°| 20°| 30°| 40°| 50°| 60°| 70°| 80°| 90°|
| | | | | | | | | | | | |
|Relative lengths | | | | | | | | | | | |
| of path through | | | | | | | | | | | |
| the atmosphere |44.7|10.8|5.7 |2.92|2.00|1.56|1.31|1.15|1.06|1.02|1.00|
| | | | | | | | | | | | |
|Intensity of | | | | | | | | | | | |
| radiation on a | | | | | | | | | | | |
| surface normal | | | | | | | | | | | |
| to the rays | 0.0|0.15|0.31|0.51|0.62|0.68|0.72|0.75|0.76|0.77|0.78|
| | | | | | | | | | | | |
|Intensity of | | | | | | | | | | | |
| radiation on | | | | | | | | | | | |
| a horizontal | | | | | | | | | | | |
| surface | 0.0|0.01|0.05|0.17|0.31|0.44|0.55|0.65|0.72|0.76|0.78|
+------------------+----+----+----+----+----+----+----+----+----+----+----+
_Physical Climate._--The distribution of insolation explains many of the
large facts of temperature distribution, for example, the decrease of
temperature from equator to poles; the double maximum of temperature on
and near the equator; the increasing seasonal contrasts with increasing
latitude, &c. But the regular distribution of solar climate between
equator and poles which would exist on a homogeneous earth, whereby
similar conditions prevail along each latitude circle, is very much
modified by the unequal distribution of land and water; by differences
of altitude; by air and ocean currents, by varying conditions of
cloudiness, and so on. Hence the climates met with along the same
latitude circle are no longer alike. Solar climate is greatly modified
by atmospheric conditions and by the surface features of the earth. The
uniform arrangement of solar climatic belts, arranged latitudinally, is
interfered with, and what is known as _physical climate_ results.
According to the dominant control we have solar, continental and marine,
and mountain climates. In the first-named, latitude is the essential; in
the second and third, the influence of land or water; in the fourth, the
effect of altitude.
_Classification of the Zones by Latitude Circles._--It is customary to
classify climates roughly into certain broad belts. These are the
climatic zones. The five zones with which we are most familiar are the
so-called torrid, the two temperate, and the two frigid zones. The
torrid, or better, the tropical zone, naming it by its boundaries, is
limited on the north and south by the two tropics of Cancer and
Capricorn, the equator dividing the zone into two equal parts. The
temperate zones are limited towards the equator by the tropics, and
towards the poles by the Arctic and Antarctic circles. The two polar
zones are caps covering both polar regions, and bounded on the side
towards the equator by the Arctic and Antarctic circles.
These five zones are classified on purely astronomical grounds. They are
really zones of solar climate. The tropical zone has the least annual
variation of insolation. It has the maximum annual amount of insolation.
Its annual range of temperature is very slight. It is the summer zone.
Beyond the tropics the contrasts between the seasons rapidly become more
marked. The polar zones have the greatest variation in insolation
between summer and winter. They also have the minimum amount of
insolation for the whole year. They may well be called the winter zones,
for their summer is so short and cool that the heat is insufficient for
most forms of vegetation, especially for trees. The temperate zones are
intermediate between the tropical and the polar in the matter of annual
amount and of annual variation of insolation. Temperate conditions do
not characterize these zones as a whole. They are rather the seasonal
belts of the world.
[Illustration: From _Grundzüge der physischen Erdkunde_, by permission
of Veit & Co.
FIG. 2.--Supan's Temperature Zones.]
_Temperature Zones._--The classification of the zones on the basis of
the distribution of sunshine serves very well for purposes of simple
description, but a glance at any isothermal chart shows that the
isotherms do not coincide with the latitude lines. In fact, in the
higher latitudes, the former sometimes follow the meridians more closely
than they do the parallels of latitude. Hence it has been suggested that
the zones be limited by isotherms rather than by parallels of latitude,
and that a closer approach be thus made to the actual conditions of
climate. Supan[1] (see fig. 2) has suggested limiting the hot belt,
which corresponds to, but is slightly greater than, the old torrid zone,
by the two mean annual isotherms of 68°--a temperature which
approximately coincides with the polar limit of the trade-winds and with
the polar limit of palms. The hot belt widens somewhat over the
continents, chiefly because of the mobility of the ocean waters, whereby
there is a tendency towards an equalization of the temperature between
equator and poles in the oceans, while the stable lands acquire a
temperature suitable to their own latitude. Furthermore, the
unsymmetrical distribution of land in the low latitudes of the northern
and southern hemispheres results in an unsymmetrical position of the hot
belt with reference to the equator, the belt extending farther north
than south of the equator. The polar limits of the temperate zones are
fixed by the isotherm of 50° for the warmest month. Summer heat is more
important for vegetation than winter cold, and where the warmest month
has a temperature below 50°, cereals and forest trees do not grow, and
man has to adjust himself to the peculiar climatic conditions in a very
special way. The two polar caps are not symmetrical as regards the
latitudes which they occupy. The presence of extended land masses in the
high northern latitudes carries the temperature of 50° in the warmest
month farther poleward there than is the case in the corresponding
latitudes occupied by the oceans of the southern hemisphere, which warm
less easily and are constantly in motion. Hence the southern cold cap,
which has its equatorial limits at about lat. 50° S., is of much greater
extent than the northern polar cap. The northern temperate belt, in
which the great land areas lie, is much broader than the southern,
especially over the continents. These temperature zones emphasize the
natural conditions of climate more than is the case in any subdivision
by latitude circles, and they bear a fairly close resemblance to the old
zonal classification of the Greeks.
_Classification of the Zones by Wind Belts._--The heat zones however,
emphasize the temperature to the exclusion of such important elements
as wind and rainfall. So distinctive are the larger climatic features of
the great wind belts of the world, that a classification of climates
according to wind systems has been suggested.[2] As the rain-belts of
the world are closely associated with these wind systems, a
classification of the zones by winds also emphasizes the conditions of
rainfall. In such a scheme the tropical zone is bounded on the north and
south by the margins of the trade-wind belts, and is therefore larger
than the classic torrid zone. This trade-wind zone is somewhat wider on
the eastern side of the oceans, and properly includes within its limits
the equable marine climates of the eastern margins of the ocean basins,
even as far north as latitude 30° or 35°. Most of the eastern coasts of
China and of the United States are thus left in the more rigorous and
more variable conditions of the north temperate zone. Through the middle
of the trade-wind zone extends the sub-equatorial belt, with its
migrating calms, rains and monsoons. On the polar margins of the
trade-wind zone lie the sub-tropical belts, of alternating trades and
westerlies. The temperate zones embrace the latitudes of the stormy
westerly winds, having on their equator-ward margins the sub-tropical
belts, and being somewhat narrower than the classic temperate zones.
Towards the poles there is no obvious limit to the temperate zones, for
the prevailing westerlies extend beyond the polar circles. These circles
may, however, serve fairly well as boundaries, because of their
importance from the point of view of insolation. The polar zones in the
wind classification, therefore, remain just as in the older scheme.
_Need of a Classification of Climates._--A broad division of the earth's
surface into zones is necessary as a first step in any systematic study
of climate, but it is not satisfactory when a more detailed discussion
is undertaken. The reaction of the physical features of the earth's
surface upon the atmosphere complicates the climatic conditions found in
each of the zones, and makes further subdivision desirable. The usual
method is to separate the _continental_ (near sea-level) and the
_marine_. An extreme variety of the continental is the _desert_; a
modified form, the _littoral_; while altitude is so important a control
that _mountain_ and _plateau_ climates are always grouped by themselves.
_Marine or Oceanic Climate._--Land and water differ greatly in their
behaviour regarding absorption and radiation. The former warms and cools
readily, and to a considerable degree; the latter, slowly and but
little. The slow changes in temperature of the ocean waters involve a
retardation in the times of occurrence of the maxima and minima, and a
marine climate, therefore, has a cool spring and a warm autumn, the
seasonal changes being but slight. Characteristic, also, of marine
climates is a prevailingly higher relative humidity, a larger amount of
cloudiness, and a heavier rainfall than is found over continental
interiors. All of these features have their explanation in the abundant
evaporation from the ocean surfaces. In the middle latitudes the oceans
have distinctly rainy winters, while over the continental interiors the
colder months have a minimum of precipitation. Ocean air is cleaner and
purer than land air, and is generally in more active motion.
_Continental Climate._--Continental climate is severe. The annual
temperature ranges increase, as a whole, with increasing distance from
the oceans. The coldest and warmest months are usually January and July,
the times of maximum and minimum temperatures being less retarded than
in the case of marine climates. The greater seasonal contrasts in
temperature over the continents than over the oceans are furthered by
the less cloudiness over the former. Diurnal and annual changes of
nearly all the elements of climate are greater over continents than over
oceans; and this holds true of irregular as well as of regular
variations. Fig. 3 illustrates the annual march of temperature in marine
and continental climates. Bagdad, in Asia Minor (Bd.), and Funchal on
the island of Madeira (M.) are representative continental and marine
stations for a low latitude. Nerchinsk in eastern Siberia (N.) and
Valentia in south-western Ireland (V.) are good examples of continental
and marine climates of higher latitudes in the northern hemisphere. The
data for these and the following curves were taken from Hann's _Lehrbuch
der Meteorologie_ (1901).
Owing to the distance from the chief source of supply of water
vapour--the oceans--the air over the larger land areas is naturally
drier and dustier than that over the oceans. Yet even in the arid
continental interiors in summer the absolute vapour content is
surprisingly large, and in the hottest months the percentages of
relative humidity may reach 20% or 30%. At the low temperatures which
prevail in the winter of the higher latitudes the absolute humidity is
very low, but, owing to the cold, the air is often damp. Cloudiness, as
a rule, decreases inland, and with this lower relative humidity, more
abundant sunshine and higher temperature, the evaporating power of a
continental climate is much greater than that of the more humid,
cloudier and cooler marine climate. Both amount and frequency of
rainfall, as a rule, decrease inland, but the conditions are very
largely controlled by local topography and by the prevailing winds.
Winds average somewhat lower in velocity, and calms are more frequent,
over continents than over oceans. The seasonal changes of pressure over
the former give rise to systems of inflowing and outflowing, so-called
continental, winds, sometimes so well developed as to become true
monsoons. The extreme termperature changes which occur over the
continents are the more easily borne because of the dryness of the air;
because the minimum temperatures of winter occur when there is little or
no wind, and because during the warmer hours of the summer there is the
most air-movement.
[Illustration: FIG. 3.--Annual March of Air Temperature. Influence of
Land and Water. (After Angot.)
M, Madeira.
Bd, Bagdad.
V, Valentia.
N, Nerchinsk.]
_Desert Climate._--An extreme type of continental climate is found in
deserts. Desert air is notably free from micro-organisms. The large
diurnal temperature ranges of inland regions, which are most marked
where there is little or no vegetation, give rise to active convectional
currents during the warmer hours of the day. Hence high winds are common
by day, while the nights are apt to be calm and relatively cool.
Travelling by day is unpleasant under such conditions. Diurnal cumulus
clouds, often absent because of the excessive dryness of the air, are
replaced by clouds of blowing dust and sand. Many geological phenomena,
and special physiographic types of varied kinds, are associated with the
peculiar conditions of desert climate. The excessive diurnal ranges of
temperature cause rocks to split and break up. Wind-driven sand erodes
and polishes the rocks. When the separate fragments become small enough
they, in their turn, are transported by the winds and further eroded by
friction during their journey. Curious conditions of drainage result
from the deficiency in rainfall. Rivers "wither" away, or end in sinks
or brackish lakes.
Desert plants protect themselves against the attacks of animals by
means of thorns, and against evaporation by means of hard surfaces and
by a diminished leaf surface. The life of man in the desert is likewise
strikingly controlled by the climatic peculiarities of strong sunshine,
of heat, and of dust.
[Illustration: PLATE I. ANNUAL DISTRIBUTION OF TEMPERATURE AND
PRESSURE.]
[Illustration: PLATE I. SEASONAL DISTRIBUTION OF TEMPERATURE AND
PRESSURE.
TEMPERATURE JANUARY
TEMPERATURE JULY
PRESSURE & WINDS JANUARY
PRESSURE & WINDS JULY]
_Coast or Littoral Climate._--Between the pure marine and the pure
continental types the coasts furnish almost every grade of transition.
Prevailing winds are here important controls. When these blow from the
ocean, the climates are marine in character, but when they are
off-shore, a somewhat modified type of continental climate prevails,
even up to the immediate sea-coast. Hence the former have a smaller
range of temperature; their summers are more moderate and their winters
milder; extreme temperatures are rare; the air is damp, and there is
much cloud. All these marine features diminish with increasing distance
from the ocean, especially when there are mountain ranges near the
coast. In the tropics, windward coasts are usually well supplied with
rainfall, and the temperatures are modified by sea breezes. Leeward
coasts in the trade-wind belts offer special conditions. Here the
deserts often reach the sea, as on the western coasts of South America,
Africa and Australia. Cold ocean currents, with prevailing winds
along-shore rather than on-shore, are here hostile to rainfall, although
the lower air is often damp, and fog and cloud are not uncommon.
_Monsoon Climate._--Exceptions to the general rule of rainier eastern
coasts in trade-wind latitudes are found in the monsoon regions, as in
India, for example, where the western coast of the peninsula is
abundantly watered by the wet south-west monsoon. As monsoons often
sweep over large districts, not only coast but interior, a separate
group of monsoon climates is desirable. In India there are really three
seasons--one cold, during the winter monsoon; one hot, in the transition
season; and one wet, during the summer monsoon. Little precipitation
occurs in winter, and that chiefly in the northern provinces. In low
latitudes, monsoon and non-monsoon climates differ but little, for
summer monsoons and regular trade-winds may both give rains, and wind
direction has slight effect upon temperature.
The winter monsoon is off-shore and the summer monsoon on-shore under
typical conditions, as in India. But exceptional cases are found where
the opposite is true. In higher latitudes the seasonal changes of the
winds, although not truly monsoonal, involve differences in temperature
and in other climatic elements. The only well-developed monsoons on the
coast of the continents of higher latitudes are those of eastern Asia.
These are off-shore during the winter, giving dry, clear and cold
weather; while the on-shore movement in summer gives cool, damp and
cloudy weather.
_Mountain and Plateau Climate._--Both by reason of their actual height
and because of their obstructive effects, mountains influence climate
similarly in all the zones. Mountains as contrasted with lowlands are
characterized by a decrease in pressure, temperature and absolute
humidity; an increased intensity of insolation and radiation; usually a
greater frequency of, and up to a certain altitude more, precipitation.
At an altitude of 16,000 ft., more or less, pressure is reduced to about
one-half of its sea-level value. The highest human habitations are found
under these conditions. On high mountains and plateaus the pressure is
lower in winter than in summer, owing to the fact that the atmosphere is
compressed to lower levels in the winter and is expanded upwards in
summer.
The intensity of insolation and of radiation both increase aloft in the
cleaner, purer, drier and thinner air of mountain climates. The great
intensity of the sun's rays attracts the attention of mountain-climbers
at great altitudes. The vertical decrease of temperature, which is also
much affected by local conditions, is especially rapid during the warmer
months and hours; mountains are then cooler than lowlands. The
inversions of temperature characteristic of the colder months, and of
the night, give mountains the advantage of a higher temperature then--a
fact of importance in connexion with the use of mountains as winter
resorts. At such times the cold air flows down the mountain sides and
collects in the valleys below, being replaced by warmer air aloft.
Hence diurnal and annual ranges of temperature on the mountain tops of
middle and higher latitudes are lessened, and the climate in this
respect resembles a marine condition. The times of occurrence of the
maximum and minimum temperature are also much influenced by local
conditions. Elevated enclosed valleys, with strong sunshine, often
resemble continental conditions of large temperature range, and
plateaus, as compared with mountains at the same altitude, have
relatively higher temperatures and larger temperature ranges. Altitude
tempers the heat of the low latitudes. High mountain peaks, even on the
equator, can remain snow-covered all the year round.
No general law governs the variations of relative humidity with
altitude, but on the mountains of Europe the winter is the driest
season, and the summer the dampest. At well-exposed stations there is a
rapid increase in the vapour content soon after noon, especially in
summer. The same is true of cloudiness, which is often greater on
mountains than at lower levels, and is usually at a maximum in summer,
while the opposite is true of the lowlands in the temperate latitudes.
One of the great advantages of the higher Alpine valleys in winter is
their small amount of cloud. This, combined with their low wind velocity
and strong insolation, makes them desirable winter health resorts.
Latitude, altitude, topography and winds are the determining factors in
controlling the cloudiness on mountains. In the rare, often dry, air of
mountains and plateaus evaporation is rapid, the skin dries and cracks,
and thirst is increased.
Rainfall usually increases with increasing altitude up to a certain
point, beyond which, owing to the loss of water vapour, this increase
stops. The zone of maximum rainfall averages about 6000 to 7000 ft. in
altitude, more or less, in intermediate latitudes, being lower in winter
and higher in summer. Mountains usually have a rainy and a drier side;
the contrast between the two is greatest when a prevailing damp wind
crosses the mountain, or when one slope faces seaward and the other
landward. Mountains often provoke rainfall, and local "islands," or
better, "lakes," of heavier precipitation result.
Mountains resemble marine climates in having higher wind velocities than
continental lowlands. Mountain summits have a nocturnal maximum of wind
velocity, while plateaus usually have a diurnal maximum. Mountains both
modify the general, and give rise to local winds. Among the latter the
well-known mountain and valley winds are often of considerable hygienic
importance in their control of the diurnal period of humidity,
cloudiness and rainfall, the ascending wind of daytime tending to give
clouds and rain aloft, while the opposite conditions prevail at night.
_Supan's Climatic Provinces._--The broad classification of climates into
the three general groups of marine, continental and mountain, with the
subordinate divisions of desert, littoral and monsoon, is convenient for
purposes of summarizing the interaction of the climatic elements under
the controls of land, water and altitude. But in any detailed study some
scheme of classification is needed in which similar climates in
different parts of the world are grouped together, and in which their
geographic distribution receives particular consideration. An almost
infinite number of classifications might be proposed; or we may take as
the basis of subdivision either the special conditions of one climatic
element, or similar conditions of a combination of two or more elements.
Or we may take a botanical or a zoological basis. Of the various
classifications which have been suggested, that of Supan gives a very
rational, simple and satisfactory scheme of grouping. In this scheme
there are thirty-five so-called climatic provinces.[3] It emphasizes the
essentials of each climate, and serves to impress these essentials upon
the mind by means of a compact, well-considered verbal summary in the
case of each province described. Obviously, no classification of
climates which is at all complete can approach the simplicity of the
ordinary classification of the zones.
_The Characteristics of the Torrid Zone._
_General: Climate and Weather._--The dominant characteristic of the
torrid zone is the simplicity and uniformity of its climatic features.
The tropics lack the proverbial uncertainty and changeableness of the
weather of higher latitudes. Weather and climate are essentially
synonymous terms. Periodic phenomena, depending upon the daily and
annual march of the sun, are dominant. Non-periodic weather changes are
wholly subordinate. In special regions only, and at special seasons, is
the regular sequence of weather temporarily interrupted by an occasional
tropical cyclone. These cyclones, although comparatively infrequent, are
notable features of the climate of the areas in which they occur,
generally bringing very heavy rains. The devastation produced by one of
these storms often affects the economic condition of the people in the
district of its occurrence for many years.
_Temperature._--The mean temperature is high, and very uniform over the
whole zone. There is little variation during the year. The mean annual
isotherm of 68° is a rational limit at the polar margins of the zone,
and the mean annual isotherm of 80° encloses the greater portion of the
land areas, as well as much of the tropical oceans. The warmest latitude
circle for the year is not the equator, but latitude 10° N. The highest
mean annual temperatures, shown by the isotherm of 85°, are in Central
Africa, in India, the north of Australia and Central America, but, with
the exception of the first, these areas are small. The temperatures
average highest where there is little rain. In June, July and August
there are large districts in the south of Asia and north of Africa with
temperatures over 90°.
Over nearly all of the zone the mean annual range of temperature is less
than 10°, and over much of it, especially on the oceans, it is less than
5°. Even near the margins of the zone the ranges are less than 25°, as
at Calcutta, Hong-Kong, Río de Janeiro and Khartum. The mean daily range
is usually larger than the mean annual. It has been well said that
"night is the winter of the tropics." Over an area covering parts of the
Pacific and Indian Oceans from Arabia to the Caroline Islands and from
Zanzibar to New Guinea, as well as on the Guiana coast, the minimum
temperatures do not normally fall below 68°. Towards the margins of the
zone, however, the minima on the continents fall to or even below 32°.
Maxima of 115° and even over 120° occur over the deserts of northern
Africa. A district where the mean maxima exceed 113° extends from the
western Sahara to north-western India, and over Central Australia. Near
the equator the maxima are therefore not as high as those in many
so-called "temperate" climates. The tropical oceans show remarkably
small variations in temperature. The "Challenger" results on the equator
showed a daily range of hardly 0.7° in the surface water temperature,
and P. G. Schott determined the annual range as 4.1° on the equator,
4.3° at latitude 10°, and 6.5° at latitude 20°.
_The Seasons._--In a true tropical climate the seasons are not
classified according to temperature, but depend on rainfall and the
prevailing winds. The life of animals and plants in the tropics, and of
man himself, is regulated very largely, in some cases almost wholly, by
rainfall. Although the tropical rainy season is characteristically
associated with a vertical sun, that season is not necessarily the
hottest time of the year. It often goes by the name of winter for this
reason. Towards the margins of the zone, with increasing annual ranges
of temperature, seasons in the extra-tropical sense gradually appear.
_Physiological Effects of Heat and Humidity._--Tropical heat is
associated with high relative humidity except over deserts and in dry
seasons. The air is therefore muggy and oppressive. The high
temperatures are disagreeable and hard to bear. The "hot-house air" has
an enervating effect. Energetic physical and mental action are often
difficult or even impossible. The tonic effect of a cold winter is
lacking. The most humid districts in the tropics are the least desirable
for persons from higher latitudes; the driest are the healthiest. The
most energetic natives are the desert-dwellers. The monotonously
enervating heat of the humid tropics makes man sensitive to slight
temperature changes. The intensity of direct insolation, as well as of
radiation from the earth's surface, may produce heat prostration and
sunstroke. "Beware of the sun" is a good rule in the tropics.
_Pressure._--The uniform temperature distribution in the tropics
involves uniform pressure distribution. Pressure gradients are weak. The
annual fluctuations are slight, even on the continents. The diurnal
variation of the barometer is so regular and so marked that, as von
Humboldt said, the time of day can be told within about twenty minutes
if the reading of the barometer be known.
_Winds and Rainfall._--Along the barometric equator, where the pressure
gradients are weakest, is the equatorial belt of calms, variable winds
and rains--the doldrums. This belt offers exceptionally favourable
conditions for abundant rainfall, and is one of the rainiest regions of
the world, averaging probably about 100 in. Here the sky is prevailingly
cloudy; the air is hot and oppressive; heavy showers and thunderstorms
are frequent, chiefly in the afternoon and evening. Here are the dense
tropical forests of the Amazon and of equatorial Africa. This belt of
calms and rains shifts north and south of the equator after the sun. In
striking contrast are the easterly trade winds, blowing between the
tropical high pressure belts and the equatorial belt of low pressure. Of
great regularity, and contributing largely to the uniformity of tropical
climates, the trades have long been favourite sailing routes because of
the steadiness of the wind, the infrequency of storms, the brightness of
the skies and the freshness of the air. The trades are subject to many
variations. Their northern and southern margins shift north and south
after the sun; at certain seasons they are interrupted, often over wide
areas near their equatorward margins, by the migrating belt of
equatorial rains and by monsoons; near lands they are often interfered
with by land and sea breezes; in certain regions they are invaded by
violent cyclonic storms. The trades, except where they blow on to
windward coasts or over mountains, are drying winds. They cause the
deserts of northern Africa and of the adjacent portions of Asia; of
Australia, South Africa and southern South America. The monsoons on the
southern and eastern coasts of Asia are the best known winds of their
class. In the northern summer the south-west monsoon, warm and sultry,
blows over the latitudes from about 10° N. to and beyond the northern
tropic, between Africa and the Philippines, giving rains over India, the
East Indian archipelago and the eastern coasts of China. In winter, the
north-east monsoon, the normal cold-season outflow from Asia combined
with the north-east trade, and generally cool and dry, covers the same
district, extending as far north as latitude 30°. Crossing the equator,
these winds reach northern Australia and the western islands of the
South Pacific as a north-west rainy monsoon, while this region in the
opposite season has the normal south-east trade. Other monsoons are
found in the Gulf of Guinea and in equatorial Africa. Wherever they
occur, they control the seasonal changes.
Tropical rains are in the main summer rains, coming when the normal
trade gives way to the equatorial belt of rains, or when the summer
monsoon sets in. There are, however, many cases of a rainy season when
the sun is low, expecially on windward coasts in the trades. Tropical
rains come usually in the form of heavy downpours and with a well-marked
diurnal period, the maximum varying with the locality between noon and
midnight. Local influences are, however, very important, and in many
places night rainfall maxima are found.
_Land and Sea Breezes._--The sea breeze is an important climatic feature
on many tropical coasts. With its regular occurrence, and its cool,
clean air, it serves to make many districts habitable for white
settlers, and has deservedly won the name of "the doctor." On not a few
coasts, the sea breeze is a true prevailing wind. The location of
dwellings is often determined by the exposure of a site to the sea
breeze.
_Thunderstorms._--Local thunderstorms are frequent in the humid portions
of the tropics. They have a marked diurnal periodicity, find their best
opportunity in the equatorial belt of weak pressure gradients and high
temperature, and are commonly associated with the rainy season, being
most common at the beginning and end of the regular rains. In many
places, thunderstorms occur daily throughout their season, with
extraordinary regularity and great intensity.
_Cloudiness._--Taken as a whole, the tropics are not favoured with such
clear skies as is often supposed. Cloudiness varies about as does the
rainfall. The maximum is in the equatorial belt of calms and rains,
where the sky is always more or less cloudy. The minimum is in the trade
latitudes, where fair skies as a whole prevail. The equatorial cloud
belt moves north and south after the sun. Wholly clear days are very
rare in the tropics generally, especially near the equator, and during
the rainy season heavy clouds usually cover the sky. Wholly overcast,
dull days, such as are common in the winter of the temperate zone, occur
frequently only on tropical coasts in the vicinity of cold ocean
currents, as on the coast of Peru and on parts of the west coast of
Africa.
_Intensity of Sky-Light and Twilight._--The light from tropical skies by
day is trying, and the intense insolation, together with the reflection
from the ground, increases the general dazzling glare under a tropical
sun. During much of the time smoke from forest and prairie fires (in the
dry season), dust (in deserts), and water-vapour give the sky a pale
whitish appearance. In the heart of the trade-wind belts at sea the sky
is of a deeper blue. Twilight within the tropics is shorter than in
higher latitudes, but the coming on of night is less sudden than is
generally assumed.
_Climatic Subdivisions._--The rational basis for a classification of the
larger climatic provinces of the torrid zone is found in the general
wind systems, and in their control over rainfall. Following this scheme
there are: (1) the equatorial belt; (2) the trade-wind belts; (3) the
monsoon belts. In each of these subdivisions there are modifications due
to marine and continental influences. In general, both seasonal and
diurnal phenomena are more marked in continental interiors than on the
oceans, islands and windward coasts. Further, the effect of altitude is
so important that another group should be added to include (4) mountain
climates.
[Illustration: FIG. 4.--Annual march of temperature: equatorial type. A,
Africa, interior; B, Batavia; J, Jaluit, Marshall Islands.]
1. _The Equatorial Belt._--Within a few degrees of the equator, and when
not interfered with by other controls, the annual curve of temperature
has two maxima following the two zenithal positions of the sun, and two
minima at about the time of the solstices. This _equatorial_ type of
annual march of temperature is illustrated in the three curves for the
interior of Africa, Batavia and Jaluit (fig. 4). The greatest range is
shown in the curve for the interior of Africa; the curve for Batavia
illustrates insular conditions with less range, and the oceanic type for
Jaluit, Marshall Islands, gives the least range. This double maximum is
not a universal phenomenon, there being many cases where but a single
maximum occurs.
[Illustration: FIG. 5.--Annual march of rainfall in the tropics.
S.A, South Africa.
Q, Quito.
S.P., São Paulo.
M, Mexico.
H, Hilo.
P.D., Port Darwin.]
As the belt of rains swings back and forth across the equator after the
sun, there should be two rainy seasons with the sun vertical, and two
dry seasons when the sun is farthest from the zenith, and while the
trades blow. These conditions prevail on the equator, and as far north
and south of the equator (about 10°-12°) as sufficient time elapses
between the two zenithal positions of the sun for the two rainy seasons
to be distinguished from one another. In this belt, under normal
conditions, there is therefore no dry season of any considerable
duration. The double rainy season is clearly seen in equatorial Africa
and in parts of equatorial South America. The maxima lag somewhat behind
the vertical sun, coming in April and November, and are unsymmetrically
developed, the first maximum being the principal one. The minima are
also unsymmetrically developed, and the so-called "dry seasons" are
seldom wholly rainless. This rainfall type with double maxima and minima
has been called the _equatorial_ type, and is illustrated in the
following curves for South Africa and Quito (fig. 5). The monthly
rainfalls are given in thousandths of the annual mean. The mean annual
rainfall at Quito is 42.12 in. These double rainy and dry seasons are
easily modified by other conditions, as by the monsoons of the
Indo-Australian area, so that there is no rigid belt of _equatorial
rains_ extending around the world. In South America, east of the Andes,
the distinction between rainy and dry seasons is often much confused. In
this equatorial belt the cloudiness is high throughout the year,
averaging .7 to .8, with a relatively small annual period. The curve
following, E (fig. 6), is fairly typical, but the annual period varies
greatly under local controls.
[Illustration: FIG. 6.--Annual march of cloudiness in the tropics. E,
Equatorial type; M, Monsoon type.]
At greater distances from the equator than about 10° or 12° the sun is
still vertical twice a year within the tropics, but the interval between
these two dates is so short that the two rainy seasons merge into one,
in summer, and there is also but one dry season, in winter. This is the
so-called _tropical type_ of rainfall, and is found where the trade
belts are encroached upon by the equatorial rains during the migration
of these rains into each hemisphere. It is illustrated in the curves for
São Paulo, Brazil, and for the city of Mexico (fig. 5). The mean annual
rainfall at São Paulo is 54.13 in. and at Mexico 22.99 in. The districts
of tropical rains of this type lie along the equatorial margins of the
torrid zone, outside of the latitudes of the _equatorial_ type of
rainfall. The rainy season becomes shorter with increasing distance from
the equator. The weather of the opposite seasons is strongly contrasted.
The single dry season lasts longer than either dry season in the
equatorial belt, reaching eight months in typical cases, with the wet
season lasting four months. The lowlands often become dry and parched
during the long dry trade-wind season (winter) and vegetation withers
away, while grass and flowers grow in great abundance and all life takes
on new activity during the time when the equatorial rainy belt with its
calms, variable winds and heavy rains is over them (summer). The Sudan
lies between the Sahara and the equatorial forests of Africa. It
receives rains, and its vegetation grows actively, when the doldrum belt
is north of the equator (May-August). But when the trades blow
(December-March) the ground is parched and dusty. The Venezuelan
_llanos_ have a dry season in the northern winter, when the trade blows.
The rains come in May-October. The _campos_ of Brazil, south of the
equator, have their rains in October-April, and are dry the remainder of
the year. The Nile overflow results from the rainfall on the mountains
of Abyssinia during the northward migration of the belt of equatorial
rains.
[Illustration: FIG. 7.--Annual march of temperature: tropical type. W,
Wadi Halfa; A, Alice Springs; H, Honolulu; J, Jamestown, St Helena; N,
Nagpur.]
The so-called _tropical_ type of temperature variation, with one maximum
and one minimum, is illustrated in the accompanying curves for Wadi
Halfa, in upper Egypt; Alice Springs, Australia; Nagpur, India;
Honolulu, Hawaii; and Jamestown, St Helena (fig. 7). The effect of the
rainy season is often shown in a displacement of the time of maximum
temperature to an earlier month than the usual one.
2. _Trade-Wind Belts._--The trade belts near sea-level are characterized
by fair weather, steady winds, infrequent light rains or even an almost
complete absence of rain, very regular, although slight, annual and
diurnal ranges of temperature, and a constancy and regularity of
weather. The climate of the ocean areas in the trade-wind belts is
indeed the simplest and most equable in the world, the greatest extremes
over these oceans being found to leeward of the larger lands. On the
lowlands swept over by the trades, beyond the polar limits of the
equatorial rain belt (roughly between lats. 20° and 30°), are most of
the great deserts of the world. These deserts extend directly to the
water's edge on the leeward western coasts of Australia, South Africa
and South America.
The ranges and extremes of temperature are much greater over the
continental interiors than over the oceans of the trade-wind belts.
Minima of 32° or less occur during clear, quiet nights, and daily ranges
of over 50° are common. The midsummer mean temperature rises above 90°,
with noon maxima of 110° or more in the non-cloudy, dry air of a desert
day. The days, with high, dry winds, carrying dust and sand, with
extreme heat, accentuated by the absence of vegetation, are
disagreeable, but the calmer nights, with active radiation under clear
skies, are much more comfortable. The nocturnal temperatures are even
not seldom too low for comfort in the cooler season, when thin sheets of
ice may form.
While the trades are drying winds as long as they blow strongly over the
oceans, or over lowlands, they readily become rainy if they are cooled
by ascent over a mountain or highland. Hence the windward (eastern)
sides of mountains or bold coasts in the trade-wind belts are well
watered, while the leeward sides, or interiors, are dry. Mountainous
islands in the trades, like the Hawaiian islands, many of the East and
West Indies, the Philippines, Borneo, Ceylon, Madagascar, Teneriffe,
&c., show marked differences of this sort. The eastern coasts of Guiana,
Central America, south-eastern Brazil, south-eastern Africa, and eastern
Australia are well watered, while the interiors are dry. The eastern
highland of Australia constitutes a more effective barrier than that in
South Africa; hence the Australian interior has a more extended desert.
South America in the south-east trade belt is not well enclosed on the
east, and the most arid portion is an interior district close to the
eastern base of the Andes where the land is low. Even far inland the
Andes again provoke precipitation along their eastern base, and the
narrow Pacific coastal strip, to leeward of the Andes, is a very
pronounced desert from near the equator to about lat. 30° S. The cold
ocean waters, with prevailing southerly (drying) winds alongshore, are
additional factors causing this aridity. Highlands in the trade belts
are therefore moist on their windward slopes, and become oases of
luxuriant plant growth, while close at hand, on the leeward sides, dry
savannas or deserts may be found. The damp, rainy and forested windward
side of Central America was from the earliest days of European
occupation left to the natives, while the centre of civilization was
naturally established on the more open and sunny south-western side.
The rainfall associated with the conditions just described is known as
the _trade type_. These rains have a maximum in winter, when the trades
are most active. In cases where the trade blows steadily throughout the
year against mountains or bold coasts, as on the Atlantic coast of
Central America, there is no real dry season. The curve for Hilo (mean
annual rainfall 145.24 in.) on the windward side of the Hawaiian
Islands, shows typical conditions (see fig. 5). The trade type of
rainfall is often much complicated by the combination with it of the
_tropical_ type and of the _monsoon_ type. In the Malay archipelago
there are also complications of equatorial and trade rains; likewise in
the West Indies.
3. _Monsoon Belts._--In a typical monsoon region the rains follow the
vertical sun, and therefore have a simple annual period much like that
of the tropical type above described. This monsoon type of rainfall is
well illustrated in the curve for Port Darwin (mean annual rainfall
62.72 in.), in Australia (see fig. 5). This summer monsoon rainfall
results from the inflow of a body of warm, moist air from the sea upon a
land area; there is a consequent retardation of the velocity of the air
currents, as the result of friction, and an ascent of the air, the
rainfall being particularly heavy where the winds have to climb over
high lands. In India, the precipitation is heaviest at the head of the
Bay of Bengal (where Cherrapunji, at the height of 4455 ft. in the Khasi
Hills, has a mean annual rainfall of between 400 and 500 in.), along the
southern base of the Himalayas (60 to 160 in.), on the bold western
coast of the peninsula (80 to 120 in. and over), and on the mountains of
Burma, (up to 160 in.). In the rain-shadow of the Western Ghats, the
Deccan often suffers from drought and famine unless the monsoon rains
are abundant and well distributed. The prevailing direction of the rainy
monsoon wind in India is south-west; on the Pacific coast of Asia, it is
south-east. This monsoon district is very large, including the Indian
Ocean, Arabian Sea, Bay of Bengal, and adjoining continental areas; the
Pacific coast of China, the Yellow and Japan seas, and numerous islands
from Borneo to Sakhalin on the north and to the Ladrone Islands on the
east. A typical temperature curve for a monsoon district is that for
Nagpur, in the Indian Deccan (fig. 7), and a typical monsoon cloudiness
curve is given in fig. 6, the maximum coming near the time of the
vertical sun, in the rainy season, and the minimum in the dry season.
In the Australian monsoon region, which reaches across New Guinea and
the Sunda Islands, and west of Australia, in the Indian Ocean, over
latitudes 0°-10° S., the monsoon rains come with north-west winds in the
period between November and March or April.
The general rule that eastern coasts in the tropics are the rainiest
finds exceptions in the case of the rainy western coasts in India and
other districts with similar monsoon rains. On the coast of the Gulf of
Guinea, for example, there is a small rainy monsoon area during the
summer; heavy rains fall on the seaward slopes of the Cameroon
Mountains. Gorée, lat. 15° N., on the coast of Senegambia, gives a fine
example of a rainy (summer) and a dry (winter) monsoon. Numerous
combinations of equatorial, trade and monsoon rainfalls are found, often
creating great complexity. The islands of the East Indian archipelago
furnish many examples of such curious complications.
4. _Mountain Climate._--In the torrid zone altitude is chiefly important
because of its effect in tempering the heat of the lowlands, especially
at night. If tropical mountains are high enough, they carry snow all the
year round, even on the equator, and the zones of vegetation may range
from the densest tropical forest at their base to the snow on their
summits. The highlands and mountains within the tropics are thus often
sharply contrasted with the lowlands, and offer more agreeable and more
healthy conditions for white settlement. They are thus often sought by
residents from colder latitudes as the most attractive resorts. In
India, the hill stations are crowded during the hot months by civilian
and military officials. The climate of many tropical plateaus and
mountains has the reputation of being a "perpetual spring." Thus on the
interior plateau of the tropical Cordilleras of South America, and on
the plateaus of tropical Africa, the heat is tempered by the altitude,
while the lowlands and coasts are very hot. The rainfall on tropical
mountains and highlands often differs considerably in amount from that
on the lowlands, and other features common to mountain climates the
world over are also noted.
_The Characteristics of the Temperate Zones._
_General._--As a whole, the "temperate zones" are _temperate_ only in
that their mean temperatures and their physiological effects are
intermediate between those of the tropics and those of the polar zones.
A marked changeableness of the weather is a striking characteristic of
these zones. Apparently irregular and haphazard, these continual weather
changes, although they are essentially non-periodic, nevertheless run
through a fairly systematic series. Climate and weather are by no means
synonymous over most of the extra-tropical latitudes.
_Temperature._--The mean annual temperatures at the margins of the north
temperate zone differ by more than 70°. The ranges between the mean
temperatures of hottest and coldest months reach 120° at their maximum
in north-eastern Siberia, and 80° in North America. A January mean of
-60° and a July mean of 95°, and maxima of over 120° and minima of -90°,
occur in the same zone. Such great ranges characterize the extreme land
climates. Under the influence of the oceans, the windward coasts have
much smaller ranges. The annual ranges in middle and higher latitudes
exceed the diurnal, the conditions of much of the torrid zone thus being
exactly reversed. Over much of the oceans of the temperate zones the
annual range is less than 10°. In the south temperate zone there are no
extreme ranges, the maxima, slightly over 30°, being near the margin of
the zone in the interior of South America, South Africa and Australia.
In these same localities the diurnal ranges rival those of the north
temperate zone.
The north-eastern Atlantic and north-western Europe are about 35° too
warm for their latitude in January, while north-eastern Siberia is 30°
too cold. The lands north of Hudson Bay are 25° too cold, and the waters
of the Alaskan Bay 20° too warm. In July, and in the southern
hemisphere, the anomalies are small. The lands which are the centre of
civilization in Europe average too warm for their latitudes. The diurnal
variability of temperature is greater in the north temperate zone than
elsewhere in the world, and the same month may differ greatly in its
character in different years. The annual temperature curve has one
maximum and one minimum. In the continental type the times of maximum
and minimum are about one month behind the dates of maximum and minimum
insolation. In the marine type the retardation may amount to nearly two
months. Coasts and islands have a tendency to a cool spring and warm
autumn; continents, to similar temperatures in both spring and fall.
_Pressure and Winds._--The prevailing winds are the "westerlies," which
are much less regular than the trades. They vary greatly in velocity in
different regions and in different seasons, and are stronger in winter
than in summer. They are much interfered with, especially in the higher
northern latitudes, by seasonal changes of temperature and pressure over
the continents, whereby the latter establish, more or less successfully,
a system of obliquely outflowing winds in winter and of obliquely
inflowing winds in summer. In summer, when the lands have low pressure,
the northern oceans are dominated by great oval areas of high pressure,
with outflowing spiral eddies, while in winter, when the northern lands
have high pressure, the northern portions of the oceans develop cyclonic
systems of inflowing winds over their warm waters. All these great
continental and oceanic systems of spiralling winds are important
climatic controls.
The westerlies are also much confused and interrupted by storms, whence
their designation of _stormy westerlies_. So common are such
interruptions that the prevailing westerly wind direction is often
difficult to discern without careful observation. Cyclonic storms are
most numerous and best developed in winter. Although greatly interfered
with near sea-level by continental changes of pressure, by cyclonic and
anticyclonic whirls, and by local inequalities of the surface, the
eastward movement of the atmosphere remains very constant aloft. The
south temperate zone being chiefly water, the westerlies are but little
disturbed there by continental effects. Between latitudes 40° and 60° S.
the "brave west winds" blow with a constancy and velocity found in the
northern hemisphere only on the oceans, and then in a modified form.
Storms, frequent and severe, characterize these southern hemisphere
westerlies, and easterly wind directions are temporarily noted during
their passage. Voyages to the west around Cape Horn against head gales,
and in cold wet weather, are much dreaded. South of Africa and
Australia, also, the westerlies are remarkably steady and strong. The
winter in these latitudes is stormier than the summer, but the seasonal
difference is less than north of the equator.
_Rainfall._--Rainfall is fairly abundant over the oceans and also over a
considerable part of the lands (30-80 in. and more). It comes chiefly in
connexion with the usual cyclonic storms, or in thunderstorms. So great
are the differences, geographic and periodic, in rainfall produced by
differences in temperature, topography, cyclonic conditions, &c., that
only the most general rules can be laid down. The equatorward margin of
the temperate zone rains is clearly defined on the west coasts, at the
points where the coast deserts are replaced by belts of light or
moderate rainfall. Bold west coasts, on the polar side of lat. 40°, are
very rainy (100 in. and more a year in the most favourable situations).
The hearts of the continents, far from the sea, and especially when well
enclosed by mountains, or when blown over by cool ocean winds which warm
while crossing the land, have light rainfall (less than 10-20 in.). East
coasts are wetter than interiors, but drier than west coasts. Winter is
the season of maximum rainfall over oceans, islands and west coasts, for
the westerlies are then most active, cyclonic storms are most numerous
and best developed, and the cold lands chill the inflowing damp air. At
this season, however, the low temperatures, high pressures, and tendency
to outflowing winds over the continents are unfavourable to rainfall,
and the interior land areas as a rule then have their minimum. The
warmer months bring the maximum rainfall over the continents. Conditions
are then favourable for inflowing damp winds from the adjacent oceans;
there is the best opportunity for convection; thunder-showers readily
develop on the hot afternoons; the capacity of the air for water vapour
is greatest. The marine type of rainfall, with a winter maximum, extends
in over the western borders of the continents, and is also found in the
winter rainfall of the sub-tropical belts. Rainfalls are heaviest along
the tracks of most frequent cyclonic storms.
For continental stations the typical daily march of rainfall shows a
chief maximum in the afternoon, and a secondary maximum in the night or
early morning. The chief minimum comes between 10 A.M. and 2 P.M. Coast
stations generally have a night maximum and a minimum between 10 A.M.
and 4 P.M.
_Humidity and Cloudiness._--S.A. Arrhenius gives the mean cloudiness for
different latitudes as follows:--
+-------+----+
| 70° N.| 59 |
| 60° | 61 |
| 50° | 48 |
| 40° | 49 |
| 30° | 42 |
| 20° | 40 |
| 10° | 50 |
| Eq. | 58 |
| 10° | 57 |
| 20° | 48 |
| 30° | 46 |
| 40° | 56 |
| 50° | 66 |
| 60° S.| 75 |
+-------+----+
The higher latitudes of the temperate zones thus have a mean cloudiness
which equals and even exceeds that of the equatorial belt. The amounts
are greater over the oceans and coasts than inland. The belts of minimum
cloudiness are at about lat. 30° N. and S. Over the continental
interiors the cloudiest season is summer, but the amount is never very
large. Otherwise, winter is generally the cloudiest season and with a
fairly high mean annual amount.
The absolute humidity as a whole decreases as the temperature falls. The
relative humidity averages 90%, more or less, over the oceans, and is
high under the clouds and rain of cyclonic storms, but depends, on land,
upon the wind direction, winds from an ocean or from a lower latitude
being damper, and those from a continent or from a colder latitude being
drier.
_Seasons._--Seasons in the temperate zones are classified according to
temperature; not, as in the tropics, by rainfall. The four seasons are
important characteristics, especially of the middle latitudes of the
north temperate zone. Towards the equatorial margins of the zones the
difference in temperature between summer and winter becomes smaller, and
the transition seasons weaken and even disappear. At the polar margins
the change from winter to summer, and vice versa, is so sudden that
there also the transition seasons disappear.
These seasonal changes are of the greatest importance in the life of
man. The monotonous heat of the tropics and the continued cold of the
polar zones are both depressing. Their tendency is to operate against
man's highest development. The seasonal changes of the temperate zones
stimulate man to activity. They develop him, physically and mentally.
They encourage higher civilization. A cold, stormy winter necessitates
forethought in the preparation during the summer of clothing, food and
shelter. Development must result from such conditions. In the warm,
moist tropics life is too easy; in the cold polar zones it is too hard.
Near the poles, the growing season is too short; in the moist tropics it
is so long that there is little inducement to labour at any special
time. The regularity, and the need, of outdoor work during a part of the
year are important factors in the development of man in the temperate
zones.
_Weather._--An extreme changeableness of the weather, depending on the
succession of cyclones and anticyclones, is another characteristic. For
most of the year, and most of the zone, settled weather is unknown. The
changes are most rapid in the northern portion of the north temperate
zone, especially on the continents, where the cyclones travel fastest.
The nature of these changes depends on the degree of development, the
velocity of progression, the track, and other conditions of the
disturbance which produces them. The particular weather types resulting
from this control give the climates their distinctive character.
The types vary with the season and with the geographical position. They
result from a combination, more or less irregular, of periodic diurnal
elements, under the regular control of the sun; and of non-periodic
cyclonic and anticyclonic elements. In summer, on land, when the
Cyclonic element is weakest and the solar control is the strongest, the
dominant types are associated with the regular changes from day to
night. Daytime cumulus clouds; diurnal variation in wind velocity;
afternoon thunderstorms, with considerable regularity, characterize the
warmest months over the continents and present an analogy with tropical
conditions. Cyclonic and anticyclonic spells of hotter or cooler, rainy
or dry, weather, with varying winds differing in the temperatures and
the moisture which they bring, serve to break the regularity of the
diurnal types. In winter the non-periodic, cyclonic control is
strongest. The irregular changes from clear to cloudy, from warmer to
colder, from dry air to snow or rain, extend over large areas, and show
little diurnal control. Spring and fall are transition seasons, and have
transition weather types. The south temperate zone oceans have a
constancy of non-periodic cyclonic weather changes through the year
which is only faintly imitated over the oceans of the northern
hemisphere. Winter types differ little from summer. The diurnal control
is never very strong. Stormy weather prevails throughout the year
although the weather changes are more frequent and stronger in the
colder months.
_Climatic Subdivisions._--There are fundamental differences between the
north and south temperate zones. The latter zone is sufficiently
individual to be given a place by itself. The marginal sub-tropical
belts must also be considered as a separate group by themselves. The
north temperate zone as a whole includes large areas of land, stretching
over many degrees of latitude, as well as of water. Hence it embraces so
remarkable a diversity of climates that no single district can be taken
as typical of the whole. The simplest and most rational scheme for a
classification of these climates is based on the fundamental differences
which depend upon land and water, upon the prevailing winds, and upon
altitude. Thus there are the ocean areas and the land areas. The latter
are then subdivided into western (windward) and eastern (leeward)
coasts, and interiors. Mountain climates remain as a separate group.
_South Temperate Zone._--Because of the large ocean surface, the whole
meteorological régime in the south temperate zone is more uniform than
in the northern. The south temperate zone may properly be called
"temperate." Its temperature changes are small; its prevailing winds are
stronger and steadier than in the northern hemisphere; its seasons are
more uniform; its weather is prevailingly stormier, more changeable, and
more under cyclonic control. The uniformity of the climatic conditions
over the far southern oceans is monotonously unattractive. The
continental areas are small, and develop to a limited degree only the
more marked seasonal and diurnal changes which are characteristic of
lands in general. The summers are less stormy than the winters, but even
the summer temperatures are not high. Such an area as that of New
Zealand, with its mild climate and fairly regular rains, is really at
the margins of the zone, and has much more favourable conditions than
the islands farther south. These islands, in the heart of this zone,
have dull, cheerless and inhospitable climates. The zone enjoys a good
reputation for healthfulness, which fact has been ascribed chiefly to
the strong and active air movement, the relatively drier air than in
corresponding northern latitudes, and the cool summers. It must be
remembered, also, that the lands are mostly in the sub-tropical belt,
which possesses peculiar climatic advantages, as will be seen.
_Sub-tropical Belts: Mediterranean Climates._--At the tropical margins
of the temperate zones are the so-called sub-tropical belts. Their
rainfall regime is alternately that of the westerlies and of the trades.
They are thus associated, now with the temperate and now with the torrid
zones. In winter the equatorward migration of the great pressure and
wind systems brings these latitudes under the control of the westerlies,
whose frequent irregular storms give a moderate winter precipitation.
These winter rains are not steady and continuous, but are separated by
spells of fine sunny weather. The amounts vary greatly.[4] In summer,
when the trades are extended polewards by the outflowing equatorward
winds on the eastern side of the ocean anticyclones, mild, dry and
nearly continuous fair weather prevails, with general northerly winds.
The sub-tropical belts of winter rains and dry summers are not very
clearly defined. They are mainly limited to the western coasts of the
continents, and to the islands off these coasts in latitudes between
about 28° and 40°. The sub-tropical belt is exceptionally wide in the
old world, and reaches far inland there, embracing the countries
bordering on the Mediterranean in southern Europe and northern Africa,
and then extending eastward across the Dalmatian coast and the southern
part of the Balkan peninsula into Syria, Mesopotamia, Arabia north of
the tropic, Persia and the adjacent lands. The fact that the
Mediterranean countries are so generally included has led to the use of
the name "Mediterranean climate." Owing to the great irregularity of
topography and outline, the Mediterranean province embraces many
varieties of climate, but the dominant characteristics are the mild
temperatures, except on the higher elevations, and the sub-tropical
rains.
On the west coasts of the two Americas the sub-tropical belt of winter
rains is clearly seen in California and in northern Chile, on the west
of the coast mountain ranges. Between the region which has rain
throughout the year from the stormy westerlies, and the districts which
are permanently arid under the trades, there is an indefinite belt over
which rains fall in winter. In southern Africa, which is controlled by
the high pressure areas of the South Atlantic and south Indian oceans,
the south-western coastal belt has winter rains, decreasing to the
north, while the east coast and adjoining interior have summer rains,
from the south-east trade. Southern Australia is climatically similar to
South Africa. In summer the trades give rainfall on the eastern coast,
decreasing inland. In winter the westerlies give moderate rains, chiefly
on the south-western coast.
The sub-tropical climates follow the tropical high pressure belts across
the oceans, but they do not retain their distinctive character far
inland from the west coasts of the continents (except in the
Mediterranean case), nor on the east coasts. On the latter, summer
monsoons and the occurrence of general summer rains interfere, as in
eastern Asia and in Florida.
[Illustration: FIG. 8.--Annual March of Rainfall: Sub-tropical Type.
W.A, Western Australia: M, Malta.]
Strictly winter rains are typical of the coasts and islands of this
belt. The more continental areas have a tendency to spring and autumn
rains. The rainy and dry seasons are most marked at the equatorward
margins of the belt. With increasing latitude, the rain is more evenly
distributed through the year, the summer becoming more and more rainy
until, in the continental interiors of the higher latitudes, the summer
becomes the season of maximum rainfall. The monthly distribution of
rainfall in two sub-tropical regions is shown in the accompanying curves
for Malta and for Western Australia (fig. 8). In Alexandria the dry
season lasts nearly eight months; in Palestine, from six to seven
months; in Greece, about four months. The sub-tropical rains are
peculiarly well developed on the eastern coast of the Atlantic Ocean.
The winter rains which migrate equatorward are separated by the Sahara
from the equatorial rains which migrate poleward. An unusually extended
migration of either of these rain belts may bring them close together,
leaving but a small part, if any, of the intervening desert actually
rainless. The Arabian desert occupies a somewhat similar position. Large
variations in the annual rainfall may be expected towards the equatorial
margins of the sub-tropical belts.
The main features of the sub-tropical rains east of the Atlantic are
repeated on the Pacific coasts of the two Americas. In North America the
rainfall decreases from Alaska, Washington and northern Oregon
southwards to lower California, and the length of the summer dry season
increases. At San Diego, six months (May-October) have each less than 5%
of the annual precipitation, and four of these have 1%. The southern
extremity of Chile, from about latitude 38°S. southward, has heavy
rainfall throughout the year from the westerlies, with a winter maximum.
Northern Chile is persistently dry. Between these two there are winter
rains and dry summers. Neither Africa nor Australia extends far enough
south to show the different members of this system well. New Zealand is
almost wholly in the prevailing westerly belt. Northern India is unique
in having summer monsoon rains and also winter rains, the latter from
weak cyclonic storms which correspond with the sub-tropical winter
rains.
[Illustration: FIG. 9.--Annual March of Temperature for selected
Sub-tropical Stations. C, Cordoba; A, Auckland; Ba, Bermuda; Bd,
Bagdad.]
From the position of the sub-tropical belts to leeward of the oceans,
and at the equatorial margins of the temperate zones, it follows that
their temperatures are not extreme. Further, the protection afforded by
mountain ranges, as by the Alps in Europe and the Sierra Nevada in the
United States, is an important factor in keeping out extremes of winter
cold. The annual march and ranges of temperature depend upon position
with reference to continental or marine influences. This is seen in the
accompanying data and curves for Bagdad, Cordoba (Argentina), Bermuda
and Auckland (fig. 9). The Mediterranean basin is particularly favoured
in winter, not only in the protection against cold afforded by the
mountains but also in the high temperature of the sea itself. The
southern Alpine valleys and the Riviera are well situated, having good
protection and a southern exposure. The coldest month usually has a mean
temperature well above 32°. Mean minimum temperatures of about, and
somewhat below, freezing occur in the northern portion of the district,
and in the more continental localities minima a good deal lower have
been observed. Mean maximum temperatures of about 95° occur in northern
Italy, and of still higher degrees in the southern portions. Somewhat
similar conditions obtain in the sub-tropical district of North America.
Under the control of passing cyclonic storm areas, hot or cold winds,
which often owe some of their special characteristics to the topography,
bring into the sub-tropical belts, from higher or lower latitudes,
unseasonably high or low temperatures. These winds have been given
special names (mistral, sirocco, bora, &c.).
These belts are among the least cloudy districts in the world. The
accompanying curve, giving an average for ten stations, shows the small
annual amount of cloud, the winter maximum and the marked summer
minimum, in a typical sub-tropical climate (fig. 10). The winter rains
do not bring continuously overcast skies, and a summer month with a mean
cloudiness of 10% is not exceptional in the drier parts of the
sub-tropics.
[Illustration: FIG. 10.--Annual March of Cloudiness in a Sub-tropical
Climate (Eastern Mediterranean).]
With prevailing fair skies, even temperatures, and moderate rainfall,
the sub-tropical belts possess many climatic advantages which fit them
for health resorts. The long list of well-known resorts on the
Mediterranean coast, and the shorter list for California, bear witness
to this fact.
_North Temperate Zone: West Coasts._--Marine climatic types are carried
by the prevailing westerlies on to the western coasts of the continents,
giving them mild winters and cool summers, abundant rainfall, and a high
degree of cloudiness and relative humidity. North-western Europe is
particularly favoured because of the remarkably high temperatures of the
North Atlantic Ocean. January means of 40° to 50° in the British Isles
and on the northern French coast occur in the same latitudes as those of
0° and 10° in the far interior of Asia. In July means 60° to 70° in the
former contrast with 70° to 80° in the latter districts. The conditions
are somewhat similar in North America. Along the western coasts of North
America and of Europe the mean annual ranges are under 25°--actually no
greater than some of those within the tropics. Irregular cyclonic
temperature changes are, however, marked in the temperate zone, while
absent in the tropics. The curves for the Scilly Isles and for
Thorshavn, Faröe Islands, illustrate the insular type of temperature on
the west coasts (fig. 11). The annual march of rainfall, with the marked
maximum in the fall and winter which is characteristic of the marine
regime, is illustrated in the curve for north-western Europe (fig. 12).
On the northern Pacific coast of North America the distribution is
similar, and in the southern hemisphere the western coasts of southern
South America, Tasmania and New Zealand show the same type. The
cloudiness and relative humidity average high on western coasts, with
the maximum in the colder season.
[Illustration: FIG. 11.--Annual March of Temperature for Selected
Stations in the Temperate Zones.
S. I., Scilly Isles.
P, Prague.
C, Charkow.
S, Semipalatinsk.
K, Kiakta.
B, Blagovyeshchensk.
Sa, Sakhalin.
T, Thorshavn.
Y, Yakutsk.]
[Illustration: FIG. 12.--Annual March of Rainfall: Temperate Zone. C.E.
Central Europe; A. Northern Asia; N.A. Atlantic coast of North
America; N.W.E. North-west Europe.]
The west coasts therefore, including the important climatic province of
western Europe, and the coast provinces of north-western North America,
New Zealand and southern Chile, have as a whole mild winters, equable
temperatures, small ranges, and abundant rainfall, fairly well
distributed through the year. The summers are relatively cool.
_Continental Interiors._--The equable climate of the western coasts
changes, gradually or suddenly, into the more extreme climates of the
interiors. In Europe, where no high mountain ranges intervene, the
transition is gradual, and broad stretches of country have the benefits
of the tempering influence of the Atlantic. In North America the change
is abrupt, and comes on crossing the lofty western mountain barrier. The
curves in fig. 11 illustrate well the gradually increasing
continentality of the climate with increasing distance inland in
Eurasia.
The continental interiors of the north temperate zone have the greatest
extremes in the world. Towards the Arctic circle the winters are
extremely severe, and January mean temperatures of -10° and -20° occur
over considerable areas. At the cold pole of north-eastern Siberia a
January mean of -60° is found. Mean minimum temperatures of -40° occur
in the area from eastern Russia, over Siberia and down to about latitude
50° N. Over no small part of Siberia minimum temperatures below -70° may
be looked for every winter. Thorshavn and Yakutsk are excellent examples
of the temperature differences along the same latitude line (see fig.
11). The winter in this interior region is dominated by a marked high
pressure. The weather is prevailingly clear and calm. The ground is
frozen all the year round below a slight depth over wide areas. The
extremely low temperatures are most trying when the steppes are swept by
icy storm winds (_buran_, _purga_), carrying loose snow, and often
resulting in loss of life. In the North American interior the winter
cold is somewhat less severe. North American winter weather in middle
latitudes is often interrupted by cyclones, which, under the steep
poleward temperature gradient then prevailing, cause frequent, marked
and sudden changes in wind direction and temperature over the central
and eastern United States. Cold waves and warm waves are common, and
blizzards resemble the buran or purga of Russia and Siberia. With cold
northerly winds, temperatures below freezing are carried far south
towards the tropic.
The January mean temperatures in the southern portions of the
continental interiors average about 50° or 60°. In summer the northern
continental interiors are warm, with July means of 60° and thereabouts.
These temperatures are not much higher than those on the west coasts,
but as the northern interior winters are much colder than those on the
coasts, the interior ranges are very large. Mean maximum temperatures of
86° occur beyond the Arctic circle in north-eastern Siberia, and beyond
latitude 60° in North America. In spite of the extreme winter cold,
agriculture extends remarkably far north in these regions, because of
the warm, though short, summers, with favourable rainfall distribution.
The summer heat is sufficient to thaw the upper surface of the frozen
ground, and vegetation prospers for its short season. At this time great
stretches of flat surface become swamps. The southern interiors have
torrid heat in summer, temperatures of over 90° being recorded in the
south-western United States and in southern Asia. In these districts the
diurnal ranges of temperature are very large, often exceeding 40°, and
the mean maxima exceed 110°.
The winter maximum rainfall of the west coasts becomes a summer maximum
in the interiors. The change is gradual in Europe, as was the change in
temperature, but more sudden in North America. The curves for central
Europe and for northern Asia illustrate these continental summer rains
(see fig. 12). The summer maximum becomes more marked with the
increasing continental character of the climate. There is also a
well-marked decrease in the amount of rainfall inland. In western Europe
the rainfall averages 20 to 30 in., with much larger amounts (reaching
80-100 in. and even more) on the bold west coasts, as in the British
Isles and Scandinavia, where the moist Atlantic winds are deflected
upwards, and also locally on mountain ranges, as on the Alps. There are
small rainfalls (below 20 in.) in eastern Scandinavia and on the Iberian
peninsula. Eastern Europe has generally less than 20 in., western
Siberia about 15 in., and eastern Siberia about 10 in. In the southern
part of the great overgrown continent of Asia an extended region of
steppes and deserts, too far from the sea to receive sufficient
precipitation, shut in, furthermore, by mountains, controlled in summer
by drying northerly winds, receives less than 10 in. a year, and in
places less than 5 in. In this interior district of Asia population is
inevitably small and suffers under a condition of hopeless aridity.
The North American interior has more favourable rainfall conditions than
Asia, because the former continent is not overgrown. The heavy rainfalls
on the western slopes of the Pacific coast mountains correspond, in a
general way, with those on the west coast of Europe, although they are
heavier (over 100 in. at a maximum). The close proximity of the
mountains to the Pacific, however, involves a much more rapid decrease
of rainfall inland than is the case in Europe, as may be seen by
comparing the isohyetal lines[5] in the two cases. A considerable
interior region is left with deficient rainfall (less than 10 in.) in
the south-west. The eastern portion of the continent is freely open to
the Atlantic and the Gulf of Mexico, so that moist cyclonic winds have
access, and rainfalls of over 20 in. are found everywhere east of the
100th meridian. These conditions are much more favourable than those in
eastern Asia. The greater part of the interior of North America has the
usual warm-season rains. In the interior basin, between the Rocky and
Sierra Nevada mountains, the higher plateaus and mountains receive much
more rain than the desert lowlands. Forests grow on the higher
elevations, while irrigation is necessary for agriculture on the
lowlands. The rainfall here comes largely from thunderstorms.
In South America the narrow Pacific slope has heavy rainfall (over 80
in.). East of the Andes the plains are dry (mostly less than 10 in.).
The southern part of the continent is very narrow, and is open to the
east, as well as more open to the west owing to the decreasing height of
the mountains. Hence the rainfall increases somewhat to the south,
coming in connexion with passing cyclones. Tasmania and New Zealand have
most rain on their western slopes.
[Illustration: FIG. 13.--Annual March of Cloudiness: Temperate Zones. E,
Central Europe; A, Eastern Asia; M, mountain.]
In a typical continental climate the winter, except for radiation fogs,
is very clear, and the summer the cloudiest season, as is well shown in
the accompanying curve for eastern Asia (A, fig. 13). In a more moderate
continental climate, such as that of central Europe (E, fig. 13), and
much of the United States, the winter is the cloudiest season. In the
first case the mean cloudiness is small; in the second there is a good
deal of cloud all the year round.
_East Coasts._--The prevailing winds carry the continental climates of
the interiors off over the eastern coasts of the temperate zone lands,
and even for some distance on to the adjacent oceans. The east coasts
therefore have continental climates, with modifications resulting from
the presence of the oceans to leeward, and are necessarily separated
from the west coasts, with which they have little in common. On the west
coasts of the north temperate lands the isotherms are far apart. On the
east coasts they are crowded together. The east coasts share with the
interiors large annual and cyclonic ranges of temperature. A glance at
the isothermal maps of the world will show at once how favoured, because
of its position to leeward of the warm North Atlantic waters, is western
Europe as compared with eastern North America. A similar contrast, less
marked, is seen in eastern Asia and western North America. In eastern
Asia there is some protection, by the coast mountains, against the
extreme cold of the interior, but in North America there is no such
barrier, and severe cold winds sweep across the Atlantic coast states,
even far to the south. Owing to the prevailing offshore winds, the
oceans to leeward have relatively little effect.
As already noted, the rainfall increases from the interiors towards the
east coasts. In North America the distribution through the year is very
uniform, with some tendency to a summer maximum, as in the interior
(N.A, fig. 12).
In eastern Asia the winters are relatively dry and clear, under the
influence of the cold offshore monsoon, and the summers are warm and
rainy. Rainfalls of 40 in. are found on the east coasts of Korea,
Kamchatka and Japan, while in North America, which is more open, they
reach farther inland. Japan, although occupying an insular position, has
a modified continental rather than a marine climate. The winter monsoon,
after crossing the water, gives abundant rain on the western coast,
while the winter is relatively dry on the lee of the mountains, on the
east. Japan has smaller temperature ranges than the mainland.
_Mountain Climates._--The mountain climates of the temperate zone have
the usual characteristics which are associated with altitude everywhere.
If the altitude is sufficiently great the decreased temperature gives
mountains a polar climate, with the difference that the summers are
relatively cool while the winters are mild owing to inversions of
temperature in anticyclonic weather. Hence the annual ranges are smaller
than over lowlands. At such times of inversion the mountain-tops often
appear as local areas of higher temperature in a general region of
colder air over the valleys and lowlands. The increased intensity of
insolation aloft is an important factor in giving certain mountain
resorts their deserved popularity in winter (_e.g._ Davos and Meran). Of
Meran it has been well said that from December to March the nights are
winter, but the days are mild spring. The diurnal ascending air currents
of summer usually give mountains their maximum cloudiness and highest
relative humidity in the warmer months, while winter is the drier and
clearer season. This is shown in curve M, fig. 13. The clouds of winter
are low, those of summer are higher. Hence the annual march of
cloudiness on mountains is usually the opposite of that on lowlands.
_Characteristics of the Polar Zones._
_General._--The temperate zones merge into the polar zones at the Arctic
and Antarctic circles, or, if temperature be used as the basis of
classification, at the isotherms of 50° for the warmest month, as
suggested by Supan. The longer or shorter absence of the sun gives the
climate a peculiar character, not found elsewhere.
Beyond the isotherm of 50° for the warmest month forest trees and
cereals do not grow. In the northern hemisphere this line is well north
of the Arctic circle in the continental climate of Asia, and north of it
also in north-western North America and in northern Scandinavia, but
falls well south in eastern British America, Labrador and Greenland, and
also in the North Pacific Ocean. In the southern hemisphere this
isotherm crosses the southern extremity of South America, and runs
fairly east and west around the globe there. The conditions of life are
necessarily very specialized for the peculiar climatic features which
are met with in these zones. There is a minimum of life, but more in the
north polar than the south polar zone. Plants are few and lowly. Land
animals which depend upon plant food must therefore likewise be few in
number. Farming and cattle-raising cease. Population is small and
scattered. There are no permanent settlements at all within the
Antarctic circle. Life is a constant struggle for existence. Man seeks
his food by the chase on land, but chiefly in the sea. He lives along,
or near, the sea-coast. The interior lands, away from the sea, are
deserted. Gales and snow and cold cause many deaths on land, and,
especially during fishing expeditions, at sea. Under such hard
conditions of securing food, famine is a likely occurrence.
In the arctic climate vegetation must make rapid growth in the short,
cool summer. In the highest latitudes the summer temperatures are not
high enough to melt snow on a level. Exposure is therefore of the
greatest importance. Arctic plants grow and blossom with great rapidity
and luxuriance where the exposure is favourable, and where the water
from the melting snow can run off. The soil then dries quickly, and can
be effectively warmed. Protection against cold winds is another
important factor in the growth of vegetation. Over great stretches of
the northern plains the surface only is thawed out in the warmer months,
and swamps, mosses and lichens are found above eternally frozen ground.
Direct insolation is very effective in high latitudes. Where the
exposure is favourable, snow melts in the sun when the temperature of
the air in the shade is far below freezing.
Arctic and antarctic zones differ a good deal in the distribution and
arrangement of land and water around and in them. The southern zone is
surrounded by a wide belt of open sea; the northern, by land areas. The
northern is therefore much affected by the conditions of adjacent
continental masses. Nevertheless, the general characteristics are
apparently much the same over both, so far as is now known, the
antarctic differing from the arctic chiefly in having colder summers and
in the regularity of its pressure and winds. Both zones have the lowest
mean annual temperatures in their respective hemispheres, and hence may
properly be called the _cold zones_.
_Temperature._--At the solstices the two poles receive the largest
amounts of insolation which any part of the earth's surface ever
receives. It would seem, therefore, that the temperatures at the poles
should then be the highest in the world, but as a matter of fact they
are nearly or quite the lowest. Temperatures do not follow insolation in
this case because much of the latter never reaches the earth's surface;
because most of the energy which does reach the surface is expended in
melting the snow and ice of the polar areas; and because the water areas
are large, and the duration of insolation is short.
A set of monthly isothermal charts of the north polar area, based on all
available observations, has been prepared by H. Mohn and published in
the volume on Meteorology of the Nansen expedition. In the winter months
there are three cold poles, in Siberia, in Greenland and at the pole
itself. In January the mean temperatures at these three cold poles are
-49°, -40° and -40° respectively. The Siberian cold pole becomes a
maximum of temperature during the summer, but the Greenland and polar
minima remain throughout the year. In July the temperature distribution
shows considerable uniformity; the gradients are relatively weak. A
large area in the interior of Greenland, and one of about equal extent
around the pole, are within the isotherm of 32°. For the year a large
area around the pole is enclosed by the isotherm of -4°, with an
isotherm of the same value in the interior of Greenland, but a local
area of -7.6° is noted in Greenland, and one of -11.2° is centred at
lat. 80° N. and long. 170° E.
The north polar chart of annual range of temperature shows a maximum
range of about 120° in Siberia; of 80° in North America; of 75.6° at the
North Pole, and of 72° in Greenland. The North Pole obviously has a
continental climate. The minimum ranges are on the Atlantic and Pacific
Oceans. The mean annual isanomalies show that the interior of Greenland
has a negative anomaly in all months. The Norwegian sea area is 45° too
warm in January and February. Siberia has +10.8° in summer, and -45° in
January. Between Bering Strait and the pole there is a negative anomaly
in all months. The influence of the Gulf Stream drift is clearly seen on
the chart, as it is also on that of mean annual ranges.
For the North Pole Mohn gives the following results, obtained by graphic
methods:--
_Mean Temperatures at the North Pole._
+--------+--------+--------+--------+--------+--------+
| Jan. | Feb. | Mar. | Apr. | May. | June. |
+--------+--------+--------+--------+--------+--------+
| -41.8° | -41.8° | -31.0° | -18.4° | 8.6° | 28.4° |
+--------+--------+--------+--------+--------+--------+
+--------+--------+--------+--------+--------+--------+-------+
| July. | Aug. | Sept. | Oct. | Nov. | Dec. | Year. |
+--------+--------+--------+--------+--------+--------+-------+
| 30.2° | 26.6° | 8.6° | -11.2° | -27.4° | -36.4° | -8.9° |
+--------+--------+--------+--------+--------+--------+-------+
It appears that the region about the North Pole is the coldest place in
the northern hemisphere for the mean of the year, and that the interior
ice desert of Greenland, together with the inner polar area, are
together the coldest parts of the northern hemisphere in July. In
January, however, Verkhoyansk, in north-eastern Siberia, just within the
Arctic circle, has a mean temperature of about -60°, while the inner
polar area and the northern interior of Greenland have only -40°. Thus
far no minima as low as those of north-eastern Siberia have been
recorded in the Arctic.
For the Antarctic our knowledge is still very fragmentary, and relates
chiefly to the summer months. Hann has determined the mean temperatures
of the higher southern latitudes as follows:--[6]
_Mean Temperatures of High Southern Latitudes._
S. Lat. 50° 60° 70° 80°
Mean Annual 41.9 28.4 11.3 -3.6
January 46.9 37.8 30.6 20.3
July 37.2 18.3 -8.0 -24.7
From lat. 70° S. polewards, J. Hann finds that the southern hemisphere
is colder than the northern. Antarctic summers are decidedly cold. The
mean annual temperatures experienced have been in the vicinity of 10°,
and the minima of an ordinary antarctic winter go down to -40° and
below, but so far no minima of the severest Siberian intensity have been
noted. The maxima have varied between 35° and 50°.
The temperatures at the South Pole itself furnish an interesting subject
for speculation. It is likely that near the South Pole will prove to be
the coldest point on the earth's surface for the year, as the
distribution of insolation would imply, and as the conditions of land
and ice and snow there would suggest. The lowest winter and summer
temperatures in the southern hemisphere will almost certainly be found
in the immediate vicinity of the pole. It must not be supposed that the
isotherms in the antarctic region run parallel with the latitude lines.
They bend polewards and equatorwards at different meridians, although
much less so than in the Arctic.
The annual march of temperature in the north polar zone, for which we
have the best comparable data, is peculiar in having a much-retarded
minimum in February or even in March--the result of the long, cold
winter. The temperature rises rapidly towards summer, and reaches a
maximum in July. Autumn is warmer than spring.
The continents do not penetrate far enough into the arctic zone to
develop a pure continental climate in the highest latitudes.
Verkhoyansk, in lat. 67° 6' N., furnishes an excellent example of an
exaggerated continental type for the margin of the zone, with an annual
range of 120°. One-third as large a range is found on Novaya Zemlya.
Polar climate as a whole has large annual and small diurnal ranges, but
sudden changes of wind may cause marked irregular temperature changes
within twenty-four hours, especially in winter. The smaller ranges are
associated with greater cloudiness, and vice versa. The mean diurnal
variability is very small in summer, and reaches its maximum in winter,
about 7° in February, according to Mohn.
_Pressure and Winds._--Owing to the more symmetrical distribution of
land and water in the southern than in the northern polar area, the
pressures and winds have a simpler arrangement in the former, and may be
first considered. The rapid southward decrease of pressure, which is so
marked a feature of the higher latitudes of the southern hemisphere on
the isobaric charts of the world, does not continue all the way to the
South Pole. Nor do the prevailing westerly winds, constituting the
"circumpolar whirl," which are so well developed over the southern
portions of the southern hemisphere oceans, blow all the way home to the
South Pole. The steep poleward pressure gradients of these southern
oceans end in a trough of low pressure, girdling the earth at about the
Antarctic circle. From here the pressure increases again towards the
South Pole, where a permanent inner polar anticyclonic area is found,
with outflowing winds deflected by the earth's rotation into easterly
and south-easterly directions. These easterly winds have been observed
by the recent expeditions which have penetrated far enough south to
cross the low-pressure trough. The limits between the prevailing
westerlies and the outflowing winds from the pole ("easterlies") vary
with the longitude and migrate with the seasons. The change in passing
from one wind system to the other is easily observed. This south polar
anticyclone, with its surrounding low-pressure girdle, migrates with the
season, the centre apparently shifting polewards in summer and towards
the eastern hemisphere in winter. The outflowing winds from the polar
anticyclones sweep down across the inland ice. Under certain topographic
conditions, descending across mountain ranges, as in the case of the
Admiralty Range in Victoria Land, these winds may develop high velocity
and take on typical _föhn_ characteristics, raising the temperature to
an unusually high degree. _Föhn_ winds are also known on both coasts of
Greenland, when a passing cyclonic depression draws the air down from
the icy interior. These Greenland _föhn_ winds are important climatic
elements, for they blow down warm and dry, raising the temperature even
30° or 40° above the winter mean, and melting the snow.
In the Arctic area the wind systems are less clearly defined and the
pressure distribution is much less regular, on account of the irregular
distribution of land and water. The isobaric charts published in the
report of the Nansen expedition show that the North Atlantic
low-pressure area is more or less well developed in all months. Except
in June, when it lies over southern Greenland, this tongue-shaped trough
of low pressure lies in Davis strait, to the south-west or west of
Iceland, and over the Norwegian Sea. In winter it greatly extends its
limits farther east into the inner Arctic Ocean, to the north of Russia
and Siberia. The Pacific minimum of pressure is found south of Bering
Strait and in Alaska. Between these two regions of lower pressure the
divide extends from North America to eastern Siberia. This divide has
been called by Supan the "Arktische Wind-scheide." The pressure
gradients are steepest in winter. At the pole itself pressure seems to
be highest in April and lowest from June to September. The annual range
is only about 0.20 in.
The prevailing westerlies, which in the high southern latitudes are so
symmetrically developed, are interfered with to such an extent by the
varying pressure controls over the northern continents and oceans in
summer and winter that they are often hardly recognizable on the wind
maps. The isobaric and wind charts show that on the whole the winds blow
out from the inner polar basin, especially in winter and spring.
_Rain and Snow._--Rainfall on the whole decreases steadily from equator
to poles. The amount of precipitation must of necessity be comparatively
slight in the polar zones, chiefly because of the small capacity of the
air for water vapour at the low temperatures there prevailing; partly
also because of the decrease, or absence, of local convectional storms
and thunder-showers. Locally, under exceptional conditions, as in the
case of the western coast of Norway, the rainfall is a good deal
heavier. Even cyclonic storms cannot yield much precipitation. The
extended snow and ice fields tend to give an exaggerated idea of the
actual amount of precipitation. It must be remembered, however, that
evaporation is slow at low temperatures, and melting is not excessive.
Hence the polar store of fallen snow is well preserved: interior
snowfields, ice sheets and glaciers are produced.
The commonest form of precipitation is naturally snow, the summer limit
of which, in the northern hemisphere, is near the Arctic circle, with
the exception of Norway. So far as exploration has yet gone into the
highest latitudes, rain falls in summer, and it is doubtful whether
there are places where _all_ the precipitation falls as snow. The snow
of the polar regions is characteristically fine and dry. At low polar
temperatures flakes of snow are not found, but precipitation is in the
form of ice spicules. The finest glittering ice needles often fill the
air, even on clear days, and in calm weather, and gradually descending
to the surface, slowly add to the depth of snow on the ground. Dry snow
is also blown from the snowfields on windy days, interfering with the
transparency of the air.
_Humidity, Cloudiness and Fog._--The absolute humidity must be low in
polar latitudes, especially in winter, on account of the low
temperatures. Relative humidity varies greatly, and very low readings
have often been recorded. Cloudiness seems to decrease somewhat towards
the inner polar areas, after passing the belt of high cloudiness in the
higher latitudes of the temperate zones. In the marine climates of high
latitudes the summer, which is the calmest season, has the maximum
cloudiness; the winter, with more active wind movement, is clearer. The
curve here given illustrates these conditions (fig. 14). The summer
maximum is largely due to fogs, which are produced where warm, damp air
is chilled by coming in contact with ice. They are also formed over open
waters, as among the Faeroe Islands, for example, and open water spaces,
in the midst of an ice-covered sea, are commonly detected at a distance
by means of the "steam fog" which rises from them. Fogs are less common
in winter, when they occur as radiation fogs, of no great thickness. The
small winter cloudiness, which is reported also from the antarctic zone,
corresponds with the low absolute humidity and small precipitation. The
coasts and islands bathed by the warm waters of the Gulf Stream drift
usually have a higher cloudiness in winter than in summer. The place of
fog is in winter taken by the fine snow crystals, which often darken the
air like fog when strong winds raise the dry snow from the surfaces on
which it is lying. Cumulus cloud forms are rare, even in summer, and it
is doubtful whether the cloud occurs at all in its typical development.
Stratus is probably the commonest cloud of high latitudes, often
covering the sky for days without a break. Cirrus cloud forms probably
decrease polewards.
[Illustration: FIG. 14.--Annual March of Cloudiness in Polar Latitudes
(marine type).]
_Cyclones and Weather._--The prevailing westerlies continue up into the
margins of the polar zones. Many of their cyclonic storms also continue
on to the polar zones, giving sudden and irregular pressure and weather
changes. The inner polar areas seem to be beyond the reach of frequent
and violent cyclonic disturbance. Calms are more common; the weather is
quieter and fairer; precipitation is less. Most of the observations thus
far obtained from the Antarctic come from this marginal zone of great
cyclonic activity, violent winds, and wet, disagreeable, inhospitable
weather, and therefore do not show the features of the actual south
polar climate.
During the three years of the "Fram's" drift depressions passed on all
sides of her, with a preponderance on the west. The direction of
progression averaged nearly due east, and the hourly velocity 27 to 34
m., which is about that in the United States. For the higher latitudes,
most of the cyclones must pass by on the equatorial side of the
observer, giving "backing" winds in the northern hemisphere. The main
cyclonic tracks are such that the wind characteristically backs in
Iceland, and still more so in Jan Mayen and on the eastern coast of
Greenland, these districts lying on the north and west of the path of
progression. Frightful winter storms occasionally occur along the east
coast of Greenland and off Spitzbergen.
For much of the year in the polar zones the diurnal control is weak or
absent. The successive spells of stormy or of fine weather are wholly
cyclonically controlled. Extraordinary records of storm and gale have
been brought back from the far south and the far north. Wind direction
and temperature vary in relation to the position of the cyclone. During
the long dreary winter night the temperature falls to very low readings.
Snowstorms and gales alternate at irregular short intervals with calmer
spells of more extreme cold and clearer skies. The periods of greatest
cold in winter are calm. A wind from any direction will bring a rise in
temperature. This probably results from the fact that the cold is the
result of local radiation, and a wind interferes with these conditions
by importing higher temperatures, or by mixing upper and lower strata.
During the long summer days the temperature rises well above the winter
mean, and under favourable conditions certain phenomena, such as the
diurnal variation in wind velocity, for example, give evidence of the
diurnal control. But the irregular cyclonic weather changes continue, in
a modified form. There is no really warm season. Snow still falls
frequently. The summer is essentially only a modified winter, especially
in the Antarctic. In summer clear spells are relatively warm, and winds
bring lower temperatures. In spite of its lack of high temperatures,
the northern polar summer, near the margins of the zone, has many
attractive qualities in its clean, pure, crisp, dry air, free from dust
and impurities; its strong insolation; its slight precipitation.
_Twilight and Optical Phenomena._--The monotony and darkness of the
polar night are decreased a good deal by the long twilight. Light from
moon and stars, and from the aurora, also relieves the darkness. Optical
phenomena of great variety, beauty and complexity are common. Solar and
lunar haloes, and coronae, and mock suns and moons are often seen.
Auroras seem to be less common and less brilliant in the Antarctic than
in the Arctic. Sunset and sunrise colours within the polar zones are
described as being extraordinarily brilliant and impressive.
_Physiological Effects._--The north polar summer, as has been pointed
out, in spite of its drawbacks, is in some respects a pleasant and
healthful season. But the polar night is monotonous, depressing,
repelling. Sir W. E. Parry said that it would be difficult to conceive
of two things which are more alike than two polar winters. An
everlasting uniform snow covering; rigidity; lifelessness;
silence--except for the howl of the gale or the cracking of the ice.
Small wonder that the polar night has sometimes unbalanced men's minds.
The first effects are often a strong desire for sleep, and indifference.
Later effects have been sleeplessness and nervousness, tending in
extreme cases to insanity; anaemia, digestive troubles. Extraordinarily
low winter temperatures are easily borne if the air be dry and still.
Zero weather seems pleasantly refreshing if clear and calm. But high
relative humidity and wind--even a light breeze--give the same degree of
cold a penetrating feeling of chill which may be unbearable. Large
temperature ranges are endured without danger in the polar winter when
the air is dry. When exposed to direct insolation the skin burns and
blisters; the lips swell and crack. Thirst has been much complained of
by polar explorers, and is due to the active evaporation from the warm
body into the dry, relatively cold air. There is no doubt that polar air
is singularly free from micro-organisms--a fact which is due chiefly to
lack of communication with other parts of the world. Hence many diseases
which are common in temperate zones, "colds" among them, are rare.
_Changes of Climate._
_Popular Belief in Climatic Change._--Belief in a change in the climate
of one's place of residence, within a few generations, and even within
the memory of living men, is widespread. Evidence is constantly being
brought forward of apparent climatic variations of greater or less
amount which are now taking place. Thus we have many accounts of a
gradual desiccation which seems to have been going on over a large
region in Central Asia during historical times. In northern Africa
certain ancient historical records have been taken by different writers
to indicate a general decrease of rainfall during the last 3000 or more
years. In his crossing of the Sahara between Algeria and the Niger, E.
F. Gautier found evidence of a former large population. A gradual
desiccation of the region is therefore believed to have taken place, but
to-day the equatorial rain belt seems to be again advancing farther
north, giving an increased rainfall. Farther south, several lakes have
been reported as decreasing in size, e.g. Chad and Victoria; and wells
and springs as running dry. In the Lake Chad district A. J. B. Chevalier
reports the discovery of vegetable and animal remains which indicate an
invasion of the Sudan by a Saharan climate. It is often held that a
steady decrease in rainfall has taken place over Greece, Syria and other
eastern Mediterranean lands, resulting in a gradual and inevitable
deterioration and decay of their people.
_What Meteorological Records show._--As concerns the popular impression
regarding change of climate, it is clear at the start that no definite
answer can be given on the basis of tradition or of general impression.
The only answer of real value must be based on the records of accurate
instruments, properly exposed and carefully read. When such instrumental
records are carefully examined, from the time when they were first
kept, which in a few cases goes back about 150 years, there is found no
good evidence of any progressive change in temperature, or in the amount
of rain and snow. Even when the most accurate instrumental records are
available, care must be taken to interpret them correctly. Thus, if a
rainfall or snowfall record of several years at some station indicates
an apparent increase or decrease in the amount of precipitation, it does
not necessarily follow that this means a permanent, progressive change
in climate, which is to continue indefinitely. It may simply mean that
there have been a few years of somewhat more precipitation, and that a
period of somewhat less precipitation is to follow.
_Value of Evidence concerning Changes of Climate._--The body of facts
which has been adduced as evidence of progressive changes of climate
within historical times is not yet sufficiently large and complete to
warrant any general correlation and study of these facts as a whole. But
there are certain considerations which should be borne in mind in
dealing with this evidence before any conclusions are reached. In the
first place, changes in the distribution of certain fruits and cereals,
and in the dates of the harvest, have often been accepted as undoubted
evidence of changes in climate. Such a conclusion is by no means
inevitable, for many changes in the districts of cultivation of various
crops have naturally resulted from the fact that these same crops are in
time found to be more profitably grown, or more easily prepared for
market, in another locality. In France, C. A. Angot has made a careful
compilation of the dates of the vintage from the 14th century down to
the present time, and finds no support for the view so commonly held
there that the climate has changed for the worse. At the present time,
the average date of the grape harvest in Aubonne is exactly the same as
at the close of the 16th century. After a careful study of the
conditions of the date tree, from the 4th century, B.C., D. Eginitis
concludes that the climate of the eastern portion of the Mediterranean
basin has not changed appreciably during twenty-three centuries.
Secondly, a good many of the reports by explorers from little-known
regions are contradictory. This shows the need of caution in jumping at
conclusions of climatic change. An increased use of water for irrigation
may cause the level of water in a lake to fall. Periodic oscillations,
giving higher and then lower water, do not indicate progressive change
in one direction. Many writers have seen a law in what was really a
chance coincidence.
Thirdly, where a progressive desiccation seems to have taken place, it
is often a question whether less rain is actually falling, or whether
the inhabitants have less capacity and less energy than formerly. Is the
change from a once cultivated area to a barren expanse the result of
decreasing rainfall, or of the emigration of the former inhabitants to
other lands? The difference between a country formerly well irrigated
and fertile, and a present-day sandy, inhospitable waste may be the
result of a former compulsion of the people, by a strong governing
power, to till the soil and to irrigate, while now, without that
compulsion, no attempt is made to keep up the work. A region of
deficient rainfall, once thickly settled and prosperous, may readily
become an apparently hopeless desert, even without the intervention of
war and pestilence, if man allows the climate to master him. In many
cases the reports of increasing dryness really concern only the decrease
in the water supply from rivers and springs, and it is well known that a
change in the cultivation of the soil, or in the extent of the forests,
may bring about marked changes in the flow of springs and rivers without
any essential change in the actual amount of rainfall.
Lastly, a region whose normal rainfall is at best barely sufficient for
man's needs may be abandoned by its inhabitants during a few years of
deficient precipitation, and not again occupied even when, a few years
later, normal or excessive rainfall occurs.
_Periodic Oscillations of Climate: Sun-spot Period._--The discovery of a
distinct eleven-year periodicity in the magnetic phenomena of the earth
naturally led to investigations of similar periods in meteorology. The
literature on this subject has assumed large proportions. The results,
however, have not been satisfactory. The problem is difficult and
obscure. Fluctuations in temperature and rainfall, occurring in an
eleven-year period, have been made out for certain stations but the
variations are slight, and it is not yet clear that they are
sufficiently marked, uniform and persistent over large areas to make
practical application of the periodicity in forecasting possible. In
some cases the relation to sun-spot periodicity is open to debate; in
others, the results are contradictory.
W. P. Köppen has brought forward evidence of a sun-spot period in the
mean annual temperature, especially in the tropics, the maximum
temperatures coming in the years of sun-spot minima. The whole amplitude
of the variation in the mean annual temperatures, from sun-spot minimum
to sun-spot maximum, is, however, only 1.3° in the tropics and a little
less than 1° in the extra-tropics. More recently Nordmann (for the years
1870-1900) has continued Köppen's investigation.
In 1872 C. Meldrum, then Director of the Meteorological Observatory at
Mauritius, first called attention to a sun-spot periodicity in rainfall
and in the frequency of tropical cyclones in the South Indian Ocean. The
latter are most numerous in years of sun-spot maxima, and decrease in
frequency with the approach of sun-spot minima. Poëy found later a
similar relation in the case of the West Indian hurricanes. Meldrum's
conclusions regarding rainfall were that, with few exceptions, there is
more rain in years of sun-spot maxima. S. A. Hill found it to be true of
the Indian summer monsoon rains that there seems to be an excess in the
first half of the cycle, after the sun-spot maximum. The winter rains of
northern India, however, show the opposite relation; the minimum
following, or coinciding with, the sun-spot maximum. Particular
attention has been paid to the sun-spot cycle of rainfall in India,
because of the close relation between famines and the summer monsoon
rainfall in that country. Sir Norman Lockyer and Dr W. J. S. Lockyer
have recently studied the variations of rainfall in the region
surrounding the Indian Ocean in the light of solar changes in
temperature. They find that India has two pulses of rainfall, one near
the maximum and the other near the minimum of the sun-spot period. The
famines of the last fifty years have occurred in the intervals between
these two pulses, and these writers believe that if as much had been
known in 1836 as is now known, the probability of famines at all the
subsequent dates might have been foreseen.
Relations between the sun-spot period and various other meteorological
phenomena than temperature, rainfall and tropical cyclones have been
made the subject of numerous investigations, but on the whole the
results are still too uncertain to be of any but a theoretical value.
Some promising conclusions seem, however, to have been reached in regard
to pressure variations, and their control over other climatic elements.
_Brückner's 35-Year Cycle._--Of more importance than the results thus
far reached for the sun-spot period are those which clearly establish a
somewhat longer period of slight fluctuations or oscillations of
climate, known as the Brückner cycle, after Professor Brückner of Bern,
who has made a careful investigation of the whole subject of climatic
changes and finds evidence of a 35-year periodicity in temperature and
rainfall. In a cycle whose average length is 35 years, there comes a
series of years which are somewhat cooler and also more rainy, and then
a series of years which are somewhat warmer and drier. The interval in
some cases is twenty years; in others it is fifty. The _average_
interval between two cool and moist, or warm and dry, periods is about
35 years. The mean amplitude of the temperature fluctuation, based on
large numbers of data, is a little less than 2°. The fluctuations in
rainfall are more marked in interiors than on coasts. The general mean
amplitude is 12%, or, excluding exceptional districts, 24%. Regions
whose normal rainfall is small are most affected.
The following table shows the dates and characters of Brückner's
periods:--
Warm 1746-1755 1791-1805 1821-1835 1851-1870 ..
Dry 1756-1770 1781-1805 1826-1840 1856-1870 ..
Cold 1731-1745 1756-1790 1806-1820 1836-1850 1871-1885
Wet 1736-1755 1771-1780 1806-1825 1841-1855 1871-1885
Interesting confirmation of Brückner's 35-year period has been found by
E. Richter in the variations of the Swiss glaciers, but as these
glaciers differ in length, they do not all advance and retreat at the
same time. The advance is seen during the cold and damp periods.
Brückner has found certain districts in which the phases and epochs of
the climatic cycle are exactly reversed. These exceptional districts are
almost altogether limited to marine climates. There is thus a sort of
compensation between oceans and continents. The rainier periods on the
continents are accompanied by relatively low pressures, while the
pressures are high and the period dry over the oceans and vice versa.
The cold and rainy periods are also marked by a decrease in all pressure
differences. It is obvious that changes in the general distribution of
atmospheric pressures, over extended areas, are closely associated with
fluctuations in temperature and rainfall. These changes in pressure
distribution must in some way be associated with changes in the general
circulation of the atmosphere, and these again must depend upon some
external controlling cause or causes. W. J. S. Lockyer has called
attention to the fact that there seems to be a periodicity of about 35
years in solar activity, and that this corresponds with the Brückner
period.
It is clear that the existence of a 35-year period will account for many
of the views that have been advanced in favour of a _progressive_ change
of climate. A succession of a few years wetter or drier than the normal
is likely to lead to the conclusion that the change is permanent.
Accurate observations extending over as many years as possible, and
discussed without prejudice, are necessary before any conclusions are
drawn. Observations for one station during the wetter part of a cycle
should not be compared with observations for another station during the
drier part of the same, or of another cycle.
There are evidences of longer climatic cycles than eleven or 35 years.
Brückner calls attention to the fact that sometimes two of his periods
seem to merge into one. E. Richter shows much the same thing for the
Alpine glaciers. Evidence of considerable climatic changes since the
last glacial period is not lacking. But as yet nothing sufficiently
definite to warrant general conclusions has been brought forward.
_Geological Changes in Climate._--Changes of climate in the geological
past are known with absolute certainty to have taken place: periods of
glacial invasion, as well as periods of more genial conditions. The
evidence, and the causes of these changes have been discussed and
re-discussed, by writers almost without number, and from all points of
view. Changes in the intensity of insolation; in the sun itself; in the
conditions of the earth's atmosphere; in the astronomical relations of
earth and sun; in the distribution of land and water; in the position of
the earth's axis; in the altitude of the land; in the presence of
volcanic dust;--now cosmic, now terrestrial conditions--have been
suggested, combated, put forward again. None of these hypotheses has
prevailed in preference to others. No actual proof of the correctness of
this or that theory has been brought forward. No general agreement has
been reached.
_Conclusion._--Without denying the possibility, or even the probability,
of the establishment of the fact of secular changes, there is as yet no
sufficient warrant for believing in considerable _permanent changes over
large areas_. Dufour, after a thorough study of all available evidence,
has concluded that a change of climate has not been proved. There are
periodic oscillations of slight amount. A 35-year period is fairly well
established, but is nevertheless of considerable irregularity, and
cannot as yet be practically applied in forecasting. Longer periods are
suggested, but not made out. As to causes, variations in solar activity
are naturally receiving attention, and the results thus far are
promising. But climate is a great complex, and complete and satisfactory
explanations of all the facts will be difficult, perhaps impossible, to
reach. At present, indeed, the facts which call for explanation are
still in most cases but poorly determined, and the processes at work are
insufficiently understood. Climate is not absolutely a constant. The
pendulum swings to the right and to the left. And its swing is as far to
the right as to the left. Each generation lives through a part of one,
or two, or even three oscillations. A snapshot view of these
oscillations makes them seem permanent. As Supan has well said, it was
formerly believed that climate changes locally, but progressively and
permanently. It is now believed that oscillations of climate are limited
in time, but occur over wide areas.
LITERATURE.--Scientific climatology is based upon numerical results,
obtained by systematic, long continued, accurate meteorological
observations. The essential part of its literature is therefore found
in the collections of data published by the various meteorological
services. The only comprehensive text-book of climatology is the
_Handbuch der Klimatologie_ of Professor Julius Hann, of the
university of Vienna (Stuttgart, 1897). This is the standard book on
the subject, and upon it is based much of the present article, and of
other recent discussions of climate. The first volume deals with
general climatology, and has been translated into English (London and
New York, 1903). Reference should be made to this book for further
details than are here given. The second and third volumes are devoted
to the climates of the different countries of the world. Woeikof's
_Die Klimate der Erde_ (Jena, 1887) is also a valuable reference book.
The standard meteorological journal of the world, the _Meteorologische
Zeitschrift_ (Braunschweig, monthly), is indispensable to any one who
wishes to keep in touch with the latest publications. The _Quarterly
Journal of the Royal Meteorological Society_ (London), _Symons's
Monthly Meteorological Magazine_ (London), and the _Monthly Weather
Review_ (Washington, D.C.) are also valuable. The newest and most
complete collection of charts is that in the _Atlas of Meteorology_
(London, 1899), in which also there is an excellent working
bibliography. For the titles of more recent publications reference may
be made to the _International Catalogue of Scientific Literature
(Meteorology)_. (R. DE C. W.)
CLIMATE IN THE TREATMENT OF DISEASE.--The most important qualities of
the atmosphere in relation to health are (i.) the chemical composition,
(ii.) the solids floating in it, (iii.) the mean and extreme
temperatures, (iv.) the degree of humidity, (v.) the diathermancy, (vi.)
the intensity of light, (vii.) the electrical conditions, (viii.) the
density and pressure, and (ix.) the prevailing winds. Generally
speaking, the relative purity of the air--i.e. absence of septic solid
particles--is an important consideration; while cold acts as a stimulant
and tonic, increasing the amount of carbon dioxide exhaled in the
twenty-four hours. Different individuals, however, react both to heat
and cold very differently. At health resorts, where the temperature may
vary between 55° and 70° F., strong individuals gradually lose strength
and begin to suffer from various degrees of lassitude; whereas a
delicate person under the same conditions gains vigour both of mind and
body, puts on weight, and is less liable to disease. And a corresponding
intensity of cold acts in the reverse manner in each case. Thus a health
resort with a moderate degree of heat is very valuable for delicate or
elderly people, and those who are temporarily weakened by illness. Cold,
however, when combined with wind and damp must be specially avoided by
the aged, the delicate, and those prone to gouty and rheumatic
affections. The moisture of the atmosphere controls the distribution of
warmth on the earth, and is closely bound up with the prevailing winds,
temperature, light and pressure. In dry air the evaporation from both
skin and lungs is increased, especially if the sunshine be plentiful and
the altitude high. In warm moist air strength is lost and there is a
distinct tendency to intestinal troubles. In moist cold air perspiration
is checked, and rheumatic and joint affections are very common. The main
differences between mountain air and that of the plains depend on the
former being more rarefied, colder, of a lower absolute humidity, and
offering less resistance to the sun's rays. As the altitude is raised,
circulation and respiration are quickened, probably as an effort on the
part of the organism to compensate for the diminished supply of oxygen,
and somewhat more gradually the number of red blood corpuscles
increases, this increase persisting for a considerable time after a
return to lower ground. In addition to these changes there is a distinct
tendency to diminished proteid metabolism, resulting in an increase of
weight owing to the storage of proteid in the tissues. Thus children and
young people whose development is not yet complete are especially likely
to benefit by the impetus given to growth and the blood-forming organs,
and the therapeutic value in their case rarely fails. For older people,
however, the benefit depends on whether their organs of circulation and
respiration are sufficiently vigorous to respond to the increased
demands on them. For anaemia, pulmonary tuberculosis, pleural
thickening, deficient expansion of the lungs, neurasthenia, and the
debility following fevers and malaria, mountain air is invaluable. But
where there is valvular disease of the heart, or rapidly advancing
disease of the lungs, it is to be avoided. Light, especially direct
sunlight, is of primary importance, the lack of it tending to depression
and dyspeptic troubles. Probably its germicidal power accounts for the
aseptic character of the air of the Alps, the desert and other places.
Sir Hermann Weber has defined a "good" climate as that in which all the
organs and tissues of the body are kept evenly at work in alternation
with rest. Thus a climate with constant moderate variations in its
principal factors is the best for the maintenance of health. But the
best climate for an invalid depends on the particular weakness from
which he may suffer. Pulmonary tuberculosis stands first in the
importance of the effects of climate. The continuous supply of pure
fresh air is the main desideratum, a cool climate being greatly superior
to a tropical one. Exposure to strong winds is harmful, since it
increases the tendency to cough and thus leads to loss of body
temperature, which is in its turn made up at the expense of increased
metabolism. A high altitude, from the purity and stimulating properties
of the air, is of value to many mild or very early cases, but where the
disease is extensive, where the heart is irritable, or where there is
any tendency to insomnia, high altitudes are contra-indicated, and no
such patient should be sent higher than some 1500 ft. Where the disease
is of long standing, with much expectoration, or accompanied by
albuminuria, the patient appears to do best in a humid atmosphere but
little above the sea-level. The climate of Egypt is especially suitable
for cases complicated with bronchitis or bronchiectasis, but is
contra-indicated where there is attendant diarrhoea. Madeira and the
Canaries are useful when emphysema is present or where there is much
irritability of constitution. Bronchitis in young people is best treated
by high altitudes, but in older patients by a moist mild climate, except
where much expectoration is present.
The influence of atmospheric conditions on the functions of the nose is
very marked. Within the ordinary ranges of humidity and temperature the
nasal mucous membrane completely saturates the air with aqueous vapour
before it reaches the pharynx. In cold and dry mountain climates there
is a very free nasal secretion, far beyond what is needed for the
saturation of the air; and at low levels the reverse action takes place,
the nose becoming "stuffy." The mechanism on which this depends is found
in the erectile tissue, and anything favouring the engorgement of the
veins, such as weak heart action, chronic bronchitis or kidney troubles,
&c, leads to a corresponding turgidity of the nose and sinuses. In
addition to barometric and other influences, it has been found that
light produces collapse of this tissue, smoke having a similar effect.
On this latter effect probably depends the fact that many asthmatics are
better in a city like London than elsewhere, the smoke relieving the
turgescence of the inferior turbinals of the nose. In the treatment of
pathological nasal conditions, all cases of obstruction from whatsoever
cause are best in a dry atmosphere, and where there is atrophy and a
deficient flow of mucus in a moist atmosphere. If the mucous membrane is
irritable a dry sheltered spot on a sandy soil and in the neighbourhood
of pine trees is by far the best.
Scrofulous children, namely, those in whom the resistance to
micro-organisms and their products is low, pre-eminently require sea
air, and had better be educated at some seaside place. Where the child
is very delicate, with small power of reaction, the winter should be
passed on some mild coast resort. Gouty and rheumatic affections require
a dry soil and warm dry climate, cold and moist winds being especially
injurious.
For heart affections high altitudes are to be avoided, though some
physicians make an exception of mitral cases where the compensation is
good. Moderate elevations of 500 to 1500 ft. are preferable to the
sea-level.
In diseases of the kidneys, a warm dry climate, by stimulating the
action of the skin, lessens the work to be done by these organs, and
thus is the most beneficial. Extremes of heat and cold and elevated
regions are all to be avoided.
FOOTNOTES:
[1] A. Supan, _Grundzüge der physischen Erdkunde_ (Leipzig, 1896),
88-89. Also _Atlas of Meteorology_, Pl. 1.
[2] W.M. Davis, _Elementary Meteorology_ (Boston, 1894), pp. 334-335.
[3] A. Supan, _Grundzüge der physischen Erdkunde_ (3rd ed., Leipzig,
1903), pp. 211-214. Also _Atlas of Meteorology_, Pl. 1.
[4] Approximately Lisbon has 28.60 in.; Madrid, 16.50; Algiers,
28.15; Nice, 33.00; Rome, 29.90; Ragusa, 63.90.
[5] i.e. lines drawn on a map to connect all places having an equal
rainfall.
[6] _Nature_, lxxi. (Jan. 5, 1905), p. 221.
CLIMAX, JOHN (c. 525-600 A.D.), ascetic and mystic, also called
Scholasticus and Sinaïtes. After having spent forty years in a cave at
the foot of mount Sinai, he became abbot of the monastery. His life has
been written by Daniel, a monk belonging to the monastery of Raithu, on
the Red Sea. He derives his name Climax (or Climacus) from his work of
the same name ([Greek: Klimax tou Paradeisou], ladder to Paradise), in
thirty sections, corresponding to the thirty years of the life of
Christ. It is written in a simple and popular style. The first part
treats of the vices that hinder the attainment of holiness, the second
of the virtues of a Christian.
EDITIONS.--J. P. Migne, _Patrologia graeca_, lxxxviii. (including the
biography by Daniel); S. Eremites (Constantinople, 1883); see also C.
Krumbacher, _Geschichte der byzantinischen Litteratur_ (1897);
Gass-Krüger in Herzog-Hauck, _Realencyklopädie für protestantische
Theologie_, Bd. 9 (1901). The _Ladder_ has been translated into
several foreign languages--into English by Father Robert, Mount St
Bernard's Abbey, Leicestershire (1856).
CLIMBING[1] FERN, the botanical genus _Lygodium_, with about twenty
species, chiefly in the warmer parts of the Old World, of interest from
its climbing habit. The plants have a creeping stem, on the upper face
of which is borne a row of leaves. Each leaf has a slender stem-like
axis, which twines round a support and bears leaflets at intervals; it
goes on growing indefinitely. It is a favourite warm greenhouse plant.
FOOTNOTE:
[1] The word "climb" (O.E. _climban_), meaning strictly to ascend (or
similarly descend) by progressive self-impulsion, with some apparent
degree of laborious effort and by means of contact with the surface
traversed, is connected with the same root as in "cleave" and
"cling." For Alpine climbing, &c., see MOUNTAINEERING.
CLINCHANT, JUSTIN (1820-1881), French soldier, entered the army from St
Cyr in 1841. From 1847 to 1852 he was employed in the Algerian
campaigns, and in 1854 and 1855 in the Crimea. At the assault on the
Malakoff (Sept. 8th, 1855) he greatly distinguished himself at the head
of a battalion. During the 1859 campaign he won promotion to the rank of
lieut.-colonel, and as a colonel he served in the Mexican War. He was
made general of brigade in 1866, and led a brigade of the Army of the
Rhine in 1870. His troops were amongst those shut up in Metz, and he
passed into captivity, but soon escaped. The government of national
defence made him general of division and put him at the head of the 20th
corps of the Army of the East. He was under Bourbaki during the campaign
of the Jura, and when Bourbaki attempted to commit suicide he succeeded
to the command (Jan. 23rd, 1871), only to be driven with 84,000 men over
the Swiss frontier at Pontarlier. In 1871 Clinchant commanded the 5th
corps operating against the Commune. He was military governor of Paris
when he died in 1881.
CLINIC; CLINICAL (Gr. [Greek: klinê], a bed), an adjective strictly
connoting association with the bedside, and so used in ecclesiology of
baptism of the sick or dying, but more particularly in medicine to
characterize its aspect as associated with practice on the living
patient. Thus clinical experience is opposed to what is learnt from
laboratory research or theoretical considerations. The substantive
"clinic" is technically employed for a medical school or class where
instruction is given in practical work as illustrated by the examination
and treatment of actual cases of disease.
CLINKER. (1) (From an old Dutch word _klinkaerd_, from _klinken_, to
ring), a hard paving brick, a brick with a vitrified surface, or a fused
mass of brick; also the incombustible residue of coal, which occurs,
half-fused into hard masses, in grates or furnaces; a fused mass of
lava. (2) (From _clinch_, or _clench_, a common Teutonic word, meaning
"to fasten together"), a term appearing usually in the form
"clinker-built" as opposed to "cravel-built," for a boat whose strakes
overlap and are not fastened "flush."
CLINOCLASITE, a rare mineral consisting of the basic copper arsenate
(CuOH)3AsO4. It crystallizes in the monoclinic system and possesses a
perfect cleavage parallel to the basal plane; this cleavage is obliquely
placed with respect to the prism faces of the crystal, hence the name
clinoclase or clinoclasite, from Gr. [Greek: klinein], to incline, and
[Greek: klan], to break. The crystals are deep blue in colour, and are
usually radially arranged in hemispherical groups. Hardness 2½-3;
specific gravity 4.36. The mineral was formerly found with other copper
arsenates in the mines of the St Day district of Cornwall. It has also
been found near Tavistock in Devonshire, near Sayda (or Saida) in
Saxony, and in the Tintic district of Utah. It is a mineral of secondary
origin, having resulted by the decomposition of copper ores and
mispickel in the upper part of mineral veins. The corresponding basic
copper phosphate, (CuOH)3PO4, is the mineral pseudomalachite, which
occurs as green botryoidal masses resembling malachite in appearance.
CLINTON, DE WITT (1769-1828), American political leader, was born on the
2nd of March 1769 at Little Britain, Orange county, New York. His
father, James Clinton (1736-1812), served as a captain of provincial
troops in the French and Indian War, and as a brigadier-general in the
American army in the War of Independence, taking part in Montgomery's
attack upon Quebec in 1775, unsuccessfully resisting at Fort Montgomery,
along the Hudson, in 1777 the advance of Sir Henry Clinton, accompanying
General John Sullivan in 1779 in his expedition against the Iroquois in
western New York, and in 1781 taking part in the siege of Yorktown,
Virginia. De Witt Clinton graduated at Columbia College in 1786, and in
1790 was admitted to the bar. From 1790 to 1795 he was the private
secretary of his uncle, George Clinton, governor of New York and a
leader of the Republican party. He was a member of the New York assembly
from January to April 1798, and in August of that year entered the state
senate, serving until April 1802. He at once became a dominant factor in
New York politics, and for the next quarter of a century he played a
leading rôle in the history of the commonwealth. From 1801 to 1802 and
from 1806 to 1807 he was a member of the Council of Appointment, and
realizing the power this body possessed through its influence over the
selection of a vast number of state, county and municipal officers, he
secured in 1801, while his uncle was governor, the removal of a number
of Federalist office-holders, in order to strengthen the Republican
organization by new appointments. On this account Clinton has generally
been regarded as the originator of the "spoils system" in New York; but
he was really opposed to the wholesale proscription of opponents that
became such a feature of American politics in later years. It was his
plan to fill the more important offices with Republicans, as they had
been excluded from appointive office during the Federalist ascendancy,
and to divide the smaller places between the parties somewhat in
accordance with their relative strength.[1] In counties where the
Federalists had a majority very few removals were made.
In 1802 Clinton became a member of the United States Senate, but
resigned in the following year to become mayor of New York city, an
office he held from 1803 to 1807, from 1808 to 1810, and from 1811 to
1815. During his mayoralty he also held other offices, being a member of
the state senate from 1806 to 1811 and lieutenant-governor from 1811 to
1813. In 1812, after a congressional caucus at Washington had nominated
Madison for a second term, the Republicans of New York, desiring to
break up the so-called Virginia dynasty as well as the system of
congressional nominations, nominated Clinton for the presidency by a
legislative caucus. Opponents of a second war with Great Britain had
revived the Federalist organization, and Federalists from eleven states
met in New York and agreed to support Clinton, not on account of his war
views, which were not in accord with their own, but as a protest against
the policy of Madison. In the election Clinton received 89 electoral
votes and Madison 128.
As a member of the legislature Clinton was active in securing the
abolition of slavery and of imprisonment for debt, and in perfecting a
system of free public schools. In 1810 he was a member of a commission
to explore a route for a canal between Lake Erie and the Hudson river,
and in 1811 he and Gouverneur Morris were sent to Washington to secure
Federal aid for the undertaking, but were unsuccessful. The second war
with Great Britain prevented any immediate action by the state, but in
1816 Clinton was active in reviving the project, and a new commission
was appointed, of which he became president. His connexion with this
work so enhanced his popularity that he was chosen governor by an
overwhelming majority and served for two triennial terms (1817-1823). As
governor he devoted his energies to the construction of the canal, but
the opposition to his administration, led by Martin Van Buren and
Tammany Hall, became so formidable by 1822 that he declined to seek a
third term. His successful opponents, however, overreached themselves
when in 1824 they removed him from the office of canal commissioner.
This partisan action aroused such indignation that at the next election
he was again chosen governor, by a large majority, and served from 1825
until his death. As governor he took part in the formal ceremony of
admitting the waters of Lake Erie into the canal in October 1825, and
thus witnessed the completion of a work which owed more to him than to
any other man. Clinton died at Albany, N.Y., on the 11th of February
1828. In addition to his interest in politics and public improvements,
he devoted much study to the natural sciences; among his published works
are a _Memoir on the Antiquities of Western New York_ (1818), and
_Letters on the Natural History and Internal Resources of New York_
(1822).
See J. Renwick's _Life of De Witt Clinton_ (New York, 1845); D.
Hosack's _Memoir of De Witt Clinton_ (New York, 1829); W. W.
Campbell's _Life and Writings of De Witt Clinton_ (New York, 1849);
and H. L. McBain's _De Witt Clinton and the Origin of the Spoils
System in New York_ (New York, 1907).
FOOTNOTE:
[1] In 1801 a state convention adopted an amendment to the
constitution giving the council an equal voice with the governor in
the matter of appointments; but Clinton, who is often represented as
the father of this movement, though chosen as a member of the
convention, did not attend its meetings.
CLINTON, GEORGE (1739-1812), American soldier and political leader, was
born at Little Britain, Ulster (now Orange) county, New York, on the
26th of July 1739. His father, Charles Clinton (1690-1773), who was born
of English parents in Co. Longford, Ireland, emigrated to America in
1729, and commanded a regiment of provincial troops in the French and
Indian War. The son went to sea at the age of sixteen, but, finding the
sailor's life distasteful, joined his father's regiment and accompanied
him as lieutenant in the expedition against Fort Frontenac in 1758.
After the war he practised law in his native town and held a number of
minor civil offices in Ulster county. From 1768 to 1775 he sat in the
New York provincial assembly, and in the controversies with Great
Britain zealously championed the colonial cause. In 1774 he was a member
of the New York committee of correspondence, and in 1775 was chosen a
member of the second Continental Congress. In December of this year he
was appointed a brigadier-general of militia by the New York provincial
congress, and in the following summer, being ordered by Washington to
assist in the defence of New York, he left Philadelphia shortly after
voting for the Declaration of Independence, but too soon to attach his
signature to that document. He had also been chosen a deputy to the
provincial congress (later the state convention) for 1776-1777, but his
various other duties prevented his attendance.
General Clinton took part in the battle of White Plains (October 28th,
1776), and later was charged with the defence of the Highlands of the
Hudson, where, with De Witt Clinton, in October 1777, he offered a firm
but unsuccessful resistance to the advance of Sir Henry Clinton. In
March of this year he had been appointed by Congress a brigadier general
in the Continental army, and he thus held two commissions, as the state
convention refused to accept his resignation as brigadier-general of
militia. So great was Clinton's popularity at this time that at the
first election under the new state constitution he was chosen both
governor and lieutenant-governor; he declined the latter office, and on
the 30th of July 1777 entered upon his duties as governor, which were at
first largely of a military nature. In 1780 he took the field and
checked the advance of Sir John Johnson and the Indians in the Mohawk
Valley. In his administration Clinton was energetic and patriotic, and
though not possessing the intellectual attainments of some of his New
York contemporaries, he was more popular than any of them, as is
attested by his service as governor for eighteen successive years
(1777-1795), and for another triennial term from 1801 to 1804. In the
elections of 1780, 1783 and 1786 he had no opponent. In 1800-1801 he was
a member of the assembly. In the struggle in New York over the adoption
of the Federal Constitution he was one of the leaders of the opposition,
but in the state convention of 1788, over which he presided, his party
was defeated, and the constitution was ratified. In national politics he
was a follower of Thomas Jefferson, and in state politics he led the
faction known as "Clintonians," which was for a long time dominant. In
1789, 1792 and 1796 Clinton received a number of votes in the electoral
college, but not a sufficient number to secure him the vice-presidency,
which was then awarded to the recipient of the second highest number of
votes. In 1804, however, after the method of voting had been changed, he
was nominated for the vice-presidency by a Congressional caucaus, and
was duly elected. In 1808 he sought nomination for the presidency, and
was greatly disappointed when this went to Madison. He was again chosen
as vice-president, however, and died at Washington before the expiration
of his term, on the 20th of April 1812. He was buried in the
Congressional Cemetery, from which in May 1908 his remains were
transferred to Kingston, N.Y. His casting vote in the Senate in 1811
defeated the bill for the renewal of the charter of the Bank of the
United States.
The _Public Papers of George Clinton_ (6 vols., New York, 1899-1902)
have been published by the state of New York.
CLINTON, SIR HENRY (c. 1738-1795), British general, was the son of
admiral George Clinton (governor of Newfoundland and subsequently of New
York), and grandson of the 6th earl of Lincoln. After serving in the New
York militia, he came to England and joined the Coldstream Guards. In
1758 he became captain and lieutenant-colonel in the Grenadier Guards,
and in 1760-62 distinguished himself very greatly as an aide-de-camp to
Ferdinand of Brunswick in the Seven Years' War. He was promoted colonel
in 1762, and after the peace received the colonelcy of a regiment of
foot, becoming major-general in 1772. From 1772 to 1784, thanks to the
influence of his cousin, the 2nd duke of Newcastle, he had a seat in
parliament, first for Boroughbridge and subsequently for Newark, but for
the greater part of this time he was on active service in America in the
War of Independence. He took part in the battles of Bunker Hill and Long
Island, subsequently taking possession of New York. For his share in the
battle of Long Island he was made a lieutenant-general and K.B. After
Saratoga he succeeded Sir William Howe as commander-in-chief in North
America. He had already been made a local general. He at once
concentrated the British forces at New York, pursuing a policy of
foraying expeditions in place of regular campaigns. In 1779 he invaded
South Carolina, and in 1780 in conjunction with Admiral M. Arbuthnot won
an important success in the capture of Charleston. Friction, however,
was constant between him and Lord Cornwallis, his second in command, and
in 1782, after the capitulation of Cornwallis at York town, he was
superseded by Sir Guy Carleton. Returning to England, he published in
1783 his _Narrative of the Campaign of 1781 in North America_, which
provoked an acrimonious reply from Lord Cornwallis. He was elected M.P.
for Launceston in 1790, and in 1794 was made governor of Gibraltar,
where he died on the 23rd of December 1795.
His elder son, Sir WILLIAM HENRY CLINTON (1769-1846), entered the
British army in 1784, and served in the campaigns of 1793-94 in the Low
Countries. In 1796 he became aide-de-camp to the duke of York, and in
1799 he was entrusted with a mission to the Russian army in Italy,
returning to the duke in time for the Dutch expedition of 1799. He was
promoted colonel in 1801, and took part in the expedition which took
possession of Madeira, which he governed up to 1802. His next important
service was in 1807, when he went to Sweden on a military mission.
Promoted major-general in 1808, he served from 1812 to 1814 in the
Mediterranean and in Catalonia, and in the latter year he commanded
against Marshal Suchet. He had become a lieutenant-general in 1813, and
in 1815 he was made a G.C.B. He commanded the British troops in
Portugal, 1826-28, and was promoted full general in 1830. He died at
Cockenhatch, near Royston, Herts, on the 15th of February 1846.
The younger son, Sir HENRY CLINTON (1771-1829), entered the army in 1787
and saw some service with the Prussians in Holland in 1789. He served on
the staff of the duke of York in 1793-94, becoming brevet-major in 1794,
and lieutenant-colonel of a line regiment in 1796. In 1797-98 he was
aide-de-camp to Lord Cornwallis in the Irish rebellion, and in 1799 he
was sent with Lord William Bentinck to the Russian headquarters in
Italy, being present at the Trebbia, at Novi, and in the fighting about
the St Gotthard. During a short period of service in India Clinton
distinguished himself at Laswari. He accompanied the Russian
headquarters in the Austerlitz campaign, and was adjutant-general to his
intimate friend, Sir John Moore, in the Corunna campaign of 1808-9.
Promoted major-general in 1810, he returned to the Peninsula to fill a
divisional command under Wellington in 1811. His division played a
notable part in the capture of the forts at Salamanca and in the battle
of Salamanca (1812), and he was given the local rank of
lieutenant-general early in 1813. For his conduct at Vitoria he was made
a K.B., and he took his part in the subsequent victories of the Nive,
Orthes and Toulouse. At the end of the war he was made a
lieutenant-general and inspector-general of infantry. Clinton commanded
a division with distinction at Waterloo. He died on the 11th of December
1829.
CLINTON, HENRY FYNES (1781-1852), British classical scholar and
chronologist, was born at Gamston in Nottinghamshire on the 14th of
January 1781. He was descended from Henry, second earl of Lincoln; for
some generations his family bore the name of Fynes, but his father
resumed the older family name of Clinton in 1821. He was educated at
Westminster school and Christ Church, Oxford, where he studied classical
literature and history. From 1806 to 1826 he was M.P. for Aldborough. He
died at Welwyn, Herts, where he had purchased the residence and estate
of the poet Young, on the 24th of October 1852. His reading was
extraordinarily methodical (see his _Literary Remains_). The value of
his _Fasti_, which set classical chronology on a scientific basis, can
scarcely be overestimated, even though subsequent research has corrected
some of his conclusions.
His chief works are: _Fasti Hellenici, the Civil and Literary
Chronology of Greece from the 55th to the 124th Olympiad_ (1824-1851),
including dissertations on points of Greek history and Scriptural
chronology; and _Fasti Romani, the Civil and Literary Chronology of
Rome and Constantinople from the Death of Augustus to the Death of
Heraclius_ (1845-1850). In 1851 and 1853 respectively he published
epitomes of the above. _The Literary Remains of H. F. Clinton_ (the
first part of which contains an autobiography written in 1818) were
edited by C. J. F. Clinton in 1854.
CLINTON, a city and the county-seat of Clinton county, Iowa, U.S.A., on
the Mississippi river, in the extreme eastern part of the state. Pop.
(1890) 13,619; (1900) 22,698 (5434 being foreign-born); (1905) 22,756;
(1910) 25,577. The great increase during the decade 1890-1900 was partly
due to the absorption by Clinton in 1895 of the city of Lyons (pop. in
1890, 5700). Clinton is served by the Chicago & North-Western (which has
machine-shops here), the Chicago, Burlington & Quincy, the Chicago,
Milwaukee & St Paul, and the Chicago, Rock Island & Pacific railways,
and is connected with Davenport by an electric line. The river is
spanned here by a railway bridge. A large portion of the city stands
between the river and a series of bluffs. Clinton is the seat of
Wartburg College (1869), a German Evangelical Lutheran institution, and
of the Clinton Business College. Among the public buildings are the city
hall, the court-house, the Federal building and the Carnegie library. As
a manufacturing centre Clinton has considerable importance; among its
manufactures are furniture, blinds, wire-cloth, papier-mâché goods,
gas-engines, farm wagons, harness and saddlery, door locks, pressed
brick, flour, and glucose products. There is also a large sugar
refinery. The value of the factory product in 1900 was $6,203,316; in
1905, $4,906,355. The American Protective Association (A.P.A.), a secret
order opposed to Roman Catholicism, was formed here in 1887. The city
was founded in 1855 by the Iowa Land Company, and was incorporated first
in 1857, and again in 1867, this time under a general law of the state
for the incorporation of cities. The county, from which the city took
its name, was named in honour of De Witt Clinton.
CLINTON, a township of Worcester county, Massachusetts, U.S.A., in the
central part of the state, on the Nashua river, about 15 m. N.N.E. of
Worcester. Pop. (1890) 10,424; (1900) 13,667, of whom 5504 were
foreign-born; (1910, U.S. census) 13,075. The township is traversed by
the Boston & Maine, and New York, New Haven & Hartford railways. It
contains 7 sq. m. of varied and picturesque hilly country on the E.
slope of the highland water-parting between the Connecticut river and
the Atlantic. There is charming scenery along the Nashua river, the
chief stream. The S.W. corner of the township is now part of an immense
water reservoir, the Wachusett dam and reservoir (excavated 1896-1905;
circumference, 35.2 m.), on the S. branch of the Nashua, which will hold
63,000 million gallons of water for the supply of the metropolitan
region around Boston. On this is situated the village of Clinton, which
has large manufactories, among whose products are cotton and woollen
fabrics, carpets, wire-cloth, iron and steel, and combs. The textile and
carpet mills are among the most famous in the United States. In 1905 the
total factory product of the township was valued at $5,457,865, the
value of cotton goods, carpets and wire-work constituting about
nine-tenths of the total. The prominence of the township as a
manufacturing centre is due to Erastus Brigham Bigelow (1814-1879), one
of the incorporators of the Massachusetts Institute of Technology, who
devised power-looms for the weaving of a variety of figured
fabrics,--coach-lace, counterpanes, ginghams, silk brocatel, tapestry
carpeting, ingrain and Brussels carpets,--and revolutionized their
manufacture. In 1843 he and his brother Horatio N. Bigelow established
in Clinton the Lancaster Mills for the manufacture of ginghams. From
1845 to 1851 he perfected his loom for the weaving of Brussels and
Wilton carpets, the greatest of his inventions; and he established the
Bigelow Carpet Mills here. He also invented the loom for the weaving of
wire-cloth. It is claimed that the first production in the United States
of finished cotton cloths under one roof and under the factory system
was not at Waltham in 1816, but at Clinton in 1813; neither place was
the first to spin by power, nor the first to produce finished cloths
without the factory system. The comb industry dates from the eighteenth
century. The first of the modern textile mills were established in 1838
for the manufacture of coach-lace. Clinton was a part of Lancaster, now
a small farming township (pop. in 1910, 2464), until 1850, when it was
set off as an independent township. The earliest settlement goes back to
1645.
See A. E. Ford, _History of the Origin of the Town of Clinton,
Massachusetts, 1653-1865_ (Clinton, 1896).
CLINTON, a city and the county-seat of Henry county, Missouri, U.S.A.,
on the Grand river, 87 m. S.E. of Kansas City. Pop. (1890) 4737; (1900)
5061 (470 being negroes); (1910) 4992. It is served by the St Louis &
San Francisco, the Missouri, Kansas & Texas, and the Kansas City,
Clinton & Springfield railways. The city is situated on the border of a
rolling prairie about 770 ft. above the sea. The vicinity abounds in
coal, but is principally agricultural, and Clinton's chief interest is
in trade with it. The principal manufactures are flour and pottery.
Clinton was laid out in 1836 and was incorporated in 1865.
CLINTON, a village of Oneida county, New York, U.S.A., on the Oriskany
Creek, about 9 m. S.W. of Utica. Pop. (1890) 1269; (1900) 1340; (1905)
1315; (1910) 1236. It is served by the New York, Ontario & Western
railway, and is connected with Utica by an electric line. Several fine
mineral springs in the vicinity have given Clinton some reputation as a
health resort. There are iron mines, blast furnaces, and iron smelters.
Clinton is the seat of Hamilton College (non-sectarian), which was
opened as the Hamilton Oneida Academy in 1798, and was chartered under
its present name in 1812. It was founded by the Rev. Samuel Kirkland
(1741-1808), a missionary among the Oneida Indians; its corner-stone was
laid by Baron Steuben; its shade trees were furnished by Thomas
Jefferson; and its name was received from Alexander Hamilton, one of its
early trustees. It had in 1907-1908 20 instructors, 178 students, and a
library of 47,000 volumes and 30,000 pamphlets. At Clinton are also
excellent minor schools. Litchfield Observatory is connected with the
college, and was long in charge of the well-known astronomer, Christian
H. F. Peters (1813-1890), who discovered here more than 40 asteroids and
made extensive investigations concerning comets. The village was settled
about 1786 by pioneers from New England, was named in honour of George
Clinton, and was incorporated in 1842.
CLINTONITE, a group of micaceous minerals known as the "brittle micas."
Like the micas and chlorites, they are monoclinic in crystallization and
have a perfect cleavage parallel to the flat surface of the plates or
scales, but differ markedly from these in the brittleness of the
laminae; they are also considerably harder, the hardness of chloritoid
being as high as 6½ on Mohs' scale. They differ chemically from the
micas in containing less silica and no alkalis, and from the chlorites
in containing much less water; in many respects they are intermediate
between the micas and chlorites.
The following species are distinguished:--
_Margarite_ is a basic calcium aluminium silicate, H2CaAl4Si2O12, and is
classed by some authors as a lime-mica. It forms white pearly scales,
and was at first known as pearl-mica and afterwards as margarite, from
[Greek: margaritês], a pearl. It is a characteristic associate of
corundum, of which it is frequently an alteration product (facts which
suggested the synonymous names corundellite and emerylite), and is found
in the emery deposits of Asia Minor and the Grecian Archipelago, and
with corundum at several localities in the United States.
_Seybertite_, _Brandisite_ and _Xanthophyllite_ are closely allied
species consisting of basic magnesium, calcium and aluminium silicate,
and have been regarded as isomorphous mixtures of a silicate
(H2CaMg4Si3O12) and an aluminate (H2CaMgAl6O12). Seybertite (the
original clintonite) occurs as reddish-brown to copper-red, brittle,
foliated masses in metamorphic limestone at Amity, New York; brandisite
as yellowish-green hexagonal prisms in metamorphic limestone in the
Fassathal, Tirol; xanthophyllite as yellow folia and as distinct
crystals (waluewite) in chloritic schists in the Urals.
_Chloritoid_ has the formula H2(Fe,Mg)Al2SiO7. It forms tabular crystals
and scales, with indistinct hexagonal outlines, which are often curved
or bent and aggregated in rosettes. The colour is dark grey or green; a
characteristic feature is the pleochroism, the pleochroic colours
varying from yellowish-green to indigo-blue. Hardness, 6½; specific
gravity, 3.4-3.6. It occurs as isolated scales scattered through
schistose rocks and phyllites of dynamo-metamorphic origin. The
ottrelites of the phyllites and ottrelite-schists of Ottrez and other
localities in the Belgian Ardennes is a manganiferous variety of
chloritoid, but owing to enclosed impurities the analyses differ widely
from those of typical chloritoid. (L. J. S.)
CLISSON, OLIVIER DE (1336-1407), French soldier, was the son of the
Olivier de Clisson who was put to death in 1343 on the suspicion of
having wished to give up Nantes to the English. He was brought up in
England, where his mother, Jeanne de Belleville, had married her second
husband. On his return to Brittany he took arms on the side of de
Montfort, distinguishing himself at the battle of Auray (1364), but in
consequence of differences with Duke John IV. went over to the side of
Blois. In 1370 he joined Bertrand du Guesclin, who had lately become
constable of France, and followed him in all his campaigns against the
English. On the death of du Guesclin Clisson received the constable's
sword (1380). He fought with the citizens of Ghent, defeating them at
Roosebek (1382), later on commanded the army in Poitou and Flanders
(1389), and made an unsuccessful attempt to invade England. On his
return to Paris, in 1392, an attempt was made to assassinate him by
Pierre de Craon, at the instigation of John IV. of Brittany. In order to
punish the latter, Charles VI., accompanied by the constable, marched on
Brittany, but it was on this expedition that the king was seized with
madness. The uncles of Charles VI. took proceedings against Clisson, so
that he had to take refuge in Brittany. He was reconciled with John IV.,
and after the duke's death, in 1399, he became protector of the duchy,
and guardian of the young princes. He had gathered vast wealth before
his death on the 23rd of April 1407.
CLISSON, a town of western France, in the department of
Loire-Inférieure, prettily situated at the confluence of the Sèvre
Nantaise and the Moine 17 m. S.E. of Nantes by rail. Pop. (1906) 2244.
The town gave its name to the celebrated family of Clisson, of which the
most famous member was Olivier de Clisson. It has the imposing ruins of
their stronghold, parts of which date from the 13th century. The town
and castle were destroyed in 1792 and 1793 during the Vendean wars. The
sculptor F. F. Lemont afterwards bought the castle, and the town was
rebuilt in the early part of the 19th century according to his plans.
There are picturesque parks on the banks of the rivers. The Moine is
crossed by an old Gothic bridge and by a fine modern viaduct.
CLITHEROE, a market town and municipal borough in the Clitheroe
parliamentary division of Lancashire, England, 220 m. N.N.W. from London
and 35 m. N. by W. from Manchester, on the Lancashire & Yorkshire
railway. Pop. (1901) 11,414. It is finely situated in the valley of the
Ribble, at the foot of Pendle Hill, a steep plateau-like mass rising to
1831 ft. The church of St Mary Magdalene, though occupying an ancient
site, is wholly modernized. There are a grammar school, founded in 1554,
and a technical school. On a rocky elevation commanding the valley
stands the keep and other fragments of a Norman castle, but part of the
site is occupied by a modern mansion. The industrial establishments
comprise cotton-mills, print-works, paper-mills, foundries, and brick
and lime works. The corporation consists of a mayor, 4 aldermen and 12
councillors. Area, 2385 acres.
Stonyhurst College, 5 m. S.W. of Clitheroe, is the principal
establishment in England for Roman Catholic students. The Jesuits of St
Omer, after emigrating to Bruges and Liége, were disorganized by the
revolutionary troubles at the close of the 18th century, and a large
body came to England, when Thomas Weld, in 1795, conferred his property
of Stonyhurst upon them. The fine and extensive buildings, of which the
nucleus is a mansion of the 17th century, contain a public school for
boys and a house of studies for Jesuit ecclesiastics, while there is a
preparatory school at a short distance. Every branch of study is
prosecuted, the college including such institutions as an observatory,
laboratories and farm buildings.
The Honour of Clitheroe, the name of which is also written Clyderhow and
Cletherwoode, was first held by Roger de Poictou, who was almost
certainly the builder of the castle, which was dismantled in 1649. He
granted it to Robert de Lacy, in whose family it remained with two short
intervals until it passed by marriage to Thomas, earl of Lancaster, in
1310. It formed part of the duchy of Lancaster till Charles II. at the
Restoration bestowed it on General Monk, from whose family it descended
through the house of Montague to that of Buccleuch. The Clitheroe Estate
Company are the present lords of the Honour. The first charter was
granted about 1283 to the burgesses by Henry de Lacy, second earl of
Lincoln, confirming the liberties granted by the first Henry de Lacy,
who is therefore sometimes said, although probably erroneously, to have
granted a charter about 1147. The 1283 charter was confirmed by Edward
III. in 1346, Henry V. in 1413-1414, Henry VIII. in 1542, and James I.
in 1604. Of the fairs, those on December 7th to 9th and March 24th to
26th are held under a charter of Henry IV. in 1409. A weekly market has
been held on Saturday since the Conqueror's days. In 1558 the borough
was granted two members of parliament, and continued to return them till
1832, when the number was reduced to one. Under the Redistribution Act
of 1885 the borough was disfranchised. The municipal government was
formerly vested in an in-bailiff and an out-bailiff elected annually
from the in and out burgesses. A court-leet and court-baron used to be
held half-yearly, but both are now obsolete. The present corporation
governs under the Municipal Corporation Act (1837). There was a church
or chapel here in early times, and a chaplain is mentioned in Henry
II.'s reign.
CLITOMACHUS, Greek philosopher, was a Carthaginian originally named
Hasdrubal, who came to Athens about the middle of the 2nd century B.C.
at the age of twenty-four. He made himself well acquainted with Stoic
and Peripatetic philosophy; but he studied principally under Carneades,
whose views he adopted, and whom he succeeded as chief of the New
Academy in 129 B.C. He made it his business to spread the knowledge of
the doctrines of Carneades, who left nothing in writing himself.
Clitomachus' works were some four hundred in number; but we possess
scarcely anything but a few titles, among which are _De sustinendis
assensionibus_ ([Greek: Peri epochês], "on suspension of judgment") and
[Greek: Peri aireseôn] (an account of various philosophical sects). In
146 he wrote a treatise to console his countrymen after the ruin of
their city, in which he insisted that a wise man ought not to feel
grieved at the destruction of his country. Cicero highly commends his
works and admits his own debt in the _Academics_ to the treatise [Greek:
Peri epochês]. Parts of Cicero's _De Natura_ and _De Divinatione_, and
the treatise _De Fato_ are also in the main based upon Clitomachus.
See E. Wellmann in Ersch and Gruber's _Allgemeine Encyclopädie_; R.
Hirzel, _Untersuchungen zu Ciceros philosophischen Schriften_, i.
(1877); Diog. Laërt. iv. 67-92; Cicero, _Acad. Pr._ ii. 31, 32, and
_Tusc._. iii. 22; and article ACADEMY, GREEK.
CLITUMNUS, a river in Umbria, Italy, which rises from a very abundant
spring by the road between the ancient Spoletium and Trebia, 8 m. from
the former, 4 m. from the latter, and after a short course through the
territory of the latter town joins the Tinia, a tributary of the Tiber.
The spring is well described by Pliny (_Epist._ viii. 8): it was visited
by Caligula and by Honorius, and is still picturesque--a clear pool
surrounded by poplars and weeping willows. The stream was personified as
a god, whose ancient temple lay near the spring, and close by other
smaller shrines; the place, therefore, occurs under the name _Sacraria_
(the shrines) as a Roman post station. The building generally known as
the Tempio di Clitunno, close to the spring, is, however, an ancient
tomb, converted into a Christian church in the early middle ages, the
decorative sculptures, which are obviously contemporary with those of S.
Salvatore at Spoleto, belonging to the 4th or 6th century according to
some authorities, to the 12th according to others.
See H. Grisar, _Nuovo bullettino di archeologia cristiana_ (Rome,
1895) i. 127; A. Venturi, _Storia dell' arte italiana_ (Milan, 1904),
iii. 903.
CLIVE, CAROLINE (1801-1873), English authoress, was born in London on
the 24th of June 1801, the daughter of Mr Meysey-Wigley, M.P. for
Worcester. She married, in 1840, the Rev. Archer Clive. She published,
over the signature "V.," eight volumes of poetry, but is best known as
the author of _Paul Ferroll_ (1855), a sensational novel, and _Why Paul
Ferroll killed his Wife_ (1860). She died on the 13th of July 1873, at
Whitfield, Herefordshire.
CLIVE, CATHERINE [KITTY] (1711-1785), British actress, was born,
probably in London, in 1711. Her father, William Raftor, an Irishman of
good family but small means, had held a captain's commission in the
French army under Louis XIV. From her earliest years she showed a talent
for the stage, and about 1728 became a member of the company at Drury
Lane, of which Colley Cibber was then manager. Her first part was that
of the page Ismenes ("with a song") in the tragedy _Mithridates_.
Shortly afterwards she married George Clive, a barrister and a relative
of the 1st Lord Clive, but husband and wife soon separated by mutual
consent. In 1731 she definitely established her reputation as a comic
actress and singer in Charles Coffey's farce-opera adaptation, _The
Devil to Pay_, and from this time she was always a popular favourite.
She acted little outside Drury Lane, where in 1747 she became one of the
original members of Garrick's company. She took part, however, in some
of the oratorios of Handel, whose friend she was. In 1769, having been a
member of Garrick's company for twenty-two years, she quitted the stage,
and lived for sixteen years in retirement at a villa at Twickenham,
which had been given her some time previously by her friend Horace
Walpole. Mrs Clive had small claim to good looks, but as an actress of
broad comedy she was unreservedly praised by Goldsmith, Johnson and
Garrick. She had a quick temper, which on various occasions involved her
in quarrels, and at times sorely tried the patience of Garrick, but her
private life remained above suspicion, and she regularly supported her
father and his family. She died at Twickenham on the 6th of December
1785. Horace Walpole placed in his garden an urn to her memory, bearing
an inscription, of which the last two lines run:
"The comic muse with her retired
And shed a tear when she expired."
See Percy Fitzgerald, _Life of Mrs Catherine Clive_ (1888); W. R.
Chetwood, _General History of the Stage_ (1749); Thomas Davies,
_Memoirs of the Life of David Garrick_ (1784).
CLIVE, ROBERT CLIVE, BARON (1725-1774), the statesman and general who
founded the empire of British India, was born on the 29th of September
1725 at Styche, the family estate, in the parish of Moreton Say, Market
Drayton, Shropshire. We learn from himself, in his second speech in the
House of Commons in 1773, that as the estate yielded only £500 a year,
his father followed the profession of the law also. The Clives, or
Clyves, were one of the oldest families in the county of Shropshire,
having held the manor of that name in the reign of Henry II. One Clive
was Irish chancellor of the exchequer under Henry VIII.; another was a
member of the Long Parliament; Robert's father for many years
represented Montgomeryshire in parliament. His mother, to whom he was
tenderly attached, and who had a powerful influence on his career, was a
daughter, and with her sister Lady Sempill co-heir, of Nathaniel Gaskell
of Manchester. Robert was their eldest son. With his five sisters, all
of whom were married in due time, he ever maintained the most
affectionate relations. His only brother survived to 1825.
Young Clive was the despair of his teachers. Sent from school to school,
and for only a short time at the Merchant Taylors' school, which then as
now had a high reputation, he neglected his books for perilous
adventures. But he was not so ignorant as his biographers represent. He
could read Horace in after life; and he must have laid in his youth the
foundation of that clear and vigorous English style which marked all his
despatches, and made Lord Chatham declare of one of his speeches in the
House of Commons that it was the most eloquent he had ever heard. From
his earliest years, however, his ambition was to lead his fellows; but
he never sacrificed honour, as the word was then understood, even to the
fear of death. At eighteen he was sent out to Madras as a "factor" or
"writer" in the civil service of the East India Company. The detention
of the ship in Brazil for nine months enabled him to acquire the
Portuguese language, which, at a time when few or none of the Company's
servants learned the vernaculars of India, he often found of use. For
the first two years of his residence he was miserable. He felt keenly
the separation from home; he was always breaking through the restraints
imposed on young "writers"; and he was rarely out of trouble with his
fellows, with one of whom he fought a duel. Thus early, too, the effect
of the climate on his health began to show itself in those fits of
depression during one of which he afterwards prematurely ended his life.
The story is told of him by his companions, though he himself never
spoke of it, that he twice snapped a pistol at his head in vain. His one
solace was found in the governor's library, where he sought to make up
for past carelessness by a systematic course of study. He was just of
age, when in 1746 Madras was forced to capitulate to Labourdonnais
during the War of the Austrian Succession. The breach of that
capitulation by Dupleix, then at the head of the French settlements in
India, led Clive, with others, to escape from the town to the
subordinate Fort St David, some 20 m. to the south. There, disgusted
with the state of affairs and the purely commercial duties of an East
Indian civilian, as they then were, Clive obtained an ensign's
commission.
At this time India was ready to become the prize of the first conqueror
who to the dash of the soldier added the skill of the administrator. For
the forty years since the death of the emperor Aurangzeb, the power of
the Great Mogul had gradually fallen into the hands of his provincial
viceroys or _subadhars_. The three greatest of these were the nawab of
the Deccan, or south and central India, who ruled from Hyderabad, the
nawab of Bengal, whose capital was Murshidabad, and the nawab or wazir
of Oudh. The prize lay between Dupleix, who had the genius of an
administrator, or rather intriguer, but was no soldier, and Clive, the
first of a century's brilliant succession of those "soldier-politicals,"
as they are called in the East, to whom Great Britain owes the conquest
and consolidation of its greatest dependency. Clive successively
established British ascendancy against French influence in the three
great provinces under these nawabs. But his merit lies especially in the
ability and foresight with which he secured for his country, and for the
good of the natives, the richest of the three, Bengal. First, as to
Madras and the Deccan, Clive had hardly been able to commend himself to
Major Stringer Lawrence, the commander of the British troops, by his
courage and skill in several small engagements, when the peace of
Aix-la-Chapelle (1748) forced him to return to his civil duties for a
short time. An attack of the malady which so severely affected his
spirits led him to visit Bengal, where he was soon to distinguish
himself. On his return he found a contest going on between two sets of
rival claimants for the position of viceroy of the Deccan, and for that
of nawab of the Carnatic, the greatest of the subordinate states under
the Deccan. Dupleix, who took the part of the pretenders to power in
both places, was carrying all before him. The British had been weakened
by the withdrawal of a large force under Admiral Boscawen, and by the
return home, on leave, of Major Lawrence. But that officer had appointed
Clive commissary for the supply of the troops with provisions, with the
rank of captain. More than one disaster had taken place on a small
scale, when Clive drew up a plan for dividing the enemy's forces, and
offered to carry it out himself. The pretender, Chanda Sahib, had been
made nawab of the Carnatic with Dupleix's assistance, while the British
had taken up the cause of the more legitimate successor, Mahommed Ali.
Chanda Sahib had left Arcot, the capital of the Carnatic, to reduce
Trichinopoly, then held by a weak English battalion. Clive offered to
attack Arcot in order to force Chanda Sahib to raise the siege of
Trichinopoly. But Madras and Fort St David could supply him with only
200 Europeans and 300 sepoys. Of the eight officers who led them, four
were civilians like Clive himself, and six had never been in action. His
force had but three field-pieces. The circumstances that Clive, at the
head of this handful, had been seen marching during a storm of thunder
and lightning, frightened the enemy into evacuating the fort, which the
British at once began to strengthen against a siege. Clive treated the
great population of the city with so much consideration that they helped
him, not only to fortify his position, but to make successful sallies
against the enemy. As the days passed on, Chanda Sahib sent a large army
under his son and his French supporters, who entered Arcot and closely
besieged Clive in the citadel.
Macaulay gives the following brilliant account of the siege:--
"Raja Sahib proceeded to invest the fort, which seemed quite incapable
of sustaining a siege. The walls were ruinous, the ditches dry, the
ramparts too narrow to admit the guns, and the battlements too low to
protect the soldiers. The little garrison had been greatly reduced by
casualties. It now consisted of 120 Europeans and 200 sepoys. Only
four officers were left, the stock of provisions was scanty, and the
commander who had to conduct the defence under circumstances so
discouraging was a young man of five and twenty, who had been bred as
a book-keeper. During fifty days the siege went on, and the young
captain maintained the defence with a firmness, vigilance and ability
which would have done honour to the oldest marshal in Europe. The
breach, however, increased day by day. Under such circumstances, any
troops so scantily provided with officers might have been expected to
show signs of insubordination; and the danger was peculiarly' great in
a force composed of men differing widely from each other in
extraction, colour, language, manners and religion. But the devotion
of the little band to its chief surpassed anything that is related of
the Tenth Legion of Caesar, or the Old Guard of Napoleon. The sepoys
came to Clive, not to complain of their scanty fare, but to propose
that all the grain should be given to the Europeans, who required more
nourishment than the natives of Asia. The thin gruel, they said, which
was strained away from the rice would suffice for themselves. History
contains no more touching instance of military fidelity, or of the
influence of a commanding mind. An attempt made by the governor of
Madras to relieve the place had failed; but there was hope from
another quarter. A body of 3000 Mahrattas, half soldiers, half
robbers, under the command of a chief named Murari Rao had been hired
to assist Mahommed Ali; but thinking the French power irresistible,
and the triumph of Chanda Sahib certain, they had hitherto remained
inactive on the frontiers of the Carnatic. The fame of the defence of
Arcot roused them from their torpor; Murari Rao declared that he had
never before believed that Englishmen could fight, but that he would
willingly help them since he saw that they had spirit to help
themselves. Raja Sahib learned that the Mahrattas were in motion, and
it was necessary for him to be expeditious. He first tried
negotiations--he offered large bribes to Clive, which were rejected
with scorn; he vowed that if his proposals were not accepted, he would
instantly storm the fort, and put every man in it to the sword. Clive
told him, in reply, with characteristic haughtiness, that his father
was a usurper, that his army was a rabble, and that he would do well
to think twice before he sent such poltroons into a breach defended by
English soldiers. Raja Sahib determined to storm the fort. The day was
well suited to a bold military enterprise. It was the great Mahommedan
festival, the Muharram, which is sacred to the memory of Husain, the
son of Ali. Clive had received secret intelligence of the design, had
made his arrangements, and, exhausted by fatigue, had thrown himself
on his bed. He was awakened by the alarm, and was instantly at his
post. The enemy advanced, driving before them elephants whose
foreheads were armed with iron plates. It was expected that the gates
would yield to the shock of these living battering-rams. But the huge
beasts no sooner felt the English musket balls than they turned round
and rushed furiously away, trampling on the multitude which had urged
them forward. A raft was launched on the water which filled one part
of the ditch. Clive perceiving that his gunners at that post did not
understand their business, took the management of a piece of artillery
himself, and cleared the raft in a few minutes. Where the moat was
dry, the assailants mounted with great boldness; but they were
received with a fire so heavy and so well directed, that it soon
quelled the courage even of fanaticism and of intoxication. The rear
ranks of the English kept the front ranks supplied with a constant
succession of loaded muskets, and every shot told on the living mass
below. The struggle lasted about an hour; 400 of the assailants fell;
the garrison lost only five or six men. The besieged passed an anxious
night, looking for a renewal of the attack. But when day broke, the
enemy were no more to be seen. They had retired, leaving to the
English several guns and a large quantity of ammunition."
In India, we might say in all history, there is no parallel to this
exploit of 1751 till we come to the siege of Lucknow in 1857. Clive, now
reinforced, followed up his advantage, and Major Lawrence returned in
time to carry the war to a successful issue. In 1754 the first of the
Carnatic treaties was made provisionally, between T. Saunders, the
Company's resident at Madras, and M. Godeheu, the French commander, in
which the English protégé, Mahommed Ali, was virtually recognized as
nawab, and both nations agreed to equalize their possessions. When war
again broke out in 1756, and the French, during Clive's absence in
Bengal, obtained successes in the northern districts, his efforts helped
to drive them from their settlements. The Treaty of Paris in 1763
formally confirmed Mahommed Ali in the position which Clive had won for
him. Two years after, the Madras work of Clive was completed by a firman
from the emperor of Delhi, recognizing the British possessions in
southern India.
The siege of Arcot at once gave Clive a European reputation. Pitt
pronounced the youth of twenty-seven who had done such deeds a
"heaven-born general," thus endorsing the generous appreciation of his
early commander, Major Lawrence. When the court of directors voted him a
sword worth £700, he refused to receive it unless Lawrence was similarly
honoured. He left Madras for home, after ten years' absence, early in
1753, but not before marrying Miss Margaret Maskelyne, the sister of a
friend, and of one who was afterwards well known as astronomer royal.
All his correspondence proves him to have been a good husband and
father, at a time when society was far from pure, and scandal made havoc
of the highest reputations. In after days, when Clive's uprightness and
stern reform of the Company's civil and military services made him many
enemies, a biography of him appeared under the assumed name of _Charles
Carracioli, Gent._ All the evidence is against the probability of its
scandalous stories being true. Clive as a young man occasionally
indulged in loose or free talk among intimate friends, but beyond this
nothing has been proved to his detriment. After he had been two years at
home the state of affairs in India made the directors anxious for his
return. He was sent out, in 1756, as governor of Fort St David, with the
reversion of the government of Madras, and he received the commission of
lieutenant-colonel in the king's army. He took Bombay on his way, and
there commanded the land force which captured Gheria, the stronghold of
the Mahratta pirate, Angria. In the distribution of prize money which
followed this expedition he showed no little self-denial. He took his
seat as governor of Fort St David on the day on which the nawab of
Bengal captured Calcutta, and thither the Madras government at once sent
him, with admiral Watson. He entered on the second period of his career.
Since, in August 1690, Job Charnock had landed at the village of
Sutanati with a guard of one officer and 30 men, the infant capital of
Calcutta had become a rich centre of trade. The successive nawabs or
viceroys of Bengal had been friendly to it, till, in 1756,
Suraj-ud-Dowlah succeeded his uncle at Murshidabad. His predecessor's
financial minister had fled to Calcutta to escape the extortion of the
new nawab, and the English governor refused to deliver up the refugee.
Enraged at this, Suraj-ud-Dowlah captured the old fort of Calcutta on
the 20th of June, and plundered it of more than two millions sterling.
Many of the English fled to ships and dropped down the river. The 146
who remained were forced into "the Black Hole" in the stifling heat of
the sultriest period of the year. Only 23 came out alive. The fleet was
as strong, for those days, as the land force was weak. Disembarking his
troops some miles below the city, Clive marched through the jungles,
where he lost his way owing to the treachery of his guides, but soon
invested Fort William, while the fire of the ships reduced it, on the
2nd of January 1757. On the 4th of February he defeated the whole army
of the nawab, which had taken up a strong position just beyond what is
now the most northerly suburb of Calcutta. The nawab hastened to
conclude a treaty, under which favourable terms were conceded to the
Company's trade, the factories and plundered property were restored, and
an English mint was established. In the accompanying agreement,
offensive and defensive, Clive appears under the name by which he was
always known to the natives of India, Sabut Jung, or "the daring in
war." The hero of Arcot had, at Angria's stronghold, and now again under
the walls of Calcutta, established his reputation as the first captain
of the time. With 600 British soldiers, 800 sepoys, 7 field-pieces and
500 sailors to draw them, he had routed a force of 34,000 men with 40
pieces of heavy cannon, 50 elephants, and a camp that extended upwards
of four miles in length. His own account, in a letter to the archbishop
of Canterbury, gives a modest but vivid description of the battle, the
importance of which has been overshadowed by Plassey. In spite of his
double defeat and the treaty which followed it, the madness of the nawab
burst forth again. As England and France were once more at war, Clive
sent the fleet up the river against Chandernagore, while he besieged it
by land. After consenting to the siege, the nawab sought to assist the
French, but in vain. The capture of their principal settlement in India,
next to Pondicherry, which had fallen in the previous war, gave the
combined forces prize to the value of £130,000. The rule of
Suraj-ud-Dowlah became as intolerable to his own people as to the
British. They formed a confederacy to depose him, at the head of which
was Jafar Ali Khan, his commander-in-chief. Associating with himself
Admiral Watson, Governor Drake and Mr Watts, Clive made a treaty in
which it was agreed to give the office of viceroy of Bengal, Behar and
Orissa to Jafar, who was to pay a million sterling to the Company for
its losses in Calcutta and the cost of its troops, half a million to the
British inhabitants of Calcutta, £200,000 to the native inhabitants, and
£70,000 to its Armenian merchants. Up to this point all is clear.
Suraj-ud-Dowlah was hopeless as a ruler. His relations alike to his
master, the merely titular emperor of Delhi, and to the people left the
province open to the strongest. After "the Black Hole," the battle of
Calcutta, and the treachery at Chandernagore in spite of the treaty
which followed that battle, the East India Company could treat the nawab
only as an enemy. Clive, it is true, might have disregarded all native
intrigue, marched on Murshidabad, and at once held the delta of the
Ganges in the Company's name. But the time was not ripe for this, and
the consequences, with so small a force, might have been fatal. The idea
of acting directly as rulers, or save under native charters and names,
was not developed by events for half a century. The political morality
of the time in Europe, as well as the comparative weakness of the
Company in India, led Clive not only to meet the dishonesty of his
native associate by equal dishonesty, but to justify his conduct by the
declaration, years after, in parliament, that he would do the same
again. It became necessary to employ the richest Bengali trader,
Omichund, as an agent between Jafar Ali and the British officials.
Master of the secret of the confederacy against Suraj-ud-Dowlah, the
Bengali threatened to betray it unless he was guaranteed, in the treaty
itself, £300,000. To dupe the villain, who was really paid by both
sides, a second, or fictitious treaty, was shown him with a clause to
this effect. This Admiral Watson refused to sign; "but," Clive deponed
to the House of Commons, "to the best of his remembrance, he gave the
gentleman who carried it leave to sign his name upon it; his lordship
never made any secret of it; he thinks it warrantable in such a case,
and would do it again a hundred times; he had no interested motive in
doing it, and did it with a design of disappointing the expectations of
a rapacious man." Such is Clive's own defence of the one act which, in a
long career of abounding temptations, was of questionable honesty.
The whole hot season of 1757 was spent in these negotiations, till the
middle of June, when Clive began his march from Chandernagore, the
British in boats, and the sepoys along the right bank of the Hugli. That
river above Calcutta is, during the rainy season, fed by the overflow of
the Ganges to the north through three streams, which in the hot months
are nearly dry. On the left bank of the Bhagirathi, the most westerly of
these, 100 m. above Chandernagore, stands Murshidabad, the capital of
the Mogul viceroys of Bengal, and then so vast that Clive compared it to
the London of his day. Some miles farther down is the field of Plassey,
then an extensive grove of mango trees, of which enough yet remains, in
spite of the changing course of the stream, to enable the visitor to
realize the scene. On the 21st of June Clive arrived on the bank
opposite Plassey, in the midst of that outburst of rain which ushers in
the south-west monsoon of India. His whole army amounted to 1100
Europeans and 2100 native troops, with 9 field-pieces. The nawab had
drawn up 18,000 horse, 50,000 foot and 53 pieces of heavy ordnance,
served by French artillerymen. For once in his career Clive hesitated,
and called a council of sixteen officers to decide, as he put it,
"whether in our present situation, without assistance, and on our own
bottom, it would be prudent to attack the nawab, or whether we should
wait till joined by some country power?" Clive himself headed the nine
who voted for delay; Major (afterwards Sir) Eyre Coote led the seven who
counselled immediate attack. But, either because his daring asserted
itself, or because, also, of a letter that he received from Jafar Ali,
as has been said, Clive was the first to change his mind and to
communicate with Major Eyre Coote. One tradition, followed by Macaulay,
represents him as spending an hour in thought under the shade of some
trees, while he resolved the issues of what was to prove one of the
decisive battles of the world. Another, turned into verse by Sir Alfred
Lyall, pictures his resolution as the result of a dream. However that
may be, he did well as a soldier to trust to the dash and even rashness
that had gained Arcot and triumphed at Calcutta, and as a statesman,
since retreat, or even delay, would have put back the civilization of
India for years. When, after the heavy rain, the sun rose brightly on
the 22nd, the 3200 men and the 9 guns crossed the river and took
possession of the grove and its tanks of water, while Clive established
his headquarters in a hunting lodge, On the 23rd the engagement took
place and lasted the whole day. Except the 40 Frenchmen and the guns
which they worked, the enemy did little to reply to the British
cannonade which, with the 39th Regiment, scattered the host, inflicting
on it a loss of 500 men. Clive restrained the ardour of Major
Kilpatrick, for he trusted to Jafar Ali's abstinence, if not desertion
to his ranks, and knew the importance of sparing his own small force. He
lost hardly a white soldier; in all 22 sepoys were killed and 50
wounded. His own account, written a month after the battle to the secret
committee of the court of directors, is not less unaffected than that in
which he had announced the defeat of the nawab at Calcutta.
Suraj-ud-Dowlah fled from the field on a camel, secured what wealth he
could, and came to an untimely end. Clive entered Murshidabad, and
established Jafar Ali in the position which his descendants have ever
since enjoyed, as pensioners, but have not infrequently abused. When
taken through the treasury, amid a million and a half sterling's worth
of rupees, gold and silver plate, jewels and rich goods, and besought to
ask what he would, Clive was content with £160,000, while half a million
was distributed among the army and navy, both in addition to gifts of
£24,000 to each member of the Company's committee, and besides the
public compensation stipulated for in the treaty. It was to this
occasion that he referred in his defence before the House of Commons,
when he declared that he marvelled at his moderation. He sought rather
to increase the shares of the fleet and the troops at his own expense,
as he had done at Gheria, and did more than once afterwards, with prize
of war. What he did take from the grateful nawab for himself was less
than the circumstances justified from an Oriental point of view, was far
less than was pressed upon him, not only by Jafar Ali, but by the
hundreds of native nobles whose gifts Clive steadily refused, and was
openly acknowledged from the first. He followed a usage fully recognized
by the Company, although the fruitful source of future evils which he
himself was again sent out to correct. The Company itself acquired a
revenue of £100,000 a year, and a contribution towards its losses and
military expenditure of a million and a half sterling. Such was Jafar
Ali's gratitude to Clive that he afterwards presented him with the
quit-rent of the Company's lands in and around Calcutta, amounting to an
annuity of £27,000 for life, and left him by will the sum of £70,000,
which Clive devoted to the army.
While busy with the civil administration, the conqueror of Plassey
continued to follow up his military success. He sent Major Coote in
pursuit of the French almost as far as Benares. He despatched Colonel
Forde to Vizagapatam and the northern districts of Madras, where that
officer gained the battle of Condore, pronounced by Broome "one of the
most brilliant actions on military record." He came into direct contact,
for the first time, with the Great Mogul himself, an event which
resulted in the most important consequences during the third period of
his career. Shah Alam, when _shahzada_, or heir-apparent, quarrelled
with his father Alam Gir II., the emperor, and united with the viceroys
of Oudh and Allahabad for the conquest of Bengal. He advanced as far as
Patna, which he besieged with 40,000 men. Jafar Ali, in terror, sent his
son to its relief, and implored the aid of Clive. Major Caillaud
defeated the prince's army and dispersed it. Finally, at this period,
Clive repelled the aggression of the Dutch, and avenged the massacre of
Amboyna, on that occasion when he wrote his famous letter, "Dear Forde,
fight them immediately; I will send you the order of council to-morrow."
Meanwhile he never ceased to improve the organization and drill of the
sepoy army, after a European model, and enlisted into it many
Mahommedans of fine physique from upper India. He refortified Calcutta.
In 1760, after four years of labour so incessant and results so
glorious, his health gave way and he returned to England. "It appeared,"
wrote a contemporary on the spot, "as if the soul was departing from the
government of Bengal." He had been formally made governor of Bengal by
the court of directors at a time when his nominal superiors in Madras
sought to recall him to their help there. But he had discerned the
importance of the province even during his first visit to its rich
delta, mighty rivers and teeming population. It should be noticed, also,
that he had the kingly gift of selecting the ablest subordinates, for
even thus early he had discovered the ability of young Warren Hastings,
destined to be his great successor, and, a year after Plassey, made him
resident at the nawab's court.
In 1760, at thirty-five years of age, Clive returned to England with a
fortune of at least £300,000 and the quit-rent of £27,000 a year, after
caring for the comfort of his parents and sisters, and giving Major
Lawrence, his old commanding officer, who had early encouraged his
military genius, £500 a year. The money had been honourably and publicly
acquired, with the approval of the Company. The amount might have been
four times what it was had Clive been either greedy after wealth or
ungenerous to the colleagues and the troops whom he led to victory. In
the five years of his conquests and administration in Bengal, the young
man had crowded together a succession of exploits which led Lord
Macaulay, in what that historian termed his "flashy" essay on the
subject, to compare him to Napoleon Bonaparte. But there was this
difference in Clive's favour, due not more to the circumstances of the
time than to the object of his policy--he gave peace, security,
prosperity and such liberty as the case allowed of to a people now
reckoned at nearly three hundred millions, who had for centuries been
the prey of oppression, while Napoleon's career of conquest was inspired
only by personal ambition, and the absolutism he established vanished
with his fall. During the three years that Clive remained in England he
sought a political position, chiefly that he might influence the course
of events in India, which he had left full of promise. He had been well
received at court, had been made Baron Clive of Plassey, in the peerage
of Ireland, had bought estates, and had got not only himself, but his
friends returned to the House of Commons after the fashion of the time.
Then it was that he set himself to reform the home system of the East
India Company, and began a bitter warfare with Mr Sulivan, chairman of
the court of directors, whom in the end he defeated. In this he was
aided by the news of reverses in Bengal. Vansittart, his successor,
having no great influence over Jafar Ali Khan, had put Kasim Ali Khan,
the son-in-law, in his place in consideration of certain payments to the
English officials. After a brief tenure Kasim Ali had fled, had ordered
Walter Reinhardt (known to the Mahommedans as Sumru), a Swiss mercenary
of his, to butcher the garrison of 150 English at Patna, and had
disappeared under the protection of his brother viceroy of Oudh. The
whole Company's service, civil and military, had become demoralized by
gifts, and by the monopoly of the inland as well as export trade, to
such an extent that the natives were pauperized, and the Company was
plundered of the revenues which Clive had acquired for them. The court
of proprietors, accordingly, who elected the directors, forced them, in
spite of Sulivan, to hurry out Lord Clive to Bengal with the double
powers of governor and commander-in-chief.
What he had done for Madras, what he had accomplished for Bengal proper,
and what he had effected in reforming the Company itself, he was now to
complete in less than two years, in this the third period of his career,
by putting his country politically in the place of the emperor of Delhi,
and preventing for ever the possibility of the corruption to which the
British in India had been driven by an evil system. On the 3rd of May
1765 he landed at Calcutta to learn that Jafar Ali Khan had died,
leaving him personally £70,000, and had been succeeded by his son,
though not before the government had been further demoralized by taking
£100,000 as a gift from the new nawab; while Kasim Ali had induced not
only the viceroy of Oudh, but the emperor of Delhi himself, to invade
Behar. After the first mutiny in the Bengal army, which was suppressed
by blowing the sepoy ringleader from a gun, Major Munro, "the Napier of
those times," scattered the united armies on the hard-fought field of
Buxar. The emperor, Shah Alam, detached himself from the league, while
the Oudh viceroy threw himself on the mercy of the British. Clive had
now an opportunity of repeating in Hindustan, or Upper India, what he
had accomplished for the good of Bengal. He might have secured what are
now called the United Provinces, and have rendered unnecessary the
campaigns of Wellesley and Lake. But he had other work in the
consolidation of rich Bengal itself, making it a base from which the
mighty fabric of British India could afterwards steadily and
proportionally grow. Hence he returned to the Oudh viceroy all his
territory save the provinces of Allahabad and Kora, which he made over
to the weak emperor. But from that emperor he secured the most important
document in the whole of British history in India up to that time, which
appears in the records as "firmaund from the King Shah Aalum, granting
the dewany of Bengal, Behar and Orissa to the Company, 1765." The date
was the 12th of August, the place Benares, the throne an English
dining-table covered with embroidered cloth and surmounted by a chair in
Clive's tent. It is all pictured by a Mahommedan contemporary, who
indignantly exclaims that so great a "transaction was done and finished
in less time than would have been taken up in the sale of a jackass." By
this deed the Company became the real sovereign rulers of thirty
millions of people, yielding a revenue of four millions sterling. All
this had been accomplished by Clive in the few brief years since he had
avenged "the Black Hole" of Calcutta. This would be a small matter, or
might even be a cause of reproach, were it not that the Company's
undisputed sovereignty proved, after a sore period of transition, the
salvation of these millions. The lieutenant-governorship of Bengal since
Clive's time has grown so large and prosperous that in 1905 it was found
advisable to divide it into two separate provinces. But Clive, though
thus moderate and even generous to an extent which called forth the
astonishment of the natives, had all a statesman's foresight. On the
same date he obtained not only an imperial charter for the Company's
possession in the Carnatic also, thus completing the work he began at
Arcot, but a third firman for the highest of all the lieutenancies of
the empire, that of the Deccan itself. This fact is mentioned in a
letter from the secret committee of the court of directors to the Madras
government, dated the 27th of April 1768. Still so disproportionate did
the British force seem, not only to the number and strength of the
princes and people of India, but to the claims and ambition of French,
Dutch and Danish rivals, that Clive's last advice to the directors, as
he finally left India in 1767, was this: "We are sensible that, since
the acquisition of the dewany, the power formerly belonging to the
soubah of those provinces is totally, in fact, vested in the East India
Company. Nothing remains to him but the name and shadow of authority.
This name, however, this shadow, it is indispensably necessary we should
seem to venerate." On a wider arena, even that of the Great Mogul
himself, the shadow was kept up till it obliterated itself in the
massacre of English people in the Delhi palace in 1857; and Queen
Victoria was proclaimed, first, direct ruler on the 1st of November
1858, and then empress of India on the 1st of January 1877.
Having thus founded the empire of British India, Clive's painful duty
was to create a pure and strong administration, such as alone would
justify its possession by foreigners. The civil service was
de-orientalized by raising the miserable salaries which had tempted its
members to be corrupt, by forbidding the acceptance of gifts from
natives, and by exacting covenants under which participation in the
inland trade was stopped. Not less important were his military reforms.
With his usual tact and nerve he put down a mutiny of the English
officers, who chose to resent the veto against receiving presents and
the reduction of batta at a time when two Mahratta armies were marching
on Bengal. His reorganization of the army, on the lines of that which he
had begun after Plassey, and which was neglected during his second visit
to England, has since attracted the admiration of the ablest Indian
officers. He divided the whole into three brigades, so as to make each a
complete force, in itself equal to any single native army that could be
brought against it. He had not enough British artillerymen, however, and
would not make the mistake of his successors, who trained natives to
work the guns, which were turned against the British with such effect
in 1857. It is sufficient to say that after the Mutiny the government
returned to his policy, and not a native gunner is now to be found in
the Indian army.
Clive's final return to England, a poorer man than he went out, in spite
of still more tremendous temptations, was the signal for an outburst of
his personal enemies, exceeded only by that which the malice of Sir
Philip Francis afterwards excited against Warren Hastings. Every
civilian whose illicit gains he had cut off, every officer whose
conspiracy he had foiled, every proprietor or director, like Sulivan,
whose selfish schemes he had thwarted, now sought their opportunity. He
had, with consistent generosity, at once made over the legacy of £70,000
from the grateful Jafar Ali, as the capital of what has since been known
as "the Clive Fund," for the support of invalided European soldiers, as
well as officers, and their widows, and the Company had allowed 8% on
the sum for an object which it was otherwise bound to meet. General John
Burgoyne, of Saratoga memory, did his best to induce the House of
Commons, in which Lord Clive was now member for Shrewsbury, to impeach
the man who gave his country an empire, and the people of that empire
peace and justice, and that, as we have seen, without blot on the gift,
save in the matter of Omichund. The result, after the brilliant and
honourable defences of his career which will be found in Almon's
_Debates_ for 1773, was a compromise that saved England this time from
the dishonour which, when Warren Hastings had to run the gauntlet, put
it in the same category with France in the treatment of its public
benefactors abroad. On a division the House, by 155 to 95, carried the
motion that Lord Clive "did obtain and possess himself" of £234,000
during his first administration of Bengal; but, refusing to express an
opinion on the fact, it passed unanimously the second motion, at five in
the morning, "that Robert, Lord Clive, did at the same time render great
and meritorious services to his country." The one moral question, the
one questionable transaction in all that brilliant and tempted life--the
Omichund treaty--was not touched.
Only one who can personally understand what Clive's power and services
had been will rightly realize the effect on him, though in the prime of
life, of the discussions through which he had been dragged. In the
greatest of his speeches, in reply to Lord North, he said,--"My
situation, sir, has not been an easy one for these twelve months past,
and though my conscience could never accuse me, yet I felt for my
friends who were involved in the same censure as myself.... I have been
examined by the select committee more like a sheep-stealer than a member
of this House." Fully accepting that statement, and believing him to
have been purer than his accusers in spite of temptations unknown to
them, we see in Clive's end the result merely of physical suffering, of
chronic disease which opium failed to abate, while the worry and chagrin
caused by his enemies gave it full scope. This great man, who did more
for his country than any soldier till Wellington, and more for the
people and princes of India than any statesman in history, died by his
own hand on the 22nd of November 1774 in his fiftieth year.
The portrait of Clive, by Dance, in the council chamber of Government
House, Calcutta, faithfully represents him. He was slightly above
middle-size, with a countenance rendered heavy and almost sad by a
natural fulness above the eyes. Reserved to the many, he was beloved by
his own family and friends. His encouragement of scientific undertakings
like Major James Rennell's surveys, and of philological researches like
Francis Gladwin's, gained him to two honorary distinctions of F.R.S. and
LL.D.
His son and successor Edward (1754-1839) was created earl of Powis in
1804, his wife being the sister and heiress of George Herbert, earl of
Powis (1755-1801). He is thus the ancestor of the later earls of Powis,
who took the name of Herbert instead of that of Clive in 1807.
See Sir A. J. Arbuthnot, _Lord Clive_ ("Builders of Great Britain"
series) (1899); Sir C. Wilson, _Lord Clive_ ("English Men of Action"
series) (1890); G. B. Malleson, _Lord Clive_ ("Rulers of India"
series) (1890); F. M. Holmes, _Four Heroes of India_ (1892); C.
Caraccioli, _Life of Lord Clive_(1775).
CLOACA, the Latin term given to the sewers laid to drain the low marshy
grounds between the hills of Rome. The most important, which drained the
forum, is known as the Cloaca Maxima and dates from the 6th century B.C.
This was 10 ft. 6 in. wide, 14 ft. high, and was vaulted with three
consecutive rings of voussoirs in stone, the floor being paved with
polygonal blocks of lava.
CLOCK. The measurement of time has always been based on the revolution
of the celestial bodies, and the period of the apparent revolution of
the sun, i.e. the interval between two consecutive crossings of a
meridian, has been the usual standard for a day. By the Egyptians the
day was divided into 24 hours of equal length. The Greeks adopted a
different system, dividing the day, i.e. the period from sunrise to
sunset, into 12 hours, and also the night. Whence it followed that it
was only at two periods in the year that the length of the hours during
the day and night were uniform (see CALENDAR). In consequence, those who
adopted the Greek system were obliged to furnish their water-clocks (see
CLEPSYDRA) with a compensating device so that the equal hours measured
by those clocks should be rendered unequal, according to the exigencies
of the season. The hours were divided into minutes and seconds, a system
derived from the sexagesimal notation which prevailed before the decimal
system was finally adopted. Our mode of computing time, and our angular
measure, are the only relics of this obsolete system.
The simplest measure of time is the revolution of the earth round its
axis, which so far as we know is uniform, perfectly regular, and has not
varied in speed during any period of human observation. The time of such
a revolution is called a sidereal day, and is divided into hours,
minutes and seconds. The period of rotation of the earth is practically
measured by observations of the fixed stars (see TIME), the period
between two successive transits of the same star across a meridian
constituting the sidereal day. But as the axis of the earth slowly
revolves round in a cone, whereby the phenomenon known as the precession
of the equinoxes is produced, it follows that the astronomical sidereal
day is not the true period of the earth's rotation on its axis, but
varies from it by less than a twenty millionth part, a fraction so small
as to be inappreciable. But the civil day depends not on the revolution
of the earth with regard to the stars, but on its revolution as compared
with the position of the sun. Therefore each civil day is on the average
longer than a sidereal one by nearly four minutes, or, to be exact, each
sidereal day is to an average civil day as .99727 to 1, and the sidereal
hour, minute and second are also shorter in like proportion. Hence a
sidereal clock has a shorter, quicker-moving pendulum than an ordinary
clock.
Ordinary civil time thus depends on the apparent revolution of the sun
round the earth. As, however, this is not uniform, it is needful for
practical convenience to give it an artificial uniformity. For this
purpose an imaginary sun, moving round the earth with the average
velocity of the real sun, and called the "mean" sun, is taken as the
measure of civil time. The day is divided into 24 hours, each hour into
60 minutes, and each minute into 60 seconds. After that the sexagesimal
division system is abandoned, and fractions of seconds are estimated in
decimals.
A clock consists of a train of wheels, actuated by a spring or weight,
and provided with a governing device which so regulates the speed as to
render it uniform. It also has a mechanism by which it strikes the hours
on a bell or gong (cp. Fr. _cloche_, Ger. _Glocke_, a bell; Dutch
_klok_, bell, clock), whereas, strictly, a _timepiece_ does not strike,
but simply shows the time.
The earliest clocks seem to have come into use in Europe during the 13th
century. For although there is evidence that they may have been invented
some centuries sooner, yet until that date they were probably only
curiosities. The first form they took was that of the balance clock, the
invention of which is ascribed, but on very insufficient grounds, to
Pope Silvester II. in A.D. 996. A clock was put up in a former clock
tower at Westminster with some great bells in 1288, out of a fine
imposed on a chief-justice who had offended the government, and the
motto _Discite justitiam, moniti_, inscribed upon it. The bells were
sold, or rather, it is said, gambled away, by Henry VIII. In 1292 a
clock in Canterbury cathedral is mentioned as costing £30, and another
at St Albans, by R. Wallingford, the abbot in 1326, is said to have been
such as there was not in all Europe, showing various astronomical
phenomena. A description of one in Dover Castle with the date 1348 on it
was published by Admiral W.H. Smyth (1788-1865) in 1851, and the clock
itself was exhibited going, in the Scientific Exhibition of 1876. A very
similar one, made by Henry de Vick for the French king Charles V. in
1379 was much like the common clocks of the 18th century, except that it
had a vibrating balance instead of a pendulum. The works of one of these
old clocks still exist in a going condition at the Victoria and Albert
Museum. It came from Wells cathedral, having previously been at
Glastonbury abbey.
[Illustration: FIG. 1.--Verge Escapement.]
These old clocks had what is called a verge escapement, and a balance.
The train of wheels ended with a crown wheel, that is, a wheel serrated
with teeth like those of a saw, placed parallel with its axis (fig. 1).
These teeth, D, engaged with pallets CB, CA, mounted on a verge or staff
placed parallel to the face of the crown wheel. As the crown wheel was
turned round the teeth pushed the pallets alternately until one or the
other slid past a tooth, and thus let the crown wheel rotate. When one
pallet had slipped over a tooth, the other pallet caught a corresponding
tooth on the opposite side of the wheel. The verge was terminated by a
balance rod placed at right angles to it with a ball at each end. It is
evident that when the force of any tooth on the crown wheel began to act
on a pallet, it communicated motion to the balance and thus caused it to
rotate. This motion would of course be accelerated, not uniformly, but
according to some law dependent on the shape of the teeth and pallets.
When the motion had reached its maximum, the tooth slipped past the
pallet. The other pallet now engaged another tooth on the opposite side
of the wheel. The motion of the balls, however, went on and they
continued to swing round, but this time they were opposed by the
pressure of the tooth. For a time they overcame that pressure, and drove
the tooth back, causing a recoil. As, however, every motion if subjected
to an adverse acceleration (i.e. a retardation) must come to rest, the
balls stopped, and then the tooth, which had been forced to recoil,
advanced in its turn, and the swing was repeated. The arrangement was
thus very like a huge watch balance wheel in which the driving weight
acted in a very irregular manner, not only as a driving force, but also
as a regulating spring. The going of such clocks was influenced greatly
by friction and by the oil on the parts, and never could be
satisfactory, for the time varied with every variation in the swing of
the balls, and this again with every variation of the effective driving
force.
[Illustration: FIG. 2.--Galileo's Escapement.]
The first great step in the improvement of the balance clock was a very
simple one. In the 17th century Galileo had discovered the isochronism
of the pendulum, but he made no practical use of it, except by the
invention of a little instrument for enabling doctors to count their
patients' pulse-beats. His son, however, is supposed to have applied the
pendulum to clocks. There is at the Victoria and Albert Museum a copy of
an early clock, said to be Galileo's, in which the pins on a rotating
wheel kick a pendulum outwards, remaining locked after having done so
till the pendulum returns and unlocks the next pin, which then
administers another kick to the pendulum (fig. 2). The interest of the
specimen is that it contains the germ of the chronometer escapement and
free pendulum, which is possibly destined to be the escapement of the
future.
The essential component parts of a clock are:--
1. The pendulum or time-governing device;
2. The escapement, whereby the pendulum controls the speed of going;
3. The train of wheels, urged round by the weight or main-spring,
together with the recording parts, i.e. the dial, hands and hour motion
wheels;
4. The striking mechanism.
[Illustration: FIG. 3.--Section of House Clock.]
The general construction of the going part of all clocks, except large
or turret clocks, is substantially the same, and fig. 3 is a section of
any ordinary house clock. B is the barrel with the cord coiled round it,
generally 16 times for the 8 days; the barrel is fixed to its arbor K,
which is prolonged into the winding square coming up to the face or dial
of the clock; the dial is here shown as fixed either by small screws x,
or by a socket and pin z, to the prolonged pillars p, p, which (4 or 5
in number) connect the plates or frame of the clock together, though the
dial is commonly set on to the front plate by another set of pillars of
its own. The great wheel G rides on the arbor, and is connected with the
barrel by the ratchet R, the action of which is shown more fully in fig.
25. The intermediate wheel r in this drawing is for a purpose which will
be described hereafter, and for the present it may be considered as
omitted, and the click of the ratchet R as fixed to the great wheel. The
great wheel drives the pinion c which is called the centre pinion, on
the arbor of the _centre wheel_ C, which goes through to the dial, and
carries the long, or minute-hand; this wheel always turns in an hour,
and the great wheel generally in 12 hours, by having 12 times as many
teeth as the centre pinion. The centre wheel drives the "second wheel" D
by its pinion d, and that again drives the scape-wheel E by its pinion
e. If the pinions d and e have each 8 teeth or _leaves_ (as the teeth of
pinions are usually called), C will have 64 teeth and D 60, in a clock
of which the scape-wheel turns in a minute, so that the seconds hand may
be set on its arbor prolonged to the dial. A represents the pallets of
the escapement, which will be described presently, and their arbor a
goes through a large hole in the back plate near F, and its back pivot
turns in a cock OFQ screwed on to the back plate. From the pallet arbor
at F descends the _crutch_ Ff, ending in the _fork_ f, which embraces
the pendulum P, so that as the pendulum vibrates, the crutch and the
pallets necessarily vibrate with it. The pendulum is hung by a thin
spring S from the cock Q, so that the bending point of the spring may be
just opposite the end of the pallet arbor, and the edge of the spring as
close to the end of that arbor as possible.
We may now go to the front (or left hand) of the clock, and describe
the dial or "motion-work." The minute hand fits on to a squared end of a
brass socket, which is fixed to the wheel M, and fits close, but not
tight, on the prolonged arbor of the centre wheel. Behind this wheel is
a bent spring which is (or ought to be) set on the same arbor with a
square hole (not a round one as it sometimes is) in the middle, so that
it must turn with the arbor; the wheel is pressed up against this
spring, and kept there, by a cap and a small pin through the end of the
arbor. The consequence is, that there is friction enough between the
spring and the wheel to carry the hand round, but not enough to resist a
moderate push with the finger for the purpose of altering the time
indicated. This wheel M, which is sometimes called the minute-wheel, but
is better called the _hour-wheel_ as it turns in an hour, drives another
wheel N, of the same number of teeth, which has a pinion attached to it;
and that pinion drives the _twelve-hour wheel_ H, which is also attached
to a large socket or pipe carrying the hour hand, and riding on the
former socket, or rather (in order to relieve the centre arbor of that
extra weight) on an intermediate socket fixed to the _bridge_ L, which
is screwed to the front plate over the hour-wheel M. The weight W, which
drives the train and gives the impulse to the pendulum through the
escapement, is generally hung by a catgut line passing through a pulley
attached to the weight, the other end of the cord being tied to some
convenient place in the clock frame or _seat-board_, to which it is
fixed by screws through the lower pillars.
[Illustration: FIG. 4.]
_Pendulum._--Suppose that we have a body P (fig. 4) at rest, and that it
is material, that is to say, has "mass." And for simplicity let us
consider it a ball of some heavy matter. Let it be free to move
horizontally, but attached to a fixed point A by means of a spring. As
it can only move horizontally and not fall, the earth's gravity will be
unable to impart any motion to it. Now it is a law first discovered by
Robert Hooke (1635-1703) that if any elastic spring be pulled by a
force, then, within its elastic limits, the amount by which it will be
extended is proportional to the force. Hence then, if a body is pulled
out against a spring, the restitutional force is proportional to the
displacement. If the body be released it will tend to move back to its
initial position with an acceleration proportioned to its mass and to
its distance from rest. A body thus circumstanced moves with harmonic
motion, vibrating like a stretched piano string, and the peculiarity of
its motion is that it is isochronous. That is to say, the time of
returning to its initial position is the same, whether it makes a large
movement at a high velocity under a strong restitutional force, or a
small movement at a lower velocity under a smaller restitutional force
(see MECHANICS). In consequence of this fact the balance wheel of a
watch is isochronous or nearly so, notwithstanding variations in the
amplitude of its vibrations. It is like a piano string which sounds the
same note, although the sound dies away as the amplitude of its
vibrations diminishes.
[Illustration: FIG. 5.]
A pendulum is isochronous for similar reasons. If the bob be drawn aside
from D to C (fig. 5), then the restitutional force tending to bring it
back to rest is approximately the force which gravitation would exert
along the tangent CA, i.e.
BC displacement BC
g cos ACW = g -- = g ------------------.
OC length of pendulum
Since g is constant, and the length of the pendulum does not vary, it
follows that when a pendulum is drawn aside through a small arc the
force tending to bring it back to rest is proportional to the
displacement (approximately). Thus the pendulum bob under the influence
of gravity, if the arc of swing is small, acts as though instead of
being acted on by gravity it was acted on by a spring tending to drag it
towards D, and therefore is isochronous. The qualification "If the arc
of swing is small" is introduced because, as was discovered by
Christiaan Huygens, the arc of vibration of a truly isochronous pendulum
should not be a circle with centre O, but a cycloid DM, generated by
the rolling of a circle with diameter DQ = ½OD, upon a straight line QM.
However, for a short distance near the bottom, the circle so nearly
coincides with the cycloid that a pendulum swinging in the usual
circular path is, for small arcs, isochronous for practical purposes.
[Illustration: FIG. 6.]
The formula representing the time of oscillation of a pendulum, in a
circular arc, is thus found:--Let OB (fig. 6) be the pendulum, B be
the position from which the bob is let go, and P be its position at
some period during its swing. Put FC = h, and MC = x, and OB = l. Now
when a body is allowed to move under the force of gravity in any path
from a height h, the velocity it attains is the same as a body would
attain falling freely vertically through the distance h. Whence if v
be the velocity of the bob at P, v = sqrt(2gFM) = sqrt(2g(h - x)). Let
Pp = ds, and the vertical distance of p below P = dx, then Pp =
velocity at P × dt; that is, dt = ds/v.
ds l l
Also -- = -- = ---------------,
dx MP sqrt(x(2l - x))
ds ldx 1
whence dt = -- = --------------- · ---------------
v sqrt(x(2l - x)) sqrt(2g(h - x))
1 / l dx 1
= --- / --- · -------------- · ----------------
2 \/ g sqrt(x(p - x)) sqrt(1 - (x/2l))
Expanding the second part we have
1 / l dx / x \
dt = --- / --- · -------------- · ( 1 + --- + ... ).
2 \/ g sqrt(x(h - x)) \ 4l /
If this is integrated between the limits of 0 and h, we have
/ l / h \
t = [pi] / --- · ( 1 + --- + ... ),
\/ g \ 8l /
where t is the time of swing from B to A. The terms after the second
may be neglected. The first term, [pi] sqrt(l/g), is the time of swing
in a cycloid. The second part represents the addition necessary if the
swing is circular and not cycloidal, and therefore expresses the
"circular error." Now h = BC²/l = 2[pi]²[theta]²l / 360², where
[theta] is half the angle of swing expressed in degrees; hence h/(8l)
= [theta]²/52520, and the formula becomes
/ l / [theta]² \
t = [pi] / --- ( 1 + -------- ).
\/ g \ 52520 /
Hence the ratio of the time of swing of an ordinary pendulum of any
length, with a semiarc of swing = [theta] degrees is to the time of
swing of a corresponding cycloidal pendulum as 1 + [theta]²/52520 : 1.
Also the difference of time of swing caused by a small increase
[theta]' in the semiarc of swing = 2[theta][theta]' / 52520 second per
second, or 3.3[theta][theta]' seconds per day. Hence in the case of a
seconds pendulum whose semiarc of swing is 2° an increase of .1° in
this semiarc of 2° would cause the clock to lose 3.3 × 2 × 0.1 = .66
second a day.
Huygens proposed to apply his discovery to clocks, and since the
evolute of a cycloid is an equal cycloid, he suggested the use of a
flexible pendulum swinging between cycloidal cheeks. But this was only
an example of theory pushed too far, because the friction on the
cycloidal cheeks involves more error than they correct, and other
disturbances of a higher degree of importance are left uncorrected. In
fact the application of pendulums to clocks, though governed in the
abstract by theory, has to be modified by experiment.
Neglecting the circular error, if L be the length of a pendulum and g
the acceleration of gravity at the place where the pendulum is, then
T, the time of a single vibration = [pi] sqrt(L/g). From this formula
it follows that the times of vibration of pendulums are directly
proportional to the square root of their lengths, and inversely
proportional to the square root of the acceleration of gravity at the
place where the pendulum is swinging. The value of g for London is
32.2 ft. per second per second, whence it results that the length of a
pendulum for London to beat seconds of mean solar time = 39.14 in.
nearly, the length of an astronomical pendulum to beat seconds of
sidereal time being 38.87 in.
This length is calculated on the supposition that the arc of swing is
cycloidal and that the whole mass of the pendulum is concentrated at a
point whose distance, called the radius of oscillation, from the point
of suspension of the pendulum is 39.14 in. From this it might be
imagined that if a sphere, say of iron, were suspended from a light
rod, so that its centre were 39.14 in. below its point of support, it
would vibrate once per second. This, however, is not the case. For as
the pendulum swings, the ball also tends to turn in space to and fro
round a horizontal axis perpendicular to the direction of its motion.
Hence the force stored up in the pendulum is expended, not only in
making it swing, but also in causing the ball to oscillate to and fro
through a small angle about a horizontal axis. We have therefore to
consider not merely the vibrations of the rod, but the oscillations of
the bob. The moment of the momentum of the system round the point of
suspension, called its moment of inertia, is composed of the sum of
the mass of each particle multiplied into the square of its distance
from the axis of rotation. Hence the moment of inertia of the body I
= [Sigma](ma²). If k be defined by the relation [Sigma](ma²) =
[Sigma](m) X k², then k is called the radius of gyration. If k be the
radius of gyration of a bob round a horizontal axis through its centre
of gravity, h the distance of its centre of gravity below its point of
suspension, and k' the radius of gyration of the bob round the centre
of suspension, then k'² = h² + k². If l be the length of a simple
pendulum that oscillates in the same time, then lh = k'² = h² + k².
Now k can be calculated if we know the form of the bob, and l is the
length of the simple pendulum = 39.14 in.; hence h, the distance of
the centre of gravity of the bob below the point of suspension, can be
found.
In an ordinary pendulum, with a thin rod and a bob, this distance h is
not very different from the theoretical length, l = 39.14 in., of a
simple theoretical pendulum in which the rod has no weight and the bob
is only a single heavy point. For the effect of the weight of the rod
is to throw the centre of oscillation a little above the centre of
gravity of the bob, while the effect of the size of the bob is to
throw the centre of oscillation a little down. In ordinary practice it
is usual to make the pendulum so that the centre of gravity is about
39 in. below the upper free end of the suspension spring and leave the
exact length to be determined by trial.
[Illustration: FIG. 7.--Section of Westminster Clock Pendulum.]
Regulation.
Since T = [pi]sqrt(L/g), we have, by differentiating, dL/L = 2dT/T,
that is, any small percentage of increase in L will correspond to
double the percentage of increase in T. Therefore with a seconds
pendulum, in order to make a second's difference in a day, equivalent
to 1/86,400 of the pendulum's rate of vibration, since there are
86,400 seconds in 24 hours, we must have a difference of length
amounting to 2/86,400 = 1/43,200 of the length of the rod. This is
39.138/43,200 = .000906 in. Hence if under the pendulum bob be put a
nut working a screw of 32 threads to the inch and having its head
divided into 30 parts, a turn of this nut through one division will
alter the length of the pendulum by .0009 in. and change the rate of
the clock by about a second a day. To accelerate the clock the nut has
always to be turned to the right, or as you would drive in a corkscrew
and vice versa. But in astronomical and in large turret clocks, it is
desirable to avoid stopping or in any way disturbing the pendulum; and
for the finer adjustments other methods of regulation are adopted. The
best is that of fixing a collar, as shown in fig. 7 at C, about midway
down the rod, capable of having very small weights laid upon it, this
being the place where the addition of any small weight produces the
greatest effect, and where, it may be added, any moving of that weight
up or down on the rod produces the least effect. If M is the weight of
the pendulum and l its length (down to the centre of oscillation), and
m a small weight added at the distance n below the centre of
suspension or above the c.o. (since they are reciprocal), t the time
of vibration, and -dt the acceleration due to adding m; then
-dt m / n n² \
--- = --- ( --- - ---- ):
t 2M \ l l² /
from which it is evident that if n = l/2, then = dt/t = m/8M. But as
there are 86400 seconds in a day, -dT, the daily acceleration, = 86400
dt, or 10800 m/M, or if m is the 10800th of the weight of the pendulum
it will accelerate the clock a second a day, or 10 grains will do that
on a pendulum of 15 lb weight (7000 gr. being = 1 lb.), or an ounce on
a pendulum of 6 cwt. In like manner if n = l/3 from either top or
bottom, m must = M/7200 to accelerate the clock a second a day. The
higher up the collar the less is the risk of disturbing the pendulum
in putting on or taking off the regulating weights, but the bigger the
weight required to produce the effect. The weights should be made in a
series, and marked ¼, ½, 1, 2, according to the number of seconds a
day by which they will accelerate; and the pendulum adjusted at first
to lose a little, perhaps a second a day, when there are no weights on
the collar, so that it may always have some weight on, which can be
diminished or increased from time to time with certainty, as the rate
may vary.
Compensation.
The length of pendulum rods is also affected by temperature and also,
if they are made of wood, by damp. Hence, to ensure good time-keeping
qualities in a clock, it is necessary (1) to make the rods of
materials that are as little affected by such influences as possible,
and (2) to provide means of compensation by which the effective length
of the rod is kept constant in spite of expansion or contraction in
the material of which it is composed. Fairly good pendulums for
ordinary use may be made out of very well dried wood, soaked in a thin
solution of shellac in spirits of wine, or in melted paraffin wax; but
wood shrinks in so uncertain a manner that such pendulums are not
admissible for clocks of high exactitude. Steel is an excellent
material for pendulum rods, for the metal is strong, is not stretched
by the weight of the bob, and does not suffer great changes in
molecular structure in the course of time. But a steel rod expands on
the average lineally by .0000064 of its length for each degree F. by
which its temperature rises; hence an expansion of .00009 in. on a
pendulum rod of 39.14 in., that is .000023 of its length, will be
caused by an increase of temperature of about 4° F., and that is
sufficient to make the clock lose a second a day. Since the summer and
winter temperatures of a room may differ by as much as 50° F., the
going of a clock may thus be affected by an error of 12 seconds a day.
With a pendulum rod of brass, which has a coefficient of expansion of
.00001, a clock might gain one-third of a minute daily in winter as
compared with its rate in summer. The coefficients of linear expansion
per degree F. of some other materials used in making pendulums are as
follows: white deal, .0000024; flint glass, .0000048; iron, .000007;
lead, .000016; zinc, .000016; and mercury, .000033. The solid or
cubical expansions of these bodies are three times the above
quantities respectively.
The first method of compensating a pendulum was invented in 1722 by
George Graham, who proposed to use a bob of mercury, taking advantage
of the high coefficient of expansion of that metal. As now employed,
the mercurial pendulum consists of a rod of steel terminating in a
stirrup of the same metal on which rests a glass vessel full of
mercury, having its centre of gravity about 39 in. below the point of
suspension of the pendulum. For each Fahrenheit degree of temperature
the centre of gravity of the bob is lowered by the expansion of the
rod about 1/4000 of an inch. The glass vessel and the mercury in it
have therefore to be so contrived, that their centre of gravity will
rise 1/4000 in. per degree F. The glass having a small coefficient of
expansion, the lateral expansion of the mercury will be checked by it,
and this will help to raise the column. For the linear coefficient of
expansion of glass is .0000048 per degree F., whence the sectional
area of a glass vessel increases by .0000096 per degree F., and
therefore the coefficient of vertical expansion of a column of mercury
whose volumetric expansion coefficient is .0001 per degree F. is
(.0001 - .0000096) = .0000904. Let x be the height of the vessel
necessary to compensate a steel rod upon the bottom of which it rests.
Then, the coefficient of expansion of steel being .0000066 per degree
F., we have
x
--- (.0000904 - .0000066) = .0000066 X 39.14, whence x = 6¼ in.
2
It must, however, be remembered that the glass jar has some weight and
that it does not rise by anything like the amount of the mercury. This
tends to keep the centre of gravity down. So that the height of
mercury of 6¼ in. will not be sufficient to effect the compensation,
and about 6¾ to 7 in. will be required. Some authors specify 7 in.;
this is when the diameter of the jar is small. A certain amount of
negative compensation must also be deducted to allow for the changes
of temperature in the air, as will presently be seen; this amounts in
the case of mercury to about 1/5 in.
In consequence of the complication of all these calculations it is
usual to allow about 6¾ to 7 in. of mercury in the glass vessel and to
adjust the exact amount of mercury by trial.
Another very good form of mercurial pendulum was proposed by E. J.
Dent; it consists of a cast-iron jar into the top of which the steel
pendulum rod is screwed, having its end plunged into the mercury
contained in the jar. By this means the mercury, jar and rod rapidly
acquire the same temperature. This pendulum is less likely to break
than the form just described. The depth of mercury required in an iron
jar is stated by Lord Grimthorpe to be 8½ to 9 in. The reason why it
is greater than it is when a glass jar is employed is that iron has a
larger coefficient of expansion than glass, and that it is also
heavier. In all cases, however, of mercury pendulums experiment seems
to be the only ultimate test of the quantity of mercury required, for
the results are so complicated by the behaviour of the oil and the
barometric errors that at its best the regulation of a clock can only
be ultimately a matter of scientifically guided compromise. A small
amount of compensation of a purely experimental character is also
allowed to compensate the changes which temperature effects on the
suspension spring. This is sometimes made as much as 1/6 of the length
correction.
As an alternative to the mercurial pendulum other systems have been
employed. The "gridiron" pendulum consists of a group of alternate
rods of steel and brass, so arranged that the expansion of the brass
acts upwards and counteracts that of the steel downwards. It was
invented in 1726 by John Harrison. Assuming that 9 rods are used--5 of
steel and 4 of brass--their lengths may be as follows from pin to
pin:--Centre steel rod 31.5 in.; 2 steel rods next the centre 24.5
in.; 2 steel rods farthest from centre 29.5 in.; from the lower end of
outside steel rods to centre of bob 3 in.; total 89.5 in. Of the 4
brass rods the 2 outside ones are 26.87 in.; and the two inside ones
22.25 in.; total 49.12 in. Thus the expansion of 88½ in. of steel is
counteracted by the expansion of 49 1/8 in. of brass. Everything
depends, however, on the expansion coefficient of the steel and brass
employed, the requirement in every case being that of total lengths of
the brass and iron should be in proportion to the linear coefficients
of expansion of those metals. The above figures are for a very soft
brass and steel. Thos. Reid, with more ordinary steel and brass,
prescribed a ratio of 112 to 71, Lord Grimthorpe a ratio of 100 to 61.
It is absolutely necessary to put the actual rods to be used for
making the pendulum in a hot water bath, and measure their expansions
with a microscope.
John Smeaton, taking advantage of a far greater expansion coefficient
of zinc as compared with brass, proposed to use a steel rod with a
collar at the bottom, on which rested a hard drawn zinc rod. From this
rod hung a steel tube to which the bob was attached. The total length
of the steel rod and of the steel tube down to the centre of the bob
was made to the total length of the zinc tube, in the ratio of 5 to 2
(being the ratio of the expansions of zinc and steel); for a 39.14 in.
pendulum we should therefore want a zinc tube equal in length to 2/3
(39.14) = 26¼ in. In practice the zinc tube is made about 27 in. long,
and then gradually cut down by trial. In fact the weight of a heavy
pendulum squeezes the zinc, and it is impossible by mere theory to
determine what will be its behaviour. The zinc tube must be of rolled
zinc, hard drawn through a die, and must not be cast. Ventilating
holes must be made in suitable places in the steel tube and the collar
on which it rests, to ensure that changes of temperature are rapidly
communicated throughout the system.
A pendulum with a rod of dry varnished deal is tolerably compensated
by a bob of lead or of zinc 10½ to 13 in. in height, resting on a nut
at the bottom of the rod.
Invar.
The old methods of pendulum compensation for heat may now be
considered as superseded by the invention of "invar," a combination of
nickel and steel, due to Charles E. Guillaume, of the International
Office of Weights and Measures at Sèvres near Paris. This alloy has a
linear coefficient of expansion on the average of .000001 per degree
centigrade, that is to say, only about 1/11 that of ordinary steel.
Hence it can be easily compensated by means of brass, lead or any
other suitable metal. Brass is usually employed. In the invar pendulum
introduced into Great Britain by Mr Agar Baugh a departure is made
from the previous practice of merely calculating the length of the
compensator, fastening it to the lower part of the pendulum, and
attaching it to the centre of the bob. In the case of these pendulums,
accurate computations are made of the moments of inertia of every
separate individual part. Thus, for instance, since an addition of
volume due to the effect of heat to the upper part of the bob has a
different effect upon the moment of inertia from that of an equal
quantity added to the lower part of the bob, the bob is suspended not
from its centre, but from a point about 1/10 in. below it, the
distance varying according to the shape of the bob, so that the heat
expansion of the bob may cause its centre of gravity to rise and
compensate the effect of its increased moment of inertia. Again the
suspension spring is measured for isochronism, and an alloy of steel
prepared for it which does not alter its elasticity with change of
temperature. Moreover, since rods of invar steel subjected to strain
do not acquire their final coefficients of expansion and elasticity
for some time, the invar is artificially "aged" by exposure to strain
and heat.
These considerations serve as a guide in arranging for the
compensation of the expansion of the rod and bob due to change of
temperature. But they are not the only ones required; we have also to
deal with changes due to the density of the air in which the pendulum
is moving. A body suspended in a fluid loses in weight by an amount
equal to the weight of the fluid displaced, whence it follows that a
pendulum suspended in air has not the weight which ought truly to
correspond to its mass. M remains constant while M_g_ is less than in
a vacuum. If the density of the air remained constant, this loss of
weight, being constant, could be allowed for and would make no
difference to the time-keeping. The period of swing would only be a
little increased over what it would be _in vacuo_. But the weight of a
given volume of air varies both with the barometric pressure and also
with temperature. If the bob be of type metal it weighs less in air
than in a vacuum by about .000103 part, and for each 1° F. rise in
temperature (the barometer remaining constant and therefore the
pressure remaining the same), the variation of density causes the bob
to gain .00000024 of its weight. This, of course, makes the pendulum
go quicker. Since the time of vibration varies as the inverse square
root of _g_, it follows that a small increment of weight, the mass
remaining constant, produces a diminution of one half that increment
in time of swing. Hence, then, a rise of temperature of 1° F. will
produce a diminution in the time of swing of .00000012th part or .0104
second in a day. But in making this calculation it has been assumed
that the mass moved remains unaltered by the temperature. This is not
so. A pendulum when swinging sets in motion a volume of air dependent
on the size of the bob, but in a 10 lb bob nearly equal to its own
volume. Hence while the rise of 1° of temperature increases the weight
by .00000012th part, it also decreases the mass by about the same
proportion, and therefore the increase of period due to a rise of
temperature of 1° F. will, instead of being .0104 second a day, be
about .02 second. This must be compensated negatively by lengthening
the pendulum by about .02/1000 in. for each degree of rise of
temperature, which will require a piece of brass about 2 in. long. It
follows, therefore, that with an invar rod having a linear expansion
coefficient of .0000002 per degree F., which requires a piece of brass
about .8 in. long to compensate it, the compensation which is to
regulate both the expansion of the rod and also that of the air must
be .8 in. - 2 in., or -1.2 in.; so that the bob must be hung downwards
from a piece of brass nearly 1-1/5 in. in length. If the coefficient
of expansion of the invar were .00000053 per degree F., then the two
corrections, one for the expansion of the rod and the other for the
expansion of the air, would just neutralize one another, and the
pendulum rod would require no compensator at all. There are a number
of other refinements which might be added, but which are too long for
insertion here. By taking in all the sources of error of higher
orders, it has been possible to calculate a pendulum so accurately
that, when the clock is loaded with the weight sufficient to give the
pendulum the arc of swing for which it is designed, a rate of error
has been produced of only half a minute in a year. These refinements,
however, are only required for clocks of precision; for ordinary
clocks an invar pendulum with a lead bob and brass compensator is
quite sufficient.
Invar pendulum rods are often made of steel with coefficients of
expansion of about .0000012 linear per 1° C.; such a bob as this would
require about 6.7 cm. of brass to compensate it, and, deducting 5 cm.
of brass for the air compensation, this leaves about 1.7 cm. of
positive compensation for the pendulum. But as has been said, the
exact deduction depends on the shape and size of the bob, and the
metal of which it is made. The diameters of the rods are 8 mm. for a
15 lb bob, 5 mm. for a 4 lb bob, and 12 to 15 mm. for a 60 lb bob. The
bob is either a single cylinder or two cylinders with the rod between
them. Lenticular and spherical bobs are not used. The great object is
to allow the air ready access to all parts of the rod and compensator,
so that they are all heated or cooled simultaneously. The bobs are
usually made of a compound of lead, antimony, and tin, which forms a
hard metal, free from bubbles and with a specific gravity of about 10.
The usual weight of the bobs of the best pendulums for an ordinary
astronomical clock is about 15 lb. A greater weight than this is found
liable to make the support of the pendulum rock and to put an undue
strain on the parts, without any corresponding advantage. The rods
used are all artificially aged, and have their heat expansion
measured. No adjusting screw at the bottom is provided, the regulation
being done by the addition of weights half way up the rod. An
adjusting screw at the bottom has the disadvantage that it is
impossible to know on which of the threads the rod is really resting;
hence extra compensation may be introduced when not required. It is
considered better that the supports of the bob should be rigid and
invariable.
Barometrical error.
The effect of changes in the pressure of the air as shown by a
barometer is too important to be omitted in the design of a good
clock. But we do not propose to give more than a mere indication of
the principles which govern compensation for this effect, since the
full discussion of the problem would be too protracted. We have seen
that the action of the air in affecting the time of oscillation of a
pendulum depends chiefly on the fact that its buoyancy makes the
pendulum lighter, so that while the mass of the bob which has to be
moved remains the same or nearly the same, the acceleration of gravity
on it has less effect. A volume of air at ordinary temperature and
pressure has, as has been said, .000103 the weight of an equal volume
of type metal, whence it follows that the acceleration of gravity on a
type metal bob in air is .999897 of the acceleration of gravity on the
bob _in vacuo_. If, therefore, we diminish the value of g in the
formula T = [pi]sqrt(L/g) by .000103, we shall have the difference of
time of vibration of a type metal bob in air, as compared with its
time _in vacuo_, and this, by virtue of the principle used when
discussing the increase of time of oscillation due to increased
pendulum lengths, is ½(.000103) second in one second, or about 4½
seconds in a day of 86,400 seconds. It follows that a barometric
pressure of 30 in. causes a loss of 4½ seconds in the day, equivalent
to .15 second per day for each inch of difference of the barometer.
But, as has already been explained, the effect of the mass of the air
transported with the pendulum must also be taken into account and
therefore the above figures must be doubled or nearly doubled. A
difference of 30 in. of barometric pressure would thus make a
difference of 9 seconds per day in the rate of the pendulum, and the
clock would lose about 1/3 of a second a day for each inch of rise of
the barometer, the result being of the same magnitude as would be
produced by a fall of temperature of 15° F. in the air. Either of
these effects would require a shortening of the pendulum of 1/3000 in.
This estimate is not far from the truth, for observations taken at
various European observatories on various clocks, and collected by
Jakob Hilfiker, give a mean of .15 second of retardation per day per
centimetre of barometric pressure, or .37 second per day for each inch
rise of the barometer.
In order to counteract variations in going which must thus obviously
be produced by variations of barometrical pressure, attempts have been
made purposely to disturb the isochronism of the pendulum, by making
the arcs of vibration abnormally large. Again, the bob has been fitted
with a piece of iron, which is subjected to the attraction of a piece
of magnetized steel floating on the mercury in the open end of a
barometer tube, so that when the barometer falls the attraction is
increased and the pendulum retarded. Again, mercury barometers have
been attached to pendulums. A simple method is to fix an aneroid
barometer with about seven compartments on the pendulum about 5 to 6
in. below the suspension spring, and to attach to the top of it a
suitable weight which is lowered as the barometric pressure increases.
One of the best methods of neutralizing the effects of variations of
barometric pressure is to enclose the whole clock in an air-tight
case, which may either be a large glass cylinder or a square case with
a stout plate-glass front. This renders it independent of outside
variations, whether of temperature or pressure, and keeps the density
of the air inside the case uniform. If the case could be completely,
or almost completely, exhausted of air, and kept so exhausted, of
course the pendulum would experience the minimum of resistance and
would have to be lengthened a little. But in practice it is impossible
to secure the maintenance of a good vacuum without sealing up the case
in such a way as to render repairs very difficult, and this plan is
therefore rarely resorted to. What is usually done is to put the clock
in a metal case covered with a thick sheet of plate glass bedded in
india-rubber strips, and held down by an iron flanged lid or frame
firmly fixed by means of small bolts. An air-pump is attached to the
case, a turn-off tap being inserted, and by a few strokes the pressure
of the air inside the case can be lowered to (say) 29 in., or a little
below the usual barometric height at the place where the clock is. The
difference of pressure being small, the tendency of air from outside
to leak in is also small, and if the workmanship is good the inside
pressure will remain unaltered for many days. In any case the
difference produced by leakage will be small, and will not greatly
affect the going of the clock. With care, and a daily or weekly touch
of the pump, the pressure inside can be kept practically constant, and
hence the atmospheric error will be eliminated. The cover has also
incidentally the effect of keeping damp and fumes from the clock and
thus preserving it from rust, especially if a vessel with quicklime or
some hygroscopic material be put in the case.
Cases have considerable effect on the air, which moves with a pendulum
and is flung off from it at each vibration; the going rate of a
chronometer can be altered by removing the case. It is therefore
desirable that cases enclosing pendulums should be roomy. Many people
prefer to omit the air-tight case, and to keep a record of barometric,
thermometric and hygrometric changes, applying corrections based on
these to the times shown by the clock.
Suspension of pendulums.
It was formerly usual to suspend pendulums by means of a single spring
about ½ in. wide riveted with chops of metal. The upper chop had a pin
driven through it, which rested in grooves so as to allow the pendulum
to hang vertically. The best modern pendulums are now made with two
parallel springs put a little less than an inch apart. The edges of
the chops where the springs enter are slightly rounded so as to avoid
too sharp bending of the springs. Suspension of pendulums on knife
edges was tried by B. L. Vulliamy and others, but did not prove a
success.
It was once thought that lenticular pendulum bobs resisted the air
less than those of other shapes, but it was forgotten that their large
surface offered more "skin friction." They are now no longer used, nor
are spheres on account of difficulty of construction. A cylinder is
the best form of bob; it is sometimes rounded at the top and bottom.
_Escapements._--The term escapement is applied to any arrangement by
which, as the wheels rotate, periodic impulses are given to the
pendulum, while at the same time the motion of the wheels is arrested
until the vibration of the pendulum has been completed. It thus serves
as a mechanism for both counting and impelling. Since the vibrations of
a pendulum through small arcs are performed in times independent of the
length of the arc, it follows that if a pendulum hanging at rest receive
an impulse it will swing out and in again, and the time of its excursion
outwards and of its return will remain the same whatever (within limits)
be the arc of the swing, and whatever be the impulse given to it. If the
impulse is big, it starts with a high velocity, but makes a larger
excursion outwards, and the distance it has to travel counteracts its
increase of speed, so that its time remains the same. Hence a pendulum,
if free to swing outwards and in again, without impediment, will adapt
the length of its swing to the impulse it has received, and any
interference with it, as by the locking or unlocking of the escapement,
will be far less deleterious to its isochronism when such interference
occurs at the middle of its path rather than at the ends. It follows
that the best escapement will be one which gives an impulse to the
pendulum for a short period at the lowest point of its path, and then
leaves it quite free to move as it chooses until the time comes for the
next impulse.
But a pendulum is not quite truly isochronous, and has its time slightly
affected by an increase of its arc; it is therefore desirable that the
impulses given to it shall always be equal. If the escapement forms the
termination of a clock-train impelled by a weight, the driving force of
the escapement is apt to vary according to the friction of the wheels,
while every change in temperature causes a difference in the thickness
of the oil. It is therefore desirable, if possible, to secure uniformity
of impulse--say, by causing the train of wheels to lift up a certain
specified weight, and let it drop on the pendulum at regular intervals,
or by some equivalent method.
The two requirements above stated have given rise respectively to what
are known as detached escapements, and remontoires, which will be
described presently. In the first place, however, it is desirable to
describe the principal forms of escapement in ordinary use.
Balance escapement.
The balance escapement, which has been already mentioned, was in use
before the days of pendulums. It was to a balance escapement that
Huygens applied the pendulum, by removing the weight from one arm and
increasing the length of the other arm.
[Illustration: FIG. 8.--Anchor or Recoil Escapement.]
Anchor escapement.
Very shortly afterwards R. Hooke invented the anchor or recoil
escapement. This is represented in fig. 8, where a tooth of the
escape-wheel is just escaping from the right pallet, and another tooth
at the same time falls upon the left-hand pallet at some distance from
its point. As the pendulum moves on in the same direction, the tooth
slides farther up the pallet, thus producing a recoil, as in the
crown-wheel escapement. The acting faces of the pallets should be
convex. For when they are flat, and of course still more when they are
concave, the points of the teeth always wear a hole in the pallets at
the extremity of their usual swing, and the motion is obviously easier
and therefore better when the pallets are made convex; in fact, they
then approach more nearly to the "dead" escapement, which will be
described presently. The effect of some escapements is not only to
counteract the circular error, or the natural increase of the time of
a pendulum as the arc increases, but to over-balance it by an error of
the contrary kind. The recoil escapement does so; for it is almost
invariably found that whatever may be the shape of these pallets, the
clock loses as the arc of the pendulum falls off, and vice versa. It
is unfortunately impossible so to arrange the pallets that the
circular error may be thus exactly neutralized, because the escapement
error depends, in a manner reducible to no law, upon variations in
friction of the pallets themselves and of the clock train, which
produce different effects; and the result is that it is impossible to
obtain very accurate time-keeping from any clock of this construction.
The point in which the anchor escapement was superior to all that had
gone before, was that it would work well with a small arc of swing of
the pendulum. The balance escapement, even when adapted to a pendulum,
necessitated a swing of some 20°, and hence the circular error, that
is to say, the deviation of the path from a true cycloid, was
considerable. But with an anchor escapement the pendulum swing need be
only 3° or 4°. On the other hand, it violates the conditions above
laid down for a perfect escapement, inasmuch as the pendulum is never
free, but at the end of its swing is still operated on by the
escapement, which it causes to recoil.
[Illustration: FIG. 9.--Dead Escapement.]
Dead escapements.
To get rid of this defect the dead escapement, or, as the French call
it, _l'échappement à repos_, was invented by G. Graham. It is
represented in fig. 9. It will be observed that the teeth of the
scape-wheel have their points set the opposite way to those of the
recoil escapement. The tooth B is here represented in the act of
dropping on to the right-hand pallet as the tooth A escapes from the
left pallet. But instead of the pallet having a continuous face as in
the recoil escapement, it is divided into two, of which BE on the
right pallet, and FA on the left, are called the impulse faces, and
BD, FG, the dead faces. The dead faces are portions of circles (not
necessarily of the same circle), having the axis of the pallets C for
their centre; and the consequence evidently is, that as the pendulum
goes on, carrying the pallet still nearer to the wheel than the
position in which a tooth falls on to the corner A or B of the impulse
and the dead faces, the tooth still rests on the dead faces without
any recoil, until the pendulum returns and lets the tooth slide down
the impulse face, giving the impulse to the pendulum as it goes. In
order to diminish the friction and the necessity for using oil as far
as possible, the best clocks are made with jewels (sapphires are the
best for the purpose) let into the pallets.
The pallets are generally made to embrace about one-third of the
circumference of the wheel, and it is not at all desirable that they
should embrace more; for the longer they are, the longer is the run of
the teeth upon them, and the greater the friction. In some clocks the
seconds hand moves very slowly and rests a very short time; this shows
that the impulse is long in proportion to the arc of swing. In others
the contrary is the case. A not uncommon proportion is that out of a
total arc of swing of 3°, 2°, or about one degree on each side of the
vertical, are occupied in receiving the impulse. In other words, the
points F and A should subtend an angle of 2° at the centre C. It is
not to be forgotten that the scape-wheel tooth does not overtake the
face of the pallet immediately, on account of the moment of inertia of
the wheel. The wheels of astronomical clocks, and indeed of all
English house clocks, are generally made too heavy, especially the
scape-wheel, which, by increasing the moment of inertia, causes a part
of the work to be lost in giving blows, instead of being all used up
in gentle pushes.
[Illustration: FIG. 10.--Pin-Wheel Escapement.]
A very useful form of the dead escapement, which is adopted in many of
the best turret clocks, is called the "pin-wheel escapement." Fig. 10
will sufficiently explain its action and construction. Its advantages
are--that it does not require so much accuracy as the other; if a pin
gets broken it is easily replaced, whereas in the other the wheel is
ruined if the point of a tooth is injured; a wheel of given size will
work with more pins than teeth, and therefore a train of less velocity
will do, and that sometimes amounts to a saving of one wheel in the
train, and a good deal of friction; and the blow on both pallets being
downwards, instead of one up and the other down, the action is more
steady; all which things are of more consequence in the heavy and
rough work of a turret clock than in an astronomical one. It has been
found expedient to make the dead faces not quite dead, but with a very
slight recoil, which rather tends to check the variations of arc, and
also the general disposition to lose time if the arc is increased;
when so made the escapement is generally called "half-dead."
In the dead escapement, during each excursion of the pendulum the
repose surface of the pallets rubs against the points of the teeth of
the scape-wheel. Thus the pendulum is subject to a constant
retardation by friction. Curiously enough, this friction, which at
first sight might appear a defect, is an advantage, and to a large
extent accounts for the excellence of the escapement. For if the
driving force of the clock is increased so that the impulse on the
pallets is greater, the velocity of the pendulum is increased. But
this very increase of the driving force causes a greater pressure of
the teeth of the scape-wheel on the rest-faces of the pallets, and
hence counteracts the increased drive of the pendulum by an increased
frictional retardation. If the clock weight be enormously increased,
the frictional retardation becomes increased relatively in a greater
proportion than the drive, so that as the weight of the clock is
increased the pendulum's time of vibration is first diminished, until
at last a neutral point is reached and finally the increased loading
of the clock weight begins to make the time of vibration increase
again. It is the neutral point which it is desirable to arrange for,
and only trial and experience can so fit the shape and size of the
pallets, scape-wheel and clock weight to one another, as to secure
that a moderate variation of the driving power neither accelerates nor
retards the motion of the pendulum, while at the same time such an arc
of vibration is secured as shall be least subject to barometric error,
and not have too great a circular error. The celebrated clockmaker B.
L. Vulliamy (1780-1854) greatly improved Graham's escapement by
careful experiment, and other makers introduced further improvements
into the shape of the scape-wheel and pallets, so that the best form
of the deadbeat escapement is now fairly well determined and is given
in books upon horology. For small clocks a little slope is given to
the rest-faces so as to diminish the friction retardation. This is
known as the half-dead escapement. The pin-wheel escapement, if
properly constructed, is also "dead," that is to say, the outward
swing of the pendulum is unfettered except by the slight friction of
the teeth against the dead faces of the pallets.
[Illustration: FIG. 11.--Riefler's Escapement.]
In order to diminish the effect of the impact of the scape-wheel on
the pallets, and of the crutch on the pendulum rod, the plan has been
tried of making the crutch into an elastic spring. In theory this of
course would not destroy the isochronism of the pendulum, for it would
only be to apply upon the pendulum a force at right angles to the rod,
and varying as the displacement. Hence any acceleration given by such
a spring would, like the action of gravity, be harmonic, and it is an
analytical principle that harmonic motions superposed on one another
still remain harmonic. Hence, then, the action of a spring superadded
upon the action of gravity on a pendulum still leaves the motion
harmonic. But changes of temperature would affect the spring
considerably. In the case of such a spring the repose faces of
Graham's escapement might be minimized and the escapement checked each
side by a stop, so as to prevent the pallets from rubbing on the
points of the scape-wheel. Graham's escapement can, if well made, be
arranged so as not to vary more than an average of 1/30 of a second
from its mean daily rate, and this is so good a result that many
people doubt whether further effort in the direction of inventing new
escapements will result in any better form. Two adaptations of
Graham's escapement have been made, one by Clemens Riefler of
Nesselwang, and the other by L. Strasser of Glashütte, Saxony, which
give good results in practice. Riefler's scheme is to mount the upper
block, into which the suspension spring is fastened, upon knife edges,
and rock it to and fro by the action of a modified Graham's
escapement, thus giving impulses to the pendulum. Fig. 11 shows the
arrangement. PP are the agates upon which the knife edges CC rest. A
is the anchor, RH the scape-wheels, and S the pallets.
Strasser's clock is arranged on the same idea as that of Riefler, only
that the rocking motion is given, not to the springs that carry the
pendulum, but to a second pair of springs placed outside of them and
parallel to them. The weight of the pendulum is therefore carried by
an upper stationary block, but above that a second block is subjected
to the rocking motion of the anchor. The general design is shown in
fig. 12. The pallets are each formed of two stones, so contrived as to
minimize the banging of the teeth of the scape-wheel. Both Riefler's
and Strasser's clocks aim at haying a virtually free pendulum; in
fact, they are in reality adaptations of the principle of the
spring-clutch to Graham's escapement. The weak point in both is the
tampering with the suspension.
Detached escapement.
The dead escapement is not, however, truly free. In order to make a
free escapement it would be necessary to provide that as soon as the
pendulum approached its centre position, some pin or projecting point
upon it should free the escapement wheel, a tooth of which should thus
be enabled to leap upon the back of the pendulum, give it a short
push, and then be locked until the pendulum had returned and again
swung forward. An arrangement of this kind is shown in fig. 13. Let A
be a block of metal fixed on the lower end of a pendulum rod. On the
block let a small pall B be fastened, free to move round a centre C
and resting against a stop D. Let E be a 4-leaved scape-wheel, the
teeth of which as they come round rest against the bent pall GFL at G.
The pall is prevented from flying too far back by a pin H, and kept up
to position by a very delicate spring K. As soon as the pendulum rod,
moving from left to right, has arrived at the position shown in the
figure, the pall B will engage the arm FL, force it forwards, and by
raising G will liberate the scape-wheel, a tooth of which, M, will
thus close upon the heel N of the block A, and urge it forward. As
soon, however, as N has arrived at G the tooth M will slip off the
block A and rest on the pall G, and the impulse will cease. The
pendulum is now perfectly free or "detached," and can swing on
unimpeded as far as it chooses. On its return from right to left, the
pall B slips over the pall L without disturbing it, and the pendulum
is still free to make an excursion towards the left. On its return
journey from left to right the process is again repeated. Such an
escapement operates once every 2 seconds. One made on a somewhat
similar plan was applied to a clock by Robert-Houdin, about 1830, and
afterwards by Mr Haswell, and another by Sir George Airy. But the
principle was already an old one, as may be seen from fig. 14, which
was the work of an anonymous maker in the 18th century. A
consideration of this escapement will show that it is only the
application of the detached chronometer escapement to a clock.
[Illustration: FIG. 12.--Strasser's Escapement (Strasser & Rohde).]
[Illustration: FIG. 13.--Free Escapement.]
[Illustration: FIG. 14.--Free Escapement (old form).]
Even detached escapements, however, are not perfect. In order that an
escapement should be perfect, the impulse given to the pendulum should
be always exactly the same. It may be asked why, if the time of
oscillation of the pendulum be independent of the amplitude of the arc
of vibration, and hence of the impulse, it is necessary that the
impulse should be uniform. The answer is that the arc of vibration not
being a true cycloid, as it should be if true isochronism is to be
secured, but being the arc of a circle, any change of amplitude of
vibration produces a change of time in the swing given by the formula
(3/2)(a² - b²) = loss in seconds per day, where a and b are the
semi-arcs of vibration estimated in degrees. Thus 10' increase of arc
in a swing of 4°, that is to say, .1 in. increase of arc in a total
arc of 2½ in., produces an error of about a second a day. Now cold
weather, by making the oil thick and thus clogging the wheels, will
easily produce such a change of arc; dust will also make a change even
though the clock weight, acted on by gravity, still exerts a uniform
pull. Besides, if the clock has work to do of a varying amount--as
when the hands of a turret clock are acted on by a heavy wind pressure
tending sometimes to retard them, sometimes to drive them on--then it
is clear that the impulses given by the scape-wheel to the pendulum
may be very unequal, and that the arc of vibration of the pendulum may
thus be seriously affected and its isochronism disturbed.
Remontoire.
To abolish errors arising from the changes in the force driving the
escapement, what is known as the "remontoire" system was adopted. It
first came into use for watches, which was perhaps natural, seeing
that the driving force of a watch is not a uniform weight like that of
a clock, but depends on springs, which are far less trustworthy. The
idea of a remontoire is to disconnect the escapement from the clock
train, and to give the escapement a driving power of its own, acting
as directly as possible on the pallets without the intervention of a
clock-train containing many wheels. The escapement is thus as it were
made into a separate clock, which of course needs repeated winding,
and this winding is effected by the clock-train. From this it results
that variations in the force transmitted by the clock-train merely
affect the speed at which the "rewinding" of the escapement is
effected, but do not affect the force exerted by the driving power of
the escapement.
Train remontoires.
There are several modes of carrying out this plan. The first of them
is simply to provide the scape-wheel with a weight or spring of its
own, which spring is wound up by the clock-train as often as it runs
down. Contrivances of this kind are called train remontoires. In
arranging such a remontoire it is obvious that the clock-train must be
provided with a stop to prevent it from overwinding the scape-wheel
weight or spring, and further, that there must be on the scape-wheel
some sort of stud or other contrivance to release the clock-train as
soon as the scape-wheel weight or spring has run down and needs
rewinding. We believe the first maker of a large clock with a train
remontoire was Thomas Reid of Edinburgh, who described his apparatus
in his book on _Horology_ (1819). The scape-wheel was driven by a
small weight hung by a Huygens's endless chain, of which one of the
pulleys was fixed to the arbor, and the other rode upon the arbor,
with the pinion attached to it, and the pinion was driven and the
weight wound up by the wheel below (which we will call the third
wheel), as follows. Assuming the scape-wheel to turn in a minute, its
arbor has a notch cut half through it on opposite sides in two places
near to each other; on the arbor of the wheel, which turns in ten
minutes, suppose, there is another wheel with 20 spikes sticking out
of its rim, but alternately in two different planes, so that one set
of spikes can only pass through one of the notches in the scape-wheel
arbor, and the other set only through the other. Whenever, then, the
scape-wheel completes a half-turn, one spike is let go, and the third
wheel is able to move, and with it the whole clock-train and the
hands, until the next spike of the other set is stopped by the
scape-wheel arbor; at the same time the pinion on that arbor is turned
half round, winding up the remontoire weight, but without taking its
pressure off the scape-wheel. Reid says that, so long as this
apparatus was kept in good order, the clock went better than it did
after it was removed in consequence of its getting out of order from
the constant banging of the spikes against the arbor.
[Illustration: FIG. 15.--Gravity Train Remontoire.]
A clock at the Royal Exchange, London, was made in 1844 on the same
principle, except that, instead of the endless chain, an internal
wheel was used, with the spikes set on it externally, which is one of
the modes by which an occasional secondary motion may be given to a
wheel without disturbing its primary and regular motion. The following
is a more simple arrangement of a gravity train remontoire, much more
frequently used in principle. Let E in fig. 15 be the scape-wheel
turning in a minute, and e its pinion, which is driven by the wheel D
having a pinion d driven by the wheel C, which we may suppose to turn
in an hour. The arbors of the scape-wheel and hour-wheel are distinct,
their pivots meeting in a bush fixed somewhere between the wheels. The
pivots of the wheel D are set in the frame AP, which rides on the
arbors of the hour-wheel and scape-wheel, or on another short arbor
between them. The hour-wheel also drives another wheel G, which again
drives the pinion f on the arbor which carries the two arms fA, fB;
and on the same arbor is set a fly with a ratchet, like a common
striking fly, and the numbers of the teeth are so arranged that the
fly will turn once for each turn of the scape-wheel. The ends of the
remontoire arms fA, fB are capable of alternately passing the notches
cut half through the arbor of the scape-wheel, as those notches
successively come into the proper position at the end of every
half-minute; as soon as that happens the hour-wheel raises the movable
wheel D and its frame through a small angle; but, nevertheless, that
wheel keeps pressing on the scape-wheel as if it were not moving, the
point of contact of the wheel C and the pinion d being the fulcrum or
centre of motion of the lever AdP. It will be observed that the
remontoire arms fA, fB have springs set on them to diminish the blow
on the scape-wheel arbor, as it is desirable not to have the fly so
large as to make the motion of the train, and consequently of the
hands, too slow, to be distinct.
Another kind of remontoire is on the principle of one bevelled wheel
lying between two others at right angles to it. The first of the
bevelled wheels is driven by the train, and the third is fixed to the
arbor of the scape-wheel; and the intermediate bevelled wheel, of any
size, rides on its arbor at right angles to the other two arbors which
are in the same line. The scape-wheel will evidently turn with the
same average velocity as the first bevelled wheel, though the
intermediate one may move up and down at intervals. The transverse
arbor which carries it is let off and lifted a little at half-minute
intervals, as in the remontoire just now described; and it gradually
works down as the scape-wheel turns under its pressure, until it is
freed again and lifted by the clock-train.
[Illustration: FIG. 16.--Spring Remontoire.]
In all these gravity remontoires, however, only the friction of the
heavy parts of the train and the dial-work is got rid of, and the
scape-wheel is still subject to the friction of the remontoire wheels,
which, though much less than the other, is still something
considerable. Accordingly, attempts have frequently been made to drive
the scape-wheel by a spiral spring, like the mainspring of a watch.
One of these was described in the 7th edition of this encyclopaedia;
and Sir G. Airy invented another on the same principle, of which one
specimen is still going well. One of the best forms of such a
remontoire is shown in fig. 16, in which A, B, D, E, e, f are the same
things as in fig. 15. But e, the scape-wheel pinion, is no longer
fixed to the arbor, nor does it ride on the arbor, as had been the
case in all the previous spring remontoires, thereby producing
probably more friction than was saved in other respects; but it rides
on a stud k, which is set in the clock frame. On the face of the
pinion is a plate, of which the only use is to carry a pin h (and
consequently its shape is immaterial), and in front of the plate is
set a bush b, with a hole through it, of which half is occupied by the
end of the stud k, to which the bush is fixed by a small pin, and the
other half is the pivot-hole for the scape-wheel arbor. On the arbor
is set the remontoire spring s (a moderate-sized musical-box spring is
generally used), of which the outer end is bent into a loop to take
hold of the pin h. In fact, there are two pins at h, one a little
behind the other, to keep the coils of the spring from touching each
other. Now, it is evident that the spring may be wound up half or a
quarter of a turn at the proper intervals without taking the force off
the scape-wheel, and also without affecting it by any friction
whatever. When the scape-wheel turns in a minute, the letting-off
would be done as before described, by a couple of notches in the
scape-wheel arbor, through which the spikes A, B, as in fig. 15, would
pass alternately. During the half-minute that the spring is running
down the impulse on the pendulum constantly diminishes; but this error
is small if the spring be properly shaped, and besides, being
periodic, does not affect the _average_ time-keeping of the clock. It
would be inadmissible in astronomical clocks where each particular
second has always to be true. In clocks with only three wheels in the
train it is best to make the scape-wheel turn in two minutes. In that
case four notches and four remontoire arms are required, and the fly
makes only a quarter of a turn. Lord Grimthorpe made the following
provision for diminishing the friction of the letting-off work. The
fly pinion f has only half the number of teeth of the scape-wheel
pinion, being a lantern pinion of 7 or 8, while the other is a leaved
pinion of 14 or 16, and therefore the same wheel D will properly drive
both, as will be seen hereafter. The scape-wheel arbor ends in a
cylinder about 5/8 in. in diameter, with two notches at right angles
cut in its face, one of them narrow and deep, and the other broad and
shallow, so that a long and thin pin B can pass only through one, and
a broad and short pin A through the other. Consequently, at each
quarter of a turn of the scape-wheel, the remontoire fly, on which the
pins A, B are set on springs, as in fig. 15, can turn half round. It
is set on its arbor f by a square ratchet and click, which enables the
spring to be adjusted to the requisite tension to obtain the proper
vibration of the pendulum. A better construction, afterwards
introduced, is to make the fly separate from the letting-off arms,
whereby the blow on the cylinder is diminished, the fly being allowed
to go on as in the gravity escapement. It should be observed, however,
that even a spring remontoire requires a larger weight than the same
clock without one; but as none of that additional force reaches the
pendulum, that is of no consequence. The variation of force of the
remontoire spring from temperature, as it only affects the pendulum
through the medium of the dead escapement, is far too small to produce
any appreciable effect; and it is found that clocks of this kind, with
a compensated pendulum 8 ft. long, and weighing about 2 cwt., will not
vary above a second a month, if the pallets are kept clean and well
oiled. No turret clock without either a train remontoire or a gravity
escapement will approach that degree of accuracy.
The introduction of this remontoire led to another very important
alteration in the construction of large clocks. Hitherto it had always
been considered necessary, with a view to diminish the friction as far
as possible, to make the wheels of brass or gun-metal, with the teeth
cut in an engine. The French clockmakers had begun to use cast iron
striking parts, and cast iron wheels had been occasionally used in the
going part of inferior clocks for the sake of cheapness; but they had
never been used in any clock making pretensions to accuracy. But in
consequence of the success of a clock shown in the 1851 Exhibition, it
was determined by Sir G. Airy and Lord Grimthorpe (then E. Denison),
who were jointly consulted by the Board of Works about the great
Westminster clock in 1852, to alter the original requisition for
gun-metal wheels there to cast iron. But cast iron wheels must drive
cast iron pinions, for they will wear out steel.
[Illustration: FIG. 17.--Mudge's Gravity Escapement.]
[Illustration: FIG. 18.--Bloxam's Gravity Escapement.]
Gravity escapements.
The next kind of remontoire still leaves the scape-wheel linked up
with the clock-train, but makes it wind up the pallets which are held
raised up till their action is wanted, when they are allowed to drop
gently on the crutch or the pendulum rod. In this case the two arms of
the anchor are usually divided and mounted on separate shafts so as to
act independently. This idea was first started by Thomas Mudge
(1717-1794) and Alexander Cumming (1733-1814). Mudge's escapement is
shown in fig. 17. The tooth A of the scape-wheel is resting against
the stop or detent a at the end of the pallet CA, from the axis or
arbor of which descends the half-fork CP to touch the pendulum. From
the other pallet CB descends the other half-fork CO. The two arbors
are set as near the point of suspension, or top of the pendulum
spring, as possible. The pendulum, as here represented, must be moving
to the right, and just leaving contact with the left pallet and going
to take up the right one; as soon as it has raised that pallet a
little it will evidently unlock the wheel and let it turn, and then
the tooth B will raise the left pallet until it is caught by the stop
b on that pallet, and then it will stay until the pendulum returns and
releases it by raising that pallet still higher. Each pallet therefore
descends with the pendulum to a lower point than that where it is
taken up, and the difference between them is supplied by the lifting
of each pallet by the clock, which does not act on the pendulum at
all; so that the pendulum is independent of all variations of force
and friction in the train. This escapement is said by Lord Grimthorpe,
in his _Rudimentary Treatise on Clocks_, first published in 1850, to
be liable to trip, the pallets being apt to be jerked by the pendulum,
so that the teeth slip past the hook, and the wheel flies round. This,
however, appears entirely a matter of construction. The really weak
point is that while the impulses on the pendulum due to the
gravitational fall of the arms are uniform, the force which has to be
exercised by the pendulum in unlocking them from the scape-wheel
varies with the pressure of the clock-train. Hence we miss the
compensation which is so beautiful a result of Graham's escapement. To
avoid this, J. M. Bloxam, a barrister, proposed about the middle of
the 19th century his legged gravity escapement (fig. 18). By this
arrangement the parts of the scape-wheel which lifted the gravity
arms were brought as near to the axis of the scape-wheel as possible,
while the locking arms were brought as far from the axis as possible
so that the pressure should be light. The pallet arbors were cranked,
to embrace the pendulum-spring, so that their centres of motion might
coincide with that of the pendulum as nearly as possible--perhaps an
unnecessary refinement; at least the three-legged and four-legged
gravity escapements answer very well with the pallet arbors set on
each side of the top of the spring. The size of the wheel determines
the length of the pallets, as they must be at such an angle to each
other that the radii of the wheel when in contact with each stop may
be at right angles to the pallet arm; and therefore, for a wheel of
this size, the depth of locking can only be very small. The pinion in
Bloxam's clock only raises the pallet through 40' at each beat; i.e.
the angle which we call [gamma], viz. the amplitude of the pendulum
when it begins to lift the pallet, is only 20'; and probably, if it
were increased to anything like a/sqrt(2), where a is the semiarc of
swing, the escapement would trip immediately. The two broad pins
marked E, F, are the fork-pins, and A and B are the stops. The clock
which Bloxam had went very well; but it had an extremely fine train,
with pinions of 18; and nobody else appears to have been able to make
one to answer.
[Illustration: FIG. 19.--Four-legged Gravity Escapement.]
[Illustration: FIG. 20.--Double Three-legged Escapement.]
Bloxam's escapement was modified in form by Lord Grimthorpe, his chief
improvement being the addition of a fly vane, which, however, had
previously been used for remontoires to steady the motion. He tried
various modifications of construction, but finally adopted the
"four-legged" and "double-three-legged" forms as being the most
satisfactory, the former for regulators and the latter for large
clocks. Fig. 19 is a back view of the escapement part of an
astronomical clock with the four-legged wheel; seen from the front the
wheel would turn the other way. The long locking teeth are made about
2 in. long from the centre, and the lifting pins, of which four point
forwards while four other intermediate ones point backwards, are at
not more than 1/30 of the distance between the centres EC, of the
scape-wheel and pallets; or rather C is the top of the pendulum spring
to which the pallets Cs, Cs' converge, though the resultant of their
action is a little below C. It is not worth while to crank them as
Bloxam did, in order to make them coincide exactly with the top of the
pendulum, as the friction of the beat pins on the pendulum is
insignificant, and even then would not be quite destroyed. The pallets
are not in the same plane, but one is behind and the other in front of
the wheel, with one stop pointing backwards and the other forwards to
receive the teeth alternately--it does not matter which; in this
figure the stop s is behind and the stop s' forward. The pendulum is
now going to the right, and just beginning to lift the right pallet
and free the stop s'; then the wheel will begin to turn and lift the
other pallet by one of the pins which is now lowest, and which moves
through 45° across the line of centres, and therefore lifts with very
little friction. It goes on till the tooth now below s reaches s and
is stopped there. Meanwhile the pallet Cs' goes on with the pendulum
as far as it may go, to the end of the arc which we have called
[alpha], starting from [gamma]; but it falls with the pendulum again,
not only to [gamma] but to -[gamma] on the other side of 0, so that
the impulse is due to the weight of each pallet alternately falling
through 2[gamma]; and the magnitude of the impulse also depends on the
obliqueness of the pallet on the whole, i.e. on the distance of its
centre of gravity from the vertical through C. The fly KK' is set on
with a friction spring like the common striking-part fly, and should
be as long as there is room for, length being much more effective than
width.
The double three-legged gravity escapement, which was first used in
the Westminster clock, is shown in fig. 20. The principle of it is the
same as of the four-legs; but instead of the pallets being one behind
and the other in front of the wheel, with two sets of lifting pins,
there are two wheels ABC, abc, with the three lifting pins and the two
pallets between them like a lantern pinion. One stop B points forward
and the other A backward. The two wheels have their teeth set
intermediately or 60° apart, though that is not essential, and the
angle of 120° may be divided between them in any other proportions, as
70° and 50°, and in that way the pallets may be still more oblique
than 30° from the vertical, which, however, is found enough to prevent
tripping even if the fly gets loose, which is more likely to happen
from carelessness in large clocks than in astronomical ones.
Of course the fly for those escapements in large clocks, with weights
heavy enough to drive the hands in all weather, must be much larger
than in small ones. For average church clocks with 1¼ sec. pendulum
the legs of the scape-wheels are generally made 4 in. long and the fly
from 6 to 7 in. long in each vane by 1¼ or 1½ wide. For 1½ sec.
pendulums the scape-wheels are generally made 4½ radius. At
Westminster they are 6 in.
Lord Grimthorpe considered that these escapements act better,
especially in regulators, if the pallets do not fall quite on the
lifting pins, but on a banking, or stop at any convenient place, so as
to leave the wheel free at the moment of starting; just as the
striking of a common house clock will sometimes fail to start unless
the wheel with the pins has a little run before a pin begins to lift
the hammer. The best way to manage the banking is to make the
beat-pins long enough to reach a little way behind the pendulum, and
let the banking be a thin plate of any metal screwed adjustably to the
back of the case. This plate cannot well be shown in the drawings
together with the pendulum, which, it may be added, should take up one
pallet just when it leaves the other.
[Illustration: FIG. 21.--Chronometer Spring Remontoire.]
Chronometer spring remontoire.
In chronometer spring remontoires the pendulum, as it goes by, flips a
delicate spring and releases a small weight or spring which has been
wound up in readiness by the action of the scape-wheel and which by
leaping on to the pendulum gives it a push. One on this principle made
about the middle of the 19th century by Robert Houdin is to be seen at
the Conservatoire des Arts et Métiers. It is very complicated. The
following is more simple. In fig. 21 a scape-wheel AB has 30 pins and
360 teeth. It is engaged with a fly vane EP mounted on a pinion of 12
teeth. Each pin as it passes raises an impulse arm CD which is hooked
upon a detent K. A pall NM then engages the fly vane and prevents the
scape-wheel from moving farther. The impulse arm being now set, as the
plate F attached to the lower end of the pendulum flies past from left
to right a pall G knocks aside the detent K, and allows a pin O
projecting from the end of the impulse arm to fall upon an inclined
pallet h, which is thus urged forward. As soon as the pallet has left
the pin, the impulse arm in its further fall strikes N, which
disengages the pall at P and allows the scape-wheel to move on and
again wind up the impulse arm CD, which is then again locked by the
detent K. On the return journey of the pendulum the light pall G,
which acts the part of a chronometer spring, flips over the detent.
The pallet is double sided, h and h', so that if by chance the clock
runs down while the pendulum swings from left to right the impulse arm
will be simply raised and not smashed. It has a flat apex, on which
the pin falls before descending. The impulse given depends on the
weight of the impulse arm and may be varied at pleasure. The work done
in unlocking the detent is invariable, as it depends on the pressure
of the fly vane at P and is independent of the clock-train. The
duration of the impulse is very short--only about 1/10 of the arc of
swing. It is given exactly at the centre of the swing, and when not
under impulse the pendulum is detached.
_Clock Wheels._--Since, as we have seen, any increase in the arc of a
pendulum is accompanied by a change in its going rate, it is very
desirable to keep the force which acts on the pendulum uniform. This in
fact is the great object of the best escapements. Inasmuch as the
impulse on the pendulum, derived from the work done by a falling weight
or an unwinding spring, is transmitted through a train of wheels, it is
desirable that that transmission should be as free from friction and as
regular as possible. This involves care in the shaping of the teeth. The
object to be aimed at is that as the wheel turns round the ratio of the
power of the driver to that of the driven wheel ("runner" or "follower")
should never vary. That is to say, whether the back part of the tooth of
the driver is acting on the tip of the tooth of the follower, or the tip
of the driver is acting on the back part of the tooth of the follower,
the leverage ratio shall always be uniform. For simplicity of
manufacture the pinion wheels are always constructed with radial leaves,
so that the surface of each tooth is a plane passing through the axis of
the wheel. The semicircular rounding of the end of the tooth is merely
ornamental. The question therefore is, suppose that it is desired by
means of a tooth on a wheel to push a plane round an axis, what is the
shape that must be given to that tooth in order that the leverage ratio
may remain unaltered?
Epicycloidal teeth.
If a curved surface, known as a "cam," press upon a plane one, both
being hinged or centred upon pivots A and B respectively (fig. 22), then
the line of action and reaction at D, the point where they touch, will
be perpendicular to their surfaces at the point of contact--that is
perpendicular to BD, and the ratio of leverage will obviously be AE:BD,
or AC:CB. Hence to cause the leverage ratio of the cam to the plane
always to remain unaltered, the cam must be so shaped that in any
position the ratio AC:CB will remain unchanged. In other words the shape
of the cam must be such that, as it moves and pushes BD before it, the
normal at the point of contact must always pass through the fixed point
C.
[Illustration: FIG. 22.--Cam and Plane.]
[Illustration: FIG. 23.]
[Illustration: FIG. 24.]
If a circle PMB roll upon another circle SPT (fig. 23) any point M on it
will generate an epicycloid MN. The radius of curvature of the curve at
M will always be MP, for the part at M is being produced by rotation
round the point P. It follows that a line from B to M will always be
tangential to the epicycloid. If the epicycloid be a cam moving as a
centre round the centre R (not shown in the figure) of the circle SPT,
the leverage it will exert upon a plane surface BM moving round a
parallel axis at B, will always be as BP to PR, that is, a constant;
whence MN is the proper shape of a tooth to act on a pinion with radial
arms and centred at B. In designing a pair of wheels to transmit motion,
which is to be multiplied say 6 times in the transmission (about the
usual ratio for clock wheels), if we take two circles (called the "pitch
circles") touching one another with radii as 1:6, then the circumference
of the smaller will roll 6 times round that of the larger. The smaller
wheel will have a number of teeth, say 8 to 16, each of them being
sectors of the circle (fig. 24). If there are 16 teeth, then on the
surface of the driving wheel there will be 96 teeth. Each of these teeth
will be shaped as the curve of an epicycloid formed by the rolling on
the big circle of a circle whose diameter is the radius of the pitch
circle of the pinion. Points of the teeth so formed are cut off, so as
to allow of the pinion having a solid core to support it, and gaps are
made into the pitch circle to admit the rounded ends of the leaves of
the pinon wheel. Thus a cog-wheel is shaped out.
Clock wheels are made of hard hammered brass cut out by a wheel cutting
machine. This machine consists of a vertical spindle on the top of which
the wheel to be cut is fixed on a firmly resisting plate of metal of
slightly smaller diameter, so as to allow the wheel to overlap. A cutter
with the edges most delicately ground to the exact shape of the gap
between two teeth is caused to rotate 3000 - 4000 times a minute, and
brought down upon the edge of the wheel. The shavings that come off are
like fine dust, but the cutter is pushed on so as to plunge right
through the rim of the wheel in a direction parallel to the axis. In
this way one gap is cut. The vertical spindle is now rotated one
division, by means of a dividing plate, and another tooth is cut, and so
the operation goes on round the wheel.
It is not desirable in clocks that the pinion wheels which are driven
should have too few teeth, for this throws all the work on a pair of
surfaces before the centres and is apt to produce a grinding motion.
Theoretically the more leaves a pinion has the better. Pinions can be
made with leaves of thin steel watch-spring. In this case quite small
pinions can have 20 leaves or more. The teeth in the driving wheels then
become mere notches for which great accuracy of shape is not necessary.
Such wheels are easy to make and run well. Lantern pinions are also
excellent and are much used in American clocks. They are easy to make in
an ordinary lathe. The cog-wheels must, however, be specially shaped to
fit them. They consist of a number of round pins arranged in a circle
round the axis of the wheel and parallel to it. The ends are secured in
flanges like the wires of a squirrel cage. The teeth of cog-wheels
engage them and thus drive the wheel round. They were much used at one
time but are now falling out of favour again.
Involute teeth.
It is possible to make toothed wheels that drive with perfect uniformity
by using for the curve of the teeth involutes of circles. These
involutes are traced out by a point on a string that is gradually
unwound from a circle. They are in fact epicycloids traced by a rolling
circle of infinite radius, i.e. a straight line. Involute teeth have the
advantage that they roll on one another instead of sliding. When badly
made they put considerable strain on the axes or shafts that carry them.
Hence they have not been regarded with great favour by clockmakers.
Pitch.
By the pitch of a wheel is meant the number of teeth to the inch of
circumference or diameter of the wheel; the former is called the
circumferential pitch, the latter the diametral pitch. Thus if we say
that a wheel has 40 diametral pitch we mean that it has 40 teeth to each
inch of diameter. The circumferential pitch is of course got by dividing
the diametral pitch by [pi]. Wheel-cutters are made for all sizes of
pitches. If it were needed to make a pair of wheels the ratio of whose
motion was say 6:1 and we determined to use a diametral pitch of 30 to
the inch, that is teeth about 1/10 in. wide at the base, and if the
smaller circle were to have 20 teeth, we should need a blank of a
diameter of 20/30 + 2/30 = 22/30 in. for the smaller wheel, and one of
120/30 + 2/30 = 122/30 in. for the larger wheel which would have 120
teeth to the inch and be 4.06 in diameter to the tips of the teeth. The
smaller toothed wheel would be .73 of an inch in diameter over all. The
pitch circles of the wheels would be 2/3 and 4 in. respectively. For
fine wheel work, where the driver is always much larger than the driven
wheel, the epicycloidal tooth appears preferable, as it is generally
considered to put less side strain on the pinion wheel. But the relative
merits of the two systems have never been properly tested for clock
work.
_Going Barrels._--A clock which is capable of going accurately must have
some contrivance to keep it going while it is being wound up. In the
old-fashioned house clocks, which were wound up by merely pulling one of
the strings, and in which one such winding served for both the going and
striking parts, this was done by what is called the endless chain of
Huygens, which consists of a string or chain with the ends joined
together, and passing over two pulleys on the arbors of the great
wheels, with deep grooves and spikes in them, to prevent the chain from
slipping. In one of the two loops or festoons which hang from the upper
pulleys is a loose pulley without spikes, carrying the clock-weight, and
in the other a small weight only heavy enough to keep the chain close to
the upper pulleys. Now, suppose one of those pulleys to be on the arbor
of the great wheel of the striking part, with a ratchet and click, and
the other pulley fixed to the arbor of the great wheel of the going
part; then (whenever the clock is not striking) the weight may be pulled
up by pulling down that part of the string which hangs from the other
side of the striking part; and yet the weight will be acting on the
going part all the time. It would be just the same if the striking part
and its pulley were wound up with a key, instead of the string being
pulled, and also the same, if there were no striking part at all, but
the second pulley were put on a blank arbor, except that in that case
the weight would take twice as long to run down, supposing that the
striking part generally requires the same weight x fall as the going
part.
[Illustration: FIG. 25.--Harrison's Going-Ratchet.]
This kind of going barrel, however, is evidently not suited to the
delicacy of an astronomical clock; and Harrison's going ratchet is now
universally adopted in such clocks, and also in chronometers and watches
for keeping the action of the train on the escapement during the
winding. Fig. 25 (in which the same letters are used as in the
corresponding parts of fig. 3) shows its construction. The click of the
barrel-ratchet R is set upon another larger ratchet-wheel with its teeth
pointing the opposite way, and its click rT is set in the clock frame.
That ratchet is connected with the great wheel by a spring ss' pressing
against the two pins s in the ratchet and s' in the wheel. When the
weight is wound up (which is equivalent to taking it off), the click Tr
prevents that ratchet from turning back or to the right; and as the
spring ss' is kept by the weight in a state of tension equivalent to the
weight itself it will drive the wheel to the left for a short distance,
when its end s is held fast, with the same force as if that end was
pulled forward by the weight; and as the great wheel has to move very
little during the short time the clock is winding, the spring will keep
the clock going long enough.
In the commoner kind of turret clocks a more simple apparatus is used,
which goes by the name of the _bolt and shutter_, because it consists of
a weighted lever with a broad end, which shuts up the winding-hole. When
it is lifted a spring-bolt attached to the lever, or its arbor, runs
into the teeth of one of the wheels, and the weight of the lever keeps
the train going until the bolt has run itself out of gear. Clocks are
not always driven by weights. When accuracy is not necessary, but
portability is desirable, springs are used. The old form of spring
became weaker as it was unwound and necessitated the use of a device
called a fusee or spiral drum. This apparatus will be found described in
the article WATCH.
_Striking Mechanism._--There are two kinds of striking work used in
clocks. The older of them, the _locking-plate_ system, which is still
used in most foreign clocks, and in turret clocks in England also, will
not allow the striking of any hour to be either omitted or repeated,
without making the next hour strike wrong; whereas in the _rack_ system,
which is used in all English house clocks, the number of blows to be
struck depends merely on the position of a wheel attached to the going
part, and therefore the striking of any hour may be omitted or repeated
without deranging the following ones. We shall only describe the second
of these, which is the more usual in modern timepieces.
Fig. 26 is a front view of a common English house clock with the face
taken off, showing the repeating or rack striking movement. Here, as in
fig. 3, M is the hour-wheel, on the pipe of which the minute-hand is
set, N the reversed hour-wheel, and n its pinion, driving the 12-hour
wheel H, on whose socket is fixed what is called the snail Y, which
belongs to the striking work exclusively. The hammer is raised by the
eight pins in the rim of the second wheel in the striking train, in the
manner which is obvious.
[Illustration: FIG. 26.--Front view of common English House Clock.]
The hammer does not quite touch the bell, as it would jar in striking if
it did, and prevent the full sound. The form of the hammer-shank at the
arbor where the spring S acts upon it is such that the spring both
drives the hammer against the bell when the tail T is raised, and also
checks it just before it reaches the bell, the blow on the bell thus
being given by the hammer having acquired momentum enough to go a little
farther than its place of rest. Sometimes two springs are used, one for
impelling the hammer, and the other for checking it. But nothing will
check the chattering of a heavy hammer, except making it lean forward so
as to act, partially at least, by its weight. The pinion of the
striking-wheel generally has eight leaves, the same number as the pins;
and as a clock strikes 78 blows in 12 hours, the great wheel will turn
in that time if it has 78 teeth instead of 96, which the great wheel of
the going part has for a centre pinion of eight. The striking-wheel
drives the wheel above it once round for each blow, and that wheel
drives a fourth (in which there is a single pin P), six, or any other
integral number of turns, for one turn of its own, and that drives a
fan-fly to moderate the velocity of the train by the resistance of the
air, an expedient at least as old as De Vick's clock in 1379.
The wheel N is so adjusted that, within a few minutes of the hour, the
pin in it raises the _lifting-piece_ LONF so far that that piece lifts
the click C out of the teeth of the _rack_ BKRV, which immediately falls
back (helped by a spring near the bottom) as far as its tail V can go by
reason of the snail Y, against which it falls; and it is so arranged
that the number of teeth which pass the click is proportionate to the
depth of the snail; and as there is one step in the snail for each hour,
and it goes round with the hour-hand, the rack always drops just as many
teeth as the number of the hour to be struck. This drop makes the noise
of "giving warning." But the clock is not yet ready to strike till the
lifting piece has fallen again; for, as soon as the rack was let off,
the tail of the _gathering pallet_ G, on the prolonged arbor of the
third wheel, was enabled to pass the pin K of the rack on which it was
pressing before, and the striking train began to move; but before the
fourth wheel had got half round, its pin P was caught by the end of the
lifting-piece, which is bent back and goes through a hole in the plate,
and when raised stands in the way of the pin P, so that the train cannot
go on till the lifting-piece drops, which it does exactly at the hour,
by the pin N then slipping past it. Then the train is free; the striking
wheel begins to lift the hammer, and the gathering pallet gathers up the
rack, a tooth for each blow, until it has returned to the place at which
the pallet is stopped by the pin K coming under it. In this figure the
lifting-piece is prolonged to F, where there is a string hung to it, as
this is the proper place for such a string when it is wanted for the
purpose of learning the hour in the dark, and not (as it is generally
put) on the click C; for if it is put there and the string is held a
little too long, the clock will strike too many; and if the string
accidentally sticks in the case, it will go on striking till it is run
down--neither of which things can happen when the string is put on the
lifting-piece.
The snail is sometimes set on a separate stud with the apparatus called
a _star-wheel_ and _jumper_. On the left side of the frame we have
placed a lever x, with the letters st below it, and si above. If it is
pushed up to si, the other end will come against a pin in the rack, and
prevent it from falling, and will thus make the clock silent; and this
is much more simple than the old-fashioned "strike and silent"
apparatus, which we shall therefore not describe, especially as it is
seldom used now.
If the clock is required to strike quarters, a third "part" or train of
wheels is added on the right hand of the going part; and its general
construction is the same as the hour-striking part; only there are two
more bells, and two hammers so placed that one is raised a little after
the other. If there are more quarter-bells than two, the hammers are
generally raised by a chime-barrel, which is merely a cylinder set on
the arbor of the striking-wheel (in that case generally the third in the
train), with short pins stuck into it in the proper places to raise the
hammers in the order required for the tune of the chimes. The quarters
are usually made to let off the hour, and this connexion may be made in
two ways. If the chimes are different in tune for each quarter, and not
merely the same tune repeated two, three and four times, the repetition
movement must not be used for them, as it would throw the tunes into
confusion, but the old locking-plate movement, as in turret clocks; and
therefore, if we conceive the hour lifting-piece connected with the
quarter locking-plate, as it is with the wheel N, in fig. 26, it is
evident that the pin will discharge the hour striking part as the fourth
quarter finishes.
But where the repetition movement is required for the quarters, the
matter is not quite so simple. The principle of it may shortly be
described thus. The quarters themselves have a rack and snail, &c., just
like the hours, except that the snail is fixed on one of the hour-wheels
M or N, instead of on the twelve-hour wheel, and has only four steps in
it. Now suppose the quarter-rack to be so placed that when it falls for
the fourth quarter (its greatest drop), it falls against the hour
lifting-piece somewhere between O and N, so as to raise it and the click
C. Then the pin Q will be caught by the click Qq, and so the
lifting-piece will remain up until all the teeth of the quarter-rack are
gathered up; and as that is done, it may be made to disengage the click
Qq, and so complete the letting off the hour striking part. This click
Qq has no existence except where there are quarters.
The method in which an alarum is struck may be understood by reference
to either of the recoil escapements (figs. 1 and 7). If a short hammer
instead of a long pendulum be attached to the axis of the pallets, and
the wheel be driven with sufficient force, it will evidently swing the
hammer rapidly backwards and forwards; and the position and length of
the hammer-head may be so adjusted as to strike a bell inside, first on
one side and then on the other. As to the mode of letting off the alarum
at the time required: if it was always to be let off at the same time
all that would be necessary would be to set a pin in the twelve-hour
wheel at the proper place to raise the lifting-piece which lets off the
alarum at that time. But as the time must be capable of alteration, this
discharging pin must be set in another wheel (without teeth), which
rides with a friction-spring on the socket of the twelve-hour wheel,
with a small movable dial attached to it, having figures so arranged
with reference to the pin that whatever figure is made to come to a
small pointer set as a tail to the hour hand, the alarum shall be let
off at that hour.
The _watchman's_ or _tell-tale_ clock, used when it is desired to make
sure of a watchman being on the spot and awake all the night, is a clock
with a set of spikes, generally 48 or 96, sticking out all round the
dial, and a handle somewhere in the case, by pulling which one of the
spikes which is opposite to it, or to some lever connected with it is
pressed in. This wheel of spikes is carried round with the hour-hand,
which in these clocks is generally a twenty-four hour one. It is evident
that every spike which is seen still sticking out in the morning
indicates that at the particular time to which that spike belongs the
watchman was not there to push it in--or at any rate, that he did not.
At some other part of their circuit, the inner ends of the pins are
carried over a roller or an inclined plane which pushes them out again
ready for business the next night. The time at which workmen arrive at
their work may be recorded by providing each of them with a numbered key
with which he stamps his number on a moving tape, on which also the time
is marked by a clock.
_Church and Turret Clocks._--Seeing that a clock--at least the going
part of it--is a machine in which the only work to be done is the
overcoming of its own friction and the resistance of the air, it is
evident that when the friction and resistance are much increased it may
become necessary to resort to expedients for neutralizing their effects,
which are not required in a smaller machine with less friction. In a
turret clock the friction is enormously increased by the great weight of
all the parts; and the resistance of the wind, and sometimes snow, to
the motion of the hands, further aggravates the difficulty of
maintaining a constant force on the pendulum; and besides that, there is
the exposure of the clock to the dirt and dust which are always found in
towers, and of the oil to a temperature which nearly or quite freezes it
all through the usual cold of winter. This last circumstance alone will
generally make the arc of the pendulum at least half a degree more in
summer than in winter; and inasmuch as the time is materially affected
by the force which arrives at the pendulum, as well as the friction on
the pallets when it does arrive there, it is evidently impossible for
any turret clock of the ordinary construction, especially with large
dials, to keep any constant rate through the various changes of
temperature, weather and dirt to which it is exposed. Hence special
precautions, such as the use of remontoires and gravity escapements,
have to be observed in the design of large clocks that have any
pretensions to accuracy, in order to ensure that the arc of the pendulum
is not affected by external circumstances, such as wind-pressure on the
hands or dirt in the wheel-train. But such have been the improvements
effected in electric clocks, that rather than go to the trouble and
expense required by such precautions, it appears far preferable to keep
an accurate time-piece in some sheltered position and use it with a
source of electricity to drive the hands of the large dial.
_Electrical Clocks._--One of the first attempts to apply electricity to
clocks was made by Alexander Bain in 1840-1850. About the same time Sir
C. Wheatstone, R. L. Jones, C. Shepherd, Paul Garnier and Louis Bréguet
invented various forms of electrical time-keepers. It is not proposed
here to go into the history of these abortive attempts. Those who desire
to follow them may consult Bain, _An Account of Some Applications of the
Electric Fluid to the Useful Arts_ (1843) and _Short History of Electric
Clocks_ (1852); Sir Charles Wheatstone, _Trade Circular of the British
Telegraph Manufactory_; C. Shepherd, _On the Application of
Electro-magnetism as a Motor for Clocks_ (1851), and a list of
references in the Appendix to Tobler's _Die electrischen Uhren_
(Leipzig, 1883), and a list of books given by F. Hope Jones, _Proc.
Inst. Elec. Eng._, 1900, vol. 29. The history of electrical clocks is a
long and complicated matter, for there are some 600 or 700 patents for
these clocks in Europe and America, some containing the germs of
valuable ideas but most pure rubbish. All that can be done is to select
one or two prominent types of each class and give a brief description of
their general construction.
[Illustration: FIG. 27.--Turret Clock for Hidalgo, Mexico, driving four
8 ft. dials.]
It is in the apparently simple matter of making and keeping the
electrical contact that most of the systems of electrical time-keeping
have failed, for want of attention to the essential conditions of the
problem. In practice every metal is covered with a thin film of
non-conducting oxide over which is another film of moisture, oil, dirt
or air. Hence what is wanted is a good vigorous push of a blunted point
or edge preferably obliquely upon a more or less yielding surface so as
to get a rubbing action. Thus if the stiff spring a b (fig. 28) were
stabbed down on the oblique surface C D a good contact would invariably
result, provided that the metals employed were gold, platinum or some
not easily oxidizable metal. Or again, if a mercury surface be simply
touched with a pin, the slight sparking that is produced on making the
current will soon form a little pile of dirty oxide at the point of
entry, and the contact will frequently fail. If it be necessary to have
a mercury contact, the pin must be well driven in below the surface of
the mercury or else swept through it as an oar is swept through the
water. Another form of electrical contact that acts well is a knife edge
brought into contact with a series of fine elastic strips of metal laid
parallel to one another like the fingers of a hand. The best metal for
contacts, if they are to bear hard usage, is either silver or gold or a
mixture of 40% iridium with 60% of platinum. A pressure of some 15
grammes, at least, is needful to secure a good contact.
[FIG. 28.]
As to the source of current for driving electrical clocks, if Leclanché
cells be used they should preferably be kept in the open air under cover
so as not to dry up. If direct electric current is available from
electric light mains or the accumulators used for lighting a private
house, so much the better. Of course the pressure of 50 or 100 volts
used for lighting would be far too great for clock-driving, where only
the pressure of a few volts is required. But it is easy by the insertion
of suitable resistances, as for instance one or more incandescent lamps,
to weaken down the pressure of the lighting system and make it available
for electric clocks, bells or other similar purposes.
Electricity is applied to clocks in three main ways:--(1) in actuating
timepieces which measure their own time and must therefore be provided
with pendulums or balance wheels; (2) in reproducing on one or more
dials the movements of the hands of a master clock, by the aid of
electric impulses sent at regular intervals, say of a minute or a
half-minute; and (3) in synchronizing ordinary clocks by occasional
impulses sent from some accurate regulator at a distance.
Electrically driven timepieces may be divided under two heads:--(a)
those in which the electric current drives either the pendulum or some
lever which operates upon it, which lever or pendulum in turn drives the
clock hands; and (b) those timepieces which are driven by a weight or
spring which is periodically wound up by electricity--in fact electrical
remontoires.
[Illustration: FIG. 29.--Electrical Clock (faulty design).]
The simplest clock of the first character that could be imagined would
be constructed by fastening an electromagnet with a soft iron core to
the bottom of a pendulum, and causing it to be attracted as the pendulum
swings by another electromagnet fixed vertically under it (fig. 29). As
the pendulum approached the vertical and was say half an inch from its
lowest point, the current would be switched on, and switched off as soon
as the pendulum got to its lowest point. A very small attraction with
this arrangement, probably about a grain weight, acting through the ½
in. would drive a heavy pendulum. A switch would have to be worked in
connexion with the pendulum. A strip of ebonite with a small face of
metal on the end of one side, such as a b (fig. 29) might be pivoted at
one end on the pendulum with a weak spring to keep it where free along
the rod. As the pendulum swung by this would be swept on its journey
from left to right against a fixed pin P. This would complete the
electric circuit down through the pendulum rod, round the coil on the
bottom of the pendulum, through the switch into the pin P, thence
through the fixed electromagnet, and so back to the battery. On the
return journey no contact would be made because only the ebonite face of
the switch would touch P. The pendulum would thus receive an impulse
every other vibration. We have described this switch, not to advocate
it, but to warn against its use. For the contact would be quite
insufficient. In order that the switch might not unduly retard the
pendulum it must be light, but this would make the pressure on P too
light to be trustworthy. Moreover, the strength of the impulse would
vary with the strength of the battery, and hence the arc would be
repeatedly uneven.
In contrast with this, let us consider a clock that is now giving
excellent results at the Observatory of Neuchatel in Switzerland on
Hipp's system (_La Pendule électrique de précision_, Neuchatel, 1884 and
1891). The pendulum (fig. 30) consists of two rods of steel joined by
four bridges, one just below the suspension spring, the next about 12
in. lower, the next about half way down, and the last supporting a glass
vessel of mercury which forms the bob. On the third of them is placed an
iron armature, which works between the poles of an electromagnet fixed
to the case, and by which the pendulum is actuated. The circuit is
closed and broken by a flipper, which is swayed to and fro by a block
fixed to the pendulum at the second bridge. As long as the flipper is
merely swayed, no contact takes place, but when the arc of vibration of
the pendulum is diminished the flipper does not clear the block but is
caught by a nick in it, and forced downwards. In this way the circuit is
closed. Fig. 31 is a diagram of the apparatus. When the block g attached
to the pendulum catches and presses down the flipper s, the lever l l is
rocked over, so that a contact is made at k, and the current which
enters the lever l through the knife edge m, runs through the second
lever n n, down through the knife edge o, to the battery, and through
the electromagnet b which causes the armature a to be attracted. As the
block g goes on and releases s, the lever l again falls upon the rest p,
the lever n follows it a part of the way till it is stopped by the
contact q; this shortcircuits the electromagnet and prevents to a large
extent the formation of an induced current. It is claimed that sparking
is by this method almost entirely avoided. It is only when s is caught
in the notch of the block g that s is pressed down, so that the electric
attraction only takes place every few vibrations. This ingenious
arrangement makes the working of the clock nearly independent of the
strength of the battery, for if the battery is strong the impulses are
fewer and the _average arc_ remains the same. The clock is enclosed in
an airtight glass case so as to avoid barometric error. It was tested in
1905 at the Neuchâtel observatory. In winter in a room of a mean
temperature of 35° F. it was ¼ sec. too slow, in summer when the
temperature was 70°, it was ½ sec. too fast. In the succeeding winter it
became .53 sec. too slow again, thus gaining a little in summer and
losing in winter. Its average variation from its daily rate was,
however, only .033 sec.
[Illustration: FIG. 30.--Hipp Electrical Clock (Peyer, Favarger et
Cie.).]
[Illustration: FIG. 31.--Contact Arrangement of Hipp Clock.]
In another system originated by G. Froment, a small weight is raised by
electricity and allowed to fall upon an arm sticking out at right angles
to the pendulum in the plane of its motion, so as to urge it onwards.
The weight is only allowed to rest on the arm during the downward swing
of the pendulum. The method is not theoretically good, as the impulse is
given at the end of the vibration of the pendulum instead of at its
middle position.
In the clock invented by C. Féry (chef des travaux pratiques at the
École de Physique et Chimie, Paris), an electric impulse is given at
every vibration, not by a battery but by means of the uniform movement
of an armature which is alternately pulled away from and pushed towards
a permanent horseshoe magnet. Currents are thus induced in a bobbin of
fine wire placed between the poles of the horseshoe magnet. The
movements of the armature are produced by another horseshoe magnet
actuated by the primary current from a battery which is turned on and
off by the swinging of the pendulum. The energy of the induced current
that drives the clock depends solely on the total movement of the
armature, and is independent of whether that movement be executed slowly
or rapidly, and therefore of the strength of the battery.
[Illustration: FIG. 32.--Hope Jones Electrical Remontoire.]
_Electrical remontoires_ possess great advantages if they can be made to
operate with certainty. For they can be made to wind up a scape-wheel
just as is done in the case of the arrangement shown in fig. 16 so as to
constitute a spring remontoire, or better still they can be made to
raise a weight as in the case of the gravity train remontoire (fig. 15)
but without the complications of wheel-work shown in that contrivance.
Of this type one of the best known is that of H. Chesters Pond. A
mainspring fixed on the arbor of the hour wheel is wound up every hour
by means of another toothed wheel riding loose on the same arbor and
driven by a small dynamo, to which the other end of the mainspring is
attached. As soon as the hour wheel has made one revolution (driven
round by the spring), a contact switch is closed whereupon the dynamo
winds up the spring again exactly as the train and fly wind up the
spring in fig. 15. These clocks require a good deal of power, and not
being always trustworthy seem to have gone out of use. A contrivance of
this kind now in use is that patented by F. Hope Jones and G.B. Bowell,
and is represented in fig. 32. A pendulum is driven by the scape-wheel
A, and pallets B B in the usual way. The scape-wheel is driven by
another wheel C which, in turn, is driven by the weighted lever D
supported by click E engaging the ratchet wheel F. This lever is centred
at G and has an extension H at right angles to it. J is an armature of
soft iron pivoted at K and worked by the electromagnet M. D gradually
falls in the act of driving the clock by turning the wheels C and A
until the contact plate on the arm H meets with the contact screw L at
the end of the armature J, thus completing the electrical circuit from
terminal T to terminal T' through the electromagnet M, and through any
number of step-by-step dial movements which may be included in the same
series circuit. The armature is then drawn towards the magnet with rapid
acceleration, carrying the lever D with it. The armature is suddenly
arrested by the poles of the magnet, but the momentum of the lever D
carries it farther, and the click E engages another tooth of the ratchet
F. A quick break of the circuit is thus secured, and the contact at L is
a good one, first because the whole of the energy required to keep the
clock going, or in other words the energy required to raise the lever D
is mechanically transmitted through its surfaces at each operation, and
secondly, owing to the arrangement of the fulcrums at G and K which
secure a rubbing contact. The duration of the contact is just that
necessary to accomplish the work which has to be done, and it is
remarkable that when used to operate large circuits of electrically
propelled dials the duration accommodates itself to their exact
requirements and the varying conditions of battery and self-induction.
The ratchet wheel F is usually mounted loosely upon its arbor and is
connected to the wheel C by means of a spiral spring, which in
conjunction with the back-stop click P maintains the turning force on
the wheelwork at the instant when the lever D is being raised.
[Illustration: FIG. 33.--Hope Jones's Dial-driving Device.]
Electrically driven dials usually consist of a ratchet wheel driven by
an electrically moved pall. Care has to be taken that the pushes of the
pall do not cause the ratchet wheel to be impelled too far. The anchor
escapement of a common grandfather's clock can be made to drive the
works by means of an electromagnet, the pendulum being removed. With a
common anchor escapement the scape-wheel can be driven round by wagging
the anchor to and fro. All then that is necessary is to fix a piece of
iron on the anchor so that its weight pulls the anchor over one way,
while an electromagnet pulls the iron the other. Impulses sent through
the electromagnet will then drive the clock. If the clock is wound up in
the ordinary way the motion will be so much helped that the electric
current has very little to do, and thus may be very feeble. Fig. 33
shows the dial-driving device of Hope Jones's clock. Each time that a
current is sent by the master-clock, the electromagnet B attracts the
pivoted armature C, and when the current ceases the lever D with the
projecting arm E is driven back to its old position by the spring F,
thus driving the wheel A forward one division. G is a back-stop click,
and H, I, fixed stops.
It seems doubtful whether in large towns a number of dials could be
electrically driven from a distance because of the large amount of power
that would have to be transmitted. But for large buildings, such as
hotels, they are excellent. One master-clock in the cellar will drive a
hundred or so placed over the building. The master-clock may itself be
driven by electricity, but it will require the services from time to
time of some one to correct the time. Even this labour may be avoided if
the master-clock is _synchronized_, and as synchronization requires but
a small expenditure of force, it can be done over large areas. Hence the
future of the clock seems to be a series of master-clocks, electrically
driven, and synchronized one with another, in various parts of a city,
from each of which a number of dials in the vicinity are driven.
Electrical synchronization was worked out by Louis Bréguet and others,
and a successful system was perfected in England by J.A. Lund. The
leading principle of the best systems is at each hour to cause a pair of
fingers or some equivalent device to close upon the minute hand and put
it exactly to the hour. Other systems are designed to retard or to
accelerate the pendulum, but the former appears the more practical
method. There is probably a future before synchronization which will
enable the services of a clockmaker to be largely dispensed with and
relegate his work merely to keeping the instruments in repair.
_Miscellaneous Clocks._--Some small clocks are made to go for a year.
They have a heavy balance wheel of brass weighing about 2 1b and about
2½ in. in diameter, suspended from a point above its centre by a fine
watch spring about 4 in. long. The crutch engages with the upper part of
the spring, and as the balance wheel swings the pallets are actuated.
The whole clock is but a large watch with a suspended balance wheel,
oscillating once in about 8 seconds. Unless the suspension spring be
compensated for temperature, such clocks gain very much in winter.
An ingenious method of driving a clock by water has been proposed. As
the pendulum oscillates to one side, an arm on it rises and at last
lightly touches a drop of water hanging from a very fine nozzle; this
drop is taken off and carried away by the arm, to be subsequently
removed by adhesion to an escape funnel placed below the arm. Hence at
each double vibration of the pendulum part of the work done by a drop of
water falling through a short distance is communicated to the pendulum,
which is thus kept in motion as long as the water lasts. At this rate a
gallon of water ought to drive the clock for 40 hours. Care of course
must be taken to keep the water in the reservoir at a constant level, so
that the drops formed shall be uniform.
If it were worth while, no doubt the oscillations of a pendulum working
in a vacuum could be maintained by the communication and discharge at
each oscillation of a slight charge of electricity; or again, heat might
at each oscillation be communicated to a thermo-electric junction, and
the resulting current used to drive the pendulum.
The expansions and contractions of metal rods under the influence of the
changes of temperature which take place in the course of each night and
day have also been employed to keep a clock wound up, and if there were
any need for it no doubt a small windmill rotating at the top of a tower
would easily keep a turret clock fully wound, by a simple arrangement
which would gear the going barrel of the clock to the wind vane motion,
whenever the weight had fallen too low, and release it when the winding
up was completed. Even a smoke jack would do the same office for a
kitchen clock.
The methods of driving astronomical telescopes by means of clockwork
will be found in the article TELESCOPE. Measurements of small intervals
of time are performed by means of chronographs which in principle depend
on the use of isochronous vibrating tuning-forks in place of pendulums.
In practice it is needful in most cases that an observer should
intervene in time measurements, although perhaps by means of a revolving
photographic film a transit of the sun might be timed with extraordinary
accuracy. But if the transit of a star across a wire is to be observed,
there is no mode at present in use of doing so except by the use of the
human eye, brain and hand. Hence in all such observations there is an
element of personal error. Unfortunately we cannot apply a microscope to
time as we can to space and make the cycle of events that takes place in
a second last say for five minutes so as to time them truly. By personal
observations the divisions of a second cannot in general be made more
accurately than to 1/10 or 1/15 of a second. The most rapid music player
does not strike a note more than 10 or 12 times in a second. It is only
in case of recurring phenomena that we can make personal observations
more accurate than this by taking the mean of a large number of
observations, and allowing for personal error. For the purpose of
determining longitude at sea accuracy to 1/30 of a second of time would
find the place to about 20 yards. It seems to follow that the extent to
which astronomical clocks can be made accurate, viz. to 1/30 of a second
average variation from their mean daily rate, or one two-and-a-half
millionth of 24 hours, is a degree of accuracy sufficient for present
purposes, and it seems rather doubtful whether mechanical science will
in the case of clocks be likely to reach a much higher figure.
In the 17th century it was a favourite device to make a clock show
sidereal time as well as mean solar time. The length of the sidereal day
is to the mean solar day as .99727 to 1, and various attempts have been
made by trains of wheels to obtain this relation--but all are somewhat
complicated.
_Magical clocks_ are of several kinds. One that was in vogue about 1880
had a bronze figure on the top with outstretched arm holding in its hand
the upper part of the spring of a pendulum, about 10 in. long. The
pendulum had apparently no escapement and the puzzle was how it was
maintained in motion. It was impossible to detect the mystery by the aid
of the eye alone; the truth, however, was that the whole figure swung to
and fro at each oscillation of the pendulum, to an amount of 1/400 of an
inch on the outside rim of the base. A movement of 1/400 of an inch per
half second of time is imperceptible; it would be equivalent to
perception of motion of the minute hand of a clock about 6 in. in
diameter, which is almost impossible. The connexion of the figure to the
anchor of the escapement was very complicated, but clocks of the kind
kept fair time. A straw, poised near the end on a needle and with the
short end united by a thread to the bronze figure, makes the motion
apparent at once and discloses the trick. Another magical clock consists
of two disks of thin sheet glass mounted one close behind the other, one
carrying the minute hand and the other the hour hand. The disks rest on
rollers which rotate and turn them round. The front and back of the
movable disks are covered by other disks of glass surrounded by a frame,
so that the whole looks simply like a single sheet of glass mounted in a
frame, in the centre of which the hands rotate, without any visible
connexion with the works of the clock.
Clocks have been made with a sort of balance wheel consisting of a
thread with a ball at the end which winds backwards and forwards
spirally round a rod. In others a swing or see-saw is attached to the
pendulum, or a ship under canvas is made to oscillate in a heavy sea. In
others the time is measured by the fall of a ball down an inclined
plane, the time of fall being given by the formula t = sqrt(2s/(g sin
a)), where s is the length of the incline and a the inclination. But
friction so modifies the result as to render experiment the only mode of
adjusting such a clock. Sometimes a clock is made to serve as its own
weight, as for instance when a clock shaped like a monkey is allowed to
slide down a rope wound round the going barrel. Or the clock is made of
a cylindrical shape outside and provided with a weighted arm instead of
a going barrel; on being put upon an incline, it rolls down, and the
fall supplies the motive power.
Clocks are frequently provided with chimes moved exactly like musical
boxes, except that the pins in the barrel, instead of flipping musical
combs, raise hammers which fall upon bells. The driving barrel is let
off at suitable intervals. The cuckoo clock is a pretty piece of
mechanism. By the push of a wire given to the body of the bird, it is
bent forward, the wings and tail are raised and the beak opened. At the
same time two weighted bellows measuring about 1 X 2 in. are raised and
successively let drop. These are attached to small wooden organ pipes,
one tuned a fifth above the other, which produce the notes. Phonographs
are also attached to clocks, by which the hours are called instead of
rung.
Clocks are also constructed with conical pendulums. It is a property of
the conical pendulum that if swung round, the time of one complete
revolution is the same as that of the double vibration of a pendulum
equal in length to the vertical distance of the bob of the conical
pendulum below its point of support. It follows that if the driving
force of such a pendulum can be kept constant (as it easily can by an
electric contact which is made at every revolution during which it falls
below a certain point) the clock will keep time; or friction can be
introduced so as to reduce the speed whenever the pendulum flies round
too fast and hence the bob rises. Or again by suitable arrangements the
bob may be made to move in certain curves so as to be isochronous. Plans
of this kind are employed rather to drive telescopes, phonographs and
other machines requiring uniform and steady movement.
Comical and performing clocks were very popular in the 15th and 16th
centuries. One at Basel in Switzerland was arranged so as gradually to
protrude a long tongue as the pendulum vibrated. It is still to be seen
there in the museum. The famous clock at Strassburg, originally
constructed in 1574, remade in 1842, displays a whole series of scenes,
including processions of the apostles and other persons, and a cock that
crows. A fine clock at Venice has two rather stiff bronze giants that
strike the hours.
Clocks with complicated movements representing the positions of the
heavenly bodies and the days of the week and month, allowance being made
for leap year, were once the delight of the curious. Repeating clocks,
which sounded the hours when a string was pulled, were once popular. The
string simply raised the lifting piece and let the clock strike as the
hands would do when they came to the hour. This was of use in the old
days when the only mode of striking a light at night was with a flint
and steel, but lucifer matches and the electric light have rendered
these clocks obsolete.
[Illustration: FIG. 34.--Curve of Variation of daily rate.]
_Testing Clocks._--The average amount by which a clock gains or loses is
called its mean or average daily rate. A large daily rate of error is no
proof that a clock is a bad one, for it might be completely removed by
pendulum adjustment. What is required is that the daily rate shall be
uniform, that is, that the clock shall not be gaining (or losing) more
on one day than on another, or at one period of the same day than at
another. In fig. 34 A B is a curve in which the abscissae represent
intervals of time, the ordinates the number of seconds at any time by
which the clock is wrong. The curve C D is one in which the ordinates
are proportional to the tangents of the angles of inclination of the
curve A B to the axis of x, that is dy/dx. Whenever the line A B is
horizontal, C D cuts the axis of x. In a clock having no variation in
its daily rate the curve A B would become a straight line, though it
might be inclined to the axis of x, and C D, also a straight line, would
be parallel to the axis of x, though it might not coincide with it. In a
clock set to exact time and having no variations of daily rate, both the
curves would be straight lines and would coincide with the axis of x.
The curve C D, known as the curve of variation of daily rate, will
generally be found to follow changes of day and night, and of
temperature, and the fluctuations of the barometer and hygrometer; it is
the curve which reveals the true character of the clock. Hence in
testing a clock two things have to be determined: first, the daily rate
of error, and second, the average variations from that daily rate, in
other words the _irregularities_ of going. To test a clock well six
months' or a year's trial is needed, and it is desirable to have it
subjected to considerable changes of temperature.
The bibliography of horology is very extensive. Among modern works
Lord Grimthorpe's _Rudimentary Treatise on Clocks_, _Watches and
Bells_ (8th edition, London, 1903) is perhaps the most convenient.
Many references to older literature will be found in Thomas Reid's
Treatise on Clock and Watchmaking (1849). (G.; H. H. C.)
_Decorative Aspects._--In art the clock occupies a position of
considerable distinction, and antique examples are prized and collected
as much for the decorative qualities of their cases as for the
excellence of their time-keeping. French and English cabinet-makers have
especially excelled, although in entirely different ways, in the making
of clock cases. The one aimed at comely utility, often made actually
beautiful by fit proportion and the employment of finely grained woods;
the other sought a bold and dazzling splendour in which ornament overlay
material. It was not in either country until the latter part of the 17th
century that the cabinet-maker's opportunity came. The bracket or
chamber clock gave comparatively little scope to the worker in wood--in
its earlier period, indeed, it was almost invariably encased in brass or
other metal; and it was not until the introduction of the long pendulum
swinging in a small space that it became customary to encase clocks in
decorative woodwork. The long or "grandfather" clock dates from about
the fourth quarter of the 17th century--what is, perhaps, the earliest
surviving English dated specimen is inscribed with the date 1681.
Originally it was a development of the dome-shaped bracket clock, and
in the older examples the characteristic dome or canopy is preserved.
The first time-keepers of this type had oaken cases--indeed oak was
never entirely abandoned; but when walnut began to come into favour a
few years later that beautifully marked wood was almost invariably used
for the choicest and most costly specimens. Thus in 1698 the dean and
chapter of St Paul's cathedral paid the then very substantial price of
£14 for an inlaid walnut long-cased eight-day clock to stand in one of
the vestries. The rapidity with which the new style came into use is
suggested by the fact that while very few long clocks can be certainly
dated before 1690, between that year and the end of the century there
are many examples. Throughout the 18th century they were made in myriads
all over England, and since they were a prized possession it is not
surprising that innumerable examples have survived. Vary as they may in
height and girth, in wood and dial, they are all essentially alike. In
their earlier years their faces were usually of brass engraved with
cherubs' heads or conventional designs, but eventually the less rich
white face grew common. There are two varieties--the eight-day and the
thirty-hour. The latter is but little esteemed, notwithstanding that it
is often as decorative as the more expensive clock. The favourite walnut
case of the late 17th and early 18th century gave place in the course of
a generation to mahogany, which retained its primacy until the
introduction of cheaper clocks brought about the supersession of the
long-cased variety. Many of these cases were made in lacquer when that
material was in vogue; satinwood and other costly foreign timbers were
also used for bandings and inlay. The most elegant of the "grandfather"
cases are, however, the narrow-waisted forms of the William and Mary
period in walnut inlay, the head framed in twisted pilasters. Long
clocks of the old type are still made in small numbers and at high
prices; they usually contain chimes. During the later period of their
popularity the heads of long clocks were often filled in with painted
disks representing the moon, by which its course could be followed. Such
conceits as ships moving on waves or time with wings were also in
favour. The northern parts of France likewise produced tall clocks,
usually in oaken cases; those with Louis Quinze shaped panels are often
very decorative. French love of applied ornament was, however, generally
inimical to the rather uncompromising squareness of the English case,
and the great Louis Quinze and Louis Seize cabinetmakers made some
magnificent and monumental clocks, many of which were "long" only as
regards the case, the pendulum being comparatively short, while
sometimes the case acted merely as a pedestal for a bracket-clock fixed
on the top. These pieces were usually mounted very elaborately in gilt
bronze, cast and chased, and French bracket and chamber clocks were
usually of gilded metal or marble, or a combination of the two; this
essentially late 18th-century type still persists. English bracket
clocks contemporary with them were most frequently of simple square or
arched form in mahogany. The "grandfather" case was also made in the Low
Countries, of generous height, very swelling and bulbous.
See F. J. Britten, _Old Clocks and Watches and their Makers_ (2nd
edition, London, 1904); Mathieu Planchon, _L'Horloge, son histoire
retrospective, pittoresque et artistique_ (Paris, 1899). (J. P.-B.)
CLODIA, VIA, an ancient high-road of Italy. Its course, for the first 11
m., was the same as that of the Via Cassia; it then diverged to the
N.N.W. and ran on the W. side of the Lacus Sabatinus, past Forum Clodii
and Blera. At Forum Cassii it may have rejoined the Via Cassia, and it
seems to have taken the same line as the latter as far as Florentia
(Florence). But beyond Florentia, between Luca (Lucca) and Luna, we find
another Forum Clodii, and the Antonine Itinerary gives the route from
Luca to Rome as being by the Via Clodia--wrongly as regards the portion
from Florentia southwards, but perhaps rightly as regards that from Luca
to Florentia. In that case the Clodius whose name the road bears,
possibly C. Clodius Vestalis (c. 43 B.C.), was responsible for the
construction of the first portion and of that from Florentia to Luca
(and Luna), and the founder of the two Fora Clodii. The name seems, in
imperial times, to have to some extent driven out that of the Cassia,
and both roads were administered, with other minor roads, by the same
_curator_.
See Ch. Hülsen in Pauly-Wissowa, _Realencyclopädie_, iv. 63; cf.
CASSIA, VIA. (T. As.)
CLODIUS,[1] PUBLIUS (c. 93-52 B.C.), surnamed PULCHER, Roman politician.
He took part in the third Mithradatic war under his brother-in-law
Lucius Licinius Lucullus, but considering himself treated with
insufficient respect, he stirred up a revolt; another brother-in-law, Q.
Marcius Rex, governor of Cilicia, gave him the command of his fleet, but
he was captured by pirates. On his release he repaired to Syria, where
he nearly lost his life during a mutiny instigated by himself. Returning
to Rome in 65, he prosecuted Catiline for extortion, but was bribed by
him to procure acquittal. There seems no reason to believe that Clodius
was implicated in the Catilinarian conspiracy; indeed, according to
Plutarch (_Cicero_, 29), he rendered Cicero every assistance and acted
as one of his body-guard. The affair of the mysteries of the Bona Dea,
however, caused a breach between Clodius and Cicero in December 62.
Clodius, dressed as a woman (men were not admitted to the mysteries),
entered the house of Caesar, where the mysteries were being celebrated,
in order to carry on an intrigue with Caesar's wife. He was detected and
brought to trial, but escaped condemnation by bribing the jury. Cicero's
violent attacks on this occasion inspired Clodius with the desire for
revenge. On his return from Sicily (where he had been quaestor in 61) he
renounced his patrician rank, and, having with the connivance of Caesar
been adopted by a certain P. Fonteius, was elected tribune of the people
(10th of December 59). His first act was to bring forward certain laws
calculated to secure him the popular favour. Corn, instead of being sold
at a low rate, was to be distributed gratuitously once a month; the
right of taking the omens on a fixed day and (if they were declared
unfavourable) of preventing the assembly of the comitia, possessed by
every magistrate by the terms of the Lex Aelia Fufia, was abolished; the
old clubs or gilds of workmen were re-established; the censors were
forbidden to exclude any citizen from the senate or inflict any
punishment upon him unless he had been publicly accused and condemned.
He then contrived to get rid of Cicero (q.v.) and the younger Cato
(q.v.), who was sent to Cyprus as praetor to take possession of the
island and the royal treasures. Cicero's property was confiscated by
order of Clodius, his house on the Palatine burned down, and its site
put up to auction. It was purchased by Clodius himself, who, not wishing
to appear in the matter, put up some one to bid for him. After the
departure of Caesar for Gaul, Clodius became practically master of Rome
with the aid of armed ruffians and a system of secret societies. In 57
one of the tribunes proposed the recall of Cicero, and Clodius resorted
to force to prevent the passing of the decree, but was foiled by Titus
Annius Milo (q.v.), who brought up an armed band sufficiently strong to
hold him in check. Clodius subsequently attacked the workmen who were
rebuilding Cicero's house at the public cost, assaulted Cicero himself
in the street, and set fire to the house of Q. Cicero. In 56, when
curule aedile, he impeached Milo for public violence (_de vi_), when
defending his house against the attacks of Clodius, and also charged him
with keeping armed bands in his service. Judicial proceedings were
hindered by outbreaks of disturbance, and the matter was finally
dropped. In 53, when Milo was a candidate for the consulship, and
Clodius for the praetorship, the rivals collected armed bands and fights
took place in the streets of Rome, and on the 20th of January 52 Clodius
was slain near Bovillae.
His sister, CLODIA, wife of Q. Caecilius Metellus Celer, was notorious
for her numerous love affairs. It is now generally admitted that she was
the Lesbia of Catullus (Teuffel-Schwabe, _Hist. of Roman Lit._, Eng.
tr., 214, 3). For her intrigue with M. Caelius Rufus, whom she
afterwards pursued with unrelenting hatred and accused of attempting to
poison her, see Cicero, _Pro Caelio_, where she is represented as a
woman of abandoned character.
AUTHORITIES.--Cicero, _Letters_ (ed. Tyrrell and Purser), _Pro Caelio,
pro Sestio, pro Milone, pro Domo sua, de Haruspicum Responsis, in
Pisonem_; Plutarch, _Lucullus, Pompey, Cicero, Caesar_; Dio Cassius
xxxvi. 16, 19, xxxvii. 45, 46, 51, xxxviii. 12-14, xxxix. 6, 11, xl.
48. See also I. Gentile, _Clodio e Cicerone_ (Milan, 1876); E. S.
Beesley, "Cicero and Clodius," in _Fortnightly Review_, v.; G.
Lacour-Gayet, _De P. Clodio Pulchro_ (Paris, 1888), and in _Revue
historique_ (Sept. 1889); H. White, _Cicero, Clodius and Milo_ (New
York, 1900); G. Boissier, _Cicero and his Friends_ (Eng. trans.,
1897).
FOOTNOTE:
[1] It is suggested (W. M. Lindsay, _The Latin Language_, p. 41) that
he changed his name Claudius into the plebeian form Clodius, in order
to gain the favour of the mob.
CLOGHER, a market village of Co. Tyrone, Ireland, in the south
parliamentary division, on the Clogher Valley light railway. Pop. (1901)
225. It gives name to dioceses of the Church of Ireland and the Roman
Catholic Church, but the seat of the Roman Catholic bishop is at
Monaghan, with the cathedral. The Protestant cathedral, dedicated to St
Macartin, dates from the 18th and early 19th century, but St Macartin
(c. 500) was a disciple of St Patrick, and it is said that St Patrick
himself founded a bishopric here. The name is derived from the Irish
_cloch_, a pillar stone, such as were worshipped and regarded as oracles
in many parts of pagan Ireland; the stone was preserved as late as the
15th century in the cathedral, and identity is even now claimed for a
stone which lies near the church.
CLOISTER (Lat. _claustrum_; Fr. _cloître_; Ital. _chiostro_; Span.
_claustro_; Ger. _Kloster_). The word "cloister," though now restricted
to the four-sided enclosure, surrounded with covered ambulatories,
usually attached to coventual and cathedral churches, and sometimes to
colleges, or by a still further limitation to the ambulatories
themselves, originally signified the entire monastery. In this sense it
is of frequent occurrence in earlier English literature (e.g.
Shakespeare, _Meas. for Meas._ i. 3, "This day my sister should the
_cloister_ enter"), and is still employed in poetry. The Latin
_claustrum_, as its derivation implies, primarily denoted no more than
the enclosing wall of a religious house, and then came to be used for
the whole building enclosed within the wall. To this sense the German
"Kloster" is still limited, the covered walks, or cloister in the modern
sense, being called "Klostergang," or "Kreuzgang." In French the word
_cloître_ retains the double sense.
In the special sense now most common, the word "cloister" denotes the
quadrilateral area in a monastery or college of canons, round which the
principal buildings are ranged, and which is usually provided with a
covered way or ambulatory running all round, and affording a means of
communication between the various centres of the ecclesiastical life,
without exposure to the weather. According to the Benedictine
arrangement, which from its suitability to the requirements of monastic
life was generally adopted in the West, one side of the cloister was
formed by the church, the refectory occupying the side opposite to it,
that the worshippers might have the least annoyance from the noise or
smell of the repasts. On the eastern side the chapter-house was placed,
with other apartments belonging to the common life of the brethren
adjacent to it, and, as a common rule, the dormitory occupied the whole
of the upper story. On the opposite or western side were generally the
cellarer's lodgings, with the cellars and store-houses, in which the
provisions necessary for the sustenance of the confraternity were
housed. In Cistercian monasteries the western side was usually occupied
by the "domus conversorum," or lodgings of the lay-brethren, with their
day-rooms and workshops below, and dormitory above. The cloister, with
its surrounding buildings, generally stood on the south side of the
church, to secure as much sunshine as possible. A very early example of
this disposition is seen in the plan of the monastery of St Gall (see
ABBEY, fig. 3). Local requirements, in some instances, caused the
cloister to be placed to the north of the church. This is the case in
the English cathedrals, formerly Benedictine abbeys, of Canterbury,
Gloucester and Chester, as well as in that of Lincoln. Other examples of
the northward situation are at Tintern, Buildwas and Sherborne. Although
the covered ambulatories are absolutely essential to the completeness
of a monastic cloister, a chief object of which was to enable the
inmates to pass from one part of the monastery to another without
inconvenience from rain, wind, or sun, it appears that they were
sometimes wanting. The cloister at St Albans seems to have been
deficient in ambulatories till the abbacy of Robert of Gorham,
1151-1166, when the eastern walk was erected. This, as was often the
case with the earliest ambulatories, was of wood covered with a sloping
roof or "penthouse." We learn from Osbern's account of the conflagration
of the monastery of Christ Church, Canterbury, 1067, that a cloister
with covered ways existed at that time, affording communication between
the church, the dormitory and the refectory. We learn from an early
drawing of the monastery of Canterbury that this cloister was formed by
an arcade of Norman arches supported on shafts, and covered by a shed
roof. A fragment of an arcaded cloister of this pattern is still found
on the eastern side of the infirmary-cloister of the same foundation.
This earlier form of cloister has been generally superseded in England
by a range of windows, usually unglazed, but sometimes, as at
Gloucester, provided with glass, lighting a vaulted ambulatory, of which
the cloisters of Westminster Abbey, Salisbury and Norwich are typical
examples. The older design was preserved in the South, where "the
cloister is never a window, or anything in the least approaching to it
in design, but a range of small elegant pillars, sometimes single,
sometimes coupled, and supporting arches of a light and elegant design,
all the features being of a character suited to the place where they are
used, and to that only" (Fergusson, _Hist. of Arch._ i. p. 610). As
examples of this description of cloister, we may refer to the exquisite
cloisters of St John Lateran, and St Paul's without the walls, at Rome,
where the coupled shafts and arches are richly ornamented with ribbons
of mosaic, and those of the convent of St Scholastica at Subiaco, all of
the 13th century, and to the beautiful cloisters at Arles, in southern
France; those of Aix, Fontfroide, Elne, &c., are of the same type; as
also the Romanesque cloisters at Zürich, where the design suffers from
the deep abacus having only a single slender shaft to support it, and at
Laach, where the quadrangle occupies the place of the "atrium" of the
early basilicas at the west end, as at St Clement's at Rome, and St
Ambrose at Milan. Spain also presents some magnificent cloisters of both
types, of which that of the royal convent of Huelgas, near Burgos, of
the arcaded form, is, according to Fergusson, "unrivalled for beauty
both of detail and design, and is perhaps unsurpassed by anything in its
age and style in any part of Europe." Few cloisters are more beautiful
than those of Monreale and Cefalu in Sicily, where the arrangement is
the same, of slender columns in pairs with capitals of elaborate foliage
supporting pointed arches of great elegance of form.
All other cloisters are surpassed in dimensions and in sumptuousness of
decoration by the "Campo Santo" at Pisa. This magnificent cloister
consists of four ambulatories as wide and lofty as the nave of a church,
erected in 1278 by Giovanni Pisano round a cemetery composed of soil
brought from Palestine by Archbishop Lanfranchi in the middle of the
12th century. The window-openings are semicircular, filled with
elaborate tracery in the latter half of the 15th century. The inner
walls are covered with frescoes invaluable in the history of art by
Orcagna, Simone Memmi, Buffalmacco, Benozzo Gozzoli, and other early
painters of the Florentine school. The ambulatories now serve as a
museum of sculpture. The internal dimensions are 415 ft. 6. in. in
length, 137 ft. 10 in. in breadth, while each ambulatory is 34 ft. 6.
in. wide by 46 ft. high.
The cloister of a religious house was the scene of a large part of the
life of the inmates of a monastery. It was the place of education for
the younger members, and of study for the elders. A canon of the Roman
council held under Eugenius II., in 826, enjoins the erection of a
cloister as an essential portion of an ecclesiastical establishment for
the better discipline and instruction of the clerks. Peter of Blois
(_Serm._ 25) describes schools for the novices as being in the west
walk, and moral lectures delivered in that next the church. At
Canterbury the monks' school was in the western ambulatory, and it was
in the same walk that the novices were taught at Durham (Willis,
_Monastic Buildings of Canterbury_, p. 44; _Rites of Durham_, p. 71).
The other alleys, especially that next the church, were devoted to the
studies of the elder monks. The constitutions of Hildemar and Dunstan
enact that between the services of the church the brethren should sit in
the cloister and read theology. For this purpose small studies, known as
"carrols," i.e. a ring or enclosed space, were often found in the
recesses of the windows. Of this arrangement there are examples at
Gloucester, Chester and elsewhere. The use of these studies is thus
described in the _Rites of Durham_:--"In every wyndowe" in the north
alley "were iii pewes or carrells, where every one of the olde monkes
had his carrell severally by himselfe, that when they had dyned they dyd
resorte to that place of cloister, and there studyed upon their books,
every one in his carrell all the afternonne unto evensong tyme. This was
there exercise every daie." On the opposite wall were cupboards full of
books for the use of the students in the carrols. The cloister
arrangements at Canterbury were similar to those just described. New
studies were made by Prior De Estria in 1317, and Prior Selling
(1472-1494) glazed the south alley for the use of the studious brethren,
and constructed "the new framed contrivances, of late styled carrols"
(Willis, _Mon. Buildings_, p. 45). The cloisters were used not for study
only but also for recreation. The constitutions of Archbishop Lanfranc,
sect. 3, permitted the brethren to converse together there at certain
hours of the day. To maintain necessary discipline a special officer was
appointed under the title of _prior claustri_. The cloister was always
furnished with a stone bench running along the side. It was also
provided with a lavatory, usually adjacent to the refectory, but
sometimes standing in the central area, termed the cloister-garth, as at
Durham. The cloister-garth was used as a place of sepulture, as well as
the surrounding alleys. The cloister was in some few instances of two
stories, as at Old St Paul's, and St Stephen's chapel, Westminster, and
occasionally, as at Wells, Chichester and Hereford, had only three
alleys, there being no ambulatory under the church wall.
The larger monastic establishments had more than one cloister; there was
usually a second connected with the infirmary, of which there are
examples at Westminster Abbey and at Canterbury; and sometimes one
giving access to the kitchen and other domestic offices.
The cloister was not an appendage of monastic houses exclusively. It was
also attached to colleges of secular canons, as at the cathedrals of
Lincoln, Salisbury, Wells, Hereford and Chichester, and formerly at St
Paul's and Exeter. It is, however, absent at York, Lichfield, Beverley,
Ripon, Southwell and Wimborne. A cloister forms an essential part of the
colleges of Eton and Winchester, and of New College and Magdalen at
Oxford, and was designed by Wolsey at Christ Church. These were used for
religious processions and lectures, for ambulatories for the studious at
all times, and for places of exercise for the inmates generally in wet
weather, as well as in some instances for sepulture.
For the arrangements of the Carthusian cloisters, as well as for some
account of those appended to the monasteries of the East, see ABBEY.
(E. V.)
CLONAKILTY, a seaport and market town of Co. Cork, Ireland, in the south
parliamentary division, at the head of Clonakilty Bay, 33 m. S.W. of
Cork on a branch of the Cork, Bandon & South Coast railway. Pop. of
urban district (1901), 3098. It was brought into prosperity by Richard
Boyle, first earl of Cork, and was granted a charter in 1613; but was
partly demolished on the occasion of a fight between the English and
Irish in 1641. It returned two members to the Irish parliament until the
union. In the 18th century there was an extensive linen industry. The
present trade is centred in brewing, corn-milling, yarn and
farm-produce. The harbour-mouth is obstructed by a bar, and there is a
pier for large vessels at Ring, a mile below the town. The fisheries are
of importance. A ruined church on the island of Inchdorey, and castles
on Galley Head, at Dunnycove, and at Dunowen, together with a stone
circle, are the principal antiquities in the neighbourhood.
CLONES, a market town of Co. Monaghan, Ireland, in the north
parliamentary division, 64½ m. S.W. by W. from Belfast, and 93½ m. N.W.
from Dublin by the Great Northern railway, on which system it is an
important junction, the lines from Dublin, from Belfast, from
Londonderry and Enniskillen, and from Cavan converging here. Pop. of
urban district (1901), 2068. The town has a considerable agricultural
trade, and there are corn mills and manufactures of agricultural
implements. A former lace-making industry is extinct. The market-place,
called the Diamond, occupies the summit of the slight elevation on which
the town is situated. Clones was the seat of an abbey founded in the 6th
century by St Tighernach (Tierney), to whom the Protestant parish church
is dedicated. Remains of the abbey include a nave and tower of the 12th
century, and a curious shrine formed out of a great block of red
sandstone. Other antiquities are a round tower of rude masonry, 75 ft.
high but lacking the cap; a rath, or encampment, and an ancient market
cross in the Diamond.
CLONMACNOISE, one of the most noteworthy of the numerous early religious
settlements in Ireland, on the river Shannon, in King's county, 9 m. S.
of Athlone. An abbey was founded here by St Kieran in 541, which as a
seat of learning gained a European fame, receiving offerings, for
example, from Charles the Great, whose companion Alcuin the scholar
received part of his education from the great teacher Colcu at
Conmacnoise. Several books of annals were compiled here, and the
foundation became the seat of a bishopric, but it was plundered and
wasted by the English in 1552, and in 1568 the diocese was united with
that of Meath. The most remarkable literary monument of Clonmacnoise is
the Book of the Dun Cow, written about 1100, still preserved (but in an
imperfect form) by the Royal Irish Academy, and containing a large
number of romances. It is a copy of a much earlier original, which was
written on the skin of a favourite cow of St Kieran, whence the name of
the work. The full title of the foundation is the "Seven Churches of
Clonmacnoise," and remains of all these are extant. The Great Church,
though rebuilt by a chief named McDermot, in the 14th century, retains
earlier remains in a fine west doorway; the other churches are those of
Fineen, Conor, St Kieran, Kelly, Melaghlin and Dowling. There are two
round towers; O'Rourke's, lacking the roof, but occupying a commanding
situation on rising ground, is dated by Petrie from the early 10th
century, and stands 62 ft. in height; and McCarthy's, attached to
Fineen's church, which is more perfect, but rather shorter, and presents
the unusual feature of a doorway level with the ground, instead of
several feet above it as is customary. There are three crosses, of which
the Great Cross, made of a single stone and 15 ft. in height, is
splendidly carved, with tracery and inscriptions. It faces the door of
the Great Church, and is of the same date. A large number of inscribed
stones dating from the 9th century and after are preserved in the
churches. There are further remains of the Castle and Episcopal palace,
a fortified building of the 14th century, and of a nunnery of the 12th
century. In the neighbourhood are seen striking examples of the glacial
phenomenon of _eskers_, or gravel ridges.
CLONMEL, a municipal borough and the county town of Co. Tipperary,
Ireland, in the east parliamentary division, 112 m. S.W. from Dublin on
a branch from Thurles of the Great Southern & Western railway, which
makes a junction here with the Waterford and Limerick line of the same
company. Pop. (1901) 10,167. Clonmel is built on both sides of the Suir,
and also occupies Moore and Long Islands, which are connected with the
mainland by three bridges. The principal buildings are the parish
church, two Roman Catholic churches, a Franciscan friary, two convents,
an endowed school dating from 1685, and the various county buildings.
The beauty of the environs, and especially of the river, deserves
mention; and their charm is enhanced by the neighbouring Galtee,
Knockmealdown and other mountains, among which Slievenaman (2364 ft.) is
conspicuous. A woollen manufacture was established in 1667, and was
extensively carried on until the close of the 18th century. The town
contains breweries, flour-mills and tanneries, and has a considerable
export trade in grain, cattle, butter and provisions. It stands at the
head of navigation for barges on the Suir. It was the centre of a
system, established by Charles Bianconi (1786-1875) in 1815 and
subsequently, for the conveyance of travellers on light cars, extending
over a great part of Leinster, Munster and Connaught. It is governed by
a mayor and corporation, which, though retained under the Local
Government (Ireland) Act of 1898, has practically the status of an urban
district council. By the same act a part of the town formerly situated
in county Waterford was added to county Tipperary. It was a
parliamentary borough, returning one member, until 1885; having returned
two members to the Irish parliament until the union.
The name, _Cluain mealla_, signifies the Vale of Honey. In 1269 the
place was chosen as the seat of a Franciscan friary by Otho de
Grandison, the first English possessor of the district; and it
frequently comes into notice in the following centuries. In 1641 it
declared for the Roman Catholic party, and in 1650 it was gallantly
defended by Hugh O'Neill against the English under Cromwell. Compelled
at last to capitulate, it was completely dismantled, and was never again
fortified. Remains of the wall are seen in the churchyard, and the West
Gate still stands in the main street.
CLOOTS, JEAN BAPTISTE DU VAL DE GRÂCE, BARON VON (1755-1794), better
known as ANACHARSIS CLOOTS, a noteworthy figure in the French
Revolution, was born near Cleves, at the castle of Gnadenthal. He
belonged to a noble Prussian family of Dutch origin. The young Cloots,
heir to a great fortune, was sent at eleven years of age to Paris to
complete his education. There he imbibed the theories of his uncle the
Abbé Cornelius de Pauw (1739-1799), philosopher, geographer and
diplomatist at the court of Frederick the Great. His father placed him
in the military academy at Berlin, but he left it at the age of twenty
and traversed Europe, preaching his revolutionary philosophy as an
apostle, and spending his money as a man of pleasure. On the breaking
out of the Revolution he returned in 1789 to Paris, thinking the
opportunity favourable for establishing his dream of a universal family
of nations. On the 19th of June 1790 he appeared at the bar of the
Assembly at the head of thirty-six foreigners; and, in the name of this
"embassy of the human race," declared that the world adhered to the
Declaration of the Rights of Man and of the Citizen. After this he was
known as "the orator of the human race," by which title he called
himself, dropping that of baron, and substituting for his baptismal
names the pseudonym of Anacharsis, from the famous philosophical romance
of the Abbé Jean Jacques Barthélemy. In 1792 he placed 12,000 livres at
the disposal of the Republic--"for the arming of forty or fifty fighters
in the sacred cause of man against tyrants." The 10th of August impelled
him to a still higher flight; he declared himself the personal enemy of
Jesus Christ, and abjured all revealed religions. In the same month he
had the rights of citizenship conferred on him; and, having in September
been elected a member of the Convention, he voted the king's death in
the name of the human race, and was an active partisan of the war of
propaganda. Excluded at the instance of Robespierre from the Jacobin
Club, he was soon afterwards implicated in an accusation levelled
against the Hébertists. His innocence was manifest, but he was
condemned, and guillotined on the 24th of March 1794.
Cloots' main works are: _La Certitude des preuves du mahométisme_
(London, 1780), published under the pseudonym of Ali-Gur-Ber, in answer
to Bergier's _Certitude des preuves du christianisme; L'Orateur du genre
humain, ou Dépêches du Prussien Cloots au Prussien Herzberg_ (Paris,
1791), and _La République universelle_ (1792).
The biography of Cloots by G. Avenel (2 vols., Paris, 1865) is too
eulogistic. See the three articles by H. Baulig in _La Révolution
française_, t. 41 (1901).
CLOQUET, a city of Carlton county, Minnesota, U.S.A., on the St Louis
river, 28 m. W. by S. of Duluth. Pop. (1890) 2530; (1900) 3072; (1905,
state census) 6117, of whom 2755 were foreign-born (716 Swedes, 689
Finns, 685 Canadians, 334 Norwegians); (1910) 7031. Cloquet is served by
the Northern Pacific, the Great Northern, the Duluth & North-Eastern,
and (for freight only) the Chicago, Milwaukee & St Paul railways. The
river furnishes good water-power, and the city has various manufactures,
including lumber, paper, wood pulp, match blocks and boxes. The first
mill was built in 1878, and the village was named from the French word
_claquet_ (sound of the mill). Cloquet was incorporated as a village in
1883 and was chartered as a city in 1903.
CLOSE, MAXWELL HENRY (1822-1903), Irish geologist, was born in Dublin in
1822. He was educated at Weymouth and at Trinity College, Dublin, where
he graduated in 1846; and two years later he entered holy orders. For a
year he was curate of All Saints, Northampton; from 1849 to 1857 he was
rector of Shangton in Leicestershire; and then for four years he was
curate of Waltham-on-the-Wolds. In 1861, on the death of his father, he
returned to Dublin, and while giving his services to various churches in
the city, devoted himself almost wholly to literary and scientific
pursuits, and especially to the glacial geology of Ireland, on which
subject he became an acknowledged authority. His paper, read before the
Geological Society of Ireland in 1866, on the "General Glaciation of
Ireland" is a masterly description of the effects of glaciation, and of
the evidence in favour of the action of land-ice. Later on he discussed
the origin of the elevated shell-bearing gravels near Dublin, and
expressed the view that they were accumulated by floating ice when the
land had undergone submergence. He was for a time treasurer of the Royal
Irish Academy, an active member of the Royal Dublin Society, and
president in 1878 of the Royal Geological Society of Ireland. Astronomy
and physics, as well as the ancient language and antiquities of Ireland,
attracted his attention. He died in Dublin on the 12th of September
1903.
The obituary by Prof. G.A.J. Cole in _Irish Naturalist_, vol. xii.
(1903) pp. 301-306, contains a list of publications and portrait.
CLOSE (from Lat. _clausum_, shut), a closed place or enclosure. In
English law, the term is applied to a portion of land, enclosed or not,
held as private property, and to any exclusive interest in land
sufficient to maintain an action for trespass _quare clausum fregit_.
The word is also used, particularly in Scotland, of the entry or
passage, including the common staircase, of a block of tenement houses,
and in architecture for the precincts of a cathedral or abbey.
The adjective "close" (i.e. closed) is found in several phrases, such as
"close time" or "close season" (see GAME LAWS); close borough, one of
which the rights and privileges were enjoyed by a limited class (see
BOROUGH); close rolls and writs, royal letters, &c., addressed to
particular persons, under seal, and not open to public inspection (see
RECORD; _Chancery_; LETTERS PATENT). From the sense of "closed up," and
so "confined," comes the common meaning of "near."
CLOSURE (Fr. _clôture_), the parliamentary term for the closing of
debate according to a certain rule, even when certain members are
anxious to continue the debate. (See PARLIAMENT: _Procedure_.)
CLOT, ANTOINE BARTHÉLEMY (1793-1868), French physician, known as CLOT
BEY, was born at Grenoble on the 7th of November 1793, and graduated in
medicine and surgery at Montpellier. After practising for a time at
Marseilles he was made chief surgeon to Mehemet Ali, viceroy of Egypt.
At Abuzabel, near Cairo, he founded a hospital and schools for all
branches of medical instruction, as well as for the study of the French
language; and, notwithstanding the most serious religious difficulties,
instituted the study of anatomy by means of dissection. In 1832 Mehemet
Ali gave him the dignity of bey without requiring him to abjure his
religion; and in 1836 he received the rank of general, and was appointed
head of the medical administration of the country. In 1849 he returned
to Marseilles, though he revisited Egypt in 1856. He died at Marseilles
on the 28th of August 1868. His publications included: _Relation des
épidémies de choléra qui ont régné à l'Heggiaz, à Suez, et en Égypte_
(1832); _De la peste observée en Égypte_ (1840); _Aperçu général sur
l'Égypte_ (1840); _Coup d'oeil sur la peste et les quarantaines_ (1851);
_De l'ophthalmie (1864)_.
CLOTAIRE (CHLOTHACHAR), the name of four Frankish kings.
CLOTAIRE I. (d. 561) was one of the four sons of Clovis. On the death of
his father in 511 he received as his share of the kingdom the town of
Soissons, which he made his capital, the cities of Laon, Noyon, Cambrai
and Maastricht, and the lower course of the Meuse. But he was very
ambitious, and sought to extend his domain. He was the chief instigator
of the murder of his brother Clodomer's children in 524, and his share
of the spoils consisted of the cities of Tours and Poitiers. He took
part in the various expeditions against Burgundy, and after the
destruction of that kingdom in 534 obtained Grenoble, Die and some of
the neighbouring cities. When Provence was ceded to the Franks by the
Ostrogoths, he received the cities of Orange, Carpentras and Gap. In 531
he marched against the Thuringi with his brother Theuderich (Thierry)
I., and in 542 with his brother Childebert against the Visigoths of
Spain. On the death of his great-nephew Theodebald in 555, Clotaire
annexed his territories; and on Childebert's death in 558 he became king
of all Gaul. He also ruled over the greater part of Germany, made
expeditions into Saxony, and for some time exacted from the Saxons an
annual tribute of 500 cows. The end of his reign was troubled by
internal dissensions, his son Chram rising against him on several
occasions. Following Chram into Brittany, where the rebel had taken
refuge, Clotaire shut him up with his wife and children in a cottage, to
which he set fire. Overwhelmed with remorse, he went to Tours to implore
forgiveness at the tomb of St Martin, and died shortly afterwards.
CLOTAIRE II. (d. 629) was the son of Chilperic I. On the assassination
of his father in 584 he was still in his cradle. He was, however,
recognized as king, thanks to the devotion of his mother Fredegond and
the protection of his uncle Gontran, king of Burgundy. It was not until
after the death of his cousin Childebert II. in 595 that Clotaire took
any active part in affairs. He then endeavoured to enlarge his estates
at the expense of Childebert's sons, Theodebert, king of Austrasia, and
Theuderich II., king of Burgundy; but after gaining a victory at Laffaux
(597), he was defeated at Dormelles (600), and lost part of his kingdom.
After the war between Theodebert and Theuderich and their subsequent
death, the nobles of Austrasia and Burgundy appealed to Clotaire, who,
after putting Brunhilda to death, became master of the whole of the
Frankish kingdom (613). He was obliged, however, to make great
concessions to the aristocracy, to whom he owed his victory. By the
constitution of the 18th of October 614 he gave legal force to canons
which had been voted some days previously by a council convened at
Paris, but not without attempting to modify them by numerous
restrictions. He extended the competence of the ecclesiastical
tribunals, suppressed unjust taxes and undertook to select the counts
from the districts they had to administer. In 623 he made his son
Dagobert king of the Austrasians, and gradually subdued all the
provinces that had formerly belonged to Childebert II. He also
guaranteed a certain measure of independence to the nobles of Burgundy,
giving them the option of having a special mayor of the palace, or of
dispensing with that officer. These concessions procured him a reign of
comparative tranquillity. He died on the 18th of October 629, and was
buried at Paris in the church of St Vincent, afterwards known as St
Germain des Prés.
CLOTAIRE III. (652-673) was a son of King Clovis II. In 657 he became
the nominal ruler of the three Frankish kingdoms, but was deprived of
Austrasia in 663, retaining Neustria and Burgundy until his death.
CLOTAIRE IV. (d. 719) was king of Austrasia from 717 to 719.
(C. PF.)
CLOTH, properly a covering, especially for the body, clothing, then the
material of which such a covering is made; hence any material woven of
wool or hair, cotton, flax or vegetable fibre. In commercial usage, the
word is particularly applied to a fabric made of wool. The word is
Teutonic, though it does not appear in all the branches of the language.
It appears in German as _Kleid_, dress (_Kleidung_, clothing), and in
Dutch as _kleed_. The ultimate origin is unknown; it may be connected
with the root _kli-_ meaning to stick, cling to, which appears in
"clay," "cleave" and other words. The original meaning would be either
that which clings to the body, or that which is pressed or "felted"
together. The regular plural of "cloth" was "clothes," which is now
confined in meaning to articles of clothing, garments, in which sense
the singular "cloth" is not now used. For that word, in its modern sense
of material, the plural "cloths" is used. This form dates from the
beginning of the 17th century, but the distinction in meaning between
"cloths" and "clothes" is a 19th-century one.
CLOTHIER, a manufacturer of cloth, or a dealer who sells either the
cloth or made-up clothing. In the United States the word formerly
applied only to those who dressed or fulled cloth during the process of
manufacture, but now it is used in the general sense, as above.
CLOTILDA, SAINT (d. 544), daughter of the Burgundian king Chilperic, and
wife of Clovis, king of the Franks. On the death of Gundioc, king of the
Burgundians, in 473, his sons Gundobald, Godegesil and Chilperic divided
his heritage between them; Chilperic apparently reigning at Lyons,
Gundobald at Vienne and Godegesil at Geneva. According to Gregory of
Tours, Chilperic was slain by Gundobald, his wife drowned, and of his
two daughters, Chrona took the veil and Clotilda was exiled. This
account, however, seems to have been a later invention. At Lyons an
epitaph has been discovered of a Burgundian queen, who died in 506, and
was most probably the mother of Clotilda. Clotilda was brought up in the
orthodox faith. Her uncle Gundobald was asked for her hand in marriage
by the Frankish king Clovis, who had just conquered northern Gaul, and
the marriage was celebrated about 493. On this event many romantic
stories, all more or less embroidered, are to be found in the works of
Gregory of Tours and the chronicler Fredegarius, and in the _Liber
historiae Francorum_. Clotilda did not rest until her husband had
abjured paganism and embraced the orthodox Christian faith (496). With
him she built at Paris the church of the Holy Apostles, afterwards known
as Ste Geneviève. After the death of Clovis in 511 she retired to the
abbey of St Martin at Tours. In 523 she incited her sons against her
uncle Gundobald and provoked the Burgundian war. In the following year
she tried in vain to protect the rights of her grandsons, the children
of Clodomer, against the claims of her sons Childebert I. and Clotaire
I., and was equally unsuccessful in her efforts to prevent the civil
discords between her children. She died in 544, and was buried by her
husband's side in the church of the Holy Apostles.
There is a mediocre _Life_ in _Mon. Germ. Hist.: Script. rer. Merov._,
vol. ii. See also G. Kurth, _Sainte Clotilde_ (2nd ed., Paris, 1897).
(C. PF.)
CLOUD (from the same root, if not the same word, as "clod," a word
common in various forms to Teutonic languages for a mass or lump; it is
first applied in the usual sense in the late 13th century; the
Anglo-Saxon _cl[=u]d_ is only used in the sense of "a mass of rock,"
_wolcen_ being used for "cloud"), a mass of condensed vapour hanging in
the air at some height from the earth.
_Classification of Clouds._--The earliest serious attempt to name the
varieties of cloud was made by J.B. Lamarck in 1801, but he only used
French terms, and those were not always happily chosen. The field was
therefore still clear when in 1803 Luke Howard published, in _Tilloch's
Philosophical Magazine_, an entirely independent scheme in which the
terms were all Latin, and were applied with such excellent judgment that
his system remains as the broad basis of those in use to-day. He
recognized three primary types of cloud--Cirrus, Cumulus and
Stratus--and four derivative or compound forms,--Cirro-cumulus,
Cirro-stratus, Cumulo-stratus and Cumulo-cirro-stratus or Nimbus.
His own definitions were:--
(1) _Cirrus._--Parallel, flexuous or diverging fibres, extensible in
any or all directions.
(2) _Cumulus._--Convex or conical heaps, increasing upward from a
horizontal base.
(3) _Stratus._--A widely-extended continuous horizontal sheet,
increasing from below.
(4) _Cirro-cumulus._--Small, well-defined, roundish masses, in close
horizontal arrangement.
(5) _Cirro-stratus._--Horizontal or slightly inclined masses,
attenuated towards a part or the whole of their circumferences, bent
downward, or undulated, separate or in groups consisting of small
clouds having these characters.
(6) _Cumulo-stratus._--The cirro-stratus blended with the cumulus, and
either appearing intermixed with the heaps of the latter or
superadding a widespread structure to its base.
(7) _Cumulo-cirro-stratus, or nimbus._--The rain-cloud: a cloud or
system of clouds from which rain is falling. It is a horizontal sheet,
above which the cirrus spreads, while the cumulus enters it laterally
and from beneath.
This system was universally adopted, and apart from some ambiguity in
the definitions of cumulo-stratus and nimbus, it was sufficiently
detailed for many purposes, such as the general relations between clouds
and the movements of the barometer. When, however, such questions as the
mode of origin of particular forms of cloud came to be investigated, it
was at once felt that Howard's classes were too wide, and something much
more detailed was required. The result has been the promulgation from
time to time of revised schemes, most of these being based on Howard's
work, and differing from him by the introduction of new terms or of
subdivisions of his types. Some of these new terms have come more or
less into use, such as A. Poëy's _pallium_ to signify a uniform sheet,
but as a general rule the proposals were not accompanied by a clear
enough exposition of their precise meaning for others to be quite sure
of the author's intention. Other writers not appreciating how fully
Howard's names had become established, boldly struck out on entirely new
lines. The most important of these were probably those due respectively
to (1) Poëy, published in the _Annuaire de la société météorologique de
France_, 1865, (2) M. l'Abbé Maze, published in the _Mémoires du congrès
météorologique international_, 1889, and (3) Frederic Gaster, _Quart.
Jour. R. Meteorological Society_, 1893. In all of these Howard's terms
are used, but the systems were much more elaborate, and the verbal
descriptions sometimes difficult to follow.
In his book _Cloudland_ (1894) Clement Ley published a novel system. He
grouped all clouds under four heads, in accordance with the mode in
which he believed them to be formed.
I. _Clouds of Radiation._
Nebula Fog.
Nebula Stillans Wet fog.
Nebula Pulverea Dust fog.
II. _Clouds of Interfret._
Nubes Informis Scud.
Stratus Quietus Quiet cloud.
Stratus Lenticularis Lenticular cloud.
Stratus Maculosus Mackerel cloud.
Stratus Castellatus Turret cloud.
Stratus Precipitans Plane shower.
III. _Clouds of Inversion._
Cumulo-rudimentum Rudiment.
Cumulus Heap cloud.
Cumulo-stratus Anvil cloud.
Cumulo-stratus Mammatus Tubercled anvil cloud.
Cumulo-nimbus Shower cloud.
Cumulo-nimbus Nivosus Snow shower.
Cumulo-nimbus Grandineus Hail shower.
Cumulo-nimbus Mammatus Festooned shower cloud.
Nimbus Rainfall cloud.
Nimbus nivosus Snowfall.
Nimbus grandineus Hailfall.
IV. _Clouds of Inclination._
Nubes Fulgens Luminous cloud.
Cirrus Curl cloud.
Cirro-filum Gossamer cloud.
Cirro-velum Veil cloud.
Cirro-macula Speckle cloud.
Cirro-velum Mammatum.[1] Draped veil cloud.
It will be seen that Ley's scheme is really an amplification of
Howard's. The term "Interfret" is defined as the interaction of
horizontal currents of different velocities. Inversion is a synonym for
vertical convection, and Inclination is used to imply that such clouds
consist of sloping lines of falling ice particles.
While Ley had been finishing his work and seeing it through the press,
H. Hildebrand-Hildebrandsson and R. Abercromby had devised another
modification which differed from Howard's chiefly by the introduction of
a new class, which they distinguished by the use of the prefix _Alto_.
This scheme was formally adopted by the International Meteorological
Conference held at Munich in 1891, and a committee was appointed to draw
up an atlas showing the exact forms typical of each variety considered.
Finally in August 1894 a small sub-committee consisting of Messrs H.
Hildebrand-Hildebrandsson, A. Riggenbach-Burckhardt and Teisserenc de
Bort was charged with the task of producing the atlas. Their task was
completed in 1896, and meteorologists were at last supplied with a
fairly detailed scheme, and one which was adequately illustrated, so
that there could be no doubt of the authors' meaning. It is as
follows:--
_The International Classification._
(a) Separate or globular masses (most frequently seen in dry weather).
(b) Forms which are widely extended, or completely cover the sky (in wet
weather).
A. _Upper clouds_, average altitude 9000 metres.[2]
a. 1. Cirrus.
b. 2. Cirro-stratus.
B. _Intermediate clouds_, between 3000 m. and 7000 m.
a. 3. Cirro-cumulus.
4. Alto-cumulus.
b. 5. Alto-stratus.
C. _Lower clouds_, 2000 m.
a. 6. Strato-cumulus.
b. 7. Nimbus.
D. _Clouds of Diurnal Ascending Currents._
a. 8. Cumulus, apex 1800 m., base 1400 m.
b. 9. Cumulo-nimbus, apex 3000 m. to 8000 m., base 1400 m.
E. _High Fogs_, under 1000 m.
10. Stratus.
_Explanations._
1. _Cirrus_ (Ci.).--Detached clouds, delicate and fibrous-looking,
taking the form of feathers, generally of a white colour, sometimes
arranged in belts which cross a portion of the sky in great circles
and by an effect of perspective, converge towards one or two points of
the horizon (the Ci.-S. and the Ci.-Cu. often contribute to the
formation of these belts). See Plate, fig. 1.
2. _Cirro-stratus_ (Ci.-S.).--A thin, whitish sheet, at times
completely covering the sky, and only giving it a whitish appearance
(it is then sometimes called cirro-nebula), or at others presenting,
more or less distinctly, a formation like a tangled web. This sheet
often produces halos around the sun and moon. See fig. 2.
3. _Cirro-cumulus_ (Ci.-Cu.).--Small globular masses, or white flakes
without shadows, or having very slight shadows, arranged in groups and
often in lines. See fig. 3.
4. _Alto-cumulus_ (A.-Cu.).--Largish globular masses, white or
greyish, partially shaded, arranged in groups or lines, and often so
closely packed that their edges appear confused. The detached masses
are generally larger and more compact (changing to S.-Cu.) at the
centre of the group; at the margin they form into finer flakes
(changing to Ci.-Cu.). They often spread themselves out in lines in
one or two directions. See fig. 4.
5. _Alto-stratus_ (A.-S.).--A thick sheet of a grey or bluish colour,
showing a brilliant patch in the neighbourhood of the sun or moon, and
without causing halos, sometimes giving rise to coronae. This form
goes through all the changes like Cirro-stratus, but according to
measurements made at Upsala, its altitude is one-half as great. See
fig. 5.
6. _Strato-cumulus_ (S.-Cu.).--Large globular masses or rolls of dark
cloud, frequently covering the whole sky, especially in winter, and
occasionally giving it a wavy appearance. The layer is not, as a rule,
very thick, and patches of blue sky are often seen through intervening
spaces. All sorts of transitions between this form and Alto-cumulus
are seen. It may be distinguished from nimbus by its globular or
rolled appearance, and also because it does not bring rain. See fig.
6.
[Illustration: FIG. 1.--CIRRUS.]
[Illustration: FIG. 2.--CIRRO-STRATUS.]
[Illustration: FIG. 3.--CIRRO-CUMULUS.]
[Illustration: FIG. 4.--ALTO-CUMULUS.]
[Illustration: FIG. 5.--ALTO-STRATUS.]
[Illustration: FIG. 6.--STRATO-CUMULUS.]
[Illustration: FIG. 7.--CUMULUS.]
[Illustration: FIG. 8.--STRATUS.]
[Illustration: FIG. 9.--NIMBUS.]
[Illustration: FIG. 10.--CUMULO-NIMBUS.]
7. _Nimbus_ (N.), _Rain Cloud._--A thick layer of dark clouds, without
shape and with ragged edges, from which continued rain or snow
generally falls. Through openings in these clouds an upper layer of
cirro-stratus or alto-stratus may almost invariably be seen. If the
layer of nimbus separates up into shreds, or if small loose clouds are
visible floating at a low level, underneath a large nimbus they may be
described as _fracto-nimbus_ (Scud of sailors). See fig. 9.
8. _Cumulus_ (Cu.) _(Wool-pack Clouds)._--Thick clouds of which the
upper surface is dome-shaped and exhibits protuberances while the base
is horizontal. These clouds appear to be formed by a diurnal
ascensional movement which is almost always observable. When the cloud
is opposite the sun, the surfaces usually presented to the observer
have a greater brilliance than the margins of the protuberances. When
the light falls aslant, these clouds give deep shadows, but if they
are on the same side as the sun they appear dark, with bright edges.
See fig. 7.
The true cumulus has clear superior and inferior limits. It is often
broken up by strong winds, and the detached portions undergo continual
changes. These altered forms may be distinguished by the name of
_Fracto-cumulus_.
9. _Cumulo-nimbus_ (Cu.-N.); _The Thunder-cloud; Shower-cloud._--Heavy
masses of clouds, rising in the form of mountains, turrets or anvils,
generally having a sheet or screen of fibrous appearance above (false
cirrus) and underneath, a mass of cloud similar to nimbus. From the
base there generally fall local showers of rain or snow (occasionally
hail or soft hail). Sometimes the upper edges have the compact form of
cumulus, rising into massive peaks round which the delicate false
cirrus floats, and sometimes the edges themselves separate into a
fringe of filaments similar to that of cirrus. This last form is
particularly common in spring showers. See fig. 10.
The front of thunderclouds of wide extent frequently presents the form
of a large bow spread over a portion of the sky which is uniformly
brighter in colour.
10. _Stratus_ (S.).--A horizontal sheet of lifted fog. When this sheet
is broken up into irregular shreds by the wind, or by the summits of
mountains, it may be distinguished by the name of Fracto-stratus. See
fig. 8.
The scheme also provides that where a stratus or nimbus takes a lumpy
form, this fact shall be described by the adjective _cumuliformis_,
and if its base shows downward projecting bosses the word _mammato_ is
prefixed.
Issued as it has been with the authority of an international congress of
specialists, this scheme has been generally accepted, and must be
regarded as the orthodox system, and for the great majority of
observations it is quite detailed enough. But it does not give universal
satisfaction. Cirrus clouds, for instance, exhibit many forms, and these
so diverse that they must be due to very different causes. Hence for the
minuter study of cloud forms a more elaborate scheme is still needed.
Hence in 1896 H. H. Clayton of the Blue Hill observatory, Massachusetts,
published in the _Annals_ of the astronomical observatory of Harvard
College a highly detailed scheme in which the International types and a
number of subdivisions were grouped under four classes--_stratiforms_ or
sheet clouds; _cumuliforms_ or woolpack clouds; _flocciforms_, including
strato-cumulus, alto-cumulus and cirro-cumulus; and _cirriforms_ or
hairy clouds. The International terms are embodied and the special
varieties are distinguished by the use of prefixes such as tracto-cirrus
or cirrus bands, grano-cirro-cumulus or granular cirrus, &c.
Again in 1904 F. L. Obenbach of the Cleveland observatory devised a
different system, published in the annual report, in which the
International types are preserved, but each is subdivided into a number
of species. In the absence of any atlas to define the precise meaning of
the descriptions given, neither of these American schemes has come into
general use.
Further proposals were put forward by A. W. Clayden in _Cloud Studies_
(1905). His scheme accepts the whole of the International names which he
regards as the cloud genera, and suggests specific Latin names for the
chief varieties, accompanying the descriptions by photographs. The
proposed scheme is as follows.
_Genus._ _Species._
Cirrus Cirro-nebula Cirrus haze.
Cirro-filum Thread cirrus.
Cirrus Excelsus High "
" Ventosus Windy "
" Nebulosus Hazy "
" Caudatus Tailed "
" Vittatus Ribbon "
" Inconstans Change "
" Communis Common "
Cirro-stratus Communis Common Ci. S.
Nebulosus Hazy "
Vittatus Ribbon "
Cumulosus Flocculent Ci.-S.
Cirro-cumulus Cirro-macula Speckle cloud.
Nebulosus Hazy Ci. cu.
Alto-clouds Alto-stratus
" " maculosus Mackerel sky.
" " fractus
Alto-strato-cumulus
Alto-cumulus informis
" " nebulosus
Alto-clouds Alto-cumulus castellatus Turret cloud.
" " glomeratus High ball cumulus.
" " communis
" " stratiformis Flat alto-cum.
Stratus Stratus maculosus
" " radius Roll cloud.
" " lenticularis Fall cloud.
Strato-cumulus
Cumulus Cumulus minor Small cumulus.
" major Large cumulus.
Cumulo-nimbus Storm cloud.
The term nimbus is to be applied to any cloud from which rain is
falling, but if the true form of the cloud is visible the term should be
used as a qualifying adjective. The prefix fracto- or the adjective
fractus should be used when the cloud is undergoing disintegration or
appears ragged or broken. Mammato- is used in the ordinary sense, and
finally undatus or waved is to be added to the name of any cloud showing
a wave-like or rippled structure. (A. W. C.)
FOOTNOTES:
[1] Varieties.
[2] 1 metre = 3.28 ft.
CLOUDBERRY, _Rubus Chamaemorus_, a low-growing creeping herbaceous
plant, with stem not prickly, and with simple obtusely lobed leaves and
solitary white flowers, resembling those of the blackberry, but
larger--one inch across,--and with stamens and pistils on different
plants. The orange-yellow fruit is about half an inch long and consists
of a few large drupes with a pleasant flavour. The plant occurs in the
mountainous parts of Great Britain, and is widely distributed through
the more northerly portions of both hemispheres. In northern Denmark and
Sweden the fruit is gathered in large quantities and sold in the
markets.
CLOUD-BURST, a sudden and violent storm of rain. The name probably
originated from the idea that the clouds were solid masses full of water
that occasionally burst with disastrous results. A whirlwind passing
over the sea sometimes carries the water upwards in a whirling vortex;
passing over the land its motion is checked and a deluge of water falls.
Occasionally on high lands far from the sea violent storms occur, with
rain that seems to descend in sheets, sweeping away bridges and culverts
and tearing up roads and streets, being due to great and rapid
condensation and vortical whirling of the resulting heavy clouds (see
METEOROLOGY).
CLOUDED LEOPARD (_Felis nebulosa_ or _macroscelis_), a large arboreal
cat from the forests of south-east Asia, Sumatra, Java, Borneo and
Formosa. This cat, often called the clouded tiger, is beautifully
marked, and has an elongated head and body, long tail and rather short
limbs. The canine teeth are proportionately longer than in any other
living cat. Little is known of the habits of the clouded leopard, but it
preys on small mammals and birds, and rarely comes to the ground. The
native Malay name is _Arimaudahan_ ("tree-tiger"). The species is nearly
related to the small Indian marbled cat (_F. marmorata_), and Fontaniers
cat (_F. tristis_) of Central Asia. (R. L.*)
CLOUET, FRANÇOIS (d. 1572), French miniature painter. The earliest
reference to him is the document dated December 1541 (see CLOUET, JEAN),
in which the king renounces for the benefit of the artist his father's
estate which had escheated to the crown as the estate of a foreigner. In
it the younger Janet is said to have "followed his father very closely
in the science of his art." Like his father, he held the office of groom
of the chamber and painter in ordinary to the king, and so far as salary
is concerned, he started where his father left off. A long list of
drawings contains those which are attributed to this artist, but we
still lack perfect certainty about his works. There is, however, more to
go upon than there was in the case of his father, as the praises of
François Clouet were sung by the writers of the day, his name was
carefully preserved from reign to reign, and there is an ancient and
unbroken tradition in the attribution of many of his pictures. There are
not, however, any original attestations of his works, nor are any
documents known which would guarantee the ascriptions usually accepted.
To him are attributed the portraits of Francis I. at the Uffizi and at
the Louvre, and various drawings relating to them. He probably also
painted the portrait of Catherine de' Medici at Versailles and other
works, and in all probability a large number of the drawings ascribed to
him were from his hand. One of his most remarkable portraits is that of
Mary, queen of Scots, a drawing in chalks in the Bibliothèque Nationale,
and of similar character are the two portraits of Charles IX. and the
one at Chantilly of Marguerite of France. Perhaps his masterpiece is the
portrait of Elizabeth of Austria in the Louvre.
He resided in Paris in the rue de Ste Avoye in the Temple quarter, close
to the Hôtel de Guise, and in 1568 is known to have been under the
patronage of Claude Gouffier de Boisy, Seigneur d'Oiron, and his wife
Claude de Baune. Another ascertained fact concerning François Clouet is
that in 1571 he was "summoned to the office of the Court of the Mint,"
and his opinion was taken on the likeness to the king of a portrait
struck by the mint. He prepared the death-mask of Henry II., as in 1547
he had taken a similar mask of the face and hands of Francis I., in
order that the effigy to be used at the funeral might be prepared from
his drawings; and on each of these occasions he executed the painting to
be used in the decorations of the church and the banners for the great
ceremony.
Several miniatures are believed to be his work, one very remarkable
portrait being the half-length figure of Henry II. in the collection of
Mr J. Pierpont Morgan. Another of his portraits is that of the duc
d'Alençon in the Jones collection at South Kensington, and certain
representations of members of the royal family which were in the
Hamilton Palace collection and the Magniac sale are usually ascribed to
him. He died on the 22nd of December 1572, shortly after the massacre of
St Bartholomew, and his will, mentioning his sister and his two
illegitimate daughters, and dealing with the disposition of a
considerable amount of property, is still in existence. His daughters
subsequently became nuns.
His work is remarkable for the extreme accuracy of the drawing, the
elaborate finish of all the details, and the exquisite completeness of
the whole portrait. He must have been a man of high intelligence, and of
great penetration, intensely interested in his work, and with
considerable ability to represent the character of his sitter in his
portraits. His colouring is perhaps not specially remarkable, nor from
the point of style can his pictures be considered specially beautiful,
but in perfection of drawing he has hardly any equal.
To Monsieur Louis Dimier, the leading authority upon his works, and to
his volume on _French Painting in the Sixteenth Century_, as well as
to the works of MM. Bouchot, La Borde and Maulde-La Clavière, the
present writer is indebted for the information contained in this
article. (G. C. W.)
CLOUET, JEAN (d. c. 1541). French miniature painter, generally known as
JANET. The authentic presence of this artist at the French court is
first to be noted in 1516, the second year of the reign of Francis I. By
a deed of gift made by the king to the artist's son of his father's
estate, which had escheated to the crown, we learn that he was not
actually a Frenchman, and never even naturalized. He is supposed to have
been a native of the Low Countries, and probably his real name was
Clowet. His position was that of groom of the chamber to the king, and
he received a stipend at first of 180 livres and later of 240. He lived
several years in Tours, and there it was he met his wife, who was the
daughter of a jeweller. He is recorded as living in Tours in 1522, and
there is a reference to his wife's residence in the same town in 1523,
but in 1529 they were both settled in Paris, probably in the
neighbourhood of the parish of Ste Innocent, in the cemetery of which
they were buried. He stood godfather at a christening on the 8th of July
1540, but was no longer living in December 1541, and therefore died
between those two dates.
His brother, known as CLOUET DE NAVARRE, was in the service of
Marguérite d'Angoulême, sister of Francis I., and is referred to in a
letter written by Marguérite about 1529. Jean Clouet had two children,
François and Catherine, who married Abel Foulon, and left one son, who
continued the profession of François Clouet after his decease. Jean
Clouet was undoubtedly a very skilful portrait painter, but it must be
acknowledged without hesitation that there is no work in existence which
has been proved to be his. There is no doubt that he painted a portrait
of the mathematician, Oronce Finé, in 1530, when Finé was thirty-six
years old, but the portrait is now known only by a print. Janet is
generally believed, however, to have been responsible for a very large
number of the wonderful portrait drawings now preserved at Chantilly,
and at the Bibliothèque Nationale, and to him is attributed the portrait
of an unknown man at Hampton Court, that of the dauphin Francis, son of
Francis I. at Antwerp, and one other portrait, that of Francis I. in the
Louvre.
Seven miniature portraits in the _Manuscript of the Gallic War_ in the
Bibliothèque Nationale (13,429) are attributed to Janet with very strong
probability, and to these may be added an eighth in the collection of Mr
J. Pierpont Morgan, and representing Charles de Cossé, Maréchal de
Brissac, identical in its characteristics with the seven already known.
There are other miniatures in the collection of Mr Morgan, which may be
attributed to Jean Clouet with some strong degree of probability,
inasmuch as they closely resemble the portrait drawings at Chantilly and
in Paris which are taken to be his work. In his oil paintings the
execution is delicate and smooth, the outlines hard, the texture pure,
and the whole work elaborately and very highly finished in rich, limpid
colour. The chalk drawings are of remarkable excellence, the medium
being used by the artist with perfect ease and absolute sureness, and
the mingling of colour being in exquisite taste, the modelling
exceedingly subtle, and the drawing careful, tender and emphatic. The
collection of drawings preserved in France, and attributed to this
artist and his school, comprises portraits of all the important persons
of the time of Francis I. In one album of drawings the portraits are
annotated by the king himself, and his merry reflections, stinging
taunts or biting satires, add very largely to a proper understanding of
the life of his time and court. Definite evidence, however, is still
lacking to establish the attribution of the best of these drawings and
of certain oil paintings to the Jean Clouet who was groom of the
chambers to the king.
The chief authority in France on the work of this artist is Monsieur
Louis Dimier, and to his works, and to information derived direct from
him, the present writer is indebted for almost all the information
given in this article. (G. C. W.)
CLOUGH, ANNE JEMIMA (1820-1892), English educationalist, was born at
Liverpool on the 20th of January 1820, the daughter of a cotton
merchant. She was the sister of Arthur Hugh Clough, the poet. When two
years old she was taken with the rest of the family to Charleston, South
Carolina. It was not till 1836 that she returned to England, and though
her ambition was to write, she was occupied for the most part in
teaching. Her father's failure in business led her to open a school in
1841. This was carried on until 1846. In 1852, after making some
technical studies in London and working at the Borough Road and the Home
and Colonial schools, she opened another small school of her own at
Ambleside in Westmorland. Giving this up some ten years later, she lived
for a time with the widow of her brother Arthur Hugh Clough--who had
died in 1861--in order that she might educate his children. Keenly
interested in the education of women, she made friends with Miss Emily
Davies, Madame Bodichon, Miss Buss and others. After helping to found
the North of England council for promoting the higher education of
women, she acted as its secretary from 1867 to 1870 and as its president
from 1873 to 1874. When it was decided to open a house for the residence
of women students at Cambridge, Miss Clough was chosen as its first
principal. This hostel, started in Regent Street, Cambridge, in 1871
with five students, and continued at Merton Hall in 1872, led to the
building of Newnham Hall, opened in 1875, and to the erection of Newnham
College on its present basis in 1880. Miss Clough's personal charm and
high aims, together with the development of Newnham College under her
care, led her to be regarded as one of the foremost leaders of the
women's educational movement. She died at Cambridge on the 27th of
February 1892. Two portraits of Miss Clough are at Newnham College, one
by Sir W. B. Richmond, the other by J. J. Shannon.
See _Memoir of Anne Jemima Clough_, by Blanche Athena Clough (1897).
CLOUGH, ARTHUR HUGH (1819-1861), English poet, was born at Liverpool on
the 1st of January 1819. He came of a good Welsh stock by his father,
James Butler Clough, and of a Yorkshire one by his mother, Anne Perfect.
In 1822 his father, a cotton merchant, moved to the United States, and
Clough's childhood was spent mainly at Charleston, South Carolina, much
under the influence of his mother, a cultivated woman, full of moral and
imaginative enthusiasm. In 1828 the family paid a visit to England, and
Clough was left at school at Chester, whence he passed in 1829 to Rugby,
then under the sway of Dr Thomas Arnold, whose strenuous views on life
and education he accepted to the full. Cut off to a large degree from
home relations, he passed a somewhat reserved and solitary boyhood,
devoted to the well-being of the school and to early literary efforts in
the _Rugby Magazine_. In 1836 his parents returned to Liverpool, and in
1837 he went with a scholarship to Balliol College, Oxford. Here his
contemporaries included Benjamin Jowett, A. P. Stanley, J. C. Shairp, W.
G. Ward, Frederick Temple and Matthew Arnold.
Oxford, in 1837, was in the full swirl of the High Church movement led
by J. H. Newman. Clough was for a time carried away by the flood, and,
although he recovered his equilibrium, it was not without an amount of
mental disturbance and an expenditure of academic time, which perhaps
accounted for his failure to obtain more than a second class in his
final examination. He missed a Balliol fellowship, but obtained one at
Oriel, with a tutorship, and lived the Oxford life of study,
speculation, lectures and reading-parties for some years longer.
Gradually, however, certain sceptical tendencies with regard to the
current religious and social order grew upon him to such an extent as to
render his position as an orthodox teacher of youth irksome, and in 1848
he resigned it. The immediate feeling of relief showed itself in
buoyant, if thoughtful, literature, and he published poems both new and
old. Then he travelled, seeing Paris in revolution and Rome in siege,
and in the autumn of 1849 took up new duties as principal of University
Hall, a hostel for students at University College, London. He soon found
that he disliked London, in spite of the friendship of the Carlyles, nor
did the atmosphere of Unitarianism prove any more congenial than that of
Anglicanism to his critical and at bottom conservative temper. A
prospect of a post in Sydney led him to engage himself to Miss Blanche
Mary Shore Smith, and when it disappeared he left England in 1852, and
went, encouraged by Emerson, to Cambridge, Massachusetts. Here he
remained some months, lecturing and translating Plutarch for the
book-sellers, until in 1853 the offer of an examinership in the
Education Office brought him to London once more. He married, and
pursued a steady official career, diversified only by an appointment in
1856 as secretary to a commission sent to study certain aspects of
foreign military education. At this, as at every period of his life, he
enjoyed the warm respect and admiration of a small circle of friends,
who learnt to look to him alike for unselfish sympathy and for spiritual
and practical wisdom. In 1860 his health began to fail. He visited first
Malvern and Freshwater, and then the East, France and Switzerland, in
search of recovery, and finally came to Florence, where he was struck
down by malaria and paralysis, and died on the 13th of November 1861.
Matthew Arnold wrote upon him the exquisite lament of _Thyrsis_.
Shortly before he left Oxford, in the stress of the Irish potato-famine,
Clough wrote an ethical pamphlet addressed to the undergraduates, with
the title, _A Consideration of Objections against the Retrenchment
Association at Oxford_ (1847). His Homeric pastoral _The Bothie of
Toper-na-Fuosich_, afterwards rechristened _Tober-na-Vuolich_ (1848),
was inspired by a long vacation after he had given up his tutorship, and
is full of socialism, reading-party humours and Scottish scenery.
_Ambarvalia_ (1849), published jointly with his friend Thomas Burbidge,
contains shorter poems of various dates from 1840, or earlier, onwards.
_Amours de Voyage_, a novel in verse, was written at Rome in 1849;
_Dipsychus_, a rather amorphous satire, at Venice in 1850; and the
idylls which make up _Mari Magno, or Tales on Board_, in 1861. A few
lyric and elegiac pieces, later in date than the _Ambarvalia_, complete
the tale of Clough's poetry. His only considerable enterprise in prose
was a revision of the 17th century translation of Plutarch by Dryden and
others, which occupied him from 1852, and was published as _Plutarch's
Lives_ (1859).
No part of Clough's life was wholly given up to poetry, and he probably
had not the gift of detachment necessary to produce great literature in
the intervals of other occupations. He wrote but little, and even of
that little there is a good deal which does not aim at the highest
seriousness. He never became a great craftsman. A few of his best lyrics
have a strength of melody to match their depth of thought, but much of
what he left consists of rich ore too imperfectly fused to make a
splendid or permanent possession. Nevertheless, he is rightly regarded,
like his friend Matthew Arnold, as one of the most typical English poets
of the middle of the 19th century. His critical instincts and strong
ethical temper brought him athwart the popular ideals of his day both in
conduct and religion. His verse has upon it the melancholy and the
perplexity of an age of transition. He is a sceptic who by nature should
have been with the believers. He stands between two worlds, watching one
crumble behind him, and only able to look forward by the sternest
exercise of faith to the reconstruction that lies ahead in the other. On
the technical side, Clough's work is interesting to students of metre,
owing to the experiments which he made, in the _Bothie_ and elsewhere,
with English hexameters and other types of verse formed upon classical
models.
Clough's _Poems_ were collected, with a short memoir by F. T.
Palgrave, in 1862; and his _Letters and Remains_, with a longer
memoir, were privately printed in 1865. Both volumes were published
together in 1869 and have been more than once reprinted. Another
memoir is _Arthur Hugh Clough: A Monograph_ (1883), by S. Waddington.
Selections from the poems were made by Mrs Clough for the Golden
Treasury series in 1894, and by E. Rhys in 1896. (E. K. C.)
CLOUTING, the technical name given to a light plain cloth used for
covering butter and farmers' baskets, and for dish and pudding cloths.
The same term is often given to light cloths of the nursery diaper
pattern.
CLOVELLY, a fishing village in the Barnstaple parliamentary division of
Devonshire, England, 11 m. W.S.W. of Bideford. Pop. (1901) 621. It is a
cluster of old-fashioned cottages in a unique position on the sides of a
rocky cleft in the north coast; its main street resembles a staircase
which descends 400 ft. to the pier, too steeply to allow of any wheeled
traffic. Thick woods shelter it on three sides, and render the climate
so mild that fuchsias and other delicate plants flourish in midwinter.
All Saints' church, restored in 1866, is late Norman, containing several
monuments to the Carys, lords of the manor for 600 years. The
surrounding scenery is famous for its richness of colour, especially in
the grounds of Cary Court, and along "The Hobby," a road cut through the
woods and overlooking the sea. Clovelly is described by Dickens in A
Message from the Sea.
CLOVER, in botany, the English name for plants of the genus _Trifolium_,
from Lat. _tres_, three, and _folium_, a leaf, so called from the
characteristic form of the leaf, which has three leaflets (trifoliate),
hence the popular name trefoil. It is a member of the family
_Leguminosae_, and contains about three hundred species, found chiefly
in north temperate regions, but also, like other north temperate genera,
on the mountains in the tropics. The plants are small annual or
perennial herbs with trifoliate (rarely 5- or 7-foliate) leaves, with
stipules adnate to the leaf-stalk, and heads or dense spikes of small
red, purple, white, or rarely yellow flowers; the small, few-seeded pods
are enclosed in the calyx. Eighteen species are native in Britain, and
several are extensively cultivated as fodder-plants. _T. pratense_, red
or purple clover, is the most widely cultivated.
This plant, either sown alone or in mixture with rye-grass, has for a
long time formed the staple crop for soiling; and so long as it grew
freely, its power of shooting up again after repeated mowings, the bulk
of crop thus obtained, its palatableness to stock and feeding qualities,
the great range of soils and climate in which it grows, and its fitness
either for pasturage or soiling, well entitled it to this preference.
Except on certain rich calcareous clay soils, it has now, however,
become an exceedingly precarious crop. The seed, when genuine, which
unfortunately is very often not the case, germinates as freely as ever,
and no greater difficulty than heretofore is experienced in having a
full plant during autumn and the greater part of winter; but over most
part of the country, the farmer, after having his hopes raised by seeing
a thick cover of vigorous-looking clover plants over his field, finds to
his dismay, by March or April, that they have either entirely
disappeared, or are found only in capricious patches here and there over
the field. No satisfactory explanation of this "clover-sickness" has yet
been given, nor any certain remedy, of a kind to be applied to the soil,
discovered. One important fact is, however, now well established, viz.
that when the cropping of the land is so managed that clover does not
recur at shorter intervals than eight years, it grows with much of its
pristine vigour. The knowledge of this fact now determines many farmers
in varying their rotation so as to secure this important end. At one
time there was a somewhat prevalent belief that the introduction of
beans into the rotation had a specific influence of a beneficial kind on
the clover when it came next to be sown; but the true explanation seems
to be that the beans operate favourably only by the incidental
circumstance of almost necessarily lengthening the interval betwixt the
recurrences of clover.
When the four-course rotation is followed, no better plan of managing
this process has been yet suggested than to sow beans, pease, potatoes
or tares, instead of clover, for one round, making the rotation one of
eight years instead of four. The mechanical condition of the soil seems
to have something to do with the success or failure of the clover crop.
We have often noticed that headlands, or the converging line of
wheel-tracks near a gateway at which the preceding root crop had been
carted from a field, have had a good take of clover, when on the field
generally it had failed. In the same way a field that has been much
poached by sheep while consuming turnips upon it, and which has
afterwards been ploughed up in an unkindly state, will have the clover
prosper upon it, when it fails in other cases where the soil appears in
far better condition. If red clover can be again made a safe crop, it
will be a boon indeed to agriculture. Its seeds are usually sown along
with a grain crop, any time from the 1st of February to May, at the rate
of 12 lb to 20 lb per acre when not combined with other clovers or
grasses.
Italian rye-grass and red clover are now frequently sown in mixture for
soiling, and succeed admirably. It is, however, a wiser course to sow
them separately, as by substituting the Italian rye-grass for clover,
for a single rotation, the farmer not only gets a crop of forage as
valuable in all respects, but is enabled, if he choose, to prolong the
interval betwixt the sowings of clover to twelve years, by sowing, as
already recommended, pulse the first round, Italian rye-grass the
second, and clover the third.
These two crops, then, are those on which the arable-land farmer mainly
relies for green forage. To have them good, he must be prepared to make
a liberal application of manure. Good farm-yard dung may be applied with
advantage either in autumn or spring, taking care to cart it upon the
land only when it is dry enough to admit of this being done without
injury. It must also be spread very evenly so soon as emptied from the
carts. But it is usually more expedient to use either guano, nitrate of
soda, or soot for this purpose, at the rates respectively of 2 cwt., 1
cwt. and 20 bushels. If two or more of these substances are used, the
quantities of each will be altered in proportion. They are best also to
be applied in two or three portions at intervals of fourteen to twenty
days, beginning towards the end of December, and only when rain seems
imminent or has just fallen.
When manure is broadcast over a young clover field, and presently after
washed in by rain, the effect is identical with that of first dissolving
it in water, and then distributing the dilution over the surface, with
this difference, namely, that the first plan costs only the price of the
guano, &c, and is available at any time and to every one, whereas the
latter implies the construction of tanks and costly machinery.
_T. incarnatum_, crimson or Italian clover, though not hardy enough to
withstand the climate of Scotland in ordinary winters, is a most
valuable forage crop in England. It is sown as quickly as possible after
the removal of a grain crop at the rate of 18 lb to 20 lb per acre. It
is found to succeed better when only the surface of the soil is stirred
by the scarifier and harrow than when a ploughing is given. It grows
rapidly in spring, and yields an abundant crop of green food, peculiarly
palatable to live stock. It is also suitable for making into hay. Only
one cutting, however, can be obtained, as it does not shoot again after
being mown.
_T. repens_, white or Dutch clover, is a perennial abundant in meadows
and good pastures. The flowers are white or pinkish, becoming brown and
deflexed as the corolla fades. _T. hybridum_, Alsike or Swedish clover,
is a perennial which was introduced early in the 19th century and has
now become naturalized in Britain. The flowers are white or rosy, and
resemble those of the last species. _T. medium_, meadow or zigzag
clover, a perennial with straggling flexuous stems and rose-purple
flowers, is of little agricultural value. Other British species are: _T.
arvense_, hare's-foot trefoil, found in fields and dry pastures, a soft
hairy plant with minute white or pale pink flowers and feathery sepals;
_T. fragiferum_, strawberry clover, with densely-flowered, globose,
rose-purple heads and swollen calyxes; _T. procumbens_, hop trefoil, on
dry pastures and roadsides, the heads of pale yellow flowers suggesting
miniature hops; and the somewhat similar T. minus, common in pastures
and roadsides, with smaller heads and small yellow flowers turning dark
brown. The last named is the true shamrock. Specimens of shamrock and
other clovers are not infrequently found with four leaflets, and, like
other rarities, are considered lucky. Calvary clover is a member of the
closely allied genus _Medicago_--_M. Echinus_, so called from the curled
spiny pod; it has small heads of yellow clover-like flowers, and is a
native of the south of France.
CLOVES, the dried, unexpanded flower-buds of _Eugenia caryophyllata_, a
tree belonging to the natural order Myrtaceae. They are so named from
the French word _clou_, on account of their resemblance to a nail. The
clove tree is a beautiful evergreen which grows to a height of from 30
to 40 ft., having large oval leaves and crimson flowers in numerous
groups of terminal clusters. The flower-buds are at first of a pale
colour and gradually become green, after which they develop into a
bright red, when they are ready for collecting. Cloves are rather more
than half an inch in length, and consist of a long cylindrical calyx,
terminating in four spreading sepals, and four unopened petals which
form a small ball in the centre. The tree is a native of the small group
of islands in the Indian Archipelago called the Moluccas, or Spice
Islands; but it was long cultivated by the Dutch in Amboyna and two or
three small neighbouring islands. Cloves were one of the principal
Oriental spices that early excited the cupidity of Western commercial
communities, having been the basis of a rich and lucrative trade from an
early part of the Christian era. The Portuguese, by doubling the Cape of
Good Hope, obtained possession of the principal portion of the clove
trade, which they continued to hold for nearly a century, when, in 1605,
they were expelled from the Moluccas by the Dutch. That power exerted
great and inhuman efforts to obtain a complete monopoly of the trade,
attempting to extirpate all the clove trees growing in their native
islands, and to concentrate the whole production in the Amboyna Islands.
With great difficulty the French succeeded in introducing the clove tree
into Mauritius in the year 1770; subsequently the cultivation was
introduced into Guiana, Brazil, most of the West Indian Islands and
Zanzibar. The chief commercial sources of supply are now Zanzibar and
its neighbouring island Pemba on the East African coast, and Amboyna.
Cloves are also grown in Java, Sumatra, Réunion, Guiana and the West
India Islands.
Cloves as they come into the market have a deep brown colour, a
powerfully fragrant odour, and a taste too hot and acrid to be pleasant.
When pressed with the nail they exude a volatile oil with which they are
charged to the unusual proportion of about 18%. The oil is obtained as a
commercial product by submitting the cloves with water to repeated
distillation. It is, when new and properly prepared, a pale yellow or
almost colourless fluid, becoming after some time of a brown colour; and
it possesses the odour and taste peculiar to cloves. The essential oil
of cloves--the _Oleum Caryophylli_ of the British Pharmacopoeia--is a
mixture of two substances, one of which is oxidized, whilst the other is
not. _Eugenol_, or eugenic acid, C10H12O2, is the chief constituent. It
is capable of forming definite salts. The other constituent is a
hydrocarbon C15H24, of which the distilling point differs from that of
eugenol, and which solidifies only with intense cold. Oil of cloves is
readily soluble in alcohol and ether, and has a specific gravity of
about 1.055. Its dose is ½-3 minims. Besides this oil, cloves also
contain two neutral bodies, eugenin and caryophyllin, the latter of
which is an isomer of camphor. They are of no practical importance. The
British Pharmacopoeia contains an infusion of cloves (_Infusum
Caryophylli_), of which the strength is 1 part in 40 of boiling water
and the dose ½-1 oz. Cloves are employed principally as a condiment in
culinary operations, in confectionery, and in the preparation of
_liqueurs_. In medicine they are tonic and carminative, but they are
little used except as adjuncts to other substances on account of their
flavour, or with purgatives to prevent nausea and griping. The essential
oil forms a convenient medium for using cloves for flavouring purposes,
it possesses the medicinal properties characteristic of a volatile oil,
and it is frequently employed to relieve toothache. Oil of cloves is
regarded by many dental surgeons as the most effective local anaesthetic
they possess in cases where it is desired, before cutting a sensitive
tooth for the purpose of filling it, to lower the sensibility of the
dentine. For this purpose the cavity must be exposed to cotton wool
saturated with the oil for about ten days.
CLOVIO, GIORGIO GIULIO (1498-1578), Italian painter, by birth a Croat
and by profession a priest, is said to have learned the elements of
design in his own country, and to have studied afterwards with intense
diligence at Rome under Giulio Romano, and at Verona under Girolamo de'
Libri. He excelled in historical pieces and portraits, painting as for
microscopical examination, and yet contriving to handle his subjects
with great force and precision. His book of twenty-six pictures
representing the procession of Corpus Domini, in Rome, was the work of
nine years, and the covers were executed by Benvenuto Cellini. The
British Museum has his twelve miniatures of the victories of the emperor
Charles V. In the Vatican library is preserved a manuscript life of
Frederick, duke of Urbino, superbly illustrated by Clovio, who is
_facile princeps_ among Italian miniaturists. He was called Macedo, or
Macedone, to connect him with his supposed Macedonian ancestry.
CLOVIS [_Chlodovech_] (c. 466-511), king of the Salian Franks, son of
Childeric I., whom he succeeded in 481 at the age of fifteen. At that
date the Salian Franks had advanced as far as the river Somme, and the
centre of their power was at Tournai. On the history of Clovis between
the years 481 and 486 the records are silent. In 486 he attacked
Syagrius, a Roman general who, after the fall of the western empire in
476, had carved out for himself a principality south of the Somme, and
is called by Gregory of Tours "rex Romanorum." After being defeated by
Clovis at the battle of Soissons, Syagrius sought refuge with the
Visigothic king Alaric II., who handed him over to the conqueror.
Henceforth Clovis fixed his residence at Soissons, which was in the
midst of public lands, e.g. Berny-Rivière, Juvigny, &c. The episode of
the vase of Soissons[1] has a legendary character, and all that it
proves is the deference shown by the pagan king to the orthodox clergy.
Clovis undoubtedly extended his dominion over the whole of Belgica
Secunda, of which Reims was the capital, and conquered the neighbouring
cities in detail. Little is known of the history of these conquests. It
appears that St Geneviève defended the town of Paris against Clovis for
a long period, and that Verdun-sur-Meuse, after a brave stand, accepted
an honourable capitulation thanks to St Euspitius. In 491 some barbarian
troops in the service of Rome, Arboruchi ([Greek: Armornchoi]),
Thuringians, and even Roman soldiers who could not return to Rome, went
over to Clovis and swelled the ranks of his army.
In 493 Clovis married a Burgundian princess, Clotilda, niece of
Gundobald and Godegesil, joint kings of Burgundy. This princess was a
Christian, and earnestly desired the conversion of her husband. Although
Clovis allowed his children to be baptized, he remained a pagan himself
until the war against the Alemanni, who at that time occupied the
country between the Vosges, and the Rhine and the neighbourhood of Lake
Constance. By pushing their incursions westward they came into collision
with Clovis, who marched against them and defeated them in the plain of
the Rhine. The legend runs that, in the thickest of the fight, Clovis
swore that he would be converted to the God of Clotilda if her God would
grant him the victory. After subduing a part of the Alemanni, Clovis
went to Reims, where he was baptized by St Remigius on Christmas day
496, together with three thousand Franks. The story of the phial of holy
oil (the _Sainte Ampoule_) brought from heaven by a white dove for the
baptism of Clovis was invented by Archbishop Hincmar of Reims three
centuries after the event.
The baptism of Clovis was an event of very great importance. From that
time the orthodox Christians in the kingdom of the Burgundians and
Visigoths looked to Clovis to deliver them from their Arian kings.
Clovis seems to have failed in the case of Burgundy, which was at that
time torn by the rivalry between Godegesil and his brother Gundobald.
Godegesil appealed for help to Clovis, who defeated Gundobald on the
banks of the Ouche near Dijon, and advanced as far as Avignon (500), but
had to retire without being able to retain any of his conquests.
Immediately after his departure Gundobald slew Godegesil at Vienne, and
seized the whole of the Burgundian kingdom. Clovis was more fortunate in
his war against the Visigoths. Having completed the subjugation of the
Alemanni in 506, he marched against the Visigothic king Alaric II. in
the following year, in spite of the efforts of Theodoric, king of the
Ostrogoths, to prevent the war. After a decisive victory at Vouillé near
Poitiers, in which Clovis slew Alaric with his own hand, the whole of
the kingdom of the Visigoths as far as the Pyrenees was added to the
Frankish empire, with the exception of Septimania, which, together with
Spain, remained in possession of Alaric's grandson Amalaric, and
Provence, which was seized by Theodoric and annexed to Italy. In 508
Clovis received at Tours the insignia of the consulship from the eastern
emperor, Anastasius, but the title was purely honorific. The last years
of his life Clovis spent in Paris, which he made the capital of his
kingdom, and where he built the church of the Holy Apostles, known later
as the church of St Geneviève. By murdering the petty Frankish kings
who reigned at Cambrai, Cologne and other residences, he became sole
king of all the Frankish tribes. He died in 511.
Clovis was the true founder of the Frankish monarchy. He reigned over
the Salian Franks by hereditary right; over the other Frankish tribes by
reason of his kinship with their kings and by the choice of the
warriors, who raised him on the shield; and he governed the Gallo-Romans
by right of conquest. He had the Salic law drawn up, doubtless between
the years 486 and 507; and seems to have been represented in the cities
by a new functionary, the _graf_, _comes_, or count. He owed his success
in great measure to his alliance with the church. He took the property
of the church under his protection, and in 511 convoked a council at
Orleans, the canons of which have come down to us. But while protecting
the church, he maintained his authority over it. He intervened in the
nomination of bishops, and at the council of Orleans it was decided that
no one, save a son of a priest, could be ordained clerk without the
king's order or the permission of the count.
The chief source for the life of Clovis is the _Historia Francorum_
(bk. ii.) of Gregory of Tours, but it must be used with caution. Among
modern works, see W. Junghans, _Die Geschichte der fränkischen Könige
Childerich und Clodovech_ (Göttingen, 1857); F. Dahn, _Urgeschichte
der germanischen und romanischen Völker_, vol. iii. (Berlin, 1883); W.
Schultze, _Deutsche Geschichte v. d. Urzeit bis zu den Karolingern_,
vol. ii. (Stuttgart, 1896); G. Kurth, _Clovis_ (2nd ed., Paris, 1901).
(C. PF.)
FOOTNOTE:
[1] The story is as follows. The vase had been taken from a church by
a Frankish soldier after the battle of Soissons, and the bishop had
requested Clovis that it might be restored. But the soldier who had
taken it refused to give it up, and broke it into fragments with his
_francisca_, or battle-axe. Some time afterwards, when Clovis was
reviewing his troops, he singled out the soldier who had broken the
vase, upbraided him for the neglect of his arms, and dashed his
_francisca_ to the ground. As the man stooped to pick it up, the king
clove his skull with the words: "Thus didst thou serve the vase of
Soissons."
CLOWN (derived by Fuller, in his _Worthies_, from Lat. _colonus_, a
husbandman; but apparently connected with "clod" and with similar forms
in Teutonic and Scandinavian languages), a rustic, boorish person; the
comic character in English pantomime, always dressed in baggy costume,
with face whitened and eccentrically painted, and a tufted wig. The
character probably descends from representations of the devil in
medieval miracle-plays, developed partly through the stage rustics and
partly through the fools or jesters (also called clowns) of the
Elizabethan drama. The whitened face and baggy costume indicate a
connexion also with the continental Pierrot. The prominence of the clown
in pantomime (q.v.) is a comparatively modern development as compared
with that of Harlequin.
CLOYNE, a small market town of Co. Cork, Ireland, in the east
parliamentary division, 15 m. E.S.E. of the city of Cork. Pop. (1901)
827. It gives its name to a Roman Catholic diocese, the cathedral of
which is at Queenstown. Cloyne was the seat of a Protestant diocese
until 1835, when it was united to that of Cork. It was originally a
foundation of the 6th century. The cathedral church, dedicated to its
founder St Colman, a disciple of St Finbar of Cork, is a plain cruciform
building mainly of the 14th century, with an earlier oratory in the
churchyard. It contains a few handsome monuments to its former bishops,
but until 1890, when a monument was erected, had nothing to preserve the
memory of the illustrious Dr George Berkeley, who held the see from 1734
to 1753. Opposite the cathedral is a very fine round tower 100 ft. in
height, though the conical roof has long been destroyed. The Roman
Catholic church is a spacious building of the early 19th century. The
town was several times plundered by the Danes in the 9th century; it was
laid waste by Dermot O'Brien in 1071, and was burned in 1137. In 1430
the bishopric was united to that of Cork; in 1638 it again became
independent, and in 1660 it was again united to Cork and Ross. In 1678
it was once more declared independent, and so continued till 1835. The
name, _Cluain-Uamha_, signifies "the meadow of the cave," from the
curious limestone caves in the vicinity. The Pipe Roll of Cloyne,
compiled by Bishop Swaffham in 1364, is a remarkable record embracing a
full account of the feudal tenures of the see, the nature of the
impositions, and the duties the _puri homines Sancti Colmani_ were bound
to perform at a very early period. The roll is preserved in the record
office, Dublin. It was edited by Richard Caulfield in 1859.
CLUB (connected with "clump"), (1) a thick stick, used as a weapon, or
heavy implement for athletic exercises ("Indian club," &c.); (2) one of
the four suits of playing-cards,--the translation of the Spanish
_basto_--represented by a black trefoil (taken from the French, in
which language it is _trèfle_); (3) a term given to a particular form of
association of persons. It is to this third sense that this article is
devoted.
By the term "club," the most general word for which is in Gr. [Greek:
hetairia], in Lat. _sodalitas_, is here meant an association within the
state of persons not united together by any natural ties of kinship,
real or supposed. Modern clubs are dealt with below, and we begin with
an account of Greek and Roman clubs. Such clubs are found in all ancient
states of which we have any detailed knowledge, and seem to have dated
in one form or another from a very early period. It is not unreasonable
to suppose, in the absense of certain information, that the rigid system
of groups of kin, i.e. family, _gens_, _phratria_, &c., affording no
principle of association beyond the maintenance of society as it then
existed, may itself have suggested the formation of groups of a more
elastic and expansive nature; in other words, that clubs were an
expedient for the deliverance of society from a too rigid and
conservative principle of crystallization.
_Greek._--The most comprehensive statement we possess as to the various
kinds of clubs which might exist in a single Greek state is contained in
a law of Solon quoted incidentally in the Digest of Justinian (47.22),
which guaranteed the administrative independence of these associations
provided they kept within the bounds of the law. Those mentioned (apart
from demes and phratries, which were not clubs as here understood) are
associations for religious purposes, for burial, for trade, for,
privateering ([Greek: epi leian]), and for the enjoyment of common
meals. Of these by far the most important are the religious clubs, about
which we have a great deal of information, chiefly from inscriptions;
and these may be taken as covering those for burial purposes and for
common meals, for there can be no doubt that all such unions had
originally a religious object of some kind. But we have to add to
Solon's list the political [Greek: hetairiai] which we meet with in
Athenian history, which do not seem to have always had a religious
object, whatever their origin may have been; and it may be convenient to
clear the ground by considering these first.
In the period between the Persian and Peloponnesian wars we hear of
hetairies within the two political parties, oligarchic and democratic;
Themistocles is said (Plut. _Aristides_, 2) to have belonged to one,
Pericles' supporters seem to have been thus organized (Plut. Per. 7 and
13), and Cimon had a hundred _hetairoi_ devoted to him (Plut. _Cim._
17). These associations were used, like the _collegia sodalicia_ at Rome
(see below), for securing certain results at elections and in the
law-courts (Thuc. viii. 54), and were not regarded as harmful or
illegal. But the bitterness of party struggles in Greece during the
Peloponnesian War changed them in many states into political engines
dangerous to the constitution, and especially to democratic
institutions; Aristotle mentions (_Politics_, p. 1310a) a secret oath
taken by the members of oligarchic clubs, containing the promise, "I
will be an enemy to the people, and will devise all the harm I can
against them." At Athens in 413 b.c. the conspiracy against the
democracy was engineered by means of these clubs, which existed not only
there but in the other cities of the empire (Thuc. viii. 48 and 54), and
had now become secret conspiracies ([Greek: synômosiai]) of a wholly
unconstitutional kind. On this subject see Grote, _Hist. of Greece_, v.
360; A.H.J. Greenidge, _Handbook of Greek Constitutional History_, 208
foll.
Passing over the clubs for trade or plunder mentioned in Solon's law, of
which we have no detailed knowledge, we come to the religious
associations. These were known by several names, especially _thiasi_,
_eranoi_ and _orgeones_, and it is not possible to distinguish these
from each other in historical times, though they may have had different
origins. They had the common object of sacrifice to a particular deity;
the _thiasi_ and _orgeones_ seem to be connected more especially with
foreign deities whose rites were of an orgiastic character. The
organization of these societies is the subject of an excellent treatise
by Paul Foucart (_Les Associations religieuses chez les Grecs_, Paris,
1873), still indispensable, from which the following particulars are
chiefly drawn. For the greater part of them the evidence consists of
inscriptions from various parts of Greece, many of which were published
for the first time by Foucart, and will be found at the end of his book.
The first striking point is that the object of all these associations is
to maintain the worship of some _foreign_ deity, i.e. of some deity who
was not one of those admitted and guaranteed by the state--the divine
inhabitants of the city, as they may be called. For all these the state
made provision of priests, temples, sacrifices, &c.; but for all others
these necessaries had to be looked after by private individuals
associated for the purpose. The state, as we see from the law of Solon
quoted above, made no difficulty about the introduction of foreign
worships, provided they did not infringe the law and were not morally
unwholesome, and regarded these associations as having all the rights of
legal corporations. So we find the cult of deities such as Sabazius,
Mater Magna (see GREAT MOTHER OF THE GODS) and Attis, Adonis, Isis,
Serapis, M[=e]n Tyrannos, carried on in Greek states, and especially in
seaports like the Peiraeus, Rhodes, Smyrna, without protest, but almost
certainly without moral benefit to the worshippers. The famous passage
in Demosthenes (_de Corona_, sect. 259 foll.) shows, however, that the
initiation at an early age in the rites of Sabazius did not gain credit
for Aeschines in the eyes of the best men. We are not surprised to find
that, in accordance with the foreign character of the cults thus
maintained, the members of the associations are rarely citizens by
birth, but women, freedmen, foreigners and even slaves. Thus in an
inscription found by Sir C. Newton at Cnidus, which contains a mutilated
list of members of a _thiasos_, one only out of twelve appears to be a
Cnidian citizen, four are slaves, seven are probably foreigners. Hence
we may conclude that these associations were of importance, whether for
good or for evil, in organizing and encouraging the foreign population
in the cities of Greece.
The next striking fact is that these associations were organized, as we
shall also find them at Rome, in imitation of the constitution of the
city itself. Each had its law, its assembly, its magistrates or officers
(i.e. secretary, treasurer) as well as priests or priestesses, and its
finance. The law regulated the conditions of admission, which involved
an entrance fee and an examination ([Greek: dokimasia]) as to character;
the contributions, which had to be paid by the month, and the steps to
be taken to enforce payment, e.g. exclusion in case of persistent
neglect of this duty; the use to be made of the revenues, such as the
building or maintenance of temple or club-house, and the cost of crowns
or other honours voted by the assembly to its officers. This assembly,
in accordance with the law, elected its officers once a year, and these,
like those of the state itself, took an oath on entering office, and
gave an account of their stewardship at the end of the year. Further
details on these points of internal government will be found in
Foucart's work (pp. 20 foll.), chiefly derived from inscriptions of the
orgeones engaged in the cult of the Mother of the Gods at the Peiraeus.
The important question whether these religious associations were in any
sense benefit clubs, or relieved the sick and needy, is answered by him
emphatically in the negative.
As might naturally be supposed, the religious clubs increased rather
than diminished in number and importance in the later periods of Greek
history, and a large proportion of the inscriptions relating to them
belong to the Macedonian and Roman empires. One of the most interesting,
found in 1868, belongs to the 2nd century A.D., viz. that which reveals
the worship of M[=e]n Tyrannos at Laurium (Foucart, pp. 119 foll.). This
Phrygian deity was introduced into Attica by a Lycian slave, employed by
a Roman in working the mines at Laurium. He founded the cult and the
_eranos_ which was to maintain it, and seems also to have drawn up the
law regulating its ritual and government. This may help us to understand
the way in which similar associations of an earlier age were instituted.
_Roman._--At Rome the principle of private association was recognized
very early by the state; _sodalitates_ for religious purposes are
mentioned in the XII. Tables (Gaius in _Digest_, 47. 22. 4), and
_collegia opificum_, or trade gilds, were believed to have been
instituted by Numa, which probably means that they were regulated by the
_jus divinum_ as being associated with particular worships. It is
difficult to distinguish between the two words _collegium_ and
_sodalitas_; but _collegium_ is the wider of the two in meaning, and may
be used for associations of all kinds, public and private, while
_sodalitas_ is more especially a union for the purpose of maintaining a
cult. Both words indicate the permanence of the object undertaken by the
association, while a _societas_ is a temporary combination without
strictly permanent duties. With the _societates publicanorum_ and other
contracting bodies of which money-making was the main object, we are not
here concerned.
The _collegia opificum_ ascribed to Numa (Plut. _Numa_, 17) include
gilds of weavers, fullers, dyers, shoemakers, doctors, teachers,
painters, &c., as we learn from Ovid, _Fasti_, iii. 819 foll., where
they are described as associated with the cult of Minerva, the deity of
handiwork; Plutarch also mentions flute-players, who were connected with
the cult of Jupiter on the Capitol, and smiths, goldsmiths, tanners, &c.
It would seem that, though these gilds may not have had a religious
origin as some have thought, they were from the beginning, like all
early institutions, associated with some cult; and in most cases this
was the cult of Minerva. In her temple on the Aventine almost all these
collegia had at once their religious centre and their business
headquarters. When during the Second Punic War a gild of poets was
instituted, this too had its meeting-place in the same temple. The
object of the gild in each case was no doubt to protect and advance the
interests of the trade, but on this point we have no sufficient
evidence, and can only follow the analogy of similar institutions in
other countries and ages. We lose sight of them almost entirely until
the age of Cicero, when they reappear in the form of political clubs
(_collegia sodalicia_ or _compitalicia_) chiefly with the object of
securing the election of candidates for magistracies by fair or foul
means--usually the latter (see esp. Cic. _pro Plancio, passim_). These
were suppressed by a _senatusconsultum_ in 64 B.C., revived by Clodius
six years later, and finally abolished by Julius Caesar, as dangerous to
public order. Probably the old trade gilds had been swamped in the vast
and growing population of the city, and these, inferior and degraded
both in personnel and objects, had taken their place. But the principle
of the trade gild reasserts itself under the Empire, and is found at
work in Rome and in every municipal town, attested abundantly by the
evidence of inscriptions. Though the right of permitting such
associations belonged to the government alone, these trade gilds were
recognized by the state as being instituted "_ut necessariam operam
publicis utilitatibus exhiberent_" (_Digest_, 50. 6. 6). Every kind of
trade and business throughout the Empire seems to have had its
_collegium_, as is shown by the inscriptions in the _Corpus_ from any
Roman municipal town; and the life and work of the lower orders of the
municipales are shadowed forth in these interesting survivals. The
primary object was no doubt still to protect the trade; but as time went
on they tended to become associations for feasting and enjoyment, and
more and more to depend on the munificence of patrons elected with the
object of eliciting it. Fuller information about them will be found in
G. Boissier, _La Religion romaine d'Auguste aux Antonins_, ii. 286
foll., and S. Dill, _Roman Society from Nero to Marcus Aurelius_, pp.
264 foll. How far they formed a basis or example for the gilds of the
early middle ages is a difficult question which cannot be answered here
(see GILDS); it is, however, probable that they gradually lost their
original business character, and became more and more associations for
procuring the individual, lost as he was in the vast desert of the
empire, some little society and enjoyment in life, and the certainty of
funeral rites and a permanent memorial after death.
We may now return to the associations formed for the maintenance of
cults, which were usually called _sodalitates_, though the word
_collegium_ was also used for them, as in the case of the college of the
Arval Brothers (q.v.). Of the ancient Sodales Titii nothing is known
until they were revived by Augustus; but it seems probable that when a
gens or family charged with the maintenance of a particular cult had
died out, its place was supplied by a _sodalitas_ (Marquardt,
_Staatsverwaltung_, iii. 134). The introduction of new cults also led to
the institution of new associations; thus in 495 B.C. when the worship
of Minerva was introduced, a _collegium mercatorum_ was founded to
maintain it, which held its feast on the _dies natalis_ (dedication day)
of the temple (Liv. ii. 27. 5); and in 387 the _ludi Capitolini_ were
placed under the care of a similar association of dwellers on the
Capitoline hill. In 204 B.C. when the Mater Magna was introduced from
Pessinus (see GREAT MOTHER OF THE GODS) a _sodalitas_ (or _sodalitates_)
was instituted which, as Cicero tells us (_de Senect._ 13. 45) used to
feast together during the _ludi Megalenses_. All such associations were
duly licensed by the state, which at all times was vigilant in
forbidding the maintenance of any which it deemed dangerous for
religious or political reasons; thus in 186 B.C. the senate, by a decree
of which part is preserved (_C.I.L._ i. 43), made all combination for
promoting the Bacchic religious rites strictly illegal. But legalized
_sodalitates_ are frequent later; the temple of Venus Genetrix, begun by
Julius and finished by Augustus, had its _collegium_ (Pliny, _N.H._ ii.
93), and _sodalitates_ were instituted for the cult of the deified
emperors Augustus, Claudius, &c.
We thus arrive by a second channel at the _collegia_ of the empire. Both
the history of the trade gilds and that of the religious _collegia_ or
_sodalitates_ conduct us by a course of natural development to that
extraordinary system of private association with which the empire was
honeycombed.
As has been already said of the trade gilds, the main objects of
association seem to have been to make life more enjoyable and to secure a
permanent burial-place; and of these the latter was probably the primary
or original one. It was a natural instinct in the classical as in the
pre-classical world to wish to rest securely after death, to escape
neglect and oblivion. This is not the place to explain the difficulties
which the poorer classes in the Roman empire had to face in satisfying
this instinct; but since the publication of the _Corpus Inscriptionum_
has made us familiar with the conditions of the life of these classes,
there can be no doubt that this was always a leading motive in their
passion for association. In the year A.D. 133 under Hadrian this instinct
was recognized by law, i.e. by a _senatusconsultum_ which has fortunately
come down to us. It was engraved at the head of their own regulations by
a _collegium_ instituted for the worship of Diana and Antinous at
Lanuvium, and runs thus: _"Qui stipem menstruam conferre volent in
funera, in id collegium coëant, neque sub specie ejus collegii nisi semel
in mense coëant conferendi causa unde defuncti sepeliantur"_ (_C.I.L._
xiv. 2112). From the _Digest_, 47. 22. 1, the _locus classicus_ on this
subject, we learn that this was a general law allowing the founding of
funerary associations, provided that the law against illicit _collegia_
were complied with, and it was natural that from that time onwards such
_collegia_ should spring up in every direction. The inscription of
Lanuvium, together with many others (for which see the works of Boissier
and Dill already cited), has given us a clear idea of the constitution of
these colleges. Their members were as a rule of the humblest classes of
society, and often included slaves; from each was due an entrance fee and
a monthly subscription, and a funeral grant was made to the heir of each
member at his death in order to bury him in the burying-place of the
college, or if they were too poor to construct one of their own, to
secure burial in a public _columbarium_. The instinct of the Roman for
organization is well illustrated in the government of these colleges.
They were organized on exactly the same lines as the municipal towns of
the empire; their officers were elected, usually for a year, or in the
case of honorary distinctions, for life; as in a municipal town, they
were called quinquennales, _curatores_, _praefecti_, &c., and quaestors
superintended the finances of the association. Their place of meeting, if
they were rich enough to have one, was called _schola_ and answered the
purpose of a club-house; the site or the building was often given them by
some rich patron, who was pleased to see his name engraved over its
doorway. Here we come upon one of those defects in the society of the
empire which seem gradually to have sapped the virility of the
population--the desire to get others to do for you what you are unwilling
or unable to do for yourself. The _patroni_ increased in number, and more
and more the colleges acquired the habit of depending on their
benefactions, while at the same time it would seem that the primary
object of burial became subordinate to the claims of the common weal. It
may also be asserted with confidence, as of the Greek clubs, that these
_collegia_ rarely or never did the work of our benefit clubs, by
assisting sick or infirm members; such objects at any rate do not appear
in the inscriptions. The only exceptions seem to be the military
_collegia_, which, though strictly forbidden as dangerous to discipline,
continued to increase in number in spite of the law. The great legionary
camps of the Roman province of Africa (Cagnat, _L'Armée romaine_, 457
foll.) have left us inscriptions which show not only the existence of
these clubs, but the way in which their funds were spent; and it appears
that they were applied to useful purposes in the life of a member as well
as for his burial, e.g. to travelling expenses, or to his support after
his discharge (see especially _C.I.L._ viii. 2552 foll.).
As the Roman empire became gradually impoverished and depopulated, and
as the difficulty of defending its frontiers increased, these
associations must have been slowly extinguished, and the living and the
dead citizen alike ceased to be the object of care and contribution. The
sudden invasion of Dacia by barbarians in A.D. 166 was followed by the
extinction of one _collegium_ which has left a record of the fact, and
probably by many others. The master of the college of Jupiter Cernenius,
with the two quaestors and seven witnesses, attest the fact that the
college has ceased to exist. "The accounts have been wound up, and no
balance is left in the chest. For a long time no member has attended on
the days fixed for meetings, and no subscriptions have been paid" (Dill,
op. cit. p. 285). The record of similar extinctions in the centuries
that followed, were they extant, would show us how this interesting form
of crystallization, in which the well-drilled people of the empire
displayed an unusual spontaneity, gradually melted away and disappeared
(see further GILDS and CHARITY AND CHARITIES).
Besides the works already cited may be mentioned Mommsen, _de
Collegiis et Sodaliciis_ (1843), which laid the foundation of all
subsequent study of the subject; Marquardt, _Staatsverwaltung_, iii.
134 foll.; de Marchi, _Il Culto privato di Roma antica_, ii. 75 foll.;
Kornemann, s.v. "Collegium" in Pauly-Wissowa, _Realencyclopädie_.
(W. W. F.*)
_Modern Clubs._--The word "club," in its modern sense of an association
to promote good-fellowship and social intercourse, is not very old, only
becoming common in England at the time of _The Tatler_ and _The
Spectator_ (1709-1712). It is doubtful whether its use originated in its
meaning of a knot of people, or from the fact that the members "clubbed"
together to pay the expenses of their meetings. The oldest English clubs
were merely informal periodic gatherings of friends for the purpose of
dining or drinking together. Thomas Occleve (temp. Henry IV.) mentions
such a club called _La Court de Bone Compaignie_, of which he was a
member. John Aubrey (writing in 1659) says: "We now use the word
_clubbe_ for a sodality in a tavern." Of these early clubs the most
famous was the Bread Street or Friday Street Club, originated by Sir
Walter Raleigh, and meeting at the Mermaid Tavern. Shakespeare,
Beaumont, Fletcher, Selden and Donne were among the members. Another
such club was that which met at the Devil Tavern near Temple Bar; and of
this Ben Jonson is supposed to have been the founder.
With the introduction of coffee-drinking in the middle of the 17th
century, clubs entered on a more permanent phase. The coffee-houses of
the later Stuart period are the real originals of the modern club-house.
The clubs of the late 17th and early 18th century type resembled their
Tudor forerunners in being oftenest associations solely for conviviality
or literary coteries. But many were confessedly political, e.g. The
Rota, or Coffee Club (1659), a debating society for the spread of
republican ideas, broken up at the Restoration, the Calves Head Club (c.
1693) and the Green Ribbon Club (1675) (q.v.). The characteristics of
all these clubs were: (1) no permanent financial bond between the
members, each man's liability ending for the time being when he had paid
his "score" after the meal; (2) no permanent club-house, though each
clique tended to make some special coffee-house or tavern their
headquarters. These coffee-house clubs soon became hotbeds of political
scandal-mongering and intriguing, and in 1675 Charles II. issued a
proclamation which ran, "His Majesty hath thought fit and necessary that
coffee houses be (for the future) put down and suppressed," owing to the
fact "that in such houses divers false, malitious and scandalous reports
are devised and spread abroad to the Defamation of his Majesty's
Government and to the Disturbance of Peace and Quiet of the Realm." So
unpopular was this proclamation that it was almost instantly found
necessary to withdraw it, and by Anne's reign the coffee-house club was
a feature of England's social life.
From the 18th-century clubs two types have been evolved. (1) The social
and dining clubs, permanent institutions with fixed club-house. The
London coffee-house clubs in increasing their members absorbed the whole
accommodation of the coffee-house or tavern where they held their
meetings, and this became the club-house, often retaining the name of
the original keeper, e.g. White's, Brooks's, Arthur's, Boodle's. The
modern club, sometimes proprietary, i.e. owned by an individual or
private syndicate, but more frequently owned by the members who delegate
to a committee the management of its affairs, first reached its highest
development in London, where the district of St James's has long been
known as "Clubland"; but the institution has spread all over the
English-speaking world. (2) Those clubs which have but occasional or
periodic meetings and often possess no club-house, but exist primarily
for some specific object. Such are the many purely athletic, sports and
pastimes clubs, the Jockey Club, the Alpine, chess, yacht and motor
clubs. Then there are literary clubs, musical and art clubs, publishing
clubs; and the name of "club" has been annexed by a large group of
associations which fall between the club proper and mere friendly
societies, of a purely periodic and temporary nature, such as slate,
goose and Christmas clubs, which are not required to be registered under
the Friendly Societies Act.
Thus it is seen that the modern club has little in common with its
prototypes in the 18th century. Of those which survive in London the
following may be mentioned: White's, originally established in 1698 as
White's Chocolate House, became the headquarters of the Tory party, but
is to-day no longer political. Brooks's (1764), originally the resort of
the Whigs, is no longer strictly associated with Liberalism. Boodle's
(1762) had a tradition of being the resort of country gentlemen, and
especially of masters of foxhounds. Arthur's (1765), originally an
offshoot of White's, has always been purely social. The Cocoa Tree
(1746) also survives as a social resort. Social clubs, without
club-houses, are represented by the Literary Club ("The Club"), founded
in 1764 by Sir Joshua Reynolds and Dr Johnson, and such recent
institutions as the Johnson Club, Ye Sette of Odd Volumes (founded by
Bernard Quaritch) and many others.
The number of regularly established clubs in London is now upwards of a
hundred. Of these the more important, with the dates of their
establishment, are: Army and Navy (1837); Athenaeum (1824), founded by
Sir Walter Scott and Thomas Moore "for the association of individuals
known for their scientific or literary attainments, artists of eminence
in any class of the fine arts, and noblemen and gentlemen distinguished
as liberal patrons of science, literature or the arts"; Bachelors'
(1881); Carlton (1832), the chief Conservative club; City Carlton
(1868); Conservative (1840); Constitutional (1883); Devonshire (1875);
East India United Service (1849); Garrick (1831), "for the general
patronage of the drama, for bringing together the supporters of the
drama, and for the formation of a theatrical library with works on
costume"; Guards (1813); Junior Athenaeum (1864); Junior Carlton (1864);
Marlborough (1869); National Liberal (1882); Oriental (1824); Oxford and
Cambridge (1830); Reform (1837), formerly the Liberal headquarters;
Savage (1857); St James's (1857), diplomatic; Travellers' (1819), for
which a candidate must have "travelled out of the British Islands to a
distance of at least 500 m. from London in a direct line"; Turf (1868);
Union (1822); United Service (1815); Wellington (1885); Windham (1828).
Almost every interest, rank and profession has its club. Thus there is a
Press Club, a Fly-Fishers' Club, a Gun Club, an Authors', a Farmers', a
Lawyers' (the Eldon) and a Bath Club. Of the purely women's clubs the
most important are the Alexandra (1884), the Empress (1897), Lyceum
(1904) and Ladies' Army & Navy (1904); while the Albemarle and the
Sesame have a leading place among clubs for men and women. Of political
clubs having no club-house, the best known are the Cobden (Free Trade,
1866); the Eighty (Liberal, 1880) and the United (Unionist, 1886). There
are clubs in all important provincial towns, and at Edinburgh the New
Club (1787), and in Dublin the Kildare Street (1790), rival those of
London.
The mode of election of members varies. In some clubs the committee
alone have the power of choosing new members. In others the election is
by ballot of the whole club, one black ball in ten ordinarily excluding.
In the Athenaeum, whilst the principle of election by ballot of the
whole club obtains, the duty is also cast upon the committee of annually
selecting nine members who are to be "of distinguished eminence in
science, literature or the arts, or for public services," and the rule
makes stringent provision for the conduct of these elections. On the
committee of the same club is likewise conferred power to elect without
ballot princes of the blood royal, cabinet ministers, bishops, the
speaker of the House of Commons, judges, &c.
The affairs of clubs are managed by committees constituted of the
trustees, who are usually permanent members, and of ordinarily
twenty-four other members, chosen by the club at large, one-third of
whom go out of office annually. These committees have plenary powers to
deal with the affairs of the club committed to their charge, assembling
weekly to transact current business and audit the accounts. Once a year
a meeting of the whole club is held, before which a report is laid, and
any action taken thereupon which may be necessary. (See J. Wertheimer,
_The Law relating to Clubs_, 1903; and Sir E. Carson on Club law, in
vol. iii. of _The Laws of England_, 1909.)
Previous to 1902 clubs in England had not come within the purview of the
licensing system. The Licensing Act of 1902, however, remedied that
defect, and although it was passed principally to check the abuse of
"clubs" being formed solely to sell intoxicating liquors free from the
restrictions of the licensing acts, it applied to _all_ clubs in England
and Wales, of whatever kind, from the humblest to the most exalted Pall
Mall club. The act required the registration of every club which
occupied any premises habitually used for the purposes of a club and in
which intoxicating liquor was supplied to members or their guests. The
secretary of every club was required to furnish to the clerk to the
justices of the petty sessional division a return giving (a) the name
and objects of the club; (b) the address of the club; (c) the name of
the secretary; (d) the number of members; (e) the rules of the club
relating to (i.) the election of members and the admission of temporary
and honorary members and of guests; (ii.) the terms of subscription and
entrance fee, if any; (iii.) the cessation of membership; (iv.) the
hours of opening and closing; and (v.) the mode of altering the rules.
The same particulars must be furnished by a secretary before the opening
of a new club. The act imposed heavy penalties for supplying and keeping
liquor in an unregistered club. The act gave power to a court of summary
jurisdiction to strike a club off the register on complaint in writing
by any person on any of various grounds, e.g. if its members numbered
less than twenty-five; if there was frequent drunkenness on the
premises; if persons were habitually admitted as members without
forty-eight hours' interval between nomination and admission; if the
supply of liquor was not under the control of the members or the
committee, &c. The Licensing (Scotland) Act 1903 made Scottish clubs
liable to registration in a similar manner.
In no other country did club-life attain such an early perfection as in
England. The earliest clubs on the European continent were of a
political nature. These in 1848 were repressed in Austria and Germany,
and the modern clubs of Berlin and Vienna are mere replicas of their
English prototypes. In France, where the term _cercle_ is most usual,
the first was Le Club Politique (1782), and during the Revolution such
associations proved important political forces (see JACOBINS,
FEUILLANTS, CORDELIERS). Of the modern purely social clubs in Paris the
most notable are The Jockey Club (1833) and the Cercle de la Rue Royale.
In the United States clubs were first established after the War of
Independence. One of the first in date was the Hoboken Turtle Club
(1797), which still survives. Of the modern clubs in New York the Union
(1836) is the earliest, and other important ones are the Century (1847),
Union League (1863), University (1865), Knickerbocker (1871), Lotus
(1870), Manhattan (1865), and Metropolitan (1891). But club-life in
American cities has grown to enormous proportions; the number of
excellent clubs is now legion, and their hospitality has become
proverbial. The chief clubs in each city are referred to in the
topographical articles.
Walter Arnold, _Life and Death of the Sublime Society of Beefsteaks_
(1871); John Aubrey, _Letters of Eminent Persons_ (2 vols.); C. Marsh,
_Clubs of London, with Anecdotes of their Members, Sketches of
Character and Conversation_ (2 vols., 1832); _Notes and Queries_, 3rd
series, vols. 1, 9, 10; W. H. Pyne, _Wine and Walnuts_ (2 vols.,
1823); Admiral Smyth, _Sketch of the Use and Progress of the Royal
Society Club_ (1860); John Timbs, _Club Life of London, with Anecdotes
of Clubs, Coffee-Houses and Taverns_ (2 vols., 1866), and _History of
Clubs and Club Life_ (1872); Th. Walker, _The Original_, fifth
edition, by W. A. Guy (1875); _The Secret History of Clubs of all
Descriptions_ by Ned Ward (1709); _Complete and Humourous Account of
all the Remarkable Clubs and Societies in the Cities of London and
Westminster_, by Ned Ward (7th edition, 1756); _The London Clubs;
their Anecdotes, History, Private Rules and Regulations_ (12mo, 1853);
Rev. A. Hume, _Learned Societies and Printing Clubs_ (1847); J.
Strang, _Glasgow and its Clubs_ (1857); A. F. Leach, _Club Cases_
(1879); Col. G. J. Ivey, _Clubs of the World_ (1880); J. Wertheimer,
_Law relating to Clubs_ (1885); L. Fagan, _The Reform Club_ (1887); F.
G. Waugh, _Members of the Athenaeum Club_ (privately printed 1888).
CLUB-FOOT (_talipes_), the name given to deformities of the foot, some
of which are congenital, others acquired--the latter being chiefly due
to infantile paralysis. _Talipes equinus_ is that form in which the heel
does not touch the ground, the child resting on the toes. In _talipes
varus_ the foot is turned inwards and shortened, the inner edge of the
foot is raised, and the child walks on the outer edge. These two
conditions are often combined, the heel being drawn up and the foot
twisted inward; the name given to the twofold deformity is _talipes
equino-varus_. It is the most usual congenital form. In _talipes
calcaneus_ the toes are pointed upwards and the foot rests on the heel.
This is always an acquired (paralytic) deformity.
The treatment of congenital club-foot, which is almost invariably
_varus_ or _equino-varus_, should be begun as soon as ever the abnormal
condition of the foot is recognized. The nurse should be shown how to
twist and coax the foot into the improved position, and should so hold
it in her hand many times a day. And thus by daily, or, one might almost
say, hourly manipulations, much good may be accomplished without
distress to the infant. If after weeks or months of these measures
insufficient progress has been made, the subcutaneous division of a
tendon or two, or of some tendons and ligaments may be necessary, the
foot being subsequently fixed up in the improved position in plaster of
Paris. If these subcutaneous operations also prove disappointing, or if
after their apparently successful employment the foot constantly
relapses into the old position, a more radical procedure will be
required. Of the many procedures which have been adopted there is,
probably, none equal to that of free transverse incision introduced by
the late Dr A. M. Phelps of New York. By this "open method" the surgeon
sees exactly what structures are at fault and in need of division--skin,
fasciae tendons, ligaments; everything, in short, which prevented the
easy rectification of the deformity. After the operation, the foot is
fixed, without any strain, in an over-corrected position, between
plaster of Paris splints. By the adoption of this method the old
instrument of torture known as "Scarpa's shoe" has become obsolete, as
have also some of those operations which effected improvement of the
foot by the removal of portions of the bony arch. Phelps's operation
removes the deformity by increasing the length of the concave border of
the foot rather than by shortening the convex borders as in cuneiform
osteotomy; it is a levelling up, not a levelling down.
_Talipes valgus_ is very rare as a congenital defect, but is common
enough as a result of infantile paralysis and as such is apt to be
combined with the calcanean variety. "Flat-foot" is sometimes spoken of
as _spurious talipes valgus_; it is due to the bony arches of the foot
being called upon to support a weight beyond their power. The giving way
of the arches may be due to weakness of the muscles, tendons or
ligaments--probably of all three. It is often met with in feeble and
flabby children, and in nurses, waiters, policemen and others whose feet
grow tired from much standing. Exercises on tip-toe, especially with a
skipping rope, massage, rest and tonic treatment will give relief, and
shoes or boots may be supplied with the heel and sole thickened along
the inner borders so that the weight may be received along the strong
outer border of the foot. When the flat-footed individual stands it
should be upon the outer borders of his feet, or better still, when
convenient, on tip-toe, as this posture strengthens those muscles of the
leg which run into the sole of the foot and hold up the bony arches. In
certain extreme cases the surgeon wrenches the splay feet into an
inverted position and fixes them in plaster of Paris, taking off the
casing every day for the purpose of massage and exercises.
Flat-foot is often associated with knock-knee in children and young
adults who are the subject of rickets.
_Morton's Disease._--In some cases of flat-foot the life of the
individual is made miserable by neuralgia at the root of the toes, which
comes on after much standing or walking, the distress being so great
that, almost regardless of propriety, he is compelled to take off his
boot. The condition is known as Morton's disease or _metatarsalgia_. The
pain is due to the nerves of the toes (which come from the sole of the
foot) being pressed upon by the rounded ends of the long bones of the
foot near the web of the toes. It does not generally yield to palliative
measures (though rest of the foot and a change to broad-toed, easy boots
may be helpful), and the only effectual remedy is resection of the head
of one of the metatarsal bones, after which relief is complete and
permanent.
For paralytic club-foot, in which distressing corns have been developed
over the unnatural prominences upon which the sufferer has been
accustomed to walk, the adoption of the most promising conservative
measures are usually disappointing, and relief and happiness may be
obtainable only after the performance of Syme's amputation through the
ankle-joint.
CLUE, or CLEW (O. Eng. _cluwe_), originally a ball of thread or wool,
the thread of life, which, according to the fable, the Fates spin for
every man. The ordinary figurative meaning, a piece of evidence leading
to discovery, or a sign pointing to the right track, is derived from the
story of Theseus, who was guided through the labyrinth by the ball of
thread held by Ariadne.
CLUENTIUS HABITUS, AULUS, of Larinum in Samnium, the hero of a Roman
_cause célèbre_. In 74 B.C. he accused his stepfather Statius Albius
Oppianicus of an attempt to poison him; had it been successful, the
property of Cluentius would have fallen to his mother Sassia. Oppianicus
and two others were condemned, and some years later Oppianicus died in
exile. But the verdict was looked upon with suspicion, and it was known
for a fact that one of the jurymen had received a large sum of money for
distribution amongst his colleagues. The result was the degradation of
Cluentius himself and several of the jurymen. In 66, Sassia induced her
stepson Oppianicus to charge Cluentius with having caused the elder
Oppianicus to be poisoned while in exile. On this occasion the defence
was undertaken by Cicero in the extant speech _Pro Cluentio_. In the end
Cluentius was acquitted. Cicero afterwards boasted openly that he had
thrown dust in the eyes of the jury (Quintilian, _Instit._ ii. 17. 21,
who quotes this speech more than any other). His efforts are chiefly
devoted to proving that the condemnation of the elder Oppianicus was
just and in no way the result of the jury having been bribed by
Cluentius; only a small portion of the end of the speech deals with the
specific charge. It was generally believed that the verdict in the
former trial was an unfair one; and this opinion was most prejudicial to
Cluentius. But even if it could be shown that Cluentius had bribed the
jurymen, this did not prove that he had poisoned Oppianicus, although it
supplied a sufficient reason for wishing to get him out of the way. The
speech delivered by Cicero on this occasion is considered one of his
best.
Editions of the speech by W. Y. Fausset (1887), W. Ramsay (1883); see
also H. Nettleship, _Lectures and Essays_ (1885).
CLUMP, a word common to Teutonic languages, meaning a mass, lump, group
or cluster of indefinite form, as a clump of grass or trees. The word is
used of a wooden and clumsy shoe, made out of one piece of wood, worn by
German peasants, and by transference is applied to the thick extra sole
added to heavy boots for rough wear. Shoemakers speak of "clumping" a
boot when it is mended by having a new sole fastened by nails and not
sewn by hand to the old sole.
CLUNES, a borough of Talbot county, Victoria, Australia, 97½ m. by rail
N.W. of Melbourne. Pop. (1901) 2426. It is the centre of an
agricultural, pastoral and mining district, in which gold was first
discovered in 1851. It lies in a healthy and picturesque situation at an
elevation of 1081 ft. An annual agricultural exhibition and large weekly
cattle sales are held in the town.
CLUNY, or CLUGNY, a town of east central France, in the department of
Saône-et-Loire, on the left bank of the Grosne, 14 m. N.W. of Mâcon by
road. Pop. (1906) 3105. The interest of the town lies in its specimens
of medieval architecture, which include, besides its celebrated abbey,
the Gothic church of Notre-Dame, the church of St Marcel with its
beautiful Romanesque spire, portions of the ancient fortifications, and
a number of picturesque houses belonging to the Romanesque, Gothic and
Renaissance periods. The chief remains of the abbey (see ABBEY) are the
ruins of the basilica of St Peter and the abbot's palace. The church was
a Romanesque building, completed early in the 12th century, and until
the erection of St Peter at Rome was the largest ecclesiastical building
in Europe. It was in great part demolished under the First Empire, but
the south transept, a high octagonal tower, the chapel of Bourbon (15th
century), and the ruins of the apse still remain. In 1750 the abbey
buildings were largely rebuilt and now contain a technical school. Part
of the site of the church is given up to the stabling of a government
stud. The abbot's palace, which belongs to the end of the 15th century,
serves as hôtel-de-ville, library and museum. The town has quarries of
limestone and building-stone, and manufactures pottery, leather and
paper.
A mere village at the time when the abbey was founded (910), Cluny
gradually increased in importance with the development of the religious
fraternity, and in 1090 received a communal charter from the abbot St
Hugh. In 1471 the town was taken by the troops of Louis XI. In 1529 the
abbey was given "in commendam" to the family of Guise, four members of
which held the office of abbot during the next hundred years. The town
and abbey suffered during the Wars of Religion of the 16th century, and
the abbey was closed in 1790. The residence erected in Paris at the end
of the 15th century by the abbots Jean de Bourbon and Jacques d'Amboise,
and known as the Hôtel de Cluny (see HOUSE, Plate I., fig. 6), is
occupied by the du Sommerard collection; but the Collège de Cluny
founded in 1269 by the abbot Yves de Vergy, as a theological school for
the order, is no longer in existence.
_The Order of Cluniac Benedictines._--The Monastery of Cluny was founded
in 910 by William I. the Pious, count of Auvergne and duke of Guienne
(Aquitaine). The first abbot was Berno, who had under his rule two
monasteries in the neighbourhood. Before his death in 927 two or three
more came under his control, so that he bequeathed to his successor the
government of a little group of five or six houses, which became the
nucleus of the order of Cluny. Berno's successor was Odo: armed with
papal privileges he set to work to make Cluny the centre of a revival
and reform among the monasteries of France; he also journeyed to Italy,
and induced some of the great Benedictine houses, and among them St
Benedict's own monasteries of Subiaco and Monte Cassino, to receive the
reform and adopt the Cluny manner of life. The process of extension,
partly by founding new houses, partly by incorporating old ones, went on
under Odo's successors, so that by the middle of the 12th century Cluny
had become the centre and head of a great order embracing 314
monasteries--the number 2000, sometimes given, is an exaggeration--in
all parts of Europe, in France, Italy, the Empire, Lorraine, Spain,
England, Scotland, Poland, and even in the Holy Land. And the influence
of Cluny extended far beyond the actual order: many monasteries besides
Monte Cassino and Subiaco adopted its customs and manner of life without
subjecting themselves to its sway; and of these, many in turn became the
centres of reforms which extended Cluny ideas and influences over still
wider circles: Fleury and Hirsau may be mentioned as conspicuous
examples. The gradual stages in the growth of the Cluny sphere of
influence is exhibited in a map [VI. C.] in Heussi and Mulert's
_Handatlas zur Kirchengeschichte_, 1905.
When we turn to the inner life of Cluny, we find that the decrees of
Aix-la-Chapelle, which summed up the Carolingian movement for reform
(see BENEDICTINES), were taken as the basis of the observance. Field
work and manual labour were given up; and in compensation the tendency
initiated by Benedict of Aniane, to prolong and multiply the church
services far beyond the canonical office contemplated by St Benedict,
was carried to still greater extremes, so that the services came to
occupy nearly the whole day. The lessons at the night office became so
lengthy that, e.g., the Book of Genesis was read through in a week; and
the daily psalmody, between canonical office and extra devotions,
exceeded a hundred psalms (see Edm. Bishop, _Origin of the Primer_,
Early English Text Soc., Original Series, No. 109).
If its influence on the subsequent history of monastic and religious
life and organization be considered, the most noteworthy feature of the
Cluny system was its external polity, which constituted it a veritable
"order" in the modern sense of the word, the first that had existed
since that of Pachomius (see MONASTICISM). All the houses that belonged,
either by foundation or incorporation, to the Cluny system were
absolutely subject to Cluny and its abbot, who was "general" in the same
sense as the general of the Jesuits or Dominicans, the practically
absolute ruler of the whole system. The superiors of all the subject
houses (usually priors, not abbots) were his nominees; every member of
the order was professed by his permission, and had to pass some of the
early years of his monastic life at Cluny itself; the abbot of Cluny had
entire control over every one of the monks--some 10,000, it is said; it
even came about that he had the practical appointment of his successor.
For a description and criticism of the system, see F. A. Gasquet,
_Sketch of Monastic Constitutional History_, pp. xxxii-xxxv (the
Introduction to 2nd ed. (1895) of the English trans. of the _Monks of
the West_); here it must suffice to say that it is the very antithesis
of the Benedictine polity (see BENEDICTINES).
The greatness of Cluny is really the greatness of its early abbots. If
the short reign of the unworthy Pontius be excepted, Cluny was ruled
during a period of about 250 years (910-1157) by a succession of seven
great abbots, who combined those high qualities of character, ability
and religion that were necessary for so commanding a position; they were
Berno, Odo, Aymard, Majolus (Maieul), Odilo, Hugh, Peter the Venerable.
Sprung from noble families of the neighbourhood; educated to the highest
level of the culture of those times; endowed with conspicuous ability
and prudence in the conduct of affairs; enjoying the consideration and
confidence of popes and sovereigns; employed again and again as papal
legates and imperial ambassadors; taking part in all great movements of
ecclesiastical and temporal politics; refusing the first sees in Western
Christendom, the cardinalate, and the papacy itself: they ever remained
true to their state as monks, without loss of piety or religion. Four of
them, indeed, Odo, Maieul, Odilo and Hugh, are venerated as saints.
In the movement associated with the name of Hildebrand the influence of
Cluny was thrown strongly on the side of religious and ecclesiastical
reform, as in the suppression of simony and the enforcing of clerical
celibacy; but in the struggle between the Papacy and the Empire the
abbots of Cluny seem to have steered a middle course between Guelfs and
Ghibellines, and to have exercised a moderating influence; St Hugh
maintained relations with Henry IV. after his excommunication, and
probably influenced him to go to Canossa. Hildebrand himself, though
probably not a monk of Cluny, was a monk of a Cluniac monastery in Rome;
his successor, Urban II., was actually a Cluny monk, as was Paschal II.
It may safely be said that from the middle of the 10th century until the
middle of the 12th, Cluny was the chief centre of religious influence
throughout Western Europe, and the abbot of Cluny, next to the pope, the
most important and powerful ecclesiastic in the Latin Church.
Everything at Cluny was on a scale worthy of so great a position. The
basilica, begun 1089 and dedicated 1131, was, until the building of the
present St Peter's, the largest church in Christendom, and was both in
structure and ornamentation of unparalleled magnificence. The monastic
buildings were gigantic.
During the abbacy of Peter the Venerable (1122-1157) it became clear
that, after a lapse of two centuries, a renewal of the framework of the
life and a revival of its spirit had become necessary. Accordingly he
summoned a great chapter of the whole order whereat the priors and
representatives of the subject houses attended in such numbers that,
along with the Cluny community, the assembly consisted of 1200 monks.
This chapter drew up the 76 statutes associated with Peter's name,
regulating the whole range of claustral life, and solemnly promulgated
as binding on the whole Cluniac obedience. But these measures did not
succeed in saving Cluny from a rapid decline that set in immediately
after Peter's death. The monarchical status of the abbot was gradually
curtailed by the holding of general chapters at fixed periods and the
appointment of a board of definitors, elected by the chapter, as a
permanent council for the abbot. Owing to these restrictions and still
more to the fact that the later abbots were not of the same calibre as
the early ones, their power and influence waned, until in 1528 (if not
in 1456) the abbey fell into "commendam." The rise of the Cistercians
and the mendicant orders were contributory causes, and also the
difficulties experienced in keeping houses in other countries subject to
a French superior. And so the great system gradually became a mere
congregation of French houses. Of the commendatory abbots the most
remarkable were Cardinals Richelieu and Mazarin, who both initiated
attempts to introduce reforms into the Cluny congregation, the former
trying to amalgamate it with the reformed congregation of St Maur, but
without effect. Martène tells us that in the early years of the 18th
century in the monastery of Baume, one of Berno's original group of
Cluny houses--indeed the parent house of Cluny itself--no one was
admitted as a monk who had not sixteen quarterings in his coat of arms.
A reform movement took root in the Cluny congregation, and during the
last century of its existence the monks were divided into two groups,
the Reformed and the Unreformed, living according to different laws and
rules, with different superiors, and sometimes independent, and even
rival, general chapters. This most unhappy arrangement hopelessly
impaired the vitality and work of the congregation, which was finally
dissolved and suppressed in 1790, the church being deliberately
destroyed.
Cluniac houses were introduced into England under the Conqueror. The
first foundation was at Barnstaple; the second at Lewes by William de
Warenne, in 1077, and it counted as one of the "Five Daughters of
Cluny." In quick succession followed Thetford, Montacute, Wenlock,
Bermondsey, and in Scotland, Paisley; a number of lesser foundations
were made, and offshoots from the English houses; so that the English
Cluniac dependencies in the 13th century amounted to 40. It is said that
in the reign of Edward III. they transmitted to Cluny annually the sum
of £2000, equivalent to £60,000 of our money. Such a drain on the
country was naturally looked on with disfavour, especially during the
French wars; and so it came about that as "alien priories" they were
frequently sequestered by the crown. As the communities came to be
composed more and more of English subjects, they tended to grow
impatient of their subjection to a foreign house, and began to petition
parliament to be naturalized and to become denizen. In 1351 Lewes was
actually naturalized, but a century later the prior of Lewes appears
still as the abbot of Cluny's vicar in England. Though the bonds with
Cluny seem to have been much relaxed if not wholly broken, the Cluniac
houses continued as a separate group up to the dissolution, never taking
part in the chapters of the English Benedictines. At the end there were
eight greater and nearly thirty lesser Cluniac houses: for list see
Table in F. A. Gasquet's _English Monastic Life_; and _Catholic
Dictionary_, art. "Cluny."
The history of Cluny up to the death of Peter the Venerable may be
extracted out of Mabillon's _Annales_ by means of the Index; the story
is told in Helyot, _Hist. des ordres religieux_ (1792), v. cc. 18, 19.
Abridged accounts, with references to the most recent literature, may
be found in Max Heimbucher, _Orden und Kongregationen_ (1896), i. §
20; Herzog-Hauck, _Realencyklopädie_ (ed. 3), art. "Cluni"
(Grutzmacher); and Wetzer und Welte, _Kirchenlexikon_ (ed. 2), art.
"Clugny" (Hefele). The best modern monograph is by E. Sackur, _Die
Cluniacenser_ (1891-1894). In English a good account is given in
Maitland, _Dark Ages_, §§ xviii.-xxvi.; the Introduction to G. F.
Duckett's _Charters and Records of Cluni_ (1890) contains, besides
general information, a description of the church and the buildings,
and a list of the chief Cluniac houses in all countries. The story of
the English houses is briefly sketched in the second chapter of F. A.
Gasquet's _Henry VIII. and the English Monasteries_ (the larger ed.,
1886). (E. C. B.)
CLUSERET, GUSTAVE PAUL (1823-1900), French soldier and politician, was
born at Paris. He was an officer in the _garde mobile_ during the
revolution of 1848. He took part in several expeditions in Algeria,
joined Garibaldi's volunteers in 1860, and in 1861 resigned his
commission to take part in the Civil War in America. He served under
Frémont and McClellan, and rose to the rank of general. Then, joining a
band of Irish adventurers, he went secretly to Ireland, and participated
in the Fenian insurrection (1866-67). He escaped arrest on the collapse
of the movement, but was condemned to death in his absence. On his
return to France he proclaimed himself a Socialist, opposed militarism,
and became a member of the _Association Internationale des
travailleurs_, a cosmopolitan Socialist organization, known as the
"_Internationale_." On the proclamation of the Third Republic in 1871 he
set to work to organize the social revolution, first at Lyons and
afterwards at Marseilles. His energy, his oratorical gifts, and his
military experience gave him great influence among the working classes.
On the news of the communist rising of the 18th of March 1871 he
hastened to Paris, and on the 16th of April was elected a member of the
commune. Disagreements with the other communist leaders led to his
arrest on the 1st of May, on a false charge of betraying the cause. On
the 24th of the same month the occupation of Paris by the Versailles
troops restored him to liberty, and he succeeded in escaping from
France. He did not return to the country till 1884. In 1888 and 1889 he
was returned as a deputy to the chamber by Toulon. He died in 1900.
Cluseret published his _Mémoires_ (of the Commune) at Paris in
1887-1888.
CLUSIUM (mod. _Chiusi_, q.v.), an ancient town of Italy, one of the
twelve cities of Etruria, situated on an isolated hill at the S. end of
the valley of the Clanis (China). It was according to Roman tradition
one of the oldest cities of Etruria and indeed of all Italy, and, if
Camars (the original name of the town, according to Livy) is rightly
connected with the Camertes Umbri, its foundation would go back to
pre-Etruscan times. It first appears in Roman history at the end of the
7th century B.C., when it joined the other Etruscan towns against
Tarquinius Priscus, and at the end of the 6th century B.C. it placed
itself, under its king Lars Porsena, at the head of the attempt to
re-establish the Tarquins in Rome. At the time of the invasion of the
Gauls in 391 B.C., on the other hand, Clusium was on friendly terms with
Rome; indeed, it was the action of the Roman envoys who had come to
intercede for the people of Clusium with the Gauls, and then, contrary
to international law, took part in the battle which followed, which
determined the Gauls to march on Rome. Near Clusium too, according to
Livy (according to Polybius ii. 19. 5, [Greek: en tê Kamertiôn chôra],
i.e. in Umbria near Camerinum), a battle occurred in 296 B.C. between
the Gauls and Samnites combined, and the Romans; a little later the
united forces of Clusium and Perusia were defeated by the Romans. The
precise period at which Clusium came under Roman supremacy is, however,
uncertain, though this must have happened before 225 B.C., when the
Gauls advanced as far as Clusium. In 205 B.C. in the Second Punic War we
hear that they promised ship timber and corn to Scipio. The Via Cassia,
constructed after 187 B.C., passed just below the town. In the first
civil war, Papirius Carbo took up his position here, and two battles
occurred in the neighbourhood. Sulla appears to have increased the
number of colonists, and a statue was certainly erected in his honour
here. In imperial times we hear little of it, though its grain and
grapes were famous. Christianity found its way into Clusium as early as
the 3rd century, and the tombstone of a bishop of A.D. 322 exists. In
A.D. 540 it is named as a strong place to which Vitiges sent a garrison
of a thousand men.
Of pre-Roman or Roman buildings in the town itself there are few
remains, except for some fragments of the Etruscan town walls composed
of rather small rectangular blocks of travertine, built into the
medieval fortifications. Under it, however, extends an elaborate system
of rock-cut passages, probably drains. The chief interest of the place
lies in its extensive necropolis, which surrounds the city on all sides.
The earliest tombs (_tombe a pozzo_, shaft tombs) are previous to the
beginning of Greek importation. Of _tombe a fosso_ there are none, and
the next stage is marked by the so-called _tombe a ziro_, in which the
cinerary urn (often with a human head) is placed in a large clay jar
(_ziro_, Lat. _dolium_). These belong to the 7th century B.C., and are
followed by the _tombe a camera_, in which the tomb is a chamber hewn in
the rock, and which can be traced back to the beginning of the 6th
century B.C. From one of the earliest of these came the famous François
vase; another is the tomb of Poggio Renzo, or della Scimmia (the
monkey), with several chambers decorated with archaic paintings. The
most remarkable group of tombs is, however, that of Poggio Gaiella, 3 m.
to the N., where the hill is honeycombed with chambers in three storeys
(now, however, much ruined and inaccessible), partly connected by a
system of passages, and supported at the base by a stone wall which
forms a circle and not a square--a fact which renders impossible its
identification with the tomb of Porsena, the description of which Pliny
(_Hist. Nat._ xxxvi. 91) has copied from Varro. Other noteworthy tombs
are those of the Granduca, with a single subterranean chamber carefully
constructed in travertine, and containing eight sarcophagi of the same
material; of Vigna Grande, very similar to this; of Colle Casuccini (the
ancient stone door of which is still in working order), with two
chambers, containing paintings representing funeral rites; of Poggio
Moro and Valdacqua, in the former of which the paintings are almost
destroyed, while the latter is now inaccessible.
A conception of the size of the whole necropolis may be gathered from
the fact that nearly three thousand Etruscan inscriptions have come to
light from Clusium and its district alone, while the part of Etruria
north of it as far as the Arno has produced barely five hundred. Among
the later tombs bilingual inscriptions are by no means rare, and both
Etruscan and Latin inscriptions are often found in the same cemeteries,
showing that the use of the Etruscan language only died out gradually. A
large number of the inscriptions are painted upon the tiles which closed
the niches containing the cinerary urns. The urns themselves are small,
often of terra-cotta, originally painted, though the majority of them
have lost their colour, and rectangular in shape. This style of burial
seems peculiar to a district which E. Bormann (_Corp. Inscr. Lat._ xi.,
Berlin, 1887, p. 373) defines as a triangle formed by the Clanis (with
the lakes of Chiusi and Montepulciano, both small, shallow and
fever-breeding), on the E., the villages of Cetona, Sarteano,
Castelluccio and Monticchiello on the W., and Montepulciano and
Acquaviva on the N. In Roman times the territory of Clusium seems to
have extended as far as Lake Trasimene. The local museum contains a
valuable and important collection of objects from the necropolis,
including some specially fine _bucchero_, sepulchral urns of travertine,
alabaster and terra-cotta, painted vases, stone _cippi_ with reliefs,
&c.
Two Christian catacombs have been found near Clusium, one in the hill of
S. Caterina near the railway station, the inscriptions of which seem to
go back to the 3rd century, another 1 m. to the E. in a hill on which a
church and monastery of S. Mustiola stood, which goes back to the 4th
century, including among its inscriptions one bearing the date A.D. 303,
and the tombstone of L. Petronius Dexter, bishop of Clusium, who died in
A.D. 322. The total number of inscriptions known in Clusium is nearly
3000 Etruscan (_Corp. Inscr. Etrusc._, Berlin, 475-3306) and 500 Latin
(_Corp. Inscr. Lat._ xi. 2090-2593). To the W. and N.W. of Chiusi--at
Cetona, Sarteano, Chianciano and Montepulciano--Etruscan cemeteries have
been discovered; the objects from them formed, in the latter half of the
19th century, interesting local collections described by Dennis, which
have since mostly passed to larger museums or been dispersed.
See G. Dennis, _Cities and Cemeteries of Etruria_ (London,1883), ii.
290 seq.; L. Giometti, _Guida di Chiusi_ (Poggibonsi, 1904).
(T. AS.)
CLUWER (CLUVER, CLUVIER, CLUVERIUS), PHILIP (1580-1623), German
geographer and historian, was born at Danzig in 1580. After travelling
in Germany and Poland (where he learnt Polish), he began the study of
law at Leiden, but he soon turned his attention to history and
geography, which were then taught there by Joseph Scaliger. After
campaigning in Bohemia and Hungary, suffering imprisonment, and
travelling in England, Scotland and France, he finally settled in
Holland, where (after 1616) he received a regular pension from Leiden
Academy. In 1611 he began to publish his works. He died at Leiden in
1623. His principal writings are: _Germania Antiqua_ (1616), _Siciliae
Antiquae libri duo, Sardinia et Corsica Antiqua_ (1619), and the
posthumous _Italia Antiqua_ (1624) and _Introductio in Universam
Geographiam_ (1629).
CLYDE, COLIN CAMPBELL, BARON (1792-1863), British soldier, was born at
Glasgow on the 20th of October 1792. He received his education at the
Glasgow high school, and when only sixteen years of age obtained an
ensigncy in the 9th foot, through the influence of Colonel Campbell, his
maternal uncle. The youthful officer had an early opportunity of
engaging in active service. He fought under Sir Arthur Wellesley at
Vimiera, took part in the retreat of Sir John Moore, and was present at
the battle of Corunna. He shared in all the fighting of the Peninsular
campaigns, and was severely wounded while leading a storming-party at
the attack on San Sebastian. He was again wounded at the passage of the
Bidassoa, and compelled to return to England, when his conspicuous
gallantry was rewarded by promotion without purchase. Campbell held a
command in the American expedition of 1814; and after the peace of the
following year he devoted himself to studying the theoretical branches
of his profession. In 1823 he quelled the negro insurrection in
Demerara, and two years later obtained his majority by purchase, In 1832
he became lieutenant-colonel of the 98th foot, and with that regiment
rendered distinguished service in the Chinese War of 1842. Campbell was
next employed in the Sikh War of 1848-49, under Lord Gough. At
Chillianwalla, where he was wounded, and at the decisive victory of
Gujrat, his skill and valour largely contributed to the success of the
British arms; and his "steady coolness and military precision" were
highly praised in official despatches. He was made a K.C.B. in 1849, and
specially named in the thanks of parliament.
After rendering important services in India Sir Colin Campbell returned
home in 1853. Next year the Crimean War broke out, and he accepted the
command of the Highland brigade, which formed part of the duke of
Cambridge's division. The brigade and its leader distinguished
themselves very greatly at the Alma; and with his "thin red line" of
Highlanders he repulsed the Russian attack on Balaklava. At the close of
the war Sir Colin was promoted to be knight grand cross of the Bath, and
elected honorary D.C.L. of Oxford. His military services, however, had
as yet met with tardy recognition; but, when the crisis came, his true
worth was appreciated. The outbreak of the Indian Mutiny (q.v.) called
for a general of tried experience; and on the 11th of July 1857 the
command was offered to him by Lord Palmerston. On being asked when he
would be ready to set out, the veteran replied, "Within twenty-four
hours." He was as good as his word; he left England the next evening,
and reached Calcutta on the 13th of August. After spending upwards of
two months in the capital to organize his resources, he started for the
front on the 27th of October, and on the 17th of November relieved
Lucknow for the second time. Sir Colin, however, considered Lucknow a
false position, and once more abandoned it to the rebels, retaking it in
March 1858. He continued in charge of the operations in Oudh until the
embers of the revolt had died away. For these services he was raised to
the peerage, in 1858, as Lord Clyde; and, returning to England in the
next year, he received the thanks of both Houses of Parliament and a
pension of £2000 a year. He died on the 14th of August 1863.
Though not a great general, and lacking in the dash which won England so
many victories in India, Lord Clyde was at once a brave soldier and a
careful and prudent leader. The soldiers whom he led were devotedly
attached to him; and his courteous demeanour and manly independence of
character won him unvarying respect.
See Sir Owen Tudor Burne, _Clyde and Strathnairn_ ("Rulers of India"
series, 1891); and L. Shadwell, _Life of Colin Campbell, Lord Clyde_
(1881).
CLYDE (Welsh, _Clwyd_, "far heard," "strong," the _Glotta_ of Tacitus),
the principal river of Lanarkshire, Scotland. It is also the name of the
estuary which forms the largest and finest firth on the west coast.
1. _The River._--Daer Water, rising in Gana Hill (2190 ft.) on the
borders of Lanarkshire and Dumfriesshire, after a course of 10½ m., and
Potrail Water, rising 3 m. farther W. in the same hilly country (1928
ft.), after running N.N.E. for 7 m., unite 3½ m. S. of Elvanfoot to form
the Clyde, of which they are the principal headstreams, though many
mountain burns in these upland regions are also contributory. The old
rhyme that "Annan, Tweed and Clyde rise a' out o' ae hillside" is not
true, for Little Clyde Burn here referred to, rising in Clyde Law (2190
ft.), is only an affluent and not a parent stream. From the junction of
the Daer and Potrail the river pursues a direction mainly northwards for
several miles, winding eastwards around Tinto Hill, somewhat
north-westerly to near Carstairs, where it follows a serpentine course
westwards and then southwards. From Harperfield, a point about 4 m.
above Lanark, it assumes a north-westerly direction, which, roughly, it
maintains for the rest of its course as a river, which is generally held
to end at Dumbarton, where it merges in the Firth. Its principal
tributaries on the right are the Medwin (16 m. long), entering near
Carnwath, the Mouse (15 m.), joining it at Lanark, the South Calder (16
m.) above Bothwell, the North Calder (12 m.) below Uddingston, the
Kelvin (21 m.) at Glasgow, and the Leven (7 m.) at Dumbarton. The chief
left-hand affluents are the Elvan (8 m.), entering at Elvanfoot, the
Duneaton (19 m.), joining a few miles above Roberton, the Garf (6½ m.)
below Lamington, the Douglas (20 m.) above Bonnington, the Nethan (12
m.) at Crossford, the Avon (28 m.) at Hamilton, the Rotten Calder (10
m.) near Newton, and the Cart (1 m.), formed by the junction of the
Black Cart (9 m.) and the White Cart (19 m.), below Renfrew.
The total length of the Clyde from the head of the Daer to Dumbarton is
106 m., and it drains an area estimated at 1481 sq. m. It is thus the
third longest river in Scotland (being exceeded by the Spey and Tay),
but in respect of the industries on its lower banks, and its sea-borne
commerce, it is one of the most important rivers in the world. Near
Lanark it is broken by the celebrated Falls, four in number, which are
all found within a distance of 3¾ m. Bonnington Linn, the most graceful,
2 m. above Lanark, is divided into two parts by a mass of tree-clad
rocks in mid-stream, and has a height of 30 ft. From this spot the river
runs for half a mile through a rugged, red sandstone gorge till it
reaches Corra Linn, the grandest of the Falls, where in three leaps,
giving it the aspect of a splendid cascade, it makes a descent of 84
ft., which, however, it accomplishes during flood at a single bound.
Almost ¾ m. below Corra Linn, Dundaff Linn is reached, a fall of only 10
ft. Farther down, 1¾ m. below Lanark, at Stonebyres Linn, reproducing
the characteristic features of Corra Linn, the river descends in
ordinary water in three leaps, and in flood in one bold drop of 80 ft.
Within this space of 3¾ m. the river effects a total fall of 230 ft., or
61-1/3 ft. in the mile. From Stonebyres Linn to the sea the fall is
practically 4 ft. in every mile. The chief villages and towns on or
close to the river between its source and Glasgow are Crawford,
Lamington, New Lanark, Lanark, Hamilton, Bothwell, Blantyre and
Uddingston. At Bowling (pop. 1018)--the point of transhipment for the
Forth and Clyde Canal--the river widens decidedly, the fairway being
indicated by a stone wall continued seawards as far as Dumbarton.
Dunglass Point, near Bowling, is the western terminus of the wall of
Antoninus, or Grim's Dyke; and in the grounds of Dunglass Castle, now a
picturesque fragment, stands an obelisk to Henry Bell (1767-1830), the
pioneer of steam navigation in Europe.
As far down as the falls the Clyde remains a pure fishing stream, but
from the point at which it begins to receive the varied tribute of
industry, its water grows more and more contaminated, and at Glasgow the
work of pollution is completed. Towards the end of the 18th century the
river was yet fordable at the Broomielaw in the heart of Glasgow, but
since that period, by unexampled enterprise and unstinted expenditure of
money, the stream has been converted into a waterway deep enough to
allow liners and battleships to anchor in the harbour (see GLASGOW).
Clydesdale, as the valley of the upper Clyde is called, begins in the
district watered by headstreams of the river, the course of which in
effect it follows as far as Bothwell, a distance of 50 m. It is renowned
for its breed of cart-horses (specifically known as Clydesdales), its
orchards, fruit fields and market gardens, its coal and iron mines.
2. _The Firth._--From Dumbarton, where the firth is commonly considered
to begin, to Ailsa Craig, where it ends, the fairway measures 64 m. Its
width varies from 1 m. at Dumbarton to 37 m. from Girvan to the Mull of
Kintyre. The depth varies from a low-tide minimum of 22 ft. in the
navigable channel at Dumbarton to nearly 100 fathoms in the Sound of
Bute and at other points. The Cumbraes, Bute and Arran are the principal
islands in its waters. The sea lochs all lie on the Highland shore, and
comprise Gare Loch, Loch Long, Loch Goil, Holy Loch, Loch Striven, Loch
Riddon and Loch Fyne. The only rivers of any importance feeding the
Firth are the Ayrshire streams, of which the chief are the Garnock,
Irvine, Ayr, Doon and Girvan. The tide ascends above Glasgow, where its
farther rise is barred by a weir. The head-ports are Glasgow, Port
Glasgow, Greenock, Ardrossan, Irvine, Troon, Ayr and Campbeltown. In
addition to harbour lights, beacons on rocks, and light-ships, there are
lighthouses on Ailsa Craig, Sanda, Davaar, Pladda, Holy Isle, and Little
Cumbrae, and at Turnberry Point, Cloch Point and Toward Point. The
health and holiday resorts on the lochs, islands and mainland coast are
numerous.
CLYDEBANK, a police burgh of Dumbartonshire, Scotland, on the right bank
of the Clyde, 6 m. from Glasgow. Pop. (1891) 10,014; (1901) 21,591.
There are stations at Yoker, Clydebank, Kilbowie and Dalmuir, all
comprised within the burgh since 1886, served by both the North British
and the Caledonian railways. In 1875 the district was almost purely
rural, but since that date flourishing industries have been planted in
the different parts. At Clydebank are large shipbuilding yards and
engineering works; at Yoker there is some shipbuilding and a distillery;
at Kilbowie the Singer Manufacturing Company have an immense factory,
covering nearly 50 acres and giving employment to many thousands of
operatives; at Dalmuir are the building and repairing yards of the Clyde
Navigation Trust. The important Rothesay Dock, under this trust, was
opened by the prince and princess of Wales in April 1907. The
municipality owns a fine town hall and buildings. Part of the parish
extends across the Clyde into the shire of Renfrew.
CNIDUS (mod. _Tekir_), an ancient city of Caria in Asia Minor, situated
at the extremity of the long peninsula that forms the southern side of
the Sinus Ceramicus or Gulf of Cos. It was built partly on the mainland
and partly on the Island of Triopion or Cape Krio, which anciently
communicated with the continent by a causeway and bridge, and now by a
narrow sandy isthmus. By means of the causeway the channel between
island and mainland was formed into two harbours, of which the larger,
or southern, now known as Port Freano, was further enclosed by two
strongly-built moles that are still in good part entire. The extreme
length of the city was little less than a mile, and the whole intramural
area is still thickly strewn with architectural remains. The walls, both
insular and continental, can be traced throughout their whole circuit;
and in many places, especially round the acropolis, at the N.E. corner
of the city, they are remarkably perfect. Our knowledge of the site is
largely due to the mission of the Dilettanti Society in 1812, and the
excavations executed by C. T. Newton in 1857-1858; but of recent years
it has become a frequent calling station of touring steamers, which can
still lie safely in the southern harbour. The agora, the theatre, an
odeum, a temple of Dionysus, a temple of the Muses, a temple of
Aphrodite and a great number of minor buildings have been identified,
and the general plan of the city has been very clearly made out. The
most famous statue by the elder Praxiteles, the Aphrodite, was made for
Cnidus. It has perished, but late copies exist, of which the most
faithful is in the Vatican gallery. In a temple-enclosure C. T. Newton
discovered a fine seated statue of Demeter, which now adorns the British
Museum; and about 3 m. south-east of the city he came upon the ruins of
a splendid tomb, and a colossal figure of a lion carved out of one block
of Pentelic marble, 10 ft. in length and 6 in height, which has been
supposed to commemorate the great naval victory of Conon over the
Lacedaemonians in 394 B.C. Among the minor antiquities obtained from the
city itself, or the great necropolis to the east, perhaps the most
interesting are the leaden [Greek: katadesmoi], or imprecationary
tablets, found in the temple of Demeter, and copied in facsimile in the
appendix to the second volume of Newton's work. Peasants still find
numerous antiquities, and the site would certainly repay more thorough
excavation.
Cnidus was a city of high antiquity and probably of Lacedaemonian
colonization. Along with Halicarnassus and Cos, and the Rhodian cities
of Lindus, Camirus and Ialysus it formed the Dorian Hexapolis, which
held its confederate assemblies on the Triopian headland, and there
celebrated games in honour of Apollo, Poseidon and the nymphs. The city
was at first governed by an oligarchic senate, composed of sixty
members, known as [Greek: amnêmones], and presided over by a magistrate
called an [Greek: areotêr]; but, though it is proved by inscriptions
that the old names continued to a very late period, the constitution
underwent a popular transformation. The situation of the city was
favourable for commerce, and the Cnidians acquired considerable wealth,
and were able to colonize the island of Lipara, and founded the city of
Corcyra Nigra in the Adriatic. They ultimately submitted to Cyrus, and
from the battle of Eurymedon to the latter part of the Peloponnesian War
they were subject to Athens. In 394 B.C. Conon fought off the port the
battle which destroyed Spartan hegemony. The Romans easily obtained
their allegiance, and rewarded them for help given against Antiochus by
leaving them the freedom of their city. During the Byzantine period
there must still have been a considerable population; for the ruins
contain a large number of buildings belonging to the Byzantine style,
and Christian sepulchres are common in the neighbourhood. Eudoxus, the
astronomer, Ctesias, the writer on Persian history, and Sostratus, the
builder of the celebrated Pharos at Alexandria, are the most remarkable
of the Cnidians mentioned in history.
See C. T. Newton and R. P. Pullen, _Hist. of Discoveries at
Halicarnassus, Cnidus, &c._ (1863).
CNOSSUS, KNOSSOS, or GNOSSUS, an ancient city of Crete, on the left bank
of the Caeratus, a small stream which falls into the sea on the north
side of the island. The city was situated about 3 m. from the coast,
and, according to the old traditions, was founded by Minos, king of
Crete. The locality was associated with a number of the most interesting
legends of Greek mythology, particularly with those which related to
Jupiter, who was said to have been born, to have been married, and to
have been buried in the vicinity. Cnossus was also assigned as the site
of the labyrinth in which the Minotaur was confined. The truth behind
these legends has been revealed in recent years by the excavations of Dr
Evans. As the historical city was peopled by Dorians, the manners,
customs and political institutions of its inhabitants were all Dorian.
Along with Gortyna and Cydonia, it held for many years the supremacy
over the whole of Crete; and it always took a prominent part in the
civil wars which from time to time desolated the island. When the rest
of Crete fell under the Roman dominion, Cnossus shared the same fate,
and became a Roman colony. Aenesidemus, the sceptic philosopher, and
Chersiphron, the architect of the temple of Diana at Ephesus, were
natives of Cnossus.
_The Site._--As the excavations at Cnossus are discussed at length in
the article CRETE, it must suffice here briefly to enumerate the more
important. The chief building is the Great Palace, the so-called "House
of Minos," the excavation of which by Arthur Evans dates from 1900: a
number of rooms lying round the central paved court, oriented north and
south, have been identified, among them being the throne-room with some
well-preserved wall paintings and a small bathroom attached, in the
north-west quarter a larger bathroom and a shrine, and residential
chambers in the south and east. The latter part of the palace is
composed of a number of private rooms and halls, and is especially
remarkable for its skilful drainage and water-supply systems.
In 1907 excavations on the south side of the palace showed that the plan
was still incomplete, and a southern cryptoporticus, and outside it a
large south-west building, probably an official residence, were
discovered. Of special interest was a huge circular cavity under the
southern porch into which the sub-structures of the palace had been
sunk. This cavity was filled with rubbish, sherds, &c., the latest of
which was found to date as far back as the beginning of the Middle
Minoan age, and the later work of 1908 only proved (by means of a small
shaft sunk through the débris) that the rock floor was 52 ft. below the
surface. The first attempt to reach the floor by a cutting in the
hill-side proved abortive, but the operations of 1910 led to a
successful result. The cavity proved to be a great reservoir approached
by a rock-cut staircase and of Early Minoan date.
In 1904-1905 a paved way running due west from the middle of the palace
was excavated, and found to lead to another building described as the
"Little Palace" largely buried under an olive grove. The first
excavations showed that this building was on the same general plan and
belonged to the same period as the "House of Minos," though somewhat
later in actual date (17th century B.C.). Large halls, which had
subsequently been broken up into smaller apartments, were found, and
among a great number of other artistic remains one seal-impression of
special interest showing a one-masted ship carrying a thorough-bred
horse--perhaps representing the first importation of horses into Crete.
A remarkable shrine with fetish idols was also discovered. The sacred
Double-Axe symbol is prominent, as in the greater palace. By the end of
1910 the excavation of this smaller palace was practically completed. It
was found to cover an area of more than 9400 ft. with a frontage of more
than 130 ft., and had five stone staircases. One object of special
interest found in the course of excavation is a black steatite vessel
in the form of a bull's head. The modelling is of a very high order, and
the one eye which remains perfect is cut out of rock crystal, with the
pupil and iris marked by colours applied to the lower face of the
crystal.
The work of excavation in the palace has been complicated by the
necessity of propping up walls, floors and staircases. In some instances
it has been found necessary to replace the original wooden pillars by
pillars of stone. Again in the "Queen's Megaron" in the east wing of the
Great Palace it was found that the exposure of the remains to the
violent extremes of Cretan weather must soon prove fatal to them. It was
therefore decided to restore the columns and part of the wall, and to
roof over the whole area.
For recent excavations see R. M. Burrows, _The Discoveries in Crete_
(1907); A. Mosso, _The Palaces of Crete_ (1907); Lagrange, _La Crète
ancienne_ (1908); Dr. Evans's reports in _The Times_, Oct. 31, 1905,
July 15, 1907, Aug. 27, 1908, and 1909 (Index); D. Mackenzie, _Cretan
Palaces_.
COACH (through the Fr. _coche_, originally from the Magyar _kocsi_, an
adjective from the Hungarian place named Kocs, between Raab and Buda,
i.e. the sort of vehicle used there in the 15th century), a large kind
of carriage for passengers (see CARRIAGE). As a general term it is used
(as in "coach-building") for all carriages, and also in combination with
qualifying attributes for particular forms (stage-coach, mail-coach,
mourning-coach, hackney-coach, &c.); but the typical coach involves four
wheels, springs and a roof. The stage-coach, with seats outside and in,
was a public conveyance which was known in England from the 16th
century, and before railways the stage-coaches had regular routes
(stages) all over the country; through their carrying the mails (from
1784) the term "mail-coach" arose. Similar vehicles were used in America
and on the European continent. The _diligence_, though not invariably
with four horses, was the Continental analogue for public conveyance,
with other minor varieties such as the _Stellwagen_ and _Eilwagen_.
The driving of coaches with four horses was a task in which a
considerable amount of skill was required,[1] and English literature is
full of the difficulties and humours of "the road" in old days. A form
of sport thus arose for enterprising members of the nobility and gentry,
and after the introduction of railways made the mail-coach obsolete as a
matter of necessity, the old sport of coaching for pleasure still
survived, though only to a limited extent. The Four-in-hand Club was
started in England in 1856 and the Coaching Club in 1870, as the
successors of the old Bensington Driving Club (1807-1852), and
Four-Horse Club (1808-1829); and in America the New York Coaching Club
was founded in 1875. But coaching remains the sport of the wealthier
classes, although in various parts of England (e.g. London to Brighton,
and in the Lake district), in America, and in Europe, public coaches
still have their regular times and routes for those who enjoy this form
of travel. The earliest railway vehicles for passengers were merely the
road coaches of the period adapted to run on rails, and the expression
"coaching traffic" is still used in England to denote traffic carried in
passenger trains.
Of coaches possessing a history the two best known in the United Kingdom
are the king's state coach, and that of the lord mayor of London. The
latter is the oldest, having been built, or at least first used, for the
procession of Sir Charles Asgil, lord mayor elect, in November 1757. The
body of this vehicle is not supported by springs, but hung on leather
straps; and the whole structure is very richly loaded with ornamental
carving, gilding and paint-work. The different panels and the doors
contain various allegorical groups of figures representing suitable
subjects, and heraldic devices painted in a spirited manner. The royal
state coach, which is described as "the most superb carriage ever
built," was designed by Sir William Chambers, the paintings on it were
executed by Cipriani, and the work was completed in 1761. During the
later part of Queen Victoria's reign it was hardly ever seen, but on the
accession of Edward VII. the coach was once more put in order for use on
state occasions. The following is an official description of this famous
coach:--
"The whole of the carriage and body is richly ornamented with laurel
and carved work, beautifully gilt. The length, 24 ft.; width, 8 ft. 3
in.; height, 12 ft.; length of pole, 12 ft. 4 in.; weight, 4 tons. The
carriage and body of the coach is composed as follows:--Of four large
tritons, who support the body by four braces, covered with red morocco
leather, and ornamented with gilt buckles, the two figures placed in
front of the carriage bear the driver, and are represented in the
action of drawing by cables extending round their shoulders, and the
cranes and sounding shells to announce the approach of the monarch of
the ocean; and those at the back carry the imperial fasces, topped
with tridents. The driver's foot-board is a large scallop shell,
ornamented with bunches of reeds and other marine plants. The pole
represents a bundle of lances; the splinter bar is composed of a rich
moulding, issuing from beneath a voluted shell, and each end
terminating in the head of a dolphin; and the wheels are imitated from
those of the ancient triumphal chariot. The body of the coach is
composed of eight palm-trees, which, branching out at the top, sustain
the roof; and four angular trees are loaded with trophies allusive to
the victories obtained by Great Britain during the late glorious war,
supported by four lions' heads. On the centre of the roof stand three
boys, representing the genii of England, Scotland and Ireland,
supporting the imperial crown of Great Britain, and holding in their
hands the sceptre, sword of state, and ensigns of knighthood; their
bodies are adorned with festoons of laurel, which fall from thence
towards the four corners. The panels and doors are painted with
appropriate emblematical devices, and the linings are of scarlet
velvet richly embossed with national emblems."
See the Badminton _Driving_, by the duke of Beaufort (1888); Rogers's
_Manual of Driving_ (Philadelphia, 1900); and "Nimrod's" _Essays on
the Road_ (1876).
FOOTNOTE:
[1] The idea of "driving" was responsible for the use of the term
"coach" and "coaching" to mean a tutor or trainer, for examinations
or athletic contests.
COAHUILA, a northern frontier state of Mexico, bounded N. and N.E. by
Texas, U.S.A., E. by Nuevo León, S. by San Luis Potosi and Zacatecas,
and W. by Durango and Chihuahua. Area, 63,569 sq.m.; pop. (1895)
237,815; (1900) 296,938. Its surface is a roughly broken plateau,
traversed N.W. to S.E. by several ranges of mountains and sloping gently
toward the Rio Grande. The only level tract of any size in the state is
the Bolsón de Mapimí, a great depression on the western side which was
long considered barren and uninhabitable. It is a region of lakes and
morasses, of arid plains and high temperatures, but experiments with
irrigation toward the end of the 19th century were highly successful and
considerable tracts have since been brought under cultivation. In
general the state is insufficiently watered, the rainfall being light
and the rivers small. The rivers flow eastward to the Rio Grande. The
climate is hot and dry, and generally healthy. Stock-raising was for a
time the principal industry, but agriculture has been largely developed
in several localities, among the chief products of which are
cotton--Coahuila is the principal cotton-producing state in
Mexico--Indian corn, wheat, beans, sugar and grapes. The Parras district
in the southern part of the state has long been celebrated for its wines
and brandies. The mineral wealth of the state is very great, and the
mining industries, largely operated with foreign capital, are important.
The mineral products include silver, lead, coal, copper, and iron. The
mining operations are chiefly centred in the Sierra Mojada, Sierra
Carmen, and in the Santa Rosa valley. The modern industrial development
of the state is due to the railway lines constructed across it during
the last quarter of the 19th century, and to the investment of foreign
capital in local enterprises. The first Spanish settlement in the region
now called Coahuila was at Saltillo in 1586, when it formed part of the
province of Nueva Viscaya. Later it became the province of Nueva
Estremadura under the Spanish régime, and in 1824, under the new
republican organization, it became the state of Coahuila and included
Texas and Nuevo León. Later in the same year Nuevo León was detached,
but Texas remained a part of the state until 1835. The capital of the
state is Saltillo; Monclova was the capital from 1833 to 1835. Among the
more important towns are Parras (pop. 6476 in 1900), 98 m. W. by N. of
Saltillo in a rich grape-producing district, Ciudad Porfirio Diaz, and
Monclova (pop. 6684 in 1900), 105 m. N. by W. of Saltillo, on the
Mexican International railway.
COAL. In its most general sense the term "coal" includes all varieties
of carbonaceous minerals used as fuel, but it is now usual in England to
restrict it to the particular varieties of such minerals occurring in
the older Carboniferous formations. On the continent of Europe it is
customary to consider coal as divisible into two great classes,
depending upon differences of colour, namely, _brown coal_,
corresponding to the term "lignite" used in England and France, and
_black_ or _stone coal_, which is equivalent to coal as understood in
England. Stone coal is also a local English term, but with a
signification restricted to the substance known by mineralogists as
anthracite. In old English writings the terms pit-coal and sea-coal are
commonly used. These have reference to the mode in which the mineral is
obtained, and the manner in which it is transported to market.
The root _kol_ is common to all the Teutonic nations, while in French
and other Romance languages derivatives of the Latin _carbo_ are used,
e.g. _charbon de terre_. In France and Belgium, however, a peculiar
word, _houille_, is generally used to signify mineral coal. This word is
supposed to be derived from the Walloon _hoie_, corresponding to the
medieval Latin _hullae_. Littré suggests that it may be related to the
Gothic _haurja_, coal. Anthracite is from the Greek [Greek: anthrax],
and the term _lithanthrax_, stone coal, still survives, with the same
meaning, in the Italian _litantrace_.
It must be borne in mind that the signification now attached to the word
coal is different from that which formerly obtained when wood was the
only fuel in general use. Coal then meant the carbonaceous residue
obtained in the destructive distillation of wood, or what is known as
charcoal, and the name collier was applied indifferently to both
coal-miners and charcoal-burners.
The spelling "cole" was generally used up to the middle of the 17th
century, when it was gradually superseded by the modern form, "coal."
The plural, coals, seems to have been used from a very early period to
signify the broken fragments of the mineral as prepared for use.
Physical properties.
Coal is an amorphous substance of variable composition, and therefore
cannot be as strictly defined as a crystallized or definite mineral can.
It varies in colour from a light brown in the newest lignites to a pure
black, often with a bluish or yellowish tint in the more compact
anthracite of the older formations. It is opaque, except in exceedingly
thin slices, such as made for microscopic investigation, which are
imperfectly transparent, and of a dark brown colour by transmitted
light. The streak is black in anthracite, but more or less brown in the
softer varieties. The maximum hardness is from 2.5 to 3 in anthracite
and hard bituminous coals, but considerably less in lignites, which are
nearly as soft as rotten wood. A greater hardness is due to the presence
of earthy impurities. The densest anthracite is often of a semi-metallic
lustre, resembling somewhat that of graphite. Bright, glance or pitch
coal is another brilliant variety, brittle, and breaking into regular
fragments of a black colour and pitchy lustre. Lignite and cannel are
usually dull and earthy, and of an irregular fracture, the latter being
much tougher than the black coal. Some lignites are, however, quite as
brilliant as anthracite; cannel and jet may be turned in the lathe, and
are susceptible of taking a brilliant polish. The specific gravity is
highest in anthracite and lowest in lignite, bituminous coals giving
intermediate values (see TABLE I.). As a rule, the density increases
with the amount of carbon, but in some instances a very high specific
gravity is due to intermixed earthy matters, which are always denser
than even the densest form of coal substance.
Coal is never definitely crystalline, the nearest approach to such a
structure being a compound fibrous grouping resembling that of gypsum or
arragonite, which occurs in some of the steam coals of South Wales, and
is locally known as "cone in cone," but no definite form or arrangement
can be made out of the fibres. Usually it occurs in compact beds of
alternating bright and dark bands in which impressions of leaves, woody
fibre and other vegetable remains are commonly found. There is generally
a tendency in coals towards cleaving into cubical or prismatic blocks,
but sometimes the cohesion between the particles is so feeble that the
mass breaks up into dust when struck. These peculiarities of structure
may vary very considerably within small areas; and the position of the
divisional planes or cleats with reference to the mass, and the
proportion of small coal or slack to the larger fragments when the coal
is broken up by cutting-tools, are points of great importance in the
working of coal on a large scale.
The divisional planes often contain small films of other minerals, the
commonest being calcite, gypsum and iron pyrites, but in some cases
zeolitic minerals and galena have been observed. Salt, in the form of
brine, is sometimes present in coal. Hydrocarbons, such as petroleum,
bitumen, paraffin, &c., are also found occasionally in coal, but more
generally in the associated sandstones and limestones of the
Carboniferous formation. Gases, consisting principally of light
carburetted hydrogen or marsh gas, are often present in considerable
quantity in coal, in a dissolved or occluded state, and the evolution of
these upon exposure to the air, especially when a sudden diminution of
atmospheric pressure takes place, constitutes one of the most formidable
dangers that the coal miner has to encounter.
Classification.
Anthracite.
The classification of the different kinds of coal may be considered from
various points of view, such as their chemical composition, their
behaviour when subjected to heat or when burnt, and their geological
position and origin. They all contain carbon, hydrogen, oxygen and
nitrogen, forming the carbonaceous or combustible portion, and some
quantity of mineral matter, which remains after combustion as a residue
or "ash." As the amount of ash varies very considerably in different
coals, and stands in no relation to the proportion of the other
constituents, it is necessary in forming a chemical classification to
compute the results of analysis after deduction of the ash and
hygroscopic water. Examples of analyses treated in this manner are
furnished in the last column of Table I., from which it will be seen
that the nearest approach to pure carbon is furnished by anthracite,
which contains above 90%. This class of coal burns with a very small
amount of flame, producing intense local heat and no smoke. It is
especially used for drying hops and malt, and in blast furnaces where a
high temperature is required, but it is not suited for reverberatory
furnaces.
Bituminous coals.
The most important class of coals is that generally known as bituminous,
from their property of softening or undergoing an apparent fusion when
heated to a temperature far below that at which actual combustion takes
place. This term is founded on a misapprehension of the nature of the
occurrence, since, although the softening takes place at a low
temperature, still it marks the point at which destructive distillation
commences, and hydrocarbons both of a solid and gaseous character are
formed. That nothing analogous to bitumen exists in coals is proved by
the fact that the ordinary solvents for bituminous substances, such as
bisulphide of carbon and benzol, have no effect upon them, as would be
the case if they contained bitumen soluble in these re-agents. The term
is, however, a convenient one, and one whose use is almost a necessity,
from its having an almost universal currency among coal miners. The
proportion of carbon in bituminous coals may vary from 80 to 90%--the
amount being highest as they approach the character of anthracite, and
least in those which are nearest to lignites. The amount of hydrogen is
from 4½ to 6%, while the oxygen may vary within much wider limits, or
from about 3 to 14%. These variations in composition are attended with
corresponding differences in qualities, which are distinguished by
special names. Thus the semi-anthracitic coals of South Wales are known
as "dry" or "steam coals," being especially valuable for use in marine
steam-boilers, as they burn more readily than anthracite and with a
larger amount of flame, while giving out a great amount of heat, and
practically without producing smoke. Coals richer in hydrogen, on the
other hand, are more useful for burning in open fires--smiths' forges
and furnaces--where a long flame is required.
Gas coal.
The excess of hydrogen in a coal, above the amount necessary to combine
with its oxygen to form water, is known as "disposable" hydrogen, and is
a measure of the fitness of the coal for use in gas-making. This excess
is greatest in what is known as cannel coal, the Lancashire kennel or
candle coal, so named from the bright light it gives out when burning.
This, although of very small value as fuel, commands a specially high
price for gas-making. Cannel is more compact and duller than ordinary
coal, and can be wrought in the lathe and polished.
TABLE I.--_Elementary Composition of Coal_ (the figures denote the amounts per cent).
+----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------+----------------------+
| | Composition |
| | exclusive of Water, |
| | Sulphur and Ash. |
+----------------------------+--------+-------+------+-------+------+------+------+------+-------+------+-------+
| |Specific| |Hydro-| |Nitro-| Sul- | | | |Hydro-| O. |
| Localities. |Gravity.|Carbon.| gen. |Oxygen.| gen. | phur.| Ash. |Water.|Carbon.| gen. | and N.|
+----------------------------+--------+-------+------+-------+------+------+------+------+-------+------+-------+
|_Anthracite._ | | | | | | | | | | | |
| 1. South Wales | 1.392 | 90.39 | 3.28 | 2.98 | 0.83 | 0.91 | 1.61 | 2.00 | 93.54 | 3.39 | 3.82 |
| 2. Pennsylvania | 1.462 | 90.45 | 2.43 | 2.45 | .. | .. | 4.67 | .. | 94.89 | 2.54 | 2.57 |
| 3. Peru | .. | 82.70 | 1.41 | 0.85 |10.35 | 3.75 | 0.94 | 97.34 | 1.66 | 1.00 |
+----------------------------+--------+-------+------+-------+------+------+------+------+-------+------+-------+
|_Bituminous Steam and Coking Coal._ | | | | | | | | | | |
| 4. Risca, South Wales | | 75.49 | 4.73 | 6.78 | 1.21 |10.67 | 1.12 | 86.78 | 5.43 | 7.79 |
| 5. Aberdare, " | .. | 86.80 | 4.25 | 3.06 | 0.83 | 4.40 | 0.66 | 92.24 | 4.51 | 3.25 |
| 6. Hartley, Northumberl'd | .. | 78.65 | 4.65 | 13.36 | 0.55 | 2.49 | .. | 80.67 | 4.76 | 14.5 |
| 7. Dudley, Staffordshire | 1.278 | 78.57 | 5.29 | 12.88 | 1.84 | 0.39 | 1.03 | 1.13 | 79.70 | 5.37 | 14.9 |
| 8. Stranitzen, Styria | .. | 79.90 | 4.85 | 12.75 | 0.64 | 0.20 | 1.66 | .. | 81.45 | 4.92 | 13.63 |
+----------------------------+--------+-------+------+-------+------+------+------+------+-------+------+-------+
|_Cannel or Gas Coal._ | | | | | | | | | | | |
| 9. Wigan, Lancashire | 1.276 | 80.07 | 5.53 | 8.08 | 2.12 | 1.50 | 2.70 | 0.91 | 85.48 | 5.90 | 8.62 |
|10. Boghead, Scotland | .. | 63.10 | 8.91 | 7.25 | 0.96 |19.78 | .. | 79.61 |11.24 | 9.15 |
|11. (Albertite) Nova Scotia | .. | 82.67 | 9.14 | 8.19 | .. | .. | .. | 82.67 | 9.14 | 8.19 |
|12. (Tasmanite) Tasmania | 1.18 | 79.34 |10.41 | 4.93 | 5.32 | .. | .. | 83.80 |10.99 | 5.21 |
+----------------------------+--------+-------+------+-------+------+------+------+------+-------+------+-------+
|_Lignite and Brown Coal._ | | | | | | | | | | | |
|13. Cologne | 1.100 | 63.29 | 4.98 | 26.24 | .. | 8.49 | .. | 66.97 | 5.27 | 27.76 |
|14. Bovey Tracy, Devonshire | .. | 66.31 | 5.63 | 22.86 | 0.57 | 2.36 | 2.36 | .. | 69.53 | 5.90 | 24.57 |
|15. Trifail, Styria | .. | 50.72 | 5.34 | 33.18 | 2.80 | 0.90 | 7.86 | .. | 55.11 | 5.80 | 39.09 |
+----------------------------+--------+-------+------+-------+------+------+------+------+-------+------+-------+
These properties are most highly developed in the substance known as
jet, which is a variety of cannel found in the lower oolitic strata of
Yorkshire, and is almost entirely used for ornamental purposes, the
whole quantity produced near Whitby, together with a further supply from
Spain, being manufactured into articles of jewellery at that town.
Caking coals.
When coal is heated to redness out of contact with the air, the more
volatile constituents, water, hydrogen, oxygen, and nitrogen are in
great part expelled, a portion of the carbon being also volatilized in
the form of hydrocarbons and carbonic oxide,--the greater part, however,
remaining behind, together with all the mineral matter or ash, in the
form of coke, or, as it is also called, "fixed carbon." The proportion
of this residue is greatest in the more anthracitic or drier coals, but
a more valuable product is yielded by those richer in hydrogen. Very
important distinctions--those of caking or non-caking--are founded on
the behaviour of coals when subjected to the process of coking. The
former class undergo an incipient fusion or softening when heated, so
that the fragments coalesce and yield a compact coke, while the latter
(also called free-burning) preserve their form, producing a coke which
is only serviceable when made from large pieces of coal, the smaller
pieces being incoherent and of no value. The caking property is best
developed in coals low in oxygen with 25 to 30% of volatile matters. As
a matter of experience, it is found that caking coals lose that property
when exposed to the action of the air for a lengthened period, or by
heating to about 300° C., and that the dust or slack of non-caking coal
may, in some instances, be converted into a coherent coke by exposing it
suddenly to a very high temperature, or compressing it strongly before
charging it into the oven.
Lignite.
Lignite or brown coal includes all varieties which are intermediate in
properties between wood and coals of the older formations. A coal of
this kind is generally to be distinguished by its brown colour, either
in mass or in the blacker varieties in the streak. The proportion of
carbon is comparatively low, usually not exceeding 70%, while the
oxygen and hygroscopic water are much higher than in true coals. The
property of caking or yielding a coherent coke is usually absent, and
the ash is often very high. The specific gravity is low when not brought
up by an excessive amount of earthy matter. Sometimes it is almost
pasty, and crumbles to powder when dried, so as to be susceptible of use
as a pigment, forming the colour known as Cologne earth, which resembles
umber or sepia. In Nassau and Bavaria woody structure is very common,
and it is from this circumstance that the term lignite is derived. The
best varieties are black and pitchy in lustre, or even bright and
scarcely to be distinguished from true coals. These kinds are most
common in Eastern Europe. Lignites, as a rule, are generally found in
strata of a newer geological age, but there are many instances of
perfect coals being found in such strata.
Ash of coal.
By the term "ash" is understood the mineral matter remaining unconsumed
after the complete combustion of the carbonaceous portion of a coal.
According to Couriot (_Annales de la société géologique de Belgique_,
vol. xxiii. p. 105) the stratified character of the ash may be rendered
apparent in an X-ray photograph of a piece of coal about an inch thick,
when it appears in thin parallel bands, the combustible portion
remaining transparent. It may also be rendered visible if a smooth block
of free-burning coal is allowed to burn away quickly in an open fire,
when the ash remains in thin grey or yellow bands on the surface of the
block. The composition of the ashes of different coals is subject to
considerable variation, as will be seen by Table II.
Sulphur in coal.
The composition of the ash of true coal approximates to that of a
fire-clay, allowance being made for lime, which may be present either as
carbonate or sulphate, and for sulphuric acid. Sulphur is derived mainly
from iron pyrites, which yields sulphates by combustion. An indication
of the character of the ash of a coal is afforded by its colour, white
ash coals being generally freer from sulphur than those containing iron
pyrites, which yield a red ash. There are, however, several striking
exceptions, as for instance in the anthracite from Peru, given in Table
I., which contains more than 10% of sulphur, and yields but a very small
percentage of a white ash. In this coal, as well as in the lignite of
Tasmania, known as white coal or Tasmanite, the sulphur occurs in
organic combination, but is so firmly held that it can only be very
partially expelled, even by exposure to a very high and continued
heating out of contact with the air. An anthracite occurring in
connexion with the old volcanic rocks of Arthur's Seat, Edinburgh, which
contains a large amount of sulphur in proportion to the ash, has been
found to behave in a similar manner. Under ordinary conditions, from 1/8
to ¼ of the whole amount of sulphur in a coal is volatilized during
combustion, the remaining ¾ to 7/8 being found in the ash.
TABLE II.--_Composition of the Ashes of Coals._
+----------------------+-------+--------+--------+-------+---------+-------+---------+----------+--------+
| | | | Ferric | | | |Sulphuric|Phosphoric| |
| |Silica.|Alumina.| Oxide. | Lime. |Magnesia.|Potash.| Acid. | Acid. | Total. |
+----------------------+-------+--------+--------+-------+---------+-------+---------+----------+--------+
| True Coals. | | | | | | | | | |
| Dowlais, South Wales | 39.64 | 39.20 | 11.84 | 1.81 | 2.58 | .. | .. | 3.01 | 98.08 |
| Ebbw Vale, " | 53.00 | 35.01 | .. | 3.94 | 2.20 | .. | 4.89 | 0.88 | 99.92 |
| Königsgrube, Silesia | 55.41 | 18.95 | 16.06 | 3.21 | 1.87 | 2.05 | 1.73 | 0.36 | 99.64 |
| Ohio | 44.60 | 41.10 | 7.40 | 3.61 | 1.28 | 1.82 | 0.59 | 0.29 | 100.69 |
| | | | | | | | | | |
| Lignites. | | | | | | | | | |
| Helmstadt, Saxony | 17.27 | 11.57 | 5.57 | 23.67 | 2.58 | 2.64 | 33.83 | .. | 97.13 |
| Edeléney, Hungary | 36.01 | 23.07 | 5.05 | 15.62 | 3.64 | 2.38 | 12.35 | .. | 98.12 |
+----------------------+-------+--------+--------+-------+---------+-------+---------+----------+--------+
Water in coal.
The amount of water present in freshly raised coals varies very
considerably. It is generally largest in lignites, which may sometimes
contain 30% or even more, while in the coals of the coal measures it
does not usually exceed from 5 to 10%. The loss of weight by exposure to
the atmosphere from drying may be from ½ to ¾ of the total amount of
water contained.
TABLE III.--_Composition of Fuels (assuming Carbon = 100)._
+------------------------------+-------+---------+---------+-----------+
| | | | |Disposable |
| |Carbon.|Hydrogen.| Oxygen. | Hydrogen. |
+------------------------------+-------+---------+---------+-----------+
| Wood | 100 | 12.18 | 83.07 | 1.80 |
| Peat | 100 | 9.85 | 55.67 | 2.89 |
| Lignite | 100 | 8.37 | 42.42 | 3.07 |
| Thick Coal, S. Staffordshire | 100 | 6.12 | 21.23 | 3.47 |
| Hartley Steam Coal | 100 | 5.91 | 18.32 | 3.62 |
| South Wales Steam Coal | 100 | 4.75 | 5.28 | 4.09 |
| American Anthracite | 100 | 2.84 | 1.74 | 2.63 |
+------------------------------+-------+---------+---------+-----------+
Origin of Coal.
Coal is the result of the transformation of woody fibre and other
vegetable matter by the elimination of oxygen and hydrogen in
proportionally larger quantity than carbon, so that the percentage of
the latter element is increased in the manner shown in Table III., given
by J. Percy, the mineral matter being also changed by the removal of
silica and alkalis and the substitution of substances analogous in
composition to fire-clay. The causes and methods of these changes are,
however, not very exactly defined. According to the elaborate researches
of B. Renault (_Bulletin de la Société de l'Industrie minérale_, 3 ser.
vol. xiii. p. 865), the agents of the transformation of cellulose into
peaty substances are saprophytic fungi and bacterial ferments. As the
former are only active in the air while the latter are anaerobic, the
activity of either agent is conditioned by variation in the water level
of the bog. The ultimate term of bacterial activity seems to be the
production of ulmic acid, containing carbon 65.31 and hydrogen 3.85%,
which is a powerful antiseptic. By the progressive elimination of oxygen
and hydrogen, partly as water and partly as carbon dioxide and marsh
gas, the ratios of carbon to oxygen and hydrogen in the rendered product
increase in the following manner:--
C : H C : O
Cellulose 7.2 0.9
Peat 9.8 1.8
Lignite, imperfect 12.2 2.4
" perfect 12.6 3.6
The resulting product is a brown pasty or gelatinous substance which
binds the more resisting parts of the plants into a compact mass. The
same observer considers Boghead coal, kerosene shale and similar
substances used for the production of mineral oils to be mainly
alteration products of gelatinous fresh water algae, which by a nearly
complete elimination of oxygen have been changed to substances
approximating in composition to C2H3 and C3H5, where C : H = 7.98 and C
: O + N = 46.3. In cannel coals the prevailing constituents are the
spores of cryptogamic plants, algae being rare or in many cases absent.
By making very thin sections and employing high magnification (1000-1200
diameters), Renault has been enabled to detect numerous forms of bacilli
in the woody parts preserved in coal, one of which, _Micrococcus carbo_,
bears a strong resemblance to the living _Cladothrix_ found in trees
buried in peat bogs. Clearer evidence of their occurrence has, however,
been found in fragments of wood fossilized by silica or carbonate of
lime which are sometimes met with in coal seams.
The subsequent change of peaty substance into coal is probably due to
geological causes, i.e. chemical and physical processes similar to those
that have converted ordinary sediments into rock masses. Such changes
seem, however, to have been very rapidly accomplished, as pebbles of
completely formed coal are commonly found in the sandstones and coarser
sedimentary strata alternating with the coal seams in many coalfields.
The variation in the composition of coal seams in different parts of the
same basin is a difficult matter to explain. It has been variously
attributed to metamorphism, consequent upon igneous intrusion, earth
movements and other kinds of geothermic action, greater or less loss of
volatile constituents during the period of coaly transformation,
conditioned by differences of permeability in the enclosing rocks, which
is greater for sandstones than for argillaceous strata, and other
causes; but none of these appears to be applicable over more than
limited areas. According to L. Lemière, who has very fully reviewed the
relation of composition to origin in coal seams (_Bulletin de la Société
de l'Industrie minérale_, 4 ser. vol. iv. pp. 851 and 1299, vol. v. p.
273), differences in composition are mainly original, the denser and
more anthracitic varieties representing plant substance which has been
more completely macerated and deprived of its putrescible constituents
before submergence, or of which the deposition had taken place in
shallow water, more readily accessible to atmospheric oxidizing
influences than the deeper areas where conditions favourable to the
elaboration of compounds richer in hydrogen prevailed.
The conditions favourable to the production of coal seem therefore to
have been--forest growth in swampy ground about the mouths of rivers,
and rapid oscillation of level, the coal produced during subsidence
being covered up by the sediment brought down by the river forming beds
of sand or clay, which, on re-elevation, formed the soil for fresh
growths, the alternation being occasionally broken by the deposit of
purely marine beds. We might therefore expect to find coal wherever
strata of estuarine origin are developed in great mass. This is actually
the case; the Carboniferous, Cretaceous and Jurassic systems (qq.v.)
contain coal-bearing strata though in unequal degrees,--the first being
known as the Coal Measures proper, while the others are of small
economic value in Great Britain, though more productive in workable
coals on the continent of Europe. The Coal Measures which form part of
the Palaeozoic or oldest of the three great geological divisions are
mainly confined to the countries north of the equator. Mesozoic coals
are more abundant in the southern hemisphere, while Tertiary coals seem
to be tolerably uniformly distributed irrespective of latitude.
Sequences of carboniferous strata.
The nature of the Coal Measures will be best understood by considering
in detail the areas within which they occur in Britain, together with
the rocks with which they are most intimately associated. The
commencement of the Carboniferous period is marked by a mass of
limestones known as the Carboniferous or Mountain Limestone, which
contains a large assemblage of marine fossils, and has a maximum
thickness in S.W. England and Wales of about 2000 ft. The upper portion
of this group consists of shales and sandstones, known as the Yoredale
Rocks, which are highly developed in the moorland region between
Lancashire and the north side of Yorkshire. These are also called the
Upper Limestone Shale, a similar group being found in places below the
limestone, and called the Lower Limestone Shale, or, in the north of
England, the Tuedian group. Going northward the beds of limestone
diminish in thickness, with a proportional increase in the intercalated
sandstones and shales, until in Scotland they are entirely subordinate
to a mass of coal-bearing strata, which forms the most productive
members of the Scotch coalfields. The next member of the series is a
mass of coarse sandstones, with some slates and a few thin coals, known
as the Millstone Grit, which is about equally developed in England and
in Scotland. In the southern coalfields it is usually known by the
miners' name of "Farewell rock," from its marking the lower limit of
possible coal working. The Coal Measures, forming the third great member
of the Carboniferous series, consist of alternations of shales and
sandstones, with beds of coal and nodular ironstones, which together
make up a thickness of many thousands of feet--from 12,000 to 14,000 ft.
when at the maximum of development. They are divisible into three parts,
the Lower Coal Measures, the middle or Pennant, a mass of sandstone
containing some coals, and the Upper Coal Measures, also containing
workable coal. The latter member is marked by a thin limestone band near
the top, containing _Spirorbis carbonarius_, a small marine univalve.
The uppermost portion of the Coal Measures consists of red sandstone so
closely resembling that of the Permian group, which are next in
geological sequence, that it is often difficult to decide upon the true
line of demarcation between the two formations. These are not, however,
always found together, the Coal Measures being often covered by strata
belonging to the Trias or Upper New Red Sandstone series.
The areas containing productive coal measures are usually known as
coalfields or basins, within which coal occurs in more or less regular
beds, also called seams or veins, which can often be followed over a
considerable length of country without change of character, although,
like all stratified rocks, their continuity may be interrupted by faults
or dislocations, also known as slips, hitches, heaves or troubles.
The thickness of coal seams varies in Great Britain from a mere film to
35 or 40 ft.; but in the south of France and in India masses of coal are
known up to 200 ft. in thickness. These very thick seams are, however,
rarely constant in character for any great distance, being found
commonly to degenerate into carbonaceous shales, or to split up into
thinner beds by the intercalation of shale bands or partings. One of the
most striking examples of this is afforded by the thick or ten-yard seam
of South Staffordshire, which is from 30 to 45 ft. thick in one
connected mass in the neighbourhood of Dudley, but splits up into eight
seams, which, with the intermediate shales and sandstones, are of a
total thickness of 400 ft. in the northern part of the coalfield in
Cannock Chase. Seams of a medium thickness of 3 to 7 ft. are usually the
most regular and continuous in character. Cannel coals are generally
variable in quality, being liable to change into shales or black-band
ironstones within very short horizontal limits. In some instances the
coal seams may be changed as a whole, as for instance in South Wales,
where the coking coals of the eastern side of the basin pass through the
state of dry steam coal in the centre, and become anthracite in the
western side. (H. B.)
Geographical distribution of coalfields.
The most important European coalfields are in Great Britain, Belgium and
Germany. In Great Britain there is the South Welsh field, extending
westward from the march of Monmouthshire to Kidwelly, and northward to
Merthyr Tydfil. A midland group of coalfields extends from south
Lancashire to the West Riding of Yorkshire, the two greatest industrial
districts in the country, southward to Warwickshire and Staffordshire,
and from Nottinghamshire on the east to Flintshire on the west. In the
north of England are the rich field of Northumberland and Durham, and a
lesser field on the coast of Cumberland (Whitehaven, &c.). Smaller
isolated fields are those of the Forest of Dean (Gloucestershire) and
the field on either side of the Avon above Bristol. Coal has also been
found in Kent, in the neighbourhood of Dover. In Scotland coal is worked
at various points (principally in the west) in the Clyde-Forth lowlands.
In Belgium the chief coal-basins are those of Hainaut and Liége. Coal
has also been found in an extension northward from this field towards
Antwerp, while westward the same field extends into north-eastern
France. Coal is widely distributed in Germany. The principal field is
that of the lower Rhine and Westphalia, which centres in the industrial
region of the basin of the Ruhr, a right-bank tributary of the Rhine. In
the other chief industrial region of Germany, in Saxony, Zwickau and
Lugau, are important mining centres. In German Silesia there is a third
rich field, which extends into Austria (Austrian Silesia and Galicia),
for which country it forms the chief home source of supply (apart from
lignite). Part of the same field also lies within Russian territory
(Poland) near the point where the frontiers of the three powers meet.
Both in Germany and in Austria-Hungary the production of lignite is
large--in the first-named especially in the districts about Halle and
Cologne; in the second in north-western Bohemia, Styria and Carniola. In
France the principal coalfield is that in the north-east, already
mentioned; another of importance is the central (Le Creusot, &c.) and a
third, the southern, about the lower course of the Rhone. Coal is pretty
widely distributed in Spain, and occurs in several districts in the
Balkan peninsula. In Russia, besides the Polish field, there is an
important one south of Moscow, and another in the lower valley of the
Donetz, north of the Sea of Azov. The European region poorest in coal
(proportionately to area) is Scandinavia, where there is only one field
of economic value--a small one in the extreme south of Sweden.
In Asia the Chinese coalfields are of peculiar interest. They are widely
distributed throughout China Proper, but those of the province of Shansi
appear to be the richest. Proportionately to their vast extent they have
been little worked. In a modified degree the same is true of the Indian
fields; large supplies are unworked, but in several districts,
especially about Raniganj and elsewhere in Bengal, workings are fully
developed. Similarly in Siberia and Japan there are extensive supplies
unworked or only partially exploited. Those in the neighbourhood of
Semipalatinsk may be instanced in the first case and those in the island
of Yezo in the second. In Japan, however, several smaller fields (e.g.
in the island of Kiushiu) are more fully developed. Coal is worked to
some extent in Sumatra, British North Borneo, and the Philippine
Islands.
In the United States of America the Appalachian mountain system, from
Pennsylvania southward, roughly marks the line of the chief
coal-producing region. This group of fields is followed in importance by
the "Eastern Interior" group in Indiana, Illinois and Kentucky, and the
"Western Interior" group in Iowa, Missouri and Kansas. In Arkansas,
Oklahoma and Texas, and along the line of the Rocky Mountains, extensive
fields occur, producing lignite and bituminous coal. The last-named
fields are continued northward in Canada (Crow's Nest Pass field,
Vancouver Island, &c.). There is also a group of coalfields on the
Atlantic seaboard of the Dominion, principally in Nova Scotia. Coal is
known at several points in Alaska, and there are rich but little worked
deposits in Mexico.
In the southern countries coal-production is insignificant compared with
that in the northern hemisphere. In South America coal is known in
Venezuela, Colombia, Peru, northern Chile, Brazil (chiefly in the
south), and Argentina (Parana, the extreme south of Patagonia, and
Tierra del Fuego), but in no country are the workings extensive. Africa
is apparently the continent poorest in coal, though valuable workings
have been developed at various points in British South Africa, _e.g._ at
Kronstad, &c., in Cape Colony, at Vereeniging, Boksburg and elsewhere in
the Transvaal, in Natal and in Swaziland. Australia possesses fields of
great value, principally in the south-east (New South Wales and
Victoria), and in New Zealand considerable quantities of coal and
lignite are raised, chiefly in South Island.
The following table, based on figures given in the _Journal of the Iron
and Steel Institute_, vol. 72, will give an idea of the coal production
of the world:--
Table IV.
Europe:-- Tons.
United Kingdom 1905 236,128,936
Germany, coal " 121,298,167
" lignite " 52,498,507
France " 35,869,497
Belgium " 21,775,280
Austria, coal " 12,585,263
" lignite " 22,692,076
Hungary, coal 1904 1,031,501
" lignite " 5,447,283
Spain 1905 3,202,911
Russia 1904 19,318,000
Holland " 466,997
Bosnia, lignite 1905 540,237
Rumania " 1903 110,000
Servia 1904 183,204
Italy, coal and lignite 1905 412,916
Sweden " 322,384
Greece, lignite 1904 466,997
Asia:--
India 1905 8,417,739
Japan 1903 10,088,845
Sumatra 1904 207,280
Africa:--
Transvaal 1904 2,409,033
Natal 1905 1,129,407
Cape Colony 1904 154,272
America:--
United States 1905 350,821,000
Canada 1904 7,509,860
Mexico " 700,000
Peru 1905 72,665
Australasia:--
New South Wales 1905 6,632,138
Queensland " 529,326
Victoria " 153,135
Western Australia " 127,364
Tasmania " 51,993
New Zealand " 1,585,756
Coal resources of Great Britain.
The questions, what is the total amount of available coal in the
coalfields of Great Britain and Ireland, and how long it may be expected
to last, have frequently been discussed since the early part of the 19th
century, and particular attention was directed to them after the
publication of Stanley Jevons's book on _The Coal Question_ in 1865. In
1866 a royal commission was appointed to inquire into the subject, and
in its report, issued in 1871, estimated that the coal resources of the
country, in seams of 1 ft. thick and upwards situated within 4000 ft. of
the surface, amounted to 90,207,285,398 tons. A second commission, which
was appointed in 1901 and issued its final report in 1905, taking 4000
ft. as the limit of practicable depth in working and 1 ft. as the
minimum workable thickness, and after making all necessary deductions,
estimated the available quantity of coal in the proved coalfields of the
United Kingdom as 100,914,668,167 tons. Although in the years 1870-1903
the amount raised was 5,694,928,507 tons, this later estimate was higher
by 10,707,382,769 tons than that of the previous commission, the excess
being accounted for partly by the difference in the areas regarded as
productive by the two commissions, and partly by new discoveries and
more accurate knowledge of the coal seams. In addition it was estimated
that in the proved coalfields at depths greater than 4000 ft. there were
5,239,433,980 tons, and that in concealed and unproved fields, at depths
less than 4000 ft. there were 39,483,844,000 tons, together with
854,608,307 tons in that part of the Cumberland coalfield beyond 5 m.
and within 12 m. of high-water mark, and 383,024,000 tons in the South
Wales coalfield under the sea in St Bride's Bay and part of Carmarthen
Bay.
In Table V. below column I. shows the quantity of coal still remaining
unworked in the different coalfields at depths not exceeding 4000 ft.
and in seams not less than 1 ft. thick, as estimated by seven district
commissioners; column II. the total estimated reductions on account of
loss in working due to faults and other natural causes in seams and of
coal required to be left for barriers, support of surface buildings,
&c.; and column III. the estimated net available amount remaining
unworked.
Table V.
+--------------------------+----------------+---------------+----------------+
| Coalfield. | I. | II. | III. |
+--------------------------+----------------+---------------+----------------+
| District A. | | | |
| South Wales | | | |
| and Monmouthshire | 33,443,000,339 | 6,972,003,760 | 26,470,996,579 |
| Somersetshire and part | | | |
| of Gloucestershire | No details | No details | 4,198,301,099 |
| Forest of Dean | 305,928,137 | 47,394,690 | 258,533,447 |
| District B. | | | |
| North Stafford | 5,267,833,074 | 89,782,727 | 4,368,050,347 |
| South Stafford | 1,953,627,435 | 538,179,363 | 1,415,448,072 |
| Warwickshire | 1,448,804,556 | 321,822,653 | 1,126,981,903 |
| Leicestershire | 2,467,583,205 | 642,124,654 | 1,825,458,551 |
| Shropshire | 369,174,620 | 48,180,921 | 320,993,699 |
| District C. | | | |
| Lancashire | 5,349,554,437 | 1,111,046,710 | 4,238,507,727 |
| Cheshire | 358,998,172 | 87,165,901 | 291,832,271 |
| North Wales | 2,513,026,200 | 776,558,371 | 1,736,467,829 |
| District D. | | | |
| Yorkshire | No details | No details | 19,138,006,395 |
| Derby and Notts | No details | No details | 7,360,725,100 |
| District E. | | | |
| Northumberland | 7,040,348,127 | 1,530,722,486 | 5,509,625,641 |
| Cumberland | 2,188,938,830 | 661,230,025 | 1,527,708,805 |
| Durham | 6,607,700,522 | 1,336,584,176 | 5,271,116,346 |
| District F. | | | |
| Scotland | 21,259,767,661 | 5,579,311,305 | 15,681,456,356 |
| District G. | | | |
| Ireland | No details | No details | 174,458,000 |
+--------------------------+----------------+---------------+----------------+
As regards the duration of British coal resources, the commissioners
reported (1905):--
"This question turns chiefly upon the maintenance or the variation of
the annual output. The calculations of the last Coal Commission as to
the future exports and of Mr Jevons as to the future annual
consumption make us hesitate to prophesy how long our coal resources
are likely to last. The present annual output is in round numbers 230
million tons, and the calculated available resources in the proved
coalfields are in round numbers 100,000 million tons, exclusive of the
40,000 million tons in the unproved coalfields, which we have thought
best to regard only as probable or speculative. For the last thirty
years the average increase in the output has been 2½% per annum, and
that in the exports (including bunkers) 4½% per annum. It is the
general opinion of the District Commissioners that owing to physical
considerations it is highly probable that the present rate of increase
of the output of coal can long continue--indeed, they think that some
districts have already attained their maximum output, but that on the
other hand the developments in the newer coalfields will possibly
increase the total output for some years.
In view of this opinion and of the exhaustion of the shallower
collieries we look forward to a time, not far distant, when the rate
of increase of output will be slower, to be followed by a period of
stationary output, and then a gradual decline."
According to a calculation made by P. Frech in 1900, on the basis of the
then rate of production, the coalfields of central France, central
Bohemia, the kingdom of Saxony, the Prussian province of Saxony and the
north of England, would be exhausted in 100 to 200 years, the other
British coalfields, the Waldenburg-Schatzlar and that of the north of
France in 250 years, those of Saarbrücken, Belgium, Aachen and
Westphalia in 600 to 800 years, and those of Upper Silesia in more than
1000 years. (O. J. R. H.; H. M. R.)
_Coal-Mining._
Preliminary trial of coalworkings.
The opening and laying out, or, as it is generally called, "winning," of
new collieries is rarely undertaken without a preliminary examination of
the character of the strata by means of borings, either for the purpose
of determining the number and nature of the coal seams in new ground,
or the position of the particular seam or seams which it is proposed to
work in extensions of known coalfields.
[Illustration: FIG. 1.--Proving by Boreholes.]
The principle of proving a mineral field by boring is illustrated by
fig. 1, which represents a line direct from the dip to the rise of the
field, the inclination of the strata being one in eight. No. 1 bore is
commenced at the dip, and reaches a seam of coal A, at 40 fathoms; at
this depth it is considered proper to remove nearer to the outcrop so
that lower strata may be bored into at a less depth, and a second bore
is commenced. To find the position of No. 2, so as to form a continuous
section, it is necessary to reckon the inclination of the strata, which
is 1 in 8; and as bore No. 1 was 40 fathoms in depth, we multiply the
depth by the rate of inclination, 40 X 8 = 320 fathoms, which gives the
point at which the coal seam A should reach the surface. But there is
generally a certain depth of alluvial cover which requires to be
deducted, and which we call 3 fathoms, then (40 - 3 = 37) X 8 = 296
fathoms; or say 286 fathoms is the distance that the second bore should
be placed to the rise of the first, so as to have, for certain, the seam
of coal A in clear connexion with the seam of coal B. In bore No. 3,
where the seam B, according to the same system of arrangement, should
have been found at or near the surface, another seam C is proved at a
considerable depth, differing in character and thickness from either of
the preceding. This derangement being carefully noted, another bore to
the outcrop on the same principle is put down for the purpose of proving
the seam C; the nature of the strata at first is found to agree with the
latter part of that bored through in No. 3, but immediately on crossing
the dislocation seen in the figure it is changed and the deeper seam D
is found.
The evidence therefore of these bores (3 and 4) indicates some material
derangement, which is then proved by other bores, either towards the dip
or the outcrop, according to the judgment of the borer, so as to
ascertain the best position for sinking pits. (For the methods of boring
see BORING.)
Methods of working.
The working of coal may be conducted either by means of levels or
galleries driven from the outcrop in a valley, or by shafts or pits sunk
from the surface. In the early days of coal-mining, open working, or
quarrying from the outcrop of the seams, was practised to a considerable
extent; but there are now few if any places in England where this can be
done. In 1873 there could be seen, in the thick coal seams of Bengal,
near Raniganj, a seam about 50 ft. thick laid bare, over an area of
several acres, by stripping off a superficial covering varying from 10
to 30 ft., in order to remove the whole of the coal without loss by
pillars. Such a case, however, is quite exceptional. The operations by
which the coal is reached and laid out for removal are known as
"winning," the actual working or extraction of the coal being termed
"getting." In fig. 2 A B is a cross cut level, by which the seams of
coal 1 and 2 are won, and C D a vertical shaft by which the seams 1, 2
and 3 are won. When the field is won by the former method, the coal
lying above the level is said to be "level-free." The mode of winning by
level is of less general application than that by shafts, as the
capacity for production is less, owing to the smaller size of roadways
by which the coal must be brought to the surface, levels of large
section being expensive and difficult to keep open when the mine has
been for some time at work. Shafts, on the other hand, may be made of
almost any capacity, owing to the high speed in drawing which is
attainable with proper mechanism, and allow of the use of more perfect
arrangements at the surface than can usually be adopted at the mouth of
a level on a hill-side. A more cogent reason, however, is to be found in
the fact that the principal coalfields are in flat countries, where the
coal can only be reached by vertical sinking.
Sinking of shafts.
Tubbing.
The methods adopted in driving levels for collieries are generally
similar to those adopted in other mines. The ground is secured by
timbering, or more usually by arching in masonry or brick-work. Levels
like that in fig. 2, which are driven across the stratification, or
generally anywhere not in coal, are known as "stone drifts." The sinking
of colliery shafts, however, differs considerably from that of other
mines, owing to their generally large size, and the difficulties that
are often encountered from water during the sinking. The actual coal
measure strata, consisting mainly of shales and clays, are generally
impervious to water, but when strata of a permeable character are sunk
through, such as the magnesian limestone of the north of England, the
Permian sandstones of the central counties, or the chalk and greensand
in the north of France and Westphalia, special methods are required in
order to pass the water-bearing beds, and to protect the shaft and
workings from the influx of water subsequently. Of these methods one of
the chief is the plan of tubbing, or lining the excavation with an
impermeable casing of wood or iron, generally the latter, built up in
segments forming rings, which are piled upon each other throughout the
whole depth of the water-bearing strata. This method necessitates the
use of very considerable pumping power during the sinking, as the water
has to be kept down in order to allow the sinkers to reach a water-tight
stratum upon which the foundation of the tubbing can be placed. This
consists of a heavy cast iron ring, known as a wedging crib, or curb,
also fitted together in segments, which is lodged in a square-edged
groove cut for its reception, tightly caulked with moss, and wedged into
position. Upon this the tubbing is built up in segments, of which
usually from 10 to 12 are required for the entire circumference, the
edges being made perfectly true. The thickness varies according to the
pressure expected, but may be taken at from ¾ to 1½ in. The inner face
is smooth, but the back is strengthened with angle brackets at the
corners. A small hole is left in the centre of each segment, which is
kept open during the fitting to prevent undue pressure upon any one, but
is stopped as soon as the circle is completed. In the north of France
and Belgium wooden tubbings, built of polygonal rings, were at one time
in general use. The polygons adopted were of 20 or more sides
approximating to a circular form.
[Illustration: FIG. 2.--Shaft and Level.]
Pneumatic sinking.
The second principal method of sinking through water-bearing ground is
by compressed air. The shaft is lined with a cylinder of wrought iron,
within which a tubular chamber, provided with doors above and below,
known as an air-lock, is fitted by a telescopic joint, which is tightly
packed so as to close the top of the shaft air-tight. Air is then forced
into the inclosed space by means of a compressing engine, until the
pressure is sufficient to oppose the flow of water into the excavation,
and to drive out any that may collect in the bottom of the shaft through
a pipe which is carried through the air-sluice to the surface. The
miners work in the bottom in the same manner as divers in an ordinary
diving-bell. Access to the surface is obtained through the double doors
of the air-sluice, the pressure being reduced to that of the external
atmosphere when it is desired to open the upper door, and increased to
that of the working space below when it is intended to communicate with
the sinkers, or to raise the stuff broken in the bottom. This method has
been adopted in various sinkings on the continent of Europe.
Shaft boring.
The third method of sinking through water-bearing strata is that of
boring, adopted by Messrs Kind & Chaudron in Belgium and Germany. For
this purpose a horizontal bar armed with vertical cutting chisels is
used, which cuts out the whole section of the shaft simultaneously. In
the first instance, a smaller cutting frame is used, boring a hole from
3 to 5 ft. in diameter, which is kept some 50 or 60 ft. in advance, so
as to receive the detritus, which is removed by a shell pump of large
size. The large trepan or cutter weighs about 16 tons, and cuts a hole
of from 9 to 15 ft. in diameter. The water-tight lining may be either a
wrought iron tube, which is pressed down by jack screws as the borehole
advances, or cast iron tubbing put together in short complete rings, in
contradistinction to the old plan of building them up of segments. The
tubbing, which is considerably less in diameter than the borehole, is
suspended by rods from the surface until a bed suitable for a foundation
is reached, upon which a sliding length of tube, known as the moss box,
bearing a shoulder, which is filled with dried moss, is placed. The
whole weight of the tubbing is made to bear on the moss, which squeezes
outwards, forming a completely water-tight joint. The interval between
the back of the tubbing and the sides of the borehole is then filled up
with concrete, which on setting fixes the tubbing firmly in position.
With increase in depth, however, the thickness and weight of the cast
iron tubbing in a large shaft become almost unmanageable; in one
instance, at a depth of 1215 ft., the bottom rings in a shaft 14½ ft. in
diameter are about 4 in. thick, which is about the limit for sound
castings. It has therefore been proposed, for greater depths, to put
four columns of tubbings of smaller diameters, 8½ and 5½ ft., in the
shaft, and fill up the remainder of the boring with concrete, so that
with thinner and lighter castings a greater depth may be reached. This,
however, has not as yet been tried. Another extremely useful method of
sinking through water-bearing ground, introduced by Messrs A. & H. T.
Poetsch in 1883, and originally applied to shafts passing through
quicksands above brown coal seams, has been applied with advantage in
opening new pits through the secondary and tertiary strata above the
coal measures in the north of France and Belgium, some of the most
successful examples being those at Lens, Anzin and Vicq, in the north of
France basin. In this system the soft ground or fissured water-bearing
rock is rendered temporarily solid by freezing the contained water
within a surface a few feet larger in diameter than the size of the
finished shaft, so that the ground may be broken either by hand tools or
blasting in the same manner as hard rock. The miners are protected by
the frozen wall, which may be 4 or 5 ft. thick. The freezing is effected
by circulating brine (calcium chloride solution) cooled to 5° F. through
a series of vertical pipes closed at the bottom, contained in boreholes
arranged at equal distances apart around the space to be frozen, and
carried down to a short distance below the bottom of the ground to be
secured. The chilled brine enters through a central tube of small
diameter, passes to the bottom of the outer one and rises through the
latter to the surface, each system of tubes being connected above by a
ring main with the circulating pumps. The brine is cooled in a tank
filled with spiral pipes, in which anhydrous ammonia, previously
liquefied by compression, is vaporized _in vacuo_ at the atmospheric
temperature by the sensible heat of the return-current of brine, whose
temperature has been slightly raised in its passage through the
circulating tubes. When hard ground is reached, a seat is formed for the
cast iron tubbing, which is built up in the usual way and concreted at
the back, a small quantity of caustic soda being sometimes used in
mixing the concrete to prevent freezing. In an application of this
method at Vicq, two shafts of 12 and 16.4 ft. diameter, in a covering of
cretaceous strata, were frozen to a depth of 300 ft. in fifty days, the
actual sinking and lining operations requiring ninety days more. The
freezing machines were kept at work for 200 days, and 2191 tons of coal
were consumed in supplying steam for the compressors and circulating
pumps.
The introduction of these special methods has considerably simplified
the problem of sinking through water-bearing strata. Some of the earlier
sinkings of this kind, when pumps had to be depended on for keeping down
the water, were conducted at great cost, as, for instance, at South
Hetton, and more recently Ryhope, near Sunderland, through the magnesian
limestone of Durham.
Size of shafts.
The size and form of colliery shafts vary in different districts. In the
United States and Scotland rectangular pits secured by timber framings
are still common, but the tendency is now generally to make them round,
20 ft. being about the largest diameter employed. In the Midland
counties, from 7 to 9 ft. is a very common size, but larger dimensions
are adopted where a large production is required. Since the accident at
Hartley colliery in 1862, caused by the breaking of the pumping-engine
beam, which fell into the shaft and blocked it up, whereby the whole of
the men then at work in the mine were starved to death, it has been made
compulsory upon mine-owners in the United Kingdom to have two pits for
each working, in place of the single one divided by walls or brattices
which was formerly thought sufficient. The use of two independent
connexions--whether separate pits or sections of the same pit, between
the surface and the workings--is necessary for the service of the
ventilation, fresh air from the surface being carried down one, known as
the "downcast," while the foul or return air of the mine rises through
the other or "upcast" pit back to the surface. In a heavily-watered mine
it is often necessary to establish a special engine-pit, with pumps
permanently fixed, or a division of one of the pits may be devoted to
this purpose. The pumps, placed close to the point where the water
accumulates, may be worked by an engine on the surface by means of heavy
reciprocating rods which pass down the shaft, or by underground motors
driven by steam, compressed air or electricity.
Where the water does not accumulate very rapidly it is a common practice
to allow it to collect in a pit or sump below the working bottom of the
shaft, and to draw it off in a water tub or "hoppet" by the main engine,
when the latter is not employed in raising coal.
Laying out workings.
The laying out of a colliery, after the coal has been won, by sinkings
or levels, may be accomplished in various ways, according to the nature
of the coal, its thickness and dip, and the extent of ground to be
worked. In the South Staffordshire and other Midland coalfields, where
only shallow pits are required, and the coals are thick, a pair of pits
may be sunk for a very few acres, while in the North of England, on the
other hand, where sinking is expensive, an area of some thousands of
acres may be commanded from the same number of pits. In the latter case,
which represents the most approved practice, the sinking is usually
placed about the centre of the ground, so that the workings may radiate
in every direction from the pit bottom, with the view of employing the
greatest number of hands to advantage. Where a large area cannot be
commanded, it is best to sink to the lowest point of the field for the
convenience of drawing the coal and water which become level-free in
regard to the pit. Where properties are much divided, it is always
necessary to maintain a thick barrier of unwrought coal between the
boundary of the mine and the neighbouring workings, especially if the
latter are to the dip. If a prominent line of fault crosses the area it
may usually be a convenient division of the fields into sections or
districts. The first process in laying out the workings consists in
driving a gallery on the level along the course of the coal seam, which
is known as a "dip head level," and a lower parallel one, in which the
water collects, known as a "lodgment level." Galleries driven at right
angles to these are known as a "dip" or "rise headings," according to
their position above or below the pit bottom. In Staffordshire the main
levels are also known as "gate roads." To secure the perpendicularity
of the shaft, it is necessary to leave a large mass or pillar of the
seam untouched around the pit bottom. This pillar is known in Scotland
as the "pit bottom stoop." The junction of the levels with the pit is
known as the "pit eye"; it is usually of an enlarged section, and lined
with masonry or brick-work, so as to afford room for handling the wagons
or trams of coal brought from the working faces. In this portion of the
pit are generally placed the furnaces for ventilation, and the boilers
required for working steam engines underground, as well as the stables
and lamp cabin.
Method of working coal.
Pillar working.
The removal of the coal after the roads have been driven may be effected
in many different ways, according to the custom of the district. These
may, however, all be considered as modifications of two systems, viz.
pillar work and long-wall work. In the former which is also known as
"post and stall" or "bord and pillar" in the north of England, "pillar
and stall" in South Wales, and "stoop and room" in Scotland, the field
is divided into strips by numerous openings driven parallel to the main
rise headings, called "bords" or "bord gates," which are again divided
by cutting through them at intervals, so as to leave a series of pillars
arranged chequer-wise over the entire area. These pillars are left for
the support of the roof as the workings advance, so as to keep the mine
open and free from waste. In the oldest form of this class of working,
where the size of the pillar is equal to the width of the stall or
excavation, about ¾ of the whole seam will be removed, the remainder
being left in the pillars. A portion of this may be got by the process
known as robbing the pillars, but the coal so obtained is liable to be
very much crushed from the pressure of the superincumbent strata. This
crushing may take place either from above or below, producing what are
known as "creeps" or "sits."
[Illustration: FIG 3.--"Creeps" in Coal-Mines.]
A coal seam with a soft pavement and a hard roof is the most subject to
a "creep." The first indication is a dull hollow sound heard when
treading on the pavement or floor, probably occasioned by some of the
individual layers parting from each other as shown at a fig. 3; the
succeeding stages of creep are shown at b, c, d, f, and g, in the same
figure; the last being the final stage, when the coal begins to sustain
the pressure from the overlying strata, in common with the disturbed
pavement.
[Illustration: FIG. 4.--"Sits" in Mines.]
"Sits" are the reverse of creeps; in the one case the pavement is forced
up, and in the other the roof is forced or falls down, for want of
proper support or tenacity in itself. This accident generally arises
from an improper size of pillars; some roofs, however, are so difficult
to support that sits take place where the half of the coal is left in
pillars. Fig. 4 will convey a general idea of the appearance of
sits,--k, m, n showing different stages.
[Illustration: FIG. 5.--Pillar Working.]
The modern method of pillar working is shown in fig. 5. In the
Northumberland steam coal district, where it is carried out in the most
perfect manner, the bords are 5 to 6 yds. in width, while the pillars
are 22 yds. broad and 30 yds. long, which are subsequently got out on
coming back. In the same figure is also shown the method of working
whole coal and pillars at the same time, a barrier of two or three
ranges of pillars or a rib of solid coal being left between the working
in the solid and those in the pillars. The space from which the entire
quantity of coal has been removed is known in different districts as the
"goaf," "gob," or "waste."
[Illustration: FIG. 6.--Lancashire method of working Coal.]
Fig. 6 represents the Lancashire system of pillar working. The area is
laid out by two pairs of level drifts, parallel to each other, about 150
yds. apart, which are carried to the boundary. About 100 yds. back from
the boundary a communication is made between these levels, from which
other levels are driven forward, dividing the coal into ribs of about 25
or 30 yds. wide, which are then cut back by taking off the coal in
slices from the level towards the rise in breadths of about 6 yds. By
this method the whole of the coal is got backwards, the main roads being
kept in solid coal; the intermediate levels not being driven till they
are wanted, a greater amount of support is given, and the pillars are
less crushed than is usual in pillar working.
In the South Wales system of working, cross headings are driven from the
main roads obliquely across the rise to get a sufficiently easy gradient
for horse roads, and from these the stalls are opened out with a narrow
entrance, in order to leave support on either side of the road, but
afterwards widening to as great a breadth as the seam will allow,
leaving pillars of a minimum thickness. The character of such workings
is very irregular in plan, and as the ventilation is attended with
considerable difficulty, it is now becoming generally superseded by more
improved methods.
[Illustration: FIG. 7.--Long-wall method of working Coal in Derbyshire.]
Long-wall working.
South Yorkshire method.
The second great principle of working is that known as long-wall or
long-work, in which the coal is taken away either in broad faces from
roads about 40 or 50 yds. apart and parallel to each other, or along
curved faces between roads radiating from the pit bottom--the essential
feature in both cases being the removal of the whole of the coal at
once, without first sub-dividing it into pillars, to be taken away at a
second working. The roof is temporarily supported by wooden props or
pack walling of stone, for a sufficient breadth along the face to
protect the workmen, and allow them to work together behind. The general
character of a long-wall working is shown in fig. 7, which represents an
area of about 500 acres of the bottom hard steam coal at Shipley in
Derbyshire. The principal road extends from the shafts southward; and on
both sides of it the coal has been removed from the light-shaded area by
cutting it back perpendicularly towards the boundaries, along faces
about 50 yds. in length, those nearest to the shaft being kept in
advance of those farther away, producing a step-shaped outline to the
face of the whole coal. It will be seen that by this method the whole of
the seam, with the exception of the pillars left to protect the main
roadways, is removed. The roads for drawing the coal from the working
faces to the shaft are kept open by walling through the waste or goaf
produced by the fall of the unsupported roof. The straight roads are the
air-ways for carrying pure air from the down-cast shaft to the working
faces, while the return air passes along the faces and back to the
up-cast by the curved road. The above is the method of working long-wall
forward, i.e. taking the coal in advance from the pit towards the
boundary, with roads kept open through the gob. Another method consists
in driving towards the boundary, and taking the coal backward towards
the shafts, or working homeward, allowing the waste to close up without
roads having to be kept open through it. This is of course preferable,
but is only applicable where the owner of the mine can afford to expend
the capital required to reach the limit of the field in excess of that
necessary when the raising of coal proceeds _pari passu_ with the
extension of the main roads. Fig. 6 is substantially a modification of
this kind of long-wall work. Fig. 8 represents a method of working
practised in the South Yorkshire district, known as bords and banks. The
field is divided by levels and headings into rectangular banks, while
from the main levels bords or wickets about 30 yds. wide, separated from
each other by banks of about the same width, are carried forward in
long-wall work, as shown on the left side of the figure, the waste being
carefully packed behind so as to secure the ventilation. When these have
been worked up to the extremity, as shown on the right side, the
intermediate bank is removed by working backward towards the level. This
system, therefore, combines both methods of long-wall working, but it is
not generally applicable, owing to the difficulty of ventilation, due
to the great length of air-way that has to be kept open around the waste
on each bank.
The relative advantages of the different methods may be generally stated
as follows. Long-wall work is best suited for thin coals, and those
having a good roof, i.e. one that gives way gradually and fills up the
excavation made by removing the coal without scaling off suddenly and
falling into the working faces, when practically the whole of the coal
may be removed. Against these advantages must be placed the difficulties
attending the maintenance of roads through the goaves, and in some cases
the large proportion of slack to round or large coal obtained. Pillar
working, in the whole coal, is generally reputed to give a more
advantageous proportion of round coal to slack, the latter being more
abundantly produced on the removal of the pillars, but as these form
only a small portion of the whole seam, the general yield is more
advantageous than in the former method. The ventilation of pillar
working is often attended with difficulty, and the coal is longer
exposed to the influence of the air, a point of importance in some
coals, which deteriorate in quality when exposed to a hot damp
atmosphere. The great increase in the size of the pillars in the best
modern collieries worked upon this principle has, however, done much to
approximate the two systems to an equality in other respects.
Where the whole of the coal is removed at once there is less chance of
surface damage, when the mines are deep, than with pillar workings. A
notable instance of this was afforded at Newstead, Notts, where the
ruined front of Newstead Abbey was lowered several feet without any
injury to the structure.
[Illustration: FIG. 8.--Bords and Banks.]
Working thick seams.
The working of very thick seams presents certain special peculiarities,
owing to the difficulties of supporting the roof in the excavated
portions, and supplying fresh air to the workings. The most typical
example of this kind of working in England is afforded by the thick coal
of South Staffordshire, which consists of a series of closely associated
coal seams, varying from 8 to 12 or 13, divided from each other by their
partings, but making together one great bed of from 25 to 40 ft. or more
in thickness. The partings together do not amount to more than 2 or 3
ft. The method of working which has been long in use is represented in
fig. 9. The main level or gate road is driven in the benches coal, or
lower part of the seam, while a smaller drift for ventilation, called an
air heading, is carried above it in one of the upper beds called the
slipper coal. From the gate road a heading called a bolt-hole is opened,
and extended into a large rectangular chamber, known as a "side of
work," large pillars being left at regular intervals, besides smaller
ones or cogs. The order in which the coal is cut is shown in the dotted
and numbered squares in the figure. The coal is first cut to the top of
the slipper coal from below, after which the upper portion is either
broken down by wedging or falls of itself. The working of these upper
portions is exceedingly dangerous, owing to the great height of the
excavations, and fatal accidents from falls of roof are in consequence
more common in South Staffordshire than in any other coalfield in this
country. The air from the down-cast shaft enters from the gate road, and
passes to the up-cast through the air heading above. About one-half of
the total coal (or less) is obtained in the first working; the roof is
then allowed to fall, and when the gob is sufficiently consolidated,
fresh roads are driven through it to obtain the ribs and pillars left
behind by a second or even, in some cases, a third working. The loss of
coal by this method is very considerable, besides great risk to life and
danger from fire. It has, therefore, been to some extent superseded by
the long-wall method, the upper half being taken at the first working,
and removed as completely as possible, working backwards from the
boundaries to the shaft. The lower half is then taken in the same
manner, after the fallen roof has become sufficiently consolidated to
allow the mine to be re-opened.
[Illustration: FIG. 9.--South Staffordshire method of working Thick
Coal.]
In the working of thick seams inclined at a high angle, such as those in
the south of France, and in the lignite mines of Styria and Bohemia, the
method of working in horizontal slices, about 12 or 15 ft. thick, and
filling up the excavation with broken rock and earth from the surface,
is now generally adopted in preference to the systems formerly used. At
Monceaux les Mines, in France, a seam 40 ft. thick, and dipping at an
angle of 20°, is worked in the following manner. A level is driven in a
sandstone forming the floor, along the course of the coal, into which
communications are made by cross cuts at intervals of 16 yds., which are
driven across to the roof, dividing up the area to be worked into
panels. These are worked backwards, the coal being taken to a height of
20 ft., the opening being packed up with stone sent down from the
surface. As each stage is worked out, the floor level is connected with
that next below it by means of an incline, which facilitates the
introduction of the packing material. Stuff containing a considerable
amount of clay is found to be the best suited for the purpose of
filling, as it consolidates readily under pressure.
In France and Germany the method of filling the space left by the
removal of the coal with waste rock, quarried underground or sent down
from the surface, which was originally used in connexion with the
working of thick inclined seams by the method of horizontal slices, is
now largely extended to long-wall workings on thin seams, and in
Westphalia is made compulsory where workings extend below surface
buildings, and safety pillars of unwrought coal are found to be
insufficient. With careful packing it is estimated that the surface
subsidence will not exceed 40% of the thickness of the seam removed, and
will usually be considerably less. The material for filling may be the
waste from earlier workings stored in the spoil banks at the surface;
where there are blast furnaces in the neighbourhood, granulated slag
mixed with earth affords excellent packing. In thick seams packing adds
about 5d. per ton to the cost of the coal, but in thinner seams the
advantage is on the other side.
In some anthracite collieries in America the small coal or culm and
other waste are washed into the exhausted workings by water which gives
a compact mass filling the excavation when the water has drained away. A
modification of this method, which originated in Silesia, is now
becoming of importance in many European coalfields. In this the filling
material, preferably sand, is sent down from the surface through a
vertical steel pipe mixed with sufficient water to allow it to flow
freely through distributing pipes in the levels commanding the
excavations to be filled; these are closed at the bottom by screens of
boards sufficiently close to retain the packing material while allowing
the water to pass by the lower level to the pumping-engine which returns
it to the surface.
[Illustration: FIG. 10.--Long-wall working-face--Plan and Section.]
Methods of cutting coal.
The actual cutting of the coal is chiefly performed by manual labour,
the tool employed being a sharp-pointed double-armed pick, which is
nearly straight, except when required for use in hard rock, when the
arms are made with an inclination or "anchored." The terms pike, pick,
mandril and slitter are applied to the collier's pick in different
districts, the men being known as pikemen or hewers. In driving levels
it is necessary to cut grooves vertically parallel to the walls, a
process known as shearing; but the most important operation is that
known as holing or kirving, which consists in cutting a notch or groove
in the floor of the seam to a depth of about 3 ft., measured back from
the face, so as to leave the overhanging part unsupported, which then
either falls of its own accord within a few hours, or is brought down
either by driving wedges along the top, or by blasting. The process of
holing in coal is one of the severest kinds of human labour. It has to
be performed in a constrained position, and the miner lying on his side
has to cut to a much greater height, in order to get room to carry the
groove in to a sufficient depth, than is required to bring the coal
down, giving rise to a great waste in slack as compared with machine
work. This is sometimes obviated by holing in the beds below the coal,
or in any portion of a seam of inferior quality that may not be worth
working. This loss is proportionately greater in thin than in thick
seams, the same quantity being cut to waste in either case. The method
of cutting coal on the long-wall system is seen in fig. 10, representing
the working at the Shipley colliery. The coal is 40 in. thick, with a
seam of fire-clay and a roof of black shale; about 6 in. of the upper
part, known as the roof coal, not being worth working, is left behind. A
groove of triangular section of 30 in. base and 9 in. high is cut along
the face, inclined timber props being placed at intervals to support the
overhanging portion until the required length is cut. These are then
removed, and the coal is allowed to fall, wedges or blasting being
employed when necessary. The roof of the excavation is supported as the
coal is removed, by packing up the waste material, and by a double row
of props, 2 ft. from each other, placed temporarily along the face.
These are placed 5 ft. apart, the props of the back row alternating with
those in front. The props used are preferably of small oak or English
larch, but large quantities of fir props, cut to the right length, are
also imported from the north of Europe. As the work proceeds onwards,
the props are withdrawn and replaced in advance, except those that may
be crushed by the pressure or buried by sudden falls of the roof.
In Yorkshire hollow square pillars, formed by piling up short blocks of
wood or chocks, are often used instead of props formed of a single stem.
In securing the roof and sides of coal workings, malleable iron and
steel are now used to some extent instead of timber, although the
consumption of the latter material is extremely large. As a substitute
for timber props at the face, pieces of steel joists, with the web cut
out for a short distance on either end, with the flanges turned back to
give a square bearing surface, have been introduced. In large levels
only the cap pieces for the roof are made of steel joists, but in
smaller ones complete arches made of pieces of rails fish-jointed at the
crown are used. In another system introduced by the Mannesmann Tube
Company the prop is made up of weldless steel tubes sliding
telescopically one within the other, which are fixed at the right height
by a screw clamp capable of carrying a load of 15 to 16 tons. These can
be most advantageously used on thick seams 6 to 10 ft. or upwards. For
shaft linings steel rings of H or channel section supported by
intermediate struts are also used, and cross-bearers or buntons of steel
joists and rail guides are now generally substituted for wood.
When the coal has been under-cut for a sufficient length, the struts are
withdrawn, and the overhanging mass is allowed to fall during the time
that the workmen are out of the pit, or it may be brought down by
driving wedges, or if it be of a compact character a blast in a borehole
near the roof may be required. Sometimes, but rarely, it happens that it
is necessary to cut vertical grooves in the face to determine the limit
of the fall, such limits being usually dependent upon the cleet or
divisional planes in the coal, especially when the work is carried
perpendicular to them or on the end.
Coal-cutting machines.
The substitution of machinery for hand labour in cutting coal has long
been a favourite problem with inventors, the earliest plan being that of
Michael Meinzies, in 1761, who proposed to work a heavy pick underground
by power transmitted from an engine at the surface, through the agencies
of spear-rods and chains passing over pulleys; but none of the methods
suggested proved to be practically successful until the general
introduction of compressed air into mines furnished a convenient motive
power, susceptible of being carried to considerable distances without
any great loss of pressure. This agent has been applied in various ways,
in machines which either imitate the action of the collier by cutting
with a pick or make a groove by rotating cutters attached to an endless
chain or a revolving disk or wheel. The most successful of the first
class, or pick machines, that of William Firth of Sheffield, consists
essentially of a horizontal pick with two cutting arms placed one
slightly in advance of the other, which is swung backwards and forwards
by a pair of bell crank levers actuated by a horizontal cylinder engine
mounted on a railway truck. The weight is about 15 cwt. At a working
speed of 60 yds. per shift of 6 hours, the work done corresponds to that
of twelve average men. The width of the groove cut is from 2 to 3 in. at
the face, diminishing to 1½ in. at the back, the proportion of waste
being very considerably diminished as compared with the system of holing
by hand. The use of this machine has allowed a thin seam of cannel, from
10 to 14 in. in thickness, to be worked at a profit, which had formerly
been abandoned as too hard to be worked by hand-labour. Pick machines
have also been introduced by Jones and Levick, Bidder, and other
inventors, but their use is now mostly abandoned in favour of those
working continuously.
In the Gartsherrie machine of Messrs Baird, the earliest of the flexible
chain cutter type, the chain of cutters works round a fixed frame or jib
projecting at right angles from the engine carriage, an arrangement
which makes it necessary to cut from the end of the block of coal to
the full depth, instead of holing into it from the face. The forward
feed is given by a chain winding upon a drum, which hauls upon a pulley
fixed to a prop about 30 yds. in advance. This is one of the most
compact forms of machine, the smaller size being only 20 in. high. With
an air pressure of from 35 to 40 lb. per sq. in., a length of from 300
to 350 ft. of coal is holed, 2 ft. 9 in. deep, in the shift of from 8 to
10 hours. The chain machine has been largely developed in America in the
Jeffrey, Link Bell, and Morgan Gardner coal cutters. These are similar
in principle to the Baird machine, the cutting agent being a flat link
chain carrying a double set of chisel points, which are drawn across the
coal face at the rate of about 5 ft. per second; but, unlike the older
machines, in which the cutting is done in a fixed plane, the chain with
its motor is made movable, and is fed forward by a rack-and-pinion
motion as the cutting advances, so that the cut is limited in breadth
(3½ to 4 ft.), while its depth may be varied up to the maximum travel (8
ft.) of the cutting frame. The carrying frame, while the work is going
on, is fixed in position by jack-screws bearing against the roof of the
seam, which, when the cut is completed, are withdrawn, and the machine
shifted laterally through a distance equal to the breadth of the cut and
fixed in position again. The whole operation requires from 8 to 10
minutes, giving a cutting speed of 120 to 150 sq. ft. per hour. These
machines weigh from 20 to 22 cwt., and are mostly driven by electric
motors of 25 up to 35 h.p. as a maximum. By reason of their intermittent
action they are only suited for use in driving galleries or in
pillar-and-stall workings.
[Illustration: FIG. 11.--Winstanly & Barker's Coal-cutting
Machine--Plan.]
A simple form of the saw or spur wheel coal-cutting machine is that of
Messrs Winstanly & Barker (fig. 11), which is driven by a pair of
oscillating engines placed on a frame running on rails in the usual way.
The crank shaft carries a pinion which gears into a toothed wheel of a
coarse pitch, carrying cutters at the ends of the teeth. This wheel is
mounted on a carrier which, being movable about its centre by a screw
gearing worked by hand, gives a radial sweep to the cutting edges. When
at work it is slowly turned until the carrier is at right angles to the
frame, when the cut has attained the full depth. The forward motion is
given by a chain winding upon a crab placed in front, by which it is
hauled slowly forward. With 25 lb pressure it will hole 3 ft. deep, at
the rate of 30 yds. per hour, the cut being only 2¾ in. high, but it
will only work on one side of the carriage. This type has been greatly
improved and now is the most popular machine in Great Britain,
especially in long-wall workings. W. E. Garforth's Diamond coal cutter,
one of the best known, undercuts from 5½ to 6 ft. In some instances
electric motors have been substituted for compressed-air engines in such
machines.
Another class of percussive coal-cutters of American origin is
represented by the Harrison, Sullivan and Ingersoll-Sergeant machines,
which are essentially large rock-drills without turning gear for the
cutting tool, and mounted upon a pair of wheels placed so as to allow
the tool to work on a forward slope. When in use the machine is placed
upon a wooden platform inclining towards the face, upon which the miner
lies and controls the direction of the blow by a pair of handles at the
back of the machine, which is kept stationary by wedging the wheels
against a stop on the platform. These machines, which are driven by
compressed air, are very handy in use, as the height and direction of
the cut may be readily varied; but the work is rather severe to the
driver on account of the recoil shock of the piston, and an assistant is
necessary to clear out the small coal from the cut, which limits the
rate of cutting to about 125 sq. ft. per hour.
Coal-wedging machines.
Another kind of application of machinery to coal mining is that of
Messrs Bidder & Jones, which is intended to replace the use of blasting
for bringing down the coal. It consists of a small hydraulic press,
which forces a set of expanding bits or wedges into a bore-hole
previously bored by a long screw augur or drill, worked by hand, the
action of the press being continued until a sufficient strain is
obtained to bring down the coal. The arrangement is, in fact, a
modification of the plug and feather system used in stone quarrying for
obtaining large blocks, but with the substitution of the powerful
rending force of the hydraulic press for hand-power in driving up the
wedges. This apparatus has been used at Harecastle in North
Staffordshire, and found to work well, but with the disadvantage of
bringing down the coal in unmanageably large masses. A method of wedging
down coal sufficiently perfected to be of general application would add
greatly to the security of colliers.
Underground conveyance.
The removal of the coal broken at the working face to the pit bottom may
in small mines be effected by hand labour, but more generally it is done
by horse or mechanical traction, upon railways, the "trams" or "tubs,"
as the pit wagons are called, being where possible brought up to the
face. In steeply inclined seams passes or shoots leading to the main
level below are sometimes used, and in Belgium iron plates are sometimes
laid in the excavated ground to form a slide for the coal down to the
loading place. In some instances travelling belts or creepers have been
adopted, which deliver the coal with a reduced amount of breakage, but
this application is not common. The capacity of the trams varies with
the size of the workings and the shaft. From 5 to 7 cwt. are common
sizes, but in South Wales they are larger, carrying up to one ton or
more. The rails used are of flat bottomed or bridge section varying in
weight from 15 to 25 lb to the yd.; they are laid upon cross sleepers in
a temporary manner, so that they can be easily shifted along the working
faces, but are carefully secured along main roads intended to carry
traffic continuously for some time. The arrangement of the roads at the
face is shown in the plan, fig. 10. In the main roads to the pit when
the distance is not considerable horse traction may be used, a train of
6 to 15 vehicles being drawn by one horse, but more generally the
hauling or, as it is called in the north of England, the leading of the
trains of tubs is effected by mechanical traction.
In a large colliery where the shafts are situated near the centre of the
field, and the workings extend on all sides, both to the dip and rise,
the drawing roads for the coal may be of three different kinds--(1)
levels driven at right angles to the dip, suitable for horse roads, (2)
rise ways, known as jinny roads, jig-brows, or up-brows, which, when of
sufficient slope, may be used as self-acting planes, i.e. the loaded
waggons may be made to pull back the empty ones to the working faces,
and (3) dip or down-brows, requiring engine power. A road may be used as
a self-acting or gravitating incline when the gradient is 1 in 30 or
steeper, in which case the train is lowered by a rope passing over a
pulley or brake drum at the upper end, the return empty train being
attached to the opposite end of the rope and hauled up by the descending
load. The arrangements for this purpose vary, of course, with the amount
of work to be done with one fixing of the machinery; where it is likely
to be used for a considerable time, the drum and brake are solidly
constructed, and the ropes of steel or iron wire carefully guided over
friction rollers, placed at intervals between the rails to prevent them
from chafing and wearing out on the ground. Where the load has to be
hauled up a rising gradient, underground engines, driven by steam or
compressed air or electric motors, are used. In some cases steam
generated in boilers at the surface is carried in pipes to the engines
below, but there is less loss of power when compressed air is sent down
in the same way. Underground boilers placed near the up-cast pit so that
the smoke and gases help the ventilating furnace have been largely used
but are now less favourably regarded than formerly. Water-pressure
engines, driven by a column of water equal to the depth of the pit, have
also been employed for hauling. These can, however, only be used
advantageously where there are fixed pumps, the fall of water generating
the power resulting in a load to be removed by the expenditure of an
equivalent amount of power in the pumping engine above that necessary
for keeping down the mine water.
The principal methods in which power can be applied to underground
traction are as follows:--
1. Tail rope system.
2. Endless chain system.
3. Endless rope system on the ground.
4. Endless rope system overhead.
The three last may be considered as modifications of the same principle.
In the first, which is that generally used in Northumberland and Durham,
a single line of rails is used, the loaded tubs being drawn "out bye,"
i.e. towards the shaft, and the empty ones returned "in bye," or towards
the working faces, by reversing the engine; while in the other systems,
double lines, with the rope travelling continuously in the same
direction, are the rule. On the tail rope plan the engine has two drums
worked by spur gearing, which can be connected with, or cast loose from,
the driving shaft at pleasure. The main rope, which draws out the loaded
tubs, coils upon one drum, and passes near the floor over guide sheaves
placed about 20 ft. apart. The tail rope, which is of lighter section
than the main one, is coiled on the second drum, passes over similar
guide sheaves placed near the roof or side of the gallery round a pulley
at the bottom of the plane, and is fixed to the end of the train or set
of tubs. When the load is being drawn out, the engine pulls directly on
the main rope, coiling it on to its own drum, while the tail drum runs
loose paying out its rope, a slight brake pressure being used to prevent
its running out too fast. When the set arrives out bye, the main rope
will be wound up, and the tail rope pass out from the drum to the end
and back, i.e. twice the length of the way; the set is returned in bye,
by reversing the engine, casting loose the main, and coupling up the
tail drum, so that the tail rope is wound up and the main rope paid out.
This method, which is the oldest, is best adapted for ways that are
nearly level, or when many branches are intended to be worked from one
engine, and can be carried round curves of small radius without
deranging the trains; but as it is intermittent in action, considerable
engine-power is required in order to get up the required speed, which is
from 8 to 10 m. per hour. From 8 to 10 tubs are usually drawn in a set,
the ways being often from 2000 to 3000 yds. long. In dip workings the
tail rope is often made to work a pump connected with the bottom pulley,
which forces the water back to the cistern of the main pumping engine in
the pit.
For the endless chain system, which is much used in the Wigan district,
a double line of way is necessary, one line for full and the other for
empty tubs. The chain passes over a pulley driven by the engine, placed
at such a height as to allow it to rest upon the tops of the tubs, and
round a similar pulley at the far end of the plane. The forward edge of
the tub carries a projecting pin or horn, with a notch into which the
chain falls which drags the tub forward. The road at the outer end is
made of a less slope than the chain, so that on arrival the tub is
lowered, clears the pin, and so becomes detached from the chain. The
tubs are placed on at intervals of about 20 yds., the chain moving
continuously at a speed of from 2½ to 4 m. per hour. This system
presents the greatest advantages in point of economy of driving power,
especially where the gradients are variable, but is expensive in first
cost, and is not well suited for curves, and branch roads cannot be
worked continuously, as a fresh set of pulleys worked by bevel gearing
is required for each branch.
The endless rope system may be used with either a single or double line
of way, but the latter is more generally advantageous. The rope, which
is guided upon sheaves between the rails, is taken twice round the head
pulley. It is also customary to use a stretching pulley to keep the rope
strained when the pull of the load diminishes. This is done by passing a
loop at the upper end round a pulley mounted in a travelling frame, to
which is attached a weight of about 15 cwt. hanging by a chain. This
weight pulls directly against the rope; so if the latter slacks, the
weight pulls out the pulley frame and tightens it up again. The tubs are
usually formed into sets of from 2 to 12, the front one being coupled up
by a short length of chain to a clamping hook formed of two jaws moulded
to the curve of the rope which are attached by the "run rider," as the
driver accompanying the train is called. This system in many respects
resembles the tail rope, but has the advantage of working with one-third
less length of rope for the same length of way.
The endless rope system overhead is substantially similar to the endless
chain. The wagons are attached at intervals by short lengths of chain
lapped twice round the rope and hooked into one of the links, or in some
cases the chains are hooked into hempen loops on the main rope. In mines
that are worked from the outcrop by adits or day levels traction by
locomotives driven by steam, compressed air or electricity is used to
some extent. The most numerous applications are in America.
Ventilation.
One of the most important branches of colliery work is the management of
the ventilation, involving as it does the supply of fresh air to the men
working in the pit, as well as the removal of inflammable gases that may
be given off by the coal. This is effected by carrying through the
workings a large volume of air which is kept continually moving in the
same direction, descending from the surface by one or more pits known as
intake or downcast pits, and leaving the mine by a return or upcast pit.
Such a circulation of air can only be effected by mechanical means when
the workings are of any extent, the methods actually adopted being--(1)
The rarefaction of the air in the upcast pit by a furnace placed at the
bottom; and (2) Exhaustion by machinery at the surface. The former plan,
being the older, has been most largely used, but is becoming replaced by
some form of machine.
The usual form of ventilating furnace is a plain fire grate placed under
an arch, and communicating with the upcast shaft by an inclined drift.
It is separated from the coal by a narrow passage walled and arched in
brickwork on both-sides. The size of the grate varies with the
requirements of the ventilation, but from 6 to 10 ft. broad and from 6
to 8 ft. long are usual dimensions. The fire should be kept as thin and
bright as possible, to reduce the amount of smoke in the upcast. When
the mine is free from gas, the furnace may be worked by the return air,
but it is better to take fresh air directly from the downcast by a
scale, or split, from the main current. The return air from fiery
workings is never allowed to approach the furnace, but is carried into
the upcast by a special channel, called a dumb drift, some distance
above the furnace drift, so as not to come in contact with the products
of combustion until they have been cooled below the igniting point of
fire-damp. Where the upcast pit is used for drawing coal, it is usual to
discharge the smoke and gases through a short lateral drift near the
surface into a tall chimney, so as to keep the pit-top as clear as
possible for working. Otherwise the chimney is built directly over the
mouth of the pit.
Mechanical ventilation may be effected either by direct exhaustion or
centrifugal displacement of the air to be removed. In the first method
reciprocating bells, or piston machines, or rotary machines of varying
capacity like gas-works exhausters, are employed. They were formerly
used on a very large scale in Belgium and South Wales, but the great
weight of the moving parts makes it impossible to drive them at the high
speed called for by modern requirements, so that centrifugal fans are
now generally adopted instead. An early and very successful machine of
this class, the Guibal fan, is represented in fig. 12. The fan has eight
arms, framed together of wrought iron bars, with diagonal struts, so as
to obtain rigidity with comparative lightness, carrying flat
close-boarded blades at their extremities. It revolves with the smallest
possible clearance in a chamber of masonry, one of the side walls being
perforated by a large round hole, through which the air from the mine is
admitted to the centre of the fan. The lower quadrant of the casing is
enlarged spirally, so as to leave a narrow rectangular opening at the
bottom, through which the air is discharged into a chimney of gradually
increasing section carried to a height of about 25 ft. The size of the
discharge aperture can be varied by means of a flexible wooden shutter
sliding in a groove in a cast iron plate, curved to the slope of the
casing. By the use of the spiral guide casing and the chimney the
velocity of the effluent air is gradually reduced up to the point of
final discharge into the atmosphere, whereby a greater useful effect is
realized than is the case when the air streams freely from the
circumference with a velocity equal to that of the rotating fan. The
power is applied by steam acting directly on a crank at one end of the
axle, and the diameter of the fan may be 40 ft. or more.
[Illustration: FIG. 12.--Guibal Fan.]
The Waddle fan, represented in fig. 13, is an example of another class
of centrifugal ventilator, in which a close casing is not used, the air
exhausted being discharged from the circumference directly into the
atmosphere. It consists of a hollow sheet iron drum formed by two
conoidal tubes, united together by numerous guide blades, dividing it up
into a series of rectangular tubes of diminishing section, attached to a
horizontal axle by cast iron bosses and wrought iron arms. The tubes at
their smallest part are connected to a cast iron ring, 10 ft. in
diameter, but at their outer circumference they are only 2 ft. apart.
The extreme diameter is 25 ft.
[Illustration: FIG. 13.--Waddle Fan.]
By the adoption of more refined methods of construction, especially in
the shape of the intake and discharge passages for the air and the forms
of the fan blades, the efficiency of the ventilating fan has been
greatly increased so that the dimensions can be much reduced and a
higher rate of speed adopted. Notable examples are found in the Rateau,
Ser and Capell fans, and where an electric generating station is
available electric motors can be advantageously used instead of steam.
Distribution of air underground.
The quantity of air required for a large colliery depends upon the
number of men employed, as for actual respiration from 100 to 200 cub.
ft. per minute should be allowed. In fiery mines, however, a very much
larger amount must be provided in order to dilute the gas to the point
of safety. Even with the best arrangements a dangerous increase in the
amount of gas is not infrequent from the sudden release of stored-up
masses in the coal, which, overpowering the ventilation, produce
magazines of explosive material ready for ignition when brought in
contact with the flame of a lamp or the blast of a shot. The management
of such places, therefore, requires the most constant vigilance on the
part of the workmen, especially in the examination of the working places
that have been standing empty during the night, in which gas may have
accumulated, to see that they are properly cleared before the new shift
commences.
The actual conveyance or coursing of the air from the intake to the
working faces is effected by splitting or dividing the current at
different points in its course, so as to carry it as directly as
possible to the places where it is required. In laying out the mine it
is customary to drive the levels or roads in pairs, communication being
made between them at intervals by cutting through the intermediate
pillar; the air then passes along one and returns by the other. As the
roads advance other pillars are driven through in the same manner, the
passages first made being closed by stoppings of broken rock, or built
up with brick and mortar walls, or both. When it is desired to preserve
a way from one road or similar class of working to another, double doors
placed at sufficient intervals apart to take in one or more trams
between them when closed are used, forming a kind of lock or sluice.
These are made to shut air-tight against their frames, so as to prevent
the air from taking a short cut back to the upcast, while preserving
free access between the different districts without following the whole
round of the air-ways. The ventilation of ends is effected by means of
brattices or temporary partitions of thin boards placed midway in the
drift, and extending to within a few feet of the face. The air passes
along one side of the brattice, courses round the free end, and returns
on the other side. In many cases a light but air-proof cloth, specially
made for the purpose, is used instead of wood for brattices, as being
more handy and more easily removed. In large mines where the air-ways
are numerous and complicated, it often happens that currents travelling
in opposite directions are brought together at one point. In these cases
it is necessary to cross them. The return air is usually made to pass
over the intake by a curved drift carried some distance above in the
solid measures, both ways being arched in brickwork, or even in some
cases lined with sheet iron so as to ensure a separation not likely to
be destroyed in case of an explosion (see figs. 5 and 8). The use of
small auxiliary blowing ventilators underground, for carrying air into
workings away from the main circuits, which was largely advocated at one
time, has lost its popularity, but a useful substitute has been found in
the induced draught produced by jets of compressed air or high-pressure
water blowing into ejectors. With a jet of 1/200 in. area, a pipe
discharging 1-2/3 gallon of water per minute at 165 lb pressure per sq.
in., a circulation of 850 cub. ft. of air per minute was produced at the
end of a level, or about five times that obtained from an equal volume
of air at 60 lb pressure. The increased resistance, due to the large
extension of workings from single pairs of shafts, the ventilating
currents having often to travel several miles to the upcast, has led to
great increase in the size and power of ventilating fans, and engines
from 250 to 500 H.P. are not uncommonly used for such purposes.
Lighting.
The lighting of underground workings in collieries is closely connected
with the subject of ventilation. In many of the smaller pits in the
Midland districts of England, and generally in South Staffordshire, the
coals are sufficiently free from gas, or rather the gases are not liable
to become explosive when mixed with air, to allow the use of naked
lights, candles being generally used. Oil lamps are employed in many of
the Scotch collieries, and are almost universally used in Belgium and
other European countries. The buildings near the pit bottom, such as the
stables and lamp cabin, and even the main roads for some distance, are
often in large collieries lighted with gas brought from the surface, or
in some cases the gas given off by the coal is used for the same
purpose. Where the gases are fiery, the use of protected lights or
safety lamps (q.v.) becomes a necessity.
Composition of gas evolved by coal.
The nature of the gases evolved by coal when freshly exposed to the
atmosphere has been investigated by several chemists, more particularly
by Lyon Playfair and Ernst von Meyer. The latter observer found the
gases given off by coal from the district of Newcastle and Durham to
contain carbonic acid, marsh gas or light carburetted hydrogen (the
fire-damp of the miner), oxygen and nitrogen. A later investigation, by
J. W. Thomas, of the gases dissolved or occluded in coals from South
Wales basin shows them to vary considerably with the class of coal. The
results given below, which are selected from a much larger series
published in the _Journal of the Chemical Society_, were obtained by
heating samples of the different coals in vacuo for several hours at the
temperature of boiling water:--
+------------+------------------+---------+----------------------------------+
| | | Volume | Composition in Volumes per cent. |
| Quality. | Colliery. | per ton +---------+-------+------+---------|
| | | in cub. | Carbonic| | Marsh|Nitrogen.|
| | | ft. | Acid. |Oxygen.| gas.| |
+------------+------------------+---------+---------+-------+------+---------+
| Bituminous | Cwm Clydach | 19.72 | 5.44 | 1.05 | 63.76| 29.75 |
| " | Lantwit | 14.34 | 9.43 | 2.25 | 31.95| 56.34 |
| Steam | Navigation | 89.62 | 13.21 | 0.49 | 81.64| 4.66 |
| Anthracite | Bonville's Court | 198.95 | 2.62 | .. | 93.13| 4.25 |
+------------+------------------+---------+---------+-------+------+---------+
In one instance about 1% of hydride of ethyl was found in the gas from a
blower in a pit in the Rhondda district, which was collected in a tube
and brought to the surface to be used in lighting the engine-room and
pit-bank. The gases from the bituminous house coals of South Wales are
comparatively free from marsh gas, as compared with those from the steam
coal and anthracite pits. The latter class of coal contains the largest
proportion of this dangerous gas, but holds it more tenaciously than do
the steam coals, thus rendering the workings comparatively safer. It was
found that, of the entire volume of occluded gas in an anthracite, only
one-third could be expelled at the temperature of boiling water, and
that the whole quantity, amounting to 650 cub. ft. per ton, was only to
be driven out by a heat of 300° C. Steam coals being softer and more
porous give off enormous volumes of gas from the working face in most of
the deep pits, many of which have been the scene of disastrous
explosions.
The gases evolved from the sudden outbursts or blowers in coal, which
are often given off at a considerable tension, are the most dangerous
enemy that the collier has to contend with. They consist almost entirely
of marsh gas, with only a small quantity of carbonic acid, usually under
1%, and from 1 to 4% of nitrogen.
Fire-damp when mixed with from four to twelve times its volume of
atmospheric air is explosive; but when the proportion is above or below
these limits it burns quietly with a pale blue flame.
Coal dust.
The danger arising from the presence of coal dust in the air of dry
mines, with or without the addition of fire-damp, has, since it was
first pointed out by Professor W. Galloway, been made the subject of
special inquiries in the principal European countries interested in coal
mining; and although certain points are still debatable, the fact is
generally admitted as one calling for special precautions. The
conclusions arrived at by the royal commission of 1891, which may be
taken as generally representative of the views of British colliery
engineers, are as follows:--
1. The danger of explosion when gas exists in very small quantities is
greatly increased by the presence of coal dust.
2. A gas explosion in a fiery mine may be intensified or indefinitely
propagated by the dust raised by the explosion itself.
3. Coal dust alone, without any gas, may cause a dangerous explosion
if ignited by a blown-out shot; but such cases are likely to be
exceptional.
4. The inflammability of coal dust varies with different coals, but
none can be said to be entirely free from risk.
5. There is no probability of a dangerous explosion being produced by
the ignition of coal dust by a naked light or ordinary flame.
Danger arising from coal dust is best guarded against by systematically
sprinkling or watering the main roads leading from the working faces to
the shaft, where the dust falling from the trams in transit is liable to
accumulate. This may be done by water-carts or hose and jet, but
preferably by finely divided water and compressed air distributed from a
network of pipes carried through the workings. This is now generally
done, and in some countries is compulsory, when the rocks are deficient
in natural moisture. In one instance the quantity of water required to
keep down the dust in a mine raising 850 tons of coal in a single shift
was 28.8 tons, apart from that required by the jets and motors. The
distributing network extended to more than 30 m. of pipes, varying from
3½ in. to 1 in. in diameter.
Safety explosives.
In all British coal-mines, when gas in dangerous quantities has appeared
within three months, and in all places that are dry and dusty, blasting
is prohibited, except with "permitted" explosives, whose composition and
properties have been examined at the testing station at the Royal
Arsenal, Woolwich. A list of those sanctioned is published by the Home
Office. They are mostly distinguished by special trade names, and are
mainly of two classes--those containing ammonium nitrate and
nitrobenzene or nitronaphthalene, and those containing nitroglycerin and
nitrocellulose, which are essentially weak dynamites. The safety
property attributed to them is due to the depression of the temperature
of the flame or products of explosion to a point below that necessary to
ignite fire-damp or coal dust in air from a blown-out shot. New
explosives that are found to be satisfactory when tested are added to
the list from time to time, the composition being stated in all cases.
Aerophores.
Methods for enabling miners to penetrate into workings where the
atmosphere is totally irrespirable have come into use for saving life
after explosions and for repairing shafts and pit-work under water. The
aerophore of A. Galibert was in its earlier form a bag of about 12 cub.
ft. capacity containing air at a little above atmospheric pressure; it
was carried on the back like a knapsack and supplied the means of
respiration. The air was continually returned and circulated until it
was too much contaminated with carbonic acid to be further used, a
condition which limited the use of the apparatus to a very short period.
A more extended application of the same principle was made in the
apparatus of L. Denayrouze by which the air, contained in cylinders at a
pressure of 300 to 350 lb per sq. in., was supplied for respiration
through a reducing valve which brought it down nearly to atmospheric
pressure. This apparatus was, however, very heavy and became
unmanageable when more than an hour's supply was required. The newer
forms are based upon the principle, first enunciated by Professor
Theodor Schwann in 1854, of carrying compressed oxygen instead of air,
and returning the products of respiration through a regenerator
containing absorptive media for carbonic acid and water, the purified
current being returned to the mouth with an addition of fresh oxygen.
The best-known apparatus of this class is that developed by G. A. Meyer
at the Shamrock colliery in Westphalia, where a body of men are kept in
systematic training for its use at a special rescue station. This corps
rendered invaluable service at the exploring and rescue operations after
the explosion at Courrières in March 1906, the most disastrous mining
accident on record, when 1100 miners were killed. A somewhat similar
apparatus called the "weg," after the initials of the inventor, is due
to W. E. Garforth of Wakefield. In another form of apparatus advantage
is taken of the property possessed by sodium-potassium peroxide of
giving off oxygen when damped; the residue of caustic soda and potash
yielded by the reaction is used to absorb the carbonic acid of the
expired air. Experiments have also been made with a device in which the
air-supply is obtained by the evaporation of liquid air absorbed in
asbestos.
Underground fires are not uncommon accidents in coal-mines. In the thick
coal workings in South Staffordshire the slack left behind in the sides
of work is especially liable to fire from so-called spontaneous
combustion, due to the rapid oxidization that is set up when finely
divided coal is brought in contact with air. The best remedy in such
cases is to prevent the air from gaining access to the coal by building
a wall round the burning portion, which can in this way be isolated from
the remainder of the working, and the fire prevented from spreading,
even if it cannot be extinguished. When the coal is fired by the blast
of an explosion it is often necessary to isolate the mine completely by
stopping up the mouths of the pits with earth, or in extreme cases it
must be flooded with water or carbonic acid before the fire can be
brought under. There have been several instances of this being done in
the fiery pits in the Barnsley district, notably at the great explosion
at the Oaks colliery in 1866, when 360 lives were lost.
Methods of winding.
The drawing or winding of the coal from the pit bottom to the surface is
one of the most important operations in coal mining, and probably the
department in which mechanical appliances have been brought to the
highest state of development.
Cage.
The different elements making up the drawing arrangements of a colliery
are--(1) the cage, (2) the shaft or pit fittings, (3) the drawing-rope,
(4) the engine and (5) the surface arrangements. The cage, as its name
implies, consists of one or more platforms connected by an open
framework of vertical bars of wrought iron or steel, with a top bar to
which the drawing-rope is attached. It is customary to have a curved
sheet iron roof or bonnet when the cage is used for raising or lowering
the miners, to protect them from injury by falling materials. The number
of platforms or decks varies considerably; in small mines only a single
one may be used, but in the larger modern pits two-, three- or even
four-decked cages are used. The use of several decks is necessary in old
pits of small section, where only a single tram can be carried on each.
In the large shafts of the Northern and Wigan districts the cages are
made about 8 ft. long and 3½ ft. broad, being sufficient to carry two
large trams on one deck. These are received upon a railway made of two
strips of angle iron of the proper gauge for the wheels, and are locked
fast by a latch falling over their ends. At Cadeby Main with four-decked
cages the capacity is eight 10-cwt. tubs or 4 tons of coal.
The guides or conductors in the pit may be constructed of wood, in which
case rectangular fir beams, about 3 by 4 in., are used, attached at
intervals of a few feet to buntons or cross-beams built into the lining
of the pit. Two guides are required for each cage; they may be placed
opposite to each other, either on the long or short sides--the latter
being preferable. The cage is guided by shoes of wrought iron, a few
inches long and bell-mouthed at the ends, attached to the horizontal
bars of the framing, which pass loosely over the guides on three sides,
but in most new pits rail guides of heavy section are used. They are
applied on one side of the cage only, forming a complete vertical
railway, carried by iron cross sleepers, with proper seats for the rails
instead of wooden buntons; the cage is guided by curved shoes of a
proper section to cover the heads of the rails. Rigid guides connected
with the walling of the pit are probably the best and safest, but they
have the disadvantage of being liable to distortion, in case of the pit
altering its form, owing to irregular movements of the ground, or other
causes. Wooden guides being of considerable size, block up a certain
portion of the area of the pit, and thus offer an impediment to the
ventilation, especially in upcast shafts, where the high temperature,
when furnace ventilation is used, is also against their use. In the
Lancashire and the Midland districts wire-rope guides have been
introduced to a very considerable extent, with a view of meeting the
above objections. These are simply wire-ropes, from ¾ to 1½ in. in
diameter, hanging from a cross-bar connected with the pit-head framing
at the surface, and attached to a similar bar at the bottom, which are
kept straight by a stretching weight of from 30 cwt. to 4 tons attached
to the lower bar. In some cases four guides are used--two to each of the
long sides of the cage; but a more general arrangement is to have
three--two on one side, and the third in an intermediate position on the
opposite side. Many colliery managers, however, prefer to have only two
opposite guides, as being safer. The cage is connected by tubular clips,
made in two pieces and bolted together, which slide over the ropes. In
addition to this it is necessary to have an extra system of fixed guides
at the surface and at the bottom, where it is necessary to keep the cage
steady during the operations of loading and landing, there being a much
greater amount of oscillation during the passage of the cage than with
fixed guides. For the same reason it is necessary to give a considerable
clearance between the two lines of guides, which are kept from 15 to 18
in. apart, to prevent the possibility of the two cages striking each
other in passing. With proper precautions, however, wire guides are
perfectly safe for use at the highest travelling speed.
Ropes and chains.
The cage is connected with the drawing-rope by short lengths of chain
from the corners, known as tackling chains, gathered into a central ring
to which the rope is attached. Round steel wire-ropes, about 2 in. in
diameter, are now commonly used; but in very deep pits they are
sometimes tapered in section to reduce the dead weight lifted. Flat
ropes of steel or iron wire were and are still used to a great extent,
but round ones are now generally preferred. In Belgium and the north of
France flat ropes of aloe fibre (Manila hemp or plantain fibre) are in
high repute, being considered preferable by many colliery managers to
wire, in spite of their great weight. A rope of this class for a pit
1200 metres deep, tapered from 15.6 in. to 9 in. in breadth and from 2
in. to 1-1/8 in. in thickness, weighed 14.3 tons, and another at Anzin,
intended to lift a gross load of 15 tons from 750 metres, is 22½ in.
broad and 3 in. thick at the drum end, and weighs 18 tons. Tapered round
ropes, although mechanically preferable, are not advantageous in
practice, as the wear being greater at the cage end than on the drum it
is necessary to cut off portions of the former at intervals. Ultimately
also the ropes should be reversed in position, and this can only be done
with a rope of uniform section.
Winding engines.
The engines used for winding or hoisting in collieries are usually
direct-acting with a pair of horizontal cylinders coupled directly to
the drum shaft. Steam at high pressure exhausting into the atmosphere is
still commonly used, but the great power required for raising heavy
loads from deep pits at high speeds has brought the question of fuel
economy into prominence, and more economical types of the two-cylinder
tandem compound class with high initial steam pressure, superheating and
condensing, have come in to some extent where the amount of work to be
done is sufficient to justify their high initial cost. One of the
earliest examples was erected at Llanbradack in South Wales in 1894, and
they have been somewhat extensively used in Westphalia and the north of
France. In a later example at the Bargold pit of the Powell Duffryn
Steam Coal Company a mixed arrangement is adopted with horizontal
high-pressure and vertical low-pressure cylinders. This engine draws a
net load of 55 tons of coal from a depth of 625 yds. in 45 seconds, the
gross weight of the four trams, cage and chains, and rope, with the
coal, being 20 tons 12 cwt. The work of the winding engine, being
essentially of an intermittent character, can only be done with
condensation when a central condenser keeping a constant vacuum is used,
and even with this the rush of steam during winding may be a cause of
disturbance. This difficulty may be overcome by using Rateau's
arrangement of a low-pressure turbine between the engine and the
condenser. The accumulator, which is similar in principle to the thermal
storage system of Druitt Halpin, is a closed vessel completely filled
with water, which condenses the excess of steam during the winding
period, and becoming superheated maintains the supply to the turbine
when the main engine is standing. The power so developed is generally
utilized in the production of electricity, for which there is an
abundant use about large collieries.
The drum, when round ropes are used, is a plain broad cylinder, with
flanged rims, and cased with soft wood packing, upon which the rope is
coiled; the breadth is made sufficient to take the whole length of the
rope at two laps. One drum is usually fixed to the shaft, while the
other is loose, with a screw link or other means of coupling, in order
to be able to adjust the two ropes to exactly the same length, so that
one cage may be at the surface when the other is at the bottom, without
having to pay out or take up any slack rope by the engine.
For flat ropes the drum or bobbin consists of a solid disk, of the width
of the rope fixed upon the shaft, with numerous parallel pairs of arms
or horns, arranged radially on both sides, the space between being just
sufficient to allow the rope to enter and coil regularly upon the
preceding lap. This method has the advantage of equalizing the work of
the engine throughout the journey, for when the load is greatest, with
the full cage at the bottom and the whole length of rope out, the duty
required in the first revolution of the engine is measured by the length
of the smallest circumference; while the assistance derived from
gravitating action of the descending cage in the same period is equal to
the weight of the falling mass through a height corresponding to the
length of the largest lap, and so on, the speed being increased as the
weight diminishes, and vice versa. The same thing can be effected in a
more perfect manner by the use of spiral or scroll drums, in which the
rope is made to coil in a spiral groove upon the surface of the drum,
which is formed by the frusta of two obtuse cones placed with their
smaller diameters outwards. This plan, though mechanically a very good
one, has certain defects, especially in the possibility of danger
resulting from the rope slipping sideways, if the grooves in the bed are
not perfectly true. The great size and weight of such drums are also
disadvantages, as giving rather unmanageable dimensions in a very deep
pit. In some cases, therefore, a combined form is adopted, the body of
the drum being cylindrical, and a width equal to three or four laps
conical on either side.
Counterbalance chains for the winding engines are used in the collieries
of the Midland districts of England. In this method a third drum is used
to receive a heavy flat link chain, shorter than the main drawing-ropes,
the end of which hangs down a special or balance pit. At starting, when
the full load is to be lifted, the balance chain uncoils, and continues
to do so until the desired equilibrium between the working loads is
attained, when it is coiled up again in the reverse direction, to be
again given out on the return trip.
In Koepe's method the drum is replaced by a disk with a grooved rim for
the rope, which passes from the top of one cage over the guide pulley,
round the disk, and back over the second guide to the second cage, and a
tail rope, passing round a pulley at the bottom of the shaft, connects
the bottoms of the cages, so that the dead weight of cage, tubs and rope
is completely counterbalanced at all positions of the cages, and the
work of the engine is confined to the useful weight of coal raised.
Motion is communicated to the rope by frictional contact with the drum,
which is covered through about one-half of the circumference. This
system has been used in Nottinghamshire, and at Sneyd, in North
Staffordshire. In Belgium it was tried in a pit 940 metres deep, where
it has been replaced by flat hempen ropes, and is now restricted to
shallower workings. In Westphalia it is applied in about thirty
different pits to a maximum depth of 761 metres.
A novelty in winding arrangements is the substitution of the
electromotor for the steam engine, which has been effected in a few
instances. In one of the best-known examples, the Zollern colliery in
Westphalia, the Koepe system is used, the winding disk being driven by
two motors of 1200 H.P. each on the same shaft. Motion is obtained from
a continuous-current generator driven by an alternating motor with a
very heavy fly-wheel, a combination known as the Ilgner transformer,
which runs continuously with a constant draught on the generating
station, the extremely variable demand of the winding engine during the
acceleration period being met by the energy stored in the fly-wheel,
which runs at a very high speed. This arrangement works admirably as
regards smoothness and safety in running, but the heavy first cost and
complication stand in the way of its general adoption. Nevertheless
about 60 electric winding engines were at work or under construction in
May 1906.
Surface arrangements.
The surface arrangements of a modern deep colliery are of considerable
extent and complexity, the central feature being the head gear or pit
frame carrying the guide pulleys which lead the winding ropes from the
axis of the pit to the drum. This is an upright frame, usually made in
wrought iron or steel strutted by diagonal thrust beams against the
engine-house wall or other solid abutments, the height to the bearings
of the guide pulleys being from 80 to 100 ft. or more above the ground
level. This great height is necessary to obtain head-room for the cages,
the landing platforms being usually placed at some considerable height
above the natural surface. The pulleys, which are made as large as
possible up to 20 ft. in diameter to diminish the effect of bending
strains in the rope by change in direction, have channelled cast iron
rims with wrought iron arms, a form combining rigidity with strength, in
order to keep down their weight.
To prevent accidents from the breaking of the rope while the cage is
travelling in the shaft, or from over-winding when in consequence of the
engine not being stopped in time the cage may be drawn up to the
head-gear pulleys (both of which are unhappily not uncommon), various
forms of safety catches and disconnecting hooks have been adopted. The
former contrivances consist essentially of levers or cams with toothed
surfaces or gripping shoes mounted upon transverse axes attached to the
sides of the cage, whose function is to take hold of the guides and
support the cage in the event of its becoming detached from the rope.
The opposite axes are connected with springs which are kept in
compression by tension of the rope in drawing but come into action when
the pull is released, the side axes then biting into wooden guides or
gripping those of steel bars or ropes. The use of these contrivances is
more common in collieries on the continent of Europe, where in some
countries they are obligatory, than in England, where they are not
generally popular owing to their uncertainty in action and the constant
drag on the guides when the rope slacks.
For the prevention of accidents from over-winding, detaching hooks are
used. These consist essentially of links formed of a pair of parallel
plates joined by a central bolt forming a scissors joint which is
connected by chain links to the cage below and the winding-rope above.
The outer sides of the link are shaped with projecting lugs above. When
closed by the load the width is sufficient to allow it to enter a
funnel-shaped guide on a cross-bar of the frame some distance above the
bank level, but on reaching the narrower portion of the guide at the top
the plates are forced apart which releases the ropes and brings the lugs
into contact with the top of the cross-bar which secures the cage from
falling.
Three principal patterns, those of King, Ormerod and Walker, are in use,
and they are generally efficient supposing the speed of the cage at
arrival is not excessive. To guard against this it is now customary to
use some speed-checking appliance, independent of the engine-man, which
reduces or entirely cuts off the steam supply when the cage arrives at a
particular point near the surface, and applies the brake if the load is
travelling too quickly. Maximum speed controllers in connexion with the
winding indicator, which do not allow the engine to exceed a fixed rate
of speed, are also used in some cases, with recording indicators.
Striking and screening.
When the cage arrives at the surface, or rather the platform forming the
working top above the mouth of the pit, it is received upon the keeps, a
pair of hinged gratings which are kept in an inclined position over the
pit-top by counter-balance weights, so that they are pushed aside to
allow the cage to pass upwards, but fall back and receive it when the
engine is reversed. The tubs are then removed or struck by the landers,
who pull them forward on to the platform, which is covered with cast
iron plates; at the same time empty ones are pushed in from the opposite
side. The cage is then lifted by the engine clear of the keeps, which
are opened by a lever worked by hand, and the empty tubs start on the
return trip. When the cage has several decks, it is necessary to repeat
this operation for each, unless there is a special provision made for
loading and discharging the tubs at different levels. An arrangement of
this kind for shifting the load from a large cage at one operation was
introduced by Fowler at Hucknall, in Leicestershire, where the trains
are received into a framework with a number of platforms corresponding
to those of the cage, carried on the head of a plunger movable by
hydraulic pressure in a vertical cylinder. The empty tubs are carried by
a corresponding arrangement on the opposite side. By this means the time
of stoppage is reduced to a minimum, 8 seconds for a three-decked cage
as against 28 seconds, as the operations of lowering the tubs to the
level of the pit-top, discharging, and replacing them are performed
during the time that the following load is being drawn up the pit.
In the United Kingdom the drawing of coal is generally confined to the
day shift of eight hours, with an output of from 100 to 150 tons per
hour, according to the depth, capacity of coal tubs, and facilities for
landing and changing tubs. With Fowler's hydraulic arrangement 2000 tons
are raised 600 yds. in eight hours. In the deeper German pits, where
great thicknesses of water-bearing strata have to be traversed, the
first establishment expenses are so great that in order to increase
output the shaft is sometimes provided with a complete double equipment
of cages and engines. In such cases the engines may be placed in line on
opposite sides of the pit, or at right angles to each other. It is said
that the output of single shafts has been raised by this method to 3500
and 4500 tons in the double shift of sixteen hours. It is particularly
well suited to mines where groups of seams at different depths are
worked simultaneously. Some characteristic figures of the yield for
British collieries in 1898 are given below:--
Albion Colliery, South Wales 551,000 tons in a year for one shaft
and one engine.
Silksworth Colliery, 535,000 tons in a year for shaft
Northumberland 580 yds. deep, two engines.
Bolsover Colliery, Derby 598,798 tons in 279 days, shaft 365
yds. deep.
Denaby Main Colliery, Yorkshire 629,947 tons in 281 days, maximum per
day 2673 tons.
At Cadeby Main colliery near Doncaster in 1906, 3360 tons were drawn in
fourteen hours from one pit 763 yds. deep.
The tub when brought to the surface, after passing over a weigh-bridge
where it is weighed and tallied by a weigher specially appointed for the
purpose by the men and the owner jointly, is run into a "tippler," a
cage turning about a horizontal axis which discharges the load in the
first half of the rotation and brings the tub back to the original
position in the second. It is then run back to the pit-bank to be loaded
into the cage at the return journey.
Coal as raised from the pit is now generally subjected to some final
process of classification and cleaning before being despatched to the
consumer. The nature and extent of these operations vary with the
character of the coal, which if hard and free from shale partings may be
finished by simple screening into large and nut sizes and smaller slack
or duff, with a final hand-picking to remove shale and dust from the
larger sizes. But when there is much small duff, with intermixed shale,
more elaborate sizing and washing plant becomes necessary. Where
hand-picking is done, the larger-sized coal, separated by 3-in. bar
screens, is spread out on a travelling band, which may be 300 ft. long
and from 3 to 5 wide, and carried past a line of pickers stationed along
one side, who take out and remove the waste as it passes by, leaving the
clean coal on the belt. The smaller duff is separated by vibrating or
rotating screens into a great number of sizes, which are cleaned by
washing in continuous current or pulsating jigging machines, where the
lighter coal rises to the surface and is removed by a stream of water,
while the heavier waste falls and is discharged at a lower level, or
through a valve at the bottom of the machine. The larger or "nut" sizes,
from ¼ in. upwards, are washed on plain sieve plates, but for
finer-grained duff the sieve is covered with a bed of broken felspar
lumps about 3 in. thick, forming a kind of filter, through which the
fine dirt passes to the bottom of the hutch. The cleaned coal is carried
by a stream of water to a bucket elevator and delivered to the storage
bunkers, or both water and coal may be lifted by a centrifugal pump into
a large cylindrical tank, where the water drains away, leaving the coal
sufficiently dry for use. Modern screening and washing plants,
especially when the small coal forms a considerable proportion of the
output, are large and costly, requiring machinery of a capacity of 100
to 150 tons per hour, which absorbs 350 to 400 H.P. In this, as in many
other cases, electric motors supplied from a central station are now
preferred to separate steam-engines.
Anthracite coal in Pennsylvania is subjected to breaking between toothed
rollers and an elaborate system of screening, before it is fit for sale.
The largest or lump coal is that which remains upon a riddle having the
bars 4 in. apart; the second, or steamboat coal, is above 3 in.; broken
coal includes sizes above 2½ or 2¾ in.; egg coal, pieces above 2¼ in.
sq.; large stove coal, 1¾ in.; small stove, 1 to 1½ or 1-1/3 in.;
chestnut coal, 2/3 to ¾ in.; pea coal, ½ in.; and buckwheat coal, 1/3
in. The most valuable of these are the egg and stove sizes, which are
broken to the proper dimensions for household use, the larger lumps
being unfit for burning in open fire-places. In South Wales a somewhat
similar treatment is now adopted in the anthracite districts.
Depth of working.
With the increased activity of working characteristic of modern coal
mining, the depth of the mines has rapidly increased, and at the present
time the level of 4000 ft., formerly assumed as the possible limit for
working, has been nearly attained. The following list gives the depths
reached in the deepest collieries in Europe in 1900, from which it will
be seen that the larger number, as well as the deepest, are in
Belgium:--
Metres. Ft.
Saint Henriette, Cie des Produits, Flenu, Belgium 1150 3773
Viviers Gilly " 1143 3750
Marcinelle, No. 11, Charleroi " 1075 3527
Marchienne, No. 2 " " 1065 3494
Agrappe, Mons " 1060 3478
Pendleton dip workings Lancashire 1059 3474
Sacré Madame, Charleroi Belgium 1055 3461
Ashton Moss dip workings Lancashire 1024 3360
Ronchamp, No. 11 pit France 1015 3330
Viernoy, Anderlues Belgium 1006 3301
Astley Pit, Dukinfield, dip workings Cheshire 960 3150
Saint André, Poirier, Charleroi Belgium 950 3117
The greatest depth attained in the Westphalian coal is at East
Recklinghausen, where there are two shafts 841 metres (2759 ft.) deep.
The subject of the limiting depth of working has been very fully studied
in Belgium by Professor Simon Stassart of Mons ("Les Conditions
d'exploitation à grande profondeur en Belgique," _Bulletin de la Société
de l'Industrie minérale_, 3 ser., vol. xiv.), who finds that no special
difficulty has been met with in workings above 1100 metres deep from
increased temperature or atmospheric pressure. The extreme temperatures
in the working faces at 1150 metres were 79° and 86° F., and the maximum
in the end of a drift, 100°; and these were quite bearable on account of
the energetic ventilation maintained, and the dryness of the air. The
yield per man on the working faces was 4.5 tons, and for the whole of
the working force underground, 0.846 tons, which is not less than that
realized in shallower mines. From the experience of such workings it is
considered that 1500 metres would be a possible workable depth, the rock
temperature being 132°, and those of the intake and return galleries,
92° and 108° respectively. Under such conditions work would be
practically impossible except with very energetic ventilation and dry
air. It would be scarcely possible to circulate more than 120,000 to
130,000 cub. ft. per minute under such conditions, and the number of
working places would thus be restricted, and consequently the output
reduced to about 500 tons per shift of 10 hours, which could be raised
by a single engine at the surface without requiring any very different
appliances from those in current use.
Ownership of coal.
In the United Kingdom the ownership of coal, like that of other
minerals, is in the proprietor of the soil, and passes with it, except
when specially reserved in the sale. Coal lying under the sea below
low-water mark belongs to the crown, and can only be worked upon payment
of royalties, even when it is approached from shafts sunk upon land in
private ownership. In the Forest of Dean, which is the property of the
crown as a royal forest, there are certain curious rights held by a
portion of the inhabitants known as the Free Miners of the Forest, who
are entitled to mine for coal and iron ore, under leases, known as
gales, granted by the principal agent or gaveller representing the
crown, in tracts not otherwise occupied. This is the only instance in
Great Britain of the custom of free coal-mining under a government grant
or concession, which is the rule in almost every country on the
continent of Europe.
Coal Mines Regulation Act.
The working of collieries in the United Kingdom is subject to the
provisions of the Coal Mines Regulation Act 1887, as amended by several
minor acts, administered by inspectors appointed by the Home Office, and
forming a complete disciplinary code in all matters connected with
coal-mining. An important act was passed in 1908, limiting the hours of
work below ground of miners. For a detailed account of these various
acts see the article Labour Legislation.
Accidents.
Coal-mining is unfortunately a dangerous occupation, more than a
thousand deaths from accident being reported annually by the inspectors
of mines as occurring in the collieries of the United Kingdom.
The number of lives lost during the year 1906 was, according to the
inspectors' returns:--
From explosions 54
" falls of ground 547
" other underground accidents 328
" accidents in shafts 65
" surface accidents 135
----
Total 1129
The principal sources of danger to the collier, as distinguished from
other miners, are explosions of fire-damp and falls of roof in getting
coal; these together make up about 70% of the whole number of deaths. It
will be seen that the former class of accidents, though often attended
with great loss of life at one time, are less fatal than the latter.
AUTHORITIES.--The most important new publication on British coal is
that of the royal commission on coal supplies appointed in 1901, whose
final report was issued in 1905. A convenient digest of the evidence
classified according to subjects was published by the _Colliery
Guardian_ newspaper in three quarto volumes in 1905-1907, and the
leading points bearing on the extension and resources of the different
districts were incorporated in the fifth edition (1905) of Professor
Edward Hull's _Coal Fields of Great Britain_. The _Report_ of the
earlier royal commission (1870), however, still remains of great
value, and must not be considered to have had its conclusions entirely
superseded. In connexion with the re-survey in greater detail of the
coalfields by the Geological Survey a series of descriptive memoirs
were undertaken, those on the North Staffordshire and Leicestershire
fields, and nine parts dealing with that of South Wales, having
appeared by the beginning of 1908.
An independent work on the coal resources of Scotland under the title
of the _Coalfields of Scotland_, by R. W. Dixon, was published in
1902.
The Rhenish-Westphalian coalfield was fully described in all details,
geological, technical and economic, in a work called _Die Entwickelung
des niederrheinisch-westfälischen Steinkohlen Bergbaues in der zweiten
Hälfte des 19ten Jahrhunderts_ (also known by the short title of
_Sammelwerk_) in twelve quarto volumes, issued under the auspices of
the Westphalian Coal Trade Syndicate (Berlin, 19O2-1905).
The coalfields of the Austrian dominions (exclusive of Hungary) are
described in _Die Mineralkohlen Österreichs_, published at Vienna by
the Central Union of Austrian mineowners. It continues the table of
former official publications in 1870 and 1878, but in much more detail
than its predecessors.
Systematic detailed descriptions of the French coalfields appear from
time to time under the title of _Études sur les gîtes minéraux de la
France_ from the ministry of public works in Paris.
Much important information on American coals will be found in the
three volumes of _Reports on the Coal Testing Plant at the St Louis
Exhibition_, published by the United States Geological Survey in 1906.
A special work on the _Anthracite Coal Industry of the United States_,
by P. Roberts, was published in 1901.
The most useful general work on coal mining is the _Text Book of Coal
Mining_, by H. W. Hughes, which also contains detailed
bibliographical lists for each division of the text. The 5th edition
appeared in 1904.
Current progress in mining and other matters connected with coal can
best be followed by consulting the abstracts and bibliographical lists
of memoirs on these subjects that have appeared in the technical
journals of the world contained in the _Journal_ of the Institute of
Mining Engineers and that of the Iron and Steel Institute. The latter
appears at half-yearly intervals and includes notices of publications
up to about two or three months before the date of its publication.
(H. B.)
COALBROOKDALE, a town and district in the Wellington parliamentary
division of Shropshire, England. The town has a station on the Great
Western railway, 160 m. N.W. from London. The district or dale is the
narrow and picturesque valley of a stream rising near the Wrekin and
following a course of some 8 m. in a south-easterly direction to the
Severn. Great ironworks occupy it. They were founded in 1709 by Abraham
Darby with the assistance of Dutch workmen, and continued by his son and
descendants. Father and son had a great share in the discovery and
elaboration of the use of pit-coal for making iron, which revolutionized
and saved the English iron trade. The father hardly witnessed the
benefits of the enterprise, but the son was fully rewarded. It is
recorded that he watched the experimental filling of the furnace
ceaselessly for six days and nights, and that, just as fatigue was
overcoming him, he saw the molten metal issuing, and knew that the
experiment had succeeded.
The third Abraham Darby built the famous Coalbrookdale iron bridge over
the Severn, which gives name to the neighbouring town of Ironbridge,
which with a portion of Coalbrookdale is in the parish of Madeley
(q.v.). Fine wrought iron work is produced, and the school of art is
well known. There are also brick and tile works.
COAL-FISH (_Gadus virens_), also called green cod, black pollack, saith
and sillock, a fish of the family _Gadidae_. It has a very wide range,
which nearly coincides with that of the cod, although of a somewhat more
southern character, as it extends to both east and west coasts of the
North Atlantic, and is occasionally found in the Mediterranean. It is
especially common in the north, though rarely entering the Baltic; it
becomes rare south of the English Channel. Unlike the cod and haddock,
the coal-fish is, to a great extent, a surface-swimming fish,
congregating together in large schools, and moving from place to place
in search of food; large specimens (3 to 3½ ft. long), however, prefer
deep water, down to 70 fathoms. The flesh is not so highly valued as
that of the cod and haddock. The lower jaw projects more or less beyond
the upper, the mental barble is small, sometimes rudimentary, the vent
is below the posterior half of the first dorsal fin, and there is a dark
spot in the axil of the pectoral fin.
COALING STATIONS. Maritime war in all ages has required that the ships
of the belligerents should have the use of sheltered waters for repairs
and for replenishment of supplies. The operations of commerce from the
earliest days demanded natural harbours, round which, as in the
conspicuous instance of Syracuse, large populations gathered. Such
points, where wealth and resources of all kinds accumulated, became
objects of attack, and great efforts were expended upon their capture.
As maritime operations extended, the importance of a seaboard increased,
and the possession of good natural harbours became more and more
advantageous. At the same time, the growing size of ships and the
complexity of fitments caused by the development of the sailing art
imposed new demands upon the equipment of ports alike for purposes of
construction and for repairs; while the differentiation between warships
and the commercial marine led to the establishment of naval bases and
dockyards provided with special resources. From the days when the great
sailors of Elizabeth carried war into distant seas, remote harbours
began to assume naval importance. Expeditionary forces required
temporary bases, such as Guantanamo Bay, in Cuba, which was so utilized
by Admiral Vernon in 1741. As outlying territories began to be occupied,
and jurisdiction to be exercised over their ports, the harbours
available for the free use of a belligerent were gradually reduced in
number, and it became occasionally necessary to take them by force.
Thus, in 1782, the capture of Trincomalee was an object of sufficient
importance to justify special effort, and Suffren gained a much-needed
refuge for his ships, at the same time compelling his opponent to depend
upon the open roadstead of Madras, and even to send ships to Bombay. In
this case a distant harbour acquired strategic importance, mainly
because sheltered waters, in the seas where Hughes and Suffren strove
for naval supremacy, were few and far between. A sailing man-of-war
usually carried from five to six months' provisions and water for 100 to
120 days. Other needs required to be met, and during the wars of the
French Revolution it was usual, when possible, to allow ships engaged in
blockade to return to port every five or six weeks "to refresh." For a
sailing fleet acting on the offensive, a port from which it could easily
get to sea was a great advantage. Thus Raleigh protested against the use
of closely landlocked harbours. "Certain it is," he wrote, "that these
ships are purposely to serve His Majesty and to defend the kingdom from
danger, and not to be so penned up from casualitie as that they should
be less able or serviceable in times of need." Nelson for this reason
made great use of Maddalena Bay, in Sardinia, and was not greatly
impressed with the strategic value of Malta in spite of its fine natural
harbour. The introduction of steam gave rise to a new naval
requirement--coal--which soon became vital. Commerce under steam quickly
settled down upon fixed routes, and depots of coal were established to
meet its needs. Coaling stations thus came into existence by a natural
process, arising from the exigencies of trade, and began later to supply
the needs of navies.
British coaling stations.
For many years there was no inquiry into the war requirements of the
British fleet as regards coal, and no attempt to regularize or to fortify
the ports at which it was stored. Successful naval war had won for Great
Britain many points of vantage throughout the world, and in some cases
the strategic value of ports had been proved by actual experience. The
extreme importance of the Cape of Good Hope, obscured for a time after
the opening of the Suez Canal, was fully realized in sailing days, and
the naval conditions of those days to some extent determined the choice
of islands and harbours for occupation. There does not, however, appear
to have been any careful study of relative strategic values. Treaties
were occasionally drafted by persons whose geographical knowledge was at
fault, and positions were, in some cases, abandoned which ought to have
been retained, or tenaciously held when they might have been abandoned.
It was left to the personal exertions of Sir Stamford Raffles to secure
such a supremely important roadstead as that of Singapore for the empire.
Although, therefore, the relative values of positions was not always
recognized, Great Britain obtained as a legacy from sailing days a large
number of harbours admirably adapted for use as coaling stations. Since
the dawn of the era of steam, she has acquired Aden, Perim, Hong-Kong,
North Borneo, Fiji, part of New Guinea, Fanning Island, and many other
islands in the Pacific, while the striking development of Australia and
New Zealand has added to the long roll of British ports. The coaling
stations, actual and potential, of the empire are unrivalled in number,
in convenience of geographical distribution, and in resources. Of the
numerous British ports abroad which contained coal stores, only the four
so-called "fortresses"--Gibraltar, Malta, Halifax and Bermuda--were at
first fortified as naval stations after the introduction of rifled
ordnance. The term fortress is a misnomer in every case except Gibraltar,
which, being a peninsula separated only by a neck of neutral ground from
the territory of a foreign power, exists under fortress conditions. Large
sums were expended on these places with little regard to principles, and
the defences of Bermuda, which were very slowly constructed, are
monuments of misapplied ingenuity.
Carnarvon Commission.
In 1878 great alarm arose from strained relations with Russia. Rumours
of the presence of Russian cruisers in many waters, and of hostile
projects, were readily believed, although the Russian navy, which had
just shown itself unable to face that of Turkey, would at this period
have been practically powerless. Widespread fears for the security of
coaling stations led to the appointment of a strong royal commission,
under the presidency of the earl of Carnarvon, which was instructed to
inquire into and report upon the protection of British commerce at sea.
This was the first attempt to formulate any principles, or to determine
which of the many ports where coal was stored should be treated as
coaling stations essential for the purposes of war. The terms of the
reference to the commission were ill-conceived. The basis of all defence
of sea-borne commerce is a mobile navy. It is the movement of commerce
upon the sea during war, not its security in port, that is essential to
the British empire, and a navy able to protect commerce at sea must
evidently protect ports and coaling stations. The first object of
inquiry should, therefore, have been to lay down the necessary standard
of naval force. The vital question of the navy was not referred to the
royal commission, and the four fortresses were also strangely excluded
from its purview. It followed inevitably that the protection of commerce
was approached at the wrong end, and that the labours of the commission
were to a great extent vitiated by the elimination of the principal
factor. Voluminous and important evidence, which has not been made
public, was, however, accumulated, and the final report was completed in
1881. The commissioners recalled attention to the extreme importance of
the Cape route to the East; they carefully examined the main maritime
communications of the empire, and the distribution of trade upon each;
they selected certain harbours for defence, and they obtained from the
War Office and endorsed projects of fortification in every case; lastly,
they condemned the great dispersion of troops in the West Indies, which
had arisen in days when it was a political object to keep the standing
army out of sight of the British people, and had since been maintained
by pure inadvertence. Although the principal outcome of the careful
inquiries of the commission was to initiate a great system of passive
defence, the able reports were a distinct gain. Some principles were at
last formulated by authority, and the information collected, if it had
been rendered accessible to the public, would have exercised a
beneficial influence upon opinion. Moreover, the commissioners,
overstepping the bounds of their charter, delivered a wise and
statesmanlike warning as to the position of the navy.
Meanwhile, the impulse of the fears of 1878 caused indifferent armaments
to be sent to Cape Town, Singapore and Hong-Kong, there to be mounted
after much delay in roughly designed works. At the same time, the great
colonies of Australasia began to set about the defence of their ports
with commendable earnestness. There is no machinery for giving effect to
the recommendations of a royal commission, and until 1887, when extracts
were laid before the first colonial Conference, the valuable report was
veiled in secrecy. After several years, during which Lord Carnarvon
persistently endeavoured to direct attention to the coaling stations,
the work was begun. In 1885 a fresh panic arose out of the Panjdeh
difficulty, which supplied an impetus to the belated proceedings. Little
had then been accomplished and the works were scarcely completed before
the introduction of long breech-loading guns rendered their armaments
obsolete.
The fortification of the coaling stations for the British empire is
still proceeding on a scale which, in some cases, cannot easily be
reconciled with the principles laid down by the president of the cabinet
committee of defence. At the Guildhall, London, on the 3rd of December
1896, the duke of Devonshire stated that "The maintenance of sea
supremacy has been assumed as the basis of the system of imperial
defence against attack from over the sea. This is the determining factor
in fixing the whole defensive policy of the empire." It was, however, he
added, necessary to provide against "the predatory raids of cruisers";
but "it is in the highest degree improbable that this raiding attack
would be made by more than a few ships, nor could it be of any permanent
effect unless troops were landed." This is an unexceptionable statement
of the requirements of passive defence in the case of the coaling
stations of the British empire. Their protection must depend primarily
on the navy. Their immobile armaments are needed to ward off a raiding
attack, and a few effective guns, well mounted, manned by well-trained
men, and kept in full readiness, will amply suffice.
Modern conditions.
Secondary bases.
If the command of the sea is lost, large expeditionary forces can be
brought to bear upon coaling stations, and their security will thus
depend upon their mobile garrisons, not upon their passive defences. In
any case, where coal is stored on shore, it cannot be destroyed by the
fire of a ship, and it can only be appropriated by landing men. A small
force, well armed and well handled, can effectually prevent a raid of
this nature without any assistance from heavy guns. In war, the
possession of secure coal stores in distant ports may be a great
advantage, but it will rarely suffice for the needs of a fleet engaged
in offensive operations, and requiring to be accompanied or met at
prearranged rendezvous by colliers from which coal can be transferred in
any sheltered waters. In the British naval manoeuvres of 1892, Admiral
Sir Michael Seymour succeeded in coaling his squadron at sea, and by the
aid of mechanical appliances this is frequently possible. In the
Spanish-American War of 1898 some coaling was thus accomplished; but
Guantanamo Bay served the purpose of a coaling station during the
operations against Santiago. Watering at sea was usually carried out by
means of casks in sailing days, and must have been almost as difficult
as coaling. As, however, it is certainty of coaling in a given time that
is of primary importance, the utilization of sheltered waters as
improvised coaling stations is sure to be a marked feature of future
naval wars. Although coaling stations are now eagerly sought for by all
powers which cherish naval ambitions, the annexation of the Hawaiian
Islands by the United States being a case in point, it is probable that
they will play a somewhat less important part than has been assumed. A
fleet which is able to assert and to maintain the command of the sea,
will not find great difficulty in its coal supply. Moreover, the
increased coal endurance of ships of war tends to make their necessary
replenishment less frequent. On the other hand, the modern warship,
being entirely dependent upon a mass of complex machinery, requires the
assistance of workshops to maintain her continuous efficiency, and
unless docked at intervals suffers a material reduction of speed.
Prolonged operations in waters far distant from home bases will
therefore be greatly facilitated in the case of the Power which
possesses local docks and means of executing repairs. Injuries received
in action, which might otherwise disable a ship during a campaign, may
thus be remedied. During the hostilities between France and China in
1884, the French ship "La Galissonnière" was struck by a shell from one
of the Min forts, which, though failing to burst, inflicted serious
damage. As, by a technical fiction, a state of war was not considered to
exist, the "La Galissonnière" was repaired at Hong-Kong and enabled
again to take the sea. Local stores of reserve ammunition and of spare
armaments confer evident advantages. Thus, independently of the question
of coal supply, modern fleets employed at great distances from their
bases require the assistance of ports furnished with special resources,
and a power like Japan with well-equipped naval bases in the China Sea,
and possessing large sources of coal, occupies, for that reason, a
favoured position in regard to naval operations in the Far East. As the
term "coaling station" refers only to a naval need which can often be
satisfied without a visit to any port, it appears less suitable to
modern conditions than "secondary base." Secondary bases, or coaling
stations, when associated with a powerful mobile navy, are sources of
maritime strength in proportion to the services they can render, and to
their convenience of geographical position. In the hands of an inferior
naval power, they may be used, as was Mauritius in 1809-1810, as points
from which to carry on operations against commerce; but unless situated
near to trade routes, which must be followed in war, they are probably
less useful for this purpose than in sailing days, since convoys can now
be more effectively protected, and steamers have considerable latitude
of courses. Isolated ports dependent on sea-borne resources, and without
strong bodies of organized fighting men at their backs are now, as
always, hostages offered to the power which obtains command of the sea.
(G. S. C.)
COALITION (Lat. _coalitio_, the verbal substantive of _coalescere_, to
grow together), a combination of bodies or parts into one body or
whole. The word is used, especially in a political sense, of an alliance
or temporary union for joint action of various powers or states, such as
the coalition of the European powers against France, during the wars of
the French Revolution; and also of the union in a single government of
distinct parties or members of distinct parties. Of the various
coalition ministries in English history, those of Fox and North in 1782,
of the Whigs and the Peelites, under Lord Aberdeen in 1852-1853, and of
the Liberal Unionists and Conservatives in Lord Salisbury's third
ministry in 1895, may be instanced.
COAL-TAR, the black, viscous, sometimes semi-solid, fluid of peculiar
smell, which is condensed together with aqueous "gas liquor" when the
volatile products of the destructive distillation of coal are cooled
down. It is also called "gas-tar," because it was formerly exclusively,
and even now is mostly, obtained as a by-product in the manufacture of
coal-gas, but the tar obtained from the modern coke-ovens, although not
entirely identical with gas-tar, resembles it to such an extent that it
is worked up with the latter, without making any distinction in practice
between the two kinds. Some descriptions of gas-tar indeed differ very
much more than coke-oven tar from pure coal-tar, viz. those which are
formed when bituminous shale or other materials, considerably deviating
in their nature from coal, are mixed with the latter for the purpose of
obtaining gas of higher illuminating power.
It may be generally said that for the purpose of tar-distillers the tar
is all the more valuable the less other materials than real coal have
been used by the gas-maker. All these materials--bog-head shale,
bituminous lignite and so forth--by destructive distillation yield more
or less paraffinoid oils, which render the purification of the benzols
very difficult and sometimes nearly impossible for the purposes of the
manufacturer of coal-tar colours.
Neither too high nor too low a temperature should have been observed in
gas-making in order to obtain a good quality of tar. Since in recent
times most gas retorts have been provided with heating arrangements
based on the production of gaseous fuel from coke, which produce higher
temperatures than direct firing and have proved a great economy in the
process of gas-making itself, the tar has become of decidedly inferior
quality for the purposes of the tar-distillers, and in particular yields
much less benzol than formerly.
Entirely different from gas-tar is the tar obtained as a by-product from
those (Scottish) blast furnaces which are worked with splint-coal. This
tar contains very little aromatic hydrocarbons, and the phenols are of
quite a different character from those obtained in the working of
gas-tar. The same holds good of oil-gas tars and similar substances.
These should not be worked up like gas-tars.
The ordinary yield of tar in the manufacture of coal-gas is between 4
and 5% of the weight of the coal. Rather more is obtained when passing
the gas through the apparatus of E. Pelouze and P. Audouin, where it is
exposed to several shocks against solid surfaces, or by carrying on the
process at the lowest possible temperature, as proposed by H. J. Davis,
but this "carbonizing process" can only pay under special circumstances,
and is probably no longer in practical use.
All coal-tars have a specific gravity above that of water, in most cases
between 1.12 and 1.20, but exceptionally up to 1.25. The heavier tars
contain less benzol than the lighter tars, and more "fixed carbon,"
which remains behind when the tars are exhausted of benzol and is a
decidedly objectionable constituent. All tars also mechanically retain a
certain quantity of water (or rather gas-liquor), say, 4% on the
average, which is very obnoxious during the process of distillation, as
it leads to "bumping," and therefore ought to be previously removed by
prolonged settling, preferably at a slightly elevated temperature, which
makes the tar more fluid. The water then rises to the top, and is
removed in the ordinary way or by special "separators."
The tar itself is a mixture of exceedingly complex character. The great
bulk of its constituents belongs to the class of "aromatic"
hydrocarbons, of very different composition and degrees of volatility,
beginning with the simplest and most volatile, benzene (C6H6), and
ending with an entirely indistinguishable mass of non-volatile bodies,
which compose the pitch left behind in the tar-stills. The hydrocarbons
mostly belong to the benzene series CnH2n-6, the naphthalene series
CnH2n-12, and the anthracene and phenanthrene series CnH2n-18. Small
quantities of "fatty" ("aliphatic") hydrocarbons are never absent, even
in pure tars, and are found in considerable quantities when shales and
similar matters have been mixed with the coal in the gas-retorts. They
belong mostly to the paraffins CnH2n+2, and the olefines CnH2n. The
"asphalt" or soluble part of the pitch is also a mixture of
hydrocarbons, of the formula CnH2n; even the "carbon," left behind after
treating the pitch with all possible solvents is never pure carbon, but
contains a certain quantity of hydrogen, although less than any of the
volatile and soluble constituents of the tar.
Besides the hydrocarbons, coal-tar contains about 2% of the simpler
phenols CnH2n-7OH, the best known and most valuable of which is the
first of the series, carbolic acid (q.v.) C6H5OH, besides another
interesting oxygenized substance, cumarone C8H6O. The phenols,
especially the carbolic acid, are among the more valuable constituents
of coal-tar. Numerous sulphur compounds also occur in coal-tar, some of
which impart to it their peculiar nauseous smell, but they are of no
technical importance or value.
Still more numerous are the nitrogenated compounds contained in
coal-tar. Most of these are of a basic character, and belong to the
pyridine and the quinoline series. Among these we find a somewhat
considerable quantity of aniline, which, however, is never obtained from
the tar for commercial purposes, as its isolation in the pure state is
too difficult. The pyridines are now mostly recovered from coal-tar, but
only in the shape of a mixture of all members of the series which is
principally employed for denaturing alcohol. Some of these nitrogenated
compounds possess considerable antiseptic properties, but on the whole
they are only considered as a contamination of the tar-oils.
_Applications of Coal-Tar in the Crude State._--Large quantities of
coal-tar are employed for various purposes without submitting it to the
process of distillation. It is mostly advisable to dehydrate the tar as
much as possible for any one of its applications, and in some cases it
is previously boiled in order to remove its more volatile constituents.
No preparation whatever is needed if the tar is to be used as _fuel_,
either for heating the gas-retorts or for other purposes. Its
heating-value is equal to the same weight of best coal, but it is very
difficult to burn it completely without producing a great deal of
evil-smelling smoke. This drawback has been overcome by employing the
same means as have been found suitable for the combustion of the heavy
petroleum residues, called "masut," viz. converting the tar into a fine
spray by means of steam or compressed air. When the gas-maker cannot
conveniently or profitably dispose of his tar for other purposes, he
burns it by the above means under his retorts.
Several processes have also been patented for producing _illuminating
gas_ from tar, the most notable of which is the Dinsmore process. This
process has been adversely criticized by very competent gas-makers, and
no great success can be expected in this line.
Coal-tar is very much employed for painting wood, iron, brickwork, or
stone, as a preventive against the influence of weather or the far more
potent action of corrosive chemicals. This, of course, can be done only
where appearance is no object, for instance in chemical works, where all
kinds of erections and apparatus are protected by this cheap kind of
paint. Coal-tar should not be used for tarring the woodwork and ropes of
ships, a purpose for which only wood-tar has been found suitable.
One of the most considerable outlets for crude tar is in the manufacture
of _roofing-felt_. This industry was introduced in Germany upwards of a
hundred years ago, even before coal-tar was available, and has reached a
very large extension both in that country and in the United States,
where most of the gas-tar seems to be devoted to this purpose. In the
United Kingdom it is much less extensive. For this manufacture a
special fabric is made from pure woollen fibre, on rolls of about 3 ft.
width and of considerable length. The tar must be previously dehydrated,
and is preferably deprived of its more volatile portions by heating in a
still. It is heated in an iron pan to about 90° or 100°C.; the fabric is
drawn through it by means of rollers which at the same time squeeze out
the excess of tar; on coming out of these, the tarred felt is covered
with a layer of sand on both sides by means of a self-acting apparatus;
and is ultimately wound round wooden rolls, in which state it is sent
out into the trade. This roofing-felt is used as a cheap covering, both
by itself and as a grounding for tiles or slates. In the former case it
must be kept in repair by repainting with tar from time to time, a top
covering of sand or small gravel being put on after every coat of paint.
Coal-tar is also employed for the manufacture of _lamp-black_. This is
done by burning the tar in ovens, connected with brick-chambers in which
the large quantity of soot, formed in this process, deposits before the
gases escape through the chimney. Numerous patents have been taken out
for more efficiently collecting this soot. Most of it is employed
without further manipulation for the manufacture of electric carbons,
printing inks, shoe-blacking, patent leather and so forth. A finer
quality of lamp-black, free from oily and empyreumatic parts, is
obtained by calcining the soot in closed iron pots at a red heat.
_Distillation of Coal-Tar._--Much more important than all applications
of crude coal-tar is the industry of separating its constituents from it
in a more or less pure form by fractional distillation, mostly followed
by purifying processes. Most naturally this industry took its rise in
Great Britain, where coal-gas was invented and made on a large scale
before any other nation took it up, and up to this day both the
manufacture of coal-gas and the distillation of the tar, obtained as a
by-product thereof, are carried out on a much larger scale in that than
in any other country. The first attempts in this line were made in 1815
by F. C. Accum, and in 1822 by Dr G. D. Longstaff and Dr Dalston. At
first the aim was simply to obtain "naphtha," used in the manufacture of
india-rubber goods, for burning in open lamps and for some descriptions
of varnish; the great bulk of the tar remained behind and was used as
fuel or burned for the purpose of obtaining lamp-black.
It is not quite certain who first discovered in the coal-naphtha the
presence of benzene (q.v.), which had been isolated from oil-gas by M.
Faraday as far back as 1825. John Leigh claims to have shown coal-tar
benzene and nitro-benzene made from it at the British Association
meeting held at Manchester in 1842, but the report of the meeting says
nothing about it, and the world in general learned the presence of
benzene in coal-tar only from the independent discovery of A. W.
Hofmann, published in 1845. And it was most assuredly in Hofmann's
London laboratory that Charles Mansfield worked out that method of
fractional distillation of the coal-tar and of isolating the single
hydrocarbons which laid the foundation of that industry. His patent,
numbered 11,960 and dated November 11th, 1847, is the classical
land-mark of it. About the same time, in 1846, Brönner, at Frankfort,
brought his "grease-remover" into the trade, which consisted of the most
volatile coal-tar oils, of course not separated into the pure
hydrocarbons; he also sold water-white "creosote" and heavy tar-oils for
pickling railway timbers, and used the remainder of the tar for the
manufacture of roofing-felt. The employment of heavy oils for pickling
timber had already been patented in 1838 by John Bethell, and from this
time onward the distillation of coal-tar seems to have been developed in
Great Britain on a larger scale, but the utilization of the light oils
in the present manner naturally took place only after Sir W. H. Perkin,
in 1856, discovered the first aniline colour which suddenly created a
demand for benzene and its homologues. The isolation of carbolic acid
from the heavier oils followed soon after; that of naphthalene, which
takes place almost automatically, went on simultaneously, although the
uses of this hydrocarbon for a long time remained much behind the
quantities which are producible from coal-tar, until the manufacture of
synthetic indigo opened out a wide field for it. The last of the great
discoveries in that line was the preparation of alizarine from
anthracene by C. Graebe and C. T. Liebermann, in 1868, soon followed by
patents for its practical manufacture by Sir W. H. Perkin in England,
and by Graebe, Liebermann and H. Caro in Germany.
The present extension of the industry of coal-tar distilling can be only
very roughly estimated from the quantity of coal-tar produced in various
countries. Decidedly at the head is Great Britain, where about 700,000
tons are produced per annum, most of which probably finds its way into
the tar-distilleries, whilst in Germany and the United States much less
gas-tar is produced and a very large proportion of it is used for
roofing-felt and other purposes.
We shall now give an outline of the processes used in the distillation
of tar.
_Dehydration._--The first operation in coal-tar distilling is the
removal of the mechanically enclosed water. Some water is chemically
combined with the bases, phenols, &c., and this, of course, cannot be
removed by mechanical means, but splits off only during the
distillation itself, when a certain temperature has been reached. The
water mechanically present in the tar is separated by long repose in
large reservoirs. Very thick viscous tars are best mixed with thinner
tars, and the whole is gently heated by coils of pipes through which
the heated water from the oil-condensers is made to flow. Sometimes
special "tar-separators" are employed, working on the centrifugal
principle. The water rises to the top and is worked up like ordinary
gas-liquor. More water is again separated during the heating-up of the
tar in the still itself, and can be removed there by a special
overflow.
[Illustration: FIG. 1.--Tar-Still (sectional elevation).[1]]
_Tar-Stills._--The tar is now pumped into the tar-still, fig. 1. This
is usually, as shown, an upright wrought-iron cylinder, with an arched
top, and with a bottom equally vaulted upwards for the purpose of
increasing the heating surface and of raising the level of the pitch
remaining at the end of the operation above the fire-flues. The fuel
is consumed on the fire-grate a, and, after having traversed the holes
bb in the annular wall e built below the still, the furnace gases are
led around the still by means of the flue d, whence they pass to the
chimney. Cast-iron necks are provided in the top for the outlet of the
vapours, for a man-hole, supply-pipe, thermometer-pipe, safety valve,
and for air and steam-pipes reaching down to the bottom and branching
out into a number of distributing arms. Near the top there is an
overflow pipe which comes into action on filling the still. In the
lowest part of the bottom there is a running-off valve or tap. In some
cases (but only exceptionally) a perpendicular shaft is provided, with
horizontal arms, and chains hanging down from these drag along the
bottom for the purpose of keeping it clean and of facilitating the
escape of the vapours. This arrangement is quite unnecessary where the
removal of the vapours is promoted by the injection of steam, but this
steam must be carefully dried beforehand, or, better, slightly
superheated, in order to prevent explosions, which might be caused by
the entry of liquid water into the tar during the later stages of the
work, when the temperature has arisen far above the boiling-point of
water. The steam acts both by stirring up the tar and by rapidly
carrying off the vapours formed in distillation. The latter object is
even more thoroughly attained by the application of a vacuum,
especially during the later stage of distillation. For this purpose
the receivers, in which the liquids condensed in the cooler are
collected, are connected with an air pump or an ejector, by which a
vacuum of about 4 in., say 1/8 atmosphere, is made which lowers the
boiling process by about 80° C.; this not merely hastens the process,
but also produces an improvement of the quality and yield of the
products, especially of the anthracene, and, moreover, lessens or
altogether prevents the formation of coke on the still-bottom, which
is otherwise very troublesome.
Most manufacturers employ ordinary stills as described. A few of them
have introduced continuously acting stills, of which that constructed
by Frederic Lennard has probably found a wider application than any of
the others. They all work on the principle of gradually heating the
tar in several compartments, following one after the other. The fresh
tar is run in at one end and the pitch is run out from the other. The
vapours formed in the various compartments are separately carried away
and condensed, yielding at one and the same time those products which
are obtained in the ordinary stills at the different periods of the
distillation. Although in theory this continuous process has great
advantages over the ordinary style of working, the complication of the
apparatus and practical difficulties arising in the manipulation have
deterred most manufacturers from introducing it.
The tar-stills are set in brickwork in such a manner that there is no
over-heating of their contents. For this purpose the fire-grate is
placed at a good distance from the bottom or even covered by a brick
arch so that the flame does not touch the still-bottom at all and acts
only indirectly, but the sides of the still are always directly
heated. The fire-flue must not be carried up to a greater height than
is necessary to provide against the overheating of any part of the
still not protected inside by liquid tar, or, at the end of the
operation, by liquid pitch. The outlet pipe is equally protected
against overheating and also against any stoppage by pitch solidifying
therein. The capacity of tar-stills ranges from 5 to 50 tons. They
hold usually about 10 tons, in which case they can be worked off
during one day.
The vapours coming from the still are condensed in coolers of various
shapes, one of which is shown in figs. 2 and 3. The cooling-pipes are
best made of cast-iron, say 4 in. wide inside and laid so as to have a
continuous fall towards the bottom. A steam-pipe (b) is provided for
heating the cooling water, which is necessary during the later part of
the operation to prevent the stopping up of the pipes by the
solidification of the distillates. A cock (a) allows steam to be
injected into the condensing worm in order to clear any obstruction.
[Illustration: FIG. 2.--Condensing Worm (Plan)]
The cooling-pipe is at its lower end connected with receivers for the
various distillates in such a manner that by the turning of a cock the
flow of the distillates into the receivers can be changed at will. In
a suitable place provision is made for watching the colour, the
specific gravity, and the general appearance of the distillates. At
the end of the train of apparatus, and behind the vacuum pump or
ejector, when one is provided, there is sometimes a purifier for the
gases which remain after condensation; or these gases are carried back
into the fire, in which case a water-trap must be interposed to
prevent explosions.
_Distillation of the Tar._--The number of fractions taken during the
distillation varies from four to six. Sometimes a first fraction is
taken as "first runnings," up to a temperature of 105° C. in the
still, and a second fraction as "light oil," up to 210° C., but more
usually these two are not separated in the first distillation, and the
first or "light oil" fraction then embraces everything which comes
over until the drops no longer float on, but show the same specific
gravity as water. The specific gravity of this fraction varies from
0.91 to 0.94. The next fraction is the "middle oil" or "carbolic oil,"
of specific gravity 1.01, boiling up to 240° C.; it contains most of
the carbolic acid and naphthalene. The next fraction is the "heavy
oil" or "creosote oil," of specific gravity 1.04. Where the nature of
the coals distilled for gas is such that the tar contains too little
anthracene to be economically recovered, the creosote-oil fraction is
carried right to the end; but otherwise, that is in most cases, a last
fraction is made at about the temperature 270° C., above which the
"anthracene oil" or "green oil" is obtained up to the finish of the
distillation.
[Illustration: FIG. 3.--Condensing Worm (side elevation).]
During the light-oil period the firing must be performed very
cautiously, especially where the water has not been well removed, to
prevent bumping and boiling over. It has been observed that, apart
from the water, those tars incline most to boiling over which contain
an unusual quantity of "fixed carbon." During this period cold water
must be kept running through the cooler. The distillate at once
separates into water (gas-liquor) and light oil, floating at the top.
Towards the end of this fraction the distillation seems to cease, in
spite of increasing the fires, and a rattling noise is heard in the
still. This is caused by the combined water splitting off from the
bases and phenols and causing slight explosions in the tar.
As soon as the specific gravity approaches 1.0, the supply of cold
water to the cooler is at least partly cut off, so that the
temperature of the water rises up to 40° C. This is necessary because
otherwise some naphthalene would crystallize out and plug up the
pipes. If a little steam is injected into the still during this period
no stoppage of the pipes need be feared in any case, but this must be
done cautiously.
When the carbolic oil has passed over and the temperature in the still
has risen to about 240° C., the distillate can be run freely by always
keeping the temperature in the cooler at least up to 40° C. The
"creosote oil" which now comes over often separates a good deal of
solid naphthalene on cooling.
The last fraction is made, either when the thermometer indicates 270°
C., or when "green grease" appears in the distillate, or simply by
judging from the quantity of the distillate. What comes over now is
the "anthracene oil." The firing may cease towards the end as the
steam (with the vacuum) will finish the work by itself. The water in
the cooler should now approach the boiling-point.
The point of finishing the distillation is different in various places
and for various objects. It depends upon the fact whether _soft_ or
_hard_ pitch is wanted. The latter must be made where it has to be
sold at a distance, as soft pitch cannot be easily carried during the
warmer season in railway trucks and not at all in ships, where it
would run into a single lump. Hard pitch is also always made where as
much anthracene as possible is to be obtained. For hard pitch the
distillation is carried on as far as practicable without causing the
residue in the still to "coke." The end cannot be judged by the
thermometer, but by the appearance and quantity of the distillate and
its specific gravity. If carried too far, not merely is coke formed,
but the pitch is porous and almost useless, and the anthracene oil is
contaminated with high-boiling hydrocarbons which may render it almost
worthless as well. Hard pitch proper should soften at 100° C., or
little above.
Where the distillation is to stop at soft pitch it is, of course, not
carried up to the same point, but wherever the pitch can be disposed
of during the colder season or without a long carriage, even the hard
pitch is preferably softened within the still by pumping back a
sufficient quantity of heavy oil, previously deprived of anthracene.
This makes it much easier to discharge the still. When the contents
consist of soft pitch they are run off without much trouble, but hard
pitch not merely emits extremely pungent vapours, but is mostly at so
high a temperature that it takes fire in the air. Hard pitch must,
therefore, always be run into an iron or brick cooler where it cools
down out of contact with air, until it can be drawn out into the open
pots where its solidification is completed.
Most of the pitch is used for the manufacture of "briquettes" ("patent
fuel"), for which purpose it should soften between 55° and 80° C.
according to the requirements of the buyer. In Germany upwards of
50,000 tons are used annually in that industry; much of it is imported
from the United Kingdom, whence also France and Belgium are provided.
Apart from the softening point the pitch is all the more valued the
more constituents it contains which are soluble in xylene. The portion
insoluble in this is denoted as "fixed carbon." If the briquette
manufacturer has bought the pitch in the hard state he must himself
bring it down to the proper softening point by re-melting it with
heavy coal-tar oils.
We now come to the treatment of the various fractions obtained from
the tar-stills. These operations are frequently not carried out at the
smaller tar-works, which sell their oils in the crude state to the
larger tar-distillers.
_Working up of the Light-Oil Fraction._--The greatest portion of the
light-oil fraction consists of aromatic hydrocarbons, about one-fifth
being naphthalene, four-fifths benzene and its homologues, in the
proportion of about 100 benzene, 30 toluene, 15 xylenes, 10
trimethylbenzenes, 1 tetramethylbenzene. Besides these the light-oil
contains 5-15% phenols, 1-3% bases, 0.1 sulphuretted compounds,
0.2-0.3% nitriles, &c. It is usually first submitted to a preliminary
distillation in directly fired stills, similar to the tar-stills, but
with a dephlegmating head. Here we obtain (1) first runnings (up to
O.89 spec. grav.), (2) heavy benzols (up to O.95), (3) carbolic oil
(up to 1.00). The residue remaining in the still (chiefly naphthalene)
goes to the middle-oil fraction.
The "first runnings" are now "washed" in various ways, of which we
shall describe one of the best. The oil is mixed with dilute caustic
soda solution, and the solution of phenols thus obtained is worked up
with that obtained from the next fractions. After this follows a
treatment with dilute sulphuric acid (spec. grav. 1.3), to extract the
pyridine bases, and lastly with concentrated sulphuric acid (1.84),
which removes some of the aliphatic hydrocarbons and "unsaturated"
compounds. After this the crude benzol is thoroughly washed with water
and dilute caustic soda solution, until its reaction is neutral. The
mixing of the basic, acid and aqueous washing-liquids with the oils is
performed by compressed air, or more suitably by mechanical stirrers,
arranged on a perpendicular, or better, a horizontal shaft. Precisely
the same treatment takes place with the next fraction, the "heavy
benzols," and the oils left behind after the washing operations now go
to the steam-stills. The heaviest hydrocarbons are sometimes twice
subjected to the operation of washing.
The washed crude benzols are now further fractionated by distillation
with steam. The _steam-stills_ are in nearly all details on the
principle of the "column apparatus" employed in the distillation of
alcoholic liquids, as represented in fig. 4. They are usually made of
cast iron. The still itself is either an upright or a horizontal
cylinder, heated by a steam-coil, of a capacity of from 1000 to 2000
gallons. The superposed columns contain from 20 to 50 compartments of
a width of 2½ or 3 ft. The vapours pass into a cooler, and from this
the distillate runs through an apparatus, where the liquor can be seen
and tested, into the receivers. The latter are so arranged that the
water passing over at the same time is automatically removed. This is
especially necessary, because the last fraction is distilled by means
of pure steam.
The fractions made in the steam distillation vary at different works.
In some places the pure hydrocarbons are net extracted and here only
the articles called: "90 per cent. benzol," "50 per cent. benzol,"
"solvent naphtha," "burning naphtha" are made, or any other commercial
articles as they are ordered. The expression "per cent." in this case
does not signify the percentage of real benzene, but that portion
which distills over up to the temperature of 100° C., when a certain
quantity of the article is heated in glass retorts of a definite
shape, with the thermometer inserted in the liquid itself. By the
application of well-constructed rectifying-columns and with proper
care it is, however, possible to obtain in this operation nearly pure
benzene, toluene, xylene, and cumene (in the two last cases a mixture
of the various isomeric hydrocarbons). These hydrocarbons contain only
a slight proportion of thiophene and its isomers, which can be removed
only by a treatment with fuming sulphuric acid, but this is only
exceptionally done.
Sometimes the _pyridine bases_ are recovered from the tarry acid which
is obtained in the treatment of the light oil with sulphuric acid, and
which contains from 10 to 30% of bases, chiefly pyridine and its
homologues with a little aniline, together with resinous substances.
The latter are best removed by a partial precipitation with ammonia,
either in the shape of gas or of concentrated ammoniacal liquor. This
reagent is added until the acid reaction has just disappeared and a
faint smell of pyridine is perceived. The mixture is allowed to
settle, and it then separates into two layers. The upper layer,
containing the impurities, is run off; the lower layer, containing the
sulphates of ammonia and of the pyridine bases, is treated with
ammonia in excess, where it separates into a lower aqueous layer of
ammonium sulphate solution and an oil, consisting of crude pyridine.
This is purified by fractionation in iron stills and distillation over
caustic soda. Most of it is used for denaturing spirit of wine in
Germany, for which purpose it is required to contain 90% of bases
boiling up to 140° C. (see ALCOHOL).
[Illustration: FIG. 4.--Benzol Still (elevation).]
_Working up of the Middle-Oil Fraction (Carbolic Oil
Fraction)._--Owing to its great percentage of naphthalene (about 40%)
this fraction is solid or semi-solid at ordinary temperatures. Its
specific gravity is about 1.2; its colour may vary from light yellow
to dark brown or black. In the latter case it must be re-distilled
before further treatment. On cooling down, about four-fifths of the
naphthalene crystallizes out on standing from three to ten days. The
crystals are freed from the mother oils by draining and cold or hot
pressing; they are then washed at 100° C. with concentrated sulphuric
acid, afterwards with water and re-distilled or sublimed. About 10,000
tons of naphthalene are used annually in Germany, mostly for the
manufacture of many azo-colours and of synthetic indigo.
The oils drained from the crude naphthalene are re-distilled and
worked for carbolic acid and its isomers. For this purpose the oil is
washed with a solution of caustic soda, of specific gravity 1.1; the
solution thus obtained is treated with sulphuric acid or with carbon
dioxide, and the crude phenols now separated are fractionated in a
similar manner as is done in the case of crude benzol. The pure phenol
crystallizes out and is again distilled in iron stills with a silver
head and cooling worm; the remaining oils, consisting mainly of
cresols, are sold as "liquid carbolic acid" or under other names.
Most of the oil which passes as the "creosote-oil fraction" is sold in
the crude state for the purpose of pickling timber. It is at the
ordinary temperature a semi-solid mixture of about 20% crystallized
hydrocarbons (chiefly naphthalene), and 80% of a dark brown, nauseous
smelling oil, of 1.04 spec. grav., and boiling between 200° and 300°
C. The liquid portion contains phenols, bases, and a great number of
hydrocarbons. Sometimes it is redistilled, when most of the
naphthalene passes over in the first fraction, between 180° and 230°
C., and crystallizes out in a nearly pure state. The oily portion
remaining behind, about 60% of this distillate, contains about 30%
phenols and 3% bases. It has highly disinfectant properties and is
frequently converted into special disinfectants, e.g. by mixing it
with four times its volume of slaked lime, which yields "disinfectant
powder" for stables, railway cars, &c. Mixtures of potash soaps (soft
soaps) with this oil have the property of yielding with water
emulsions which do not settle for a long time and are found in the
trade as "creolin," "sapocarbol," "lysol," &c.
That description of creosote oil which is sold for the purpose of
pickling railway sleepers, telegraph posts, timber for the erection of
wharves and so forth, must satisfy special requirements which are laid
down in the specifications for tenders to public bodies. These vary to
a considerable extent. They always stipulate (1) a certain specific
gravity (e.g. not below 1.035 and not above 1.065); (2) certain limits
of boiling points (e.g. to yield at most 3% up to 150°, at most 30%
between 150° and 255°, and at least 85% between 150° and 355°); (3) a
certain percentage of phenols, as shown by extraction with caustic
soda solution, say 8 to 10%.
Much of this creosote oil is obtained by mixing that which has
resulted in the direct distillation of the tar with the liquid portion
of the anthracene oils after separating the crude anthracene (see
below). It is frequently stipulated that the oil should remain clear
at the ordinary temperature, say 15° C., which means that no
naphthalene should crystallize out.
_Working up the Anthracene Oil Fraction._--The crude oil boils between
280° and 400° C. It is liquid at 60° C., but on cooling about 6 to 10%
of crude anthracene separates as greenish-yellow, sandy crystals,
containing about 30% of real anthracene, together with a large
percentage of carbazol and phenanthrene. This crystallization takes
about a week. The crude anthracene is separated from the mother oils
by filter presses, followed by centrifugals or by hot hydraulic
presses. The liquid oils are redistilled, in order to obtain more
anthracene, and the last oils go back to the creosote oil, or are
employed for softening the hard pitch (_vide supra_). The crude
anthracene is brought up to 50 or 60, sometimes to 80%, by washing
with solvent naphtha, or more efficiently with the higher boiling
portion of the pyridine bases. The naphtha removes mostly only the
phenanthrene, but the carbazol can be removed only by pyridine, or by
subliming or distilling the anthracene over caustic potash. The whole
of the anthracene is sold for the manufacture of artificial alizarine.
BIBLIOGRAPHY.--The principal work on Coal-tar is G. Lunge's _Coal-tar
and Ammonia_ (3rd ed., 1900). Consult also G. P. Sadtler, _Handbook of
Industrial Organic Chemistry_ (1891), and the article
"Steinkohlentheer," Kraemer and Spreker, in _Encyklopädisches Handbuch
der technischen Chemie_ (4th ed., 1905, viii. 1). (G. L.)
FOOTNOTE:
[1] The illustrations in this article are from Prof. G. Lunge's _Coal
Tar and Ammonia_, by permission of Friedrich Vieweg u. Sohn.
COALVILLE, a town in the Loughborough parliamentary division of
Leicestershire, England, 112 m. N.N.W. from London. Pop. of urban
district (1901) 15,281. It is served by the Midland railway, and there
is also a station (Coalville East) on the Nuneaton-Loughborough branch
of the London & North-Western railway. This is a town of modern growth,
a centre of the coal-mining district of north Leicestershire. There are
also iron foundries and brick-works. A mile north of Coalville is
Whitwick, with remains of a castle of Norman date, while to the north
again are slight remains of the nunnery of Gracedieu, founded in 1240,
where, after its dissolution, Francis Beaumont, the poet-colleague of
John Fletcher, was born about 1586. In the neighbourhood is the Trappist
abbey of Mount St Bernard, founded in 1835, possessing a large domain,
with buildings completed from the designs of A. W. Pugin in 1844.
COAST (from Lat. _costa_, a rib, side), the part of the land which meets
the sea in a line of more or less regular form. The word is sometimes
applied to the bank of a river or lake, and sometimes to a region (cf.
Gold Coast, Coromandel Coast) which may include the hinterland. If the
coast-line runs parallel to a mountain range, such as the Andes, it has
usually a more regular form than when, as in the _rias_ coast of west
Brittany, it crosses the crustal folds. Again, a recently elevated coast
is more regular than one that has been long exposed to wave action. A
recently depressed coast will show the irregularities that were
impressed upon the surface before submergence. Wave erosion and the
action of marine currents are the chief agents in coast sculpture. A
coast of homogeneous rock exposed to similar action will present a
regular outline, but if exposed to differential action it will be
embayed where that action is greatest. A coast consisting of rocks of
unequal hardness or of unequal structure will present headlands,
"stacks" and "needles" of hard rocks, and bays of softer or more loosely
aggregated rocks, when the wave and current action is similar
throughout. The southern shore-line of the Isle of Wight and the western
coast of Wales are simple examples of this differential resistance. In
time the coast becomes "mature" and its outline undergoes little change
as it gradually recedes, for the hard rock being now more exposed is
worn away faster, but the softer rock more slowly because it is
protected in the bays and re-entrants.
COAST DEFENCE, a general term for the military and naval protection and
defence of a coast-line, harbours, dockyards, coaling-stations, &c.,
against serious attack by a strong naval force of the enemy,
bombardment, torpedo boat or destroyer raids, hostile landing parties,
or invasion by a large or small army. The principal means employed by
the defender to cope with these and other forms of attack which may be
expected in time of war or political crisis are described below. See
also for further details NAVY; ARMY; FORTIFICATION AND SIEGE-CRAFT;
AMMUNITION; ORDNANCE; SUBMARINE MINES; TORPEDO. The following is a
general description of modern coast defences as applied in the British
service.
No system of coast defence is of any value which does not take full
account of the general distribution of sea-power and the resultant
strength of the possible hostile forces. By resultant strength is meant
the balance of one side over the other, for it is now generally regarded
as an axiom that two opposing fleets must make their main effort in
seeking one another, and that the force available for attack on coast
defences will be either composed of such ships as can be spared from the
main engagement, or the remnant of the hostile fleet after it has been
victorious in a general action.
Coast defences are thus the complement and to some extent the measure of
naval strength. It is often assumed that this principle was neglected in
the large scheme of fortification associated in England with the name of
Lord Palmerston, but it is at least arguable that the engineers
responsible for the details of this scheme were dependent then as now on
the naval view of what was a suitable naval strength. Public opinion has
since been educated to a better appreciation of the necessity for a
strong navy, and, as the British navy has increased, the scale of coast
defences required has necessarily waned. Such a change of opinion is
always gradual, and it is difficult to name an exact date on which it
may be said that modern coast defence, as practised by British
engineers, first began.
An approximation may, however, be made by taking the bombardment of
Alexandria (1881) as being the parting of the ways between the old and
the modern school. At that time the British navy, and in fact all other
navies, had not really emerged from the stage of the wooden battleships.
Guns were still muzzle-loaders, arranged mainly in broadsides, and
protected by heavy armour; sails were still used as means of propulsion;
torpedoes, net defence, signalling, and search-lights quite undeveloped.
At this time coast defences bore a close resemblance to the ships--the
guns were muzzle-loaders, arranged in long batteries like a broadside,
often in two tiers. The improvement of rifled ordnance had called for
increased protection, and this was found first by solid constructions of
granite, and latterly by massive iron fronts. Examples of these remain
in Garrison Fort, Sheerness, and in Hurst Castle at the west end of the
Solent. The range of guns being then relatively short, it was necessary
to place forts at fairly close intervals, and where the channels to be
defended could not be spanned from the shore, massive structures with
two or even three tiers of guns, placed as close as on board ship and
behind heavy armour, were built up from the ocean bed. On both sides the
calibre and weight of guns were increasing, till the enormous sizes of
80 and 100 tons were used both ashore and afloat.
The bombardment of Alexandria established two new principles, or new
applications of old principles, by showing the value of concealment and
dispersion in reducing the effect of the fire of the fleet. On the old
system, two ships firing at one another or ships firing at an
iron-fronted fort shot "mainly into the brown"; if they missed the gun
aimed at, one to the right or left was likely to be hit; if they missed
the water-line, the upper works were in danger. At Alexandria, however,
the Egyptian guns were scattered over a long line of shore, and it was
soon found that with the guns and gunners available, hits could only be
obtained by running in to short range and dealing with one gun at a
time.
This new principle was not at once recognized, for systems die hard,
and much money and brains were invested in the then existing system. But
a modern school was gradually formed; a small group of engineer officers
under the headship of Sir Andrew Clarke, the then inspector-general of
fortifications, took the matter up, and by degrees the new views
prevailed and the modern school of coast defence came into being between
1881 and 1885. Meanwhile important changes had been developing in the
gun, the all-important weapon of coast defence, changes due mainly to
the gradual supersession of the muzzle-loader by the breech-loader. The
latter gave the advantages of quicker loading and more protection for
the gun detachment over and above the technical improvements in the gun
itself, which gave higher muzzle velocity, greater striking effect and
longer effective range.
All this reacted on the general scheme of coast defence by enabling the
number of guns to be reduced and the distance between forts increased.
On the other hand, the ships, too, gained increased range and increased
accuracy of fire, so that it became necessary in many cases to advance
the general line of the coast defences farther from the harbour or
dockyard to be defended, in order to keep the attackers out of range of
the objective.
Another change resulted from an improvement in the method of mounting.
Even in the older days discussion had arisen freely on the relative
merits of barbette and casemate mounting. In the former the gun fires
over a parapet, giving a larger field of view to the gun-layer, and a
larger field of fire for the gun, with, however, more exposure for the
detachment. The latter gives a restricted view and greater safety to the
layer, but unless the casemate takes the form of a revolving turret, the
arc of fire is very limited.
An important advantage of the barbette system is its cheapness, and thus
in order to obtain with it concealment, suggestions were made for
various forms of mounting which would allow of the gun, under the shock
of recoil, disappearing behind the parapet to emerge only when loaded
and ready for the next round. A mounting of this description for
muzzle-loading guns, designed by Colonel Moncrieff, was actually in use
in the defences of Alexandria and in H.M.S. "Téméraire."
But with the increased charges and length of breech-loading guns, a
further change was desirable, and after some trials a system of
disappearing mountings (see Ordnance: _Garrison Mountings_) was adopted
into the British service.
A word must be now said on the size of gun finally adopted. At first
muzzle-loaders figured largely in the British defences, even though
these were planned on modern ideas; and even in 1906 muzzle-loading guns
still existed and were counted as part of the defences. The sizes of
these guns varied from the 32- or 64-pounder, of which the nomenclature
depends on the weight of the shell, to the 7-in., 9-in., 10-in., 11-in.,
12.5- and finally 17.25-in., the size indicating the calibre. Such a
multiplication of sizes was due to gradual improvements in the science
of gun manufacture, each advance being hailed as the last word to be
said on the subject, and each in turn being rapidly made obsolete by
something bigger and better. But with the improvements in gun design
which followed the introduction of breech-loaders, the types used in
coast defence were gradually narrowed down to two, the 9.2-in. and the
6-in. guns. Of these, the 9.2-in. was considered powerful enough to
attack armour at any practical range, while the 6-in. gun was introduced
to deal with lightly armed vessels at shorter ranges where 9.2-in. guns
were unnecessarily powerful.
A few larger guns of 10-in. calibre have actually been used, but though
the British navy has now sealed a 12-in. 50-ton gun as the stock size
for battleships, for the heavy armament of the coast defences the War
Office remain faithful to the 9.2-in. calibre, preferring to develop
improvements rather in the direction of more rapid fire and higher
muzzle velocity.
The 6-in. has also been retained and is extensively used for the smaller
ports, where attack by powerful vessels is for various reasons
considered improbable.
The design of the forts to contain the guns necessarily varied with the
type of defence adopted, and the duties which the forts had to fulfil.
These duties may be said to be twofold, first to facilitate the service
of the guns, and secondly to protect the guns and their detachments from
damage by fire from ships, or by close attack from landing parties. The
service of the gun is provided for by a system of cartridge and shell
magazines (see AMMUNITION), well protected from fire and suitably
arranged. The shelters for the gun detachments must be bomb-proof and
fitted with some arrangements for comfort and sanitation. Formerly it
was the custom to provide living accommodation for the full garrison in
casemates inside each fort, but it is now considered better to provide
barrack accommodation in the vicinity and to occupy forts in peace only
by a few caretakers. The shelters in the fort itself can thus be kept at
the minimum required when actually manning the guns. The protection of
the guns and magazines against bombardment is provided, in the British
service, mainly by an earthen parapet over a substantial roof or wall of
concrete, but immediately round the gun an "apron" of concrete is
necessary to withstand the shock of discharge or "blast."
It has been already mentioned that in the old designs a large number of
guns was put in each fort, but with dispersion and improved gun power
this number was much reduced. At first the type of fort adopted was for
four guns, of which the two in the centre were heavy and the two on the
flank of medium power. Such a design was good from the point of view of
the engineer; it gave an economical grouping of magazines and shelters
and was easily adapted to varying sites, and the smaller guns helped the
larger by covering their flanks both towards the sea and also over the
land approaches. But from the point of view of the artillery officer the
arrangement was faulty, for when the guns are too much separated,
ranging has to be carried out separately for each gun. On the other
hand, two guns of the same calibre placed near one another can be fought
simultaneously and form what is known as a "group." In the typical 4-gun
battery described above, the flank guns had to be fought independently,
which was wasteful of officers and staff. Further, in a battery of more
than two guns the arc of fire of the centre guns is much restricted by
that of the guns on either flank.
For these reasons it is now generally recognized that new works should
be designed for only two guns of the same calibre, though 3- or 4-gun
batteries are occasionally used in special circumstances.
Protection of the gun detachments against infantry attack is best
provided by a line of infantry posts outside and on the flanks of the
gun batteries, but as small parties may evade the outposts, or the
latter may be driven in, it is necessary to place round each fort a line
of obstacles sufficient to protect the guns against a rush and to cover
the infantry while it rallies. This obstacle was formerly a wet or dry
ditch, with escarp, counterscarp and flanking galleries; but with the
new design of parapet a simpler form of obstacle was adopted. This was
obtained by carrying down and forward the slope of the parapet to a
point well below the level of the surrounding ground, and then placing a
stout fence at the foot of the parapet and concealed from view. It is in
fact the old principle of the sunk fence, and has this further
advantage, that the fence, being visible from the parapet, can be kept
under fire by men posted between the guns without any special flanking
galleries.
Occasionally two or more batteries are placed inside one line of
obstacles, but usually each 2-gun battery is complete in itself.
Cases arise, e.g. with sites on the top of a cliff, where no obstacle is
required; in such places the parapet merges into the surrounding ground.
In old days the parapet was shaped with well-defined edges and slopes.
Now the parapet slopes gently down to the front and is rounded at the
sides, so as to present no definite edge or angle to the enemy, and
concealment is furthered by allowing grass or small scrub to grow over
the parapet and round the guns. In order to obtain complete concealment
from view the background behind the guns must be carefully studied from
the point of view of the attack. Sites on the sky-line, and marked
contrasts of colour or shape, should be avoided. In some cases extensive
planting, amounting to landscape gardening, is justified. This is most
easily arranged in the tropics, where plant growth is rapid. In all
cases the guns and their mountings should be coloured to blend with the
background and thus avoid hard lines and shadows.
Any change of principle such as that of 1885 involves improvements both
in guns and their adjuncts. Of these latter the most important was the
position-finder designed by Colonel Watkin. This instrument in its
simplest form, when the observer is following a ship through the
telescope of the instrument, draws on a chart the track of the ship, so
that the exact bearing and distance of the latter can be ascertained at
any time and communicated to the guns by electrical and other dials, &c.
The position-finder may be some distance from the guns it serves, and
connected with them by electric cable. The guns can then be placed well
under cover and in many cases out of sight of the target, giving a
measure of protection which cannot be obtained with any system of direct
laying over sights. This instrument has been applied on a high site to
control guns placed low, or where guns are so placed as to be liable to
obscuration by fog or mist the position-finder can be placed below the
fog-line. In either case direct laying is provided for as an
alternative. In some defences batteries equipped with old pattern 9-in.
muzzle-loading guns, mounted as howitzers for long-range firing, have
been placed in folds in the ground so as to be quite invisible from the
sea and therefore invulnerable. Such batteries are fought entirely by
the position-finder.
The next adjunct to coast defences is the submarine mine. In Great
Britain the first submarine mining company dates from 1873, and from
that date mining defences were gradually installed both at home and
abroad; but the modern system of mining, which for twenty years was
maintained at British ports, really started into full life under the
impetus of Sir A. Clarke, about the same year (1885) in which we have
dated the commencement of the modern coast defence system.
With the increased speed of warships, a method of attack on
fortifications was evolved by running past the main defences and either
taking them in reverse, or disregarding them and attacking the dockyard
or other objective at short range. This was made more possible at most
defended ports by the pushing forward of the defences which has been
already alluded to, and it is especially dangerous where dockyards or
towns are situated some way up a river or estuary, so that once the
defences are passed there is a large stretch of water (e.g. the Thames,
the Solent, and Cork harbour) in which the enemy can manoeuvre. In such
cases there are two possible forms of defence, first by arranging for
gun-fire behind the main gun position, usually called the defence of
inner waters, and secondly by placing in the entrance and under the fire
of the main gun defence some form of obstruction to detain ships under
fire. This obstruction can be _passive_ (booms, chains, rows of piles or
sunken ships) or _active_ (mines or torpedoes). Passive obstructions are
only effective against comparatively small craft, and at important ports
mines are the only efficient obstruction which can be used against large
vessels.
After some years of experiment, English engineers adopted two main
classes of mines, called "observation" and "contact" mines (see
SUBMARINE MINES). Both were fired by electricity, which was applied only
at the moment a hostile ship was within the dangerous zone of a mine. In
the observation mines the moment of applying the electric current was
ascertained by a position-finder, which, tracing a ship's course on a
chart, made an electrical connexion at the moment the ship was over a
mine. These mines were placed so as to be well below the bottom of any
ships afloat and were used in channels which it was desired to leave
open for the entrance of friendly vessels. Contact mines, which are
moored a few feet below the surface of the water, are fired after
certain electrical connexions have been made in a firing room on shore
by the ship itself striking against the mine. These are used in waters
which it is intended to deny to friend and foe. Except in narrow waters
where the whole width of the channel was required for friendly traffic,
contact mines were generally used to limit the width of the channel to
the minimum consistent with the amount of friendly traffic which would
use the port in war. It will be readily understood that by bending this
channel and disclosing its exact position only to special pilots, a very
complete measure of security against surprise would be obtained. In
English ports the practical importance of allowing free ingress for
friendly traffic overruled all other considerations, and the friendly
channels were always straight and coincided with some part of the usual
fairway channel. They were also carefully marked by lightships and
buoys.
A variation of the submarine mine is the Brennan torpedo, purchased by
the British government about 1890. This differs from the torpedo used on
board ship, mainly by the fact that the engine-power which drives it is
on shore and connected with the torpedo by two strong wires. These wires
are wound out of the torpedo by the engine, and by varying the strain on
the two wires very accurate control of the steering can be obtained.
This torpedo shares with the submarine mine the disadvantages that it
must wait for the enemy to venture within its range, and with all other
forms of defence (except contact mines), that it is made useless by fog
or rain. As compared with a mine it has the advantage of being
unaffected by tide or depth, and of forming no obstruction to traffic,
except when actually in action. It was installed at the principal ports
only.
The system of defence hitherto described is thus a main gun defence of
9.2-in. and 6-in. guns pushed well forward, assisted by
position-finders, mine-fields and torpedo stations, and with some gun
defence of inner waters. Subject to improvements in patterns of guns and
mountings--of which the most important has been the substitution of
barbette mounting and shield for the recoil mounting described
above--this system held the field up to 1905, when, partly as a result
of the experience of the Russo-Japanese War, and partly owing to the
alteration of the naval balance of power due to the destruction of the
Russian fleet, both the scale and system of defence were very
considerably modified.
We can now consider another branch of defence, which was evolved _pari
passu_ with the automobile torpedo, and was therefore almost
non-existent in 1885. In this year the boats specially built for
carrying torpedoes were little more than launches, but in the next five
years was developed the type of first-class torpedo boat. This, while
seaworthy, was limited as to its radius of action by the small amount of
coal it would carry. But with a possibly hostile coast only a few hours'
steam away, and with foreign harbours thronged with torpedo craft, it
became necessary for the British government especially to consider this
form of attack and its antidote. It was obvious that in daytime and in
clear weather such an attack would have little chance of success, also
that in no circumstances would torpedo boats be able to damage fixed
defences. Their best chance was attack by night, and the only form of
attack was that referred to above as "running past," that is, an attempt
to evade the defences and to attack ships or docks inside. The light
draught of torpedo boats and their comparative invisibility favoured
this form of attack.
To meet it the first requirement was some form of illumination of the
defended channel. Experiments in the attack and defence of defended
harbours took place at Gosport in 1879 and 1880, at Milford Haven in
1885, at Berehaven (by the royal navy) in 1886, at Langston Harbour in
1887, and a series at the Needles entrance of the Isle of Wight up to
1892. During the course of these experiments various methods of
illumination were tried, but by far the best was found to be the light
from an electric arc-lamp of high power projected by powerful
reflectors. At first these were used as concentrated beams forming a
pencil of light with an angular opening of about 2° to 3°. Such a beam
directed at an incoming ship gives effective illumination up to a mile
or more from the source of light, but has the disadvantage that it must
be moved so as to follow the ship's movements. Each beam thus lights
only one ship at a time, and the movements of several beams crossing and
recrossing have a very confusing effect, with the consequent risk that a
proportion of the attacking vessels may slip through unnoticed.
An alternative method of using electric lights is to arrange the
projector so that the light comes out in a fan (generally of 30°
divergence). Two or three such lights are usually placed side by side,
forming an illuminated fan of considerable divergence. These fans are
now used for the main defence, with in front of them one or more
search-lights to warn the defences of the approach of ships. There is
some loss of range when using these fans as compared with search-lights,
but by occupying both sides of a channel and placing the defences
against torpedo boats at the narrowest point, an effective illumination
can be obtained in moderate weather.
Heavy guns can, of course, be fired against torpedo boats, but their
rate of fire is relatively slow, and at first they had also the
disadvantage of using black powder, the smoke of which obscured the
lights.
A small quick-firing gun using smokeless powder was seen to be a
necessity. At first the 6-pounder was adopted as the stock size
supplemented by machine guns for close range, but soon afterwards it
became necessary to reconsider the scale of anti-torpedo boat defences,
owing first to the increased size of first-class torpedo boats, and
secondly to the introduction of a new type of vessel, the torpedo boat
destroyer. The increased size of torpedo boats, and improved
arrangements for the distribution of coal on board, made these boats
practically proof against 6-pounder guns and necessitated the
introduction of the 12-pounder. The torpedo boat destroyer, originally
introduced to chase and destroy torpedo boats, not only justified its
existence by checking the construction of more torpedo boats, but in
addition became itself a sea-going torpedo craft, and thus increased the
menace to defended ports and also the area over which this form of
attack would be dangerous.
This development was met by an increased number of 12-pounder guns,
assisted in the more important places by 4.7-in. (and latterly 4-in.)
guns, and also by an increased number of lights, both guns and lights
increasing at some places nearly fourfold. But even with the best
possible arrangement of this form of defence, the possibility of
interference by fog, mist or rain introduces a considerable element of
uncertainty.
About the same time, and largely on account of the demand for better and
quicker firing, the "automatic sight" was introduced (see ORDNANCE:
_GARRISON_; and SIGHTS). In this, a development of the principle of the
position-finder, the act of bringing an object into the field of the
auto-sight automatically lays the gun. In order to take full advantage
of this, the ammunition was made up into a cartridge with powder and
shell in one case to allow of the quickest possible loading. It may be
added that the efficiency of the auto-sight depends on the gun being a
certain height above the water, and that therefore the rise and fall of
tide has to be allowed for in setting the sight.
In view of the possible interference by fog it was thought wise at an
early stage to provide, towards the rear of the defences, some form of
physical obstacle behind which ships could lie in safety. Such an
obstacle had been designed in the early days by the Royal Engineers and
took the form of a "boom" of baulks of timber secured by chains. Such
booms were limited in size by considerations of expense and were only
partially successful. About 1892 the British navy took the matter up and
began experiments on a larger scale, substituting wire hawsers for
chains and using old gunboats to divide the booms up into sections of
convenient length. The result was that booms were definitely adopted as
an adjunct of coast defence. Their place is behind the lighted area, but
within reach of some of the anti-torpedo boat batteries.
Other forms of obstacle to torpedo boat attack, based on a modification
of contact mines or a combination of mines and passive obstructions,
have been tried but never definitely adopted, though some form of
under-water defence of this description seems necessary to meet attack
by submarines.
We may now summarize the anti-torpedo boat defences. These are, first,
an outpost or look-out line of electric search-lights, then a main
lighted area composed of fixed lights with which there are a
considerable number of 12-pounder or 4-in. Q.F. guns fitted with
auto-sights, and behind all this, usually at the narrowest part of the
entrance, the boom.
Once coast defences are designed and installed, little change is
possible during an attack, so that the operation of fighting a system of
defence, such as we have considered above, is mainly a matter of peace
training of gun-crews, electric light men and look-outs, coupled with
careful organization. To facilitate the transmission of order and
intelligence, a considerable system of telephonic and other electrical
communication has been established. This may be considered under the
three heads of (1) orders, (2) intelligence, (3) administration.
The communication of _orders_ follows the organization adopted for the
whole fortress. Each fortress is commanded by a fortress commander, who
has a suitable staff. This officer sends orders to commanders of
artillery, engineers, and infantry. The artillery officer in charge of a
group of batteries is called a "fire commander"; his command is
generally confined to such batteries as fire over the same area of water
and can mutually support one another. Thus there may be several fire
commanders at a defended port. Anti-torpedo boat batteries are not in a
fire command, and are connected to the telephone system for intelligence
only and not for orders. The engineers require orders for the control of
electric lights or Brennan torpedo. The officer in charge of a group of
lights or of a torpedo station is called a director. Though receiving
orders direct from the fortress commander, he has also to co-operate
with the nearest artillery commander. The infantry are posted on the
flanks of the fixed defences, or on the land front. They are divided
into suitable groups, each under a commanding officer, who communicates
with the fortress commander. In large fortresses the area is divided
into sections, each including some portion of the artillery, engineers,
and infantry defence. In such cases the section commanders receive
orders from the fortress commander and pass them on to their
subordinates.
The _intelligence_ system includes communication with the naval signal
stations in the vicinity, one of which is specially selected for each
port as the warning station and is directly connected to some part of
the defences. Another part of the intelligence system deals with the
arrangements for examining all ships entering a harbour. This is usually
effected by posting in each entrance examination vessels, which are in
communication by signal with a battery or selected post on shore. Any
points on shore which can see the approaches are connected by a special
alarm circuit, mainly for use in case of torpedo boat attack.
The _administrative_ system of telephones is used for daily routine
messages. These usually take the form of telephone lines radiating from
a central exchange. In many stations the same lines may be used for
command and administration, or intelligence and command, but at the
larger stations each class of line is kept distinct. (W. B. B.)
COASTGUARD, a naval force maintained in Great Britain and Ireland to
suppress smuggling, aid shipwrecked vessels and serve as a reserve to
the navy. The coastguard was originally designed to prevent smuggling.
Before 1816 this duty was entrusted to the revenue cutters, and to a
body of "riding officers," mounted men who were frequently supported by
detachments of dragoons. The crews of the cutters and the riding
officers were under the authority of the custom house in London, and
were appointed by the treasury. On the conclusion of the war with
Napoleon in 1815 it was resolved to take stricter precautions against
smuggling. A "coast blockade" was established in Kent and Sussex. The
"Ramillies" (74) was stationed in the Downs and the "Hyperion" (42) at
Newhaven. A number of half-pay naval lieutenants were appointed to these
vessels, but were stationed with detachments of men and boats at the
Martello towers erected along the coast as a defence against French
invasion. They were known as the "preventive water guard" or the
"preventive service." The crews of the boats were partly drawn from the
revenue cutters, and partly hired from among men of all trades. The
"coast blockade" was extended to all parts of the coast. The revenue
cutters and the riding officers continued to be employed, and the whole
force was under the direction of the custom house. The whole was divided
into districts under the command of naval officers. In 1822 the elements
of which the preventive water guard was composed were consolidated, and
in 1829 it was ordered that only sailors or fishermen should be engaged
as boatmen. In 1830 the whole service consisted of 50 revenue cutters,
fine vessels of 150 and 200 tons, of the "preventive boats," and the
riding officers. In 1831, during the administration of Sir James Graham,
the service was transferred to the admiralty, though the custom house
flag was used till 1857. After 1840 the men were drilled "in the common
formations," mainly with a view to being employed for the maintenance of
order and in support of the police, in case of Chartist or other
agitations. But in 1845 the first steps were taken to utilize the
coastguard as a reserve to the navy. The boatmen were required to sign
an engagement to serve in the navy if called upon. In May 1857 the
service was transferred entirely to the admiralty, and the coastguard
became a part of the navy, using the navy flag. The districts were
placed under captains of the navy, known as district captains, in
command of ships stationed at points round the coast. Since that year
the coastguard has been recruited from the navy, and has been required
to do regular periods of drill at sea, on terms laid down by the
admiralty from time to time. It has, in fact, been a form of naval
reserve.
The rise and early history of the coastguard are told in _Smuggling
Days and Smuggling Ways_, by the Hon. Henry N. Shore, R.N., (London,
1892). Its later history must be traced in the _Queen's_ (and
_King's_) _Regulations and Admiralty Instructions_ of successive
years. (D. H.)
COASTING, usually called tobogganing (q.v.) in Europe, the sport of
sliding down snow or ice-covered hills or artificial inclines upon
hand-sleds, or sledges, provided with runners shod with iron or steel.
It is uncertain whether the first American sleds were copied from the
Indian toboggans, but no sled without runners was known in the United
States before 1870, except to the woodsmen of the Canadian border.
American laws have greatly restricted, and in most places prohibited,
the practice, once common, of coasting on the highways; and the sport is
mainly confined to open hills and artificial inclines or chutes. Two
forms of hand-sled are usual in America, the original "clipper" type,
built low with long, pointed sides, originally shod with iron but since
1850 with round steel runners; and the light, short "girls' sled," with
high skeleton sides, usually flat shod. There is also the
"double-runner," or "bob-sled," formed of two clipper sleds joined by a
board and steered by ropes, a wheel or a cross-bar, and seating from
four to ten persons.
In Scandinavia several kinds of sled are common, but that of the
fishermen, by means of which they transport their catch over the frozen
fjords, is the one used in coasting, a sport especially popular in the
neighbourhood of Christiania, where there are courses nearly 3 m. in
length. This sled is from 4 to 6 ft. long, with skeleton sides about 7
in. high, and generally holds three persons. It is steered by two long
sticks trailing behind. On the ice the fisherman propels his sled by
means of two short picks. The general Norwegian name for sledge is
_skijälker_, the primitive form being a kind of toboggan provided with
broad wooden runners resembling the ski (q.v.). In northern Sweden and
Finland the commonest form of single sled is the _Sparkstottinger_,
built high at the back, the coaster standing up and steering by means of
two handles projecting from the sides.
Coasting in its highest development may be seen in Switzerland, at the
fashionable winter resorts of the Engadine, where it is called
tobogganing. The first regular races there were organized by John
Addington Symonds, who instituted an annual contest for a challenge cup,
open to all comers, over the steep post-road from Davos to Klosters, the
finest natural coast in Switzerland, the sled used being the primitive
native _Schlittli_ or _Handschlitten_, a miniature copy of the ancient
horse-sledge. Soon afterwards followed the construction of great
artificial runs, the most famous being the "Cresta" at St Moritz, begun
in 1884, which is about 1350 yds. in length, its dangerous curves banked
up like those of a bicycle track. On this the annual "Grand National"
championship is contested, the winner's time being the shortest
aggregate of three heats. In 1885 and the following year the native
_Schlittli_ remained in use, the rider sitting upright facing the goal,
and steering either with the heels or with short picks. In 1887 the
first American clipper sled was introduced by L. P. Child, who easily
won the championship for that year on it. The sled now used by the
contestants is a development of the American type, built of steel and
skeleton in form. With it a speed of over 70 m. an hour has been
attained. The coaster lies flat upon it and steers with his feet, shod
with spiked shoes, to render braking easier, and helped with his gloved
hands. The "double-runner" has also been introduced into Switzerland
under the name of "bob-sleigh."
See _Ice Sports_, in the Isthmian Library, London (1901); _Tobogganing
at St Moritz_, by T. A. Cook (London, 1896).
COATBRIDGE, a municipal and police burgh, having the privileges of a
royal burgh, of Lanarkshire, Scotland. Pop. (1891) 15,212; (1901)
36,991. It is situated on the Monkland Canal, 8 m. E. of Glasgow, with
stations on the Caledonian and North British railways. Until about 1825
it was only a village, but since then its vast stores of coal and iron
have been developed, and it is now the centre of the iron trade of
Scotland. Its prosperity was largely due to the ironmaster James Baird
(q.v.), who erected as many as sixteen blast-furnaces in the immediate
neighbourhood between 1830 and 1842. The industries of Coatbridge
produce malleable iron, boilers, tubes, wire, tinplates and railway
wagons, tiles, fire-bricks and fire-clay goods. There are two public
parks in the town, and its public buildings include a theatre, a
technical school and mining college, hospitals, and the academy and
Baird Institute at Gartsherrie. Janet Hamilton, the poetess (1795-1873),
spent most of her life at Langloan--now a part of Coatbridge--and a
fountain has been erected to her memory near the cottage in which she
lived. For parliamentary purposes the town, which became a municipal
burgh in 1885, is included in the north-west division of Lanarkshire.
About 4 m. west by south lies the mining town of Baillieston (pop.
3784), with a station on the Caledonian railway. It has numerous
collieries, a nursery and market garden.
COATESVILLE, a borough of Chester county, Pennsylvania, U.S.A., on the
west branch of Brandywine Creek, 39 m. W. of Philadelphia. Pop. (1890)
3680; (1900) 5721 (273 foreign-born); (1910) 11,084. It is served by the
Pennsylvania and the Philadelphia & Reading railways, and interurban
electric lines. For its size the borough ranks high as a manufacturing
centre, iron and steel works, boiler works, brass works, and paper, silk
and woollen mills being among its leading establishments. Its
water-works are owned and operated by the municipality. Named in honour
of Jesse Coates, one of its early settlers, it was settled about 1800,
and was incorporated in 1867.
COATI, or COATI-MUNDI, the native name of the members of the genus
_Nasua_, of the mammalian family _Procyonidae_. They are easily
recognized by their long body and tail, and elongated, upturned snout;
from which last feature the Germans call them _Rüsselbären_ or "snouted
bears." In the white-nosed coati, a native of Mexico and Central
America, the general hue is brown, but the snout and upper lip are
white, and the tail is often banded. In the red coati, ranging from
Surinam to Paraguay, the tail is marked with from seven to nine broad
fulvous or rufous rings, alternating with black ones, and tipped with
black. Coatis are gregarious and arboreal in habit, and feed on birds,
eggs, lizards and insects. They are common pets of the Spaniards in
South America. (See CARNIVORA.)
COB, a word of unknown origin with a variety of meanings, which the _New
English Dictionary_ considers may be traced to the notions of something
stout, big, round, head or top. In "cobble," e.g. in the sense of a
round stone used in paving, the same word may be traced. The principal
uses of "cob" are for a stocky strongly built horse, from 13 to 14 hands
high, a small round loaf, a round lump of coal, in which sense "cobble"
is also used, the fruiting spike of the maize plant, and a large nut of
the hazel type, more commonly known as the cob-nut.
"Cobbler," a patcher or mender of boots and shoes, is probably from a
different root. It has nothing to do with an O. Fr. _coubler_, Mod.
_coupler_, to fasten together. In "cobweb," the web of the spider, the
"cob" represents the older _cop, coppe_, spider, cf. Dutch _spinnekop_.
COBALT (symbol Co, atomic weight 59), one of the metallic chemical
elements. The term "cobalt" is met with in the writings of Paracelsus,
Agricola and Basil Valentine, being used to denote substances which,
although resembling metallic ores, gave no metal on smelting. At a later
date it was the name given to the mineral used for the production of a
blue colour in glass. In 1735 G. Brandt prepared an impure cobalt metal,
which was magnetic and very infusible. Cobalt is usually found
associated with nickel, and frequently with arsenic, the chief ores
being speiss-cobalt, (Co, Ni, Fe)As2, cobaltite (q.v.), wad, cobalt
bloom, linnaeite, Co3S4, and skutterudite, CoAs3. Its presence has also
been detected in the sun and in meteoric iron. For the technical
preparation of cobalt, and its separation from nickel, see NICKEL. The
metal is chiefly used, as the oxide, for colouring glass and porcelain.
Metallic cobalt may be obtained by reduction of the oxide or chloride in
a current of hydrogen at a red heat, or by heating the oxalate, under a
layer of powdered glass. As prepared by the reduction of the oxide it is
a grey powder. In the massive state it has a colour resembling polished
iron, and is malleable and very tough. It has a specific gravity of 8.8,
and it melts at 1530° C. (H. Copaux). Its mean specific heat between 9°
and 97° C. is 0.10674 (H. Kopp). It is permanent in dry air, but in the
finely divided state it rapidly combines with oxygen, the compact metal
requiring a strong heating to bring about this combination. It
decomposes steam at a red heat, and slowly dissolves in dilute
hydrochloric and sulphuric acids, but more readily in nitric acid.
Cobalt burns in nitric oxide at 150° C. giving the monoxide. It may be
obtained in the pure state, according to C. Winkler (_Zeit. für anorg.
Chem._, 1895, 8, p. 1), by electrolysing the pure sulphate in the
presence of ammonium sulphate and ammonia, using platinum electrodes,
any occluded oxygen in the deposited metal being removed by heating in a
current of hydrogen.
Three characteristic oxides of cobalt are known, the monoxide, CoO,
the sesquioxide, Co2O3, and tricobalt tetroxide, Co3O4; besides these
there are probably oxides of composition CoO2, Co8O9, Co6O7 and Co4O5.
Cobalt monoxide, CoO, is prepared by heating the hydroxide or
carbonate in a current of air, or by heating the oxide Co3O4 in a
current of carbon dioxide. It is a brown coloured powder which is
stable in air, but gives a higher oxide when heated. On heating in
hydrogen, ammonia or carbon monoxide, or with carbon or sodium, it is
reduced to the metallic state. It is readily soluble in warm dilute
mineral acids forming cobaltous salts. Cobaltous hydroxide, Co(OH)2,
is formed when a cobaltous salt is precipitated by caustic potash in
the absence of air. A blue basic salt is precipitated first, which, on
boiling, rapidly changes to the rose-coloured hydroxide. It dissolves
in acids forming cobaltous salts, and on exposure to air it rapidly
absorbs oxygen, turning brown in colour. A. de Schulten (_Comptes
Rendus_, 1889, 109, p. 266) has obtained it in a crystalline form; the
crystals have a specific gravity of 3.597, and are easily soluble in
warm ammonium chloride solution. Cobalt sesquioxide, Co2O3, remains as
a dark-brown powder when cobalt nitrate is gently heated. Heated at
190-300° in a current of hydrogen it gives the oxide Co3O4, while at
higher temperatures the monoxide is formed, and ultimately cobalt is
obtained. Cobaltic hydroxide, Co(OH)3, is formed when a cobalt salt is
precipitated by an alkaline hypochlorite, or on passing chlorine
through water containing suspended cobaltous hydroxide or carbonate.
It is a brown-black powder soluble in hydrochloric acid, chlorine
being simultaneously liberated. This hydroxide is soluble in well
cooled acids, forming solutions which contain cobaltic salts, one of
the most stable of which is the acetate. Cobalt dioxide, CoO2, has not
yet been isolated in the pure state; it is probably formed when iodine
and caustic soda are added to a solution of a cobaltous salt. By
suspending cobaltous hydroxide in water and adding hydrogen peroxide,
a strongly acid liquid is obtained (after filtering) which probably
contains _cobaltous acid_, H2CoO3. The barium and magnesium salts of
this acid are formed when baryta and magnesia are fused with cobalt
sesquioxide. Tricobalt tetroxide, Co3O4, is produced when the other
oxides, or the nitrate, are heated in air. By heating a mixture of
cobalt oxalate and sal-ammoniac in air, it is obtained in the form of
minute hard octahedra, which are not magnetic, and are only soluble in
concentrated sulphuric acid.
The cobaltous salts are formed when the metal, cobaltous oxide,
hydroxide or carbonate, are dissolved in acids, or, in the case of the
insoluble salts, by precipitation. The insoluble salts are rose-red or
violet in colour. The soluble salts are, when in the hydrated
condition, also red, but in the anhydrous condition are blue. They are
precipitated from their alkaline solutions as cobalt sulphide by
sulphuretted hydrogen, but this precipitation is prevented by the
presence of citric and tartaric acids; similarly the presence of
ammonium salts hinders their precipitation by caustic alkalis.
Alkaline carbonates give precipitates of basic carbonates, the
formation of which is also retarded by the presence of ammonium salts.
For the action of ammonia on the cobaltous salts in the presence of
air see _Cobaltammines_ (below). On the addition of potassium cyanide
they give a brown precipitate of cobalt cyanide, Co(CN)2, which
dissolves in excess of potassium cyanide to a green solution.
Cobalt chloride, CoCl2, in the anhydrous state, is formed by burning
the metal in chlorine or by heating the sulphide in a current of the
same gas. It is blue in colour and sublimes readily. It dissolves
easily in water, forming the hydrated chloride, CoCl2·6H2O, which may
also be prepared by dissolving the hydroxide or carbonate in
hydrochloric acid. The hydrated salt forms rose-red prisms, readily
soluble in water to a red solution, and in alcohol to a blue solution.
Other hydrated forms of the chloride, of composition CoCl2·2H2O and
CoCl2 · 4H2O have been described (P. Sabatier, _Bull. Soc. Chim._ 51,
p. 88; Bersch, _Jahresb. d. Chemie_, 1867, p. 291). Double chlorides
of composition CoCl2·NH4Cl·6H2O; CoCl2·SnCl4·6H2O and
CoCl2·2CdCl2·12H2O are also known. By the addition of excess of
ammonia to a cobalt chloride solution in absence of air, a
greenish-blue precipitate is obtained which, on heating, dissolves in
the solution, giving a rose-red liquid. This solution, on standing,
deposits octahedra of the composition CoCl2·6NH3. These crystals when
heated to 120° C. lose ammonia and are converted into the compound
CoCl2·2NH3 (E. Frémy). The bromide, CoBr2, resembles the chloride, and
may be prepared by similar methods. The hydrated salt readily loses
water on heating, forming at 100° C. the hydrate CoBr2·2H2O, and at
130° C. passing into the anhydrous form. The iodide, CoI2, is produced
by heating cobalt and iodine together, and forms a greyish-green mass
which dissolves readily in water forming a red solution. On
evaporating this solution the hydrated salt CoI2·6H2O is obtained in
hexagonal prisms. It behaves in an analogous manner to CoBr2·6H2O on
heating.
Cobalt fluoride, CoF2·2H2O, is formed when cobalt carbonate is
evaporated with an excess of aqueous hydrofluoric acid, separating in
rose-red crystalline crusts. Electrolysis of a solution in
hydrofluoric acid gives cobaltic fluoride, CoF3.
Sulphides of cobalt of composition Co4S3, CoS, Co3S4, Co2S3 and CoS2
are known. The most common of these sulphides is cobaltous sulphide,
CoS, which occurs naturally as syepoorite, and can be artificially
prepared by heating cobaltous oxide with sulphur, or by fusing
anhydrous cobalt sulphate with barium sulphide and common salt. By
either of these methods, it is obtained in the form of bronze-coloured
crystals. It may be prepared in the amorphous form by heating cobalt
with sulphur dioxide, in a sealed tube, at 200° C. In the hydrated
condition it is formed by the action of alkaline sulphides on
cobaltous salts, or by precipitating cobalt acetate with sulphuretted
hydrogen (in the absence of free acetic acid). It is a black amorphous
powder soluble in concentrated sulphuric and hydrochloric acids, and
when in the moist state readily oxidizes on exposure.
Cobaltous sulphate, CoSO4·7H2O, is found naturally as the mineral
bieberite, and is formed when cobalt, cobaltous oxide or carbonate are
dissolved in dilute sulphuric acid. It forms dark red crystals
isomorphous with ferrous sulphate, and readily soluble in water. By
dissolving it in concentrated sulphuric acid and warming the solution,
the anhydrous salt is obtained. Hydrated sulphates of composition
CoSO4·6H2O, CoSO4·4H2O and CoSO4·H2O are also known. The heptahydrated
salt combines with the alkaline sulphates to form double sulphates of
composition CoSO4·M2SO4·6H2O (M = K, NH4, &c.).
The cobaltic salts corresponding to the oxide Co2O3 are generally
unstable compounds which exist only in solution. H. Marshall (_Proc.
Roy. Soc. Edin._ 59, p. 760) has prepared cobaltic sulphate
Co2(SO4)3·18H2O, in the form of small needles, by the electrolysis of
cobalt sulphate. In a similar way potassium and ammonium cobalt alums
have been obtained. A cobaltisulphurous acid, probably H6[(SO3)6·Co2]
has been obtained by E. Berglund (_Berichte_, 1874, 7, p. 469), in
aqueous solution, by dissolving ammonium cobalto-cobaltisulphite
(NH4)2Co2[(SO3)6·Co2]·14H2O in dilute hydrochloric or nitric acids, or
by decomposition of its silver salt with hydrochloric acid. The
ammonium cobalto-cobaltisulphite is prepared by saturating an
air-oxidized ammoniacal solution of cobaltous chloride with sulphur
dioxide. The double salts containing the metal in the cobaltic form
are more stable than the corresponding single salts, and of these
potassium cobaltinitrite, Co2(NO2)6·6KNO2·3H2O, is best known. It may
be prepared by the addition of potassium nitrite to an acetic acid
solution of cobalt chloride. The yellow precipitate obtained is washed
with a solution of potassium acetate and finally with dilute alcohol.
The reaction proceeds according to the following equation: 2CoCl2 +
10KNO2 + 4HNO2 = Co2(NO2)6·6KNO2 + 4KCl + 2NO + 2H2O (A. Stromeyer,
_Annalen_, 1855, 96, p. 220). This salt may be used for the separation
of cobalt and nickel, since the latter metal does not form a similar
double nitrite, but it is necessary that the alkaline earth metals
should be absent, for in their presence nickel forms complex nitrites
containing the alkaline earth metal and the alkali metal. A sodium
cobaltinitrite is also known.
Cobalt nitrate, Co(NO3)2·6H2O, is obtained in dark-red monoclinic
tables by the slow evaporation of a solution of the metal, its
hydroxide or carbonate, in nitric acid. It deliquesces in the air and
melts readily on heating. By the addition of excess of ammonia to its
aqueous solution, in the complete absence of air, a blue precipitate
of a basic nitrate of the composition 6CoO·N2O5·5H2O is obtained.
By boiling a solution of cobalt carbonate in phosphoric acid, the acid
phosphate CoHPO4.3H2O is obtained, which when heated with water to
250° C. is converted into the neutral phosphate Co3(PO4)2·2H2O (H.
Debray, _Ann. de chimie_, 1861, [3] 61, p. 438). Cobalt ammonium
phosphate, CoNH4PO4·12H2O, is formed when a soluble cobalt salt is
digested for some time with excess of a warm solution of ammonium
phosphate. It separates in the form of small rose-red crystals, which
decompose on boiling with water.
Cobaltous cyanide, Co(CN)2·3H2O, is obtained when the carbonate is
dissolved in hydrocyanic acid or when the acetate is precipitated by
potassium cyanide. It is insoluble in dilute acids, but is readily
soluble in excess of potassium cyanide. The double cyanides of cobalt
are analogous to those of iron. Hydrocobaltocyanic acid is not known,
but its potassium salt, K4Co(CN)6, is formed when freshly precipitated
cobalt cyanide is dissolved in an ice-cold solution of potassium
cyanide. The liquid is precipitated by alcohol, and the washed and
dried precipitate is then dissolved in water and allowed to stand,
when the salt separates in dark-coloured crystals. In alkaline
solution it readily takes up oxygen and is converted into potassium
cobalticyanide, K3Co(CN)6, which may also be obtained by evaporating a
solution of cobalt cyanide, in excess of potassium cyanide, in the
presence of air, 8KCN + 2Co(CN)2 + H2O + O = 2K3Co(CN)6 + 2KHO. It
forms monoclinic crystals which are very soluble in water. From its
aqueous solution, concentrated hydrochloric acid precipitates
hydrocobalticyanic acid, H3Co(CN)6, as a colourless solid which is
very deliquescent, and is not attacked by concentrated hydrochloric
and nitric acids. For a description of the various salts of this acid,
see P. Wesselsky, _Berichte_, 1869, 2, p. 588.
_Cobaltammines._ A large number of cobalt compounds are known, of
which the empirical composition represents them as salts of cobalt to
which one or more molecules of ammonia have been added. These salts
have been divided into the following series:--
Diammine Series, [Co(NH3)2]X4M. In these salts X = NO2 and M = one
atomic proportion of a monovalent metal, or the equivalent quantity
of a divalent metal.
Triammine Series, [Co(NH3)3]X3. Here X = Cl, NO3, NO2, ½SO4, &c.
Tetrammine Series. This group may be divided into the
Praseo-salts [R2Co(NH3)4]X, where X = Cl.
Croceo-salts [(NO2)2Co(NH3)4]X, which may be considered as a
subdivision of the praseo-salts.
Tetrammine purpureo-salts [RCo(NH3)4·H2O]X2.
Tetrammine roseo-salts [Co(NH3)4·(H2O)2]X3.
Fuseo-salts [Co(NH3)4]OH·X2.
Pentammine Series.
Pentammine purpureo-salts [R·Co(NH3)5]X2 where X = Cl, Br, NO3,
N02, ½SO4, &c.
Pentammine roseo-salts [Co(NH3)5·H2O]X2.
Hexammine or Luteo Series [Co(NH3)6]X3.
The hexammine salts are formed by the oxidizing action of air on
dilute ammoniacal solutions of cobaltous salts, especially in presence
of a large excess of ammonium chloride. They form yellow or
bronze-coloured crystals, which decompose on boiling their aqueous
solution. On boiling their solution in caustic alkalis, ammonia is
liberated. The pentammine purpureo-salts are formed from the
luteo-salts by loss of ammonia, or from an air slowly oxidized
ammoniacal cobalt salt solution, the precipitated luteo-salt being
filtered off and the filtrate boiled with concentrated acids. They are
violet-red in colour, and on boiling or long standing with dilute
acids they pass into the corresponding roseo-salts.
The pentammine nitrito salts are known as the xanthocobalt salts and
have the general formula [NO2·Co·(NH3)5]X2. They are formed by the
action of nitrous fumes on ammoniacal solutions of cobaltous salts, or
purpureo-salts, or by the mutual reaction of chlorpurpureo-salts and
alkaline nitrites. They are soluble in water and give characteristic
precipitates with platinic and auric chlorides, and with potassium
ferrocyanide. The pentammine roseo-salts can be obtained from the
action of concentrated acids, in the cold, on air-oxidized solutions
of cobaltous salts. They are of a reddish colour and usually
crystallize well; on heating with concentrated acids are usually
transformed into the purpureo-salts. Their alkaline solutions liberate
ammonia on boiling. They give a characteristic pale red precipitate
with sodium pyrophosphate, soluble in an excess of the precipitant;
they also form precipitates on the addition of platinic chloride and
potassium ferrocyanide. For methods of preparation of the tetrammine
and triammine salts, see O. Dammer's _Handbuch der anorganischen
Chemie_, vol. 3 (containing a complete account of the preparation of
the cobaltammine salts). The diammine salts are prepared by the action
of alkaline nitrites on cobaltous salts in the presence of much
ammonium chloride or nitrate; they are yellow or brown crystalline
solids, not very soluble in cold water.
The above series of salts show striking differences in their behaviour
towards reagents; thus, aqueous solutions of the luteo chlorides are
strongly ionized, as is shown by their high electric conductivity; and
all their chlorine is precipitated on the addition of silver nitrate
solution. The aqueous solution, however, does not show the ordinary
reactions of cobalt or of ammonia, and so it is to be presumed that
the salt ionizes into [Co(NH3)6] and 3Cl'. The purpureo chloride has
only two-thirds of its chlorine precipitated on the addition of silver
nitrate, and the electric conductivity is much less than that of the
luteo chloride; again in the praseo-salts only one-third of the
chlorine is precipitated by silver nitrate, the conductivity again
falling; while in the triammine salts all ionization has disappeared.
For the constitution of these salts and of the "metal ammonia"
compounds generally, see A. Werner, _Zeit. für anorg. Chemie_, 1893 et
seq., and _Berichte_, 1895, et seq.; and S. Jörgensen, _Zeit. für
anorg. Chemie_, 1892 et seq.
The _oxycobaltammines_ are a series of compounds of the general type
[Co2O3·H2(NH3)10]X4 first observed by L. Gmelin, and subsequently
examined by E. Frémy, W. Gibbs and G. Vortmann (_Monatshefte für
Chemie_, 1885, 6, p. 404). They result from the cobaltammines by the
direct taking up of oxygen and water. On heating, they decompose,
forming basic tetrammine salts.
The atomic weight of cobalt has been frequently determined, the
earlier results not being very concordant (see R. Schneider, _Pog.
Ann._, 1857, 101, p. 387; C. Marignac, _Arch. Phys. Nat._ [2], 1, p.
373; W. Gibbs, _Amer. Jour. Sci._ [2], 25, p. 483; J. B. Dumas, _Ann.
Chim. Phys._, 1859 [3], 55, p. 129; W. J. Russell, _Jour. Chem. Soc._,
1863, 16, p. 51). C. Winkler, by the analysis of the chloride, and by
the action of iodine on the metal, obtained the values 59.37 and
59.07, whilst W. Hempel and H. Thiele (_Zeit. f. anorg. Chem_., 1896,
II, p. 73), by reducing cobalto-cobaltic oxide, and by the analysis of
the chloride, have obtained the values 58.56 and 58.48. G. P. Baxter
and others deduced the value 58.995 (O = 16).
Cobalt salts may be readily detected by the formation of the black
sulphide, in alkaline solution, and by the blue colour they produce
when fused with borax. For the quantitative determination of cobalt,
it is either weighed as the oxide, Co3O4, obtained by ignition of the
precipitated monoxide, or it is reduced in a current of hydrogen and
weighed as metal. For the quantitative separation of cobalt and
nickel, see E. Hintz (_Zeit. f. anal. Chem._, 1891, 30, p. 227), and
also NICKEL.
COBALTITE, a mineral with the composition CoAsS, cobalt sulpharsenide.
It is found as granular to compact masses, and frequently as beautifully
developed crystals, which have the same symmetry as the isomorphous
mineral pyrites, being cubic with parallel hemihedrism. The usual forms
are the cube, octahedron and pentagonal dodecahedron {210}. The colour is
silver-white with a reddish tinge, and the lustre brilliant and
metallic, hence the old name cobalt-glance; the streak is greyish-black.
The mineral is brittle, and possesses distinct cleavages parallel to the
faces of the cube; hardness 5½; specific gravity 6.2. The brilliant
crystals from Tunaberg in Sodermanland and Håkansboda in Vestmanland,
Sweden, and from Skutterud near Drammen in Norway are well known in
mineral collections. The cobalt ores at these localities occur with
pyrites and chalcopyrite as bands in gneiss. Crystals have also been
found at Khetri in Rajputana, and under the name _sehta_ the mineral is
used by Indian jewellers for producing a blue enamel on gold and silver
ornaments. Massive cobaltite has been found in small amount in the
Botallack mine, Cornwall. A variety containing much iron replacing
cobalt, and known as ferrocobaltite (Ger. _Stahlkobalt_), occurs at
Siegen in Westphalia. (L. J. S.)
COBÁN, or SANTO DOMINGO DE COBÁN, the capital of the department of Alta
Vera Paz in central Guatemala; about 90 m. N. of the city of Guatemala,
on the Cojabón, a left-hand tributary of the Polochic. Pop. (1905) about
31,000. The town is built in a mountainous and fertile district, and
consists chiefly of adobe Indian cottages, surrounded by gardens of
flowering shrubs. More modern houses have been erected for the foreign
residents, among whom the Germans are numerically predominant. In the
chief square of the town stands a 16th-century Dominican church,
externally plain, but covered internally with curious Indian
decorations. The municipal offices, formerly a college for priests, are
remarkable for their handsome but disproportionately large gateway in
Renaissance style. Despite the want of a railway, Cobán has a
flourishing trade in coffee and cinchona; cocoa, vanilla and sugar-cane
are also cultivated, and there are manufactures of rum, cotton fabrics,
soap and cigars. The prosperity of the town is largely due to the
industry of the Quecchi, Kacchi or Kakchi Indians who form the majority
of the inhabitants.
Cobán was founded in the 16th century by Dominican monks under Fray
Pedro de Angulo, whose portrait is preserved in the church. In honour of
the emperor Charles V. (1500-1558), Cobán received the name of _Ciudad
Imperial_ (which soon became obsolete), together with a coat of arms and
other privileges belonging to a Spanish city of the first class.
COBAR, a mining town of Robinson county, New South Wales, Australia, 459
m. N.W. by W. of Sydney by rail. Pop. (1901) 3371. The district of which
Cobar is the centre abounds in minerals of all kinds, but copper and
gold are those most extensively worked. The Great Cobar copper-mine is
the most important in the state, and there are a number of successful
gold-mines. In addition to the mining, the district produces large
quantities of wool. Cobar is a municipality, as also is the adjacent
township of Gladstone, with a mining population.
COBB, HOWELL (1815-1868), American political leader, was born at Cherry
Hill, Jefferson county, Georgia, on the 7th of September 1815. He
graduated from Franklin College (University of Georgia) in 1834, and two
years later was admitted to the bar. From 1837 to 1840 he was
solicitor-general for the western circuit of his state; from 1843 to
1851 and from 1855 to 1857 he was a member of the National House of
Representatives, becoming Democratic leader in that body in 1847, and
serving as speaker in 1849-1851; from 1851 to 1853 he was governor of
his state; and from March 1857 to December 1860 he was secretary of the
treasury in President Buchanan's cabinet. He was president of the
convention of the seceded states which drafted a constitution for the
Confederacy. In 1861 he was appointed colonel of a regiment and two
years later was made a major-general. He died in New York on the 9th of
October 1868. He sided with President Jackson on the question of
nullification; was an efficient supporter of President Polk's
administration during the Mexican War; and was an ardent advocate of
slavery extension into the Territories, but when the Compromise of 1850
had been agreed upon he became its staunch supporter as a Union
Democrat, and on that issue was elected governor of Georgia by a large
majority. In 1860, however, he ceased to be a Unionist, and became a
leader of the secession movement. From the close of the war until his
death he vigorously opposed the Reconstruction Acts.
COBBETT, WILLIAM (1766-1835), English politician and writer, was born
near Farnham in Surrey, according to his own statement, on the 9th of
March 1766. He was the grandson of a farm-labourer, and the son of a
small farmer; and during his early life he worked on his father's farm.
At the age of sixteen, inspired with patriotic feeling by the sight of
the men-of-war in Portsmouth harbour, he thought of becoming a sailor;
and in May 1783, having, while on his way to Guildford fair, met the
London coach, he suddenly resolved to accompany it to its destination.
He arrived at Ludgate Hill with exactly half-a-crown in his pocket, but
an old gentleman who had travelled with him invited him to his house,
and obtained for him the situation of copying clerk in an attorney's
office. He greatly disliked his new occupation; and rejecting all his
father's entreaties that he would return home, he went down to Chatham
early in 1784 with the intention of joining the marines. By some
mistake, however, he was enlisted in a regiment of the line, which
rather more than a year after proceeded to St John's, New Brunswick. All
his leisure time during the months he remained at Chatham was devoted to
reading the contents of the circulating library of the town, and getting
up by heart Lowth's _English Grammar_. His uniform good conduct, and the
power of writing correctly which he had acquired, quickly raised him to
the rank of corporal, from which, without passing through the
intermediate grade of sergeant, he was promoted to that of
sergeant-major. In November 1791 he was discharged at his own request,
and received the official thanks of the major and the general who signed
his discharge. In February 1792 Cobbett married the daughter of a
sergeant-major of artillery, whom he had met some years before in New
Brunswick. But his liberty was threatened in consequence of his bringing
a charge of peculation against certain officers in his old regiment, and
he went over to France in March, where he studied the language and
literature. In his absence, the inquiry into his charges ended in an
acquittal.
In September he crossed to the United States, and supported himself at
Wilmington, Delaware, by teaching English to French emigrants. Among
these was Talleyrand, who employed him, according to Cobbett's story,
not because he was ignorant of English, but because he wished to
purchase his pen. Cobbett made his first literary sensation by his
_Observations on the Emigration of a Martyr to the Cause of Liberty_, a
clever retort on Dr Priestley, who had just landed in America
complaining of the treatment he had received in England. This pamphlet
was followed by a number of papers, signed "Peter Porcupine," and
entitled _Prospect from the Congress Gallery_, the _Political Censor_
and the _Porcupine's Gazette_. In the spring of 1796, having quarrelled
with his publisher, he set up in Philadelphia as bookseller and
publisher of his own works. On the day of opening, his windows were
filled with prints of the most extravagant of the French Revolutionists
and of the founders of the American Republic placed side by side, along
with portraits of George III., the British ministers, and any one else
he could find likely to be obnoxious to the people; and he continued to
pour forth praises of Great Britain and scorn of the institutions of the
United States, with special abuse of the French party. Abuse and threats
were of course in turn showered upon him, and in August 1797, for one of
his attacks on Spain, he was prosecuted, though unsuccessfully, by the
Spanish ambassador. Immediately on this he was taken up for libels upon
American statesmen, and bound in recognizances to the amount of $4000,
and shortly after he was prosecuted a third time for saying that Dr
Benjamin Rush, who was much addicted to blood-letting, killed nearly all
the patients he attended. The trial was repeatedly deferred, and was not
settled till the end of 1799, when he was fined $5000. After this last
misfortune, for a few months Cobbett carried on a newspaper called the
_Rushlight_; but in June 1800 he set sail for England.
At home he found himself regarded as the champion of order and monarchy.
Windham invited him to dinner, introduced him to Pitt, and begged him to
accept a share in the _True Briton_. He refused the offer and joined an
old friend, John Morgan, in opening a book shop in Pall Mall. For some
time he published the _Porcupine's Gazette_, which was followed in
January 1802 by the _Weekly Political Register_. In 1801 appeared his
_Letters to Lord Hawkesbury_ (afterwards earl of Liverpool) and his
_Letters to the Rt. Hon. Henry Addington_, in opposition to the proposed
peace of Amiens. On the conclusion of the peace (1802) Cobbett made a
still bolder protest; he determined to take no part in the general
illumination, and--assisted by the sympathy of his wife, who, being in
delicate health, removed to the house of a friend--he carried out his
resolve, allowing his windows to be smashed and his door broken open by
the angry mob. The letters to Addington are among the most polished and
dignified of Cobbett's writings; but by 1803 he was once more revelling
in personalities. The government of Ireland was singled out for
wholesale attack; and a letter published in the _Register_ remarked of
Hardwicke, the lord-lieutenant, that the appointment was like setting
the surgeon's apprentice to bleed the pauper patients. For this, though
not a word had been uttered against Hardwicke's character, Cobbett was
fined £500; and two days after the conclusion of this trial a second
commenced, at the suit of Plunkett, the solicitor-general for Ireland,
which resulted in a similar fine. About this time he began to write in
support of Radical views; and to cultivate the friendship of Sir Francis
Burdett, from whom he received considerable sums of money, and other
favours, for which he gave no very grateful return. In 1809 he was once
more in the most serious trouble. He had bitterly commented on the
flogging of some militia, because their mutiny had been repressed and
their sentence carried out by the aid of a body of German troops, and in
consequence he was fined £1000 and imprisoned for two years. His
indomitable vigour was never better displayed. He still continued to
publish the _Register_, and to superintend the affairs of his farm; a
hamper containing specimens of its produce and other provisions came to
him every week; and he amused himself with the company of some of his
children and with weekly letters from the rest. On his release a public
dinner, presided over by Sir F. Burdett, was held in honour of the
event. He returned to his farm at Botley in Hampshire, and continued in
his old course, extending his influence by the publication of the
_Twopenny Trash_, which, not being periodical, escaped the newspaper
stamp tax. Meanwhile, however, he had contracted debts to the amount of
£34,000 (for it is said that, notwithstanding the aversion he publicly
expressed to paper currency, he had carried on his business by the aid
of accommodation bills to a very large amount); and early in 1817 he
fled to the United States. But his pen was as active as ever; from Long
Island his MS. for the _Register_ was regularly sent to England; and it
was here that he wrote his clear and interesting _English Grammar_, of
which 10,000 copies were sold in a month.
His return to England was accompanied by his weakest exhibition--the
exhuming and bringing over of the bones of Thomas Paine, whom he had
once heartily abused, but on whom he now wrote a panegyrical ode. Nobody
paid any attention to the affair; the relics he offered were not
purchased; and the bones were reinterred.
Cobbett's great aim was now to obtain a seat in the House of Commons. He
calmly suggested that his friends should assist him by raising the sum
of £5000; it would be much better, he said, than a meeting of 50,000
persons. He first offered himself for Coventry, but failed; in 1826 he
was by a large number of votes last of the candidates for Preston; and
in 1828 he could find no one to propose him for the office of common
councillor. In 1830, that year of revolutions, he was prosecuted for
inciting to rebellion, but the jury disagreed, and soon after, through
the influence of one of his admirers, Mr Fielden, who was himself a
candidate for Oldham, he was returned for that town. In the House his
speeches were listened to with amused attention. His position is
sufficiently marked by the sneer of Peel that he would attend to Mr
Cobbett's observations exactly as if they had been those of a
"respectable member"; and the only striking part of his career was his
absurd motion that the king should be prayed to remove Sir Robert Peel's
name from the list of the privy council, because of the change he had
proposed in the currency in 1819. In 1834 Cobbett was again member for
Oldham, but his health now began to give way, and in June 1835 he left
London for his farm, where he died on the 16th of that month.
Cobbett's account of his home-life makes him appear singularly happy;
his love and admiration of his wife never failed; and his education of
his children seems to have been distinguished by great kindliness, and
by a good deal of healthy wisdom, mingled with the prejudices due to the
peculiarities of his temper and circumstances. Cobbett's ruling
characteristic was a sturdy egoism, which had in it something of the
nobler element of self-respect. A firm will, a strong brain, feelings
not over-sensitive, an intense love of fighting, a resolve to get on, in
the sense of making himself a power in the world--these are the
principal qualities which account for the success of his career. His
opinions were the fruits of his emotions. It was enough for him to get a
thorough grasp of one side of a question, about the other side he did
not trouble himself; but he always firmly seizes the facts which make
for his view, and expresses them with unfailing clearness. His argument,
which is never subtle, has always the appearance of weight, however
flimsy it may be in fact. His sarcasm is seldom polished or delicate,
but usually rough, and often abusive, while coarse nicknames were his
special delight. His style is admirably correct and always extremely
forcible.
Cobbett's contributions to periodical literature occupy 100 volumes,
twelve of which consist of the papers published at Philadelphia
between 1794 and 1800, and the rest of the _Weekly Political
Register_, which ended only with Cobbett's death (June 1835). An
abridgment of these works, with notes, was published by his sons, John
M. Cobbett and James P. Cobbett. Besides this he published _An Account
of the Horrors of the French Revolution_, and a work tracing all these
horrors to "the licentious politics and infidel philosophy of the
present age" (both 1798); _A Year's Residence in the United States_;
_Parliamentary History of England from the Norman Conquest to 1800_
(1806); _Cottage Economy_; _Roman History_; _French Grammar_ and
_English Grammar_, both in the form of letters; _Geographical
Dictionary of England and Wales_; _History of the Regency and Reign of
George IV._, containing a defence of Queen Caroline, whose cause he
warmly advocated (1830-1834); _Life of Andrew Jackson, President of
the United States_ (1834); _Legacy to Labourers_; _Legacy to Peel_;
_Legacy to Parsons_ (1835), an attack on the secular claims of the
Established Church; _Doom of Tithes_; _Rural Rides_ (1830; new ed.
1885), an account of his tours on horse-back through England, full of
admirable descriptive writing; _Advice to Young Men and Women_;
_Cobbett's Corn_ (1828); and _History of the Protestant Reformation in
England and Ireland_ (1824-1827), in which he defends the monasteries,
Queen Mary and Bonner, and attacks the Reformation, Henry VIII.,
Elizabeth and all who helped to bring it about, with such vehemence
that the work was translated into French and Italian, and extensively
circulated among Roman Catholics.
In 1798 Cobbett published in America an account of his early life,
under the title of _The Life and Adventures of Peter Porcupine_; and
he left papers relating to his subsequent career. His life has been
written by R. Huish (1835), E. Smith (1878), and E. I. Carlyle (1904).
See also the annotated edition of the _Register_ (1835).
COBBOLD, THOMAS SPENCER (1828-1886), English man of science, was born at
Ipswich in 1828, a son of the Rev. Richard Cobbold (1797-1877), the
author of the _History of Margaret Catchpole_. After graduating in
medicine at Edinburgh in 1851, he was appointed lecturer on botany at St
Mary's hospital, London, in 1857, and also on zoology and comparative
anatomy at Middlesex hospital in 1861. From 1868 he acted as Swiney
lecturer on geology at the British Museum until 1873, when he became
professor of botany at the Royal Veterinary College, afterwards filling
a chair of helminthology which was specially created for him at that
institution. He died in London on the 20th of March 1886. His special
subject was helminthology, particularly the worms parasitic in man and
animals, and as a physician he gained a considerable reputation in the
diagnosis of cases depending on the presence of such organisms. His
numerous writings include _Entozoa_ (1864); _Tapeworms_ (1866);
_Parasites_ (1879); _Human Parasites_ (1882); and _Parasites of Meat and
Prepared Flesh Food_ (1884).
COBDEN, RICHARD (1804-1865), English manufacturer and Radical
politician, was born at a farmhouse called Dunford, near Midhurst, in
Sussex, on the 3rd of June 1804. The family had been resident in that
neighbourhood for many generations, occupied partly in trade and partly
in agriculture. Formerly there had been in the town of Midhurst a small
manufacture of hosiery with which the Cobdens were connected, though all
trace of it had disappeared before the birth of Richard. His grandfather
was a maltster in that town, an energetic and prosperous man, almost
always the bailiff or chief magistrate, and taking rather a notable part
in county matters. But his father, forsaking that trade, took to farming
at an unpropitious time. He was amiable and kind-hearted, and greatly
liked by his neighbours, but not a man of business habits, and he did
not succeed in his farming enterprise. He died when his son Richard was
a child, and the care of the family devolved upon the mother, who was a
woman of strong sense and of great energy of character, and who, after
her husband's death, left Dunford and returned to Midhurst.
The educational advantages of Richard Cobden were not very ample. There
was a grammar school at Midhurst, which at one time had enjoyed
considerable reputation, but which had fallen into decay. It was there
that he had to pick up such rudiments of knowledge as formed his first
equipment in life, but from his earliest years he was indefatigable in
the work of self-cultivation. When fifteen or sixteen years of age he
went to London to the warehouse of Messrs Partridge & Price, in
Eastcheap, one of the partners being his uncle. His relative, noting
the lad's passionate addiction to study, solemnly warned him against
indulging such a taste, as likely to prove a fatal obstacle to his
success in commercial life. But the admonition was unheeded, for while
unweariedly diligent in business, he was in his intervals of leisure a
most assiduous student. During his residence in London he found access
to the London Institution, and made ample use of its large and
well-selected library.
When he was about twenty years of age he became a commercial traveller,
and soon became eminently successful in his calling. But never content
to sink into the mere trader, he sought to introduce among those he met
on the "road" a higher tone of conversation than usually marks the
commercial room, and there were many of his associates who, when he had
attained eminence, recalled the discussions on political economy and
kindred topics with which he was wont to enliven and elevate the
travellers' table. In 1830 Cobden learnt that Messrs Fort, calico
printers at Sabden, near Clitheroe, were about to retire from business,
and he, with two other young men, Messrs Sheriff and Gillet, who were
engaged in the same commercial house as himself, determined to make an
effort to acquire the succession. They had, however, very little capital
among them. But it may be taken as an illustration of the instinctive
confidence which Cobden through life inspired in those with whom he came
into contact, that Messrs Fort consented to leave to these untried young
men a large portion of their capital in the business. Nor was their
confidence misplaced. The new firm had soon three establishments,--one
at Sabden, where the printing works were, one in London and one in
Manchester for the sale of their goods. This last was under the direct
management of Cobden, who, in 1830 or 1831, settled in the city with
which his name became afterwards so closely associated. The success of
this enterprise was decisive and rapid, and the "Cobden prints" soon
became known through the country as of rare value both for excellence of
material and beauty of design. There can be no doubt that if Cobden had
been satisfied to devote all his energies to commercial life he might
soon have attained to great opulence, for it is understood that his
share in the profits of the business he had established amounted to from
£8000 to £10,000 a year. But he had other tastes, which impelled him
irresistibly to pursue those studies which, as Bacon says, "serve for
delight, for ornament and for ability." Prentice, the historian of the
Anti-Corn-Law League, who was then editor of the _Manchester Times_,
describes how, in the year 1835, he received for publication in his
paper a series of admirably written letters, under the signature of
"Libra," discussing commercial and economical questions with rare
ability. After some time he discovered that the author of these letters
was Cobden, whose name was until then quite unknown to him.
In 1835 he published his first pamphlet, entitled _England, Ireland and
America, by a Manchester Manufacturer_. It attracted great attention,
and ran rapidly through several editions. It was marked by a breadth and
boldness of views on political and social questions which betokened an
original mind. In this production Cobden advocated the same principles
of peace, non-intervention, retrenchment and free trade to which he
continued faithful to the last day of his life. Immediately after the
publication of this pamphlet, he paid a visit to the United States,
landing in New York on the 7th of June 1835. He devoted about three
months to this tour, passing rapidly through the seaboard states and the
adjacent portion of Canada, and collecting as he went large stores of
information respecting the condition, resources and prospects of the
great western republic. Soon after his return to England he began to
prepare another work for the press, which appeared towards the end of
1836, under the title of _Russia_. It was mainly designed to combat a
wild outbreak of Russophobia which, under the inspiration of David
Urquhart, was at that time taking possession of the public mind. But it
contained also a bold indictment of the whole system of foreign policy
then in vogue, founded on ideas as to the balance of power and the
necessity of large armaments for the protection of commerce. While this
pamphlet was in the press, delicate health obliged him to leave England,
and for several months, at the end of 1836 and the beginning of 1837,
he travelled in Spain, Turkey and Egypt. During his visit to Egypt he
had an interview with Mehemet Ali, of whose character as a reforming
monarch he did not bring away a very favourable impression. He returned
to England in April 1837. From that time Cobden became a conspicuous
figure in Manchester, taking a leading part in the local politics of the
town and district. Largely owing to his exertions, the Manchester
Athenaeum was established, at the opening of which he was chosen to
deliver the inaugural address. He became a member of the chamber of
commerce, and soon infused new life into that body. He threw himself
with great energy into the agitation which led to the incorporation of
the city, and was elected one of its first aldermen. He began also to
take a warm interest in the cause of popular education. Some of his
first attempts in public speaking were at meetings which he convened at
Manchester, Salford, Bolton, Rochdale and other adjacent towns, to
advocate the establishment of British schools. It was while on a mission
for this purpose to Rochdale that he first formed the acquaintance of
John Bright, who afterwards became his distinguished coadjutor in the
free-trade agitation. Nor was it long before his fitness for
parliamentary life was recognized by his friends. In 1837, the death of
William IV. and the accession of Queen Victoria led to a general
election. Cobden was candidate for Stockport, but was defeated, though
not by a large majority.
In 1838 an anti-Corn-Law association was formed at Manchester, which, on
his suggestion, was afterwards changed into a national association,
under the title of the Anti-Corn-Law League (see CORN LAWS). Of that
famous association Cobden was from first to last the presiding genius
and the animating soul. During the seven years between the formation of
the league and its final triumph, he devoted himself wholly to the work
of promulgating his economic doctrines. His labours were as various as
they were incessant--now guiding the councils of the league, now
addressing crowded and enthusiastic meetings of his supporters in London
or the large towns of England and Scotland, now invading the
agricultural districts and challenging the landlords to meet him in the
presence of their own farmers, to discuss the question in dispute, and
now encountering the Chartists, led by Feargus O'Connor. But whatever
was the character of his audience he never failed, by the clearness of
his statements, the force of his reasoning and the felicity of his
illustrations, to make a deep impression on the minds of his hearers.
In 1841, Sir Robert Peel having defeated the Melbourne ministry in
parliament, there was a general election, when Cobden was returned for
Stockport. His opponents had confidently predicted that he would fail
utterly in the House of Commons. He did not wait long, after his
admission into that assembly, in bringing their predictions to the test.
Parliament met on the 19th of August. On the 24th, in course of the
debate on the Address, Cobden delivered his first speech. "It was
remarked," says Miss Martineau, in her _History of the Peace_, "that he
was not treated in the House with the courtesy usually accorded to a new
member, and it was perceived that he did not need such observance." With
perfect self-possession, which was not disturbed by the jeers that
greeted some of his statements, and with the utmost simplicity,
directness and force, he presented the argument against the corn-laws in
such a form as startled his audience, and also irritated some of them,
for it was a style of eloquence very unlike the conventional style which
prevailed in parliament.
From that day he became an acknowledged power in the House, and though
addressing a most unfriendly audience, he compelled attention by his
thorough mastery of his subject, and by the courageous boldness with
which he charged the ranks of his adversaries. He soon came to be
recognized as one of the foremost debaters on those economical and
commercial questions which at that time so much occupied the attention
of parliament; and the most prejudiced and bitter of his opponents were
fain to acknowledge that they had to deal with a man whom the most
practised and powerful orators of their party found it hard to cope
with, and to whose eloquence, indeed, the great statesman in whom they
put their trust was obliged ultimately to surrender. On the 17th of
February 1843 an extraordinary scene took place in the House of Commons.
Cobden had spoken with great fervour of the deplorable suffering and
distress which at that time prevailed in the country, for which, he
added, he held Sir Robert Peel, as the head of the government,
responsible. This remark, when it was spoken, passed unnoticed, being
indeed nothing more than one of the commonplaces of party warfare. But a
few weeks before, Mr Drummond, who was Sir Robert Peel's private
secretary, had been shot dead in the street by a lunatic. In consequence
of this, and the manifold anxieties of the time with which he was
harassed, the mind of the great statesman was no doubt in a moody and
morbid condition, and when he arose to speak later in the evening, he
referred in excited and agitated tones to the remark, as an incitement
to violence against his person. Sir Robert Peel's party, catching at
this hint, threw themselves into a frantic state of excitement, and when
Cobden attempted to explain that he meant official, not personal
responsibility, they drowned his voice with clamorous and insulting
shouts. But Peel lived to make ample and honourable amend for this
unfortunate ebullition, for not only did he "fully and unequivocally
withdraw the imputation which was thrown out in the heat of debate under
an erroneous impression," but when the great free-trade battle had been
won, he took the wreath of victory from his own brow, and placed it on
that of his old opponent, in the following graceful words:--"The name
which ought to be, and will be associated with the success of these
measures, is not mine, or that of the noble Lord (Russell), but the name
of one who, acting I believe from pure and disinterested motives, has,
with untiring energy, made appeals to our reason, and has enforced those
appeals with an eloquence the more to be admired because it was
unaffected and unadorned; the name which ought to be chiefly associated
with the success of these measures is the name of Richard Cobden."
Cobden had, indeed, with unexampled devotion, sacrificed his business,
his domestic comforts and for a time his health to the public interests.
His friends therefore felt, at the close of that long campaign, that the
nation owed him some substantial token of gratitude and admiration for
those sacrifices. No sooner was the idea of such a tribute started than
liberal contributions came from all quarters, which enabled his friends
to present him with a sum of £80,000. Had he been inspired with personal
ambition, he might have entered upon the race of political advancement
with the prospect of attaining the highest official prizes. Lord John
Russell, who, soon after the repeal of the corn laws, succeeded Sir
Robert Peel as first minister, invited Cobden to join his government.
But he preferred keeping himself at liberty to serve his countrymen
unshackled by official ties, and declined the invitation. He withdrew
for a time from England. His first intention was to seek complete
seclusion in Egypt or Italy, to recover health and strength after his
long and exhausting labours. But his fame had gone forth throughout
Europe, and intimations reached him from many quarters that his voice
would be listened to everywhere with favour, in advocacy of the
doctrines to the triumph of which he had so much contributed at home.
Writing to a friend in July 1846, he says--"I am going to tell you of a
fresh project that has been brewing in my brain. I have given up all
idea of burying myself in Egypt or Italy. I am going on an agitating
tour through the continent of Europe." Then, referring to messages he
had received from influential persons in France, Prussia, Austria,
Russia and Spain to the effect mentioned above, he adds:--"Well, I will,
with God's assistance during the next twelve months, visit all the large
states of Europe, see their potentates or statesmen, and endeavour to
enforce those truths which have been irresistible at home. Why should I
rust in inactivity? If the public spirit of my countrymen affords me the
means of travelling as their missionary, I will be the first ambassador
from the people of this country to the nations of the continent. I am
impelled to this by an instinctive emotion such as has never deceived
me. I feel that I could succeed in making out a stronger case for the
prohibitive nations of Europe to compel them to adopt a freer system
than I had here to overturn our protection policy." This programme he
fulfilled. He visited in succession France, Spain, Italy, Germany and
Russia. He was received everywhere with marks of distinction and honour.
In many of the principal capitals he was invited to public banquets,
which afforded him an opportunity of propagating those principles of
which he was regarded as the apostle. But beside these public
demonstrations he sought and found access in private to many of the
leading statesmen, in the various countries he visited, with a view to
indoctrinate them with the same principles. During his absence there was
a general election, and he was returned (1847) for Stockport and for the
West Riding of Yorkshire. He chose to sit for the latter.
When Cobden returned from the continent he addressed himself to what
seemed to him the logical complement of free trade, namely, the
promotion of peace and the reduction of naval and military armaments.
His abhorrence of war amounted to a passion. Throughout his long labours
in behalf of unrestricted commerce he never lost sight of this, as being
the most precious result of the work in which he was engaged,--its
tendency to diminish the hazards of war and to bring the nations of the
world into closer and more lasting relations of peace and friendship
with each other. He was not deterred by the fear of ridicule or the
reproach of Utopianism from associating himself openly, and with all the
ardour of his nature, with the peace party in England. In 1849 he
brought forward a proposal in parliament in favour of international
arbitration, and in 1851 a motion for mutual reduction of armaments. He
was not successful in either case, nor did he expect to be. In pursuance
of the same object, he identified himself with a series of remarkable
peace congresses--international assemblies designed to unite the
intelligence and philanthropy of the nations of Christendom in a league
against war--which from 1848 to 1851 were held successively in Brussels,
Paris, Frankfort, London, Manchester and Edinburgh.
On the establishment of the French empire in 1851-1852 a violent panic
took possession of the public mind. The press promulgated the wildest
alarms as to the intentions of Louis Napoleon, who was represented as
contemplating a sudden and piratical descent upon the English coast
without pretext or provocation. By a series of powerful speeches in and
out of parliament, and by the publication of his masterly pamphlet,
_1793 and 1853_, Cobden sought to calm the passions of his countrymen.
By this course he sacrificed the great popularity he had won as the
champion of free trade, and became for a time the best-abused man in
England. Immediately afterwards, owing to the quarrel about the Holy
Places which arose in the east of Europe, public opinion suddenly veered
round, and all the suspicion and hatred which had been directed against
the emperor of the French were diverted from him to the emperor of
Russia. Louis Napoleon was taken into favour as England's faithful ally,
and in a whirlwind of popular excitement the nation was swept into the
Crimean War. Cobden, who had travelled in Turkey, and had studied the
condition of that country with great care for many years, discredited
the outcry about maintaining the independence and integrity of the
Ottoman empire which was the battle-cry of the day. He denied that it
was possible to maintain them, and no less strenuously denied that it
was desirable even if it were possible. He believed that the jealousy of
Russian aggrandizement and the dread of Russian power were absurd
exaggerations. He maintained that the future of European Turkey was in
the hands of the Christian population, and that it would have been wiser
for England to ally herself with them rather than with the doomed and
decaying Mahommedan power. "You must address yourselves," he said in the
House of Commons, "as men of sense and men of energy, to the
question--what are you to do with the Christian population? for
Mahommedanism cannot be maintained, and I should be sorry to see this
country fighting for the maintenance of Mahommedanism.... You may keep
Turkey on the map of Europe, you may call the country by the name of
Turkey if you like, but do not think you can keep up the Mahommedan rule
in the country." The torrent of popular sentiment in favour of war was,
however, irresistible; and Cobden and Bright were overwhelmed with
obloquy.
At the beginning of 1857 tidings from China reached England of a rupture
between the British plenipotentiary in that country and the governor of
the Canton provinces in reference to a small vessel or lorcha called the
"Arrow," which had resulted in the English admiral destroying the river
forts, burning 23 ships belonging to the Chinese navy and bombarding the
city of Canton. After a careful investigation of the official documents,
Cobden became convinced that those were utterly unrighteous proceedings.
He brought forward a motion in parliament to this effect, which led to a
long and memorable debate, lasting over four nights, in which he was
supported by Sydney Herbert, Sir James Graham, Gladstone, Lord John
Russell and Disraeli, and which ended in the defeat of Lord Palmerston
by a majority of sixteen. But this triumph cost him his seat in
parliament. On the dissolution which followed Lord Palmerston's defeat,
Cobden became candidate for Huddersfield, but the voters of that town
gave the preference to his opponent, who had supported the Russian War
and approved of the proceedings at Canton. Cobden was thus relegated to
private life, and retiring to his country house at Dunford, he spent his
time in perfect contentment in cultivating his land and feeding his
pigs.
He took advantage of this season of leisure to pay another visit to the
United States. During his absence the general election of 1859 occurred,
when he was returned unopposed for Rochdale. Lord Palmerston was again
prime minister, and having discovered that the advanced liberal party
was not so easily "crushed" as he had apprehended, he made overtures of
reconciliation, and invited Cobden and Milner Gibson to become members
of his government. In a frank, cordial letter which was delivered to
Cobden on his landing in Liverpool, Lord Palmerston offered him the
presidency of the Board of Trade, with a seat in the Cabinet. Many of
his friends urgently pressed him to accept; but without a moment's
hesitation he determined to decline the proposed honour. On his arrival
in London he called on Lord Palmerston, and with the utmost frankness
told him that he had opposed and denounced him so frequently in public,
and that he still differed so widely from his views, especially on
questions of foreign policy, that he could not, without doing violence
to his own sense of duty and consistency, serve under him as minister.
Lord Palmerston tried good-humouredly to combat his objections, but
without success.
But though he declined to share the responsibility of Lord Palmerston's
administration, he was willing to act as its representative in promoting
freer commercial intercourse between England and France. But the
negotiations for this purpose originated with himself in conjunction
with Bright and Michel Chevalier. Towards the close of 1859 he called
upon Lord Palmerston, Lord John Russell and Gladstone, and signified his
intention to visit France and get into communication with the emperor
and his ministers, with a view to promote this object. These statesmen
expressed in general terms their approval of his purpose, but he went
entirely on his own account, clothed at first with no official
authority. On his arrival in Paris he had a long audience with Napoleon,
in which he urged many arguments in favour of removing those obstacles
which prevented the two countries from being brought into closer
dependence on one another, and he succeeded in making a considerable
inpression on his mind in favour of free trade. He then addressed
himself to the French ministers, and had much earnest conversation,
especially with Rouher, whom he found well inclined to the economical
and commercial principles which he advocated. After a good deal of time
spent in these preliminary and unofficial negotiations, the question of
a treaty of commerce between the two countries having entered into the
arena of diplomacy, Cobden was requested by the British government to
act as their plenipotentiary in the matter in conjunction with Lord
Cowley, their ambassador in France. But it proved a very long and
laborious undertaking. He had to contend with the bitter hostility of
the French protectionists, which occasioned a good deal of vacillation
on the part of the emperor and his ministers. There were also delays,
hesitations and cavils at home, which were more inexplicable. He was,
moreover, assailed with great violence by a powerful section of the
English press, while the large number of minute details with which he
had to deal in connexion with proposed changes in the French tariff,
involved a tax on his patience and industry which would have daunted a
less resolute man. But there was one source of embarrassment greater
than all the rest. One strong motive which had impelled him to engage in
this enterprise was his anxious desire to establish more friendly
relations between England and France, and to dispel those feelings of
mutual jealousy and alarm which were so frequently breaking forth and
jeopardizing peace between the two countries. This was the most powerful
argument with which he had plied the emperor and the members of the
French government, and which he had found most efficacious with them.
But while he was in the midst of the negotiations, Lord Palmerston
brought forward in the House of Commons a measure for fortifying the
naval arsenals of England, which he introduced in a warlike speech
pointedly directed against France, as the source of danger of invasion
and attack, against which it was necessary to guard. This produced
irritation and resentment in Paris, and but for the influence which
Cobden had acquired, and the perfect trust reposed in his sincerity, the
negotiations would probably have been altogether wrecked. At last,
however, after nearly twelve months' incessant labour, the work was
completed in November 1860. "Rare," said Mr Gladstone, "is the privilege
of any man who, having fourteen years ago rendered to his country one
signal service, now again, within the same brief span of life, decorated
neither by land nor title, bearing no mark to distinguish him from the
people he loves, has been permitted to perform another great and
memorable service to his sovereign and his country."
On the conclusion of this work honours were offered to Cobden by the
governments of both the countries which he had so greatly benefited.
Lord Palmerston offered him a baronetcy and a seat in the privy council,
and the emperor of the French would gladly have conferred upon him some
distinguished mark of his favour. But with characteristic
disinterestedness and modesty he declined all such honours.
Cobden's efforts in furtherance of free trade were always subordinated
to what he deemed the highest moral purposes--the promotion of peace on
earth and goodwill among men. This was his desire and hope as respects
the commercial treaty with France. He was therefore deeply disappointed
and distressed to find the old feeling of distrust still actively
fomented by the press and some of the leading politicians of the
country. In 1862 he published his pamphlet entitled _The Three Panics_,
the object of which was to trace the history and expose the folly of
those periodical visitations of alarm as to French designs with which
England had been afflicted for the preceding fifteen or sixteen years.
When the Civil War threatened to break out in the United States, Cobden
was deeply distressed. But after the conflict became inevitable his
sympathies were wholly with the North, because the South was fighting
for slavery. His great anxiety, however, was that the British nation
should not be committed to any unworthy course during the progress of
that struggle. And when relations with America were becoming critical
and menacing in consequence of the depredations committed on American
commerce by vessels issuing from British ports, he brought the question
before the House of Commons in a series of speeches of rare clearness
and force.
For several years Cobden had been suffering severely at intervals from
bronchial irritation and a difficulty of breathing. Owing to this he had
spent the winter of 1860 in Algeria, and every subsequent winter he had
to be very careful and confine himself to the house, especially in damp
and foggy weather. In November 1864 he went down to Rochdale and
delivered a speech to his constituents--the last he ever delivered. That
effort was followed by great physical prostration, and he determined not
to quit his retirement at Midhurst until spring had fairly set in. But
in the month of March there were discussions in the House of Commons on
the alleged necessity of constructing large defensive works in Canada.
He was deeply impressed with the folly of such a project, and he was
seized with a strong desire to go up to London and deliver his
sentiments on the subject. He left home on the 21st of March, and caught
a chill. He recovered a little for a few days after his arrival in
London; but on the 29th there was a relapse, and on the 2nd of April
1865 he expired peacefully at his apartments in Suffolk Street.
On the following day there was a remarkable scene in the House of
Commons. When the clerk read the orders of the day Lord Palmerston rose,
and in impressive and solemn tones declared "it was not possible for the
House to proceed to business without every member recalling to his mind
the great loss which the House and country had sustained by the event
which took place yesterday morning." He then paid a generous tribute to
the virtues, the abilities and services of Cobden, and he was followed
by Disraeli, who with great force and felicity of language delineated
the character of the deceased statesman, who, he said, "was an ornament
to the House of Commons and an honour to England." Bright also attempted
to address the House, but, after a sentence or two delivered in a
tremulous voice, he was overpowered with emotion, and declared he must
leave to a calmer moment what he had to say on the life and character of
the manliest and gentlest spirit that ever quitted or tenanted a human
form.
In the French Corps Législatif, also, the vice-president, Forçade la
Roquette, referred to his death, and warm expressions of esteem were
repeated and applauded on every side. "The death of Richard Cobden,"
said M. la Roquette, "is not alone a misfortune for England, but a cause
of mourning for France and humanity." Drouyn de Lhuys, the French
minister of foreign affairs, made his death the subject of a special
despatch, desiring the French ambassador to express to the government
"the mournful sympathy and truly national regret which the death, as
lamented as premature, of Richard Cobden had excited on that side of the
Channel." "He is above all," he added, "in our eyes the representative
of those sentiments and those cosmopolitan principles before which
national frontiers and rivalries disappear; whilst essentially of his
country, he was still more of his time; he knew what mutual relations
could accomplish in our day for the prosperity of peoples. Cobden, if I
may be permitted to say so, was an international man."
He was buried at West Lavington church, on the 7th of April. His grave
was surrounded by a large crowd of mourners, among whom were Gladstone,
Bright, Milner Gibson, Charles Villiers and a host besides from all
parts of the country. In 1866 the Cobden Club was founded in London, to
promote free-trade economics, and it became a centre for political
propaganda on those lines; and prizes were instituted in his name at
Oxford and Cambridge.
Cobden had married in 1840 Miss Catherine Anne Williams, a Welsh lady,
and left five surviving daughters, of whom Mrs Cobden-Unwin (wife of the
publisher Mr Fisher Unwin), Mrs Walter Sickert (wife of the painter) and
Mrs Cobden-Sanderson (wife of the well-known artist in bookbinding),
afterwards became prominent in various spheres, and inherited their
father's political interest. His only son died, to Cobden's
inexpressible grief, at the age of fifteen, in 1856.
The work of Cobden, and what is now called "Cobdenism," has in recent
years been subjected to much criticism from the newer school of English
economists who advocate a "national policy" (on the old lines of
Alexander Hamilton and Friedrich List) as against his cosmopolitan
ideals. But it remains the fact that his success with the free-trade
movement was for years unchallenged, and, that the leaps and bounds with
which English commercial prosperity advanced after the repeal of the
corn-laws were naturally associated with the reformed fiscal policy, so
that the very name of protectionism came to be identified with all that
was not merely heterodox but hateful. The tariff reform movement in
England started by Mr Chamberlain (_q.v._) had the result of giving new
boldness to the opponents of Manchesterism, and the whole subject once
more became controversial (see FREE TRADE; CORN LAWS; PROTECTION;
TARIFF; ECONOMICS). Cobden has left a deep mark on English history, but
he was not himself a "scientific economist," and many of his confident
prophecies were completely falsified. As a manufacturer, and with the
circumstances of his own day before him, he considered that it was
"natural" for Great Britain to manufacture for the world in exchange for
her free admission of the more "natural" agricultural products of other
countries. He advocated the repeal of the corn-laws, not essentially in
order to make food cheaper, but because it would develop industry and
enable the manufacturers to get labour at low but sufficient wages; and
he assumed that other countries would be unable to compete with England
in manufactures under free trade, at the prices which would be possible
for English manufactured products. "We advocate," he said, "nothing but
what is agreeable to the highest behests of Christianity--to buy in the
cheapest market, and sell in the dearest." He believed that the rest of
the world must follow England's example: "if you abolish the corn-laws
honestly, and adopt free trade in its simplicity, there will not be a
tariff in Europe that will not be changed in less than five years"
(January 1846). His cosmopolitanism--which makes him in the modern
Imperialist's eyes a "Little Englander" of the straitest sect--led him
to deplore any survival of the colonial system and to hail the removal
of ties which bound the mother country to remote dependencies; but it
was, in its day, a generous and sincere reaction against popular
sentiment, and Cobden was at all events an outspoken advocate of an
irresistible British navy. There were enough inconsistencies in his
creed to enable both sides in the recent controversies to claim him as
one who if he were still alive would have supported their case in the
altered circumstances; but, from the biographical point of view, these
issues are hardly relevant. Cobden inevitably stands for "Cobdenism,"
which is a creed largely developed by the modern free-trader in the
course of subsequent years. It becomes equivalent to economic
_laisser-faire_ and "Manchesterism," and as such it must fight its own
corner with those who now take into consideration many national factors
which had no place in the early utilitarian individualistic régime of
Cobden's own day.
The standard biography is that by John Morley (1881). Cobden's
speeches were collected and published in 1870. The centenary of his
birth in 1904 was celebrated by a flood of articles in the newspapers
and magazines, naturally coloured by the new controversy in England
over the Tariff Reform movement.
COBET, CAREL GABRIEL (1813-1889), Dutch classical scholar, was born at
Paris on the 28th of November 1813, and educated at the Hague Gymnasium
and the university of Leiden. In 1836 he won a gold medal for an essay
entitled _Prosopographia Xenophontea_, a brilliant characterization of
all the persons introduced into the _Memorabilia_, _Symposium_ and
_Oeconomicus_ of Xenophon. His _Observationes criticae in Platonis
comici reliquias_ (1840) revealed his remarkable critical faculty. The
university conferred on him an honorary degree, and recommended him to
the government for a travelling pension. The ostensible purpose of his
journey was to collate the texts of Simplicius, which, however, engaged
but little of his time. He contrived, however, to make a careful study
of almost every Greek manuscript in the Italian libraries, and returned
after five years with an intimate knowledge of palaeography. In 1846 he
married, and in the same year was appointed to an extraordinary
professorship at Leiden. His inaugural address, _De Arte interpretandi
Grammatices et Critices Fundamentis innixa_, has been called the most
perfect piece of Latin prose written in the 19th century. The rest of
his life was passed uneventfully at Leiden. In 1856 he became joint
editor of _Mnemosyne_, a philological review, which he soon raised to a
leading position among classical journals. He contributed to it many
critical notes and emendations, which were afterwards collected in book
form under the titles _Novae Lectiones_, _Variae Lectiones_ and
_Miscellanea Critica_. In 1875 he took a prominent part at the Leiden
Tercentenary, and impressed all his hearers by his wonderful facility in
Latin improvisation. In 1884, when his health was failing, he retired as
emeritus professor. He died on the 26th of October 1889. Cobet's special
weapon as a critic was his consummate knowledge of palaeography, but he
was no less distinguished for his rare acumen and wide knowledge of
classical literature. He has been blamed for rashness in the emendation
of difficult passages, and for neglecting the comments of other
scholars. He had little sympathy for the German critics, and maintained
that the best combination was English good sense with French taste. He
always expressed his obligation to the English, saying that his masters
were three Richards--Bentley, Porson and Dawes.
See an appreciative obituary notice by W.G. Rutherford in the
_Classical Review_, Dec. 1889; Hartman in Bursian's _Biographisches
Jahrbuch_, 1890; Sandys, _Hist. Class. Schol._ (1908), iii. 282.
COBHAM, a village in the Medway parliamentary division of Kent, England,
4 m. W. of Rochester. The church (Early English and later, and restored
by Sir G.G. Scott) is famous for its collection of ancient brasses, of
which thirteen belonging to the years 1320-1529 commemorate members of
the Brooke and Cobham families. There are some fine oak stalls and some
tilting armour of the 14th century in the chancel. Cobham college,
containing 20 almshouses, took the place, after the dissolution, of a
college for priests founded by Sir John de Cobham in the 14th century.
The present mansion of Cobham Hall is mainly Elizabethan. The picture
gallery contains a fine collection of works by the great masters,
Italian, Dutch and English.
The Cobham family was established here before the reign of King John. In
1313 Henry de Cobham was created Baron Cobham, but on the execution of
Sir John Oldcastle (who had been summoned to parliament, _jure uxoris_,
as Baron Cobham) in 1417, the barony lay dormant till revived in 1445 by
Edward, son of Sir Thomas Brooke and Joan, grand-daughter of the 3rd
Baron Cobham. In 1603 Henry Brooke, Lord Cobham, was arraigned for
participation in the Raleigh conspiracy, and spent the remainder of his
life in prison, where he died in 1618. With him the title expired, and
Cobham Hall was granted to Lodowick Stewart, duke of Lennox, passing
subsequently by descent and marriage to the earls of Darnley. The
present Viscount Cobham (cr. 1718) belongs to the Lyttelton family (see
Lyttelton, 1st Baron).
COBIJA, or PUERTO LA MAR (the official title given to it by the Bolivian
government), a port and town of the Chilean province of Antofagasta,
about 800 m. N. of Valparaiso. It is the oldest port on this part of the
coast, and was for a time the principal outlet for a large mining
district. It was formerly capital of the Bolivian department of Atacama
and the only port possessed by Bolivia, but the seizure of that
department in 1879 by Chile and the construction of the Antofagasta and
Oruro railway deprived it of all importance, and its population,
estimated at 6000 in 1858, has fallen to less than 500. Its harbour is
comparatively safe but lacks landing facilities. Smelting for
neighbouring mines is still carried on, and some of its former trade
remains, but the greater part of it has gone to Tocopilla and
Antofagasta. The town occupies a narrow beach between the sea and
bluffs, and was greatly damaged by an earthquake and tidal wave in 1877.
COBLE (probably of Celtic origin, and connected with the root _ceu_ or
_cau_, hollow; cf. Welsh _ceubol_, a ferry-boat), a flat-bottomed
fishing-boat, with deep-lying rudder and lug-sail, used off the
north-east coast of England.
COBLENZ (KOBLENZ), a city and fortress of Germany, capital of the
Prussian Rhine Province, 57 m. S.E. from Cologne by rail, pleasantly
situated on the left bank of the Rhine at its confluence with the Mosel,
from which circumstance it derived its ancient name _Confluentes_, of
which Coblenz is a corruption. Pop. (1885) 31,669; (1905) 53,902. Its
defensive works are extensive, and consist of strong modern forts
crowning the hills encircling the town on the west, and of the citadel
of Ehrenbreitstein (q.v.) on the opposite bank of the Rhine. The old
city was triangular in shape, two sides being bounded by the Rhine and
Mosel and the third by a line of fortifications. The last were razed in
1890, and the town was permitted to expand in this direction.
Immediately outside the former walls lies the new central railway
station, in which is effected a junction of the Cologne-Mainz railway
with the strategical line Metz-Berlin. The Rhine is crossed by a bridge
of boats 485 yds. long, by an iron bridge built for railway purposes in
1864, and, a mile above the town, by a beautiful bridge of two wide and
lofty spans carrying the Berlin railway referred to. The Mosel is
spanned by a Gothic freestone bridge of 14 arches, erected in 1344, and
also by a railway bridge.
The city, down to 1890, consisted of the Altstadt (old city) and the
Neustadt (new city) or Klemenstadt. Of these, the Altstadt is closely
built and has only a few fine streets and squares, while the Neustadt
possesses numerous broad streets and a handsome frontage to the Rhine.
In the more ancient part of Coblenz are several buildings which have an
historical interest. Prominent among these, near the point of confluence
of the rivers, is the church of St Castor, with four towers. The church
was originally founded in 836 by Louis the Pious, but the present
Romanesque building was completed in 1208, the Gothic vaulted roof
dating from 1498. In front of the church of St Castor stands a fountain,
erected by the French in 1812, with an inscription to commemorate
Napoleon's invasion of Russia. Not long after, the Russian troops
occupied Coblenz; and St Priest, their commander, added in irony these
words--"_Vu et approuvé par nous, Commandant Russe de la Vitte de
Coblence: Janvier 1er, 1814._" In this quarter of the town, too, is the
Liebfrauenkirche, a fine church (nave 1250, choir 1404-1431) with lofty
late Romanesque towers; the castle of the electors of Trier, erected in
1280, which now contains the municipal picture gallery; and the family
house of the Metternichs, where Prince Metternich, the Austrian
statesman, was born in 1773. In the modern part of the town lies the
palace (Residenzschloss), with one front looking towards the Rhine, the
other into the Neustadt. It was built in 1778-1786 by Clement Wenceslaus
the last elector of Trier, and contains among other curiosities some
fine Gobelin tapestries. From it some pretty gardens and promenades
(_Kaiserin Augusta Anlagen_) stretch along the bank of the Rhine, and in
them is a memorial to the poet Max von Schenkendorf. A fine statue to
the empress Augusta, whose favourite residence was Coblenz, stands in
the Luisen-platz. But of all public memorials the most striking is the
colossal equestrian statue of the emperor William I., erected by the
Rhine provinces in 1897, standing on a lofty and massive pedestal, at
the point where the Rhine and Mosel meet. Coblenz has also handsome law
courts, government buildings, a theatre, a museum of antiquities, a
conservatory of music, two high grade schools, a hospital and numerous
charitable institutions. Coblenz is a principal seat of the Mosel and
Rhenish wine trade, and also does a large business in the export of
mineral waters. Its manufactures include pianos, paper, cardboard,
machinery, boats and barges. It is an important transit centre for the
Rhine railways and for the Rhine navigation.
_Coblenz_ (Confluentes, Covelenz, Cobelenz) was one of the military
posts established by Drusus about 9 b.c. Later it was frequently the
residence of the Frankish kings, and in 860 and 922 was the scene of
ecclesiastical synods. At the former of these, held in the
Liebfrauenkirche, took place the reconciliation of Louis the German with
his half-brother Charles the Bald. In 1018 the city, after receiving a
charter, was given by the emperor Henry II. to the archbishop of Trier
(Treves), and it remained in the possession of the archbishop-electors
till the close of the 18th century. In 1249-1254 it was surrounded with
new walls by Archbishop Arnold II. (of Isenburg); and it was partly to
overawe the turbulent townsmen that successive archbishops built and
strengthened the fortress of Ehrenbreitstein (q.v.) that dominates the
city. As a member of the league of the Rhenish cities which took its
rise in the 13th century, Coblenz attained to great prosperity; and it
continued to advance till the disasters of the Thirty Years' War
occasioned a rapid decline. After Philip Christopher, elector of Trier,
had surrendered Ehrenbreitstein to the French the town received an
imperial garrison (1632), which was soon, however, expelled by the
Swedes. They in their turn handed the city over to the French, but the
imperial forces succeeded in retaking it by storm (1636). In 1688 it
was besieged by the French under Marshal de Boufflers, but they only
succeeded in bombarding the Altstadt into ruins, destroying among other
buildings the old merchants' hall (_Kaufhaus_), which was restored in
its present form in 1725. In 1786 the elector of Trier, Clement
Wenceslaus of Saxony, took up his residence in the town, and gave great
assistance in its extension and improvement; a few years later it
became, through the invitation of his minister, Ferdinand, Freiherr von
Duminique, one of the principal rendezvous of the French _émigrés_. This
drew down upon the archbishop-elector the wrath of the French
republicans; in 1794 Coblenz was taken by the Revolutionary army under
Marceau (who fell during the siege), and, after the peace of Lunéville,
it was made the chief town of the Rhine and Mosel department (1798). In
1814 it was occupied by the Russians, by the congress of Vienna it was
assigned to Prussia, and in 1822 it was made the seat of government of
the Rhine province.
See Daniel, _Deutschland_ (Leipzig, 1895); W. A. Günther, _Geschichte
der Stadt Koblenz_ (Cobl., 1815); and Bär, _Urkunden und Akten zur
Geschichte der Verfassung und Verwaltung der Stadt Koblenz bis zum
Jahre 1500_ (Bonn, 1898).
COBOURG, the capital of Northumberland county, Ontario, Canada, on Lake
Ontario and the Grand Trunk railway; 70 m. E.N.E. of Toronto. Pop.
(1901) 4239. It has a large, safe harbour, and steamboat communication
with St Lawrence and Lake Ontario ports. It contains car-works,
foundries, and carpet and woollen factories, and is a summer resort,
especially for Americans. Victoria University, formerly situated here,
was removed to Toronto in 1890.
[Illustration: Head of Cobra.]
COBRA (_Naja tripudians_), a poisonous Colubrine snake, belonging to the
family _Elapidae_, known also as the hooded snake, cobra di capello or
_naga_. In this genus the anterior ribs are elongated, and by raising
and bringing forward these, the neck can be expanded at will into a
broad disk or hood. It possesses two rows of palatine teeth in the upper
jaw, while the maxillary bones bear the fangs, of which the anterior one
only is in connexion with the poison gland, the others in various stages
of growth remaining loose in the surrounding flesh until the destruction
of the poison fang brings the one immediately behind to the front, which
then gets anchylosed to the maxillary bone, and into connexion with the
gland secreting the poison, which in the cobra is about the size of an
almond. Behind the poison fangs there are usually one or two ordinary
teeth. The cobra attains a length of nearly 6 ft. and a girth of about 6
in.
The typical cobra is yellowish to dark-brown, with a black and white
spectacle-mark on the back of the hood, and with a pair of large black
and white spots on the corresponding under-surface. There are, however,
many varieties, in some of which the spectacle markings on the hood are
wanting. The cobra may be regarded as nocturnal in its habits, being
most active by night, although not unfrequently found in motion during
the day. It usually conceals itself under logs of wood, in the roofs of
huts and in holes in old walls and ruins, where it is often come upon
inadvertently, inflicting a death wound before it has been observed. It
feeds on small quadrupeds, frogs, lizards, insects and the eggs of
birds, in search of which it sometimes ascends trees. When seeking its
prey it glides slowly along the ground, holding the anterior third of
its body aloft, with its hood distended, on the alert for anything that
may come in its way. "This attitude," says Sir J. Fayrer, "is very
striking, and few objects are more calculated to inspire awe than a
large cobra when, with his hood erect, hissing loudly and his eyes
glaring, he prepares to strike." It is said to drink large quantities of
water, although like reptiles in general it will live for many months
without food or drink. The cobra is oviparous; and its eggs, which are
from 18 to 25 in number, are of a pure white colour, somewhat resembling
in size and appearance the eggs of the pigeon, but sometimes larger.
These it leaves to be hatched by the heat of the sun. It is widely
distributed, from Transcaspia to China and to the Malay Islands, and is
found in all parts of India, from Ceylon to the Himalayas up to about
8000 ft. above the level of the sea.
Closely allied is _N. haje_, the common hooded cobra of all Africa, the
_Spy-slange_, i.e. spitting snake of the Boers.
The cobra is justly regarded as one of the most deadly of the Indian
Thanatophidia. Many thousand deaths are caused annually by this
unfortunately common species, but it is difficult to obtain accurate
statistics. The bite of a vigorous cobra will often prove fatal in a few
minutes, and as there is no practicable antidote to the poison, it is
only in rare instances that such mechanical expedients as cauterizing,
constriction or amputation can be applied with sufficient promptitude to
prevent the virus from entering the circulation. Owing to a small reward
offered by the Indian government for the head of each poisonous snake,
great numbers of cobras have been destroyed; but only low-caste Hindus
will engage in such work, the cobra being regarded by the natives
generally with superstitious reverence, as a divinity powerful to
injure, and therefore to be propitiated; and thus oftentimes when found
in their dwellings this snake is allowed to remain, and is fed and
protected. "Should fear," says Sir J. Fayrer, "and perhaps the death of
some inmate bitten by accident, prove stronger than superstition, it may
be caught, tenderly handled, and deported to some field, where it is
released and allowed to depart in peace, not killed" (_Thanatophidia of
India_). Great numbers, especially of young cobras, are killed by the
adjutant birds and by the mungoos--a small mammal which attacks it with
impunity, apparently not from want of susceptibility to the poison, but
by its dexterity in eluding the bite of the cobra. Mere scratching or
tearing does not appear to be sufficient to bring the poison from the
glands; it is only when the fangs are firmly implanted by the jaws being
pressed together that the virus enters the wound, and in those
circumstances it has been shown by actual experiment that the mungoos,
like all other warm-blooded animals, succumbs to the poison. In the case
of reptiles, the cobra poison takes effect much more slowly, while it
has been proved to have no effect whatever on other venomous serpents.
In the Egyptian hieroglyphics the cobra occurs constantly with the body
erect and hood expanded; its name was _ouro_, which signifies "king,"
and the animal appears in Greek literature as _ouraios_ and
_basiliscus_. With the Egyptian snake-charmers of the present day the
cobra is as great a favourite as with their Hindu colleagues. They
pretend to change the snake into a rod, and it appears that the supple
snake is made stiff and rigid by a strong pressure upon its neck, and
that the animal does not seem to suffer from this operation, but soon
recovers from the cataleptic fit into which it has been temporarily
thrown.
The cobra is the snake usually exhibited by the Indian jugglers, who
show great dexterity in handling it, even when not deprived of its
fangs. Usually, however, the front fang at least is extracted, the
creature being thus rendered harmless until the succeeding tooth takes
its place, and in many cases all the fangs, with the germs behind, are
removed--the cobra being thus rendered innocuous for life. The snake
charmer usually plays a few simple notes on the flute, and the cobra,
apparently delighted, rears half its length in the air and sways its
head and body about, keeping time to the music.
The cobra, like almost all poisonous snakes, is by no means aggressive,
and when it gets timely warning of the approach of man endeavours to get
out of his way. It is only when trampled upon inadvertently, or
otherwise irritated, that it attempts to use its fangs. It is a good
swimmer, often crossing broad rivers, and probably even narrow arms of
the sea, for it has been met with at sea at least a quarter of a mile
from land.
COBURG, a town of Germany, the twin capital with Gotha of the duchy of
Saxe-Coburg-Gotha, on the left bank of the Itz, an affluent of the
Regen, on the southern slope of the Frankenwald, the railway from
Eisenach to Lichtenfels, and 40 m. S.S.E. of Gotha. Pop. (1905) 22,489.
The town is for the most part old, and contains a number of interesting
buildings. The ducal palace, known as the Ehrenburg, is a magnificent
building, originally erected on the site of a convent of bare-footed
friars by Duke John Ernest in 1549, renovated in 1698, and restored in
1816 by Duke Ernest I. It contains a vast and richly decorated hall, the
court church and a fine picture gallery. In the gardens are the
mausoleum of Duke Francis (d. 1806) and his wife, a bronze equestrian
statue of Duke Ernest II. and a fountain in commemoration of Duke Alfred
(duke of Edinburgh). In the market square are the medieval Rathaus, the
government buildings, and a statue of Prince Albert (consort of Queen
Victoria), by William Theed the younger (1804-1891). In the
Schloss-platz are the Edinburgh Palace (Palais Edinburg), built in 1881,
the theatre and an equestrian statue of Duke Ernest I. Among the
churches the most remarkable is the Moritzkirche, with a lofty tower.
The educational establishments include a gymnasium, founded in 1604 by
Duke John Casimir (d. 1633) and thus known as the Casimirianum, a
commercial, an agricultural and other schools. The Zeughaus (armoury)
contains the ducal library of 100,000 volumes, and among other public
buildings may be mentioned the Augustenstift, formerly the seat of the
ministerial offices, and the Marstall (royal mews). On a commanding
eminence above the town is the ancient castle of Coburg, dating from the
11th century (see below). In 1781 it was turned into a penitentiary and
lunatic asylum, but in 1835-1838 was completely restored, and now
contains a natural history museum. The most interesting room in this
building is that which was occupied by Luther in 1530, where the
surroundings may have inspired, though (as is now proved) he did not
compose, the famous hymn, _Ein' feste Burg ist unser Gott_; the bed on
which he slept, and the pulpit from which he preached in the old chapel
are shown. Coburg is a place of considerable industry, the chief
branches of the latter being brewing, manufactures of machinery, colours
and porcelain, iron-founding and saw-milling; and there is an important
trade in the cattle reared in the neighbourhood. Among various places of
interest in the vicinity are the ducal residences of Callenberg and
Rosenau, in the latter of which Albert, Prince Consort, was born in
1819; the castle of Lauterburg; and the village of Neuses, with the
house of the poet J. M. F. Rückert, who died here in 1866, and on the
other side of the river the tomb of the poet Moritz August von Thümmel
(1738-1817).
The town of Coburg, first mentioned in a record of 1207, owed its
existence and its name to the castle, and in the 15th and 16th centuries
was of considerable importance as a halting-place on the great trade
route from Nuremberg _via_ Bamberg to the North. In 1245 the castle
became the seat of the elder branch of the counts of Henneberg
(Coburg-Schmalkalden). The countships of Coburg and Schmalkalden passed
by the marriage of Jutta, daughter of Hermann I. (d. 1290), to Otto V.
of Brandenburg, whose grandson John, however, sold them to Henry VIII.
of Henneberg, his brother-in-law. Henry's daughter Catherine (d. 1397)
married Frederick III. of Meissen, and so brought the castle, town and
countship into the possession of the Saxon house of Wettin. In 1549 Duke
John Ernest of Saxony made Coburg his residence and turned the old
castle into a fortress strong enough to stand a three years' siege
(1632-1635) during the Thirty Years' War. In 1641 Coburg fell to the
dukes of Saxe-Altenburg. In 1835 it became the residence of the dukes of
Saxe-Coburg. For the princes of the house of Coburg see WETTIN And
SAXE-COBURG.
COCA, or CUCA (_Erythroxylon coca_), a plant of the natural order
Erythroxylaceae, the leaves of which are used as a stimulant in the
western countries of South America.[1] It resembles a blackthorn bush,
and grows to a height of 6 or 8 ft. The branches are straight, and the
leaves, which have a lively green tint, are thin, opaque, oval, more or
less tapering at the extremities. A marked characteristic of the leaf
is an areolated portion bounded by two longitudinal curved lines one on
each side of the midrib, and more conspicuous on the under face of the
leaf. Good samples of the dried leaves are uncurled, are of a deep green
on the upper, and a grey-green on the lower surface, and have a strong
tea-like odour; when chewed they produce a sense of warmth in the mouth,
and have a pleasant, pungent taste. Bad specimens have a camphoraceous
smell and a brownish colour, and lack the pungent taste. The flowers are
small, and disposed in little clusters on short stalks; the corolla is
composed of five yellowish-white petals, the anthers are heart-shaped,
and the pistil consists of three carpels united to form a
three-chambered ovary. The flowers are succeeded by red berries. The
seeds are sown in December and January in small plots (_almacigas_)
sheltered from the sun, and the young plants when from 1½ to 2 ft. in
height are placed in holes (_aspi_), or, if the ground is level, in
furrows (_uachos_) in carefully-weeded soil. The plants thrive best in
hot, damp situations, such as the clearings of forests; but the leaves
most preferred are obtained in drier localities, on the sides of hills.
The leaves are gathered from plants varying in age from one and a half
to upwards of forty years. They are considered ready for plucking when
they break on being bent. The first and most abundant harvest is in
March, after the rains; the second is at the end of June, the third in
October or November. The green leaves (_matu_) are spread in thin layers
on coarse woollen cloths and dried in the sun; they are then packed in
sacks, which, in order to preserve the quality of the leaves, must be
kept from damp.
In the Kew Bulletin for January 1889 is an account of the history and
botany of the plant, which has been so long under cultivation in South
America that its original home is doubtful. As the result of this
cultivation numerous forms have arisen. The writer distinguishes from
the typical Peruvian form with pointed leaves a variety
_novo-granatense_, from New Granada, which has smaller leaves with a
rounded apex. The plant is now cultivated in the West Indies, India,
Ceylon, Java and elsewhere. It has been estimated that coca is used by
about 8,000,000 of the human race, being consumed in Bolivia, Peru,
Ecuador, Colombia and Rio Negro. In Peru the Indians carry a leathern
pouch (the _chuspa_ or _huallqui_) for the leaves, and a supply of
pulverized unslaked lime, or a preparation of the ashes of the quinoa
plant (_Chenopodium Quinoa_), called _llipta_ or _llucta_. Three or four
times a day labour is suspended for _chacchar_ or _acullicar_, as the
mastication of coca is termed. The leaves, deprived of their stalks, are
chewed and formed into a ball (_acullico_) in the mouth; a small
quantity of the lime or llipta is then applied to the acullico to give
it a proper relish. Two or three ounces of coca are thus daily consumed
by each Indian.
Coca was used by the Peruvian Indians in the most ancient times. It was
employed as an offering to the sun, or to produce smoke at the great
sacrifices; and the priests, it was believed, must chew it during the
performance of religious ceremonies, otherwise the gods would not be
propitiated. Coca is still held in superstitious veneration among the
Peruvians, and is believed by the miners of Cerro de Pasco to soften the
veins of ore, if masticated and thrown upon them.
The composition of different specimens of coca leaves is very
inconstant. Besides the important alkaloid _cocaine_ (q.v.), occurring
to the extent of about O.2% in fresh specimens, there are several other
alkaloids. The preparations of coca leaves are incompatible with certain
drugs which might often be prescribed in combination with them, such as
salts of mercury, menthol and mineral acids, which latter decompose
cocaine into benzoic acid and ecgonine.
Coca leaves and preparations of them have no external action. Internally
their action is similar to that of opium, though somewhat less narcotic,
and causing a dilatation of the pupil of the eye instead of a
contraction. When masticated, the leaves first cause a tingling in the
tongue and mucous membrane of the mouth, owing to a stimulation of the
nerves of common sensation, and then abolish taste owing to a paralysis
of the terminals of the gustatory nerves. They have a definite
anaesthetic action upon the mucous membrane of the stomach, from which
there come in large part those organic sensations which we interpret as
hunger. Hence it is possible, under the influence of coca, to go without
food or consciousness of needing it, for as long a period as three days.
The drug is not a food, however, as its composition and history in the
body clearly show, and the individual who comfortably fasts under its
influence nevertheless shows all the physical signs of starvation, such
as loss of weight. In small doses coca stimulates the intestinal
peristalsis and thus is an aperient, but in large doses it paralyses the
muscular coat of the bowel, causing constipation, such as is constantly
seen in coco-maniacs, and in those inhabitants of Peru and the adjacent
countries who take it in excess or are markedly susceptible to its
influence.
The injection of coca leaves has a very remarkable effect upon the
higher tracts of the nervous system--an effect curiously contrary to
that produced by their chief ingredient upon the peripheral parts of the
nervous apparatus. The mental power is, at any rate subjectively,
enhanced in marked degree. In the absence of extended experiments in
psychological laboratories, such as have been conducted with alcohol, it
is not possible to say whether the apparent enhancement of the intellect
is an objectively demonstrable fact. The physical power is
unquestionably increased, such muscular exercises as are involved in
ascending mountains being made much easier after the chewing of an ounce
or so of these leaves. Excess in coca-chewing leads in many cases to
great bodily wasting, mental failure, insomnia, weakness of the
circulation and extreme dyspepsia. For other pharmacological characters
and the therapeutic employments of coca see Cocaine.
FOOTNOTE:
[1] Garcilasso de la Vega, writing of the plant, says that it is
called _cuca_ by the Indians, _coca_ by the Spaniards; and Father
Blas Valera states that the leaves are called _cuca_ both by Indians
and Spaniards (_The Royal Commentaries of the Yncas_, 1609-1617;
trans, by C. R. Markham, Hakluyt Soc., 1871). See also, on the name
_cuca_, Christison, _Brit. Med. Journ._, April 29, 1876, p. 527.
COCAINE, C17H21NO4, an alkaloid occurring to the extent of about 1% in
the leaves of _Erythroxylon coca_ (see above). It is associated with
many other alkaloids: cinnamyl cocaine, C19H23NO4; [alpha]-truxilline,
(C19H23NO4)2; [beta]-truxilline, (C19H23NO4)2; benzoylecgonine,
C16H19NO2; tropa-cocaine, C15H19NO2; hygrine, C8H15NO; cuscohygrine,
C13H24NO2. These substances, which may be collectively termed
"cocaines," are all derivatives of ecgonine (q.v.). Cocaine is
benzoylmethyl ecgonine. It crystallizes from alcohol in prisms, which
are sparingly soluble in water. Its solution has a bitter taste,
alkaline reaction, and is laevorotatory. Its use as a local anaesthetic
(see ANAESTHESIA) makes it the most valuable of the coca alkaloids, and
it is much used in ophthalmic practice. Applied to the conjunctiva it
causes anaesthesia, dilatation of the pupil, diminution of the
intraocular tension, and some interference with accommodation. The
conversion of the mixture obtained by extracting coca-leaves into
cocaine is effected by saponifying the esters into ecgonine and the
respective acids, and then benzoylating and methylating the ecgonine.
Homologues of cocaine--ethylbenzoylecgonine, &c.--have been prepared;
they closely resemble natural cocaine. Cinnamyl cocaine is
cinnamylmethylecgonine, i.e. cocaine in which the benzoyl group is
replaced by the cinnamyl group. [alpha]- and [beta]-truxillines, named
from their isolation from a coca of Truxillo (Peru), are two isomeric
alkaloids which hydrolyse to ecgonine, methyl alcohol, and two isomeric
acids, the truxillic acids, C18H16O4. The alkaloids are therefore methyl
truxillylecgonines. The truxillic acids have been studied by K.
Liebermann and his students (_Ber._, vols. 21-27, and 31), and are
diphenyl tetramethylene dicarboxylic acids.
COCANADA, or COCONADA, a town of British India, in the Godavari district
of Madras, on the coast in the extreme north of the Godavari delta,
about 315 m. N. of Madras. Pop. (1901) 48,096, showing an increase of
18% in the decade. As the administrative headquarters of the district,
and the chief port on the Coromandel coast after Madras, Cocanada was
formerly of considerable importance, but its shipping trade has
declined, owing to the silting of the anchorage, and to the construction
of the railway. It is connected by navigable channels with the canal
system of the Godavari delta, and by a branch line with Samalkot on the
East Coast railway. The anchorage is an open roadstead, with two
lighthouses. The chief exports are rice, cotton, sugar and oilseeds.
Mills have been established for cleaning rice. The town contains a
second-grade college, a high school, and a literary association.
COCCEIUS [strictly KOCH], JOHANNES (1603-1669), Dutch theologian, was
born at Bremen. After studying at Hamburg and Franeker, where Sixtinus
Amama was one of his teachers, he became in 1630 professor of biblical
philology at the "Gymnasium illustre" in his native town. In 1636 he was
transferred to Franeker, where he held the chair of Hebrew, and from
1643 the chair of theology also, until 1650, when he succeeded Fr.
Spanheim the elder as professor of theology at Leiden. He died on the
4th of November 1669. His chief services as an oriental scholar were in
the department of Hebrew philology and exegesis. As one of the leading
exponents of the "covenant" or "federal" theology, he spiritualized the
Hebrew scriptures to such an extent that it was said that Cocceius found
Christ everywhere in the Old Testament and Hugo Grotius found him
nowhere. He taught that before the Fall, as much as after it, the
relation between God and man was a covenant. The first covenant was a
"Covenant of Works." For this was substituted, after the Fall, the
"Covenant of Grace," to fulfil which the coming of Jesus Christ was
necessary. He held millenarian views, and was the founder of a school of
theologians who were called after him Cocceians. His theology was
founded entirely on the Bible, and he did much to promote and encourage
the study of the original text. In one of his essays he contends that
the observance of the Sabbath, though expedient, is not binding upon
Christians, since it was a Jewish institution. His most distinguished
pupil was the celebrated Campeius Vitringa. His most valuable work was
his _Lexicon et Commentarius Sermonis Hebraici et Chaldaici_ (Leiden,
1669), which has been frequently republished; his theology is fully
expounded in his _Summa Doctrinae de Foedere et Testamento Dei_ (1648).
His collected works were published in 12 folio volumes (Amsterdam,
1673-1675). See Herzog-Hauck, _Realencyklopädie_.
COCCIDIA, an important order of Sporozoa Ectospora, parasites possessing
certain very distinctive characters. With one or two possible
exceptions, they are invariably intracellular during the entire trophic
life of the individual. They always attack tissue-cells, usually of an
epithelium, and never blood-corpuscles. Correlated with the advanced
degree of parasitism, there is a complete absence of specialization or
differentiation of the cell-body, and the trophozoite is quite incapable
of any kind of movement. In all cases, so far as known, the life-cycle
is digenetic, an asexual generation (produced by schizogony) alternating
with a sexual one (gametogony). After conjugation of two
highly-differentiated gametes has taken place, a resistant oocyst is
formed, which provides for the dispersal of the species; inside this
sporogony (spore- and sporozoite-formation) goes on.
History.
Hake (1839) was, perhaps, the first to describe a Coccidian, but he
regarded the parasites as pathological cell-products. In 1845 N.
Lieberkühn pointed out the resemblances to Gregarines, with which
organisms he considered Coccidia to be allied. A year later, H. Kloss
proved the existence of similar parasites in the snail, and attempted to
construct their life-history; this form was subsequently named _Klossia
helicina_ by A. Schneider. The asexual part of the life-cycle was first
described by Th. Eimer in 1870, for a Coccidian infesting the mouse,
which was afterwards elevated by Schneider into a distinct genus
_Eimeria_. The generic name _Coccidium_ was introduced by R. Leuckart in
1879, for the parasite of the rabbit. It was many years, however, before
the double character of the life-cycle was realized, and the ideas of L.
and R. Pfeiffer, who first suggested the possibility of an alternation
of generations, for a long time found no favour. In the first decade of
the 20th century great progress was accomplished, thanks largely to the
researches of F. Schaudinn and M. Siedlecki, who first demonstrated the
occurrence of sexual conjugation in the group; and the Coccidian
life-history is now one of the best known among Sporozoa.
Habitat: effects on host.
Coccidia appear to be confined[1] to four great phyla, Vertebrates,
Molluscs, Arthropods and Annelids; the first named group furnishes by
far the most hosts, the parasites being frequently met with in domestic
animals, both birds and mammals. Following from the casual method of
infection, the epithelium of the gut or of its appendages (e.g. the
liver [Plate I., fig. 1]) is a very common seat of the parasitic
invasion. But in many cases Coccidia are found in other organs, to which
they are doubtless carried by lymphatic or circulatory channels. In
Molluscs, they often occur in the kidneys (fig. 2); in Insects, they are
met with as "coelomic" parasites, the fat-bodies, pericardial cells,
&c., being a favourite habitat; even the testis is not free from their
attentions in one or two instances, though the ovary appears always
immune.
The parasite invariably destroys its host-cell completely. The latter is
at first stimulated to abnormal growth and activity and becomes greatly
hypertrophied, the nucleus also undergoing karyolytic changes (fig. 4).
The fatty materials elaborated by the host-cell are rapidly used up by
the Coccidian, as nourishment; and at length the weakened and
disorganized cell is no longer able to assimilate but dies and is
gradually absorbed by the parasite, becoming reduced to a mere enclosing
skin or envelope. In some cases (ex. _Cyclospora caryolytica_ of the
mole) the parasite is actually intranuclear, the nucleus becoming
greatly swollen and transformed into a huge vacuole containing it.
The effects of a Coccidian infection upon the host as a whole depend
largely upon the extent to which endogenous multiplication of the
parasites takes place. On the one hand, schizogony may be so limited in
extent as not to cause appreciable injury to the host. This seems to be
often the case in forms infecting Molluscs and Arthropods. On the other
hand, where schizogony is rapid and prolonged, the results are often
serious. For, although any one individual only causes the death of a
single host-cell, yet the number of the parasites may be so enormously
increased by this means, that the entire affected epithelium may be
overrun and destroyed. Thus are occasioned grave attacks of coccidiosis,
characterized by severe enteritis and diarrhoea, which may end fatally.
In the case of the Vertebrates, secondary causes, resulting from the
stoppage of the bile ducts, also help to produce death. There is,
however, one factor in the endangered animal's favour. Schizogony cannot
go on indefinitely; it has a limit, dependent upon the supply of
host-cells, and consequently of nutriment, available. As this shows
signs of becoming exhausted, by the rapid multiplication of the
parasites, the latter begin to make preparations for the exogenous
cycle, inaugurated by gametogony. When conjugation has taken place and
sporogony is begun, the danger to the host is at an end. So that, if the
acute stage of the disease is once successfully passed, the regenerative
capacity of the epithelium may be able to restore something like
equilibrium to the deranged metabolism in time to prevent collapse.
Morphology and life-history.
_Coccidium schubergi_, parasitic in the intestine of a centipede
(_Lithobius forficatus_), may be taken as an example of a Coccidian
life-history (see Schaudinn, 1900): some of the more important
variations exhibited by other forms will be noted afterwards. The
trophozoite, or actively-growing parasite, is an oval or rounded body
(fig. 3, I.). The general cytoplasm shows no differentiation into
ectoplasm and endoplasm; it is uniformly alveolar in character. The
nucleus is relatively large, and possesses a distinct membrane and a
well-marked reticulum in which are embedded grains of chromatin. Its
most conspicuous feature is the large deeply-staining karyosome, which
consists of the greater part of the chromatin of the nucleus intimately
bound up with a plastinoid basis. When fully grown, the trophozoite (now
a schizont) undergoes schizogony. Its nucleus divides successively to
form a number of nuclei, which travel to the periphery, and there become
more or less regularly disposed (fig. 3, II. and III.). The protoplasm
in the neighbourhood of each next grows out, as a projecting bud,
carrying the nucleus with it. In this manner are formed a number of
club-shaped bodies, the merozoites, which are at length set free from
the parent-body (IV.), leaving a certain amount of residual cytoplasm
behind. By the rupture of the disorganized host-cell,[2] the
fully-formed merozoites are liberated into the intestinal lumen, and
seek out fresh epithelial cells. Each is more or less sickle-shaped, and
capable of active movements. Once inside a new host-cell, the merozoite
grows to a schizont again.
After this course has been repeated several times, gametogony sets in,
the trophozoites growing more slowly and becoming the parent-cells of
the sexual elements (gametocytes), either male individuals
(microgametocytes) or female ones (megagametocytes). A microgametocyte
(fig. 3, VI. [mars]) is characterized by its dense but finely reticular
or alveolar cytoplasm, very different from the loose structure of that
of a schizont. The male elements (microgametes) are formed in a manner
essentially comparable to that in which the formation of merozoites
takes place. Although the details of the nuclear changes and divisions
vary somewhat, the end-result is similar, a number of little nuclear
agglomerations being evenly distributed at the surface (VII. [mars])
Each of these elongates considerably, becoming comma-shaped and
projecting from the gametocyte. Nearly all the body of the male gamete
(VIII. [mars]) consists of chromatin, the cytoplasm only forming a very
delicate zone or envelope around the nucleus. From the cytoplasm two
long fine flagella grow out, one of which originates at the anterior
end, the other, apparently, at the hinder end, acting as a rudder; but
it is probable that this also is developed at the anterior end and
attached to the side of the body. By means of their flagella the
numerous microgametes break loose from the body of the microgametocyte
and swim away in search of a female element.
A megagametocyte (VI. [venus]) is distinguished by its rather different
shape, being more like a bean than a sphere until ripe for maturation,
and by the fact that it stores up in its cytoplasm quantities of reserve
nutriment in the form of rounded refringent plastinoid grains. Each
female gametocyte gives rise to only a single female element
(megagamete), after a process of nuclear purification. The karyosome is
expelled from the nucleus into the cytoplasm, where it breaks up at once
into fragments (VII. [venus]). Meanwhile the gametocyte is becoming
spherical, and its changes in shape aid in setting it free from the
shrivelled host-cell. The fragments of the karyosome, which are, as it
were, squeezed out to the exterior, exert a powerful attraction upon the
microgametes, many of which swarm round the now mature megagamete. The
female nucleus (pronucleus) approaches the surface of the cell (VIII.
[venus]), and at this spot a little clear cytoplasmic prominence arises
(cone of reception). On coming into contact with this protuberance
(probably attracted to it by the female pronucleus), a microgamete
adheres. Partly by its own movements and partly by the withdrawal of the
cone of attraction, the male penetrates into the female element and
fertilization is accomplished. Only one microgamete can thus pass into
the megagamete, for immediately its entry is effected a delicate
membrane is secreted around the copula (zygote), which effectually
excludes other less fortunate ones. This membrane rapidly increases in
thickness and becomes the oocyst (IX.), and the copula is now ready to
begin sporogony.
Sporogony goes on indifferently either inside the host or after the cyst
has been passed out with the faeces to the exterior. The definitive
nucleus of the zygote (resulting from the intimate fusion of the male and
female pronuclei, by means of a somewhat elaborate "fertilization-spindle"
[X.]) gives rise by successive direct divisions to four nuclei (XII.),
around which the protoplasm becomes segregated; these segments form the
four sporoblasts. Around each sporoblast two membranes are successively
secreted (exospore and endospore), which constitute the sporocyst (XIII.);
the sporocyst and its contents forming the spore. The nucleus of each
spore next divides, again directly, and this is followed by the division
of the cytoplasm. As a final result, each of the four spores contains two
germs (sporozoites), and a certain amount of residual protoplasm (fig. 3,
XIV.); this latter encloses a viscid, vacuole-like body, which aids in the
subsequent dehiscence of the sporocyst. On being eaten by a fresh host,
the wall of the oocyst is dissolved at a particular region by the
digestive juices, which are thus enabled to reach the spores and cause the
rupture of the sporocysts. As the result of instructive experiments,
Metzner has shown that it is the pancreatic and not the gastric juice by
which this liberation of the germs is effected. The liberated sporozoites
creep out and proceed to infect the epithelial cells. The sporozoites
(XV.) are from 15-20 µ long by 4-6 µ wide; they are fairly similar to
merozoites in form, structure and behaviour, the chief point of
distinction being that they have no karyosome in the nucleus (cf. above).
PLATE I.
[Illustration: FIG. 1.--SECTION THROUGH RABBIT'S LIVER, INFECTED WITH
_COCCIDIUM CUNICULI_. (AFTER THOMA.)]
[Illustration: FIG. 2.--_KLOSSIA HELICINA_, FROM KIDNEY OF HELIX
HORTENSIS.
a, Portion of a section of the kidney showing normal epithelial cells
containing concretions (c), and enlarged epithelial cells containing
the parasite (k) in various stages; b, cyst of the _Klossia_
containing sporoblasts; c, cyst with ripe spores, each enclosing four
sporozoites and a patch of residual protoplasm. (From Wasielewski,
after Balbiani.)]
[Illustration: FIG. 3.--THE LIFE-CYCLE OF _COCCIDIUM SCHUBERGI_,
SCHAUD. (PAR. _LITHOBIUS FORFICATUS_). (FROM MINCHIN, AFTER
SCHAUDINN.)
I.-IV represents the schizogony, commencing with infection of an
epithelial cell by a sporozoite or merozoite. After stage IV the
development may start again at stage I, as indicated by the arrows; or
it may go on to the formation of gametocytes (V). V-VIII represents
the sexual generation. The line of development, hitherto single (I-IV)
becomes split into two lines--male (VI [mars], VII [mars], VIII
[mars]), and female (VI [venus], VII [venus], VIII [venus]),
culminating in the highly differentiated micro- and mega-gametes. By
conjugation these two lines are again united. IX, X, show the
formation of the zygote by fusion of the nuclei of the gametes. XI-XV,
sporogony. H.C, host-cell; N, its nucleus; mz, merozoite; szt,
schizont; ky, karyosome (or fragments of same); n.n, daughter-nuclei
of schizont; pl.gr, plastinoid grains; ooc, oocyst; n.zyg,
zygote-nucleus (segmentation-nucleus); sp.m, spore-membrane
(sporocyst); rp, residual protoplasm of oocyst ("reliquat kystal");
rp.sp, residual protoplasm of spore ("reliquat sporal"); sp.z,
sporozoite.]
[Illustration: FIG. 4.--PHASES OF _CARYOTROPHA MESNILII_, SIEDL. (PAR.
_POLYMNIA NEBULOSA_).
a, Young schizont in a cluster of spermatogonia; the host-cell
(represented granulated) and two of its neighbours are greatly
hypertrophied, with very large nuclei, and have fused into a single
mass containing the parasite (represented clear, with a thick
outline). The other spermatogonia are normal. b, Intracellular
schizont divided up into schizontocytes (c), each schizontocyte giving
rise to a cluster of merozoites arranged as a "corps en barillet";
spg, spermatogonia; h.c, host-cell; N, nucleus of host-cell or cells;
n, nucleus of parasite; szc, schizontocyte; mz, merozoites; r.b,
residual bodies of the schizontocytes. (From Minchin, after
Siedlecki.)]
PLATE II.
[Illustration: FIG. 5.--SCHIZOGONY OF _ADELEA OVATA_, A. SCHN. (PAR.
_LITHOBIUS FORFICATUS_).
a-c, [venus] generation; d-f, [mars] generation. a, Full-grown [venus]
schizont (_megaschizont_), with a large nucleus (n) containing a
conspicuous karyosome (ky). b, Commencement of schizogony; the nucleus
has divided up to form a number of daughter-nuclei (d.n). The
karyosome of stage a has broken up into a great number of
daughter-karyosomes, each of which forms at first the centre of one of
the star-shaped daughter-nuclei; but in a short time the
daughter-karyosomes become inconspicuous. c, Completion of schizogony;
the [venus] schizont has broken up into a number of _megamerozoites_
([venus] mz) implanted on a small quantity of residual protoplasm
(r.p.). Each [venus] merozoite has a chromatic nucleus (n) without a
karyosome. d, Full-grown [mars] schizont (_microschizont_), with
nucleus (n), karyosome (ky), and a number of characteristic
pigment-granules (p.gr). e, Commencement of schizogony. The nucleus is
dividing up into a number of daughter-nuclei (d.n), each with a
conspicuous karyosome (ky). f, Completion of schizogony. The numerous
micro-merozoites ([mars] mz) have each a nucleus with a conspicuous
karyosome (ky) at one pole, and the protoplasm contains
pigment-granules (p.gr) near the nucleus, on the side farthest from
the karyosome. (From Minchin, after Siedlecki.)]
[Illustration: FIG. 6.--ASSOCIATION AND CONJUGATION IN _ADELEA OVATA_.
a, Young microgametocyte ([mars] gamc.) attached to a megagametocyte
([venus] gamc.). The nucleus of the microgametocyte gives rise to 4
daughter-nuclei (c) which become (d) 4 microgametes ([venus] gam.). e,
One of the microgametes penetrates the megagamete, which forms a
fertilization-spindle composed of male and female chromatin ([mars]
and [venus] chr.). The other 3 microgametes and the residual
protoplasm of the microgametocyte (r.p.) perish. The karyosome of the
megagamete has disappeared, as such. f, Union of the chromatin of both
elements, to produce the zygote-nucleus (n.zyg.). (From Minchin, after
Siedlecki.)]
[Illustration: FIG. 7.--SPORES OF VARIOUS COCCIDIAN GENERA.
a, _Minchinia chitonis_ (E.R.L.), (par. _Chiton_); b, _Diaspora
hydatidea_, Léger (par. _Polydesmus_); c, _Echinospora labbei_, Léger
(par. _Lithobius mutabilis_); d, _Goussia motellae_, Labbé; e,
_Diplospora_ (_Hyaloklossia_), _lieberkuhni_ (Labbé), (par. _Rana
esculenta_); f, _Crystallospora crystalloides_ (Thél.), (par. _Motella
tricirrata_). (From Minchin; b and c after Léger, the others after
Labbé.)]
[Illustration: FIG. 8.--SPOROGONY AND SPORE-GERMINATION IN _BARROUSSIA
ORNATA_, A. SCH., FROM THE GUT OF _NEPA CINERA_.
a, Oocyst with sporoblasts; b, oocyst with ripe spores; c, a spore
highly magnified, showing the single sporozoite bent on itself; d, the
spore has split along its outer coat or epispore, but the sporozoite
is still enclosed in the endospore; e, the sporozoite, freed from the
endospore, is emerging; f, the sporozoite has straightened itself out
and is freed from its envelopes. (From Wasielewski, after A.
Schneider.)]
Comparing the life-cycle of other Coccidia with that just described, a
greater or less degree of modification is frequently met with. In the
process of schizogony two orders of division sometimes occur; the
parent-schizont first divides up into a varying number of rounded
daughter-schizonts (schizontocytes), each of which gives rise, in the
usual manner, to a cluster of merozoites,[3] which thus constitute a
second order of cells. Siedlecki (1902) has found this to be the case in
_Caryotropha mesnilii_ (fig. 4), and Woodcock (1904) has shown that it
is most probably really the same process which Smith and Johnson (1902)
mistook for sporogony when originally describing their Coccidian of the
mouse, _Klossiella_. In _Caryotropha_, a perfectly similar state of
affairs is seen in the formation of microgametes from the
microgametocyte; this is additionally interesting as showing that this
process is neither more nor less than male schizogony.
Coming to the sexual generation, considerable variation is met with as
regards the period in the life-history when sexual differentiation first
makes its appearance. Sexuality may become evident at the very beginning
of schizogony, as, e.g. in _Adelea ovata_ (Siedlecki, 1899), where the
first-formed schizonts (those developed from the sporozoites) are
differentiated into male and female (micro-and mega-schizonts) (see
Plate II., fig. 5). Correspondingly, the merozoites, to which they give
rise, are also different (micro-and mega-merozoites). In one or two
cases sexuality appears even earlier in the cycle, and has thus been
carried still farther back.
The Coccidia, as a whole, have not developed the phenomenon of
association of the sexual individuals prior to gamete-formation which is
so characteristic of Gregarines. Their method of endeavouring to secure
successful sporulation, and thus the survival of the species, has been
rather by the extreme specialization of the sexual process. In place of
many female elements, which the primitive or ancestral forms may be
assumed to have had,[4] there is always, save possibly for one
exception,[5] only a single relatively huge megagamete formed, which
offers a comparatively easy goal for one of the many microgametes.
Nevertheless in the effort to render fertilization absolutely certain, a
few Coccidia have acquired (secondarily) the power of associating; a
state of things which enables those forms, moreover, to effect an
economy in the number of male gametes, only three or four being
developed. Instances are seen in _Adelea mesnili_ (Perez, 1903), _A.
ovata_ (fig. 6), and _Klossia helicina_ (Siedlecki, 1899). It is very
interesting to note that, in the two last cases, unless this association
of the microgametocyte with the megagametocyte occurs, neither can the
former produce male elements (microgametes) nor can the female
individual maturate and become ready for fertilization. (Concerning this
question of association see also GREGARINES.)
In sporogony, great variation is seen with respect to the number of
spores and sporozoites formed; and, as in Gregarines, these characters
are largely used for purposes of classification, under which heading
they are better considered. Usually, the spores (fig. 7) are quite
simple in outline, and not produced into spines or processes;
exceptions are found, however, in a few instances (e.g. _Minchinia
chitonis_). In one case (_Coccidium mitrarium_), the oocyst itself,
instead of being spherical, is curiously shaped like a mitre.
The life-history as a whole is invariably undergone in a single host,
i.e. there is no alternation of true hosts.[6] Schaudinn, in his work on
the _Coccidia_ of _Lithobius_ (1900), showed that the oocysts expelled
with the faeces may be eaten by wood-lice (Oniscus), but when this
happens they pass through the intestine of the wood-louse unaltered, the
latter not being an intermediate host but merely a carrier.
Classification.
The order Coccidiidea is divided into four families, characterized by
the number of sporocysts (if any) found in the oocyst.
Fam. ASPOROCYSTIDAE, Léger. No sporozoites are formed in the oocyst,
the sporozoites being unenclosed (gymnospores).
Genus, _Légerella_, Mesnil. This genus actually conforms to Aimé
Schneider's original definition of _Eimeria_, which was founded on
what were really the schizogonous generations of other forms, then
thought to be distinct. In view of the great confusion attending the
use of this name, however, Mesnil (1900) has suggested the new one
here adopted. Two species known, _L. nova_ and _L. testiculi_, both
from different species of _Glomeris_, a Myriapod; the former inhabits
the Malpighian tubules, the latter the testis.
Fam. DISPOROCYSTIDAE, Léger. The oocyst contains 2 spores.
Genus 1. _Cyclospora_, A. Schneider. Spores dizoic, i.e. with two
sporozoites. _C. glomericola_, from the intestinal epithelium of
_Glomeris_, and _C. caryolytica_, from the intestinal epithelium of
the mole, intranuclear.
Genus 2. _Diplospora_, Labbé. Spores tetrazoic. _D. lacazei_, from
many birds, is the best-known species; and others have been described
from different Sauropsida. _D. lieberkühni_ is an interesting form
occurring in the kidneys of the frog, which it reaches by way of the
circulation.
Genus 3. _Isospora_, Schn. Spores polyzoic. Founded for _I. rara_,
parasitic in the black slug (_Limax cinereo-niger_). Many authors
consider that Schneider was mistaken in attributing many sporozoites
to this form, and would unite with it the genus _Diplospora_.
Fam. TETRASPOROCYSTIDAE, Léger. The oocyst contains 4 spores.
Genus 1. _Coccidium_,[7] Leuckart. The spores are dizoic and the
sporocysts rounded or oval. A very large number of species are known,
mostly from Vertebrate hosts. _C. cuniculi_ (= _C. oviforme_) from the
rabbit (intestine and diverticula), but also occurring sometimes in
other domestic animals; C. falciformis, from the mouse; _C. faurei_
from sheep; and _C. schubergi_, from _Lithobius_ (a centipede), are
among the best-known forms. All of them may cause disastrous epidemics
of coccidiosis.
Genus 2. _Paracoccidium_, Laveran and Mesnil. This genus is
distinguished from _Coccidium_ by the fact that the sporocysts become
dissolved up in the oocyst, thus leaving the 8 sporozoites unenclosed,
recalling the condition in _Légerella_. _P. prevoti_, unique species,
from the frog's intestine.
Genus 3. _Crystallospora_, Labbé. Spores also dizoic, but having the
form of a double pyramid. _C. crystalloides_ from a fish, _Motella
tricirrata_.
Genus 4. _Angeiocystis_, Brasil. Apparently 6 sporozoites, but the
only species, _A. audouiniae_, has only been briefly described; from a
Polychaete (_Audouinia_).
Fam. POLYSPOROCYSTIDAE, Léger. The oocyst contains numerous spores.
There are several genera with monozoic spores, characterized by
variations in the form and structure of the sporocysts, e.g.
_Barroussia_, Schn. (fig. 8), _Echinospora_, Léger, and _Diaspora_,
Léger; most of these forms are from Myriapods.
Genus _Adelea_, Schn. Dizoic spores; sporocysts round or oval, plain.
Several species are included in this well-known genus, among them
being _A. ovata_, _A. mesnili_, _A. dimidiata_; most of them are
parasitic in Insects or Myriapods.
Genus _Minchinia_, Labbé. Dizoic spores; the sporocysts are produced
at each pole into a long filament. _M. chitonis_, from the liver of
_Chiton_ (Mollusca).
Genus _Klossia_, Schn. The spores are tetrazoic (or perhaps polyzoic).
_K. helicina_ from the kidney of various land-snails is the best-known
form. Usually said to have 5 to 6 spores, but Mesnil considers that
the normal number is 4, as is the case in another species, _K. soror_.
Genus _Caryotropha_, Siedlecki. Many spherical spores (about 20) each
with 12 sporozoites. _C. mesnilii_, unique species, from the
spermatogonial (testis) cells of _Polymnia_ (a Polychaete). An
interesting point in the schizogony is the formation of schizontocytes
(see above).
A Coccidian parasitic in the kidneys of the mouse has been described
by Smith and Johnson (1902) and named by them _Klossiella_, on the
ground that it possessed many spores, each with about 20 sporozoites.
Woodcock has shown, however, that the authors were in all probability
dealing with a similar modification of schizogony to that which
obtains in _Caryotropha_. The sporogony of this form (and hence its
systematic position) remains at present, therefore, quite unknown.
There are several doubtful or insufficiently known genera, e.g.
_Bananella_, _Goussia_, _Hyaloklossia_, _Gonobia_, _Pfeifferella_ and
_Rhabdospora_, many of which probably represent only schizogonous
generations of other forms. (For information concerning these see
Labbé, 1897.)
Lastly it remains to mention the extremely interesting forms parasitic
in Cephalopods. For some years these have provided a fruitful source
of discussion to systematists. Here it may be stated simply that their
systematic position and nomenclature were thought to have been finally
settled by the researches of Jacquemet (1903) and Lühe (1902) in the
following terms:--
Genus _Eucoccidium_. Lühe (syn. _Légerina_ Jacq.), Coccidia possessing
polysporous oocysts and lacking schizogony, parasitic in Cephalopods.
Two well-known species: _E. eberthi_ (Labbé), (=_Benedenia_ seu
_Klossia e._ seu _octopiana_), parasitic in _Sepia_, which is tri- or
tetra-zoic; and _E. octopianum_ (Schn.), (syn. _Benedenia_ seu
_Klossia o._) from _Octopus_, which is polyzoic, having 10 to 12
sporozoites. In both forms cysts containing megaspores and
megasporozoites, and others containing microspores and
microsporozoites are found, considered as representing sexual
differentiation thrown back to the very earliest stages of the
life-cycle.
Quite recently much additional light has been thrown upon our
knowledge of these parasites, including a new one, _E. jacquemeti_.
Moroff (1906) has shown that not one but many megagametes are formed,
and fertilized by the microgametes. For this reason he regards them as
Gregarines rather than Coccidia. Further, Léger and Duboscq (1906)
have found that the characteristic coelomic parasites (_Aggregata_) of
Crustacea, generally regarded as gymnosporous Gregarines (i.e.
Gregarines in which the sporozoites are naked) constitute in reality
nothing more or less than a schizogonous generation of these
Cephalopodan parasites, which have thus an alternation of true hosts.
The ripe sporocysts from the Cephalopod are eaten by a particular crab
(e.g. _Portunus_ or _Inachus_, according to the parasite), the
sporozoites are liberated and traverse the mucous membrane of the
intestine, coming to rest in the surrounding lymphatic layer. Here a
large "cyst" is formed, projecting into the body-cavity, the contents
of which give rise to a great number of merozoites. On the crab being
devoured by the right species of Cephalopod, the merozoites doubtless
give rise to the sexual generation again.
As the name _Aggregata_ is much the older, and as, moreover, there is
no longer any reason to retain that of _Eucoccidium_, these parasites
must in future receive the former generic appellation. With regard to
the various specific names, however, they remain quite unsettled until
the life-history is properly worked out in different cases (see also
GREGARINES).
It seems to the writer a much more open question than Moroff and Léger
and Duboscq apparently suppose, whether these parasites are to be
relegated to the Gregarines. For undoubtedly they have many Coccidian
features, and on the other hand they differ in many ways from
Gregarines. The chief feature of agreement with the latter order is
the possession of many female gametes. As already said, there can be
little doubt that this was the condition in the Coccidian ancestor,
and it is by no means impossible that one or two forms existing at the
present day remain primitive in that respect. On the other hand, the
advanced character of the parasitism (the parasites remaining
intracellular up to and including gamete-formation); the entire lack
of the characteristic feature of association; the schizogony, which is
only a very rare occurrence in Gregarines, and which, in the present
case, strongly suggests the process in _Caryotropha_ and _Klossiella_;
and, last but not least, the varying number of the sporozoites (3 in
one form, 10-15 in others), which is very different from the almost
constant number (8) in Gregarines, are all characters in which these
forms agree with Coccidia and not with Gregarines. Having regard to
these points, the writer is inclined, for the present, to consider
_Aggregata_ as an offshoot rather from the Coccidian than from the
Gregarine branch of the Ectosporan tree.
BIBLIOGRAPHY.--The following are some of the important papers dealing
with the order:--G. Bonnet-Eymard, "Sur l'Évolution de l'_Eimeria
nova_, Schneider," _C.R. Soc. Biol._ 52, p. 659, 1900; L. Brasil, "Sur
une Coccidie nouvelle, &c.," _C.R.Ac. Sci._ 139, p. 645, 1904; L.
Cuénot, "_Légerella testiculi_ n. sp., &c.," _Arch. Zool. exp._ (N. et
R.), (3) 10, p. 49, 6 figs., 1902; M. Jacquemet, "Sur la systématique
des Coccidies des Céphalopodes," _Arch. Protistenk._ 2 p., 190, 1903;
A. Labbé, "Recherches zoologiques, cytologiques et biologiques sur les
Coccidies," _Arch. zool. exp._ (3), 4, p. 517, 3 pls., 1897; A.
Laveran, "Sur les modes de réproduction d'_Isospora lacazei_," _C.R.
Soc. Biol_. 50, p. 1139, 1898; A. Laveran and F. Mesnil, "Sur deux
Coccidies intestinales de la _Rana esculenta_," op. cit. 54, p. 857, 9
figs., 1902; A. Laveran and F. Mesnil, "Sur la Coccidie trouvée dans
le rein de la _Rana esculenta_, &c.," _C.R.Ac. Sci._ 135, p. 82, 10
figs., 1902; A. Laveran and F. Mesnil, "Sur quelques Protozoaires
parasites d'une tortue, &c." _t. c._ p. 609, 14 figs., 1902; L. Léger,
"Sur une nouvelle Coccidie à microgamètes ciliés," op. cit., 127, p.
418, 1898; L. Léger, "Sur la morphologie et le développement des
microgamètes des Coccidies," _Arch. zool. exp._ (N. et R.) (3), 6,
1898; L. Léger, "Essai sur la classification des Coccidies, &c.,"
_Ann. Mus. Nat. Hist._, Marseille (2), Bull. i. p. 71, 4 pls., 1898;
L. Léger "Sur la présence d'une Coccidie coelomique chez Olocrates,
&c.," _Arch. zool. exp_. (N. et R.) (3), 8, p. i., 1900; L. Léger,
"Sur le genre _Eimeria_ et la classification des Coccidies," _C.R.
Soc. Biol._ 52, p. 575, 1900; L. Léger and O. Duboscq, "Recherches sur
les Myriapodes de Corse et leurs parasites," _Arch. zool. exp._ (4),
1, p. 307, 24 figs., 1903; L. Léger and O. Duboscq, "Sur l'évolution
des Grégarines gymnosporées des Crustacés," _C.R.Ac. Sci._ 142, p.
1225, 1906; L. Léger and O. Duboscq, "L'Évolution d'une _Aggregata_ de
la seiche chez le _Portunus depurator_," _C.R. Soc. Biol_. 6o, p.
1001, 1906; M. Lühe, "Über Geltung und Bedeutung der Gattungsnamen
_Eimeria_ und _Coccidium_," C.B. Bakter (1) 31 Orig, p. 771, 1902;
C.B. Bakter, "Die Coccidien-Literatur der letzten vier Jahre," _Zool.
Centrlbl._ 10, 45 pp., 1903; F. Mesnil, "Sur la conservation du nom
générique _Eimeria_, &c.," _C.R. Soc. Biol._ 52, p. 603, 1900; F.
Mesnil, "Les Travaux récents sur les Coccidies," _Bull. Inst.
Pasteur_, i. pp. 473, 505, 1903; R. Metzner, "Untersuchungen an
Coccidium cuniculi," _Arch. Protistenk._ 2, p. 13, pl. ii. 1903; G.
Moussu and G. Marotel, "La Coccidiose du mouton et son parasite,"
_Arch. Parasitol._ 6, p. 82, 10 figs., 1902; T. Moroff, "Sur
l'évolution des prétendues Coccidies des Céphalopodes," _C.R.Ac. Sci._
142, p. 652, 1906; C. Perez, "Le Cycle évolutif de l'Adelea mesnili,
&c.," _Arch. Protistenk._ 2, p. 1, pl. 1, 1903; F. Schaudinn,
"Untersuchungen über den Generationswechsel bei Coccidien," _Zool.
Jahrbücher_ (Anat.) 13, p. 197, 4 pls., 1900; F. Schaudinn, "Studien
über krankheitserregende Protozoen--I. _Cyclospora caryolytica_, &c.,"
_Arb. kais. Gesundh.-amte_, 18, p. 378, 2 pls., 1902; M. Siedlecki,
"Réproduction sexuée ... chez ... _Coccidium proprium_," _C.R. Soc.
Biol._ 50, p. 664, figs., 1898; M. Siedlecki, "Étude cytologique ...
de la Coccidie de la seiche, &c.," _Ann. Inst. Pasteur_, 12, p. 799, 3
pls., 1898; M. Siedlecki, "Étude cytologique ... de Adelea ovata," op.
cit. 13, p. 169, 3 pls., 1899; M. Siedlecki, "Cycle évolutif de la
_Caryotropha mesnilii_, &c.," _Bull. Ac. Cracovie_, p. 561, 5 figs.,
1902; T. Smith and H. P. Johnson, "On a Coccidian (_Klossiella muris_,
gen. et spec. nov.), &c.," _J. exp. Med_. 6, p. 303, 3 pls., 1902;
H.M. Woodcock, "Notes on Sporozoa, I. On _Klossiella muris_, &c.,"
_Q.J. micr. Sci._ 48, p. 153, 2 figs., 1904. (H. M. Wo.)
FOOTNOTES:
[1] A curious organism, parasitic in a gregarine, has lately been
described by Dogiel as a coccidian, and termed _Hyalosphaera_.
[2] It is important to note that in schizogony there is never any
cyst or cyst-membrane formed around the parasite.
[3] The merozoites are frequently arranged like the staves of a
barrel--whence the term _barillet_, which is frequently used.
[4] In _Cyclospora_, Schaudinn (1902) has noted certain abnormal
cases of the persistence and further multiplication of the
"reduction-nuclei" of the female element (i.e. the nuclear portions
given off during maturation), followed by multiple fertilization.
This occurrence points strongly to the conclusion that there were
originally many female gametes (cf. also the sporoblasts of
Gregarines).
[5] The remarkable forms parasitic in Cephalopods (of late known as
_Eucoccidium_), if still ranked with the Coccidia, furnish an
exception (see below).
[6] Again with the exception of _Eucoccidium_.
[7] Purists in systematic nomenclature maintain that this name should
be relinquished in favour of _Eimeria_, since the latter was the
first legitimate generic name given to a Coccidian. But one reason
against the use of _Eimeria_ has been stated already (it should be
used for _E. (Légerella) nova_, if anywhere); and in addition, the
word _Coccidium_ and its important derivatives are now so universally
established that it would be little short of ridiculous to displace
them.
COCCULUS INDICUS, the commercial name for the dried fruits of _Anamirta
Cocculus_ (natural order Menispermaceae), a large climbing shrub, native
to India. It contains a bitter poisonous principle, _picrotoxin_, used
in small doses to control the night sweats of phthisis. It was formerly
known as Levant nut and Levant shell, owing to the fact that it was
brought to Europe by way of the Levant.
COCHABAMBA, a central department of Bolivia, occupying the eastern angle
of the great Bolivian plateau, bounded N. by the department of El Beni,
E. by Santa Cruz, S. by Chuquisaca and Potosi, and W. by Potosi, Oruro
and La Paz. Area, 23,328 sq. m.; pop. (1900) 328,163. Its average
elevation is between 8000 and 10,000 ft., and its mean temperature
ranges from 50° to 60° F., making it one of the best climatic regions in
South America. The rainfall is moderate and the seasons are not strongly
marked, the difference being indicated by rainfall rather than by
temperature. The rainy season is from November to February. Cochabamba
is essentially an agricultural department, although its mineral
resources are good and include deposits of gold, silver and copper. Its
temperate climate favours the production of wheat, Indian corn, barley
and potatoes, and most of the fruits and vegetables of the temperate
zone. Coca, cacáo, tobacco and most of the fruits and vegetables of the
tropics are also produced. Its forest products include rubber and
cinchona. Lack of transportation facilities, however, have been an
insuperable obstacle to the development of any industry beyond local
needs except those of cinchona and rubber. Sheep and cattle thrive in
this region, and an experiment with silkworms gave highly successful
results. The population is chiefly of the Indian and _mestizo_ types,
education is in a backward state, and there are no manufactures other
than those of the domestic stage, the natives making many articles of
wearing apparel and daily use in their own homes. Rough highways and
mule-paths are the only means of communication, but a projected railway
from Cochabamba (city) to Oruro, 132 m., promises to bring this isolated
region into touch with the commercial world. The department is divided
into nine provinces, but there is no effective local government outside
the municipalities. The capital is Cochabamba; other important towns are
Punata, Tarata, Totora, Mizque and Sacába.
COCHABAMBA, a city of Bolivia, capital of the department of the same
name and of the province of Cercado, situated on the Rocha, a small
tributary of the Guapay river, in lat. 17° 27' S. and long. 65° 46' W.
Pop. (1900) 21,886, mostly Indians and _mestizos_. The city stands in a
broad valley of the Bolivian plateau, 8400 ft. above sea-level,
overshadowed by the snow-clad heights of Tunari and Larati, 291 m.
north-north-west of Sucre and 132 m. east-north-east of Oruro, with both
of which places it is connected by rough mountain roads. A subsidized
stage-coach line runs to Oruro. A contract for a railway between the two
cities was made in 1906, connecting with the Antofagasta and Arica
lines. The climate is mild and temperate, and the surrounding country
fertile and cultivated. Cochabamba is often described as the most
progressive city of Bolivia, but it has been held back by its isolated
situation. The warehouses of the city are well supplied with foreign
goods, and trade is active in spite of high prices. The city is provided
with telegraphic communication via Oruro, and enjoys a large part of the
Amazon trade through some small river ports on tributaries of the
Mamoré. The city is regularly laid out, and contains many attractive
residences surrounded by gardens. It is an episcopal city (since 1847),
containing many churches, four conventual establishments, and a
missionary college of the "Propaganda Fide" for the conversion of
Indians. The city has a university and two colleges, but they are poorly
equipped and receive very little support from the government. Cochabamba
was founded in the 16th century, and for a time was called Oropesa. It
took an active part in the "war of independence," the women
distinguishing themselves in an attack on the Spanish camp in 1815, and
some of them being put to death in 1818 by the Spanish forces. In 1874
the city was seized and partly destroyed by Miguel Aguirre, but in
general its isolated situation has been a protection against the
disorders which have convulsed Bolivia since her independence.
COCHEM, a town of Germany, in the Prussian Rhine province on the Mosel,
and 30 m. W. of Coblenz by the railway to Trier, which above the town
enters the longest tunnel (2½ m.) in Germany. Pop. 3500. It is
romantically situated in the deep and winding valley of the Mosel, at
the foot of a hill surrounded by a feudal castle dating from 1051, which
has been restored in its former style. There is a considerable trade in
wines.
COCHERY, LOUIS ADOLPHE (1819-1900), French statesman, was born at Paris.
After studying law he soon entered politics, and was on the staff of the
ministry of justice after the revolution of February 1848. From the
_coup d'état_ of 1851 to May 1869 he devoted himself to journalism.
Then, elected deputy by the department of the Loiret, he joined the
group of the Left Centre, and was a supporter of the revolution of the
4th of September 1870. His talent in finance won him a distinguished
place in the chamber. From 1879 till 1885 he was minister of posts and
telegraphs, and in January 1888 he was elected to the senate. He died in
1900.
His son, GEORGES CHARLES PAUL, born in 1855, was in his father's
department from 1879 till 1885, deputy from 1885, five times president
of the Budget Commission, minister of finance (1895-1898) and
vice-president of the chamber (1898-1902), and again finance minister in
the Briand Cabinet, 1909.
COCHIN, DENYS MARIE PIERRE AUGUSTIN (1851- ), French politician, was
born at Paris. He studied law, was elected to the chamber of deputies in
1893, and gradually became one of the leaders and principal orators of
the Conservative party. He opposed the project of the income-tax in
1894, the revision of the Dreyfus case in 1899, and the separation of
the church and state in 1905. He is known as an author by his works,
_L'Évolution de la vie_ (1895); _Le Monde extérieur_ (1895); _Contre
les barbares_ (1899); _Ententes et ruptures_ (1905).
COCHIN, a feudatory state of southern India, in political subordination
to Madras, with an area of 1361 sq. m. It is bounded on the N. by
British Malabar, on the E. by British Malabar, Coimbatore and
Travancore, on the S. by Travancore, and on the W. by British Malabar
and the Arabian Sea. Isolated from the main territory, and situated to
the north-east of it, lies the major portion of the Chittore _taluk_,
entirely surrounded by British territory. The whole state may be divided
into three well-defined regions or zones: (1) the eastern zone,
consisting of broken forested portions of the Western Ghats, which,
gradually decreasing in height, merge into (2) the central belt,
comprising the uplands and plains that dip towards the lagoons or
"backwaters" along the coast (see COCHIN, town), beyond which lies (3)
the western zone, forming the littoral strip. The low belt which borders
on the seas and the backwaters is by nature flat and swampy, but has in
the course of ages become enriched by the work of man. On leaving the
seaboard, an undulating country is found, diversified with grassy flats,
naked hills and wooded terraces, intersected by numerous torrents and
rapids, and profusely dotted with homesteads, orchards and cultivated
fields, up to the very foot of the Ghats. Here the landscape, now on a
grander scale, embraces great forests which form a considerable source
of wealth. Of the total area of the state the forests and lagoons cover
nearly 605 and 16 sq. m. respectively.
In 1901 the population was 812,025, showing an increase of 12% in the
decade. More than one-fifth are Christians, mostly Syrians and Roman
Catholics. The revenue is estimated at £153,000, subject to a tribute of
£13,000. During recent years the financial condition of the state has
been flourishing. The principal products are rice, cocoanuts, timber,
cardamoms, pepper and a little coffee. Salt is manufactured along the
coast. The capital is Ernakulam, but the raja resides at Tripunthora.
The principal commercial centre is Mattancheri, adjoining the British
town of Cochin. The chief means of communication is by boat along the
backwaters; but in 1902 a metre-gauge line was constructed by the Madras
railway at the expense of the state to connect Ernakulam with Shoranur.
_History._--What is now the native state of Cochin formed, until about
the middle of the 9th century A.D., part of the ancient Chera or Kerala
kingdom (see KERALA). Its port of Kodungalur (Kranganur, the ancient
Muziris), at the mouth of the Periyar, was from early times one of the
chief centres for the trade between Europe and India; and it was at
Malankara, near Kodungalur, that the apostle Thomas is traditionally
said to have landed. The history of Cochin is, however, like that of the
Kerala kingdom generally, exceedingly obscure previous to the arrival of
the Portuguese. The rajas of Cochin, who are of pure Kshatriya blood,
claim descent from the Chera king Cheraman Perumal, the last of his race
to rule the vast tract from Gokarn in North Kanara to Cape Comorin.
About the middle of the 9th century this king, according to tradition,
resigned his kingdom, embraced Islam, and went on pilgrimage to Arabia,
where he died. Towards the end of the century the Chera kingdom was
overrun and dismembered by the Cholas. It was in 1498 that Vasco da Gama
reached the Malabar coast; and in 1502 the Portuguese were allowed to
settle in the town of Cochin, where they built a fort and began to
organize trade with the surrounding country. By the end of the century
their influence had become firmly established, largely owing to the
effective aid they had given to the rajas of Cochin in their wars with
the Zamorin of Calicut. The Syrian Christians, forming at that time a
large proportion of the population, now felt the weight of Portuguese
ascendancy; in 1599 Menezes, the archbishop of Goa, held a synod at
Udayamperur (Diamper), a village 12 m. south-east of Cochin, at which
their tenets were pronounced heretical and their service-books purged of
all Nestorian phrases. In 1663, however, Portuguese domination came to
an end with the capture of Cochin by the Dutch, whose ascendancy
continued for about a hundred years. In 1776 Hyder Ali of Mysore invaded
the state and forced the raja to acknowledge his suzerainty and pay
tribute. In 1791 Tippoo, son of Hyder Ali, ceded the sovereignty to the
British, who entered into a treaty with the raja by which he became
their vassal and paid an annual tribute of a lakh of rupees. On the 17th
of October 1809, in consequence of an attempt of the hereditary chief
minister Paliyath Achan, in 1808, to raise an insurrection against the
British without his master's knowledge, a fresh treaty was made, by
which the raja undertook to hold no correspondence with any foreign
state and to admit no foreigners to his service without the sanction of
the British government, which, while undertaking to defend the raja's
territories against all enemies, reserved the right to dismantle or to
garrison any of his fortresses. In 1818 the tribute, raised to 2½ lakhs
in 1808, was permanently fixed at 2 lakhs. Since then, under the rule of
the rajas, the state has greatly advanced in prosperity, especially
under that of H. H. Sir Sri Rama Varma (b. 1852), who succeeded in 1895,
was made a K.C.S.I. in 1897, and G.C.S.I. in 1903.
COCHIN, a town of British India, in the district of Malabar, Madras.
Pop. (1901) 19,274. The town lies at the northern extremity of a strip
of land about 12 m. in length, but in few places more than a mile in
breadth, which is nearly insulated by inlets of the sea and estuaries of
streams flowing from the Western Ghats. These form the Cochin
backwaters, which consist of shallow lagoons lying behind the beach-line
and below its level. In the monsoon the Cochin backwaters are broad
navigable channels and lakes; in the hot weather they contract into
shallows in many places not 2 ft. deep. The town of Cochin is about a
mile in length by half a mile in breadth. Its first European possessors
were the Portuguese. Vasco da Gama founded a factory in 1502, and
Albuquerque built a fort, the first European fort in India, in 1503. The
British made a settlement in 1634, but retired when the Dutch captured
the town in 1663. Under the Dutch the town prospered, and about 1778 an
English traveller described it as a place of great trade, "a harbour
filled with ships, streets crowded with merchants, and warehouses stored
with goods from every part of Asia and Europe, marked the industry, the
commerce, and the wealth of the inhabitants." In 1795 Cochin was
captured from the Dutch by the British, and in 1806 the fortifications
and public buildings were blown up by order of the authorities. The
explosion destroyed much private property, and for a long time seriously
affected the prosperity of the town. Considerable sea-borne trade is
still carried on. A lighthouse stands on the ruins of the old fort. The
chief exports are cocoanut products, for the preparation of which there
are factories, and tea; and the chief import is rice. Cochin is the only
port south of Bombay in which large ships can be built.
COCHIN-CHINA,[1] a French colony in the extreme south of French
Indo-China. The term formerly included the whole Annamese
empire--Tongking, Annam, and Lower Cochin-China, but it now comprises
only the French colony, which corresponds to Lower Cochin-China, and
consists of the six southern provinces of the Annamese empire annexed by
France in 1862 and 1867. Cochin-China is bounded W. by the Gulf of Siam,
N.W. and N. by Cambodia, E. by Annam, and S.E. by the China Sea. Except
along part of the north-west frontier, where the canal of Vinh-Thé
divides it from Cambodia, its land-limits are conventional. Its area is
about 22,000 sq. m.
In 1901 the population numbered 2,968,529, of whom 4932 were French
(exclusive of French troops, who numbered 2537), 2,558,301 Annamese,
231,902 Cambodians, 92,075 Chinese, 42,940 savages (Min Huong), the rest
being Asiatics of other nationalities, together with a few Europeans
other than French.
_Geography._--Cochin-China consists chiefly of an immense plain, flat
and monotonous, traversed by the Mekong and extending from Ha-Tien in
the west to Baria in the east, and from Bien-Hoa in the north-east to
the southern point of the peninsula of Ca-Mau in the south-west. The
last spurs of the mountains of Annam, which come to an end at Cape St
Jacques, extend over parts of the provinces of Tay-Ninh, Bien-Hoa and
Baria in the north-east and east of the colony, but nowhere exceed 2900
ft. in height; low hills are found in the north-western province of
Chau-Doc. Cochin-China is remarkable for the abundance of its waterways.
The Mekong divides at Pnom-Penh in Cambodia into two arms, the Fleuve
supérieur and the Fleuve inférieur, which, pursuing a course roughly
parallel from north-west to south-east, empty into the China Sea by
means of the numerous channels of its extensive delta. From June to
October the inundations of the Mekong cover most of the country,
portions of which, notably the Plaine des Joncs in the north and a large
tract of the peninsula of Ca-Mau, are little else than marshes. Besides
a great number of small coastal streams there are four other rivers of
secondary importance, all of which water the east of the colony, viz.
the Don-Nai, which rising in the Annamese mountains flows west, then
abruptly south, reaching the sea to the west of Cape St Jacques; the
Saigon river, which flowing from north-west to south-east passes Saigon,
the capital of the colony, 12 m. below which it unites with the Don-Nai;
and the two Vaicos, which join the Don-Nai close to its mouth. These
rivers flow into the sea through numerous winding channels, forming a
delta united by canals to that of the Mekong. The waterways of
Cochin-China communicate by means of natural or artificial channels
(_arroyos_), facilitating transport and aiding in the uniform
distribution of the inundation to which the country owes its fertility.
Canals from Chau-Doc to Ha-Tien and from Long Xuyen to Rach-Gia join the
Mekong with the Gulf of Siam. East of Cape St Jacques the mountains of
Annam come down close to the sea; west of that point, as far as the
southern headland of Ca-Mau, the coast-line of Cochin-China runs
north-east to south-west for about 160 m. in a straight line broken only
by the mouths of the Don-Nai and Mekong. From Cape Ca-Mau to Rach-Gia it
runs north for a distance of 120 m., then north-west as far as Ha-Tien,
where the boundary line between it and Cambodia meets the sea.
_Climate and Fauna._--The climate of the country is warm, humid, and
very trying to Europeans. The wet season, during which heavy rain falls
almost daily, lasts from April to October, coinciding with the
south-west monsoon. The hottest period lasts from the middle of April to
the middle of June, the thermometer during that time often reaching 94°
F., and never descending below 86°. The forest regions of Cochin-China
harbour the tiger, panther, leopard, tiger-cat, ichneumon, wild boar,
deer, buffalo, rhinoceros and elephant, as well as many varieties of
monkeys and rats. Of birds some species of parrakeet, the "mandarin"
blackbird, and the woodcock are not found in the rest of Indo-China.
Duck, teal, cranes and other aquatic birds abound in the delta. Venomous
reptiles are numerous, and the Mekong contains crocodiles.
_Agriculture and Industries._--The cultivation of the rice-fields, which
cover large extents of the plains of Cochin-China, is by far the chief
industry of the colony. Pepper is grown in considerable quantities in
the districts of Ha-Tien and Bien-Hoa, and sugarcanes, coffee, cotton,
tobacco and jute are also produced. The buffalo, used both for transport
and in the rice-fields, and swine, the flesh of which forms an important
element in the native diet, are the principal domestic animals. Oxen and
cows are of secondary importance and the climate is unsuitable for
sheep; horses of a small breed are used to some extent. The chief
industrial establishments are those for the decortication of rice at
Saigon and Cholon; they are in the hands of the Chinese, by whom most of
the trade in the colony is conducted. Sugar-making, the distillation of
rice-spirit, silk-weaving, fishing and the preparation of a fish-sauce
(_nuoc-mam_) made from decayed fish, and the manufacture of salt from
sea-water and of lime are carried on in many localities.
_Commerce._--Rice is the chief article of export, dried or salted fish,
pepper and cotton ranking next in order of value. Imports include woven
goods, metals, ironware, machinery, tea, wines and spirits, mineral
oils, opium, paper, and arms and powder. The ports of Saigon and Mytho
are accessible to the largest vessels, and are connected by a railway
(see Indo-China, French). The roadsteads of Rach-Gia, Ca-Mau, and
Ha-Tien can accommodate only vessels of low tonnage. In 1905 exports
reached a value of £3,816,000, and imports a value of £4,834,000 (not
including treasure and transit trade).
_Government and Administration._--Cochin-China is administered by a
lieutenant-governor under the authority of the governor-general of
Indo-China. He is assisted by the _conseil colonial_ numbering sixteen
members, six of whom are French citizens elected by the French, six
natives elected by the natives, the other four being members of the
chamber of commerce of Saigon and the _conseil privé_. The _conseil
colonial_, besides its advisory functions, discusses and votes the
budget, determines the nature of the taxes, has supreme control over the
tariffs, and extensive powers in the administration of colonial domains.
The _conseil privé_ is a deliberative body under the presidency of the
lieutenant-governor, composed of colonial officials together with two
native members. The colony is divided into four circumscriptions
(Saigon, My-Tho, Vinh-Long, Bassac), at the head of each of which is an
inspector of native affairs. These are subdivided into twenty provinces,
each administered by an administrator of native affairs by whose side is
the provincial council consisting of natives and occupied with the
discussion of ways and means and questions of public works. The
provinces are divided into cantons and subdivided into communes. The
commune forms the basis of the native social system. Its assembly of
notables or municipal council forms a sort of oligarchy, the members of
which themselves elect individuals from among the more prominent
inhabitants to fill vacancies. The notables elect the provincial
councillors in the proportion, usually, of one to every canton, and
their delegates elect the chief of the canton, who voices the wishes of
the natives to the government. Local administration, e.g. supervision of
markets, policing, land-transfer, &c., are carried on by a mayor and two
assistants, to whom the municipal council delegates its powers. The same
body draws up the list of males liable to the poll-tax and of the lands
liable to land-tax, these being the chief sources of revenue. There are
French tribunals of first instance in nine of the chief towns of the
colony, and in four of these there are criminal courts. These administer
justice in accordance both with French law and, in the case of natives,
with Annamese law, which has been codified for the purpose. Saigon has
two chambers of the court of appeal of French Indo-China and a tribunal
of commerce. Primary instruction is given in some six hundred schools.
Cochin-China is represented in the French chamber by a deputy. The
capital is Saigon (q.v.); of the other towns, Cholon (q.v.), My-Tho,
Vinh-Long and Chau-Doc are of importance.
In 1904 the budget receipts amounted to £495,241 (as compared with
£474,545 in 1899). To this sum the land and poll-tax and other direct
taxes contributed £374,630. The main heads of expenditure, of which the
total was £467,328, were as follows:--
Government £87,271
Administration 62,725
Public Works 40,454
Transport 38,173
Public Instruction 36,009
Topography and Surveying 32,036
_History._--The Khmer kingdom (see CAMBODIA), at its zenith from the 9th
to the 12th centuries, included a large portion of the modern colony of
Cochin-China, the coastal portion and perhaps the eastern region being
under the dominion of the empire of Champa, which broke up during the
15th century. This eastern region was occupied in the 17th century by
the Annamese, who in the 18th century absorbed the western provinces.
From this period the history of Cochin-China follows that of Annam
(q.v.) till 1867, when it was entirely occupied by the French and became
a French colony. In 1887 it was united with Cambodia, Annam and Tongking
to form the Indo-Chinese Union (see INDO-CHINA, FRENCH).
FOOTNOTE:
[1] See also INDO-CHINA, FRENCH; and ANNAM.
COCHINEAL, a natural dye-stuff used for the production of scarlet,
crimson, orange and other tints, and for the preparation of lake and
carmine. It consists of the females of _Coccus cacti_, an insect of the
family _Coccidae_ of the order _Hemiptera_, which feeds upon various
species of the _Cactaceae_, more especially the nopal plant, _Opuntia
coccinellifera_, a native of Mexico and Peru. The dye was introduced
into Europe from Mexico, where it had been in use long before the
entrance of the Spaniards in the year 1518, and where it formed one of
the staple tributes to the crown for certain districts. In 1523 Cortes
received instructions from the Spanish court to procure it in as large
quantities as possible. It appears not to have been known in Italy so
late as the year 1548, though the art of dyeing then flourished there.
Cornelius van Drebbel, at Alkmaar, first employed cochineal for the
production of scarlet in 1650. Until about 1725 the belief was very
prevalent that cochineal was the seed of a plant, but Dr Martin Lister
in 1672 conjectured it to be a kind of kermes, and in 1703 Antony van
Leeuwenhoek ascertained its true nature by aid of the microscope. Since
its introduction cochineal has supplanted kermes (_Coccus ilicis_) over
the greater part of Europe.
The male of the cochineal insect is half the size of the female, and,
unlike it, is devoid of nutritive apparatus; it has long white wings,
and a body of a deep red colour, terminated by two diverging setae. The
female is apterous, and has a dark-brown plano-convex body; it is found
in the proportion of 150 to 200 to one of the male insect. The dead body
of the mother insect serves as a protection for the eggs until they are
hatched. Cochineal is now furnished not only by Mexico and Peru, but
also by Algiers and southern Spain. It is collected thrice in the seven
months of the season. The insects are carefully brushed from the
branches of the cactus into bags, and are then killed by immersion in
hot water, or by exposure to the sun, steam, or the heat of an
oven--much of the variety of appearance in the commercial article being
caused by the mode of treatment. The dried insect has the form of
irregular, fluted and concave grains, of which about 70,000 go to a
pound. Cochineal has a musty and bitterish taste. There are two
principal varieties--_silver cochineal_, which has a greyish-red colour,
and the furrows of the body covered with a white bloom or fine down; and
_black cochineal_, which is of a dark reddish brown, and destitute of
bloom. _Granilla_ is an inferior kind, gathered from uncultivated
plants. The best crop is the first of the season, which consists of the
unimpregnated females; the later crops contain an admixture of young
insects and skins, which contain proportionally little colouring matter.
The black variety of cochineal is sometimes sold for silver cochineal by
shaking it with powdered talc or heavy-spar; but these adulterations can
be readily detected by means of a lens. The duty in the United Kingdom
on imported cochineal was repealed in 1845.
Cochineal owes its tinctorial power to the presence of a substance
termed cochinealin or carminic acid, C17H18O10, which may be prepared
from the aqueous decoction of cochineal. Cochineal also contains a fat
and wax; cochineal wax or coccerin, C30H60(C31H61O3)2, may be extracted
by benzene, the fat is a glyceryl myristate C3H5(C14H27O2)3.
COCHLAEUS, JOHANN (1479-1552), German humanist and controversialist,
whose family name was Dobneck, was born of poor parents in 1479 at
Wendelstein (near Nuremberg), whence his friends gave him the punning
surname Cochlaeus (spiral), for which he occasionally substituted
Wendelstinus. Having received some education at Nuremberg from the
humanist Heinrich Grieninger, he entered (1504) the university of
Cologne. In 1507 he graduated, and published under the name of
Wendelstein his first piece, _In musicam exhortatorium_. He left Cologne
(May 1510) to become schoolmaster at Nuremberg, where he brought out
several school manuals. In 1515 he was at Bologna, hearing (with
disgust) Eck's famous disputation against usury, and associating with
Ulrich von Hutten and humanists. He took his doctor's degree at Ferrara
(1517), and spent some time in Rome, where he was ordained priest. In
1520 he became dean of the Liebfrauenkirche at Frankfort, where he first
entered the lists as a controversialist against the party of Luther,
developing that bitter hatred to the Reformation which animated his
forceful but shallow ascription of the movement to the meanest motives,
due to a quarrel between the Dominicans and Augustinians. Luther would
not meet him in discussion at Mainz in 1521. He was present at the diets
of Worms, Regensburg, Spires and Augsburg. The peasants' war drove him
from Frankfort; he obtained (1526) a canonry at Mainz; in 1529 he became
secretary to Duke George of Saxony, at Dresden and Meissen. The death of
his patron (1539) compelled him to take flight. He became canon
(September 1539) at Breslau, where he died on the 10th of January 1552.
He was a prolific writer, largely of overgrown pamphlets, harsh and
furious. His more serious efforts retain no permanent value. With
humanist convictions, he had little of the humanist spirit. We owe to
him one of the few contemporary notices of the young Servetus.
See C. Otto, _Johannes Cochlaeus, der Humanist_ (1874); Haas, in I.
Goschler's _Dict. encydopéd. de la théol. cath._ (1858); Brecher, in
_Allgemeine deutsche Biographie_ (1876); T. Kolde, in A. Hauck's
_Realencyklopädie für prot. Theol. u. Kirche_ (1898). (A. Go.*)
COCK, EDWARD (1805-1802), British surgeon, was born in 1805. He was a
nephew of Sir Astley Cooper, and through him became at an early age a
member of the staff of the Borough hospital in London, where he worked
in the dissecting room for thirteen years. Afterwards he became in 1838
assistant surgeon at Guy's, where from 1849 to 1871 he was surgeon, and
from 1871 to 1892 consulting surgeon. He rose to be president of the
College of Surgeons in 1869. He was an excellent anatomist, a bold
operator, and a clear and incisive writer, and though in lecturing he
was afflicted with a stutter, he frequently utilized it with humorous
effect and emphasis. From 1843 to 1849 he was editor of _Guy's Hospital
Reports_, which contain many of his papers, particularly on stricture of
the urethra, puncture of the bladder, injuries to the head, and hernia.
He was the first English surgeon to perform pharyngotomy with success,
and also one of the first to succeed in trephining for middle meningeal
haemorrhage; but the operation by which his name is known is that of
opening the urethra through the perinaeum (see _Guy's Hospital Reports_,
1866). He died at Kingston in 1892.
COCKADE (Fr. _cocarde_, in 16th century _coquarde_, from _coq_, in
allusion probably to the cock's comb), a knot of ribbons or a rosette
worn as a badge, particularly now as part of the livery of servants. The
cockade was at first the button and loop or clasp which "cocked" up the
side of an ordinary slouch hat. The word first appears in this sense in
Rabelais in the phrase "_bonnet à la coquarde_," which is explained by
Cotgrave (1611) as a "Spanish cap or fashion of bonnet used by
substantial men of yore ... worne proudly or peartly on th' one side."
The bunch of ribbons as a party badge developed from this entirely
utilitarian button and loop. The Stuarts' badge was a white rose, and
the resulting white cockade figured in Jacobite songs after the downfall
of the dynasty. William III.'s cockade was of yellow, and the House of
Hanover introduced theirs of black, which in its present spiked or
circular form of leather is worn in England to-day by the royal coachmen
and grooms, and the servants of all officials or members of the
services. At the battle of Sheriffmuir in the reign of George I. the
English soldiers wore a black rosette in their hats, and in a
contemporary song are called "the red-coat lads wi' black cockades." At
the outbreak of the French Revolution of 1789, cockades of green ribbon
were adopted. These afterwards gave place to the tricolour cockade,
which is said to have been a mixture of the traditional colours of Paris
(red and blue) with the white of the Bourbons, the early Revolutionists
being still Royalists. The French army wore the tricolour cockade until
the Restoration. To-day each foreign nation has its special coloured
cockade. Thus the Austrian is black and yellow, the Bavarian light blue
and white, the Belgian black, yellow and red, French the tricolour,
Prussian black and white, Russian green and white, and so on, following
usually the national colours. Originally the wearing of a cockade, as
soon as it had developed into a badge, was restricted to soldiers, as
"to mount a cockade" was "to become a soldier." There is still a trace
of the cockade as a badge in certain military headgears in England and
elsewhere. Otherwise it has become entirely the mark of domestic
service. The military cocked hat, the lineal descendant of the _bonnet à
la coquarde_, became the fashion in France during the reign of Louis XV.
See _Genealogical Magazine_, vols. i.-iii. (London, 1897-1899);
Racinet, _La Costume historique_ (6 vols., Paris, 1888).
*** End of this LibraryBlog Digital Book "Encyclopaedia Britannica, 11th Edition, Volume 6, Slice 5 - "Clervaux" to "Cockade"" ***
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