established sometimes by Government, sometimes by the voluntary union of
private individuals. The name Academy was first applied to the
philosophical school of Plato, from the place where he used to teach, a
grove or garden at Athens which was said to have belonged originally to the
hero Acad[=e]mus. The home of Academies as associations of learned men (not
institutes for instruction), was Hellenized Egypt and afterwards Italy of
the Renaissance. The flourishing Academies at Florence, Naples, and Rome
became the models of academies in other countries. Academies devote
themselves either to the cultivation of science generally or to the
promotion of a particular branch of study, as antiquities, language, and
the fine arts. The most celebrated institutions bearing the name of
academies, and designed for the encouragement of science, antiquities, and
language respectively, are the French Academie des Sciences (founded by
Colbert in 1666), Academie des Inscriptions (founded by Colbert in 1663),
and Academie Francaise (founded by Richelieu in 1635), all of which are now
merged in the National Institute. The most celebrated of the academies
instituted for the improvement of language is the Italian Accademia della
Crusca, or Furfuratorum (now the Florentine Academy), formed in 1582, and
chiefly celebrated for the compilation of an excellent dictionary of the
Italian language (_Vocabulario della Crusca_, Venice, 1612), and for the
publication of several carefully-prepared editions of ancient Italian
poets. The (Imperial) Academy of Science of St. Petersburg was projected by
Peter the Great and established by Catherine I in 1725. The Academy of
Science in Berlin was founded by Frederick I in 1700. It was opened in 1711
and had Leibnitz as its first president. In Britain the name of academy, in
the more dignified sense of the term, is confined almost exclusively to
certain institutions for the promotion of the fine arts, such as the Royal
Academy of Arts and the Royal Scottish Academy. The Royal Academy of Arts
(usually called simply the Royal Academy) was founded in London in 1768,
"for the purpose of cultivating and improving the arts of painting,
sculpture, and architecture". The number of academicians is now limited to
forty-two, among whom are two engravers. There are also thirty associates,
from whom the academicians are elected. Of the associates five are
engravers. Any person who is possessed of sufficient proficiency may be
admitted as a student and receive instruction gratis, and prizes are
annually bestowed on meritorious students. The annual exhibition of the
Academy is open to all artists whose works show sufficient merit. The Royal
Scottish Academy of Painting, Sculpture, and Architecture was founded in
1826 and incorporated in 1838. It consists of thirty academicians and
twenty associates. The Royal Hibernian Academy at Dublin was incorporated
in 1823 and reorganized in 1861. It consists of thirty members and ten
associates. A British Academy for the Promotion of Historical,
Philosophical, and Philological Studies was incorporated in 1902. (See
_British Academy_.) In the United States, the American Academy of Arts and
Sciences at Boston was founded in 1780, and since then various other
societies of similar character and name have been instituted, as the New
York Academy of Sciences, the Chicago Academy of Science, &c.
ACA'DIA (Fr. _Acadie_), the name formerly given to Nova Scotia. It received
its first colonists from France in 1604, being then a possession of that
country, but it passed to Britain, by the Peace of Utrecht, in 1713. In
1756, 18,000 of the French inhabitants were forcibly removed from their
homes on account of their hostility to the British, an incident on which is
based Longfellow's _Evangeline_. Many Acadians afterwards wandered back to
their old homes, and their descendants are at present supposed to number
270,000, 100,000 of them living in French Canada.
ACALE'PHA (Gr. _akal[=e]ph[=e]_, a nettle, from their stinging properties),
a term formerly used to denote the Medusae, or jelly-fishes, and allied
species.
ACANTHA'CEAE, or ACANTHADS, a nat. ord. of dicotyledonous herbaceous plants
or shrubs, with opposite leaves and monopetalous corolla, mostly tropical;
species about 1400. See _Acanthus_.
[Illustration: _a_, _b_, _c_, Spines of the dorsal, anal, and ventral fins
of Acanthopterygii]
ACANTHOP'TERI, ACANTHOPTERYGII (Gr. _akantha_, a spine, _pterygion_, a
fin), a group of fishes, distinguished by the fact that at least the first
rays in each fin exist in the form of stiff spines; it includes the perch,
mullet, mackerel, gurnard, wrasse, &c.
[Illustration: Acanthus. Examples of Greek and Roman decorative treatment]
ACANTH'US, a genus of herbaceous plants or shrubs, order Acanthaceae,
mostly tropical, two species of which, _A. mollis_ and _A. spin[=o]sus_
(the bear's-breech or brankursine), are characterized by large white
flowers and deeply-indented shining leaves. They are favourite ornamental
plants in British gardens.--In architecture the name is given to a kind of
foliage decoration said to have been suggested by this plant, and much
employed in Greek, Roman, and later styles.
ACAPUL'CO, a seaport of Mexico, on the Pacific, with a capacious,
well-sheltered harbour; a coaling station for steamers, but with no great
trade. Pop. 5950.
ACAR'IDA, a division of the Arachnida, including the mites, ticks, and
water-mites. See _Mite_.
ACARNA'NIA, the most westerly portion of Northern Greece, together with
Aetolia now forming a nomarchy with a pop. of 188,597. The Acarnanians of
ancient times were behind the other Greeks in civilization, living by
robbery and piracy.
AC'ARUS, the genus to which the mite belongs.
ACCA'DIANS (Akkad), the primitive inhabitants of Northern Babylonia
(Akkad), who had descended from the mountainous region of Elam on the east,
and to whom the Assyrians ascribed the origin of Chaldean civilization and
writing. This race is believed to have belonged to the Turanian family, or
to have been at any rate non-Semitic. What is known of them has been
learned from the cuneiform inscriptions. See _Babylonia_ and _Summerians_.
ACCELERA'TION is the rate of change of the velocity of a body under the
action of a force. A body falling from a height is one of the most common
instances of acceleration.--_Acceleration of the Moon_, the increase of the
moon's mean angular velocity about the earth, the moon now moving rather
faster than in ancient times. This phenomenon has not been fully explained,
but it is known to be partly owing to the slow process of diminution which
the eccentricity of the earth's orbit is undergoing, and from which there
results a slight diminution of the sun's influence on the moon's
motions.--_Diurnal acceleration of the fixed stars_, the apparent greater
diurnal motion of the stars than of the sun, arising from the fact that the
sun's apparent yearly motion takes place in a direction contrary to that of
his apparent daily motion. The stars thus seem each day to anticipate the
sun by nearly 3 minutes 56 seconds of mean time.
AC'CENT, a term used in several senses. In English it commonly denotes
superior stress or force of voice upon certain syllables of words, which
distinguishes them from the other syllables. Many English words, as
_as'pi-ra"tion_, have two accents, a secondary and primary, the latter
being the fuller or stronger. Some words, as _in-com'pre-hen'si-bil"i-ty_,
have two secondary or subordinate accents. When the full accent falls on a
vowel, that vowel has its long sound, as in _vo'cal_; but when it falls on
a consonant, the preceding vowel is short, as in _hab'it_. This kind of
accent alone regulates English verse, as contrasted with Latin or Greek
verse, in which the metre depended on _quantity_ or length of syllables. In
books on elocution three marks or accents are generally made use of, the
first or _acute_ (') showing when the voice is to be raised, the second or
_grave_ (`), when it is to be depressed, and the third or _circumflex_ (^)
when the vowel is to be uttered with an undulating sound. In some languages
there is no such distinct accent as in English (or German), and this seems
to be now the case with French.--In music, accent is the stress or emphasis
laid upon certain notes of a bar. The first note of a bar has the strongest
accent, but weaker accents are given to the first notes of subordinate
parts of the bars, as to the third, fifth, and seventh in a bar of eight
quavers.
ACCEN'TOR (_Accentor modul[=a]ris_), or HEDGE ACCENTOR, a British bird of
the warbler family. See _Hedge Warbler_.
ACCEP'TANCE, in law, the act by which a person binds himself to pay a bill
of exchange drawn upon him. (See _Bill_.) No acceptance is valid unless
made in writing on the bill, but an acceptance may be either absolute or
conditional, that is, stipulating some alteration in the amount or date of
payment, or some condition to be fulfilled previous to payment.
AC'CESSARY, or AC'CESSORY, in law, a person guilty of an offence by
connivance or participation, either before or after the act committed, as
by command, advice, concealment, &c. An accessary _before the fact_ is one
who procures or counsels another to commit a crime, and is not present at
its commission; an accessary _after the fact_ is one who, knowing a felony
to have been committed, gives assistance of any kind to the felon so as to
hinder him from being apprehended, tried, or suffering punishment. An
accessary before the fact may be tried and punished in all respects as if
he were the principal. In high treason, all who participate are regarded as
principals.
ACCIDEN'TALS, notes introduced in the course of a piece of music in a
different key from that in which the passage where they occur is
principally written. They are represented by the sign of a sharp, flat, or
natural immediately before the note which is to be raised or lowered.
ACCIPITRES (ak-sip'i-tr[=e]z), the name given by Linnaeus and Cuvier to the
rapacious birds now usually called Raptores (q.v.).
ACCLIMATIZA'TION, the process of accustoming plants or animals to live and
propagate in a climate different from that to which they are indigenous, or
the change which the constitution of an animal or plant undergoes under new
climatic conditions, in the direction of adaptation to those conditions.
The systematic study of acclimatization has only been entered upon in very
recent times, and the little progress that has been made in it has been
more in the direction of formulating anticipative, if not arbitrary
hypotheses, than of actual discovery and acquisition of facts. The
best-known society founded, for the purpose of naturalizing animals and
plants, is the Societe d'Acclimatation in Paris. It opened the Jardin
d'Acclimatation in 1860. See _Tropical Hygiene_. The term is sometimes
applied to the case of animals or plants taking readily to a new country
with a climate and other circumstances similar to what they have left, such
as European animals and plants in America and New Zealand: but this is more
properly _naturalization_ than acclimatization.--In agriculture the word is
used with reference to stock, principally sheep, 'acclimatized' to a
particular area, a special allowance being made by the landlord on
transference of the farm and stock in respect of the acclimatization of the
sheep. The value assigned to the advantages resulting from acclimatization
of stocks varies considerably. In Argyllshire, for instance,
Dumbartonshire, and the western portion of Perthshire the rates are high,
while in the south of Scotland and the north of England they are much
lower.
ACCOLADE (ak-o-l[=a]d'; Fr., from Lat. _ad_, to, _collum_, the neck), the
ceremony used in conferring knighthood, anciently consisting either in the
embrace given by the person who conferred the honour of knighthood or in a
light blow on the neck or the cheek, latterly consisting in the ceremony of
striking the candidate with a naked sword.
ACCOL'TI, Benedetto, an Italian lawyer, born at Arezzo in Tuscany in 1415,
died at Florence in 1466. He was secretary to the Florentine republic,
1459, and author of a work on the Crusades which is said to have furnished
Tasso with matter for his _Jerusalem Delivered_.
ACCOMMODA'TION BILL, a bill of exchange drawn and accepted to raise money
on, and not given, like a genuine bill of exchange, in payment of a debt,
but merely intended to accommodate the drawer: colloquially called a _wind
bill_ and a _kite_.
ACCOMMODA'TION LADDER, a light ladder hung over the side of a ship at the
gangway to facilitate ascending from, or descending to, boats.
ACCOM'PANIMENT, in music, is that part of music which serves for the
support of the principal melody.
ACCOR'DION, a keyed musical wind-instrument similar to the concertina,
being in the form of a small box, containing a number of metallic reeds
fixed at one of their extremities, the sides of the box forming a folding
apparatus which acts as a bellows to supply the wind, and thus set the
reeds in vibration, and produce the notes both of melody and harmony. The
accordion was invented by Damian of Vienna in 1829.
ACCOUNTANT, a person whose chief business is with accounts and the drawing
up of financial statements and balance-sheets. An accountant is an
important official in banks, railways, and certain other institutions, and
many persons carry on the business of accountant as a distinct profession,
auditing the books of merchants, joint-stock companies, &c. There are
several bodies of accountants in the United Kingdom incorporated by royal
charter, and hence specially distinguished as 'chartered accountants'
(C.A.). Since 1919 women are admitted as members of the Society of
Incorporated Accountants.--BIBLIOGRAPHY: L. R. Dicksee, _Advanced
Accounting_; G. Lisle, _Encyclopaedia of Accounting_ (8 vols.).
AC'CRA, a British settlement in Africa, in a swampy situation, capital of
Gold Coast, about 75 miles east of Cape Coast Castle. Exports gold-dust,
ivory, gums, palm-oil; imports cottons, cutlery, &c. Pop. 20,000.
AC'CRINGTON, a municipal borough of England, Lancashire, 5 miles east of
Blackburn, with large cotton factories, print-works and bleaching-greens,
and coal-mines. Pop. 43,610. Accrington was created a parliamentary borough
in 1918.
ACCU'MULATOR, a name applied to a kind of electric battery by means of
which electric energy can be stored and rendered portable. In the usual
form each battery forms a cylindrical leaden vessel, containing alternate
sheets of metallic lead and minium wrapped in felt and rolled into a spiral
wetted with acidulated water. On being charged with electricity the energy
may be preserved till required for use.
ACCU'SATIVE CASE, in Latin and some other languages, the term applied to
the case which designates the object to which the action of any verb is
immediately directed, corresponding, generally speaking, to the _objective_
in English.
ACE, in aviation the name 'ace' is given to a flying-man who has
distinguished himself by bringing down a large number (sometimes given as
ten) of enemy machines. The word is used colloquially, and was borrowed
from the French Air Force during the European War.
ACEPH'ALA, in zoology, the headless Mollusca or those which want a distinct
head, corresponding to those that have bivalve shells and are also called
_Lamellibranchiata_.
A'CER, the genus of plants (nat. ord. Aceraceae) to which belongs the
maple.
ACERRA ([.a]-cher'[.a]), a town in South Italy, 9 miles north-east of
Naples, the see of a bishop, in a fertile but unhealthy region. Pop.
17,878.
ACETAB'ULUM, an anatomical term applied to any cup-like cavity, as that of
a bone to receive the protuberant end of another bone, the cavity, for
instance, that receives the end of the thigh-bone.
ACETATES (as'e-t[=a]ts), salts of acetic acid. The acetates of most
commercial or manufacturing importance are those of aluminium and iron,
which are used in calico-printing; of copper, which as verdigris is used as
a colour; and of lead, best known as sugar of lead. The acetates of
potassium, sodium, and ammonium, of iron, zinc, and lead, and the acetate
of morphia, are employed in medicine.
ACET'IC ACID, an acid produced by the oxidation of common alcohol, and of
many other organic substances. Pure acetic acid has a very sour taste and
pungent smell, burns the skin, and is poisonous. From freezing at ordinary
temperatures (58deg or 59deg) it is known as _glacial acetic acid_. Vinegar
is simply dilute acetic acid. Acetic acid is largely used in the arts, in
medicine, and for domestic purposes. See _Vinegar_.
ACET'IC ETHERS, or ACETIC ESTERS, acetates of alcohol radicals. The common
ester--ethyl acetate--is a volatile colourless liquid, manufactured by
distilling a mixture of alcohol, oil of vitriol, and acetic acid, and used
for flavouring purposes.
ACETONE (as'), a constituent of ordinary wood spirit, a colourless volatile
liquid used as a solvent, the simplest of the _ketones_.
ACET'YLENE, C_2H_2, is a substance composed of two elements, carbon and
hydrogen, and belonging to a class of compounds known as hydrocarbons. It
is formed in the incomplete combustion of many hydrocarbons and also of
coal-gas, and may be produced in a variety of ways, but is now made almost
entirely from calcium carbide. Acetylene has been known for a long time,
but only since 1870 has it been produced in any quantity. After the
development of the electric furnace it was found that calcium oxide,
quicklime, heated with carbon to the high temperature possible in such a
furnace, is transformed into calcium carbide, and this compound reacts with
water, generating acetylene. A great deal of heat is developed on adding
water to calcium carbide, so that care has to be taken in generating
acetylene. Various devices are in use for bringing the two substances in
contact slowly, and for keeping the temperature low. When carbon and
hydrogen combine to form acetylene a large amount of heat is used up, so
that much heat is evolved when acetylene decomposes again, and once
decomposition starts sufficient heat is developed to decompose the whole
volume of gas.
Acetylene is a colourless gas slightly soluble in water and very sparingly
soluble in brine. When pure it has little or no odour, but as ordinarily
prepared it has a strong unpleasant odour due to traces of impurities such
as sulphuretted hydrogen, phosphine, &c. The gas can be liquefied easily,
and in the liquid state is highly explosive. It burns with an exceedingly
sooty flame, but if it is allowed to pass through a very small orifice the
carbon liberated becomes incandescent and acetylene burns with an intense
white flame. It is largely used as an illuminant and for the production of
great heat. As an illuminant the gas is produced in specially-constructed
generators. It is led through iron pipes and burned from an acetylene
burner, or it may be used with special types of incandescent mantles.
Acetylene readily combines with copper and with silver to form metallic
acetylides which are very explosive, hence pipes through which acetylene is
passing must not be made of brass or copper. Acetylene mixed with air and
brought in contact with an ignited body explodes even more violently than a
mixture of air and coal-gas.
Large quantities of acetylene are generated and stored for oxy-acetylene
welding. Acetylene, burning in oxygen, gives an intensely hot flame (about
2000deg-3000deg C.), sufficiently hot to melt iron. Although liquid
acetylene is unstable, and even the gas, under slight pressure, is also
unstable, it may be transported safely if dissolved in acetone. Acetone
dissolves a large volume of acetylene, and this solution is quite stable
and may be stored in iron cylinders and used for various purposes. If it is
to be stored it must be carefully purified from phosphine, which is apt to
cause sudden decomposition. Recently, numerous patents have been taken out
for the preparation of compounds such as acetaldehyde, acetic acid, acetic
anhydride, &c., using acetylene as starting-point, so that many substances
may be prepared from acetylene just as many substances may be prepared from
benzene.
ACHAEANS (a-k[=e]'anz), one of the four races into which the ancient Greeks
were divided. In early times they inhabited a part of Northern Greece and
of the Peloponnesus. They are represented by Homer as a brave and warlike
people, and so distinguished were they that he usually calls the Greeks in
general Achaeans. Afterwards they settled in the district of the
Peloponnesus, called after them Achaia, and forming a narrow belt of coast
on the south side of the Gulf of Corinth. From very early times a
confederacy or league existed among the twelve towns of this region. After
the death of Alexander the Great it was broken up, but was revived again,
280 B.C., and from this time grew in power till it spread over the whole
Peloponnesus. It was finally dissolved by the Romans, 147 B.C., and after
this the whole of Greece, except Thessaly, was called Achaia or Achaea.
Achaia with Elis now forms a nomarchy of the kingdom of Greece. Pop.
254,728. Cf. Freeman, _History of Federal Government in Greece and Italy_,
London, 1893.
ACHAEMENIDAE (ak-[=e]-men'i-d[=e]) a dynasty of ancient Persian kings,
being that to which the great Cyrus belonged.
ACHAIA (a-k[=a]'ya). See _Achaeans_.
ACHALZIK. See _Akhalzik_.
ACHARD ([.a]_h_'[.a]rt), Franz Karl, a German chemist, born 1753, died
1821, principally known by his invention (1789-1800) of a process for
manufacturing sugar from beetroot. In 1801 the first beet-sugar factory
ever established was started by him in Silesia.
ACHARD ([.a]-sh[:a]r), Louis Amedee Eugene, born 1814, died 1875, French
journalist, novelist, and playwright. He was best known as a novelist;
wrote the novels _Belle Rose_, _La Chasse royale_, _Chateaux en Espagne_,
_Robe de Nessus_, _Chaines de fer_, &c. His _Lettres Parisiennes_ were
published in 1838 under the pseudonym of Grimm.
ACHATES (a-k[=a]'t[=e]z), a companion of Aeneas in his wanderings
subsequent to his flight from Troy. He is always distinguished in Virgil's
_Aeneid_ by the epithet _fidus_, 'faithful', and has become typical of a
faithful friend and companion.
ACHEEN, or ATCHIN ([.a]-ch[=e]n') (Du. _Atjeh_), a native State of Sumatra,
with a capital of the same name, in the north-western extremity of the
island, now nominally under Dutch administration. Though largely
mountainous, it has also undulating tracts and low fertile plains. By
treaty with Britain the Dutch were prevented from extending their territory
in Sumatra by conquest; but this obstacle being removed, in 1871 they
proceeded to occupy Acheen. It was not till 1879, however, after a great
waste of blood and treasure, that they obtained a general recognition of
their authority. But they have not been able to establish it firmly, and
have had to put down many determined risings, sometimes costing them losses
both in men and guns. In the seventeenth century Acheen was a powerful
State, and carried on hostilities successfully against the Portuguese, but
its influence decreased with the increase of the Dutch power. The principal
exports are rice and pepper. Area, 20,471 sq. miles; pop. 789,664.
ACHELOUS (ak-e-l[=o]'us) (now ASPROPOT[)A]MO), the largest river of Greece,
rising on Mount Pindus, separating Aetolia and Acarnania, and flowing into
the Ionian Sea. In Greek legend, Achel[=o]us, the son of Oceanus and
Tethys, was the river-god.
ACHENBACH ([.a]'_h_en-b[.a]ch), Andreas, was a distinguished German
landscape and marine painter, born in 1815, died in 1910.
ACHENBACH, Oswald, born 1827, died 1905, brother of above, was also a
distinguished landscape painter. Both are of the Duesseldorf school, and
pupils of the famous painter Schadow.
[Illustration: Achene of Buttercup (magnified)
E, Embryo. En, Endosperm. T, Testa and pericarp.]
ACHENE, or ACHENIUM (a-k[=e]n', a-k[=e]'ni-um), in botany, a small, dry
carpel containing a single seed, the pericarp of which is closely applied
but separable, and which does not open when ripe. It is either solitary, or
several achenia may be placed on a common receptacle as in the buttercup.
ACHENSEE, a lake in Tyrol, 20 miles north-east of Innsbruck and 3018 feet
above sea-level. On its shores are beautiful villas and hotels frequented
as summer resorts.
ACHERON (ak'e-ron) (modern FANARIOTICOS), the ancient name of several
rivers in Greece and Italy, all of which were connected by legend with the
lower world. The principal was a river of Thesprotia in Epirus, which
passes through Lake Acherusia and flows into the Ionian Sea. Homer speaks
of Acheron as a river of the lower world, and late Greek writers use the
name to designate the lower world.
ACHEULIAN, a term applied by archaeologists to the late stage of Chellean
civilization in the Pleistocene Age. It is named after St. Acheul in the
Somme valley, where relics of it were found. The geological horizon,
according to Professor James Geikie, is late Second Interglacial and Third
Glacial periods.
ACH'IAR, or AT'CHAR, an Indian condiment made of the young shoots of the
bamboo pickled.
ACHIEVEMENT (a-ch[=e]v'ment), in heraldry, a term applied to the shield of
armorial bearings generally, or to a hatchment (q.v.).
ACHILL (ak'il), the largest island on the Irish coast, separated from the
mainland of Mayo by a narrow sound, now bridged over. The chief occupation
is fishing. The island is mountainous, has fine scenery, and is visited by
many tourists, there being now a railway terminus here, and many recent
improvements. Pop. nearly 7000.
ACHILLAE'A, the milfoil genus of plants.
ACHILLEION, famous castle at Corfu, which used to belong to the Empress
Elizabeth of Austria. It was acquired by the ex-Kaiser William II, who
bought it from the Archduchess Gisela, wife of Prince Leopold of Bavaria.