Accident Insurance
a form of insurance which pays persons a stated sum in compensation for bodily injury. Usually it is provided that insurance is made only against injuries caused by violent accidental or external means. It does not cover self-inflicted injury. There were in 1920 about fifty companies engaged in this form of insurance, although not all of these were limited to accident insurance. Losses paid for this form of insurance aggregate about $10,000,000 yearly.
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Accolade
in heraldry, the ceremony by which in medieval times one was dubbed a knight. On the question what this was, antiquaries are not agreed. It has been made an embrace round the neck, a kiss, or a slight blow upon the cheek or shoulder. well-known keyed
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Accordion
a instrument with metallic reeds. The sounds are produced by the vibration of the several metallic tongues, which are of different sizes, air being meanwhile supplied by the movement of the opposite sides of the instrument, so as to constitute a bellows. The accordion was introduced into America from Germany about 1828.
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Account
in banking, commerce, law, and ordinary language, a registry of pecuniary transactions; such a record as is kept by merchants, by housewives, and by all prudent people, with the view of, day by day, ascertaining their financial position. A bill or paper sent in by tradespeople to those who do not pay for goods on delivery. An open account, or an account current, is, commercially, one in which the balance has not been struck; in banking, it is one which may be added to or drawn upon at any time, as opposed to a deposit account, where notice is required for withdrawals.
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Accounting
a profession which has grown out of the increased complexity of keeping and adjusting business transactions. It is concerned chiefly with the problem of classification of uncertain items in the course of business and with the problems of valuation. The skilled accountant must have a wide knowledge of business in general and a special knowledge of the field in which he is engaged. In recent years the principles of accounting have been in increasingly applied to the control of production. This is known as cost accounting. The department of accounting has become an important one in recent years in nearly all schools and colleges which have a business department. There are also many schools which give instruction only in accounting. Chartered accountants are able to command a high rate of pay for their services. ACCUMULATOR. See STORAGE BAT- TERY.
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Acer
a genus of arborescent or shrubby plants, order acerineæ, which are extremely valuable for the sake either of their timber, or of their ornamental appearance. The acer rubrum, or red maple, is a tree 50 feet in height, very common in low woods throughout the Atlantic States. The wood, particularly that of the variety called curled maple, is much used in cabinet work. The acer saccharinum, or sugar tree, is a tree 70 feet in height, 3 feet in diameter, found throughout the United States, and constituting the greater part of some of the forests of New England. The wood is hard and has a satin luster, but it is readily attacked by insects, and is not ready of much value, except when its grain is accidentally waved, and then it is in request for the cabinet-makers. The saccharine matter contained in its ascending sap, obtained by tapping the trunk in the spring, is perhaps the most delicious of all sweets; an ordinary tree yields from 5 to 10 pounds in a season.
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Acerbas
A priest of Hercules at Tyre, who married Dido , the sister of Pygmalion . When Acerbas was murdered by Pygmalion for his riches, Dido fled from Phoenicia to Africa and founded the city of Carthage. Vergil calls the husband of Dido, Sichalus, which Servius, in his Commentary on Vergil, says is a modified form of Sicharbes.
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Acetanilid
more commonly known as anti-febrin. Formula CoHS NHCOCH3. Its melting point is 237° F. It boils at 563° F. It dissolves in alcohol, ether, and hot water, less readily in cold water. Its principal use in medicine is as a sedative and febrifuge, but it should be used with great caution unless prescribed by a physician.
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Acetones
or KETONES, are the aldehydes of secondary alcohols (see ALCOHOL). Thus secondary propyl alcohol, when oxidized, loses two atoms of hydrogen, and gives dimethyl ketone, ordinarily known as acetone. Acetone. Secondary Propyl Alcohol. CH-CHOH-CH-H2=CH3-CO-CH2. A series of such acetones is known, of which acetone is typical. It may be preby distilling acetate of calcium. It pared by is a limpid liquid, having a taste like that of peppermint, and is readily soluble in alcohol, ether, and water. Its sp. gr. is about.79, its boiling point being 130° F. (56° C.). It has recently been used in America for the manufacture of chloroform, which is obtained from it by distillation with bleaching-powder. It is a solvent for gums and resins, as well as for gun-cotton.
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Acetylene Gas
an illuminating gas formed by the action of water on CALCIUM CARBIDE (q. v.). This gas has 3-Vol. I-Cyc come into general favor with cyclists for its brilliancy, safety, and the persistence of its flame in all circumstances. Recent experiments made to produce cheaper calcium carbide, by a new process, resulted in demonstrating that it can be produced at a cost of from half a cent to three cents a pound, or one-fifth its original cost. This will bring acetylene gas within the reach of every one, and it will probably eventually supersede many other forms of lighting. One kilogram of calcium carbide produces about 300 litres of acetylene gas. Acetylene takes fire at 480° Cent.; at 700° it decomposes into carbonic acid and hydrogen.
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Acetylene Lamp
a lamp designed for utilizing acetylene as an illuminant. Acetylene lamps have come into general cartridges filled with calcium carbide are used, and the dropping of the water into the cartridge is regulated by an adjustable valve. The acetylene flame is very brilliant. Greek province. See
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Achaemenides
A branch of the Persian tribe of of Pasargada, named from Achaemenes, the founder of the line, and from whom the Persian kings, according to Herodotus , were descended.
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