Each of these 14 subjects appears in only one of the 6 encyclopedias on this shelf. None is long enough to carry a page by itself, so they are gathered here by letter. Anything that grows moves out to a page of its own.
that branch of science which deals with life. The science of animal life is called zoology; that of plant life, botany. Biology includes, therefore, these two sciences, as well as a certain borderland between them. Science is unable, for instance, to state definitely whether certain minute organisms are plants or animals. A topic like this, uncertain of a reception under either branch of the subject, may still find a place under biology. See Animals; Plants
Only in Aiton's Encyclopedia
a Greek pastoral poet, born near Smyrna in the 3d century B. C. He appears to have passed the latter part of his life in Sicily. Still extant is his "Lament for Adonis," often imitated by subsequent poets. Besides this there remain of his works only short pieces , many of them fragmentary.
Only in Collier's New Encyclopedia
in biology, a term introduced by Prof. L. S. Beale , an English scientist, to designate forming , living , or germinal matter; the living matter of living beings. It is distinguished from formed matter; indeed, the extension of the one and that of the other occur under different and often opposite conditions. All the organs of the body come from bioplasm.
Only in Collier's New Encyclopedia
in biology, a little nucleus of germinal matter, many of which are scattered through the tissues of the body . It is from these that the growth of new matter proceeds. In the process of healing of a wound near the surface of the body, lymph is poured out, in which may be found bioplasts which have descended from white blood corpuscles. Of these , some produce epithelium, others fibrous connective tissue, unless they be too freely nourished, in which case they grow and multiply rapidly , and no kind of tissue whatever results, but pus is alone formed.
Only in Collier's New Encyclopedia
JEAN BAPTISTE, a French physicist and astronomer, born in Paris, April 21, 1774. He entered the artillery, but forsook the service for science, and, in 1880, became Professor of Physics in the Collège de France. Along with Arago he was (1806) sent to Spain to carry out the measuring of a degree of the meridian, and, in 1817, he visited England, and went as far N. as the Shetland Islands, in order to make observations along the line of the British arc of meridian. His most valuable contributions to science are on the polarization of light, at, for which he received the Rumford gold medal in 1840. On astronomy he wrote: "Researches into Ancient nese_Astronomy" (1840), and "Studies in Indian Astronomy" (1862). His works on physics are "Elementary Treatise on Physical Astronomy" (1841- 1857). In 1849 Biot was made a commander of the Legion of Honor; he was also a member of the French Academy. He died in Paris, Feb. 3, 1862.
Only in Collier's New Encyclopedia
a hexagonal and an optically uniaxial mineral, formerly called magnesia mica, hexagonal mica, and uniaxial mica; named after Jean Baptiste Biot. It exists in tabular prisms, in disseminated scales, or in massive aggregations of cleavable scales. Color: silvery-white, rarely bottle green, and by transmitted light often fiery red.
Only in Collier's New Encyclopedia
a descriptive term, sometimes applied to man, but more frequently to birds. It may be used in two ways- (a) in reference to habit only (physiological), when animals use only their two hind limbs for moving along the ground-e. g., man, kangaroo, bird; (b) in reference to anatomy (morphology), when the typical number of four limbs is reduced to two. Thus among mammals the order of whales (cetacea) is marked by the absence of hind limbs; among birds the fore limbs are considerably reduced in the running birds of the ostrich sub-class, and especially in the New Zealand kiwi (apteryx); among reptiles, some serpents (e. g., pythons), retain traces of hind legs, while all the others have lost both pairs, and a few lizards have either only hind feet (pseudopus, ophiodes), or only fore feet (chirotes); among amphibians, a few (e. g., siren) have only fore feet; and the same is true of numerous fishes (e. g., among siluridæ), and especially of those which live to a large extent in mud.
Only in Collier's New Encyclopedia
in algebra, an equation raised to the fourth power, or where the unknown quantity of one of the terms has four dimensions. An equation of this kind, when complete, is of the form x²+Ax³ + Bx²+Cx+D=0, where A, B, C and D denote any known quantities whatever.
Only in Collier's New Encyclopedia
Author of an infernal-facetious work Black Magic entitled l'Enfer de la mere Cardine, which treats of the dreadful battle in Hell on the occasion of the marriage of Cerberus with Cardine (Paris, 1585 and 1597.) It is a satire on the demonography of the times. Didot reprinted the work in 1793. The author was a nephew of a Chancellor of France , Rene de Biragues.
Only in An Encyclopaedia of Occultism
a small tree (the prunus padus, etc.). It has pendulous racemes of white flowers, which appear in May, and are succeeded by small, black, drupaceous, cherry-like fruits.
Only in Collier's New Encyclopedia
the common name given to the small parasites so frequently seen infesting birds. Naturalists place them in the insect order mallophaga, in immediate proximity to the anoplura, which contains the human pediculi.
Only in Collier's New Encyclopedia
a substance whitish and limy in appearance; used, as its name imports, for capturing birds. It is, in general, manufactured from the bark of the holly, though the berries of the mistletoe, and also the bark, boiled in water, beaten in a mortar, and then mashed, may also be employed for the purpose.
Only in Collier's New Encyclopedia
seed for feeding cage birds, especially the seed of phalaris canariensis, or canary grass.
Only in Collier's New Encyclopedia
the eye or eyes of a bird. In botany, the name of several plants with small, bright, usually blue, flowers. (1) A widely diffused name for veronica chamædrys. (2) A name for a plant, called more fully the birdseye primrose. It is the primula farinosa. It has pale lilac flowers with a yellow eye. The whole plant is powdered with a substance smelling like musk. It grows in the milder temperate climates of Europe. The American flower bearing the same common name is of a different species, being called by botanists primula pusilla. (3) A name sometimes given to the adonis autumnalis, and, indeed, to the whole genus adonis, more commonly designated "pheasant's eye."
Only in Collier's New Encyclopedia