Earths
The solid matters of the earth, including rocks, etc., are composed principally of combustible elements, as aluminum, potassium, magnesium, calcium, and carbon, in combination with oxygen. The fact of the rarity of these metals in a free state is due to their extreme combustibility. The earths proper do not change vegetable colors; in acids they are soluble, and may be subsequently precipitated from their solutions by potash, soda, or ammonia. The alkaline earths, as barytes, strontia, lime, etc., are soluble in water, and have the property of neutralizing the strongest acids, and changing vegetable colors in general. The mineral elements composing the chief mass of soils are derived from the breaking-up of the various rocks by the action of heat, frost, air, and moisture, According to the composition of the rocks so will the soil be that is derived from them: clayey when from argillaceous rocks, calcerous from lime, and sandy from siliceous rocks, besides which must be included organic substances, a portion of liberated alkalies and alkaline earths, etc. See ALKALI.
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Earwig
a long, narrow insect resembling the beetle in some respects. The mouth is formed for biting. The wing covers are short; the hind wings are very peculiar. The base of the wing is furnished with ribs like those of a Japanese fan. These are folded together fan fashion. The broad end of the wing is then folded twice crosswise, so as to shorten or crinkle it up. The tail end of the body has a pair of appendages resembling forceps. Earwigs are found on the Pacific coast and in the Gulf States, but are rare in the northeastern part of the United States . In Europe they are very troublesome in the flower and the vegetable garden. They eat the corollas of flowers and devour the tender parts of vegetation generally. There are specimens of 200 different species in the collection of the British Museum . The common name is derived from a popular belief that this insect is prone to crawl into the ear of a sleeping person.
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Ease
a disease that at some particular time and place attacks great numbers of the lower animals, just as an epidemic attacks man. Pleuro-pneumonia is often an epizoötic, as was also the rinderpest. See EPIDEMIC.
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Easley
RALPH MONTGOMERY, an American economist; born in Schuyler
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East
in geography, the direction of the rising sun. The east has been invested with a certain sacred character from the earliest times. The ancient pagans placed their altars in the eastern part of their temples, that they might sacrifice to the rising sun. From time immemorial it has been customary among many peoples to bury with the feet toward the east, in order that the dead may face the rising sun. Although the Mohammedan prays with his face toward Mecca, in whatever part of the globe he may be, it has long been the custom among Christians to build their cathedrals with the choir toward the east. The traditional source of civilization is in the east. The wise men of the Scriptures came from the east. "Westward," not eastward, "the star of empire takes its way." Mathematically considered, a line drawn east and west is everywhere parallel to the earth's equator. That being the case, each parallel on the earth's surface has its east in a direction of its own. The two poles, however, have neither east nor west.
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East Africa
German, a possession of the German empire , lying on the African coast directly south of British East Africa. The German rights were acquired from the Sultan of Zanzibar in 1890 by a payment of $1,000,000. Area 384,000 square miles. Population, chiefly Bantu, 7,000,000. The protectorate is governed by a German governor. There are about 2,000 German residents, who act as officials, commanders, policemen, missionaries, and teachers. A few hundred Germans live near the coast on plantations of cocoa-palm, caoutchouc, vanilla, tobacco, cacao, sugar, tea, cotton, cardamon, and cinchona. The German government has established a number of experimental stations. In the year 1905 there were over half a million head of cattle and nearly 4,000,000 head of sheep and goats in the protectorate. Though not developed, it is known that there is a vast wealth of gold, lead, copper, coal, and salt. There are precious stones. Agates, topazes, moonstones, quartz crystals, and garnets are known to exist in large quantities. The German government spends about $1,000,000 a year on the protectorate, in addition to twice as much obtained from local revenue. The chief exports are rubber, copra, ivory, coffee, sisal, and wax, in all about $3,000,000 a year. See Africa
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East Africa
GERMAN co., III., in 1858. He was educated in the public schools of Quincy, Ill., and for several years taught at the public schools. After several years of newspaper work he organized and became secretary of the Civic Federation of Chicago. In 1900 he organized the National Civic Federation and became chairman of its executive council. He promoted national conferences on primary election reforms in New York and promoted also other conand economic subferences on political jects. He organized in 1917 the League for National Unity. He wrote extensively on sociological subjects.
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East Africa (GERMAN former German)
GERMAN, former German possessions in East Africa, acquired in 1885-1890, lying immediately to the S. of British East Africa, and having an estimated area of about 400,000 square miles, and estimated population of 7,659,898. They are bounded on the N. by a line running N. W. from the Umba river to the E. shore of the Victoria Nyanza, and continuing W. from this Tanganlake to the Kongo state. Lake yika forms the W. boundary, and thence a line to Lake Nyassa and the river Rovuma form the S. W. and S. boundaries. In September, 1894, it was agreed that the German-Portuguese e frontier should follow parallel 10° 10° 40′ 40′ S. lat. from the coast to its intersection with the river Rovuma, leaving Kionga and the mouth of the Rovuma to Germany, and Cape Several stations Delgado to Portugal. have been established by the German East Africa Company, and the chief ports are Dar-es-Salaam, Bagamoyo, Kiloa, and Tanga. The products of the country are coffee, tobacco, cotton, ivory, caoutchouc, and gum. The conquest of German East Africa, in the course of the World War (1914-1918), was completed by British forces in 1918, and by the terms of the Peace Treaty of 1919 the territory is divided between Great Britain and Belgium. The British part has been named "Tanganyika" territory. Government seat, Dar-es-Salaam.
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