Hume
MARTIN ANDREW SHARP, an English historian; born in London,' in 1847. He was educated in Madrid and was for a time editor of the Spanish State Papers in the Public Record Office in London. He served in the Turkish campaigns in 1897 and afterward traveled extensively in South America. His most important works are "Philip II. of Spain" Spain" 1897); "Modern Spain, 1788-1898" (1899); "The Love Affairs of Mary Queen of Scots" (1903); “Queen Elizabeth and her England" (1910). He died in 1910.
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Hume (FERGUS a New Zealand novelist)
FERGUS, a New Zealand novelist; born in England, July 24, 1862. He was educated for the law. His first long work, "The Mystery of a Hansom Cab," was published in Melbourne, and later in London, achieving a phenomenal circulation. After the success of his first novel the author devoted himself to literature in London. His most popular publications are "The Piccadilly Puzzle" (1889); "Miss Mephistopheles" (1890); "A Creature of Night" (1891); "An Island of Fantasy" (1894); "The Dwarf's Chamber" (1896); "The Indian Bangle" (1899); "Jonah's Luck" (1906); etc.
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Humerus
in human anatomy, the long bone of the arm, consisting of a shaft, an upper extremity articulating with the glenoid cavity of the scap and an articulating with the radius and the ulna. In comparative anatomy, the bone of the upper arm in the vertebrata.
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Humidity
the condition of the atmosphere with respect to its water-vapor content, may be absolute or relative, the former being measured by the actual amount of vapor in the air per unit volume, while the latter is the ratio between such actual amount and the maximum amount which the air would contain at the same temperature. Relative humidity may thus be expressed as a percentage, as it is in the daily weather reports. The higher the temperature of the air the more water vapor it will absorb, whence the drying power of heated air and the dryness commonly found in furnace-heated houses where cold air is drawn in from outside and highly heated without any new supply of moisture. On the other hand, high relative humidity means lessened drying power, so that a combination of high temperature with a high degree of humidity produces feelings of great physical discomfort, the humidity retarding the evaporation of perspiration by which the body heat is largely regulated. Extremely high temperatures in arid regions are on this account found to be more endurable than considerably lower ones where the atmosphere is moist. While vapor baths of over 80 degrees are insupportable, a temperature of 200 degrees Fahrenheit may be borne for several minutes in dry air. Humidity is now recognized as one of the most important factors in ventilation, and the installation of humidifying and dehumidifying systems has become an engineering specialty. Ac-
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Humming Bird
or HUMBIRD, one of the Trochilidæ, a family of birds, tribe Tenuirostres. The bill is long and slender, the tongue bifid and tubular, the wings very long, the toes long and slender. The plumage of the males is of the most lively colors, often with extremely febeautiful metallic reflections; the males are of more somber tint. The species are exceedingly diminutive. They hover over flowers, using their long tongues to lick up, not merely the honey, but also small insects. Their flight is so rapid as to elude the eye. The whole family are peculiar to the New World. There some have a wide range, as Melisuga kingii (Trochilus flammifrons), which is found on the W. coast from Lima to the Tierra del Fuego, a distance of about 2,500 miles; others are limited in their range, some being West Indian only, and others Mexican.
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Humming-Bird Bush
in botany, Æschynomene montevidensis.
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Humming-Bird Hawk-Moth
Macroglossa stellatarum. The fore wings are smoky black, with a central black dot, a waved black line on each side of it, and indistinct black clouds toward the base; the hind wings are tawny with the base blackish-brown, and the hind margin reddish-brown. The body is brownish, varied posteriorly with black and white.
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Humor
in anatomy, etc., a liquid, a fluid. See AQUEOUS HUMOR. In mental philosophy, a mental faculty which tends to discover incongruous resemblances between things which essentially differ, or essential differences between things put forth as the same; the result being internal mirth or an outburst of laughter. Wit does so likewise, but the two are different. Humor has deep human sympathy, and loves men while raising a laugh against their weaknesses. Wit is deficient in sympathy, and there is often a sting in its ridicule. Somewhat contemptuous of mankind, it has not the patience to study them thoroughly, but must content itself with noting superficial resemblances or differences. Humor is patient and keenly observant, and penetrates beneath the surface; while, therefore, the sallies of wit are often one-sided and unfair, those of humor are, as a rule, just and wise.
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Humpbacks
the cetaceous genus Megaptera. The flippers are one-fifth to mppers one-third the length of the body. They are akin to the finners, but are shorter and more robust. A specimen of M. longimana, taken near Newcastle, and described by Dr. Johnston, of Berwick, was named Johnston's humpbacked whale. It is called also Balænoptera boops.
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Humperdinck
ENGELBERT (höm'perdink), a German composer; born in Siegburg, near Bonn, Sept. 1, 1854. After studying music at Cologne, Frankfort, Munich, etc., and travels in France, Spain, and Italy, he taught in the conservatoriums of Barcelona and Cologne, and was musical adviser to a publishing firm in Mainz. Wagner summoned him to assist in the production of that master's only symphony; and it was he who prepared and coached the first cast of "Parsifal" at Baireuth (1882). He subsequently settled in Frankfort (1890), and became famous as the author of the phenomenally successful children's opera or musical fairy play, "Hänsel and Gretel" (1894), which was followed by "The Snow Maiden"; "The Royal Children"; "Die Marketenderin" (1914); etc. He also wrote incidental music to Shakespeare's "Tempest," Maeterlinck's "Blue Bird," etc., and many choruses.
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Humphreys
ALEXANDER CROMBIE, an American engineer and educator; born in Edinburgh, Scotland, in 1851. He came to the United States after several years spent in in 1859 and business he graduated from the Stevens Institute of Technology in 1881. He served as chief engineer for several gas companies, and from 1892 to 1908 was head of the gas company in London, with branch offices in New York. He made various important inventions in the manufacture of water gas. In 1902 he was elected president of the Stevens Institute of Technology. He published several lectures on engineering practice.
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