Owens College
Manchester, England, an institution established under the will of John Owens, a Manchester merchant, who died in 1846, and left about $500,000 for the purpose of founding an institution for providing a university education, in which theological and religious subjects should form no part of the instruction given. Teaching commenced in 1851, and the present Gothic building was completed in 1873. 1843- The success of the college led to the 1853- establishment of a new university, Vicwas toria University, to consist of Owens College and several affiliated colleges located in different towns, but having its headquarters in Manchester. The Victoria University was instituted by royal charter in 1880. University College, Liverpool, was incorporated with Victoria Unive University in 1884, and and the Yorkshire College, Leeds, in 1888. There is women's department in connection a with Owens College. The charter of Victoria University gives power to grant degrees to women, and the examinations are thrown open to them.
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Owensboro
a city and county-seat of Daviess co., Ky., on the Ohio river, and on the Louisville, Henderson, and St. Louis, the Illinois Central, and the Louisville and Nashville railroads; 40 miles S. E. of Evansville, Ind. Here are Owensboro Female College (nonsect.), St. Francis Academy, a United works, street railroad and electric light Building, waterplants, and daily and weekly newspa- The city is noted for its large tobacco interests. It also has manufactories of flour, shingles, brick, ice, sewer pipe, furniture, etc. Pop. (1910) 16,- 011; (1920) 17,424.
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Owl
in ornithology, a popular name for any nocturnal raptorial bird, of which about 250 species are known. A classification has been proposed, based on pterylological and osteological characters, broadly dividing the owls into two sections: (1) The screech-owl, and (2) the tawny-owl section, with (the Linnæan) Strix flammea and S. stridula as the respective types. The former is known as the Alucine (from Fleming's name for the genus, Aluco), and the latter as the Strigine section. The prevailing color of the plumage is brown, with a tinge of rusty-red, and it is exceedingly loose and soft, so that their flight (even in the larger species) is almost noiseless, enabling them to swoop upon their prey, which they hunt in the twilight. All owls cast up in the form of pellets the indigestible parts of the food swallowed. They range over the whole globe.
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Owosso
a city in Shiawassee co., Mich.; on the Shiawasse river, and on the Michigan Central, the Grand Trunk, and the Ann Arbor railroads; 38 miles S. W. of Saginaw. It contains libraries, waterworks, street railroad and electric light plants, several banks, and a number of da daily and weekly newspapers. It has manufactories of door and window screens, hickory handles, caskets, furniture and dining-room tables, rugs, newspapers and books. Pop. (1910) 9,639; (1920) 12,575. OX, the castrated male of Bos taurus when arrived at maturity; also the popular name for the genus Bos. It has been known from remote antiquity, and in the East possessed, and in India still sacred character. They possesses, a have been broadly divided into two groups the humped, with B. Indicus, and the straight-backed, with B. taurus as a type. The domestic oxen consist of a number of different breeds.
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Ox-Warble
. See Bot-Fly
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Oxalic Acid
in chemistry, { OHO + 2H2O, CO.HO a dibasic acid existing ready formed in plants, and produced by the simple oxidation of glycollic alcohol, or by acting on starch, sugar, or cellulose, with nitric acid, or fusion with caustic alkali. It is formed commercially by fusing sawdust with a mixture of soda and potash to 204°, decomposing the oxalate with lime, and the lime salt with sulphuric acid, and afterward recrystallizing. The solution has a strong acid reaction, and is highly poisonous. The antidote is chalk or magnesia. OXALIDACEÆ, the oxalid or woodsorrel family, an order of plants, alliance Geraniales. They are herbs, undershrubs, or trees, generally distributed throughout both the hot and the temperate regions of the globe; the shrubby species, however, are almost confined to the tropics. They are chiefly remarkable for their acid juice, containing binoxalate of potash. The order contains six genera and 325 species.
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Oxalic Acid
Important: Safety Warning This page contains a formula or preparation using substances now known to be dangerously toxic, such as arsenic, mercury, lead, or cyanide compounds. Exposure to these substances can cause severe poisoning, permanent injury, or death. In addition, this page describes trade processes that use dangerously toxic materials such as cyanide solutions, mercury amalgams, or strong acids. These processes require training, equipment, and precautions far beyond what the text describes. This information has been left in for historical purposes but should not be acted upon. This substance exists as binoxalate of potash in common sorrel and the rhubarb plant, which accounts for the acid taste common to those vegetables. As oxalate of soda it is found in the barilla plant, and as oxalate of lime in lichens. It is commonly prepared by the oxidation of sugar or starch with nitric acid: 1 part of sugar is dissolved in 8 parts of nitric acid and gently heated, when intense action ensues, with a copious disengagement of nitrous-acid fumes. The crystals obtained are sour and poisonous, resembling Epsom salts, for which they are often mistaken. Chalk or magnesia suspended in water acts as an antidote in cases of poisoning. This acid is extensively used in calico-printing, and is also employed as a test for the presence of lime. It also removes ink and iron stains from cloth by forming a soluble oxalate of iron, but the fabric suffers injury if the acid be not washed off immediately.
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Oxalis
in botany, wood-sorrel; the typical genus of the Oxalideæ or Oxalidaceæ. Known species, 220; chiefly from South Africa and South America. O. acetosella is the common wood-sorrel. The leaves are all radical and trifoliate; handsome white flowers, with purplish veins. Found in woods and other shady places, and in nooks on mountain sides. O. corniculata is the yellow prominent wood-sorrel. O. stricta, possibly only a sub-species of the last. The stalks of O. crenata, a Columbian species, are very acid, and make good preserve. O. esculenta, O. deppei, O. crassicaulis, and O. tetraphylla have eatable tubers. O. sensitiva, O. stricta, and O. biophytum have sensitive leaves. Those of O. sensitiva are tonic and slightly stimulating.
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