Obsidian
a glassy stone of volcanic origin. It varies in color from black to brown and red, or gray. Some specimens are almost as transparent as glass. The precious stone known as cat's-eye is a variety of obsidian. There is a huge cliff of obsidian in the Yellowstone National Park . New Zealand and Hungary are noted for it. There are obsidian quarries in California. When struck with a hammer it chips by what is known as a conchoidal or shell fracture into spreading semicircular chips with sharp edges. The ancient Mexicans took advantage of this property to manufacture obsidian knives, arrow heads, and points for their spears.
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Occleve
Thomas, an English poet of the fifteenth century. His chief work was a Latin poem, De Regimine Principium. He was the author also of a hymn, Mother of God, which was attributed at one time to Chaucer.
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Occultations
eclipses, strictly, though the latter term is confined by usage to the obscuration of the sun by the moon, and of the moon by the earth's shadow, while the former is restricted to the eclipses of stars or planets by the moon. Occultations are phenomena of frequent occurrence; they are confined to a belt of the heavens about 10° 17½' W., situated parallel to, and on both sides of, the equinoctial, and extending to equal distances N. and S. of it, being the belt within which the moon's orbit lies. These phenomena serve as data for the measurement of the moon's parallax; and they are also occasionally employed in the calculation of longitudes. As the moon moves in her orbit from W. to E., the occultation of a star is made at the moon's E. limb, and the star emerges on the W. limb. When a star is occulted by the dark limb of the moon (a phenomenon which can only occur between new moon and full moon) it appears to an observer as if it were suddenly extinguished, and this appearance is most deceptive when the moon is only a few days old. When an occultation occurs between full moon and new moon, the reappearance of the star at the outer edge of the dark limb produces an equally startling effect.
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Ocean Grove
a city of New Jersey in Monmouth co., 54 miles S. of New York City. It is situated on the Pennsylvania and the Central of New Jersey railroads. It adjoins Asbury Park on the S. It is the locality of the annual camp meeting under the auspices of the Methodist Episcopal Church, and it is controlled largely by the campmeeting association. There are certain important public buildings, including the Auditorium, postoffice, and school. The permanent population is 2,500, which is increased in the summer months to over 25,000.
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Oceania
a name sometimes given to the fifth division of the globe, comprising all the islands which intervene between the S. E. shores of the continent of Asia and the W. shores of America. It naturally divides itself into three great sections-the Malay Archipelago, Australasia or Melanesia, and Polynesia.
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Oceanides
. See Nereids
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Oceanus, Oenone, Olympia, Opus, Orthia & Orthrus
Oceanus A powerful deity of the sea, son of Coelus and Terra. He married Tethys, the Oceanides being their children. Oenone Daughter of the river-god Cebren, and wife of Paris, before he carried off Helen. Olympia Celebrated games which received their name either from Olympia, where they were observed, or from Jupiter Olympius, to whom they were dedicated. Opus A town of Locris, from which the Opuntian Locrians derived their name. It was the birthplace of Patroclus . Orthia A surname of Artemis at Sparta , at whose altar the Spartan boys had to undergo the flogging called diamastigosis. Orthrus The two-headed dog of Geryones.
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Ocellus
plural OCELLI, in entomology and zoology, a spot within a ring of another color, like the pupil within the iris, except that the central spot is often surrounded by additional concentric zones. Example, the ocelli on the tail coverts of the peacock, and those on the wings of the peacock-butterfly. Ocelli, the simple eyes or stemmata of insects, generally situated on the crown of the head between the great compound eyes. Used also of the simple eyes of spiders, crustaceans, mollusks, etc.
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Ochs
ADOLPH S., an American newspaper publisher, born in Cincinnati, O., 1858; educated in the public schools of K Knoxville, Tenn., where, after finishing his schooling, he began his business career by selling newspapers. Later he apprenticed himself to a printer and became a compositor on a local newspaper. In 1878 he ventured into the newspaper publishing field himself, acquiring ownership of the Chattanooga "Times," of which he is still the proprietor. In 1896 he purchased the New York "Times." He was also a director of the Associated Press.
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Ochtman
LEONARD. Artist. Born at Zonnemaire, Zeeland, Holland, 1854, he was brought by his family to the United States at the age of 12 to reside at Albany, N. Y. His first work was a draughtsman in an engraving office, after which he had a studio for a couple of years, developing his talent in landscapes. He studied also for a time at the N. Y. Art Student's League, later traveling in Europe. Since 1882 he has exhibited at the National Academy of Design and elsewhere, and won many awards, including two gold medals at St. Louis. His moonlight scenes such as "Night on the Miamee River" are among his best.
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Oclawaha
a river of Florida, which after a very winding course of 275 miles flows into the St. John, about 25 miles S. of Palatka. Its banks are densely wooded, and the country so flat that the waters extend into the forest for a distance on either side.
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Ocmulgee
a river rising in the central part of Georgia, running in a S. S. E. direction, passing the town of Macon, and ultimately uniting with the Oconee to form the Altamaha river, length about 200 miles.
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Oconee
a river in Georgia, which rises in Hall co., and unites with the Ocmulgee to form the Altamaha at Colquitt; is navigable about 100 miles.
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Ocracoke Inlet
an inlet of North Carolina, forming a passage into Pamlico Sound, 22 miles S. W. of Cape Hatteras. geometry, a polygon of eight angles or sides. A'
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