Somaliland Protectorate
a British protectorate in Africa. It is on the Gulf of Aden and is bounded inland by Italian territory. The area is 68,000 square miles. The natives lead a nomad existence and engage in cattle-raising, and in the coastal towns there is much commerce, with exports of hides and skins, cattle and sheep, gold, salt, ivory, and gums. Cotton piece-goods, rice, rice, dates, dates, shirtings and sugar are largely imported. The ports ports are Zeila, Bulhar, and Berbera. It formerly belonged to Abyssinia, but in 1884 the British succeeded in gaining a footing, and it has since been administered by a commissioner, with officials in the coast towns. Pop. about 375,000.
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Sombrerete
a town of Mexico, State of Zacatecas, 85 miles N. W. of the town of that name, is the center of a rich silver mining district. Pop. about 11,000.
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Sombrero Island
a small rocky British island midway between Anguilla and the Virgin group, West Indies. It has a lighthouse. There are large deposits of phosphates of lime.
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Somerset
LADY HENRY (ISA BEL), an English social worker, born in 1850, the eldest daughter of the third Earl Somers. In 1873 she married Lord Henry Somerset. She became interested in temperance reform, and in 1895 she founded an industrial farm colony for inebriate women at Duxhurst. It was the first institution of its kind in England. She also established a home for training workhouse children, and other philanthropic organizations. She was for a number of years president of the National British Women's Temperance Association and of the World's Women's Temperance Union. She made several visits to the United States.
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Somersetshire
a county of S. W. England, forming parts of the S. and E. shores of the Bristol Channel. Area, 1,615 square miles. Pop. about 425,000. The surface of the county is diversified. There are lofty hills, rich valleys, barren moors, and vast stretches of marsh lands, much of the latter being below high water and protected by sea banks and sluices. The wild district of Exmoor in the western part of the county, is well known. The principal river is the Bristol Avon. The principal agricultural products are wheat and barley, the quality of which is especially famous in the neighborhood of Bridgewater. Cattle-breeding is also carried on extensively, and the dairy products of the county, especially cheddar cheese, have been noted for a long time. The rich mineral products, consisting chiefly of iron, are not worked extensively. The principal manufactures are woolens, coarse linens, gloves, silk, and lace. Capital, Taunton (pop. about 23,000). city of New
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Somersworth
a Hampshire, in Strafford co. It is on the Salmon Falls river, and on the Boston and Maine railroad. It is important for its manufactories of textiles and dyes. It has a public library and a municipal theater. Pop. (1910) 6,704; (1920) 6,688.
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Somerville
a borough of New Somerset co. Jersey, the county-seat of It is on the Raritan river and on the Central Railroad of New Jersey. It is chiefly a residential place but has manufactures of woolen cloth, clothing, stoves, iron pipe, etc. Pop. (1910) 5,060; (1920) 6,718.
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Somerville
a city in Middlesex OMERVILLE, co., Mass.; on the Mystic river, and on the Boston and Maine railroad. It comprises nearly a dozen villages, and contains a public library, high schools, Home of the Little Sisters of the Poor, a hospital, street railroads, electric lights, National, savings, and co-operative banks, and several weekly newspapers. It has desk factories, iron foundries, flour mills, tube works, and large slaughtering and meat-packing plants. The city is built on seven hills, some of which were fortified during the Revolutionary War, and the remains of some of the structures are still preserved, including the "old powder house" on Quarry The city is a favorite residential suburb of Boston Pop. (1910) 77,236; business men. (1920) 93,091.
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Somerville, Mary
Mary (1780-1872), an English writer on astronomy. Her education, while probably more thorough than that of the average woman of her time, would today be considered elementary, and it was not until after she left school that she secretly mastered algebra and Euclid. Later, she attained proficiency in the higher mathematics for which she developed great aptitude. In this she was assisted by her second husband, Dr. William Somerville, an inspector of the army medical board. While on a visit to the Continent she attracted general attention among scientific men by reason of her attainments-among others the astronomer Laplace, whose Mecanique Celeste she had translated at the request of Lord Brougham. She popularized the form of this monumental work, made it familiar to the British public, and at the same time won fame for herself. She was elected to membership in the Royal Astronomical Society, an honor rarely bestowed on a woman, and was later granted a pension of $1,500 a year by the government. Other works by Mrs. Somerville are Connection of the Physical Sciences, Physical Geography, and Molecular and Microscopic Science. An interesting volume because of the insight it gives into her character was her personal recollections published in her old age. "Much of the popularity of her writings," says Britannica, "is due to their clear, crisp style, and the underlying enthusiasm for her subject which pervades them."
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Somme
a river of northern France, rising near Fonsomme, about 6 miles N. E. of St. Quentin, in the Department of Aisne. After flowing in a southwesterly direction, it turns N. W., enters the Department of Somme, and after receiving on the left the Avre and Celle, it enters the English Channel below St. Valéry. Its total course is about 152 miles long. The Somme Canal follows the course of the river from St. Simon to St. Valéry, a distance of about 97 miles. The river is also connected with the Scheldt by the St. Quentin Canal, and with the Oise by the Crozat Canal. The river became widely known during the World War as a result of the highly important fighting which at various times occurred along its upper reaches, some of the most important battles of the World War being known as the Battles of the Somme. SOMME BATTLES. See PICARDY, BATTLES OF.
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