Weaver
JAMES B., an American lawyer; born in Dayton, O., June 12, 1833; was admitted to the bar in 1854; served in the Union army during the Civil War, becoming a Brigadier-General of volunteers. After the war he practiced law in Iowa; filled several offices in that State; edited the "Iowa Tribune," e," published in Des Moines; was a member of Congress in 1879-1881; the Greenback candidate for President of the United States in 1880; again in Congress in 1885-1889; and in 1892 again became a candidate for the presidency, this time on the People's party ticket, receiving 22 electoral votes. He died in 1912.
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Weaving
the art of interlacing yarn threads or other filaments by means of a loom, so as to form a web of cloth or other woven fabric. In this process two sets of threads are employed, which traverse the web at right angles to each other. The first set extends from end to end of the web in parallel lines, and is commonly called the warp; while the other set of threads crosses and interlaces with the warp from side to side of the web, and is generally called the weft or woof. In all forms of weaving the warp threads are first set up in the loom, and then the weft threads are worked into the warp, to and fro, by means of a shuttle. It was by this fundamental process of interlacing two sets of thread in looms of simple mechanism that the mummy cloths of Egypt, the fine damasks and tapestries of the Greeks and Romans, the Indian muslins, the shawls of Cashmere, and the famed textile fabrics of Italy and the Netherlands were produced. From the latter countries weaving by means of a hand loom was introduced into England.
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Web-smoother
See SLICKER. Wedge is one of the mechanical powers which, in principle, is simply a modification of the inclined plane. This implement, simple as it is, constitutes one of the most important tools in foundry practice. It is made of wood and cast iron, but the latter kind is to be deprecated, because of its liability to snap. Wrought-iron wedges, well taken care of, are a good investment in any foundry.
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Webb City
a city of Missouri, in Jasper co. It is on the Missouri Pacific and the St. Louis and San Francisco railroads. It is the center of an important mining region. It is in the lead and zinc district of southwest Missouri, and in the neighborhood of the city are over 200 mining plants. Other industries include a foundry, machine shops , iron works, a flour mill, etc. Pop. (1910) 11,817; (1920) 7,807.
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Weber's Law
in physiology, that there is always a constant ratio between the strength of the stimulus and the intensity of the sensations. The stronger the stimulus already applied , the stronger must be the increase of the stimulus in order to cause a perceptible increase of the sensation .
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Webster Groves
a city of Missouri, in St. Louis co. It is on the St. Louis and San Francisco railroad. It is chiefly a residential suburb of St. Louis and contains several educational institutions and a public library. Pop. (1910) 7,080; (1920) 9,474.
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Wedderburn
ALEXANDER, a Lord Chancellor of England, ennobled as Lord Loughborough and Earl of Rosslyn; born in Edinburgh, Scotland, Feb. 13, 1733; the son of a Scotch judge. He passed as advocate, but was called to the English bar in 1757. He entered Parlia ment in 1762, took part in the great Douglas cause, and in 1771 left the opposition to become a strenuous supporter of Lord North as solicitor-general. He supported the American war policy, and was made chief-justice as Lord Loughborough (1780); but in 1784, disappointed of the chancellorship, passed over to Fox, and sought favor with the Prince of Wales. Insinuating and unscrupulous, he next made friends with Pitt, by whom he was made Lord Chancellor (1793), but to whom he played false. Addington gave him his earldom (1801). He died near Windsor, Jan. 2, 1805.
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Wedge
wej, a well known device consisting of a piece of wood, metal, or other hard substance, thick at one end and sloping to a thin edge at the other. The wedge is used for splitting timber, quarrying rock, and for raising great weights or exerting intense pressure. A quick tap on the head of a wedge produces more effect than a heavier, sluggish blow. It is supposed that the tap sets up a tremor or vibration in the inclosing edges of the resisting substance, and that the wedge advances before the vibrating material can return. Something of the sort may be noticed in driving a nail. Lively taps force a nail into hard timber when heavy blows fail. Other conditions being equal, the thinner the wedge the greater its power. The sharp edge of cutting tools is an application of the principle of the wedge. The uselessness of a wedge until it has effected an entrance, and its power afterward, have given rise to several popular expressions, as "the entering wedge," "wedging his way in," etc.
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Wedgewood, Josiah
Josiah (1730-1795), a celebrated English potter. He was the son of a Staffordshire potter and learned his father's business. An incurable lameness forced him to give up standing at the potter's wheel. He turned his attention to decorating. He discovered a method of mixing and baking that resulted in the production of a stoneware so fine in texture and so hard that exquisite works of art could be reproduced on its surface. He made not only white and semi-transparent stoneware, but queen's-ware in cream colors; basalt ware of Egyptian black, suitable for plaques, seals, busts, and medallions; red ware, and mottled ware. One of his specialties was a jasper ware resembling white terra cotta . Cobalt blue, lilac, greens, and yellows were favorite colors. Wedgewood ware was famous for its decorations, both raised and depressed, that is, cameos and intaglios. One of his Portland vases was valued at $250, and was a present fit for a duchess. When wealth and fame came to Wedgewood, he founded the village of Etruria for his workmen and aimed to educate their children to thrift and in designing, decorating, and other principles of the potter's art. See Pottery
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