Zealand (Ince of the Netherlands)
the ince of the Netherlands, consists of portions of Flanders (East and West) and of the islands Walcheren, North Beveland, South Beveland, Schouwen, Duiveland, and Tholen; area 690 square miles, and a pop. about 235,000, about three- The provincial fourths Protestants. capital is Middelburg; Flushing is also in Walcheren. The greatest part of the soil, which is a rich clay, has been redeemed from the sea; and the number of polders or drained districts, is about 400. The neighboring seas abound with fish, and in Schouwen many eggs are collected, myriads of waterfowl resorting thither to form their nests. In 1866 a ship canal through the island of South Beveland was made to take the place of the Easter Scheldt. Hence came the name of New Zealand.
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Zealand (Largest and most important)
the largest and most important island of Denmark; lies between the Cattegat and the Baltic, and is separated by the Sound from Sweden and by the Great Belt from Fünen; length, 81 miles; extreme breadth, 67 miles; area, 2,670 square miles. The surface is nearly everywhere flat, except in the N. peninsulas; the coasts, which are rockbound on the S. E., are indented by bays and fiords, the chief of which is the Roeskilde-Isefiord in the N. The rivers are small, but there are numerous lakes, and all the waters abound in fish. The island contains several beech forests, is excedingly fruitful in corn (particularly barley and rye), and breeds excellent Agriculture and horses and cattle. cattle-breeding are the principal employments of the inhabitants. The chief place is Copenhagen on the E. coast; the next in rank and size are Elsinore in the N. and Korsör in the S. W.
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Zebu
the domestic ox of India. It differs from the ox of Europe in several respects. The horns are short and the shoulders are surmounted by a fleshy hump which is sometimes doubled. The zebu is used to draw plows and carts and to carry passengers. The beef is of fair quality. The hump is considered a delicacy. The zebu varies greatly in size. Some breeds are as large as ordinary cattle, others hardly exceed a young calf in weight. The original stock from which the zebu is descended is unknown. The varieties vary greatly in color. A certain milky white strain is considered sacred to Brahma. Sacred white zebu bulls are kept in temples with great ceremonial. See Buffalo ; Yak
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Zechariah
or ZACHARIAS, the name of many ancient Hebrews, including two prophets, various priests, and Levites (I Chron. ix: 21; xv: 24; xxvi: 14; Neh. xii: 35, 41).
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Zedekiah
the son of Josiah, King of Judah, placed on the throne after Jehoiakin had been removed by Nebuchadnezzar, on his second taking of Jerusalem, 599 b. c. He reigned during 11 years, "and he did that which was evil in the sight of the Lord his God." He entered into an alliance with Pharaoh- Hophra, King of Egypt, and revolted against Nebuchadnezzar, who thereupon laid siege to Jerusalem. The prophet Jeremiah counselled Zedekiah to save his city and throne by submission to the Chaldeans; but the king, disregarding this advice, maintained his defense of the city. The Egyptians came to his relief; but, on Nebuchadnezzar offering them battle, they retreated to their own country, and Jerusalem, after undergoing a siege of 19 months (in (in the latter part of which a terrible famine raged), was taken, 586 b. c. The king endeavored to escape, but was captured, and condemned to behold his sons slain before him; after which his eyes were put out, and he was carried, bound with fetters of brass, to Babylon. The city was almost entirely destroyed, and the people led into captivity.
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Zedekias
Notwithstanding the credulity of the French people in the reign of Pepin the Short, they refused to believe in the existence of elementary spirits . The Kabalist Zedekias, being minded to convince the world, thereupon commanded the sylphs to become visible to all men. According to the Abbé de Villars, the admirable creatures Ziito responded magnificently. They were beheld in human form, sometimes ranged in battle, whether marching in good order, or under arms, or camping in superb pavilions; and, again, in aerial navies of marvellous structure, whose flying flotillas sailed through the air, at the will of the Zephyrs. But the ignorant generation to which they appeared failed entirely to understand the significance of the strange spectatle. They believed at first that the creatures were sorcerers who had betaken themselves to aerial regions for the purpose of exciting storms and sending down hail on the harvests. The sages and jurisconsuls were of the popular opinion. The emperors shared the same idea, which became so widespread that even the wise Charlemagne, and after him Louis the Debonnair, imposed heavy penalties on these supposed aerial tyrants. (See Elementary Spirits and France .)
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Zeitz
a walled town of Prussian Saxony; in the government of Merseburg, 23 miles S. W. of Leipsic. It lies in a pleasant and fruitful district on the right bank of the White Elster. The town has a good library, containing over 12,000 volumes, and manufactures of woolens, cottons, calicoes, sugar, wax cloth, leather, pianofortes, cycles, hosiery, gloves, etc. Pop. about 35,000. ZEND AVESTA (usually interpreted to mean "authorized text" and "commentary"), the religious book of the Parsees or representatives of the old creed of fireworshipers. The original is written in the primitive Zend language, with a translation into the comparatively modern Pehlvi made by order of the Sassanian dynasty, A. D. 235-651.
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Zend
and Zend-Avesta. See Zoroaster ; Mythology
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Zenith
an Arab word meaning literally the line of the head,--the point in the heavens directly over the head of the observer. No two observers have the same zenith. A line passing from the zenith through the observer's feet and through the center of the earth would pass through the corresponding node or point in the heavens directly opposite the zenith. This is called the nadir. Milton thus describes the fall of Satan: From morn To noon he fell, from noon to dewy eve,-- A summer's day; and with the setting sun Drop'd from the Zenith like a falling star. As the zenith is the highest point in the heavens, it is taken figuratively to indicate the highest point in other matters, as the zenith of one's hopes, the zenith of prosperity. Duluth has been dubbed the "Zenith City."
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