Page:LA2-NSRW-5-0028.jpg

Vin'egar is a weak form of acetic acid, generally produced by fermentation of the juices of fruit, which have already undergone alcoholic fermentation, and varying in flavor according to the material from which it is made. In Great Britain vinegar is usually made from malt, which is fermented in casks, which are three quarters full, with holes for the entrance of air. They are kept at a certain temperature (about 70°) and the process may take weeks or months. The vinegar is then filtered and cleared. What is known as the German rapid process consists in pouring the malt or fermented wort in a shower on to shavings in a cask, and drawing off the liquid and pouring it in again, repeating the process until the vinegar has the right degree of acidity. Wine vinegar is largely made in France and other wine-producing countries from the poorer wines and the lees or settlings of the wine vats. It is white or red, according to the color of the wines used. In the United States cider vinegar is considered the best, and the process essentially is the same as that used in making malt vinegar, warmth and exposure to the air being the two necessary conditions. Home-made vinegar is often produced by putting what is known as the vinegar plant or mother into a weak solution of sugar or molasses. The vinegar plant is found in old vinegar barrels, and is a fungus growth similar to the yeast-plant. The word vinegar means sour wine. See Fermentation. Vi'olets, a class of well-known plants, found mainly in temperate regions. There are over 200 species, which are sometimes divided into stemless and leafy-stemmed violets. The common violet, found wild in the United States in pastures and woods, has heart-shaped leaves and flowers usually light or dark violet, though there are white and yellow varieties. The round-leaved violet, found in the northern woods with yellow flowers, the sweet white violet, the larkspur violet, arrow-leaved violet, Canada violet etc. are among the many varieties. The English violet is prized for its fragrance, and is cultivated extensively for winter bouquets. The most showy and popular variety of the violet is the pansy or tricolor, which has been introduced from Europe. Its irregular-shaped flowers, with their beautiful coloring, in white and shades of purple and yellow, are among our commonest garden flowers. They are said to have been first raised about 1810 by Lady Mary Bennett from a common weed. They are called pansies from the French word pensées (thoughts), heartsease, none-so-pretty, love-in-idleness, Johnny-jump-up and kiss me at the garden gate. Vi'olin', a stringed instrument, which is played with a bow. It is a hollow wooden box, made from pine and maple or sometimes deal and sycamore wood, with a

solid handle, and is strung with four strings. The bow is strung with horsehair, and when drawn across the strings sets them in motion. The different notes of the musical scale are produced by stopping the strings with the ringers on a fingerboard on the handle. The quality of a violin depends upon the fineness and thinness of the wood, the curvings and arches, the strings, the varnish, the shape of the sound-holes or openings etc. The best violins were made at Brescia, Cremona, Mantua, Milan and Venice, where, on the southern slopes of the Alps, could be found the fine elastic pine best adapted to the purpose. Salo, Maggini, the Amati family, Joseph Guarnerius, called Gesu, and Stradivarius are among the most celebrated violin makers of Italy; Norman was the first English maker of violins; and Jacobs and Kloz are well-known among German artisans. The greatest of all violin-makers is Stradivarius, born in Cremona in 1644. He learned his trade of the Amati family, but made such improvements that all violins since, whether good or bad, are copies of his work. A fine violin of his manufacture will bring from $1,500 to $3,000. The Cremona varnish, very fine, brilliant, clear, and red or brown in color but in its most beautiful form resembling amber, was used by these Italian artists, but the secret of its manufacture or the mode of applying it seems lost. The viol was the original of the violin. It was a stringed instrument with from five to 15 strings, and the fingerboard was divided by frets — strips of metals — as in the guitar. The viola and violoncello are varieties of the violin, called also tenor and bass viols. The violin is also called fiddle, from the Anglo-Saxon fythel. Violins are now made mostly in France and in Saxony. See Stradivari. Vi'per, the common name for several very poisonous snakes of the Old World. They have a triangular head and a robust body. The European viper, often called the asp, is widely distributed in Europe. It is about two feet long, of yellowish brown color, with black spots. In England, a similar form, commonly called the adder, is the only venomous reptile known to inhabit Great Britain. In Africa the most common variety is the horned viper with a horn-like scale over each eye. It lies partly hidden in the sandy wastes of northern Africa, awaiting its prey. It is possible that this is the asp used by Cleopatra in committing suicide. There are two vipers in India, one about 20 inches long and the other about four feet long. Vir'chow (fḗr'kṓ), Rudolph, a German physician and pathologist, was born in Pomerania, Oct. 13, 1821. He studied medicine at Berlin, and lectured on anatomy in the university there. In 1848 he became a leader of the liberal party and was elected to the Prussian house of deputies, losing