V VThe twenty-second letter and seven- teenth consonant of the English alphabet. Its form corresponds to the Koiiian V, which answers to the Greek upsilon (T, u), and that in turn was a variation of the Ph(E- nician (vau). In Latin v and u were used inditi'erently to represent either the consonantal or the vocalic sound. This confused usage ex- tended into Middle English and the letters were not ditl'erentiated until the seventeenth century. Soixn AXD PiULOLOoicAL VALUE. As a phonetic character r in modern English is a voiced labio- dental spirant. The sound is prodviced by the audible friction of the breath passing between the edges of the upper teeth and the lips over which they close. The philological sources of the letters are various. When not ir.itial. Eng- lish (' may represent ( 1 ) Indo-Germanic 6/1, as in English love, German liehe, Sanskrit lubh, "to desire;' (2) Indo-Germanic p, as in English over, German iiber, Sanskrit upari. In a few words initial v in English represents Indo-Ger- manic p = Anglo-Saxon f, as in vat, Anglo- Saxon feet; vane, Anglo-Sa.xon fana; vixen, Anglo-Saxon fixen. In these cases v is due to the influence of the Southern English dialect which gave a voiced sound regularly to the older Eng- lish f. As a rule, initial v in English is a sign of a loan-word from Latin or French, as in villa, voice, vacation. As A Symbol and Ambrevlvtiox. V in chem- istry = vanadium. In Roman numerals V =: 5 ; V = 5,000. VAAL,. viil (Dutch, yellow, a partial trans- lation of the native name Kni (Inricp. 'Yellow River'). The chief tributary of the Orange River in South Africa, regarded by some as the true upper course of the main stream. It rises on the west slope fjf the Drakensberg. flows west and southwestward on the boundary between the Transvaal and Orange River colonies, and joins the Orange in Cape Colony after a course of be- tween 500 and GOO miles (Map: Cape Colony, K 4). VAAL KIVER. COLONY. The official desig- nation of the Transvaal Colony. VAC, viik (Skt., word, voice). In Hindu mythology, the personification of speech, later identified with Sarasvati. She is celebrated in one late hymn of tke Rig-Veda, which 786 describes her services to gods and mortals on whom she confers life, wealth, and power. . later meteorological interpretation regards her as 'the voice of the mid-air' or the tluunler. Still later she is wooed by the celestial singers, the Gandharvas. Certain attem|)ts have been made to compare Vac as 'the divine word' with the Logos or Word of the fourth (iospel (see Logos), but no mutual influence in the two concepts, al- though indeed similar in certain respects, has yet been shown to exist, and any parallelism be- tween them is apparently due merely to acci- dental coincidence. Consult: Hopkins. Hcliriions of India (Boston, 1895) ; id., India Old and rw (New York, 1901) ; Macdoncll, Vedic Mythology (Strassburg, 1897) : Miiller. .S'la? Systems of In- dian Philosophy (New Y'ork, 1899). VACA, vii'ka, Alvar Nunez Cabe^a de. See Nunez Cabeca de Vac a. VACANT LOT FAKMING. A plan for re- lieving destitution by permitting those in need to cultivate, under supervision, vacant lots in the city or its suburbs. The scheme originated in 1894 with Hazen S. Pingree, Mayor of Detroit, as a mode of relieving distress during the hard times then prevailing. Several thousand acres of land were otTered to the committee appointed by Mayor Pingree, but only 430 acres were accepted. This was prepared for cultivation, and apjior- tioned in small lots among 945 families. Seeds and tools were furnished by the connuittee. whose superintendent had control of the practical execu- tion of the work. Produce estimated at a value of $12,000 was raised (he first year, at an ex- pense to the committee of less than $4000. The pronounced philanthropic as well as financial success of the plan caused its trial in a number of cities during the next year. In New York the work came under control of the -sRociation for Improving the Condition of the Poor. Vacant lots on Manhattan Island being too .scattered, offers of land in Long Island City were acce|)ted, and 1091-; acres were cultivated. Eighty-four persons held plots averaging seven-tenths of an acre in area. .s in Detroit, the chief crop was potatoes. The expenses of the managing com- mittee were .$.3800 and the total value of crops raised .'f^SSOO. A feature of the work was a self- supporting coiiperative farm of 38 acres. In 1895 vacant lot farms were cultivated in many cities, including New York, Detroit, Boston, Denver. Minneapolis, Omaha. Seattle, ami Toledo. It was taken up during ihe next two years by
