HOLCUS 34 HOLLAND elements of his art from his father. His talent procured him the friendship of Erasmus, at whose recommendation he went to England, and was employed first by Sir Thomas More, who introduced him to Henry VIII. He rose to the ze- nith of fortune in that monarch's court, and painted a great number of portraits which are still considered masterpieces of art. His masterpiece is perhaps the "Family of the Burgomaster Meyer," Gallery of Dresden. Holbein designed the celebrated series known as the "Dance of Death," cut in wood and first published at Lyons in 1538. He died of the plague in 1543. HOLCUS, a genus of grasses (order Gramineee), extremely common in some pastures, where they are called soft grasses. H. saccharatus contains a large quantity of sugar, and H. odon-atus is celebrated for its fragrance. There are only two species native to Great Brit- ain, woolly soft grass or meadow soft grass (H. lanatiis) and creeping-rooted soft grass (H. mollis). H. lanatus is the only North American species. HOLD, the whole interior cavity or ' "belly of a ship, or all that part of her inside which is comprehended between the floor and the lower deck throughout her length. HOLDER, EDWARD SINGLETON, an American astronomer; born in St. Louis, Mo., Nov. 5, 1846; was graduated at Washington University in 1866; and at the United States Military Academy in 1870; Professor of Mathematics at the Naval Academy in 1873-1881; presi- dent of the University of California in 1886-1888; director of the Lick Observa- tory in 1888-1898; he was then ap- pointed astronomer of the Smithsonian Institution. His publications include "Astronomy for Students" (with Simon Newcomb) ; "Monograph of the Central Parts of the Nebula of Orion"; "Astro- .nomical Bibliography"; "Handbook of Lick Observatory"; "Essays in Astron- omy" (1900); "The Sciences" (1903); "Galileo" (1905). He died in 1914. HOLDEN, CHARLES FREDERICK, an American naturalist; born in Lynn, Mass., 1851. He was assistant at the American Museum of Natural History, New York, from 1870 to 1877. He wrote: "Marvels of Animal Life"; "Wonder Wings"; "A Frozen Dragon, and Other Tales," a natural-history story-book for young people; "Life of Agassiz"; "Big Game at Sea"; "Game Fishes of the World" (1911); "The Ocean" (1913) ; "Angling Adventures Around the World" (1914). 1915. He died in HOLDING, the term in Scots law used to denote the manner in which heritable estate is holden, and corresponding to tenure in English law. HOLE, SAMUEL REYNOLDS, an English clergyman: born Dec. 5, 1819. He became canon of Lincoln in 1875, and in 1887 Dean of Rochester. He did much to promote the influence of the Church of England as the Church of the poor, and advocated the principles of the Free and Open Church Association. As a lecturer he was well known to Amer- ican audiences. Among his works are: "A Little Tour in Ireland" (1858); "A Book About Roses" (1869); "Nice and Her Neighbors" (1881); "Memories of Dean Hole" (1892). He died Aug. 27, 1904. HOLIGARNA (ho-le-gar'na), a genus of plants, order Anacardiaceas. The fruits of the species H. longifolia, with those of another plant of the same order, furnish the black varnish of Sylhet, which is much used in India for lacquer work. HOLINSHED, RAPHAEL RALPH (hol'in-shed), an English chronicler, in the age of Queen Elizabeth. He is best known by his "Chronicles of Englande, Scotlande, and Irelande," the first edi- tion of which, known as the "Shake- speare edition," because it is the one which the dramatist is supposed to have used in collecting material for his his- torical plays, published in London in 1577. He died about 1580. HOLKAR (hol'kar), the name of a powerful Mahratta family, the members of which have at various times been for- midable enemies "to the British Empire in India. The founder of the family was Mulhar Rao Holkar, born in the Deccan, 1693. HOLLAND. See Netherlands, The. HOLLAND, a city in Ottawa co., Mich., at the mouth of the Black river, on Lake Michigan, and on the Pere Mar- quette railroad, 25 miles S. W. of Grand Rapids. It is the seat of Hope College and the Western Theological Seminary, both institutions of the American Re- formed Church, and has steamship con- nections with Chicago and other lake ports. It has manufactures of furni- ture, leather, pianos, laundry baskets, etc., daily and weekly newspapers, elec- tric lights and State banks. Pop. (1910) 10,490; (1920) 12,183.
