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Page 1365 : NUCELLUS — NUTHATCH


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Nucleus (nū′ klḗ-ŭs), (in plants), a special protoplasmic body always found in cells.  So far as known, every cell must contain nucleus and cytoplasm.  In the process of ordinary cell division the initial steps are taken by the nucleus.  Ordinarily, the nucleus is a spherical body and is usually centrally placed.  It is difficult to see under ordinary circumstances without the use of special stains which color it.  See Cell.

Nu′ma Pompil′ius, the second Roman king, (who ruled 715–672 B. C.), successor to Romulus, was a native of Cures, in the Sabine country, and esteemed for his piety and wisdom.  He was elected king by the Roman people and by the aid of supposed interviews with the nymph Egeria in the groves near the city began to draw up forms of religious institutions for the people, and was thus, according to story, the author of the Roman ceremonial.  He reigned during 39 years of peace and happiness.

Numid′ia, the name given by the Romans to that part of Africa which is now Algeria, and reaching south to the [[../Atlas (mountain range)|Atlas Mountains]].  The inhabitants were of the race from which the Berbers are descended; were warlike, faithless, dishonest, yet excellent horsemen.  In the war between the Carthaginians, Massinissa, the chief of the powerful eastern tribe, joined the Romans and later ruled the entire country.  Of his successors Jugurtha and Juba are best known.  After Cæsar conquered Juba I, Numidia became a Roman province, but Augustus gave the western part to Juba II.  Among the more important places were Hippo, Raguis, Zama and Cirta, afterward called Constantina, and now Constantine.

Nur-ed-Din′ Mahmud, emir and sultan of Syria, was born at Damascus in 1116 A. D. He is noted for his defeat of the first and second crusades of the Christians, the conquering of Tripolis, Antioch and Damascus, and the taking of all the Christian strongholds in Syria in 1151.  In 1168 he was made sultan of Syria and Egypt, and while preparing to invade Egypt, died at Damascus in May, 1173.  He was the bitterest enemy of Christianity, but was a patron of science, art and literature and a good administrator of justice.

Nu′remberg or Nürn′berg, a city in Middle Franconia, a province of Bavaria, stands on the River Pegnitz, 95 miles from [[../Münich|Munich]].  It is one of the most interesting cities of Germany, with its old walls, gates, bridges and fountains.  The castle, built by Conrad II and Frederick Barbarossa, is famed for its paintings and wood carvings.  The most notable buildings are St. Lawrence church (1274), St. Sebald’s church (1225), the Italian Renaissance town hall (1622), the gymnasium (1526), the new law courts, the Germanic Museum and the library of 70,000 volumes.  The city has no foreign commerce outside of that in toys, known as Nuremberg wares, but has a large home trade in metal and wood specialties, bone carvings, type, lead pencils and chemicals.  Nuremberg was first heard of in 1050, and became a free city in 1219.  The Hohenzollerns sold their rights to it in 1417, and it immediately began to rise as the German home of arts and inventions and became a center of commerce.  The discovery of the Cape passage to India and the Thirty Years’ War proved the city’s ruin, and although it retained its independence until 1803, it entered the Rhenish Confederation, and in 1806 became one of the cities of Bavaria.  Population 332,651.

Nuta′tion, regular bending of plant parts, such as bud scales, flower leaves, stems etc., due to unequal growth on the sides.  The stimulus inciting it may be light, heat or gravity.  (See Irritability.)  Thus the flowers of the tulip and crocus are sensitive to temperature changes of a few degrees, opening with rising and closing with falling temperature, because the growth of the outer face is hastened and that of the inner face retarded, and vice versa.  When a cylindrical stem has its growth hastened on every side in regular succession, the tip describes a more or less regular circle, as in twining plants like the hop and morning glory.  Some nutations are apparently spontaneous.

Nut′hatch, a small creeping [[../Birds|bird]] seen running up and down the trunks of trees, getting its name from its habit of hatching open nuts it has previously wedged in the bark of trees.  It is wonderfully nimble, an expert gymnast, finding it no trouble at all to walk along a limb head downward.  It has a rather slender, strong straight bill, its sharp claws are well adapted for holding to the bark, the tail is short and square, and is not used in climbing.  Its plumage is slate-colored and smooth, not fluffy like its cousin, the chickadee’s.  It is seen chiefly in winter, during nesting season seeking seclusion.  The white-breasted nuthatch is a common winter bird in the eastern part of the country, its cheerful “Yank! yank!


Image: WHITE-BREASTED NUTHATCH