ECUADOR. 638 EDDA. the Presidency. The Clericals finally triumiilicd. and. under ^Moreno, carried things with a high hand, iiiilil the latter was assassinated in 18t5. In 1S!)jOG a new civil war broke out between the two parties, resullinj; in a Liber.il triumph. General Alfaro became President, and since that time the situation of the country has generally )mi>roved. A Clerical uprising in 1809 led to trouiiles with Colombia; but a new Liberal Presi- dent was peacefully inaugurated August 31, 1901. BlBLiocKAPiiY. Cevallos, Geografia del Ecua- dor (Lima. 1888) : Child. The Spanish-Ameri- cax h'ciniblics (New York, 1891); Wolf, Geografia y geologia del Ecuador (Leipzig, 1802) ; id.. Viagrx cirntifiroit pnr In rrpi'iblica del Ecuador (Ouayaciuil. 1870); WappUus.
- 'l'>iiador." in Stein, llaiidhuch der (leograpliie
(Leipzig, 1871); Reiss and Stiibel. Iloehgebirge der Reiniblik Ecuador (Berlin, 1892-98); Has- saurek, Four Years Ainoiig iS'poHisft Americans (Cincinnati, 1881); Sinison, Travels in Hie Wilds of Ecuador (London, 1887); Monnier, Des Andes au I'ard (Paris, 1890); Whyniper, Travels Amongst ihc Great Andes of the Equator (London. 1802); Kolberg, Xach Ecuador (Frei- burg. 1897); Cevallos, Ifesumen de la historia del Ecuador (Guayaquil, 1886). ECZEMA (Xeo-Lat., from Cik. ^Kf.^a. ekzema, skin-disease, from ^K^tTf, elc^ein, to boil out. from iK, elc, out + ^fty, zcin, to boil). An inflamma- tory disease of the skin characterised by a number of cutaneous lesions, such as macules, papules, pustules, vesicles, scales, and crusts, generally with exudation of scrum and intense itching. It is the commonest skin-disease, and represents from one-half to one-third of all cuta- neous affections. It may be acute or chronic in its course. It is divided into four elementary types: erythematous, papular, vesicular, and pustular; but there are several secondary types, such as squamosum, rubrum, parasitieum, sebor- rlKPicum. marginatum, neuroticum. diabeticorum, intertrigo, fissum. verrucosum. and sclerosum. Among internal causes of eczema are alcoholic beverages, dietetic error.s, medicines, visceral disorders, gout, scrofula, and neurasthenia. From the belief that a 'humor of the blood' caused eczema, it lias been commonly called 'salt rhemn.' .mong external causes are scratch- ing, heat, cold, friction, and pressure, acids and poisons, and animal and veget.able parasites. Treatment nuist be directed to the particular form of the disease. In all cases strict dietetic and hygienic rules must be followed, causes must be removed or treated with a view to removal ; laxatives, iron tonics, bitter principles, and elec- tricity are used. Locally, antiseptic powders, zinc, salicylic acid, permanganate of potash, tar, ichthyol. thymol, oil of cade, bismuth, mercury, lead, carbolic acid, sulphur, and green soap are among the drugs used. Each case must be in- telligently studied if treatment is to succeed. EDAM, Dutch pron. S-dilm'. A town of the Xctherlamls in the Province of North Holland, 12 miles north-northeast of Amsterdam (Map; Xetherlands. D 2) . One of its Reformed churches, with large painted windows, is among the finest in North ILdland. The town is chiefly known through its cheeses and its cheese fair. Other industries are ship-building, rope and sail mak- ing. Population, in 1801, (i424 ; in 1800. 0444. EDAM CHEESE. Sec Cheese ; Cheese-Mak- I NG. EDAPH1C (from Gk. (daipos, edaphos, founda- tion, soil). In botany, edaphic influences are those that are local, especially those that reside in the soil. This term is ojiposed to climatic, e.g. a cypress swamp is an eda]ihic, and a desert is a climatic area. See Kcology; Disikibution of Plants. ED'DA. A title applied to two distinct works in Scandinavian literature, the Edila of ,^amuud the Wise, and the Edda of Snorri Slurlusun. They are also called respectively the Poetical and the Prose, and the Elder and the Younger Edda. The latter of these, to which alone the name Kdda is jiroi^'rly applied, treats of Scan- dinavian mythology and of the language and modes of composition of the ancient skalds (q.v.). Its original purpose was to serve as a guide for young poets. Accompanying this Edda are four grammatical treatises, which are fre- quently included in modern editions. They have also been published separately, with critical in- troductions and notes (Copenhagen, 1884-86). As its second name implies, the Prose Edda is ascribed to the Norse historian and politician Snorri Sturluson (q.v.) , wlio flourished in the first half of the thirteenth century. Originally it con- sisted of three main ]iarts: (1) Oiilfaginning (the deception of Gylfi). in which various exploits of the gods and goddesses are related to a mythical Swedish king (iylfi, who is supposed to visit As- gard; (2) Skaldskapanndl (the language of poet- ry), in which an explanation is given of many of the figures of speech used by the skalds; (3) Hdttnlal (list of metres), a catalogue of the different kinds of metres used by the skalds. Snorri's treatment of the mythology is often in- accurate, and is not free from contradictions. This is, however, in spite of its evident faults, ono of the most important monuments of Old Norse literature. The Prose Edda was first published by Rcsenius in Copenhagen in UiOij. This edi- tion includes a translation into Latin by the editor and others. The next edition was pub- lished in Sweden (1740). The first modern criti- cal edition is that of R;<sk. published at Stock- holm in 1817. The most complete modern edi- tion is the Arna-Magna'an ((^ipcnhagen. 1848- 87). in three volumes, with a Latin translation and notes. Finniir .Jonsson has edited both the Eddas. with German notes (1880-90). E. Wilken's Die Prosaisehe Edda im Auszuge (1877- 82) contains the first two parts, with a German glossary. The standard German translation is Simrock's (18.51). The Gi/lfaginniug was trans- lated into French by Pergmaim (2d ed. 1871). 'I he mythological jiart has been (ranslated into English by Dascnt (1842), and by Plackwell (in ilallet's Xorthern Anti<iuilies) . R. H. Ander- son's version (1880) includes the narrative por- tion of the Poetical Diction, and several minor parts. The Elder Edda is a collection of mythological and heroic Scandinavian songs, tliirty-lhrce in all. the date of whose composition in their present form may probably be referred to dif- ferent periods between the tenth and the thir- teenth centuiies. The view that assigns to them a great antiquity is no longer held by srholars. The arrangement of the whole is very unsyste- matic, and the text is in many parts corrupt.
