STING-EAY. 576 STIRLING. A STtNK-BUG. Northern South America, some of which are ten or twelve feet in length. They are generally much dreaded because of the ugly wound they are capable of inflicting with the spine or 'sting.' The sting is not iioisonous, as is frequently sup- posed, although the mucous secretions of the skin may be responsible for the serious inflamma- tions frequent in the wounds. See Ray and ac- companying Plate; Devilfish, STINK-BUG. Any one of the heteropterous insects of the family Pentatomidse, very many of which are protected from their natural ene- mies by a nauseous, penetrating, and persistent odor, which remains with berries over which these bugs may have walked. The fam- ily is a large one and 4000 species have been described, of which .300 are found in the United States. They are broad, flat insects with five-jointed an- tenna-, and are usually green, gray, or brown, al- though some have a brilliant combination of black and red or yellow- and black. They vary strangely in habit, some species being exclusively carnivo- rous and others exclusively plant-feeders, while others seem to feed indifferently upon the juices of plants or upon other insects. See Soldier-Bug. STINT (from AS. sfi/ntan. to make blunt, short, from stunt, dull, stupid). One of the small sandpipers (q.v. ) of the genus Tringa. The American stint ( Tringa minatiUa ) is the smallest of the sandpipers, less than 6 inches long, breeds only in the Arctic regions, and is common throughout North America during the migrations. The plumage in summer is variegated bright bay, Ijlackish, ashy and whitish above, whitish beneath ; in winter the color is simply ashy aliove, whitish beneath. STIPA. See Feathek-Grass. STIPENDS, CLERICAL (Lat. stipenditwi, tax, tribute, salary, from slips, gift, donation + pendcre. to weigh out). A general designation of the means of support provided for the clergy. There have developed in Western civilization five general methods of providing clerical support, to- gether with all sorts of combinations of those methods. Those methods may be defined as those of (1) voluntary ofi'erings, "(2) tithes, (3) en- dowments, (4) State aid, and (5) contracts. No country shows any one method prevailing to the exclusion of the others. Without doubt the earliest method of supporting a priesthood w'as by means of voluntary contributions. Tithes (q.v.) were commanded of Hebrews by revelation, and the system continued in Christian times. State aid may be con- sidered as of two kinds, the direct and the indirect, the latter to be considered first, as of the greater antiquity. When the political power under the Emperor Constantine came openly to the support of the Christian religion one of the first results of the friendly cooperation of the State was the legal capacity given to the churches in a corporate character to receive gifts inter vivos and by bequest, and to hold the same in perpetuity. This was an indirect method of State aid. Direct State support of the clergy is a comparatively modern in- stitution, which has developed since the lefor- mation era. It is now in operation in those European States of Roman Catholic allegiance which have entered into a treaty, technically known as a concordat, with the See of Rome for the support of the clergy. Such treaties came about as a return for the sequestration of the older ecclesiastical endowments in land. France, Spain, Portugal, and Austria give such direct support to the Roman Catholic clergy. The Prot- estant German and Scandinavian .States furnish a like support to the Protestant ministry. Rus- sia supports the hierarchy of the orthodox Church. A similar system of direct State sup- port prevails in the Central and South American States for the Roman Catholic clergy, and inider Spanish rule prevailed also in Cuba, Porto Rico, and the Philippines. The fifth method, that of contracts, is essentially American. It consists first of a contract between a local church, (in the Protestant denominations) and its minister for the payment of a definite sum for his support, and then a series of contracts between the church as a corporation and the attendants at public worship for the rental of pews and sittings. As a reaction from this method has developed what is known as the 'free church' movemerft, which seeks to abolish pew rentals and to sub- stitute systems of voluntary contributions. STIPPLE (from Dutch stippeln, to speckle, from slippen, to dot, prick, from siip. point, dot), or Stippling. In engraving, a process of produc- ing light and shade, and sometimes color, by means of points, dots, or small, short marks, hardly to be considered lines. In water-color work the dots of color inevitably run together, so that the process is somewhat like cross-hatch- ing in ordinary drawing. This is a process used by artists who are in search of very minute de- tail. See Line Engraving and Etching. STIPULATION (Lat. stipiilatio, bargain, stipitkire, to bargain, covenant). In law, a ma- terial clause or provision in a contract. The term is also sometimes applied to a written agree- ment between attorneys as to some matter of practice. In admiralty practice it is a bond or undertaking filed with the court by one of the parties to an action or proceeding. A libellant must file a .stipulation for costs. When a vessel is attached under a libel, the owner must file a 'stipulation for value" to obtain her release. See Bond. STIRLING, ster'llng. A river-port and capi- tal of Stirlingshire, Scotland, on the Fortli, 35 miles northwest of Edinburgli (Map: Scot- land. D 3). The ricli agricultural, mining, and manufacturing districts around it are the main basis of its prosperity. Situated at the head of navigation of the Forth. Stirling, strongly forti- fied by nature, was the key to the Highlands. It owes its origin to the strong natural fortress of Castle Hill, crowned by the venerable castle, which commands an extensive view of great beauty. From this hill, covering the declivity which slopes north and eastward to the ])lain, extends the oldest part of the town. Stirling P.ridj;c. which existed in 1.571, was until recent years the only one by which wheeled carriages could cross the Forth. Noteworthy are the East
