Divorce is a separation, by law, of husband and wife, and is either a divorce a vinculo matrimonii, that is, a complete dissolution of the marriage bonds, or a divorce a mensa et thoro (from bed and board), whereby the parties are legally separated, but not unmarried.
The causes admitted by different codes of laws as grounds for the modification or entire dissolution of the marriage contract, as well as the description of tribunal which has jurisdiction of the proceedings, and the form of the proceedings, are various.
Divorce was permitted by the law of Moses, but forbidden in the New Testament, except for unchastity. The early laws of Rome permitted the husband to divorce his wife for adultery and many other alleged offences. The facility of divorce continued, without restriction, under the Roman emperors, but as the modern nations of Europe emerged from the ruins of the Roman Empire, they adopted the doctrine of the New Testament. Marriage, under the Roman Church, instead of a civil contract, came to be considered a sacrament of the church, which it was unlawful to dissolve. The ecclesiastical courts could indeed annul a marriage, but only for a cause that existed at the time the marriage was contracted, such as prior contracts, impotency, etc. For any cause arising after marriage they could only pronounce a divorce a mensa et thoro, which did not leave either party free to marry again, except by papal dispensation.
A divorce a vinculo matrimonii, for any cause arising subsequent to marriage, could formerly be obtained in England only by an act of parliament, and the ecclesiastical courts must have previously pronounced a divorce a mensa et thoro. The act passed in 1857, however, established a new court for trying divorce causes, called the Court for Divorce and Matrimonial Causes, subsequently absorbed into the Probate, Divorce, and Admiralty Division of the High Court of Justice.
In Victorian England, the husband could obtain a divorce for simple adultery; but if the wife is the petitioner, she had to show that her husband had been guilty of certain kinds of adultery, or of adultery coupled with desertion or gross cruelty. Either party could marry again after divorce. A divorce could not be obtained if it appeared that the petitioner had been guilty of the same offence, or that there had been collusion between the parties to obtain a divorce, or if they had condoned the offence by living together as man and wife after discovery. The husband could claim damages from the adulterer, and the court could also order the adulterer to pay the costs of the proceedings, in whole or in part. The act also abolished divorces a mensa et thoro, substituting, however, judicial separations. Since the late 20th century, divorce in BritainEngland has become a simple affair with either party simply having to claim that the marriage has broken down irretrievably.
A decree for a divorce is always in the first instance a decree nisi. In Scotland, from the time of the Reformation, divorce might be obtained by either party on the ground of adultery, marriage being held to be only a civil contract, and as such under the jurisdiction of the civil courts. Condonation or collusion was sufficient to prevent a divorce from being obtained on the ground of adultery, but not recrimination, that is, a counter charge of adultery. Wilful desertion was also held a valid reason for divorce.
In France divorce was legalized in 1884, with conditions, after having been prohibited for many years. Research Divorce
Grafting is an operation by which a bud or scion of an individual plant is inserted upon another individual, so as to become organically united with the stock on which it has been placed. Grafting can only take place between plants which have a certain affinity, individuals of the same species, genus, or order. The graft does not become identified with the stock to which it is united, but retains its own peculiarities of variety or species. The parts between which grafting is effected must be actively vegetating.
The advantages derived from grafting are the preservation of remarkable varieties, which could not be reproduced from seed; the more rapid multiplication of particular species, and the anticipation of the period of fructification, which may thus be advanced by several years. The principal methods of grafting are 1. By approach This process is intended to unite at one or more points two plants growing from separate roots. Plates of bark of equal size are removed, the wounds are kept together and protected from air. Stems, branches, or roots may be united in this way. 2. By scions - Under this head there are a variety of methods, such as whip, splice, cleft, saddle, crown grafting, etc.
In whip-grafting ot tongue-grafting the stock is cut obliquely across and a slit or very narrow angular incision is made in its centre downwards across the cut surface, a similar deep incision is made in the scion upwards, at a corresponding angle, and, a projecting tongue left, which being inserted in the incision in the stock, they are fastened closely together.
Splice-grafting is performed by cutting the ends of the scion and stock completely across in an oblique direction, in such a way that the sections are of the same shape, then laying the oblique surfaces together so that the one exactly fits the other, and securing them by tying or otherwise.
In cleft-grafting, the stock is cleft down, and the graft, cut in the shape of a wedge at its lower end, is inserted into the cleft; while, in saddle-grafting, the end of the stock is cut into the form of a wedge, and the base of the scion, slit up or cleft for the purpose, is affixed.
Crown-grafting or rind-grafting is performed by cutting the lower end of the scion in a sloping direction, while the head of the stock is cut over horizontally and a slit is made through the inner bark. A piece of wood, bone, ivory, or other such substance, resembling the thinned end of the scion, is inserted in the top of the slit between the alburnum and inner bark and pushed down in order to raise the bark, so that the thin end of the scion may be introduced without being bruised. The edges of the bark on each side are then brought close to the scion, and the whole is bound with matting and a lump of clay put round it.
3. By buds - This consists in transferring to another stock a plate of bark, to which one or more buds adhere. Bud-grafting is the most commonly practised, especially for multiplying fruit-trees and roses, owing to the facility with which it may be performed. Research Grafting
University is the name given to a national institution for advanced teaching and study, recognized for that purpose by a charter from the state. A university is empowered by its charter to confer degrees upon its students, after they have conformed to the regulations laid down in the statutes. These regulations determine the conditions of length of residence, attendance on lectures, and the requisite examinations to be passed, precedent to the conferment of degrees.
Most universities are teaching universities, i.e. they contain a staff of teachers, styled professors, lecturers or readers, appointed each for the teaching of a special subject, to give instruction, and to direct the studies of students. Such students as are admitted to the university have had to qualify by passing an entrance examination, and are then said to be matriculated. From the time of matriculation to that of taking the degree, the student is called an undergraduate, and after conferment of the degree, a graduate. Degrees are of different grades, usually bachelor, master, and doctor. They can be taken in various groups of subjects, known as faculties. In the modern university examinations complete the courses of study followed under the instruction and direction of professors.
Historically, it is to be noted that the original term for a university was studium generate, which means a place in which were established facilities for teaching and learning, open to all comers, and not restricted to a special community of a town, or of a monastery. Thus, to the medieval universities of Italy, and to that of Paris, students went from various European countries, and found it convenient to group themselves into nations, according to the country or province from which they came. Thus, a studium generale contained many associations or groups, not altogether without analogy to trade and craft guilds.
It was in the latter part of the 14th century that universitas came to be used in the sense of a university. In other words, the first use of universitas was for voluntary groups, and only developed gradually into the idea of the whole institution, as recognized by the emperor or the pope, when its position was guaranteed by an imperial charter or papal bull. This seal of authority not only gave unity to the community of teachers and scholars as a whole, but also became a symbol of the unity of the whole learned world, because universities thus chartered were alone enabled to confer on their graduates degrees (certifying studies and training in teaching) which carried with them the right of teaching not only in their own university or their own country, but also in any studium generate.
This right was particularly valuable in the spread of knowledge, because medieval teachers and scholars communicated everywhere, both orally and by writing, through the medium of the Latin language and not through the vernacular. They naturally valued highly the facility of moving about from university to university at home and abroad. Roughly speaking, this use of Latin, as the language of teaching and learning, broke up with the decline of the Renaissance. We may date the beginning of the downfall of the Latin language for England with the Restoration of 1660. Not only has Latin fallen entirely out of use as a spoken language, but in some modern universities movements have arisen to minimise the study of ancient languages for degrees, if not to remove them as necessary subjects for all degrees. The modern civic universities are inclined to lay great stress on the subjects underlying the special industries of their localities. Hence, in some ways and to some extent there has been a reversal of the old idea that the university developed in the student a power of entering into the knowledge and learning common to all the universities.
On the other hand the since the Great War universities have laid more and more stress on the 'university spirit'. This means a constant watchfulness to aid and promote the advancement of learning and discovery of knowledge, to provide the stimulus of intellectual inquiry in every subject, and to raise the tone and level in all professional training. Particularly, it aims at encouraging in teachers and in taught a right and effective attitude towards methods of research. Research University
Apple (Pyrus Malus), is the fruit of a well-known tree of the natural order Rosaceae, or the tree itself. The apple belongs to the temperate regions of the globe, over which it is almost universally spread and cultivated. The tree attains a moderate height, with spreading branches; the leaf is ovate; and the flowers are produced from the wood of the former year, but more generally from very short shoots or spurs from wood of two years' growth. The original of all the varieties of the cultivated apple is the wild crab, which has a small and extremely sour fruit, and is a native of most of the countries of Europe. The apple was probably introduced into Britain by the Romans, and there are now six thousand recorded varieties of English apple, divided into three categories: eating, cooking and cider.
To the facility of multiplying varieties by grafting is to be ascribed the amazing extension of the sorts of apples. Many of the more marked varieties are known by general names, as pippins, codlins, rennets, etc. Apples for the table are characterized by a firm juicy pulp, a sweetish acid flavour, regular form, and beautiful colouring; those for cooking by the property of forming by the aid of heat into a pulpy mass of equal consistency, as also by their large size and keeping properties; apples for cider must have a considerable degree of astringency, with richness of juice. The propagation of apple-trees is accomplished by seeds, cuttings, suckers, layers, budding, or grafting, the last being almost the universal practice. The tree thrives best in a rich deep loam or marshy clay, but will thrive in any soil provided it is not too wet or too dry. The wood of the apple-tree or the common crab is hard, close-grained, and often richly coloured, and is suitable for turning and cabinet work. The fermented juice (verjuice) of the crab is employed in cookery and medicine. Apples are largely imported into Great Britain from the Continent and the United States and Canada. The designation apple, with various modifying words, is applied to a number of fruits having nothing in common with the apple proper, as alligator-apple, love-apple, etc Research Apple
A hybrid is the product of a femal animal or plant which has been impregnated by a male of a different but nearly allied species or genus. Uncertainty prevails respecting the productive crossing of species, but it seems to be established that while the crossing of different genera may result in offspring, that of different orders will not.
Hybrids are obtained amongst fishes from different Species of carp; amongst birds, from the goldfinch and canary, the swan and the goose, etc; amongst mammals, from the horse and the zebra, the horse and the ass, the produce of the last two being the mule proper; from the lion and tiger, the dog and wolf, the dog and fox, the goat and ibex.
Instances of hybrids between animals of different genera have been furnished by the union of the goat and the antelope, and of the stag and the cow. It used formerly to be considered that the propagative power of hybrids was either absolutely null, or that they propagated only with an individual of the pure breed; but the experiments of Charles Darwin and other 10th century researches showed that although infertility to some degree generally attends sexual intercourse between different species, yet in such intercourse every degree of difference from absolute sterility up to complete fertility is found. The results hitherto obtained may be summarized as follows: The crossing of species of different families is in almost every case infertile; allied species are capable of producing offspring, and this capability is in indefinite ratio to the degree of their likeness; hybrids are frequently fertile with their parents, but more rarely among themselves; there is no fixed relation between the degree of fertility manifested by the parent species when crossed and that which is manifested by their hybrid progeny.
In many cases two pure species can be crossed with unusual facility, while the resulting hybrids are remarkably sterile; and, on the other hand, there are species which can only be crossed with extreme difficulty, though the hybrids when produced are very fertile. Research Hybrid
Albert Durer was a German painter, designer, sculptor, and engraver on wood and metal. He was born in 1471 at Nurnberg and died in 1528. His father was a skilful goldsmith of Hungary. In 1486 he left his father's trade and became an apprentice of Michael Wohlgemuth, then the best painter in Nurnberg. Having finished his studies he entered upon his 'wanderjahre,' the usual course of travels of a German youth. On his return to Nurnberg he married the daughter of Hans Frey, a mechanic, who has been falsely accused for centuries of embittering his life and bringing him to his grave. In 1505 he went to Venice to improve himself in his art.
His abilities excited envy and admiration. He painted the Martyrdom of Bartholomew for St. Mark's church, which painting was purchased by the Emperor Rudolph and removed to Prague. He also travelled to Bologna, to improve bisknowledge of perspective. On his return to Nurnberg his fame spread far and wide. Maximilian I appointed him his court-painter, and Charles V confirmed him in this office.
All the artists and learned men of his time honoured and loved him, and for many years he was one of the chief burghers of his native town. Profound application and great facility in the mechanical part of his art were the characteristics of Albert Durer, and enabled him to exert a great influence on German art. He was the first in Germany who taught the rules of perspective, and of the proportions of the human figure. He not only made use of the burin, like his predecessors, but was also among the first to practice etching and invented the method of printing woodcuts with two colours.
Among his masterpieces in painting are a Crucifixion, Adam and Eve, an Adoration of the Magi, and portraits of Raphael, Erasmus, and Melanchthon, who were his friends. Among his best engravings on copper are his Fortune, Melancholy, Adam and Eve in Paradise, St. Hubert, St. Jerome, and the Smaller Passion (so called), in sixteen plates. Among his best engravings on wood are the Greater Passion (so called), in thirteen plates; the Smaller Passion, with the frontispiece, thirty-seven pieces; the Revelation of St. John, with the frontispiece, fifteen plates; the Life of Mary, two prints, with the frontispiece. Albert Durer has also much merit as a writer, and published works on Human Proportion, Fortification, and the Use of the Compass and Square. Research Albert Durer
The Czechs are the most westerly branch of the Slavic peoples. About 480 they migrated to Bohemia and Moravia. The origin of the name is unknown. Czechs speak a Slavonic dialect of great antiquity and of high scientific cultivation. The Czech language is distinguished as highly inflectional, with great facility for forming derivatives, frequentatives, inceptives, and diminutives of all kinds. Like the Greek it has a dual number, and its manifold declensions, tenses, and participial formations, with their subtle shades of distinction, give the language a complex grammatical structure. The alphabet consists of forty-two letters, expressing a great variety of sounds. In musical value the Czech comes next to Italian. Research Czechs
Reinhart Dozy was a Dutch orientalist and historian. He was born in 1820 and died in 1883. He was thoroughly versed in most of the Semitic tongues, and spoke and wrote almost all the European languages with facility. Among his works (sometimes in Dutch, sometimes in French) are Histoire des Musulmans d'Espagne de 711-1110; Geographic d'Edrisi; De Israeliten te Mekka; Het Islamisme; Supplements aux Dictionnaires Arabes. Research Reinhart Dozy
Sir Richard Francis Burton was an English explorer and linguist. He was born in 1821 and died in 1890. He joined the Indian army in 1842, and showed a remarkable facility in acquiring the languages and manners of the natives. In 1853 he went to Arabia, and visited Mecca and Medina disguised as a Muslimpilgrim a sufficiently dangerous journey. After serving in the Crimean War he made a journey to East Africa along with CaptainSpeke, which led to the discovery of the great lakeTanganyika. He was British consul at Fernando Po, at Santos in Brazil, and from 1872 at Trieste. He visited many countries and published many works, amongst which were Sindh and the Races that inhabit India; Personal Narrative of a Pilgrimage to ElMedinah and Mecca; The Lake Regions of Central Africa; The City of the Saints and across the Rocky Mountains to California; The Nile Basin; The Highlands of Brazil; Ultima Thule, or a Summer in Iceland; The Gold Mines of Midian; The Book of the Sword; translations of Camoens' Lusiads and of the Arabian Nights; etc. Research Richard Francis Burton
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Matt and Leela Probert
Abbreviations
Research Ambidextrous
