water; though slow of growth, they attain a large size under favorable circumstances, having been caught in England weighing 27 lbs. The town of Ely is said to have been so named from the rents having been formerly paid in eels, the lords of the manor being annually entitled to more than 100,000; Elmore, on the Severn, was so called from the immense number of these fish there taken.-The conger eels differ from the genus anguilla in having the dorsal fin begin nearer the head, at or even in front of the pectorals, and in having the upper jaw the longer; the anterior nostrils open by short tubes close to the end of the snout, and the posterior in front of the large eyes; the teeth of the palate and vomer are slender, with chisel-shaped crowns, and closely arranged; the skin is naked and scaleless, and the tail elongated and pointed; in other respects they resemble the common eel. The American conger (conger occidentalis, De Kay) is olive-brown above and whitish below; the dorsal and anal fins are transparent with a dark border; the lateral line is distinct, with a series of white dots; it grows to a large size, from 3 to 5 feet in length, and either this or another species is found from the gulf of St. Lawrence southward as far as the coast of New Jersey. The European conger (C. vulgaris, Cuv.) is common on the coast of Cornwall, on the eastern rocky shores, and in banks off the coast of France; it is caught on lines, the best bait being the sand launce (ammodytes) or the pilchard, and the fishing is performed at night; great numbers are taken, and meet with a ready sale at a low price to the poorer classes, but it is not held in much estimation. Congers are very voracious, and acquire a large size; specimens have been caught weighing 130 lbs., more than 10 feet long, and 18 inches in circumference; they are very strong, bite sharply, and have great tenacity of life. As many as 156 vertebræ have been found in the conger, about 40 more than are found in the cel; they spawn in December and January. Sir John Richardson alludes to 9 species.-The eel of the Mediterranean, so famous in the days of ancient Rome, belongs to the genus murana, characterized by the absence of pectorals, smooth and scaleless skin, small lateral branchial orifice on each side, and the united dorsal and anal fins, low and fleshy, hardly distinguishable beyond the margin of the body; the teeth are arranged in a single row around the edge of the nasal bone, with a few on the longitudinal median line. More than 20 species are described, attaining the size of 4 or 5 feet; one (M. moringa, Cuv.) was found by Catesby at the Bahama islands. The classic species of the Mediterranean (M. Helena, Linn.), the Roman murana, grows to the length of 4 or 5 feet; the color is a purplish brown, marked with sub-angular yellow markings, and spotted with beautiful shades of yellow, purple, golden yellow, and white; the anterior nostrils open near the end of the snout, the posterior just above the eyes; the cheeks are rather tumid from muscular development.

It has been caught on the English coast, but it abounds in the Mediterranean; great numbers were consumed by the ancient Romans, who kept them in ponds, and even placed them alive on the table in crystal vessels that the guests might admire their beautiful colors before they were cooked. Cæsar is said to have distributed 6,000 of these fishes among his friends on the celebration of one of his triumphs. They are very voracious and fierce, and are said sometimes to have been fed on the flesh of slaves who had offended their Roman masters. They are fished for with strong lines, and their bite is much dreaded by the fishermen; they are very tenacious of life. The flesh is white, delicate, and much esteemed. There are many species, exclusively marine.-The sand eel (ammodytes Americanus, De Kay) has an elongated, slightly compressed body, large gill-openings, a dorsal fin extending nearly the whole length of the back, and an anal fin of considerable size, both separated from the caudal; the lower jaw the longest; the color is yellowish or bluish brown above, mixed with silvery and light green; the sides and abdomen are silvery; the length is from 6 to 12 inches. This species is found from the coast of Labrador to that of New York; in the provinces it is largely used as bait for cod; it is very common in Long Island sound from May to November, constituting in its season the principal food of the bluefish and bass; it is also eaten by eels, and other fish; the cephalopod cuttle fish preys upon it extensively; like the tropical flying fish, it is pursued by fishes in the water, and by gulls and terns in the air. The names of sand launce and ammodytes are given to it from its habit of darting out of and into the sand, head foremost and instantly, by means of its projecting lower jaw. Its food is principally insects. On the coast of England it is esteemed as food, and is raked out of the sand at low tide in great numbers; it is also caught in seines. Two species are described.-ELECTRICAL EEL (gymnotus electricus, Linn.). Though apodal and eel-like in general appearance, this fish differs from the eels in the completeness of the jaws, the presence of ribs, and the jointed fin rays; it has neither ventral nor dorsal fin; the anal reaches to the point of the tail, and like the pectorals is enveloped in a thick skin which conceals the rays; the skin is soft and scaleless; the head is oval and flat, the mouth furnished with broad lips, and opening not quite as far as under the eyes; the anterior nostrils are small tubes in a slight depression on the side of the lips, the posterior are behind and above them; lateral fine distinct; about 50 pointed teeth on the upper jaw, and 60 on the lower, a second row of about 6 behind the middle of the upper ones, and 4 small teeth in 2 rows along the symphysis; the vent opens before the branchial orifices, and behind it is a small opening and a slender papilla. The only species known inhabits the rivers of the northern parts of South America; it attains a length of 5 or 6 feet, and is of a brown and yellowish color. The elec

EFFENDI (Romaic, arevrns, lord), in Turkey, the title given to civil officers, learned men, and all those who fulfil any important function. EFFERVESCENCE, the action which takes place, resembling boiling, when a gas is copiously evolved in the breaking up of one chemical compound and the formation of another, as when the acid and alkaline powders of effervescing draughts are dissolved or mixed, or when an acid is dropped upon carbonate of lime. In both instances carbonic acid gas escapes, as it is said, with effervescence.

EFFERVESCING POWDERS, preparations of acid and alkaline powders, put up in differently colored papers in order to distinguish them, to be used as a medicine by mixing the contents of two different papers after these have been dissolved, and drinking while the chemical reaction is taking place with effervescence. The common soda and Seidlitz powders form effervescing draughts, the acid in one of the papers combining with the alkali of the carbonate in the other, and expelling the carbonic acid. This gas, continuing to be evolved in the stomach, acts as a refrigerant and diaphoretic, while the alkaline salt is slightly laxative. The drink is especially adapted to febrile complaints from its cooling and refreshing qualities. The common soda powders consist of 25 grains of tartaric acid in one paper, and 30 grains of bicarbonate of soda in the other. An equivalent proportion of bicarbonate of potash is sometimes substituted for the soda. The following are the proportions given in the "American Dispensatory" tartaric acid 1 oz., bicarbonate of soda 1 oz. and 54 grains, or bicarbonate of potassa 1 oz. and 160 grains. The acid and either bicarbonate, being separately reduced to fine powder, are divided each into 16 portions. Citric acid is sometimes employed instead of the tartaric acid, in the proportion of 9 drachms to 11 of the soda salt, or 13 of the potash. Seidlitz powders are a mixture of 2 drachms of Rochelle salts (tartrate of potash and soda) and 2 scruples of bicarbonate of soda in one paper, and 35 grains of tartaric acid in the other. The tartaric acid being in excess renders the medicine more pleasant to take, without interfering with its aperient quality.

EFFIGY, HANGING IN, a mode of execution recognized in the ancient legislation of Franch, in the case of a criminal condemned to death, but who had escaped from custody. In de fault of the person, a likeness of the convict was conveyed to prison after judgment had been pronounced; whence, at the appointed time, it was taken by the executioner, and conveyed with all the usual solemn and ignominious ceremonies to the public scaffold, and there fastened by the neck to the gallows. Thus, in the reign of Louis the Fat, in the 12th century, Thomas de Marle was hanged in effigy for high treason; and under Louis XIV., in 1662, Alexandre de Noirmoutiers was punished in the same manner for the part which he took in a famous duel. The legislation of the first French republic modified this old custom, suppressing the imitation

of an execution, and reducing the ceremony to merely posting the name of the condemned person, together with the judgment against him, upon a public place. The execution by effigy has existed down to the latest date in many other countries, being exercised both by gov ernments and, without legal sanction, by the people. In England it is a popular method of venting spite against unpopular men. Thus in London it was long a custom to hang Guy Fawkes in effigy annually, and frequently the most prominent men of England incur this penalty for some political or ecclesiastical offence.

EFFINGHAM. I. An E. co. of Ga., bounded W. by the Ogeechee river, and separated from South Carolina on the E. by the Savannah; area, 480 sq. m.; pop. in 1852, 3,671, of whom 1,675 were slaves. It has a generally level surface, with a sandy unproductive soil, but there are extensive pine and cypress woods, and lumber is an important article of export. In 1850 the productions were 87,794 bushels of Indian corn, 37,252 of sweet potatoes, and 257,901 lbs. of rice. There were 21 churches, and 208 pupils attending public schools. The county was named in honor of Lord Effingham, a British officer who resigned his commission rather than take arms against the American colonies. Capital, Springfield. Value of real estate in 1856, $526,703. II. A central co. of Ill., drained by Little Wabash river, an excellent mill stream; area, about 500 sq. m.; pop. in 1855, 6,226. It has a level surface, occupied by woodlands and fertile prairies in almost equal proportions. Copper, lead, and iron are found here, and the chief agricultural productions are grain and wool. In 1850 the county yielded 227,025 bushels of Indian corn, 5,169 of wheat, 36,028 of oats, 7,105 lbs. of wool, 41,671 of butter, and 341 tons of hay. There were 5 churches, and 526 pupils attending public schools. Capital, Ewington.

EFFLORESCENCE (Lat. effloresco, to flower), the crumbling to powder of some saline bodies as they part with the water that enters into their composition. This is observed in sulphate of soda or Glauber's salts, and in the carbonate also, and is the opposite of deliquescence, in which moisture is abstracted by the salt from the air. The term is also applied to the shooting out of minute spicular crystals, called sometimes a saline vegetation, such as those of saltpetre seen upon the walls of cellars.

EFT, a name given to several species of newts, especially to the common smooth newt (lissotriton punctatus, Daud.). The generic characters of the tritons, or aquatic salamanders, will be given under NEWT, which the eft resembles in the slightly free tongue, double longitudinal series of palatal teeth, and nailless toes, 4

before and 5 behind; the skin, however, is smooth, and the dorsal and caudal crests are continuous; there are 2 patches of glandular pores on the head, and none on the back or sides. The newts belong to the genus molge of Merrem, and triton of Laurenti. Bell separated