Page:Catholic Encyclopedia, volume 15.djvu/723

 WIRT

661

WISCONSIN

catalogue of thr archbishops of Canterbury down to Richard (d. llS4t, which is most probably by NiRcl. Wright also credits him (I, 231) with the jiocui begin- ning "Si mihi credideris, liiiguam cohibebis, et aukc"; but this is really John of .Salisbury's •'Enthcticus ad Polycraticum".

Herbert in Diet. Xat. Biog., s. v. Nigel, called Wireker; Ward, Catalogue of Romances, II, 691-5; Bale. Index Britamiiw Scriptorum, ed. Poole and Bateson, 310-12; Wright, op. cit., and Biog. Brit. Lit., Anglo-Norman period, 351-58.

J. A. Herbert.

Wirt, WiGAND, theologian, h. at Frankfort about 1460: d. at Steyer, 30 June, l.'jlO. He entered the Dominican Order at Frankfort, where he also, after his religious profession, made his ecclesiastical studies, obtaining on their completion the lectoratein theology'. His hterary activity began in 1494 with the publica- tion of a polemical work in which he attacked the doctrine of the Immaculate Conception incidentally treated by John Trithcmius in his "De laudibus S. Anna>". The wide circulation of the work called forth much opposition from those in sympathy with the views of Trithemius, and while on 12 Sept., 149.5, a reconciliation was effected between the contending authors, the announcement of a disputation on that subject for 18 June, 1,501, by the Ob.servantine John Spengler, was the occasion of renewing the controversy. Wirt, however, found a new opponent in FatherConrad Hensel, who, flinging his invcftives against the entire order, forced the latter to turn with their complaint to the Bishop of Strasburg. The process instituted to settle the affair began on 24 Sept., 1501, and con- cluded in 1503 in favour of Hen.sel. But the matter had not yet come to an end. During the process Wirt published the "Defensio Bulla" Sixitina? sive Extrav- agantis gi-ave nimis". In 14S3 Sixlus IV forbade the opponents to charge each other with heresy. The prohibition was renewed by Alexander VI on 20 Feb., 1.503. But the Bull and its confirmation were now interpreted by the opponents of the Dominicans in the sense that the pope forbade the deni.al of the Immaculate Conception, an interpretation which renewed the controversy in all its bitterness. In reply to the "Concordia curat orum ct fratrum mendi- cantium" of Wigand Trebellius, Wirt published his "Dialogus apologcticus". His severe attack on the Observantines and their leader, John Spengler, prompted the .\rchbishop of Mainz in 1.506 to forbid the reading of the work. In the meantime ^^'irt was elected prior in Stuttgart, and in this capacity posted on the doors of the convent church a document in which he accused his opponents as promoters of her- esy. The matter was then taken to Rome where, in 1512, it was decided again.st Wirt. At his death he wa.s prior of the convent at Stever.

HcRTKR, Xomenclalor, II, 1113-14:" LArcHEHT in Hist. Jahr- buch, XVIII (1897). 759-92; Paltlcs in Hist. Jahrbuch (1898), 101-8.

Joseph Schroeder.

Wisconsin, known as the "Badger St ate", admit ted to the T'nion on 29 May, 1848. the seventeenth state admitted, after the original thirteen. It is bounded on the east by Lake Michigan, on the north by the upper Peninsula of the State of Michigan and by Lake Superior, on the west by Minnesota and Iowa, divided m great part by the Mississippi and St. Croix Rivers, and on the south by Illinois. It lies between 42° 30' and 47° 3' N. lat.,"and between 86° 49' and 92° .54' W. long. Its greatest length from north to south is about 300 miles, and its greatest breadth from east to west about 250 miles.

Physical Fe.ittjres. — Its surface is rolling in character, and it forms, with the upper Peninsula of Michigan, a sort of plateau between the lakes and rivers which bound it on the east, north, and west. Tlie levels range from about 600 feet to nearly 2000 feet above the .sea, and the natural grade divides the state into two great drainage ba.sins. The state,

including the Apostle Islands in Lake Superior, Washington Island and a number of smaller islands at the entrance (o Green Bay, has a total area of 56,066 square miles, of which 810 are water surface. Its long boundary upon Lake Michigan and the indentation formed by Green Bay give it many advantages in respect to the marine traffic, which is growing to such enormous proportions upon the Great Lakes; and it jjossesses much water power, capable of extended development. Lakes of great natural beauty are numerous through- out the state. The population in 1890 was 1,686,880, ex- clusive of 6450 per- sons specially enumerated; in 19(X) it had grown to 2,069,042; and in 1910 it was 2,333,- 860 or 42.2 persons to the square mile. Thus, the increase of population from 1890 to 1900 was between 22 and 23 per cent., while the increase from 1900 to 1910 was between 12 and 13 per cent.

Resources. — Wisconsin ranks high in agricul- ture, hay and grain being the most important crops, and oats and Indian corn the largest cereal crops, together with a large production of barley, rye, buck- wheat, potatoes, and sugar beets. In the southern part of the state large cranberry marshes are to be found. There are extensive api)le orchards, and other orchards are being successfully developed. The dairy industry is very important, the production of milk, cheese, and butter being large and of great value. In 1910 there were in the state: 2,587,000 neat cattle (including 1,506,000 milch cows), 669,000 horses, 1,034,000 sheep, and 1,651,000 swine. Up to 1908 the state was the chief source of the white pine supply, and has always produced red pine, hemlock, and white spruce in large quantities. The forests are still considerable, in spite of heavy losses through forest fires. The state forest reserve, which is managed by the State Board of Forestry, exceeds 250,000 acres. As a great manufacturing state, the value of the output increa.sed from 89,293,068 in 1850 to $360,818,942 in 1900 and to $.590,306,000 in 1909. The most important articles are lumber, paper and wood pulp, cheese, butter, and condensed milk, steel products, leather, beer, flour, meat, agri- cultural implements, carriages and wagons, and clothing. Great quantities of iron ore, zinc, and lead are mined; granite, limestone, and sandstone are quarried, and cream-coloured brick is manu- factured extensively from deposits of clay along the shores of Lake Michigan.

Communication. — "The railroad system is well developed and subject to regulation, as to prices and accommodations, by a state commis.sion. In 1909 the railroads of the state covered 7512 miles. The marine traffi<- is very large, and the natural harbours along Lake Michigan are gradually being developed. Grain, flour, lumber, and iron ore are extensively exported by water, and immen.se cargoes of coal are returned from the east. Milw.aukee is the only port of entrv in the state. Its imjwrts in 1909 were $4,493,635 and its exports $244,890.

History. Frcnrh Dnminion. — The first French form of the name Wixrnnnin was Misconsing, which gradually developed into Ouisconsin. When English became the language of the territor\', the spelling was changed and finally the present form was adopted