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 oak and cedar forests not far off. The climate, however, is severe, as compared with that of corresponding latitudes in Europe. Though standing in almost the same parallel as Marseilles, Vladivostok has an average annual temperature of only 40° F., and, although the gulf itself never freezes, a thin ice-crust forms along the shores in December and remains until April. The town has several handsome buildings, a monument to Admiral Nevelskiy (1897), a cathedral, a museum, an observatory, an Oriental institute (opened in 1890), professional schools, a naval hospital, mechanical and naval works, steam saw-mills and flour-mills. The drawback of Vladivostok is that it has not, and cannot have, a well-developed hinterland, despite the great efforts which have been made by the Russian government to supply the Usuri region (to the north of Vladivostok) with Russian settlers. The town of Vladivostok was founded in 1860–1861, and from 1865 to 1900 was a free port.

 VODENA (Turk, and Bulg. Voden, anc. , q.v.), a city of European Turkey, in the vilayet of Salonica, western Macedonia; at the source of the small river Bistritza, which flows east and south into Lake Yenije, and on the railway from Salonica to Monastir. Pop. (1905) about 25,000, consisting of Turks, Slavs and Greeks. The town stands on a rocky height commanding views of Pindus and Olympus; the approaching slopes are richly wooded, and traversed by picturesque waterfalls, from which the name of Vodena (Slav. voda, water) is probably derived. Vodena is the see of a Greek archbishop, and possesses numerous churches and mosques, besides unimportant remains of Roman and Byzantine buildings. It has manufactures of cotton, tobacco and leather, and a large trade in wine, silk cocoons and red pepper.

 VODEYSHANKAR, GOWRISHANKAR (1805–1892), native minister of the state of Bhaunagar in Kathiawar, Bombay, was born on the 21st of August 1805, of a family of Nagar Brahmins. He rose from being a revenue officer to be state minister in 1847. His success in this capacity was such that on the death of the reigning chief, in 1870, he was appointed joint administrator in concert with a British official. The experiment was in every respect successful. Under the simple and economical forms used in native states, improvements suggested by British experience were introduced. The land revenue was based on a cash system, the fiscal and customs systems were remodelled and tree planting was encouraged. The town of Bhaunagar received the great boon of the Gowrishankar Waterworks, on which six lakhs of rupees were spent. The Bhaunagar state also warmly pressed for railway communication with the continent of India, and thus began a movement which has spread a network of railway lines over the peninsula of Kathiawar. The British government rewarded these many services of Gowrishankar with the distinction of C.S.I. in 1877; He helped to establish the Rajkumar College at Rajkot, for the education of native princes, and also the Rajasthanik Court, which, after settling innumerable disputes between the land-owning classes and the chiefs, has since been abolished. In 1879 Gowrishankar resigned office, and devoted himself to the study of the higher literature of that Vedanta philosophy which through his whole life had been to him a solace and a guide. In 1884 he wrote a work called Svarupanusandhan, on the union of the soul with Deity, which led to a letter of warm congratulation from Max Müller, who also published a short biography of him. In 1887 he put on the robe of the Sanyasi or ascetic, the fourth stage, according to the Hindu Shastras, in the life of the twice-born man, and in this manner passed the remainder of his life, giving above ten hours each day to Vedantic studies and holy contemplation. He died, revered by all classes, in December 1892.

See Javerital U. Yajnik, Gowrishankar Udayashankar (Bombay, 1889).

 VODKA, or, the Russian national spirituous beverage. Originally vodka was made almost entirely from rye, barley malt to the extent of 15 to 20% being used to effect saccharification (see ), but at the present day potatoes and maize are the staple raw materials from which this spirit is manufactured, and, as a rule, green rye malt is now used instead of barley. The distillation is conducted by means of live steam in a double still of the “patent” type. Vodka as manufactured contains from 90 to 96% of alcohol, but it is diluted, previous to retailing, to a strength of 60 to 40%. It is illegal to sell it with less than 40% of alcohol.

 VOETIUS, GYSBERTUS (1588–1676), Dutch theologian, was born at Heusden, Holland. He studied at Leiden, and in 1611 became pastor of Blymen, whence in 1617 he returned to Heusden. In 1619 he played an influential part in the Synod of Dort, and in 1634 was made professor of theology and Oriental science at Utrecht. Three years later he became pastor of the Utrecht congregation. He was an advocate of the extremest form of Calvinism against the Arminians; but his personal influence was good, and the city of Utrecht perpetuated his memory by giving his name to the street in which he had lived.

 VOGEL, EDUARD (1820-1856), German traveller in Central Africa, was born at Krefeld on the 7th of March 1829. He studied mathematics and astronomy at Leipzig and Berlin, and in 1851 engaged in astronomical work in London. In 1853 he was chosen by the British government to take supplies to Heinrich Barth, then in the western Sudan; and Vogel met Barth at Kuka in Bornu (1854). During 1854 and 1855 he explored the countries round Lake Chad and the upper course of the Benue. On the 1st of December 1855 he left Kuka for the Nile Valley, and nothing further was heard of him. Several search expeditions were organized to ascertain his fate and to recover his papers; it was not until 1873 that Gustav Nachtigal on reaching Wadai learnt that Vogel had been murdered in that country in February 1856.

 VOGEL, SIR JULIUS (1835–1899), British colonial statesman, son of Albert Leopold Vogel, was born in London on the 24th of February 1835, was educated at University College school, London, and emigrated to Victoria during the exciting years which followed the discovery of goldfields there. He became editor of a newspaper at Maryborough, stood for the Legislative Assembly and was defeated, and in 1861 left Victoria, carried in the mining rush to Otago, New Zealand, where much gold had just been found. Settling in Dunedin, he bought a half-share in the Otago Daily Times, and was soon its editor and a member of the Otago Provincial Council. He made his paper the most influential in the colony, and was returned to the House of Representatives. In 1866 he was head of the Otago Provincial Executive; by 1869 he had made his mark in the New Zealand parliament, and was treasurer in the ministry of Sir William Fox. Without delay he brought forward a scheme for the construction of trunk railways and other public works, the purchase of land from the Maori tribes, and the introduction of immigrants, all to be done with money borrowed in London. At that time New Zealand hardly contained a quarter of a million of white settlers, was exhausted by the ten years' struggle with the Maori, not then ended, and was depressed by the low price of her staple product, wool, and the abatement of a gold-fever. Yet Vogel’s sanguine, energetic appeals and remarkable gift of persuasion induced the House of Assembly to adopt a modified version of his scheme. For the next six years he was the most powerful man in the colony. Millions were borrowed, railways were pushed on, immigrants—state and voluntary—streamed in. Lasting peace was made with the Maori, a telegraph line laid to Australia, a steam mail service secured across the Pacific to San Francisco; a government life insurance office, and a public trust office, were established, both of which proved useful and were well-managed. During a visit to London on the colony's financial business, Vogel succeeded in arranging for the inscription of colonial loans at the Bank of England, an arrangement afterwards confirmed by the imperial parliament. In 1875 he was knighted. 