Page:Encyclopædia Britannica, Ninth Edition, v. 22.djvu/140

 124 S K I S K I are the parts which suffer. The eruption in mild cases has at first the appearance of small raised vesicles with clear fluid, but it may become pustular or eczematous, and extensive excoriations may result. The treatment consists in thorough cleansing of the skin and the inunction of some form of parasiticide, sulphur ointment being on the whole the best. The application should be discontinued after a few days, otherwise irritation may be produced by its use. (2) Vegetable parasites consist of fungous growths in the texture of the skin and hair, which are characterized microscopically by minute round bodies or spores often coalesced into clusters or bead-like arrangements, and jointed filaments or mycelium of elongate and branching form. They are readily detected by removing a hair, or scraping a portion of the affected skin, treating it with a strong alkaline solution, and submitting it to microscopic examination, by which the slight differences in form and arrangement of the varieties of the parasite can be easily made out. The common name " tinea " is applied to these parasitic affections. Tinea tonsurans, or ringworm (para- site Tricoj)hyton tonsurans), is a very common form of parasitic disease. It occurs as a result of contagion in the heads of children, and begins as circular patches with a scaly appearance and red border, which tend to spread. The hair at the part becomes thin and brittle and is easily removed. It is often extremely obstinate to treatment, and numerous agents have been proposed as specifics, not one of which, however, appears to possess infallible virtues. Among the best are oleate of mercury (5 to 10 per cent.) and other mercurial preparations, all which, how- ever, must be used with care, and carbolic or sulphurous acid with glycerin, iodine, cantharides, ike.; but isolation of the patient as far as possible, together with strict medical supervision, are essential for the effectual treat- ment of this disorder. Tinea sycosis, or ringworm affect- ing the beard, and tinea circinata, or ringworm affecting the body, require to be dealt with in a similar manner. Tinea favosa, orfavus (parasite Achorion Schonleinii}, is less frequently seen than the preceding. It occurs mostly on the scalp in unhealthy and neglected children, but it may affect the skin in any part of the body. It is characterized by round, yellow, sulphur-coloured, cup-shaped spots or crusts, which, when occurring extensively upon the scalp, have a peculiar mousy odour. It is very destructive of hair growth, and is most difficult to cure. The best treat- ment is removal of the hairs by epilation, and the employ- ment of some of the parasiticides already mentioned, together with attention to the healthy nutrition of the patient. Tinea versicolor, or pityriasis versicolor (parasite Microsporon furfur), is a brown-coloured rash of scaly char- acter occurring mostly in the form of spots or patches on the skin of the trunk, particularly on the front of the chest or between the shoulders, but sometimes also upon the arms and legs. It affects adults in whom the skin- function is not sufficiently attended to, or those who are in ill-health. The parasite affects the epidermic cells, and is readily made out by the microscope, thus enabling the disease to be distinguished from other skin disorders to which it often bears resemblance. It is best treated by the regular washing and brisk friction of the parts, and by the use of some of the applications above referred to. (j. o. A.) SKINNER, JOHN (1721-1807), author of Tullochgorum and The Ewie wH the Crookit Horn, was an Episcopalian minister in the parish of Longside, Aberdeenshire. He held this charge for more than sixty-four years. The son of an Aberdeenshire schoolmaster, born at Balfour in 1721, he had been intended for the Presbyterian ministry, but, after passing through Marischal College, Aberdeen, and teaching for a few years, he took orders in the Episcopal Church, and was appointed to the charge of Longside in 1742. There was a considerable remnant of Episcopacy in Aber- deenshire, but very soon after Skinner joined it it became, in consequence of the Jacobite rebellion in 1745, a much persecuted remnant. The young pastor's church was burnt ; his house was plundered ; for some years he had to minister to his congregation by stealth: and in 1753 information was lodged that he had broken the law by officiating to more than four persons besides his own family, and he suffered imprisonment for six months. After 1760 the penal laws were less strictly enforced, but throughout the century the lot of the Episcopalian ministers in Scotland was far from comfortable, and only the humblest provisions for church services were tolerated. Skinner's robust nature, however, made light of all priva- tions ; and his kindliness, humour, conviviality, ready wit, and generous force of character made him personally a favourite far and near outside the bounds of his own denomination. In 1789 he was presented with the freedom of the town in whose jail he had been a prisoner for conscience sake. It is by his songs, limited in quantity, but some of them of the very highest quality, that Skinner is generally known. An interesting corre- spondence took place between him and Burns, who con- sidered TvUochgorum " the best Scotch song Scotland ever saw," and addressed the reverend poet with touching respect. His best songs had stolen into print ; a col- lection was not published till 1809, under the title of Amusements of Leisure Hours. Such literally they seem to have been. Throughout his life he was a vigorous student, and in spite of his scanty resources established a more than local reputation for scholarship, while, according to his latest biographer, he had a paramount influence on the doctrinal views of his clerical brethren in the north. He published in 1788 an Ecclesiastical History of Scot- land, in the form of letters ; and other works in the same form, which best suited his easy unaffected strength, were collected and published by his son after his death (June 1807), having previously had a wide circulation in manu- script. His prose style has the happiness, ease, and lucid force of a natural master of language. The reasoning of his answer to Beattie's Essay on Truth is an evidence of his robust clearness of intellect. A minutely accurate biography of Skinner, in connexion with the history of Episcopacy in the north of Scotland, was published by the Rev. W. Walker in 1883. An edition of his songs and poems by Mr H. G. Reid, 1859, contains an interesting memoir. SKIPTON, an ancient market-town in the West Riding of Yorkshire, is situated on the river Aire, on the Leeds and Liverpool Canal, and on the Midland Railway, 9 miles north-west of Keighley and 15 south-east of Settle. It is substantially built of stone. The strong castle built by Robert de Romille in the time of the Conqueror was partly demolished in 1649, but was restored by the countess of Pembroke. Of the ancient building of De Romille all that now remains is the western doorway of the inner castle. In the castle grounds are the ruins of the ancient parish church of St John. The church of the Holy Trinity, in the Decorated Gothic, was also partly demolished during the Civil War, but was restored by the countess of Pembroke, and again underwent renovation in 1854. The free grammar school was founded in 1548 by William Ermysted, a canon of St Paul's, London. The town has a considerable general trade. The population of the urban sanitary district (area 4245 acres) in 1871 was 6078 and in 1881 it was 9091. Skipton was the capital of the ancient district of Craven. At the Norman accession it became part of the possessions of Earl Edwin, and was granted to Robert de Romille, who built the castle about the end of the reign of William. Subsequently it went to