Page:Encyclopædia Britannica, Ninth Edition, v. 24.djvu/544

Rh 512 W E S W E S on horse-breeding, except in regard to the comparatively small numbers required for use in driving and riding by the officials and planters. Goats abound, and large flocks of sheep are kept for the sake of their flesh alone, as the climate is not adapted for wool-growing. The flora of the islands is of great variety and richness, as plants have been introduced from most parts of the globe, and flourish either in a wild state or under cultivation ; grain, vegetables, and fruits, generally com mon in cool climates, may be seen growing in luxuriance within a short distance of like plants which only attain perfection under the influence of extreme heat, nothing being here required for the successful propagation of both but a difference in the height of the lands upon which they grow. The forests, which are numerous and wide- spreading, produce the most valuable woods and delicious fruits. Palms are in great variety, and there are several species of gum-producing trees. Some locust trees have been estimated to have attained an age of 4000 years, and are of immense height and bulk. Piptadenia is, on account of its almost imperishable character when in the ground, universally used as a material for house building. Xanthoxylon, the admired and valuable satin-wood of commerce, is common ; Sapindus finds a ready market on account of its toughness ; crab- wood yields a useful oil and affords reliable timber ; and tree ferns of various species are common. Pimento is peculiar to Jamaica. But it is to the agricultural resources of the islands that the greatest importance attaches. For centuries almost the whole care of the planters was bestowed upon the culti vation of the sugar-cane and tobacco plant, but since the emancipation of the slaves and the fall in the price of sugar attention has been turned to the production of other and more varying crops. Perhaps this change has been most marked in the trade which has now sprung up in fruit, which is very large, and annually increasing. Sugar, however, is still the staple product, and has for some time been grown in considerable quantities on the small holdings of the Negroes and other labourers. Crops of tobacco, beans, pease, maize, and Guinea corn are also becoming popular, and a species of rice, which requires no flooding for its successful propagation, is largely produced. Hymenachne striatum covers many of the plains, and affords food for numerous herds of cattle. For further particulars see CUBA, JAMAICA, HAYTI, and other articles on separate islands. Interesting information regarding the state of the islands immediately after the abolition of slavery may be found in Extracts from Papers Printed by Order of the House of Commons, 1S30, Relative to the West Indies ; and notices of the earlier British settlers are contained in Hotten s Original Lists of Emigrants, c. (J. GU.) WESTMACOTT, SIR RICHARD (1775-1856), one of the principal English sculptors of the classical revival, was born in London in 1775, and while yet a boy learned the rudiments of the plastic art in the studio of his father, who was then a sculptor of some reputation. In 1793, at the age of eighteen, he went to Kome and became a pupil of the Venetian Canova, who was then at the height of his fame. Under the prevailing influences of Italy, at that time Westmacott devoted all his energies to the study of classical sculpture, and throughout his life his real sympathies were with pagan rather than Christian art. Within a year of his arrival in Rome he won the first prize for sculpture offered by the Florentine academy of arts, and in the following year (1795) he gained the papal gold ! medal awarded by the Roman Academy of St Luke. On his return to London Westmacott began to exhibit his works yearly at the Royal Academy, and soon became the most popular of English sculptors. In 1805 he was elected an associate, and in 1811 a full member of the Royal Academy ; in 1827 he was appointed to succeed Flaxman as Royal Academy professor of sculpture, and in 1837 he was knighted. A very large number of important public monuments were executed by him, including many portrait statues ; but, like most sculptors of the pseudo- classic revival, he was not successful with this class of draped figure. Little can be said in praise of such works as the statue on the duke of York s column, the portrait of Fox in Bloomsbury Square, or that of the duke of Bedford in Russell Square. Much admiration was expressed at the time for Westmacott s monuments to Collingwood and Sir Ralph Abercromby in St Paul s Cathedral, and that of Mrs Warren in Westminster Abbey; but subjects like these were far less congenial to him than sculpture of a more classical type, such as the pedimental figures over the portico of the British Museum, and his colossal nude statue of Achilles in bronze, set up in Hyde Park in honour of the duke of Wellington ; this last statue, though possessing little originality of design, is not without grandeur, and shows a skilful treatment of the nude. Originality was not Westmacott s strong point, but he was highly trained, and, in spite of his artisti cally degraded time, possessed a strong natural good taste, which preserved him from reproducing the mere tricious feebleness of his master Canova. Westmacott wrote the article SCULPTURE for the 8th edition of the Encyclopaedia Britannica. He died September 1, 185G, after about fifteen years of retirement from active work. WESTMEATH, an inland county of Ireland, in the province of Leinster, is bounded N.W. by Longford, N. by Cavan, N.E. and E. by Meath, S. by King s County, and W. by Roscommon. Its greatest length from east to west is about 40 miles, and its greatest breadth from north to south about 35 miles. The total area is 453,453 acres, or about 708 square miles. Westmeath is included within the great central limestone plain of Ireland, but at Moat-a-Genogue and near Ballymahon the sandstone rises above the limestone bed and forms isolated protuberance;-. The general average height of the surface of the county is over 250 feet above sea-level. Being diversified with hill, valley, lake, and river it is highly picturesque, but in no part can it be termed mountainous, the highest summits being Knocklayde (795 feet), Hill of Ben (710 feet), and Knockayon (707 feet). Good limestone is obtainable for building or agricultural purposes, but in some -cases the- limestone is difficult to calcine. Copper, lead, coal, and marble have been dug, but are not found in sufficient quantities to make the speculation profitable. In some parts there are numerous eskers of calcareous gravel. A large surface is occupied by bog. A special feature of Westmeath is the number of large loughs, which have a combined area of nearly 17,000 acres. In the north, on the borders of Cavan, is Lough Sheelin, with a length of 5 miles and an average breadth of between 2 and 3 miles, and adjoining it is the smaller Lough Kinale. In the centre of the county there is a group of large loughs, of which Lough Dereveragh has an area of 2555 acres. To the north of it are Loughs Lene, Glore, Bawn, and others, and to the south Loughs Iron and Owel. Farther south is Lough Ennell or Belvidere, and in the south-west Lough Ree, forming part of the boundary with Roscommon. The river Inny, which rises in Cavan, enters Westmeath from Lough Sheelin, and, forming for parts of its course the boundary with Longford, falls into Lough Ree. The Inny has as one of its tributaries the Glore, flowing from Lough Lene through Lough Glore, a considerable part of its course being underground. From Lough Lene the Dale also flows southwards to the Irish Sea, and thus this lake sends its waters to the opposite shores of the island. The Brosna flows from Lough Ennell southwards by King s County into the Shannon.