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fiERKIMER

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HERON

any particular animal, and they are supposed to be the particular parts of the giving substance that carry the traits or qualities that are inherited. By a complicated process the chromosomes are equally divided whenever cells undergo division, and produce new cells. Before developing, the egg, which is derived from the maternal source, becomes united with the sperm from the paternal source, and, therefore, the fertilized egg contains elements derived from each parent. As the fertilized egg divides, there is each time an equal division of the chromatic material derived from these two sources. It follows, therefore, that every cell must contain some of the identical substance that entered into the body of both parents. This substance is in the chromosome and is the bearer of hereditary traits.

Her'kimer, Nicholas, an intrepid soldier of the Revolution, was born in New York state about 1715 of German parents. His life was spent on a farm, with few educational advantages, until the call to arms. He fought with daring, leading an expedition successfully against Sir John Johnson's force in 1776. He then marched to the relief of Fort Schuyler, and during the siege was wounded in the leg. A careless operation cost the soldier his life. He died in August, 1777. A monument to the hero of Oriskany has been erected on the battlefield, chiefly through the instrumentality of the Oneida Historical Society,

Her'mes. See MERCURY.

Her'mit, a name applied to one who, desiring to be removed from all the cares and temptations of life, withdraws from the world and lives alone in some cavern or hut. The first hermit is said to have been Paul of the Thebaid (Egypt), who fled to the desert and there died at the age of 113 years. His most famous imitator was St. Anthony. The name is now applied to those who withdraw not only from religious motives, but from aversion to society or from love of solitude.

Her'mon, Mt. (now called Jebel-es-Sheikh), a mountain or range of mountains of the Anti-Libanus range, 9,150 feet high. See LEBANON.

He'ro and Lean'der. Hero was a priestess of Aphrodite at Sestos. Leander met Hero at a festival, became enamored and thereafter used to swim every night from his home across the Hellespont to see her, guided by the light that shone from her tower. Venturing to make the passage one stormy night, he was drowned, and his body was washed up to the tower where Hero was stationed, tlpon seeing the lifeless form of her lover, Hero plunged into the water that she might join him in death. The story is related in the work of Musaeus amd in Ovid. Both have been represented ia works of the later artists.

Her'od Agrippa I, the son of Aristobulus, brother to Herodias and grandson of that Herod the Great who reigned in Judea when Christ was born. He was educated at Rome, and received from Caligula the tetrarchate of Judea with the title of king; and after the banishment of Herod Antipas he was given all the old provinces of Judea. He was popular with the Jews, and much praised for his vigorous measures against the growing sect known as Christians. It was he who caused the apostle James the Greater to be beheaded and had St. Peter thrown into prison.

Herod (her'ud} the Great was the second son of Antipater, whom Caesar appointed procurator of Judea in 47 B. C. When Herod was 15, he was made governor of Galilee and later, with his brother, a joint tetrarch of Judea. He was displaced, forced to flee to Rome, where he pressed his claims, again made tetrarch of Judea, and afterwards (40 B. C.) was proclaimed king of Judea, with considerable added territory. His reign was marked by the most atrocious cruelties and fearful butcheries, among them the putting to death of his wife, Mariamne, and their two sons. He died in the year of Christ's birth, after reigning 37 years. See History of the Jews by Ewald.

Herodotus (he-rod1'o-tus}, commonly called the Father of History, was born between 490 and 484 B. C. at Halicarnassus, a Greek colony on the shores of Asia Minor. On account of wars and dissensions he began traveling, and covered an immense territory in his wanderings, and afterwards wrote the histories of the wars through which he passed and of many of the countries he visited. There is no authentic record that he lived after 425 B. C. The best English translation of his works is by Rawlinson.

Her'on, a long-legged water-bird found all over the world except in the coldest regions. North America is the poorest in species and South America the richest. These birds have a long, loose plumage and, among the ordinary feathers, tracts or patches of downy feathers that break into powder as they grow. The number of these patches of powder-down is used to distinguish the different groups; there are three such patches in the true herons. These birds stand perfectly motionless in the water watching for fish, frogs and other animals which they strike with great swiftness with their long, strong bills They also at times eat meadow-mice, slugs, snakes and insects, but they never get very plump, no matter how abundant their food. They are wary and difficult to approach. The great blue heron, wrongly called blue crane, the largest heron in North America, is a beautiful and very interesting bird; seeing one in its native haunt is an event to be remembered. When standing fairly erect, it reaches over three feet in height;