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WOOD ALCOHOL

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WOOD-ENGRAViNd-

fight at Las Guasimas and in the battle at San Juan near Santiago de Cuba, and was given the rank of brigadier-general for gallant service in Cuba. In July, 1898, he succeeded General Brooke as governor-general of Cuba, where he greatly aided in the orderly government and the improved sanitary condition of the island. He remained in that office till the withdrawal of the United States in May of 1902. In 1903 he was placed in command of the army in the Philippines; in 1908, of the department of the east, and in 1910 made chief of staff. .

Wood or Methyl Alcohol, a colorless, spirituous liquid, with a strong aromatic odor, the product of the distillation of wood. It is used in the manufacture of dyes, as a solvent for varnishes and as a methylated spirit after it has been mixed with ethyl alcohol. See ALCOHOL.

Wood'bine', a common name for the Virginia creeper or American ivy, Ampelopsis quinquefolia. The name was originally applied in Europe to a species of honey-suckle (Lonicera). See IVY and VIRGINIA CREEPER.

Wood-Carv'ing, one of the oldest branches of art, was much practiced among the Egyptians, Greeks and Romans. A life-size statue of a man carved out of a solid block of sycamore, dating probably from 4000 B. C., now in Bulaq Museum, is a fine specimen of Egyptian wood-carving. Egyptian carvings have been preserved in the tombs, but the Greek and Roman carvings have nearly all perished and are known to us only by the descriptions of early writers. It was much used in the decoration of churches in the middle ages, and reached its height in the i5th century, when every church had its carved oak-screen and stalls. The roof of Westminster Hall, made in the early part of the i5th century, is one of the finest examples of the open timber-roof, which admitted of fine decoration. Skill in wood-carving still lingers in Nuremberg and Switzerland. The Moslem wood-carvers of Persia, Syria and Spain produced beautiful work, seen in the mosques and private houses of Damascus, Cairo and other oriental cities. The wood-carving of China and Japan is the finest in the world.

Wood'chuck' or Ground=Hog, a burrowing rodent of eastern North America, belonging to the family of ground-squirrels. It is a true marmot, related to the prairie-dog. It has a heavy body, short legs, flat head and beady eyes. The^ color varies from brownish-gray to blackish. It burrows in swamp-lot and wood-pasture, and feeds on clover and grass. In summer it stores up enough fat to keep it through the winter; retiring early in November, it sleeps soundly for months, curled up with nose under paw, that the warm breath may not be wasted. On February second, so tradition says, the animal comes forth

to take a look around; if the sun is shining and it can see its shadow, it retires to its burrow for six more weeks of sleep. This is by some folk considered a prediction of a late, cold spring. See MARMOT.

Wood'cock', a famous game-bird belonging to the snipe family arid found in northern parts both of the Old and the New World. The American woodcock is about ii inches long, variegated in black, brown, gray and rusty colors. The bill is very long and flexible at the end, It is thrust into the soft ground in search of earthworms, and the presence of woodcocks

WOODCOCK

can often be detected by a cluster of these holes. The European bird is larger. It is a winter ^ resident in England, breeding in summer in the north of Scotland.

Wood-Engrav'ing is copying pictures from blocks of wood, and differs from plate or steel engraving in having the picture raised on the surface of the wood, instead of being sunk, as it is in the metal. The picture is printed from the prepared block, as the letters are from type, the block being made the height of the type. The wood must be hard and fine-grained, boxwood being the best. The block of wood is covered with a white coating, on which the artist draws the picture with lead-pencil, pen or brush. The engraver then cuts away all of the wood around the drawn lines, leaving them raised or in relief. For large pictures several blocks are fastened together for the drawing, and then given to different engravers, so that a large picture can be produced very quickly. Wood-engraving is the earliest and simplest form of engraving. The Chinese claim to have printed from wooden blocks 1,000 years before Christ, and it is probable that the art was brought from China to Europe. A wood-cut of St. Christopher, dated 1423, is one of the oldest specimens of engraving. It was used largely in Europe in the i5th century