Page:The American Cyclopædia (1879) Volume VI.djvu/456

 448 EEL bait for cod ; it is very common in Long Island sound from May to November, constituting in its season the principal food of the bluefish and bass ; it is also eaten by eels and other fish ; the cephalopod cuttle fish preys upon it exten- sively ; like the tropical flying fish, it is pur- sued by fishes in the water, and by gulls and terns in the air. The names of sand launce and ammodytea are given it from its habit of darting out of and into the sand head foremost and instantly, by means of its projecting lower jaw. Its food is principally insects. On the coast of England it is esteemed as food, and is raked out of the sand at low tide in great numbers; it is also caught in seines. Two species are described. EEL, Electrical, See ELECTRIC FISHES. EEL-POUT. See BURBOT. EELS. See ILIYATS. EESAII. See SOMAULI. EFFERVESCENCE (Lat. effervescere, from ex, out of, an&fervescere, to begin boiling), a state of ebullition, without vaporization, caused by the setting free of gases. It may be effected by chemical decomposition, or by diminishing the solvent capacity of a fluid which contains a gas in solution, either by raising its tempera- ture, by diminishing the pressure upon it, or by adding some other body which in dissolving will cause a part of the gas to be expelled. Thus, when a solution of carbonate of soda is mixed with a solution of tartaric acid, the acid and soda unite and carbonic acid gas is set free, causing effervescence. If the solutions are very weak and very cold, the gas may be all ab- sorbed by the water and no effervescence produced. At 65 F., and under the ordinary pressure of the atmosphere, water will absorb about its own volume of the gas. By lowering the temperature or increasing the pressure the amount of the gas absorbed will be increased. In the ordinary soda-water and mineral-water fountains the carbonic acid gas is held in solu- tion under great pressure. When the water is drawn from the fountain into an open glass, the pressure being removed, the gas imme- diately begins to escape, causing effervescence. The gas is usually made by dissolving mar- ble or chalk, which are carbonates of lime, in hydrochloric or sulphuric acid. It is then cleansed from impurities and forced by great pressure into a condenser, whence it is trans- ferred to the fountains. Effervescence may also be caused by dissolving zinc in dilute sul- phuric acid, or zinc or iron in hydrochloric acid. In both cases hydrogen gas is set free. EFFERVESCING POWDERS are preparations of acid and alkaline powders, put up in differently colored papers in order to distinguish them. They are administered by first dissolving the contents of two different papers in separate glasses, then mixing the solutions, and drink- ing while the chemical reaction is taking place with effervescence. The common soda and Seidlitz powders form effervescing draughts, the acid in one of the papers combining with EFT the alkali of the carbonate in the other, and expelling the carbonic acid. This gas, con- tinuing to be evolved in the stomach, acts as a refrigerant and diaphoretic, while the alkaline salt is slightly laxative. The drink is especially adapted to febrile complaints. The common soda powders consist of 25 grains of tartaric acid in one paper, and 30 grains of bicarbonate of soda in the other. An equivalent propor- tion of bicarbonate of potash is sometimes substituted for the soda. The following are the proportions given in the "American Dis- pensatory": tartaric acid 1 oz., bicarbonate of soda 1 oz. and 54 grains, or bicarbonate of potassa 1 oz. and 160 grains. The acid and either bicarbonate, being separately reduced to fine powder, are divided each into 16 por- tions. Citric acid is sometimes employed in- stead of the tartaric acid, in the proportion of 9 drachms to 11 of the soda salt, or 13 of the potash. Seidlitz powders are a mixture of 2 drachms of Rochelle salts (tartrate of pot- ash and soda) and 2 scruples of bicarbonate of soda in one paper, and 35 grains of tartaric acid in the other. The tartaric acid being in excess renders the medicine more pleasant to take, without interfering with its aperient quality. The acid and the carbonate may be prepared in a single powder, in which the chemical action does not take place until it is dissolved in water. Such a preparation should of course be carefully preserved from moisture. Seidlitz and Kochelle powders are more laxa- tive than the common soda powders. EFFINGHAM. I. An E. county of Georgia, separated on the east from South Carolina by the Savannah river, and bounded W. by the Ogeechee ; area, 480 sq. m. ; pop. in 1870, 4,214, of whom 1,704 were colored. The Georgia Central railroad passes through it. The surface is level, and the soil sandy. Pine and cypress are found. The chief productions in 1870 were 55,854 bushels of Indian corn, 15,932 of sweet potatoes, 294 bales of cotton, and 149,455 Ibs. of rice. There were 294 horses, 283 mules and asses, 2,201 milch cows, 4,510 other cattle, 1,238 sheep, and 8,162 swine. Capital, Springfield. II. A S. E. county of Illinois, drained by Little Wabash river; area, 500 sq. m. ; pop. in 1870, 15,653. The surface is level and partly wooded, and the soil fertile. Copper, iron, and lead are found. The Chicago division of the Illinois Central, and the St. Louis, Vandalia, Terre Haute, and Indianapolis railroads pass through it. The chief productions in 1870 were 195,- 793 bushels of wheat, 19,759 of rye, 620,247 of Indian corn, 386,073 of oats, 54,671 of po- tatoes, 11,360 tons of hay, 210,155 Ibs. of butter, and 35,650 of wool. There were 4,907 horses, 4,316 milch cows, 5,833 other cattle, 13,228 sheep, and 17,259 swine ; 8 flour mills, 12 saw mills, 5 manufactories of saddlery, and 2 of woollen goods. Capital, Effingham. EFT, a name given to several species of newts, especially to the common smooth newt