Page:The American Cyclopædia (1879) Volume XV.djvu/313

 STAFFOKD E"1

I fol regular forms, which has for its foundation a conglomerate trap or tufa. This columnar ba- salt, strongly resembling architectural designs, is indented with numerous caves, of which the most remarkable is that known as Fingal's cave. (See FINGAL'S CAVE.) The other prin- cipal caves are the Boat cave, the Cormorant cave, so called from the number of these birds which visit it, and the Clam Shell cave, which derives its name from the peculiar form in which the basaltic columns are inclined, giv- ing it the appearance of a shell of the genus pecten; it is 30 ft. high, 16 to 18 ft. broad, and 130 ft. long. Buachaille or the Herds- man is a conical pile of columns rising 30 ft. above the water, and resting on a bed of hori- zontal columns over which the high tide rises. Between the Herdsman and Fingal's cave stretches the Great Causeway, formed by the ends of hexagonal upright columns. STAFFORD. I. An E. county of Virginia, rdering on the Potomac, bounded S. W. by the Kappahannock, and drained by Aquia and other creeks ; area, 335 sq. m. ; pop. in 1870, 6,420, of whom 1,485 were colored. The sur- face is hilly, and the soil along the Potomac is moderately fertile. Gold has been discovered, and excellent granite and freestone are found. The Richmond, Fredericksburg, and Potomac railroad intersects the county. The chief pro- ductions in 1870 were 30,763 bushels of wheat, 99,057 of Indian corn, 39,586 of oats, 1,070 Ibs. of tobacco, and 3,174 of wool. There were 942 horses, 1,408 milch cows, 1,893 oth- cattle, 1,428 sheep, and 3,393 swine. Capi- tal, Stafford Court House. II. A W. central county of Kansas, intersected in the N. W. by the Arkansas river; area, 900 sq. m. It is not included in the census of 1870. The sur- face consists chiefly of undulating prairies. STAFFORD, the county town of Staffordshire, England, on the left bank of the Sow, 125 m. N. W. of London ; pop. in 1871, 14,437. The town is situated on low ground, and is mainly well built of stone or brick. A Norman castle, several times demolished and rebuilt, once oc- cupied a commanding position not far distant. Since 1810 a massive castellated structure has occupied its place. Among the prominent public buildings are the county hall, a jail, in- firmary, lunatic asylum, library, and mechanics' institute. A free grammar school was estab- lished in 1556. The church of St. Mary is the most costly and conspicuous. The Trent Val- ley railway and a canal are near. There are extensive manufactures of leather, boots and shoes, and cutlery. Public markets are held for the sale of cattle, horses, wool, and cheese. STAFFORD, Henry, duke of Buckingham. See BUCKINGHAM, EARLS AND DUKES OF. STAFFORD, William Howard, viscount, an Eng- lish statesman, born Nov. 30, 1612, executed on Tower hill, Dec. 29, 1680. He was the second son of Thomas, earl of Arundel, and in right of his wife, as successor of her brother, was created Baron Stafford, and in November, STAG 301 1640, Viscount Stafford. He was brought up in the Roman Catholic faith, and adhered du- ring the civil war to the royal cause ; but after the restoration he was frequently in opposi- tion to the court. He was singled out by Ti- tus Gates, the contriver of the " popish plot," as one of his chief victims. Gates deposed before the house of commons that upon the subversion of the kingdom by the Jesuits Lord Stafford was to be paymaster of the army ; and the accused nobleman was committed to the tower, Oct. 30, 1678, with several other Catholic peers. After two years his trial for alleged high treason began, Nov. 30, 1680, lasting a week. He defended himself with ability, shaking confidence in Oates's evidence; but Dugdale and Tuberville swore so positive- ly that Stafford had incited them to assassi- nate the king, that a verdict of guilty was pro- nounced by a vote of 55 to 81. He was exe- cuted three weeks afterward ; but the popular feeling so changed after his trial that when he protested his innocence on the scaffold the spectators cried : " We believe you, my lord. God bless you, my lord." His eldest son was created earl of Stafford. STAFFORDSHIRE, an inland and nearly cen- tral county of England, bordering on the coun- ties of Chester, Derby, Leicester, Warwick, Worcester, and Salop; area, 1,138 sq. m. ; pop. in 1871, 858,326. The river Trent traverses it in a S. E. direction, and has several consider-' able tributaries. Much of the surface consists of moorlands, elevated in some places 1,000 ft. above the sea. Staffordshire is an important manufacturing county, and coal, iron, copper, and lead mines are worked extensively. The leading manufactures are iron, hardware, and earthenware, of which last it is the chief seat in England, and which gives name to a division of the county called the Potteries. The pottery works established by Josiah Wedgwood are in this county. The ale breweries of Burton- upon-Trent are very extensive and celebrated, and there are cotton mills, glass works, and tanneries. The county has a network of roads, canals, and railways. The principal towns are Stafford, the capital, Lichfield, Burton-upon- Trent, Wolverhampton, Dudley, Tamworth, Walsall, Uttoxeter, Stoke-upon-Trent, Hanley, Burslem, and Newcastle-under-Lyme. STAG, the common name of the red deer of Europe (cermis elaphus, Linn.) and its conge- ners. It is about 4 ft. high at the shoulders, and of a general reddish brown color, tinged with grayish in the winter ; on the rump is a pale spot extending a little above the tail ; there is a blackish dorsal line, and on each side often a row of pale fulvous spots; the hair is brittle, and in old animals forms a kind of mane on the neck ; the tail is moderate, the tear bag well developed, suborbital pit large, and the hoofs narrow, triangular, and compressed. The antlers are large and rounded, with an an- terior basal and a median anterior snag, and the apex divided into two or more branches