Page:The American Cyclopædia (1879) Volume XV.djvu/334

 322 STARK ings, 18 of tanned and 7 of curried leather, 4 of engines and boilers, 21 of tin, copper, and sheet-iron ware, 5 of woollen goods, 11 brew- eries, 19 flour mills, 30 saw mills, and 3 planing mills. Capital, Canton. II. A N. W. county of Illinois, intersected by Spoon river; area, about 325 sq. m. ; pop. in 1870, 10,751. The surface is partly prairie, and the soil is fer- tile. It is traversed by the Peoria and Eock Island railroad and a branch of the Chicago, Burlington, and Quincy. The chief produc- tions in 1870 were 124,639 bushels of wheat, 30,534 of rye, 1,149,878 of Indian corn, 316,- 726 of oats x 19,993 tons of hay, 20,789 Ibs. of wool, 295,683 of butter, and 17,674 of honey. There were 7,080 horses, 11,558 cattle, 4,226 sheep, and 26,515 swine; 7 manufactories of carriages and wagons, 1 of woollen goods, and 6 flour mills. Capital, Toulon. STARK, John, an American soldier, born at Londonderry, N. H., Aug. 28, 1728, died at Manchester, N". II., May 8, 1822. In 1752, while on a hunting expedition, he was captured by the St. Francis Indians, and remained with them several weeks until ransomed. In 1754 he joined the rangers under Major Rogers in the war against the French and Indians, and in 1757 was made a captain. He rendered efficient services in bringing off the troops after the expedition to Ticonderoga in 1758, and was actively employed in the subsequent campaign. In 1775, after the battle of Lex- ington, he received a colonel's commission, and enlisted a regiment which formed the left of the American line at Bunker Hill. He was in the expedition against Canada, and remon- strated against Gen. Schuyler's retreat to Ticon- deroga. In December, 1776, he marched with his regiment under Gen. Gates to reenforce Gen. Washington. He led the van in the at- tack upon Trenton, and was in the battle at Princeton. In 1777, the time of his regiment having expired, he returned to New Hamp- shire and raised a new one ; but considering himself unjustly neglected by congress in the list of promotions, he retired from its ser- vice. He received a vote of thanks from the New Hampshire legislature, and was placed in command of the troops raised there to oppose the British advance from Canada. Acting upon the authority of the state and his own judgment, he refused to obey the orders of Gen. Lincoln to march to the west of the Hudson, leaving Burgoyne's rear unmolested ; and on Aug. 16, 1777, he fought the battle of Bennington, fur which congress passed a vote of thanks to him and made him a brigadier general, notwithstanding they had just before censured him for his disobedience of the or- ders of Gen. Lincoln. He joined Gen. Gates at Bemis's heights, but the term of his militia having expired, he returned to New Hampshire and recruited a new force, with which he cut off Burgoyne's retreat from Saratoga. In 1778 he waa placed in command of the northern department; in 1779 and 1780 he served in STARLING Rhode Island and New Jersey, and at West Point, and was a member of the court mar- tial which condemned Andre ; and in 1781 he again had command of the northern depart- ment, with his headquarters at Saratoga. He lived in retirement after the war, of which he was the last surviving general except Sum- ter. See " Life of John Stark," by Edward Everett, in Sparks's "American Biography," 1st series, vol. i., and " Memoirs and Oflicial Correspondence of General John Stark," by Caleb Stark (8vo, Concord, 1860). STARKE, a N. W. county of Indiana, drained by the Yellow and Kankakee rivers, and trav- ersed by several railroads ; area, 432 sq. m. ; pop. in 1870, 3,888. The surface is level and in many places marshy, with several small lakes, and the soil is fertile. The chief pro- ductions in 1870 were 12,449 bushels of wheat, 4,516 of rye, 26,104 of Indian corn, and 4,436 Ibs. of wool. There were 1,017 milch cows, 2,403 other cattle, 1,482 sheep, and 2,187 Swine. Capital, Knox. STARLING, or Stare, the common name of the conirostral birds of the family sturnidce, and subfamily sturnince, of which the genus stur- nus (Linn.) is the type ; the family also includes the straight-billed birds like the grakles, ox- pecker, Baltimore bird, red-winged blackbird, and satin bower bird, separately described. In sturnus the bill is long, straight, and sharp, with flattened culmen and tip ; wings long and pointed, first quill spurious and second and third nearly equal ; tail short and nearly even ; tarsi strong and broadly scaled ; toes long, in- cluding the hind one, the outer united at the base ; claws long, curved, and sharp. In hab- its the starlings resemble the smaller species of the crow family, and the food consists of worms, snails, insects, seeds, and fruits ; they are docile in captivity, and may be taught to repeat a few words and to whistle short tunes. They are confined to the old world, migrating in large flocks, preferring swampy places ; the flight is rapid and even, accompanied toward Common Starling (Sturnus vulgaris). evening by singular circular evolutions; the note is a shrill whistle, with an occasional chatter or imitation of the cry of other birds and of animals ; the nest is made of dried grass,