Page:The American Cyclopædia (1879) Volume XVI.djvu/717

 WITNESS WITNESS. See EVIDENCE. WITT, Jan de. See DE WITT. WITTE, Pieter de. See CANDIDO. WITTEKIND, or Wittikind. See CHARLES I. (Charlemagne), vol. iv., p. 290. WITTEN, a town of Prussia, in Westphalia, on the Ruhr, 32 m. W. by N. of Arnsberg; pop. in 1871, 15,160. The population in 1843 was only 3,444, the increase being due to the development of manufactures, chiefly in glass, iron, and steel. There are large coal mines in the vicinity. WITTENBERG, a fortified town of Prussia, in the province of Saxony, on the Elbe, 53 m. S. W. of Berlin ; pop. in 1871, 11,567. It is cele- brated for associations with Luther and Me- lanchthon, who are buried in the Schloss- und Universitatskirche by the side of its founder, Frederick the Wise, and of John the Constant. The immense bronze monument of Luther by Schadow stands on the market place in front of the town hall, not far from Drake's statue of Melanchthon, erected in 1865. In 1817 the Augustinian convent where Luther resided was converted into a theological seminary. Luther's theses, originally affixed by him to the doors of the Schlosskirche, were restored in the Latin text on the new bronze doors erected in 1858, the church having been burn- ed during the bombardment of 1760, and again injured by bombardment in 1813, and final- ly rebuilt in 1817. The other most remark- able church is the Stadtkirche, with Cranach's " Last Supper," introducing Luther, Melanch- thon, and Bugenhagen. The town hall con- tains the same master's " Ten Command- ments." The university of Wittenberg, found- ed in 1502, was united with that of Halle in 1815. The principal educational institution of the present day is a gymnasium. Wittenberg was founded by Bernard, son of Albert the Bear, duke of Brandenburg, and previous to 1422 was the residence of the dukes and elec- tors of Saxony. In 1547, after the battle of Muhlberg, it was taken by Charles V. In 1760 it was bombarded by the Austrians, and one third of its houses were destroyed. It was restored by the Prussians, and in 1806 it was taken by Napoleon, who rebuilt its forti- fications in 1813. In 1814 it was taken after a siege by the Prussians. WOAD, a plant of the mustard family, isatis tinctoria, formerly cultivated for the blue dye yielded by its foliage. The genus isatis com- prises 25 or 30 species, all of the old world. The woad has been so long in cultivation that its native country is uncertain ; it is natural- ized throughout Europe, as far north as Swe- den, and is occasionally found in old gardens in this country. It is a biennial, from 2 to 4 ft. high, smooth and glaucous, or slightly hairy below ; the obovate or oblong radical leaves are coarsely toothed and petioled, the upper ses- sile and arrow-shaped ; the numerous branches are clothed with small yellow flowers, which are succeeded by hanging flat pods, each con- WOBURN 693 taining a single seed. The plant requires rich soil, and is sown in drills, after thorough prep- aration ; the foliage is collected when the plant is in flower, the leaves being picked off when Woad (Isatis tinctoria). their tips turn yellow, and the picking is re- peated several times. The leaves, being slight- ly dried, are ground to a pulp, which is formed into heaps under shelter, but well exposed to the air. As with indigo, the coloring princi- ple is developed by fermentation, which in woad takes place in the heaps, and requires about a fortnight for its completion ; the mass, after thorough mixing, is made into cakes by hand or in moulds of one to three pounds each, and these in drying undergo a second partial fermentation, upon the proper manage- ment of which the value of the dye greatly depends ; in this form it is called by the French pastel. Woad was known as a dye or pig- ment in very early times, and is mentioned by Pliny as glastum ; it was in use by the ancient Britons to dye their bodies for some religious ceremonies. Before the introduction of indigo the consumption of woad was large ; the an- nual product of Upper Languedoc alone was 40,000,000 Ibs. As indigo gives a better color, and one pound of it produces an effect equal to 50 Ibs. of woad, it has almost entirely su- perseded the latter, though woad is still spar- ingly cultivated for domestic dyeing; its color, though not so fine, is regarded as more per- manent than that from indigo. WOBCRN, a town of Middlesex co., Massa- chusetts, on the Boston and Lowell railroad, 10 m. N. W. of Boston; pop. in 1850, 3,956; in 1860, 6,287; in 1870, 8,560; in 1875, 9,568. It contains 7,750 acres. The surface is diver- sified, and there are several ponds. From the largest, Horn pond, which covers 150 acres, 40,000 tons of ice are shipped annually. The soil is good. The town is lighted with gas, and is supplied with water through 25 m. of pipe from a spring near Horn pond. The water is