Page:The New International Encyclopædia 1st ed. v. 02.djvu/254

ATROPINE. when the sulphuric acid is neutralized with po- tassium carbonate, atropine is precipitated and nia.y be puritied by crystallization from hot al- cohol. Atropine itself 'is insoluble in water; its sulphate, however, is readily soluble and is com- monly used in medicine to produce dilatation of the pupil of the eye, also as an antispasmodic in whooping-cough, etc. It acts as a narcotic, and is exceedingly poisonous, half a grain of it being positively fatal. The sj-mptonis of atro- pine poisoning are: rapid pulse, dry and flushed skin, dryness of the throat, etc. In cases of atro- pine poisoning, energetic stimulation of the skin and a hypodermic injection of pilocarpine and stimulants are recommended, after using the stomach pump. The principal physiological efi'ect of atropine is reduction of the excitability, and eventually paralysis of the motor nerves, resulting in inability to move. See Bella- DOXN..

AT'ROPOS (Gk. "ArpoTTos, 'the inflexible, tin- bendiug,' from d, a priv. -- Tpitruv. trepein, to turn). One of the Mirro', or Fates — she who severs the thread of man's life. In late art she is represented with a cutting instrument, or a pair of scales, or a sun-dial. See Parc.e.

ATRY'PA (Gk., 'holeless,' from d, a priv. + rpdva, try pa, a. hole). A name applied by Dalman in 1827 to a group of fossil brachiopods, the shells of which were by him supposed to be without a foramen in beak of the ventral valve. L'nder the early diagnosis the genus held a large number of species of various internal structure and exterior oniamentation, which ranged throughout all geological fonnations from the Ordovician to the Cretaceous. More recently the generic term has been restricted to those forms closely allied to the original species, Atrypa reticularis of Linnseus, which Dalman used as the type of his genus. The best-known species of the restricted genus is this Atrypa reticularis, with its depressed ventral valve and its calcified brachial spires directed toward the centre of the swollen dorsal valve, which species is of interest by reason of its exceedingly long period of ex- istence. It appeared in the earliest Silurian time, and with various modifications, characteristic of particular ages through which it lived, it con- tinued to the end of Devonian time. Its life period is exceeded by that of only one other fos- sil, heptwna rliotuhoidalis, and the study of its variations in time and space is of the greatest interest as affording an excellent example of the manner of evolution of new species; many of its varieties having continued to evolve along dis- tinct lines until they became entirely milike, in a specific sense, the original form from which they separated. See, for illustration, Braciiio- PODA.

ATSUTA, at-soo'ta. A town of Japan in the Prefecture of Aichi (Jlap: Japan, E 6). It is situated in the southern part of Honshiu, 4 miles by rail from Xagoya, of which it is practically I a suburb. It contains a number of Shintoese temples, erected in the Seventh Century a.d., and modeled after the famous temples of Ise. In one of them is treasured the famous sword which f(n-ms part of the Imperial regalia of Japan. Population in 1898, 24,941.

ATTACHE, a'ta'shi' (Fr., attached). A sub- ordinate or assistant, attached to the suite or company of a superior officer. In modern usage the term is practically confined to subordinate members of an embassy or legation. Military and naval attaches are officers of these two ser- vices accompanying the diplomatic representa- tive of their country, with a special viev to ob- serving conditions and movements of interest to the military or naval administration at home.

ATTACH'MENT (Fr. attacheinent, from a Lat. ad, to + Bret, tach, Engl, tack, a nail). The legal process under which a sheriff or like officer takes a person or property into custody;, or the proceeding under the process. An attach- ment against the person was used most fre- quently, either to compel the appearance of a. defendant in an action, or to secure the attend- ance of a delinquent witness or juror, or to- bring before a court one guilty of contempt. It was, and still is, employed in England as a process for the enforcement of decrees or orders- in equity. It was rarely so used in common-law actions, because a judgment creditor who re- sorted to it forfeited his right to go against the debtor's property. In this country the seizure of the person of a debtor in a civil action is made generally under an order of arrest (q.v.), or an execution (q.v.) against the person. At- tachment of the person for contempt of court i» common, however, in this country.

The attachment of property is regulated by statute. It is not accorded to the creditor in an ordinary action for the recovery of a debt. To entitle "him to this process he must show, generally, that the debtor is a non-resident of the State in which he asks for the process, or has left it with intent to defraud his creditor, or conceals himself or his property with like in- tent, or that he has removed, or is about to re- move, from the State in order to defraud his creditors. In such cases the property is to be attached and taken into the custody of the law, so that it may be applied to the plaintiff's claim, if that is subsequently reduced to a judg- ment. An attachment is looked upon by our courts as a harsh and extraordinary remedy, one not known to the conunon law. ami as a rule they are disposed to put a strict construction upon the statutes which authorize it. In admi- ralty, a vessel or other property against which a suit in rem has been instituted may be at- tached when the circumstances would not war- rant an attachment in a State court. An attachment is spoken of as domestic, when it is employed against the property of a resident of the State in which it issues; as furciiju, when the owner of the property seized is a non-resi- dent, who evades the personal service of a sum- mons in the action. Consult: Drake, Treatise 011 the Law of Suits by Attachment in the United States (Boston, 1891), and the works referred to under the titles Arrest; Execution; Foreign Attachme.nt.

ATTACK' (Fr. attaque, the same in derivation as attachment). a military operation against an enemy. It may apply to any action which lirings one body of troops in battle in contact with another, but is more generally applied to a distinct military operation by which an enemy's position is assailed. Smokeless powder, magazine rifles, machine and rapid-fire giuis, improved breeehloading field and horse artillery