Page:The New International Encyclopædia 1st ed. v. 09.djvu/577

* HAND. 523 HANDEL. culosis the o.ticiiiitii'.s of the linger? are hullnms, or clubbed, from change in the condition of tlio jjeriphcral circulation. Consult taray, Anatumif, Descriplirc and i^itr- gical (London, 1897). HAND, CoMP.^RATiVE Anatomy of tuk. In birds the hand has been so profoundly modihcd for flight that it is considered as a distinct sort of organ — the 'wing.' Among Amphibia we find the tailed forms have the hand constructed on the same general plan as the foot; it thus con- sists of digits., palm, and wrist: or, in terras of the skeleton, phalanges, metacarpals, and car- pals, the latter the equivalent of the tarsals of the foot : in all amphibians there are four digits on the hand, except, in three genera which have only two or three, but the number of phalanges difl'ers considerably. The ITrodela have a carpus of nine bones, a centrale, radiale, ulnare, inter- medium, and tlve carpales; but in the Anura the intermedium is wanting. Among reptiles we find a general resemblance in the hand to that of the Urodela, though the digits bear claws or nails, which are always wanting in the Amphibia ; crocodiles have no intermedium, and the carpales are only partially developed. Among mammals we find a very great variety in the form and uses of the hand, the number of functional digits varying from one to five, though the number of phalanges is remarkably constant, for except in Cetacea there are two in the first and three in each of the others. In monotremes and marsupials the hand possesses no peculiar features worthy of special note, though in Echid- na it is very stout and powerful, while among kangaroos it is rather small and comparatively feeble. The hands of the Edentata are remark- able for the reduction in the number of digits to four, three, or even two, and the long and very strong claws which they bear. In the Ungulata we find an even stronger tendency toward sup- pression of digits, for there are never more than four, and usually there are only two, sometimes only one, functional. In this order the hand re- sembles the foot (q.v, ) so closely that it is not necessary to repeat here the various modifica- tions; suffice it to say that the tapirs have four digits on the hand and only three on the foot, and that the metacarpals of the camel are sepa- rated by a deep cleft. In the Sirenia there are only four digits, and these are united by the integument to form paddles and bear only rudi- mentary nails. The Cetacea also have the hands transformed into paddles ; but the carpus is made up of polygonal bones, the phalanges are mniier- ous, and there are no nails. The hand of the Carnivora has never less than four digits, and they always bear claws, usually sharp and curved, and in cats retractile. The hand of the elephant is remarkable for licing larger than the foot, and for its very short and thick carpal, metacarpal, and phalangeal bones. Hyrax has four toes on the hand, but only three on the foot, and the nails are nearly flat. The Rodentia have rather small, often weak hands, with five clawed digits, while the Insectivora have rather stout hands, espe- ,cially the moles. Of all mammals, bats have the most profoundlv modified hands, since with them, as with birds, flight is the object in view. Tlicre is only one bone in the proximal series of the carpus, and the metacarpal bones and phalanges are greatly elongated to form the framework Vol. IX.— 34. for the wing, which consists of a delicate mem- brane stretched between the digits and the foot. U'here are live digits, but only th<^ first two (some- times only the first) are provided with claws. .mong the Primates we find a hand more nearly like that of man, the digits being provided with flat nails, and the first digit being (jpposable to the olliers and thus forming a true thumb. The iiiarmosets. however, have sharp curved claws, and the tliumb is not opposable. Of all mam- mals, the gorilla has a hand most like that of man. Consult : Wiedersheim, Comparative Anatomy of Vcrtchrutes (New York, 1886) ; Huxley, Anat- omy of Vcitehruled Animals (New York, 1880). HAND, Edw.ard (1744-1802). An American soldier of the Kevolution, born at Clydutl', Kings Co., Ireland. He came to America in 1774, and practiced medicine in Penn.sylvania imtil the out- break of the Revolution, when he served at the siege of Boston as lieutenant-colonel in William Tlionip.son's brigade. In 177(i he was appointed colonel. He served in the battles of Ijong Island and Trenton in 1777; was promoted to brigadier- general : succeeded John Stark at Albany ( 1778 ) ; and took part in Sullivan's campaign against the Six Nations. He was in command of a brigade of light infantry (1780), and soon after succeeded Scammell as adjutant-general; in 1798 Washington recommended him to a like post for the war with France. He was elected to Con- gress (1784), and was a signer of the Pennsyl- vania Constitution (1790). HANDBALL. A variety of 'Fives' practiced in the United States chiefly on account of its physical benefits in training for contests of en- durance, though it is also one of the sports under the regulations of the Amateur Athletic Union. In its simplest ferm it consists of scoring the ball .against a single back wall, with a lined-out space in front; but in its home, Ireland, the court or 'alley' on which it is played has also side walls extending the length of the court (60 feet). Tbe floor is 60 X 28 feet, and about the centre of it. parallel with the end wall, a line is dra^n called the 'short line.' Sixty feet from the end wall another line is drawn, called the 'over line,' and every service coming off the wall must fall betw'een these two lines to be in play. The game is started by one player 'tossing' out file hall on to the ground and hitting it on the rebound, with his hand, against the end wall. If it falls inside the short line, and the other player fails to return it, it counts an 'ace' to the server. Should it be returned and the original server fail to return it, it is a 'hand out.' Then the .service clianges, and the game goes on alternately. The game is won by the player who first gets 15 or 20 aces, as agreed. HAN'DEL, Georoe Frederick, Ger. Georg FRlE[)RK'ii H.XXDEL, lieu'drl (168.1-17.50). A fa- mous German musical composer, chiefly renowncii for The Messiah, still the most jiopular of ora- torios. He was born at Halle an der Saale, Februarv 2.3, 168.5. His father, a barber, and afterwards a surgeon, at Halle, so opposed the development of his son's musical proclivities that the lad was obliged to practice at night upon a small clavicliord secretly placed in the attic, when the rest of the family were asleep, A visit paid with his father in 1692 to a stepbrother in the service of the Duke of SaxeWeissenfeU