Page:The New International Encyclopædia 1st ed. v. 11.djvu/400

* KAISEB. 366 KAKAPO. acknowledged heii-3 to the throne added the name Ciesar to their own in honor of the 'divine Julius." Diocletian (q.v. ) made it distinctively a title and bestowed it on the two associates and successoi'3 of the senior Emperors or Augusti. On ihe division of the Roman Empire (395 a.d.) the title was borne by the Emperors of the West and of the East. It passed away in the West with the dethronement of tlic last Emperor (a.u. 476), but was revived in 800.. when t'liarles the Great was crowned Roman Emperor in Saiut Peter's, at Rome. From tliis time dates the asso- ciation of the Kciman Imi)erial title with the king- ship of a 'barbarian' nation, first the Eranks and then after 902 the (Jermans. (See Holy Rom.x Empire.) From Otho the Great to Francis II. the King chosen by the German nation as King of the Honiaus became Emperor of the Holy Ro- man Empire, at lirst by consecration at Rome, but later through the very act of election. It was customary, however, for the tierman King of the Romans to Ije chosen during the lifetime of the Emperor, on whose death he succeeded to the higher title. Charles V. was the last German King crowned in Italy, namely at Bologna, in 1530. In 1S0 the Holy Roman Empire was dis- solved, but the Imperial title was retained by the House of Hajisburg. the head of which since 1801 has borne the title of Emperor (Kaiser) of Austria. On .Tanuary 18, 1871. William I. of Prussia assumed the title of German Kai.ser as head of the newly created Empire. See C-5:sar- ISM : Czar. KAISERSLATJTERN, ki'zers-lou'tern. A prominent ami tliriving town of the Bavarian Palatinate, (iennany, situated on the Waldlanter. 42 miles by rail west of Mannheim (Ma|): Germany. B'4). It has fine schools, hospitals, an industrial museum, a municipal theatre, and all the modern im[irovements. The most promi- nent church is the Protestant. The principal industries comprise spinning factories (worsted and cotton), and manufactories of sewing and other machines, boilers, bells, furniture, and shoes. There are also extensive railway shops and ironworks. The trade in lumber and fruit is extensive. The town is of ancient origin. In the twelfth century Frederick I'arliarossa built a fine palace here. It was demolished during the Spanish War of Succession. Kaiserslautgrn be- came .a free Imperial city in the thirteenth cen- tury, but lost its indeppiidence in l.'ir)7, when it passed to the rulers of the Palatinate. It be- came French in 1801. and passed to Bavaria in 1810. It was the seat of the Provisional Gov- ernment during the uprising in the Palatinate in 1849. Population, in 1890, 37.047; in 1900. 48,301-,. KAISERSWERTH, kl'zers-vCrt. A town in the Rhine Province, Prussia, situated on the right bank of the Rhine, six miles from Diissel- dorf (!Map: Germany. B 3). It is chiefly impor- tant for the house of evangelical deaconesses established by Tbeodor Fliedner (q.v.) in 1831 and now havinir branches all over the civilized ■world. Population, in 1890. 2379. KAISER WILHELM CANAL. See Canai.. KAISER WILHELM'S LAND, ki'zer vil'- helms hint. The German portion of New Guinea (q.v.). KAKA, kil'kft (ilaori name, onomatopoetic in origin). A parrot of the New Zealand genus Nestor, by some regarded as a family (Nesto- ridse). This group contivins large,' handsome par- rots, having the Ijcak greatly jirolonged (espe- cially in the upper niaiidilile) and niucli coni- jiressed, and the tongue tipped with a "brush' of line hairs. Two species are extinct — Scslor productus, formerly of Phillip Island, and Scstor Sorfolccnsis, once numerous on Norfolk Island. Tile existing species are two, the kaka proper {Xcslur iiifridiDiialis) and the kea [Scstor iio- /((///7i.«). The kaka inhabits both islands of New Zealand, but recently has become reduced in numlH'is, since it is very unsuspicious of harm and is slow of tliglit. Us general color is brown, with a grayish cap, jellow ear-coverts, and a tinge of red on the rump, abdomen, and under surface of the wings. (See Plate of Parrots Axu Parrakeets.) It inhabits the forests and feeds on juicy berries, nectar brushed from large llowers liy means tif its tongue, and grubs ob- tained by stripping oil' bark or tearing to pieces decaying wood and growing epiphytes. It is so- cial iinil noisy, and lireeds in hollows of trees. The kea or 'mountain parrot' is large, about the size of a raven, and olive-green, with the feathers edged with bliick. and a reddish tinge beneath the wings and on the tail wliicl; ends in a broad blackish band. It belongs to the South Island of New Zealand alone, where it is not found in the forests, but on the rocky moun- tain summits. It seeks its fiKxl in brushy places and nests among the crevices of the clifl's. Originally largely insectivorous, these parrot.s have acquired, since the settlement of New Zea- land, a carnivorous tasto which has made them a pest on all the more elevated sheep-pastures, riiey used to come familiarly about the pens and slaughter-houses, and became fond of pick- ing the heads and offal thrown out. This lilM-ral diet led to a great increase of parrots. It was next found that they attacked any sores the sheep might have; and from this learned to alight upon the sheep and with their pickaxe-like lieaks tear down through the flesh of the loins until the kidneys were reached and devoured, apparently for the sake of their fat. In some districts the loss of sheep has been considerable, and in consequence these ])arrots have been ac- tively destroyed. Extensive accounts of this group are given bv Buller, Birds of New Zealand (London. 2d ed., I'SSS). KAK'ABEK'A FALLS. A picturesque cat- aract of the Kaministiquia River, Ontario, Canada, 14 miles west of Port .Arthur. The falls arc l.'iO yards wide and 130 feet in height. KAKAPO, ka'ka-po' (JIaori name, probably onomatopoetic). Tarai'O. or Owi. Parrot. A nocturnal, ground-keeping parrot (.S'/ruir/op.s ha- hroiililiif!) of New Zealand, also called 'ground' and 'night' parrot. It is about as large as a raven, green, marked with yellow and black, and has a quaint owl-like aspect. The kakapo takes possession of a bole as a home and nesting-place, but also seems able to dig a burrow for itself. Its food is almost entirely vegetable, and is gathered mainly on the ground. The flesh is more delicate than that of any other parrot. Since white men settled in New Zealand, this in- teresting bird has almost disappeared from the northern island, and is rare in the middle island. It is the only known bird having large wings which does not use them for flight. When it does