Page:The New International Encyclopædia 1st ed. v. 14.djvu/819

* NUTTALL. 697 NYASSA. chaux's yorth American Sylva (1842-49), he re- turned to inherited estates in Lancashire, where lie died. NUT-WEEVIL. Any one of several species of weevils, of the family Cureulini<he, which in- fest chestnuts, hickory nuts, and oilier nuts. They helong to the genus iiahminus, and are of rather large size, usuallj- claj--yelh)v in color, and pos- sess au exceedingly long, slender heak or snout. By means of this beak they puncture the burs of young chestnuts, the husks of hickory nuts and walnuts, and the coverings of young acorns, reaching nearly to the centre of the nut, and placing an egg in the hole thus made. The larva, which is a stout white grub, eats out the interior of the nut and burrows its way through the shell, and then enters the ground to pupate. NUX VOMICA (Neo-Lat., vomit nut, from Lat. mix, nut, and Neo-Lat. voinictis, relating to vomit, from Lat. romere, to vomit). The phar- macopieial name of the seed of Stri/ihii<in ittix vomica, or poison nut. The seeds, which are im- ported from the East Indies, are nearly circular and flat, about an inch in diameter, iiinbilicated and slightly convex on one side, externally of an ash-gray color, thickly covered with short satiny hairs, internally traiisliu'ent, tinigh, and horny, intensely bitter, and inodorous. The nux vomica tree is a native of Coro- mandel, Ceylon, and other jjarts of the East Indies. It is a tree of moderate size, with round- ish-oblong, stalked, smooth leaves, and terminal corymbs. The fruit is a globular berry, about as large as a small orange, one-celled, with a brittle shell, and several seeds lodged in a white gelatinous pulp. The bark is sometimes known as false Angosl urn htirk, having been confounded with Angostura bark in consequence of a com- mercial fraud; but its properties are very dif- ferent, as it is very poisonous. The seeds contain ( in addition to inert mat- ters, such as gum, starch, woody fibre, etc.) two alkaloids closely related lo each other, which act as powerful poisons on the animal frame, and speedily occasion violent tetanic convulsions and death. These alkaloids or bases are named strych- nine and brucine (qq.v.). Nux vomica is poisonous in a greater or lesser degree to most animals. In very small doses, its effects upon man are those of a general tonic, acting as a stimulant to digestion, circulation, respiration, and the nervous system, it seems to exert a selective actioii upon the cells of the an- terior bone of the sjiinal cord. In larger doses there is a disordered state of the muscular sys- tem; the limbs tremble; a slight rigidity or stillness is felt when an attempt is made to put the muscles in action; respiration is jerky and there is a sense of uneasiness. If the use of the medicine is continued these effects increase in intensity, and the voluntary muscles are thrown into a convulsed state by very slight causes — as, for example, by inspiring more deeply than usual, or even by turning in iK'd. In ]iaralysis the effects are most marked in the paralyzed parts. In poisonous doses the symp- toms are like those of tetanus, hut with the muscles of the jaw the last to I)e affected, fol- lowed by death. It is difficult to say what is the smallest dose that would prove fatal to an adult. Thirty grains of the powdered nuts, given by mistake to a patient, destroyed life. Three grains of the extract have proved fatal, half a grain of sulphate of strychnine caused death in fourteen minutes. Its chemical antidote is tan- nin, which forms a partially insoluble compound. NYACK, nl'ak. A village in Rockland Coun- ty, X. Y., picturesquely situated on the west bank of the Hudson River, at the broad expansion called Tappan Bay, opposite Tarrytown, with which it is connected by ferry, anil 27 miles north of New York City ; the terminus of the Northern Railroad of New Jersey, a branch of the Erie Railroad (Jlap: New York, G 4). It is popular as a place of residence and as a summer resort. It has a public library, and is the seat of the Hudson River ililitary Academy, Rockland Jlilitary Ai'ademy, and Nyack -Military Academy. There arc clotli-finishing and yacht and boat building establishments, also manufac- tories of shoes, carriages, sleighs, etc. Nyack was settled about 1700, was incorporated as a village in 1S73, relinijuished its charter in 1876, and was reincorporated in 1883. The government, under a general village law, revised in 1897, is vested in a president and board of trustees. The water-works are owneil and ojicrated by the vil- lage. Population, in 1890, 4111; in 1900. 4275. NYAM-NYAM. An African people. See Nl.M XlAM. NYAN. The name in Ladak for an argali (q.v.). NYANGWE, nyang'we. A trading station on the Upper Congo, in Congo Free State, Central Africa, in longitude 20° 20' E., and latitude 4° 15' S. (Map: Congo Free State, E 3). It is connected by a caravan route with Lusambo, on the Sankuru, from where there is steam com- munication with Leopoldville. It is also con- nected with Albertville, on Lake Tanganyika. Nyangwe was visited by Livingstone in 1871, and was the starting point for Stanley's expe- dition to the mouth of the Congo in 1876. NYANZA, nyan'za. A woid in the eastern Bantu languages meaning 'great water,' and ap- plied to several of the large lakes in Central Africa. See Albert Edward Nyanza: Albert Ntaxza; Nyassa; Victoria Nyanza. NYASSA, nyas'sa (a form of the Bantu word iii/anzn. meaning "great water') . One of the large lakes of Southeastern .frica. It is situated southeast of Lake Tanganyika, and about 380 miles from the Indian Ocean, between latitudes 9° .30' and 14° 2.5' S. (.Ma]): Congo Free State, F 5). It is 340 miles long from north to south, with an average bread! h of 40 miles, and an area of 14,200 square miles; Near its .southern and eastern shores it reaches a depth of 700 feet, and in many places its bottom lies Ix'low the surface of the Indian Ocean, but it becomes shal- low toward the north and west. It closely resem- bles Lake Tanganyika (q.v.) in shape and for- mation, both being formed by deep fissures in the great plateau. Lake Nyassa is surrounded on all sides by mountains, which on the east coast are from .5000 to 10.000 feet high. Between these and the shores there is an intervening strip of low. sandy or marshy alluvial land from 2 to 10 miles wide, except in the northeast, where the mountains approach clo.se to the water's edge. On the west the mountains are broken in several places by gaps through which rivers find their wav to the lake, which is drained southward into