Page:The New International Encyclopædia 1st ed. v. 16.djvu/693

QUEEN'S COLLEGE. was the residence of Erasmus during his stay in Cambridge.

 QUEEN'S COLLEGE. A college at Oxford, England. It was founded in 1340-41 by Robert de Eglesfield, chaplain to Philippa, Queen of Edward III., for a provost and twelve scholars, in imitation of Christ and the Apostles. Poverty was enjoined; the college was very ecclesiastical in its tone, the fellows being required to be in holy orders, and, as a charity, twelve poor boys were supported out of its revenues. The positions in the college were practically confined to the North Country, of which the founder was a native. Under the new statutes of 1882, the college has a provost, from fourteen to sixteen fellows, about twenty-five scholars, and two Bible clerks. There are actually, however, thirty-five scholars, and twenty exhibitioners, besides a number of honorary fellows and lecturers, and college officials. The buildings date from the late seventeenth century, the hall by Sir Christopher Wren and the library, with about 60,000 volumes, being especially noteworthy. Various quaint customs prevail in the college, particularly the ceremony of the boar's head at Christ- mas, and the New Year's custom of presenting each of the fellows with a needle, and admonishing him to thrift. Among the distinguished members of the college have been John Wiclif (probably), Edward the Black Prince, Henry V., Addison, Wycherley, Jeremy Bentham, Mitford, and Jeffrey.

 QUEEN'S COLLEGE. An institution of higher education, situated at' Belfast, Ireland. It was founded in 1845 and constituted part of the Queen's University in Ireland until the passage of the University Education Act in 1879. In 1902 it had an attendance of 349, with a teaching staff of 22 professors, offering courses in the liberal arts, medicine and law. The library contained about 55,450 volumes.

 QUEEN'S COLLEGE. An institution of higher education situated at Galway, Ireland. It was founded in 1845, together with the colleges at Cork and Belfast as a part of Queen's University, but became independent in 1850. It gives instruction in law, medicine, and the liberal arts.

 QUEEN'S COLLEGE. An institution of higher education, situated at Cork, Ireland. It was founded in 1845, forming a part of Queen's University until 1879. together with Queen's College in Belfast and Queen's College in Galway. It offers courses in the liberal arts and medicine.

 QUEEN'S COUNSEL. See.

 QUEEN'S COUNTY. A southeastern inland county of Leinster. Ireland, bounded north by King's County, east by Kildare and Carlow. south by Kilkenny, and west by Tipperary and King's County (Map: Ireland, D 4). Area, 664 square miles. The Barrow is the chief river. On the northwestern border lie the Slieve Bloom Mountains, and the Dysart Hills occupy the south-east, Ihe rest of the surface being flat or gently undulating. Dairy farming is the principal industry. Coarse linen and cotton cloths are manufactured in small quantities, and coal is mined. The capital is Maryborough. Population, in 1841. 154.000: in 1851, 111,700: in 1891, 63,855; in 1901, 57.225.

 QUEENS'LAND. A State of Australia, occupying the northeastern part of the continent. It is bounded on the north by the Gulf of Carpentaria and Torres Strait, on the east by the Pacific Ocean, on the south by New South Wales, and on the west by South Australia (Map: Australia, G 3). Its extreme length from north to south is 1260 miles, its extreme breadth 940 miles, and its area is estimated at 668,497 square miles, or nearly one-fifth of the area of the United States.

Queensland has a coastline of 2230 miles. Its eastern coast, from Point Danger to Cape York, the northern extremity of York Peninsula, is indented with numerous small bays, affording several good harbors, such as Moreton Bay, the harbor of Brisbane. This coast is lined, at a distance away of 20 to 150 miles, by an immense coral reef called the Great Barrier Reef, which is about 1000 miles long and incloses a broad sheet of quiet water filled with numerous islands. The Great Dividing Range, which runs along the entire eastern coast of the continent, here recedes farther from the sea than in the two southern States. But it sends out a number of spurs, and divides into parallel coast ranges, so that the whole eastern part of the State for 300 miles from the coast is rugged and mountainous, the ranges having an average elevation of 2000 to 3000 feet, with a maximum height of 5400 feet. The western half is an undulating plain traversed in its north central part by a western spur of the Great Divide. There are four principal drainage systems: first, the rivers flowing eastward to the Pacific Ocean, which, though short, are navigable tidal streams for considerable distances; second, those flowing through the plain southward to the Darling; third, those flowing north to the Gulf of Carpentaria; and fourth, those flowing westward and losing themselves in the great central plains of the continent. Queensland is better watered than any of the other States.

Though lying to a great extent within the tropics, Queensland enjoys a comparatively equable climate. The mean annual temperature in the southeastern part is 69°, and even in the arid western plains the temperature seldom rises above 95°. The rainfall is very unevenly distributed. On the east coast it ranges from 50 inches at Brisbane to 100 and even 150 inches farther north. It decreases very rapidly toward the interior, being generally less than 20 inches west of the mountains, and falling to 6 inches in the extreme west. The rainfall throughout the State is very uncertain.

The great western plains have a rich black soil, but are generally treeless, though covered with grass and shrubs. The valleys along the coast are filled with thick deposits of alluvial soil of great fertility, and here we find a luxuriant tropical forest growth. Though the predominating species are Australian types. such as Eucalyptus and Acacia, the flora of Queens- land differs from that of the other States in having a large admixture of Indian. Malayan, and Polynesian types, notably among the cycads and palms. Here grow the screw-pines (Pandanus) and the Araucarias, while the coasts and tidal streams are lined with mangrove thickets. The fauna, on the other hand, is typically Australian. <section end="Queensland" />