Page:The New International Encyclopædia 1st ed. v. 18.djvu/561

* STABLE FLY. 481 STADIUM. noyance to horses and cattle, and biting human beings. Anotlier cosmopolitan niuscid lly {ilun- cimi stabiitiins) is sometimes known as 'stable fly.' STACCATO, sta-kii'to (It., detached). In music, a term implying a detached, abrupt mode of performance. A certain amount of time is subtracted from the proper value of any note played staccato, and a rest substituted. A dot placed over a note indicates tluit it is to be played staccato. A dash implies a greater de- gree of staccato; and a very light degree of stac- cato is expressed by uniting the dot with the slur. STACHYS, sta'kis (Lat., from Gk. cTdxvs, woundwort, ear of corn, spike). A genus of plants of the natural order Labiatae, containing numerous species widely distributed in temper- ate and tropical climates except Australia and New Zealand. Stachys sylvatica, hedge nettle, common in shady places, is a coarse herb from 2 to 3 feet tall with ovate, heart-shaped leaves on long stalks and whorls of purple unpleasant smelling flowers. Stacliys elatior, common in moist places, sometimes proves a troublesome weed in meadows. It was formerly used as a vul- nerary, hence the name woundwort. Several species are cultivated in flower gardens. To this genus some botanists refer the common betony or wood betony (Stdchys Betonica), plentiful in woods and thickets in Europe. It is a hairy- stemmed plant one or two feet high, has oblong heart-shaped leaves, whorls of purple or white flowers, and a fetid smell. A Japanese species (Htachys Hieholdi, often called Htnchys tuherife- ra ) has small edible tubers an inch or two long used as a vegetable in China and Japan ; in the latter country they are known as chorogi, under which name they have been introduced into America. STADE, stii'de. A town in the Province of Hanover, Prussia, on the Schwinge, an affluent of the Elbe, about 4 miles from its mouth (Map: Prussia, C 2), It manufactures ma- chinery, ships, trimmed lumber, salt, bricks, wine, and cigars. Stade was designated a city as early as the tenth century. Population, in 1900, 10,575. STADE, Bernh.rd (1848—). A German theologian, born at Arnstadt and educated at Leipzig and Berlin. In 1875 he was appointed professor of theology at Giessen. He wrote De Isaiw Vaticiniis JEMopicis Diatribe (1873), Veier die alttestamentlichen Vorstellungen vom Zustand nach dem. Tode (1877), Lchrbuch der hebriiischen Grammatik (1879), and (leschichte dm Tolkes Israel (vol. i. 1881-84: vol. ii., with O. Holtzmann, 1888). In collabora- tion w-ith Karl Siegfried (q.v. ) he published (1893) a Hebrliisehes Worterbuch j»»! alteti Tes- tament. In 1871 he became the editor of the Zeit- schrift flir alttestanientliche Wissenschaft. STADIA (ML. s:tadia. station, from Lat. sttidiion, from Gk. (rridiov, standard of length, furlong). An attachment fitted to the telescope of a transit and used in surveying to measure dis- tances. Stadia surveying is a modification of transit surveying, and is effected by the use of the stadia or gradienter attachment. The tele- scope of the ordinary transit (see Enoineering Instruments) contains a vertical and a hori- zontal wire dividing the field of vision into four quadrants; but the stadia telescope contains ex- tra horizontal wires mounted on an independent diaphragm, so that the distances between the re- spective wires are adjustable. The principle of its operation is simple. If the space between two auxiliary wires, one on each side of the hori- zontal wire of the telescope, is so adjusted as to subtend a foot on a rod at a distance of 100, the space will subtend two feet on a rod at two hun- dred feet, and so on. Thus by proper adjustment tlie approximate distances to various near-by points can be calculated at once by reading the rod. If from any convenient point in a held the corners are all visible, and the stadia instrument be Set at this point, the distance to each corner can at once be read and also the angles between these lines. Thus with two sides and the in- cluded angle of each triangle, the areas of the different parts and that of the whole field can be calculated. This plan is known as the method of radiation. The gradienter attachment is a micrometer screw which takes the place of the tangent screw to the axis of the telescope. A mounted scale registers the number of turns of a micrometer screw. The value of the thread is usually such that one revolution of the screw moves the horizontal wire of the telescope over a space of one foot on a rod at the distance of a hundred feet. If the micrometer screw is divided into one hundred spaces, it is clear that when the screw is turned through 25, 50, or 75 spaces, or J, i, or I of a space on the scale, the wire of the telescope will pass over 4, i, or | of a foot on the rod, and so on. See Surveying. STADIMETEB (from Gk. ariSiov, stadion, standard of length, furlong -f- nirpov, metron, measure). A nautical instrument invented by Commander B. A. Fiske, United States Navy, and designed for measuring the distance of objects when their height is known. It is somewhat similar in principle to the sextant, but its read- ings are in yards instead of angular measure. See Range- Finder. STADIUM (Lat., from Gk. ardStou, standard of length, furlong, race-course, from iffrdfat, his- ianai, Skt. sthd, Lat. stare, to stand; ultimately connected with Eng. stand). The name for the Greek racecourse, within which also other athletic contests took place. It was used only for con- tests, not apparently as a place for exercise. The spectators stood or sat on the high banks of earth at the sides and across the ends. In some cases one end was curved like a horseshoe, and at times one end was open. At Olympia there seems to have been no permanent seats at the sides, but we hear that at Athens Herodes Atticus (see Atticus) fitted the stadium with Pentelic marble seats. The floor of the stadium was sand or loose earth. The course was straight away, and at each end was usually a long strip of marble which served to mark the start and finish. The length of the course was always 600 Greek feet, but, as the foot varied in different localities, the stadium was not of uniform length. At Athens the standard foot seems to have been 0.2957 meter, like the Roman foot, and the stadium was 177.42 meters. This seems to be the length of the .stadium used commonly as a measure of distance, of which 8% made a Roman mile, and a little more than 9 an English mile. Consult: Hultsch, Grieehishe und romische Me-