Page:The New International Encyclopædia 1st ed. v. 18.djvu/792

* STJLU ISLANDS. 690 SUMACH. Considerable areas in Sulu Island are cleared and cultivated, the chief crop being rice, while coll'ee, cacao, corn, hemp, cotton, and indigo are also raised. The industries include weaving for domestic use, the manufacture of cordage and of knives and hatchets, and pearl and shell fish- ing, the last being probalily the most impor- tant. Trade is almost wholly in the hands of Chinese merchants, and consists chietly in the exportation of pearl shell to Singapore and JIanila and the importation of manufactured goods. The dominant race among the inhabitants are the Moros, a tribe of Jlohammedan Slalays, who had invaded and eonqvicred the islands be- fore the arrival of the Europeans. They prac- tice polygamy and a mild form of slavery, which the United States Government has agreed not' to abolish, though it has insisted that hereafter no person shall be enslaved. The people are gov- erned directly by local chieftains called datos, who are more or less nominally suliject to the Sultan of Sulu. The latter was confirmed in his title and authority by the United States Gov- ernment. The population of the archipelago is estimated at 22,630. The capital is Sulu (q.v.). When the Sulu Archipelago was visited by Magellan in 1521 it was already occupied by the Moros, and formed, together with its posses- sions in North Borneo, an independent State. The Moros showed a warlike and independent spirit, and remained almost up to the present time among the most formidable pirates in the Malay Archipelago. Spain claimed sovereignty over the islands and their dependencies, but did not exercise it beyond sending occasional punitive expeditions against the pirates, and her sov- ereignty was disputed by England and Germany. By 1875, however, Spain had gradually gained a foothold and begun to assume actual control. In 1877 traflic was declared free in the archi-. pelago, and Spain abandoned her claim to North Borneo in favor of England. Finally in 1885 England and Germany formally recognized Span- ish sovereignty in the islands. It had already been acknowledged by the Sultan in 1878. With the Philippine Islands the Sulu Archipelago passed into the possession of the United States in 1898. In December, 1899, a treaty was defi- nitely concluded between the Sultan and the United States by which American sovereignty over the islands was recognized. The rights and dignities of the Sultan were acknowledged and an annual stipend was conferred upon him. The Moros were guaranteed immunity in the practice of their religion. Toward the end of 1903 hos- tilities broke out between the Jloro chiefs and the United States forces. The latter, under the command of General Leonard Wood, inflicted a severe defeat on the enemy in the last days of November. STTLZER, ziil'tsDr, Joiiann Georg (1720-79). A Swiss aesthetic philosopher, born at Winter- thur. Educated in Zurich, he went in 1742 to Berlin, where he entertained friendly relations with Euler and Maupertuis, became professor of mathematics at the Joachimsthaler Gymnasium (1747), then at the Ritterakademie (1763), and was elected a member of the Academy. His prin- cipal work, in which he sought to reconcile the doctrines of Wolf with the tenets of the French and English philosophers, is the Allgcmeine Tlieo- rie der sclionen Kiinste (1771-74; new ed., with literary additions by Blankenburg, 1792-94), sup- plemented by Xaclitmge, odcr Charakteristik der vornehmsteii Diehler aller Nutionen, ed. bv Dyk and Schatz (1792-1808). With Ramler he edited Kritische Xachrichten aus dein Reiche der Ge- lehrsamkcit (1750). Consult his autobiography (Berlin, 1809). SUMACH (OF. sumac, sumach, Fr. sumac, sominac, sumach, from Ar. summnq, siunach, from samaqa, to come of good stock), Rhus.. A genus of about 100 species of shrubs and small trees of the natural order Anacardiaceae, dis- tributed over almost all the world, except its coldest regions. The following species are of commercial importance: Venetian sumach {Rhus Cotinits), known also as wig sumach or wig tree, is a native of Southern Europe and Western Asia, and is often planted under the name smoke tree as an ornamental shrub. It has simple leaves and hairy corymbs of fruit, which have a sort of resemblance to periwigs. The wood, which dyes yellow, and, with the addition of other substances, green and brown, is known in trade as young fustic. The leaves are astrin- gent, and are used for dyeing Turkey red. The root is also used in dyeing, and the whole plant is used for tanning in Italy. Tlie seed resembles the almond in flavor. The very acid fruit of the elm-leaved sumach {Rhtis Coriaria), a native of the IVIediterrancan region, has been used from the earliest times as a condiment. Similar to this is the Virginian sumach, or stag-horn su- mach {Rhus typhiua), a native of almost all parts of North America, with curiousl}' crooked STAGHORN STTMACH (Rbus typbina). branches, covered, when young, with a soft vel- vety down. The smooth-leaved sumach {Rhus glabra), a similar species, also North American, has acid leaves, which are used for domestic pur- poses. The collection of the leaves of the su- mach, especially Rhiis typhina, for tanning is an industrj' in parts of the South. The varnish sumach or Japan varnish tree {Rhus reriiici- fera), a native of Japan and Nepal, yields a varnish much used in Japan for lacquer-work. The expressed oil of the seeds becomes as hard as tallow, and is used for candles. In Australia