Page:The New International Encyclopædia 1st ed. v. 20.djvu/201

* VIRCHOW. 157 VIRGILIA. onist of tlir oncroai-limciils iiiadp in iiaiiic of tlie royal picroyalivc. He was one of the found- ers of the Fortsclirittspurtci ( I'rofircssists). and both as suc'li and as a sul)se(|uent nu'nil)er of the dciiinch-frcisiniiiijc party he was one of the most prominent figures of the German Reieliatag from ISSO to 18118. The first edition of his master-work. Cellular- palholof/ic, was published in 1858, and attracted at once the attention and admiration, and later won the acceptanee of the medieal world, dis- placing the former pathological systems and theories for all time. (See Pathology.) His views were so clear, his theory so perfect, and his grasp of the matter so comprehensive that his fame was at once assured. His work upon tumors is of especial value, as it holds the prac- tical and clinical aspects of the matter a.s of prime importance — a circumstance that is re- markable in view of the fact that Virchow was not a practitioner of medicine. His views com- bated the pessimistic theories of Rokitansky and the prevailing Vienna school of jiathologists. His work in pathology is distinctly a creation, es- tablishing the biologic principle that the laws working in disease are not dill'erent from those in operation in health, though subject to dif- ferent conditions. The cellular theory was finally established in 1858. During the wars of 18G6 and 1870-71. Virchow devoted himself to arranging, equipping and drilling hospital corps and ambulance squads, and directed the man- agement of numbers of hospital trains, also tak- ing charge of the immense Berlin military hos- pital, as well as of the sanitary arrangements of the troops in the field. The Franco-Prussian War ended, Virchow became a member of the Sanitary Bureau of the city of Berlin, w-ith its problem of the disposal of sewage, neither of the two little streams near it being capable of re- ceiving and transporting the refuse. Under his direction immense sewage farms were estab- lished after such a plan that they have kept pace in adequateness with the tremendous growth of the city, while the revenue from them is suHicient to meet and defray the expense of their mainte- nance. Virchow was also distinguished as an archaeolo- gist. His advice and learning were of great ad- vantage to Schliemann in the latter's researches in Hissarlik, and in the plains of ancient Troy. Archieological anthropology gained nuieh from his description of the bones found in the graves at Koban. On October 13, lOOl, upon the celebra- tion of his eightieth anniversary, at a complimentary dinner in Berlin, a Festschrift was presented to iiim by a score of former students. Simultaneously testimonial dinners were given in other cities, notably New York and Chicago, in the United States, at which many physicians vied with each other in recounting the discov- eries and sounding their praises of the great sci- entist, teacher, physician, and legislator. Perliaps Vircliow's greatest material monu- ment is the Pathological Institute and Museum in Berlin, erected by the Government in accord- ance with his desires. It contained 23,000 specimens at the time of his death, and by far surpasses all similar collections in the world. He was a very voluminous writer. Among his works are Mittheiluiiyen iibcr die Ti/phus- Epidemie (Berlin, 1848) ; Die Celliilarpathologie (ib., 1858; trans., London, IHfiO) ; llandljueh der spcciellen I'alhdhxjie iind 'I'hcrapic (ib., 1854- 2) ; Viirhsuiujvn iibtr I'atholoyic (ib., 18C2-72) ; Die l,-ninl.liiifl,ii (Jcschiriilslc {ib., 18(i3-(7). He also published many works on various topics, such as the gorilla, i)lague in its relations to jjublic health, (ifiethe, .Johannes ^Miiller, spedal- ska (a disease peculiar to the Norwegian coasts), etc. Consult his Life liy Beecher (Berlin, 1891). VIE.'EO (Lat. vireo, greenfinch, from virere, to- be green, vigorous), or Gbeenlet. The common name of a family of about fifty insectivorous birds, having a plumage more or less tinted with green and olive. In the genus Vireo the bill is- short, straight, notched, and hooked at the tip; wings long and pointed ; toes of moderate length ; tail moderate and even. There are about 30' species, a dozen of which occur in the United States, most of them migrating to and from South America and the West Indies. Many of tliese birds are singers, and the variety of song in the genus is great. All subsist exclusively upon insects, and are of immense service to the gardener and orchardist. All agree, also, in con- structing a very artistic nest in the form of a cup of ribbon-like materials, such as grape-vine bark, ornamented with cobwebs, lichens, and the like; the typical form is shown on the Plate of Pe.vsile Nests of Rihos, mider Nidification. RED-EYED VIHEO. The most familiar and widespread species in the United States is the red-eyed vireo ( 'ireo fdivnceiis), about six inches long; back and tail bright olive green, crown ashy, and a character- istic double line, dusky and white, over the eye, the iris of which is red. The white-eyed vireo {Tireo Noreboraccnsis) is very similar, but has a wliite iris. A more southerly species is Vireo bnrbatulus. called "Whip-Tom Kelley' in Jamaica after its call-notes. Of the others, the most striking is the yellow-throated ( rireo flavifrons), which is bright olive green above, pure white beneath, and with the throat and breast bright yellow. VIRGIL. See Vergil. VIRGIL'IA (Neo-Lat., named, in honor of the Latin i)oet Virfiiliiis. Vcrgilius, Vergil, in allusion to his agricultural poem, the Geuniica) . A genus of leguminous trees, natives of South Africa. The only species, Virgilia capensis, is a handsome tree 15-20 feet tall occurring abun- dantly along streams in Cape Colony. The wood is light, soft, and easily worked, and is much used for yokes, spars, etc. To this genus Michaux referred a North American tree., the yellow- wood ( T'ln/iVia liitea). but, from differences in the pods and other parts. Rafinesque made a new genus for it, Cladrastis, which is its present botanical name. See Cladeastis.