Page:The New International Encyclopædia 1st ed. v. 20.djvu/281

* VULTURE. 231 VYSHNI VOLOTCHEK. and the tips of tlic lonf,'cst quills spread apart and bend upward. No birds are better tlyers or more expert and enduring iu soaring. Their only utterance is a sort of hiss. They breed some- times in communities and sometimes in separate pairs, depositing the eggs on the ground, on rocks, or in hollow logs and stumps, usually in thick woods. Where a rookery is established the foulness of the place soon becomes beyond description. The eggs are one or two iu nundjer, roundish, about S-h; inclies in longest diameter, and yellowisli white blotched ,vith brown and purplish tints. These birds are of very great service as scavengers, especially in the hotter parts of their habitat. Consult general works cited under Bird. See Plate of Vultures. VYASA, vya'si (Skt., separation, distribu- tion, arrangement). A legendary Hindu sage to whom is ascribed the authorship, compilation, or coordination of a large body of ancient Sanskrit literature. The redaction of the Vedic hymns and the authorship of the ilalu'ihhdrata (q.v.) are attributed to him, wliilc his name is attached to the I'urdnus (q.v.), to a Bruhmasutra (see Vedanta ), and to several other works. Accord- ing to tradition his father was the Vedic sage Parasara (q.v.), and his own sons were Pandu and Dhritarashtra, the famous kings of the ilahahhiirata. His full name is given as Krishna Dvaipayana Vyasa, and legend accounts for the title krisna, 'black,' by his dark complexion, and for the attribute dvaipayana by a story of his birth on an island in the Yamuna or River Jumna. As the immense mass of literature as- cribed to him is so varied in character and so different in point of age, it is impossible to re- gard the whole as the production of a single individual. For that reason ^"yasa is understood to typify the literary activity which brought order into the heterogeneous mass of Sanskrit literature. VYATKA, vyat'ka. A government of North- eastern Russia. Area, nearly 59,400 square miles. It is largely a jilateau, somewhat elevated in the northeast, "with hills reaching an altitude of 1400 feet. The chief rivers are the Kama and its tributary the Vyatka (Map: Russia, G 3). The climate is characteristicall.y continental, with a mean annual temperature of about 35°. Agri- culture is the principal occupation and is fa- vored by a fertile soil, but is carried on by primi- tive methods. Stock-raising is also an important industry, Vyatka being noted in Russia for its good horses. About one-half of the area of the government is under forests, but they are un- equally distributed. Over 300,000 persons are engaged in household industries. The mineral and smelting industries employ about 40,000 per- sons and produce ehielly iron and steel. The manufacturing industries are gradually develop- ing and the atuuial value of their jiroducts is about .$14,000,000. The chief manufactures are leather. Hour, s])irits, hardware, and machinery. There is an extensive Government factory of arms. Population, in 1H!)7. 3,082,788. The Rus- sians form about 78 per cent, and the remainder is composed of Votyaks, Tcheremisses, and Tatars. VYATKA. The capital of the Government of Vyatka, in Russia, situated on the river V.vatka, 600 miles northeast of Moscow (Map: Russia, G 3). The trade in grain and animal products with Saint Peter.sburg, Moscow, Arch- angel, and Siberia is extensive. Population, in 1807, 24,782. Vyatka, formerly Khlynov, dates probably from the twelfth century. It was an important commercial city jn-actically independ- ent in its administration, and differing from Nov- gorod (q.v.) in that it had no princes. It was annexed to JIoscow in the fifteenth century. VYAZMA, vyiiz'ma. A district town in the Govcruuient of Smolensk, Russia, situated on the river V3azma, 151 miles east of Moscow (Map: Russi;i, D 3). Flax and oil are the chief products. Population, in 1807, 15,77(5. The town was founded in the eleventh centurj' and was an important place in the Principality of Smolensk. In 1812 it was the scene of an engagement be- tween the Russians and the French, in which the former were victorious. VYERNY, vyer'ni. The capital of the Terri- tory of Semiryetchensk, Russian Turkestan, situ- ated at an altitude of 2430 feet, 2690 miles southeast of Moscow (jMap: Asia, G 4). It is strongly fortified. Population, in 1897, 22,982. The town was founded on the site of a Kirghiz settlement in 1854. It has suffered greatly from earthquakes, that of 1887 having almost entirely ruined the place and killed over 330 persons. VYSHNI VOLOTCHEK, vish'nye volo- chek'. The capital of a district in the Govern- ment of Tver, Russia, situated near the Tsna River, 224 miles southeast of Saint Petersburg (Ma]i: Russia, E 3). It has considerable com- mercial importance. The chief manufactures are cotton goods. Population, in 1897, 16,722.