Page:The New International Encyclopædia 1st ed. v. 20.djvu/633

WILLIS. Wiltshire. He was graduated in 1639 at Oxford, where he began practice in 1646. He fought as a Royalist in the Revolution, studied medicine dur- ing the Protectorate, and at the Kestoration was made Sedlcian professor of natural philosophy at Oxford. He afterwards settled in London, where he became a founder of the Koyal Society, and in 16C(J he became physician in ordinary to Charles IT. Willis made iiniiortant medical dis- coveries concerning the l>rain. A system of con- necting arteries at the base of the brain is called the 'circle of Willis' after him. H is claimed that he first suggested the possibility of locali- zation of function in the brain, and pnl)Iished two treatises on the subject: Anntrniu) of the Brain (16G4) and Pnthology of the Brain and Ncrvoits fit/stem (UKiT). He was buried in Westminster Abbey. Besides many other works, he published Cerebri Anatome, cut Ac- cessit Vervorinn Descripiio et Vsus (London, 1664); Pathotoffiw Cerebri, etc. (Amsterdam, 1(568); Affeclioiiiiin t/iiw Dicuntur Hi/stcricw et [J i/pochondriuc(c I'afliologia t^pasmodica Vindi- cata (Leyden. 1671 ): and De Anima Briitorum (London, 1672). His complete works, Opera- Omnia, were published in Geneva (1676), and a translation into English in London ( 1684).

WILL'MAR. The county-seat of Kandiyohi County, Jlinn., DO miles west of Minneapolis, on the Great Northern Railroad (Map: Minnesota, C 5 ). It is the shipping point of a farming and stock-raising section, and has grain elevators, brick works, a creamery, and manufactories of flour, gasoline engines, lumber products, etc. Willmar Seminary is here; and there are a handsome court-linuse, public library ( Carnegie ), and public parks. The water-works and the electric light plant are owned by the municipalitv. Population, in 1890, 1825; iii 1000, 3409.

WILL'MORE, (1800-63). An English engraver, born at Handsworth. Staflfordshire. He studied engraving under RadclyfTe in Birmingham and under Charles Heath in London. He was made an associate of the Royal Academy in 1843. In execution lie was clever and forceful, and his tone and shading are remarkably good. Among his prints are many from Turner, e.g. "Mercury and Argus" and "Ancient Italy;" also some from Eastlake, Landsper, Stanfield, and Creswick.

WILL-O'-THE-WISP. See Igxis Fatuus.

WILLOUGHBY, wil'obi. Sir Hvgh (1500?- 54?). An English Arctic explorer. He was born at Risby. Derbyshire, and was knighted for his services in the expedition to Scotland in 1544. In 1553 he was made admiral of a, lleet of three vessels sent out at the expense of the merchants of London with license from Edward VI. "to dis- cover strange countries and a northeastern pas- sage to Cathay and India." The vessels took out 136 persons, of whom 18 were merchants having a share in the expenses of the expedition. In July, 1553, a storm on the coast of Norway dis- persed the fleet. Two of the ships went into the iiarbor of Arzina, in Lapland, where the crews and passengers perished during the rigors of the winter, the ships and bodies being found some years later together wiHi Willoughby's journal and will. The third vessel was wrecked, but a few of her crew escaped to Archangel.

WILLOW (AS. wolia, of uncertain ctymol- ogv), Salix. A genus of plants of the natural orclcr SalicaeciP. The (lowers are naked, the stamens from one to fivi; in number, the leaves simple and deciduous. There arc fully 160 spe- cies, but their precise number is not likeh- to be soon determined, as varieties are very numerous and many hybrids are known to exist. They are mostly natives of the cobler temperate regions of the Northern Hemisiihcre, although some are found in warm countries, as Halix tetrasperma in the hottest parts of India. Most of them are

eHJNINQ-LEATED mLLOW (SalJK luCidR). shrubs, and some are of very humble growth, par- ticularly those of Arctic and Alpine regions. Thus, tSalix herbacea, which is common on the mountains of Scotland and fartlier north, seldom rises more than an inch from the ground. Salix arctica and Xalix polaris are the most northern woody i)hints. Other small species are also found at the limits of perpetual snow in various countries. Some of those which more generally receive the popular name willow are trees of large size and remarkalily rapid growth. The wood of some of them, as the white willow or Huntingdon willow (,^alix alba), and the crack willow (i<alix frafiilis), is used for many pur- poses, being remarkably liglit and soft, but tough and durable, especially in damp situations. Cork- cutters and others employ it for whetting sharp- edged implements. It is used for making pad- dles of steamboats, because it wears better in water than an.v other kind of wood. Willows are often planted as ornamental trees, especially near streams and in moist grounds. Man.v kinds are also planted on the banks of rivers to retain the soil in its place and restrain the encroach- ment of the water. They are peculiarly adapted for this purpose, as they grow readily from cut- tings. Willow stakes driven into a moist soil strike root, and soon become luxuriant.

The twigs of most of the willows are very tough and flexible, and are used by coopers for making hoops, and by gardeners for tying large plants. They are much used for basket-making and other kinds of wickerwork. (See Osier. j Willow