ever, are the seasons marked with distinctive regularity. FLORA. The flora of Ecuador does not differ essentially from that of other western countries of South America, and especially resembles that of Colombia and Peru. În the lower portions, in the east and on the foot-hills, the vegetation is purely tropical. Thick forests of cabinet-woods and of medicinal plants occupy a considerable portion of the territory. Above 6000 feet the vegetation is more northern, while above 10,000 feet trees are seldom met with, and the vegetable life consists of shrubs and coarse grasses. FAUNA. The fauna includes the common South American species, such as several varieties of monkey, the jaguar, tapir, llama, vicuna, alpaca, etc. Birds, which include the condor and a large number of humming-birds which are restricted to individual volcanic cones, are represented in numerous species. GEOLOGY AND MINERAL RESOURCES. The Andes contain Archæan gneisses and granites and sedimentary strata of Paleozoic and Mesozoic age, all closely folded and broken in many places by eruptions of volcanic rocks. The coast and the eastern plains are floored by Cretaceous and Tertiary strata. Very little has been done to develop the mineral resources of Ecuador, and their value is as yet unknown. In the province of Esmeraldas there are placer deposits of gold along the Santiago, Uimbi, and Cochabibi rivers, which are worked in a small way, and near Zaruma, Province of Oro, gold quartz is mined by an American company. The total output of gold is not more than $500,000. Copper, iron, coal, and petroleum are believed to occur in quantities to warrant exploita tion. AGRICULTURE. The agricultural resources of Ecuador are considerable. The soil in the lower portions, as well as in the elevated valleys, is of singular fertility and produces a large variety of crops. The principal product is cocoa, which is cultivated chiefly in the provinces of Manabi, Guayas, and Oro. Estimates in 1888 placed the number of cacao-trees at over 47,000,000, with an annual production of over 26,000,000 kilograms (57,000,000 pounds). Next in importance to cocoa is coffee, which is cultivated in several districts. The conditions for sugar cultivation are very favorable, and the industry is gradually extending. Tobacco, ivory-nuts, rice, Indian corn, as well as the common cereals, such as wheat, barley, oats, and a number of medicinal and industrial plants, are also raised for the home market, as well as for export. The rubbertree abounds, and the collecting of rubber is a growing industry. The cattle and sheep holdings are large, and considerable alfalfa is cultivated. Cheese is a staple food. MANUFACTURES, COMMERCE, AND TRANSPORTATION. With the exception of some coarse fabrics for native consumption, straw braid used for the manufacturing of hats and other straw articles, Ecuador has hardly any manufactures. The commerce, although steadily increasing, is as yet unimportant. The exports consist chiefly of cocoa. Coffee, sugar, ivory-nuts, rubber, are shipped, and some gold. The exports have increased from 14,052,514 sucres (48.7 cents) in 1893 to 15,419,222 sucres in 1900. The imports, The consisting mostly of textiles, metal ware, and necessaries of life, have risen during the same period from 10,052,163 sucres to 13,431,179 sucres. The trade is mostly with France, Germany, Great Britain, and the United States. The commerce with the United States in the period of 1890-1900 has increased as follows: Imports from Ecuador, in 1890, $836,437; in 1900, $1,524,378. Exports from the United States in 1890, $903,159; in 1900, $1,216,008. United States imports most of Ecuador's rubber and a considerable portion of its cocoa, and exports to it railway supplies and foodstuffs. The chief ports are Guayaquil, Manta, and Esmeraldas. The mountainous surface of the country is unfavorable to the development of transportation facilities. The roads are mostly for packanimals, being almost impassable during the rainy season. The chief road runs from Quito (q.v.), the capital, toward Guayaquil and the Of open railway lines Ecuador has only about 67 miles-a short line from Duran, south of Guayaquil, to Chimbo. A line about 300 miles in length, from Quito to Guayaquil, is to be completed about 1905. It is being put through by foreign capital, and its entire cost is estimated at $18,000,000. The coast rivers are navigated by American and native steamers. There is ocean. telegraph communication between Quito and Guayaquil, and also with Colombia, while Guayaquil has cable connection with Panama and Peru. un GOVERNMENT. The Constitution dates from 1830 and has been frequently altered. The executive authority is shared by the President with a responsible ministry. The President is elected directly for a period of four years. The VicePresident is elected in the same manner, but two years after the election of the President, serving accordingly across two terms. The Congress consists of two Houses. The members of the Senate (two for each province) are elected directly for four years. The House of Representatives consists of members elected directly for two years, at the rate of one Deputy for every 35,000 inhabitants, with a Deputy for every additional 15,000 inhabitants or more. The Indians, being practically in a condition of slavery, are represented. Congress meets biennially, but can be summoned for an extra session by the President. The voting franchise is restricted to every male citizen of twenty-one years of age who is able to read and write. The local administrators, from the governors of the provinces down to the lieutenants of the parishes, are all appointed by the President and removed at his discretion. For administrative purposes Ecuador is divided into sixteen provinces, besides the Galápagos Archipelago, which is administered by a territorial chief. For the administration of justice there are a supreme court of six judges appointed by the Congress, six superior courts or courts of appeal, whose judges are also appointed by the Congress, and a number of commercial and other inferior courts. For military defense Ecuador has a standing army of about 3300 men and a national guard about 30,000 strong. The navy consists of a torpedo-boat and a transport. See ARMIES AND NAVIES. FINANCE. The revenue of Ecuador is derived mostly from customs duties and to some extent from taxes on real estate and income, and from Government monopolies and property. At present the budget balances at over 8,000,000 sucres ($3,896,000), but the revenue generally falls short of the expenditures and loans are necessarily resorted to. The public debt is in a state of confusion. Ecuador's share of indebtedness at the dissolution of the Republic of Colombia in 1830 amounted to £1,824,000 ($8,883,000). It was not, however, until 1854 that the bondholders managed to get from the Government a formal recognition of its debt. In 1867 payment on the debt ceased, and the arrears amounted in 1891 to £428,640. By an arrangement with the creditors in 1892 the principal was reduced to £750,000, which sum was afterwards further reduced, and at present the entire foreign debt amounts to about £671,000 ($3,267,800), and is held entirely by the Guayaquil and Quito Railway Company. In 1896 the internal debt amounted to 4,580,000 sucres ($2,275,400). It has increased considerably since then. Ecuador adopted the gold standard in 1900. The metal currency of the republic is estimated at 4,000,000 sucres ($1,948,000), of which only one-fourth is gold coin. There are also in circulation banknotes to the amount of about 6,000,000 sucres ($2,922,000). Two banks issue notes for circulation: the Banco del Ecuador and the Banco Comercial y Agrícola, with a combined capital of 2,500,000 sucres. There are two other leading banks. WEIGHTS AND MEASURES. The unit of value is the peso or sucre, equivalent to 48.7 cents. There are gold condors (10 sucres) and fractions of a sucre in nickel and copper pieces. The metrical system, adopted in 1856, is used only in official publications. The current measures and weights are essentially the same as in the United States. The unit for linear measure is the vara (yard); for weight, libra (pound); for capacity, fanega (4.44 cubic feet). EDUCATION. Elementary education is gratuitous and obligatory. There are a university at Quito, and a number of secondary schools; the elementary schools number over 1000, and have an attendance of about 70,000. Ecuador is at a low ebb. POPULATION. The population of Ecuador in 1889 by provinces is given as follows: 36,000 205,000 109,600 64,014 132,400 Ecuador. The civilized Indians, belonging generally to the Quitus race, form the great laboring class. In the Amazonian valleys several tribesthe Oregones, Encabellados, etc. are related to those of western Brazil. In the east, too, generally are found the Jivaros, Zaparo, Abiquira, and other peoples who are supposed to be of the Tupi and the Carib races. They were formerly progressive and prosperous, but have greatly deteriorated since the expulsion of the Jesuits in the latter part of the eighteenth century. The Constitution provides that the religion shall be Roman Catholic. Other faiths are rather freely tolerated. HISTORY. The history of Ecuador up to the coming of the Spaniards is involved in obscu rity. Whatever there was among the natives in the way of writings and records which dealt with their earlier experiences the fanatical missionaries converted into ashes. There is, however, among the Indians the tradition that centuries prior to the coming of the Europeans there had existed a strong kingdom in what is now Ecuador, called Quito, which in the tenth century was overthrown by a coast people known as the Caras. The kings of the Caras occupied the throne until 1475, when, after a iong and desperate resistance, they succumbed to the Inca armies of Peru, led by Huayna Capac the Great, who added Ecuador to his dominions, establishing his capital at Quito. At his death his territories were divided between his two sons, Huascar, who held Peru, and Atahualpa, who reigned at Quito. They soon fell out, prosecuting war after war against each other, the former being at last overthrown in 1532. It was at this juncture that Pizarro, having, with a handful of men, embarked upon the conquest of the realm of the Incas, arrived on the scene. He seized Atahualpa at Cajamarca, and in 1533 he put him to death. The vast territories of the unfortunate Inca were added to the Spanish Empire. They were erected into a presidency, with Quito as capital, and subordinate to the Viceroy of Peru. It remained thus until the outbreak of the great revolution which freed South America from Spanish rule. The defeat of the Spaniards in the battle of Pichincha, in 1822, liberated the Province of 67,940 Quito, which now constituted part of the Republic of Colombia, organized under the auspices of Bolivar. In 1829 Venezuela withdrew from 122,200 the confederation, and in 1830 the independent Republic of Ecuador was constituted. Then there followed a number of struggles between rival political leaders, of whom the chief were Flores and Rocafuerte, which demoralized the country, destroying all security of person and fortunes. The Ecuadorians, however, were not content with fighting among themselves-they interspersed their local outbreaks with wars 1,271,761 against their neighbors, Peru and Colombia. In 1845 Vicente Roca became President, and one of the distinguishing acts of his régime was the convention with England for the abolition of slavery. 66,456 In 1897 the population was estimated at 1,400,000. The population of the territory of the Galápagos is given as 400. The whites number about 100,000, those of mixed origin about 400,000, while the remainder consists of Indians and a small number of negroes. The prevailing language of Ecuador is a Peruvian dialect. There are said still to be communities of pure Quichuas. The Cayapas and the Tochi are probably descended from the ancient conquered peoples of From 1850 the struggle between the Clerical and Liberal parties became bitter. In that year Diego Noboa, of the Clerical Party, having seized the Presidency, was overthrown by the Liberals under General Urbino. The power rested with the latter party till 1860, when there occurred a general breaking up, with several leaders claiming the Presidency. The Clericals finally triumphed, and, under Moreno, carried things with a high hand, until the latter was assassinated in 1875. In 1895-96 a new civil war broke out between the two parties, resulting in a Liberal triumph. General Alfaro became President, and since that time the situation of the country has generally improved. A Clerical uprising in 1899 led to troubles with Colombia; but a new Liberal President was peacefully inaugurated August 31, 1901. BIBLIOGRAPHY. Cevallos, Geografía del Ecuador (Lima, 1888); Child, The Spanish-American Republics (New York, 1891); Wolf, Geografía y geología del Ecuador (Leipzig, 1892); id., Viages cientícos por la república del Ecuador (Guayaquil, 1879); Wappäus, "Ecuador," in Stein, Handbuch der Geographie (Leipzig, 1871); Reiss and Stübel, Hochgebirge der Republik Ecuador (Berlin, 1892-98); Hassaurek, Four Years Among Spanish Americans (Cincinnati, 1881); Simson, Travels in the Wilds of Ecuador (London, 1887); Monnier, Des Andes au Pará (Paris, 1890); Whymper, Travels Amongst the Great Andes of the Equator (London, 1892); Kolberg, Nach Ecuador (Freiburg, 1897); Cevallos, Resúmen de la historia del Ecuador (Guayaquil, 1886). ECZEMA (Neo-Lat., from Gk. ěkšeμa, ekzema, skin-disease, from ẻκšeîv, ekzein, to boil out, from ék, ek, out + jev, zein, to boil). An inflammatory disease of the skin characterized by a number of cutaneous lesions, such as macules, papules, pustules, vesicles, scales, and crusts, generally with exudation of serum and intense itching. It is the commonest skin-disease, and represents from one-half to one-third of all cutaneous affections. It may be acute or chronic in its course. It is divided into four elementary types: erythematous, papular, vesicular, and pustular; but there are several secondary types, such as squamosum, rubrum, parasiticum, seborrheicum, marginatum, neuroticum, diabeticorum, intertrigo, fissum, verrucosum, and sclerosum. Among internal causes of eczema are alcoholic beverages, dietetic errors, medicines, visceral disorders, gout, scrofula, and neurasthenia. From the belief that a 'humor of the blood' caused eczema, it has been commonly called 'salt rheum.' Among external causes are scratching, heat, cold, friction, and pressure, acids and poisons, and animal and vegetable parasites. Treatment must be directed to the particular form of the disease. In all cases strict dietetic and hygienic rules must be followed, causes must be removed or treated with a view to removal; laxatives, iron tonics, bitter principles, and electricity are used. Locally, antiseptic powders, zine, salicylic acid, permanganate of potash, tar, ichthyol, thymol, oil of cade, bismuth, mercury, lead, carbolic acid, sulphur, and green soap are among the drugs used. Each case must be intelligently studied if treatment is to succeed. EDAM, Dutch pron. à-däm'. A town of the Netherlands in the Province of North Holland, 12 miles north-northeast of Amsterdam (Map: Netherlands, D 2). One of its Reformed churches, with large painted windows, is among the finest in North Holland. The town is chiefly known through its cheeses and its cheese fair. Other industries are ship-building, rope and sail making. Population, in 1891, 6424; in 1899, 6444. EDAM CHEESE. See CHEESE; CHEESE-MAKING. EDAPHIC (from Gk. čôapos, edaphos, foundation, soil). In botany, edaphic influences are those that are local, especially those that reside in the soil. This term is opposed to climatic, e.g. climatic area. a cypress swamp is an edaphic, and a desert is a See ECOLOGY; DISTRIBUTION OF PLANTS. Edda. ED'DA. A title applied to two distinct works in Scandinavian literature, the Edda of Sæmund the Wise, and the Edda of Snorri Sturluson. They are also called respectively the Poetical and the Prose, and the Elder and the Younger The latter of these, to which alone the dinavian mythology and of the language and name Edda is properly applied, treats of Scanmodes of composition of the ancient skalds (q.v.). Its original purpose was to serve as a guide for young poets. Accompanying this Edda are four grammatical treatises, which are frequently included in modern editions. They have also been published separately, with critical introductions and notes (Copenhagen, 1884-86). As its second name implies, the Prose Edda is ascribed to the Norse historian and politician Snorri Sturluson (q.v.), who flourished in the first half of the thirteenth century. It consists of three main parts: (1) Gylfaginning (the deception of Gylfi), in which various exploits of the gods and goddesses are related to a mythical Swedish king Gylfi, who is supposed to visit Asgard; (2) Skaldskaparmál (the language of poetry), in which an explanation is given of many of the figures of speech used by the skalds; (3) Háttatal (list of metres), a catalogue of the different kinds of metres used by the skalds. Snorri's treatment of the mythology is often inaccurate, and is not free from contradictions. This is, however, in spite of its evident faults, one of the most important monuments of Old Norse literature. The Prose Edda was first published by Resenius in Copenhagen in 1665. This edition includes a translation into Latin by the editor and others. The next edition was published in Sweden (1746). The first modern critical edition is that of Rask, published at Stockholm in 1817. The most complete modern edition is the Arna-Magnæan (Copenhagen, 184887), in three volumes, with a Latin translation and notes. Finnur Jónsson has edited both the Eddas, with German notes (1880-90). E. Wilken's Die Prosaische Edda im Auszuge (187782) contains the first two parts, with a German glossary. The standard German translation is Simrock's (1851). The Gylfaginning was translated into French by Bergmann (2d ed. 1871). The mythological part has been translated into English by Dasent (1842), and by Blackwell (in Mallet's Northern Antiquities). R. B. Anderson's version (1880) includes the narrative portion of the Poetical Diction, and several minor parts. and heroic Scandinavian songs, thirty-three in The Elder Edda is a collection of mythological all, the date of whose composition in their present form may probably be referred to different periods between the tenth and the thirteenth centuries. The view that assigns to them a great antiquity is no longer held by scholars. The arrangement of the whole is very unsystematic, and the text is in many parts corrupt. |