SAINT THOMAS 



5168 



SAKHALIN 



manufacturing center, and at least two of its 

 products, confectionery and soap, arc adver- 

 tised everywhere in Canada. Lumber, tool?, 

 fertilizer and shoes are the other manufacr 

 of importance. Milltown, N. B., adjoining Saint 

 Stephen, is noted for its production of line col- 

 ored cotton goods. F.P.G. 



SAINT THOMAS, a city in Ontario, the 

 county town of Elgin County. It is one of the 

 most important railway centers in Southern On- 

 tario, her ' equally distant from To- 

 ronto and Detroit. It is served by the Cana- 

 dian Pacific, Grand Trunk, Pere Marquette, 

 Wabash and Michigan Central railways. By 

 rail Saint Thomas is 119 miles southwest of 

 Hamilton, 123 miles west of Buffalo, and 121 

 miles southwest of Toronto. As a division point 

 on most of the railroads which enter it, its chief 

 industrial establishments are railroad shops. 

 : manufactures are worth over $4,000,000 to 

 $5,000,000 a year. The courthouse, collegiate 

 institute and the public hospital are notewor- 

 thy buildings. Population in 1911, 14,054; in 

 1916, estimated, 16,500. 



SAINT THOMAS, an island in the former 

 Danish West Indies, now named Virgin Islands 

 of the United States, thirty-six miles east of 

 Porto Rico. Saint Thomas is of chief interest 

 because of its location. Situated as it is in the 

 path of ocean liners, it has become a coaling 

 station of great importance, a fact that was 

 recognized by the United States when in 1917 

 it purchased the entire group of Danish islands 

 (see VIRGIN ISLANDS OF THE UNITED STATES). 



Saint Thomas has an area of thirty-three 

 square miles. The island has commercially de- 

 clined since the abolition of slavery, labor be- 

 ing hard to obtain for the sugar plantations. 

 The principal product has been rum, but de- 

 mand for this is on the decline. The climate is 

 hot, and earthquakes are frequent. The capital 

 and chief town is Charlotte Amalie. In 1911 

 the population, consisting chiefly of the de- 

 scendants of freed slaves, was 10,678. 



SAINT VIN'CENT, a mountainous island 

 in the British West Indies, a part of the Wind- 

 ward Colony, has an area of 133 square miles, 

 half of which is still covered with forests. The 

 valleys are fertile, although eruptions of the 

 volcano Soufriere have twice devastated con- 

 siderable portions of the island. Until 1796 it 

 was the stronghold of the warlike West Indian 

 Caribs, who still hold a small reservation. 



The climate is healthful, with an abundant 

 tropical rainfall. The chief products are arrow- 

 root, cocoa, cotton, fruits and spices. Since 



the abolition of slavery, labor has been so hard 

 to obtain that the sugar industry has steadily 

 declined, a fact also true of neighboring islands 

 in the archipelago. The capital is Kingstown, 

 a picturesque town with a population of 4,574; 

 the total population of the island is 44,600, 

 mostly negroes, descendants of freed slaves. 



SAINT VI'TUS'S DANCE, or CHOREA, 

 kore'a, a nervous disease that most commonly 

 attacks children between the ages of five and 

 fifteen, especially girls. It is characterized by 

 muscular jerkings of the face, neck, arms, 

 hands, and various other parts of the body, and 

 may be brought on by overstudy, worry, lack 

 of outdoor exercise, late hours, fright and shock. 

 The exciting agent is a germ or toxin that af- 

 fects the brain and spinal cord, and the dis- 

 order is frequently associated with diseased ton- 

 sils or rheumatism. While Saint Vitus's dance 

 in its ordinary form is seldom fatal, an attack 

 may last from six weeks to six months, and the 

 disease tends to recur if proper precautions are 

 not taken. Rest, nutritious food, relief from 

 worry or mental exertion and cold baths are 

 among the hygienic measures used in combat- 

 ing the disorder. Physicians also prescribe 

 tonics. Any child afflicted with Saint Vitus's 

 dance should be taken out of school (see EDU- 

 CATION, subhead Saint Vitus's Dance, page 

 1947). 



The term chorea is derived from a Greek 

 word meaning dance; the other and more com- 

 mon name has come into use through associat- 

 ing the disease with a form of hysteria which 

 prevailed in Central Europe in the sixteenth 

 century, cures for which were sought at the 

 shrines of Saint Vitus. 



SAKHALIN, saKalyeen', an island off the 

 southeastern coast of Siberia. The part north 

 of 50 belonged to Russia until December, 

 1914, the southern part to Japan. During the 

 progress of the War of the Nations Russia 

 ceded its northern portion to the latter country, 

 giving Japan ownership of the entire island. 



It is divided from the Maritime Province by 

 the Strait of Tartary, about five miles wide, 

 and the Strait of La Perouse separates it from 

 Yezo, the most northerly island of Japan. The 

 island covers an area of 27,823 square miles, 

 and has a mountainous surface. Of the geo- 

 logical formation little is known, but there are 

 extensive coal fields, some of which are mined. 

 Timber of good quality is exported. 



The climate is not suited to agriculture, and 

 there is very little land under cultivation. The 

 fisheries provide the chief occupation and the 



