ERG 



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Erfurt. The Gothic cathedral church of Our Lady seen from the east. 



Below it is the Friedricb Wilhelms Platz and to the right the 15th century 



church of S. Severus 



Erfurt was a town in the 8th 

 century or earlier, being then made 

 a bishopric. The archbishop of 

 Mainz took possession of it, main- 

 taining it with difficulty. Fora 

 time it was part of Thuringia, but 

 in 1255 it became a free city, 

 as such joining the Hanseatic 

 League, this being the time when 

 its wealth and prosperity were most 

 marked. The electors of Saxony 

 secured it, but in 1648 it was again 

 given to the elector of Mainz, who 

 held it until 1802, when it became 

 Prussian. From 1806 to 1814 the 

 city was in the power of Napoleon. 

 In 1850 the states of N. Germany 

 held a parliament here. From 1378 

 to 1816 Erfurt had a university 

 Pop. 123,548. 



Erg (Gr. ergon, work). Measure- 

 ment of work done by the force of 

 one dyne acting on a body through 

 a distance of one centimetre. The 

 unit of power is the erg per second. 

 See Dyne. 



Ergasteria (Gr., workshops). 

 Port of Greece, better known as 

 Laurium (q.v.). 



Ergeri. Alternative name of 

 the Albanian town of Argyrokas 

 tro (q.v.). 



Ergot (Fr., spur). Fungoid pest 

 (Claviceps pur pur ea) that attacks 

 the flowers of cereals especially 

 rye cultivated grasses, such as rye- 

 grass and Timothy grass, and wild 

 grasses. What should have been a 

 grain is replaced by a hard spur- 

 like outgrowth (ergot), which, if 

 devoured by pregnant stock, may 

 cause abortion. Ergots should not 

 be sown with gram or grass seeds, 

 and wild grasses infested by them 

 should be destroyed. 



The chief active principle of ergot 

 is ergotoxin, a substance which 

 causes powerful contractions of 

 the uterus. For this reason ergot 



or its preparations are sometimes 

 administered after labour to ensure 

 efficient contraction of the uterus 

 and diminish the risk of post-par- 

 turn haemorrhage. This property 

 of ergot formerly led to its use to 

 induce labour where this was desir- 

 able on medical grounds, but its 

 action in this respect is very uncer- 

 tain,and the drug is now hardly ever 

 used for this purpose. It is some- 

 times resorted to with criminal 

 intent, but it may cause severe 

 symptoms of general poisoning with- 

 out achieving the desired result. 



Poisoning by ergot may be acute 

 or chronic. Acute poisoning, which 

 may result from taking a single 

 large dose, gives rise to giddiness, 

 vomiting, colicky pains in the abdo- 

 men, disturbance of vision, cramps, 

 muscular weakness, coma or de- 

 lirium, and convulsions. Fatal 

 cases are rare, but if the poisoning 

 is associated with premature ex- 

 pulsion of the uterine contents the 

 risk is much greater. Chronic 

 poisoning is generally the result ol 

 eating, for a considerable period, 

 bread which has been made from 

 rye or other cereals infected with 

 the fungus. Ergotism, as the con- 

 dition is called, is not often seen in 

 this country, but it is common in 

 certain parts of the Continent, par- 

 ticularly Russia. The early symp- 

 toms are those of irritant poisoning : 

 vomiting, diarrhoea, and pain in the 

 abdomen. The latter symptoms 

 present two types, the nervous and 

 the gangrenous form. In the former 

 there may be tingling sensations in 

 the skin, spasms, and painful 

 cramps in the muscles. Generalised 

 convulsions resembling those of 

 epilepsy may occur. Paralysis and 

 affections of the mind, such as de- 

 lirium, melancholia, or dementia, 

 are other manifestations. The gan- 



grenous form may lead to mortifi- 

 cation of the fingers and toes. Both 

 sets of symptoms may be present in 

 one individual. 



Eric. Masculine Christian name. 

 A Scandinavian word meaning ever 

 king, it has been especially popular 

 in the Scandinavian countries. It 

 was brought from there into Eng 

 land. Thereis a feminine form,Erica 

 Eric XIV (1533-77). King ol 

 Sweden, 1560-68. Born Dec. 13. 

 1533, he was the son and unworthy 

 successor of 

 Gustavus 

 Vasa. His 

 short reign was 

 marked by the 

 limiting of the 

 power of the 

 royal dukes 

 and by the 

 securing of 

 E s t h o n i a , Eric XIV, 



which began King of Sweden 

 Sweden's policy of oversea expan- 

 sion. His insanity and cruelty cut 

 short his reign, for after the murder 

 of the Stores in 1567 the nobles rose 

 and deposed him (1568). At different 

 times he contemplated marriage 

 with Elizabeth of England, Mary of 

 Scotland, Christina of Hesse, and 

 Renee of Lorraine, but finally con- 

 tented himself with marrying his 

 mistress, Katrina Mansdotter, a 

 peasant. He is believed to have been 

 poisoned Feb. 26, 1577, by his 

 brother and successor, John, to put 

 an end to conspiracies in his favour. 

 Ericaceae (Gr. ereike, heath). 

 Large natural order of evergreen 

 shrubs, under-shrubs, and a few 

 small trees. They are chiefly na- 

 tives of temperate and cold climates. 



Ericaceae. Leaves and Sowers of 

 Calluna vulgaris 



They have simple leaves, and regu- 

 lar flowers, some, e.g. the heaths 

 (Erica), bell-shaped or tubular, 

 others expanded, e.g. the rho- 

 dodendron. 



Ericht. Loch on the borders of 

 Perthshire and Inverness-shire, 

 Scotland. Lying 1,152 ft. above 

 sea level, it is 14 m. long and has a 

 greatest depth of 513 ft. Over- 

 looking the W. shore is Ben Alder 



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