NIGHTJAR 



trin .lined with the tumps until the 



end of the \\,ir in lv~.il. Returning 



t<> I'M inn!, she was a popular 



licn>in<>, and \\as Know n as the lady 



f the I. imp. In 1!K)7 she was 



itivrii t!u- unler of nieiit, and she 



died An.'. l:t. linn. Her Notes on 



re iiiilili-ln-cl in 1858. 



. con-nit I 



1 ['. Cook, 1913; 

 Kiniii"iit Victorians, L. Strachcy, 

 I !Us. 



Nightjar (Caprimulmu euro- 

 Migratory bird common 

 iaGrent Britain durini: the summer, 

 mid s|xnding tho winter in Africa 

 and Southern Asia. In shape it 

 r-'M'iiibles a large swift, with a 

 large, Hat head and a wide, gaping 

 mouth. It is culled nightjar from 

 its peculiar whirring cry, but Hies 

 silently l>v nkdit in search of in- 

 sects. The term goatsucker per- 

 petuates an ancient and wile- 

 spread delusion, due to its habit 

 of hawking for Hies round the 

 udders of animals. It is about 

 10 ins. long, and its colour Is grey, 

 spotted and barred with yellow 

 and brown. It lays its two beauti- 

 fully marbled eggs on the bare 

 ground, usually close to a small 

 bush or tuft of heather. The night- 

 jar family includes many genera 

 and about 90 species, including the 

 N. American whip-poor-will. See 

 Eggs, colour plate. 



Nightmare. Dream accom- 

 panied by feelings of terror. 

 Anciently supposed to be caused 

 by an evil spirit, it was, until 

 recently, believed to be due to 

 digestive disorder, but the modern 

 theory of dreams regards this as 

 only a precipitating cause, and 

 ascribes nightmare to psychological 

 processes. It is believed that cer- 

 tain primitive wishes in the sub- 

 conscious mind are forcing them- 

 selves into the consciousness, and 

 if they are not sufficiently dis- 

 guised to produce the ordinary form 

 of dream, but are likely to become 

 clear to the sleeper, he awakes in a 

 elate of terror. See Dream. 



Nightshade. Folk-name for 

 several species of plants. Woody 

 nightshade or bittersweet is Sola- 

 num. dulcamara, and common night- 

 shade ia Solatium nigrum, while 

 enchanter's nightshade is C'ircea 

 lutetiana. Deadly nightshade (At- 

 ropa belladonna) is a perennial herb 

 of the natural order Solanaceae, a 

 native of Europe and N. Africa. 

 Several annual stems proceed from 

 the same fleshy root stock, and 

 form a bush 3 or 4 ft. high, with 

 large oval leaves. The large, 

 solitary, bell-shaped flowers are 

 dull purple in colour, and droop 

 on short stalks. The fruit ia a 

 large, shining black, globular berry. 

 The whole plant is poisonous and 



S743 



smell* unpleasantly. Hyoscyamine 

 and atro|>ine are obtained from 

 the rooUtook lifted in autumn, and 

 from fresh leaves gath<:< 1 wh-M 



-he pi. int i~> in !! 



Nigri Sembilan. Collective 

 name of a group of states in the 

 Malay Peninsula, forming a I 

 protectorate as one of tho Federated 

 Malay States (q.v.). It comprises 

 the state* of Sum-i-i Ujong, Sri 

 Mi n mti, Jelebu, Rcmbau, John!, 

 rind Tampiii, amitliMiniiU'd into a 

 confederation in 1895, and has an 

 approximate total area of 2,550 sq. 

 in., and estimated pop. of KJO.LMM). 



Nightjar. Specimen o! the insectivorous 

 bird, on the winf 



It lies in the S.W. of the peninsula. 

 The surface is mountainous in the 

 interior, rising in Gunong Ledang, 

 or Mt. Ophir, to 3,845 ft The chief 

 harbours are Port Dickson and 

 LinggL The valleys are fertile and 

 the hill slopes heavily timbered, 

 the principal products being 

 timber, rice, rubber, spices, tapioca, 

 and coffee. Tin, gold, and other 

 minerals are mined. Sera m ban is 

 the chief town. 



Nigrosine. Black lustrous 

 powder. It consists of a mixture 

 of induline sulphonates, and is used 

 as a dye, in calico printing, and in 

 the preparation of black varnishes 

 and polish. There are two groups 

 of nigrosine, one soluble in water 

 and the other in spirit, and there 

 are many brands and shades of the 

 dye. See Coal Tar ; Dyes. 



Nihilism (Lat. mini, nothing). 

 Name given to the tenets of the 

 Russian revolutionary socialists. 

 Though there had been for forty 

 years previously parties holding 

 similar views in Russia, it was due 



Nightshade. Foliage and berries o( 

 Atropa belladonna or deadly night- 

 shade 



NIJAR 



to Ivan Turgenev, in 1862, that 

 the term came to be used Nihilism 

 was the result of the terrible con- 

 f living of the vast mass of 

 the Russian people, and its main 

 object was the overthrow of 

 government by force of any kind. 

 It aimed at the freedom of the 

 press in Russia, freedom of speech, 

 11 equality, equality of 

 treatment for women, the land for 

 the people, etc. 



The nihilist movement began to 

 become a force in 1860-70, and 

 owing to its violent method* 

 wholesale arrests were carried out 

 during the next decade, in 1877-78 

 alone some 4,000 people being 

 tried in Russia, In the latter year 

 an attempt was made to assassi- 

 nate General Trepov by the 

 nihilists ; in the same year General 

 Mezcntsev was killed in St. 

 Petersburg, and the following 

 year Prince Kropotkin was assassi- 

 nated, and attempts were made 

 to kill the tear, Alexander IL 

 His assassination in 1881 was 

 followed by methods of extreme 

 severity against the nihilists, who 

 were gradually crushed, and new 

 organizations came into exist- 

 ence with the avowed object of 

 obtaining the aims of nihilism by 

 more constitutional means. See 

 Anarchism ; consult also Under- 

 ground Russia, S. Stepniak, 1883 ; 

 Memoirs of a Revolutionist, P. A. 

 Kropotkin, 1899 ; The Anarchists, 

 E. A. Vizetelly, 1911. 



Niigata. Seaport of Japan, on 

 the \\. coast of Honshu. It is the 

 capital of Niigata prefecture and is 

 near the mouth of the Shinano- 

 gawa. Its harbour is shallow, silts 

 up with river alluvium, and is ex- 

 posed to N. winds. Dredging 

 operations have made some im- 

 provement, but the harbour has 

 never justified its selection, on the 

 opening of the country to foreign 

 commerce, as one of the five treaty 

 ports. The trade is almost limited 

 to traffic with Vladivostok and 

 other Siberian harbours. Exports 

 are mainly rice and soya beans, 

 which are grown extensively in the 

 prefecture. There are ironworks 

 and chemical manufactures. The 

 town is intersected by many canals, 

 and there are over 200 bridges. It 

 is connected by rly. with other W. 

 coast ports, Tokyo and Osaka, and 

 is the port for the island of Sado, 

 $2 m. away. Pop. 64,300. 



Nijar. Town of Spain, in the 

 prov. of Almeria. It stands on the 

 ArtaJ, 10 m. from the Mediter- 

 ranean and 15 m. E.N.E. of 

 Almeria. There is a trade in fruit, 

 oil. wheat, and esparto. Lead, 

 iron, and manganese mines are in 

 the vicinity. Pop. 13,000. Pro*. 



Nech.ir. 



