OAKUM 



near Epsom. In 1778 it was the 



|iru|MTi\ i.t tin- i-.ul M| Ivil.y, and 



tllrp 



that the c.n I a n. I In- (in n. I- decided 

 t.i fniuiil tin- nice. K mm 11)16-18 

 the race was run at Newmarket. 



s, . || 



Oakum (i K nrumbe, off -comb- 

 ings). Loose hempen fibre made 

 from old ropes, used for caulk mj 

 seams and stopping leaks on ships, 

 and as an emergency surgical 

 dressing. Tarred ships' ropes make 

 -t oakum. Pit-king oakum 

 was formerly a common employ- 

 ment in prisons and workhouses. 

 \Vliitr oakum is made from un- 

 tnnvtl ropes. Tow, the inferior 

 parts of the flax fibre u lii-li 

 separates out during the process of 

 hackling, was formerly known as 

 oakum. 



Oakworth. Urban dist. of York- 

 shin- (\\ . I!.), England. It is 3 m. 

 S.W. of Keighley, with a station 

 mi thf Mid. Rly. The chief indus- 

 tries are the manufacture of cotton 

 and worsted goods. Pop. 4,300. 



Oamaru. Town and port of 

 South Island, New Zealand. Situ- 

 ated 152 m. S. of Cbristchurch, 

 and 78 m. N. of Dunedin by rly., 

 it exports wool and grain. The 

 centre of a rich agricultural 

 district, it has freezing works and 

 woollen mills. Its limestone is a 

 useful building stone. Pop. 5,100. 



Oar. Implement for moving a 

 boat. It consists of a long, slender 

 piece of wood, with a handle at one 

 end and a blade at the other, the 

 blade acting as a lever when in 

 contact with the water. Each oar 

 rests in an oarlock or rowlock. In 

 early times galleys were propelled 

 by slaves sitting in rows. The 

 implements used for propelling 

 a light boat are called scull? ; 

 the sculler uses two of them, 

 whereas the oarsman proper only 

 uses one, the balance being secured 

 by another oarsman rowing on the 

 other side of the boat. Oarsman- 



OAST HOUSE 



rare occasion* when it comes to the 

 surface it swim* with an undulating 

 movement and the erect and donal 



Oar Fish. Specimen of the deep-iea fish called by forth 

 Sea fishermen King of the Herrings 



fin that extends from behind the 

 head to the imperfect tail. The 

 first few rays of this fin are very 

 long, with dilated tips, forming a 



Oasis of Touggonrt in the Sahara. Top, general view ol the town and oasis ; 

 below, scene on the binge of the oasis 



hip in a synonym for rowing, and 

 .1 ' impotent performer u some- 

 time* called a good oar. See Eight ; 

 Galley; Ilou 

 Si ulling. 



Oar Fish 

 galtcus glean t). 

 Remarkable deep- 

 sea teleostean 

 fish of the family 

 T r a c h y teridae. 

 They are found 

 in the Atlantic, 

 Mediterranean, 

 and North Sea, 

 off the Faroes, 

 Scotland, N o r- 

 way, and N.E. 

 England. The 

 compressed, elon- 

 gated, and scale- 

 less body may be 

 as much as 20 ft. 



long, with soft bones, a small fin out of the water, when it may 

 mouth without teeth, and a dorsal easily become the " sea serpent. ' 



Little is actually known about it, 

 for the few specimens that have 

 been cast ashore have broken up 

 rapidly. Allied, if not identical, 

 ^^^^^^ is the ribbonfish 

 (R. banlurii). 



Oarweed (Lam- 

 inar ia digitata ). 

 Large olive sea- 

 weed of the 

 natural order 

 Laminariaceae. It 

 has a long, thick, 

 round stem, with 

 claw-like false 

 roots, which at- 

 tach it to the 

 rocks. The thick, 

 leathery, leafy 

 portion, at first 

 undivided, slits up 

 into a number of 

 segments. The 

 conspicuous crest. The name was whole plant is 15 ft. long, and grows 

 suggested by the long, slender ven- on the rocks below ordinary low- 

 tide level. Tangle and sea-girdles 

 are popular names for this Alga. 



Oas. Town of Luzon, Philip- 

 pine Islands, in the prov. of Albay. 

 It stands on the Inoya river, 16 m. 

 N.W. of Albay, and trades in hemp. 

 Pop. 12,500. 



Oasis. Fertile tract in a desert. 

 The fertility of oases ia due to 

 water near the surface, either in 

 depressions, so that the sinking of 

 wells will give permanent supplies 

 of water, or along the course of 

 wadiee, or, as in the case of the 

 Nile, along the banks of permanent 

 waterways passing through deserts. 

 By cultivation they can be made 

 to produce a wide range of crops. 

 The date palm groves of Saharan 

 oases are famous. See Desert. 



Oast House. Kiln in which 

 hops or malt are dried. They are 

 seen in Kent, or other districts 

 where hops are grown. See Hops. 



Oamaru, New Zealand. General view of the town and 

 harbour from the north 



tral fins expanded at their extrem- 

 ity. North Sea fishermen know it 

 as King of the Herrings. On the 



