ITHACA 



3087 



ITO 



persistent itching of the nose, probably of re- 

 flex nervous origin. It may be purely mental 

 in origin, as the itching sensation perhaps pro- 

 duced by reading this article. Itching may 

 also be caused by fungous growths or actual 

 minute insects, and in such cases it is a symp- 

 tom of certain forms of itch. 



Various Itch Diseases. Barber's itch, or ring- 

 worm of the beard, is caused by a fungous 

 growth in the skin and hair follicles; baker's 

 itch is caused by yeast and dough; bath itch, 

 by bathing; bricklayer's itch, by the action of 

 lime; coolie itch is a tropical disease; dhobie 

 itch, or ringworm of the armpit and crotch, is 

 common in the Philippines ; grocer's itch is said 

 to be caused by the sugar mite; Malabar itch 

 occurs on the Malabar coast and is due to a 

 fungous growth; Norway itch is produced by a 

 parasite on the wolf; prairie itch is due to the 

 itch mite; straw itch is caused by an insect 

 and affects those who work in or sleep on 

 straw; and, finally, there is washerwoman's itch, 

 which is an eczema from soap irritation. 



Home remedies are not likely to prove ef- 

 fective, unless the exact nature of the trouble 

 is known. It is best always to consult a physi- 

 cian. W.A.E. 



ITHACA, ith'aka, one of the smallest of 

 the Ionian Islands, lying west of Greece, be- 

 tween the mainland and the island of Cepha- 

 lonia (see IONIAN ISLANDS). It covers an area 

 of about thirty-seven square miles, and is di- 

 vided into two nearly equal parts, connected 

 by a narrow isthmus. Its surface is mountain- 

 ous, and the coast steep and rocky. Wine, 

 currants and olive oil are produced by the 

 natives; sponges and coral are important fish- 

 ery products. In legend Ithaca is celebrated 

 as the principality and home of Ulysses, the 

 chief character of Homer's Odyssey. About 

 1869 Schliemann, a German archaeologist, 

 made important excavations and identified 

 several sites mentioned by Homer. Vathi is 

 the capital and chief port of the island. Popu- 

 lation, 11,000. 



ITHACA, N. Y., the county seat of Tomp- 

 kins County, is the home of one of the larg- 

 est educational institutions in the United States 

 Cornell University, a non-sectarian school 

 attended by nearly 6,000 students (see CORNELL 

 UNIVERSITY). The city is situated in the south- 

 western part of the state, at the extreme south- 

 ern end of Lake Cayuga, a narrow body of 

 water forty miles in length and part of an 

 inland waterway connecting with the Erie 

 Canal. Ithaca is the southern terminus of the 



New York State Barge Canal (which see), and 

 is thirty-seven miles south of Auburn and fifty- 

 six miles northwest of Binghamton. The city 

 is served by the Delaware, Lackawanna & 

 Western and the Lehigh Valley railroads, and 

 by electric interurban lines. Its area is nearly 

 five square miles. The population, which in 

 1910 was 14,802, was 16,750 in 1915, according 

 to the state census. 



The city is picturesquely situated; east and 

 west are thickly-wooded hills through which 

 deep gorges are cut by streams, Six Mile, Cas- 

 cadilla and Fall creeks being the largest ; these 

 have waterfalls and cascades of exceptional 

 beauty. Buttermilk Falls and ravine, Lick 

 Brook Falls and glen, Enfield Falls and glen, 

 Washington, De Witt and Renwick parks, and 

 a number of suspension bridges are of special 

 interest. 



Cornell University campus and the finest 

 residences are situated on East Hill, about 400 

 feet above the lake and city. The Federal 

 building, erected at a cost of $200,000, the 

 United States Weather Bureau Station, Ithaca 

 City Hospital, the Ezra Cornell Free Library 

 and the Ithaca Conservatory of Music are the 

 principal downtown buildings. 



The industries of the city include the pro-' 

 duction of salt, which is obtained from driven 

 wells; the manufacture of chains for trans- 

 mission of power; guns, calendar clocks, wall 

 paper, gasoline engines, boats, aeroplanes, 

 bricks and cement. Ithaca was settled about 

 1789, and was given its present name by 

 Simeon De Witt in 1806. It was incorporated 

 as a village in 1821 and chartered as a city 

 in 1888. Before Ithaca was founded the prin- 

 cipal village of the Catawba Indians stood 

 near Buttermilk Falls; tlfis settlement was 

 made in 1753, and in 1779 it was destroyed by 

 a force commanded by General Sullivan. M.W. 



ITO, ee'toh, HIROBUMI, Marquis (1840-1909), 

 a modern Japanese statesman, often called 

 "The Father of the Constitution," who saw 

 danger threatening his country if it did not 

 adopt the world civilization. He did all in 

 his power as Prime Minister to introduce radi- 

 cal reforms, and in great degree succeeded. 

 In 1871 he visited the United States, where 

 he studied the coinage system, with the result 

 that he had a new system established in Japan, 

 with a mint at Osaka. After studying the con- 

 stitutions of various countries in Europe, he 

 reconstructed many of the laws and codes in 

 his own country, and in 1888, when a conserva- 

 tive party gained control, he was chosen to 



