

THH 



VOLUME 



ORGAN IZ 

 KNOWLEDGE 



STORY 

 AND' PICTURE 



SIX 



KUMQUAT, kum'kwat, a small, shrubby 

 form of the orange tree, seldom exceeding six 

 feet in height. It is a native of China, is 

 extensively cultivated in Japan, and has been 

 introduced into Florida, Alabama and Califor- 

 nia. The American yield is light, averaging 

 1,100 boxes a year, valued at $2,880, ninety- 

 eight per cent of this quantity being produced 

 in Florida. The kumquat withstands the ef- 

 fect of frost better than any other variety of 

 orange, and under careful cultivation the tree 

 may grow to eight or twelve feet. The fruit is 

 oblong, a little larger than the Brazil nut, and 

 is palatable and refreshing. The' rind is sweet, 

 and in China is made into a confection by pre- 

 serving with sugar. 



KURDISTAN, koor dis tahn' , the Persian 

 name for "the land of the Kurds," is an ex- 

 tensive region of Western Asia, forming a part 

 of the Turkish and the Persian dominions, and 



Bagdad 



LOCATION MAP 



covering an area of about 56,000 square miles. 

 With indefinite boundaries, it lies south of 

 Armenia, and with that country was included 

 in the Eastern theater of the war in the spring 

 of 1916 (see WAR OF THE NATIONS). Though 



the most desperate fighting between the Turks 

 and Russians occurred around Erzerum, in 

 Armenia, the Russian advance reached the 

 Lake Van region in Northern Kurdistan for 

 the purpose of gaining control of the Bagdad 

 Railway. 



Turkish Kurdistan is a land of numerous and 

 lofty mountains, but the ranges decrease in 

 altitude beyond the Persian frontier. This 

 region lies in the basins of the Tigris and 

 Euphrates rivers and is watered by the Greater 

 and the Lesser Zab. Cereals and southern 

 fruits are the main agricultural products. The 

 inhabitants are chiefly Kurds, a rugged people 

 of Mohammedan faith. The wealthier Kurds 

 are an independent, roving class who live in 

 tents and are skilled breeders of cattle, horses, 

 sheep and goats. Among them are fierce ban- 

 dits who have often been the terror of their 

 Armenian neighbors to the north. The chief 

 cities of Turkish Kurdistan are Bitlis, Van 

 and Diarbekir; of the Persian area, Kirman- 

 shah and Irak-Ajemi. A well-known variety of 

 Persian rug is imported from Kurdistan. Popu- 

 lation, estimated at 2,500,000. 



KURILE, koo'ril, ISLANDS, about thirty- 

 two volcanic islands in the Northern Pacific 

 Ocean, lying in a chain between Kamchatka 

 and Yezo. They are a Japanese possession, ob- 

 tained from Russia in 1875 in exchange for the 

 southern half of Sakhalin, and have an area of 

 6,153 square miles. Most of the peaks are 

 forest-covered, and the chief exports are tim- 

 ber, fish and fur. The principal islands are 

 Itorup, Kunashiri, Paramushiri and Shumshu. 

 The population is about 3,000. The Japanese 

 name for the chain is Chishima, or Thousand 

 Islands, and the original inhabitants were Amos. 

 See AINO. (See map, next page.) 



KUROKI, kuro'ke, TAMASADA (1844- ), a 

 famous Japanese soldier whose ability won for 

 him the titles of baron and count. He entered 

 the army in 1871 and fought in all of his coun- 

 try's wars since that date. He first distinguished 

 himself in the Chinese-Japanese war, com- 

 manded the first army against Russia and was 



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