STRAMONIUM 



5584 



STRASSBURG 



strip of land opposite the mainland (Prov- 

 ince Wellesley), and the Bindings, consisting 

 of the small island of Pangkor off the west 

 coast and a corresponding strip of mainland 

 territory. Malacca is situated on the western 



THE STRAITS SETTLEMENTS 

 (In Black.) 



coast of the peninsula between Penang and 

 Singapore. (Singapore, Penang and Malacca are 

 described in these volumes under their respec- 

 tive titles.) Singapore, on the island of that 

 name, and Georgetown, on Penang, are the 

 chief ports, and from them are shipped vast 

 quantities of tin, spices, rubber, gum, rattan, 

 coffee and other tropical products. The capi- 

 tal of the Straits Settlements is Singapore. The 

 colony has been' under the administration of 

 the British Colonial Office since 1867. 



STRAMO'NIUM, a poisonous, ill-smelling 

 weed of the nightshade family, whose seeds 

 and leaves have medicinal value. Other names 

 for it are Jimson weed, devil's trumpet, stink- 

 weed and thorn apple. It abounds in fields 

 and waste spots, the forked yellow-green stems 

 often reaching a height of five feet. It bears 

 heavily-scented, white, trumpet-shaped flowers, 

 and smooth, green, sharp-pointed leaves, from 

 three to eight inches long. Prickly, burlike 

 pods contain tiny, wrinkled, black seeds, which, 

 like the leaves, are used in making the drug 

 called stramonium. This drug is similar to bel- 

 ladonna (which see) in properties and is used 

 principally for the relief of asthma. The plant 

 is widely distributed throughout the warmer 

 parts of the world. Children should be cau- 

 tioned not to put its poisonous seeds, leaves or 

 flowers in their mouths. 



STRASSBURG, shtrahs'boorK, a university 

 city of Alsace, whose fortifications, vastly 



strengthened after the city's annexation to Ger- 

 many in 1871, are among the most powerful in 

 the world. Strassburg was the capital of the 

 German Imperial territory of Alsace-Lorraine 

 from 1871 to 1919, and is on the 111 River, 

 300 miles east of Paris and 370 miles southwest 

 of Berlin. Its most celebrated building is the 

 cathedral, or minster, from the tower of which 

 a splendid view of the city and its environs 

 may be obtained. This church, famous for its 

 clock (see subhead below), was begun in the 

 eleventh century but was not completed until 

 the fifteenth century. It is one of the finest 

 specimens of Gothic architecture in existence. 

 The university, founded in 1621, was formerly 

 noted for its branches of medicine and phi- 

 lology; in 1872 it was reorganized as a German 

 institution and greatly enlarged. Its library, 

 destroyed by bombardment in 1870, during the 

 Franco-German War, has been replaced by a 

 new collection which now numbers over 1,000,- 

 000 volumes. 



In the" older parts of Strassburg are many 

 fine examples of medieval houses and other 

 buildings adorned with beautiful carvings. The 

 public park, called the Orangerie, is famous for 

 its orange and palm houses. Strassburg is con- 

 nected by canals with the Rhine, and its situa- 

 tion near the borders of France, Germany and 

 Switzerland gives it many commercial advan- 

 tages as well as great strategic importance. 

 Among its leading manufactures are tobacco, 

 musical instruments, machinery, leather and 

 fancy articles. 



Strassburg was colonized by the Romans, 

 who called it Argentoratum. In the sixth cen- 

 tury its name was changed to Stratisburgum, 

 and it became a free town of the old German 

 Empire in the thirteenth century. In 1861 the 

 city was united with France, but at the close 

 of the Franco-German War, with all of Alsace- 

 Lorraine, it again was annexed to Germany. 

 By the Treaty of Versailles in 1919 it again be- 

 came French, and the capital of Alsace. Popu- 

 lation in 1910, 178,891. 



Strassburg Clock. This famous astronomical 

 clock is thirty feet high and fifteen feet wide 

 at its base. The large globe of the heavens at 

 the bottom shows the course of the stars. Be- 

 hind it is a perpetual calendar indicating the 

 day of the month and all religious festivals. 

 Above are many automaton figures, one of 

 which is drawn across the platform each day; 

 figures representing infancy, youth, old age and 

 death strike the quarter hours in turn. Above 

 the dial is a complete planetarium surmounted 



