TARTAR 



5707 



TASCHEREAU 



Glengarry and Keppoch, red, with open, broad 

 blue crosslines, and two independent blue cross- 

 ings; the Macpherson, pale gray, four darker 

 gray bars at crossings, the whole covered with 

 red, double independent lines ; and so on. The 

 effect of a large number of these tartan cos- 

 tumes is suggested by Scott, in the Lady of the 

 Lake: 



Scarce to be known by curious eye 

 From the deep heather where they lie, 

 So well was match'd the tartan screen 

 With heath-bell dark and brackens green. 



Tartan is not at the present time restricted 

 to Scotland, but is worn generally in various 

 countries. Numerous patterns are put out by 

 manufacturers, and woolen, silk and mixed 

 goods are used as materials. 



Interesting information concerning the tartans 

 of the Scottish clans may be found in Skene's 

 The Highlanders of Scotland. 



TARTAR, tahr'tahr, or ARGOL, ahr'gol, a 

 substance deposited as a hard crust on the 

 sides of casks during the fermentation of grape 

 juice. Chemically it is known as impure acid 

 potassium tartrate. Tartar varies in color from 

 brownish-white to dark red, according to the 

 color of the wine. It is important commer- 

 cially as the source of cream of tartar (see 

 CREAM OF TARTAR, for methods of preparation). 

 The tartar that is formed on the teeth is a hard 

 mixture of phosphate and lime deposited from 

 the saliva. See TEETH. 



TARTAR EMETIC, emet'ik, a medicinal 

 preparation used in small doses as an emetic 

 or to reduce fever and cause sweating. In large 

 doses it is a violent, irritant poison. Tartar 

 emetic acts on the stomach and intestines and 

 exerts a depressing effect on the heart and 

 nervous system, and is now only sparingly used. 

 It should never be taken unless prescribed by 

 a competent physician. It is prepared by mak- 

 ing a paste of water, antimony oxide and acid 

 potassium tartrate, boiling the mixture with 

 water and letting the solution crystallize. 



TARTARIC ACID, tahrtahr'ik as 'id, a 

 vegetable acid occurring as the potassium salt 

 in many plants and unripe fruits, but especially 

 in grapes. It is obtained by treating the tartar 

 deposited in wine casks (see TARTAR) with lime 

 and sulphuric acid. It forms large, clear crys- 

 tals easily dissolved in water, the solution 

 effervescing and having a refreshing, sour taste. 

 It is used in the manufacture of dyestuffs and 

 baking powders, in dyeing and calico printing, 

 in photography and as one ingredient of Seid- 

 litz powders (which see). 



TARTARS, or TATARS, tah'tarz, originally 

 the name of the Mongolic races of Central 

 Asia, but later extended to all the tribes ruled 

 by Genghis Khan (which see) and his suc- 

 cessors. Tatar is a Tungusic or Manchu word, 

 meaning archer or nomad, and first occurred in 

 the Chinese records of the ninth century in 

 reference to certain Mongol tribes which were 

 driven by the Khitans southward. The Mon- 

 gols and Tatars were organized into one nation 

 by Genghis Khan, whose father was a Mongol 

 and whose mother was a Tatar. At the present 

 time the Tatars are represented by the Fish- 

 shin Tatars of Northern Manchuria, the So- 

 lons and Daurians of Northeastern Mongolia 

 and the Manchus of China. 



Tatar took the form Tartar at an early date 

 by association of the word with Tartarus, or 

 Hades, of classic mythology. The tribes bear- 

 ing the name were greatly feared because of 

 the atrocities they committed. The word Tar- 

 tar, however, is not correct from the standpoint 

 of etymology. 



TARTARUS, tahr'tahr us, in early Greek 

 mythology, a dark abyss surrounded by the 

 fiery river, Phlegethon, where Jupiter impris- 

 oned the rebelling Titans. Tartarus was later 

 considered the place of punishment for all 

 spirits of the wicked, and the name was used 

 interchangeably with Hades. Aeneas, in his 

 adventures in the abode of shades, comes to a 

 point where the road divides, the right branch 

 leading to Elysium and the left to Tartarus. 

 In Vergil's Aeneid occur these lines: 



There rolls swift Phlegethon, with thund'ring 



sound, 



His broken rocks, and whirls his surges round. 

 On mighty columns rais'd sublime are hung 

 The massy gates, impenetrably strong. 



TARTARY, tahr'tahri, a name applied in 

 the Middle Ages to that part of Asia including 

 Manchuria, Mongolia, Turkestan and the 

 southern part of Asiatic Russia. The Tartars 

 were fierce and warlike, and had the reputation 

 of being very cruel in war. The modern ex- 

 pression, "to catch a Tartar," means to find a 

 resourceful opponent in one considered easy 

 to overcome, either in combat or in a test of 

 mental powers. There is also an expression, 

 "Scratch a Russian and you find a Tartar," 

 meaning that beneath the veneer of Russian 

 civilization lies the ferocity of a Tartar. That 

 charge can be advanced against only a small 

 minority of the people. 



TASCHEREAU, tashro', ELZEAR ALEXAN- 

 DRE (1820-1898), a Roman Catholic prelate, the 



