TONGA ISLANDS 



5834 



TONKIN 



TONGA, toh'ngah, ISLANDS, or FRIENDLY 

 ISLANDS, an archipelago in the Pacific Ocean 

 lying east of the 180th meridian and between 

 the Fiji Islands and Samoa (see map of Oce- 

 ania, following page 4336). By the Declaration 

 of Berlin (1886) the islands were constituted a 

 neutral kingdom, but in 1900 a protectorate was 

 proclaimed over them by Great Britain. The 

 archipelago consists of four subgroups and a 

 number of outlying islands, and their combined 

 area is but 390 square miles. The only islands 

 of any importance are Tongatabu, Eua and 

 Vavau; on the first named of these lies Nu- 

 kualofa, the residence of the native king and 

 the capital of the kingdom. In 1914 the popu- 

 lation of the Tonga Islands was estimated to 

 be 23,956; of the inhabitants, 23,121 were Ton- 

 gans. About half of the people live on Tonga- 

 tabu, which is 140 square miles in area. 



The larger islands have a very fertile soil, and 

 tropical plants grow in profusion. Copra (the 

 dried meat of the cocoanut) and green fruit are 

 the principal exports. Trade is carried on 

 chiefly with Australia and New Zealand, with 

 which the kingdom has regular steamship con- 

 nection. The native Tongans are among the 

 most civilized of the Polynesians and have ac- 

 cepted Christianity. There are over fifty-five 

 public primary schools in the kingdom and one 

 college. 



The main group of islands was discovered in 

 1643 by Tasman. Friendly Islands is a name 

 bestowed by Captain Cook, who visited the 

 archipelago in 1773 and 1777 and was received 

 by the natives in a cordial mannei*. 



TONGUE, tung, a flat, muscular organ in the 

 mouth which serves as the principal organ of 

 taste and is an important aid in the formation 

 of sounds and in the process of chewing and 

 swallowing. The tongue, which is composed of 

 muscles running in various directions, is at- 

 tached to the hyoid bone at its root end; by 

 virtue of this arrangement one can move the 

 front part in many different ways, and use it 

 to stir the food about, push it between the 

 teeth, collect it into small masses and thrust it 

 back into the passage leading to the stomach. 

 The relation of this organ to speech is empha- 

 sized in numerous proverbs which have refer- 

 ences to the "wagging tongue," the "tongue 

 hung at both ends," etc. In the Bible it is 

 called "an unruly evil, full of deadly poison." 



The tongue is covered with mucous mem- 

 brane, which, on the upper surface, has numer- 

 ous tiny elevations called papillae. These give t 

 the organ its rough feeling. The papillae at 



the back of the tongue are the taste buds (see 

 TASTE). In ordinary health the tongue is a 

 pinkish-red color, but when the digestion is 

 impaired a yellowish coating generally forms. 

 Physicians often look at the tongue to ascer- 

 tain the patient's condition. In some diseases 

 it turns to a bright red color. Besides muscles 

 and taste buds, the organ has glands which 

 secrete a moistening fluid. C.B.B. 



See ANATOMY, and the related subjects there 

 listed. 



TONIC, tahn'ik, a term derived from a 

 Greek word meaning lone, is applied to a 

 medicine or other agent that has the power to 

 strengthen, or "tone up," the system. In gen- 

 eral, tonics act by increasing resistance, and 

 their action may be direct or indirect. That is, 

 some tonics directly stimulate the stomach, 

 heart or other organ, and others help to correct 

 unhealthful conditions which interfere with 

 bodily vigor. 



The medicinal tonics are named according to 

 the special action they are expected to have, as 

 blood tonics, nerve tonics, stomachic tonics, 

 etc. Iron, belladonna, quinine, strychnine and 

 vegetable bitters are standard nerve tonics; 

 digitalis and squill are especially valued as 

 heart tonics; arsenic and cod-liver oil are often 

 prescribed for anaemia, and nux vomica is be- 

 lieved to have a beneficial effect on the stom- 

 ach. 



The nonmedicinal, or general, tonics include 

 baths, fresh air, exercise, massage and the like. 

 In connection with this subject it should be 

 stated that when a person feels the need of a 

 tonic he should consult a physician before tak- 

 ing any drug. Especially should he avoid the 

 numerous patent medicines advertised as blood 

 purifiers, nerve stimulants, etc. C.B.B. 



Related Subjects. The reader will find fur- 

 ther information on the subject in the following 

 articles : 



Alcholic Drinks Gentian 



Arsenic Life Extension 



Baths and Bathing Medicine and Drugs 



Belladonna Quinine 



Bitters Squill 



Cold Strychnine 



TONKIN, TONGKING, or TONQUIN, tahn 

 kin', a French protectorate in the extreme 

 northeastern pa/1 of French Indo-China. The 

 name is also spelled TONGKIN, to correspond to 

 the gulf of that name, an arm of the China 

 Sea. It occupies the drainage basin of the 

 Red River, and has an area of 46,000 square 

 miles, which is nearly equal to that of the state 

 of Mississippi. According to an official esti- 



