VENDETTA 



6047 



VENEZUELA 



Forked veimng is found in the feathery 

 fronds of ferns. In a few thick, fleshy leave? 

 like the stonecrop, the veins are obscure, and 

 such leaves are said to be hidden-veined. Moss 

 leaves, which have no branching ribs, are called 

 veinless. 



For illustrations of netted and parallel vein- 

 ings, see pages 3361 and 3362. in the article 

 LEAVES. 



VENDETTA, vendet'a, the Italian name for 

 a form of private warfare having for its object 

 the avenging of an injury- It is found in its 

 most relentless form in Corsica. Vendetta is 

 practically the same as the feud of the moun- 

 taineers of Kentucky and Tennessee. Accord- 

 ing to the code of those who practice such war- 

 hen a person is slain his nearest kinsmen 

 become responsible for the avenging of his 

 death ; if the guilty person escapes, punishment 

 is meted out to his nearest relatives. Feuds 



are sometimes handed down from one genera- 

 tion to another, and they lead to atrocious 

 crimes. Such practices flourish only in com- 

 munities removed from the power of, the law, 

 and are gradually disappearing almost every- 

 where. See BLOOD, AVENGER or. 



VENEER, veneer', a thin sheet of wood, 

 pearl, ivory or other material glued on the sur- 

 face of various woods to give a more artistic 

 finish. The woods are usually mahogany, rose- 

 wood or maple, and the veneer may be nearly 

 as thin as paper. After gluing, the wood is 

 pressed, the superfluous glue is wiped off, and 

 the surface is polished. There is a popular preju- 

 dice against veneered furniture, probably aris- 

 ing from the defects of cheap or careless work, 

 but, as a matter of fact, a well-manufactured 

 article of veneered furniture is as good looking, 

 as enduring, and often stronger than a similar 

 piece of solid wood. 



THE STORY OF VENEZUELA 



ENEZUELA, r -. in Spanish. 



vanaswa'lah, officially known as the UNITED 

 STATES or LLA, is a I public of 



twenty states and two territories, with a Federal 

 district for its capital. Its name, given by lin- 

 early explorers, was derived from the word 

 Venice, and had reference to the island h< 

 f the aborigines of the Orinoco region, many 

 of whom dwelt in the treetops, as sung in 

 .eg: 



o'er hi* I1'M the branching Oronoque 

 >wn deluge, and the native drives 

 To dwell aloft In life xupportlng trees. 

 At once his home, his robes, his food and arms. 



republic has an area of 393,076 square 



*, a greater area than Texas and New 



ico com) I 40,000 square miles 



in Uriti>h Columbia. The population 



'15 wa$ estim.it. >d to be 2.76-1240. 



The People and Their Cities, Tho white peo- 



:lly of Spanish descent, and 



nilum class, Thry represent th. 



culture of Spain. There are many Indians, 

 especially in tin llanos, and among the mesti- 

 zos (natives) there is considerable negro blood. 



Venezuelan authors have shown the life and 

 character of their countrymen in its most 

 favorable light. Bauos, in his history of the 

 Spanish conquest, expresses the love and ad- 

 miration of the ! in for his 

 country. The Indian //amrox. or herders on the 

 llanos, are sympathetically portrayed by Baralt. 

 another V. -m -/in Ian author, who tell- of their 

 th, their wonderful dcxt- ir love 

 of wild freedom, their fidelity to friendship and 

 to any trust (despite their fen ir love 

 of music, both instrumental and* vocal, and 

 their ability to improvise songs in rude and 

 primitive minstrelsy. 



The white population is well distributed in 

 i region instead of being concen- 

 trated in the cities. Caracas, the capital, had 

 in 1015 a population of about 85,000. It is a 

 ::iental. residential and education 



