BILTONG

biltong, a south african dutch word (from _bil_, buttock, and _tong_, tongue), for sun-dried strips of antelope or buffalo meat. bimana (lat. "two-handed"), a word first used by the naturalist johann friedrich blumenbach to distinguish the order of man from quadrumana or other mammals. the term was popularized by cuvier, and the majority of writers followed him in its adoption. in 1863, however, huxley in his _man's place in nature_ demonstrated that the higher apes might fairly be included in bimana. again and again it has been proved that the human great toe can be by constant practice used as a thumb; artists exist who have painted pictures grasping the brush with their toes, and violinists have been known to play their instruments in the same manner. among many savage races there is developed a remarkable power of foot-grasp, which in a lesser degree is often so noticeable among sailors. haeckel calls attention to the fact that a baby can hold a spoon with the big-toe as with a thumb. man, in a word, is potentially quadrumanous. bimetallism. the very general employment of both gold and silver for currency purposes (see money) has given rise to serious practical difficulties which have in turn led to keen theoretical discussion as to the proper remedies to be employed. though every arrangement under which two metals form the money of a region may be described as "bimetallism," the term--as often happens in economics--has received a specialized meaning. it denotes a system under which the two metals are freely received by the mint and are equally available as legal tender. the last clause implies the establishment of a definite ratio in value between the two metals (e.g. 1 oz. of gold = 151/2 oz. of silver) so that the title "rated bimetallism" may be given to it, in contradistinction to the "unrated bimetallism" which exists wherever two metals circulate together, but have their relative values determined, not by law, but by "the higgling of the market." further, the inventor of the term--h. cernuschi in 1869--regarded it as properly applicable to an international arrangement by which a number of states agree to adopt the same ratio, rather than to the use of the two metals by a single country, which may be described as national bimetallism. international bimetallism is at all events the form which has attracted attention in recent times, and it is certainly the most important. regarded from the historical point of view it appears that the failure of separate countries to maintain the two metals in circulation was the cause which produced the idea of bimetallism as an international system. we find first the upholders of a national double standard, as in france and the united states, and these are followed by the advocates of bimetallism set up by a combination of countries. the theoretical considerations which underlie the controversy between the supporters and the opponents of bimetallism find their appropriate place in the article