MENDELISM

the progress in physiological science made possible by mendelian methods is described in the articles genetics and sex. in the present article the influence of those discoveries on the development of biological thought and their application to the practice of breeding are considered. analysts.—modern genetics introduces into biology a factorial or analytical conception of organisms, which are now recognised as largely possessing attributes behaving as units, and as such capable of being detached and transferred to any other type with which cross-breeding can be effected. the limits govern- ing this principle of segregation and recombination are still un- determined. phenotype and genotype.—in former considerations of biologi- cal problems no account was taken of the consequences of the fact that each of the higher organisms is, in modern language, diploid, that is to say, a double structure containing factorial contributions derived respectively from the faploid or simple male and female cells which in fertilisation united to produce it. since some of these factors inhibit the effect of others, and since some give no sign of their presence in the organism unless other complementary elements are also present, the appearance of an organism is an imperfect guide to its genetic potentialities. we have thus to distinguish the organism as it outwardly appears to be from that which it actually is by genetic composition, a distinction which johannsen has conveniently expressed by the use 868 of the terms phenotype for the former and genotype for the latter. systematic or classificatory works, both zoological and botanical, abound with errors arising from want of appreciation of this fundamental distinction, which must constantly be remembered, especially, for instance, whenever the significance of varietal or intermediate forms has to be estimated. vuriability—evidence formerly regarded as proof of abundant contemporary variability in the species of animals and plants must be submitted to searching tests before it can be so accepted. observations of variability once deemed adequate are now scen to be capable of quite different constructions. proof that an observed departure from type is a contemporary genetic varia- tion can only be obtained in exceptional cases which have been critically observed under experimental conditions. putative variation is commonly nothing but the recurrence of a recessive form, or the emergence of some other segregant, from a stock genetically impure; more often still the direct product of a cross. the existence, therefore, of a multitude of varietal forms, so far from simply providing a convenient basis upon which a theory of the evolution of species can be erected, becomes itself an ante- cedent problem; and instead of asking, as they used to do, how the species have been built up out of the varieties, biologists are rather concerned to discover whence and by what process these variations have come to exist. the belief that substantial genetic change commonly accrues by summation of impalpable differ- ences has been generally abandoned as devoid of evidential foundation. such differences are mostly fluctuational, largely dependent on circumstance rather than on genetical units and hence not transmissible. summation, when a genuine phenome- non, is a consequence of purification or the attainment of homo- zygosis. the idea that a characteristic could in any other way increase as a result of sclection is out of place in an exact or even a logical science. variation by loss and by addition.—whether the evidences of authentic variation remaining after the deduction of spurious testimony has been made, suffice as a basis of evolutionary the- ory has been questioned by competent naturalists. lotsy, for example, maintains that we have no proof of contemporary varia- tion arising otherwise than as a consequence of crossing; and apart from such extreme announcements it is noticeable that as regards varieties of animals and plants anciently domesticated, modern authorities usually incline to ascribe a multiple origin even for forms like wheat, the fowls, pigeons, sheep, horses, etc., which used formerly to pass for derivatives from single types, a belief now felt to be inconsistent with what is known of the limits of variability. distinction must be made between reccs- sive and dominant variations, arising respectively by loss and by addition. as regards recessive variations arising by loss of elements few will doubt the adequacy of the records (e.g., in the sweet pea, primula sinensis, etc.). as regards the de novo appearance of dominant characters the evidence is less abundant. morgan and the american geneticists have made prominent several instances of this kind in drosophila (fruit fly), of which the spontaneous origin of “ eosin” ( a new and peculiar pink) eyes in a white-eyed strain may be cited. admitting provision- ally these examples as free from objection they arc, nevertheless, extraordinary events and not common occurrences. were the dominant in question one already familiar we should hesitate to believe in its spontaneous origin. that a pea genetically wrinkled, having the characteristic starch of the wrinkled varie- ties, should without crossing produce a variety with ‘ round ” starch-grains would in modern lights appear not much less improbable than the spontaneous generation of life. with plausibility a number of human malformations, such as praesenile cataract, claw foot-and-hand, etc., which have been regarded as descending as dominants, may be interpreted on these lines as in reality due to loss. from almost the beginning of mendelian studies surprise has been felt that so many curious abnormalities in man, of which at least some 30 may be enumer- ated, should behave as dominants, seeing that novel characters most frequently are demonstrably recessive. inasmuch as these ‘¢ dominants ”’ are so abundant in man, though otherwise rare, mendelism something no doubt remains to be explained; but we may avoid the difficulty of interpreting them all as factorial additions, for with equal probability the normal may, be represented as pos- sessing an element which, when homozygous, maintains develop- ment in its proper and normal course. mohr and wriedt, dis- cussing the inheritance of a new type of shortened digits, recently made the suggestion that we have here to do with a character which, in the homozygous state, is /etha?. in other words, if one element of ‘‘ normality ” only be present the individual exhibits the peculiarity, but if both elements of normality are wanting the consequent malformation is so extensive that the embryo perishes at some early stage of development. the normal ele- ment would then be recognise | as the positive contribution, and in the absence of at least one such contribution the embryo is non-viable. some slight evidence is already adduced in support of this view; and since lethal contributions certainly play a great part in genetical histories, we should be prepared for a wide ap- plication of this principle, especially to the descent of deformity. but, as explained in the article genetics, nothing absolutely forbids us from inverting the representation of positive and nega- tive factors by extension of the conception of inhibitors, of which many are familiarly known; so that we may express the apparent addition of a new element as a loss of one which when present had repressed the new attribute. this symbolism, though ad- mittedly objectionable when dominance is complete, does with- out strain apply to all cases in which the heterozygote is inter- mediate, and a large range of alleged new dominants can be covered. in so far as this conception applics, evolution is con- ceived of as a process of unpacking, a progress consisting in the loss of component elements. mutation.—the term mutation introduced by de vries, is now generally accepted to denote definite genetical variations which are sensibly discontinuous. though contemporary examples which satisfy all tests are not abundant, there is no question that they occur and have occurred in most of the forms of life. they are indeed part of the occasional experience of most breeders of animals and plants. the special example, the oenotheras, on which de vries mainly founded his own theory, was singularly unfortunate and must, as explained in the article genetics, be now discarded as inapplicable. mendelian analysis was only lately made known, and the group of discoveries comprised in the term genetics were in an incipient stage; nor had the criteria of genetic purity, which must be applied to a parental form before the production of new types from it can be accepted as proof of original mutation, been clearly established. the oeno- theras which produce the presumed mutations are now proved to be no pure genotypes, and the suggestion that they were in a “period of mutation” arose from a misunderstanding of the nature and consequences of heterozygosis. inter-specific sterility-——the new forms whose productions we witness are never new species. in primula sinensis about 20 pairs of factorial differences have been determined, which in their several combinations present an amazing polymorphism. a systematist, if he met these forms in nature, might and prob- ably would quite justifiably take many of them for distinct species. but interbred, they and their products are perfectly fertile. polymorphism like this is, even in a state of nature, far more abundant and far greater than the evolutionists of the last century imagined, yet it avails us little as material out of which true specific differences can be supposed to develop. the conspicuous defect in the evidence for the origin of species by common descent remains. though much is known as to the inci- dence of variation, not rarely of a magnitude which might natu- rally be claimed as constituting specific difference, no one has yet raised types from a common origin which when interbred produce sterility of the kind and degree forming one of the com- monest attributes of crosses between natural species. by what- ever concatenation of arguments theories of evolution have been — constructed, the most essential link has never been supplied. the lapse of time is occasionally invoked in the hope of rectifying this and similar evidential defects, a strain which has been main- tained distinct for a long period being thought more likely to show plate m mendelis ‘[enpiaipui o} [enpiaipul woiy suoizeiiea [vws jo jaquinu oyuyui jsow]e ue (dji| jenjoe ul poascsqo si sv) oq [jia a10y} ‘so1jsi10}9¥ieys jouiui aupui ui joyip apvol[e pessold suivijs dy yiog o19ym jey} usas a]ipvos sit zt ‘surdsyo jo soyoisea aului os siais uili}s gqeuea sdeysod puv joy.oue woi} juliiva © yrim uili}s julisuod b jo zuissoid dy} sy "siijiiiva judiiiip 14319 poeziqiyxos uaippryopuess oy yng ‘s}e1 ppm oy] aass-ystumoiq ][e atam suridsyo sy °8ni} sps90iq ysiyam 99ei wil) pastuusoi1 & ‘ss[enpiaipul papooy-hovyjq yim pozeul sem j] ‘purjsuq ut yy8neo sem (ajolea umouyun ajsnoraoid &) ei motjda & ii6i ut shilainva onilsixa jo noilvoiidilinn ahl atdissod samvin nollvimva lyods man v do aonayaniooo ahl moh ‘kaoisu pt joanid at fo unasn py upstdamyy ay} fo ksajanoy lar . rod ae ce eh? we hg + ? et be we tele dso . cie ree ey tg acl gt 6 8 oy gn? se tle be " * } my ot ae fe ‘u9a13 duo 0} motj[oa 9914} uoiqliduaz }x9u 9y} ul buriais ‘mmot[aa pliqgay pdo1q [lm spsly}-0m} pue ‘mo]aa aind pdoiq [lak p4lyy-ou0 ‘passo1o aie uoi}ei9uas aue wo lj sjul{d paposs-moo]]aa j] *(udei3 qred ‘moyoa jaed) prqdy 10 mo]j9a dind aq aeui spoas mojjaa iepiunis ajquaiedde ayy “ynnse1 saemye spoes ud2i12 possoid aie uoi}b19uis piiy} dy} jo sppaas udd13 ay} woiy sjurid j] “mot[aa jurutwiop 94} aq pomopeysiiao bulag ‘daissidii io ‘jud}l] si uddis dy} uotzeiouds puodses oy} ul ‘udi13 ylinoj-auo ‘moi[ia a1e spods ay? jo syianoj-a91} uotye19udz pary 9yy} ul inq ‘spods motto sey uuol}ejaunss puodis du} ]]e@ ‘passoid oie svad poposss-use13 pue papeds-mo]joa uay.\\ vad naguv* nowwood ahl jo sgqyhs ahl ni aonvliiaahni ywnotos aidwis *c4oisl ey joanid nt fo unasn py udiaduy ay} fo ksajano7y © ae oe tes + ps oe ~~! peike 2 “et - i ee pesess tm~ - . wrt, — miundelism interracial sterility when crossed with its progenitor than one newly separated. reasoning of this kind, plausible enough in scholastic days, is not acceptable in an age of chemistry, nor may we sup- pose that that which is never begun will be attained by mere effluxion of time. the more genetical experience extends, the more serious does this hiatus in the evidence become. evolution.—in allusion to this and other difficulties, which ge- netic research has forced into prominence, the question is sometimes asked whether the theory of evolution holds its place so firmly as it did, or, more crudely put, whether mendelian discovery has not “upset darwinism.” it should therefore be stated explicitly that in spite of all the objections with which the doc- trine of the origin of species by descent is now seen to be beset —objections of which the strength is far more clearly known than before—and though as to the manner by which new species have come into existence geneticists adopt for the most part an agnostic attitude, yet all agree that the lines of argument con- verging to support the theory of common origin are so forcible and so many that no alternative can be entertained. the geological record is conclusive. the following may be taken as a cogent instance of this: if angiosperms had existed in the carbonifcrous age their remains must have been preserved; therefore angiosperms have arisen since that time, and we cannot conceive whence they came if not by descent from the pre-existing plants. common descent, though rarely if ever a proposition demonstrable in any detail, ranks as an axiom. for darwin and any other evolutionist before or after him this is a concession of the main claim. parts of the apparatus by which the validity of that claim was enhanced have fallen into desuetude. in particular the modern geneticist assigns to natural selection a subordinate and inconsiderable rele. organ- isms are to be considered as co-ordinated systems. that each particular structure or instinct comprised in the system, which shows permanence or definitencss makes a contribution to the success of the system equivalent to the cost of its production is recognised as a fallacy. we are also reluctant to apply to the interrelations of the collective properties of organisms arguments which would be out of place in similar considerations of the attributes of unorganised substances. we no more look for util- ity in the details of a peacock’s feather than in the iridescence of a roman bottle or in the regularity of basaltic prisms. adaptation.—it is not merely in regard to the mode by which species have arisen that agnosticism has prevailed. while un- willing to accept adaptation, with darwin, as a summation of happy accidents, we have no alternative to offer, nor is there in the attempts of various experimenters to find that organisms transmit to their posterity structural emendations in response to parental experience anything which sensibly alleviates the difficulty. most of these claims are obviously faulty and few require serious notice. each step in the progress of this branch of science has rather compelled the recognition of genetic determinism; and the hope that by change in the conditions of life or by any external in- fluences significant alteration can be induced in succeeding gen- erations, whether of organisms amenable to experiment or of the human population, must be abandoned. classification.—the full implications of factorial analysis in relation to biological classification are not yet appreciated. the fundamental idea of the systematist, that animals and plants can be grouped into species, and that the distinctions between species are of a different order from those characteristic of varieties, is now scarcely open to question. nevertheless, the belief held very widely by systematists, that certain classes of differences are important as being more fixed, and others trivial as being more liable to variation, is scarcely consistent with genetical knowledge. the frequency and amplitude of variation and the perfection of segregation must be empirically determined for the various organisms and for the various characters. no general rules can be predicated. anthropologists, for example, are accustomed to regard special features of anatomy as com- paratively sure guides to racial origin (see races of mankind). knowing what we now do of segregation and recombination we 869 suspect that no characteristic is incapable of segregation and so of transference to another race: given the possibility of cross- breeding, the shape of the skull or other bodily peculiarity may be transferred in its entirety to individuals descending through another parent from a different race, and hence to a resulting population, more slowly but not less completely than a language or a custom. the classificatory dichotomies in common use in the system- atic arrangement of animals and plants have no prerogative significance except for mnemonic or demonstrative purposes; the number of the dichotomies is merely an enumeration of the pairs of factorial differences; and the order in which they are taken into account, though often treated as a matter of cardinal impor- tance, is purely arbitrary. peas, for instance, are divided first - into tall varieties and dwarf varicties, then into round and wrin- kled, yellow and green, etc., but it would be logically as sound and physiologically as justifiable to divide them first into yellow and green, then into early and late and so on. if the races of men could be crossed under experimental conditions we should find the same principles governing their distinctions. a pplications.—the applicability of genetic discoveries to the betterment of the human race is discussed in the article eu- geniccs, but progress in the art of breeding animals and plants js also possible by the development of mendelism. the use and conse- quences of crossing in the search for new forms of economic value are now apparent. the reasons for preserving the first genera- . tion (ff) though it may present no valuable feature and the de- sirability of raising from it as many individuals (f.) as space will accommodate, are obvious. ‘the breeder now knows what he is about and is able to interpret countless phenomena pre- viously meaningless. granting that the chief breeds of animals now in the kcening of civilised man are not capable of much amel- ioration, experience has shown that enormous improvements can be made by applying accurate knowledge to the breeding of even such old-established crops as wheat, oats, tobacco, etc. if this is true of the crops which have for ages been the object of unremitting care, it will be understood that the cultivated plants of tropical regions offer limitless possibilities. the breeding of coconut, rubber, jute, cacao and many more has scarcely begun. these are all still raised from seed gathered almost promiscuously, the result of uncontrolled fertilisation, and the product is what we should see if our orchards were raised from seeds and those seeds gathered at random from gar- den varieties and from wildings in the hedgerows. at first, selec- tion and fertilisation under control will suffice to make great progress. even at that stage some genetic knowledge will be of value, but when the more difficult task of making genetic re- combinations of desirable qualities is begun the breeder will require skill in the management and interpretation of the genera- tions and the various terms in the serics of forms which only accurate knowledge of principle can supply. genetic science shows primarily what can be expected, provides the breeder with an aim, and also indicates how it may be attained. for example, a crop of sugar bect often contains 4°, (sometimes many more) of plants which “ bolt ” or flower in the first year making no “bulb,” and so worthless. this state of things has long been accepted as inevitable. but when the geneticist finds that the annual habit is a reces- sive, he suspects that the plants which produce the bolters are heterozygous in that respect, and that if he can raise plants homo- zygous in the biennial habit he will have eliminated bolting. the breeder, whether scientific or practical, ignorant of genetics, would never suspect the nature of the fault, still less could he devise a cure. common sense in the art of seed-raising is an im- perfect guide. apart from any question of making new races, the purification of existing varieties and their maintenance in a state of purity are exacting tasks. what has been done in these several phases of the industry, in ignorance of principle, is remarkable, but we may confidently foresee that the application of scientific method will, in the case of the breeder’s art, effect a . change in magnitude no less than that which has been witnessed in the other industries. 870 bibliography.—w. bateson, afaterials for the study of variation (1894); h. de vries, die mutationstheorie (1901-3); w. bateson, probiems of genetics (1913); w. johannsen, elemente der exakten erbiichkeitslehre, 2nd ed. (1913); w. bateson, presidential add. to brit. assn,, australia (1914); t. h. morgan, the mechanism of mendelian heredity (1915); w. e. castle, genetics and eugenics (1916); j. p. lotsy, evolution by means of ifybridisation (1916); o. renner, ‘‘ versuche iiber d. gametische konstitution d. oeno- theren,” zts. fiir indukt. abstamms. u. vererbungslehre, val. 18 (1917); n. heribert-nilsson, ‘“ variabilitat, spaltung, artbildung und evolution in der gattung salix,” festskr. lunds universitat 200 arsjubileum (1918); o. l. mohr and c, wriedt, ‘‘ a new type of hereditary brachyphalangy in man,” carn. inst. pubin., no. 295 (1919). (w. bn.) menendez pidal, ramon (1869- _), spanish philologist, was born march 13 1869 at corunna, and studied at the universi- ties of madrid and toulouse. in 1899 he was appointed to the chair of romance philology at the university of madrid. menen- dez soon acquired a great reputation as a master of his subject and lectured in south america and the united states. in 1907 he was member of a board created in that year for the develop- ment of university education in spain and in 1913 was appointed counsellor of public instruction for the kingdom. his grammar, text and vocabulary of the caviar de mio cid (1908) opened out new possibilities not only to castilian philology but to historiog- raphy in general. menendez pidal became the leader of the centro de estudios listericos, the main house of learning in philology and historical matters in spain, and the editor of the revista de filologia espaitola. his other works include primera crenica general (1906); l'epopee castillane @ travers la litterature espagnole (to10); gramdlica [hisierica espavola (1914); un aspecto en la elaboracien del quijote, 2nd ed. (1924). menendez y pelayo, marcelino (1856-1912), spanish scholar and critic (see 18.128), was at the time of his death work- ing at the second edition of his historia de los heterodoxes es pa- jioles. he died at santander may 19 1912. ~ see a. donoso, amfenendez y pelayo y su obra (1913); bonilla y san martin, menendez y pelayo 1856-1972 (1914); and a. g. de amezua y mayo, nota bibliografica de menendez y pelayo (1918). mental deficiency.—mentat deficiency, or amentia (a, without, mens, mind), has been defined as that state in which the mind has failed to attain normal development, as distin- guished from dementia (de, down from, mens, mind), mental defect occuring subsequently to mental development. legisla- tion both in england and abroad has recognised the essential difference between these two forms of mental disease, and the class of so called “ mental defectives ” is generally dealt with by laws differing from those affecting the insane. these laws are based mainly on a recognition of (a) the educational, (d) the social and racial problem created by the presence of large numbers of uncontrolled mentally defective persons in the community. i. great britain and the british empire in england the mental deficiency act of 1913 was the out- come of the report (1912) of the royal commission on the care and control of the feebleminded appointed in 1908, and em- bodied a considerable number of its recommendations. the elementary education (defective and epileptic chiidren) act, 1899, gave to local education authorities power to provide special schools (day or residential) for mentally defective children between the ages of 7 and 16 who, not being either dull or back- ward or idiots or imbeciles, were capable of benefiting by the education provided in such schools, under the elementary education (defective and epileptic children) act of 1914 these powers were made compulsory, and both acts were embodied in part v., sections 51-9 of the elementary education act 1921. attendance at such schools may be enforced by a magistrate, provided it is clearly for the child’s benefit that he should attend a special school. owing to the war and to the relatively high cost of these schools many authorities have failed to provide sufficient, in some cases, any. special schools; there is practically no school provision for defective children in rural areas. the estimated number of defective children is calculated at 8 to 10 menendez pidal—mental deficiency per thousand of the school population. the latter figure is probably the more accurate. his gives a total of 50,240 defec- tive children to be provided for, but provision has only been made for 16,392 children in 174 day and 21 residential schools. in addition, the local education authorities must notify to the local control authority children who are incapable of benefiting from education in special schools or who need institutional care on leaving school. in urban areas there are 88 occupation day centres for children excluded from schools, run for the most part by local voluntary mental welfare associations; after-care com- mittees and the above associations look after the children wha have left special schools, try to find them employment, super- vise them at home and establish handicraft centres for them. the mental deficiency act—the board of control, a section of the ministry of health, administers the lunacy and the mental deficiency acts. the local control authorities are statutory mental deficiency committees of county and county borough councils, whose duty it is to provide for defectives, only when they can be certified as idiots, imbeciles, feebleminded or moral imbeciles, and who in addition are either (au) neglected, without visible means of support, cruelly used, ete.; (b) found guilty of any criminal offence, and liable to be sent to or actually sent to an industrial school or prison; (c) notified by the focal education authorities as ineducable or as needing institutional care on leaving a special school; (¢) having given birth to or being pregnant of an fllegilimate child whilst in receipt of poor relief. the duty of the authority is to (a) ascertain the defec- tives they must deal with; (2) provide supervision by visiting and watching over the defective at home. this supervision is in a large number of areas carred out by local mental welfare asso- ciations affiliated to the central association for mental wel- farce, who supply visitors for defectives living in the community. if this supervision is insufficient the authority may (c) send defectives to a certified institution under orders, or (d@) place them under guardianship under orders, #.e., under the charge of an individual having the powers of a parent over them. this order is made by a magistrate ona petition supported by two medical certificates. orders are renewable by visiting justices at the end of each of the first two years, then every five years. so long as the order lasts the defective can be compulsorily detained, but defectives can be discharged by a commissioner of the board of control at any moment. the parents of defectives, if they oppose the making of the order, must prove that it is for the benefit of the defective that he should remain at home. loca] authorities are required to provide certified institutions for defectives; they can also send defectives to institutions provided by other committees. the war prevented the devel- opment of institutions, and a considerable number of poor law institutions have been approved for the reception of defectives under orders. the royal commission estimated that there were 4:6 per 1,000 defectives in the population. some 48,778, or 1:29 per 1,000, have been ascertained, but only 19,076 defectives were in institutions under the act in jan. 1926, many being found in institutions and homes as rescue cases, paupers, etc. the difficulties are: incomplete ascertainment of defective children, which handicaps preventive measures; lack of special educational facilities for training defectives; lack of institution accommodation for adult defectives; and lack of recognition of mental defect in cases coming before the courts. greater efforts are being made to safeguard the community and the defective by segregating all with anti-social tendencies in institutions. scotland —the mental deficiency act for scotland, 1ror3, does not differ very materially from the english act but the local authorities are local boards of control and the parish councils. there were 2,452 certified mental defectives on jan. 1 1925. a scottish association for mental welfare was estab- lished in 1922. there is also an active voluntary movement on foot for the establishment of a large colony for the fecbleminded. ireland —the mental deficiency act does not apply to northern ireland. there was in 1926 but one institution for 1 for definitions sec the mental deficiency act. mental deficiency defectives in the whole of ireland, but certain religious com- munities propose to open others. british em pire.—legislation in other parts of the british common- wealth is generally modelled on the english mental deficiency act. in south australia, a mental deficiency act was passed in 1913; in tasmania, in 1920. the mental deficiency board then estab- lished published in 1925 a report on a mental survey of the prisoners in hobart gaol. in melbourne and sydney special schools and classes for mentally defective and backward children are being established. the mental disorders act of 1916 regulates the care of defectives in the union of south africa. a national council for the care of the feebleminded watches over the interests of individual defectives, and guides public opinion. in canada a federal act dealing with immigration prohibits the entry of mental defectives into the country. each provincial govern- ment provides grants for the organisation of special classes for mental deficients in school attendance, and in jan. 1926 there were approxi- mately 140 such classes. ontario, alberta, saskatchewan, manitoba and nova scotia have made institutional provision for approxi- mately 1,500 mental defectives, the largest at orillia, ontario, having accommodation for 1,200 cases. several of the larger cities, including toronto, winnipeg and vancouver, provide routine mental exam- inations for schoolchildren and for juvenile court cases, and since 1918 the canadian national committee for mental hygiene has been conducting surveys throughout the dominion to determine the prevalence and significance of the problem. in new zealand, the mental defectives act of 1911 and the education act of 1914 are the acts under which day schools, one or two residential schools and some institutions are established. a committee of enquiry (1925) under the ministry of health recom- mended the establishment of a eugenic board for the compilation of a register of mental defectives, and made recommendations for the sterilisation of certain mentally defective persons. ii. the united states americans have given a great deal of study to the proper diagnosis and training of mentally defective persons and to the eugenic aspects of the problem, and there is a very widespread and efficient organisation in many of the states. each state has its own legislation. there are numerous special day schools, called auxiliary classes, residential schools and institutions. many of the institutions are on a vast scale, and have thus per- mitted interesting experiments. one of the pionecrs of the work, the late dr. walter fernald, developed the waverly institution (mass.) into a highly successful training colony. one of dr. fernald’s principles was “ paroling,” and a very large number of patients, especially men, did remarkably well on “ parole ” from the institution. institutions equally interesting are the rome state school (new york) and vineland (new jersey), where dr. h. goddard and dr. s. d. porteus have carried out numerous experiments in the measurement of intelligence. psychiatric clinics are attached to many hospitals, and afford considerable opportunities for the study of mental defect. segregation has been tried on a wide scale in several of the states, and for some years certain states have had laws allowing the sterilisation of mental defectives. special attention has been directed to the whole problem of defect in its relation to delinquency amongst children and adults. the national committee for mental hygiene and the joint committee on methods of preventing delinquency, the judge baker foundation, boston, mass. (which publish nu- merous monographs) and other kindred associations have done pioneer work in this connection. iii. european countries the work among mentally defective persons in other countries follows much the same lines as are indicated in the description given below. the classification of defect differs somewhat in different countries, and a class of “ moral imbeciles ” is not universally recognised. almost all countries have now made some provision for mentally defective persons, but the problem is still inadequately met. france.—in france, mental defectives are dealt with under the law for ‘' alienes *’ passed as long ago as 1838, which has not been amended. under this law persons can be pee in institutions at the request of their families, or by order of the prefect, if they are considered dangerous or in need of protection. some difficulty ts found in dealing with cases needing treatment but not institutional qi care, but the work of treating the feebleminded at psychiatric clinics is likely to develop since the establishment of a clinic at paris in 1921. a law passed in 1919 recommends special classes for children, but does not make them compulsory. no statistics as to the incidence of defect are available. some french institutions have a fine reputation, notably perhaps the hospice de bicetre, near paris, which is attached to a general hospital, and has accommodation for about 1,000 males (mostly idiots and imbeciles) and about 217 girls. seguin, one of the pioneer teachers of defectives, worked at the bicetre. italy,—in utaly, the class ‘ imbecili morali’’ is recognised. no exact figures are available as to the number of defectives. a general law on the protection of children was in preparation in 1926. there are only eight institutions set aside for the mentally defective, accommodating 761 persons. madame montessori’s educational methods (q. v.) were based on the experience gained among defective children at rome. she made the startling discovery that a mentally defective child taught on her methods was in some instances actually able to attain a higher standard than normat children taught on other methods. she has applied to the teaching of normal children the empirical] methods so effective with defectives, and her work has reacted in favour of improved methods for both classes of children. belginm.—another educational pioneer, dr. ovide decroly of brussels, similarly first interested himself in the study of defectives, and later adapted his methods in use in his special school in brussels to the teaching of normal children. his normal school in brussels reveals its purpose by its title, ‘‘ ecole pour la vie par la vie,’’ and his methods have been adopted in many of the elementary schools in brussels. belgium has a remarkable institution, the colony at gheel, whose origin goes back to the 6th century, when a shrine was built to st. dymphna, a martyred irish saint. at least as early as the 13th century she came to be considered the special saint of ‘' alienes.” from that time through the centuries the work has grown until to- day gheel is a place of some 20,000 inhabitants caring for 2,000 ‘f alienes,’’ including insane and mentally defective, with a school for 160 defective children. the principle of the colony is freedom and home-life in the families of the citizens. other similar colonies have been founded in the country. holland.—the institutional care of the feebleminded is almost entirely in private hands, but special schools exist in the towns, the scandinavian countries have a good system of special schools and several institutions, and considerable attention has been given to the training of defectives. denmark.—it is estimated that there are in denmark between 6,000 and 7,000 mentally defective persons in a population of 3,500,000, but there are no exact statistics. there are four large institutions, accommodating about 3,450 persons, and private homes taking 350 patients. special schools are not compulsory, but they are established in most large towns such as copenhagen, which has a school for 700, a marriage act is on the statute book pro- hibiting marriage with a mentally deficient person. austria.—developments in austria have been considerable since the war. there are special schools and classes for 2,794 children, and 20 institutions for the care and instruction of 1,498 mentally defective and epileptic children. german y.—germany has a fine special school system, with schools in about 600 different places. these schools are in some instances very small, more than 200 having only one class, and 150 only two classes. there are in all about 3,500 classes in these schools, with accommodation for 67,000 chiklren. most of the special school- children have had two years’ trial in the elementary school, and those who are not able at the age of six to profit by the elementary school can attend a ‘‘ vorklasse ’’ before being drafted into a special or normal school according to their development. in mannheim since the beginning of the century, and later in charlottenburg, frank{urt- on-main and other towns, a system of so called ‘ ferderklassen ” has been established for the backward child whose mental diffi- culties may be due to extcrior or physical causes and not to mental defect. in other towns there are classes for those who in the later years of school life remain backward. switserland.—the institut j. j. rousseau in geneva has been of inestimable value in the scientific study of the child. the founder, prof. ed. claparede, has proceeded on the principle that the abnor- mal and norma! child should be studied at the same time, and the institute has now become a laboratory for the study of the child in all his manifestations. the care of the fecbleminded is very well organised in switzerland. in 1918 preparatory classes were estab- lished for the children who cannot keep up with the lowest class, and in some schools there are ‘‘ crammer "’ classes with more handwork than in the ordinary classes, for children whose backwardness is due to “ neglect,"’ and who are probably able to return later to the ordi- nary classes. there are also ‘* work-classes,’? which have more manual work even than the special schools. the employment schemes in institutions are admirably organised. the basle institu- tion, opened in 1916 for the paid employ ment of defectives has been most successful, and is being enlarged so as to serve the needs of defectives from any area. a work and welfare home for girls; with similar aims, was opened in 1924 at komtz, near berne. bibliography.— final report of the royal commission on the care and control of the feeble-ninded (cd, 4202, 1908, vol. 8). for interim 72 reports see vol. 1-7, 1908 (cd. 4215—cd. 4221); mental deficiency act (1913) and mental deficiency and lunacy (scotland) act (1913) 3 and 4 geo. v.ch. 28 and 38; cyril burt, the young delinquent (1925); w. g. h. cook, insantty and mental deficiency in relation to legal responsibility (1921); s. p. davies, social control of the feeble- minded (national committee for mental hygiene, 1923); a. descoeurdres, l’education des enfants anormaux (1922); w. e. fernald, feeblemindedness (1924); h. h. goddard, feebleminded- ness; its causes and consequences (1914); w. healy, the individual delinquent (1915); m. montessori, the montessori method, (rev. ed., 1920); e. seguin, traitement moral, hygtene et education des idiots et des autres enfants arrieres (1906); a. f. tredgold, mental defi- ciency: amentia (4th ed., 1922). (e. fo.) mercie, marius jean antonin (1845—1016), french sculptor and painter (see 18.152), died in paris dec. 12 1916. mercier, desire (1851-10926), belgian cardinal, was born nov. 21 185r at braine-l’alleud in the walloon part of brabant, of a bourgeois family. he studied at the episcopal college of st. rombaut, malines, and at the lesser seminary of that town. on april 5 1874 he was ordained priest aiter following the courses of the larger seminary, where he made his first acquaintance with the philosophy of st. thomas aquinas. after two years at the university of louvain, he was appointed professor of philosophy at the lesser seminary of malines (1877). in 1880 leo xiii., who wished to promote the study of thomism, in- vited cardinal dechamps, archbishop of malines, to found a chair of thomist philosophy at louvain. the choice of the cardinal fell on the young abbe mercier, who was appointed in 1882. before assuming his new duties, the new professor studied in paris under charcot. while teaching psychology, logic, cri- teriology, metaphysics and ontology to his louvain students, including a large number of laymen, he followed closely the research work of his colleagues, according to the tradition of ihe scholasticists, who combined theological and _ scientific studies. in 1886 the pope conferred a roman prelateship upon him, and in 1888~9 issued two briefs urging the necessity of founding an institut superieur de philosophie at louvain. this institute was finally opened in 1894 and included, besides the chair of philosophy held by mgr. mercier, chairs of cosmology, physics, sociology, etc., held first by his colleagues and later by the pupils he had formed. the institute published the revue neo- scolastique and became the centre of neo-thomism which exerted considerable influence on catholic thought all over the world. in 1906 mer. mercier was appointed archbishop of malines, and in 1907 he was created a cardinal. he used his influence with his priests and his flock to break down the barricrs existing between the members of the clergy and the laymen, to eliminate all class distinctions between the catholic bourgeoisie and the labourers, and to bring about a better understanding between catholics and non-catholics. on aug. 20 1914, while the belgian army was retreating upon antwerp and the germans were entering brussels, the cardinal was abruptly summoned to rome to take part in the election of a successor to pius x. shortly after his return to malines, he issued a pastoral letter, “‘ patriotism and endurance,” in which he protested against the burning of louvain and the other excesses committed by the german army, and in which he defined the position of the belgian people towards the occupying power. while, according to him, the belgians owed, in soul and conscience, neither respect nor allegiance to this authority, which was not lawful, they had to accept german regulations so long as they did not violate their duty to their country, the army alone having the right to resist openly the invaders’ power. in spite of the pressure exerted upon him by the german authori- ties, he maintained the same attitude throughout the period of occupation, protesting publicly in his sermons and pastorals against the arbitrary decrees of the governor-general, especially concerning the deportation of workmen and the administrative separation of the country, urging the people, at the same time, to remain confident in the final victory of their just cause. in jan. 1916 the cardinal took a second journey to rome where he was received with enthusiasm, and brought back with him a most cordial message from the pope. he proclaimed, in his mercie—merriman next pastoral letter, that ‘‘ the moral triumph of belgium, in the eves of civilisation and history, is already an accomplished fact.” in oct. 1918, on the eve of the retreat of the german troops, the cardinal received a message from the governor greeting him as the “ revered spiritual leader of the belgian people ” and announcing to him that political prisone-s and deportees would shortly recover their liberty. after the war, the name of cardinal mercier was associated with informal conversations which took place at malines follow- ing the ‘‘ appeal to all christian people ” issued by the lambeth conference of 1920. he took a prominent part in these friendly discussions between representatives of the roman and anglican churches. the first conference took place between cardinal mercier, mgr. van roey (his successor as archbishop of malines), and abbe portal, on the one side, and the dean of wells, the bishop of truro (rev. w. h. frere} and lord halifax on the other. bishop gore, dr. b. j. kidd, mgr. batiffol and abbe hemmer took part in the third conference, held in 1923. a full account of these conversations, which concentrated on doctrinal and historical rather than on administrative questions, was issued by the archbishop of canterbury at the end of the same year. in the spring of 1924 cardinal mercter celebrated the jubilee of his ordination. he died in brussels, after an operation, | on jan. 23 1926. (b-cas) meresjkowsky, dmitri (1866— ), russian man of letters, was born in st. petersburg (leningrad), the son of a court official, and graduated from st. petersburg university. he married zinaida hippius, the poet. his first volume of poems appeared in 1888 and was followed by more poetry, vera, sakya, muny, avakum, black angel, etc., by translations from euripides and other greek classics, by literary essays on russian and for- eign writers, old and new, lernal companions (1897), and a trilogy of historical novels under the general title christ and antichrist (1902-5); julian the a postate (1895), the renaissance of the gods, leonardo da vinci (1902), antichrist, peter and alexis (1905). after the “ trilogy ” came the novels alexander i. (and ed. 1913), december z4, and—in connection with the tutankhamun excavations—the birth of the gods. about 1900-2 meresjkowsky evolved a mystic, neo-christian or apocalyptic teaching based on the equal sanctity of flesh and spirit as opposed to the cult of the flesh as represented by pa- ganism, and the cult of the spirit as revealed by ecclesiastical christianity. his other writings include works of literary crit- icism, tolstoy and dostoicvsky (1901). he also wrote on religious, political and social questions, and published several plays. after the revolution meresjkowsky left russia and went to live in paris, where he continued his literary activities. meresjkowsky’s collected works were published in 24 vol. in 1914. the following were translated into english: zhe death of the gods (1901), peter and alexis (1905), december 14 (1923), the fore- runner (1924), the birth of the gods (1925). see also jean chuzeville, dmutri meresjkowsky (1922). merriman, john xavier (1841- ), south african politician, was born march 15 1841 at street, somerset, england. his family moved to south africa in 1849, and john xavier was educated at the diocesan college, rondebosch, and later at radley college, england, returning to the cape in 1861. merriman entered politics in 1869. three years later, despite his opposition, the cape obtained self-government, and in 1875 he joined the molteno ministry as commissioner of public works. when in 1877 war with the galeka kaflirs broke out merriman became virtually secretary for war in the cabinet. merriman came into office again in the scanlen ministry (1881-4), again as commissioner of public works. the dubious attitude of the newly-formed afrikander bond to the british connection alienated him from the dutch extremists. the bond had caused the fall of the scanlen administration because the ministry opposed the attempt of the transvaal boers to seize bechuanaland; and when rhodes formed a ministry in 1890 merriman joined it as treasurer-general. meanwhile the bond had adopted a constitutional programme, and 1890 saw a drawing together of the dutch and british elements at the merritt—mesopotamia, operations in cape. but the uitlander troublesin the transvaal became acute, and in 1893 merriman resigned. he was chairman of the cape parliamentary committee which inquired into the jameson raid of 1895, and drew up its report. the general election in cape colony in 1898 gave the bond a very narrow victory, and w. p. schreiner became prime minister, with merriman treasurer- general again, though the latter was not a member of the bond. merriman was among the ministers who in 1900 opposed the measure to disfranchise the cape rebels, and this led schreiner to tender the resignation of the cabinet. at the general election of 1904 merriman was ‘defeated, but was returned shortly afterwards at a by-election. in jan. 1908 he succeeded dr. jameson as prime minister and treasurer-general (see 5.247). merriman was a member of the national convention which hammered out the new constitution. on the establishment of the union in roro he did not join the union ministry under botha (see south africa), remaining a somewhat detached member of the south african party. he opposed the disruptive policy of hertzog as strongly as he had formerly supported the independ- ence of the boer republics. merritt, wesley (1836-1910), american soldier (see 18.- 173), died at natural bridge, va., dec. 3 1910. merry del val, raphael (1865- ), spanish ecclesias- tic and diplomat, was born oct. 10 1865 in london, where his father was secretary to the spanish legation. he was educated at baylis house, near slough, and at ushaw college, near dur- ham. ordained priest in 1888, he began at an early date to spe- cialise in diplomatic work for the vatican. in 1892 he became master of the robes and acting private chamberlain to pope leo xiii., of whom he was a great favourite. in 1897 he was sent to canada io report on the difficult manitoba schools question, and accomplished this mission with conspicuous success. in 1900 he became archbishop of nicea. he was secretary of the sacred college of cardinals during the election of pius x. (july 1903) under whom he became cardinal and secretary of state. on jan. 12 1913 he succeeded cardinal rampolla as archpriest of the basilica of st. peter’s, rome, and in the following year was appointed secretary of the supreme congregation of the holy office by benedict xv. in dec. 1920 cardinal merry del val became camarlingo of the holy roman church. mesopotamia: see ‘iraq. mesopotamia, operations in.—the anglo-indian opera- tions of 1914-8 in mesopotamia were in their initial stages con- ceived on comparatively speaking modest lines. the object at the outset was merely (1) to protect the anglo-persian oil instal- lations, (2) to occupy the greater part of the basra vilayet so as to secure possession of the shatt al ‘arab and the districts imme- diately round the head of the persian gulf, and (3) to impress the arabs and others in this region and in the territories inter- vening between the ottoman empire and india. steps had al- ready been taken before relations between the entente powers and the porte were actually broken off, and a brigade of the 6th indian div. had been dispatched to an island near the head of the persian gulf. then, on nov. 7, two days after the british declaration of war on turkey, these advanced troops appeared in their transports at the mouth of the shatt al “arab. the fort guarding the entrance was taken, and the brigade encamped some miles up the stream on the right bank. on learning this, the turks hurried all available forces down from basra; but, the rest of the 6th div. having arrived under sir a. barrett, they were on the 17th attacked and overthrown. basra fell on the 21st, and barrett then promptly pushed troops up to al qurna, which was taken on dec. 9. as considerable turkish reinforcements were arriving from baghdad, he was not altogether comfortably situated; but the osmanlis were not in an aggressive mood, and the invaders were little interfered with during the first three months of 1915. the indian government in march decided to raise the expeditionary force to the strength of an army corps by adding the r2th indian div., and early in april sir j. nixon took over command from sir a. barrett, who had made the most of the limited means at his disposal, general ‘townshend at the same time taking over the 6th division. - <3 i. the british advance up the tigris during the latter part of april the turks showed a marked increase of activity; but all their offensive efforts were frustrated, and nixon, encouraged by these successes, decided to occupy imara, 60 m. north of al qurna on the tigris. the task was entrusted to townshend, who carried it out by making free use of water transport for moving his troops, and who made himself master of the place on june 3, capturing 17 guns and 1,800 prisoners. nixon now resolved on a blow against an nasirlya, = =o ——— pe es 12 x j xx * shak x q ad das; ghar; mesopotamia campaign english miles §0 joo ratlwa s$ —eaneee 19/8. on the euphrates, and the 12th div. took possession of that town on july 25, capturing another 17 guns and 1,000 prisoners. the expeditionary force could then claim that it had effectually achieved the object for which the campaign had originally been undertaken, and its triumph was all the more creditable in view of the lack of transport and the inadequacy of its administrative service. the military organisation of india had not in pre-war days been framed with the idea of prosecuting martial operations overseas on an ambitious scale, and, as it was, the government had accepted heavy commitments in europe, in egypt and in east africa, in addition to the undertaking in lower mesopo- tamia. there was a lack of reserve, the medical service had been starved, and the necessary military resources for an extension of the mesopotamian operations were in reality deficient. occupation of kut.—the authorities at simla had unfortunately been inspired, by barrett’s and nixon’s successes, with the de- sire for adopting a more ambitious programme than that con- templated at the outset. they readily fell in with nixon’s pro- posal to advance up the tigris to kut al imara—18o m. up-river into the heart of the enemy’s country—and early in aug. towns- hend, with the 6th div., began pushing forward from imara. on sept. 15 he drove an advanced turkish force out of a posi- tion on the right bank of the tigris about 15 m. from kut, and on the 28th completely defeated the enemy a lttle farther on at es sinn, taking 1,650 prisoners, 13 guns and much war material. kut was occupied, and the cavalry pursued the flecing osmanlis as far as al ‘aziziya, half way to baghdad. kut was a place of strategical importance, because at this point the shatt al hai, issuing from the tigris, created a link with the euphrates near an nasiriya, and provided the line of 874 mesopotamia, communications which would naturally connect turkish forces on the lower euphrates with baghdad. it was furthermore the most populous spot between imara and an nasiriya on the one hand, and baghdad on the other. but almost the whole of the expeditionary force, apart from detachments on garrison duty lower down, had now been projected into an isolated situ- ation far within the enemy’s territory, and it depended upon a long line of water communication—the tigris—while it was served only by a restricted number of steamers and of smaller craft. still, the idea of pushing on to baghdad had already taken shape even before the occupation of kut. the aug. discom- fiture in the gallipoli peninsula (see dardanelles campaign), coupled with a belated realisation that the dardanelles venture "sywaigya* mapshes os rl io oe sanniyat kut al imara & surrounding district english mites oo 2 4 8 0 lz would not succeed, had rendered the british govt. eager for some dramatic achievement in mesopotamia. the indian vice- roy had advocated an advance on baghdad when the start up the tigris from imara was materialising, and townshend's triumph acted as a powerful stimulus to such aspirations. nixon intimated early in oct. that he could open a road to baghdad, under the circumstances then existing, but could not hold the city if it were taken. the military authorities at home, while admitting the possibility of capture, regarded permanent re- tention as out of the question with the limited numbers available, and they declared that if the place was to be held nixon must be reinforced by two divisions. but, influenced by political considerations, the government became more insistent, and in the end, although no reinforcements could be sent him immedi- ately, and although they could not have taken part in the opera- tions had they been sent, nixon was told on oct. 31 that he might advance on the city. first baghdad offensive fails ——townshend, who had pushed a large part of his force on to al ‘aziziya while the matter was being debated, found that the turks were less disorganised than had been supposed, and that his own troops were tired and short of establishment; and he had scrious misgivings. he, moreover, was unable to move for a fortnight, even after receiving the order to advance, owing to shortness of supplies and the need of organisation for the hazardous effort. he advanced from al “aziziya on nov. 11, and on approaching ctcsiphon some days later he found the turks to be assembled there in strong force and expecting reinforcements. he attacked them on the aust and was at first successful; but additional ottoman troops ar- rived during the fight and recovered much of the lost ground, townshend’s losses in the action proving very heavy. during the next three days townshend prepared to retreat, and on the night of the 25th he moved off. no great difficulty was experienced at first; but, in consequence of the flotilla of supply transports and fighting craft being de- layed by shoals, a halt had to be called on the zoth. next day the pursuing turks came up and delivered a resolute attack which was however beaten off, and after that the sorely tried little anglo-indian army was not seriously interfered with on its way to kut, which was reached on dec. 3. so, for the moment, ended the ill-advised baghdad adventure. during the discus- sions of oct. the turks had been strongly reinforced from the operations in northwest, and, by the time that townshend had advanced from al ‘aziziya, his adversaries had already grown so formi- dable that there was little prospect of his opening a road to the city. there never had been any prospect of his being able to hold the place even if he got there. seldom has a military force been committed to an undertaking that seemed so difficult of attainment. ii. tue siece or kut with the approval of the home and indian governments, nixon decided that townshend was to remain where he was, although if he did so he was bound to be invested. they assumed, altogether too readily, that he would be relieved before his sup- plies ran out. so his sick and wounded, his cavalry, most of the flotilla, and a portion of his animals were sent off down the tigris (although the civilian population was unfortunately allowed to stop), preparations for standing a siege were put in hand, and on dec. 8 kut was hemmed in on all sides. its situation, in a deep loop on the ieft bank of the tigris, rendered the place readily defensible against assault or siege approach, and the german field marshal von der goltz, who had just taken supreme com- mand of the ottoman forces in mesopotamia, realised that unless it fell to an carly assault the main turkish task in this region would be to guard against a relief. nur-ed-din, the turkish commander on the spot, had four divisions at his disposal, and on dec. 10, y1 and 12 he delivered unavailing onsets upon the narrow front that was not covered by the river. after that the siege became a blockade, part of nur-ed-din’s troops moved down the river some distance so as to confront any relieving force that might try to approach, and fortifications designed to meet such a contingency were erected. aflempts at relief —meanwhile the 7th and ard indian divi- sions had been detached from the western front in europe, and began arriving in the middle of dec. in the shatt al ‘arab. gen- eral aylmer took charge of the troops who were to undertake the relief of kut, and units as they disembarked were pushed on to imara with all speed and proceeded thence up the tigris. owing to a miscalculation as to the length of time that kut would be able to hold out, the operations of relief were during their early days hurried more than was necessary, with the re- sult that the force under aylmer was during its operations in jan. less well organised than it might have been. there was a grievous lack of heavy artillery, as well as a grave deficiency of water transport. nevertheless the turks were driven out of their advanced position at “ali gharbi, were again defeated at shaikh sa‘ad and, after a further defeat, fell back to the lines of umm al hanna, 20 m. from kut on the left bank of the tigris, at the entrance to a very awkward defile caused by the extensive suwaiqiya marshes, which here approach to within a short distance of the river. the relieving force had hitherto triumphed over every obstacle; but when on jan. 21 it essayed the storming of the umm al hanna position the effort failed, and so numerous were the casualties that aylmer felt compelled to pause in his offensive and to await reinforcements. about the same date sir p. lake succeeded sir j. nixon in the chief command, improvement of organisation.—lake sct himself to place ayl- mer’s line of communication on a better footing, to improve the medical arrangements and to develop the wharves at al qurna and basra.. material of all kinds was, however, deficient, and the turks were in the meantime developing their lines of defence on both banks of the tigris below kut, rendering the task of a re- lieving force more and more dificult. the british government had, on receipt of the bad news about umm al hanna, ordered the 13th div. to proceed from egypt to mesopotamia; but to move these troops from suez to the front of the tigris necessarily took some weeks, and it was moreover now too late to expand the water transport sufficiently to meet the needs of the growing anglo-indian force. aylmer attempted no forward movement during feb.; but on the night of march 7—8, without waiting for the 13th div., he advanced from near shaikh sa‘ad against the fs sinn position, intending a surprise. mesopotamia, operations in this was on the right bank of the tigris, less than to m. from kut, considerably higher up than umm al hanna and the defile caused by the suwaiqiya marshes on the farther bank; but owing to the turks holding that defile aylmer’s flotilla was prevented from advancing above umm al hanna. ‘the operation involved a long march in the dark; when day broke part of the force had not arrived, and, although the enemy was surprised in the first instance, the attack was delayed. when the assailants advanced against the reinforced turks, they were beaten back and had to retire to shaikh sa‘ad. surrender of kut,—the garrison of kut was already on much reduced rations; but gen. gorringe, who had succeeded aylmer, could make no fresh attempt for nearly a month owing to trans- port and supply problems. on april 5, however, the 13th div. under gen. maude stormed the hanna lines and penetrated well into the defile on the left bank of the tigris; but, when first the 7th div. and then the 13th div. attacked the sanni- yat lines at its farther end, they were in each case repulsed. kut could now only hold out a few days longer, so gorringe tried to advance by the right bank. after its making some progress on the 17th, in spite of almost insuperable difficulties caused by floods, this movement was, however, brought to a standstill. a final effort was made by the 7th div. on the 22nd against sanniyat, which nearly succeeded. finally, on the night of the 24th, a steamer loaded with provisions tried to run the blockade but failed, and on the 29th kut, with its garrison of 9,000 british and indian troops, surrendered. the efforts to save it had cost 24,000 casualties, but had it been known in jan. and feb. that the place could have held out so long, the relieving army would have enjoyed a better prospect of achiev- ing its object. british opinions.—the tidings of this very grave mishap gave rise to profound dissatisfaction in great britain, a dissatisfaction aggravated by information gradually leaking out with regard to the sufferings of the sick and wounded after the retirement from ctesiphon. a royal commission was set up a few months later to inquire into the operations that had taken place in mesopo- tamia, and its conclusions were to the effect that the undertaking of a campaign on so ambitious a scale without adequate fore- thought and efficient preparations was worthy of blame; it also animadverted in strong terms on the very unsatisfactory char- acter of the medical arrangements during the early stages of the venture. in the meantime it was decided that kut must if pos- sible be reoccupied. but the hot season was at hand. the troops had suffered exhausting trials and had met with crucl losses. water transport, as well as artillery and other war mate- rial, remained totally inadequate. there could be no question of resuming the offensive on the hand-to-mouth lines on which the advance from imara had been initiated in the previous year, and which gencral lake had been obliged to continue when striving against time to relieve townshend. a prolonged pause therefore became inevitable. . no reference has been made hitherto to the russian forces in persia. these, based on the caspian, were actually in occupa- tion of a considerable area of the shah’s northern territories. but they were weak in numbers, were opcrating in a region of wide extent, and the avenues leading towards the mcsopotamian plain traversed rugged and unproductive uplands. military contingents so situated could afford no direct help to the anglo- indian army during the critical months which followed ‘towns- hend’s advance to kut, nor did their activities at any time with- draw an appreciable proportion of the forces under von der goltz from the theatre of war on the tigris. ii. the baghdad offensive great developments took place on the anglo-indian line of communications, and at the base during the summer. a rea- sonable amount of heavy artillery was gradually accumulated. an additional division arrived from india. landing facilities at the ports were vastly improved. a change, moreover, took place in the chief command, for, after replacing gotringe in charge of the forces at the front in july, gen. maude a few wecks later 875 became commander-in-chief vice sir p. lake, whose health had broken down. maude realised that there was yet much to be done before his army could hope to act with effect in this pecu- liarly conditioned theatre of war, and he sect to work with in- domitable energy to perfect his arrangements. he organised four divisions at the front up the tigris as two army corps, and from sept. to the end of nov. he laboured unceasingly at the base, enjoying full support from the war office in london, which had definitely taken over charge of the campaign from the indian authorities. by the beginning of dec. he had been fur- nished with enough river craft, his supply system was sufficiently advanced, and he had the necessary war material at his command, to justify his embarking on offensive operations of a far-reaching kind, and on dec. 13 he struck suddenly and with signal success. disposition of the forces ——von der goltz had left mesopo- tamia, and khalil pasha was now in command of the turks. they had withdrawn from es sinn and had established an en- trenched camp nearly all around kut, while holding on to sanni- yat, and in view of their dispositions lake had begun a railway- line to run from shaikh sa‘ad to a point near es sinn. it must be pointed out that maude started his offensive with a force four times the strength of that which, under townshend, had advanced to ctesiphon a year earlier. his army astride of the tigris was of necessity disposed in echelon, with its left (the il. army corps under gen. marshall) about fs sinn, and its right (the i. army corps under gen. cobbe) facing sanniyat. maude’s plan was to push his left yet farther forward, to clear the right bank of the tigris to well above kut, and, when these dispositions should in due course have taken effect, to force the lines of sanniyat with his right. marshall opened the offensive by forcing the shatt al hai after a night march, and by capturing some of the turkish de- fences which formed a bridge-head south of kut. during the struggles that ensued, which lasted some weeks, khalil’s troops offered a stout resistance, so that although maude’s operations on the right bank of the tigris were almost uniformly success- ful, they proceeded slowly and by successive stages. by the middle of feb. the whole of the turkish entrenched camp on that bank was in anglo-indian hands, and the ottoman troops had all withdrawn to the farther side of the great river. no sooner had this part of the programme been accomplished than cobbe on the 17th attacked sanniyat. the effort failed for the moment; but when the assault was repeated five days later, it proved completely successful, and after a desperate contest in which the turks lost very heavily, the formidable lines were at last carried. on the same day marshall by a brilliant feat of arms forced a passage across the tigris at shumran, and no course was then left open to the ottoman commander but to abandon kut and retire in haste up the left bank of the river. maude’s flotilla, hitherto blocked by sanniyat, pushed up at once past kut, and the anglo-indian army could claim to have won a victory that went far towards wiping out the discomfitures of the previous year. turkish retreat from kut—with his supplies guaranteed by the arrival of the water transport, maude pressed on along the left bank of the tigris on the heels of the fugitive osmanlis. the river channel between kut and al ‘aziziya has many loops and bends, making it difficult for a naval force and a military force to act in concert; but on feb. 26 the british gunboats after a smart action destroyed or captured practically the entire turkish flotilla. great prizes in war material and prisoners were at the same time being made by the advancing army, and the question of proceeding to baghdad now arose. the army commander had from the outset contemplated the capture of that city after he should have expelled the enemy from kut, and now reccived permission to carry out his plan. ie found himself obliged to halt for some days at al ‘aziziya, however, for fear of outrunning his supplies. on march 4 the anglo-indian army resumed its advance, and it was found that the turks had fallen back behind the divala. this river presented a serious obstacle, and when an attempt was made to force the passage the effort proved in the first instance unsuccessful. but maude promptly 876 mesopotamia, threw a bridge across the tigris, passed the cavalry and cobbe’s corps over to the right bank, and by march 11 baghdad was in british hands. the turks had withdrawn northwards, but maude allowed no pause in the offensive to take place. cobbe pushed up the right bank of the tigris along which a stretch of railway ran from baghdad as far as samarra, heavily defeated an oppos- ing force at mushahida, while marshall conducted a most suc- cessful campaign on the shatt al ‘adhaim. cobbe, moreover, completed the operations on the right bank of the tigris by the capture of samarra. then, having secured possession of a wide area of fertile territory to the north of baghdad and driven the enemy in confusion into the deserts and uplands beyond, maude was at last able to afford his victorious troops rest—just as the hot weather set in. further progress northwards.—the virtual conquest of meso- potamia in a four and a half months’ campaign had been brought about by the resolute execution of a plan of operations that was based on correct calculation of requirements—by a triumph of forethought on the part of a chief who always relentlessly fol- lowed up his successes in the field. neither the stout resistance offered by the ottoman troops, nor the formidable defence works which they had elaborated around kut, had in reality proved the greatest stumbling block in maude’s path. the vast extent of the theatre of war, and the fact that his army must almost inevitably adhere to the line of the tigris, which constituted one long military defile, had interposed even greater obstacles in the way. but those obstacles had been overcome by effective preparation. a railway was constructed from kut to baghdad, sanitation and policing were established tn the capital, comforts and recre- ation were provided for the troops, and eflective steps were taken to tap the supply resources of the fertile tracts that were in occu- pation of the army. a division that had been in reserve at an nasiriya was brought up to the front. great efforts were also made for a time to arrange for co-operation with the russian forces in persia; but the untoward influence of the revolution in petrograd of march made itself more and more felt in that quarter as the weeks passed, and before long it became manifest that little was therefore to be hoped for in that direction. the situation in armenia was indeed becoming such as to cause maude some anxiety, for in the late summer it appeared that the turks under german instigation were contemplating an effort to recover baghdad. this made maude the keener to resume the offensive, and on sept. 28 he struck his first blow by the capture of ramadi on the euphrates. this victory was followed up by successful operations in clearing the jabal ham- rin, and by the occupation of tikrit on the tigris at the beginning of november. a few days later, however, the army commander was struck down by cholera, and he died on the roth. he was succeeded by sir w. marshall. iv. operations in 1918 the country traversed by the tigris above tikrit and extend- ing north for a long distance its a sterile tract, hilly and broken at some points; the ordinary route from baghdad to mosul does not therefore follow the river but takes a direction to the east through kifri and kirkuk. maude’s plan.—maude had intended to conduct his main advance by this line, but his death just at the moment when the project was to be put in execution created some delay; his suc- cessor, however, set troops in motion through the jabal hamrin in dec., and by these kifri was occupied in jan. 1918. having secured that point, marshall suddenly set his extreme left wing on the euphrates in motion in the middle of feb., with the result that hit was captured and the turkish division which had re- tired up the river was surrounded, 5,000 prisoners and all its guns: being taken. transport difficulties were hampering the advance beyond kifri on the other flank, but on april 29 the ottoman forces were heavily defeated on the road to kirkuk, losing 3,000 prisoners, and a week later kirkuk was taken. mar- shall, however, decided to withdraw his advanced troops in this operations in quarter to kifri, and active operations then practically ceased for five months. the collapse of russian fighting power in ar- menia had enabled the ottoman staff to move some troops from there down to mosul and northern mesopotamia, and scarcely any assistance had been received from persia; but marshall’s first campaign had nevertheless been remarkably successful and his position to the north and north-west of baghdad had been effectually consolidated. the british misston to persia.—in the meantime a special british mission, sent off in jan. under charge of gen. dunster- ville, and originally intended to proceed to tiflis with the object of co-ordinating the resistance of the armenians, georgians and russians to the turks threatening transcaucasia, had been trying to maintain satisfactory relations with the russians in persia. but great difficulties were placed in dunsterville’s way by the russian officials, who were tending towards bolshevism, while open hostility was displayed by certain of the persian tribesmen. some russian troops, however, remained loyal to the entente, and co-operating with these, small bodies of british troops were gradually pushed north so as to establish a line of communications between the anglo-indian army in mesopo- tamia and the caspian sea at enzeli. resistance to the turks in transcaucasia was gradually breaking down during the early summer, and at the beginning of july the last of the russian detachments in persia proceeded thither by ship. the ottoman troops appeared before baku shortly afterwards and dunster- ville with a brigade of infantry therefore sailed for that city in august. he found the armenian garrison to be unreliable and the atti- tude of the russian officials to be suspicious. the lines construct- ed for the defence of the place were of such extent as to require a large force to man them, bolshevik armed craft afloat on the caspian were a source of danger, and it soon became apparent that the safety of baku depended entirely upon the meagre british force that had been thrust into it, for the armenian soldiery displayed but little stomach for combat. dunsterville and his men did what they could to save the place for a few weeks; but on sept. 14 the turks broke through the outer defences, and that night the british re-embarked and returned to enzeli, whereupon baku passed into the enemy’s hands. a somewhat hazardous venture had failed; but it had at least prevented the dispatch of some of the ottoman troops in transcaucasia to confront the anglo-indian army in northern mesopotamia. _ closing stages of the campaitgn.—the fall of baku occurred just when the season had again become suitable for active opera- tions on and about the tigris, and marshall was now directed to occupy mosul, an undertaking for which he had been prepar- ing all the summer. the best of the turkish divisions were at this time assembled astride of the tigris at al fat-ha, the point where the river breaks through the jabal hamrin range of hills. iiere a naturally formidable position had been strongly fortified, and another position a few miles higher up the river had likewise been prepared for defence. realising that a frontal attack would be hazardous and that a tactical turning movement was virtu- ally out of the question, marshall decided to throw an adequate force across the ottoman communications between al fat-ha and mosul. hfe entrusted the conduct of the operations as a whole to gen. cobbe, and arranged for a column to advance simultaneously from kifri by kirkuk towards mosul. surrender of ismail hakki.—the final campaign in mesopota- mia began on oct. 23 and it lasted only one week. two cavalry columns, that with the shorter distance to cover being accom- panied by some tnfantry, crossed the jabal hamrin many miles to the east of al fat-ha, passed the little zab a long way above its junction with the tigris, and hit off that river several miles to the rear of the turkish positions at and above al fat-ha. in the meantime the 17th div. operating on the right bank and the 18th div. operating on the left bank of the tigris moved forward from above tikrit. finding himself threatened by the cavalry forces which were approaching the river between him and mosul, ismail hakki pasha, who commanded the turks, now withdrew from the al fat-ha position to the one higher up at the con- mestrovic—metallogra phy fluence of the little zab, followed up by the two anglo-indian divisions. but the 18th div. advancing on the left bank of the tigris, forced a passage across the little zab on the 25th, thus turning ismail hakki’s left flank, and the pasha thereupon trans- ferred those of his troops that were on that side of the tigris across the river and broke up his bridge. on the 27th the 17th div. was pressing the turks, who were now all collected on the left bank of the river, and on the same day one of the cavalry columns forded the stream and began moving down that side of the channel against the encmy’s rear. the 17th div. was heavily engaged on the 28th before it finally made itself master of ismail hakkt’s position at the confluence of the little zab. that commander thereupon retreated to shar- qat, but on the morrow the last hope of the trapped turkish force was destroyed, when a relieving column that was approach- ing from mosul was defeated by cobbe’s cavalry. all that day ismail hakki resisted the advance of the anglo-indian forces on sharqat. on the morning of oct. 30, however, just as the 17th div. was about to launch a final attack, the white flag was dis- played within the turkish lines, and the whole of one ottoman division, together with the bulk of another one, surrendered, 11,000 prisoners, 51 guns and imposing stores of war material falling into the victor’s hands. the kirkuk column had in the meantime been steadily work- ing its way forward towards mosul, almost unopposed, and cobbe’s forces were about to advance on the city from about sharqat, when tidings came to hand of the signing of the armistice. mosul was occupied a week later, but the otto- man power of resistance in this theatre of war was in any case shattered as a result of marshall’s final blow. thus the long drawn-out struggle in mesopotamia, which had proved so con- sistently favourable to the anglo-indian arms since maude had launched his offensive at the close of 1916, ended in a blaze of triumph two years later, concurrently with what constituted the most sweeping tactical success that had been gained by either side during the course of the campaign. bibliograpity.—f. j. moberly, the afesopotamia cumpaign (official, 1926); e. candler, the long road to baghdad (1919); c. v. townshend, afyv campaign in mesopotamia (1920); l. c. dunster- ville, the adventures of dunster force (1920); c. e. callwell, the life of sir s. maude (1920). see also world war: ee ’ mestrovic, ivan (1883- ), yugoslav sculptor, was born at vrpolje in slavonia, the son of croatian peasants. the rudi- ments of his art were taught him by his father and at the age of 13 he was apprenticed to a marble cutter at split (spalato), and three years later entered the vienna academy where he studied under hellmer until r904. during the succeeding years he exhibited at the vienna secession, at the austrian exhibi- tion at earl’s court, london (1906), at munich, venice and paris—where he attracted the notice of rodin. he was largely responsible for the formation of a nationalist artistic movement which included the sculptors rosandie and dujan penie, the painter ratki and the architect pleenik, and which culminated in the exhibition at zagreb in 1910 and the rome international exhibition of the following year. his work at this period centred chiefly around a projected temple at kosovo, for which he made a model for the building and a large number of figures of yugoslav heroes—marko kraljevi¢, milos obili¢, banovie stra- hinja and srdj—caryatid figures and groups and single figures of mourning widows. in 1915 an exhibition of his sculpture was held at the victoria and albert museum, london. besides the naturalistic works designed for the temple, mestrovic made a large number of religious reliefs and figures in walnut, of which two pieta reliefs, one in the national gallery of british art and one in private possession, are typical of his bold cutting and great powers of design. his portraits include those of his mother (1908), madame banac (1013 and 10913), his wife (1915), sir thomas beecham (1915, in the national gallery ‘of british art), lady cunard (1091s) and miss st. george (1915). among his later works the most important are the richly decorated raci¢ memorial chapel at cavtat, near 877 dubrovnik (ragusa), dalmatia (1920-2), the designs for the projected mausoleum of bishop petar petrovie njegos, the montenegrin poet, to be erected on the summit of mount loveen (1924), and figures of st. francis of assisi and “ the artist’s mother in prayer ”’ (1925). in 1924 exhibitions of his work were held at the fine art society in london and the brooklyn museum. ; see m. curein, ivan mestrovie, a monograph, with bibliography and list of works (1919). for details of the raci¢ chapel, see deutsche kunst und dekoration, lii. (1923).