OpenLLM-France/wikimedia huggingface dataset:
# The New Student's Reference Work/Babylon

See also Babylon on Wikipedia, and the disclaimer.
Babylon, capital of the empire of Babylonia on the Euphrates River, was said by the ignorant Greeks to have been founded by Queen Semiramis, who, it is related, employed two million workmen in building it. In Nebuchadnezzar’s time, it stood on both sides of the river, in the form of a square. It was surrounded by walls, some 60 miles long, with 100 brazen gates. Here was a famous temple of Baal, by some thought to be built over the ruins of the tower of Babel; also the hanging gardens of Semiramis, one of the wonders of the old world. The Persians ruined Babylon by their conquest, Xerxes in particular, ravaging the temple of Baal. Alexander the Great undertook to rebuild the city; but when his ten thousand workmen, after two months’ labor, had not even cleared away the rubbish, he gave up the project. After that it rapidly fell into ruin, and its materials were used in building the new city, Seleucia, by Alexander’s successor, Seleucus.
# The New Student's Reference Work/Aztecs

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Aztecs, the name of the people found in Mexico at the time of the Spanish invasion, 1519, though the name strictly belongs to only one of the seven tribes occupying the country at that time. Aztec tradition represents these people as starting from a place called Aztlan and wandering for about 150 years before reaching Chapultepec. Where Aztlan was, and what was the origin of the Aztec tribes, are still doubtful. Mexico had been previously occupied by a people called Toltecs, a superior race whose ruins still prove skill in the arts of civilized life. These Toltecs were almost destroyed by famine and pestilence in the 11th century, so that the Aztecs found only a few rude, savage races occupying the land. In 1325, they built the City of Mexico, called Tenochtitlan, named after their chief, Tenoch. It was built on a few small islands in Lake Chalco, and was approached only by long and narrow causeways. It was so strongly fortified as to resist even the conquering Spaniards. The Aztecs seem to have been a fierce, savage people, yet with many traces of civilization, some of it probably borrowed from the Toltecs who preceded them. Their chief was chosen by the nobles; the laws were severe, but the courts were open. The records are preserved in the picture-writing of Mexico; the women shared in all the occupations of the men, and were taught to read and write, sing and dance, and were even learned in astronomy and astrology. They believed in one god, but they had many lower gods, of whom the chief was the frightful Huitzilopochtli. His magnificent temples were drenched with the blood of human sacrifices; no less than 20,000 victims, of whom only the heart was used as an offering, were immolated yearly to supply his altars. The priests were a large and powerful class, who had charge of the education as well as the religion of the nation; 5,000 were attached to the great temple of Mexico alone. The last king of the Aztecs was Moctezuma, who was treacherously imprisoned by Cortés and killed by the Aztecs in their reyolt against the Spaniards. See Popular History of the Mexican People and Native Races of the Pacific States, by Hubert H. Bancroft.
# The New Student's Reference Work/Baal

See also Baal on Wikipedia, and the disclaimer.
​ Baal (bā′ăl), the principal god of the Phœnician and Canaanitish nations, among whom Ashtoreth was the principal goddess. He was the god of the sun, as ruling and giving life to nature, while Moloch represented the sun as a destroyer, and both these ideas were united later in the god Melkarth. The oldest form of his worship was on the tops of mountains; thus the Midianites and Amalekites worshiped him on Mount Peor; the Phœnicians on Carmel and the Canaanites on Hermon. Upright conical stones, either in the open air or in temples, were a mark of his presence, but there were no images of him. From the earliest foundations of Tyre he seems to have been the protecting god of that city. His worship spread among all the towns of Phœnicia, including their distant colonies, such as Malta, Carthage and Cadiz. The Greeks connected him with Hercules, calling him the Tyrian Hercules. The worship of Baal was very attractive to the Jews, and many years of punishment were necessary to banish it from Israel. The word Baal is often used in connection with some epithet; as Baal-Berith (the Covenant Lord), and Baal-Zebub or Beelzebub (the Fly-God), the idol of the Philistines at Ekron, where he had a temple. Such proper names as Jezebel and Hannibal are compounds of the word Baal.
# The New Student's Reference Work/Baboon

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Baboon (băb-oon′), a family of monkeys, native to Africa and found also in parts of Asia. They have dog-shaped heads, long muzzles, large cheek-pouches in which a great quantity of food can be temporarily stowed away, frequently large and brightly-colored calloused cushions on their hips. In the adult males the canine teeth are developed into formidable tusks. They are quadrupeds, running swiftly on all-fours, climbing with great vigor, fond of sitting on their haunch pads and especially at home in mountainous districts. They often live in herds, and, led by patriarchs and guarded by sentinels, fight other herds or defend themselves against other wild beasts. Often when fighting they will stand erect. They are playful and amiable when young. It is said the ancient Egyptians trained them to pick fruit. When older, especially when kept confined, they are very savage. Their food is largely made up of fruits, roots, seeds, insects, worms, etc. Their raids on plantations are much dreaded. About a dozen different kinds are known. The largest and fiercest is called the mandril or ribbed-nose baboon, and is a native of the Guinea coast. This form has a rudimentary tail, while the common baboon has a well developed tail, twenty inches long in the adult. The baboon is thought to have been an object of worship in Egypt, inspiring reverence because of his wise-looking face.
# The New Student's Reference Work/Bacchus

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Bacchus (băk′kŭs), one of the names among the Greeks, and the usual name among the Romans, for Dionysus, the god of wine. In Italy, he was connected with the god Liber. He was the son of Jupiter, and was brought up by the nymphs at Nysa in India. Many stories are told of his adventures. He flayed Damascus alive, who opposed him in Syria; made Lycurgus, king of the Edones, mad, so that he killed his own son, and when he became sane, caused him to be torn in pieces by horses; he also overcame the Amazons. Bacchus taught men to cultivate the vine and to make wine. He collected bands of worshipers, mainly women, and, surrounded by them, seated in a chariot drawn by panthers or leopards, passed through many countries. He was represented in some works of art as an infant, but generally by the Greeks as a beautiful boy, while in the east he was pictured as a man of middle age, clothed in long robes. Festivals in his honor were first held in Thrace, but the most famous were at Athens and were four in number; the country festival in December, when the vintage was just over; the wine-press festival in January, when the wine was just made and the presses cleaned; the flower festival in February, lasting three days; and the great festival in March, when the city was filled with strangers from all Greece. In these festivals, banquets, processions and plays composed the program, and there were scenes of riotous merriment and drunkenness. In Rome the Bacchanalia, as it was called, was celebrated every third year; but it became so immoral and dangerous that the consuls in 186 B. C. forbade its observance. After this, the Liberalia were celebrated yearly on the 16th of March, on which day the young men began to wear the toga virilis, the badge of manhood.
# The New Student's Reference Work/Babcock Test

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​ Babcock Test, a method of determining the amount of butter-fat in milk, named after Prof. S. M. Babcock, of Wisconsin Agricultural Experiment Station, who invented it in 1890. It depends upon (i) the separation of light from heavy parts by centrifugal force and (2) the action of sulphuric acid on all the solids of the milk other than butter-fat. The machine consists of deep brass cups attached to an upright revolving shaft, so that they will swing out horizontally when the machine is rotated by hand or steam power. In the cups are placed Babcock milk bottles.
These are vase shaped with long narrow necks, and hold about 2½ cubic inches. Almost equal parts of milk and acid are mixed in the bottles in a special way. The acid decomposes the other solids and frees the fat. Being warmed by the chemical action, the fat particles run together, and being so much lighter than the acid mixture, the fat rises into the neck, which is so graduated that the amount of fat can be read off in percent. The rapid rotation of 900 to 2,000 or more revolutions per minute separates practically all the fat. The Babcock test was the first practical method of testing milk for commercial use. It has made it possible for creameries to pay for milk on a basis of cream value and has made it possible for the dairyman to estimate accurately the performance of each of his cows and so tell the amount of cream produced by each. Milk from different cows may vary in amount of butter-fat from 2% to 8%. Some cows will test less than others, but may, by reason of a greater quantity of milk, produce the same amount of butter. Milk for retailing is usually required by law to test at least 3% of cream. Cream is sold in different grades, as 12%, 18%, etc. See Cream Separator. Ref.: L. L. Van Slyke: Modern Methods of Testing Milk and Milk Products.
# The New Student's Reference Work/Babel, Tower of

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​ Ba′bel, Tower of. According to the story in Genesis xi, the descendants of Noah journeyed from the east till they came to the plain of Shinar (Chaldæa), the Hebrew form of the native name Sumir, and there began to build a tower of burned bricks and pitch, whose top should reach the sky. But God confounded the language of the builders so that they could not understand each other, and the tower was called Babel or Confusion. A similar story has been found among the Babylonians, and the Greek story of the giants who attempted to scale the sky but were overthrown by Zeus has some likeness to it. The site of the tower was somewhere in Babylonia. It is usually supposed to be represented by the great pile of Birs Nimrud, which stood eight miles from the city of Babylon, was dedicated to Nebo, and was called the Temple of the Seven Lights. It had stood unfinished, till Nebuchadnezzar undertook to finish it, and its ruins still rise 153 feet above the plain. Another possible site is the ruin called Amram, within the city ​
itself. This mound is 1,100 yards long and 800 yards broad.
# The New Student's Reference Work/Bach, Johann Sebastian

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Bach (bäk), Johann Sebastian, one of the greatest musicians of the world, was born at Eisenach, Germany, in March, 1685. He belonged to a distinguished musical family, and at Erfurt, where a branch of the family lived for many years, the town musicians were called Bachs, even when no member of the family was connected with them. Losing his father before he was ten years old, his older brother undertook his musical education, but found it hard to keep his genius in check. He tried to hide from him a manuscript volume of organ pieces, but Sebastian managed to get hold of it and worked for six months copying it by the light of the moon, for fear of being found out; but was discovered and his copy taken from him. At fifteen he entered the choir of St. Michael’s school at Luneburg. Here he remained as a violinist after losing his beautiful voice. In 1703 he was given a court appointment at Weimar, and in 1704 became organist at Arnstadt, where he composed many of his church cantatas. During the nine years spent as court organist at Weimar, he studied Italian music and did some composing. Some years followed at the court of Prince Leopold, where he wrote the first half of the collection known as Forty-eight Preludes and Fugues. His next appointment was at Leipsic, where all his greatest works for chorus were written. In 1747 he paid a visit to Frederick the Great at Potsdam, who received him with great honor. On a theme proposed by the king, Bach composed his Musical Offering, which, with his Art of Fugue, is a work of wonderful ingenuity and learning. An operation on his eyes resulted in total blindness. He died July 28, 1750. Piano-players owe to Bach the method of tuning, by which they can play in all keys, and also the mode of fingering which brings all the fingers into use.
# The New Student's Reference Work/Trachea

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​Trachea (trā′kē̇-ȧ) (in plants), the characteristic element of wood or xylem, the tracheae together constituting the tracheary tissue. A trachea is a vessel composed of a single, elongated cell or of several cells set end to end. The cells usually are of large caliber, with very heavy walls, which are variously thickened. In some cases the thickening consists of a spiral band, in others of distinct, encircling rings. Frequently the thickening of the walls leaves definite, thin spots, called dots or pits. In this way the spiral, annular and dotted ducts or vessels are formed. The tracheary tissue is chiefly concerned in the conduction of water from the roots to the leaves; and frequently it is an important or even the chief mechanical support of the body.
Vertical section of stem from the epidermis (at the left) to the pith (at the right), the vessels or tracheæ being recognized by their large size and by their pits and spirals.
# The New Student's Reference Work/Track-Events

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​Track-Events are sports practiced on a circular path. They comprise running and hurdling. Running includes sprinting for 50, 100 or 440 yards and runs of ½, 1 and 2 miles. Hurdling is sprinting for 120 or 220 yards and leaping 10 hurdles, those of the longer course being 2½ feet in height, those of the shorter course a foot higher. The hurdles of the long course are 20 yards apart, but on the short course the first hurdle stands 15 yards from the start, the next eight are ten yards apart, but the tenth is 15 yards away. Hurdling demands judgment and skill as well as strength and speed.
# The New Student's Reference Work/Transpiration

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​Tran′spira′tion (in plants), the loss of water by evaporation from a plant. Since 50 to 98 per cent. of the plant-body is water, it loses water whenever the air contains less moisture in proportion to its capacity than the plant. Transpiration therefore is unavoidable under the conditions of most land-plants. To reduce this unavoidable loss, the larger land-plants make the outer tissues of the aërial parts nearly waterproof. But the air-passages (see Aëration) permit evaporation from the cells bounding them; hence the moisture diffuses through the stomata (q. v.) to the outer air. Were evaporation prevented by waterproofing these cells also, the absorption of gases for food-making and respiration would be nearly impossible. The amount of transpiration varies greatly in different plants according to their structure and contents; in the same plant it varies with age and the varying external conditions, as temperature, light, moisture etc. Therefore, only a very general idea can be given of the amount of water transpired. On a hot summer-day a plant with five square meters (about six square yards) of foliage (such as a thrifty sunflower as high as a man might have) will evaporate about 1.2 liters (2.5 pints) of water. A birch 40 feet high, with perhaps 200,000 leaves, will give off on a hot day 300 to 400 liters of water (about 2.5 barrels). But these rates would not be kept up as an average through the growing-season. The evaporation from a leaf-surface is 2 to 7 times less than that from an equal area of water.
# The New Student's Reference Work/Tower of London

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​Tower of Lon′don, a famous ancient citadel erected by William the Conqueror about 1078 to dominate the city. It is in the oldest part of the British metropolis, on the north bank of the Thames, about a mile below London Bridge. It is surmounted by a keep, known locally as the White Tower, — the council chamber of the early kings. The Tower is historically notable for the many distinguished persons — traitors and others — who have been confined within its walls as prisoners of state or have met death on the scaffold or at the headsman's block on the adjoining Tower Hill. In modern days it has become the repository of the national arms; and since the restoration the regalia or crown-jewels have been kept in the Tower on exhibition.
# The New Student's Reference Work/Towhee

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* TOWHEE
Towhee or Cheewink, member of the finch family. The bird is smaller than the robin, the color of its sides a rich, reddish chestnut, below white, upper part black, tail tipped with white. The call-notes give it its names; its song, simple and pleasing, is heard from among the branches. Favorite haunts are thicket and scrubby wood. It forages on the ground, is expert in unearthing wire-worms, beetles and larvæ, and has special liking for hairy caterpillars and potato-bugs. It nests on the ground, the nest seeming a very part of the soil, the eggs white marked with dull brown, in number four or five. The birds migrate in April, September and October, the breeding-range extending from the lower Mississippi valley and Georgia northward to Maine, Ontario and Manitoba. It sometimes is called ground-robin.
# The New Student's Reference Work/Town-Meetings

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​Town-Meet′ings are held annually in the New England towns for general discussion, the election of officials and the voting of taxes. A town in New England does not necessarily mean a small city; but, rather, a unit for the administration of local government, often mainly rural. The township system is much more important in New England than elsewhere. It dates from the days of independent, local governments by the Pilgrim Fathers and the Puritans, when the town was essentially the church, and the church was almost the state. The New England town-church was intensely democratic. Thus the town-meeting as still practiced in New England affords the most perfect example of a completely democratic government. All the legal voters of the town may appear, and discharge the duties of government, as in some of the Swiss cantons, not through their representatives but in person. The colonial legislatures left the townships to govern themselves almost without interference, except where the colonial laws might happen to be transgressed. ​Town-meetings were at one time held about once a month; and even now special meetings in addition to the annual meeting are occasionally held. But the usual type of town-meeting is that which meets annually, elects a committee of selectmen and such officials as the town-clerk, the tax-assessors, the treasurer, the school-trustees and the overseers of the poor. The officials so named may themselves constitute the board of selection. The New England town-meetings resemble the Old-English town-moot; but seem not to have been direct imitations of it.
# The New Student's Reference Work/Tracheid

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* Vertical section of pine wood,
* showing the pitted tracheids
* crossed by a pith ray.
Tracheid (tra′kē̇-ĭd) (in plants), a single cell with all the wall features of a trachea, but not uniting with others to form a vessel. It is more or less elongated and taper-pointed like a fiber. Tracheids form the characteristic soft and straight-grained wood of pines and other conifers. In these forms, as in all gymnosperms, the walls of the tracheids contain bordered pits, that is, pits which appear to have a double border about them. This type of pit is a constant feature in gymnosperms, so that the group may be recognized even by a single wood-fiber.
# The New Student's Reference Work/Trade-Mark

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​Trade-Mark, the name or device used to distinguish the merchandise of a firm from that of others. Trade-marks are protected by law in nearly all countries, in order to protect buyers from frauds and enable a merchant or manufacturer to profit by the superiority of his goods. In the United States a merchant or firm registers its trade-mark in the patent-office (q. v.), and is entitled to its use for 30 years and to renew it for 30 years more.
# The New Student's Reference Work/Trench, Richard Chenevix

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​Trench, Richard Chenevix, an Irish clergyman and writer, was born at Dublin, Sept. 9, 1807. He studied at Cambridge, and, after traveling a few years, became a country curate; then a theological professor in King's College, London; next, dean of Westminster; and, finally, archbishop of Dublin. His principal writings are Notes on the Miracles, Notes on the Parables, Lessons, Proverbs, Synonyms of the New Testament, Deficiencies in our English Dictionaries and The Study of Words. He helped (1870-81) to revise the King James' version of the New Testament. He died at London, March 28, 1886.
# The North Star (Rochester)/1847/12/03/Deshong, the Mathematician

Deshong, the Mathematician.
The following letter from this famous "cypherer" has been sent to the papers:
Perhaps you have noticed in some of the New York papers, a statement concerning "the remarkable powers of a mathematician" in that city, who adds, subtracts, multiplies, divides, and performs all other mathematical operations with a rapidity that seems almost miraculous. As I am that person, I will endeavor to give you a correct statement of the facts;
First, let a column of figures, 5000 in length, and 10 or 2O in breadth, be set before me, and in less than five seconds of time, I will give the sum total, always commencing on the left hand side to place the answers down. It matters not what length the column is, or what breadth, I will give the sumtotal as fast as the figures can he written down.
Second, let a sum be written in multiplication, with 1000 figures in the multiplier, and as many in the multiplicand, and I will commence on the left hand, and write the product underneath, and in one line, as fast as the figures can be written down.
Third, let a sum be written in division, with any large amount for a divisor, and I commence writing down the remainder first, then the quotient. Interest at any per cent, can also be performed in the same manner, without any extra figures. Fractions of every denomination, can be summed up instantly, without reducing them to a common denominator.
These rules can he learned in one half hour, by any person having the printed instructions. Any person wishing these rules, will enclose ten dollars through the New York post-office.—Please forward me one paper which contains this, and on the receipt thereof, I will forward you a full set of these rules, gratis, by which you can become as expert in figures, as I am.
Your obedient servant, PETER M. DESHONG, Mathematician.
P. S. Editors copying the above, and forwarding to Mr. Deshong the paper which contains it, will be furnished with a full set of rules.
# The North Star (Rochester)/1847/12/03/Death of Dr. Hopkins

​Death of Dr. Hopkins.—We are pained to announce the death of Rev. Dr. Hopkins of Buffalo. This event, as we leant by A Telegraphic letter to Rev. Mr. Shaw of this city, occurred at one o'clock on Saturday morning.—Daily Dem