is a pitch lake near the village of La Brea, composed of bituminous matter which forms natural asphalt, and is about 3 miles in circumference, and 138 feet above the sea. The soil is very rich and productive. The climate is hot and moist, but not unhealthy; the mean maximum is 87.7°, and the mean mini- mum 70° F.; and the rainfall is about 74 inches. The chief town. Port of Spain, is one of the finest towns in the West Indies (pop. 60,000). There is another town called San Fernando (pop. 7,000), with two or three pretty villages. The most important products are cocoa, sugar, rum, molasses, coffee, cocoanuts, tobacco, bitters, asphalt and fruit. A third of the trade is with Great Britain, and a fourth with the United States. Pop. about 27.5,000, mainly French (speaking a patois), with Spanish and English colonies, and many East Indian coolies. There are over 95 miles of rail- way in the island, which with Tobago forms a crown colony, ruled by a governor, an executive council, and a legislative council. Trinidad was discovered by Columbus in 1498, but no permanent establishment was founded there till 1532 by the Spaniards. It suffered at the hands of the English (Sir Walter Raleigh in 1595), the Dutch (1640), and the French (1677 and 1690). In 1797 it first fell into the hands of the British, who were confirmed in possession of it in 1802.
TRINITARIANS, an order of monks founded at Rome in 1198 by St. John of Matha, a native of Provence, and an old French hermit, Felix of Valois, to redeem Christian captives out of the hands of the infidels. The order was sanctioned by Innocent III.; the rule was that of St. Austin, with particular statutes; the diet was of great austerity; and the habit, at least in France, was a soutane and scapular of white serge, with a red and blue cross on the right breast. At one time the order possessed 250 houses, and it was estimated in the 17th century, that, since its foundation, it had been instrumental in rescuing more than 30,000 Christian captives from what was practically slavery. A reform took place in 1599, and resulted in the erection of the congregation of Discalced Trinitarians in Spain, in which country the order (reformed and unreformed) was suppressed in the reign of Isabella II.
TRINITROTOLUENES, substances formed by the nitration of toluene, having the general formula CaH2CH3(N02)3. There are three compounds of this name, all having the same chemical constitution, but differing in the arrangement of the nitro groups in the molecule. These three are known respectively as A, B, and T trinitrotoluene. The most important of the three is A or symmetrical trinitrotoluene, which forms the constituent of the explosive well known as T. N. T. B and T trinitrotoluene, when fused with sodium sulphide and sulphur, yield dyes which give a deep khaki-brown shade. Most of the T. N. T. used for explosive purposes contains small amounts of the B and r isomers, but for some purposes a very pure T. N. T. is required, and this is produced by recrystallizing the crude product from various solvents such as alcohol, benzene or a mixture of the two. The nitration of toluene can be carried out in two stages or in three. In the three-stage process, mono-nitrotoluene is first produced by nitrating toluene with a comparatively weak solution of mixed nitric and sulphuric acids. From this, by further nitration, dinitrotoluene is pro- duced, and finally by treating the dinitrotoluene with strong mixed acids, trinitrotoluene is produced. By the two-stage process, mononitrotoluene is first produced, as above, and then converted direct to trinitrotoluene by treatment with strong mixed acids. A one-stage process has been tried, but is viewed with disfavor, owing to the danger of introducing strong acid direct into toluene. See Explosives.
TRINITY, a term used to express the doctrine of Three Persons in one Godhead, which is held alike by the Roman, Greek, and Anglican Churches, and by the greater number of Nonconformist communions. It is indicated in the Apostles' Creed, stated more explicitly in the Nicene Creed, and set out at length in the Athanasian Creed. The First Article of the Church of England states the doctrine in terms that would be accepted by sister churches, and by orthodox dissenters generally: "There is but One Living and True God. ... And in Unity of this Godhead there be Three Persons, of one substance, power and eternity; the Father, the Word, and the Holy Ghost." Protestant theologians deduce the doctrine of the Trinity from texts in which (a) the Unity of God is affirmed (Deut. vi: 4; Isa. xliv: 6; Mark xii: 29-32; Eph. iv: 6); (b) the Divinity of Christ is shown from the fulfillment of Messianic prophecies, or directly affirmed (I Pet. ii: 7, 8; Isa. viii: 13, 14; John xii: 41; Isa. vi: 1; II Pet. iii: 18; Isa. xliii: 11; Rev, xxii: 13; Isa. xliv: 6; Matt, xi: 10; Mai. iii: 1; I Cor. x: 9; Ps. ixxviii: 18 and xcv: 9; John iii: 29; Isa. liv: 5; John i: 1, xiv: 11, xx:
