Page:Collier's New Encyclopedia v. 10.djvu/475

From Wikisource
Jump to navigation Jump to search
This page needs to be proofread.
LEFT
405
RIGHT

WOMEN'S CLTJBS 405 WOOD was therefore the first occasion on which all American women were allowed to ex- ercise their right of suffrage. WOMEN'S CLTJBS, GENERAL FED- ERATION OF, in the United States, an organization incorporated in 1892, and composed of over 2,675 women's clubs having a membership of 155,000 women in the United States and foreign coun- tries. The purpose of the Federation is declared in its articles of incorporation to be "to bring into communication with one another the various women's clubs throughout the world, that they may compare methods of work and be- come mutually helpful. Constitutions of clubs applying for membership should show that no sectarianism or political test is required, and, while the distinc- tively humanitarian movements may be recognized, their chief purpose is not philanthropic or technical, but social, literary, artistic, or scientific culture." Meetings of the federation are held bi- ennially. There are State federations auxiliary to the General Federation in all the States. WOOD, in a botanical sense, the hard, solid, non-succulent stem of any plant, and in a chemical sense, lignin, a hard- ened form of cellulose, the principal con- stituent of all vegetable life, with a small proportion of resinous and incrusting matter. Wood thus only differs from vegetable fibers— -cotton, flax, hemp, etc. — in its physical condition. Woody stems are divided into two great classes, ac- cording to the manner in which they grow. The first and most important class is the exogens or exogenous stems, so called on account of the annual incre- ments being added on the outside of the stem just within the bark, and the layers of growth are seen in such stems in a series of concentric circles, each ring of which represents the growth of one year. This class embraces all the trees of tem- perate climates, and, indeed, the greater part of all tree life. The second class — endogenous stems — shows no rings of annual growth, but a cross section ex- hibits a series of dark spots, more or less closely studded, and always more densely packed toward the outer circumference. WOOD, ANTHONY, called Anthony A. Wood, an English antiquary; born in Oxford, England, Dec. 17, 1632; spent most of his life in collecting data relat- ing to the history of Oxford University. He wrote: "History and Antiquities of the University of Oxford"; "An Exact History of All the Writers and Bishops Who Have Had Their Education in the University of Oxford, from 1500 to 1690"; "Modus Salium: A Collection of Pieces of Humor" (1751); and "The Ancient and Present State of the City of Oxford" (1773). He died in Oxford, Nov. 28, 1695. WOOD, SIR EVELYN, a British Field-Marshal, bom at Braintree, Essex, in 1838. He was educated at Marlborough College, later passed the Staff College, and became a barrister of Middle Temple in 1874. He entered the navy in 1852, served in the Crimea. In 1855 he joined the army and served in India, and later in the Ashantee, Kaffir, Zulu and Transvaal wars. He com- manded the expedition to Egypt in 1882, FIELD-MARSHAL SIR EVELYN WOOD later served in the Nile Expedition, and returning to England became Adjutant- General to the Forces 1897-1901. He was made Constable of the Tower in 1911. His works include: "The Crimea in 1854" (1894); "From Midshipman to Field-Marshal"; "The Revolt in Hindu- stan"; "Our Fighting Services and How They Made the Empire." He died in 1919. WOOD, FERNANDO, an American politician; born in Philadelphia, June 14, 1812. In 1820 he removed to New York City and entered business as a shipping merchant. He became identified with political organizations, being elected to Congress in 1841 on the Democratic ticket, serving one term. In 1850 he re- tired from business and in 1854 was elected Mayor of New York; introduced various reforms and was re-elected al- most without opposition. The riot