Page:Collier's New Encyclopedia v. 10.djvu/87

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ULBICH 69 ULTRAMABINE tional Academy. He then studied in Munich, where he was awarded a medal in 1879. For several years he painted in New York City, but in 1884 removed to Italy; was made an associate of the Na- tional Academy in 1883. His most noted v/orks include "In the Land of Promise," "The Glass Blowers," "The Wood En- gi-aver," "The Carpenter," "The Waifs," "A Dutch Typesetter," and "Washing of Feet in Venice." He died in 1908. ULRICH, EDWAED OSCAR, an American palaeontologist; born in Cin- cinnati, 0., Feb. 1, 1857; received a col- legiate education; studied medicine; was curator of geology in the Cincinnati So- ciety of Natural History in 1877-1881; palaeontologist on the geological surveys of Illinois, Minnesota, and Ohio, in 1885- 1896; and became geologist and palaeon- tologist on the United States Geological Survey. His publications include many works on American palaeontology. ULRICI, HERMANN, a German philosopher; born in Pforte, Saxony, March 23, 1806. He published in 1883 his "Characteristics of Ancient Histori- ography." This was followed by his "His- tory of Poetic Art in Greece" (2 vols. 1835), and a "Treatise on Shakespeare's Dramatic Art" (1839), which was re- ceived with great favor. His philosoph- ical works include "On the Principle and Method of Hegel's Philosophy" (1841), and "God and Nature" (1862). He died in Halle, Prussia, Jan. 11, 1884. ULSTER, a province of Ireland, oc- cupying the northern part of the island and consisting of the counties of Antrim, Armagh, Cavan, Donegal, Down, Fer- managh, Londondei'ry, Monaghan, and Tyrone. The total area is 8,613 square miles, and the population about 1,580,000. Over half of the inhabitants are Presby- terians and Episcopalians. The largest city is Belfast (q. v.). The principal op- position against Irish Home Rule comes from the inhabitants of Ulster. See Ire- land. TTLTIMATHULE (Extremest Thule), a name given in ancient times by the in- habitants of southern Europe to the re- mote regions of the unknown North. The Greek navigator Pytheas (who probably lived in the latter part of the 4th century B. c.) made a voyage along the coast of Britain and wrote an account of what he learned about the Shetland and Orkney islands and possibly the N. mainland calling the r^egion Thule. The name be- came vague in its application, especially undsr the form Ultima Thule. Norway, Iceland, etc., bore the title in turn; and many strange superstitions were current regarding the region. ULTRAMARINE, a brilliant blue color, in very extensive use by painters, paper stainers, calico printers, and others. The substance previous to the year 1828 was obtained only from lazulite or lapis lazuli, a beautiful and costly mineral substance. The mineral being rare, and much prized for ornamental in- laying, and the color being of unap- proachable brilliance and depth, it was an extremely expensive pigment. In con- sequence, strenuous efforts were made to obtain an equally valuable product by artificial means. In 1824 the French So- ciety d'Encouragement pour I'lndustrie Nationale offered a premium of 6,000 francs for the manufacture of an ultra- marine blue, possessing all the qualities of that extracted from lapis lazuli, and in 1828 the prize was awarded to M. Guimet of Lyon, who after four years' investigation succeeded perfectly in pro- ducing the valuable substance by a syn- thetical process. The ultramarine thus made was declared by competent judges to be in eveiy way equal to the natural product; and Horace Vernet, who was one of the first to use the material, after employing it in his famous picture, "The Battle of Fontenoy," declared the substance to be even superior to natural ultramarine. M. Guimet's factory has continued since that time to manufacture ultramarine of the highest quality. His process was never made public; but in the same year, 1828, Gmelin, a German chemist, made public a process for manu- facturing ultramarine, which was exten- sively taken up and worked in Germany. These two discoverers may thus be fairly credited with the joint honors of this most brilliant triumph of chemical re- search. The composition of artificial ultra- marine varies considerably, as does also its color, the latter showing many tones of blue and violet, and there is fur- ther a green ultramarine, which is ob- tained in an intermediate stage of the manufacture. It is prepared by first dis- solving silica in caustic soda, to which hydrate of alumina is then added in the proportion of 30 of alumina to 35 of silica. The mixture is dried and mixed with an equal weight of sublimed sulphur and to this again is added a mixture of equal parts of sulphur and sodic carbon- ate, weighing as much as the silica and alumina mixture. The whole is then sub- mitted for two hours to a red heat in closed crucibles, whereby green ultrama- rine is produced and this is again heated in crucibles till the desired blue hue is developed. Ultramarine is manufactured extensively in Germany, France, Belgium And the United States.