became necessary, and remained dominant until the introduction of steam (see Ship). But as late as the time of the Spanish Armada, and even later, large sea-going vessels were provided with long sweeps which came into use when sailing was not available. In our own time, in the lighters on tidal rivers, may be seen long oars, plied by one or two or more men, which recall the type of oars once in general use in large galleys three centuries ago.
The oars used by the Northmen Were, to judge by the remains discovered along with old Viking ships[1] at Gokstad and elsewhere, very similar to those in use at the present time in the fishing boats around our coasts. Those of the large craft were, to judge by the length of one found whole, somewhat over 18 ft. in length with a 5-in. blade and a diameter of 3 in. halfway down the loom. Some smaller oars, evidently used for boats, measured 11 ft. with a 4-in. blade. The oars were of pine, and the looms of some of them showed a groove cut for a clamp at the place where the oar rested on the sill of the rowlock. Comparing these oars with the measurements given below of oars now in use in the Royal Navy, it is apparent that there is no great difference in type between them.
Passing on to oars used on rivers and fresh water generally, we find the type differs considerably from that of the oars used in sea-going craft. The chief difference consists in the shape of the blade, which, instead of continuing the straight line of the loom in its expansion to its proper breadth, is fashioned in a curve calculated to offer a rigid resistance to the water during the stroke.[2] The loom below the button is not rounded but is more of an oval to the front with a flat back. From the oval front a spine runs down into the blade, in some cases to nearly half its length. During the last few years the so-called “girder” oars, with much thicker looms but double grooved along their length, have been used for racing purposes. This invention gives additional strength and stiffness, without increasing the weight of the oar, which varies a little but is usually about 8 ℔. The blades vary much in breadth, as indeed do the oars in total length, and in proportion of inboard to outboard. The necessities of the sliding seat in racing boats have given rise to much difference of opinion among rowing men as to the right proportion. In the middle of the 19th century the use of square looms inboard, and of a button to turn inside and against the thowl, was common, and most oars had a small slab of hard wood let in below the button, so as to save the oar from wear and tear at the rowlock. But since round looms came into vogue the round leather ear has taken the place of the old square button, and the loom is covered with leather for some inches above and below this so as to protect it from abrasion.
Of late the introduction of swivel rowlocks for racing boats has caused a further modification in the form of buttons. Swivel rowlocks have come into general use for sculling boats, pair oars and coxswainless fours. But as yet they do not appear to have captured the racing eight, except in a few instances. Neither crews nor coaches in English waters seem inclined to part with the time-honoured rhythmic music of the oar in the rowlock, which from the days of antiquity even until now has, to practised ears, told its own tale as to the crew being together or not in the stroke.
In the case of racing eights, when the round loom oars superseded the square loom, the early patterns were commonly (e.g. in 1857) 12′ 6″ over all, 3′ 8″ inboard, with a long blade 412″ to 5″ in breadth. These were succeeded by a pattern 12′ 6″ over all, 3′ 6″ inboard, with a much shorter blade 6″ broad.
Since sliding seats came in the average oar has been 12′ 4″ over all, 3′ 812″ inboard, with 512″ to 614″ blades. The modern racing oar may be said to date from 1869, the year of the Oxford and Harvard race at Putney. Until very lately no material alteration had taken place in this pattern, except in the matter of width of blade. Some authorities, however, are, as has been said above, far from satisfied with the present average oar, and are using shorter patterns, 11′ 10″ or 12′ 0″ over all, 3′ 7″ inboard, and 7″ blades.
Single grooved oars were first made in America. But with the single groove a side weakness is often developed in the loom, and hence the double girder, invented by G. Ayling, has generally superseded the single groove, though many oarsmen prefer the box loom by the same inventor.
It is clear, however, that no finality has been reached in the making of oars; Tubular oars, first introduced at Henley by the Belgian crew in 1906, are now being tried, with circular or quadrangular bores, strengthened by the insertion of an aluminium shell.
For much of the information above given respecting the recent developments in oar-making for racing purposes and river work, the writer is indebted to Messrs Ayling & Sons of Putney, whose patented inventions and improvements are well known to rowing men. (E. Wa.)
OASIS (Gr. ὄασις, the name given by Herodotus to the fertile
spots in the Libyan desert: it probably represents an Egyptian
word, cf. Coptic ouahe, ouih, to dwell, from which the Egyptian
Arabic wā is derived), a fertile spot surrounded by desert. For
example, where the high plateau of the Libyan desert descends
into a longitudinal valley between Syrtis and the Nile delta there
are a few spots where the water comes to the surface or is found
in shallow wells. It may come to the surface in springs, upon
the artesian principle, or it may collect and remain in mountain
hollows. These areas are of small extent and are closely cultivated,
and support thick forests of date-palms. All kinds of
tropical vegetables, grains and small fruits grow under cultivation,
and land is so precious in these limited areas of great
richness and fertility that very narrow pathways divide each
owner’s plot from his neighbour’s. Wherever oases are found
they present similar features, and are naturally the halting-places
and points of departure of desert caravans.
OAST (O. Eng. ást, cf. Dutch eest, “kiln”; the Teutonic root is
aidh- “to burn”; the pre-Teutonic idh- is seen in Lat. aestus,
“heat,” aestas, “summer,” Gr. αἶθος, “burning heat”), a kiln,
particularly one used for drying hops; the word usually appears
in the term “oast-house,” a building containing several of such
kilns (see Hop). “Oast” is also sometimes used of a kiln for
drying tobacco.
OASTLER, RICHARD (1789–1861), English reformer, was
born at Leeds on the 20th of December 1789, and in 1820 succeeded
his father as steward of the Thornhills’ extensive Fixby
estates at Huddersfield, Yorkshire. In 1830 John Wood, a
Bradford manufacturer, called Oastler’s attention to the evils
of child employment in the factories of the district. Oastler
at once started a campaign against the existing labour conditions
by a vigorous letter, under the title “Yorkshire Slavery,” to
the Leeds Mercury, Public opinion was eventually aroused,
and, after many years of agitation, in which Oastler played a
leading part, the Ten Hours Bill and other Factory Acts were
passed, Oastler’s energetic advocacy of the factory-workers
cause procuring him the title of “The Factory King.” In 1838,
however, owing to his opposition to the new poor law and his
resistance of the commissioners, he had been dismissed from
his stewardship at Fixby; and, in 1840, being unable to
repay £2000 which he owed his late employer, Thomas
Thornhill, he was sent to the Fleet prison, where he remained
for over three years. From prison he published the
Fleet Papers, a weekly paper devoted to the discussion of
factory and poor-law questions. In 1844 his friends raised a
fund to pay his debt, and on his release he made a triumphant
entry into Huddersfield. Oastler died at Harrogate on the 22nd
of August 1861. A statue to his memory was erected at Bradford
in 1869.
OAT (O. Eng. āte; the word is not found in cognate languages; it may be allied with Fr. eitel, knot, nodule, cf. Gr. οἶδος swelling), a cereal (Avena sativa) belonging to the tribe Aveneæ of the order Gramineae or grasses. The genus Avena contains about fifty species mostly dispersed through the temperate regions of the Old World. The spikelets form a loose panicle,
