The Beschreibung Gallise, Comatse appeared under Gallati's editorship in 1758, and is mainly devoted to a topographical, historical, and antiquarian description of ancient Helvetia and Rhsetia, the latter part being his early work on Rhsetia revised and greatly enlarged. This book was designed practically as an introduction to his mag num ojms, the Chronicon Helvcticum, part of which (from 1100 to 1470) was published by J. R. Iselin in two stately folios (1734-36); the rest (to 1564) consists only of rough materials. The value of the work rests very largely on the constant use of original documents, no fewer than 750 being printed in Iselin's edition, though the transcripts do not always in point of accuracy come up to the standard demanded by the modern critical historian. Many ballads are incorporated and also many oral traditions, both being employed to give life and picturesqueness to his story, though often at the expense of historical truth, the stock instance of which is the manner in which he completed and elaborated the Tell legend (see TELL). In many ways his book, save in its flowing and quaint German, is rather like the work of a 14th-century chronicler than a critical history; but it has been the source from which all later Swiss writers have drawn their information, and in many cases preserves the evidence of original documents which have since disappeared. It is in short a history rather resembling that of Livy than that of Hallam or Stubbs.
Subjoined is a list of other prominent members of the family. Dominic (1596-1654) was a Benedictine monk at Muri and wrote a painstaking work, Origo ct gencalogia gloriosissimorum comitum de Habsburg (1651). Joseph, a Benedictine monk at Einsiedeln, wrote a useful history of his abbey (1823). The family, which be came divided in religious matters at the Reformation, also includes several Protestant ministers, JOHN HENRY (1670-1729), who wrote Beschreibung des Lands Glarus (1714); JOHN THOMAS (1714-1788), who left behind him several elaborate MSS. on the local history of Glarus; and JOHN JAMKS (1722-1784), who compiled an elaborate family history from 900 to 1500, and an account of other Glarus families. JOHN Lours (d. 1784), who settled in Metz and contributed to the Encyclopedic, and FRIEDRICH (1820-1886), the author of Das Thierkben dcr Alpenwelt, were distinguished naturalists. Among the soldiers may be mentioned CHRISTOPHER (1571-1629), a knight of Malta and an excellent linguist, who served in the French and Spanish armies; while the brothers Louis LEONARD (17001779) and JOSEPH ANTHONY (1703-1770) were in the Neapolitan service. VALENTINE (1499-1555), the cousin of Giles, was, like the latter, a pupil of Zwingli, whom he afterwards succeeded as pastor of Glarus, and by his moderation gained so much influence that during the thirty years of his ministry his services were attended alike by Catholics and Protestants.
TSE-NAN FOO, the capital city of the province of Shan-tung in China, stands in 36° 40′ N. lat. and 117° 1′ E. long. It is situated in one of the earliest settled districts of the empire, and figures repeatedly in the records of the wars which troubled the country during the six centuries that preceded the Christian era. On the establishment of the Han dynasty (b.c. 206) it had the name which it now bears; but during the next 200 years it was known at different periods as P’ing-yuen, Ts’ien-sh’ing, and Po-hai. In the 4th century its name was changed to Tse; and by the founder of the T’ang dynasty (618–907) it was christened Lin-tsze, by which name it was known until the overthrow of the Mongol dynasty in the 14th century, when the name of Tse-nan was restored to it. The city, which lies in the valley of the present channel of the Yellow river (Hoang-Ho), and at a short distance from its banks, is surrounded by a triple line of defence. First is the city wall, strongly built and carefully guarded, outside this a granite wall, and beyond this again a mud rampart. The streets are full of good shops, among which book, picture, and flower shops are conspicuous. There are two fine examination halls, one for bachelors of arts and the other for doctors of law, several handsome temples, and a metropolitan “drum” tower. The most noticeable feature about the city is three springs outside the west gate, which throw up as many streams of tepid water to a height of about 2 feet. This water, which is pleasant to the taste, and is highly prized for its healing qualities, flows in such abundant quantities that it fills the moat and forms a fine lake in the northern quarter of the city. With the taste which Chinamen always show in such matters, the lake is divided into a number of water avenues by floating banks, on which flowers and trees are skilfully arranged, and is further adorned with several picturesque summer houses, which form points of attraction to picnic parties and pleasure-seekers during the warmer months. Its waters abound with many species of edible fish. The population of the town is reckoned at about 100,000, among whom are 2000 Mohammedan families. The city is the centre of a Roman Catholic see, and has opened its gates to several Protestant missionary bodies.
See Williamson, Journeys in North China, London, 1870.
TSETSE FLY (Glossina morsitans). The tsetse fly, so much dreaded by the traveller in South Africa, belongs to the sub-family Jfuscinx and is closely allied to Stomoxys. It is scarcely larger than the common house fly, which it resembles in its general shape. It can, however, be easily distinguished by its colour and the position of its wings. These are longer than the abdomen, and when at rest they project behind it, overlapping one another at their tips. This gives the fly a longer and narrower outline than that of the house fly. The colour is somewhat like that of the honey bee: the thorax is chestnut brown with four longitudinal black stripes, the abdomen light yellow with transverse bars of dark brown on its dorsal surface. The proboscis, with which the fly inflicts its sting, is grooved and contains two long styles; and it is guarded by a pair of setose palps. At the base of the proboscis is a dilated horny bulb, and in this swelling it is supposed that the poison is secreted. The bite of the tsetse is innocuous to man and is not more painful than that of a gnat. Large game, goats, and apparently all animals whilst suckling, are also unaffected by it. But to the horse, ox, and dog it is fatal. The poison may take effect after a few days, or the animal may remain apparently unaffected for some months; but eventually symptoms of poisoning appear. These symptoms seem to be rather variable; as a rule swellings arise under the jaws and around the navel, the eyes and nose begin to run, and, although the animal con tinues to graze, it becomes more and more emaciated, suffers violently from purging, and at length succumbs to extreme exhaustion. Post-mortem examination shows that the muscles, and especially the heart, are in a very soft and flabby condition. The lungs and liver are affected, the gall bladder distended with bile. The fat is of a greenish yellow colour and oily consistency, the blood small in quantity and very thin, with hardly any power of staining. At present no cure is known for the bite, nor does inoculation seem to afford any protection. The fly is said to avoid animal excreta, and in some parts a paste composed of milk and manure is smeared on cattle which are about to pass through the "fly-belts." This affords a certain amount of protection. Lion's fat is used in the same way, and is said to be efficacious.
The fly is found as a rule in the neighbourhood of water, and its habitat is usually sharply defined. Often it occurs on one side of a stream but not on the other. The limits of the "fly-belts" are well known to the natives, and travellers can ensure comparative safety to their cattle by passing through these districts after sun down. The northern limits of the area inhabited by the tsetse are not known. It is found throughout the valley of the Limpopo river, but does not come much south of this, except in the eastern borders of the Transvaal. Here it extends far south of Delagoa Bay, and infests the Lobombo Mountains and the Amatonga country, reaching to the confines of Santa Lucia Bay. It appears to be gradually retreating northwards, following the big game.
The fly is figured in Proc. Zool. Soc., 1850, and by Frank Gates, Matabele Land and the Victoria Falls, 1881.
