IMBERT DE SAINT-AMAND. 482 IMERITIA, A Frent-li aullior, burn in Paris. Uv was privati'ly t'dueatuil, studii'd law. luul after bfiii;; ailiiiilti'd to |)raolioooiiti'ri"(l tlio tJovuriiiufiil sorvitv in tlic Dc- partUKMit of Koreifrn All'airs. lien- liu rose tliruu<;h the several ranks to the j^rade of Minister Plcni- potentiar)' of the lirst elass in 18S2, and was as- signed to special serviee in the eentral othees of the department in I'aris. lie is he^t known as the anthor of an interesting and iHipuhir series of hiofiraphieal and soeial studies of the women of the French courts. The first of these, entitled Lcs fcmmcs dc VcrsuiUcs (5 vols., 1873-79), cov- ered the iK-riod from Louis XIV. to the close of the ancirn rvgime ; the second, Acs femmts dcs TuikrUs (.S? "vols.. 188l)-'J!M. be-ian with the last days of .Marie Antoinette and concluded with the women of the .Secimd Knipire. The series has been translated into Kn>;lish unilcr the title of Women of the frcnch Court. Among his other imblislied works, some of which have also been translated into Kn;;lish. arc: furlriiitx dc femmcs frantaisea da X III. ct du XIX. siicle ( 1869) ; Les femtnea dc la cuitr dcs dcrnicr.<< ^'alois (1872) ; Madame dc (liiardin (1874) ; Portraits dc grandcs dames (1875); La cour dc Louis .Will. (1891); La courdc Charles X. (1891). IMBIBITION (from I.at. imhibere, to drink in. ficiiH III. in + hihcrr. for */)i6crc, to drink, Skt. /*(}, to drink. Olr. ibi'ni. 1 drink). The phys- ical process of swelling of .solids by the absorption of liquid. It is exhibited most freely by orfranized bodies, i.e. those formed by livinfi beinjis, which have therefore a characteristic structure, but is not confined to them. The swcllin<; depends on a separation of the structural units of the body, which are believed to be not it-s molecules, but rather molecular complexes. Imbibition, there- fore, difTers from solution in that the separation of the particles is not so extensive, and when the water is removed by evaporation or othenvise they return to their ori^'inal relations, so that the IhmIv retrains its jirevious form and structure. After solution, on the contrary, the separated molecules may rearranfre themselves completely. In a normal condition all parts of plants hold large quantities of water imbibed in their sub- stance. Even in the walls of wood-cells, the least watcrj' material, there is usually 50 per cent, of water, wh'le in the protoplasm there may be as much as 95 per cent. Indeed, the plant may he considered as a mass of water held between the structural particles of the cells composing it and exceeding in volume the material by which it is so held. This condition alone makes it possible for plants to obtain materials from the water and air about them. .S-e AnsoRiTiox, ix Plants. The force of imbibition depends upon the sur- face tension of the water and upon the relation be- tween the molecules of water and those particles of the swelling body whose cohesion is thereby overcome. When a drj- starch-grain imbibes water, heat is developed (on account of the com- pression of the water) to an amount which indi- cates (according to Rodewald) a pressure of over 2300 atmospheres. The force exerted by a confined swelling body is at first enormous, but becomes rapidly weaker as the particles are sep- arated farther and farther. Correspondingly, water is held loosely when abundant, but more and more tenaciously when only a little is im- bibed. Thus, when a bit of laminaria is com- pletely swollen, water can be removed from it by slight pressure; when it holds 170 per cent, of water it requires a pressure of 10 atm.osphcrcB to extract water; when only KH per cent, is present a pressure of 200 atmospheres is needed. Appli- cations of the force of swelling are made in split- ting stone by wooden wedges driven in and then wetted; in shortening ropes by wetting; in the use of laminaria for surgical distension, etc. The phenomena of imbibition alTord the chief basis for theories concerning the molecular struc- ture of organized bodies. iSee Coixoius. IMBEIANI, 6nrbr;-:i'nf, Vittorio (1840- S(i). .
Italian poet and critic, born in Naples,
lie jiursued studies in the universities of Naples^ Zilrich, and Berlin, and took part in the cam- jiaigna of 1859 and 18(i0. In 1884 he was ap- jMiintcd to the chair of a-sthetics at the university of his native city, but was then too ill to assume the duties of this post. His political life was a troublous one by reason of his excessively pas- sionate nature, which was ever exciting the bit- terest antagonism. Ah a litterateur he is best known for his collections of popular tales and verse, such as Canti poiioluri drilc provincic meri- dionali (1871-72); IJodici eanii pomiglianesi (1870); La norcUaja fiorcntina (1877), etc. A nund)er of his poems are to be found in a eoUec- (i<m entitled Esercizj di pro.iodia ( 1S74). .mong his critical works are some monographs on Dante I'.nd the Fame usurpate (1877), in which he .seeks to diinunstratc that (loclhe's I'uusI is a produe- tiiiii (lioi(l of all iiinit. IKLBIIICATED SNOUT-BEETLE. A very injurious weevil {Lpiewrus imbricattis) , which damages many dilTerent kinds of garden vege- tables and fruits, such as onions, radishes, cab- bages, beans, watermelons, cucumbers, corn, beets, and strawberries, by sucking the juices of the loaves, stems, roots, or fruit. It also punctures the leaves and twigs of the apple and pear. The life-history is not thoroughly known, although the eggs and young larvie found on the leaves of the strawberry have been described by Chit- tenden. The best remedy consists in spraying with a Paris green or some other standard mix- ture. IMBKOS, .'»m1)rr>s. A Turkish island in the .Kgcan Sea, situated about 13 miles northeast of Lemnos. .rea, about 100 square miles. It is of volcanic origin, rocky and mostly barren, only a small part of its area being cultivable. Population, over 9000. mostly Greeks, engaged in fishing. The chief town is Kastron (Castro), the scat of a Greek metropolitan. IMEB, fe'milr', Epoi-ard ( 1820-81 ) . A French painter, born at .Avignon. Though he received no regular instruction, he became an excellent landscape painter, particularly of scenery in Middle France. His Eastern pictures are also well known. Among his works are: "Rvca- mores at Gizeh;" "Island of Philic" (18.57): "Ruins of Crozant;" and "Oak Tree of Voul- liers" (1873). IMERITIA, e'm(^-rIsh1-4. Formerly an inde- pciidint kingdom in Georgia (q.v.). now consti- tuting a part of the Government of Kutais (q.v.) in Russian Transcaucasia. Its history as an inde- pendent country liegins toward the end of the fif- teenth century. About 1730 it was occupied by the Turks, who were expelled by the Russians in 1769. In 1810 it was annexed to Russia. The Imcrs, or Imeritians, who number less than half
