NECK. 327 NECKER. tioiT of the anatomy Ijctwi'cii the }iead and the shdulclers. In the human Ix'in^' there are several niuseles that pa^s from the skull to the thorax. whii'li. lo;^ellii'r with the a'sii])ha<;us an<l the Iraehi'a. lorni the principal bulk of the neek. Through the neck run very important blood-ves- sels between the brain ami the thora.v, anion;; these being the carotid arteries and the ju;;ular veins, an incision into either of which usnally causes death very promptly. Through the (esoph- agus the food passes into the stomach, and through the trachea the air passes into the l>ionchi and thence into the lungs. The principal muscles of the neck are the platysma myoides, the stcrno-cleido-mastoid, the infra-hyoid ami supra-hyoid, the muscles of the tongue, the mus- cles of the palate and of the pharynx, and the prevertebral muscles, as well as certain of the muscles of the back which are inserted into the skull ; as the trachelo-mastoid. complcxus, trans- versalis cervicis, the rectus group, the loiigus col- li, the three scaleni, ami the cervicalis aseendens. Several of these muscles form important triangles, with the aid of the ramus of the jaw. the clavi- cle, the liyoid bone, and the imaginary centre line of the bod}'. These triangles are of use to the sur- geon in locating and describing important struc- tures. For instance, the digastric triangle is bounded by the jaw-, above, and on either side liy a belly of the diga.strie muscle, attached (at the apex of the triangle) to the hyoid bone be- low. Within this triangle are to be found a por- tion of the facial artery and of the lingual artery; and it is the site chosen for ligating the last-named artery. In man there is present at the back of the neck a rudiment of an important elastic ligament, which in some of the lower animals serves to sustain the weight of the head. It is called the lif/aiitoitum nuchw, and is a yellow elastic liga- ment, which represents in the neck the supra- spinous and inter-spinous ligaments of the verte- bra of the lower part of the spine. It extends from the external occipital protuberance to the spinous process of the seventh cervical vertebra. NECK'AM, Alexander (1157-1217). An English Latinist. born at Saint Allians. Hertford- shire, foster brother of King Richard I. Neckain studied in Paris, returned to England, and en- tered an Augustinian monastery at Saint Albans, where he did most of his writing. He wrote, on natural science, a prose essay, De yatinfs Rcnim, and De Laiidihus Divinw Sa- pient ia:, a treatment of the same subject in elegiac verse (both edited by Wright in the "Rolls Series of Chnmicles and Memorials." 1SG3) ; also forty-two fables. The fables are edited and Neckam's life sketched by Hervieux, Les fabidisfes latins (3 vols., Paris, 1883-93). NECKAB,, nek'kar. One of the principal right altluents of the Rhine. It rises in the Swaliian Jura in the southwestern part of Wlirttemberg, near the source of the Danube, flows nortliward through Wiirttemberg, then west through Baden, and enters the Rhine at Mann- heim. 30 miles south of the mouth of the Main (Map: Germany, C 4). It is 247 miles long, and flows for the greater part of its course through a series of lake basins surrounded by vine-clad hills. It is navigable for steamers to Heilbronn, 71 miles, and for smaller vessels to Cannstatt, 116 miles. Heidelberg lies on its banks near its mouth, where the river is Hanked by picturesque hills crowned by ruined castles. NECKER, nft'kAr', .J.cque.s (1732-1804). A I'reiich statesman and financier. He was born September 30, 1732, at Geneva, where his father was jjrofessor of public law. In 1747 Necker went to Paris and entered a banking house, where he served his appieiiticcslii|) in finance. In 17ti2 he establislied a banking business of his own in Paris and acquired a large fortune dur- ing the Seven Years' War. After retiring from business he became the representative of Geneva at the French Court and also a syndic of the French East India Company. He likewise began his career as a writer, and in 1773 gained the prize at the French Academy liy his eloge on Colbert. He acquired a further reputation by his publications on political economy and finance, ])articularly his Essai siir la lii^islation ct le conniicrrr dcs firains (Paris, 1775). On the re- moval of Turgot from otfice in .lune, 1770, Necker was called to assist in financial affairs, and after the brief administration of Clugny he was made Director-General of Finances in .June, 1777. Necker succeeded in restoring to some degree of order the general financial affairs of the country, though mainly by the perilous expedi- ent of borrowing, which he was enabled to do to an almost unlimited extent, owing to the confidence reposed in his financi.al dexterity. He reformed and systematized the financial administration, made taxation more equita- ble, and restored public confidence in the Gov- ernment. This was the most brilliant period of his life, and the sa/o» of Madame Necker was the rendezvous for all the brilliant literary and political lights of the day. Xecker's Prot- estantism, however, his extraordinary v.anity, and some retrenchments which lie had made in the royal household, together with his publication on the financial aft'airs of France, Compte rendu- au roi (1781), made him an object of great dis- like to both CJueen and Court, and on May 12, 1781, he was suddenly dismissed. He retired to Geneva, and while living in retirement on his estate of Coppet he wrote his famous Administra- tion dcs finances, published in 1784. He returned to Paris in 1787. but was soon banished on ac- count of an attack which he published on the financial policy and management of Calonne. In the financial crises which followed upon the ad- ministration of Lom^nie do Brienne. Louis XVI. found himself under the necessitj' of calling Necker to the office of Director-General of Fi- nances and Minister of State. This was in the summer of 1788. and Necker recommended the calling of the States-General, and thereby ac- quired his great pojiularity. ^^■hen the Court, on June 23, 1780. determined upon nullifying the resolutions of the Third Estate. Necker seem- ingly objected and the King dismissed him on July 11th, and required him to leave the French dominions. He obeyed, but the disturbances of .July 12th, 13th. and 14th. culminating in the storming of the Bnstille. were the result of his dismissal, and the King was under the necessity of recalling him. On the rejection by the Constit- uent Assembly of his scheme of a loan, and the adoption instead of it of Mirabeau's scheme of as- sigiiats. he resigned his office in September, 1700, and again retired to Coppet. where he died, .pril 9. 18()4. Necker was able and honest, but he was
