number, but in 421 B.C. two more were added. Shortly far excel partridges in their power of flight. The tail is very after the breaking out of the first Punic War the number short. They seldom perch on trees, but generally alight on the was increased to eight, and as province after province was ground. They are among the smallest of gallinaceous birds. added to the Roman Republic they amounted in the time of The common Q. (C. vulgaris or C. dactylisonans) is found Sulla to 20, and in the time of Cæsar to 40. On its first in- in most parts of Europe, Asia, and Africa. In India and stitution the quæstorship (quæstura) was open only to patri- other warm countries it is a permanent resident, but in many cians, but after 421 B.C. plebeians also became eligible. countries it is a bird of passage, and thus it visits the N. of Quag'ga, (Equus or Asinns Quagga,) an animal of the Europe, and at certain seasons appears in vast multitudes on family EQUIDE, (q. v.,) a native of the S. parts of Africa, the coasts and islands of the Mediterranean, so that Qs. are rather smaller than the ZEBRA, (q. v.,) with the hinder parts there taken in hundreds of thousands in their N. and S.

higher and the ears shorter; the head, mane, neck, and shoulders blackish-brown, banded with white; similar bands toward the rump, gradually becoming less distinct; a black line running along the spine. The Q. receives its name from its voice, which somewhat resembles the barking of a dog. It is more easily domesticated than the zebra. In its wild state it does not associate with the zebra, although inhabiting the same plains. Hybrids, or mules, have been produced between the horse and Q.

migrations. The Q. is not plentiful at any season in any part of Britain, but sometimes appears even in the N. part of Scotland, and more frequently in the S. of England, where it is sometimes seen even in winter. There is reason to believe that the food miraculously supplied to the Israelites in the wilderness was this very species of bird, to which the name Selav, used in the Mosaic narrative, seems to belong, The Q. is fully 7 in. in entire I., of a brown color, streaked with different shades, and the wings mottled with light-brown; the throat white, with dark-brown bands in the male, and a black patch beneath the white, the lower parts yellowishwhite. The Q. is polygamous. The nest is a mere hole in the ground, with seven to 12 eggs. The Q. is highly es teemed for the table. Great numbers of Qs. are brought from the Continent to the London market. Other species of

Quail, (Coturnix,) a genus of gallinaceous birds of the family Tetraonidae, nearly allied to partridges, but having a more slender bill, a shorter tail, longer wings, no spur, and no red space above the eye. The first and second quills of the wing are about as long as the third, which is the longest in the more rounded wing of the partridges. Qs., therefore,

QUART-QUARTERMASTER.

of its cleavage than in the direction of its bedding, the former

Quarter'foil, in Arch., an opening in tracery, a panel, etc., divided by cusps or featherings into four leaves. This form is much used as an ornament in Gothic architecture. Quar'tering, in Her., is the bearing of two or more coats

2129 Quarter-days are the days adopted between landlord being often at right angles to the latter. Granite and other and tenant for entering or quitting lands or houses and for igneous rocks have also a natural jointage or cleavage, although paying rent. The origin of these periods is no doubt due enthey are not stratified. Advantage is taken of these peculiar-tirely to convenience, and though in England they are unities in quarrying the different rocks, but in the main the sys-known to the common law, yet now they are almost part and tems adopted do not greatly differ. Stones are most frequently parcel of every agreement made between parties as to the separated from their native rock by blasting with gunpowder. letting of houses and land. In England if nothing is said as This operation is described in detail under BLASTING. Of to the time of payment of rent it is due only once a yr., and late the practice of boring jumper-holes with engine-power the first payment is due at the end of a yr. from the time of has been introduced, and wherever it can be conveniently entry. But owing to the convenience of the usual Q. they are applied must be a great improvement on the slow and tedi- commonly referred to, and thereby imported into the contract. ous process of boring by hand. With some stratified rocks, They are: Lady-day, March 25; Midsummer-day, June 25; such as sandstone, a good many of the best stones are pro- Michaelmas-day, Sept. 29; and Christmas-day, Dec. 25. cured without the aid of gunpowder. Hand-tools are alone Quarter-deck, of a ship, is an upper deck extending used, because blasting is apt to cause rents, and otherwise from the main-mast to the poop, or, when there is no poop, shatter portions which it is desirable to keep solid. By this from the main-mast to the stern. It is used as a promenade method the quarryman makes a number of small holes with by the officers only, and in a ship-of-war no person-officer a pick along a certain length of rock, into which steel wedges or otherwise-enters upon it without touching his hat in are inserted. After a succession of blows with heavy ham- token of salute. When the captain addresses his men, or mers the wedges at length cut through the stratum. Blocks confers public distinction on any individual, the crew are sumfor columns, obelisks, tombstones, etc., are best procured in moned aft on the Q. this way. It may also be stated that these are obtained from those more valuable parts of sandstone deposits technically termed "liver rock," which consist of the thicker and more consolidated strata. Flagstones and other pieces of limited thickness are quarried from the thinner beds termed "bed-on a shield divided by horizontal and perpendicular lines, a rock." When stones are removed in masses by blasting or otherwise they have still to be quarried into shape, according to the purpose for which the various pieces are best suited. Thus, in an ordinary building-stone Q. the larger stones (after those of unusual size and quality are selected for the purposes named above) are roughly formed into ashlar, window-sills, lintels, rybats, corners, steps, and the like by means of such tools as picks, hammers of various kinds, and wedges. The small irregular-shaped pieces are called rubble, and are used for the commonest kind of building. Slates are split up into the thicknesses used for roofing by means of a mallet and broad chisel. In granite Qs. worked for paving-stones the loss of material in reducing the blocks to the size and shape required is enormous, as much as four fifths of the whole being commonly wasted. Besides the tools already mentioned long iron bars called pinches, and pow-way by subjects. (2) Arms of augmentation or special conerful cranes for turning and lifting the larger stones, are nearly all the implements required by the Q.-master. In quarry ing, as well as in mining, much of the cost is incurred for the pumping of water from the workings. A good steam-engine and set of pumps are therefore indispensable for every Q. of any extent. Much expense is also every now and then incurred in clearing away sand, gravel, and other loose débris from the upper bed of the rock. This, which is called “drift" by geologists, and “till" in some localities by quarrymen, often becomes suddenly very deep, especially where the beds dip at a high angle, and is an obstacle by which many Qs. of stratified rock are sooner or later arrested.

Quart, a measure of capacity, and the fourth part of a gallon. The word is nothing more than the common word quarter, a "fourth part." The ordinary Q.-bottle is a deception, containing only the sixth part of a gallon, and often less. Quar'ter, the name of two measures in use throughout the United Kingdom, one of them a measure of weight and the other of capacity. The former is denominated a Q. from its being the fourth part of a hundred-weight, and contains 28 lbs. avoirdupois; the capacity measure of the same name is said by some to have been so called from its being the fourth part of a “chaldron," but as it happens, the Q. does not always bear this relation to the chaldron.

Quar'ter, in Her., a sub-ordinary consisting of the upper dexter fourth part of the shield, cut off by a vertical and a horizontal line meeting in the center of a shield. When two or more coats are marshaled together on a shield divided into squares for their reception such divisions are also called Qs.

66

Quar'ter, in War, signifies the sparing of the life of a vanquished enemy, which by the laws of war is forfeit to the victor. The expression seems to be derived from the use of the word "quarter" or quarters" to designate the lodging of the particular warrior, to give Q. to a prisoner being to send him to his captor's Q. for liberation, ransom, or slavery. The refusal of Q. is a terrible aggravation of the horrors of war, and is only at all justifiable toward an enemy who has been guilty of atrocious cruelty himself, or some flagrant breach of faith. On shipboard the Q. is the aftermost portion of each of the ship's sides. The extent of the Q. is arbitrary, but it is generally held to comprise about one fifth of the ship's length.

practice not to be found in the earlier heraldry, and little in use till the 15th c. Arms may be quartered for various reasons. (1) To indicate dominion. A sovereign quarters the ensigns of his different states. The earliest instance of Q. in England is to be found in the paternal arms of Eleanor, daughter of Frederick III., King of Castile and Leon, and first wife of Edward I., as represented on her tomb in Westminster Abbey-the castle of Castile occupying the first and fourth quarters, and the lion of Leon the second and third. The arms of England and Ponthieu are similarly quartered on the same monument, and on the crosses erected to Queen Eleanor's memory. The generally received rule regarding the Q. of the ensigns of different states is that precedence is given to the most ancient, unless it be inferior in importance. Feudal arms are sometimes quartered in the same cession, accorded to a subject by his sovereign by way of honor, are sometimes granted to be borne quarterly with the paternal arms. These generally contain a portion of the royal insignia, and have precedence of the paternal coat. (3) The most usual reason for Q. is to,indicate descent from an heiress who has intermarried into the family. Where there is but one heiress her coat occupies the second and third quarter of the shield, and the paternal arms the first and fourth. Where there are more than one they are mar shaled in the successive quarters in the order of the intermarriages. Where more than four coats have to be marshaled the number of vertical lines is increased, and the divisions, though more than four, are still called quarters. Where their is an odd number of coats the last quarter is usually filled up by repeating the first. One of the quar ters may itself be quartered when the heiress is entitled to bear a quartered coat; the shield is then said to be counter-quartered, and its primary quarters are called grand quarters. Qs. are not allowed to be added to the paternal coat without the sanction of the heraldic authorities. The expression "Qs." is often loosely used for descents in cases where there is no right to quarter from representation. The eight or 16 Qs. which are sometimes ranged round the Scottish funeral escutcheon, and which are still important for many purposes in Germany, have no reference to representation, but imply purity of blood for four or five generations; i. e., that the father and mother, the two grandmothers, and four great-grandmothers, as also in the case of 16 Qs, the eight great-great-grandmothers, have all been entitled to coat-armor.

Quartermaster. In the U. S. and the British armies the Q.-general is a staff officer of high rank, whose duty it is to arrange the marches, quarters, and internal arrangements of the army to which he belongs. Every army has some officer of this department; from a brigade, with an assistant Q.-general, up to a complete army under a commander-in-chief, with a Q.-general who is usually a general officer. In the U. S. army the Q.-general ranks as brigadier-general. There are besides four assistant Q.-generals, ranking as colonels; eight deputy Q.-generals, with the rank of lieutenant-colonel; 14 Qs., with the rank of major; and 30 assistant Qs., with the rank of captain. There is also for each regiment of the

line a regimental Q. selected from among the lieutenants of the regiment, who is assisted by a Q.-sergeant. The Q.-general is placed at the head of the Q.'s Department.

Quar'tern, a term frequently employed in some parts of Great Britain to designate the fourth part of a peck; and in liquid measure it is the fourth part of a pint, and is synonymous with the imperial gill.

Quar'ters, in naval and military affairs, are generally the positions assigned to persons or bodies of men. In a more special sense the Q. in the army are the places of lodging assigned to officers or men when not actually on duty. Head quarters is the quarter of the commanding officer of a force or of a section of a force. The head-quarters of the British army is at the Horse Guards, where the commander-in-chief has his permanent offices. In the navy Q. has the special meaning of the positions to be taken by every man in actual combat.

Quar'ters, the upright posts of timber partitions, etc., used for lathing upon. They do not exceed 4 in, square, and are generally about 4 by 2 in., and are placed from 12 to 14 in. apart.

Quar'ter Ses'sions, in England, is a court or meeting of justices of the peace who assemble every quarter of the yr. for judicial as well as miscellaneous business. The meetings are fixed by statute to be held in the first full week after Dec. 28, March 31, June 24, and Oct. 11 respectively; often otherwise called the Epiphany, Easter, Trinity, and Michaelmas Sessions. The chief officer of the Court of Q. S. is the custus rotulorum, so called because he is intrusted with the custody of the records and rolls. He is one of the justices of the peace of the county nominated by the crown and appointed by the commission.

Quar'ter-staff, formerly a favorite weapon with the English for hand-to-hand encounters, was a stout pole of heavy wood about 6 ft. 1., shod with iron at both ends. It was grasped in the middle by one hand, and the attack was made by giving it a rapid circular motion, which brought the loaded ends on the adversary at unexpected points.

Quar'tet, a piece of music arranged for four voices or instruments, in which all the parts are obligati; i. e., no one can be omitted without injuring the proper effect of the composition. Vocal Qs. are generally accompanied by instruments to sustain the voices. A mere interchange of melody, by which the parts become in turn principal and subordinate, without any interweaving of them, does not constitute a Q. Qs. for stringed instruments are generally arranged for two violins, a tenor violin, and violoncello.

Quart'ley, (ARTHUR, N.A.,) an Amer. artist, b. in Paris 1839, d. 1886. He came to this country when a boy, and gained a reputation as a decorator, but it was not till after 1875 that he became known as an artist of merit. His first picture which brought him into notice was very large, showing a waste of water beating against a rock. It was exhibited at the Academy of Design, and belongs to Wellesley Coll., near Boston. He had a fondness for wild marine and coast scenes; he was wonderfully clever in his colors, and could make a single billow a deep study.

Quarto-Decimans, those who, after the final decision of the Council of Nicæa, continued to hold that it was obligatory on Christians to celebrate Easter on the 14th day of the first lunar month near the vernal equinox, whether that 14th day fell on Sunday or not, or who, even before the Council of Nicara, held the observance of the Jewish Passover to be of obligation. The controversies as to the celebration of Easter have been briefly described under the head EASTER, (q. v.) Quartz, a mineral, which is essentially Silicic Acid or Oride of Silicon, (see SILICON,) although it is often combined or mixed with other substances. It is a very abundant and widely diffused mineral. It is almost the sole constituent of Q. rock, in which gold is far more frequently found than in any other matrix; and it is a principal constituent of granite, syenite, protogine, eurite, pegmatite, granulite, elvanite, all the different kinds of sandstone, and many other rocks. It is also a common mineral in trap-rocks, limestone, etc., and the sands of the sea-shore and of deserts are chiefly formed of it. It is found both massive and crystallized; the primary form of the crystals is a rhomboid, but it far more frequently occurs in six-sided prisms terminated by sixsided pyramids; or in six-sided pyramids; or sometimes in dodecahedrons formed by six-sided pyramids base to base. It is hard enough to scratch glass easily, and it gives fire with steel. It becomes positively electrical by friction, and two pieces rubbed together give light in the dark. When pure it is quite colorless, but owing to the presence of

foreign substances it often exhibits great variety of colors; and many minerals, known by different names and consisting chiefly of Q., have little or nothing to distinguish them but their color. Thus Rock Crystal, Chalcedony, Carnelian, Cairngorm, Agate, Amethyst, Prase, Chrysoprase, Jasper, etc., are mere varieties of Q. OPAL (q. v.) is very nearly allied to it. Q. Rock, or Quartzite, is a sedimentary sandstone, converted into a very hard, compact rock by metamorphic action. It is distinctly granular; the grains, however, seem to melt into each other, or to be enveloped in a homogeneous siliceous paste. It is frequently brittle, and in weathering it breaks up into small irregu lar cubes. Q. Veins occur in metamorphic rocks. The structure of the veins is compact and homogeneous, and very different from that of quartzite. Veins not only differ in width, but the same vein is very variable throughout its course, sometimes thinning to a very fine film, and then swelling out to great thicknesses. Q. veins are more metalliferous than the mass of the rocks in which they occur. They are the principal natural repositories of gold, for though the precious metal is chiefly obtained from alluvial sands and gravels, these are the weathered and abraded fragments of the underlying or neighboring Palæozoic rocks. Small quantities of gold have been found in the Q. veins traversing the Silurian and Cambrian rocks of Wales and Scotland; and in Victoria the great veins are so highly auriferous that they are mined for the precious metal. Wherever the Lower Silurian rocks make their appearance on the surface throughout the colony they are every-where intersected by enormous numbers of Q. veins, which often reach a thickness of 10 to 15 ft. As yet only a very small proportion of these have been explored; but the results have been so remunerative that mining in the solid rock for gold is extensively pursued. One mine has been driven to a depth of 400 ft., and, contrary to the generally received opinion, the vein at this depth continued to be auriferous.

Quasim'odo Sunday, called also DOMINICA IN ALBIS, the first Sunday after Easter. The name Q. S. is taken from the first words of the Introit (1 Pet. ii, 2) of the mass of the day. The name Dominica in Albis is derived from the custom which was formerly observed of the neophytes who had been baptized at Easter appearing in white garments in the church.

Quass, a sort of weak beer produced in Russia by fer. menting rye-meal in warm water. It is usually bottled in stone bottles, and is a favorite beverage with the people gen. erally. When it becomes too sour it is used as vinegar.

Quas'sia, a genus of trees and shrubs of the natural order SIMARUBACEE, (q. v.,) having hermaphrodite flowers, with five petals combined into a tube, and much longer than the small calyx, ten stamens, five germens, and only one style; the fruit composed of five drupes. Q. amara is a native of the trop. ical parts of Am., and of some of the West India Islands. It is a shrub of from 10 to 15 ft. h., with racemes of brightred flowers, and large pinnate leaves, the stalks of which are remarkably winged and jointed. The wood, and particularly that of the root, has a very strong, bitter taste, and was at one time much used in medicine under the names of Q.-wood, Bitterwood, etc. The flowers were valued in Surinam for their stomachic properties as early as the beginning of the 18th c.; the wood of the root began to be known in Europe before the middle of that century, and was more fully brought into notice about 1756 by Rolander, a Swede, who had visited Surinam, and had learned its value from a Negro, called Quassi, or Quasha. This Negro had employed it with great success as a remedy for fevers, and although, as Rolander says, a very simple man, had acquired a great reputation by his use of it. Linnæus published a dissertation on it in 1763, and it was he who gave to the genus the name Q., from the name of the slave by whom its medicinal qualities had been made known. The true Q. is now, however, little used, its name having been transferred to the BITTERWOOD (q. v.) of the West Indies, Picræna (or Simaruba) excelsa, a lofty tree, the wood of which possesses the same properties, although in an inferior degree; but this inferiority is compensated by the greater facility with which any requisite supply is ob tained. It is the wood of this tree which is now sold as Q.-wood, or Q.-chips, in the shops. It is used to a consider. able extent instead of hops for making beer, although the use of it is illegal in Britain, and beer made with it is said to become muddy and flat, and not to keep. Q.-wood is narcotic, and a decoction of it is used for killing flies. Cabinetwork made of it is safe from all attacks of insects. In med

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