Page:Collier's New Encyclopedia v. 09.djvu/30

SPEAR 12 SPEARS, JOHN RANDOLPH length up to eight or nine feet, and pro- vided with a sharp piercing point. The spear may be regarded as the prototype of the various forms of piercing weapons, such as the arrow, bolt, and dart, which are projected from bows, catapults, or other engines, and the javelin, assegai, and lance, held in or thrown by the hand. In its earliest form the spear would with fish and other bones, and their fighting spears have sometimes poisoned tips. SPEARMAN, FRANK HAMILTON, an American author, born in Buffalo, N. Y., in 1859. He was educated in public and private schools and at Lawrence University, Appleton, Wis. He wrote, besides many short stories in magazines SPEARS 1 — Prehistoric bronze 2 — Prehistoric bronze 3 — Mediaeval type 4— Old British naturally consist of a simple pole of tough wood sharpened to a point at one extremity, which point might be both formed and hardened by charring in fire. From this an improvement would con- sist in fitting to the shaft a separate spear head of bone, or flint. To flint heads succeeded heads of bronze, but these came only late in the bronze period, and were still in use when the Homeric poems were composed. The bronze spear heads found in Great Britain and in Northern Europe generally were cast with sockets, into which the end of the shaft was inserted, but on the eastern Mediterranean coasts tanged spear heads were used. These spear heads were various in form and size, some being three-edged like the old bayonets, others were expanded leaf-shaped blades, some barbed, and some having loopholes either in socket or blade by which they were lashed to the shaft. The war lance of the mediaeval knights was 16 feet long; the weapon of modern cavalry regiments known as lancers may be from 8% to 11 feet long, usually adorned with a small flag near the head. The Persians at the present day forge spear heads, for ornamental purposes only, with two and sometimes three prongs. The modern spears of savage tribes, used equally for hunting and for warlike purposes, are frequently barbed 5 — Japanese 7 — West African 6 — German, 15th Century 8 — Philippine and numerous economic articles in re- views: "The Nerve of Foley" (1900); "Held for Orders" (1901) ; "Doctor Bryson" (1902); "The Daughter of a Magnate" (1902); "The Close of the Day" (1904); "Whispering Smith" (1906); "Robert Kimberly" (1911); "The Mountain Divide" (1912) ; "Mer- rilie Dawes" (1913) ; "Nan of Music Mountain" (1917). SPEARMINT, or SPIREMINT, in botany, a mint, Mentha viridis, with ob- long, lanceolate, sub-acute, serrate leaves, and slender spikes of flowers. Found in watery places. It is used in cookery as a sauce, and yields an aro- matic and carminative oil, oil of spear- mint. SPEARS, JOHN RANDOLPH, an American author; born in Ohio in 1850. He published "The Gold Diggings of Cape Horn"; "The Port of Missing Ships, and Other Stories"; "The His- tory of Our Navy"; "Our Navy in the War With Spain"; "History of the American Slave Trade"; "History of New England Whalers" (1908); "His- tory of the American Navy" (1909) ; "Story of the American Merchant Ma- rine" (1909) ; "Master Mariner" (19U). Cyc — Vol. IX