Page:Collier's New Encyclopedia v. 10.djvu/573

ZANTE 493 ZEBBA a comedietta; "Without Pi'ejudice" (1896) ;"Dpeamers of the Ghetto" (1898) ; "They That Walk in Darkness" (1899); "Melting Pot" (1908); "Italian Fantasies" (1910). He dramatized "Children of the Ghetto," which was brought out in the United States in 1899. ZANTE, or ZACYNTHOS, the Zacyn- thus of the Romans and of the Greeks, one of the principal Ionian Islands; 9 miles from the N. W. coast of the Morea, and 8 S- of Cephalonia; about 24 miles long, 12 broad. In the W. it attains a maximum altitude of 2,486 feet; the center is fertile, formed by depression, and is mainly devoted to the growing of the dwarf species of vine, originally brought from Corinth, from which the dried currants of commerce are pro- duced. Zante is mentioned in Homer with the epithet "woody," which is not apt at the present day, though it is justly called in an Italian proverb "the flower of the Levant." It is not volcanic, though thought to be so by the natives from the pitch wells and the not infre- quent earthquakes. A large quantity of currants is exported annually, mostly to England, where, according to Lithgow the traveler, they were first introduced from Zante about 1550. Pop. about 50,000. Zante, the capital, the largest town in the Ionian Islands, is situated at the head of a small bay or harbor on the E. coast. It is the see of a Greek protopapas, and of a Roman Catholic bishop. Pop. about 15,000. ZANZIBAR, a^ British protectorate in east Africa, which formerly comprised the whole coast between Magdishu (Magadoxo), about lat. 2" N., and Cape Delgado, lat. 10° 42' S., with the four islands of Zanzibar, Pemba, Lamu, and Mafia. The continental part of the pro- tectorate has become part of British East Africa and German East Africa; while the island and town of Zanzibar, and the island of Pemba, are entirely under British protection. The island (area 600 square miles) is very fertile and well cultivated, being especially suited for the cultivation of cloves, sugar, coffee, cocoa, and various spices, of which there is a considerable export. The population (200,000) is extremely heterogeneous, including Europeans, Arabs, half-caste Portuguese from the Malabar coast of India, and the Suahilis from the , mainland. In 1899 Germany removed her rights of extra-territori- ality in Zanzibar from such time as the similar rights possessed there by Great Britain should be abolished. The im- ports in 1899 had a value of $7,983,030, and the exports, $7,567,035. Zanzibar, Cyo the chief town (100,000 inhabitants), on the W. side of the island, is the center of trade for the E. seaboard of Africa and of missionary and exploring work for the interior. At the instance of the British Government the slave trade has been abolished and slavery was nomi- nally abolished in 1897. ZEALAND (Danish Sjalland), the largest and most important island of Denmark; lies between the Cattegat and the Baltic, and is separated by the Sound from Sweden and by the Great Belt from Fiinen; length, 81 miles; ex- treme breadth, 67 miles; area, 2,670 square miles. The surface is nearly everywhere flat, except in the N. pen- insulas; the coasts, which are rock- bound on the S. E., are indented by bays and fiords, the chief of which is the Roeskilde-Isefiord in the N. The rivers are small, but there are numerous lakes, and all the waters abound in fish. The island contains several beech forests, is excedingly fruitful in corn (particularly barley and rye), and breeds excellent horses and cattle. Agriculture and cattle-breeding are the principal em- ployments of the inhabitants. The chief place is Copenhagen on the E. coast; the next in rank and size are Elsinore in the N. and Korsor in the S. W. ZEALAND (Danish Sjalland), the ince of the Netherlands, consists of por- tions of Flanders (East and West) and of the islands Walcheren, North Beve- land, South Beveland, Schouwen, Duive- land, and Tholen; area 690 square miles, and a pop. about 235,000, about three- fourths Protestants. The provincial capital is Middelburg; Flushing is also in Walcheren. The greatest part of the soil, which is a rich clay, has been re- deemed from the sea; and the number of polders or drained districts, is about 400. The neighboring seas abound with fish, and in Schouwen many eggs are collected, myriads of waterfowl resort- ing thither to form their nests. In 1866 a ship canal through the island of South Beveland was made to take the place of the Easter Scheldt. Hence came the name of New Zealand. ZEBRA, a popular name for any of the striped forms of the genus Equus; thus embracing the quagga, the true zebra, and Burchell's zebra. In all three the external characters are those of the ass rather than of the horse; the legs are without warts, the tail is furnished with long hairs only toward the ex- tremity, the neck is full and arched, and the mane stiff and erect. All the species of this division are rapidly vanishing before advancing civilization, and in all 32 Vol. X