JAGERSFONTEIN—JAHANGIR
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JAGERSFONTEIN, a town in the Orange Free State, 50 m. N.W. by rail of Springfontein on the trunk line from Cape Town to Pretoria. Pop. (1904), 5657—1293 whites and 4364 coloured persons. Jagersfontein, which occupies a pleasant situation on the open veld about 4500 ft. above the sea, owes its existence to the valuable diamond mine discovered here in 1870. The first diamond, a stone of 50 carats, was found in August of that year, and digging immediately began. The discovery a few weeks later of the much richer mines at Bultfontein and Du Toits Pan, followed by the great finds at De Beers and Colesberg Kop (Kimberley) caused Jagersfontein to be neglected for several years. Up to 1887 the claims in the mine were held by a large number of individuals, but coincident with the efforts to amalgamate the interest in the Kimberley mines a similar movement took place at Jagersfontein, and by 1893 all the claims became the property of one company, which has a working arrangement with the De Beers corporation. The mine, which is worked on the open system and has a depth of 450 ft., yields stones of very fine quality, but the annual output does not exceed in value £500,000. In 1909 a shaft 950 ft. deep was sunk with a view to working the mine on the underground system. Among the famous stones found in the mine are the “Excelsior” (weighing 971 carats, and larger than any previously discovered) and the “Jubilee” (see Diamond). The town was created a municipality in 1904.
Fourteen miles east of Jagersfontein is Boomplaats, the site of the battle fought in 1848 between the Boers under A. W. Pretorius and the British under Sir Harry Smith (see Orange Free State: History).
JAGO, RICHARD (1715–1781), English poet, third son of
Richard Jago, rector of Beaudesert, Warwickshire, was born in
1715. He went up to University College, Oxford, in 1732, and
took his degree in 1736. He was ordained to the curacy of
Snitterfield, Warwickshire, in 1737, and became rector in 1754;
and, although he subsequently received other preferments,
Snitterfield remained his favourite residence. He died there on
the 8th of May 1781. He was twice married. Jago’s best-known
poem, The Blackbirds, was first printed in Hawkesworth’s
Adventurer (No. 37, March 13, 1753), and was generally attributed
to Gilbert West, but Jago published it in his own name,
with other poems, in R. Dodsley’s Collection of Poems (vol. iv.,
1755). In 1767 appeared a topographical poem,
Edge Hill, or the Rural Prospect delineated and moralized; two separate sermons
were published in 1755; and in 1768 Labour and Genius, a Fable.
Shortly before his death Jago revised his poems, and they were
published in 1784 by his friend, John Scott Hylton, as
Poems Moral and Descriptive.
See a notice prefixed to the edition of 1784; A. Chalmers, English Poets (vol. xvii., 1810); F. L. Colvile, Warwickshire Worthies (1870); some biographical notes are to be found in the letters of Shenstone to Jago printed in vol. iii. of Shenstone’s Works (1769).
JAGUAR (Felis onca), the largest species of the Felidae found on the American continent, where it ranges from Texas through Central and South America to Patagonia. In the countries which bound its northern limit it is not frequently met with, but in South America it is quite common, and Don Felix de Azara states that when the Spaniards first settled in the district between Montevideo and Santa Fé, as many as two thousand were killed yearly. The jaguar is usually found singly (sometimes in pairs), and preys upon such quadrupeds as the horse, tapir, capybara, dogs or cattle. It often feeds on fresh-water turtles; sometimes following the reptiles into the water to effect a capture, it inserts a paw between the shells and drags out the body of the turtle by means of its sharp claws. Occasionally after having tasted human flesh, the jaguar becomes a confirmed man-eater. The cry of this great cat, which is heard at night, and most frequently during the pairing season, is deep and hoarse in tone, and consists of the sound pu, pu, often repeated. The female brings forth from two to four cubs towards the close of the year, which are able to follow their mother in about fifteen days after birth. The ground colour of the jaguar varies greatly, ranging from white to black, the rosette markings in the extremes being but faintly visible. The general or typical coloration is, however, a rich tan upon the head, neck, body, outside of legs, and tail near the root. The upper part of the head and sides of the face are thickly marked with small black spots, and the rest of body is covered with rosettes, formed of rings of black spots, with a black spot in the centre, and ranged lengthwise along the body in five to seven rows on each side. These black rings are heaviest along the back. The lips, throat, breast and belly, the inside of the legs and the lower sides of tail are pure white, marked with irregular spots of black, those on the breast being long bars and on the belly and inside of legs large blotches. The tail has large black spots near the root, some with light centres, and from about midway of its length to the tip it is ringed with black. The ears are black behind, with a large buff spot near the tip. The nose and upper lip are light rufous brown. The size varies, the total length of a very large specimen measuring 6 ft. 9 in.; the average length, however, is about 4 ft. from the nose to root of tail. In form the jaguar is thick-set; it does not stand high upon its legs; and in comparison with the leopard is heavily built; but its movements are very rapid, and it is fully as agile as its more graceful relative. The skull resembles that of the lion and tiger, but is much broader in proportion to its length, and may be identified by the presence of a tubercle on the inner edge of the orbit. The species has been divided into a number of local forms, regarded by some American naturalists as distinct species, but preferably ranked as sub-species or races.
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| The Jaguar (Felis onca). |
JAGUARONDI, or Yaguarondi (Felis jaguarondi), a South American wild cat, found in Brazil, Paraguay and Guiana, ranging to north-eastern Mexico. This relatively small cat, uniformly coloured, is generally of some shade of brownish-grey, but in some individuals the fur has a rufous coat, while in others grey predominates. These cats are said by Don Felix de Azara to keep to cover, without venturing into open places. They attack tame poultry and also young fawns. The names jaguarondi and eyra are applied indifferently to this species and Felis eyra.
JAHANABAD, a town of British India in Gaya district, Bengal,
situated on a branch of the East Indian railway. Pop. (1901),
7018. It was once a flourishing trading town, and in 1760 it
formed one of the eight branches of the East India Company’s
central factory at Patna. Since the introduction of Manchester
goods, the trade of the town in cotton cloth has almost entirely
ceased; but large numbers of the Jolaha or Mahommedan weaver
caste live in the neighbourhood.
JAHANGIR, or Jehangir (1569–1627), Mogul emperor of
Delhi, succeeded his father Akbar the Great in 1605. His name
was Salim, but he assumed the title of Jahangir, “Conqueror of
the World,” on his accession. It was in his reign that Sir
Thomas Roe came as ambassador of James I., on behalf of the
