VAN DYCK nal donation of $500,000 was later increased to $1,000,000 by Cornelius Vanderbilt, and the university also received sums from various other members of the Vanderbilt family. In 1913 Andrew Carnegie contributed $1,000,000 to the medical school of the university for endowment and equipment. The institution is at present organized into the college of arts and sciences and the schools of law, religion, medicine, dentistry, pharmacy and engineering. The main campus, a beautiful expanse of forest trees and blue grass, cov MAIN BUILDING, VANDERBILT UNIVERSITY ers sixty-four acres, and is one of the most attractive in the South. The university has been a strong factor in creating and maintaining high standards of education in the Southern states. It has a faculty of about 150, a student enrolment of over 900 and a library of 60,000 volumes. See VANDERBILT (family). VAN DYCK, dike, ANTHONIS, or VANDYKE, SIR ANTHONY (1599-1641), a celebrated painter of the Flemish school, one of the great masters of portraiture. He delighted especially in depicting cavaliers with their plumed hats and picturesque court costumes, and aristocratic ladies in rich silks and velvets. Often sitters while posing in his studio were entertained by concerts, for Van Dyck was a great lover of music. He was also fond of horses and dogs, and introduced them into his paintings whenever possible. Although he executed a number of religious pictures for churches, one of his favorite subjects being the Entombment, he will always be remembered as one of the world's most refined portrait painters. Van Dyck was born at Antwerp. His mother was a skilled worker in tapestry, and from her he doubtless learned the art of harmonious coloring and shading. At the age of seventeen her talented son became a pupil of Rubens, and it was not long before the young student was assisting on the works of the great master Following the example of Rubens, he went to Italy to further his studies, spending five years at Genoa, Venice and Rome. In 1627 he returned to Antwerp, where he established his reputation as the fashionable VAN DYCK portrait painter of his day. In 1632 Charles I summoned him to England to become his court painter, and soon after his arrival the king knighted him. While in England he painted over 300 portraits, and his sitters included almost every distinguished personage connected with the Court. He also produced several mythological and historical paintings. The year before his death he went to Paris with the view of obtaining a commission to decorate the Louvre, but in this he was disappointed. He lies buried in Saint Paul's Cathedral, London. Van Dyck's portraits are noted for their delicacy and refinement. He frequently used soft, subdued colors, and the lines of his figures are notably graceful and artistic. There are several good examples of his work in American collections, and hundreds of Van Dyck portraits are to be found in the principal galleries of Europe. Those in the Metropolitan Museum include portraits of the Earl of Warwick and the Duke of Lennox, and his celebrated Portrait of a Lady and Child. R.D.M. ), an Ameri VAN DYKE, HENRY (1852can essayist, poet, fiction writer, clergyman and educator, born at Germantown, Pa. After thorough courses at Princeton University and the University of Berlin, he became pastor of the United Congregational Church, Newport, R. I., and the Brick Presbyterian Church, New York City. Dr. Van Dyke remained in the ministry until 1900, when he became professor of English literature at Princeton. In 1908-1909 he served as American lecturer at the University of Paris, and in 1913 President Wilson appointed him minister of the United States to the Netherlands. From this position he returned in 1916 to resume his literary work. As a writer he has covered a wide range of subjects, including fiction, literary criticism, religious works, poetry and essays. His stories are noteworthy HENRY VAN DYKĘ He held the important post for their delicate of minister from the United to art, vivid charac- States the Netherlands during the most critical peters and ethical riod of the War of the Nations. uplift; his verses possess the same qualities, and are among the most popular of twentieth-century American poems. Dr. Van Dyke, both as a lecturer and as a writer, possesses what Matthew Arnold thought all leaders should have-"sweetness and light" -and his manner is winning because of its appeal to the reason as well as to the emotions. His scholarly though popularly written appreciations of the books of the Bible and other classics are among the best specimens of literary criticism. Most important of his books are The Poetry of Tennyson, Little Rivers, The Other Wise Man, The Ruling Passion, The Blue Flower, Le Génie de l'Amérique (delivered as lectures at the University of Paris), The Poetry of the Psalms, Fisherman's Luck, The Toiling of Felix and Other Poems and Grand Canyon and Other Poems. ), a VAN HISE, CHARLES RICHARD (1857distinguished American geologist and university president, born at Fulton, Wis. He was graduated from the University of Wisconsin in 1879, since which date he has been continuously associated with that institution, at first as instructor, and later professor of metallurgy, then as professor of geology. In 1903 he was elected president of the university, and at the same time resigned a nonresident professorship at the University of Chicago, which he had held since 1892. His work has not been entirely in the schools, wever, for he has been connected since 1883 the United States Geological Survey, hav ing been appointed in 1909 geologist in charge of pre-Cambrian and metamorphic geology. Meanwhile he has served in various capacities with the Wisconsin Geological and Natural History Survey and has been a member of several scientific societies. His publications, which are standard in their field, include Archaean and Algonkian, Principles of North American Pre-Cambrian Geology, Some Principles Con trolling the CHARLES R. VAN HISE Deposition of Ores, The Conservation of the Natural Resources of the United States and Concentration and Control. President Van Hise had much to do with shaping the policies of the University of Wisconsin which since 1900 have made it one of the most notable institutions of learning in the United States. Particularly effective has been the plan he put into execution to carry extension work to people in all parts of the state who could not attend the university. VAN HORNE, SIR WILLIAM CORNELIUS (18431915), a Canadian railway official, for many years president of the Canadian Pacific Railway Company. Van Horne was born in the United States, near Joliet, Illinois, and more than half of his active career was spent in that country. He entered the railway service at the age of fourteen, and by the time he was thirty-nine had risen to and left behind the general superintendency of the Chicago & Alton Railroad, the presidency of the Southern Minnesota Railway, and the general superintendency of the Chicago, Milwaukee & Saint Paul Railway. He left the last position in 1882 to become general manager of the Canadian Pacific, whose completion was due in no small measure to his energy and executive ability. From 1884 to 1888 he was vice-president, from 1888 to 1899 president, and SIR WILLIAM VAN HORNE VANILLA 6037 from 1899 to 1910 chairman of the board of directors. Van Horne was created a Knight Commander of the Order of Saint Michael and Saint George in 1894. VANILLA, va nil'a, a genus of orchids, of commercial value as the source of an extract widely used in flavoring chocolate, ice cream, pastry, confectionery and perfumes. The species producing most of the vanilla of commerce is native to the countries of North and South America, between Mexico and Peru. It is also cultivated extensively in Java, Ceylon, the West Indies and other regions, warm The fruit is a cylindrical pod, or "bean," seven or eight inches long, with an oily black pulp containing large numbers of tiny black seeds. The pods are gathered before they are ripe, are slowly dried and then sweated, or fermented, the latter process serving to develop the flavor and aroma. Vanilla extract is prepared from the pulp of the beans by a laborious process. The best beans sometimes sell for as high as $15 a pound, therefore substitutes and adulteration of vanilla are common. Vanillin, the aromatic principle of the fruit, is produced by artificial methods and used in the preparation of cheaper grades, and the extract of the tonka bean is frequently marketed as a cheap substitute. VAN RENSSELAER, ren'se ler, STEPHEN (1764-1839), an American statesman, the last of the Dutch patroons, whose former estate near Albany now constitutes three counties. He was born in New York City and was educated at Harvard. Having become interested VARICOSE VEINS in politics, he was elected to the legislature in 1789, was state senator from 1790 to 1795, lieutenant-governor from 1795 to 1801, and presided over the state constitutional convention in 1801. Van Rensselaer was a prominent member of the commission that effected the construction of the Erie and Champlain canals, and he directed and financed a geological survey of New York in 1821-1823. In 1824 he established at Troy, N. Y., a scientific school for the instruction of teachers, which was incorporated in 1826 as the Rensselaer Polytechnic Institute. Between 1823 and 1829 he was a member of Congress. See PATROON SYSTEM. VAPOR, va'per. In physics this term is applied to the gaseous state into which solids and liquids pass when heated. In a technical sense both steam and oxygen are vapors. It is customary, however, to make this distinction between gases and vapors: the former retain the form of air at ordinary temperatures, and the latter resume their liquid or solid state under the same conditions. The process of converting a substance into a vapor is called vaporization. Evaporation and boiling are forms of vaporization; in the one case the change to a vaporous condition takes place slowly and quietly, and in the other very rapidly. When the boiling point of a solid is lower than the melting point and it vaporizes without first becoming a liquid, it is said to undergo sublimation. Vaporization in connection with atmospheric conditions bears a very important relation to climate. Water vapor is constantly present in the air, and under varying conditions it forms clouds, dew, rain and snow. Related Subjects. In connection with this article on vapor, the reader may consult the following topics in these volumes: Boiling Point Cloud Dew Distillation Rain Steam VARICOSE VEINS, var'i kohs vanes', veins that have become dilated through some condition which interferes with the flow of venous blood back to the heart. Veins in the legs are commonly affected, especially in cases where the occupation necessitates much standing. Other predisposing causes are diseases of the heart and liver, gout, overindulgence in athletic sports and the wearing of tight garters. In advanced cases knotty lumps of a bluish color form along the vein, and the victim experiences considerable pain in the affected limb. The chief danger arises from the bursting of VAR'NISH, a clear, liquid preparation which hardens when exposed to the air. It is used to preserve various surfaces from the influence of the air and moisture and to beautify such surfaces. It consists of a solution of resinous gums in alcohol, turpentine or linseed oil, and imparts a thin, transparent gloss to wood, metals, paint, paper, leather and other substances. The resinous substances commonly used are copal, lac, mastic, sandarac, amber and asphalt. The principal coloring matters employed are dragon's blood, saffron, gamboge, cochineal, tumeric and coal-tar dyes. Varnishes are divided into three classes, according to the solvents used. Those in which the gums are dissolved in alcohol are called spirit varnishes. They consist chiefly of a solution of lac and are made in revolving churns. They dry rapidly, leaving a very hard and brilliant coat which cracks and scales if exposed to the weather, and are used chiefly for cabinet work, gilding and metal work. Turpentine varnishes are brighter and less brittle. The principal solvent is turpentine, though linseed oil is frequently added to increase the tenacity. These varnishes are used for oil paintings. In oil varnishes the solvents are linseed, poppy or walnut oil, and the basis is copal, a fossil gum found in Zanzibar, New Zealand, Sierra Leone and the Philippine Islands. In varnishes of the best grade only Calcutta linseed oil and the white, transparent pieces of copal are used. To hasten the drying process the oil is boiled or combined with more volatile substances. The gum is melted in copper vessels and simultaneously the oil is heated to the boiling point. A certain proportion of the boiling oil is added to the liquid copal and the mixture is boiled until it becomes clear. There is great risk of burning, and the kettles are usually placed on truck wheels so they may be quickly removed from the fire. By alternate addition of oil and copal, the mixture is brought to the proper consistency. It is then allowed to cool, and oil of turpentine is added. The varnish is strained through cotton and pumped into tanks, where it is left to age for at least six months. The black, opaque varnish known as japan is a solution of asphaltum, and in Japan is made from the resin of the lacquer tree. C.H.H. Consult Hurst's Painters' Colors, Oils and Varnishes; Holley's Analysis of Paint and Varnish Products. VASCO DA GAMA. See GAMA, VASCO DA. VASE, a hollow vessel of pottery, stone, metal or glass, used chiefly as an ornament. Information relating to vases will be found in the articles POTTERY, DRESDEN CHINA, MAJOLICA and ETRUSCAN ART. VASELINE, vas' e lin, or vas' e leen, a trade name for a soft, amber-colored grease used extensively as an ointment. It is a preparation of petrolatum, or the residue from the distillation of petroleum. Vaseline is insoluble in water, but can be slightly dissolved in alcohol and completely in ether. It has the advantage of never becoming rancid, and is a popular external remedy for burns, raw sores, sunburn, skin irritations and the like. As an internal remedy it is valued in the treatment of coughs, hoarseness and throat irritation. Other preparations of petrolatum are marketed under various names, such as petroleum jelly and cosmoline. C.B.B. VASSAR COLLEGE, vas' ahr kol' ej, near Poughkeepsie, N. Y., is one of the foremost American col leges for women. It was founded in 1861 through the generosity of Matthew Vassar, who donated 200 acres of land and nearly $800,000 for the founding of a college for women. Vassar was the first school of its kind in America to be incorporated as a One of Vassar's newest college and fully buildings, completed in 1915. equipped to do college work. The highest standards are maintained. All undergraduate courses lead to the degree of A. B., and for TAYLOR HALL |