taken in early life. In the ancient days of the Indians none but the royal family could wear its beautiful feathers. The tail feathers of the male, which sometimes reach a length of three feet, are of a peacock green ranging to indigo, and contrast with the scarlet breast of this proud and unconquerable bird.

488. The coat-of-arms of Honduras is an elaborate affair, with a shield supported on the mountains of the republic, and surmounted by two horns of plenty, out of which all good things in tropical fruits and flowers are flowing. On the shield is a pyramid, with a blazing sun rising out of the green waters of the sea. Around the shield is an inscription which reads, "Republic of Honduras-Free, Sovereign, Independent-15 Sept., 1821."

489. MEXICO COAT-OF-ARMS. The design for the coat-of-arms of Mexico has been changed very recently from that shown on the flag pictured in 439 to this arrangement, which shows a side view of the eagle. It is, of course, based upon the legend relating to the founding of Mexico City. It has the same fundamentals the eagle, the serpent, the nopal cactus, and the branches of laurel and evergreen oakbut, in addition, has the words "EstadosUnidos-Mexicanos" (United States of Mexico) to round out the circle and further to identify the seal. The change was made in January, 1917, under the direction of President Carranza, the explanation given being that it conforms more closely to the ancient Aztec pictographs of the event.

490. The national flag of Haiti consists of a field, the upper part of which is blue and the lower red, with the coat-of-arms of the country in the center. The flag was adopted in 1843.

491. The merchant flag of Haiti is blue and red, exactly like the national ensign, except for the absence of the coat-of-arms.

The

492. Dating from 1823, the national flag of Mexico consists of three parallel, vertical bars, the one next the flagstaff being green, the middle one white, and the outer one red. three guarantees of the republic, which date from that time, are symbolized in the flag. The green denotes independence, the white the purity of religion, and the red the union of the Spanish element with the Mexican nation. On the white bar is placed the national coat-ofarms (see also 439-489).

493. Mexico's merchant flag is exactly like the national ensign, except that the coat-ofarms is absent.

494. The ensign of Nicaragua consists of a field of three horizontal bars, the upper and lower blue and the middle one white, with the coat-of-arms of the country on the white bar. This flag dates from 1823, although in 1854 it was superseded by another banner, which, in its turn, gave place to the old one again. The coat-of-arms consists of a triangular shield (No. 498).

495. According to the law cited by the PanAmerican Union respecting the merchant flag of Nicaragua, merchant vessels shall not bear the coat-of-arms on the flag.

496. The present escutcheon of the Republic of Panama is described in the Constitution. It rests upon a field of green, symbolical of

vegetation. It is ogival in form and divided into three parts. The center of the shield shows the Isthmus with its two seas and the sky, wherein is depicted the moon rising over the waves, with the sun setting behind the mountains, thus marking the solemn hour of Panama's declaration of independence. The upper part is subdivided into two sections. In the right-hand section, on a silver field, appear a sword and gun, so placed as to suggest abandonment, signifying an eternal farewell to the civil wars that have heretofore been the cause of the country's ruin. In the section to the left, on a field of red, appear a spade and hoe, crossed, to symbolize labor. The lower part of the shield is also subdivided into two sections. The right-hand section shows, on a field of azure, a cornucopia, the emblem of plenty, and in the left-hand section, on a field of silver, is a winged wheel, symbolizing progress. Surmounting the shield and covering it with outstretched wings is poised an eagle, the emblem of sovereignty, its head turned to the left and holding in its beak a silver streamer with ends flying to right and left. On the streamer is the following motto: "Pro mundi beneficio" (For the benefit of the world). Above the eagle seven golden stars are grouped in the form of an arch, representing the provinces into which the republic is divided. As decorative accessories two national flags, gathered at the lower extremity of the staff, are stacked on either side of the shield.

497. The field of the flag of Panama is divided into four quarters. The upper quarter next to the flagstaff is white and the lower one farthest away from the staff is also white. The lower quarter next the flagstaff is blue and the upper quarter farthest away is red. In the upper white quarter appears a blue star and in the lower white quarter a red star. Both the flag and coat-of-arms of the republic are only provisional, the constitution authorizing a contest for the adoption of a permanent design.

498. The present escutcheon of Nicaragua was borrowed from the old "United Provinces of the Center of America," of which it was a member. On the base appears a range of volcanoes, located upon a strip of land washed by both oceans; surmounting these and in the upper part of the triangle appears a rainbow, below this a liberty cap radiating light. Around the escutcheon appears the legend in gold, "Republica de Nicaragua America Central."

499. The law prescribing the coat-of-arms of Peru says: "The coat-of-arms of the Peruvian Republic shall consist of a shield divided into three fields, to wit: one of sky blue, to the right, on which shall be a llama looking toward the left; another of white, to the left, with a cinchona tree; in the base a field of red with a cornucopia, from which flow coins of gold. These emblems symbolize the riches of Peru in the three natural kingdoms. The shield shall bear as a crest a civic crown (laurel wreath), and on either side a flag and a standard with the national colors."

500. Paraguay's coat-of-arms consists of palm and olive branches interlaced at the vertex with a circular space between; in the center of this space is the morning star, and in

the outer border the inscription, "Republica de Paraguay."

501. The ensign of Paraguay is composed of three bars-the upper red, the middle white, the lower blue-running horizontally. In the center on the obverse side appears the national coat-of-arms. On the reverse side, also in the center, is the seal of the Hacienda (Treasury), a circle bearing the inscription, "Paz y Justicia" (Peace and Justice), in the center of which is depicted a lion in a vigilant attitude, defending the Phrygian cap-the symbol of liberty-above him on a pike.

502. The national standard and flag of Peru is composed of three vertical stripes, the end ones red and the middle one white. On the latter appears the coat-of-arms with its crest, and surrounded at its base by a laurel branch to the left and a palm to the right, both tied together at their lower ends. This flag was established by the Peruvian Congress which met in 1825 and has never been changed.

503. The merchant flag of Peru is the same as the national ensign, except that the coat-ofarms is omitted.

504. The merchant flag of Paraguay has the same colors as the national ensign, the coatof-arms being omitted; in its place appears at the end of the white stripe next to the flagstaff the seal of the department having to do with merchant marine matters.

505. The flag of the admiral of the Paraguayan navy is a swallow-tailed banner in the national colors, with a yellow half moon on the end of the white bar nearest the swallow tail.

506. In 1912 the Congress of Salvador ordered a return to the original coat-of-arms and flag of Central America as they existed in the days of the "United Provinces of the Center of America." The flag consists of the familiar three horizontal bars, the upper and lower blue and the central one white, with the coat-of-arms of the country in the middle of the white bar. This is the flag for ports and vessels and for government envoys to foreign countries.

507. The merchant flag does not bear the coat-of-arms, but on the middle stripe is inscribed in silver letters, "Dios, Union y Libertad."

508. Uruguay has but one flag for its national banner and the emblem of its merchant marine. This consists of nine stripes, five white and four blue, white at the top and bottom. In the upper corner next to the staff is a white canton on which appears a blazing sun. This is known as “El Sol de Mayo" (The Sun of May), symbolizing the awakening of the colony into independent national life.

509. The escutcheon of Uruguay is an oval crowned with a sun and divided into four

quarters. In the upper right-hand division is depicted, on a field of blue, a pair of scales, symbolizing equality and justice; in the upper left-hand division, on a field of silver, the Cerro of Montevideo, as a symbol of power; in the lower right-hand division, on a field of silver, a horse running loose, symbolizing liberty; and in the left-hand lower quarter, on a blue field, an ox, as a symbol of abundance. The field is inclosed within two branches of olive and laurel joined at the bottom by a bow of azure.

510. The law establishing the coat-of-arms of Salvador says: "The escutcheon of El Salvador shall be an equilateral triangle. At its base shall appear a cordillera of five volcanoes located on a strip of land appearing to be washed by both seas; in the upper part a rainbow curved above; beneath an arc, a liberty cap radiating light, and in the form of a semicircle an inscription, "15 de Setiembre 1821." Surrounding the triangle and in the form of a circle shall be inscribed in letters of gold, "Republica de El Salvador en la America Central," and at the base of the triangle, "Dios, Union y Libertad." The great seal of the nation, that of the Secretary of the National Assembly, and that of government representatives and tribunals of justice bear the same coat-of-arms.

511. The coat-of-arms of Venezuela was established under a decree of 1905. It consists of a shield divided into three parts, the one at the right yellow, with a sheaf of seven heads of wheat. The second section is red, bearing arms and two national flags bound together with a wreath of laurel. The third section occupies the entire lower portion of the shield, is blue, and bears an untamed white horse. The crest of the shield is an emblem of plenty, two cornucopias flowing with fruit. At the lower edge of the shield is a branch of laurel and palm tied together by a ribbon, bearing in gold letters the following inscription: "Independencia-Libertad 5 de Julio de 1811-24 de Marzo de 1854-Dios y Federacion" (Independence-Liberty-God and the Federation). July 5, 1811, was the date of the republic's declaration of independence, and March 24, 1854, the date of the abolition of slavery.

THE NAVAL FLAGS OF THE WORLD

514-727. These flags and pennants, showing all of the flags of command, commission pennants, jacks, and pilot flags of the navies of the world, are used in the same manner as the corresponding ones of the United States, and the reader is directed to descriptions 49, 50, 51, 53, 54, 58, and 64-68, inclusive, for information as to the time, occasion, and manner of their respective use.

THE FLAGS OF THE WORLD TWO HUNDRED YEARS AGO. IN 1705

728. The flag of Abyssinia consists of three horizontal stripes, the uppermost green, the middle yellow, and the bottom red. This banner flies over that part of Africa which was known in Bible times as Ethiopia. It is the emblem of authority of a government which has been called a sort of feudal monarchy. The Emperor's title is "King of Kings." Certain parts of the country are ruled by princes, some of them appointed by the Emperor and others self-constituted. Some of these princes have retinues of supporters who are perpetual warriors and whose usefulness lasts as long as there are any insubordinate tribes to pacify. The Abyssinian army, numbering about 150,000, is largely composed of cavalry and is well adapted for swift movement, as it is not incumbered by any commissariat, its maintenance being obtained from the inhabitants of regions through which it passes.

729. The flag of Albania has a red field, upon which is imposed a black double-headed spread eagle. This flag dates from 1913, in which year a council of six members, chosen by the powers of Europe, set up the principality as an offset to Serbia's desire to possess a port on the Adriatic Sea. Austria resented Serbia's designs on the ground that the small nation would cut off the dual monarchy from an outlet to the Mediterranean in a way as prejudicial to her interests as the closed Dardanelles were prejudicial to the interests of Russia.

730. The coat-of-arms of Andorra, one of the four vest-pocket nations of the world, has a quartered shield bearing thereon the episcopal miter, the crozier of Urgel, the red and yellow pales of Aragon, and two belled cows. Andorra is under the joint sovereignty of France and the Spanish Bishop of Urgel. It is governed by a council of twenty-four members elected for four years by the heads of families in each parish. The council elects a first and second syndic to preside; the executive power is vested in the first syndic, while the judicial power is exercised by a civil judge and two magistrates. France and the Bishop of Urgel each appoint a magistrate and a civil judge alternately. The permanent delegate of the prefect of the Pyrenees-Orientales has charge of the interests of France in the republic.

731. A century ago Napoleon declared, “I recall a miniature republic lost in a corner of the Pyrenees." Today the hero, the conqueror, and the soldier, merely a handful of dust, is often recalled by Andorra. But in its mildness, its weakness, its isolation, the republic has found strength, and its colors float upon the breeze as independent as they were a century ago, when they waved over an island of peace in the great sea of human carnage during the Napoleonic wars. For nearly six centuries it has been thus. The war between France and England, begun at Crecy and Poi

tiers, did not move the tiny country. Queen Isabella and Ferdinand left it unmolested. Charles V, dreaming dreams of empire as great as those of Charlemagne, did not crush it upon his way to the Netherlands or to Italy. Philip II, weaving his web of expanding power around so many principalities, cast no entang. ling thread about it. Cynical Louis XI did not deign to harm it, and Louis XIV, although he ordered that there should be no more Pyrenees, left it undisturbed. It was a spectator of the Carlist War in Spain in 1833 and of the contest between France and Germany in 1870.

732. Built upon a rampart of rocks and hidden upon the southern slope of the Pyrenees, liberty has found a home in Andorra for a thousand years. Appreciating the services rendered by the Andorrans in his campaign against the Moors, Charlemagne gave them a charter of freedom and permitted them to govern themselves. Louis the Pious confirmed these rights, and from that day to this the tiny country has been self-governed under its own code of laws. The Spanish Bishop of Urgel holds spiritual supremacy and looks after educational matters and religious instruction. France exerts a temporal influence by appointing the provost from the department of Ariege to control the military activities of the republic. The blue, yellow, and red flag of Andorra, with its coronet in the center, is the youngest thing in the nation. It is only fifty years old, having originated in the reform of 1866 to emphasize the autonomy of the valley; but neither of the co-suzerains has approved it. It is displayed when the council is in session.

733. The flag of the Chinese army has a red field upon which is centered a black star bearing eight yellow points, with nine yellow disks on the body of the star. This is the flag of the republic and is entirely different from the one flown by the Chinese armies in the past.

734. The royal standard of Belgium consists of three vertical bars-black, yellow, and red-with black next the staff. The national arms are imposed upon the middle or yellow bar. These arms consist of a golden lion on a black ground. Its tongue and jaws are red. The shield is ensigned with the royal crown of Belgium and the supporters are two golden lions. The motto of Belgium is "L'Union fait la force" (Union makes strength). The black, yellow, and red of the Belgian flag are the colors of the Duchy of Brabant, and were adopted in 1831, when the monarchy was founded.

735. Belgium's merchant flag is a duplicate of the royal standard, except that the coat-ofarms is omitted.

736. The flag of the Chinese navy under the republic is red, with a blue canton in the upper corner next the staff, upon which is a large white sun with rays emanating in the form of small triangles. This flag succeeds the one in