Part 16

KERMADEC, a small group of hilly islands in the Pacific, about 30° S., 178° W., named from D'Entrecasteaux's captain, Huon Kermadec, in 1791. They are British possessions. The largest of the group is Raoul or Sunday Island, 20 m. in circumference, 1600 ft. high, and thickly wooded. The flora and fauna belong for the most part to those of New Zealand, on which colony the islands are also politically dependent, having been annexed in 1887.

KERMAN (the ancient _Karmania_), a province of Persia, bounded E. by Seistan and Baluchistan, S. by Baluchistan and Fars, W. by Fars, and N. by Yezd and Khorasan. It is of very irregular shape, expanding in the north to Khorasan and gradually contracting in the south to a narrow wedge between Fars and Baluchistan; the extreme length between Seistan and Fars (E. and W.) is about 400 m., the greatest breadth (N. and S.) from south of Yezd to the neighbourhood of Bander Abbasi about 300 m., and the area is estimated at about 60,000 sq. m. Kerman is generally described as consisting of two parts, an uninhabitable desert region in the north and a habitable mountainous region in the south, but recent explorations require this view to be considerably modified. There are mountains and desert tracts in all parts, while much of what appears on maps as forming the western portion of the great Kerman desert consists of the fertile uplands of Kuhbanan, Raver and others stretching along the eastern base of the lofty range which runs from Yezd south-east to Khabis. West of and parallel to this range are two others, one culminating north-west of Bam in the Kuh Hazar (14,700 ft.), the other continued at about the same elevation under the name of the Jamal Bariz (also Jebel Bariz) south-eastward to Makran. These chains traverse fertile districts dividing them into several longitudinal valleys of considerable length, but not averaging more than 12 m. in width. Snow lies on them for a considerable part of the year, feeding the springs and canals by means of which large tracts in this almost rainless region in summer are kept under cultivation. Still farther west the Kuh Dina range is continued from Fars, also in a south-easterly direction to Bashakird beyond Bander Abbasi. Between the south-western highlands and the Jamal Bariz there is some arid and unproductive land, but the true desert of Kerman lies mainly in the north and north-east, where it merges northwards in the great desert "Lut," which stretches into Khorasan.[1] These southern deserts differ from the kavir of central Persia mainly in three respects: they are far less saline, are more sandy and drier, and present in some places tracts of 80 to 100 miles almost absolutely destitute of vegetation. Yet they are crossed by well-known tracks running from Kerman eastwards and north-eastwards to Seistan and Khorasan and frequently traversed by caravans. It appears that these sandy wastes are continually encroaching on the fertile districts, and this is the case even in Narmashir, which is being invaded by the sands of the desolate plains extending thence north-westwards to Bam. There are also some _kefeh_ or salt swamps answering to the kavir in the north, but occurring only in isolated depressions and nowhere of any great extent. The desert of Kerman lies about 1000 ft., or less, above the sea, apparently on nearly the same level as the Lut, from which it cannot be geographically separated. The climate, which varies much with the relief of the land, has the reputation of being unhealthy, because the cool air from the hills is usually attended by chills and agues. Still many of the upland valleys enjoy a genial and healthy climate. The chief products are cotton, gums, dates of unrivalled flavour from the southern parts, and wool, noted for its extreme softness, and the soft underhair of goats (_kurk_), which latter are used in the manufacture of the Kerman shawls, which in delicacy of texture yield only to those of Kashmir, while often surpassing them in design, colour and finish. Besides woollen goods (shawls, carpets, &c.) Kerman exports mainly cotton, grain and dates, receiving in return from India cotton goods, tea, indigo, china, glass, sugar, &c. Wheat and barley are scarce. Bander Abbasi is the natural outport; but, since shipping has shown a preference for Bushire farther west, the trade of Kerman has greatly fallen off.

For administrative purposes the province is divided into nineteen districts, one being the capital of the same name with its immediate neighbourhood (_humeh_); the others are Akta and Urzu; Anar; Bam and Narmashir; Bardsir; Jiruft; Khabis; Khinaman; Kubenan (Kuhbanan); Kuhpayeh; Pariz; Rafsinjan; Rahbur; Raver; Rayin; Rudbar and Bashakird; Sardu; Sirjan; Zerend. The inhabitants number about 700,000, nearly one-third being nomads. (A. H.-S.)

FOOTNOTE:

[1] The word _lut_ means bare, void of vegetation, arid, waterless, and has nothing in common with the Lot of Holy Writ, as many have supposed.

KERMAN, capital of the above province, situated in 30° 17´ N., 56° 59´ E., at an elevation of 6100 ft. Its population is estimated at 60,000, including about 2000 Zoroastrians, 100 Jews, and a few Shikarpuri Indians. Kerman has post and telegraph offices (Indo-European Telegraph Department), British and Russian consulates, and an agency of the Imperial bank of Persia. The neighbouring districts produce little grain and have to get their supplies for four or five months of the year from districts far away. A traveller has stated that it was easier to get a mann (6½ lb.) of saffron at Kerman than a mann of barley for his horse, and in 1879 Sir A. Houtum-Schindler was ordered by the authorities to curtail his excursions in the province "because his horses and mules ate up all the stock." Kerman manufactures great quantities of carpets and felts, and its carpets are almost unsurpassed for richness of texture and durability. The old name of the city was Guvashir. Adjoining the city on hills rising 400 to 500 ft. above the plain in the east are the ruins of two ancient forts with walls built of sun-dried bricks on stone foundations. Some of the walls are in perfect condition. Among the mosques in the city two deserve special notice, one the Masjid i Jama, a foundation of the Muzaffarid ruler Mubariz ed din Mahommed dating from A.H. 1349, the other the Masjid i Malik built by Malik Kaverd Seljuk (1041-1072).

KERMANSHAH, or KERMANSHAHAN, an important province of Persia, situated W. of Hamadan, N. of Luristan, and S. of Kurdistan, and extending in the west to the Turkish frontier. Its population is about 400,000, and it pays a yearly revenue of over £20,000. Many of its inhabitants are nomadic Kurds and Lurs who pay little taxes. The plains are well watered and very fertile, while the hills are covered with rich pastures which support large flocks of sheep and goats. The sheep provide a great part of the meat supply of Teheran. The province also produces much wheat and barley, and could supply great quantities for export if the means of transport were better.

KERMANSHAH (_Kermisin_ of Arab geographers), the capital of the province, is situated at an elevation of 5100 ft., in 34° 19´ N., and 46° 59´ E., about 220 m. from Bagdad, and 250 m. from Teheran. Although surrounded by fortifications with five gates and three miles in circuit, it is now practically an open town, for the walls are in ruins and the moat is choked with rubbish. It has a population of about 40,000. The town is situated on the high road between Teheran and Bagdad, and carries on a transit trade estimated in value at £750,000 per annum.

KERMES (Arab. _qirmiz_; see CRIMSON), a crimson dye-stuff, now superseded by cochineal, obtained from _Kermes ilicis_ (= _Coccus ilicis_, Lat. = _C. vermilio_, G. Planchon). The genus _Kermes_ belongs to the _Coccidae_ or Scale-insects, and its species are common on oaks wherever they grow. The species from which kermes is obtained is common in Spain, Italy and the South of France and the Mediterranean basin generally, where it feeds on _Quercus coccifera_, a small shrub. As in the case of other scale-insects, the males are relatively small and are capable of flight, while the females are wingless. The females of the genus _Kermes_ are remarkable for their gall-like form, and it was not until 1714 that their animal nature was discovered.

In the month of May, when full grown, the females are globose, 6 to 7 millim. in diameter, of a reddish-brown colour, and covered with an ash-coloured powder. They are found attached to the twigs or buds by a circular lower surface 2 millim. in diameter, and surrounded by a narrow zone of white cottony down. At this time there are concealed under a cavity, formed by the approach of the abdominal wall of the insect to the dorsal one, thousands of eggs of a red colour, and smaller than poppy seed, which are protruded and ranged regularly beneath the insect. At the end of May or the beginning of June the young escape by a small orifice, near the point of attachment of the parent. They are then of a fine red colour, elliptic and convex in shape, but rounded at the two extremities, and bear two threads half as long as their body at their posterior extremity. At this period they are extremely active, and swarm with extraordinary rapidity all over the food plant, and in two or three days attach themselves to fissures in the bark or buds, but rarely to the leaves. In warm and dry summers the insects breed again in the months of August and September, according to Eméric, and then they are more frequently found attached to the leaves. Usually they remain immovable and apparently unaltered until the end of the succeeding March, when their bodies become gradually distended and lose all trace of abdominal rings. They then appear full of a reddish juice resembling discoloured blood. In this state, or when the eggs are ready to be extruded, the insects are collected. In some cases the insects from which the young are ready to escape are dried in the sun on linen cloths--care being taken to prevent the escape of the young from the cloths until they are dead. The young insects are then sifted from the shells, made into a paste with vinegar, and dried on skins exposed to the sun, and the paste packed in skins is then ready for exportation to the East under the name of "pâte d'écarlate."

In the pharmacopoeia of the ancients kermes triturated with vinegar was used as an outward application, especially in wounds of the nerves. From the 9th to the 16th century this insect formed an ingredient in the "confectio alkermes," a well known medicine, at one time official in the London pharmacopoeia as an astringent in doses of 20 to 60 grains or more. Syrup of kermes was also prepared. Both these preparations have fallen into disuse.

Mineral kermes is trisulphide of antimony, containing a variable portion of trioxide of antimony both free and combined with alkali. It was known as _poudre des Chartreux_ because in 1714 it is said to have saved the life of a Carthusian monk who had been given up by the Paris faculty; but the monk Simon who administered it on that occasion called it _Alkermes mineral_. Its reputation became so great that in 1720 the French government bought the recipe for its preparation. It still appears in the pharmacopoeias of many European countries and in that of the United States. The product varies somewhat according to the mode of preparation adopted. According to the French directions the official substance is obtained by adding 60 grammes of powdered antimony trisulphide to a boiling solution of 1280 grammes of crystallized sodium carbonate in 12,800 grammes of distilled water and boiling for one hour. The liquid is then filtered hot, and on being allowed to cool slowly deposits the kermes, which is washed and dried at 100° C.; prepared in this way it is a brown-red velvety powder, insoluble in water.

See G. Planchon, _Le Kermes du chêne_ (Montpellier, 1864); Lewis, _Materia Medica_ (1784), pp. 71, 365; _Memorias sobre la grana Kermes de España_ (Madrid, 1788); Adams, _Paulus Aegineta_, iii. 180; Beckmann, _History of Inventions_.

KERMESSE (also KERMIS and KIRMESS), originally the mass said on the anniversary of the foundation of a church and in honour of the patron, the word being equivalent to "Kirkmass." Such celebrations were regularly held in the Low Countries and also in northern France, and were accompanied by feasting, dancing and sports of all kinds. They still survive, but are now practically nothing more than country fairs and the old allegorical representations are uncommon. The Brussels Kermesse is, however, still marked by a procession in which the effigies of the Mannikin and medieval heroes are carried. At Mons the Kermesse occurs annually on Trinity Sunday and is called the procession of Lumeçon (Walloon for _limaçon_, a snail): the hero is Gilles de Chin, who slays a terrible monster, captor of a princess, in the Grand Place. This is the story of George and the Dragon. At Hasselt the Kermesse (now only septennial) not only commemorates the Christian story of the foundation of the town, but even preserves traces of a pagan festival. The word Kermesse (generally in the form "Kirmess" ) is applied in the United States to any entertainment, especially one organized in the interest of charity.

See Demetrius C. Boulger, _Belgian Life in Town and Country_ (1904).

KERN, JAN HENDRIK (1833- ), Dutch Orientalist, was born in Java of Dutch parents on the 6th of April 1833. He studied at Utrecht, Leiden and Berlin, where he was a pupil of the Sanskrit scholar, Albrecht Weber. After some years spent as professor of Greek at Maestricht, he became professor of Sanskrit at Benares in 1863, and in 1865 at Leiden. His studies included the Malay languages as well as Sanskrit. His chief work is _Geschiedenis van het Buddhisme in Indië_ (Haarlem, 2 vols., 1881-1883); in English he wrote a translation (Oxford, 1884) of the _Saddharma Pundarîka_ and a _Manual of Indian Buddhism_ (Strassburg, 1896) for Bühler Kielhorn's _Grundriss der indoarischen Philologie_.

KERNEL (O.E. _cyrnel_, a diminutive of "corn," seed, grain), the soft and frequently edible part contained within the hard outer husk of a nut or the stone of a fruit; also used in botany of the nucleus of a seed, the body within its several integuments or coats, and generally of the nucleus or core of any structure; hence, figuratively, the pith or gist of any matter.

KERNER, JUSTINUS ANDREAS CHRISTIAN (1786-1862), German poet and medical writer, was born on the 18th of September 1786 at Ludwigsburg in Württemberg. After attending the classical schools of Ludwigsburg and Maulbronn, he was apprenticed in a cloth factory, but, in 1804, owing to the good services of Professor Karl Philipp Conz (1762-1827) of Tübingen, was enabled to enter the university there; he studied medicine but had also time for literary pursuits in the company of Uhland, Gustav Schwab and others. He took his doctor's degree in 1808, spent some time in travel, and then settled as a practising physician in Wildbad. Here he completed his _Reiseschatten von dem Schattenspieler Luchs_ (1811), in which his own experiences are described with caustic humour. He next co-operated with Uhland and Schwab in producing the _Poetischer Almanack für 1812_, which was followed by the _Deutscher Dichterwald_ (1813), and in these some of Kerner's best poems were published. In 1815 he obtained the official appointment of district medical officer (_Oberamtsarzt_) in Gaildorf, and in 1818 was transferred in a like capacity to Weinsberg, where he spent the rest of his life. His house, the site of which at the foot of the historical Schloss Weibertreu was presented by the municipality to their revered physician, became the Mecca of literary pilgrims. Hospitable welcome was extended to all, from the journeyman artisan to crowned heads. Gustavus IV. of Sweden came thither with a knapsack on his back. The poets Count Christian Friedrich Alexander von Württemberg (1801-1844) and Lenau (q.v.) were constant guests, and thither came also in 1826 Friederike Hauffe (1801-1829), the daughter of a forester in Prevorst, a somnambulist and clairvoyante, who forms the subject of Kerner's famous work _Die Seherin von Prevorst, Eröffnungen über das innere Leben des Menschen und über das Hineinragen einer Geisterwelt in die unsere_ (1829; 6th ed., 1892). In 1826 he published a collection of _Gedichte_ which were later supplemented by _Der letzte Blütenstrauss_ (1852) and _Winterblüten_ (1859). Among others of his well-known poems are the charming ballad _Der reichste Fürst_; a drinking song, _Wohlauf, noch getrunken_, and the pensive _Wanderer in der Sägemühle_.

In addition to his literary productions, Kerner wrote some popular medical books of great merit, dealing with animal magnetism, a treatise on the influence of sebacic acid on animal organisms, _Das Fettgift oder die Fettsäure und ihre Wirkungen auf den tierischen Organismus_ (1822); a description of Wildbad and its healing waters, _Das Wildbad im Königreich Württemberg_ (1813); while he gave a pretty and vivid account of his youthful years in _Bilderbuch aus meiner Knabenzeit_ (1859); and in _Die Bestürmung der württembergischen Stadt Weinsberg im Jahre 1525_ (1820), showed considerable skill in historical narrative. In 1851 he was compelled, owing to increasing blindness, to retire from his medical practice, but he lived, carefully tended by his daughters, at Weinsberg until his death on the 21st of February 1862. He was buried beside his wife, who had predeceased him in 1854, in the churchyard of Weinsberg, and the grave is marked by a stone slab with an inscription he himself had chosen: _Friederike Kerner und ihr Justinus_. Kerner was one of the most inspired poets of the Swabian school. His poems, which largely deal with natural phenomena, are characterized by a deep melancholy and a leaning towards the supernatural, which, however, is balanced by a quaint humour, reminiscent of the Volkslied.

Kerner's _Ausgewählte poetische Werke_ appeared in 2 vols. (1878); _Sämtliche poetische Werke_, ed. by J. Gaismaier, 4 vols. (1905); a selection of his poems will also be found in Reclam's _Universalbibliothek_ (1898). His correspondence was edited by his son in 1897. See also D. F. Strauss, _Kleine Schriften_ (1866); A. Reinhard, _J. Kerner und das Kernerhaus zu Weinsberg_ (1862; 2nd ed., 1886); G. Rümelin, _Reden und Aufsätze_, vol. iii. (1894); M. Niethammer (Kerner's daughter), _J. Kerners Jugendliebe und mein Vaterhaus_ (1877); A. Watts, _Life and Works of Kerner_ (London, 1884); T. Kerner, _Das Kernerhaus und seine Gäste_ (1894).

KERRY, a county of Ireland in the province of Munster, bounded W. by the Atlantic Ocean, N. by the estuary of the Shannon, which separates it from Clare, E. by Limerick and Cork, and S.E. by Cork. The area is 1,159,356 acres, or 1811 sq. m., the county being the fifth of the Irish counties in extent. Kerry, with its combination of mountain, sea and plain, possesses some of the finest scenery of the British Islands. The portion of the county south of Dingle Bay consists of mountain masses intersected by narrow valleys. Formerly the mountains were covered by a great forest of fir, birch and yew, which was nearly all cut down to be used in smelting iron, and the constant pasturage of cattle prevents the growth of young trees. In the north-east towards Killarney the hills rise abruptly into the ragged range of Macgillicuddy's Reeks, the highest summit of which, Carntual (Carrantuohill), has a height of 3414 ft. The next highest summit is Caper (3200 ft.), and several others are over 2500 ft. Lying between the precipitous sides of the Tomies, the Purple Mountains and the Reeks is the famous Gap of Dunloe. In the Dingle promontory Brandon Mountain attains a height of 3127 ft. The sea-coast, for the most part wild and mountainous, is much indented by inlets, the largest of which, Tralee Bay, Dingle Bay and Kenmare River, lie in synclinal troughs, the anticlinal folds of the rocks forming extensive promontories. Between Kenmare River and Dingle Bay the land is separated by mountain ridges into three valleys. The extremity of the peninsula between Dingle Bay and Tralee Bay is very precipitous, and Mount Brandon, rising abruptly from the ocean, is skirted at its base (in part) by a road from which magnificent views are obtained. From near the village of Ballybunion to Kilconey Point near the Shannon there is a remarkable succession of caves, excavated by the sea. One of these caves inspired Tennyson with some lines in "Merlin and Vivien," which he wrote on the spot. The principal islands are the picturesque Skelligs, Valencia Island and the Blasquet Islands.

The principal rivers are the Blackwater, which, rising in the Dunkerran Mountains, forms for a few miles the boundary line between Kerry and Cork, and then passes into the latter county; the Ruaughty, which with a course resembling the arc of a circle falls into the head of the Kenmare River; the Inny and Ferta, which flow westward, the one into Ballinskellig Bay and the other into Valencia harbour; the Flesk, which flows northward through the lower Lake of Killarney, after which it takes the name of Laune, and flows north-westward to Dingle Bay; the Caragh, which rises in the mountains of Dunkerran, after forming several lakes falls into Castlemaine harbour; the Maine, which flows from Castle Island and south-westward to the sea at Castlemaine harbour, receiving the northern Flesk, which rises in the mountains that divide Cork from Kerry; and the Feale, Gale and Brick, the junction of which forms the Cashin, a short tidal river which flows into the estuary of the Shannon. The lakes of Kerry are not numerous, and none is of great size, but those of Killarney (q.v.) form one of the most important features in the striking and picturesque mountain scenery amidst which they are situated. The other principal lakes are Lough Currane (Waterville Lake) near Ballinskellig, and Lough Caragh near Castlemaine harbour. Salmon and trout fishing with the rod is extensively prosecuted in all these waters. Near the summit of Mangerton Mountain an accumulation of water in a deep hollow forms what is known as the Devil's Punchbowl, the surplus water, after making a succession of cataracts, flowing into Muckross Lake at the foot of the mountain. There are chalybeate mineral springs near Killarney, near Valencia Island, and near the mouth of the Inny; sulphurous chalybeate springs near Dingle, Castlemaine and Tralee; and a saline spring at Magherybeg in Corkaguiney, which bursts out of clear white sand a little below high-water mark. Killarney is an inland centre widely celebrated and much visited on account of its scenic attractions; there are also several well-known coast resorts, among them Derrynane, at the mouth of Kenmare Bay, the residence of Daniel O'Connell the "liberator"; Glenbeigh on Dingle Bay, Parknasilla on Kenmare Bay, Waterville (an Atlantic telegraph station) between Ballinskellig Bay and Lough Currane, and Tarbert, a small coast town on the Shannon estuary. Others of the smaller villages have grown into watering-places, such as Ballybunion, Castlegregory and Portmagee.