Eagle, a gold coin in the United States of the value of ten dollars, or £2 sterling, first coined in 1795. There are also half-eagles, quarter-eagles, and double-eagles.
Eagle-hawk, a name sometimes applied to small South American eagles (genus Morphnus), with short wings and long legs.
Eaglehawk, a gold-mining town in Victoria, Australia, 4 miles from Bendigo. Pop. 8130.
Eagle-owl, a name for several large horned owls, such as Bubo ignavus (the great horned owl), little inferior in size to the golden eagle, found in many parts of Europe and sometimes in Britain. An allied species, the Virginian horned owl (B. virginianus), is common in the United States.
Ealing, a municipal and parliamentary borough of Middlesex, the former a few miles west of London. Pop. 61,222.
P, Concha. E.C., External canal. D, Drum. H, Hammer. A, Anvil. E, Eustachian tube. S. Stirrup, S.C, Semicircular canals. C, Cochlea. Arrows denote the direction of vibration.
Ear, the organ of hearing. In the higher vertebrates it is divided into the outer, middle, and inner ear. The external ear, which is a cartilaginous funnel for collecting the sound waves and directing them inwards, is composed of the concha, or projecting part, and of the auditory canal, which extends from the concha to the membrane of the tympanum or drum. This membrane is a partition stretched obliquely across the bottom of the auditory canal, which it separates from the middle ear or tympanum; it is semi-transparent and very delicate. It vibrates with the waves of sound which strike against it, and transmits the vibrations to certain little bones of the cavity of the tympanum. These bones, which have been named respectively the hammer (malleus), the anvil (incus), and the stirrup (stapes), transmit the vibrations to the internal ear, forming a chain communicating at one end with the membrane just mentioned, and at the other with the inner ear. The internal ear consists of a complicated system of tubes known as the membranous labyrinth, containing fluid in which waves are set up by the vibrations transmitted to it by the little bones from the drum membrane. The lower part of the labyrinth is coiled like a snail shell, and is called the cochlea. It is the real organ of hearing. The upper part consists of three semicircular canals, the function of which is to record the position and movements of the body in space. The middle ear communicates with the pharynx by the Eustachian tube, through which air from the mouth may be introduced into the tympanic cavity, so as to permit vibrations of the drum membrane. In the external auditory canal of the ear is produced the cerumen or ear-wax. The cut shows P the concha, E.C. the external canal, D the drum membrane partly removed, S the stirrup, A the anvil and H the hammer, the small bones communicating with the drum and vestibule, C cochlea, S.C semicircular canals, E Eustachian tube.—Cf. Sir Thomas Wrightson, An Enquiry into the Analytical Mechanism of the Internal Ear.
Ear-cockle, a disease in wheat caused by the presence in the grain of worms belonging to the genus Vibrio. It is called in some parts of England purples.
Earl (A.Sax. eorl; Dan. jarl), a degree of the British nobility between marquess and viscount, the title of highest antiquity in England. The title was made hereditary by William the Conqueror, and for a time was used interchangeably with that of count, the corresponding title on the Continent. The wife of an earl is still called a countess. The earl was the highest in rank of the nobility until Edward III created a duke in 1357, and Richard II a marquess in 1385. The first earl of England is the Earl of Arundel. An earl's coronet is composed of eight pearls raised upon points, with small leaves between, above the rim. See Peer.