Écraseur is a wire loop or chain for amputating a growth suitably situated for such an instrument. The chain is passed round the base or pedicle of the growth, and gradually tightened by a screw till the growth falls off. Its application in surgery is limited.
Ectocarpaceæ, a family of Brown Algæ, section Phæosporeæ. The typical genus is Ectocarpus, comprising small, branched, filamentous plants of salt or brackish water. According to the species, growth of the filaments may be apical, intercalary, or common to all cells, whereas among the more advanced members of the Brown Algæ either apical or intercalary growth is characteristic of entire families. The gametes show every gradation from complete similarity (isogamy) to a condition like that of Cutleria.
Ecuador (ek-wa˙-dōr´) (Republica Del Ecuador), a republic of South America, situated under the equator, whence it takes its name, between Peru and Colombia. It is of triangular shape, its base resting on the Pacific, but the boundaries between it and its neighbours are not very definitely fixed; estimated area, about 116,000 sq. miles. The state has still a boundary dispute with Peru, that with Colombia having been settled by treaty in 1917. The country is divided into fifteen provinces, one territory—'El Oriente'—and the Archipelago of Galapagos, officially called 'Colon'. It falls, as regards the surface, into three sections: the comparatively narrow and low-lying coast regions, the mountain region, and the extensive plains on the east. The mountain region is formed by a double range of snow-clad mountains—several of them active volcanoes—which enclose a longitudinal valley or tableland, with a breadth of 20 to 40 miles, and varying in elevation from 8500 to 13,900 feet. The most elevated of these mountains are, in the western range, Chimborazo, Pichincha, and Cotacachi, Chimborazo being 20,703 feet high. In the eastern range are Cayambe, Antisana, and Cotopaxi (19,500 feet). The cultivated land and the population of Ecuador lie chiefly in this elevated region, which extends along between the summits of the Cordillera, and may be considered as divided by transverse ridges or dikes into the valleys of Quito, Hambato, and Cuenca. The chief towns here are Quito, the capital, with a pop. of 70,000, Riobamba, and Cuenca, all situated at a height of 9000 feet or more above the sea. The chief ports of Ecuador are Guayaquil and Esmeraldas. The most considerable rivers, the Tigre, Napo, Pastaza, &c., belong to the basin of the Amazon; and some of them, notably the Napo, are navigable for long distances. On the western slope of the Andes the chief rivers are the Esmeraldas and the Guayaquil. Ecuador is comparatively poor in Mammalia; although various kinds of deer as well as tapirs and peccaries are found in the forests. Parrots and humming-birds are also numerous, but perhaps the most remarkable of the birds in Ecuador is the condor, which dwells on the slopes of the Andes. Reptiles, including serpents, are numerous. The forests yield cinchona bark, caoutchouc, sarsaparilla, and vegetable ivory. The climate on the plains, both in the east and the west, is moist, hot, and unhealthy. In the higher regions the climate is rough and cold, but in great part the elevated valleys, as that of Quito, enjoy a delightful climate. Here the chief productions are potatoes, barley, wheat, and European fruits. In the lower regions are grown all the food-products of tropical climates, cocoa, coffee, and sugar. The foreign commerce is not large, the exports and imports being annually about £2,700,000 and £1,670,000 respectively. In 1919 the imports from Ecuador to the United Kingdom amounted to £1,257,350, and the exports to Ecuador to £373,346. Cocoa forms three-fourths (or more) of the whole export; the remainder is made up of tagua or ivory-nuts, rubber, straw hats, coffee, and gold. A little gold is mined, and Panama hats are made. The State recognizes no religion, but grants freedom of worship to all. A system of education was organized in 1897 and improved in 1912. There are three universities: the Central University, at Quito; the Guayas University, in Guayaquil; and the Azuay University, in Cuenca. There are schools for higher education and primary schools. The executive government is vested in a President elected for four years, who is assisted by a Council of State. The Congress is the legislative body, and consists of two Houses, one formed of Senators, two for each province, the other of Deputies, one for every 30,000 inhabitants, both elected by universal suffrage. The Congress has extensive privileges, and cannot be dissolved by the President. The seat of government is Quito. In 1920 both the revenue and expenditure amounted to nearly £2,000,000. The debt amounts to about £5,620,000. The monetary standard is gold, the gold condor of ten sucres being equivalent to a sovereign. The metric system of weights and measures is the legal one. Railways and telegraphs have made little progress.—Ecuador at the time of the conquest of Peru by the Spaniards formed part of the great empire of the Incas. As the Presidency of Quito it was long included in the Vice-Royalty of Peru. From 1710 it became part of the Presidency of New Granada (or Santa Fé de Bogotá). In the revolutionary war against Spain, Ecuador, along with the neighbouring territories, secured its independence (1822), and was ultimately erected into a separate Republic in 1831. The present Constitution of the Republic was promulgated on 6th May, 1906. Of the present population, the aboriginal red race form more than half; the rest are negroes, mulattoes, mestizoes, a degenerate breed of
mixed negro and Indian blood, and Spanish Creoles or whites. The last-named are the chief possessors of the land, but are deficient in energy. Pop. (estimated) 2,000,000.—Bibliography: F. Garcia-Calderon, Latin America: its Rise and Progress; C. R. Enock, Ecuador; T. H. Stabler, Travels in Ecuador.
Ecumenical Council, a general ecclesiastical council regarded as representing the whole Christian world or the universal Church; specially applied to the general councils of the early Christian Church, beginning with that of Nicæa in 325, and later to those of the Roman Catholic Church, of which the most recent was the Vatican Council at Rome in 1870.
Ec´zema is a skin eruption marked by the appearance of papules or vesicles and accompanied by irritation of the affected part, frequently very severe. The characteristic watery discharge of the disease is produced by the bursting of the vesicles. There is difference of opinion among dermatologists as to whether or not it is primarily caused by germs. Various predisposing causes, like digestive disturbances, anæmia, and nervous disorders are important factors in determining the course of the disease. Eczema may affect practically any part of the skin, but is most frequently seen on the scalp, ears, face, hands, nipples, armpits, and the genital regions.
Ed´am, a town of North Holland, near the Zuider Zee, 12 miles N.N.E. of Amsterdam, noted for its cheese markets; but 'Edam cheese' is mostly made elsewhere. Pop. 6623.
Edda (meaning 'great-grandmother'), the name given to two ancient collections of Icelandic literature, the one consisting of mythological poems, the other being mainly in prose. The first of these collections, called the Elder or Poetic Edda, was compiled in the thirteenth century, and discovered in 1643 by Brynjulf Sveinsson, an Icelandic bishop. For a long time an earlier date was given, the compiler being erroneously believed to have been Sæmund Sigfusson, a learned Icelandic clergyman, who lived from about 1056 to 1133. It consists of thirty-three pieces, written in alliterative verse, and comprising epic tales of the Scandinavian gods and goddesses, and narratives dealing with the Scandinavian heroes. These poems are now assigned to a period extending from the ninth to the eleventh century. The Prose Edda, or Younger Edda, presents a kind of prose synopsis of the Northern mythology; a treatise on the Scaldic poetry and versification, with rules and examples; and lastly a poem (with a commentary) in honour of Haco of Norway (died 1263). In its earliest forms this collection is ascribed to Snorri Sturlason, who was born in Iceland in 1178, and was assassinated there in 1241 on his return from Norway, where he had been scald or court poet. Cf. S. Bugge, Home of the Eddic Poems.
Eddy, Mary Baker, founder of Christian Science (q.v.), born at Bow, New Hampshire, United States, 16th July, 1821, died 3rd Dec., 1910. She was married three times, to Mr. Glover, Mr. Patterson, and Mr. Asa Gilbert Eddy, all of whom she survived. She began to teach her system of psychotherapeutics in 1866, and founded the first Christian Science Church in Boston in 1879. In 1881 she established the Metaphysical College at Massachusetts. Her works, besides Science and Health with Key to the Scriptures, include: Unity of God, No and Yes, Pulpit and Press, The First Church of Christ, Christian Science versus Pantheism.—Cf. G. Milmine, Life of M. B. G. Eddy and the History of Christian Science.