Anatomy (part 2)

Aqua´rium, a vessel or series of vessels constructed wholly or partly of glass and containing salt or fresh water in which are kept living specimens of marine or fresh-water animals along with aquatic plants. In principle the aquarium is based on the interdependence of animal and vegetable life; animals consuming oxygen and exhaling carbonic acid, plants reversing the process by absorbing carbonic acid and giving out oxygen. The aquarium must consequently be stocked both with plants and animals, and for the welfare of both something like a proper proportion should exist between them. The simplest form of aquarium is that of a glass vase; but aquaria on a larger scale consist of a tank or a number of tanks with plate-glass sides and stone floors, and contain sand and gravel, rocks, sea-weeds, &c. By improved arrangements light is admitted from above, passing through the water in the tanks and illuminating their contents, while the spectator is in comparative darkness. The most important aquarium is at the zoological station at Naples. There is also one, on a smaller scale, at Plymouth, maintained by the Marine Biological Association of the United Kingdom. Aquaria on a large scale have been constructed in connection with public parks or gardens, and the name is also given to places of public entertainment in which large aquaria are exhibited.—Cf. G. C. Bateman, Fresh-water Aquaria; M. J. Newbigin, The Aquarium.

Aquarius (Lat., the Water-bearer), a sign of the zodiac which the sun enters about the 21st of Jan.: it now enters the formerly coincident constellation Aquarius about a month later.

Aquatint, a method of etching on copper by which a beautiful effect is produced, resembling a fine drawing in sepia or Indian ink. The special character of the effect is the result of sprinkling finely-powdered resin or mastic over the plate, and causing this to adhere by heat, the design being previously etched, or being now traced out. The nitric acid (aqua fortis) acts only in the interstices between the particles of resin or mastic, thus giving a slightly granular appearance.

Aqua Tofa´na. See Aqua.

Aqua vitæ. See Aqua.

Aq´ueduct (Lat. aqua, water, duco, to lead), an artificial channel or conduit for the conveyance of water from one place to another: more particularly applied to structures for conveying water from distant sources for the supply of large cities. Aqueducts were extensively used by the Romans, and many of them still remain in different places on the Continent of Europe, some being still in use. The Pont du Gard in the south of France, 14 miles from Nîmes, is still nearly perfect, and is a grand monument of the Roman occupation of this country. The ancient aqueducts were constructed of stone or brick, sometimes tunnelled through hills, and carried over valleys and rivers on arches. The Pont du Gard spans the River Gard, and was built to convey to Nîmes the water of springs rising in the neighbourhood of the modern Uzés. It is built of great blocks of stone; its height is 160 feet; length of the highest arcade, 882 feet. The aqueduct at Segovia, originally built by the Romans, has in some parts two tiers of arcades 100 feet high, is 2921 feet in length, and is one of the most admired works of antiquity. One of the most remarkable aqueducts of modern times is that constructed by Louis XIV for conveying the waters of the Eure to Versailles. The extensive application of metal pipes has rendered the construction of aqueducts of the old type less necessary; but what may be called aqueduct bridges are still frequently constructed in connection with canals and also with water-works for the supply of towns. Where canals exist canal aqueducts are common, since the water in any section of a canal must be kept on a perfect level.

Many large towns now derive a supply of water from sources at a great distance, and in bringing the water to the place where it is required much tunnelling is often necessary as well as digging and excavating in the open. A tunnel furnishing a water channel may be driven through miles of rock strata of various kinds, and in many places it may have to be lined with concrete or cement wholly or partially, brick-work also being much employed. Instead of tunnelling, the channel may be formed on the plan of 'cut and cover', being first cut in the ground and then covered over, leaving the surface much in the same state as before. And, of course, iron piping is often used in connection with such tunnels, the water being conveyed so far in an aqueduct of one kind, and so far in one of another kind, according as is deemed most suitable. In the Thirlmere aqueduct, which brings water to Manchester, there are 45 miles of cast-iron pipes, 37 miles of cut-and-cover work, and 14 miles of tunnels proper. Pipes are naturally laid where valleys occur, and the water simply enters the pipes at one end and flows out at the other by the influence of gravity, there being a suitable chamber constructed at either end of the pipe line where there is a junction with a section of tunnel. Aqueduct bridges were first introduced into England in the eighteenth century, the first being the aqueduct at Barton Bridge conveying the Bridgewater Canal across the Irwell. In such bridges the water-channel may be made of cast iron. There are great aqueduct bridges on some of the Indian canals, such as the Nadrai bridge on the Lower Ganges Canal. In America water is often carried long distances in flumes or open wooden channels, supported, where necessary, on trestles. Great wooden pipes are also common there, built of large staves and hooped round with iron or steel. These often rest on the surface of the ground without any covering.—Bibliography: C. Herschel, Frontinus; Wegmann, Water-supply of City of New York; J. F. Bateman, The Manchester Waterworks; J. M. Gale, The Glasgow Waterworks; A. Prescott Folwell, Water Supply Engineering.

Aq´ueous humour, the limpid watery fluid which fills the space between the cornea and the crystalline lens in the eye.

Aqueous rocks, composed of matter deposited by water from suspension or solution. Called also sedimentary rocks. See Geology.

Aquifolia´ceæ, a nat. ord. of plants; the holly tribe. The species consist of trees and shrubs, and the order includes the common holly (Ilex Aquifolium) and the I. paraguayensis, or Paraguayan tea tree.

Aquila (a˙k´wē-la˙), a town in Italy, capital of the province of Aquila, 55 miles north-east of Rome, the seat of a bishop, an attractive and interesting town with spacious streets and handsome palaces. In 1703 and 1706 it suffered severely from earthquakes. Pop. 22,050.—The province has an area of 2493 sq. miles. Pop. 422,634.

Aq´uila, a companion of St. Paul (Acts, xviii, 2, 3). Expelled from Rome, he and his wife, Priscilla, settled in Corinth, where Paul stayed with them. They were converted to Christianity by the Apostle.

Aq´uila, a native of Pontus, flourished about A.D. 130. He became a Jewish proselyte, and made a close and accurate translation of the Hebrew Scriptures into Greek, extant only in fragments.

Aq´uila, name of a constellation in the northern hemisphere. See Constellations.

Aquila´ria. See Aloes-wood.

Aquile´gia. See Columbine.

Aquileia (ak-wi-lē´ya), an ancient city near the head of the Adriatic Sea, in Upper Italy, built by the Romans in 182 or 181 B.C. Commanding the N.E. entrance into Italy, it became important as a commercial centre and a military post, and was frequently the base of imperial campaigns. In 425 it was destroyed by Attila. The modern Aquileia or Aglar is a small place of some 1700 inhabitants, consisting chiefly of fishermen.

Aquinas (a-kwī´nas; i.e. of Aquino), St. Thomas, a celebrated scholastic divine, born in 1225 or 1227, most probably at the castle of Rocco Secca, near Aquino. His father was Count of Aquino, in the kingdom of Naples. He was educated at the Benedictine monastery of Monte Casino, and at the University of Naples, where he studied for six years. About the age of seventeen he entered a convent of Dominicans, much against the wishes of his family. He attended the lectures of Albertus Magnus at Cologne, in whose company he visited Paris in 1245 or 1246. Here he became involved in the dispute between the university and the Begging Friars as to the liberty of teaching, advocating the rights claimed by the latter with great energy. In 1257 he received the degree of doctor from the Sorbonne, and began to lecture on theology, rapidly acquiring the highest reputation. In 1263 he is found at the Chapter of the Dominicans in London. In 1268 he was in Italy, lecturing in Rome, Bologna, and elsewhere. In 1271 he was again in Paris lecturing to the students; in 1272 he was professor at Naples. In 1263 he had been offered the archbishopric of Naples by Clement IV, but refused the offer. He died, in 1274, on his way to Lyons to attend a general council for the purpose of uniting the Greek and Latin Churches. He was called, after the fashion of the times, the angelic doctor, and was canonized by John XXII. The most important of his numerous works, which are all written in Latin, are the Summa Theologica, which, although only professing to treat of theology, is in reality a complete and systematic summary of the knowledge of the time, and the Summa Philosophica. The work of St. Thomas consisted in an effort to harmonize the new scientific teachings of the age—derived from Arabian and Byzantine sources—with the doctrine of the Church, and to refute heresy. His disciples were known as Thomists. See Thomism.—Cf. P. Conway, St. Thomas Aquinas; and article in Hastings' Encyclopedia of Religion and Ethics.

Aquita´nia, later Aquitaine, a Roman province in Gaul, which comprehended the countries on the coast from the Garonne to the Pyrenees, and from the sea to Toulouse. It was brought into connection with England by the marriage of Henry II with Eleanor, daughter of the last Duke of Aquitaine. The title to the province was for long disputed by England and France, but it was finally secured by the latter (1453).

Arabah´, a deep rocky valley or depression in north-western Arabia, between the Dead Sea and Gulf of Akabah, a sort of continuation of the Jordan valley.

Arabesque (ar´a-besk), a species of ornamentation for enriching flat surfaces, often consisting of fanciful figures, human or animal, combined with floral forms. There may be said to be three periods and distinctive varieties of arabesque—(a) the Roman or Græco-Roman, introduced into Rome from the East when pure art was declining; (b) the Arabesque of the Moors as seen in the Alhambra, introduced by them into Europe in the Middle Ages; (c) Modern Arabesque, which took its rise in Italy in the Renaissance period of art. The arabesques of the Moors, who are prohibited by their religion from representing animal forms, consist essentially of complicated ornamental designs based on the suggestion of plant-growth, combined with extremely complex geometrical forms.

Arabgir (a˙-ra˙b-gēr´), or Arabkir´, a town in Asia, 147 miles W.S.W. of Erzerum, noted for its manufacture of silk and cotton goods. Pop. between 20,000 and 30,000.

Ara´bia, a vast peninsula in the S.W. of Asia, bounded on the N. by the great Syro-Babylonian plain, N.E. by the Persian Gulf and the Sea of Oman, S. or S.E. by the Indian Ocean, and S.W. by the Red Sea and Gulf of Suez. Its length from N.W. to S.E. is about 1800 miles, its mean breadth about 600 miles, its area approximately 1,200,000 sq. miles, its population probably less than 5,000,000. Roughly described, it exhibits a central table-land surrounded by a series of deserts, with numerous scattered oases, while around this is a line of mountains parallel to and approaching the coasts, and with a narrow rim of low grounds (tehāma) between them and the sea. In its general features Arabia resembles the Sahara, of which it may be considered a continuation. Like the Sahara, it has its wastes of loose sand, its stretches of bare rocks and stones, its mountains devoid of vegetation, its oases with their wells and streams, their palm-groves and cultivated fields—islands of green amidst the surrounding desolation. Rivers proper there are none. By the ancients the whole peninsula was broadly divided into three great sections—Arabia Petræa (containing the city Petra), Deserta (desert), and Felix (happy). The first and last of these answer roughly to the modern divisions of the region of Sinai in the N.W. and Yemen in the S.W., while the name Deserta was vaguely given to the rest of the country. (See Explorations, Modern.) The principal divisions at the present are Madian in the north-west; south of this, Hejaz, Assir, and Yemen, all on the Red Sea, the last named occupying the south-western part of the peninsula, and comprising a tehāma or maritime lowland on the shores of the Red Sea, with an elevated inland district of considerable breadth; Hadramaut on the south coast; Oman occupying the south-east angle; El-Hasa and Koveït on the Persian Gulf; El-Hamad (Desert of Syria), Nefûd, and Jebel Shammar in the north; Nejd, the Central Highlands, which occupies a great part of the interior of the country, while south of it is the great unexplored Dahkna or sandy desert. Between 1902-5 a joint commission of British and Turkish officers laid down a boundary line defining the limits between Turkish territory and that of the independent Arab tribes in political relations with Great Britain. Nearly the whole of Southern Arabia came within the sphere of British influence. Madian belongs to Egypt; the Hejaz, Yemen, Bahr-el-Hasa, Koveït, &c., were more or less under the suzerainty of Turkey until 1914. The rest of the country is ruled by independent chiefs—sheikhs, emirs, and imâms—while the title of sultan has been assumed by the chief of the Wahabis in Nejd, the sovereign of Oman (who has a subsidy from the Indian Government), and some petty princes in the south of the peninsula. On 9th June, 1916, the Grand Shereef of Mecca declared himself independent of the Turkish Government, and an Arab revolt spread rapidly. The Grand Shereef Hussein then announced to the Moslem world that the Shereefate of Mecca was henceforth independent, and on 4th Nov., 1916, he had himself formally proclaimed King, or Sultan, of Arabia. The status of the whole of Arabia was determined by the Peace Conference. (See Hejaz, Mesopotamia, Syria, Sykes-Picot Treaty.) The chief towns are Mecca, the birthplace of Mahomet; Medina, the place to which he fled from Mecca (A.D. 622), and where he is buried; Hodeida, a seaport exporting Mocha coffee; Aden, on the S.W. coast, belonging to Britain; Sana, the capital of Yemen; and Muscat, the capital of Oman. The chief towns of the interior are Haïl, the residence of the Emir of Jebel Shammar; Oneizah, under the same ruler; and Rijadh, capital of Nejd and Hasa. The most flourishing portions of Arabia are in Oman, Hadramaut, and Nejd. In the two former are localities with numerous towns and villages and settled industrious populations like that of India or Europe.

The climate of Arabia in general is marked by extreme heat and dryness. Aridity and barrenness characterize both high and low grounds, and the date-palm is often the only representative of vegetable existence. There are districts which in the course of the year are hardly refreshed by a single shower of rain. Forests there are few or none. Grassy pastures have their place supplied by steppe-like tracts, which are covered for a short season with aromatic herbs, serving as food for cattle. The date-palm furnishes the staple article of food; the cereals are wheat, barley, maize, and millet; various sorts of fruit flourish; coffee and many aromatic plants and substances, such as gum-arabic, benzoin, mastic, balsam, aloes, myrrh, frankincense, &c., are produced. There are also cultivated in different parts of the peninsula, according to the soil and climate, beans, rice, lentils, tobacco, melons, saffron, colocynth, poppies, olives, &c. Sheep, goats, oxen, the horse, the camel, ass, and mule supply man's domestic and personal wants. Among wild animals are gazelles, ostriches, the lion, panther, hyena, jackal, &c. Among mineral products are saltpetre, mineral pitch, petroleum, salt, sulphur, and several precious stones, as the carnelian, agate, and onyx. The people of Arabia, according to their own traditions, are derived from two stocks, the pure Arabs and the naturalized Arabs or Mustarab. They are leading either a settled agricultural life or a nomadic existence. In Southern Arabia the Jews form a large element in the towns' population. Commerce is largely in the hands of foreigners, among whom the Jews and Banians (Indian merchants) are the most numerous.

The history of Arabia previous to Mahomet is obscure. The earliest inhabitants are believed to have been of the Semitic race. Jews in great numbers migrated into Arabia after the destruction of Jerusalem, and, making numerous proselytes, indirectly favoured the introduction of the doctrines of Mahomet. With his advent the Arabians revolted and united for the purpose of extending the new creed; and under the caliphs—the successors of Mahomet—they attained great power, and founded large and powerful kingdoms in three continents. (See Caliphs.) On the fall of the caliphate of Bagdad in 1258 the decline set in, and on the expulsion of the Moors from Spain the foreign rule of the Arabs came to an end. In the sixteenth century Turkey subdued Hejaz and Yemen, and received the nominal submission of the tribes inhabiting the rest of Arabia. The allegiance of Hejaz was renounced early in the European War; but Yemen achieved its independence in the seventeenth century, and maintained it till 1871, when the territory again fell into the hands of the Turks. In 1839 Aden was occupied by the British. Oman early became virtually independent of the caliphs, and grew into a well-organized kingdom. In 1507 its capital, Maskat or Muscat, was occupied by the Portuguese, who were not driven out till 1659. The Wahabis appeared towards the end of the eighteenth century, and took an important part in the political affairs of Arabia, but their progress was interrupted by Mohammed Ali, pasha of Egypt, and they suffered a complete defeat by Ibrahim Pasha. He extended his power over most of the country, but the events of 1840 in Syria compelled him to renounce all claims to Arabia. The Hejaz thus again became subject to Turkish sway, and until 1914 Turkey continually extended its rule not only over Yemen, but also over the district of El-Hasa on the Persian Gulf.—Bibliography: Sir R. F. Burton, Pilgrimage to Medina and Mecca; E. Reclus, Les Arabes; C. M. Doughty, Arabia Deserta, and Wanderings in Arabia; G. W. Bury, Arabia Infelix; S. M. Zwemer, Arabia, the Cradle of Islam.

Arabian Language and Literature.—The Arabic language belongs to the Semitic dialects, among which it is distinguished for its richness, softness, and high degree of development. By the spread of Islam it became the sole written language and the prevailing speech in all South-Western Asia and Eastern and Northern Africa, and for a time in Southern Spain, in Malta, and in Sicily; and it is still used as a learned and sacred language wherever Islam is spread. Almost a third part of the Persian vocabulary consists of Arabic words, and there is the same proportion of Arabic in Turkish. The Arabic language is written in an alphabet of its own, which has also been adopted in writing Persian, Hindustani, Turkish, &c. As in all Semitic languages (except the Ethiopic), it is read from right to left. The vowels are usually omitted in Arabic manuscripts, only the consonants being written.

Poetry among the Arabs had a very early development, and before the time of Mahomet poetical contests were held and prizes awarded for the best pieces. The collection called the Moallakât contains seven pre-Mahommedan poems by seven authors. Many other poems belonging to the time before Mahomet, some of equal age with those of the Moallakât, are also preserved in collections. Mahomet gave a new direction to Arab literature. The rules of faith and life which he laid down were collected by Abu-Bekr, first caliph after his death, and published by Othman, the third caliph, and constitute the Koran—the Mahommedan Bible. The progress of the Arabs in literature, the arts and sciences, may be said to have begun with the government of the caliphs of the family of the Abbassides, A.D. 749, at Bagdad, several of whom, as Harun al Rashid and Al Mamun, were munificent patrons of learning: and their example was followed by the Ommiades in Spain. In Spain were established numerous academies and schools, which were visited by students from other European countries; and important works were written on geography, history, philosophy, medicine, physics, mathematics, arithmetic, geometry, and astronomy. Most of the geography in the Middle Ages is the work of the Arabs, and their historians since the eighth century have been very numerous. The philosophy of the Arabs was of Greek origin, and derived principally from that of Aristotle. Numerous translations of the scientific works of Aristotle and other Greek philosophers were made, principally by Christian scholars who resided as physicians at the Courts of the caliphs. These were diligently studied in Bagdad, Damascus, and Cordova, and, being translated into Latin, became known in the west of Europe. Of their philosophical authors the most celebrated are Alfarabi (tenth century), Ibn Sina or Avicenna (died A.D. 1037), Alghazzali (died 1111), Ibn Roshd or Averroes (twelfth century), called by pre-eminence The Commentator, &c. In medicine they excelled all other nations in the Middle Ages, and they are commonly regarded as the earliest experimenters in chemistry. Their mathematics and astronomy were based on the works of Greek writers, but the former they enriched, simplified, and extended. It was by them that algebra was introduced to the Western peoples, and the Arabic numerals were similarly introduced. Astronomy they especially cultivated, for which famous schools and observatories were erected at Bagdad and Cordova. The Almagest of Ptolemy in an Arabic translation was early a textbook among them. Alongside of science poetry continued to be cultivated, but after the ninth or tenth centuries it grew more and more artificial. Among poets were Abu Nowas, Asmai, Abu Temmam, Motenabbi, Abul-Ala, Busiri, Tograi, and Hariri. Tales and romances in prose and verse were written. The tales of fairies, genii, enchanters, and sorcerers in particular passed from the Arabians to the Western nations, as in The Thousand and One Nights. Some of the books most widely read in the Middle Ages, such as The Seven Wise Masters, the Fables of Pilpay (or Bidpai), and the Romance of Antar found their way into Europe through the instrumentality of the Arabs. At the present day Arabic literature is almost confined to the production of commentaries and scholia, discussions on points of dogma and jurisprudence, and grammatical works on the classical language. There are a few newspapers published in Arabic.—Bibliography: C. Huart, History of Arabic Literature; R. A. Nicholson, Literary History of the Arabs.

Arabian Architecture. See Moorish Architecture, Saracenic Architecture.

Arabian Gulf. See Red Sea.

Arabian Nights, or The Thousand and One Nights, (Ar. Alf Layla wa-Layla), a celebrated collection of Eastern tales, based upon an old work, called Hazar Afsana, long current in the East, and supposed to have been derived by the Arabians from India, through the medium of Persia. They were first introduced into Europe in the beginning of the eighteenth century by means of the French translation of Antoine Galland. Of some of them no original MS. is known to exist; they were taken down by Galland from the oral communication of a Syrian friend. The story which connects the tales of The Thousand and One Nights is as follows: The Sultan Shahriyar, exasperated by the faithlessness of his bride, made a law that every one of his future wives should be put to death the morning after marriage. At length one of them, Sheherazade, the generous daughter of the grand-vizier, succeeded in abolishing the cruel custom. By the charm of her stories the fair narrator induced the sultan to defer her execution every day till the dawn of another, by breaking off in the middle of an interesting tale which she had begun to relate. In the form we possess them these tales belong to a comparatively late period, though the exact date of their composition is not known. Lane, who published a translation of a number of the tales, with valuable notes, is of opinion that they took their present form some time between 1475 and 1525. Sir Richard Burton's complete English translation was issued in 16 vols. (1885-8).

Arabian Sea, the part of the Indian Ocean between Arabia and India.

Arabic Figures, the characters 1, 2, 3, 4, 5, 6, 7, 8, 9, 0; of Indian origin, introduced into Europe by the Moors. They did not come into general use till after the invention of printing.

Ara´bi Pasha, Egyptian soldier and revolutionary leader, born 1839. In Sept., 1881, he headed a military revolt, and was for a time virtually dictator of Egypt. Britain interfered, and after a short campaign, beginning with the bombardment of Alexandria and ending with the defeat of Arabi at Tel-el-Kebir, he surrendered, and was banished to Ceylon, being pardoned in 1900. He died in obscurity in Cairo in 1911.

Arable Land, land which is fit for ploughing, and capable of being cultivated, as distinguished from grass-land, wood-land, common pasture, mountains, forests, morasses, and waste. In Government returns the term is applied to land that is actually under regular cultivation. The land capable of being cultivated amounts in England and Wales to about 25 per cent, and in Ireland to about 13 per cent. In the course of the last thirty or forty years there has, however, been a considerable diminution in the area of land actually cultivated, as a result of large foreign imports of grain and other agricultural products.

Arabs. The Arabs, as a race, are of middle stature, of a powerful though slender build, and have a skin of a more or less brownish colour; in towns and the uplands often almost white. Their features are well cut, the nose straight, the forehead high. They are naturally active, intelligent, and courteous; and their character is marked by temperance, bravery, and hospitality. The first religion of the Arabs, the worship of the stars, was supplanted by the doctrines of Mahommedanism, which succeeded rapidly in establishing itself throughout Arabia. Besides the two principal sects of Islam, the Sunnites and the Shiites, there also exists, in considerable numbers, a third Mahommedan sect, the Wahabis, which arose in the latter half of the eighteenth century, and for a time possessed great political importance in the peninsula. The mode of life of the Arabs is either nomadic or settled. The nomadic tribes are termed Bedouins (or Bedawins), and among them are considered to be the Arabs of the purest blood.

Aracacha, or Arracacha (ar-a-kä'cha), a genus of umbelliferous plants of Southern and Central America. The root of A. esculenta is divided into several lobes, each of which is about the size of a large carrot. These are boiled like potatoes and largely eaten in South America.

Aracan (ar-a-kan'), the most northern division of Lower Burmah, on the Bay of Bengal; chief town and seaport Akyab. It was ceded to the English in 1826, as a result of the first Burmese war.

Araçari (a˙-ra˙-sä'rē), native name of a genus of brilliant birds (Pteroglossus) closely allied to the toucans, but generally smaller; natives of the warm parts of South America.

Aracati (a˙-ra˙-ka˙-tē'), a Brazilian river-port, State of Ceará, on the River Jaguaribe, about 10 miles from its mouth. Exports hides and cotton. Pop. about 10,000.

Ara´ceæ, a nat. ord. of monocotyledonous plants, mostly tropical, having the genus Arum as the type. Most of the species have tuberous roots abounding in starch, which forms a wholesome food after the acrid juice has been washed out. See Arum, Caladium, Dumb-cane.

Arachis (ar´a-kis), a genus of leguminous plants much cultivated in warm climates, and esteemed a valuable article of food. The most remarkable feature of the genus is that when the flower falls the stalk supporting the small undeveloped fruit lengthens, and bending towards the ground pushes the fruit into the ground, when it begins to enlarge and ripen. The pod of A. hypogœa (popularly called ground, earth, or pea nut) is of a pale-yellow colour, and contains two seeds the size of a hazel-nut, in flavour sweet as almonds, and yielding when pressed an excellent oil.

Arachnida (a-rak´ni-da; Gr. arachnē, a spider), a class of Arthropoda or higher Annulose animals including the Spiders, Scorpions, Mites, Ticks, &c. They have the body divided into a number of segments or somites, some of which have always articulated appendages (limbs, &c.). There is often a pair of nervous ganglia in each somite, although in some forms (as spiders) the nervous system becomes modified and concentrated. They are oviparous and somewhat resemble insects, but they have a united head and thorax, and do not undergo a metamorphosis similar to insects. They respire by tracheæ, by pulmonary sacs, or by the skin.

Ar´ack, or Ar´rack, a spirituous liquor manufactured in the East Indies from a great variety of substances. It is often distilled from fermented rice, or it may be distilled from the juice of the coco-nut and other palms. Pure arack is clear and transparent, of a yellowish or straw colour, and with a peculiar but agreeable taste and smell; it contains at least 52 to 54 per cent of alcohol.

Arad (o'rod), a town of the former kingdom of Hungary, on the Maros, 30 miles north of Temeswar, divided by the river into O (Old) Arad and Uj (New) Arad, connected by a bridge; it has a fortress, and is an important railway centre, with a large trade and manufactures. The town is now within the confines of Roumania, Uj Arad being called Arodul Neo. Population of Old and New Arad together, 63,166.

Ar´adus (now Ruad), an inlet about a mile in circumference lying 2 miles off the Syrian coast, 35 miles N. of Tripolis; the site of the Phœnician stronghold Arvad, a city second only to Tyre and Sidon; now occupied by about 3000 people, mainly fishermen.

Arafat´, or Jebel er Rahmeh ('Mountain of Mercy'), a hill in Arabia, about 200 feet high, with stone steps reaching to the summit, 15 miles south-east of Mecca; one of the principal objects of pilgrimage among Mahommedans, who say that it was the place where Adam first received his wife Eve after they had been expelled from Paradise and separated from each other 120 years. A sermon delivered on the mount constitutes one great ceremony of the Hajj; or pilgrimage to Mecca, and entitles the hearer to the name and privileges of a Hajji or pilgrim.

Ar´ago, Dominique François, a French physicist, born in 1786, died at Paris in 1853. After studying in the Polytechnic School at Paris, he was appointed a secretary of the Bureau des Longitudes. In 1806 he was associated with Biot in completing in Spain the measurements of Delambre and Méchain to obtain an arc of the meridian. Before he got back to France he had been shipwrecked and narrowly escaped being enslaved at Algiers. In 1809 he was elected to the Academy of Sciences and appointed a professor at the Polytechnic School. He distinguished himself by his researches in the polarization of light, galvanism, magnetism, astronomy, &c. His discovery of the magnetic properties of substances devoid of iron, made known to the Academy of Sciences in 1824, procured him the Copley medal of the Royal Society of London in 1825. A further consideration of the same subject led to the equally remarkable discovery of the production of magnetism by electricity. He took part in the revolution of 1848, and held the office of Minister of War and Marine in the provisional Government. At the coup d'état of Dec., 1852, he refused to take the oath to the Government of Louis Napoleon, but the oath was not pressed. His works, which were posthumously collected and published, consist, besides his Astronomie Populaire, chiefly of contributions to learned societies, and biographical notices (éloges) of deceased members of the Academy of Sciences.

Arago, Emmanuel, son of Dominique François, French advocate and politician, was born at Paris in 1812; called to the bar 1837; took part in the revolution of 1848; renounced politics after the coup d'état of Dec., 1852, but continued to practise at the bar. After the fall of the Empire he again took a prominent part in public affairs, and held several important offices. He is author of a volume of poems and many theatrical pieces. He died in 1896.

Arago, Étienne, brother of Dominique Arago, born 1802, died 1892. He founded the journals La Réforme and Le Figaro; was director of the Théâtre du Vaudeville, 1829; took part in the revolution of 1848; was condemned to transportation, 1849; fled from France, but returned in 1859; was mayor of Paris during the Franco-Prussian war, and appointed archivist to the École des Beaux Arts, 1878. He was author of upwards of 100 dramas, La Vie de Molière, Les Bleus et les Blancs, and other works.

Aragon´, Kingdom of, a former province or kingdom of Spain, now divided into three provinces of Teruel, Huesca, and Saragossa; bounded on the N. by the Pyrenees, N.W. by Navarre, W. by Castile, S. by Valencia, and E. by Catalonia; length about 190 miles, average breadth 90 miles; area, 18,298 sq. miles. It was governed by its own monarchs until the union with Castile on the marriage of Ferdinand and Isabella (1469).

Arago´na, a town in Sicily, 8 miles N.N.E. of Girgenti. Pop. 16,000. In the neighbourhood is the mud volcano of Macculuba.

Aragonite, a mineral formed of calcium carbonate crystallized in the rhombic system; specific gravity 2.94 (compare Calcite). Aragonite passes into calcite in the course of geological time, but is important as the mineral precipitated to form the oolitic limestones of warm seas, and from being the material of most molluscan shells. It was first found in Aragon.

Araguaya (a˙-ra˙-gwī'a˙), a Brazilian river, principal affluent of the Tocantins; rises about the 18th degree of S. lat.; in its course northwards forms the boundary between the two States of Matto Grosso and Goyaz, and falls into the Tocantins near lat. 6° S.; length, about 1300 miles, of which over 1000 are navigable.

A´ral, a salt-water lake in Asia, in Russian territory, about 150 miles W. of the Caspian Sea, between 43° 42´ and 46° 44´ N. lat., and 58° 18´ and 61° 46´ E. long.; length 270 miles, breadth 165; area, 26,650 sq. miles (or not much smaller than Scotland). It stands 240 feet above the level of the Caspian, and 160 feet above the Mediterranean. It receives the Amu Darya or Oxus and the Syr Darya or Jaxartes, and contains a multitude of sturgeon and other fish. It is encircled by desert sandy tracts, and its shores are without harbours. It has no outlet. The Aral contains a large number of small islands; steamers have been placed on it by the Russians.

Ara´lia, a genus of plants with small flowers arranged in umbels and succulent berries, the type of the nat. ord. Araliaceæ, which is nearly related to the Umbelliferæ, but the species are of a more shrubby habit. They are natives chiefly of tropical or sub-tropical countries, and in Britain are represented by the ivy; ginseng belongs to the order. From the pith of A. papyrifĕra is obtained the Chinese rice-paper.

A´ram, Eugene, a self-taught scholar whose unhappy fate has been made the subject of a ballad by Hood and a romance by Lord Lytton, was born in Yorkshire, 1704, executed for murder, 1759. In 1734 he set up a school at Knaresborough. About 1745 a shoemaker of that place, named Daniel Clarke, was suddenly missing under suspicious circumstances; and no light was thrown on the matter till full thirteen years afterwards, when an expression dropped by one Richard Houseman, respecting the discovery of a skeleton supposed to be Clarke's, caused him to be taken into custody. From his confession an order was issued for the apprehension of Aram, who had long quitted Yorkshire, and was at the time acting as usher at the grammar-school at Lynn. He was brought to trial on 3rd Aug., 1759, at York, where, notwithstanding an able and eloquent defence which he made before the court, he was convicted of the murder of Clarke, and sentenced to death. He was among the first to recognize the affinity of the Celtic to the other European languages, and under favourable circumstances might have done some valuable work in philological science.—Cf. W. Bristow, The Genuine Account of the Life and Trial of Eugene Aram.

Aramæ´an, or Aramaic. See Semitic Languages, Syriac.

Ar´an, an island lying off the W. coast of Donegal, Ireland, has an area of 4335 acres, a lighthouse, and a pop. of 1308, chiefly engaged in fishing.—Also called North Island of Aran, or Arranmore.

Arane´idæ, the spider family.

Aran Islands, or South Islands of Aran, three islands at the mouth of Galway Bay, off the W. coast of Ireland. The largest, Aranmore or Inishmore, comprises 7635 acres, and has a pop. of 2592; the next, Inishmaan, 2252 acres, pop. 473; and the least, Inishere, 1400 acres, pop. 456. They are remarkable for a number of architectural remains of a very early date. The inhabitants are chiefly engaged in agriculture and fishing.

Aranjuez (a˙-ra˙n-hu¨-eth´), a small town and palace in Spain, 30 miles from Madrid, with splendid gardens laid out by Philip II. The Court used to reside here from Easter till the close of June, when the number of people increased from 4000 to 20,000. It has a wireless station. Pop. 12,000.

Arany (o-ron´y), Janos, Hungarian poet, born 1817, died 1882. He was for some time a strolling player, but became professor of Latin at the Normal School of Szalonta, professor of Hungarian literature at Nagy Körös, and secretary of the Hungarian Academy. Author of The Lost Constitution, Katalin, and a series of three connected narrative poems on the fortunes of Toldi.

Arap´ahoes, a tribe of American Indians located near the head-waters of the Arkansas and Platte Rivers. They number in all about 2000.

Arapaima (a-ra-pī´ma), a genus of South American fresh-water fishes, ord. Physostomi, family Osteoglossidæ, one species of which (A. gigas) grows to the length of 15 or 16 feet, and forms a valuable article of food in Brazil and Guiana. It is covered with large bony scales, and has a bare and bony head.

Ar´arat, a celebrated mountain in Armenia, an isolated volcanic mass showing two separate cones known as the Great and Little Ararat, resting on a common base and separated by a deep intervening depression. The elevations are: Great Ararat, 16,916 feet; Little Ararat, 12,840 feet; the connecting ridge, 8780 feet. Vegetation extends to 14,200 feet, which marks the snow-line. According to the Bible Mount Ararat was the resting-place of the Ark when the waters of the Flood abated.

Araro´ba, or Arraroba, the powdered bark of Andīra ararōba. See Andira.

A´ras (the ancient Araxes), a river of Asia Minor, rising S. of Erzerum at the foot of the Bingol-dagh; it flows for some miles through South Caucasia, turning eastwards to the Erivan plain N. of Ararat. It then sweeps in a semi-circle mostly between Caucasia and Persia round to its confluence with the Kur, 60 miles from its mouth in the Caspian; length, 500 miles.

Ara´tus, a Greek poet, born at Soli in Cilicia; lived about 270 B.C.; was a favourite of Ptolemy Philadelphus. His poem Phænomena is a version of a prose work on astronomy by Eudoxus; one verse of it is quoted by St. Paul in his address to the Athenians (Acts, xvii, 28).

Ara´tus of Sicyon, a statesman of ancient Greece, born 272 B.C. In 251 B.C. he overthrew the tyrant of Sicyon and joined that city to the Achæan League, which he greatly extended. He accepted the aid of Antigonus Doson, King of Macedon, against the Spartans, and became in time little more than the adviser of the Macedonian king, who had now made the League dependent on himself. He is said to have been poisoned by Philip V of Macedon, 213 B.C.

Arauca´nians, a South American native race in the southern part of Chile, occupying a territory stretching from about 37° to 40° of S. lat. They are warlike and more civilized than many of the native races of S. America, and maintained almost unceasing war with the Spaniards from 1537 to 1773, when their independence was recognized by Spain, though their territory was much curtailed. Their early contests with the Spaniards were celebrated in Ercilla's Spanish poem Araucana. With the Republic of Chile they were long at feud, and in 1861 had at their head a French adventurer named Antoine de Tounens, who claimed the title of king. In 1882 they submitted to Chile. The Chilian province of Arauco receives its name from them.

Arauca´ria, a genus of trees of the coniferous or pine order, indigenous to Australasia and South America. The species are large evergreen trees with pretty large, stiff, flattened, and generally imbricated leaves, verticillate spreading branches, and bearing large cones, each scale having a single large seed. The species A. imbricāta (the Chile pine or monkey-puzzle), with hard, sharp, pointed leaves, was introduced into Britain in 1796. It is a native of the mountains of Southern Chile, where it forms vast forests and yields a hard durable wood. Its seeds are eaten when roasted. The Moreton Bay pine of New South Wales (A. Cunninghamii) supplies a valuable timber used in house and boat building, in making furniture, and in other carpenter work. A species, A. excelsa, or Norfolk Island pine, abounds in several of the South Sea Islands, where it attains a height of 220 feet with a circumference of 30 feet, and is described as one of the most beautiful of trees. Its foliage is light and graceful, and quite unlike that of A. imbricata, having nothing of its stiff formality. Its timber is of some value, being white, tough, and close-grained.

Arau´co, a province of Chile, named from the Araucanian Indians; area, 2189 sq. miles; pop. 73,260; capital, Lebu.

Araval´li Hills, a range of Indian mountains running N.E. and S.W. across the Rajputána country, which they separate into two natural divisions—desert plains on the N.W. and fertile lands on the S.E.; highest point, Mount Abu (5653 feet).

Araxes. See Aras.

Ar´băces, one of the generals of Sardanapälus, King of Assyria. He revolted and defeated his master, and became the founder of the Median Empire in 846 B.C.

Ar´balist. See Cross-bow.

Arbe´la (now Erbil), a place in the vilayet of Bagdad, giving name to the decisive battle fought by Alexander the Great against Darius, at Gaugamela, about 50 miles distant from it, 1st Oct., 331 B.C.

Arbitrage (a˙r´bi-tra˙zh), or Arbitration of Exchanges, an operation or calculation by which the currency of one country is converted into that of another through the medium of intervening currencies, for the purpose of ascertaining whether direct or indirect drafts and remittances are preferable.—Arbitrageur (a˙r´bi-tra˙-zheur) is one who makes calculations of currency exchanges. See Stock Exchange.

Arbitra´tion, the hearing and determination of a cause between parties in controversy, by a person or persons chosen by the parties. This may be done by one person, but it is common to choose more than one. Frequently two are nominated, one by each party, with a third, the umpire (or, in Scotland, sometimes the oversman), who is called on to decide in case of the primary arbitrators differing. In such a case the umpire may be agreed upon either by the parties themselves, or by the arbitrators when they have received authority from the parties to the dispute to settle this point. The determination of arbitrators is called an award. By the law of England the authority of an arbitrator cannot be revoked by any of the parties without the leave of the court or of a judge.—Bibliography: Russell, Arbitration; Redman, Arbitration; Scots Law, see Bell, On Arbitration; American Law, see Morse, Law of Arbitration; R. G. Morris, International Arbitration.

Ar´blast. See Cross-bow.

Arbo´ga, an old Swedish city, province of Westmannland; once an important commercial town, now only of historical interest from having been at one time a residence of the family of Vasa, the scene of Church assemblies and national diets, and for the antiquities in its neighbourhood. Pop. 5050.

Arbois (a˙r-bwä), a town of France, department of Jura; famous for its wines. Pop. 5000.

Arbor Day, a day officially set apart in the United States for the annual planting of trees by the people, and especially by school-children. The custom was instituted in 1872.

Arbore´tum (Lat. arbor, a tree), a place in which a collection of different trees and shrubs is cultivated for scientific or educational purposes. The largest arboretum in Britain, perhaps the finest in the whole world, is that of the Royal Gardens, at Kew, inaugurated in 1762, to which 180 acres are now devoted. Next in celebrity are the arboreta at Edinburgh (Inverleith) and at Dublin (Glasnevin), the Botanical Gardens at Oxford, and the Botanic Gardens at Glasgow. Other arboreta are that of the Jardin des Plantes, Paris, and the Arnold Arboretum, at Jamaica Plain, Boston. The term arboretum has also been applied in a restricted sense, as in the Arboretum Fruticetum Britannicum, the monumental work by J. C. Loudon.

Ar´boriculture includes the culture of trees and shrubs, as well as all that pertains to the preparation of the soil, the sowing of the seeds, and the treatment of the plants in their young state, the preparation of the land previous to their final transplantation, their just adaptation to soil and situation, their relative growth and progress to maturity, their management during growth, and the proper season and period for felling them.

Arbor Vitæ (literally, 'tree of life'), the name of several coniferous trees of the genus Thuja, allied to the cypress, with flattened branchlets, and small imbricated or scale-like leaves. The name is derived from valuable medicinal properties having formerly been ascribed to the aromatic resin they mostly yield. Those generally cultivated in Britain are: the common Arbor Vitæ (Thuja occidentālis), a native of North America, where it grows to a height of 40 or 50 feet, introduced into Britain about 1566; the giant Arbor Vitæ or Red Cedar (Thuja gigantea), introduced in 1854; and the Chinese Arbor Vitæ (Thuja orientālis).

Arbroath (ar-brōth´), or Aberbrothock, a royal municipal and police burgh and seaport in the county of Forfar, Scotland, at the mouth of the small River Brothock. Its ancient abbey, founded by William the Lion in 1178, and dedicated to Saints Mary and Thomas à Becket, is now a picturesque ruin. There are numerous flax and hemp spinning-mills and factories, and much canvas and linen is made; also tanning, shoemaking, and fishing, and a small shipping trade, but the harbour is bad. Pop. 19,499. It unites with Montrose, Forfar, Brechin, and Inverbervie (the Montrose burghs) in sending a member to Parliament.

Arbuth´not, John, an eminent physician and distinguished wit, born at Arbuthnot, Kincardineshire, Scotland, 1667, died 1735. He received the degree of Doctor of Medicine at the University of St. Andrews, and went to London, where he soon distinguished himself by his writings and by his skill in his profession. In 1704 he was chosen Fellow of the Royal Society, and soon after he was appointed physician extraordinary, and then physician in ordinary to Queen Anne. About this time he became intimate with Swift, Pope, Gay, and other wits of the day. His writings, other than professional or scientific, include his contributions (in conjunction with Swift and Pope) to the Memoirs of Martinus Scriblerus, History of John Bull, Art of Political Lying, &c. He was conspicuous not only for learning and wit, but also for worth and humanity.

Ar´butus, a genus of plants belonging to the Ericaceæ, or heath order, and comprising a number of small trees and shrubs, natives chiefly of Europe and N. America. Arbŭtus Unĕdo abounds near the lakes of Killarney, where its fine foliage adds charms to the scenery. The bright red or yellow berries, somewhat like the strawberry, have an unpleasant taste and narcotic properties. The Corsicans make wine from them. The trailing arbutus or may-flower of N. America, a plant with fragrant and beautiful blossoms, is Epigæa repens, of the same nat. ord.

Arc, a portion of a curved line, especially of a circle. It is by means of circular arcs that all angles are measured.—Electric or Voltaic arc, the luminous arc of intense brightness and excessively high temperature which is formed by an electric current in crossing over the interval of space between the carbon points of an electric lamp. See Arc-light.

Arc, Jeanne d'. See Joan of Arc.

Ar´ca, a genus of bivalve molluscs, family Arcadæ, whose shells are known as ark-shells.

Arcachon (a˙r-ka˙-shōn˙), a town of S.W. France, department Gironde, on the almost landlocked basin of Arcachon, a much-frequented bathing-place, with great oyster-breeding establishments. It is connected by railway with Bordeaux. Pop. 10,266.

Arcade, a series of arches supported on piers or pillars, used generally as a screen and support of a roof, or of the wall of a building, and having beneath the covered part an ambulatory as round a cloister, or a footpath with shops or dwellings, as frequently seen in old Italian towns. Sometimes a porch or other prominent part of an important building is treated with arcades. At the present day Bologna, Padua, and Berne have fine examples of mediæval arcaded streets, and among more modern work various streets in Turin, and the Rue de Rivoli, Paris, are lined with arcades, with shops underneath. In mediæval architecture the term arcade is also applied to a series of arches supported on pillars forming an ornamental dressing or enrichment of a wall, a mode of treatment of very frequent occurrence in the towers, apses, and other parts of churches. In modern use the name arcade is often applied to a passage or narrow street containing shops arched over and covered with glass, as for example the Burlington Arcade, London, the Royal Arcade at Newcastle, and the Gallería Vittorio Emmanuele in Milan.

Arca´dia, the central and most mountainous portion of the Peloponnesus (Morea), the inhabitants of which in ancient times were celebrated for simplicity of character and manners. Their occupation was almost entirely pastoral, and thus the country came to be regarded as typical of rural simplicity and happiness. At the present day Arcadia forms a nomarchy of the kingdom of Greece. Area, 2028 sq. miles. Pop. 162,324.

Arca´dius, born in 377, died 408; son of the Emperor Theodosius, on whose death in 395 the empire was divided, he obtaining the East, and his brother Honorius the West. He proved a feeble and pusillanimous prince.

Arcanum, The Great (meaning secret), a term applied in the Middle Ages to the highest problems of alchemy and the discovery of the supposed great secrets of nature, such as the philosopher's stone and the elixir of life. See Alchemy.

Arcature, in architecture, a small arcade built into a wall or applied against it, decorative rather than structural. Arcatures occur in Anglo-Norman churches of the twelfth and thirteenth centuries.

Arcesilaus (a˙r-ses-i-lā´us), a Greek philosopher, the founder of the second or middle academy, was born about 315 B.C., died 239 B.C. He left no writings, and of his opinions so little is known that it has been doubted whether he was a strict Platonist or a sceptic.

Arch, a structure composed of separate pieces, such as stones or bricks, having the shape of truncated wedges, arranged on a curved line, so as to retain their position by mutual pressure. The separate stones which compose the arch are called voussoirs or arch-stones; the extreme or lowest voussoirs are termed springers, and the uppermost or central one is called the keystone. The under or concave side of the voussoirs is called the intrados, and the upper or convex side the extrados of the arch. The supports which afford resting and resisting points to the arch are called piers and abutments. The upper part of the pier or abutment, where the arch rests—technically where it springs from—is the impost. The span of an arch is in circular arches the length of its chord, and generally the width between the points of its opposite imposts whence it springs. The rise of an arch is the height of the highest point of its intrados above the line of the imposts; this point is sometimes called the under side of the crown, the highest point of the extrados being the crown. Arches are designated in various ways, as from their shape (circular, elliptic, &c.), or from the resemblance of the whole contour of the curve to some familiar object (lancet arch, horse-shoe arch), or from the method used in describing the curve, as equilateral, three-centred, four-centred, ogee, and the like; or from the style of architecture to which they belong, as Roman, pointed, and Saracenic arches.—Triumphal arch, originally a simple decorated arch under which a victorious Roman general and army passed in triumph. At a later period the triumphal arch was a richly-sculptured, massive, and permanent structure, having an archway passing through it, with generally a smaller arch on either side. The name is sometimes given to an arch, generally of wood decorated with flowers or evergreens, erected on occasion of some public rejoicing, &c.

Archæan (är-kē´an) Rocks (Gr. archaios, ancient), the oldest rocks of the earth's crust, mostly crystalline in character, and embracing granites, gneisses, mica-schists, &c., all devoid of fossil remains. These rocks underlie a group of stratified and igneous masses that are usually distinguished from them as Huronian; the first beds with a well-marked fauna (lowest Cambrian) lie above the Huronian, and the Huronian and the Archæan groups are often conveniently classed together as pre-Cambrian, and are separated from the stratified and fossiliferous formations, which indeed have chiefly taken origin from them. The core of the Malvern range, and the rocks of N.W. Sutherland, are examples of Archæan masses in Great Britain.

Archæol´ogy (Gr. archaios, ancient, and logos, a discourse), the study of antiquity, or the science which takes cognizance of the history of nations and peoples as evinced by the remains, architectural, implemental, or otherwise, which belong to the earlier epoch of their existence. In a more extended sense the term embraces every branch of knowledge which bears on the origin, religion, laws, languages, science, arts, and literature of ancient peoples. It is to a great extent synonymous with prehistoric annals, as a large if not the principal part of its field of study extends over those periods in the history of the human race in regard to which we possess almost no information derivable from written records. Archæology divides the primeval period of the human race, more especially as exhibited by remains found in Europe, into the stone, the bronze, and the iron ages, these names being given in accordance with the materials employed for weapons, implements, &c., during the particular period. The stone age has been subdivided into the palæolithic and neolithic, the former being that older period, in which the stone implements were not polished as they are in the latter and more recent period. The bronze age, which admits of a similar subdivision, is that in which implements were of copper or bronze. In this age the dead were burned and their ashes deposited in urns or stone chests, covered with conical mounds of earth or cairns of stones. Gold and amber ornaments appear in this age. The iron age is that in which implements, &c., of iron begin to appear, although stone and bronze implements are found along with them. The word age in this sense (as explained under Age) simply denotes the stage at which a people has arrived. The phrase stone age, therefore, merely marks the period before the use of bronze, the bronze age that before the employment of iron, among any specific people. See Excavations; Crete; Egypt; &c—Bibliography: Sir J. Evans, Stone Implements of Great Britain; Boyd-Dawkins, Early Man in Britain; J. Geikie, Prehistoric Europe; R. Munro, Lake Dwellings of Europe; Sir W. Ridgeway, Early Age of Greece; H. R. Hall, Ægean Archæology; W. M. Flinders Petrie, Methods and Aims in Archæology; A. P. F. Michaelis, A Century of Archæological Discoveries.

Archæopteryx (är-kē-op´te-riks), a fossil bird from the oolitic limestone of Solenhofen, of the size of a rook, and differing from all known birds in having two free claws representing the thumb and forefinger projecting from the wing, and about twenty tail vertebræ free and prolonged as in mammals.

Archangel (ärk´ān-jel; Gr. prefix, arch-, denoting chief), an angel of superior or of the highest rank. The only archangel mentioned by name in Scripture is Michael in the Epistle of Jude.

Archangel (ärk-ān´jel), a seaport, capital of the Russian government of same name, on the right bank of the Northern Dvina, about 20 miles above its mouth in the White Sea. Below the town the river divides into several branches and forms a number of islands, on one of which, called Sollenbole, is the harbour. The houses are mostly of wood; the place has some manufactures and an important trade, exporting linseed, flax, tow, tallow, train-oil, mats, timber, pitch and tar, &c. The port is closed for six months by ice. Archangel, founded in 1584, was long the only port which Russia possessed. Pop. 43,388.—The province, which before the Russian revolution extended from the Ural Mountains to Finland, had an area of 326,063 sq. miles. Pop. 483,500.—For the Archangel Expedition of 1918, see Murmansk, Russia.

Archangel´ica. See Angelica.