Aird,Thomas, a Scottish poet and miscellaneous writer, friend of Professor Wilson, De Quincey, and Carlyle, long editor of a newspaper in Dumfries; born 1802, died 1876. He wroteThe Devil's Dream on Mount Aksbeck;The Old Bachelor, &c.
Airdrie,a municipal and parliamentary burgh of Scotland, in Lanarkshire, near the Monkland Canal, 11 miles east of Glasgow, in the centre of a rich mining district, with a large cotton-mill, foundries and machine shops, breweries, &c., and collieries and ironworks in its vicinity. Pop. 24,160.
Air-engine,an engine in which air heated, and so expanded, or compressed air is used as the motive power. A great many engines of the former kind have been invented, some of which have been found to work pretty well where no great power is required. They may be said to be essentially similar in construction to the steam-engine, though of course the expansibility of air by heat is small compared with the expansion that takes place when water is converted into steam. Engines working by compressed air have been found very useful in mining, tunnelling, &c., and the compressed air may be conveyed to its destination by means of pipes. In such cases the waste air serves for ventilation and for reducing the oppressive heat.
Aire(ār), a river of England, W. Riding of Yorkshire, rising to the south-east of Penyghent and flowing in a south-easterly direction to join the Ouse above Goole, having passed through Leeds on its way; length, 70 miles. It is navigable up to Leeds, and forms an important portion of the Aire and Calder Navigation system, which connects Goole, Hull, &c., with Liverpool. The Calder enters the Aire at Castleford. The district specially known asAiredaleis the valley of the Aire above Leeds.—A large breed of terrier, of which there are several varieties, is known as theAiredale terrier, a strongly-built animal, rather long in the legs, with a hard, close coat.
Aire,a river of France, in the Argonne region, a tributary of the Aisne.
Aire-sur-l'Adour(ār-su˙r-la˙-dör), a small but ancient town of France, department of Landes, the see of a bishop. Pop. 3000.
Aire-sur-la-Lys(ār-su˙r-la˙-lē), an old fortified town of France, department of Pas de Calais, 10 miles south-east of St. Omer. Pop. 5000.
Air-gun,a gun from which the bullet is propelled by means of compressed air. Until about the middle of the nineteenth century air-guns were made with a metal reservoir in the butt; this reservoir was charged with air by means of a pump, and although one pumping put in enough air for six or seven shots, the process of loading was awkward and laborious. The well-known 'Gem' air-gun was worked by means of a spring, which compressed the air; the great defect of this gun was that the barrel was used as a cocking-lever, and so was apt to become bent and inaccurate. The 'Gem' was a smooth-bore gun, and early attempts at rifled air-guns failed, as the pellet was apt to stick in the barrel, owing to the low velocity not allowing it to take the grooves. The 'Quackenbush' air-gun made an attempt to get over this difficulty; its slugs were felted, and the felt took the rifling and greatly increased the accuracy of the weapon, but, of course, the ammunition was much more expensive than ordinary air-gun pellets. The B.S.A. air-rifle is an excellent weapon which has overcome all the early difficulties of construction. It has a fixed barrel, a separate cocking-lever, and a rotating breech-plug, and the muzzle velocity of its 16-grain pellet is 600 feet per second, which compares not unfavourably with the 1000 feet per second of the 40-grain bullet of a .22 long-rifle cartridge. An air-gun is a splendid weapon for practising markmanship, as it is almost noiseless, and as its ammunition costs little. It does not need to be elaborately cleaned, as a miniature rifle does; an occasional oiling is all that it requires to keep it in order, and with care it should fire an indefinite number of shots without losing its accuracy.
Airolo(a˙-i-rō′lō), a small town of Switzerland, canton Ticino, at the southern end of the St. Gothard Tunnel, and the first place on this route at which Italian is spoken. Pop. 2000.
Air-plants,orEpiphytes,are plants that grow upon other plants or trees, apparently without receiving any nutriment otherwise than from the air. The name is restricted to flowering plants (mosses or lichens being excluded) and is suitably applied to many species of orchids. The conditions necessary to the growth of such plants are excessive heat and moisture, and hence their chief localities are the damp and shady tropical forests of Africa, Asia, and America. They are particularly abundant in Java and tropical America.
Air-pumpFig. 1.—Air-pump (sectional view)
Air-pump,an apparatus by means of which air or other gas may be removed from or compressed into an enclosed space. It was invented by Otto von Guericke of Magdeburg about the year 1654, and described in 1657 by Gaspar Schott. An ordinary suction-pump for water is on the same principle as the air-pump; indeed, before water reaches the top of the pipe the air has been pumped out by the same machinery which pumps the water. An ordinary air-pump (see fig. 1) consists essentially of a cylinder or barrel with a piston and valves. The barrel is connected to the vessel from which the air is to be pumped.Ais the vessel to be exhausted,Cthe air-pump cylinder,Pthe piston,VVvalves in the piston, andOthe connection to the vesselA. When the piston moves downwards from the position shown, it cuts off the connection withAby passing overO. The lengthLis made long enough so thatOis kept covered up during the downstroke. The air filling the spaceDis compressed, and so lifts the valvesVVand passes out through them. This goes on till the end of the downward stroke, when the volume is very small indeed. When the upward motion begins, the valvesVVclose, and the piston rises and creates a vacuum inD. When the piston rises sufficiently to uncoverO(as in figure), air rushes fromAinto the highly-exhausted spaceDand fills it. The process is repeated indefinitely, andAis gradually exhausted.
Toepler and Sprengel PumpsFig. 2.—Toepler Pump Fig. 3.—Sprengel Pump
Air-pumps for compressing air are constructed on the same principle, but the valves act the reverse way. The bicycle pump is a well-known example of this form of pump. In the Fleuss or Geryk pump greater efficiency is attained by having layers of oil in the barrel and above the piston. In nearly all pumps for producing the high vacua necessary, e.g. for the electric glow-lamp and the X-ray tube, mercury is employed. In one form, the Toepler pump, a reservoir containing mercury is connected by a flexible tube to the receiver. (See fig 2.Ttube connecting pump to vessel to be exhausted;R, reservoir, raised aboveAto drive air inBandCthroughDand out into open air;Ris then lowered, andBandCfill with air from receiver. Process then repeated.) By alternately lowering and raising the reservoir, gas is first withdrawn from the receiver and then expelled throughD, which also acts as a barometer. The process is repeated until the desired degree of exhaustion is reached. In a second type, the Sprengel pump, a stream of mercury from a reservoir situated above the vessel to be exhausted falls in drops through a narrow vertical tube which communicates with the vessel. (See fig. 3.A, reservoir;B, tube leading to vessel to be exhausted;C, bubbles of air carried down by mercury.) The air is entrapped between the falling drops of mercury,and is carried down and expelled with it. In the filter-pump, water is used instead of mercury, the pump being connected to an ordinary water-tap.
A more recent form, the Gaede pump, is of the rotary type. (See fig. 4.C, iron case;G, glass front;Ptwo-chamber porcelain drum rotated counter-clockwise about axleA. As mercury leaves chamberR, air enters from receiver by tubeTand openingB. WhenBis immersed, mercury enters and air is driven into caseCand removed through tubeS.) A porcelain drum, divided into two cells, rotates within an air-tight case more than half filled with mercury. Each cell has an opening which, when above the mercury surface, places the cell in communication with the receiver. When the opening is immersed, the entrapped air passes by another channel into the outer case, from which it is removed by another less efficient pump. The pump will reduce the pressure within a 6-litre bulb from 10 millimetres to .00001 millimetre of mercury in fifteen minutes. Langmuir's pump employs the principle of the aspirator. A current of mercury vapour passes from a mercury boiler past a tube communicating with the apparatus to be exhausted, and sucks the air from it; the mercury is condensed in the upper part of the pump, returns by side tubes to the boiler and leaves the extracted air in this condenser. A less efficient pump is employed to remove the air from the mercury condenser as it accumulates. This pump is said to be simple and rapid in action, and capable of exhausting an 11-litre bulb from atmospheric pressure to .00001 millimetre in eighty seconds.
Gaede PumpFig. 4.—Gaede Pump
Air-pumps are largely used in steam engineering, both on land and at sea, to extract the air which enters the condenser with the steam (seeCondenser). Several varieties of air-pumps are in use. 1. The ordinary piston-pump (fig. 1) in which the piston extracts air by first sucking it into the cylinder and then expelling it to the atmosphere. The opening leading to the condenser is closed during the stroke in which the air is expelled. Two or three cylinders are usually provided on each air-pump set, the former type being known as a 2-throw pump and the latter a 3-throw pump. One of the best-known makes is theEdwardsair-pump. Piston air-pumps are driven either by the main engine through a suitable mechanism, or by a separate electric motor. The amount of power required to drive them varies with the size of the set, and with large engines of over 10,000 h.p. it is about ½ per cent or less. Vacua as high as 29 inches (Bar. 30 inches) can be readily maintained on large plants by this type of pump, provided the condenser is suitably designed. In well-maintained plants bad vacua are commonly due to deficient air extraction, which may arise from the low-pressure air-piping not being air-tight, or from the air-pump being too small. 2. The water-ejector type uses the momentum of a jet of water to extract the air entrained with it. Well-known types of this plant are the ordinary barometric jet-condenser and theLeblancair-pump. In the latter type, a rotating wheel, which carries vanes, forcibly throws sheets of water into a pipe communicating with the condenser. The sheets of water lie across the pipe, and the space between them is filled up with air sucked from the condenser. This water, with the entrained air, is thrown out, against the atmospheric pressure, by the momentum imparted to the water sheets by the rotating wheel. Very high vacua can be obtained with the Leblanc pump, but the power required to drive it is more than is required with a 3-throw piston-pump. (Cp. Sprengel pump above). 3. A steam-ejector is also used, a jet of steam taking the place of the sheets of water in the Leblanc type. Parsons'augmentor condenserworks on this principle. A small jet of steam sucks the air from the main condenser and compresses it into a small so-called augmentor condenser. The pressure in this condenser is a little higher than the pressure in the main condenser, but it is sufficient to enable an ordinary 3-throw pump to be used efficiently. The steam used to extract the air is condensed in the augmentor condenser by cold water, and the interior of the augmentor condenser is connected to the inlet of an ordinary 3-throw pump. The 3-throw pump is called upon to deal with the air at a slightly higher pressure than the condenser pressure, and the vacuum in the main condenser is improved by the drop of pressure which exists between the augmentor condenser and the main condenser. In a well-designed plant, for instance, a 3-throw pump might be used to maintain a vacuum of 29 inches in the augmentor condenser, while the steam jet would provide another ½ inch of vacuum, giving 29½ inches vacuum in the main condenser. Thepressurein the main condenser is thereby reduced from 1 inch Hg. to ½ inch Hg.; a reduction ofone-half. (Cp. Langmuir's pump above—using amercury-vapour jet instead of a steam jet.)—Bibliography: S. P. Thompson,The Development of the Mercurial Air-Pump; E. Hausbrand,Evaporating, Condensing, and Cooling Apparatus.
Air-raids.Apart from various sporadic bomb-dropping attacks by the Italians in Tripoli in 1913, the first air-raid proper was made by a Zeppelin on Antwerp during the investiture of that city by the Germans in 1914. Later on this new method of warfare was developed to a considerable extent by both sides during the Great European War, both air-ships and aeroplanes being used. Air-craft for this purpose have been likened to long-range guns, with the advantage of greater precision, because the target is in view, and very much longer effective range—the Germans, for example, used to raid London, and on one occasion Edinburgh, from bases situated in North Germany and on the Schleswig coast. Air-raids are of great value in affecting themoralof the enemy country by bringing home the effects of war in its most terrifying aspect to the civilian population at home, and thus causing the dislocation of traffic and diminishing the output of munitions. Their practical value is in attacking and destroying munition-factories, army head-quarters, naval bases, &c., in addition to such important work as the demolition of ammunition-dumps, and cutting lines of communication behind the front.
Various protective devices against raiding aircraft have been invented. Among these are high-angle guns, capable of throwing shells to a height of some 30,000 feet, though possibly the most effective defence is small high-speed aeroplanes armed with machine-guns and capable of reaching great heights in a short space of time. For use at night, kite-balloons (seeBalloons) are sent up in clumps connected together by cables. From the cables is suspended a network of steel wires, which is invisible to the hostile air-craft, and in which they may become entangled and so brought down. These have been raised to a height of as much as 12,000 feet. For raiding purposes two types of aeroplane—in addition to air-ships—have been developed. 'Day bombers' carry out raids in daylight at heights of 12,000 to 20,000 feet on points from 50 to 100 miles behind the lines. 'Night-bombers' are slower machines which raid well into the enemy's territory—up to 200 or more miles—at heights varying from 8000 to 12,000 feet. It is usual for night-raids to be carried out by squadrons of machines flying in formation, each machine carrying about a ton of bombs (in 1918). Air-ships can carry 5-10 tons of bombs to places up to 1000 miles distant from their bases.
During the last months of the war, our Independent Air Force dropped 500 tons of bombs on German objectives, and this raiding over a wide area of industrial Germany played no small part in causing that loss of spirit among the enemy which led eventually to their request for an armistice, and their virtual capitulation.
AIR-SHIPS
Air-ships
Air-ships,lighter-than-air craft provided with means of propulsion and steering. The air-ship, unlike the aeroplane, is not dependent upon its engines for its power to remain in flight, but derives its sustentation from the hydrogen gas with which it is filled. Hydrogen, first weighed by Henry Cavendish in 1766, is the lightest gas known, being 14.47 times lighter than air. In the pure state it has a lifting force of 71.155 lb. per 1000 cu. feet, but for calculation purposes is usually assumed to contain 5 per cent of impurities, giving a 'lift' of approximately 68 lb. per 1000 cu. feet. Hydrogen is, when mixed with air, highly inflammable, and helium has therefore been suggested as a substitute. This has a lift, when pure, of about 65 lb. per 1000 cu. feet, but is only found in a few places in America and is therefore at present too expensive to be used in quantities. The lift of any given quantity of hydrogen depends upon the difference between its weight and that of an equal volume of air. As the amount, and therefore weight, of air contained in a given space varies with the barometric pressure and temperature, the lift of hydrogen given above varies also. These figures are based upon a temperature of 60° F. and a barometric pressure of 30 inches. As an air-ship rises from the ground, the density, and therefore pressure, of the air decreases, which causes the hydrogen in the envelope to expand proportionately. Rise in temperature has the same effect. When an air-ship ascends, the gas therefore expands, and at a certain point would burst the envelope were valves not provided to allow some of the gas to escape. It is important to realize that as the expansion occurs at a rate corresponding to the decrease in density no alteration in lift occurs so long as gas is not lost through the valves. This would continue indefinitely if the gas-chamber were capable of stretching indefinitely, but with the cotton-fabric used in practice a height is reached when gas commences to escape from the automatic valves. From this moment the lift of the air-ship begins to decrease. At a certain point this decrease will have reached such a point that the air-ship is 'in equilibrium', i.e. she weighs precisely the same as the volume of air she displaces. This is known as the 'maximum height'. Up to 10,000 feet it is roughly true that1/30of the lift is lost per 1000 foot rise.
The simplest form of air-ship is thenon-rigid, which consists of a rubberized cotton-fabric gas-container (the 'envelope'), from which the 'car',containing engines, crew, &c., is hung by flexible steel-wire ropes. To resist the bending moment introduced by the weight of the car, the envelope is inflated with hydrogen under pressure—usually about 25 mm. of water. So long as this pressure is greater than any local compression due to bending or loading in the fabric, the envelope will retain its shape. On coming down from a height, owing to the loss of gas, as already explained, the pressure will be reduced, and something must be done to restore it or the envelope will buckle. Fabric bags, known as 'ballonets', are therefore fitted inside the envelope, and as the air-ship descends air is forced into these bags, which supplies the lost pressure and maintains the shape of the envelope. The height to which a non-rigid air-ship can go, on returning from which the ballonets will be just full of air and the pressure the same as at starting, is known as the 'maximum ballonet height'. Ballonets are usually equivalent in volume to rather less than a quarter of the total volume of the air-ship—giving a maximum ballonet height of 6000 to 7000 feet. Usually from two to three ballonets are provided, according to the size of the air-ship. During the Great European War British non-rigid air-ships were constructed varying in size from a capacity of 70,000 cu. feet to 360,000 cu. feet. The former had one 75-h.p. engine, and the latter two of 375 h.p. each. Owing to difficulties in maintaining the shape and distributing the weight of the car over a long envelope, it is generally considered that 500,000 cu. feet probably represents the maximum size in which the non-rigid form of construction can be used. Above this size thesemi-rigidtype is used. In this case the envelope remains as in the non-rigid, but a girder or 'keel' is introduced between the envelope and the car, the weight of which is therefore taken by the keel and thence distributed to the envelope instead of being taken direct from the envelope as in non-rigids. There has been little development of non-rigids in Great Britain. The most prominent types are the Italian 'Forlanini', 'Verduzzio', and military air-ships. The keel, in all these examples, is not a rigid girder in the vertical sense, as it consists of a number of sections connected together by links. It is designed to resist compression only so long as it is held straight by the pressure of the envelope, and is not capable of taking a bending moment. When a size of about 1,000,000-cu.-foot-hydrogen capacity is reached it becomes economical to use therigidmethod of construction. This is totally distinct from the other two types, as the non-rigid envelope is replaced by a rigid hull of sufficient strength to retain its shape without the assistance of any internal gas-pressure. The hull consists of a number of longitudinal members—usually built-up girders of 'duralumin', an aluminium alloy—connected together at distances of 25-30 feet by a number of 'transverse frames', or rings, forming bulkheads. The transverse frames are also of duralumin girders, and are braced by 'radical wires' running from the joints of these girders to a ring in the centre. Between each pair of these transverse frames is a gas-bag containing hydrogen. The gas-bags are made of rubberized cotton on to which is stuck 'gold-beater's skin', made from the lining of the intestines of an ox. This is done to prevent hydrogen leakage. This is necessary, as the fabric of the gas-bags of a rigid air-ship is lighter and contains less rubber than the envelope of a non-rigid.
A 'Δ'-shaped keel runs along the interior of the ship, its weight being taken on the two bottom longitudinal girders. The chief function of the keel is to distribute the load of the various weights to the transverse frames of the air-ship. In it are slung the petrol-tanks, water-ballast tanks, bombs, &c., and living accommodation for the crew is also provided there. Along the bottom runs a walking-way from which access is gained to the cars and various parts of the air-ship. The cars containing the engines, wireless-cabin, and pilot's cabin are suspended from the transverse frames. Some of the cars, instead of being slung below the centre-line, are slung in pairs some little way up the side of the air-ship.
All air-ships are steered by means of rudders and, in the vertical sense, elevators, in precisely the same way as aeroplanes. Up to the end of 1919 speeds of 84 miles per hour had been reached and air-ships had climbed to 24,000 feet. The greatest distance covered in one flight was 4500 miles, while the longest time in the air was effected by R34 on her voyage to America, which occupied 108 hours—4 days 8 hours. Rigid air-ships of 2,750,000-cu.-foot capacity had been built with a length of nearly 300 feet and a gross lift of 60 tons. See alsoAeronautics,Balloons.—Bibliography: L. Sazerac de Forges,La Conquête de l'Air; Santos Dumont,My Airships; Hildebrandt,Airships: Past and Present; Major G. Whale,British Airships: Past, Present, and Future.
Airy,Sir George Biddell, a distinguished English astronomer, was born at Alnwick, 27th July, 1801, and educated at Hereford, Colchester, and Trinity College, Cambridge, where he was senior wrangler in 1823. At Cambridge he was Lucasian professor of mathematics, and subsequently Plumian professor of astronomy and experimental philosophy, in the latter capacity having charge of the observatory. In 1835 he was appointed Astronomer Royal, and as suchhis superintendence of the observatory at Greenwich was able and successful. He resigned this post with a pension in 1881. His important achievement is the discovery of a new inequality in the motions of Venus and the earth. He wrote much and made numerous valuable investigations on subjects connected with astronomy, physics, and mathematics. Among separate works published by him may be mentionedPopular Astronomy,On Sound and Atmospheric Vibrations,A Treatise on Magnetism,On the Undulatory Theory of Optics,On Gravitation. He died 2nd Jan., 1892. He left an autobiography, published in 1896.
Aisle(īl; from Lat.ala, a wing), in architecture, one of the lateral divisions of a church in the direction of its length, separated from the central portion or nave by piers or pillars. There may be one aisle or more on each side of the nave. The cathedrals at Chichester, Milan, and Amiens have five aisles, Antwerp and Paris seven, and that of Cordova nineteen aisles in all. The nave is sometimes called the central aisle. SeeCathedral.
Aisne(ān), a north-eastern frontier department of France; area, 2838 sq. miles. It is an undulating, well-cultivated, and well-wooded region, chiefly watered by the Oise in the north, its tributary the Aisne in the centre, and the Marne in the south. It contains the important towns of St. Quentin, Laon (the capital), Soissons, and Château Thierry. In the European War (1914-18) severe fighting took place on the Aisne, and a great battle was fought on 12th Sep., 1914. General Nivelle's offensive on the Aisne began in April, 1917. Pop. (1921), 421,575.
Aïva′lik,orKidonia,a seaport of Asia Minor, on the Gulf of Adramyti, 66 miles north by west of Smyrna, carrying on an extensive commerce in olive-oil, soap, cotton, &c. Pop. 21,000.
Aix(āks), a town of Southern France, department Bouches-du-Rhône, on the River Arc, the seat of an archbishop. It is well built, has an old cathedral and other interesting buildings, including a university, a library (over 100,000 vols.), museum, &c.; manufactures cotton and woollen goods, oil, soap, hats, flour, &c.; warm springs, now less visited than formerly. Aix was founded in 123B.C.by the Roman consul Gaius Sextius Calvinus, and from its mineral springs was calledAquæ Sextiæ(Sextian Waters). Between this town and Arles, Marius gained his great victory over the Teutons, 102B.C.In the Middle Ages the counts of Provence held their court here, to which the troubadours used to resort. Pop. 29,836.
Aix,orAix-les-Bains(āks-lā-ban˙), a finely-situated village of France, department of Savoie, 8 miles north of Chambéry, on the side of a fertile valley, with much-frequented hot springs known to the Romans by the name ofAquæ Gratianæ, and with ruins of a Roman triumphal arch, and of a temple of Diana. Pop. 8900.
Aix-la-Chapelle(āks-la˙-sha˙-pel; Ger.Aachen), a city of Rhenish Prussia, 38 miles west by south of Cologne, pleasantly situated in a fine vale watered by the Wurm, formerly surrounded by ramparts, now converted into pleasant promenades. It is well built, and though an ancient town has now quite a modern appearance. The most important building is the cathedral, the oldest portion of which, often called the nave, was erected in the time of Charles the Great (Charlemagne) as the palace chapel about 796. It is in the Byzantine style, and consists of an octagon, surrounded by a sixteen-sided gallery and surmounted by a cupola, in the middle being the tomb of Charlemagne. The adjoining Gothic choir, begun in 1353 and finished in 1413, forms the other chief division of the cathedral; it is lofty and of great elegance, and has fine painted windows. Another noteworthy building is the Rathaus (town hall), erected in the fourteenth century. Aix-la-Chapelle, with the adjoining Burtscheid, which may be considered a suburb, is a place of great commerce and manufacturing industry, the chief productions being woollen yarns and cloths, needles, machinery, cards (for the woollen manufacture), railway and other carriages, cigars, chemicals, silk goods, hosiery, glass, soap, &c. A considerable portion of its importance and prosperity arises from the influx of visitors to its sulphur and chalybeate springs and baths.—Aix-la-Chapelle was known to the Romans asAquisgranum. It was the favourite residence of Charles the Great, who made it the capital of all his dominions north of the Alps, and who died here in 814. During the Middle Ages it was a free imperial city and very flourishing. Thirty-seven German emperors and eleven empresses have been crowned in it, and the imperial insignia were preserved here till 1795, when they were carried to Vienna. The town was in possession of France from 1794 to 1814. Pop. 156,143.—Congress of Aix-la-Chapelle, a congress held in 1818, by which the army of the allies in France was withdrawn after France had paid the contribution imposed at the peace of 1815, and by which independence was restored to France.—Atreatyof peace concluded at this city, 2nd May, 1668, as a result of the Triple Alliance, put an end to the war carried on against Spain by Louis XIV in 1667, after the death of his father-in-law, Philip IV, in support of his claims to a great part of the Spanish Netherlands, which he urged in the name of his queen, the infanta Maria Theresa. By this France obtained Lille, Charleroi, Douai, Tournai, Oudenarde, &c. Thesecond peaceof Aix-la-Chapelle, 18th Oct., 1748, terminated the Austrian war of succession.
Ajaccio(a˙-ya˙ch′ō), the capital of Corsica, on the south-west coast of the island, on a tongue of land projecting into the Gulf of Ajaccio, the birthplace of Napoleon and the seat of a bishop, with coral and sardine fisheries, and a considerable trade. There are here a cathedral, a college with library and museum, marble statue of Napoleon, monument of the Bonaparte family, &c. Ajaccio is connected by railway with Bastia and other places, and is becoming a winter resort for people with weak lungs. Pop. 20,946.
Ajan′ta,a village and ravine of India, in the north-west of the Nizam's dominions, about 50 miles north-north-east of Aurangabad. The ravine, 4 milesN.W.of the village, is celebrated for its cave temples and monasteries, twenty-nine in number, excavated out of a wall of almost perpendicular rock about 250 feet high. They are all richly ornamented with sculpture, and covered with highly-finished paintings, representing subjects of almost all kinds. The oldest are assigned to about 200B.C., the most modern to aboutA.D.600, and they may be said to furnish a continuous record of Buddhist art during 800 years, the faith at the latter date being practically expelled from India.
A′jax(Gr.Aias), the name of two Grecian chiefs who fought against Troy, the one being son of Oĭleus, King of Locris, surnamed the Little, the other son of Telamon, the Great or Telamonian Ajax. The latter was from Salamis, and sailed with twelve ships to Troy, where he is represented by Homer as the boldest and handsomest of the Greeks, after Achilles. He had more than one combat with Hector, against whom he was well matched. On the death of Achilles, when his arms, which Ajax claimed, were awarded to Ulysses, he became insane and killed himself. This is the subject of Sophocles' tragedyAjax. The other Ajax was hardly of less importance as a champion on the Greek side in the Trojan war. At the fall of Troy he entered the temple of Pallas Athena and seized Cassandra. He lost his life during his homeward voyage, either by shipwreck or by a flash of lightning sent by Athena, who was offended at the violation of her temple.
Ajmere,Ajmir,orAjmer,a British commissionership or province in India, Rajputána, divided into the two districts of Ajmere and Mairwara (or Merwara); area, 2711 sq. miles. The surface of the province, which is entirely surrounded by native States, is hilly in the north and west, where there is a branch of the Aravali range, but level in the south and east. The soil is partly fertile, but there are large barren sandy plains, and there are no rivers of any importance. There are a large number of tanks which collect the water of small streams, and are useful for irrigation. The province suffered severely from famine in 1899-1900, the population being reduced by 12 or 13 per cent. Pop. 501,395.—Ajmere, the capital, an ancient city, a favourite residence of the Mogul emperors, is 279 milesS.W.of Delhi, at the foot of Taragarh Hill (2853 feet), on which is a fort. It is surrounded by a wall, has well-built streets, and possesses a Government college, as also Mayo College for Rajput nobles, a Scottish mission, a mosque that forms one of the finest specimens of early Mahommedan architecture extant, and an old palace of Akbar, now the treasury. There is a trade in cotton, sugar, salt, &c., and the town is an important station on the Rajputána railway. Pop. 86,200.
Ajowan′(Ptychōtis Ajowan), an umbelliferous plant cultivated in India, Persia, and Egypt, the seeds of which are used in cookery and in medicine, having carminative properties. The seeds much resemble caraway seeds, have a strong smell of thyme, and are exported in some quantity to Europe as a source ofthymol, now so well known.
Aju′ga,a genus of plants belonging to the labiate family. SeeBugle.
Aj′utage,a short tube of a tapering shape fitting into the side of a reservoir or vessel to regulate the discharge of water from it. Also, the nozzle of a tube for regulating the discharge of water to form ajet d'eau.
Akabah′,Gulf of, an arm of the Red Sea, on the east side of the Peninsula of Sinai, which separates it from the Gulf of Suez; nearly 100 miles long. The village of Akabah, at the northern extremity of the gulf, is supposed to be near the site of theEzion-geberof the Old Testament; and here also was Elath, long a place of note. Akabah still carries on a small trade. It was captured by the Arabs in 1917.
Akagamaseki.Same asSimonoseki.
Akaroid Resin,a resin obtained from some of the grass-trees of Australia, used in varnishes.
Akassa,a seaport of Southern Nigeria, on a small island nearly opposite the chief mouth of the Niger. There are here engineering and other works, at which ships may be repaired, belonging to the Government.
Ak′bar(that is 'very great'), a Mogul emperor, the greatest Asiatic prince of modern times. He was born at Amerkote, in Sind, in 1542, succeeded his father, Humayun, a grandson of Sultan Baber, at the age of thirteen, and governed first under the guardianship of his minister, Beyram, but took the chief power into his own hands in 1560. He fought with distinguished valour against his foreign foes and rebellious subjects, conquering all his enemies, and extending the limits of the empire farther than they had ever been before, although on his accession they embraced only a small part of the formerMogul Empire. Although a Mohammedan by birth, he abandoned Islam and founded a new religion which he called 'Divine Faith' (Diu-i-Olahi). His contemporaries bestowed upon him the title of 'Guardian of Mankind'. He was also a generous patron of literature, and commissioned the Jesuit missionary, Jerome Xavier, to translate the four gospels into Persian. His government was remarkable for its mildness and tolerance towards all sects; he was indefatigable in his attention to the internal administration of his empire, and instituted inquiries into the population, character, and productions of each province. The result of his statistical labours, as well as a history of his reign, were collected by his minister, Abul Fazl, in a work calledAkbar-Nameh(Book of Akbar), the third part of which, entitledAyini-Akbari(Institutes of Akbar), was published in an English translation at Calcutta (1783-6, 3 vols.), and reprinted in London. He died in 1605. His mausoleum at Secundra, near Agra, is a fine example of Mohammedan architecture. Cf. V. A. Smith,Akbar, The Great Mogul.
Akee′(Blighia sapĭda), a tree of the nat. ord. Sapindaceæ, much esteemed for its fruit. The leaves are somewhat similar to those of the ash; the flowers are small and white, and produced in branched spikes. The fruit is lobed and ribbed, of a dull orange colour, and contains several large black seeds, embedded in a succulent and slightly bitter arillus of a pale straw colour, which is eaten when cooked. The akee is a native of Guinea, from whence it was carried to the West Indies by Captain Bligh in 1793.
À Kempis,Thomas. SeeThomas à Kempis.
Aken(ä′ken), a Prussian town, province of Saxony, on the left bank of the Elbe, with manufactures of tobacco, cloth, beetroot sugar, leather, &c. Pop. 7358.
A′kenside,Mark, a poet and physician, born in 1721, at Newcastle-upon-Tyne, died in London in 1770. He was the son of a butcher, and was sent to the University of Edinburgh to qualify for the ministry, but chose the study of medicine instead. After three years' residence at Edinburgh he went to Leyden, and in 1744 became Doctor of Physic. In the same year he published thePleasures of Imagination, which he is said to have written in Edinburgh, and which was translated into French by Baron d'Holbach (1769). In 1746 he wrote his much-praisedHymn to the Naiads. Having settled in London, he became a fellow of the Royal Society, and was admitted into the College of Physicians. In 1759 he was appointed first assistant and afterwards head physician to St. Thomas's Hospital. In his later days he wrote little poetry, but published several medical essays and observations. The place of Akenside as a poet is not very high, though Dr. Johnson praised the blank verse of his poems, and his somewhat cumbrousPleasures of Imaginationwas once considered one of the most pleasing didactic poems in our language.
Akermann′,a fortified town and seaport in Bessarabia, near the mouth of the Dniester, with a good port. The vicinity produces quantities of salt, and also fine grapes from which excellent wine is made. A treaty was signed here, 6th Oct., 1826, between Russia and the Porte, by which Moldavia, Walachia, and Serbia were released from all but nominal dependence on Turkey. Pop. 40,000.
Akhalzik,orAchalzik(a˙-ha˙l′tsik), a town of Russia in Asia, in the Trans-Caucasian government of Tiflis, 97 miles west of Tiflis, with a citadel. It was taken by the Russians in 1828. Pop. 15,977.
Ak-Hissar('white castle'), a town in Asia Minor, 46 milesN.E.of Smyrna, occupying the site of the ancient Thyatira, relics of which city are here abundant. Here the Emperor Valens defeated the usurper Procopius in 366, and Murad defeated the Prince of Aïdin in 1425. Pop. 20,000.
Akhtyrka(a˙h-tir′ka˙), a cathedral town of the Ukraine, government of Kharkov, with a good trade and some manufactures. Pop. 31,918.
Akjermann(a˙k-yer-ma˙n′). Same asAkermann.
Akkad,the northern portion of ancient Babylonia occupied by the earliest Semitic invaders when the southern portion was Sumer (or Sumeria) and occupied by non-Semites. There was also a city of the same name, the Biblical Accad (Gen.x), which was prominent before 2000B.C.Its ruins were unearthed between 1917 and 1919. SeeBabylonia.
Akkas,a dwarfish race of Central Africa, dwelling in scattered settlements to the north-west of Lake Albert Nyanza, about lat. 3°N., lon. 29°E.Their height averages about 4½ feet; they are of a brownish or coffee colour; head large, jaws projecting (or prognathous), ears large, hands small. They are timid and suspicious, and live almost entirely by the chase, being exceedingly skilful with the bow and arrow. They were first seen by the traveller G. A. Schweinfurth in 1870.
Akmolinsk′,a Russian province in Central Asia, largely consisting of steppes and wastes; the chief rivers are the Ishim and Sari-Su; and it contains the larger part of Lake Balkash. Capital, Omsk. Area, about 225,070 sq. miles. Pop. 1,523,700.—Akmolinskis a place of some importance for its caravan trade. Pop. 11,000.
Ako′la,a town of India, in Berar, the residence of the commissioner of Berar, on the River Morna,150 miles W. by S. of Nagpur; with walls and a fort, and some trade in cotton. Pop. 29,289.
Ak′ron,a town of the United States, in Ohio, 100 milesN.E.of Columbus, on an elevated site. Being furnished with ample water-power by the Little Cuyahoga, it possesses large flour-mills, woollen factories, manufactures of iron goods, &c. In the vicinity extensive beds of mineral paint are worked. Pop. (1920), 208,435.
Aksu′('white water'), a town of Eastern or Chinese Turkestan, 300 miles from Kashgar, in the valley of the Aksu. It is an important centre of trade between Russia, China, and Tartary, and has manufactures of cotton cloth, leather, and metal goods. Formerly the residence of the kings of Kashgar and Yarkand. Pop. 30,000.
Akyab′,a seaport of Lower Burmah, capital of the province of Arracan, at the mouth of the River Kuladan or Akyab, of recent upgrowth, well built, possessing a good harbour, and carrying on an important trade, its chief exports being rice and petroleum. Pop. 35,680.
Al,the article in the Arabic language. It appears in English words derived from the Arabic, such as Algebra, Alchemy, Alcove.
Alabama(al-a-ba˙′ma), one of the United States, bounded by Tennessee, Georgia, Florida, the Gulf of Mexico, and Mississippi; area, 51,998 sq. miles. The southern part, bordering on the Gulf of Mexico and Florida, is low and level, and wooded largely with pine, hence known as the 'pine-woods region'; the middle is hilly, with some tracts of level sand or prairies; the north is broken and mountainous. The State is intersected by the Rivers Alabama, Tombigbee, Mobile, Coosa, Tallapoosa, Tennessee, &c., some of them navigable for several hundred miles. The soil is various, being in some places, particularly in the south, sandy and barren, but in most parts is fertile, especially in the river valleys and in the centre, where there is a very fertile tract known as the 'cotton belt'. The climate in general is warm, and in the lowlying lands skirting the rivers is rather unhealthy. In the more elevated parts it is healthy and agreeable, the winters being mild and the summers tempered by breezes from the Gulf of Mexico. The staple production is cotton, especially in the middle and south, where rice and sugar are also grown; in the north the cereals (above all maize) are the principal crops. Alabama possesses extensive beds of iron ore and coal, with marble, granite, and other minerals; and coal and iron mining, and the smelting and working of iron, are now important industries. The manufacture of cotton goods is extensively carried on. The foreign trade is concentrated in Mobile, whence cotton is the principal export. The State sends eight representatives to Congress. Its principal towns are Montgomery, the seat of government, and Mobile, the chief port. There is a State university at Tuscaloosa, a university connected with the Methodist Episcopal body, several State normal colleges, besides professional schools, &c., in the principal towns. Alabama became a State in 1819. It was one of the slave States. Pop. (1920), 2,348,174.
Alabama,a river of the United States, in the State of Alabama, formed by the junction of the Coosa and the Tallapoosa. After a course of 300 miles it joins the Tombigbee and assumes the name of the Mobile.
Alabama,The, a ship built at Birkenhead to act as a privateer in the service of the Confederate States of North America during the civil war begun in 1861. She was a wooden screw steamer with two engines of 350 h.p. each, 1040 tons burden, and carried eight 32-pounders. Before she was launched her destination was made known to the British Government, but owing to some legal formalities the orders given for her detention did not reach Liverpool till the day after she had left that port (29th July, 1862). She received her armament and stores at the Azores, and entered on her destructive career, capturing and burning merchant vessels, till she was sunk in a fight with the Federal war steamerKearsarge, off Cherbourg, 19th June, 1864. As early as the winter of 1862 the United States Government declared that they held themselves entitled at a suitable period to demand full compensation from Britain for the damages inflicted on American property by theAlabamaand several other cruisers that had been built, supplied, or recruited in British ports or waters. After a long series of negotiations it was agreed to submit the final settlement of the question to a court of arbitration, consisting of representatives of Britain and the United States, and of three other members, appointed by the King of Italy, the President of Switzerland, and the Emperor of Brazil. This court met at Geneva, 17th Dec., 1871, and a claim for indirect damages to American commerce having been abandoned by the United States Government, the decree was given in Sept., 1872, that Britain was liable to the United States in damages to the amount of 15,500,000 dollars (about £3,229,200). After all awards were made to private claimants about 8,000,000 dollars still remain unclaimed.
Alabandite,orManganblende,a black submetallic mineral.
Alabas′ter,a name applied to a granular variety of gypsum or hydrated sulphate of lime. It was much used by the ancients for the manufacture of ointment and perfume boxes, vases, and the like. It has a fine granular texture, is usually of a pure white colour, and is so soft that it can be scratched with the nail. It is found inmany parts of Europe; in great abundance and of peculiarly excellent quality in Tuscany. From the finer and more compact kinds, vases, clock-stands, statuettes, and other ornamental articles are made, and from inferior kinds the cement known as plaster of Paris. A variety of carbonate of lime, closely resembling alabaster in appearance, is used for similar purposes under the name ofOriental alabaster. It is usually stalagmitic or stalactitic in origin and is often of a yellowish colour. It may be distinguished from true alabaster by being too hard to be scratched with the nail.
Alac′taga(Alactăga jacŭlus), a rodent mammal, closely allied to the jerboa, but somewhat larger in size, with a still longer tail. Its range extends from the Crimea and the steppes of the Don across Central Asia to the Chinese frontier.
Aladdin,son of Mustafa, a poor tailor of China. A magician, who pretended to be his uncle, gave him a magic ring and sent him to fetch 'the wonderful lamp' from a cave. Aladdin secured the lamp, but refused to give it to the magician, who shut him in the cave. Aladdin was rescued by the Genie of the Ring, and by means of the Genie of the Lamp acquired great wealth, built a magnificent palace, and married the Sultan's daughter. Afterwards the magician got possession of the lamp, and caused the palace to be transported into Africa. Aladdin was arrested, but was again saved by the Genie of the Ring. He poisoned the magician, recovered the lamp, and by its means restored his palace to its original site.
Alago′as,a maritime State of Brazil; area, 22,577 sq. miles; pop. 946,617.—Alagoas, the former capital of the province, is situated on the south side of an arm of the sea, about 20 miles distant from Maceio, to which the seat of government was transferred in 1839. Pop. about 4000.
Alais(a˙-lā), a town of Southern France, department of Gard, 87 milesN.W.of Marseilles, with coal, iron, and lead mines, which are actively worked, and chalybeate springs, which have many visitors during the autumn months. The treaty of Alais, signed on 28th June, 1629, ended the Huguenot wars in France. Pop. 29,800.
Alajuela(a˙-la˙-hu-ā′la˙), a town of Central America, in the State of Costa Rica. Pop. 12,000.
Ala-Kul,a lake in Russian Central Asia, near the borders of Mongolia, in lat. 46°N.lon. 81° 40′E.; area, 660 sq. miles.
Alamanni.SeeAlemanni.
Alaman′ni,Luigi, an Italian poet, of noble family, born at Florence in 1495. Suspected of conspiring against the life of Cardinal Giulio de' Medici, who then governed Florence in the name of Pope Leo X, he fled to Venice, and when the cardinal ascended the papal chair under the name of Clement VII he took refuge in France, where he henceforth lived, being employed by Francis I and Henry II in several important negotiations. He died in 1556. His principal works are a didactic poem,La Coltivazione, a splendid imitation of Virgil'sGeorgics(1546); a comedy entitledFlora; two epics,Girone il Cortese(1548) andL'Avarchide, an imitation of theIliad(1570); and a collection of eclogues, satires, psalms, &c., partly in blank verse, the invention of which is contested with him by Trissino, a contemporary.
Al′amo,a fort in Bexar county, Texas, United States, celebrated for the resistance its occupants (140 Texans) made to a Mexican force of 4000 from 23rd Feb. to 6th March, 1836. At the latter date only six Texans remained alive, and on their surrendering they were slaughtered by the Mexicans.
Al′amos,a town of Mexico, State of Sonora, the capital of a mining district. Pop. 12,000.
Åland(o′land)Islands,a numerous group of islands and islets, about eighty of which are inhabited, formerly in Russia, situated in the Baltic Sea, near the mouth of the Gulf of Finland; area, 468 sq. miles. The principal island, Åland, distant about 30 miles from the Swedish coast, is 18 miles long and about 14 broad. The fortress of Bomarsund, here situated, was destroyed by an Anglo-French force in Aug., 1854. The inhabitants, who are of Swedish extraction, employ themselves mostly in fishing. The islands were ceded by Sweden to Russia in 1809, and proclaimed a province of Finland in 1918. A referendum of the inhabitants, taken in Dec., 1918, decided in favour of union with Sweden, but on 22nd Oct., 1921, an agreement for the neutralization of the islands was signed at Genoa. Pop. 18,000.
Ala′ni,orAlans,one of the warlike tribes which migrated from Asia westward at the time of the decline of the Roman Empire. They are first met with in the region of the Caucasus, where Pompey fought with them. From this centre they spread over the south of modern Russia to the confines of the Roman Empire. About the middle of the fifth century they joined the Vandals, among whom they became lost to history.
Alarcon′ Y Mendo′za,Don Juan Ruiz de, one of the most distinguished dramatic poets of Spain, born in Mexico about the end of the sixteenth or the beginning of the seventeenth century. He came to Europe about 1622, and in 1628 he published a volume containing eight comedies, and in 1634 another containing twelve. One of them, calledLa Verdad Sospechosa(The Truth Suspected), published in 1630 in a collection bearing the name of Lope de Vega, furnished Corneille with the groundwork and greater part of the substance of hisMenteur. HenceCorneille's declaration in the preface to that play that he had borrowed the subject from Lope de Vega. HisTejedor de Segovia(Weaver of Segovia) andLas Paredes Oyen(Walls have Ears) are still performed on the Spanish stage. He died in 1639.
Al′aric I,King of the Visigoths, was born about the middle of the fourth century, probably in 370, and is first mentioned in history inA.D.394, when Theodosius the Great gave him the command of his Gothic auxiliaries. The dissensions between Arcadius and Honorius, the sons of Theodosius, inspired Alaric with the intention of attacking the Roman Empire. In 396 he ravaged Greece, from which he was driven by the Roman general Stilicho, but made a masterly retreat to Illyria, of which Arcadius, frightened at his successes, appointed him governor. In 400 he invaded Italy, but was defeated by Stilicho at Pollentia (403), and induced to transfer his services from Arcadius to Honorius on condition of receiving 4000 lb. of gold. Honorius having failed to fulfil this condition, Alaric made a second invasion of Italy, during which he besieged Rome three times. The first time (408) the city was saved by paying a heavy ransom; the second (409) it capitulated, and Honorius was deposed, but shortly afterwards restored. His sanction of a treacherous attack on the forces of Alaric brought about the third siege, and the city was taken 24th Aug., 410, and sacked for six days, Alaric, however, doing everything in his power to restrain the violence of his followers. He quitted Rome with the intention of reducing Sicily and Africa, but died at Cosenza in 410. Legend has it that he was buried beneath the river-bed of the Busenzo, the course of which was temporarily turned aside for the purpose.
Al′aric II,King of the Visigoths fromA.D.484 to 507. At the beginning of his reign the dominions of the Visigoths were at their greatest extent, embracing three-fourths of the modern Spain and all Western Gaul to the south of the Loire. His unwarlike character induced Clovis, King of the Franks, to invade the kingdom of the Visigoths. In a battle near Poitiers (507) Alaric was slain and his army completely defeated. TheBreviarium Alaricianum, a code of laws derived exclusively from Roman sources, was compiled by a body of Roman jurists at the command of this King Alaric.
Alarm,in military language, a signal, given by beat of drum, bugle-call, or firing of a gun, to warn a camp or garrison of a surprise intended or actually made by the enemy. A place, called thealarm-post, is generally appointed at which the troops are to assemble when an alarm is given.—Alarmis also the name given to several contrivances in which electricity is made use of, as afire-alarm, by which intelligence is at once conveyed to the proper quarter when a fire breaks out; aburglar-alarm, an arrangement of wires and a battery in a house intended to set a bell or bells ringing should a burglar attempt to gain entrance.
Alarm-clock,one which can be set so as to ring loudly at a certain hour to wake from sleep or excite attention.
Ala-Shehr(a˙-la˙-shār′) (ancientPhiladelphia), a town in Asia Minor, 100 miles east of Smyrna, famous as the seat of one of the first Christian churches, and still having a vast number of interesting remains of antiquity, consisting of fragments of beautiful columns, sarcophagi, fountains, &c. It is a place of some importance, carrying on a thriving trade, chiefly with Smyrna, to which runs a railway. Pop. 15,000.
Alas′ka,a territory belonging to the United States, comprising all that portion of the north-west of North America which lies west of the 141st meridian of west longitude, together with an irregular strip of coast-land (and the adjacent islands), extending south to lat. 54° 40′N., and lying between Canada and the Pacific (the boundary being adjusted in 1903); total area, about 590,884 sq. miles. The chief river is the Yukon, a great stream, now navigated in summer for most of its course. The principal mountains (among which are several volcanoes) are Mounts M‘Kinley (20,470 feet) and Wrangell (17,400 feet). The climate of the interior is very severe in winter, but in summer the heat is intense; on the Pacific coast it is mild but moist. Alaska produces excellent timber. Numbers of fur-bearing animals abound, such as the fur-seal, sea-otter, beaver, fox, mink, marten, &c.; and the fur trade has long been valuable. The coasts and rivers swarm with fish, and salmon and cod are caught and exported. Gold is now mined in several localities, especially Cape Nome, where a town has sprung up. The aboriginal inhabitants consist of Esquimaux and Indians. Alaska, called Russian America until 1867, was sold to the United States for 7,200,000 dollars, the acquisition being ratified by Congress on 20th June, 1867. It has a legislative assembly consisting of eight senators and sixteen representatives, and the legislature meets biennially since 1913. The capital was formerly Sitka, on Baranoff Island, but is now Juneau, on Gastineau Channel. Pop. 64,356, latest estimate being 75,000.—Bibliography: A. W. Greely,Handbook of Alaska; J. Muir,Travels in Alaska.
Alaskite,an igneous rock consisting of quartz and felspar. SeeGranite.
Alas′sio,a seaport of North Italy, on the Gulf of Genoa, a winter resort of people from England. Pop. 5000.
Alastor,in Greek mythology, is a surname ofZeus (cf. Lat. JupiterVindex) describing him as the avenger of evil deeds. The name or epithet is also used to designate any deity or demon who avenges wrongs committed by men.Alastoris the title of a poem by Shelley.
Alatau(a˙-la˙-tou′), the name of three considerable mountain ranges of Central Asia, on the Russian and Chinese frontiers.
Alatyr(a˙-la˙-tir′), a town in Russia, government Simbirsk, at the confluence of the Alatyr with the Sura, with a considerable trade. Pop. 11,000.
Alau′da,a genus of insessorial birds, which includes the larks. SeeLark.
A′lava,a hilly province in the north of Spain, one of the three Basque provinces; area, 1175 sq. miles; covered by branches of the Pyrenees, the mountains being clothed with oak, chestnut, and other timber, and the valleys yielding grain, vegetables, and abundance of fruits. There are iron and copper mines, and inexhaustible salt springs. Capital, Vittoria. Pop. 97,692.