capital of department Vaucluse, on the left bank of the Rhone; enclosed by
lofty battlemented and turreted walls, well built, but with rather narrow
streets. It is an archbishop's see since 1475, and has a large and ancient
cathedral on a rock overlooking the town, the immense palace in which the
Popes resided (used as a barracks and prison for a long time), and other
old buildings. The industries of the city are numerous and varied, the
principal being connected with silk. The silk manufacture and the breeding
of silk-worms are the principal employments in the district. Here Petrarch
lived several years, and made the acquaintance of Laura, whose tomb is in
the Franciscan church. From 1309 to 1377 seven Popes in succession, from
Clement V to Gregory XI, resided in this city. After its purchase by Pope
Clement VI, in 1348, Avignon and its district continued, with a few
interruptions, under the rule of a vice-legate of the Pope's till 1791,
when it was formally united to the French Republic. Pop. 49,304.
AVIGNON BERRIES. See _French Berries_.
AVILA (ae'v[=e]-l[.a]), a town of Spain, capital of province of Avila, a
modern division of Old Castile. It is the see of the Bishop suffragan of
Santiago, with fine cathedral. Once one of the richest towns of Spain.
Principal employment in the town, spinning; in the province, breeding sheep
and cattle. Pop., town, 12,060; province, 214,008.
AVILA, Gil Gonzalez d', a Spanish antiquary and biographer, 1577-1658; made
historiographer of Castile in 1612, and of the Indies in 1641. Most
valuable works: _Teatro de las Grandezas de Madrid_, 1623, and _Teatro
Ecclesiastico_, 1645-53.
AVILA Y ZUNIGA (ae'v[=e]-l[.a] [=e] thoe-ny[=e]'g[.a]), Don Luis d',
Spanish general, diplomatist, and historian; a favourite of Charles V; born
about 1490, died about 1560. His chief work, printed in 1548 and translated
into five languages, was on the war of Charles V in Germany.
AVILES ([.a]-v[=e]'les), a town of Northern Spain, province Oviedo, with a
good harbour. Pop. 13,660.
AVIZ, an order of knighthood in Portugal, instituted by Sancho, its first
king, and having as its original object the subjection of the Moors.
AVIZAN'DUM, in Scots law, private consideration. To make _avizandum_ is to
remove a cause from the public court to the private consideration of the
judge.
AVLO'NA (Ital. _Valona_), a seaport of Albania on the Adriatic, with a
considerable trade. It was occupied and made a naval and military base by
the Italians during the European War. Pop. 6500.
AVO'CA, or OVOCA, a river and valley in Ireland, County Wicklow, celebrated
as the scene and subject of one of Moore's _Irish Melodies_. The river is
formed by the union of the Avonbeg and Avonmore, and below the junction
receives the Aughrim, the name in Celtic signifying 'the meeting of the
waters'. After a course of about 9 miles it falls into the sea about a mile
below Arklow. The scenery here is singularly beautiful, and attracts many
visitors.
AVOCA'DO-PEAR. See _Alligator-pear_.
AVOGAD'RO'S LAW, in physics, asserts that equal volumes of different gases
at the same pressure and temperature contain an equal number of molecules.
AVOIRDUPOIS (a-v[.e]r'd[u:]-pois; from old French, literally, 'goods of
weight'), a system of weights used for all goods except precious metals,
gems, and medicines, and in which a pound contains 16 ounces, or 7000
grains, while a pound troy contains 12 ounces, or 5760 grains. A
hundredweight contains 112 pounds avoirdupois; a _cental_ of 100 pounds is
common in America, and is a legal British weight. See _Weights and
Measures_.
AV'OLA, a seaport on the east of Sicily, with a trade in almonds, sugar,
&c. Pop. 17,711.
A'VON, the name of several rivers in England, of which the principal are:
1. The Upper Avon, rising in Leicestershire, and flowing S.W. into the
Severn at Tewkesbury. Stratford-on-Avon lies on this river. 2. The Lower
Avon, rising in Gloucestershire, and falling into the Severn N.W. of
Bristol; navigable as far as Bath. 3. In Monmouthshire. 4. In Wiltshire and
Hampshire, entering the English Channel at Christchurch Bay. There are also
streams of this name in Wales and Scotland.
AVONMOUTH, a place at the mouth of the River Avon, 6 miles from Bristol,
and connected with it by rail and river, with large docks belonging to the
Bristol corporation, and forming part of the shipping accommodation of that
city.
[Illustration: Avoset (_Recurvirostra avosetta_)]
AV'OSET, a bird about the size of a lapwing, of the genus Recurvirostra
(_R. avosetta_), family Scolopacidae (snipes), ord. Grallatores. The bill
is long, slender, elastic, and bent upward toward the tip, the legs long,
the feet webbed, and the plumage variegated with black and white. The bird
feeds on worms and other small animals, which it scoops up from the mud of
the marshes and fens that it frequents. It is found in Europe, Asia,
Africa, and America; but the American species is slightly different from
the others.
AVRANCHES ([.a]-vrae[n.]sh; ancient, ABRINCAE), a town, France, department
La Manche, about 3 miles from the Atlantic. It formerly had a fine
cathedral, destroyed during the first French revolution. Manufactures:
lace, thread, and candles. Pop. 7174.
AWE ([a:]), a Scottish loch in Argyllshire, about 28 miles long and 2
broad, and communicating by the Awe with Loch Etive. Ben Cruachan stands at
its northern extremity. It has many islands and beautiful scenery, and
abounds in trout, salmon, &c.
AXE, or AX, a well-known tool for cutting or chipping wood, consisting of
an iron head with an arched cutting edge of steel, which is in line with
the wooden handle of the tool, and not at right angles to it as in the
adze.
AXEL. See _Absalon_.
AXE-STONE. See _Jade_.
AXHOLME ISLE (aks'[=o]m), a sort of island in England formed by the Rivers
Trent, Idle, and Don, in the north-west angle of Lincolnshire, 17 miles
long, 4-1/2 broad.
[Illustration: Leaf and stem of Horse-chestnut, showing axil]
AXIL, or AXILLA, in botany, the angle between the upper side of a leaf and
the stem or branch from which it springs. Buds usually appear in the axils,
and flowers or flower-stalks growing in this way are called _axillary_.
AX'IM, a town of W. Africa, on the Gold Coast.
AX'INITE, a mineral, silicate of alumina, lime, &c., with boracic acid,
deriving its name from the form of the crystals, the edges of which bear
some resemblance to the edge of an axe.
AXIN'OMANCY, an ancient method of divination by the movements of an axe
(Gr. _axin[=e]_) balanced on a stake, or of an agate placed on a red-hot
axe. The names of suspected persons being uttered, the movements at a
particular name indicated the criminal.
AX'IOM, a universal proposition, which the understanding must perceive to
be true as soon as it perceives the meaning of the words, and therefore
called a _self-evident truth_: e.g. _A_ is _A_. In mathematics, axioms are
those propositions which are assumed without proof, as being in themselves
independent of proof, and which are made the basis of all the subsequent
reasoning; as, 'The whole is greater than its part'; 'Things that are equal
to the same thing are equal to one another'. See _Geometry_.
AXIS, the straight line, real or imaginary, passing through a body or
magnitude, on which it revolves, or may be supposed to revolve; especially
a straight line with regard to which the different parts of a magnitude, or
several magnitudes, are symmetrically arranged; e.g. the _axis of the
world_, the imaginary line drawn through its two poles.
In _botany_ the word is also used, the stem being termed the _ascending
axis_, the root the _descending axis_.
In _anatomy_ the name is given to the second vertebra from the head, that
on which the _atlas_ moves. See _Atlas_.
AXIS (_Cervus axis_), a species of Indian deer, also known as the Spotted
Hog-deer, of a rich fawn colour, nearly black along the back, with white
spots, and under parts white. Breeds freely in many parks in Europe.
AX'MINSTER, a market town, England, county Devon, on the Axe, at one time
celebrated for its woollen cloth and carpet manufactures, and giving name
to an expensive variety of carpet having a thick soft pile, and also to a
cheaper variety. Pop. (1921), 2049.
AX'OLOTL (_Amblyst[)o]ma macul[=a]tum_), a curious Mexican amphibian, not
unlike a newt, from 8 to 10 inches in length, with gills formed of three
long ramified or branch-like processes floating on each side of the neck.
It reproduces by laying eggs, and was for some time regarded as a perfect
animal with permanent gills. It is said, however, that they frequently lose
their gills like the other members of the genus, though some authorities
maintain that the true axolotl never loses its gills, and that merely
confusion with _A. tigr[=i]num_ has led to the belief, as this species
sometimes retains its branchiae, though usually it loses them. The axolotl
is esteemed a luxury by the Mexicans. There are a number of species of
Amblystoma in North America.
AX'UM, or AKSUM, a town in Tigre, a division of Abyssinia, once the capital
of an important kingdom, and at one time the great depot of the ivory trade
in the Red Sea. It is the seat of an _abuna_ or Patriarch, and has a pop.
of 5000. The site of the town still exhibits many remains of its former
greatness.
AYACUCHO (ae-y[.a]-koe'ch[=o]), the name of a department of Peru, and of
its capital. The department has an area of 18,185 sq. miles; a pop. of
302,469. The town (formerly Guamanga or Huamanga) has a cathedral and a
university, and a pop. of 20,000.
AYALA ([.a]-yae'l[.a]), Pedro Lopez de, Spanish historian and poet,
Chancellor of Castile in the second half of the fourteenth century, and the
author of a history of Castile from 1350 to 1396. He took an active part in
the struggle between Henry II and Pedro the Cruel, and was taken prisoner
by the English in 1367. During his English captivity he wrote part of his
chief poetical work, _A Book in Rhyme concerning Court Life_. Died 1407.
AYAMONTE ([.a]-y[.a]-mon't[=a]), a seaport town, Spain, province of Huelva,
2 miles from the mouth of the Guadiana. Pop. 6000.
AYASS'OLUK. See _Ephesus_.
[Illustration: Aye-aye (_Cheir[)o]mys madagascariensis_)]
AYE-AYE ([=i]-[=i]; _Cheir[)o]mys madagascariensis_), an animal of
Madagascar, so called from its cry; now referred to the lemur family. It is
about the size of a hare, has large flat ears and a bushy tail; large eyes;
long sprawling fingers, the third so slender as to appear shrivelled;
colour, musk-brown, mixed with black and grey ash; feeds on grubs, fruits,
&c.; habits, nocturnal. See _Primates_, _Lemurs_.
AYESHA (a-yesh'a), daughter of Abu-Bekr and favourite wife of Mahomet,
though she bore him no child, born in 610 or 611. After his death she
opposed the succession of Ali, but was defeated and taken prisoner. She
died at Medina in 677 or 678 (A.H. 58).
AYLESBURY ([=a]lz'be-ri), county town of Buckinghamshire, England, with a
fine old parish church; chief industries, silk-throwing, printing, making
condensed milk, and poultry-rearing for the London market. The Aylesbury
duck, also called 'white English', is famous. Previous to 1885 it and its
hundred sent two members to Parliament, and it still gives its name to a
parliamentary division. Pop. (1921), 12,114.
AY'LOFFE, Sir Joseph, an English antiquary, born about 1708, died 1781;
member of the first council of the Society of Antiquaries, a commissioner
for the preservation of State papers, the author and editor of several
works, of which the best known is his _Calendars of the Auntient Charters_,
&c.
AYMARAS ([=i]'m[.a]-r[.a]z), an Indian race of Bolivia and Peru, speaking a
language akin to the Quichua.
AY'MON, the surname of four brothers, Alard, Richard, Guiscard, and Renaud,
who hold a first place among the heroes of the Charlemagne cycle of
romance. Their exploits were the subject of a romance, _Les Quatre Fils
d'Aymon_, by Huon de Villeneuve, a trouvere of the thirteenth century, and
Renaud is a leading figure in Ariosto's _Orlando_.
AYR ([=a]r), a town of Scotland, a royal and parliamentary burgh, and
capital of Ayrshire, at the mouth of the River Ayr, on the Firth of Clyde.
It was the site of a Roman station. William the Lion built a castle there
in 1197 and constituted it a royal burgh in 1202; and the Parliament which
confirmed Robert Bruce's title to the crown sat in Ayr. It is picturesquely
situated, and has excellent public and other buildings. Two bridges connect
Ayr proper with the suburbs of Newton and Wallacetown, a third stands
farther up the river. The 'New Brig' of Burns's 'Brigs of Ayr' (built in
1788) had to be replaced by a new structure in 1879, while the 'Auld Brig'
(built in 1252) still stands, after being repaired. Carpets, lace goods,
leather, iron goods, &c., are manufactured. The harbour accommodation is
good, and in particular coals are largely exported. The house in which
Burns was born stands within 1-1/2 miles of the town, and near 'Alloway's
auld haunted kirk', and a monument to him is near. Ayr unites with
Ardrossan, Irvine, Prestwick, Saltcoats, and Troon in sending a member to
Parliament. Pop. 32,986.--The county has an area of 724,523 acres. It is
divided into the districts of Carrick in the south, Kyle in the middle, and
Cunningham in the north. The surface is irregular, and a large portion of
it hilly, but much of it is fertile. The principal streams are the Ayr,
Stinchar, Girvan, Doon, Irvine, and Garnock. Coal and iron are abundant;
and there are numerous collieries and ironworks. Limestone and freestone
are also abundant. Agriculture is in a flourishing state, the principal
crops being oats, turnips, and early potatoes, while dairy husbandry is
extensively practised; the Ayrshire cows, referred to in the eighteenth
century as the Cunningham, are celebrated as milkers, and Ayrshire cheese
('Dunlop' and 'Cheddar') has a high reputation. Woollen manufactures are
extensive, particularly carpets and bonnets; lace goods are largely made;
Kilmarnock is a centre of engineering and of dairying education. Goods made
include explosives, boots and shoes, chemicals, and leather. Chief towns,
Ayr, Kilmarnock, Irvine, Ardrossan, Saltcoats, Stevenston, Maybole. Ayr and
Buteshire send three members to Parliament. Pop. 267,600 (1918).
AYRER ([=i]'rer), Jacob, a German dramatist of the sixteenth century, who
almost rivalled Hans Sachs in copiousness and importance. He was a citizen
and legal official of Nuremberg, and died in 1605. His works, published at
Nuremberg in 1618, under the title _Opus Theatricum_, include thirty
comedies and tragedies and thirty-six humorous pieces.
AYRTON, William Edward, English physicist and electrical engineer, born in
1847. From 1873 to 1879 he was professor of natural philosophy and
telegraphy in the Imperial College of Engineering at Tokio. In 1879 he was
appointed professor of applied physics in the City and Guilds of London
Institute. He invented an ammeter, voltmeter, &c., in conjunction with
Professor Perry. He died in 1908. He published _Practical Electricity_, and
many papers on scientific subjects.
AYTOUN ([=a]'tun), Sir Robert, poet, born in Fifeshire, Scotland, 1570,
died 1638. After studying at St. Andrews he lived for some time in France,
whence, in 1603, he addressed a panegyric in Latin verse to King James on
his accession to the crown of England. By the grateful monarch he was
appointed one of the gentlemen of the bedchamber, and private secretary to
the queen, receiving also the honour of knighthood. At a later period of
his life he was secretary to Henrietta Maria, queen of Charles I. His poems
are few in number, but are distinguished by elegance of diction. Several of
his Latin poems are preserved in the work called _Delitiae Poetarum
Scotorum_, published at Amsterdam in 1637 at the expense of Sir John Scot
of Scotstarvet.
AYTOUN, William Edmonstoune, poet and prose writer, born at Edinburgh in
1813, died at Blackhills, Elgin, 1865. He studied at the University of
Edinburgh, became a writer to the signet in 1835, and passed as advocate in
1840. He issued a volume of poems in 1832, by 1836 was a contributor to
_Blackwood's Magazine_, and in 1840 he published the _Life and Times of
Richard 1_. In 1848 he published a collection of ballads entitled _Lays of
the Scottish Cavaliers_, which has proved the most popular of all his
works. It was followed in 1854 by _Firmilian, a Spasmodic Tragedy_
(intended to ridicule certain popular writers); the _Bon Gaultier Ballads_
(parodies and other humorous pieces, in conjunction with Theodore Martin),
1855; in 1856 the poem _Bothwell_; and in subsequent years by _Norman
Sinclair_, _The Glenmutchkin Railway_, and other stories. In 1858 he edited
a critical and annotated collection of the _Ballads of Scotland_. A
translation of the poems and ballads of Goethe was executed by him in
conjunction with Theodore Martin. In 1845 he became professor of rhetoric
and English literature in the University of Edinburgh--a position which he
held till his death. In 1852 he was appointed Sheriff of Orkney and
Shetland.
AYUNTAMIENTO ([.a]-y[u:]n-t[.a]-m[=e]-en't[=o]), the name given to the town
and village councils in Spain and Spanish America.
AYU'THIA, the ancient capital of Siam, on the Menam, now a scene of
splendid ruin.
AZA'LEA, a genus of plants, nat. ord. Ericaceae, or heaths, remarkable for
the beauty and fragrance of their flowers, and distinguished from the
rhododendrons chiefly by the flowers having five stamens instead of ten.
Many beautiful rhododendrons with deciduous leaves are known under the name
of _azalea_ in gardens. The azaleas are common in North America, and two
species of these--_A. visc[=o]sa_ and _A. nudifl[=o]ra_--are well known in
Britain. An Asiatic species, _A. pontica_, famous for the stupefying effect
which its honey is said to have produced on Xenophon's army (cf.
_Anabasis_, book iv, chap. 8), is also common in British gardens and
shrubberies; and another, _A. indica_, is a brilliant greenhouse plant.
AZAMGARH, or AZIMGARH, a town of India, United Provinces, capital of
district of same name. Pop. 18,835.--The district has an area of 2418 sq.
miles; a pop. of 1,530,000.
AZEGLIO ([.a]d-zel'y[=o]), Massimo Taparelli, Marquis d', an Italian
'admirable Crichton', artist, novelist, publicist, statesman, and soldier,
born at Turin in 1798, died 1866. After gaining some reputation in Rome as
a painter, he married the daughter of Manzoni, and achieved success in
literature by his novels _Ettore Fieramosca_ (1833) and _Niccolo dei Lapi_
(1841). These embodied much of the patriotic spirit, and in a short time he
devoted himself exclusively to fostering the national sentiment by personal
action and by his writings. Many of the reforms of Pius IX were due to him.
He commanded a legion in the Italian struggle of 1848, and was severely
wounded at Vincenza. Chosen a member of the Sardinian Chamber of Deputies,
he was, after the battle of Novara, made president of the cabinet, and in
1859 appointed to the military post of general and
commissioner-extraordinary for the Roman States.
AZERBAIJAN ([.a]-zer-b[=i]-jaen'), a province of North-Western Persia;
area, 40,000 sq. miles; pop. estimated at 2,000,000. It consists generally
of lofty mountain ranges, some of which rise to a height of between 12,000
and 13,000 feet. Principal rivers: the Aras or Araxes, and the Kizil-Uzen,
which enter the Caspian; smaller streams discharge themselves within the
province into the great salt lake of Urumiyah. Agricultural products:
wheat, barley, maize, fruit, cotton, tobacco, and grapes. Horses, cattle,
sheep, and camels are reared in considerable numbers. Chief minerals: iron,
lead, copper, salt, saltpetre, and marble. Tabriz is the capital; pop.
200,000.
AZERBAIJAN, a new republic proclaimed in 1918, after the Russian
revolution. It consists of the former Russian province of Baku on the coast
of the Caspian Sea. In 1920 the Bolshevist party overthrew the Government
and broke off relations with the Entente. See _Russia_.
AZ'IMUTH of a heavenly body, the arc of the horizon comprehended between
the meridian of the observer and a vertical circle passing through the
centre of the body. The azimuth and altitude give the exact position of the
body with reference to the horizon.
AZINCOURT. See _Agincourt_.
AZO COMPOUNDS, a class of substances which belong to the benzene series and
contain carbon, hydrogen, and nitrogen. All azo compounds are highly
coloured, and in some cases they are direct cotton dyes. The simplest azo
compound is _azobenzene_, the chemical formula of which is
C_6H_5--N = N--C_6H_5. It is prepared from nitrobenzene by reducing it with
stannous chloride and sodium hydroxide. Azobenzene is a highly-coloured
crystalline substance, but it is not a dye; it forms, however, the basis of
the dyes known as _azodyes_. The azodyes form one of the largest groups of
dyes, and derive their name from the presence of the characteristic
chemical group --N = N--, known as the _azo_ group. Azo compounds may
become exceedingly complicated in structure. They are divided into mon-azo,
di-azo, tri-azo compounds according to the number of azo groups present.
The well-known dyes Congo Red and Bismarck Brown are azo compounds of
complicated structure. Azo dyes were discovered by Griess in 1856, but as a
class did not come on the market until about 1876.
AZOF. See _Azov_.
AZO'IC. See _Pre-Cambrian_.
AZOIMIDE, or HYDRAZOIC ACID, N_3H, is an acid liquid of disagreeable odour,
producing headache if inhaled. The acid itself and its salts, with the
exception of the alkali salts, are exceedingly explosive and dangerous to
handle. Lead hydrazoate, PbN_6, is one of the most stable of these salts.
It is a more powerful explosive than mercury fulminate, and has been used
instead, in the manufacture of detonators.
AZORES (a-z[=o]rz' or a-z[=o]'res), or WESTERN ISLANDS, a group belonging
to and 900 miles west of Portugal, in the North Atlantic Ocean. They are
nine in number, and form three distinct groups--a N.W., consisting of
Flores and Corvo; a central, consisting of Terceira, Sao Jorge, Pico,
Fayal, and Graciosa; and a S.E., consisting of Sao Miguel (or St. Michael)
and Santa Maria. The total area is 922 sq. miles; Sao Miguel (containing
the capital Ponta Delgada), Pico, and Terceira are the largest. The
islands, which are volcanic and subject to earthquakes, are of
comparatively recent origin, and are conical, lofty, precipitous, and
picturesque. The most remarkable summit is the peak of Pico, about 7600
feet high. There are numerous hot springs. They are covered with luxuriant
vegetation, and diversified with woods, corn-fields, vineyards, lemon and
orange groves, and rich, open pastures. The mild and somewhat humid
climate, combined with the natural fertility of the soil, brings all kinds
of vegetable products rapidly to perfection, among the most important being
grain, oranges, pine-apples, bananas, potatoes, yams, beans, coffee, and
tobacco. The inhabitants are mainly of Portuguese descent, indolent and
devoid of enterprise. Principal exports: wine and brandy, oranges, maize,
beans, pineapples, cattle. The climate is recommended as suitable for
consumptive patients. The Azores were discovered by Cabral about 1431,
shortly after which date they were taken possession of and colonized by the
Portuguese. When first visited they were uninhabited, and had scarcely any
other animals except birds, particularly hawks, to which, called in
Portuguese _acores_, the islands owe their name. Pop. 242,613 (1911).
AZ'OTE, a name formerly given to nitrogen; hence substances containing
nitrogen and forming part of the structure of plants and animals are known
as _azotized_ bodies. Such are albumen, fibrine, caseine, gelatine, urea,
kreatine, &c. See _Nitrogen_.
A'ZOV, or ASOV, a town in the Russian government of Ekaterinoslav, upon an
island at the mouth of the Don, where it flows into the Sea of Azov;
formerly a place of extensive trade, but its harbour has become almost
sanded up. Pop. 31,111.