south of the city of Guatemala, a busy modern town, the inhabitants of
which are actively engaged in the cochineal trade. There is a small lake of
the same name close to the town. Pop. 12,000.
AMAURO'SIS (Gr. _amauros_, dark), a species of blindness, formerly called
_gutta serena_ (the 'drop serene', as Milton, whose blindness was of this
sort, called it), caused by disease of the nerves of vision. The most
frequent causes are a long-continued direction of the eye on minute
objects, long exposure to a bright light, to the fire of a forge, to snow,
or irritating gases, overfulness of blood, disease of the brain, &c. If
taken in time it may be cured or mitigated; but, unless caused by loss of
blood, by lead-poisoning, or debility, it is usually incurable.
AMAXICHI ([.a]-m[.a]ks'[=e]-h[=e]), the chief town and seaport of Santa
Maura (Leukadia), one of the Ionian Isles, the seat of a Greek bishop;
manufactures cotton and leather. Pop. 5500.
AM'AZON, or AM'AZONS, a river of South America, the largest in the world,
formed by a great number of sources which rise in the Andes, the two head
branches being the Tunguragua or Maranon and the Ucayali, both rising in
Peru, the former from Lake Lauricocha, in lat. 10deg 29' S., the latter
formed by the Apurimac and Urubamba, the headwaters of which are between
lat. 14deg and 16deg S.; general course north of east; length, including
windings, between 3000 and 4000 miles; area of drainage basin, 2,500,000
sq. miles. It enters the Atlantic under the equator by a mouth 200 miles
wide, divided into two principal and several smaller arms by the large
island Marajo and a number of smaller islands. In its upper course
navigation is interrupted by rapids, but from its mouth upwards for a
distance of 3300 miles (mostly in Brazil) there is no obstruction. It
receives the waters of about 200 tributaries, 100 of which are navigable
and seventeen of these 1000 to 2300 miles in length; northern tributaries:
Santiago, Morona, Pastaca, Tigre, Napo, Putumayo, Japura, Rio Negro (the
Cassiquiare connects this stream with the Orinoco), &c.; southern:
Huallaga, Ucayali, Javari, Jutay, Jurua, Coary, Purus, Madeira, Tapajos,
Xingu, &c. At Tabatinga, where it enters Brazilian territory, the breadth
is 1-1/2 miles; below the mouth of the Madeira it is 3 miles wide, and
where there are islands often as much as 7; from the sea to the Rio Negro,
750 miles in a straight line, the depth is nowhere less than 30 fathoms; up
to the junction of the Ucayale there is depth sufficient for the largest
vessels. The Amazonian water system affords some 50,000 miles of river
suitable for navigation. The rapidity of the river is considerable,
especially during the rainy season (Jan. to June), when it is subject to
floods; but there is no great fall in its course. The tides reach up as far
as 400 miles from its mouth. The singular phenomenon of the _bore_, or as
it is called on the Amazon the _pororoca_, occurs at the mouth of the river
at spring-tides on a grand scale. The river swarms with alligators,
turtles, and a great variety of fish. The country through which it flows is
extremely fertile, and is mostly covered with immense forests; it must at
some future time support a numerous population, and be the theatre of a
busy commerce. Steamers and other craft ply on the river, the chief centre
of trade being Para, at its mouth. The Amazon was discovered by Vicente
Yanez Pinzon in 1500, but the stream was not navigated by any European till
1541, when Francis Orellana descended it. Orellana stated that he found on
its banks a nation of armed women, and this circumstance gave the name to
the river.
AMAZ'ONAS, the largest state of Brazil, traversed by the Amazon and its
tributaries; area, 731,000 sq. miles. Pop. 459,309.
AM'AZONS, according to an ancient Greek tradition, the name of a community
of women, who permitted no men to reside among them, fought under the
conduct of a queen, and long constituted a formidable State. They were said
to burn off the right breast that it might not impede them in the use of
the bow--a legend that arose from the Greeks supposing the name was from
_a_, not, _mazos_, breast. It is probably from _a_, together, and _mazos_,
breast, the name meaning therefore sisters. Several nations of Amazons are
mentioned, the most famous being those who dwelt in Pontus, who built
Ephesus and other cities. Their queen, Hippolyta, was vanquished by
Hercules, who took from her the girdle of Mars. They attacked Attica in the
time of Theseus. They came to the assistance of Troy under their queen,
Penthesil[=e]a, who was slain by Achilles.
AMAZU'LU, a branch of the Zulu Kaffir race. See _Zulus_.
AMBA'LA, or UMBALL'A, a town of India, in the Punjab, in an open plain 3
miles from the Ghaggar, consisting of an old and a new portion, with a
flourishing trade in grain and other commodities. The military cantonment
is several miles distant. Total pop. 80,131.
AMBALE'MA, a town of S. America, Colombia, on the Magdalena; the centre of
an important tobacco district. Pop. 6285.
AM'BAREE, a fibre similar to jute largely used in India, obtained from
_Hibiscus cannab[=i]nus_.
AMBARVALIA, an ancient Roman festival held annually in May, and celebrated
by the Arval Brothers (Fratres Arvales). Its object was to preserve the
growing crops from harm of any kind.
AMBAS'SADOR, a minister of the highest rank, employed by one prince or
State at the Court of another to manage the public concerns, or support the
interests of his own prince or State, and representing the power and
dignity of his sovereign or State. Ambassadors are _ordinary_ when they
reside permanently at a foreign Court, or _extraordinary_ when they are
sent on a special occasion. When _ambassadors extraordinary_ have full
powers, as of concluding peace, making treaties, and the like, they are
called _plenipotentiaries_. Ambassadors are often called simply
_ministers_. _Envoys_ are ministers employed on special occasions, and are
of less dignity than ambassadors. The term _ambassador_, however, is also
used in a more general sense for any diplomatic agent or minister. An
ambassador and his suite are not amenable to the laws of the country in
which they are residing. See _Diplomacy_.
AM'BATCH (_Hermini[=e]ra elaphrox[)y]lon_), a thorny leguminous shrub with
yellow flowers growing in the shallows of the Upper Nile and other rivers
of tropical Africa, 15 to 20 feet high. Its wood is extremely light and
spongy, and hence is made into floats or rafts. A raft capable of bearing
eight persons can easily be carried by one.
AMBA'TO, a town of Ecuador, on the side of Chimborazo, 70 miles south of
Quito. Pop. 12,000.
AM'BER, a semi-mineral substance of resinous composition, a sort of fossil
resin, the produce of extinct Coniferae, used for the manufacture of
ornamental objects. It is usually of yellow or reddish-brown colour;
brittle; yields easily to the knife; is translucent, and possessed of a
resinous lustre. Specific gravity, 1.065. It burns with a yellow flame,
emitting a pungent aromatic smoke, and leaving a light carbonaceous
residue, which is employed as the basis of the finest black varnishes. By
friction it becomes strongly electric. It is found in masses from the size
of coarse sand to that of a man's head, and occurs in beds of bituminous
wood situated upon the shores of the Baltic and Adriatic Seas; also in
Poland, France, Italy, and Denmark. It is often washed up on the Prussian
shores of the Baltic, and is also obtained by fishing for it with nets.
Sometimes it is found on the east coast of Britain, in gravel pits round
London, also in the United States.
AM'BERG, a town of South Germany, in Bavaria, on the Vils, well built, with
a Gothic church of the fifteenth century, royal palace, town house, &c.; it
manufactures iron-wares, stone-ware, tobacco, beer, vinegar, and arms. Pop.
25,242.
AM'BERGRIS, a substance derived from the intestines of the sperm-whale, and
found floating or on the shore; yellowish or blackish white; very light;
melts at 140deg, and is entirely dissipated on red-hot coals; is soluble in
ether, volatile oils, and partially in alcohol, and is chiefly composed of
a peculiar fatty, substance. Its odour is very agreeable, and hence it is
used as a perfume.
AMBLE, a town (urban district) of England, Northumberland, near the mouth
of the River Coquet, with a harbour at which coal is exported, fishing also
being carried on. Pop. 4851.
AMBLESIDE, an old market-town of England, Westmorland, near the head of
Windermere, a great tourist centre. Pop. (1921), 2878.
AMBLETEUSE ([.a][n.]-bl-t_eu_z), a small seaport of France, 6 miles from
Boulogne. After the capture of Boulogne in 1544 the English began to
construct a military harbour here under the name of New Haven, but had to
abandon the enterprise in 1554. Here James II landed on Christmas Day,
1688, after his flight from England; and from its harbour Napoleon I
prepared to dispatch a flotilla of flat-bottomed boats for the invasion of
Britain.
AMBLYOP'SIS, a genus of blind fishes, containing only one species, _A.
spelaeus_, found in the Mammoth Cave of Kentucky.
AM'BLYOPY, dullness or obscurity of eyesight without any apparent defect in
the organs; the first stage of amaurosis.
AM'BO, or AM'BON, in early Christian churches a kind of raised desk or
pulpit, sometimes richly ornamented, from which certain parts of the
service were read, or discourses delivered, there being sometimes two in
one church. Some of the most ancient of these pulpits (fourth century) are
at Salonica and at Ravenna (fifth and sixth centuries). The ambo
constructed by Justinian in the Church of St. Sophia was destroyed by an
earthquake.
AMBOINA. See _Amboyna_.
AMBOISE ([.a][n.]-bw[:a]z), a town of France, department Indre-et-Loire, 12
miles east of Tours, on the Loire, with an antique castle, the residence of
several French kings, and manufactures of files and rasps. Near the Chateau
d'Amboise is that of Cloux, which was given by Francis I to Leonardo da
Vinci, and where the artist died in 1519. Pop. 4660.
AMBOY'NA, AMBOINA, or APON, one of the Molucca Islands in the Indian
Archipelago, close to the large island of Ceram; area, about 360 sq. miles.
Here is the seat of government of the Dutch residency or province of
Amboyna, which includes also Ceram, Buru, &c. Its surface is generally
hilly or mountainous, its general aspect beautiful, and its climate on the
whole salubrious, but frequently visited by earthquakes. It affords a
variety of useful trees, including the coco-nut and sago palms. Cloves and
nutmegs are the staple productions. The soil in the valleys and along the
shores is very fertile, but a large portion remains uncultivated. The
natives are mostly of Malayan race. The capital, also called _Amboyna_, is
situated on the Bay of Amboyna, and is well built and defended by a
citadel. The streets are planted on each side with rows of fruit-trees. It
is a free port. Pop. 10,000. In 1607 Amboyna and the other Moluccas were
taken by the Dutch from the Portuguese, and it was for some years the seat
of government of the Dutch East Indies. Trade with the Moluccas was secured
to the British by treaty in 1619, but the British establishment was
destroyed and several persons massacred in 1623, an outrage for which no
satisfaction was obtained till Cromwell obtained it in 1654. Amboyna was
taken by the British in 1796 and 1810, but each time restored to the Dutch.
Pop. about 40,000. The Dutch residency of Amboyna, including the Banda
group, Ceram, Buru, and other islands, has an area of 19,870 sq. miles and
a population of about 300,000.
AMBOYNA WOOD, a beautiful curled orange or brownish coloured wood brought
from the Moluccas, yielded by _Pterospermum indicum_.
AMBRA'CIA. See _Arta_.
AMBRINE, a preparation of paraffin, resin, and wax, used as a remedy in the
treatment of burns and scalds and in rheumatic disorders. It was discovered
by Barthe de Sandford, a French doctor, in 1904.
AM'BROSE, Saint, a celebrated father of the Church; born in A.D. 333 or
334, probably at Treves, where his father was prefect; died in 397. He was
educated at Rome, studied law, practised as a pleader at Milan, and in 369
was appointed governor of Liguria and Aemilia (North Italy). His kindness
and wisdom gained him the esteem and love of the people, and in 374 he was
unanimously called to the bishopric of Milan, though not yet baptized. For
a time he refused to accept this dignity, but he had to give way, and at
once ranged himself against the Arians. In his struggles against the Arian
heresy he was opposed by Justina, mother of Valentinian II, and for a time
by the young emperor himself, together with the courtiers and the Gothic
troops. Backed by the people of Milan, however, he felt strong enough to
deny the Arians the use of a single church in the city, although Justina,
in her son's name, demanded that two should be given up. He had also to
carry on a war with paganism, Symmachus, the prefect of the city, an
eloquent orator, having endeavoured to restore the worship of heathen
deities. In 390, on account of the ruthless massacres at Thessalonica
ordered by the emperor Theodosius, he refused him entrance into the church
of Milan for eight months. The later years of his life were devoted to the
more immediate care of his see. His writings, which are numerous, show that
his theological knowledge extended little beyond an acquaintance with the
works of the Greek fathers. He wrote Latin hymns, but the _Te Deum
Laudamus_, which has been ascribed to him, was written a century later. He
introduced the _Ambrosian Chant_, a mode of singing more monotonous than
the Gregorian, which superseded it. He also compiled a form of ritual known
by his name. The best edition of his works is that published in Paris,
1686-90, in 2 vols. fol., and reissued at Lyons in 1853.
AMBRO'SIA, in Greek mythology the food of the gods, as nectar was their
drink.
AMBROSIAN CHANT. See _Ambrose_.
AMBROSIAN LIBRARY, a public library in Milan founded by the cardinal
archbishop Federigo Borromeo, a relation of St. Charles Borromeo, who sent
scholars, among them Antonio Olgiati, all over Europe to acquire books. The
library was opened in 1609, now containing 230,000 printed books and many
MSS., among the latter being the famous collection of Pinelli. It was named
in honour of St. Ambrose, the patron saint of Milan.
AM'BRY, a niche or recess in the wall of ancient churches near the altar,
fitted with a door and used for keeping the sacred utensils, &c.
AMBULA'CRAL SYSTEM, the locomotive apparatus of the Echinodermata
(sea-urchins, star-fishes, &c.), the most important feature of which is the
protrusible tube-feet that the animal can at will dilate with water and
thus move forward.
AM'BULANCE (FIELD), a military medical unit attached to an army in the
field for the purpose of providing medical and surgical first-aid to sick
and wounded immediately behind the fighting-line. The term field-ambulance
was adopted in the British service in 1905-6. The chief and most important
duty of a field-ambulance is to relieve fighting troops of their sick and
wounded and transfer them to the rear to the collecting-hospitals, known as
Casualty Clearing Stations, situated at the head of the line of
communications to the army's base. Three field-ambulances are attached to
each division in the field, one to each brigade, and their officers and men
are divided into bearer and nursing sections and equipped with horse or
mule and motor transport for wounded and sick. In the East sick and wounded
are often carried in litters on camel-back, two of the cacolets being
balanced against each other. A medical ambulance is theoretically able to
undertake any hospital work, but in practice it confines itself when in
action with its division to clearing the front line, and when at rest to
treating the minor maladies such as lice, scabies, and slight illnesses
which do not require much time or equipment. The medical and surgical
outfit of an ambulance is carried in panniers and is usually in excess of
its requirements. The word ambulance is often used to designate the motors
or other vehicles employed by military or civil authorities in carrying the
sick and wounded.--BIBLIOGRAPHY: M. M. Bird, _The Errand of Mercy: a
History of Ambulance Work upon the Battle-field_; G. H. Painton, _The Field
Ambulance Guide_.
AMELAN'CHIER (-k[=e]-[.e]r), a genus of small trees natives of Europe and
N. America, allied to the medlar. _A. vulg[=a]ris_, long cultivated in
English gardens, has showy white flowers; _A. Botry[=a]pium_ (grape-pear)
and _A. ov[=a]lis_, American species, yield pleasant fruits.
AMELAND ([:a]'me-l[.a]nt), an island off the north coast of Holland, 13
miles long and 3 broad; flat; inhabitants (about 2000 in number) chiefly
engaged in fishing and agriculture.
AMELIE-LES-BAINS ([.a]-m[=a]-l[=e]-l[=a]-ba[n.]), a village of France,
department Pyrenees-Orientales, frequented as a winter residence for
invalids, and for its warm sulphureous springs. The place was known to the
Romans, as it has been proved by the discovery of Roman medals there.
AMEN ([=a]-men'), a Hebrew word, signifying 'verily', 'truly', transferred
from the religious language of the Jews to that of the Christians, and used
at the end of prayers as equivalent to 'so be it', 'may this be granted'.
AMEND'MENT, a proposal brought forward in a meeting of some public or other
body, either in order to get an alteration introduced into some proposal
already before the meeting, or entirely to overturn such proposal. In
Parliament an amendment denotes an alteration made in the original draft of
a Bill whilst it is passing through the houses. Amendments may be made so
as totally to alter the nature of the proposition; and this is a way of
getting rid of a proposition, by making it bear a sense different from what
was intended by the movers, who are thus compelled to abandon it.
AMENO'PHIS (or AMENHOTEP) III, a king of ancient Egypt about 1500 B.C.;
warred successfully against Syrians and Ethiopians; built magnificent
temples and palaces at Thebes, where the so-called Memnon statue is a
statue of this king. He was the only Egyptian king deified during his
lifetime.
AMENORRHOE'A, absence or suspension of menstruation. The former may arise
from general debility or from defective development, the latter from
exposure to cold, from attacks of fever or other ailment, violent
excitement, &c.
AMENTA'CEAE, an order of plants having their flowers arranged in amenta or
catkins; now broken up into several orders, the chief of which are
Betulaceae (the birch), Salicaceae (the willow), Fagaceae (the beech),
Juglandaceae (the walnut), and Myricaceae (bog-myrtle).
AMEN'TIA, imbecility from birth, especially when extreme; idiocy.
[Illustration: Amentum
Hazel (_Corylus Avellana_) showing Catkins and Nuts.]
AMEN'TUM, in botany, that kind of inflorescence which is commonly known as
a catkin (as in the birch or willow), consisting of unisexual apetalous
flowers in the axil of scales or bracts.
AMER'ICA, or the NEW WORLD, the largest of the great divisions of the globe
except Asia, is washed on the west by the Pacific, on the east by the
Atlantic, on the north by the Arctic Ocean, while on the south it tapers to
a point. On the north-west it approaches within about 50 miles of Asia,
while on the north-east the island of Greenland approaches within 370 miles
of the European island Iceland; but in the south the distance between the
American mainland and Europe or Africa is very great. Extreme points of the
continent--north, Boothia Felix, at the Strait of Bellot, lat. 72deg N.;
south, Cape Horn, lat. 56deg S.; west, Cape Prince of Wales, long. 168deg
W.; east, Point de Guia, long. 35deg W. America as a whole forms the two
triangular continents of North and South America, united by the narrow
Isthmus of Panama, and having an entire length of about 10,000 miles; a
maximum breadth (in North America) of 3500 miles; a coast-line of 44,000
miles; and a total area, including the islands, of over 16,000,000, of
which N. America contains about 8,300,000 sq. miles. South America is more
compact in form than N. America, in this respect resembling Africa, while
N. America more resembles Europe. Between the two on the east side is the
great basin which comprises the Gulf of Mexico, the Caribbean Sea, and the
West India Islands. Like Europe also N. America possesses numerous islands,
while those of S. America are less important and confined almost to the
southern extremity.
Three-fourths of the area of America is comparatively flat, and this
portion of the surface is bounded on the west by lofty mountain systems
which stretch continuously from north to south between the extremities of
the continent, generally at no great distance from the west shore. In North
America the Rocky Mountains, a broad series of masses partly consisting of
plateaux, form the most important portion of the elevated surface, being
continued southward in the mountains and tableland of Mexico and the ranges
of Central America. Separated by depressions from the Rocky Mountains
proper, and running close to and parallel with the western coast, are
several lofty ranges (Sierra Nevada, Cascade Mountains, &c.). Near the
eastern coast, and forming an isolated mass, are the Appalachians, a system
of much inferior magnitude. The loftiest mountains in N. America are
McKinley (20,470 feet), in Alaska; Logan (19,514 feet), in N. W. Canada;
and Popocatepetl (18,000 feet). The depression of the Isthmus of Panama
(about 260 feet) forms a natural separation between the systems of the
north and the south. In S. America the Andes form a system of greater
elevation but less breadth than the Rocky Mountains, and consist of a
series of ranges (_cordilleras_) closely following the line of the west
coast from the Isthmus of Panama to Cape Horn. The highest summits are
Aconcagua (23,080 feet), Sorata or Illampu (21,484), and Sahama (21,054).
Volcanoes are numerous. Isolated mountain groups of minor importance are
the highlands of Venezuela and of Brazil, the latter near the eastern
coast, reaching a height of 10,000 feet.
The fertile lowlands which lie to the east of the Rocky Mountains and the
Andes form a depression extending through both continents from the northern
to the southern oceans. They have somewhat different features and different
names in different portions; in N. America are _prairies_ and _savannahs_,
in S. America _llanos_, _selvas_, and _pampas_.