Page:EB1911 - Volume 24.djvu/110

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SALUZZO—SALVADOR

חוא &c., of Neo-Punic gravestones). The cognate Babylonian form, “ O king, live for ever!" (Dan. iii. 9), represents a series of hrases which continue still in the Vivat rex! “ Long live the king! " The Greeks said χαῖρε, “ Be joyful! ” both at meeting and parting; the Pythagorean ὑγιαίνειν and the Platonic εὖ πράττειν, wish health; at a later time ἁσπάζομαι, “I greet!" came into fashion. The Romans applied Salve! “ Be in health! " especially to meeting, and Vale! " Be well! " to parting. In the modern civilized world, everywhere, the old inquiry after health appears, the “ How do you do? " becoming so formal as often to be said on both sides without either waiting or an answer. Hardly less wide in range is the set of phrases “ Good day! " “ Good night! " &c., varying according to the hour and translating into every language of Christendom. Among other European phrases, some correspond to our “ welcome! ” and “ farewell! " while the religious element enters into another class, exemplified by our “ Good-bye! " (“ God be with you! "), and French Adieu! Attempts have been made to shape European greetings into expressions of orthodoxy, or even tests of belief, but they have had no great success. Examples are a Protestant German Salutation “ Lobe Jesum Christum! " answered by “ In Ewigkeit, Amen! " and the formula which in Spain enforces the doctrine of the Immaculate Conception, “ Ave Maria purism! ” answered by “ Sin pecado concebida! " On the whole, though the half-meaningless forms of salutation may often seem ridiculous, society would not carry them on so universally unless it found them useful. They serve the purpose of keeping up social intercourse, and establishing relations between the parties in an interview, of which their tone may strike the keynote.  (E. B. T.) 


SALUZZO, a city and episcopal see of Piedmont, Italy, in the province of Cuneo, 42 m. S. of Turin by rail, 1296 ft. above sea-level. Pop. (1901) 10,306 (town), 16,208 (commune). The upper town preserves some part of the fortifications which protected it when, previous to the plague of 1630, the city had upwards of 30,000 inhabitants. The old castle of the marquises of Saluzzo now serves as a prison. Besides the Gothic cathedral (1480–1511), with the tombs of the marquises, the churches of San Giovanni (formerly San Domenico), San Bernardo and the Case Cavazza, now the municipal museum, are noteworthy. Railways run to Cuneo and Airasca (the latter on the Turin-Pinerolo line) and steam tramways in various directions. The castle of Manta, in the vicinity, contains interesting 15th-century frescoes by a French artist (see P. d'Ancona in L'Arte for 1905; 94, p. 184)

The line of the marquises of Saluzzo began (1142) with Manfred, son of Boniface, marquis of Savona, and continued till 1548, when the city and territory were seized by the French. The marquises being opponents of the house of Savoy, and taking part in the struggles between France and the empire, the city often suffered severely from the fortunes of war. Henry IV. restored the marquisate to Charles Emmanuel I. of Savoy at the peace of Lyons in 1601. Among the celebrities of Saluzzo are Silvio Pellico, Bodoni, the famous printer of Parma of the late 18th and early 19th centuries, and Casalis the historian of Sardinia. The history of the marquisate was written by Delfino Muletti (5 vols., 1829–1833).


SALVADOR, or San Salvador (República del Salvador), the smallest but most densely peopled of the republics of Central America, bounded on the N. and E. by Honduras, S. by the Pacific Ocean, and W. by Guatemala. (For map, see Central America.) Pop. (1906) 1,116,253; area, about 7225 sq. m. Salvador has a coastline extending for about 160 m. from the mouth of the Rio de la Paz to that of the Goascoran in the Bay of Fonseca (q.v.). Its length from E. to W. is 140 m., and its average breadth about 60 m.

Physical Features.—With the exception of a comparatively narrow seaboard of low alluvial plains, the country consists mainly of a plateau about 2000 ft. above the sea, broken by a large number of volcanic cones. These are geologically of more recent origin than the main chain of the Cordillera which rises farther N. The principal river of the republic is the Rio Lempa, which, rising just beyond the frontier of Guatemala and crossing a corner of Honduras, enters Salvador N. of Citala. After receiving the surplus waters of the Laguna de Guija, it flows E. through a magnificent valley between the plateau and the Cordillera, and then turning S. skirts the base of the volcano of Siguatepeque and reaches the Pacific in 88° 40' W. Among its numerous tributaries are the Rio Santa Ana, rising near the city of that name, the Asalguate, which passes the capital San Salvador, the Sumpul, and the Torola, draining the N.E. of Salvador and part of Honduras. The Lempa is for two-thirds of its course navigable by small steamers. The Rio San Miguel drains the country between the bay of Fonseca and the basin of the Lempa. The volcanic mountains do not form a chain but a series of clusters: the Izalco group in the W. —including Izalco (formed in 1770), Marcelino, Santa Ana, Naranjos, Aguila, San Juan de Dios, Apaneca, Tamajaso and Lagunita; the San Salvador group, about 30 rn. E.; Cojutepeque to the N.E. and the San Vicente group to the E. of the great volcanic lake of Ilopango; the Siguatepeque summits to the N.E. of San Vicente; and the great S.E. or San Miguel group-San Miguel, Chinameca, Buenapa, Usulatan, Tecapa, Taburete. Cacaguateque and Sociedad volcanoes in the N.E. belong to the inland Cordillera. Santa Ana (8300 ft.) and San Miguel (7120 ft.) are the loftiest volcanoes in the country. A The neighbourhood of the capital is subject to earthquakes. San Miguel is described as one of the most treacherous burning mountains in America, sometimes several years in complete repose and then all at once bursting out with terrific fury. ' In 1879-1880 the Lake of Ilopango was the scene of a remarkable series of phenomena. With a length of 5% m. and a breadth of 4%, it forms a rough parallelogram with deeply indented sides, and is surrounded in all directions by steep mountains except at the points where the villages of Asino and Apulo occupy little patches of level ground. Between the 31st of December 1879 and the 11th of January ISSO the lake rose 4 ft. above its level. The jiboa, which flows out at the S.E., became, instead of a very shallow stream 20 ft. broad, a raging torrent which soon scooped out for itself in the volcanic rocks a channel 30 to 3 5 ft. deep. A rapid subsidence of the lake was thus produced, and by the 6th of March the level was 345 ft. below its maximum. Towards the centre of the lake a volcanic centre about 500 ft. in diameter rose 1 50 ft. above the water, surrounded by a number of small islands.

Climate.-The lowlands are generally hot and, on the coast, malarial; but on the tablelands and mountain slopes of the interior the climate is temperate and healthy. There are only two seasons: the Wet, which Salvadorians call winter, from May to October; and the dry, or summer, season, from November to April. In July and August there are high winds, followed by torrents of rain and thunderstorms; in September and October the rain, not heavy, is continuous. For an account of the geology, fauna and flora of Salvador, see CENTRAL AMERICA.

Inhabitants.-The population in 1887 was stated to be 664, 513, (1901) 1,006,848, (1906) 1,116,253. The number of Ladinos (whites and persons of mixed blood) is about 775,000 and of Indians about 2 30,000. The various elements were, before 1901, estimated as follows, and the proportion still holds good in the main: whites (creoles and foreigners) 10%, half-castes 50%, Indians 40%, and a very small proportion of negroes. The whites of pure blood are very few, a liberal estimate putting the proportion at 2-5%. There is no immigration into the country, and the rapid increase with which the population is credited can be due only to a large surplus of births over deaths. The chief towns, which are described in separate articles, comprise San Salvador the capital (pop. 1905, about 60,000), Santa Ana (48,000), San Miguel (2 5,000), San Vicente (18,000), Sonsonate (17,000), Nueva San Salvador or Santa Tecla (18,000) and the seaport of La Union (4000). For the ancient Indian civilization of Salvador, see CENTRAL AMERICA! Archaeology, and Mexrcoz History.

Agriculture.-The only industry extensively carried on is agriculture, but the methods employed are still primitive. The more important products are coffee, sugar, indigo and balsam. The country is rich in medicinal plants. Peruvian balsam (Myrospermum Salvatarense or Myraxylon Pereirae) is an indigenous balm, rare except on the Balsam Coast, as the region about Cape Rernedios is named. It is not cultivated in Peru, but owes its name to the fact that, during the early period of Spanish rule, it was forwarded to the Peruvian port of Callao for transhipment to Europe. Rubber is collected; tobacco is grown in small quantities; cocoa, rice, cereals and fruits are cultivated. The government seeks to encourage cotton-growing, and has