AMMEBGAU 149 AMMUNITION on Nov. 27, 1870, General ManteufFel in- flicted, near Amiens, a signal defeat on a French army 30,000 strong, and three days later the citadel surrendered. In the World War (1914-1918) it was a military center and railroad supply depot. It was an objective of the Ger- mans in the last great drive in April, 1918, and narrowly escaped capture, but was badly damaged by German artillery fire. Pop. about 95,000. AMMEKGAIT (am'er-gou), OBER- and UNTER-, two adjoining villages in Upper Bavaria, in the higher part of the valley of the Ammer, 42 miles S. W. by S. of Munich. Ober-Ammergau is noted for the performance of the "Passion Play," a series of dramatic representa- tions of the sufferings of Christ. On the height near the theater is a colossal me- morial of "Christ on the Cross, with Mary and John," modeled by Halbig, the gift of King Ludwig II. See Passion Play. AMMON, a god of the ancient Egyp- tians, worshipped especially in Thebes (No-Ammon), and early represented as a ram with downward branching horns, the symbols of power; as a man with a ram's head; and as a complete man with two high feathers on his head, bearded, sitting on a throne, and holding in his right hand the scepter of the gods, in his left the handled cross, the symbol of divine life. Ammon, his wife Mut (the mother), and his son Chensu, form the divine triad of Thebes. In Egyptian mythology he held his highest place. From about the time of the 21st dynasty, he came to be considered the god of oracles, and as such was worshipped in Ethiopia and in the Libyan desert. Twelve days' journey W. of Memphis, in the desert, was a green oasis fringed with a belt of palm trees, on which rose the temple of Ammon. Hither came pil- grims laden with costly presents; among them Alexander the C^reat and Cato of Utica. Alexander was hailed as the actual son of the god by the priests, quick to anticipate the wishes of the hero. The Persian conqueror, Cambyses, sent against the temple an expedition, which perished miserably in the sands. The worship of Ammon spread at an
early period to Greece, and afterward to
Rome, where he was identified with Zeus and Jupiter. AMMONIA, a substance consisting of NH,. Molecular weight, 17. Sp. gr. 8.5, compared with H; compared with air (1), its sp. gr, is 0.59. It is a colorless, pungent gas, with a strong alkaline re- action. The liquo7' ammonise of the pharmacopoeia has a specific gravity of 0.959, and a fluid drachm contains 5.2 grains of NHs. Ammonia is obtained by the dry distillation of animal or veg- etable matter containing nitrogen; horns, hoofs, etc., produce large quan- tities; hence its name of spirits of harts- horn. Guano consists chiefly of urate of ammonia. But ammonia is now obtained from the liquor of gasworks, coal con- taining about 2 per cent, of nitrogen. Ammonia is formed by the action of nascent hydrogen on dilute acetic acid. Ammonia gas is prepared in the labora- tory by heating together one part of NH4CI with two parts by weight of quicklime, and is collected over mercury. NHs is decomposed into N and Hs by passing it through a red-hot tube, or by sending electric sparks through it; the resulting gases occupy twice the volume of the ammonia gas. It is used in medi- cine as an antacid and stimulant; it also increases the secretions. Externally, it is employed as a rubefacient and vesi- cant. Ammonia liniment consists of one part of solution of ammonia to three parts of olive oil. Ammonia is used as an antidote in cases of poisoning by prussic acid, tobacco, and other sedative drugs. AMMONIACUM, a gum resin, called also gum ammoniac, which is imported into this country from Turkey and the East Indies in little lumps, or tears, of a strong and not very pleasing smell and a nauseous taste, followed by bitterness in the mouth. It is a stimulant, a deob- struent, an expectorant, an antispas- modic, a discutient, and a resolvent. Hence, it is internally employed in asthma and chronic catarrh, visceral ob- structions, and obstinate colic, while it is used externally in scirrhous tumors and white swellings of the joints. AMMONITE, a large genus of fossil chambered shells, belonging to the class cephalopoda, the order tetrabranchiata, and the family ammonitidas. The shell is discoidal, the inner whorls more or less concealed, the septa undulated, the sutures lobed and foliated, and the si- phuncle dorsal. The ancients venerated them, as the Hindus still do. About 700 so-called species have been described, ranging from the trias to the chalk. AMMONIUM, the name given by Ber- zelius to a supposed monatomic radical (NH.)'. AMMUNITION, a term applied to the ordnance stores used in the firing of guns of every sort and caliber. The
