Page:Collier's New Encyclopedia v. 01.djvu/301

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ABEOPAGUS 241 ARGENTINA tube of glass, terminated in a ball at its lower part, and divided into equal portions through its whole length. Another ball filled with mercury is soldered below to keep it vertical. The depth to which it sinks in various liquids is in the inverse ratio of their relative specific gravities. AREOPAGUS (ar-e-op'a-gus), the name of a hill or rocky eminence lying to the W. of the Acropolis at Athens, whicla was the meeting-place of the chief court of judicature of that city; hence called the Council of Areopagus. It was of very high antiquity, and existed as a criminal tribunal long before the time of Solon, who enlarged its sphere of juris- diction. As a court of justice, it took cognizance of capital crimes, as murder, arson, etc.; and it also exercised a cer- tain control over the ordinary courts. Its censorial duties were of a very extensive and inquisitorial nature, for the preserva- tion of order and decency. Religion also came within its jurisdiction, which pun- ished impiety in whatsoever form. Per- icles succeeded in greatly diminishing the power of this council, and deprived it of many of its old prerogatives. ABEQUIPA (ar-a-ke'pa), a city of Peru, capital of the department of the same name (area 21,951 square miles; pop. about 300,000) ; 40 miles from the Pacific Ocean, on the Chile river; altitude, 7,850 feet above sea-level. It is a bish- op's seat, has a college, several convents, and a cathedral. Its trade is large. Gold and silver are mined in the vicinity. A great earthquake occurred Aug. 13 and 14, 1868, which destroyed much property and killed 500 persons. Near by Harvard University has an observatory, at an al- titude of over 8,000 feet. Pop. about 40,000. ABEZZO (a-ret's5, ancient Arretium), a city of central Italy, capital of a prov- ince of the same name in Tuscany, near the confluence of the Chiana with the Arno. It has a noble cathedral, remains of an ancient amphitheater, etc. It was one of the 12 chief Etruscan towns, and in later times fought long against the Florentines, to whom it had finally to succumb. It is the birthplace of Maecenas, Petrarch, Pieti'o Aretino, Redi, and Vasari. Pop. about 50,000. The province of Arezzo contains 1,273 squares miles. Pop. about 300,000. ARGALL, SIR SAMUEL, an early English adventurer in Virginia, born about 1572; planned and executed the abduction of Pocahontas, the daughter of the Indian chief Powhatan, in order to secure the ransom of English prisoners. He was Deputy-Governor of Virgmia (1617-1619), and was accused of many acts of rapacity and tyranny. In 1620 he served in an expedition against Al- giers, and was knighted by James I. He died in 1639. ARGAND LAMP, a lamp named after its inventor, Aime Argand, a Swiss chem- ist and physician (born 1755; died 1803), the distinctive feature of which is a burner forming a ring or hollow cylinder covered by a chimney, so that the flame receives a current of air both on the in- side and on the outside. ARGEMONE (ar-jem'o-ne) , a genus of plants belonging to the family jm- paveracese, or poppy-worts. It has three sepals and six petals. The A. Mexicana, believed, as its name imports, to have come from Mexico, is now common in India and other warm countries in the Old World, as well as in the New. It has conspicuous yellow flowers. From having its calyx prickly, it is often called Mexi- can thistle. The yellow juice, when re- duced to consistence, resembles gamboge. It is detersive. The seeds are a more powerful narcotic than opium. ARGENT, in coats of arms, the heraldic term expressing silver; repre- sented in engraving by a plain white sur- face. ARGENTA, a city of Arkansas, in Pulaski CO. It is on the Arkansas river, and on the St. Louis Southwestern, the St. Louis, Iron Mountain, and Southern, and the Chicago, Rock Island and Pa- cific railroads. The chief industries are railroad shops, cotton and oil mills, and boiler and iron works. There is a hospi- tal and other public institutions. Fuel is supplied by natural gas. It is the center of an important agricultural region. Pop. (1910) 11,138; (1920) 14,048. ARGENTINA, or ARGENTINE RE- PUBLIC, formerly called the United Provinces of La Plata, a vast country of South America; extreme length 2,300 miles; average breadth a little over 500 miles; total area, 1,138,000 square miles. It is bounded on the N. by Bolivia; on the E. by Paraguay, Brazil, Uruguay, and the Atlantic; on the S. by the Antarctic Ocean; and on the W. by Chile. Pop. (1918) 8,280,266. Natural Divisions. — It comprises four great natural divisons: (1) The Andine region, containing the provinces of Men- doza, San Juan, Rioja, Catamarca, Tucu- man, Salta, and Jujuy. (2) The Pampas, containing the provinces of Santiago, Santa Fe, Cordova, San Luis, and Buenos Aires; with the territories Formosa, Pampa, and Chaco. (3) The Argentme