at Schenectady and other educational institutions. Fine residences and public buildings, a beautiful park and excellent drainage combine to make it an attractive as well as a healthy city. Population 100,253.
Albany Congress. A convention of representatives of the colonies of Massachusetts, New Hampshire, Connecticut, Rhode Island, New York, Pennsylvania and Maryland which met at Albany at the call of the British government, June 19, 1754, to consider defensive measures in view of the threatened war with France. At this congress Benjamin Franklin proposed a confederation of the colonies under a president to be appointed by the Crown, with a council to consist of representatives chosen by the different colonies. The president, who was to be commander in chief, was to appoint all military officers, and commission civil officers who should be nominated by the council, and to have veto power over the council. The council was to have power to assess taxes, maintain an army, build defenses and legislate concerning matters of common interest, such as relations to Indians, etc. The plan was not adopted, and the congress was of consequence only as presenting an idea which later on was realized in the union of the colonies.
Al' batross, a long-winged ocean bird, occurring in tropical and southern seas. It almost never goes ashore, save in the breeding season, then seeks lonely cliff or rocky slope. The single egg is usually hatched in the bare earth. The albatross is famous in literature, as in Coleridge's Ancient Mariner, and also in accounts of voyages. The birds follow vessels for many days, being almost continuously on the wing, though, in calm weather, they are sometimes seen resting on the surface of the water. Many naturalists believe that their powers of flight have been overestimated,
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and that most of the birds sleep on the water at night and join the ship again after an interval of rest. A few birds may be seen flying astern at night, but a less number than in the daytime. They feed on refuse that is thrown overboard, not diving for their food but eating what they find on the surface of the water. Their cry is between that of a raven and a sheep. The wandering albatross or Cape Sheep is the largest water-bird in existence, sometimes measuring 14 feet in expanse of the wings. Its general color is white, with wavy lines of black, and its hand feathers are black. The bill is pinkish white and the legs a light flesh color. The coat of feathers is very heavy, serving as protection against water and long continued cold. Their flight is described as a beautiful sailing motion.
Albemarle. See Monk.
Al' bemarle Sound, a deep, shallow inlet of the Atlantic, on the northeast coast of North Carolina, connected southward with Pamlico Sound. It extends from the mouth of the Roanoke River for about sixty miles eastward, where it is separated from the Atlantic by a long, narrow spur of land. It is from 5 to 15 miles in width, and being enclosed from the ocean its waters are mainly fresh, while it is almost useless for shipping. Its average depth is only 20 feet. The Sound and neighboring region received its name in early colonial days when Charles II of England, in 1663, made a favorite general of his, the first Duke of Albemarle, one of the Lords Proprietors of the Carolinas.
Alber' ta became a province of Canada in 1905. It and the new province of Saskatchewan were carved out of the Northwest Territories. Out of 22 members in the Canadian Parliament it was given a representation of seven members. It lies north of the international boundary line and immediately east of the Rocky Mountains, between the 49th and 60th parallels of latitude and the 110th and 120th meridians. Its area is 255,285 square miles and its population (1911) 374,663. It stretches 760 miles from north to south. The state of Montana lies to the south of it and the province of Saskatchewan to its east. No other political division of the Dominion possesses greater or more varied natural resources. Edmonton is its capital and seat of government; Calgary and Medicine Hat, considerable centers of population, are in Alberta.
Climate. It is characterized by a mild climate in winter and cool breezes in summer. Its location gives it the benefit in winter of the Chinook winds, which follow an easterly direction from the currents in the Pacific Ocean, whence they receive their warmth. The snow in winter rarely lies longer than four or five days at a time when it is melted by the wind, thus making the winters mild and filling the creeks and ponds with water for the stock on the ranches. In the summer these creeks are constantly supplied with water from the melting snow in the mountains, so that during summer and winter there is always to be found throughout the district an abundance of water for grazing and all other purposes.
