Page:The American Cyclopædia (1879) Volume XIV.djvu/380

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364 ROCHEFOUCAULD ROCHESTER ROCHEFOUCAULD. See LA ROCHEFOUCAULD. ROCHEJAQUELEIN. See LA ROCHEJAQUELEIN. ROCHELLE, La, a fortified town of France, capital of the department of Charente-Infe- rieure, situated on the bay of Biscay, oppo- site the island of Re, 245 m. S. W. of Paris ; pop. in 1872, 19,506. Among the principal buildings are the cathedral, h6tel de ville, and exchange. The place cVarmes is considered one of the finest squares in France. Ship building is carried on, and pottery, glass, and cotton goods are manufactured. La Rochelle fell into the hands of the Huguenots in 1557, and was gallantly defended in 1573, when a favorable peace was extorted from the Catho- lics ; it continued an important centre of the Protestants till 1628, when, feebly supported by England, they surrendered it after a most obstinate siege of l4 months. The mole is still visible that was constructed by Richelieu to close the harbor on this occasion. Vauban afterward built ex- tensive fortifications. ROCHELLE SALT, or Salt of Seiffnette (tartrate of potash and soda, sodic-po- tassic tartrate), a double tartrate of potassium and sodi- um, discovered by Seignette, an apoth- ecary of La Ro- chelle. By neutral- izing cream of tar- tar (bitartrate of potash, KlICJLO.) with carbonate of soda, its basylous atom of hydrogen may bo replaced by sodium. By evapo- ration the tartrate of potash and soda separates in large are each 4 m. ; area, 17^ sq. m. The city is divided into about equal portions by the Gea- esee river, which has a rapid descent soon after it enters the city, a perpendicular fall of 96 ft. near the centre, and two others of 25 ft. and 84 ft. near the northern limit. The site of the city is nearly level, and below the great fall the river flows through a deep narrow gorge. The streets are nearly all laid out at right angles, and are from 66 to 100 ft. wide ; many of them are well paved with stone, and most of them are bordered with shade trees. The city has a thorough system of sewerage, and is lighted with gas. There are six public squares, of from four to eight acres each. Near- ly all the dwellings are built separate from each other and surrounded by a little cultivated or ornamented ground. The New York Central railroad passes through the city, with two branches to the east (Syracuse and Auburn) and two to the west (Buffalo and Niagara View In West Main Street, Rochester. transparent rhombic prisms of the formula KNaC4lI 4 O6 + 4Aq. The crystals melt in this water of crystallization between 160 and 176 F., and dissolve in 2 parts of water at 42, and in 0'3 part at 100. Acids precipitate cream of tartar from the solution. The salt is a mild cooling purgative, in doses of from two drachms to an ounce. In small and repeated doses it does not purge, but. is absorbed and renders the urine alkaline. It is the principal component of Seidlitz or Rochelle powders. ROCHESTER, a city, port of entry, and the capital of Monroe co., New York, on the Gen- esee river, 7 m. from its mouth in Lake On- tario and 229 m. by railroad W. N. W. of Al- bany; pop. in 1815, 331; in 1820, 1,502; in 1830, 9,207; in 1840, 20,191 ; in 1850, 36,403; in 1860, 48,204; in 1870, 62,386; in 1875, 81,- 673. Of the gain in population during the last five years, 8,136 were brought in with annexed territory. The extreme length and breadth Falls), and has also a branch to Charlotte, at the mouth of the river. The Genesee Valley railroad (a branch of the Erie) enters the city from the south, and the Rochester and State Line railway, now (1875) completed from Roch- ester to Le Roy, will ultimately connect the city direct with the bituminous coal region of Pennsylvania. The Erie canal also passes through from east to west, crossing the river on a tine aqueduct of ten arches, 848 ft. long, with a channel 45 ft. wide, which cost $600,- 000. The Genesee Valley canal here unites with the Erie. The river is crossed by five highway and two railroad bridges. Mount Hope cemetery, on a group of rounded hills in the southern part of the city, contains 188 acres, and is one of the most beautiful in the country. The new city hall is of gray lime- stone, with interior walls of brick, fire-proof throughout ; it is 138 ft. long, 80 ft. wide, and four stories high, with a tower 175 ft. high,