Page:Collier's New Encyclopedia v. 01.djvu/449

AUTUN 359 AVALON extend from the autumnal equinox, Sept. 23, in which the sun enters Libra, to the winter solstice, Dec. 22, in which he enters Capricorn. Popularly, it is be- lieved to embrace the months of Septem- ber, October, and November. AUTUN (o-tun'), a city of France, in the department of Sa8ne-et-Loire, on the Arroux, 43 miles S. W. of Dijon, on the railroad to Nevers. It is picturesquely situated. The Church of St. Martin, built by Queen Brunehaut, and contain- ing her tomb, furnishes a variety of architectural styles. Autun is one of the most ancient French cities, and was made a Roman colony by Augustus, from whom it derived its old name of Augustodu- num. It still presents many fine Roman remains. Talleyrand was Bishop of Autun at the commencement of the French Revolution; another bishop was Abbe Roquette, whom Moliere immortal- ized. Pop. about 16,000. AUVERGNE (6-varn), a former prov- ince of central France, now merged into the departments of Cantal and Puy-de- Dome, and an arrondissement of Haute- Loire. The Auvergne Mountains, sep- arating the basins of the AUier, Cher, and Creuse from those of the Lot and Dordogne, contain the highest points of central France: Mt. Dore, 6,188 feet; Cantal, 6,093 feet; and Puy-de-D6me, 4,806 feet. AUVERGNE, COUNTS AND DAU- PHINS OF, a title which was, about the middle of the 8th century, conferred on Blandin, who served the Duke Waif re in his opposition to Pepin le Bref, founder of the Carlovingian dynasty. The name figures through a great part of early French history. AUXEREE (oz-ar'), the chief town of the French department of Yonne, on the Yonne river, 109 miles S. E. of Paris, in a rich district abounding in vineyards. It presents an imposing aspect from a distance, the most prominent feature be- ing the noble Gothic cathedral, which dates from 1215, Auxerre was a flourish- ing town before the Roman invasion of Gaul. It was destroyed by the Huns in 451, and in 486 was wrested by Clovis from the Romans. The county of Aux- errois came finally in 1477 to the king- dom of France. The principal manufac- tures are wine (a light Burgundy), can- dies, chemicals and hosiery. Pop. about 25,000. AVA, ARVA, YAVA, or KAVA {piper methysticum) , a plant of the natural or- der piperaceas, possessing narcotic prop- erties. Until recently, it was ranked ir the genus piper (pepper). It is a shrubby plant, with heart-shaped acum- inate leaves, and very short, solitary, axillary spikes of flowers. It is a na- tive of many of the South Sea islands, where the inhabitants intoxicate them- selves with a fermented liquor prepared from the upper portion of the root and the base of the stem. The narcotic prop- erty is ascribed to an acrid resin kawine, which is present in the root. The intoxi- cation is not like that produced by ar- dent spirits, but rather a stupefaction like that caused by opium. The habitual use of ava causes a whitish scurf on the skin, which, among the heathen Tahiti- ans, was reckoned a badge of nobility, the common people not having the means of indulgence re'^uisite to produce it. Ava is, like cocaine, a local ansesthetic. AVALANCHES, masses of snow or ice that slide or roll down the declivities of high mountains, and often occasion great devastation. They have various names, according to their nature. Drift or powder avalanches consist of snow, which, loose and dry from strong frost, once set in motion by the wind, accumu- lates in its descent, and comes suddenly into the valley in an overwhelming dust- cloud. Avalanches of this kind occur chiefly in winter, and are dangerous on account of their suddenness, suffocating men and animals, and overturning houses by the compression of the air which they cause. Another kind of ava- lanche resembles a landslip. When the snow begins to melt in spring, the soil beneath becomes loose and slippery; and the snow slides down the declivity by its oviTi weight, carrying with it soil, trees, and rocks. Ice avalanches are those that are seen and heard in summer thundering down the steeps — e. g , of the Jungfrau. They consist of masses of ice that detach themselves from the glaciers in the upper regions. They are most common in July, August and Sep- tember. Nine great Alpine avalanches, which cost 447 lives, are on record be- tween 1518 and 1879, the most destruc- tive being one of 1827, which swept away half the village of Biel, in the upper Valais, with 88 inhabitants. AVALON, a peninsula forming the E. part of Newfoundland, in which St. John's, the capital, is situated. AVALON, a borough of Pennsylvania in Allegheny co., about 6 miles W. of Pittsburgh. It is on the Ohio river, and the Pittsburgh, Fort Wayne and Chicago railroad. It is a suburb of Pittsburgh and is entirely residential. Pop. (1910) 4,317; (1920) 5,277.