Page:Encyclopædia Britannica, Ninth Edition, v. 2.djvu/330

310 A B A A B B Aristophanes of Byzantium, Aristarchus, and Theocritus. Though not an Alexandrian, Aratus has all the character istics of that school of poetry. He was learned, and verse furnished him with a vehicle for conveying scientific instruction. His only extant works are two poems, or two fragments of one poem, the first, called I aivo/u.eva, in 732 lines, the second, Atoo-r///.*^, in 422 lines. The Pheno mena is a versified imitation or modification of a prose work on astronomy by Eudoxus. It contains little of any value, but one verse has become famous through being quoted by St Paul in his speech from Mars Hill (Acts xvii. 28). The Diosemeia or Prognostics is a treatise on the signs of the weather, accompanied .with practical rules. It is imitated to some extent by Virgil in his Georgics. The poems of Aratus were very popular, particularly among the Kornans, who produced three translations, one by Cicero, another by Caesar Germanicus, the third by Festus Avienus. The best modern editions of Aratus are those of Buhle, Buttmann, and Bekker. ARAUCANIA, a territory of South America, between lat. 37 and 39 50 S., and long. 70 and 75 20 W. It is bounded on the IS", by the river Biobio, which separates it from Chili, S. by the Valdivia, E. by the Andes, and W. by the Pacific Ocean. See AMERICA, vol. i. p. 701, and PATAGONIA. ARAUCARIA, a genus of Coniferous trees included under the tribe Abietineae, and the sub-tribe Araucariae. The sub-tribe has been thus defined : Leaves flat, often four-angled, arranged more or less in a spiral manner; male flowers in cylindrical terminal spikes, anthers six or more in two rows ; female flowers in cones, which are large and globose ; scales of the cone linear, arranged in a spiral manner, deciduous (falling off) ; seeds solitary, pendulous, usually without wings ; cotyledons two, entire or divided into two. The species of the genus are magnificent ever green trees with whorled branches, and stiff, flattened, pointed leaves, found in Brazil and Chili, Polynesia and Australia. The name of the genus is derived from Araucania, the district of South America where the trees grow. Araucaria imbricata, the imbricate-leaved pine, or the Chili pine, was introduced into Britain in 1796. It is largely cultivated, and usually stands the winter of Britain ; but in some years, when the temperature fell very low, the trees have suffered much. On Christmas 1860, the temperature in the Edinburgh Botanic Garden fell to 8 Fahr., and some fine Araucarias, 24 and 25 feet high, were killed. Care should be taken in planting these trees to select a spot somewhat elevated and well drained. The tree grows to the height of 150 feet in the Cordilleras of Chili. The cones borne by the trees are from 8 to 8J inches broad, and 7 to 7^ inches long. The wood of the tree is hard and durable. This is the only species which can be cultivated in the open air in Britain. Araucaria brasiliana (A. Rich.), the Brazil pine, is another species of the genus. It is a native of Brazil, and was introduced into Britain in 1819. It is not so hardy as A. imbricata, and requires protection during winter. It is grown in con servatories for half-hardy plants. Araucaria excelsa (R. Br.), the Norfolk Island pine, receives also the names of Altingia excelsa, Eutassa and Eutacta excelsa. It is a native of Norfolk Island and New Caledonia. It was introduced into Britain in 1793. It cannot be grown in the open air in Great Britain, as it requires protection from frost. It is more tender than the Brazilian pine. It is a majestic tree, sometimes attaining a height of more than 220 feet. The scales of its cones are winged, and have a hook at the apex. Araucaria Cunninghami, called also Eutacta. Cunninghami, the Moreton Bay pine, is a tall tree found on the shores of Moreton Bay, Australia. It requires protection in this country during the winter. Araucaria Bidwilli (Hook.), the Bunya-Bunya pine, found on the mountains of Eastern Australia, between the rivera Brisbane and Burnett, at 27 S. lat., is a noble tree, attaining a height of 100 to 150 feet, with a straight* trunk and white wood. It bears cones as large as a man s head. Its seeds are very large, and are used as food by the natives. Araucaria Eulei (Muell.) is another species. It is a tree of New Caledonia, which attains a height of 50 or 60 feet. Araucaria CooTcii (R. Brown) is another coniferous tree of New Caledonia, attaining a height of 150 feet. It is found also in the Isle of Pines, and in the New Hebrides. ARAVALLI HILLS, a range of mountains in India, running for 300 miles in a north-easterly direction through the Rajputana states and the British districts of Mairwara and Ajmir, situated between 24 and 27 10 N. lat., and between 72 and 75 E. long. They consist of a series of ridges and peaks, with a breadth varying from 6 to 60 miles, and an elevation of 1000 to 3000 feet, the highest point being Mount Abu, rising to 5655 feet, near the south-western extremity of the range. (See ABU.) The geology belongs to the primitive formation granite, com pact dark blue slate, gneiss, and sienite. Colonel Tod remarks the dazzling white effect of their peaks an effect produced, not by snow, as among the Himalayas, but by enormous masses of vitreous rose-coloured quartz. On the north their drainage forms the Luni and Sakhi rivers, which fall into the Gulf of Cutch. To the south, their drainage supplies two distinct river systems, one of which debouches in comparatively small streams on the Gulf of Cambay, while the other unites to form the Chambal river, a great southern tributary of the Jamna, flowing thence, via the Ganges, into the Bay of Bengal on the other side of India. The Aravalli hills are for the most part bare of cultivation, and even of jungle. Many of them are mere heaps of sand and stone ; others consist of huge masses of quartz heaped upon each other. The valleys between the ridges are generally sandy deserts, with an occasional oasis of cultivation. At long intervals, however, a fertile tract marks some great natural line of drainage, and among such valleys Ajmlr city, with its lake, stands conspicuous. The hills are inhabited by a very sparse population of Mairs, an aboriginal race. For long these people formed a difficult problem to the British Government. Previous to our accession they had been accustomed to live, almost desti tute of clothing, by the produce of their herds, by the chase, and by plunder. But Ajmir having been ceded to us in 1818, the Mair country was soon afterwards brought under British influence, and the predatory instincts of the people have at the same time been controlled and utilised by forming them into a Mairwara battalion. As the peace ful results of British rule developed, and the old feuds between the Mairs and their Rajput neighbours died out, the Mair battalion was transformed into a police force. The Aravalli mountaineers strongly objected to this change, and pled a long period of loyal usefulness to the state. They have accordingly been again erected into a military battalion, and brought upon the roll of the British army. The Aravalli hills send off rocky ridges in a north-easterly direction through the states of Alwar and Jaipur, which from time to time reappear in the form of isolated hills and broken rocky elevations to near Dehli. ARBACES, the founder of the Median empire in 876 B.C., was one of the generals of Sardanapalus, king of Assyria, and had command of the contingent from the province of Media. He conspired with Belesys, a Chal dean priest, who commanded the troops from Babylon, and having gained over several other officers of the king, they

revclted. After a short contest Sardanapalus was defeated,