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190 AGOSTINO AGRA ranean, and in consequence of its liability to earthquakes, by one of which it was almost totally destroyed in 1693, the houses, with a few striking exceptions, are built low. On the west side of the peninsula it has a commodious harbor, said to be one of the best in Sicily. The knights of Malta at one time had extensive mag- azines at this port. Agosta has a trade in wine, flax, olive oil, salt, honey, and sardines. The remarkable caves of Timpa are near the town. It was founded in the 13th century by the em- peror Frederick II., who destroyed the town of Centuripa and removed its inhabitants hither. AGOSTDfO and Airnolo or Angelo, two brothers, sculptors and architects, born at Siena about 1269. Educated in their profession by Giovan- ni, a Pisan architect, they were named archi- tects of their native city, where they con- structed many edifices for secular and religious uses. They also executed, from the plans of Giotto, the tomb of Guido, bishop of Arezzo, one of the finest architectural monuments of the 14th century. AGOULT, Marie Catherine Sophie de Flavlgny, countess d', a French authoress, known by the pseudonyme of Daniel Stern, born in Frank- fort-on-the-Main in 1805. Her father, the vis- count de Flavigny, emigrated to Frankfort dur- ing the revolution. She was educated in Paris, and in 1827 married Count Hector Philippe d'Agoult. She subsequently travelled much in Switzerland, Italy, and Germany, separated from her husband, and lived with Liszt, the pianist, by whom she had children. She was afterward reconciled with her husband (who died in 1856) and regained her social standing in Paris. She wrote a series of novels some- what after the style of George Sand. Her principal work is Histoire de la revolution de 1848 (2 vols., 1851 ; new edition, illustrated, 1866). She has also published Troi* Journees de la vie de Marie Stuart (1856), Florence et Turin (artistic and political essays, 1862), and Dante et Gcethe (dialogues, 1866)! AGOUTI (dasyprocta of Illiger; chloromys of Cuvier), a genus of animals belonging to the class mammalia, order rodentia, dis- Agoutl (Dasyprocta aguti). tinguished "principally by their feet and toes, which are furnished with powerful claws, simi- lar to those of the burrowing animals. The agoutis, however, neither burrow nor climb, roaming at large in the forests, and sheltering themselves among any casual defences they may find. They use their fore paws for the purpose of holding their food, sitting erect on their haunches while eating, and assuming the same attitude when looking about them or lis- tening in alarm or surprise. The agouti is of nearly the size of a large hare, and like that animal has its hind legs longer than the fore, but not so disproportionately, for which reason it stands more erect. The common agouti, D. aguti, measures about 1 foot 8 inches in length, and stands 11 or 12 inches high at the croup. Its head resembles that of the rabbit ; its face is convex; its nose swollen; its upper 'lip cleft; its ears round and naked ; its eyes large ; its upper jaw longer than the lower ; and its tail a mere naked stump. The hairs on the upper parts are annulated alternately with black, brown, and yellow, producing a speckled yel- low and green appearance on the neck, head, back, and sides. The croup is golden yellow ; the breast, belly, and inner part of the arms and thighs are straw color; the moustaches and feet black. The hair on the fore parts is about an inch long ; on the rump nearly four times that length, whence the generic name of dasyprocta (hairy-rumped) ; and is every- where, except on the breast and belly, of a stiff and bristly character. These animals inhabit Guiana and Brazil, and are also found in the West India islands, and as ftxr south as Para- guay. On the islands, at the time of their first discovery, they were the largest known quad- rupeds, and constituted the principal food of the dense Indian population. It is asserted and denied, by different authors, that they breed many times in each year, and produce many young at each birth ; but the great num- bers in which they are still found in all the hotter parts of America, in spite of their de- struction by the small carnivora and by the Indian races, together with their affinity to the rabbit and cavy, seem to countenance the af- firmative proposition. Their flesh is white and tender, and is cooked like that of the haro or rabbit. The other varieties of this animal are the black or crested agouti, D. cristata, of Guiana and Brazil ; the acouchy, or olive agouti, D. acuchi, of the West India isles, Guiana, and the northern parts of Brazil ; the white-toothed agouti, D. croconata, of the Amazon ; the black-rumped agouti, D. prymnolopha ; the sooty agouti, D. fuliginosa, of northern Brazil, easily distinguished by its black color and great size ; and, lastly, the Azara's agouti, D. Azarce, of Paraguay, Bolivia, and the south of Brazil. They are perfectly harmless, and appear to form a link between the families of the rabbit and cavy or Guinea pig. AGRA. I. One of the six Northwestern Prov- inces of British India (which constitute one of the eight separate administrations into which India is divided), lying nearly in their centre; area, 9,479 sq. m. ; pop. about 4,500,000, all Hindoos, except nearly 400,000 Mohammedans.