It has been introduced into Great Britain, but its cultivation has made little progress. The tubers weigh, from three to six ounces. A kind of arrowroot is also prepared in Chile from the succulent roots of Alstrœmeria pallida and other species. One of the finest species for greenhouse growing is Alstrœmeria alba.
ALSTRÖMER, iil'stre-mer,
Klas von (1736-94). A Swedish naturalist. He had for his master and friend Linnaæus, who named in his honor the genus Alstrœmeria. He visited Spain and wrote a work on the breeding of fine-wooled sheep.
ALT, alt, or ALTEN, iil'ten (Ger., old). A
prefix to many names in Europe, as Altdorf, old
village.
ALTABAN, al'ta-ban', or ALTASAN, iil'ta-
siin'. - head-hunting tribe in Nueva Vizcaya
province, Luzon. See Philippines.
ALTAI (al-tl') MOUNTAINS (Tatar, gold-
en mountains, from altun, altan, golden; Chin.
keen-shan. same meaning). A mountain range
of Central Asia forming part of the elevated re-
gion on the borders of Siberia and the Chinese
Empire. The name formerly had a much wider
significance, and included the entire line of high-
lands from the Irtysh River to the Okhotsk Sea,
which is composed of several structurally inde-
pendent units: but it is now limited to the much
smaller group lying on the borders of Mongolia,
Sungaria, and Siberia, and between about 45°
and 54° N. latitude. The range has a general
northwest and southeast trend, nearly at right
angles to that of the larger system. The Altai
Mountains begin on the southeast with the Ektag
range (Greater Altai), in the region of the Gobi
Desert, and for some distance they form the
boundary between Mongolia and Sungaria. To-
ward the northwest, the range increases in
breadth by the converging of outlying mountains,
and also in height, but after passing the Siberian
frontier it gradually loses its massive character
and fades out into the steppes. On the slopes
of the Ektag are the sources of the Black Irtysh,
Kobdo, and Urungu rivers. North of this range
and across the valley of the Bukharma River are
several mountainous groups which constitute the
Northern Altai. The latter are arranged along
an axis parallel to that of the Ektag range, and
attain an extreme elevation of over 10.000 feet
in Mount Byelukha (White Mountain). The
Tarbagatai group, further west, may also be in-
cluded with the Altai range. This group be-
gins in Sungaria and reaches across the Siberian
frontier. where it is continued by the Tschun-
gistan Mountains into the region of the Khirgis
steppes. Geologically, the Altai consist of a
central core of schists and granite broken
through by intrusions of igneous rocks, with
Paleozoic strata ranging from the Silurian into
Carboniferous on the outer edges. As the moun-
tains were formed by upheaval at an early geo-
logical period, they have been subjected to long-
continued denudation and erosion. Their crests.
of which only the highest rise above the snow
line, are generally well rounded, and their slopes
are covered with a rich growth of grass, or with
heavy forests of pine, cedar, and birch. Deer,
hares, and wolves abound in the lower and bears
in the higher portions of the range. The moun-
tains are but thinly populated, except within the
limits of the Russian Altai, where there is a well-
developed mining industry.
ALTA'IC, and U'RAL ALTA'IC. Terms used of a family of languages in parts of northern, eastern, and central Europe and the greater part of northern and eastern Asia, besides still other sections. See Ural-Altaic, and Turanian.
ALTAMAHA, al'ta-ma-ha'. A river formed
by the confluence of the Oconee and Ocmulgee
rivers, at the boundary line of Montgomery and
Appling counties, Georgia, and flowing southeast,
emptying into the sound of the same name, near
Darien (Map: Georgia, E 4). It is 155 miles
long, drains an area of 14,400 square miles, and
is navigable for its entire length for boats draw-
ing five feet of water.
AL'TAMONT. 1. A character in Rowe's play, The Fair Penitent (q.v.): the husband of Calista, the heroine, and slayer of Lothario, who has seduced her.
2. In Thackeray's Pendennis, a name assumed by the convict Amory on his return: the father of Blanche Amory (q.v.).
ALTAMONT, Frederick. In Scott's novel The Pirate, the assumed name of the pirate John Bunce.
ALTAMURA, al'ta-nioo'ra.
An episcopal city of Italy, 60 miles northwest of Tarentum (Map: Italy, L 7). It is beautifully situated at the foot of the Apennines, and has a magnificent cathedral, founded by Frederick II., and decorated with beautiful paintings. The country produces oil, wine, grain, and cattle, and the fairs at Altamura are attended from far and near. Pop., 1881, 20,000; 1901, 22,729.
AL'TAR (Lat. altare or altar, probably origi-
nally a high place, from altus, high). The place
on which sacrifices were made or offerings laid
or libations poured or some other act of worship
performed. Altars were in use from the earliest
times among the Babylonians, the Egyptians, and
later peoples. Some of those mentioned in the
Old Testament are among the earliest of which
descriptions are recorded. The British Museum
has several Assyrian marble altars highly deco-
rated ; one triangular, another oblong, with scrolls
that call to mind the expression "horns of the
altar," which is literally carried out in many
Græco-Roman altars with ox-horns or ram-horns
at the corners. The altar was primitively of
two classes: Either (1) placed on some height
and often nothing but a mound of earth or a heap
of stones or of ashes; or else (2) the family
altar connected with each dwelling, in front of
the entrance. This was smaller, permanent, and
more artistic. Then came the altars connected
with temples, either in the outer air, in front of
the temple steps, or within. The great public
altars of Græco-Roman worship in historic times,
at which whole hecatombs were sacrificed, and
great festivals held, developed into immense ar-
tistic monuments, as for example that of Hiero
at Syracuse, that of Hera at Samos, of Apollo
at Delphi, and of Zeus at Olympia; the last-
named was 125 feet in circumference. The
famous altar at Pergamus, with sculptures
representing the combat of the gods and the
giants, was 40 feet high. Probably such altars
and their platforms are derived from the early
Pelasgic altars that stood on an immense three-
stepped platform, and were the one centre of
worship; for the Pelasgians had few temples.
The Romans also used such colossal and artistic
