teenth Century the arquebus was either breech-loading or muzzle-loading; the length of the barrel was about 2½ feet.
ARQUES, Urk.
A French village in the Department of Seine-Inférieure, which contains the remains of an old castle built by William the Conqueror's uncle. Here Henry IV. defeated the Duke of Mayenne, 1589.
ARRACACHA, ar'ra-ka'cha
(Sp., from native name). A plant, Arracacia xanthorrhiza, of the natural order Umbelliferæ a native of the elevated table-lands in the neighborhood of the cities of Bogotá, Colombia, and Carácas, Venezuela, and of regions of similar climate in other parts of tropical South America. It is much cultivated in its native country for its roots, which are used as an esculent. The roots divide into a number of parts, which resemble cows' horns or large carrots. When boiled they are firm and tender, with a flavor not so strong as that of a parsnip. The plant is much like hemlock, and has a similar heavy smell. Humboldt referred it to the genus Conium (Hemlock), but it has since been made the type of a new genus. The flowers are in compound umbels, and are of a dull purple color. The arracacha was at one time very strongly recommended as a substitute for potatoes. It was introduced into Great Britain through the exertions of the Royal Horticultural Society, and its cultivation perseveringly attempted; but it has been found unsuitable to the climate of England and of other parts of Europe, where it has been tried, perishing on the approach of the frosts of winter without having perfected its roots. The dry weather of summer is also unfavorable to it. It seems to require a very regular temperature and constant moisture. There are probably some parts of the British and other colonies in which the arracacha might be found a very valuable plant. In deep, loose soils it yields a great produce. It is generally propagated by offshoots from the crown of the root. By rasping the root and washing, a starch similar to arrowroot is obtained. There is another species of the same genus, Arracacia moschata, a native of the same regions, the root of which is inedible.
AR'RACK (Ar. 'araq, sweat, juice, spirituous liquor, from 'araqa, to sweat), Rack, or Raki. A term applied to Oriental distilled liquors, especially to that distilled from fermented rice and the fermented sap (toddy) of the cocoanut tree. Other products used in making arrack are rice and sugar, or rice and molasses, fermented from cocoanut juice, and from berries, dates, figs, or grapes. It is usually a colorless liquid with an agreeable taste. It improves with age and is not unwholesome. The best varieties are from Batavia, Java, where the materials used are as follows: Rice, 35 parts; molasses, 62 parts; toddy, 3 parts, the yield of pure arrack being 23½ parts. Excellent qualities are made in Madras, China, and Siam. The intoxicating power of arrack is sometimes increased by the addition of hemp, poppy leaves, and the juice of stramonium. Arrack is now made commercially in Germany and Holland. Saki is the local name given to the Japanese variety of arrack.
ARRAG'ONITE. Same as Aragonite (q.v.).
AR'RAH. A town and railway station in the district of Shahabad in the Presidency of Bengal, India, in latitude 25° 31' N., and longitude 84° 43' E., 33 miles west of Patna. It is situated in a fertile country, and contains a population of 47,000. The various incidents in its history, connected with the Mutiny of 1857, constitute its chief claim to notice. The most thrilling was. the siege sustained by 12 Englishmen and 50 faithful Sikhs against a force of 3000 Sepoys until delivered.
ARRAH NA POGUE, iir'ra nil pOg. A play by Dion Boucicault, and, next to The Shaughraun and London Assurance, probably his best; first played in 1865.
ARRAIGN'MENT (from OF. aranier, araisnier, Fr. arraisonner, Low Lat. arrationare, to call to court, from Lat. ad, to + ratio, reason, account). A proceeding in a criminal ease preliminary to the trial of the accused. Its characteristic features are: (1) Calling the prisoner to the bar of the court by his name. (2) Reading the indictment to him, or furnishing him with a copy. (3) Asking him whether he pleads guilty or not guilty thereto. If the indictment is for a felony the personal presence of the criminal is necessary to a valid arraignment at common law (changed in some States by statute); may appear by but in case of a misdemeanor counsel. Having been arraigned, the accused may obtain from the court time in which to answer the indictment: or he may move to set aside the indictment, or he may demur or plead thereto. See Demurrer; Trial; Pleading; and the works there referred to.
ARRAIGNMENT OF PAR'IS, The. A piece by George Peele (q.v.), half pageant, half masque, played before the Queen, who is herself impersonated in it as Diana, in 1581, by the chapel children. The plot, so far as there is one. is based on the legendary trial of Paris by Diana for error in judgment in giving the apple to Venus. A personage called Colin in this play is thought to stand for Spenser, and to have caused the subsequent writing of that poet's Colin Clout's Come Home Again, as a retort to Peele, who there figures, perhaps, as Palin.
ARRAN, ar'rm. An island in the Firth of Clyde, and County of Bute, Scotland, 5 miles southwest of Bute, separated from Kintyre by Kilbrannan Sound (Map: Scotland, C 4). It is of oblong shape. 20 miles long, from 10 to 11 miles wide, with an area of 165 square miles. The surface is mountainous, in the north reaching an altitude of 2866 feet above the sea, and is traversed by small streams and lochs. Arran is remarkable geologically. It has quarries of limestone and coal, and some of the mountains contain jasper, agates, and rock-crystal. Only a small part of the area is under cultivation, the most important industries being cattle-raising and herring fishery. There are two excellent harbors on the east side, Brodick and Lamlash, the latter sheltered by Holy Island. Off the southern coast lies the small island of Pladda, with a lighthouse. Numerous prehistoric and Danish relics exist, and the names of some of the caves bear evidence of Robert Bruce's sojourn. The greater part of Arran belongs to the Duke of Hamilton, whose seat is Brodick Castle. The population of the island is constantly declining, having been 5234 in 1871 and 4824 in 1891. Consult A May Week in Arran (Edinburgh, 1882).
