Arracacha
a genus of plants belonging to the order apiaceæ, or umbellifers. A. esculenta is cultivated for the sake of its root which is used as an esculent in the elevated portions of equinoctial America.
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Single-source entries: A (77)
Each of these 14 subjects appears in only one of the 6 encyclopedias on this shelf. None is long enough to carry a page by itself, so they are gathered here by letter. Anything that grows moves out to a page of its own.
Arrah
a town of British India, in Shahabad district, Bengal, rendered famous during the mutiny of 1857 by the heroic resistance of a body of 20 civilians and 50 Sikhs, cooped up within a detached house, to a force of 3,000 Sepoys, who were ultimately routed and overthrown by the arrival of a small Euro-
Only in Collier's New Encyclopedia
Arraignment
in the practice of criminal law the calling of a prisoner by his name to the bar of the court to answer the matter charged upon him in the indictment.
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Arrhenatherum
a genus of plants belonging to the order graminaceæ, or grasses. A species grows wild in England, A. avenaceum, or tall, oatlike grass. It is also cultivated occasionally in England, and much more frequently in France, but is not very nutritious.
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Arrhenius
SVANTE, a Swedish chemist, born in 1849 near Upsala. He was educated in the university of that city and, after teaching for a short time, spent several years abroad carrying on original investigations in physical chemistry. In 1891 he became professor at the University of Stockholm. His contributions to the study of electrolytic phenomena and the chemical and physical properties of substances are of the utmost importance. He established the so-called theory of electrolytic dissociation. Arrhenius wrote much on chemical subjects and in 1907 published a series of lectures delivered at the University of California. In 1903 he received the Nobel Prize for chemistry. Perhaps his most popular work is "Worlds in the Making" (1908), in which he combatted the theory that the universe is tending to destruction by loss of heat and motion.
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Arria
a celebrated Roman matron, wife of Cæcinna Pætus, consul during the reign of Claudius, about A. D. 41. Pætus having raised an unsuccessful revolt against Claudius, in Illyria, was condemned to die. He was, however, allowed the option of ending his life by suicide, which the Romans did not deem a crime. Pætus hesitated; Arria seized the dagger, plunged it into her bosom, and then presenting it to her husband, said, "It is not painful, Pætus." This, with other instances of her conjugal devotion, has immortalized her.
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Arriaga
MANOEL DE, a Portuguese statesman, born in 1842 at Horta in the Azores. He was educated at the University of Coimbra, and after studying law he practiced in Lisbon. For many years he was a member of the Chamber of Representatives as a Republican. He violently opposed the monarchy and in 1911 took an active part in the establishment of the republic. On Aug. 24 of that year he was elected the first president of Portugal, serving until May 27, 1915, when he resigned as the result of the coup d'état of that year. He was well known as a poet and a writer on economic subjects. He died March 5, 1917.
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Arrianus
A Greek historian and philosopher, was born at Nicomedia in Bithynia , about A. D. 90. He was a pupil and friend of Epictetus, whose lectures he published at
Only in 1000 Classical Characters
Arrowhead
a genus of aquatic plants found in all parts of the world within the torrid and temperate zones, natural order alismaceæ, distinguished by possessing barren and fertile flowers, with a three-leaved calyx and three colored petals. The common arrowhead (S. sagittifolia) has a tuberous root, nearly globular, and is known by its arrow-shaped leaves with lanceolate straight lobes.
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Arrowroot
a starch much used for food. This food starch is obtained from a number of tropical plants, but the genuine arrowroot is made from a West Indian species that has spread to other tropical countries. The arrowroot plant grows about two feet high. It bears white irregular flowers and berries about the size of currants. Each plant produces an underground cluster of scaly white rootstalks which, when mature, yield one-fourth of their own weight of a fine starch. It is valued as a table delicacy for puddings, etc., and as food easily digested by children. Arrowroot may be prepared in small quantities by washing, peeling, pounding, and mixing with an abundance of water. Water takes up the starch, the fiber is then strained out, and the water is allowed to stand. After the starch settles the water is drawn off. The starch is then dried and is ready for use. On a large scale these operations are carried on with mills and vats and drying pans, but the general principles are the same. St. Vincent, one of the Windward Islands, exports a large quantity of arrowroot. Great Britain imports 400,000 pounds of arrowroot a year. See Starch ; Sago ; Cassava
Only in Aiton's Encyclopedia
Arru Islands
a group of over 80 islands in the Dutch East Indies, lying W. of New Guinea, with a united area of about 2,650 square miles and a population of about 23,000. The largest island is Tanna-Besar (77 miles long by 50 broad). The surface is low, and the coasts are steep and inaccessible, on the E. side fringed with coral reefs. The soil is covered with the most luxuriant vegetation. The islands are remarkably rich in animal life. The inhabitants resemble the Melanesians of New Guinea more than the natives of the Moluccas. There is an active trade, but not in native hands. Cotton and woolen goods, iron and copper wares, Chinese pottery, knives, rum, rice, opium, and arrack are imported, and bartered for mother-ofpearl, trepang, edible nests, pearls, tortoise-shell, and the skins of birds of paradise.
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Ars Notoria
The science of the Tarot (q.v.) signs and their application to the divination of all secrets, whether of nature, of philosophy, or even of the future.
Only in An Encyclopaedia of Occultism
Ars Poetica
a discourse on poetry by the Latin poet, Horace. See Horace
Only in Aiton's Encyclopedia
Arsaces
founder of the Parthian monarchy. He induced his countrymen to rise against the Macedonian yoke, 250 B. c., on which they raised him to the throne. Arsaces was slain in battle, after a reign of 38 years. He was the first of a long line of monarchs of the same name, the last of whom was put to death about 226 A. D.
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