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ASTROPALI A — AT HENRY

does not show that the condensation in the plane of the Milky Way begins with the nearest stars; it only shows that some of the brighter stars are as far as the Milky Way, and emphasizes the extraordinary difference in their absolute brightness. As we have already said, the proper motions of the stars afford the best index to their distance. Now it is a remarkable and suggestive fact that, when we make a count of the stars of known proper motion in every direction, we find them to be no more numerous in the region of the Milky Way than elsewhere. It appears therefore that the stars which compose the Milky Way are outside the limits within which proper motion has been detected, and that within these limits the stars are distributed with a fair approach to uniformity. A careful look at the Milky Way, especially the region south of Aquila, will suffice to show that it suggests agglomerations of stars rather than a continuous zone in which there is a uniform distribution of the stars. Moreover, it seems that our system is nearer to this part of the Milky Way than to the opposite; in other words, we are not centrally situated. It is a remarkable fact that in the intervals between the brighter portions of the Milky Way, about 17 hours of right ascension and between 20° and 22° of south declination, we have regions several degrees

square where the stars are comparatively few in number. This is in general true of the openings in this region. We conclude from this that in the latter we have a phenomenon distinct from that of merely increased star density arising from greater depth. Our general conclusions as to the structure of the universe may be summed up in these four propositions :— 1. The general form of the universe of stars to which our sun belongs is that of a flattened cylinder, or extreme oblate spheroid, as was supposed by Herschel and Struve. 2. The phenomenon of the Milky Way is not due alone to the fact that we see more stars in the equatorial regions of this spheroid, but to the fact that this region is occupied through its entire extent by a series of agglomerations of stars, within which space is richer in stars than in the interior where we are situated. 3. Our sun is situated near the central plane of the spheroid, but eccentrically so as to be nearer the boundary in a direction of perhaps 18 hours in right ascension, between the equator and 50° of south declination. 4. It is possible, but not yet certain, that we are so near the galactic stars in this region that we may soon be enabled to discover a proper motion among them. (S. N.)

Astropalia, classical Astypalcea, an island with good° harbours, in the south part of the vEgean, situated in 36'S0 N. lat. and immediately west of 26-5° E. long. The Roman emperors recognized it as a free state j and in the Middle Ages it was called Stavipalia, and belonged to the noble Venetian family of Quirini. It was taken by the Turks in the 16th century, and is now noted for its sponges. The customs and dress of the people, who speak a patois of romaic origin, are interesting.

city is divided into five wards, is regularly laid out, supplied with water by pumping from Missouri river, and is well drained. It is entered by four great railways, the Atchison, Topeka and Santa Fe, the Chicago, Burlington and Quincy, the Chicago, Rock Island and Pacific, and the Missouri Pacific. It is the site of Midland and St Benedict colleges. Founded in 1854, it at once grew rapidly, and four years later it received a city charter. Population (1880), 15,105; (1890), 13,963; (1900), 15,722. > > ,

Asua, R.

See Nile.

Asuncion, or La Asuncion, capital of the Paraguay Republic, is situated on the left bank of the Paraguay river, in 25° 16' 04" S. lat. and 57° 42' 40" W. long. The population in 1887 was 24,838, but it now exceeds 47,000. Railway communication has been established with Pirapo, and the town is rapidly becoming modernized. It is served by a tramway, has its principal streets lighted by electricity, and is well supplied with telephones. There are a National College, attended by over two hundred students, a public library, and, in the neighbourhood, an agricultural school with a model farm. Near the town, too, are several breweries, tanneries, flour mills, and factories for matches, soap, bricks, earthenware, palm-leaf hats, etc. In 1890 the imports were valued at $2,725,611 (gold), in 1899 at $2,147,838; exports were valued at $2,901,589 in 1890 and $2,021,023 in 1899. Both imports and exports fluctuate considerably in value. In 1898 in the foreign trade only 418 vessels (mostly “ liners ”) entered, and 408 cleared. Atbara., R.

See Abyssinia.

Ath, a town of Belgium, in the province of Hainaut, on the river Dender, about 30 miles by rail from Brussels. The tower of the church of Saint-Julien now lacks the high spire for which it was noted, and the ancient Tour du Burbant has become ruinous. Population (communal) (1880), 9301; (1890), 9868; (1897), 10,646. Athabasca (Athapescow or Elk), a river of Alberta and Athabasca districts, Canada, rises in the Rocky Mountains in 52° 10' N. lat. and 117° 10' W. long., and flows in a north-easterly direction into the lake of the same name. It is 740 miles long and has a number of important tributaries, including the M‘Leod, Pembina, Lesser Slave, and Clearwater. Athabasca Lake is 195 miles long, W. to E., from 20 to 32 miles wide, has an area of 3085 square miles, and is at an altitude of 690 feet above the sea. Shallow-draught steamers navigate the lake and river and Lesser Slave Lake and River with one interruption—at Grand Rapids near the mouth of the Clearwater river.

For Athabasca district see North-West Territories. Atchison, the capital of Atchison county, Kansas At henry, an inland town in the county of Galway, U.S.A., in 39° 34' N. lat. and 95° 8' W. long., on the west bank of the Missouri. The river is navigable at Ireland, 14 miles E. of Galway, on the Midland Great this point. The elevation on the river bank is 795 feet, Western Railway. The old Dominican monastery was most of the city being situated at a higher level. The extensively repaired by the Board of Works in 1893. Population, 910.