Page:Collier's New Encyclopedia v. 01.djvu/454

LEFT AXIS 364 AYR the axis are scales, leaves, bracts, flowers, sexes, and fruit. The axis of in- florescence is a peduncle which proceeds in a nearly straight line from the base to the apex of the inflorescence. In anatomy, the axis of the body is the vertebral column, around which the other portions of the frame are arranged. AXIS, a species of deer, the cervus axis, found in India. It is spotted like the fallow deer, from which, however, the adult males, at least, may be dis- tinguished by their possessing round horns without a terminal palm. There are several varieties, if, indeed, they are not distinct species. All are called by Anglo-Indian sportsmen hog deer. AXMINSTER, a market town of England, in the county Devon, on the Axe, at one time celebrated for its woolen cloth and carpet manufactures, and giv- ing name to an expensive variety of carpet having a thick, soft pile, and also to a cheaper variety. Pop. about 3,000. AXOLOTL (amblystovta onaculatum), a curious Mexican amphibian, not unlike a newt, from 8 to 10 inches in length, with gills formed of three long, ramified or branch-like processes floating on each side of the neck. It reproduces by lay- ing eggs. The axolotl is esteemed a luxury by the Mexicans. There are a number of spyecies of amblystoma in North America. AXUM, a town in Tigre, a division of Abyssinia, once the capital of an im- portant kingdom, and at one time the great depot of the ivory trade in the Red Sea. AYACUCHO (a-ya-ko'cho), formerly Huamanga or Guamanga, a town in the Peruvian department of the same name, 220 miles E. S. E. of Lima. Founded by Pizarro in 1539, it is now a handsome and thriving town. Here, on Dec. 9, 1824, the combined forces of Peru and Columbia — the latter then comprising Ecuador, New Granada,, and Venezuela — totally defeated the last Spanish army that ever set foot on the continent. Pop. (ibout 300,000; town, about 10,000. AYE-AYE, an animal of Madagascar, so called from its cry, now referred to the lemur family. It is about the size of a hare, has large, flat ears and a bushy tail; large eyes; long, sprawling fingers, the third so slender as to appear shriveled ; color, musk-brown, mixed with black and gray ash; feeds on grubs, fruits, etc.; habits, nocturnal. AYEEN, or AKBERY, a very valuable statistical description of the Mogul Em- pire as it was in the reign of Akbar. It was compiled by Abul Fazi, the Vizier of the Emperor Akbar. There is an English translation of it by Gladwin. AYESHAH (I-esh'a), also AYSHA or AISHA, the favorite wife of Mohammed, and daughter of Abu-Bekr, was born at Medina about 610 A. D., and was only nine years of age when the Prophet married her. She was the only one of Mohammed's wives who accompanied him in his campaigns. Although Ayeshah bore no children to Mohammed, she was tenderly beloved by him. She was ac- cused of adultery, but Mohammed pro- duced a revelation from Heaven (now in the Koran) to the effect that she was innocent. Mohammed expired in her arms (632). She now successfully ex- ercised her influence to pi'event Ali, the Prophet's son-in-law, from becoming caliph, and secured the succession for her father, Abu-Bekr. Again, on Othman's death, she headed a force to resist the accession of Ali, but the troops under her were in 656 defeated by Ali, and she was taken prisoner. She died at Medina (677 A. D.), highly venerated by all true Mussulmans, and named the Prophetess and the Mother of Believers. AYLESFOBD, a town and parish of England, in the county of Kent, 3 miles from Maidstone. In its vicinity is the remarkable monument called Kit's Coty House, a kind of Druidical cromlech of which the origin is obscure, and much contested among antiquaries. AYOUBITES, or AYYUBITES, the Saracenic dynasty founded by Saladin, which in Egypt supplanted the Fatimite caliphs, about 1171 A. D. Several of the descendants of Saladin, known as Ayou- bites, afterward ruled in Egypt, Syria, Armenia and Arabia Felix. In the 13th century their power was destroyed by the Mamelukes. AYR (ar), a town of Scotland, a royal and parliamentary borough and capital of Ayrshire, at the mouth of the river Ayr, near the Firth of Clyde. It was the site of a Roman station. William the Lion built a castle here in 1197 and constituted it a royal borough in 1202; and the Parliament which confirmed Robert Bruce's title to the crown sat in Ayr. Two bridges connect Ayr proper with the suburbs of Newton and Wallace- town. One of the bridges, opened in 1879, occupies the place of the "new brig" of Burns' "Brigs of Ayr," the "auld brig" (built 1252) being still serviceable for foot traffic. Carpets and lace curtains are manufactured. There is a consider- able shipping trade, especially in coals.