Page:The New International Encyclopædia 1st ed. v. 01.djvu/479

ALSTRŒMERIA. 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, (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.

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, and.

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