Page:The New International Encyclopædia 1st ed. v. 01.djvu/824

ARATUS. him in his speech on Mars' Hill (Acts xvii. 28). Critical edition by Maass (Berlin, 1892).

ARAUCANIA, a'rou-kii'nc-a. The country of the Araucos or Araucanian Indians, a territory in the southern part of Chile, occupying a large portion of the province of Arauco. The country is divided from north to south into four parallel regions, which were formerly administered by hereditary toguis. The population cannot be given with accuracy, but is estimated at 50,000. In physical type they resemble their kindred of the pampas. Their language is of such harmonious and adaptable character that a serious attempt was once made by a missionary student to introduce it into Europe to supersede Latin. The Araucanians remained independent longer than any other native tribe on the American continent, and had fought for their liberty, with intervals of precarious truce, from 1537 'to 1773. During the war between Spain and the Chilean colonists, Araucania remained neutral. In 1861, a French adventurer named Antoine Tounens was elected King of Araucania, under the name of Orélie Antoine I., but was deposed and sent back to France by the Chilean Government. The rule of Chile was recognized bv the Araucanians in 1870. Consult A. Polakowsky, "Die heutigen Aurakanen," in Globus, No. 74 (Brunswick, 1898).

ARAU'CAN STOCK. A group of South American tribes formerly occupying the pampas region of Argentina, from about 35° south to the Rio Negro and the adjoining portion of Chile, including the island of Chiloe. The stock name (Aucanian of Brinton) is derived from aucani, "wild, indomitable." In their general character and habit the Indians of this stock closely resemble our own plains tribes; or rather, perhaps, the Navajos, most of them wandering constantly from place to place in quest of fresher pasture for their herds of horses, cattle, and sheep, dwelling in low skin tents and subsisting almost entirely upon meat, despising agriculture, but expert in dressing skins, forging lance blades and knives, and weaving the wool of their sheep into blankets and ponchos. They seem to have but a loose organization, many of the tribal names being merely direction names. As a race they are warlike and independent, refusing civilization or Christianity. Among their tribes are the Araucano, Chono, Huilche, Moluche, Puelehe, Ranquele. and others.

AR'AUCA'RIA (from Araucania, a territory in the south of Chile). A genus of plants of the natural order Coniferæ or pines, consisting of lofty trees, natives of South America and Australasia. The species, of which there are fifteen, are all evergreen. The leaves are broader than those of pines and firs, which, however, the trees resemble in their general manner of growth. Araucaria imbricata, sometimes called the Chile Pine, a native of the Andes of Chile, forming forests on their western declivities, attains a height of 150 feet. Its trunk is quite straight and free from knots. The bark of the young trees is studded with leaves from the base upward, even until the tree is 12 or 15 years of age. The branches are in whorls of five to eight. Young trees have branches almost from the ground; old trees have tall naked stems, with a crown of branches. The female strobile (cone) is roundish ovate, six to eight inches in diameter, with scales terminated by a long awl-shaped point, and seeds wedge-shaped and more than an inch in length. The outer and inner bark of full-grown trees are each four to six inches in thickness. From both outer and inner bark, and indeed from all parts of the tree, resin flows readily and in great abundance. The leaves are lanceolate, about an inch in length, and half an inch in breadth near the base, sharp-pointed. The timber is heavy, solid, hard, fibrous, yellowish white, and beautifully veined. It is suitable for masts of ships. The resin, which is white, has a smell like frankincense, and a not unpleasant taste. The seed is pleasant to the taste, not unlike the chestnut, and is a most important article of food among the natives. It is eaten raw, boiled, or roasted. A spirituous liquor is distilled from it. A single strobile sometimes contains between 200 and 300 seeds, and one tree may be seen loaded with 20 or 30 of these great strobiles. This Araucaria was introduced into Great Britain at the end of the Eighteenth Century, and is now pretty frequently planted. Araucaria Brasiliana, the Brazil Pine, has loosely imbricated lanceolate leaves, and a looser and more spreading habit than Araucaria imbricata. The seeds or nuts are sold as an article of food in Rio Janeiro. The resin which exudes from the tree is mixed with wax to make candles. Araucaria excelsa, the Norfolk Island Pine, a native of Norfolk Island, New Caledonia, etc., attains a height of 160 to 220 feet, free from branches to 80 to 100 feet, with a trunk sometimes 11 feet in diameter. The wood is white, tough, close-grained, and so heavy as almost to sink in water. The leaves of the young trees are linear and spreading; those of the adult are ovate, and closely imbricated. The cones are four to five inches in diameter. Araucaria Cunninghamii, nearly globular, the Moreton Bay Pine, a native of the shores of Moreton Bay and banks of the Brisbane River in New South Wales, very much resembles the last. It attains a height of 150 to 200 feet, and a diameter of three to six feet. The leaves of the adult trees are lanceolate and imbricated. The wood is yellowish, and is used for boat-building, house-carpentry, and the common kinds of furniture. Araucaria Bidwillii, the Bunya Bunva. is an important tree of Queensland, where it attains a height of 100 to 150 feet and a diameter of three to four feet. The timber is not quite so valuable as that of the Moreton Bay Pine. The seeds, of which there is said to be in abundance every three years, are as much as two inches long and three-quarters of an inch broad, and are much used for food by the aborigines. An important resin is obtained from this tree.

There are a number of species and varieties grown in greenhouses in the United States, where they are prized for their graceful appearance. This is especially true of Araucaria excelsa. The species do not flourish in the open, except in the southern States. Nearly all the leading species are successfully grown as ornamentals in California.

Araucaria, and several allied genera, have been found abundantly in rocks of Mesozoic and Tertiary ages in nearly all parts of the world. The oldest representative of the group is the genus Walchia, which occurs in rocks of Permian or uppermost Carboniferous Age, and which grew to a great size, equaling