538 



TrfE STANDARD DICTIONARY OF FACTS 



Indian Ocean, one of the five grand 

 divisions of the universal ocean, is bounded on 

 the south by a line drawn from the Cape of Good 

 Hope to the most southern extremity of Tas- 

 mania or Van Dieman's Land. Its other limits. 

 reckoned from the last-mentioned point, are 

 Van Dieman's Land, Australia, the Indian Archi- 

 pelago, Farther India, Hindustan, Persia, Arabia, 

 and Africa. Gradually narrowing from south to 

 north, the Indian Ocean forks at Cape Comorin 

 into the Bay of Bengal on the east and the 

 Arabian Sea on the west, the latter again 

 branching off into two arms, the Persian Gulf 

 and the Red Sea, which reach respectively the 

 mouth of the Euphrates and Ihe neighborhood 

 of the Mediterranean. These details exclude 

 the waters of the Indian Archipelago, as belong- 

 ing rather to the Pacific Ocean. It contains 

 thousands of islands or rather tens of thousands. 

 Of these, Madagascar is the largest, and, at 

 about the same distance from it to the east as 

 the continent of Africa is to the west, lie Bourbon 

 or Reunion toward the south, and Mauritius 

 toward the north. Next in size to Madagascar, 

 and, in fact, the only other island of any con- 

 siderable magnitude, is Ceylon. 



Indianapolis, capital of the State of Indi- 

 ana, is the geographical center of the State, and 

 on the edge of a great natural gas region. The 

 most prominent public building is the State 

 House, completed in 1887, occupying two 

 squares, and costing $2,000,000. The court- 

 house, erected in 1876 at a cost of $1,200,000, is 

 another imposing structure. The principal 

 manufactures include steam engines, machinery, 

 foundry supplies, and products, steel, glass, 

 flour, tin plate, tile, bicycles, chain, paper, and 

 pumps. There are eight grain elevators with a 

 capacity of 1,000,000 bushels. The stockyard 

 interests are important, and the city ranks high 

 as a railroad and distributing center. Popula- 

 tion, 212,198. 



Ireland, a large island to the west of Great 

 Britain, and forming with it the United King- 

 dom of Great Britain and Ireland. It is sepa- 

 rated from Great Britain by St. George's Channel, 

 the Irish Sea, and the North Channel, the last 

 being only about fourteen miles broad at its 

 narrowest'part, which is between the north coast 

 of the county of Antrim, in Ireland, and the 

 Mull of Cantire, in Scotland. The extreme 

 length of the island, from Fair Head, in Antrim, 

 to Mizen Head, in Cork, is about 300 miles; and 

 its greatest breadth, from Howth Head, near 

 Dublin, to Slyne Head, in Galway, is about 180 

 miles. The country is for the most part flat, 

 but it has mountains of considerable elevation 

 in the north, west, and south. A great portion 

 of the central plain is covered with bog-land, 

 which occupies no less than two-fifths of the 

 whole surface of Ireland; but much of the re- 

 maining soil is fertile, and the humidity of the 

 climate, and the equability of the temperature 

 much greater than those of England have 

 given to the island its verdant appearance, 

 which has earned for it the name of the " Emerald 

 Island." Agriculture is, however, in a back- 

 ward condition; and, in consequence of the 

 absence of coal, there are few manufactures, 

 except that of linen, which is carried on chiefly 



in the districts of Belfast, Armagh, and Drog- 

 heda. 



Italy (Italian, Italia], a kingdom of South- 

 ern Europe, embracing the entire peninsula, 

 boot-like in shape, extending between the Ad- 

 riatic- Sea on the east and the Ligurian and 

 Tyrrhenian Seas on the west, together with the 

 rieh and considerable region which is bounded 

 north by Switzerland and the Tyrol, east 1 > y 

 Carniola and the Austrian Littorale, and \ve>t 

 by France. Length, northwest to southeast 

 (or from Mont Blanc to Cape Portio di I '.do, 

 Sicily), 780 miles; average width, 100 miles. 

 This kingdom has a coast line of about 3, '>'>() 

 miles, one-third of which is insulated, the prin- 

 cipal indentations of the sea being the gulfs of 

 Venice, Manfredonia, Taranto, Squillace, Poli- 

 castro, Gae'ta, Spezzia, and Genoa; besides 

 those of Asinora and Cagliari, in the island of 

 Sardinia, and Castellamare in that of Sicily. 

 The latter island is divided from the continent 

 by the Strait of Messina. Besides the islands 

 just named, there are those of the Lipari group, 

 Elba, Monte Cristo, Stromboli, Ischia, Capri, 

 Giglia, and the cluster upon w r hich stands the 

 city of Venice. Throughout its entire length, 

 or rather from the Gulf of Genoa to the extrem- 

 ity of Calabria, Italy is intersected by the chain 

 of the Apennines. Its western and northern 

 frontiers are guarded by the Alps, ramifications 

 of which mountain system extend over a great 

 part of Piedmont, Lombardy, and Venetia; 

 Sicily is also generally mountainous in regard 

 to surface, Mount Etna forming the culminat- 

 ing point of altitude. The plains of Italy are 

 extensive, and proverbial for their fertility and 

 productiveness; notably so that of Lombardy, 

 which has been termed the "garden of Italy." 

 The Tuscan Maremma, the Pontine Marshes, 

 and a large portion "of the Roman Campagna, 

 are also level tracts, highly prolific and generally 

 well cultivated. The principal rivers are the 

 Po, with its numerous feeders; the Adige, Brenta, 

 Piave, Tiber, Arno, Tagliamento, and Volturno; 

 the lakes comprise those of Como, Maggiore, 

 Guarda, Bolseno, and Bracciano; salt lagoons, 

 too, fringe the coasts of Venetia and Tuscany. 

 A great part of the lower peninsula is almost 

 exclusively of volcanic formation, Mount Ve- 

 suvius, for example, manifesting periodical 

 I instances of subterranean activity. Iron is 

 largely found in Elba, borax in Tuscany, and 

 j fine varieties of marble, with salt, nitre, alum, 

 | alabaster, gypsum, etc., in other parts. Mineral 

 | and thermal springs are almost innumerable. 

 In point of climate, Italy may be said to possess 

 four distinct zones ranging from the almost 

 arctic cold of her mountain belts to an almost 

 tropical degree of heat in the southern lowlands 

 and valleys. On the whole, it is a healthful 

 country. The staple products of the soil are: 

 wines, fruits, olive oil, silk, and cotton; which, 

 with fish, marble, sulphur, and various manu- 

 factures, constitute the bulk of its exports 

 abroad. The principal articles fabricated in 

 the industrial centers are textile fabrics, lace, 

 straw hats, leather goods, glass, pottery, per- 

 fumes, chemicals, and paper. The chief cities 

 are Naples, Rome, Milan, Genoa, Turin, Flor- 

 ence, Palermo, etc. 



