AMIENS 



est settlements in Ontario, was founded in 

 1781, and was named in honor of Baron Jef- 

 frey Amherst (which see), then commander- 

 in-chief of the British army. Population in 

 1911. 2.560. J-T-A- 



AMIENS, ah' myaN', a city of France, cap- 

 ital of the department of Somme, situated on 

 the Somme River, eighty-one miles north of 

 Paris. Peter the Hermit, who set Europe 

 aflame with the spirit which led to the Cru- 

 sades, was born here. The most noted build- 

 ing was the cathedral, the largest ecclesiastical 

 structure in France, with a spire 360 feet high, 

 and considered one of the finest examples of 

 Gothic architecture in Europe. It was begun 

 in 1220 and required nearly seventy years for 

 completion. This magnificent structure was a 

 mass of ruins before the close of the War of the 

 Nations. Amiens was captured without damage 

 by the Germans within a month of the begin- 

 ning of the war, but evacuated by them thirteen 

 lays later. Later during the progress of the 

 war the town lay within the range of gunfire for 

 months at a time, and suffered incredible dam- 

 age ; the Germans never again entered the town, 

 though they made many attempts to capture it, 

 because it was an allied railroad center of vast 

 importance for transportation of troops and sup- 

 plies. Population, 1911, 93,207. 



AMMON, am' on, the national god of the 



A MM ON AND MUT 



The greatest present-day value of this example 

 of old Egyptian art is in the idea it conveys of 

 ancient dress and peculiar square-lined figures, 

 doubtless a survival of older rock carving. 



ancient Egyptians, identified by the Greeks 

 with their supreme god Zeus. In later times he 



236 AMMONIA 



was called Ammon-Re, meaning Amman the 

 Sun. At first his seat of worship was Thebes, 

 the No-Ammon (City of Ammon) of the Old 

 Testament. After his worship became national 

 a celebrated temple was erected to him in the 

 Libyan Desert. In statues Ammon is generally 

 represented in human form, wearing a head- 

 dress from which two immense feathers rise. 

 The ram was sacred to him. The goddess Mut 

 was his wife. 



AMMONIA, a mo' nia, a colorless gas which 

 dissolves so readily in water that it is almost 

 always used in its liquid form, known as 

 aqueous ammonia or spirits of hartshorn. This 

 latter name, the oldest one, it received because 

 it was long ago made by heating in a closed 

 vessel the horns of stags or harts. Many de- 

 caying animal substances give off ammonia 

 gas, and at such places as stockyards much of 

 the refuse matter, as bones, hoofs and horns, 

 is used in making ammonia. In Scotland it is 

 obtained as a by-product in making petroleum 

 from oil shale. By far the larger quantity, 

 however, is obtained as a by-product in the 

 making of gas from coal. Ammonia has quali- 

 ties which readily distinguish it from other 

 gases. First, there is its sharp, stinging odor; 

 a strong inhalation will bring tears to the eyes. 

 Then too, it is an alkali (which see), and as 

 such has a decided value in restoring color to 

 fabrics which have acids spilled on them. For 

 this purpose it has the great advantage over 

 the alkalies in that if more is put on than is 

 necessary to neutralize the acid, the excess of 

 ammonia will quickly pass into the air. 



The uses of ammonia are many and im- 

 portant. Combined with various acids it forms 

 salts which are of value for many purposes, 

 while in its free form it is used in the manu- 

 facture of artificial ice (see below) and of soda. 

 Aqueous ammonia is used in the household. 

 Ammonia contains the elements nitrogen and 

 hydrogen. The former makes it of value to the 

 soil, and it is therefore employed as a fertilizer, 

 generally as sulphate of ammonia. Ammonium 

 nitrate, or nitrate of ammonia, is extensively 

 used in the manufacture of explosives. Am- 

 monia chloride, or sal ammonia, is used in cal- 

 ico dyeing and in cleaning metals before sol- 

 dering or galvanizing. It is also used in some 

 types of electric batteries. When reduced to a 

 temperature of 34 C. ammonia becomes a 

 liquid instead of a gas, and in turning back to 

 a gas again it absorbs from the air or any 

 other substances about it a great deal of heat. 

 For this reason it is of the greatest importance 



