ARID REGION 



345 



ARISTOCRACY 



ARID, air' id, REGION, a dry area with no 

 rainfall or with a quantity of rainfall so small 

 that a good growth of vegetation cannot be 

 sustained. The word arid literally means dry, 

 or exhausted of moisture. A desert, therefore, 

 is an arid region. The name is frequently 

 applied to that portion of North America 

 which does not have enough rainfall for the 

 successful raising of crops. This region com- 

 prises most of the western plains, including 

 parts of Alberta and Saskatchewan and the 

 states of Montana, Wyoming, Colorado, Utah, 

 Nevada, Arizona and New Mexico, the western 

 portion of the Dakotas, Nebraska, Kansas, the 

 northern part of Texas west of the 100th 

 meridian and a portion of Southern California. 



Another arid region, smaller in extent, is 

 found in Oregon and the southeastern part of 

 Washington, extending into Idaho. The area 

 of the arid region of North America is nearly 

 two million square miles, of which about three- 

 fourths are in the United States. Large por- 

 tions of this region, however, receive sufficient 

 rainfall to support a growth of good grass 

 for grazing purposes, and it is more accurate 

 to call this a semi-arid region. In the arid 

 region of North America, and in almost all 

 similar sections in other parts of the world, the 

 soil is fertile, and when supplied with water 

 produces abundant crops. See DESERT; IRRI- 

 GATION; DRY-FARMING. 



ARIES, ay'rieez, the ram, the first sign of 

 th zodiac and the name of a constellation. 

 The zodiacal division of Aries includes the 

 first 30 of the ecliptic from the vernal equi- 

 nox, or the point at which the sun crosses the 

 equator in the spring. The sun at the time 

 of crossing is said to be "in the first of Aries," 

 but owing to the forward and westward motion 

 of the equinoxes the sun actually is in Pisces 

 at the vernal equinox (see PRECESSION OF THE 

 EQUINOXES). The symbol of Aries is T, repre- 

 senting the horns of a ram or the nose and 

 eyebrows of the human face. See ZODIAC, for 

 illustration. 



ARISTA, arccs'ta, MARIANO (1802-1855), a 

 ican general who ranks not lower than 

 third among Mexico's great men, regarded by 

 some as second to Porforio Dial. He took 

 part in the war that secured Mexican inde- 

 pendence, and in 1836 was second in command 

 to the dictator Santa Anna, whom he excelled 

 in constructive ability. During the war be- 

 tween Mexico and the United States Arista 

 It <1 the Mexican forces at Palo Alto and Resaca 

 de la Palma, and was badly defeated in both 



battles by General Zachary Taylor. In 1850 

 he became President of Mexico, but his term 

 of office was a troubled one, and he resigned 

 in 1853. Soon afterward he was banished by 

 Santa Anna, who had stirred up a revolt against 

 him. He died in exile in Spain. 



ARISTIDES, airisti'deez (about 550-467 

 B.C.), a celebrated Athenian statesman and 

 military commander, of whom it is told that 

 he was once approached by an ignorant citizen 

 unknown to him, and asked to write the name 

 Aristides on a shell. Since this was a vote 

 for banishment, Aristides asked what his reason 

 was for wishing to banish an innocent person, 

 and the man replied, "It's that I am so tired 

 of hearing him called The Just" 



At the time of the Persian invasion under 

 Darius, Aristides was one of the leaders of 

 the Athenians; it was owing to his influence 

 that the chief command was given to Mil- 

 tiades, instead of being changed daily among 

 the ten generals, as had been customary. To 

 this fact was due in great measure the im- 

 portant victory at Marathon (490). Shortly 

 after this Aristides was appointed archon or 

 chief magistrate, but his rival, Themistocles, 

 managed to secure his banishment by declaring 

 that he was becoming dangerous to the democ- 

 racy (484). It was in connection with this inci- 

 dent that the above story is told. Such was 

 his unselfish patriotism that during his exile 

 he sought to unite the Grecian cities against 

 the coming Persian invasion, and before the 

 Battle of Salamis (480) went to Themistocles 

 and gave him his hearty support. He helped 

 to plan the engagement and himself took part 

 in it, and afterward commanded the Athenian 

 forces. Aristides was so poor at his death that 

 he was buried at public cost; but from a grate- 

 ful country his children received dowries and 

 a landed estate. 



ARISTOCRACY, air is tok ' ra si, a form of 

 government in which the power rests in the 

 hands of a few citizens prominent for their 

 Ith or family prestige, or both. The term 

 litrrally means government by the best. It 

 stands midway between an absolute monarchy, 

 in \vhirh one man exercises supreme authority, 

 and a democracy, in which authority is shared 

 by all the citizens. In the Greek philosophy of 

 government the aristocracy was the ideal form, 

 for it was neither despotic nor ruled by the 

 mob. Theoretically, the men best qualified 

 governed in the interests of all the people. 

 In i-r.ict ic(>. however, the governing classes 

 frequently consulted only their own interests, 



