AZALEA 



woodwork by relic-hunters. On the banks of 

 the river that Burns so often refers to as the 

 "bonnie Doon," a monument to the poet has 

 been erected, and a grotto close by contains the 

 sculptured figures of Souter Johnnie and of 

 Tarn O"Shanter, the latter recalling the poem 

 in which this famous character drank too freely 

 and was assailed and pursued by spirit figures. 



AZALEA, aza'lea. Under this name are 

 grouped some of the most beautiful of garden 

 and hothouse flowers, as well as wild flowers. 

 They are kin to the rhododendrons indeed, 

 some botanists class the two as one genus. 

 There are in 

 North America 

 many species of 

 azaleas, some 

 evergreen, some 

 having leaves 

 which fall in the 

 autumn, but all 

 are distinguished 

 by their showy 

 trumpet - like 

 flowers, which us- 

 ually have an ex- 

 tremely pleasant 

 scent. Their col- 

 ors range through 

 all shades of pink 

 and red ; also 

 white, yellow and 

 purple azaleas are 

 by no means un- 

 common. 



Azaleas furnish 

 a most interest- 

 ing example of the way in which nature adapts 

 means to an end. That the flowers may be 

 fertilized, bees and butterflies must visit them, 

 and honey is provided to attract them. But 

 ants, which are of no help in distributing pol- 

 len, like honey, too, and that they may not 

 steal it many of the azalea blossoms are pro- 

 vided with sticky hairs, past which these in- 

 vaders cannot crawl. 



AZOIC, azo' ik, ERA, a term formerly used 

 by geologists to describe a period in the earth's 

 history in which plant and animal life did not 

 exist. The earliest era of geologic history is 

 now known as the Archeozoic Era, and its 

 rock formations are called Archean (see AR- 

 CHEAN SYSTEM). As late investigations dis- 

 prove the theory that there was an earlier 

 period without life, the term is no longer used. 

 See GEOLOGY. 



AZALEA 



522 AZTEC 



AZORES, azorz', or WESTERN ISLANDS, 

 a group of nine rocky and lofty islands in tho 

 North Atlantic Ocean, belonging to Portugal. 

 They form three distinct groups; the north- 

 east consists of the islands of Sao Miguel (Saint 

 Michael) and Santa Maria; the central, of 

 Fayal, Graciosa, Pico, Sao Jorge and Terceira, 

 and the northwestern, of Corvo and Flores. 

 The Azores are farther from any continent 

 than any other group of islands in the Atlantic 

 Ocean, the African coast being 900 miles to the 

 east and Newfoundland more than 1,000 miles 

 to the west. 



The volcanic origin of the islands is proved 

 by numerous hot springs and frequent earth- 

 quakes, even in modern times. The hills and 

 valleys are clothed with luxuriant vegetation. 

 and corn-fields, vineyards, lemon and orange 

 groves and rich open pastures are found \\lirr 

 ever the land has been cleared of timber. Tho 

 climate is mild and somewhat humid; but as 

 a winter resort the islands are very popular. 



The Azores were discovered by Cabral about 

 1431, shortly after which date they were lakon 

 possession of and colonized by the Portuguese. 

 When first visited they were uninhabited and 

 had scarcely any animals except birds, partic- 

 ularly hawks, called in Portuguese acores, to 

 which the islands owe their name. The capital 

 is Angra, on the island of Terceira. It has 

 the only good harbor in the entire group. 

 Here resides the Governor-General of the 

 islands, who receives his appointment and 

 authority from Lisbon. Population, 256,475. 



AZOV, azawj', SEA OF, a large inland sea, 

 which the Strait of Kertch connects with the 

 Black Sea, of which it forms an arm. About 

 200 miles long and 100 miles wide, it covers 

 approximately 14,500 square miles, or an area 

 two-thirds that of Lake Michigan. Its greatest 

 depth is fifty-three feet. Its western end, called 

 the Putrid Sea, is separated from the main 

 expanse by a long sandy belt called Arabat, 

 along which runs a military road. About 2,700 

 vessels, totaling 500,000 tonnage, visit its ports 

 annually. Numerous storms, its shallowness, 

 and ice in winter render navigation dangerous. 

 The Don and other rivers enter it, and its 

 waters are quite fresh. The sea teems with fish. 



AZTEC, az' tek, a word in their own lan- 

 guage meaning the heron clan, is a nation of 

 Indians which built up in the southern part of 

 the North American continent a fairly high 

 civilization centuries before the white man 

 ever made a settlement there. When Cortez 

 (which see) reached Mexico early in the six- 



