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AAR, or AARE

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Originally appearing in Volume V01, Page 3 of the 1911 Encyclopedia Britannica.
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AAR, or AARE , the most considerable See also:river which both rises and ends entirely within See also:Switzerland. • Its See also:total length (including all bends) from its source to its junction with the See also:Rhine is about 181 m., during which distance it descends 5135 ft., while its drainage See also:area is 6804 sq. m. It rises in the See also:great Aar glaciers, it the See also:canton of See also:Bern, and W. of the Grimsel Pass. It runs E. to the Grimsel See also:Hospice, and then N.W. through the Hasli valley, forming on the way the magnificent See also:waterfall of the Handegg (151 ft.), past Guttannen, and pierces the See also:limestone barrier of the Kirchet by a See also:grand See also:gorge, before reaching See also:Meiringen, situated in a See also:plain. A little beyond, near See also:Brienz, the river expands into the See also:lake of Brienz, where it becomes navigable. Near the See also:west end of that lake it receives its first important affluent, the Liitschine (See also:left), and then runs across the swampy plain of the Bodeli, between See also:Interlaken (left) and Unterseen (right), before again expanding in See also:order to See also:form the Lake of See also:Thun. Near the west end of that lake it receives on the left the Kander,which has just before been joined by the Simme; on flowing out of the lake it passes Thun, and then circles the lofty See also:bluff on which the See also:town of Bern is built. It soon changes its See also:north-See also:westerly for a due westerly direction, but after receiving the Saane or Sarine (left) turns N. till near Aarberg its stream is diverted W. by the Hagneck See also:Canal into the Lake of See also:Bienne, from the upper end of which it issues through the Nidau Canal and then runs E. to Buren. Henceforth its course is N.E. for a See also:long distance, past See also:Soleure (below which the See also:Grosse Emme flows in on the right), Aarburg (where it is joined by the Wigger, right), Often, Aarau, near which is the junction with the Suhr on the right, and Wildegg, where the Hallwiler Aa falls in on the right. A See also:short way beyond, below Brugg, it receives first the See also:Reuss (right), and very shortly afterwards the Limmat or See also:Linth (right). rt now turns due N., and soon becomes itself an affluent of the Rhine (left), which it surpasses in See also:volume when they unite at See also:Coblenz, opposite Waldshut. (W. A.

B. C.) AARAU', the See also:

capital of the Swiss canton of See also:Aargau. In 1900 it had 7831 inhabitants, mostly See also:German-speaking, and mainly Protestants. It is situated in the valley of the Aar, on the right See also:bank of that river, and at the See also:southern See also:foot of the range of the See also:Jura. It is about 50 M. by See also:rail N.E. of Bern, and 31 M. N.W. of See also:Zurich. It is a well-built See also:modern town, with no remarkable features about it. In the See also:Industrial Museum there is (besides collections of various kinds) some See also:good painted See also:glass of the 16th See also:century, taken from the neighbouring See also:Benedictine monastery of See also:Muri (founded 1027, suppressed 1841—the monks are now quartered at Gries, near See also:Botzen, in See also:Tirol). The cantonal library contains many See also:works See also:relating to Swiss See also:history and many See also:MSS. coming from the suppressed Argovian monasteries. There are many See also:industries in the town, especially See also:silk-ribbon See also:weaving, foundries, and factories for the manufacture of See also:cutlery and scientific See also:instruments. The popular novelist and historian, Heinrich See also:Zschokke (1771-1848), spent most of his See also:life here, and a See also:bronze statue has been erected to his memory. Aarau is an important military centre.

The slopes of the Jura are covered with See also:

vine-yards. Aarau, an See also:ancient fortress, was taken by the Bernese in 1415, and in 1798 became for a See also:time the capital of the Helvetic See also:republic. Eight See also:miles by rail N.E. are the famous See also:sulphur See also:baths of Schinznach, just above which is the ruined See also:castle of See also:Habsburg, the See also:original See also:home of that great See also:historical See also:house. (W. A. B. C.) AARD-VARK (meaning " See also:earth-See also:pig "), the Dutch name for the mammals of genus Orycteropus, confined to See also:Africa (see See also:EDENTATA). Several See also:species have been named. Among them is the typical form, 0. capensis, or Cape See also:ant-See also:bear from See also:South Africa, and the See also:northern aard-vark (O. aethiopicus) of north-eastern Africa, extending into See also:Egypt. In form these animals are some-what pig-like; the See also:body is stout, with arched back; the limbs are short and stout, armed with strong, See also:blunt claws; the ears disproportionately long; and the tail very thick at the See also:base and tapering gradually. The greatly elongated See also:head is set on a short thick See also:neck, and at the extremity of the snout is a disk in which the nostrils open. The mouth is small and tubular, furnished with a long extensile See also:tongue.

The measurements of a See also:

female, taken in the flesh, were head and body 4 ft., tail 171 in.; but a large individual measured 6 ft. 8 in. over all. In See also:colour the Cape aard-vark is See also:pale sandy or yellow, the See also:hair being scanty and allowing the skin to show; the northern aard-vark has a still thinner coat, and is further distinguished by the shorter tail and longer head and ears. These-animals are of nocturnal and burrowing ha'-sits, and See also:AARHUS 3 generally to be found near ant-hills. The strong claws make a hole in the See also:side of the ant-See also:hill, and the See also:insects are collected on the extensile tongue. Aard-varks are hunted for their skins; but the flesh is valued for See also:food, and often salted and smoked. AARD-See also:WOLF (earth-wolf), a South and See also:East See also:African carnivorous mammal (Proteles cristatus), in See also:general See also:appearance like a small striped See also:hyena, but with a more pointed muzzle, sharper ears, and a long erectile mane down the See also:middle See also:line of the neck and back. It is of nocturnal and burrowing habits, and feeds on decomposed See also:animal substances, larvae and termites.

End of Article: AAR, or AARE

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