Aksoo

or Aksu, (ahk-soo',) a town of Chinese Turkis tan; Lat. 41° 7' N., Lon. 79° E. Pop. 100,000. Al, an Arabic particle corresponding with the English the; as Alcoran, the book (Koran). Ala, (alah,) pl. ALÆ. [L., a wing.] (Arch.) The lateral buildings, subordinate to the centre or principal ones. -In Grecian arch.,the colonnade surrounding the cella of a temple.(Bot.) The side petals of a papilionaceous flower. Alabama, (al-a-bah'mah,) one of the Southern States of the U. States of America, b. N. by Tenne ee, E. by Georgia, S. by Florida and the Gulf of Mexico, W.by Mi i ippi; Lat. bet. 30° 10' and 35° N., Lon. bet. 85° and 88° 30′ W.; area, 50,722 sq. m., or 32,462,080 acres; coast-line, about 60 miles. The country is rugged and broken, especially in the centre, with many picturesque views and wild romantic gorges. The Alleghany mountains terminate in the N.E. into low hills, and the ground gradually slopes to within 60 m. of the Gulf, where it becomes level. A. is watered by 3 large rivers-the Tenne ee, the Tombigbee, and the A., which last river, giving its name to the State, flows out of Georgia in a S.W. direction, is abt. 600 m. long, may be ascended in steamboats to Wetumpka (on the Coosa branch) 460 m. from the Gulf, and is called the Mobile after its union with the Tombigbee, and discharges its waters into the Gulf of Mexico through Mobile Bay, which stretches N. for about 30 m. The climate of A. is almost tropical, reaching to within 7º of the torrid zone, and its productions are allied to those of the tropics. The lowlands are unhealthy, but the hilly regions are salubrious. The soil is exuberantly fertile in many places. Cotton is still the great staple product, but A. produces also large quantities of Indian-corn, oats, sweet-potatoes, wheat, rye, sugar, . A. has 13,357,535 acres of wild land; 12,718,825 acres in farms, but unimproved; and only 6,385,720 acres improved in farms. The central part of the State is underlaid by vast beds of iron ore, alternating with rich coal measures of great extent. Lead, manganese, ochres, marble, gold, ., are found; and the statuary granite is one of the best in the U. States. The manufactures in this State are of little importance, but its commerce is very extensive. There are inA. 17 colleges, 1,903 public schools, and 395 libraries. The Baptists and the Methodists are the two preponderant religious sects. The principal public institutions are the State University at Tuscaloosa, the State penitentiary at Wetumpka, and the Blind Asylum at Talladega. A. has (1879) 1,800m. of railroad completed. The government of A. resembles that of the other States in its general features. The prin. towns are Mobile, the chief centre of commerce; Montgomery, the seat of government; Selma, Marion, Tuscaloosa, Talladega, Huntsville,Florence, Wetumpka, Greenville, Jacksonville, and West Point. A. was first known to Europe ans by the exploring expedition of De Soto, 1541. The first settlement was made by the French under Bienville, 1702. A. fell into the hands of the English in 1763. At first incorporated with Georgia, afterwards, 1802, with Mi i ippi, it became an independent State in 1809. A. seceded on the 11th of January, 1861; adopted a new constitution in 1867; (revised in 1875); and readmitted to representation in the National Congre . Pop. in 1870, 996,992- (521,384 white, 475,510 colored, and 98 Indians). [s. 15]