Alpinia

( Bot.) A gen. of plants, ord. Zingiber ace a. The root of the A. galanga, known under the name of galangale, has aromatic stimulating properties. Alps, in New York, a post-village in Na au township, Ren elaer co., 24 m. E. by S. of Albany. Alps. [See ALP.] The most extensive mountain system of Europe. They extend from the banks of the Rhone in France on the W., to the centre of Slavonia and the frontier of Turkey on the E., from the 5th and 28th degree of E. lon., forming a vast semicircular bulwark, Fig . 93. SUMMIT OF THE THIERBERG. (Bernese Alps.) of the Maritime Alps is that by the Col de Tende, which connects the town of Nice with the town of Coni, in Piedmont. Until the time of Napoleon I., who made it a carriage-road, it was practicable only for mules. This division is terminated by Mont Vico, which rises 12,582 feet above the level of the sea. Acro the Cottians, by the Col of Mont Génèvre, Napoleon also constructed a carriage-road at the height of 6,353 feet above the sea level. Acro the Graian, Napoleon caused another road to be constructed by the Cof of Mont Cenis. This was the most frequented route in the days of the overland coaches between France and Italy, and until the construction of the present railroad tunnel. This great undertaking was commenced in the early part of 1858, under the patronage of king Victor Emmanuel; and was completed in the latter part of 1871. The pa by the Little St. Bernard is in the Grecian range, and is that by which Hannibal is supposed to have entered Italy. The Pennine is the loftiest division of the whole range, and includes Mont Blanc, 15,777 feet high; Mont Rosa, 15,200 feet; and Mont Cervin, 14,835 feet. These are the three loftiest peaks in Europe. On each side of Mont Blanc are the cols De-la-Seigle and Da-Ferret, which are respectively 8,072, and 7,613 feet high, and those by which tourists generally traverse the Alps. The pa by the Great St Bernard lies between Aosta in Piedmont and Martigny in the Valais, in Switzerland, and is that by which Napoleon and his army cro ed in 1800. Between the Great St. Bernard and the Simplon there are two other pa es; one, that of Mont Cervin, is the second highest in Europe, being 11,195 feet above the level of the sea. The most easterly pa of the Pennine division is the Simplon, which leads from the Valais to Milan, and which, though only 6,576 feet high, is one of the most stupendous works conceived by the genius of Napoleon. Acro the Rhætian and Noric Alps there are several pa es and two railroads, the one over the St. Gothard, connecting Lucerne with Milan, and the other over the Semmering pa , completing the connection between Trieste and Vienna. - Minerals . Anthracite coal, iron, copper, lead, silver, quicksilver, gold, and salt.- Wild animals. On the higher parts, the ibex, chamois, and white hare; in the upper wooded region, bears, marmots, and moles; and lower down, lynxes, foxes, wolves, and wild cats. Besides the lammergeyer, or great vulture of the Alps, there are numerous eagles and other birds of prey. Immediately below the line of perpetual snow, (8,000 feet,) the white partridge is found, and further down, among the pine forests, bustards are abundant. Quails and partridges are plentiful in the lowest regions, and the lakes are frequented by numbers of palmipedes. Insects are represented in almost every variety as far as vegetation ascends the mountains. - Vegetation . Travelling from the base of the Alps upward, beautiful vineyards, and the forests common to Europe, are pa ed through, until the elevation of 2,000 feet is obtained, when the vine is no longer found. The chestnut disappears at 1,000 feet higher, and by the time that another you sand feet are climbed, the oak, hardy as we are av customed to call it, is not to be found in a flourishing condition. At 5,000 feet no deciduous trees are to be seen, and at 6,000 the spruce-fir alone appears. At this height the mountains become covered with the Rhododendron Ferrugineum, which, in its turn, succumbs to the change of soil and climate, to be succeeded by a few still more hardy plants, which exist until they are lost in the mo es and lichens which fringe the line of perpetual snow. Glaciers. Of these there are about 400 lying between Mont Blanc and the Tyrol. Several of these are 20 miles long, with, perhaps, an average width of a mile or a mile and a half. They are supposed in the aggregate to cover a space of upward of 1,000 sq. m. The summits of the greatest part of the Alps are capped in perpetual snow. -Geology . The central ridges of the Alps are composed of primitive rocks, especially of granite and gnei , and are distinguished by their pointed peaks. On the N. side of this formation extends a slate formation of considerable width. This does not appear to accompany the range on the S., except along the E. Alps, where it has been observed to extend from Brixen on the Eisach to Marburg on the Drave, skirting that river on the S. Beyond the slate formation, the chalk occupies a considerable space. It is found to occupy the greatest extent on the S.E. of the mountain system, the whole Julian Alps being composed of it. On the opposite or N.W. side, the sandstone formation extends from the lake of Geneva as far as the S. boundary of Bavaria. The chalk formation is distinguished by its summits, which do not rise in pointed peaks, but form either cones or cupolas. Alps, (Upper and Lower.) See HAUTE Sand BASSES-ALPES. Alpujarras, a mountainous region in Spain, beginning at the Mediterranean, and ending at the Sierra Neo vada. In 1834 it was divided between the provinces cf Almeria and Granada.