Ar´blast. See Cross-bow.
Arbo´ga, an old Swedish city, province of Westmannland; once an important commercial town, now only of historical interest from having been at one time a residence of the family of Vasa, the scene of Church assemblies and national diets, and for the antiquities in its neighbourhood. Pop. 5050.
Arbois (a˙r-bwä), a town of France, department of Jura; famous for its wines. Pop. 5000.
Arbor Day, a day officially set apart in the United States for the annual planting of trees by the people, and especially by school-children. The custom was instituted in 1872.
Arbore´tum (Lat. arbor, a tree), a place in which a collection of different trees and shrubs is cultivated for scientific or educational purposes. The largest arboretum in Britain, perhaps the finest in the whole world, is that of the Royal Gardens, at Kew, inaugurated in 1762, to which 180 acres are now devoted. Next in celebrity
are the arboreta at Edinburgh (Inverleith) and at Dublin (Glasnevin), the Botanical Gardens at Oxford, and the Botanic Gardens at Glasgow. Other arboreta are that of the Jardin des Plantes, Paris, and the Arnold Arboretum, at Jamaica Plain, Boston. The term arboretum has also been applied in a restricted sense, as in the Arboretum Fruticetum Britannicum, the monumental work by J. C. Loudon.
Ar´boriculture includes the culture of trees and shrubs, as well as all that pertains to the preparation of the soil, the sowing of the seeds, and the treatment of the plants in their young state, the preparation of the land previous to their final transplantation, their just adaptation to soil and situation, their relative growth and progress to maturity, their management during growth, and the proper season and period for felling them.
Arbor Vitæ (literally, 'tree of life'), the name of several coniferous trees of the genus Thuja, allied to the cypress, with flattened branchlets, and small imbricated or scale-like leaves. The name is derived from valuable medicinal properties having formerly been ascribed to the aromatic resin they mostly yield. Those generally cultivated in Britain are: the common Arbor Vitæ (Thuja occidentālis), a native of North America, where it grows to a height of 40 or 50 feet, introduced into Britain about 1566; the giant Arbor Vitæ or Red Cedar (Thuja gigantea), introduced in 1854; and the Chinese Arbor Vitæ (Thuja orientālis).
Arbroath (ar-brōth´), or Aberbrothock, a royal municipal and police burgh and seaport in the county of Forfar, Scotland, at the mouth of the small River Brothock. Its ancient abbey, founded by William the Lion in 1178, and dedicated to Saints Mary and Thomas à Becket, is now a picturesque ruin. There are numerous flax and hemp spinning-mills and factories, and much canvas and linen is made; also tanning, shoemaking, and fishing, and a small shipping trade, but the harbour is bad. Pop. 19,499. It unites with Montrose, Forfar, Brechin, and Inverbervie (the Montrose burghs) in sending a member to Parliament.
Arbuth´not, John, an eminent physician and distinguished wit, born at Arbuthnot, Kincardineshire, Scotland, 1667, died 1735. He received the degree of Doctor of Medicine at the University of St. Andrews, and went to London, where he soon distinguished himself by his writings and by his skill in his profession. In 1704 he was chosen Fellow of the Royal Society, and soon after he was appointed physician extraordinary, and then physician in ordinary to Queen Anne. About this time he became intimate with Swift, Pope, Gay, and other wits of the day. His writings, other than professional or scientific, include his contributions (in conjunction with Swift and Pope) to the Memoirs of Martinus Scriblerus, History of John Bull, Art of Political Lying, &c. He was conspicuous not only for learning and wit, but also for worth and humanity.