ACANTHUS (the

See also:

• GREEK
• GREEK, ETRUSCAN AND

Greek and Latin name for the plant, connected with &sib a

See also:

• SHARP, GRANVILLE (1735-1813)
• SHARP, JAMES (1618-1679)
• SHARP, JOHN (1645-1714)
• SHARP, RICHARD (1759-1835)
• SHARP, WILLIAM (1749-1824)
• SHARP, WILLIAM (1856-1905)

sharp point)  , a genus of plants belonging to the natural order Acanthaceae . The species are natives of the southern parts of Europe and the warmer parts of Asia and Africa . The best - known is Acanthus mollis (brank- ursine, or bears' breech), a common From Cambridge Natural species throughout the Mediterranean b ys°per°ry'missio vol.nii..ofMa"worcmmsillan, &c.,&" region, having large, deeply cut, hairy, Co., Ltd . shining leaves . Another species, Acan- FIG . 5.—Fully formed thus spinosus is so called from its spiny larva of Echinorhynchus proteus from the body leaves . They are bold, handsome cavity of Phoxinus laevis plants, with stately spikes, 2 to 3 ft . (from Hamann) . Highly high, of flowers with spiny bracts . A. magnified. a, Proboscis; mollis, A. latifolius and A. longifoliustrunt' bulle, cl, neck emnisci . are broad-leaved species; A. spinosus and A. spinosissimus have narrower, spiny toothed leaves . In decoration, the acanthus was first reproduced in metal, and subsequently carved in stone by the Greeks .

, It was afterwards, with various changes, adopted in all succeeding styles of

architecture as a basis of ornamental decoration . There are two types, that found in the Acanthus spinosus, which was followed by the Greeks, and that in the Acanthus mollis, which seems to have been preferred by the Romans . ' ACAPULCO, a city and port of the state of Guerrero on the Pacific coast of Mexico, 190 M . S.S.W. of the city of Mexico, Pop . (1900) 4932 . It is located on a deep, semicircular bay, From Cambridge Natural History, vol. ii., "Worms, &c.," Ly ',emission of Macmillan & Co., Ltd . a, Proboscis . b, Proboscis sheath . c, Retractor of the proboscis . d, Cerebral ganglion . f, f, Retractors of the proboscis sheath . g, g, Lemnisci, each with two giant nuclei .

h, Space in sub-cuticular layer of the skin . 1,

Ligament . m, m, Testes . o, Glands on vas deferens . p, Giant nucleus in skin . q, Opening of vas deferens . almost land-locked, easy of access, and with so secure an anchor-age that vessels can safely lie alongside the rocks that fringe the shore . It is the best harbour on the Pacific coast of Mexico, and it is a port of call for steamship lines running between Panama and San Francisco . The town is built on a narrow strip of low land, scarcely half a mile wide, between the shore line and the lofty mountains that encircle the bay . There is great natural beauty in the surroundings, but the mountains render the town difficult of access from the interior, and give it an exceptionally hot and unhealthy climate . The effort to admit the cooling sea breezes by cutting through the mountains a passage called the Abra de San Nicolas had some beneficial effect . Acapulco was long the most important Mexican port on the Pacific, and the only depot for the Spanish fleets plying between Mexico and Spain's East Indian colonies from 1778 until the independence of Mexico, when this trade was lost .

The town has been chosen as the

terminus for two railway lines seeking a Pacific port—the Interoceanic and the Mexican Central . The town suffered considerably from earthquakes in July and August 19o9 . There are exports of hides, cedar and fruit, and the adjacent district of Tabares produces cotton, tobacco, cacao, sugar cane, Indian corn, beans and coffee .