OPOP'ONAX, a gum resin obtained by puncturing the roots of a species of parsnip (Pastinaca 0 poponax). The chief interest in this material is the great importance which the ancient physicians attached to it as an antispasmodic medicine. It was employed bv Hippocrates. Thcophrastus, and Dioscoridcs. who have each left descriptions of it. The plant grows generally throughout southern Europe, and the gum is still collected, but is not much used.
(Port. 0 Porto, the port), a of Portugal, and, after Lisbon, the most important seaport of the country, in the province of Mingo, on the right bank and two miles from the mouth of the Douro. in lat. 41° 9' n , long. 8° 37' and is 495 tn. n.n.e. of Lisbon. Thought possessing few imposing edifices, the town, seen from a distance with its irregular outline marked with many towers, its whitewashed houses gleaming among trees and terraced gardens, has a line picturesque effect. Its picturesqueness, however, has been secured at the cost to a great extent of comfort, as many of its streets are narrow, dirty, and so steep as to be impassable for carriages. Of the old walls that surrounded the ancient town. remains are still to be seen. The principal street is the Run 11'ora dos IngMzes, a spacious, handsome. modern thoroughfare, from which a good view of the bishop's palace, winch seems to be hung high in the air, is obtained. Here is situated one of the finest edifices in Oporto, the English factory house, a building of white granite with a beautiful facade. and comprising on a magnificent scale all the appurtenances of a club-house, as ball-room, library. refreshment-room, etc. The houses in the Boa de S. Jail°, the most regular street in the city, are lofty, and are faced with gaily painted and gilt balconies. Of the 11 squares, the greatest is the Prafa de S. 04llo, on a height, the appearance of which is enhanced by beautiful buildings and a terrace, with a line seaward view, planted with trees. On the high rocks,'on the southern bank of the river, stands the convent of du Serra, which at one time was extra ordinarily rich. The most beautiful of the convents was that of S. Bento, now converted alto barracks. The cathedral, notch must originally have been a noble edifice, Out has been infamously modernized, stands near the bishop's palace. The Mire dos Clerigos
(Tower of the Clergy), said to be the highest in Portugal, was built in 1748. Formerly, there were in all 80 convents and chapels in the city. Of existing institutions, there are four hospitals, and numerous educational and benevolent establishments. Oporto is the principal industrial seat in the country. It carries on manufactures of linen, silk, cotton, and woolen fabrics, cloth of gold, silk and cotton hosiery, lace, buttons, gold and silver wire, cutlery and hardware, excellent furniture, pottery; glass, leather, paper, hats, sails, and the articles required on shipboard. Royal tobacco and soap-works, two iron-foun dries, and several sugar-refineries are also in operation. The entrance to the Douro is rendered highly dangerous by a, shifting bar of sand; but yet the commercial traffic on the river is considerable, The exports of wine were huger in 1874 than in any former year, amounting to 301,310 hectoliters, of which seven-elevenths was shipped for Eng land. In 1871 Oporto imported cotton goods from England to the value of .AZ329,488; woolen goods, IV. 413—more than in any former year. Oporto builds very fast sail ing ships. In 1875 the port ships of 38,540 tons. Pop. of Oporto 76,000.
In ancient times the site of Oporto was occupied by the harbor-town Portus Cale, afterwards Porto Cale, from which has been derived the name of the kingdom Portugal. It was an important city during the supremacy of the Moors, was destroyed in 820 by Almansor of Cordova, but was restored and peopled by a colony of Gaseous and French in 999. It was famous for the strength of its fortifications during the middle ages, its walls being 3,000 paces in circumference, 30 ft. in height, and flanked with towers. From the 17th to the present century Oporto has been the scene of an unusual number of popular insurrections. In 1808 it was taken by the French; but in the following year it was retaken by an Anglo-Portuguese force under Wellington. In 1832, Dom Pedro, the ex-emperor of Brazil, was unsuccessfully besieged for a year in this city by the forces of Dom .Miguel.