AMBO, or Ambon (Gr. aμβωv, from άναβαίνω), a reading-desk or pulpit in early Christian churches which was placed in the middle of the nave. It was ascended by a flight of steps on both the east and west sides, and was in some cases so large as to accommodate fifty persons. From it the lessons were read, and hence it was sometimes called suggestus lectorum and βήμα των αναγνωστών. It was also occasionally used by the preacher. Two movable ambos may be seen in the church of St John Lateran at Rome. The purposes of the ambo were served in mediaeval churches by the rood-loft, a gallery across the chancel-arch, and in modern churches it has given place to the lectern and the pulpit.

AMBOISE, a town situated in a rich wine-producing district in the department of Indre-et-Loire, France, on the left bank of the Loire, 14 miles east of Tours. Its chief manufactures are cloth and files. At Amboise the French Protestants were first called Huguenots, and 1200 of them were massacred there in 1560 on the discovery of their conspiracy against the Guises. The ancient castle, which is situated on a height above the town, was a seat of the French kings, and it was set apart as a residence for the Arab chief Abd-el-Kader during his captivity in France. Population, 4570.

AMBOYNA, one of the Moluccas or Spice Islands, belonging to the Dutch, lying south-west of Ceram, in 3° 41' S. lat. and 128° 10' E. long. It is 32 miles in length, with an area of about 280 square miles, and is of very irregular figure, being almost divided into two. The southeastern and smaller portion (called Leitimor) is united to the northern (known as Hitoe) by a neck of land about a mile broad. The island is mountainous, but is for the most part fertile and well-watered. Large tracts are covered with rich tropical forests, which embrace a great variety of trees, although ordinary building timber is scarce. The climate is comparatively pleasant and healthy; the average temperature is 80° Fahr., rarely sinking below 72°. The rainfall, however, after the eastern monsoons, is very heavy, and the island is liable to violent hurricanes and earthquakes. Amboyna produces most of the common tropical fruits and vegetables, including the sago-palm, bread-fruit, cocoa-nut, sugar-cane, maize, coffee, pepper, and cotton. Cloves, however, form its chief product, and the only one that is of any real commercial importance. The Dutch have done much to foster the cultivation of this article in the island, and at one time prohibited the rearing of the clove-tree in all the other islands subject to their rule, in order to secure the monopoly to Amboyna. Each tree yields annually from 2 to 5 lb of cloves, and sometimes even more; while the total annual quantity produced probably averages about 500,000 lb. The animal kingdom is poorly represented. Indigenous mammals are feeble in species as well as few in number; birds are more abundant, but of no greater variety. The entomology of the island is, however, very rich, particularly among the Lepi-doptera. The aborigines of Amboyna are ...