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Culture of
particular
Plants.
291
Method of
culture, fee.
for which a
premium
was grant¬
ed.
A G R I C U
Account of the culture, expences, and produce offix acres
of potatoes, being a fair part of near feventy acres,
raifed by John Billingsley, Efq. and for which the
premium was granted him in the year 1784.
Expences.
Ploughing an out-Hubble in O&ober 1783,
at 4s; per acre - - L. 1
Crofs-ploughing in March 1784 - 1
Harrowing, 2s. per acre - - o
180 cart-loads of compoft, 3I. per acre 18
42 facks of feed-potatoes (each fack weigh¬
ing 2401b.) of the white fort - 10
Cutting the fets, 6d per fack - 1
Setting on ridges eight feet wide (leaving an
interval of two feet for an alley) 6d for
every 20 yards - - 10
Hoeing, at 5s. per acre - . j
^gg*ng UP the feet interval, and throw¬
ing the earth on the plants, at 1 os. per acre 3
Digging up the crop at 8d. for every 20
yards in length, the breadth being 8 feet 14
Labour and expence of fecuring in pits, wear
and tear of balkets, ftraw, reed, fpikes, 8cci
4
4
12
o
10
1
12
10
1 os. per acre
Rent
Tithe -
Rrolit
o
o
10
7290
73 n o
L. 146
Produce.
<5oo facks of bell potatoes at 4s.
120 facks middle-fized, 3s. 6d.
50 of fmall, 2s.
N. B. Each fack 2401b.
Li 120 o o
II o o
500
L.146
The field on which the above experiment was made,
Was an out-ftubble in the autumn of 1783. In Octo¬
ber it was ploughed, and left in a rough ftate during
the winter. In April it was crofs-ploughed and har¬
rowed. On the 8th of May the field was marked out
into beds or ridges eight feet wide* leaving a fpace of
two feet wide for an alley between every two ridgeS.
The manure (a compoft of liable dung, virgin earth*
and fcrapings of a turnpike road) was then brought on
the land, and depofited in fmall heaps on the centre of
each ridge, in the proportion of about thirty cart-loads
to each acre. A trench was then opened with a fpade,
breadth-way of the ridge, about four inches deep ; in
this trench the potato fets were placed, at the diftance
of nine inches from each other j the dung was then
fpread in a trench on the'fets, and a fpace or fplit of 14
inches in breadth dug in upon them. When the plants
were about fix inches high, they were carefully hoed,
and foon after the two feet intervals between the ridges
were dug, and the coiitents thrown around the young
‘plants. This refrelhment, added to the ample manu¬
ring previoully bellowed, produced fuck a luxuriance
and rapidity of growth, that no weed could Ihow its
thodofta- head.
ing them The Ihortell and moll certain method of taking up
potatoes, is to plough once round every row at the di-
llance of four inches, removing the earth from the
Vet. I. Part II.
292
-Bed me-
L T U R E. 46S
plants, and gathering up with the hand all the potatoes Culture of
that appear. The dillance is made four inches, to pre- particular
vent cutting the roots, which are feldom found above Plant3,
that dillance from the row on each fide. When the
ground, is thus cleared by the plough, raife the pota¬
toes with a fork having three broad toes or claws;
which is better than a fpade, as it does not cut the po¬
tatoes. 1 he potatoes thus laid above ground mud be
gathered with the hand. By this method fcarce a po¬
tato will be left.
As potatoes are a comfortable food for the common Of p^eferv..
people, it is of importance to have them all the yearing them;
round. For a long time, potatoes in Scotland were con¬
fined to the kitchen garden ; and after they were planted
in the field, it was not imagined at fird that they could
be ufed after the month of December. Of late years, they
have been found to anfwer even till midfummer ; which
has proved a great fupport to many a poor family, as
they are eafily cooked, and require neither kiln nor
mill. But there is no caufe for dopping there. It is
eafy to preferve them till the next crop : When taken
out of the ground, lay in the comer of a barn a quam
tity that may ferve till April, covered from frod with
dry draw preffed down : bury the remainder in a tide
dug in dry ground, mixed with the hulks of dried oats,
fund, or the dry leaves or trees, over which build a
dack of hay or com. When the pit is opened for
taking out the potatoes, thfe eyes of what have a ten¬
dency to pufh mud be cut out ; and this cargo will
ferve all the month of June: To be dill more certain
of making the old crop meet the new, the fetting of a
fmall quantity may bfe delayed till June, to be taken
up at the ordinary time before frod. This cargo, hav¬
ing not arrived to full growth, will riot be fo ready to
pufh as what are fet in April.
If the dd fcrop happen to be exhauded before the
new crop is ready, the interval may be fupplied by the
potatoes of the new cfop that lie next the furface, to
be picked up with the hand; which, far from hurting
the crop, will father improve it.
In the Tranfactions of the Society for the encou-Mr2^
ragement of Arts, a number of experiments are related Young’s
by Mi T oung on that kind called the chiflered or /^o^-experi-
potato,. which he drongly recommends as food for thementso*
poor, in preference to the kidney or other more ex-^ie c',u'
penfive kinds. The following is the refult of the moft^o P°‘f
remarkable of his experiments.
In the fird week of March 1780, two acres and a
quarter of. barley bubble were fown with the cinder
potato, which appeared on the 23d of May. A fliarp
frod on the 7th of June turned them as black as they
ufually are by the frods of November and December.
In time, however, they recovered ; and by the end of
Oftober produced 876 bufhels from the 2^ acres;
which, wheii cleaned, were reduced to 780, or 350
bufhels A-r acre ; thus affording, when valued only at
GA. per bufhel, a clear profit of 71. 14s* 4d. per acre.
The experiment, however, in his opinion, would have
been dill, more profitable, had it not been for the fol¬
lowing circumdances : 1. The foil was not altogether
proper. 2. The crop was grievoufly injured by the
frod already mentioned, which, in our author’s opi¬
nion, retarded the growth for about fix weeks. 3. The
dung waS not of his own raifing, but purchafed ; which
cannot but be fuppofed to make a great difl'erence, not
only on account of the price, but likewifd of the qua-
3 E
402 A G R I C U
Culture of Hty, as happened to be the cafe at prefent. He is of
^Plants'11 °P^n^on> however, that potatoes, at lead this kind of
. ^ 'L . them, are an exhaufting crop. Having fown the field
after this large crop of potatoes with wheat, his neigh¬
bours were of opinion that it would be too rank ; but
fo far was this from being the cafe, that the wheat
fhowed not the leaft fign of luxuriance, nor the leaft
fuperiority over the parts adjacent which were fown
without dung. He was willing to account for this by
the poverty of the dung, and the fevere cropping
which the ground had undergone while in the poffei-
fion of the former tenant. In another experiment,
however, in which the ground had been likewife ex-
haufted by fevere cropping, the fucceeding crop of
wheat fiiowed no luxuriance ; fo that the former fufpi-
cion of the exhaufting quality of the duller potato was
rather confirmed. The ground was a fine turnip
loam; but though the produce was even greater than
in the former cafe, viz. 356 bulhels from an acre, the
profit was much lefs, viz. only 4I. 15s. 6d. An acre
of ley ground was- fown at the fame time with the tur¬
nip loam, but the produce from it was only 200
bulhels. Mr Young fuppofes that the produce would
have been greater if the potatoes had been planted
with an iron dibble, as the turf, in ploughing, lay too
heavy upon the feed. A few rows of other potatoes,
planted along with the cluftered kind, did not vege¬
tate at all 5 which Ihows that the latter have a more
powerful vegetative faculty.
Having fucceeded fo well with his, experiments on
this kind of potato hitherto, Mr Young determined to
try the culture of them upon a larger fcale : and there¬
fore, in the year 1782, fpwed 11 acres : but being ob¬
liged to commit the care of fowirig them to an ignorant
labourer, his unlkilfulnefs, together with the exceflive
cold and moifture of that feafon, fo diminilhed the pro¬
duce, that he had only a fingle acre out of the -whole.
This produced 180 bulhels, which yielded of clear
profit 4I. 2s. 6d. From this experiment he draws the
following conclufions: 1. “ That the poor loam, on
which thefe potatoes were fown, will yield a crop of
clufter-potatoes, though not of any other kind. 2. That
the manure for potatoes ought to be carted and fpread
upon all foils inclinable to wet before the planting fea¬
fon, either in autumn preceding, or elfe during a
hard froft.” In 1783 he fucceeded ftill worfe •, for ha-,
ving that year fown three acres and a half, the profit
did not exceed 1 is. 4d. per acre. The produce.wras about
224 bulhcls per acre. He gives two reafons for the
failure of this crop : 1. The cluftered potato thrives
beft in wet years ; but the fu’mmer of 1783 was dry •
and hot. 2. The fpring froft, by interrupting the
hoeing, not only greatly raifed the expences, but ve¬
ry much injured the crop by encouraging the growth
of rveeds. Barley was fown after the laft crop, and
produced rvell : fp that our author thinks the potatoes
jfeem to be a better preparation for fpring corn than
■wheat. His experiment in 1784 produced a clear,
profit of 2l. os. 4d. $ the produce being 250 bulhels
per acre. Still, however, an error was committed, by
295 employing an old man and woman to cut the fets, by
Conclufion whofe unlkilfulnefs there were many great gaps among
toThe cu}6 t^ie Potatoes as they came up 5 fo that, on the whole
tivation o reckons that he thus loft from 500 to 800 bulhels.
this kind. Qn the -whole, however, his opinion is favourable to
L T U R E.
Pra&ice*
29s
Experi¬
ments on
a larger
fcale.
the clufter potato. “ With fmall crops (fays he), Culture of
and at the low rate of value which is produced by con- P^cular
fuming them at home, they are clearly proved to be a .
crop which will pay the expence of manuring, and ve¬
ry ample tillage and hoeing. This is, after all, the
chief objeft of modern hufbandry; for if a man can
rely upon this potato for the winter confumption for
his yard in fattening or keeping hogs, in feeding his
horfes, and fattening his bullocks, he has made one of
the greateft acquifitions that can be defired ; fince he
can do all this upon land much too ftifif and wet for
turnips j houfes his crops before the winter rains come
on; and confequently without doing any of that inju¬
ry to his land which the turnip culture is knowm to en¬
tail, and from v’hich even cabbages are not free.
Thofe wTho know the importance of winter food on a
turnip farm, cannot but admit the magnitude of this-
objeft on wTet foils.” 297
Mr Marlhall in his Rural Economy of Yorklhire, Mr Mar-
has feveral very interefting remarks on the potato. Its ^a^’s re-
varieties, he fays, are endlefs and tranfitory. Theraarks
rough Ikinned Ruflia potato, which w as long a favour¬
ite of the Yorklhire farmers, he is of opinion, has now
no longer an exiftence, more than many others wdiich 29S
flourilhed for a time. “ There is fome reafon to be-on the
lieve (fays he) that the difeafe which has of late yearscurl*
been fatal to the potato crop in this at^d in other di-
ftriefts under the name of curled tops, has, arifen
from too long a continuance of declining varieties. Be
this as it may, it appears to be an eftablilhed opinion
here, that fre/7j varieties, raifed from feed, are not liable
to that difeafe.” Our author, however, does not look
upon this to be a fact abfolutely eftablilhed : though
one inftance fell under his obfervation, in which its
removal was in all probability owing to the introduc¬
tion of newr varieties. It made its appearance between
40 and 50 years ago, and fpread in fome degree over
the whole kingdom. In fome places it continued but
a fhort time, fo that its effects are almoft forgotten.
It is feldom obvious at the firft coming up of the
plants, but attacks them as they increafe in fize ; the
entire top becoming dwarfilh and Ihrivelled as if affe&ed
by drought or loaded wdth infe&s : they neverthelefs
live and increafe, though Howdy, in fize \ but the roots
are unproductive. Some crops have been almoft wholly
deftroyed by this difeafe. In Yprklhire the Morelands
are in a manner free from it, but- the Vale is in fome
meafure infeifted. Plants procured from the More¬
lands remain free from it in the Vale the firft year \
but, being continued, become liable to the difeafe.
Where the attack has been partial, weeding out the.
difeafed plants as they failed, is faid to have had a
good effeeft \ and it is faid the Morelanders got rid of
the difeafe by this means.
In Yorklhire fome intelligent hulbandmen are ac-Method of
quainted with the method of railing potatoes from railirig va-
feed} which is as follows: “ In autumn, when the J.^es tloni
apples are beginning to fall fpontaneoufly, they are.
gathered by hand, and preferved among fand until the
fpring, when they are mailied among the fand or among,
frefh mould 5 feparating the feeds and mixing them
evenly wdth the mould. As foon as the fpring frofts.
are judged to be over, they are fowh in fine garden-
mould $ and as fall as the plants get into rough leaf, 1
and are ftrong enough to be.handled without injury,.. ...
Parti. AGRICULTURE.
Culture of they ate tranfplanted into another bed of rich mould
particuhr jn ro^rS) which are kept clean during fummer. In au-
. a”ts‘.. tumn, bunches of fmall potatoes are found at the roots
-of thefe plants : varying in fize, the fivft year, from a
hazel nut to that of a crab. Thefe being planted next
fpring, produce potatoes of the middle fize; but
they do not arrive at their fulled bulk until the
third or fourth year. Where the ufe of the dove or
the garden frame can be had, this procefs may be
ftiortened. The feeds being fov;n within either of
thefe early in the fpring, the plants will be fit to
be planted out as foon as the frofts are gone; by
winch means the fize of the roots will be much in-
creafed the firil year, and will in the fecond rife early
to perfection,”
Another account of the mode of raifing potatoes
from feed is given by Mr Henry Doby of Woodfide
of Chapel, Allerton, near Leads. “ Take the largeft po-
^f-’tato apples, of the kind you with to renew, and firing
Xl*' them on a very ftrong coarfe thread, and hang them
in a dry warm place till the ktter end of February ;
when breaking them very fmall and walhing them in
feveral wraters, the feed is to be feparated from the
fieftiy part and Ikins ; this done, it fhould be fpread on
brown paper ; and when dry, fow it in the beginning
of March, or foorier, on a hot-bed, in lines about nine
inches afunder, and one-third of an inch deep, and
very thin : wrater between the lines frequently, and
when the plants are rifen a little height, introduce fine
rich earth between the lines to firengthen them.
They fhould have air admitted frequently, the better to
enable them to bear being removed into the open air
as foon as the weather (hall be fufficiently temperate.
Before the^'are tranfplanted they fhould be plentifully
•watered to make them rife wuth a large ball at their
roots; old rotten horfe-dung and yellow mofs are the
beft manures; plant them in trenches, as celery was
formerly, with a fpace of four feet between the trenches,
and 12 or 14 inches between each plant; as they
grorv up, draw the earth between the trenches to the
ftalks, but do not cover their tops. The ground,
when brought to a level, fhould be dug, and the plants
earthed until there are pretty deep trenches formed
between the lines. With this treatment they will
produce the firft feafon from a pound weight to five
pounds a plant; and many of the plants confiderably
more than a hundred potatoes a-piece ; the produce of
300 w hich for ten or twelve years after will be prodigious.”
Dr Ander- In the 4th volume of the Bath Papers, Dr Anderfon
ton’s expe- reiates fonie experiments made on potatoes raifed from
'tunents. The'firft yeas they were of different fizes, from
a pigeon’s egg to that of a fmall pea. On planting
the'fe next year, it was invariably found, that the lar¬
geft potatoes yielded the largeft crop ; and the fame
happened the third, v'hen a few fhow’ed bloffom ; but
not even thefe had bulbs equal to w'hat would have
been produced by very large potatoes. Whence he
concludes, that it is impoflible to afhgn any time in
w'hich thefe feedling potatoes will arrive at what is
called perfeEiion ; but that it muft depend very much
on the nature of the foil and the culture bellowed up¬
on them. From the praftice of the Yorkfhire far,
mers, however, and even from the experiments of the
Doflor himfelf, it is evident, that potatoes raifed in
this w'ay will at laft grow to the ufual fize, as during
the three years in which his-experiments were conti- Culture of
nued they conftantly increafed in bulk. Dr Ander- P
fon likewife contends, that there is no reafon for fup- , ^
pofing that potatoes raifed from bulbs in the ordinary ,OI
wTay degenerate, or require to be renewed by feminal Whether
varieties ; and he inftances the univerfal pradlice of Potatoes<!e"
Britain and Ireland for a great number of years paft. generate*
But this may be accounted for from an obfervation of
Mr Marfhall’s, that varieties of potatoes, like thofe of
corn, are partial to particular foils and fituations.
Hence, by tranfplanting all the different varieties of
potatoes into all poflible foils and fituations, as has bee*
done within this laft century in the iflands of Britain
and Ireland, thefe varieties have continued for a much
longer time than they would otherwife have done.
In Yorklhire, Mr Marfhall tells us, that “ the old fa¬
vourite forts were driven until fome of the individual
plants barely produced their feed again.” It is evident,
therefore, that there is a neceflity from time to time
of renewing them from feed ; though it deferves w'ell
to be confidered whether it would not be more eligible
to choofe the feed from a plant in full vigour than from
that w'hich is fo far degenerated that it can fcarce pro¬
duce its feed. “ Potatoes raifed from feed (fays Mr
Marihall) are a mifcellany of endlefs varieties. Some¬
times thefe varieties are planted mifcellaneoufly ; fome-
times particular varieties are feledted. In fele&ing
varieties from feedling potatoes, two things are to
be attended to ; the intrinfic quality of the potato, and
its produclivenefs. If thefe two defirable properties
can be found in one plant, the choice is determined.
To this fpecies of attention and induftjy w'e are indebt¬
ed for the many valuable kinds which have been and
now are diftributed throughout the ifland. It is ob-
fervable, how-ever, that varieties of potatoes, like
thole of corn, are partial to particular foils and fitua¬
tions. Hence the propriety of hulhandmen raifing po¬
tatoes from feed ; as by this means they obtain, with
a degree of moral certainly, a fort adapted to their
owm particular foils and fituations. Whoever has at- __
tended clofely to the work of taking up potatoes,
muft have obferved the great inequality in the produc-
tivenefs of individual plants. The difference in the
produce of adjoining roots, where no difparity of foil
can influence, will fometimes be three or four fold.
Hence it is evident, that each variety has its fab-va¬
rieties; through whofe means it can hardly be doubted
the parent variety may be improved, and its continu¬
ance be prolonged. Thus the farmer has another
mean in his power of improving the quality and pro-
duftivenefs of his potato crop, by improving varieties j
or, in other words, {electing fub-varieties, fuperiorly
adapted to his foil and fituation.”
Sir Archibald Grant, Bart, of Monymulk, in a Farmers
letter to the conduftors of the Farmer’s Magazine, has Maga’ztnf
recently made known a mode praflifed by him wdth al8°2-
view to the faving of feed, and the obtaining an early
crop of potatoes. “ In fpring 1800, (fays that gentler Ho^0tQ
man), from a fc&rcity of feed, I followed a method tain an ear-
fometimes ufed by gardeners, for forcing early potatoes, ly crop,
peafe, and beans, viz. that of planting them out upon a
fmall dunghill, in order to make them come fooner
forward, and afterwards tranfplanting them into the
ground. This I did, after they had upon the dunghill
rifen to be good plants, and the leaves about an inch
3 E 2 long.
4°4
Culture of long. Tlie dunghill was about three feet broad and 18
^Plants'11" ^nc^eS writ^1 ^rom 2 to 3 inches of earth upon
. ^ . the top of it, and as long as held about a peck and three
quarters of a peck of Aberdeenihire meafure (or 32lb.
Dutch to the peck) of fmall potatoes, cut into fets,
ftuck as clofe to each other as poflible in the rows, and
each row about two inches afunder. On the 17th of
April, they were put upon the dunghill j on the 2d of
May they were in leaf; and on the 14th and 15th of
May were planted out into the field ; each plant 3 feet
afunder each way. On the 12th June, they were earth¬
ed up with the plough, and were afterwards drefled in
the ordinary method. On the ill Monday of O(Sober,
being taken up, they produced from 14 to 16 bolls
Aberdeen meafure. In June I obferved, that potatoes
which had been planted in the ordinary way in other
parts of the parifli in the middle of April were fcarcely
appearing above ground when thefe were fo high as
to require being earthed up with the plough; fo that
303 fix weeks were gained in growth by this method.”
Potatoes During the late great dearth of all kinds of provifions,
planted by a p]an was adopted with a view to fave for food a part
cmthe’ t^le Potatoes ufed as feed, which confided of not
eyes. cutting them into pieces with one or more eyes in each
piece, as ufual, but of flightly fcooping out the eyes,
which in that ftate were planted while the greater part
of the potato was preferved for the ufe of man or cattle.
This mode of planting potatoes was fuccefsfiil with a
great number of perfons; but in fome inftances, where
the ground was not in an excellent date of preparation,
the crop is underdood to have been more defeftive
than when the ufual mode was adopted of cutting off
large pieces of the potato along with the eye. The
point, however, about the utility of this mode of prac¬
tice mud dill be confidered as doubtful or worthy of
farther invedigation. We are rather difpofed to think
that the practice of flightly fcooping out the eye will
not ultimately prove beneficial, becaufe in ordinary
cafes the plant will be left deditute of due nourifliment
from the parent root at too early a period of its growth,
and before it is completely capable of deriving its
fubfidence from the foil around it; in the fame manner,
and for the fame reafon, that light feed is apt to pro¬
duce a light crop of grain. This obje&ion may not
indeed hold good wuth regard to potatoes planted on a
very fine foil, or upon a hot-bed, for tranfplanting after
the manner adopted by Sir Archibald Grant above
mentioned. But on poor lands, where the drength of
the young plants is more feverely tried, any defeft in
the fize of the root planted will probably always be
produ&ive of bad effefts.
2. Turnip.
CnltMe of Turnip delights in a gravelly foil; and there it can
turnip. be raifed to the greateft perfection, and with the lead
hazard of mifcarrying. At the fame time, there is no
foil but will bear turnip when well prepared.
No perfon ever deferved better of a country, than he
who fird cultivated turnip in the field. No plant is bet¬
ter fitted for the climate of Britain, no plant profpers
better in the colded part of it, and no plant contributes
more to fertility. In a word, there has not for two
centuries been introduced into Britain a more valuable
improvement.
Of ail roots, turnip requires the fined mould j and
Practice*
to that end, of all harrows frod is the bed. In order Culture of
to give accefs to frod, the land ought to be prepared p
by ribbing after harved, as above direCled in preparing a“ s‘ .
land for barley. If the field be not fubjeft to annuals,
it may lie in that date till the end of May ; otherwife,
the weeds mud be dedroyed by a braking about the
middle of April, and again in May, if weeds arife.
The fird week of June, plough the field with a fliallow
furrow. Lime it if requifite, and harrow the lime into
the foil. Draw fingle furrows with intervals of three
feet, and lay dung in the furrows. Cover the dung
fufficiently, by going round it with the plough, and
forming the three feet fpaces into ridges. The dung
comes thus to lie below the crown of every ridge. ^
The feaion of fowing mud be regulated by the time Seafon an«£
intended for feeding. Where intended for feeding in method oi.
November, December, January, and February, the l0Wlr,£>
feed ought to be fown from the fird to the 20th of June.
Where the feeding is intended to be carried on to
March, April, and May, the feed mud not be fown
till the end of July. Turnip fown earlier than above
direfted, flowers that very fummer, and runs fad to.
feed ; which renders it in a great meafure unfit for
food. If fown much later, it does not apple, and there
is no food but from the leaves.
Though by a drill plough the feed may be fown oft
any thicknefs ; the fafed way is to fow thick. Thin
fowing is liable to many accidents, which are far from
being counterbalanced by the expence that is faved in
thinning. Thick fowing can bear the ravage of the
black fly, and leave a fufficient crop behind. It is a pro-
teftion againd drought, gives the plants a rapid pro-
grefs, and edablilhes them in the ground before it is-
neceffary to thin them.
The fowing turnip broad-cad is almod univerfal in
England, and common in Sotland, though a barbarous
praCHce. The eminent advantage of turnip is, that, be-
fides a profitable crop, it makes a mod complete fallow ;
and the latter cannot be obtained but by horfe-hoeing.
Uponthat account, the fowing turnip in rows at three feet
didance is recommended. Wider rows anfwer no pro¬
fitable end, draiter rows afford not room for a horfe*
to walk in. When the turnip is about four inches high,
annual weeds will appear. Go round every interval:
with the fiighteft furrow poflible, at the didance of:
two inches from each row, moving the earth from the:
rows toward the middle of the interval. A thin plate
of iron mud be fixed on the left fide of the plough, to*
prevent the earth from falling back and burying the
turnip. Next, let women be employed to weed the*
rows with their fingers ; which is better, and cheapen
done, than with the hand-hoe. The hand-hoe, befide,,
is apt to didurb the roots of the turnip that are to
dand, and to leave them open to drought by removing,
the earth from them. The danding turnip are to be
at the didance of twelve inches from each other : a>
greater didance makes them fwell too much; a lefs*
didance affords them not fufficient room. A woman:
foon comes to be expert in finger-weeding. The fol¬
lowing hint may be neceffary to a learner. To fecure
the turnip that is to dand, let her cover it with the left
hand; and with the right pull up the turnip on both,
fides. After thus freeing .the ftanding turnip, die may
fafely ufe both hands. Let the field remain in this
date till the. appearance of new annuals make a fecond
AGRICULTURE.
Part I.
AGRICULTU
Culture of ploughing tieceflary j which muft be in the fame fur-
pamcubr row formert but a little deeper. As in this
- Ploughing the iron plate is to be removed, part of the
loofe earth will fall back on the roots of the plants j
the red will fill the middle of the interval, and bury
every weed. When weeds begin again to appear, then
is the time for a third ploughing in an oppofite direc¬
tion, which lays the earth to the roots of the plants.
This ploughing may be about the middle of Auguft ;
after which, weeds rife very faintly. If they do rife,
another ploughing will clear the ground of them.
Weeds that at this time rife in the row, maybe cleared
*’ith a hand-hoe, which can do little mifchief among
plants diftant twelve inches from each other. It is cer¬
tain, however, that ir may be done cheaper with the
hand (g). And after the leaves of turnips in a row meet
together, the hand is the only inftrument that can be
applied for weeding.
In fwampy ground, the furface of which is bed re¬
duced by paring and burning, the feed may be fown
in rows with intervals of a foot. To fave time, a drill-
plough may be ufed that fows three or four rows at
once. Hand-hoeing is proper for fuch ground ; be-
caufe the foil under the burnt Jlratum is commonly full
of roots, which diged and rot better under ground than
when brought to the furface by the plough. In the
mean time, while thefe are digeding, the alhes will fe-
306 cure a good crop.
Properties ln cultivating turnips to advantage, great care diould
forts ofTur ke taken to procure a good, bright, nimble, and well-
nip. dried feed, and of the bed kinds.
The Norfolk farmers generally raife the oval white,
the large green-topped, and the red or purple-topped
kinds, w'hich from long experience they have found to
be the mod profitable.
The roots of the green-topped will grow to a large
lize, and continue good much longer than others.. The
red or purple-topped will alfo grow large, and continue
good to the beginning of February; but the roots be¬
come hard and dringy fooner than the former.
The green-topped growing more above ground, is in
more danger of fudaining injury from fevere frods than
the red or purple, which are more than half covered;
by the foil; but it is the fofted and fweeted, when
grown large, of airy kind. We have feen them brought,
to table a foot in diameter, and equally good as garden;
turnips.
Turnips delight in a- light foil, confiding of fand!
and loam mixed ; for when the foil is rich and heavy,
although the crop may be as great in weight, they will
207 be rank, and run to flower earlier in fpring.
Turnip-feed, like that of grain, will not do well
without frequent changing. The Norfolk feed is fent
to mod parts of the kingdom, and even to Ireland: but
after two years it degenerates; fo that thofe who wiftr
to have turnips in perfection diould procure it frelh e-
very year from Norwich, and they wilt' find their ac-
Plants.
Obferva-
tions with
regard to
feed.
R E. 405
count in fo doing. For from its known reputation, Culture ot
many of the London feedfmen fell, under that charac- Part*ci^ar
ter, feed raifed in the vicinity of the metropolis, which
is much inferior hr quality.
When the plants have got five leaves, they diould be
hoed, and fet out at lead fix inches apart, A month
afterward, or earlier if it be a wet feafon, a fecond hoe¬
ing drould take place, and the plants be left at lead 14
inches didant from each other, efpecially if intended for
feeding cattle; for where the plants are left thicker,
they wfill be proportionably firraller, unlefs the land is
very rich indeed. ^og.
Some of the bed Norfolk farmers fow turnips in Methods of
drills three feet afunder, and at a fecond hoeing leave culture in
them a foot apart in the rowTS. By this means the^ori0l^‘
trouble and expence of hoeing is much leffened, and
the crop is of equal wreight as when fown in the com¬
mon method. The intervals may eafily be cleared of
weeds by the horfe-hoe.
There has been laid before the Board of Agricul- Communic*.
ture, the refult of fome intereding experiments, which t‘o»s to the
we lhall here date, that were made by Mr W. Jobfon Boarf °f
of Turvelaws, with a view to afeertam the comparative
merits of the two modes of rearing turnips by drill or
broad-cad. The trial was made upon a part of a fields r
r r • 1 1 r i r Culture ot
ot 15 acres town m the month ot June 1797. w Fhe turnip by
whole field, fays Mr Jobfon, was in equal tilth,, was drill and
manured as equally as podible immediately before hroad-caft
fowing wfith rotted fold-yard dung,, at the rate of 17 coinPartd"
cart loads per acre, each load containing about 28
Wincheder bufhels ; and in order to make the experi¬
ment perfeftly fair, there were breadths of land of
20 yards each, fown in broad-cad and drills alternate¬
ly, throughout the wLole field.. Part cf the drills on
one-bout ridges of 27 inches each, with the dung laid
immediately underneath,, whers the row of feed was
depofited ; the red of the drills upon a level furface,
were fown by Mr Bailey’s machine at 21 inches di¬
dance. The produce per acre is calculated from the
weight of four fquare perches, or the fortieth part of
a datute acre of each, having fird cut off the tails, or
fibrous part of the root, and thrown them afide as un¬
fit for food, and" then taken the weight of the tops and
roots feparately.
“ It is neceffary to obferve, that this field of turnip
was but a middling crop, having been much hurt im¬
mediately after the fird hoeing, by the grub (a fmall
worm which dedroys the root), particularly the drilled"
part ef the field, which,, having had the plants fet out,,
at the didances at which they were intended to remain-
before the grub feized them, was on that account ren¬
dered too thin and otherwife much injured ; notwith-
dandmg which, it was found that thofe on the one-
bout ridges exceeded the others in weight; alfo, that
thefe parcels of turnips were taken from an inferior '
(though not the word) part of the field, and may
therefore be deemed to be a pretty fair average of the
whole r
. (G) Children under thirteen may be employed to weed turnips with the fingers. We have feen them go on-
m t.,at v.oik with alacrity ; and a imall premium will have a good eftedh For boys and girls above thirteen,
a hand-hoe adapted to their fize is an excellent indrument: it drengthens the arms amazingly. In driving the
plough, the legs only are exerciled; but as the arms are chiefly employed in hulbandry, they ounht to be pre¬
pared beforehand by gentle exercife.
4° 6 AGRICULTURE; Pra&icer
Culture of whole : there were alfo. three other portions weighed,
»r which were taken from a part of the field where the
. " roots were larger, and a fuller crop, with a view to af-
certain what might have been expected, had not the
grub feized them in the manner defcribed ; but unfor¬
tunately the paper containing their weight has been
loft or miflaid, which puts it out of my power to fur-
nifti you with it. There was alfo an account taken of
the number (but not the weight) of loads which were
produced upon a few acres of the worft part of the field
which was in favour of the broad-caft, in the propor¬
tion pf ten of broad-caft to nine uf thofe drills' on one-
bout ridges, and eight of Mr Bayley’s drill.
“ From this experiment (though defeflive from the
reafons afligned) we have reafon to conjefture, though
not to form a conclufion, that a heavier crop may be
raifed by fovving in drills at 27 inches diftance with
the dung immediately beneath the plants, than in broad-
caft or in. drills at 21 inches on a level furface : but
■ whether the advantage arifes from the lituation in
which the dung is depofited, or from their having a
freer circulation of air, or from both thefe united, it
remains for future and repeated experiments to decide.
Notwithftanding this, it will be found, that each of
thefe mefhods poffeffes peculiar advantages and difad-
vantages, according to fituations and circumftances ;
the reafons for which I deduce from the obfervations
I have made refpefting this as well as former crops.
In the firft place, the one-bout ridges I think prefe¬
rable for early fowing, and eating off, through the
winter months, even fo late as the month of February,
as they are more eafily procured for food for cattle in
deep fnows 5 alfo in fituations where it is difficult to
procure a fufficient number of experienced hoers,
thofe under the drill fyftem can be more eafily mana- Culture of
ged and at defs expence, as boys and girls may be rea- P^1Cluw
dily taught to fet out the plants with great regularity
in very little time $ but turnips under this fyftem arc
liable to the inconvenience of being more apt to be in¬
jured by fevere frofts from their high expofure. Ano¬
ther inconvenience I have alfo obferved on w’et and
heavy lands, more efpecially with little declivity, that
although there ffiould, and poffibly may, be a larger
crop produced thereby, yet the land will unavoidably
be fo much poached by carrying them off, that the
fucceeding crop of corn will be leffened more than the
extra value of the turnips will compenfate. When It
is attempted to raife turnips upon land of this deferip-
tion, it will be found more advantageous to form it
into ridges of fufficient height to carry off the water
with eafe into the water furrows, and of fufficient
breadth (fuppofe fifteen feet) to allow" a cart to pafs
along them freely, without forcing the earth in to
choke up thefe furrows. The turnips may be fowm ei¬
ther in broad-caft or in drills, upon the furface of thefe
ridges. If the land is addi&ed to annual w'eeds, they
w-ill be beft in drills, which will expedite the hoeing *,
but if not, or if they be late in fowdng, or if the land
be fubjeft to the grub, broad-caft wall generally be
found to produce a more certain crop, as they can be
left fo near to each other at the firft hoeing as to ad¬
mit of being thinned, and thereby give the opportu¬
nity of taking out unhealthy plants at the fubfequent
hoeings, and alfo that they grow more vigorously be¬
tween the firft and fecond hoeings.”
The refult of the experiment here alluded to, is
ftated in the following manner:
Comparative Weight of fix portions of Turnips, which were part of a Field of fifteen Acres : the.
whole of which was Sown in the Month of June 1797, as an experiment between the Drill and
Broad-caft fyftems.
N°I. Drilled on one-bout ridges,
at 27 inches diftance.
II. Drilled wuth Mr Bayley’s
machine, on a level fur¬
face, at 21 inches di¬
ftance.
III. Broad-caft.
IV. Drilled on one-bout ridges,
at 27 inches diftance.
V. Broad-caft. Thefe and the
preceding were round
white turnips.
VT. Broad-caft (Red).
Time of
weighing.
January
ditto
do.
Mar. 2.
do.
do.
Nnmber
upon four
fquare
perches.
354
428
568
334
628
561
Weight on four fquare
perches, or the 40th
part of an acre.
Weight per ftatute
acre.
ROOTS.
Cwt. qr. lb.
TOPS.
Cwt. qr. lb.
1 i 3
7 1 I5i
7 2
8 3 °
8 2 22
6 3 264
1 1 5i
1 o ii4
1 1 8
2 3 5
Tons cwt. qr. lb.
19 I O 20
17 7 I 8
17 8 ,i 26
20 7 3 12
20 o 2 24
19 II I o
Average
weight
of each
turnip.
lb. oz.
3
2 4t
1 114
3 ^
1 *5}
Average diftance of
each turnip.
[64 in. by 27 in.
17 in. by 21. in.
1 each wTay.
17 by 27 in.
16 each way.
164 each way.
“ By noting th^-average diftance of each turnip, as
is done in the laft column, is intended to ffiow, at one
view, how many plants there were wanting in the drills
to have made them a full crop } for, if 530 be ftated
I
as a medium number in a full crop, upon the 40th part
of an acre, they wall be found to occupy a fpace of 17 ,
inches each way in broad-caft, 104 by 27 inches on
t; . ' .e-bout ridges, and 134 by 21 inches of tbofe
drilled
Part I.
A G R I C U
Culture of
particular
Plants.
310
Value as
Food for
cattle.
3”
Method of
preferving
turnips.
drilled on the level furface ; from whence may be eafily
feen, how much thofe were wider in the rows than they
ought to have been.”
Great quantities of turnips are raifed in Norfolk every
year for feeding black cattle, which turn to great ad¬
vantage.
It is well known, that an acre of land contains 4840
fquare yards, or 43,560 fquare feet j fuppofe then that
every fquare foot contains one turnip, and that they
weigh only two pounds each on an average, here will
be a mafs of food, excellent in kind, of 46 tons per
acre, often worth from four to five guineas, and fome-
times more.
Extraordinary crops of barley frequently fucceed
turnips, efpecially when fed off the land. In feeding
them oft, the cattle Ihould not be fuffered to run over
too much of the ground at once, for in that cafe they
will tread down and fpoil twice as many as they eat.
In Norfolk, they are confined by hurdles to as much
as is fufficient for them for one day. By this mode the
crop is eaten clean, the foil is equally trodden, which
if light is of much fervice, and equally manured by the
cattle.
A notion prevails in many places, that mutton fat¬
tened with turnips is thereby rendered rank and ill
tafted ; but this is a vulgar error. The beft mutton
in Norfolk (and fewr counties have better) is all fed
with turnips. It is by rank paftures, and marfhy lands,
that rank mutton is produced.
If the land be wet and fpringy, the beft method is
to draw and carry off your turnips to fome dry pafture ;
for the treading- of the cattle will not only injure the
crop, but render the land fo ftiff, that you muft be at
an additional expence in ploughing.
To preferve turnips for late fpringfeed, the beft me¬
thod, and which has been tried with fuccefs by fome
of the beft Engliih farmers, ,is, To ftack them up in
dry ftraw ; a load of which is fufficient to preferve
40 tons of turnips. The method is eafy, and is as fol¬
lows :—
After drawing your turnips in February, cut off the
tops and tap roots (which may be given toftieep), and
let them lie a few days in the field, as no weather will
then hurt them.
Then, on a layer of ftraw next the ground, place a
layer of turnips two feet thick ; 'and then another layer
of ftraw, and fo on alternately, till you have brought
the heap to a point. Care muft be taken to turn up
the edges of the layers of ftraw, to prevent the turnips
from roiling.out4 cover the top well with lono- ftraw,
and it will ferve as a thatch for the whole.
In this method, as the ftraw7 imbibes the moifture ex¬
haled from the roots, all vegetation will be prevented,
and the turnips will be nearly as good in May as. when
firft drawn from the field. If ftraw be fcarce, old haulm
or ftubble will anfwer the fame purpofe.
But to prevent this trouble and expence, perhaps
farmers in ail counties would find it moft to their inte-
relt to adopt the method ufed by our neighbours the
Norfolk farmers, which is, to continue fowing turnips
to the latter end of Auguft \ by which means their late
crops remain good in the field till the latter end of A-
pril, and often till the middle of May.
I he advantages of having turnips good till the fpring
feed is generally ready, are lb obvious, and fo great,
L T U R E. 407
that many of the moft intelligent farmers (although at Culture of
firft prejudiced againft the practice) are now come into Pai tlcular
it, and find their account in fo doing.
Turnips have long been in fuch general ufe as food * 7^
for cattle, that the profit on raifing them might be rea- TheiVcul-
fonably thought to be altogether certain 5 neverthe- ture faid to
lefs, Mr Young, in the paper already quoted, informs ke geiiera*"
us, that “ turnips dunged for are univerfally a lofing
crop *, for if they are ftated from 30s. to 40s. an acre, profit! °
their value does not amount to the dung alone which
is fpread for potatoes *, yet the latter pays that dung,
all other expences, and leaves a profit fometimes con-
fiderable. I admit that turnips fed upon the land will
prepare better for corn ; but that is by no means the
queftion. Mould not the dung raifed in the farm¬
yard by the confumption of the potatoes, fuppofing it
fpread on the potato acre, make that produce more than
the turnip one > I have no doubt but it would give a
fuperiority. But turnips are liable to great failures,
and cannot be relied on late in the fpring : potatoes
may; and are applicable to ufes to which the other
root cannot be applied.”—In the fecond volume of the Compared
Bath Papers, p. 101. we have a comparative account with other
of the value of turnips, turnip-rooted cabbage, and lu- vegetables
cerne, as food for cattle. The refult of this writer’s as fl!od for‘
obfervations is, that “ when ftieep are allowed as many Catt e‘
turnips as they can eat (which fhould always be the
cafe when they are fattening), they will, on an ave¬
rage, eat near 20 pounds each in 24 hours. An acre
of turnips twice hoed, will, if the land be good, pro¬
duce about fifty tons } which will, on the above calcu¬
lation, maintain 100 flieep 52 days. The ftieep men¬
tioned weigh 20 pounds per quarter. An acre of tur¬
nip-rooted cabbage will maintain 100 ftieep for a
month, and fometimes five weeks ; but an acre of Scot;
cabbages will maintain 200 ftieep a full month.” The
number fed by lucerne is not determined.
She great eft diladvantage which attends a crop of The Ayr,e^-
turnips, is their. being fo ready to be damaged by the cafiom the"
fly, which fometimes deftroys them fo completely, that great i11-
they muft be fown over again two or three times the convcja~
fame feafon, and even this without any certainty of fuc-’Sc^tum'
cefs. Innumerable methods of avoiding this evil have P
been projefted, which may all be reduced to the fol¬
lowing claffes : 1. Steeping the feed in certain liquids.
2. Fumigation of the fields with' the fmoke of certain
herbs. 3. Rolling. 4. Strewing foot, lime, allies, &c.
on the furface of the ground. It is very difficult, how¬
ever, to determine, with any degree of certainty, whe¬
ther remedies of thB kind are effeaual or not 5 becaufe
fometimes the turnips are not injured though no pre¬
caution has been made ule of: and when this happens
to be the cafe, after the ufe of any fuppofed preven-
5ne P^fetvation of the crop is alcribed to the
me of that preventive, whether it be really efficacious
or not. The virtues of jleeps feem to have been fully 3*5-
afeertained by Mr Winter Charlton near Briftol, offfhethfe!"
whofe experiments an account is given in the Tranfac-tiutSp-feed 1
tions of the Society for Encouraging Arts, vol. v. The-be of any
feeds were of the Dutch kind, lowed on ifeds in the ufe-
kitchen garden in drills, about twelve inches diftant,
an inch and a half deep, on the nth of May 1786.
The. beds had been prepared with rotten dung in May
1785, and afterwards fown with cabbages. The qua¬
lity of the turnips is exhibited in the following table y
thee
0
4o3
agriculture.
Pradlkt-
Culture of the beft being marked I } and tbofe of inferior quali-
particular ty 2 ~ §,c 0bfervations were taken on the
Plants. V , ’ 9’t
20th oi June,
Seed without any preparation, - - *
fteeped in train oil, flourithed extremely,
fteeped in linfeed oil, fomewhat inferior,
Seed mixed with foot and water,
with drainings of a dunghill, -
with elder and barton draining, *
with foot, -
with elder leaf juice,
with elder and barton draining, foot
being fowed over the covered drills,
with ditto, and lime fowed over the
drills, - - -
towed with foot fcattered over, and then
covered, -
with barton draining,
an elder bufh drawn over when the
plants appeared,
with Hale human urine, very few
plants appeared,
with flaked lime fcattered over, and
then covered, very few plants ap^
peared,
with elder, barton-draining, and flak¬
ed lime, very few plants appeared,
with lime and barton-draining did not
vegetate.
Another fet of experiments was made with the green
■Norfolk turnip, drilled an inch and a half deep, the
rows one foot diftant, on beds eight feet three inches
long, and two feet wide 5 half a drachm of feed^ al¬
lowed for each bed, fteeped .and mixed with various
fubftances like the former. The feeds were drilled
upon unmanured ground on the 20th of June 1786,
and the obfervation made on the 17th of July. None
of the beds were found free from the ravages of the
fly; but the feeds which had been fteeped in train oil
and linfeed oil wrere much more free from this injury
than the others. The linfeed oil, as in the former ex¬
periment, was found inferior to the train oil, which
was fuppofed to have been owing 'to its being kept in
a bottle that had formerly held oil of turpentine. The
leaves of the fteeped feeds were of a muth darker green
than the others, appeared twice as thick in bulk and
luxuriancy, and the plants were confiderably larger
than thofe of the other kinds. The fubftances mixed
with the reft were foapers afheS, wmod alhes, pounded
gunpow'der, brimftone, flaked lime, foot, barton-
draining j fometimes mixed together in various propor¬
tions, and fometimes with the addition of a portion of
lifted mould.
Thefe experiments {how, that no dependence can be
had on fteeps or mixtures of any kind with the turnip-
feed y though the train oil and linfeed^ oil feem greatly
to have forwarded the vegetation of the plant. It does
not appear that fumigation has ever been tried , nor
indeed does it feem eafy to be tried in fuch a manner
as might enfure fuccefs.—fn the fourth volume of the
Bath Papers, Mr Gullet of Devonfhire gives fuch di¬
rections for performing the operation as he thinks would
fonugation. pr£)(Juftive of fuccefs.—In a preceding paper he had
explained the good effe&s of fumigating orchards^ hut
3
316
Mr Gul¬
let’s direc¬
tions for
the cafe with thefe muft be very confiderably different Culture of
from a field of turnips. The trees in an orchard are
elevated above the ground, and the fmoke naturally a- . .
fcends, and is blown along their tops: but in fumigating
a large field of turnips, it muft creep along the ground
in fuch a manner as is by no means agreeable to its na¬
ture 5 and without any exceflive degree of labour, as wrell
as a vaft quantity of burning materials, there cannot be
the leaft hope of fuccefs. Mr Gullet’s dire&ions are as
follow: “ If the turnip-ground be fpaded and burnt, or
the weeds, &g. burnt without fpading, the fumigation
thereby may fuffice to chafe fuch of the winged tribe
from thence as are then there 5 but in all cafes, when the
field is ploughed and ready for fowing, let heaps be
made at different places and intervals round by the
hedges and boundaries of the turnip-groitnd, and feme
few fcattered through the field; then, as foon as the
feed is fown, let the heaps on the windward fide and
the fcattered ones be lighted and kept {mothering du¬
ring the continuance of the wind in that quarter j the
lefs the fire, and the more the fmoke, the better. Should
the wind happen to ftiift, thofe heaps on the quarter it
{lifts to muft then be lighted and kept fmothering in
like manner j fo that during the growth of the tended
turnip leaf, and until it becomes rough and out of all
danger, this fumigation and fmoke, over and acrofs the
field, muft be continued from one quarter to the other }
which I venture to affert, will effectually deter and
prevent any winged infeCt tribe from approaching the
turnip-ground : nay more, if there already, it wuuld
moft completely drive them from thence, as fuch
delicately formed infeCts (which can only feed on
the moft tender leaf) would be ill able to continue long
in fueh a fmother of fire and fmoke. The confequence
is obvious and certain, that if the fly be kept from
approaching the field, the turnip-crop is fafe ; and few,
I believe, will difagree with me, that prevention is better
than remedyy
Our author does not fay that he has ever tried this
method with turnips j but lays great ftrefs upon his fuc¬
cefs in a fimilar experiment with cabbages, in order to
preferve them from the caterpillar. To make the mat¬
ter more fure, however, he recommends the trailing of
a bulh of elder over the turnip field at the time of har¬
rowing or bmfhing in the feed: but this remedy has
by numberlefs experiments been found infignificant,
and by thofe above related feems even to be pernicious:
fo that whatever good effeCls we can expeCl from this
method, muft depend on the fumigation alone j and
even this is attended with very great uncertainties, as
has already been obferved.
Rolling promifes to be of fervice when the young of icliiAg.
turnips are attacked by fnails, which frequently deftroy
them j but it cannot be fuppofed to have much effeft
itt deftroying flies* thefe being too numerous and too
minute to be effeChially cruflied by the roller : and in¬
deed, though this has been frequently recommended,
wxj have no decifive proofs of its having ever been at¬
tended with any good effeft.
The ftrewing of foot, lime, afties, See. upon the
ground, have been determined ineffeClual by the expe¬
riments already related, at leaft when applied before
the turnips pome up ; and there feems to be little hope
of their proving more effectual even when applied after
the crop has appeared above ground. We may argue
indeed
Palt I.
A G R I C U
Culture of Indeed a priori about the tarte or fmell of foot, lime,
Ppriants.ar ^:c‘ l)einS difagreeable to infefts ; but of this we have
v._.~v j - no proof j and even though this were the cafe, the leaf
foon emerges from under this covering, or the infefts
will feed on the under part of the leaves, where thefe
fubftances cannot lie. It is evident, therefore, that very
little can be expecied from any of the methods hitherto
propofed either by way of cure or prevention. The
more probable methods are,
x. To fow the turnips at fuch a feafon of the year
that they may be well grown before the fly makes its
31S appearance. In the Bath Papers, vol. iv. p. 132. Mr
Early fow- Wimpey obferves, that in order to procure food for
mendedm" catt*e t^e before the grafs is grown, far¬
mers are obliged to poftpone the fowing of turnips be¬
yond the natural time of vegetation but were turnips
tio be fown in April, as foon as the feafon would per¬
mit, it is very probable that there would be as great a
crop of them as of other vegetables ufually fown in thefe
months. On account of the delay in fowing, however,
for the reafon already mentioned, the fuccefs of the far¬
mer becomes exceedingly precarious, unlefs he is fo for¬
tunate as to have a few rainy days, or cloudy weather
and frequent fhowers, foon after the feed is fown : and
this our author fuppofes to be the true reafon why the
turnip is a more uncertain article than any other. But
though (peculations of this kind have a great fhoW of
probability, there is not any experiment hitherto pub-
liilied, even by our author himfelf, by which the truth
of the above conjecture can be abfolutely afcertained.
Our author, however, is of opinion, that none df the
common methods propofed can anfwer any good pur-
pole, farther than as by means of them the vegetation
» plant may be invigorated. Mr Wimpey recom^
mends allies, foot, or a rich compolt of litne and dung,
ufed in fufficient quantities; but the method of ufirg
them is, either to fow them with the leed, or rather by
themfelves immediately before, and to harrow' them well
in, that they may be completely incorporated with
the foil. T his for the mod: part would lo invigorate
and encourage the growth of the plants, as to be an
3i9 overmatch for the mod vigorous attacks of the Hy.
Sowing a 2. Another method 'propofed for fecUrihg turnips
fitTof feed* ^ 18 ky fowing fuch a quantity of feed as
‘ will be more than fufficient for the confumpt of the in-
feds. Tnis we find recommended in a letter to the
Bath Society, by a gentleman-farmer in Effex, vol. ii.
p. 238. ^ His method is to make the land clean and
ime as foon as the feafon will permit, and to few four
pints per acre. It may be obje&ed, that if the fly does
not take tnem, the plants will dand fo thick, that they
cannot eafily be hoed ; but this may be obviated by har¬
rowing them fird, which will make them fit for the
hoe. There can be no expeClation of a crop if the fly
takes them when only a pint of feed is fown per acre;
but tins gentleman remarks, that he has not in any one
iodance anifled of a crop when he fowed four pints ; be-
-cmife, though the fly has fometimes deftroved more
than one half, and much damaged the other, dill there
was a fufficient number left behind. He alfo agrees
with other of the Society’s correfpondents, that' the
ground fliould be well dunged and manured previous to
tne fowing of turnips, as this makes them grow vigo-
r Oft fly, fo that they quickly get into the rough leaf,' in
■which date the fly will not touch them.
Vol. I. Part II.
L T U R E. 409
In the feme volume, a gentleman of Norfolk remarks, Culture of
that manuring the ground in autumn for turnips is pre- P-fbcula?
ferable to the doing fo in fpring. This difcovery he , *
made in confequence of the following accident.—“ A
neighbouring farmer, not having a fufficient quantity of Manuring
manure for all his turnip land, rvas under the neceffity in autumn
of fowing four acres unmanured. The effect was, thatPTefer.able
the turnips on the manured part of the land were
modly eaten off by the fly, while four acres unmanured
efcaped without injury.” In confequence of having
obierved this, the gentleman made a fimilar experi¬
ment, by manuring five acres well for turnips, and tilling
three acres and a half in the ulual way without any
manure. The manured crops were almod all dedroyed
, by the fly, fo that he was obliged to fow mod of the
land over again. The three acres and a half which
had no manure were entirely free from injury, though
the plants were/much finaller than thofe of the manu¬
red ground which cairie up. Not content with this
trial, however, he repeated the experiment, by manu¬
ring fix acres of wheat dubble in autumn, ploughing it
in immediately, and leaving it to incorporate with the
earth during the winter : the turnips which grew upon
this were as large as if the ground had been manured
in the fpring. This experiment was repeated with fur-
priiing fuccels in two fucceeding years ; whence he in¬
fers, that the fly is either engendered in the new dung
or enticed by it. But when the manure is laid on in
autumn it lofes its noxious qualities, though it dill re¬
tains its nutritive ones.—This conclufion, however,
does not appear to be well founded ; for it is certain
from Undoubted experience, that turnips which have
been well manured in the common way, have fome-
times efcaped any injury ; while others, which have
got n6 manure at all, have been almod totally dedroy¬
ed. Another material advantage, however, which
this correfpondent obferves is to be derived from ma¬
nuring in autumn is, that all the feeds contained in the
manure, and which are of courfe carried to the land
with it, vegetate almod immediately, and are modly
killed by the cold of the fucceeding winter, while the
few that remain can fearce efcape deftrufifon from the
ploughffiare.
Mr Wimpey is alfo of opinion, that it is proper toMr Wim-
fow a large quantity of feed; but thinks two pounds pey’s opi-
will be fufficient for an acre. A few ounces indeednionof
would be fufficient to dock the land ; but as the article<0Xvmg a
is fo precarious, he thinks it by far the fefed way to Stv^f feed*
allow feed in plenty, and reduce the plants afterwards *
by harrowing. He obferves alio, that it is of great
confequence to have feed both good in quality and of
the bed fpecies. He prefers the large and green top¬
ped, as being the mod fweet and juicy ; others give
the preference to the red or purple-topped, as heir a-
hardier : but at any rate, the feed from the larged and , -,
fined tranfplanted turnips, of whatever fort, is greatly Of the
to be preferred, even though it fliould cod double or quality of
treble the price. Such as is fold by the feetlfmen inthe ked' '
London he found generally of a mixed kind, and often
in great part not worth cultivating. “ Whether plants
irom new or old feed are mod fecure from the depre¬
dations of the fly (lays he), is perhaps a quedion which,
cannot be eafily determined even by experiments ; for
concomitant circumdances are frequently lo much move
-operative and powerful, as to render the difference be-
3 I*' tween
4io
A G R I C U
. 324
With
wheat.
325
Mr Ander-
Culture of tween tliem, if there be any, imperceptible. It is, how-
particular everj known to every practical man, that new feed
F;ant‘i- fprouts or vegetates feveral days before old j and I
think more vigoroufly : and it is equally well known,
that the healthy and vigorous plants efcape the fly,
when the Hinted and fickly feldom or never efcape it.
Hence it would feem, that new feed, ceteris paribus, is
more fecure from the fly than old ; and for my own ufe
I would always prefer it.”
Of fowing 3- The fowing of turnips along with grain—
turnips ° This, of all others, feems to be the molt eligible and
with grain, efficacious. In the fecond volume of Bath Papers,
p. 210. a Hextfordlhire correfpondent gives an ac¬
count of the fuccefs of an experiment of drilling tur¬
nips with wheat. A fmall field of fpring-wheat was
drilled in rows two feet apart j and in the month of
May turnips were fown by hand in the intervals.
They came up very well, and were thinned once by the
hoe. The crop of wheat turned out better than ano¬
ther field of the fame foil fown broad-caft in autumn,
though it ripened fomewhat later. The turnips were
no other way injured by cutting it, than having fome
of the large leaves trodden down by the reapers. After
harveft the weeds were cut up round the turnips with
a hand-hoe, and they grew very large and vigorous.
They were of the purple and white long kind, and the
crop proved nearly as good as the fame land produced
in common. An excellent crop of barley and clover
was got from the fame field afterwards.
In the third volume of the fame work we find an ac-
don’s expe- count of feveral fuccefsful experiments in fowing tur-
nments ot njpS between rows of beans. The advantages of this
thlm with method are ftrongly fet forth by R. P. Anderdon, Efqj
beans. who made fome of the experiments, and are as follow :
“ i. You may have a crop of beans and turnips on the
fame field the fame year. 2. The bean crop being
well horfe-hoed, no ploughing is wanted for turnips,
for which the bed: Norfolk farmers give five plough-
ings. 3. It is hoed cheaper, more effedfually, and con-
fequently more profitably, than in any other way.
4. The ground is kept clean from tveeds. 5. It is in
order for a Lent crop the lucceeding year with one
earth. 6. The ground is kept in heart, if not impro¬
ved, by fallowing your alleys. 7. It brings the plant
to perfeftion in poor ground, where it wmuld not be¬
come fo otherwife. 8. It doubles the crop in any
ground which Mr Anderdon has had experience of.
9. You have the crops more within your own power in
this than in any other method, let the feafons turn out
as they will. 10. You may have on the fame ground a
bean and turnip crop annually, if the land be fuitable,
and you think proper. 11. The clay fanner, by this
mode, renders land which is naturally unfit for turnips,
fo free and open by feafonable horfe-hoeings, that it
3^5 will bring this ufeful plant to great perfeftion.”
Objections On this paper the fociety made fome remarks, and
by the Bath ftated the following obje&ions : I. The fame foil can-
Society. ^ ^ pr0per for both crops. Scotch cabbages are
more adapted for a bean foil; and they wiffied him to
repeat the experiment with cabbages inftead of turnips
L T U R E. Pra&ice,
betwixt bis beans. 2. The Norfolk farmers rarely ufe Culture of
more than three ploughings for turnips, inftead of five, p^"lar
as Mr Anderdon reprefents, unlefs the ground be full. Y" .
of couch grafs. 3. They think him too fanguine in
his expedfations of having double crops on the fame
field. 4. Nothing renders a clay fell fo free and open
as to have it expoled to frofts and fnow by being laid
up in high ridges in January and February ; but, on
Mr Anderdon’s plan, this cannot be done, unlefs the
turnips are leffened in value by being fed off in autumn.
Thefe firiclures were lent to Mr Anderdon before Mr Ander-
tbe papers were printed, but did not make any altera-d°n’s reply,
tion in his opinion } and he replied to the following
purpofe :
I. The fame foil cannot be proper for beans and turnips,
&.C.—Granted. But had Mr Anderdon adhered rigo-
roufly to this rule, he would have fowed no turnips at
all, not having on his farm any foil altogether proper
for that crop; “ but (fays he) while I can get in
fingle row’s, four feet afunder or more, from half a do¬
zen to half a fcore tons of turnips per acre, after, or ra¬
ther between, a crop of beans in my heavy lands, I ffiall
feel that produft here more beneffeial than to drop the
mode. I believe the medium of the tw’o, fo far as I
can judge by the eye or get information, to be fape-
rior to the average produce of prepared fallow turnip
crops in 10 miles round me.”—On this the Society
make the following remarks : “ The queftion here is,
Whether, if inftead of turnips, Mr Anderdon had
planted his beans two feet diftance only, the extra pro¬
duce of his crop would not have exceeded in value that
of his turnips ? We think they wmuld, as thefe inter¬
vals would freely admit his horfe-hoe between the
beans,”
Mr Anderdon then proceeds to acquaint the com¬
mittee, that he had tried the experiment as they wifti-
ed with Scotch cabbages xnftead of turnips betwixt
the rows of beans j but the crop of the turnips was fo
much preferable, that be found himfelf inclined to lup-
pofe the cabbage would not get to fo great perfe&ion
there as to be profitably introduced on a large fcale,
for want of the great quantity of dung neceffary for
that crop, and which could not be procured in that
part of the country. He further remarks in favour
of turnips, that they have an abundance of very fmall
lateral fibrous roots, which run as far in learcb of food,
and feed as ravenoufly wffiere they can penetrate, as
thofe of altnoft any other vegetable ; and the plant cer¬
tainly derives more nouriihment from thofe than from
its tap-root (h). Thofe fine fibrous roots, aimoft im¬
perceptible to the eye, iffue chiefly from the apple or
body of the turnip, and get into the richeft part of the
foil near the furface, and will bring tne plants to a con-
fiderable magnitude in heavy lands adapted to beans,
when mellowed by the horfe-hoe. oome 01 his turnips
weighed ten pounds each : and if he coulu have only
twm fuch turnips on every fquare yard, it would be at
the rate of 43 tons per acre.
2. The Committee doubt of the pqffbility of doubling the
crop. Mr Anderdon gives the following explanation.
(h) Here the fociety remark, that this is not the cafe with thofe kinds of turnips wnich grow chiefly
above ground, and which arc generally the beft crops, and moft capable of refilling the trofts.
Part L AGRICULTURE. ah
Culture of “ I have made many comparative trials on turnips be-
. particular tween this mode and broad-caft fowing, and always
Plants. founcj on my ground the horfe-hoed crops the bed.
* 1 But here, in denoting the benefits of the horfe-hoe
by its doubling a crop, I wilh to be underftood, that if,
in foils like mine^ a crop be drilled, leaving proper in¬
tervals for horfe-hoeing, and one part be horfe-hoed
the other not, the horfe-hoed part will double the
other in product.”
Mr Anderdon, in the courfe of his reply to the
committee, gives an account of another experiment
he made in confequence of being deficient in winter
fodder for his cattle. By this neceflity he was indu¬
ced to low turnips wherever he could \ and on the 18th
of July drilled a Angle row between his drilled wheat.
On the 20th and 2 2d of Auguft he drilled four rows
of winter vetches in each interval between the turnips,
at the rate of lefs than one peck and three quarters of
feed to an acre. “ The turnip crop (fays he) is very
acceptable, and my vetches fucceed beyond my warmed
expectation •, are thick enough, and give me the pleaf-
ing profpeCl and hope, that I fhall not, v/hen my dry
meat is gone, want a feafonable fupply of early green
fodder that will laft me till my lucerne comes on.”
8 This fubjeft is farther confidered in the fame vo-
Mr Pa- lume by Mr Pavier, who viewed Mr Anderdon’s tur-
vier’s opi- nips, and gave in a report of them to the committee,
tvion. He fuppofes a crop of beans drilled in Angle rows at
four feet difiance, and the turnips drilled in the inter¬
vals, according to Mr Anderdon’s method, there will
then be four rows of 17 feet in length to make a fquare
perch; whereas Mr Anderdon’s rows were only 15
feet 8 inches in length ; and this difparity in length
will make a difference of weight on a perch from 230
to 249 pounds, and on an acre from 16 tons 8 cwt.
2 qrs. 8 lb. Mr Anderdon’s produce, to 17 tons 15
cwt. 2 qrs. 24 lb.—Each turnip at this diftance (wss.
four feet from row to row, and nine inches in the rows)
muft occupy a fpace of three fquare feet; confequent-
ly the greateft number produced on an acre muft be
14,520; but if fown in broad-caft, twice hoed, and the
diftance on an average 15 inches, each turnip will then
occupy little more than one foot and an half, and the
number produced on an acre maybe about 27,920; an
excefs which may reafonably be fuppofed to overba¬
lance the value of the beans, let us fuppofe the crop
as great as we can reafonably do. Thus far the argu¬
ment feems to lie againft this method of cultivating
beans and turnips together: but on the other hand, Mr
Pavier confiders it probable that the expence of drilling
and horfe-hoeing the beans, together with drilling the
turnips in the manner Mr Anderdon did, muft be con-
liderably lefs than that of fallowing and preparing the
ground, and fowing the turnips in broad-caft; to which
we muft: likewife add the facility of hoeing the drills
in comparifon of the broad-caft. But befides thefe,
the great advantage arifing from this method, and which,
if certain, gives it a decided fuperiority, is, “ the
great chance, if not an almoft certainty, of preferv-
ing the turnips from the depredations of the fly.” Mr
Pavier was inclined to think that this muft be the
cafe, as Mr Anderdon had fuch crops repeatedly with¬
out any damage of that kind : but the committee dif¬
fer from him, and think that this muft have proceed¬
ed from fome other caufe ; though they do not afiign
any reafon for this opinion. (l The principal point Culture of
(fays Mr Pavier), m determining this queftion, feems ^p^nts f
to me to be this : if the crop of beans drilled as above ■ V
after deducting the feed, and fome additional expence
in taking the crop off the ground without injuring the
turnips, can be, one year with another, fuppofed to be
as valuable as the quantity of turnips that might be
reafonably expe&ed in the broad-caft method more than
in the other, I fhould not hefitate to declare in favour
of drilling between the beans.”
Thus far the argument feems to be carried on d
priori. Mr Wimpey, in the letter already quoted,
inclines to the practice of fowing turnips between beans
planted in rows. “It exadlly correfponds (fays he)
with all my obfervations on the fuccefsful vegetation
of that root. A confiderable degree of moifture is
neceflary to the rapid vegetation of that very juicy
root, and nothing retains moifture equal to lhade :
and (hade can be obtained and fecured by no means
fo effedlually on a large fcale as in the intervals of
tall growing plants, as beans or wheat planted in
drills.” The fuccefs of Mr Bult of Kingfton near
Taunton, leaves little room to doubt of the pro¬
priety of the method, and its fuccefs in preventing the
fly. 1'he beans were planted in drills not quite two
feet afunder, on tw o ploughings, horfe-hoed three times,
and the turnips fown in the intervals at the laft-hoeing.
The field meafured fix acres and a quarter, and was a
very good clayey foil, but bad not been manured, nor
had any drefling laid upon it for fix years before. It
produced this year three quarters of beans per acre,
and 37 tons 5 cwt. of turnips. This field was alfo
viewed by Mr Pavier, who makes the following ob¬
fervations upon it. 1. The turnips were fown promif-
cuoufly among the beans at the laft hoeing, which
was given about midfummer; from which time nothing
was done but drawing off the beans and carrying them
off the land. 2. The crop of beans was believed to
be confiderably above 20 bufhels per acre, which is
much more than was produced by any other method
that feafon in the neighbouring part of the country:
and as Mr Pavier had this account before he faw the
turnip crop, he did not expert any thing confiderable
from the latter; but as it turned out, the produce muft
be accounted highly profitable, wdien we confider that
there w^as no crop loft, no preparation, drefling, nor
any expence whatever, excepting the price of the feed
and fowing it. 3. This he confiders as one of the
ftrongeft recommendations of the drill hulhandry he
ever knew or heard of; b]iit he is .of opinion that it
never can anfwer except where the ground is perfedlly
clean and free from weeds, by the crops having been
horfe-hoed for a few years before. 4. He thinks the
beans ought to have been planted at wider intervals, by
winch the fun and air would be freely admitted, and
the plants wrould alfo be lefs damaged by the operation
of the hoe. ^
Mr Pavier likewife informs the Society of two other Other ex-
experiments on a fimilar plan ; but with this difference, periments
that the turnips wrere fown among the beans at the fe-on fowin£
cond horfe-hoeing. The turnip crops w-ere very good,
and the beans more than double the value of thofe raif- beans,
ed in the ufual mode of hulbandry. “ I think it is
very evident (fays he), that the beans preferve the tur¬
nips from the fly ; and as no expence or trouble attends
3 F 2 the
412
AGRICULTURE.
Culture of tlie pra&lce, I apprehend it will Toon become more
P-f-lar general.” The Society own, that the uncommon fuccefs
c . of Mr Bult’s experiment feems to militate at leaft againft
what they faid on Mr Anderdon’s letter j but they
inlift that the cafes are by no means fimilar. “ Though
the land (fay they), in both inftances, is called a heavy
clay, they are very different. Mr Anderdon’s is poor,
■wet, and cold j the other a good rich clay j and we
apprehend naturally mixed with a kind of marl,
which is called clay by perfons not thoroughly ac¬
quainted with the nice diftinction of foils apparently
alike, but very different in their nature. Our prin¬
ciple therefore, that cold wet clay lands are unfuitable
for turnips, remains unaffe&ed by this experiment j
and general pra&ice confirms the truth of the theo-
ry”
In another letter, Mr Pavier gives a more particular
account of the two other crops of beans and turnips
raifed upon Mr Bult’s plan. The beans were drilled
in rows about 22 inches diftance, twice horfe-hoed,
and the produce from about 25 to 30 buftiels the com¬
puted acre, or from 30 to 36 bufhels the ftatute acre.
The preceding fummer had been very unfavourable to
beans, and the produce per acre in,the common hufban-
dry did not, on an average, equal a third part of this
quantity. One of thefe crops was fuperior to that of
Mr Bult: they were fown upon a field of nine com¬
puted acres on the 10th of June, after the fecond
horfe-hoeing j but whether the fecond hoeing was per¬
formed too foon, the ground not clean, or whatever
might be the caufe, the beans'were weeded twice by
hand afterwards $ and he is of opinion, that the turnips
were fomewhat benefited by it. Mr Pavier was affured
by a very intelligent farmer, that this was the beft
crop of turnips he had ever feen. The turnip-feed in
the other crop was put in between the rows of beans
by a hand drill $ but the work was badly performed,
the plants coming up in fome places, vaftly too thick,
and in others as much too thin ; but wherever they
happened to be of a proper thicknefs, the farmer told
him it was one of the moft profitable crops he ever had.
The foil was wet, heavy, and not very favourable far
turnips. Hence Mr Pavier deduces the following con-
clufions : 1. That with refpect to beans in particular,
the drilling and horfe-hoeing is vaftly fuperior to the
common mode of hufbandry. 2., That the beans are
undoubtedly a good prefervative of the turnips from
the depredations of the fly.. 3. That as by this me¬
thod no crop is loft, and confequently no rent, but a
mere trifle ofhexpjnce (if any) chargeable to the tur¬
nip crop-, it muft be one of the moft profitable as well
as the moft certain methods of propagating that ufeful
root ever yet praftifed He ftill infifts, however, that
if he had an opportunity of trying this method, he
would drill the beans in rows at a greater diftance, that
the turnips might be hand-hoed eafily > and that he
fhould prefer the London tick-bean to any other, by
reafon of their fhortnefs and being fuch bearers \ that
he fhould alfo take off their tops as foon as the under
bloflbms began to decay y which, he fuppofes, would
be of great fervice.
Inftrument t^s differtation on the culture of turuips, we
tor tranf- cannot avoid taking notice of an inftrument ufed in
planting Norfolk for tranfplantihg them, and thus filling up
tutmps. tve gaj)S -which frequently happen in fields from the
Pra&icev
failure of the plants in particular fpots. It is repre- Culture of
fented on the margin j and the conftru&ion and mode Pa^icular
of ufing are obvious from the figure.—When the turnips ^ 3‘ „
are to be tranfplanted, the workman holds the long pa
handle with the left hand, and the fhort one with the^rj) vol.iv.
right hand drawn up. Put the inftrument then over p. jatf.
the plant that is to be taken up, and with your foot
force it into the ground j then give it a twill round,
and by drawing it gently up, the earth will adhere to
the roots of the plant in a folid body; then with ano¬
ther inftrument of the fame fize take the earth out
where the plant is to be put, and bringing the inllru-
ment with the plant in it, put it into the hole which
has been made by the other 5 then keep your right
. hand Heady, and draw up your left, and the earth and
plant will be left in the hole with the roots undifturb-
ed. In this operation two men muft be employed, each
of them having an inftrument of the form reprefented
on the margin. One man takes up a plant while the
other fills his inftrument with earth only,, thereby ma¬
king room for the depofition of the plant $ fo that the
hole which is made by taking up the plant is filled with
the earth taken out where the plant is to be put;
which being depofited, he takes up a plant, and re¬
turns to the place he firft fet out from, the former man
at the fame time returning with the earth only ; fo that
each man is alternately the planter, and each being
employed both ways, the work goes on brifldy.-—This
inftrument was the invention of Mr Cubitt Gray of
Southrepps, Norfolk.
Turnips being the grand bafis of the Norfolk huf-
handry, Mr Marihall gives a very particular accouftt
of their culture in that county.—The fpecies cultiva¬
ted are, 1. The common whiteJlock, called in many
places the Norfolk turnip.. 2..1i\iQpiirpleJiock. h Simi-
lar to the former, but its rind is of a dark red or purple cultivation
colour j its fize in general fmaller, and . its texture of turnips,
clofer and. firmer than that of the common white-
ftock ; it alfo Hands the winter better,, and is more fuc-
culent in- the fpring, but it is not fo well relilhed by
cattle as the former •, whence it is-lefs generally culti¬
vated. 3. The pudding-Jloch, the tanhard-turnip of the
midland counties,, is in fhape fo perfectly different from
the common fort, that it might be ranked as a diftindt
fpecies. It rifes in a cylindrical form, eight, ten, or
twelve inches high. Handing in a manner wholly above
ground y generally taking a rough irregular outline,
and a fomewhat reclining pofture. It very much re-
fertibles the common turnip, and is by much its moft
formidable rival. In many refpedls it feems to be fu¬
perior, particularly in being readily drawn, and eaten
off by Iheep with much lefs wafte than the common
turnip The difadvantage is, that they are liable to
the attacks of froft,. by reafon of their Handing fo
high above the furface of the ground j fo that on the
whole, Mr Marlhal concludes, that the common white
turnip is to be preferred- to every other.
In Norfolk, turnips are fown upon every fpecies of Advantage,
arable land. Marl is found to be highly beneficial; °f udng
and by means of this manure, a foil naturally unfitmar *
for turnips may be rendered proper for it. They fue-
ceed barley better than any other crop ; fome few are
fown on wheat or pea Hubble after harveft y but this is ~
not a general practice. The manures in greateft repu¬
tation for turnips are dung, with a greater or fmalles
admixture
Part I, A G R I C U
Culture of admixture of mould ; malt-coombs are alfo in good re*
particular pUte, and oil-cake is ufed by a few individuals $ “ but
it may be faid that nine acres of ten of the turnips
grown in eaft Norfolk are manured with muck.”—The
quantity of dung fet on for a crop of turnips generally
Plants.
333
Manures
334 .
Cultivation
of turnips
for early
confump-
tion.
335
Method of
of different depends on the quantity on hand, and the quantity of
kinds. turnip ground to be manured. From io to I , cart
loads of muck are confidered as a good dreffing j and
about a ton of oil cake to three acres; 50 or 60 bulh-
els of malt-coombs, and 40 or 50 bulhels of foot, to an
acre.
When the turnips are intended for early confump-
tion, the fooner they can be got into the ground the
better; but avhen they are intended to Hand the win¬
ter, the beginning of July is thought loon enough.
The molt general rule is to begin fowing about a
week before midfummer, and continue till about a fort¬
night after, viz. from the 17th or 18th of June to the
    7th or 8th of July.—Broad-call fowing is univerfal, in
fowing, and the quantity of two pints to an acre. The feed is co¬
culture. vered by two lines of a pair of light harrows drawn
backward, in order to prevent the lines, which ufually
point fomething forward, from tearing up the clods,
and burying the feed too deep. The horfes are uni-
verfally walked one way, and trotted back again in the
fame place. This is an excellent cuftom j the quick
zig-zag motion of the harrows at once a {Tilling to le¬
vel the furface, and to diftribute the feeds more even¬
ly—They are univerfally hoed ; and unlefs they be
Town very late, are generally hoed twice. The di-
llance of time between the fowing and the firll hoeing
depends upon the foil and feafon ; the Ixze of the plants
being the only guide. When turnips are fullered to
grow too large before they are hoed, the plants are
difficult to be fet out fingly, and are liable to be drawn
up by weeds, thereby acquiring a {lender upright ten¬
dency ; whereas their natural growth, in their infant
ftate, is procumbent, fpreading their firll leaves on the
ground, and taking the form of a rofe.—If the hoe be
put in too foon, the plants which are fet out are liable
to be buried, and their tender roots difturbed in tire
of fetting out the neighbouring plants. The time
for hoeing, as directed by the moll judicious hulband-
men, is when the plants, as they lie fpread upon tire
ground, are about the lize of the palm of the hand :
ri, however, feed-weeds be numerous and luxuriant
they ought to be checked before the turnips- arrive at
that fize, left by being drawn up tall and fiender they
ffiould acquire a weak and fickly. habit. The proper
difiance depends upon the. nature of the foil and the
time of fowing ; fuch as are fown early, in a rich pro¬
ductive foil, require to be fet out wider than thcfe
fown late on a foih of a contrary nature. If the foil
be at par, the diltance ought to be-regulated by the
time of fowing :: if this.be at par, the nature or Hate
of the foil Ihould be the regulator -Mr Marfhal com¬
plains of the conduCt of the Norfolk farmers in gene¬
ral in this. refpeCt, who “ hack out their turnips 14,
15* or perhaps 18 inches afundfer, without any regard
to the Itate of the foil, or time of fowing. This prac¬
tice was eltablilhed-while the Norfolk foil was full of
marl, and new to turnips ; and when* it is probable,
w or I 2 inches in diameter was no uncommon lize,
with tops proportionally large and fpreading j and*
M °* 1 v inches might then be a proper diltance.
L T U R E. 413
But now, when the efficacy of marl is lelTened, and Culture of
the foil no longer the favourite of turnips, which fel-
dom reach more than feven or eight inches in diame- , ~,
ter, it is ruinous and abfurd to continue the praCtice.”
'Turnips are cultivated either for feed, for faie, or
for confumption. When cultivated for feed, it is fup-
pofed in molt parts of the kingdom that it ought al-
tvays to be taken from tranfpianted roots j but in Nor¬
folk they are frequently raifed from fuch as are untranf- — s’
planted. “ It is a faCt (fays Mr Marffiall) well un-Cultivation
derllood by every hulbandman here, that if the feed be°^turri4>*‘
gathered repeatedly from untranfplanted roots, tile ^or
plants from this feed will become coarfe-necked and
foul-rooted ; and the tlelh of the root itfelf will be¬
come rigid and unpalatable. On the contrary, if it be
gathered year after year from tranlplanted roots, the
necks will become too fine, and the fibres too few j
the entire plant acquiring a weak delicate habit, ami
the produce, though fweet, wall be fmall. For the
neck, or onfet of the leaves, being reduced to the fize
of the finger (for inllance), the number and fize of the
leaves will be reduced in proportion ; and in a fimilar
proportion will the number and fize of the fibrils be re¬
duced. From a parity of reafoning, it may perhaps be
inferred, that when the neck acquires a thicknefs equal
to that of the wrilt, the fize of the root will be in pro¬
portion.
“ With refpeft to the fibres or rootlings, this is a
juft inference 5 but with refpeft to the bulb, it is in
a great meafure erroneous. For a few generations the
fize of the bulb will keep pace -with the increafe of
leaves and fibres ; but after having once reached the
limits which nature lias fet to its magnitude, it begins
to revert to its original ftate of wildnefs, from which to
it prefent ftate it lias undoubtedly been raifed by
tranfplantation. The farmer has therefore two ex¬
tremes to avoid. The one is difcoverable by the thick¬
nefs and coarfenefs of the neck, the fcaly roughnefs
of the bulb, the thicknefs of the rind in general, the
foulnefs of its bottom, and the forkeduefs of its maia
or tap-root : the other by the llendernefs of the neck,
the finenefs of the leaf, and the delicacy of the root..
The former are unpalatable to cattle, and are therefore
creative of wafte : The latter are unproductive, are dif¬
ficult-to be drawn, and do not throw out fuch ample
tops in the fpring, as do thofe which are, by conUT
tution or habit, in a middle ftate between thefe two-
extremes. There is not, however, any general rule,
refpefting bow many years turnips ought to be tranf¬
pianted fucceffively, and how often they ought to be
fuffered to run up from the feed-bed : the foil and fi-
tuation have, and other circumltances may have, in¬
fluence on the habit and conftitution of vegetables as •
of animals 5 and the farmer mull attend alone to the
ftate of the turnips themfelves. Whenever he judges,
that, by repeated tranfplantation, they have pafled the
acme of perfeClion, then it is his duty and interelt to -
let them ran up to feed without tranfplantation. In:
Norfolk it has been found, by long experience, that
tranfplantmg two, three, or four years* and letting
the plants run up the third, fourth, or fifth, will keep
the llock in the defired ftate. The time of tranfplant-
ing is from Old Chriftmas to Old Candlemas. In the
choice of plants, the farmer is not guided by fize, but
picks the cleaned plants without regard to fize 5 or,
more.
4!4
Culture of
particular
Plants.
337
Method of
planting.
agriculture.
Pra<filce.
33^
Method of
fearing
away birds.
339 .
Of drawing
She turnips.
34°
Snow-
fledge de-
fcribed.
txiorft accurately fpeaking, lie makes ckoice of fuch
as are near, but not at or above the ftate of perfec¬
tion. In almoft every turnip-field there are plants
in various ftates : much judgment, therefore,^ is re-
quifite in the choice of plants. A piece of good
ground near a habitation is generally chofen for this
purpofe but the method of planting is various ; the
plants are generally fet in rows, at uncertain diflances
from one another.” Thefe diftances our author has
obferved to be 16 or 18 inches, and the diftance of
the plants in them nine or ten inches j but the prablice
of a man who, he tells us, is indifputably near the
head of his profelfion, is to plant them in rows two
feet afunder, the plants in the rows being contiguous.
The only culture required, is to keep the intervals
clean hoed ; but when the feed begins to ripen, much
care is requifite to keep it from birds. If the plot be large,
it is neceiTary to employ a boy to fcare them •, but if
it be fmall, and near the houfe, Mr Marftiall has known
the following expedient uled wdth fuccefs. “ On a
flender poll:, rifing in the midll of the patch of feed,
was fixed a bell ; from which a line palled into the
kitchen } in the molt frequented part of this hung
the pull. Whoever paffed the pull rung the bell; fo
that in a farm-houfe kitchen, where a miltrefs and
two or three maids were fome of them almoft always
on the foot, an inceffant peal was kept up •, and
the birds, having no refpite from alarm, forfook their
prey.”
The time of drawing commences about Michaelmas,
and continues until the plants be in blow\ The pro-
cefs of drawing, he fays, “ in fevere wreather is an
employment which nothing but cuftom could reconcile
to thole whofe lot it is to go through it, namely, flout
lads and youths j whofe hands are frequently fwelled
until the joints are difcernible only by the dimples they
form neverthelefs he never heard of any inilance of
bad effebls from this circumftance. When the tops will
bear it, their method of pulling is very expeditious :
they pull with both hands at once ; and having filled
each hand, they bring the two together with a fmart
blow to difengage the foil from the roots, and with
the fame motion throw them into the cart. If the
tops be cut off by the froft, or if this be in the ground,
the turnips are raifed wdth two-tined forks named
craoms. If the roots are buried under deep lhowT, it is
removed by means of an implement called the fnovj-
Jledge. This confiffs of three deal-boards from one to
two inches thick, IO or 12 inches deep, and from
feven to nine feet long, fet upon their edges in the
form of an equilateral triangle, and ftrongly united with
nails or ftraps of iron at the angles j at one of which
is faftened, by means of a double ftrap, a hook or an
eye, to fallen the horfes to. This being drawn over a
piece of turnips covered with fnow, forces up the latter
into a ridge on each fide, while between the ridges a
ffripe of turnips is left bare, without having received
any material injury from the operation. Though it is
cuftomary, in drawing, to clear the ground entirely,
our author met with one inftance in which the fmall
ones were left by a very good hufbandman on the
ground, both to increafe in fize, and to throw out
tops in the fpring ^ it being obfervable, that a fmall
turnip fends up a top nearly equal to one wThofe bulb
is larger. There is one inconvenience, however, ari-
fing from this praaice : the plough Is prevented from Culture T
entering upon the foil until late in the fpringw hich
upon lome loils is an unfurmountable objeaion , tho . .. ^
is may be very proper upon land which will bring good
barley with one ploughing after turnips. ^ 341
Mr Marshall relates the following fimple method, by Method ef
which a Norfolk farmer preferved turnips through a Prcfel'yilg
confiderable part of the winter feafon. Having cut uriuPJ
oil' their tops with a fpade, he gave them to his cowrs,
and carried the bulbs to a newT-made ditch, into which
he threw them, and then covered them up with ftraw,
laying over it a quantity of bramble kids. Here they
lay until wanted in a froft. They were then again
carted by means of a fork, and given to the cattle,
who ate them as well, or rather better than freih drawn
turnips $ and in general they came out as freih as they
went in. Our author is of opinion, that this method
might be extended to the prefervation of turnips till
the fpring.
a. Carrot.
° . 34a
Of all roots, a carrot requires the deepeft foil. It Culture of
ought at leaft to be a foot deep, all equally good fromcarrot.
top to bottom. If fuch a foil be not in the farm, it
may be made artificially by trench-ploughing, w-hich
brings to the furface what never had any communica¬
tion with the fun or air. When this new foil is fiftfi-
ciently improved by a crop or two with dung, it is fit
for bearing carrots* Beware of dunging the year when
the carrots are fown j for with freih dung they feldom
efcape rotten fcabs.
The only foils proper for that root are a loam and a
fandy foil.
The ground muft be prepared by the deepeft furrow
that can be taken, the fooner after harveft the better j
immediately upon tire back of which, a ribbing ought
to fucceed, as direfted for barley. At the end of March,
or beginning of April, which is the time of fowfing the
feed, the ground muft be fmoothed with a brake. Sow
the feed in drills, wdth intervals of a foot for hand-hoe¬
ing : which is no expenfive operation where the crop
is confined to an acre or two : but if the quantity of
ground be greater, the intervals ought to be three
feet, in order for horfe-hoeing.
In flat ground without ridges, it may be proper to
make parallel furrows with the plough, ten feet from
each other, in order to carry off any redundant moi-
fture.
At Parlington in Yorklhire, from the end of Sep¬
tember to the firft of May, 20 work horfes, four bul¬
locks, and fix milk cows, were fed on the carrots that
grew on three acres j and thefe animals never tailed
any other food but a little hay. 1 he muk w as excel¬
lent : and, over and above, 30 hogs w^ere fattened upon
what was left by the other beafts. "VV e have this faft
from undoubted authority.
Carrots have been greatly recommended as food for
cattle, and, in this refpetf, bid fair to rival the potato y
though, with regard to the human fpecies, they are far
jjffgijor. fhe profit attending the cultivation of them,
however, appears to be much more doubtful than that
of potatoes. M.r Arthur 1 oung informs us, that^iom
Norden's Surveyors Dialogue, publilhed in 1600, it ap- Bath Pc.
pears, that carrots were commonly cultivated at that/wv, vol. ii.
time about Orford in Suffolk, and Norwich in Nor-P-I-
folk ;
* 345 .
Superiority
of carrots
to turnips.
. 34*5
Difficulty
of afcer-
taining the
value.
A G R I G U
folk ; and he remarks, that the traft of land between
Orford, Woodbridge, and Saxmundum, has probably
more carrots in it than all the reft of the kingdom put
together.” In 1779, few farmers in thefe parts had
lels than five or fix acres; many from 10 to 20 ; and
one had 36 acres: the ftraight,handfome, and clean roots
were fent at 6d. per buftiei to London 5 the reft being
ufed at home, principally as food for horfes. In other
counties, he obferves, the culture of carrots has not
extended itfelf; that fome have begun to cultivate
them in place of turnips, but have foon defifted ; fo that
the culture feems in a manner ftill confined to the angle
of Suffolk, where it firft began. In attempting to in-
veftigate the caufe of this general negledl, he obferves,
that “ the charge of cultivation is not fo great as is
commonly imagined, when managed with an eye to an
extenfive culture, and not a confined one for one or two
particular obje&s.” Two acres which our author had
in carrots coft 3I, 17s. 6d. per acre, including every
expence •, but had not the fummer been dry, he ob¬
ferves, that his expences might have been much high¬
er $ and when he tried the experiment 15 years before,
bis expences, through inadvertence, ran much higher.
His difficulty this year arofe chiefly from the polygonum
aviculare, the predominant weed, which is fo tough
that fcarcely any hoe can cut it. Some acres of tur¬
nips which he cultivated along with the carrots were all
eaten by the fly $ but had they fucceeded, the expence
of the crop would have been 18s. jd. lefs per acre than
the carrots. “ But (adds our author) if we call the
fuperiority of expence 20s. an acre, I believe we fhall
be very near the truth : and it muft at once be appa¬
rent that the expence of 20s. per acre cannot be the
caufe of the culture fpreading fo little j for, to anfwer
this expence, there are favourable circumftances, which
muft not be forgotten. 1, They ('the carrots) are
much more impenetrable to froft, which frequently de-
ftroys turnips. 2. They are not fubje<ft to the diftem-
pers and accidents which frequently affe£t turnips ; and
they are fown at a feafon when they cannot be affefted
by drought, which frequently alfo deftroys turnips.
3. They laft to April, when ftock, and efpecially flteep
farmers are fo diftreffed, that they know not what re-
fource to provide, 4. The culture requifite for turnips
on a fandy foil, in order to deftroy the weeds, deftroys
alfo its tenacity, fb that the crop cannot thrive; but
with carrots the cafe is otherwife. Hence it appears,
that the reafon why the cultivation of carrots is ftill fo
limited, does not arife from the expence, but becaufe the
value is not afeertained. In places where thefe roots
can be fent to London, or fold at a good price, the
tops being ufed as food for cattle, there is not the leaft
doubt that they are profitable j and therefore in fuch
places they are generally cultivated : but from the ex¬
periments as yet laid before the public, a fatisfa&ory
decifive knowledge of the value is not to be gained.
The moft confiderable practice, and the only one of
common farmers upon a large fcale, is that of the fands
of Woodbridge j but here they have the benefit of a
London market, as already mentioned. Amongft
thofe whofe experiments are publifhed, Mr Billingfley
ranks foremoft. Here again the value of carrots is ra¬
ther depreciated than advanced 3 for he raifed great
crops, and had repeated experience upon a large fcale of
their excellence in fattening oxen and flieep 3 feeding
L T U R E.
4*5
cows, horfes, and hogs 3 and keeping ewes and lambs Culture of
in a very fuperior manner, late in the fpring, after tur- Ppjt^lar
nips were gone : but notwithftanding thefe great ad- a^' .
vantages, he gave the culture up 3 from which we may
conclude a deficiency in value. “ In feveral experi¬
ments (though not altogether determinate), I found the
value, upon an average of all applications, to be 13d.
a buftiei, heaped meafure 3 eftimating which at yolb.
weight, the ton is il. 14s.” The following are the
valuations of feveral gentlemen of the value of carrots
in the way of fattening cattle :
per ton.
Mr Mellifli of Blyth, a general valuation of
horfes, cows, and hogs, - L. I o O
Mr Stovin of Doncafter, hogs bought lean,
fatted, and fold off, - - 4 o O
Mr Moody of Ratford, oxen fatted, and the
account accurate, - - 100
Mr Taylor of Biffons, faving of hay and
corn in feeding horfes, - - I o O
Mr Le Grand of Afti, fattening wethers, 013 9
Sir John Hobby Mill of Biftiam, fattening
hogs, - - - 160
Mr Billingfley, for fattening hogs, - 1 13 6
Some other gentlemen whom our author confulted,
could not make their carrots worth any thing: fo that,
on the whole, it appears a matter of the utmoft doubt,
fo contradi&ory are the accounts, whether the culture
of carrots be really attended with any profit or not.
Thus Sir John Mill, by fattening hogs, makes il. 6s.
and Mr Stovin 41.3 but others could not fatten hogs
upon them at all: and fome of Mr Young’s neighbours
told him, that carrots were good for nothing except to
fcour hogs to death. The experiment of Mr Le Grand
upon wethers appeared to be made with the greateft ac¬
curacy 3 yet two circumftances feem to militate againft
it. I. The flieep were put lean to them 3 whereas it is
a fad! well known, that if they are not half fat when
put to turnips, no profit will refult 3 and it is poflible
that the cafe may be the fame -with carrots. 2. He
gave them alfo as much fine hay as they -would eat. ^
In this uncertain ftate of the matter, the only thing New expe-
that can be done is to make a number of experiments bments re-
wdth as much accuracy as poflible, in order to afeertain ^minenci"
the real value per ton : and our author endeavours to
fhow, that there is no danger of lofing much by expe¬
riments of this kind. “ I have ftiowm (fays he), that
they are to be cultivated for 4I. per acre, left on the
ground for fheep. Suppofe the crop only two buftiels
at yolb. each per rood, 320 per acre, or ten tons 3 it
will readily be agreed, that fuch a produce is very low
to calculate upon, fince 20 tons are common among
carrot-cultivators. It appears from Mr Le Grand’s
experiments, that a wether wrorth 2I. 5s. eats l61b. of
carrots, and four pounds of hay per day : dropping the
hay,, and calculating for flieep of lefs than half that fize
(which are much more common), it will be perhaps an
ample allowance to aflign them 12lb. of carrots a day.
If they are, as they ought to be, half fat when put up,
they wall be completely fattened in 100 days. this
rate, 20 wethers will, in 100 days, eat 11 tons, or very
little more than one moderate acre. Now, let it be
remembered, that it is a good acre of turnips which-
will fatten eight fuch wethers,, the common Norfolk
calculation;
4i'6 AGRICULTURE
Culture of calculation : from winch it appears, that one acre of thought too heavy for them
^Plants11 carrots f°r Ais purpofe, of more value than two of
.v- " , • turnips. Further, let us fuppofe horfes fed with them
inftead of oats : to top, cart, and pack up, I o tons of
carrots, I know may be done for 20s.—An acre there¬
fore ("other expences included) coils 5I. Fifty pounds
weight of carrots are an ample allowance for a hoirfe a
day : ten tons, at that rate, laft three horfes for five
months. But this cl. laid out In bats at 16s. per quar¬
ter, will purchafe little more than IrX quarters ; which
will laft three horfes, at two buihels each per week, ho
more than two months.} a moft enormous inferiority to
348 the carrots.”
■Experiment In the fame volume, p. 187. Mr Young gives an ac~
Tambs wifh count another experiment made by himfelf on the
feeding of lambs with carrots. The quantities they eat
varied exceffively at different times } thirty-fix of them
confumed from five to ten buihels per day ; but on an
average, he rates them at four buihels of 56 pounds per
day. In. all, they confumed 407 buihels from Novem¬
ber to April, when they were fold and killed fat. At
putting upon the carrots, the lambs were valued only
at 181. but were fold in April at 25I. 4s.; fo that
the value of the carrots wras exactly 7I. 4s; or about
4d. per bufhel. This price he fuppofes to be fufticient
tp induce any one to attempt the culture of carrots, as
thus he would have a clear profit of 40s. per acre j
“ which (fays he) is greater than can attend the beft
wheat crops in this kingdom.” The land on which the
carrots grew was fown next year with barley, and pro¬
duced the cleaneft in the pariih ; which contradicts an
affertion our author had heard, that carrots make land
foul. The grafs upon which the iheep were fed with
the carrots, and which amounted to about an acre, was
very little improved for the crop of hay in 178I) owing
to the drynefs of the feafon } but in 1782 was greatly
fuperior to the reft of the field, and more improved in
quantity : “ for, inftead of an indifferent vegetation,
fcattered thick with the centaurea fcabiofa, filago,
rhinanthus, crifta galli, and linum catharticum, wuth
other plants of little value, it encouraged a very beau¬
tiful (beet of the beft plants that can appear in a mea¬
dow, viz. the lathyrus pratenfis, achillea millefolium,
trifolium repens, trifolium ochroleucrum, trifolium al-
peftie, and the plantago lanceolata*
In the fame volume of the Bath papers, p. 227, Mr
Billingfley gives an account of the comparative profit
of carrots and cabbages. Of the former, however, he
obtained only feven tons, 15 cwt. per acre \ the cab¬
bages produced 36 tons : neverthelefs, according to him,
the profit of the former was 5I. 8s. j of the latter, only
3I. ns. In a paper on the culture of carrots by Mr
Kirby of Ipfwich, vol. iii. p. 84. he informs us, that he
never determined the weight of an acre, but reckons
the produce from 200 to 500 bulhels *, which, at
561b. to the buftiel, is from five to ten tons and an half.
35° In the fame volume, p. 3 20, the Rev. Mr Onley feems
carrots6 t0 Pre^er t^le culture °f carrots to potatoes. “ How-
ferred tQ16'6' 61 valuable (fays he), from eafe of culture, and great-
potatoes. nefs of produce to the poor, efpecially in all fmall fpots,
I doubt, unlefs near great towns, whether on a farm¬
ing plan, potatoes be fo eligible as other herbage or
roots, efpecially as carrots, which I cannot but furmife
(for my trials are too trivial to venture bolder language),
deferve every encouragement, even on foils hitherto
3
349
Carrots
compared
with cab-
■kages.
Pra&ice.
•I am from experience Culture of
convinced, that an acre of carrots will double in the particular
quantum, of equally hearty provender, the produtt of, .
an acre of oats $ and from the nature of their vegeta- ‘""’‘‘"V****-'
tion, the nice mode of cultivation, and even of taking
them up (all of which, expenfive as they are, bear a
very inferior proportion to the value of a medium crop),
muft leave the land, efpecially if taken off it in an
early period, fo mellow for the plough, as to form a
feed-bed for barley equal to any fallow-tilth.”
Mr Onley’s defideratum Was a fubftitute for oats to
feed horfes *, of which great numbers are kept in his
county (Effex). Potatoes, he obferves, are excellent
for fmall pork, when baked or boiled, mixed with a
little barley meal} but for large hogs, they are moft
profitably given raw, if thefe have at the fame time the
fhack of the barn door in threftung feafon, &c. In
the 5th volume he refumes the fubje£l, and acquaints
us, that he applied a fingle acre in his bean field to the
culture of carrots, which generally produced 400 bu-
ftiels 5 and this he confiders as a fmall produce. “ I am,
however, fenfible (fays he) that they will amply repay
every expfcnce of the fineft culture \ and fhould, from
their extenfive utility on found, deep, and friable land,
be everywhere attempted. Some of my neighbours,
who have been induced to try them on rather a larger
fcale, with finer culture, and frelher foil, have railed
from 600 to 906 bulhels per acre, and applied them
more profitably, as well as more generally, than any
other winter herbage, to deer, Iheep, bullocks, cows,
and horfeSi At the loweft calculation, from our little Superior to
trials, they are computed to exceed turnips in value turnips and
one-third, as to quantity of food ; but are far fuperioroat;-
in what arifes from convenience for the liable ; where
to us they feem to be a fubftitute for corn to all horfes,
at leaft fuch as are not ufed in any quick work j and
partially fo with corn for thofe that are.”
In making a comparilbn betwixt the profit on oats
and carrots, Mr Onley found the latter exceed by no lefs
than 2I. 15s. 8d. per acre* His method of cultivation
is to fow them in March or April j to hoe them three
times, harrowing after each hoeing. Sometimes he
left them in the ground till after Chriftmas, taking them
up as wanted ; but afterwards he took them up in Oc¬
tober, in dry days, putting them dire&ly into fmall
upright cocks of 10 bulhels each, covered entirely, wdth
the tops cut off.i—Thus they appear to dry better
than in any other wray, and bear the weather with very
little lofs. If, after being thus dried, they are carried
into any barn or Ihed, it will be better, if they are in
large quantities, not to pack them clofej on account
of the danger of heating, but rather to throw* them
pronlifcuoully into heaps, with a little ftraw over them.
When perfectly dry, they do not in general require
any wafhing, except for horfes regularly kept in the
liable.
This root has been found fo generally valuable as a
fubftitute for grain in feeding horfes, that its ufe in
that way is rapidly fpreading into various parts of the
country. By the quantity of faccharine matter which
it contains, it is probably rendered extremely rich
and ftimulating to the ftomach of that delicate animal,
fo that a lefs quantity of it goes to wafte than of any
other food. We may remark that the gentleman al¬
ready mentioned, Mr Onley, who had the merit of
prefling
Parti. AGRIC ULTURE. 41
Culture of preflin.g upon the public attention the importance and
Ppiantsar root, mentions an ufe to which wre be-
. ‘v ^ ■ lieve it is not unfrequently applied in the dairy. “ In'
* Annals o/our ^a^r*es (fays he) as many carrots are bruifed be-
Agrkulture, f°re churning, as produce, fqueezed through a cloth into
vol. xii. as much cream as makes eight or ten pound of butter,
35z an half pint of juice $ this adds fomewhat to the colour,
tcfcolour^ r*c^ne^s> and flavour of winter butter j and we think,
butter. where hay is allowed befides, contributes much to coun-
tera£ting the flavour from the feed of turnips. At pre¬
lent (our carrot feed being exhaufted) from turnips and
hay, with this juice, our butter is equal to that of the
Epping dairies.”
Carrots ad- We may conclude by taking notice here of an ad-
yantageouf- vantageous mode of cultivating carrots by making ufe
ted^n 1Va" ^iem with a view to ftir the ground in young planta-
young plan-tions. It was adopted by Thomas Walford, Efq. of
rations. Birdbrooke, Eflex, wTho gives the following account
of it:—“ It has been my conftant praftice for thefe
laft five years, wherever I made a plantation of firs, or
deciduous trees, to fowr the ground in the fpring with
carrots, which I have found not only pay part of my
expences, and frequently the whole, but much more
beneficial to the trees than any other method I had be¬
fore adopted.
“ When I make a plantation of deciduous trees, the
ground is dug two fpits deep in Oftober, and planted
immediately, leaving it in that Hate until the middle
or latter end of March, or beginning of April $ then,
if neceflary, chop it over with a hoe, and fow my car¬
rots ; if for firs, I do not dig the ground until March,
at which time I plant my trees, and fow the carrots,
having found my crop more luxuriant and produ&ive
upon ground frelh dug than that which was dug in the
autumn.—I give for digging 8d per rod ; hoe only
twice j the produce is generally four bulhels of clean
carrots, which I fell at 6d. per bulhel, the buyer to
fetch them from their place of growth.
“ The foil in fome places, loofe and hollow $ the
under ftratum clay $ in others a fine vegetable mould
upon a red loam.
“ I find in taking up the carrots, lefs damage is done
to the young fibres of the trees, than by digging be¬
tween them \ for, it is impoflible with the greateft care
of your fervants, not to cut off fome of them by dig¬
ging, and thereby injure the trees, befides leaving the
ground in no better Hate than it is after carrots *, for
when the carrot is drawn, the cavity is filled imme¬
diately with loofe mould, through which the young
fibres will ftrike with great freedom, and very much
accelerate the growth of the trees,”
4. Parsnips.
The culti- Parfnips have never in this country received from huf-
vation of bandmen that attention to which they are well entitled
much n$ t00 ^rom t^le ea^e w^ich they are cultivated, and the
gle&ed.6" quantity of faccharine or nouriftiing matter they
are known to contain, which certainly abounds in them,
in a much greater proportion than in almoft any other
vegetable with which we are at prefent acquainted.
Bath Pa- cu^t*vate this root (fays Mr Hazard) fo as to
ftrs, vol. iv. mahe it advantageous -to the farmer, it will be right to
■». 244. fow the feed in the autumn immediately after it is
ripe j by which means the plants will appear early the
Vol. I. Part II.
following fpring, and get ftrong before the weeds can Culture of
rife to injure them. Neither the feeds nor young
plants are ever materially injured by frofts j on which , ,
account, as well as many others, the autumn is prefer- ^
able to the fpring fowing. The beft foil for them is Mr Ha-
a rich deep loam, and next to this fand. They will zard’s me-
thrive well in a black gritty foil, but not in ftone- th°d cul_
braftv, gravel, or clay •, and they are always largeft intlvaUon*
the deepefl: earth. If the foil be proper, they do not
require much manure. Mr Hazard obtained a very
good crop for three years upon the fame piece of
ground without ufing any; but when he laid on about
40 cart loads of fand per acre upon a ftiff loam, and
ploughed it in, he found it anfwer very well $ whence he
concludes, that a mixture of foils may be proper for
this root. The feed may be fown in drills at about
18 inches diftance from one another, that the plants
may be the more conveniently hand or horfe hoed 4
and they will be more luxuriant if they undergo a fe-
cond hoeing, and are carefully earthed, fo as not to
cover the leaves. Such as have not ground to fpare,
or cannot get it in proper condition in autumn, may
at that time fow a plot in their garden, and tranfplant
from thence in the latter end of April, or early in the
month of May following. The plants muft be care¬
fully drawn, and the ground well pulverized by harrow¬
ing and rolling j after -which a furrow fhould be open¬
ed with the plough, about fix or eight inches deep, in
which the plants fhould be regularly laid at the dilfance
of about ten inches from each other, taking care not
to let the root be bent, but for the plant to Hand per¬
pendicular after the earth is clofed about it, which
ought to be done immediately by means of perfons
who fhould for this purpofe follow the planter with a
hoe. Another furrow muft be opened about 18 inches
from the former, in the fame direftion, and planted as
before ; and fo on in like manner until all the plants
are depofited, or the field be completely cropped j
and when the weeds appear, hoeing will be neceffary,
and it will afterwards be proper to earth them 5 but if
the leaves of the plants be covered with earth, the
roots will be injured. Parfnips ought not to be plant¬
ed by dibbling, as the ground thus becomes fo bound,
as feldom to admit the fmall lateral fibres with which
thefe roots abound to fix in the earth, by which they
are prevented from expanding themfelves, and never
attain a proper fize. When circumftances are properly
attended to, there is little doubt that a crop of parfnips
would anfwer much better than a crop of carrots. They
are equal, if not fuperior, in fattening • pigs, as they
make their flefh whiter, and the animals themfelves are
more fond of thefe roots than of carrots. Horfes eat
them greedily when clean wafhed and fliced among
bran, and thrive very well upon them 4 and black cattle
are laid likewife to approve of them.
Though parfnips are little ufed in Britain, they are
highly efteemed in France. In Britanny they are
thought, as food for cattle, to be little inferior to wheat j
and cows fed with them are faid to give as much milk,
and of as good quality, as in the fummer months. In
the illand of Jerfey they have long been confidered as
of the higheft importance 4 and as the mode of culti¬
vating them there feems worthy of attention, we fhall
here give an account of it, from a paper tranfmitted by
3 G the
4iS A GRICULTURE. Pradice.
Culture of the Agricultural Society of Jerfey to the Britifh Board
Ppian“skr °f ASrIculture-
. ' . “ It is impoffible, fay thefe gentlemen, to trace the
356 period when the cultivation of this plant was firft intro-
Culture of duced amongft us. It has been known for feveral cen-
parfnips turies, and the inhabitants have reaped fuch benefit
with beans therefrom, that, for fattening their cattle and pigs,
andGuern- t^eT prefer it to all the known roots of both hemifpheres.
fey. The cattle fed therewith yield a juicy and exquifite
meat. The pork and beef of Jerfey are incontellably
equal, if not fuperior, to the beft in Europe. We have
obferved, that the beef in fummer is not equal to that
in the autumn, winter, and fpring periods, when the
cattle are fed with parfnips} which we attribute to the
excellency of that root.
“ All animals eat it with avidity, and in preference
to potatoes. We are ignorant of the reafon, having
never made any analyfis of the parfnip. It would be
durious, interefling, and ufeful, to invefligate its cha-
rafteriftic principles : it is certain that animals are
more fond of it than of any other root, and fatten more
quickly. The parfnip poffeffes, without doubt, more
nutritious juices than the potato. It has been proved
that the latter contains eleven ounces and a half of wa¬
ter, and one gros of earthy fubffcance, French weight y
therefore, there only remain four ounces and five gros
of nutritive matter. Probably the parfnip does not
contain near fo much watery particles ; neverthelefs,
they digeft very ealily in the animal’s body. The cows
fed with hay and parfnips during winter yield butter
of a fine yellow hue, of a faflfron tinge, as excellent as
if they had been in the molt luxuriant paflure.”
Thefe gentlemen proceed to Hate, that, in the ifland
of Jerfey, parfnips are not cultivated alone, but along
with beans, among which laft peafe are fometimes mixed.
There are three modes of cultivation : ift, With the
fpade ; 2d, With the plough and fpade ; and 3d, With
two ploughs, the one called the fmall and the other the
great plough. This laft method, as being the moft
economical and advantageous to the hulbandman, is the
only one defcribed. In the month of September, a
flight ploughing and preparation is fometimes given
to the field deftined for beans and parfnips in the en-
fuing year; but more generally the whole work is*
performed in high grounds about the middle of Febru¬
ary, and in the middle of March in low land. A light
plough cuts and turns the earth about four or five inches
deep; then follows it a large plough conftrlifted on
purpofe, and only ufed for this operation, which ele¬
vates the earth on the furrow laid open, and turns it
over that which the fmall plough turned up. The
cflential poiat is to plough deep and to cover the clods
over again.
The field thus prepared, is fuffered to remain 15 days,
after which it is very lightly harrowed. On the fame
day, or on the enfuing, the beaus are planted in the fol¬
lowing manner* Straight lines muftbe drawn from north
to fouth with a gardeners rake at 44 feet diflance. On
thefe ftraight lines, 19 inches in breadth, women plant
four or five beans in rov/s 4 inches drftant from each
ether, or the beans are planted in double rows all over
the field, at the ufual depth, and 12 feet diftance from
each other, with the beans fpaced out 18 inches from
each other. When all this is done, the paifnips are
fown in broad-caft over the field, after which it is well Culture of
harrowed. In 15 days after, if the weather has been particular
•warm and rainy, or in three weeks if it has been cold Plants.
and dry, the ground is harrowed again to cut up the ^
weeds. In five or fix weeks the beans (hoot out, and
the ground foon appears as if covered by hedges or
laid out in paths for walking j for in the fpaces be¬
tween the lines where the beans were planted are as
many alleys, where women and children weed with
great facility. They generally weed the ground twice,
and the operation is performed with a two-pronged fork,
fuch as is ufed in gardens. The firft weeding is per¬
formed at the end of April or beginning of May, when
the plants muft be cleared out if they are too thick.
When the beans are ripe, which is in Auguft or
September, they are immediately plucked up, not to
incommode the parfnips. The crop of beans is not al¬
ways certain. If high winds or fogs prevail when
they are in flower, the produce will be fcanty j but
the parfnips in a manner never fail. They neither
dread the inclemency of the weather, nor are affefted
by the hardeft froft, nor by any of thole accidents which
at times will inftantly deftroy a whole crop.
Parfnips grow till the end of September, but fome
give them to cattle they wifh to fatten in the begin*-
ing of September. The people of thefe iflands confider
the parf’nip as the moft juicy and nutritious of all roots’
known. Its cultivation is an excellent preparation-
for wheat, which is fown there without manure after
parfnips, and yields a plentiful crop. It muft be ob¬
ferved, that though this cultivation of parfnips is ex*
penfive where the price of labour is high, no dung or
manure is neceffary either for the parfnips or the wheat.
They reckon 30 perches of parfnips, with a little hay,
will fatten an ox of three or four years old, though
ever fo lean-, he eats them in the courfe of three
months as follows: they are given at fix in the morn¬
ing, at noon, and at eight at night, in rations of 401b.
each ■, the largefl are flit into three or four pieces j but
not wafhed unlefs very much covered with earth. In
the intermediate hours, at nine in the morning, two iiv
the afternoon, and’ nine at night, a little hay is given.
Experience has fhewn, that when cattle, pigs, or poul¬
try, are fed with parfnips, they are fooner fattened and'
are more bulky than with any other root or vegetable
whatever. The meat of fuch is moft delicate and fa-
voury. In fpring the markets are furnifhed with the
beft and fatteft beef from their feeding on parfnips.
The crops of parfnips raifed in Jerfey and Guernfey are
very great. On an extent of 1000 feet, the produce of
a field of beans and parihips is about 1 20olb. weight
of parfnips, Rouen meafure, and thirty cabots or half
bufhels of beans, and three cabots and a half of peafe 5
which altogether, according to the price at which thefe
articles are aftually fold there, amount to the fum of
256Tivres French currency. The following informa¬
tion was alfo received from the prefident of the Jerfey
Society on ift March 1796, viz. “ Since writing con¬
cerning the crop of beans and parfnips together, we -
have found that an individual who cultivates parfnips
without fowing either peafe or beans along with them
had a crop of 14,7601b. weight Rouen meafure per
vergee.” The vergee is 40 perches in length and one
perch in breadth.
III. Plants
Part L AGRI CULT UR 1L-
Culture of
Ppian?!.ar P^nts cultivated for Leaves, or for both
w.—v < Leaves and Root.
i. Turnip-rooted Cabbage.
Cultivation plant niay defervedly be reckoned next in vu-
■of the tur- lue to the turnip itfelf. Its adt^antages, according to
tlip-rooted Sir Thomas Beevor, are, “ that it affords food for cat-
cab tage. tje late ;n tlae fpring, and refills mildew and froff,
which fometimes deftroy the common turnip;” whence
he is of opinion that every farmer who cultivates the
common turnip ffiould always have part of his farm laid
out in the cultivation of this root. The importance
and value of turnip-rooted cabbages feem only to have
been lately afcertained. In the Bath Society papers
tve have the following account of Sir Thomas Beevor’s
method of cultivating them ; which from experience he
found to be cheaper and better than any other.
“ In the firft or fecond week of June, I fow the
fame quantity of feed, hoe the plants at the fame fize,
leave them at the fame diftance from each other, and
treat them in all refpefts like the common turnip. In
this method I have always obtained a plentiful crop of
Their utili- i t0 afcertain the Value of which I need only in-
ty and va- form you, that on the 23d day of April laft, having
iue. then two acres left of my crop, found, and in great
perfeflion, I divided them by fold hurdles -into three
parts of nearly equal dimenfions. Into the firll; part I
put 24 fmall bullocks of about 30 Hone weight each
(iqlb. to the ftone), and 30 middle-fized fat wethers,
which, at the end of the firft week, after they had eaten
■down the greater part of the leaves, and fome part of
•the roots, I fluffed into the fecond divifion, and then
•put 70 lean ftieep into what was left of the firft ; thefe
fed off the remainder of the turnips left by the fat
flock ; and fo they were fluffed through the three di-
vifions, the lean flock following the fat as they wanted
food, until the whole was confumed.
“ 1 he 24 bullocks and 30 fat wethers continued in
the turnips until the 2ift of May, being exadtly four
weeks ; and the 70 lean fheep until the 29th, which is
one day over four weeks : fo that the two acres kept
me 24 fmall bullocks and no fheep four wrecks (not
reckoning the overplus day of keeping the lean fheep);
the value, at the rate of keeping at that feafon, cannot
be eftimated in any common year at lefs than 4d. a-week
for each fheep, and is. 6d. per week for each bullock,
which would amount together to the fum of 14I. 10s. 8d.
for the two acres.
“ You wdll hardly, I conceive, think I have fet the
price of keeping the flock at too high a rate ; it is be¬
neath the price here in almoft every fpring, and in this
laft it w'ould have coft double, could it have been pro¬
cured ; which was fo far from being the cafe, that hun¬
dreds of ftieep and lambs here were loft, and the reft
greatly pinched, for want of food.
“ You will obferve, gentlemen, that in the valua¬
tion of the crop above mentioned I have claimed no al¬
lowance for the great benefit the farmer receives by
being enabled to fuffer his grafs to get into a forward
growth, nor for the fuperior quality of thefe turnips
in fattening his flock ; both which circumftances muft
ftamp a new and a great additional value upon them.
But as their continuance on the land may feem to be
injurious to the fucceeding drop, and indeed will de- Culture of
prive the farmer totally of either oats or barley ; fo to P^cular
fupply that lofs I have always fown buck-wheat on the .
firft earth upon the land from which the turnips were
thus fed off; allowing one bufhel of feed per acre, for
which I commonly receive from five to fix quarters per
acre in return. And that I may not throw that part
of my land out of the fame courfe of tillage with the
reft, I fow my clover or other grafs feeds with the
buck-wheat, in the fame manner as with the oat or
barley crops, and have always found as good a /oyer
(ley) of it afterwards.
“ Thus you fee, that in providing a moft incompa¬
rable vegetable food for cattle, in that feafon of the
year in which the farmer is generally moft diftreffed,
and his cattle almoft ftarved, a confiderable profit may
likewdfe be obtained, much beyond w hat is ufually de¬
rived from his former praclice, by the great produce
and price of a crop raifed at fo eafy an expence as that
of buck-wheat, which with us fells commonly at the
fame-price as barley, oftentimes more, and but very
rarely for lefs.
“ The land on which I have ufually foivn turnip-root¬
ed cabbages is a dry mixed foil, wrorth 15s. per acre.”
To the preceding account the fociety have lubjoin-
ed the following note : “ Whether we regard the im¬
portance of the fubjedl, or the clear and practical in¬
formation which the foregoing letter conveys, it may
be confidered as truly interefting as any we have ever
been favoured with : and therefore it is recommended Recom-
in the ftrongeft manner to farmers in general, that thev mendation
adopt a mode of practice fo decifively afcertained to be the Batil
in a bigh degree judicious and profitable.” Society.
To raiie the turnip-rooted cabbage for tranfplanting,
the beft method yet dilcovered is, to breaft-plough and
burn as much old pafture as may be judged neceffary
for the feed bed ; two perches well flocked with plants
will he fufficient to plant an acre. The land ftiould
be dug as lhallow as poflible, turning the afnes in ; and
the feed Humid be fown the beginning of April.
The land intended for the plantation to be cultiva-To raife
ted and dunged as for the common turnip. About mid-d16 turnip-
fummer (or fooner if the weather will permit) will berootcd c:ib'
a proper time for planting, which is beft done in the
following manner : the land to be thrown into one-bout ing. 1 *
ridges, upon the tops of which the plants are to be fet,
at about 18 inches diftance from each other. As foon
as the weeds rife, give a hand-hoeing ; afterwards run
the ploughs in the intervals, and fetch a furrow from
each ridge, which, after laying a fortnight or three
weeks, js again thrown back to the ridges ; if the
weeds rife again, it is neceffary to give them another
hand-hoeing.
If the young plants in the feed-bed fhould be attack¬
ed by the fly, fow wood-alhes over them when the dew
is on, which will effedlually prevent the ravages they
would otherwife make.
In another letter from Sir Thomas Beevor, Bath
Papers, vol. viii. p. 489. he expreffes his hope that the
turnip-rooted cabbages he had would laft until heCompari-
fliould have plenty of grafs for all his flock. To makelon 01 the
a comparative eilimation of the quantity of food yield-of
ed by the turnip-rooted cabbage and the common tur- Ta mthe
nip, he feledled fome of each kind, and having girted common
them with as much accuracy as poflible; he found, thatturniP-
‘ 3 G 2
a
362
Other ex-
420 , A G R I C U
Culture of a turnip-rooted cabbage of 18 inches circumference
^Plants'11 we*g^ec^ 5lib. and a common turnip of the fame fize
. ~ "r ~. only 34-lb. j on trying others, the general refult was
found to be in that proportion. Had they been weigh¬
ed with the tops, the fuperiority of the turnip-rooted
cabbage would have been greater, the tops of them be¬
ing remarkably bufhy. They were w-eighed in the
month of March ; but had this been done at Chriftmas,
our author is of opinion that the difference would not
have been fo great; though he reckons this very cir-
cumflance of their continuing fo long to afford a
nourifhing food, an inftance of their excellency above
almoft every other vegetable whatever.
In the fourth volume of the fame wrork, Sir Tho-
penments. mas gjves an account of another experiment on five
acres of turnip-rooted cabbage, four of which were
eaten upon the field, the other was pulled up and
carried to the flables and ox-houfes. They were fown
and cultivated as other turnips ; the beafls were put to
them on the 12th of April, and continued feeding
upon them till the x ith of May. The cattle fed for
this fpace of time were, 12 Scotch bullocks weighing
40 ftone each •, eight homebreds, two years old ; fif¬
teen cows full fized j 40 fheep j 18 horfes j befides 40
ftore-hogs and pigs, which lived upon the broken
pieces and offal, without any other allowance, for the
whole four weeks. The whole value of the plant, ex-
clufive of the feeding of the pigs, amounted, according
to our author’s calculation, to 18I. ; and he fays that
the farmers would willingly give this fum in the fpring
for feeding as many cattle : “ becaufe it enables them
to fave the young fhooting grafs (which is fo frequently
injured by the tread of the cattle in the frofly nights)
until it gets to fuch a length and thicknefs as to be
afterwards but little affedted by the fummer’s drought.
Befides this, the tops or leaves are in the fpring much
more abundant, and much better food than thofe of the
common turnip, as already obferved; and they continue
in full perfedtion after all the common turnips are rotten
or worth lefs.
The difadvantages attending the cultivation of tur¬
nip-rooted cabbages are, that they require a great deal
the'eukiva- °f time and pains to take them up out of the ground,
tion of this if they are to be carried off the field ; and if fed where
plant. they grow, it requires almoft an equal labour to take
up the pieces left by the cattle. A great deal of earth
is alfo taken up along with the root; and the fubftance
of the latter is fo firm and folid, that they muft be cut
in two in order to enable the cattle to eat them. To
• obviate fome of thefe objedtions, it will be proper to
fow the plants on rich and very light land 5 and as they
are longer in coming to the hoe than the common turnip,
it will be proper to fow them about the beginning of
6 June.
Why every In another experiment upon this plant by the fame
farmer gentleman, the cabbages held out during the long and
fevere froft of 1788 without the leaft injury, though
it deftroyed three-fourths of all the common turnips in
the neighbourhood. On the 21ft of April 1789, the
average produce of an acre was found to be fomewhat
more than 24-4 tons, though the tops had not fprout-
ed above three inches. Confidering the precarioufnefs
©f turnips and other crops, Sir Thomas is decifively of
©pinion, that allfarmers ought to have as many tumip-
jeoted cabbages as woul4 aifoid and eafure them a full
363
Difadvan¬
tages at¬
tending
ight to
cultivate
this plant.
L T U R E. Practice.
provifion for their cattle for about three or four wreeks Culture of
during the latter part of the fpring. This quantity he particular
reckons fufficient, as the confumption, particularly piants-
when drawn and carried off the land, is attended with ,
more trouble and expence than that of common tur¬
nips, efpecially if the foil be w7et and heavy. In another
letter, dated May 3. 1790, Sir Thomas Beevor once
more fets forth the advantages of having a crop of thefe
vegetables during the fpring feafon. “ In confequence
(lays he) of the very cold weather we have had here,
the grafs is but juft fpringing •, as the turnips are whol¬
ly eaten up, it occafions much diftrefs among the far¬
mers for want of fome green vegetable food for their
(beep and cattle j whereas, by the afliftance of my tur¬
nip-rooted cabbages, I have abundance of the beft and
moft nutritive food that can be found them.” He then
proceeds to recommend their culture “ for the fup-
port of almoft all live ftock for the three laft wreeks
of April, or firft week of May, when the grafs ftioots
late.”
In the 4th volume of the Tranfaftions of the So¬
ciety for encouraging Arts, Mr Robins, who received
a premium for railing the greateft quantity of this
plant, informs us, that the foil on which it grew was
a Jlone braijh, inclining to fand, not worth more than
1 os. per acre j the preparation the fame as for turnips.
The manure was a compoft of earth and dung, which
he finds to anfwer better than dung. The feed was
fown about the beginning of April on a clean fpot of
ground j and he commonly ufes an old pafture where
the Iheep-fold has been in the winter, after taking away
the dung, and digging it very (hallow j “ as the roots
of the young plants (fays he) might foon reach the
dung or falts, wTich muft confequently be left, in or¬
der to force them out of the fly’s way.” Thefe in¬
fects, our author obferves, are extremely fond of the
turnip-rooted cabbage } much more fo, he believes,
than of common turnips. About the middle of June
they fliould be planted out upon one-bout ridges raifed
by a double plough made for the purpofe. Seven thou-
fand plants are fufficient for one acre j but if only fix
are ufed, the roots will be the larger.
To determine how many (beep might be kept upon Number of
an acre of turnip-rooted cabbage, our author (hut up flieep fed
200 ewres with their lambs upon a piece of poor pafture by an acre
land of no great extent j the whole not exceeding ten
acres. One ton was found fufficient for keeping them^ es>
in fufficient health for a day. On giving them a larger
piece of ground to run over, though it had been eaten
all winter and late in the fpring, yet, with this trifling
affiftance, 13 tons of turnip-cabbage were made to ferve
18 days ; at the end of which the ewes and lambs were
found very much improved, which could not have been
expected from four acres of turnips in the month of
April, the time that thefe were fed.
From fome trials made on the turnip-rooted cabbage Expfr;_
at Cullen Houfe in the north of Scotland, it appears ments at
that the plant is adapted to the climate of every part Cullen-
of our ifland. The firft trial was made in the yearboufe.
1784. The feeds were fown about the middle of
March in garden ground properly prepared. The cab¬
bages were tranfplanted about the middle of March
that year into a dry light foil, well cleaned and dung¬
ed with rotten cow-dung, in rows three feet diftant
£soo» each other, and at the diftance of 20 inches in
Part I.
AGRICULTURE,
Culture of tlie rows. They were kept very clean, and the earth
P Plants^ WHS UP to t^e r00ts t^e phmts $ by which
. a ' .means they were probably prevented from attaining
the hardnefs they would otherwife have arrived at;
' though, after all, it was neceflary to cut the roots in
two before the iheep could eat them. When thus cut,
the animals ate them greedily, and even preferred them
to every other food. The roots continued good for
at leaft a montli after the common turnips were unfit
for ufe: fome of them weighed from eight to ten
pounds, and a few of them more. Other trials have
Cnee been made ; and it now appears that the plant
will thrive very well with the ordinary culture of tur¬
nips in the open fields, and in the ufual manner of fow-
ing broad-caft. hrom a comparative trial made by
the earl of Fife upon this root with fome others, the
quantities produced upon 100 fquare yards of ground
were as follows :
Common turnips
Turnip-rooted cabbage
Carrots
Root of fcarcity
ftone. lb.
92 4
88 o
'95 °
77 °
3^7
Of the
The turnip-rooted cabbage was planted in lines 20
inches afunder ; the common turnips fown broad-caft,
and hand-weeded, fo that they came up very thick,
being not more than three or four inches afunder when
full grown. Two cows were fed for fix weeks with
the turnips, two with the turnip-rooted cabbage, and
two with the root of fcarcity for an equal time : the
two fed with turnips gave moft milk, and thofe with
the root of fcarcity the leaft. His lordfhip obferves,
however, that carrots thrive better on his farm than
any other crop : that his horfes had been fed on them
at the rate of two pecks a-day, with no corn, and little
more than half the ulual quantity of hav. ** 4 hey were
kept at work every day from feven to eight hours, and
were never in better order.”
2. Swedish Turnip, or Roota Baga.
The roota baga, or Swedilh turnip, is a plant from
toota baga. which great expeftations have been formed. It is faid
to be hardier than the common turnip, and of greater
fweetnefs and folidity. It alfo preferves its freflmels
and fucculence till a very late period of its growth,
even after it has produced feed ; on account of wrhich
property it has been recommended to the notice of
farmers as an excellent kind of fucculent food for do-
meftic animals in the fpring of the year, when common
turnips and moft other winter crops have failed, and
before grafs has got up to furnilh an abundant bite for
feeding beafts. This peculiarity, fo valuable, yet fo
lingular as to have led many at firft to doubt the fafl,
feems to be fufficiently afeertained by experiment. Dr
* ^.e ^‘r> I* Anderfon * in particular informs us, that it “ begins
vol. m. p. to fend out its flower-ftems in the fpring, nearly about
the fame time with the common turnip ; but that the
root, in confluence of that change of ft ate, fuffers very
little alteration. I continued to ufe thefe turnips at
my table every day till towards the middle of May ;
and had I never gone into the garden myfelf, I Ihould
not even then have fufpeaed, from the tafte or appear¬
ance of the bulb itfelf, that it had been fhot at all.
I he items, however, at the feafon I gave over ufing
api.
them, were from four to five feet high, and in full
llowrer. I ihould have continued the experiment longer,
had not the quantity I had left for that purpofe been
exhaufted, and a few only left for feed.
_ “ 1 his experiment, however, fully proves, that this
kind of turnip may be employed as a fucculent food
for cattle till the middle of May at leaft, in an ordina¬
ry year ^ and I have not the fmalleft doubt but it will
continue perfcclly good for that purpofe till the end
of May in any feafon j at which time grafs and other
fpring crops can eafily be had for bringing beafts for¬
ward in flelh. I can therefore, without hefitation, re¬
commend this plant to the farmer as a moft valuable
fpring feeding for cattle and fheep ; and for this pur-
pole, I think no wile farmer Ihould be without a pro¬
portion ol this kind of turnip to fucceed the other
lorts after they fail. rI he profitable method of con-
fuming it, wdiere it is to be kept very late, is, I am
convinced, to cut off the tops with a feythe or fickle
when from one foot to eighteen inches high, to induce
it to fend out freih ftems, that will continue foft and
fucculent to the end j whereas, without this procefs,
the ftems would become fticky and ufelefs.
“ I cannot, however, recommend this kind of tur¬
nip, from what I have yet feen, as a general crop j be-
caufe I think it probable, that unlefs in particular cir-
cumftances, the common field turnips grow to a much
larger fize, and afford upon the whole a more weighty
crop. Fhefe, therefore, Ihould ftill continue to be cul¬
tivated for winter ufe, the other being referved only for
fpring confumption.
“ Experiments are ftill wanting to afeertain with
certainty the peculiar foil and culture that bell agree
with this plant ; but from the few obfervations I have
hitherto had an opportunity of making upon it, it feems
to me probable, that it thrives better, and grows to a
larger fize on damp clayey foil, than on light fandy
land. But I would not wifh to be underftood as here
fpeaking pofitively j I merely throw it out as a hint
for future obfervation : on fpongy foil it profpers.
u T hough the ufes of this as a garden plant are of
much fmaller confequence than thofe above fpecified,
it may not be improper to remark, that its leaves form
a very fweet kind of greens at any time ; and merely
for the fake of the experiment, I caufed fome of thefe
to be picked off the ftems of the plants coming to
feed, on the 4th of June, the king’s birth-day, which,
on being readied, were found perfectly fweet, without
the fmalleft tendency to bitternefs, which moft, if not
all, other kinds of greens that have been hitherto cul¬
tivated are known to acquire after their ftems are con-
fiderably aovanced j no family, therefore, can ever be
at a lofs for greens when they have any of this plant in
feed.
“ A root of this kind of turnip was taken up this
day (June 15*) } the leed-ftalks were firm and woody,
tne pods full formed, and in fome of them the feeds
were nearly ripe. The root, however, was as foft
and iucculent as at any former period of its growth j
nor was the ikin, as I expefled, hard or woody. It
was made ready and brought to the table : fome per-
fons there thought the tafte as good, if not better, than
at any former period of its growth but I myfelf, per¬
haps through prejudice, thought it had not quite, fo
high a relifh as in whiter ; At any rate, however, there,
csun
421
Culture of
particular
Plants.
4^2 A G R I C U
Culture of can be no doubt, that if ever it could be necelfary, it
particular might, even now, be employed very properly as a feed-
. a^ts- ^ ing for cattle.”
6S This vegetable, from its obvious utility, is gradually
Culture of coming to be much ufed in various quarters of the
the root a ifland. In , the Agricultural Survey of Nottingham-
baga in flu re, the following description of the modes in which
Notting- jt been fuceefsfully cultivated, is well worthy of
attention. “ The roota baga, or Swedilh turnip, is
now cultivated by a few farmers in this diltricl. It
appears to be fuperior to the common turnip in many
relpedts, particularly in hardinefs, as it Hood the laft
fevere winter without the leaft injury. It is eaten with
greediuefs by all animals, from the horfe to the fwine.
Sheep ^prefer it to all others but the material advan¬
tage that has been made of it, is the fubftituting it for
corn in the food of draught horfes; in which it has
been found to anfwer the wifh of every perfon who has
yet tried it. The turnips are put into a tub or bar¬
rel, and cut fmall with an inftrument like a hoe, with
the blade put perpendicularly into the fhaft 5 a man
will cut in one hour as much as fix horfes can eat in
twenty-four. The tops and bottoms are previoufly cut
off and given to the pigs. Horfes that are hard work¬
ed, look full as well when fed with this turnip and
very little hay, as they formerly did when very high
fed with com. The Swedifh turnip (hould be fowed
early, from the 15th of May to the 10th of June.”—
The following information on the culture of the roota
baga, is given in the fame Survey upon .the authority
of J. Daiken, Efq. of Nottingham.
Mr Daiken, about the 10th of May I794> f°wed
about four acres with the feed of roota baga, about
2 lbs. per acre, on good fand land, worth 20s. an
acre, manured as for turnips, and having been ploughed
four or five times ; the reft of the field, to the amount
of nine acres in all, with common turnip and turnip-
rooted cabbage, all broad-caft. They were not trans¬
planted, but hoed out nine inches afunder, at 4ihree
hoeings, at 7s. 6d. an acre 5 no other culture. In
November, began to ufe them for horfes, giving at
firft clover and rye-grafs hay, oats and beans •, but find¬
ing that the horfes did well upon them, left off all
corn, and continued them on hay and the roots only j
■fifteen were thus fed for about two months, were con-
ftantly hard worked, and preferved themfelves in very
.good condition. Mr Daiken is fo well convinced,
that in this application they were worth 39I. an acre,
that he would in future, if he could not get them other-
wife, rather give that futn per acre for one or two
acres, than not have them for this ufe. They loft
their leaves entirely when the froft fet in 5 but the
roots were not the leaft affe&ed, though the common
turnips in the fame field were totally deftroyed. Paf-
fengers paffing through the field, cut holes in them,
which did not let the froft injure them *, nor were thofe
hurt which were damaged by cattle biting them. Some
came to the weight of 16 lbs. and Mr Daiken thinks
, the average of the crop 8 lbs. and much to exceed in
tonnage per acre common turnips.
Mr Daiken gave them alfo to hogs, cattle and (heep.
They are excellent for hogs ; and fheep being let
into the field before the common turnips were de¬
ftroyed, gave fo decided a preference to the roota ba-
L T U R E. Praaicc.
ga, that they would not fettle on the comnlon turnips Culture of
while the others were to be had. particular
The method of giving them to horfes is to cut off 1 ants’ ,
the top-root, to waih them, and to cut them roughly
with a perpendicular hoe, and then given diredly,
without keeping them to dry. The horfes ate them
with avidity, and feemed even to prefer them to corn.
Their qualities appear to be Angular, as they bind
horfes initead of relaxing them as other roots do. One
mare rvas kept entirely upon them and ftraw, worked
every day, did well, and never looked better j this
mare was more bound by them than the reft. They
have a ftrong effect upon making. the coats fine j and
one or two affe&ed by the greafe, were cured by them,
as they a£t as a ftrong diuretic. In this mode of ap¬
plication, one acre maintained fifteen about two
months : and Mr Daiken is fo well convinced of the
utility of the plant, as well as many of his neighbours,
that he intends, and they alfo, to increafe the cultiva¬
tion much.
Mr Daiken fufpefts there are two forts of the roota
baga, becaufe fome, upon cutting, are white within,
but in general yellow $ otherwife of the fame exter¬
nal appearance. The yellow is the beft.
3. Turnip Cabbage.
This plant is as yet but little known. The feed is
faid to have been brought from the Cape of Good
Hope by Mr Haftings, where it is very common as
well as in Holland. It has alfo had an exiftence in
Britain for many years, though not generally known.
It has a much greater affinity to the cabbage than to
the turnip ; and is very hardy, bearing the winter as
well, if not better, than common brocoli, and may
therefore be confidered as a valuable acquifition to the ^
kitchen garden as well as for cattle. The beft time Method of
for fowing it for the garden is the end of May or be- cultivation,
ginning of June, though none of the plants have ever
been obferved to run to feed though fown ever fo
early. Even though fown in Auguft at the cauliflower
feafon, the greater part flood throughout the follow¬
ing fummer, and did not feed till the fecond fpring.
The plants require nearly the fame management with
brocoli as to diftance, tranfplanting, &.c. and are ufu-
ally moft efteemed when young, and about the fize of
a moderate garden turnip j thofe fown in June will
continue all winter. The bulb mull be ftripped clean
of its thick fibrous rind ; after which it may be ufed as
a common turnip. The crown or fprout is very good,
but efpecially in the fpring, when they begin to run to
feed. Mr Broughton, from whofe account in the
Bath Papers, vol. v. this article is taken, thinks that
the turnip-cabbage is more nutritious than the common
turnip. The largeft bulb he meafured was 23 inches
circumference ; but the thicknefs of the rind is fo
great, that fome farmers imagined that the bulb would
be too hard for Iheep. The objeftion, however, was
obviated by Mr Broughton, who gave fome of the
oldeft and tougheft bulbs to his fheep, and found that
they not only penetrated through the rind, but even
devoured the greateft part of it.
4. Cabbage.
The cabbage has been recommended by long expe¬
rience
Parti. AGRICULTUR E.
Culture of rience as an excellent food for cattle. Its ufes as part
particular of human food are alfo well known. It is therefore an
*'ariL'>' intereiling article in hulhandry. It is eafily railed, is
’ fubjeft to few difeafes, refills frofts more than turnip,
Cuimre of palatable to cattle, and fooner fills them than turnip,
cabbage, carrot, or potatoes.
The feafon for fetting cabbage depends on the ufe
it is intended for. If intended for feeding in Novem¬
ber, December, and January, plants procured from
feed Town the end of July the preceding year mull be
fet in March or April. If intended for feeding in
March, April, and May, the plants mult be fet the firft
week of the preceding July, from feed fown in the end
of February or beginning of March the fame year. The
late fetting of the plants retards their growth; by which
means they have a vigorous growth the following
fpring« And this trop makes an important link in the
chain that connects winter and fummer green food.
Where cabbage for fpring food happens to be neglect¬
ed, a few acres of rye, fown at Michaelmas, will fupply
the want. After the rye is conlumed, there is time
fufficient to prepare the ground for turnip.
And now to prepare a field for cabbage. Where the
plants are to be fet in March, the field mull be made
up after harveil in ridges three feet wide. In that form
let it lie all winter, to be mellowed with air and froft.
In March, take the firll opportunity, between wret and
dry, to lay dung in the furrowrs. Cover the dung writh
a plough, which will convert the furrow into a crown,
and confequently the crown into a furrow. Set the
plants upon the dung, diilant from each other three
feet. Plant them fo as to make a llraight line crofs
the ridges, as well as along the furrows, to which a
gardeners line flretchcd perpendicularly crofs the fur¬
rows will be requifite. This will fet each plant at the
diilance precifely of three feet from the plants that fur-
round it. The purpofe of this accuracy is to give op¬
portunity for ploughing not only along the ridges, but
crofs them. This mode is attended with three fignal
advantages : it faves hand-hoeing, it is a more com¬
plete drefling to the foil, and it lays earth neatly round
every plant.
If the foil be deep and compofed of good earth, a
trench ploughing after the preceding crop will not be
amifs; in which cafe, the time for dividing the field
into three-feet ridges, as above, ought to be imme¬
diately before the dunging for the plants.
If weeds happen to rife fo clofe to the plants as not
to be reached by the plough, it will require very little
labour to deftroy them with a hand-hoe.
Unlefs the foil be much infefted with annuals, twice
ploughing after the plants are fet will be a fufficient
dreffing. The firft removes the earth from the plants;
the next, at the diftance of a month or fo, lays it
back.
Where the plants are to be fet in July, the field
muft be ribbed as direfted for barley. It ought to
have a flight ploughing in June before the planting, in
order to loofen the foil, but not fo as to bury the fur-
face-earth ; after which the three-feet ridges muft be
formed, and the other particulars carried on as dire£l-
ed above with refpect to plants that are to be fet in
March.
In a paper already quoted from thofe of the Eath
Society, Scots cabbages are compared, as to their uti¬
lity in feeding cattle, with turnips, turnip-rooted cab- Culture of
bage, and carrots. In this trial the cabbages ftand particular
next in value to the carrots ; and they are recommend- phmts.
ed as not liable to be affefted by froft, if they be ^
of the true flat-topped firm kind. Fifty-four tons
have been raifed upon an acre of ground not worth Quantity
more than 12 (hillings. There is likewife an ad van- raifed or.
tage attending the feeding of cattle with cabbages, viz. anacre,^'c*'
that their dung is more in proportion than when fed
wuth turnips or with hay ; the former going oft' more
by urine, and the latter having too little moifture.
They alfo impoverifh the ground much lefs than grain.
Mr Billingfley accounts 46 tons per acre a greater crop
than he ever read of; but Mr Vagg, in the 4th vo¬
lume of Bath Papers, gives an account of a crop for
which he received a premium from the Society, which
was much fuperior to that of Mr Billinglley. Its ex¬
tent was 12 acres; the produce of the worft was 42,
and of the belt 68 tons. They were manured with a
compoft of lime, weeds, and earth, that lay under the
hedges round the field, and a layer of dung, all mixed
and turned together. About 25 cart loads of this
were fpread upon an acre with the ufual ploughing gi¬
ven to a common fummer fallow ; but for this, he fays,
“ admitting inch crop to exhauft the manure in fome
degree by its growth, an ample reftoration will be
made by its refufe ploughed in, and by the ftirring
and cleaning of the ground.” The whole expence ox
an acre, exclufive of the rent, according to Mr Vagg?s
calculation, amounts to il. 14s. id. only four ounces
of feed being requifite for an acre. The 12 acres, pro¬
ducing as above mentioned, would feed 45 oxen, and
upwards of 60 flieep, for three months ; improving
them as much as the grafs in the heft months of the
year, May, June, and July. Fie recommends fowing
the feed about the middle of x^uguft, and tranfplant-
ing the young cabbages where they may be flickered
from the froft ; and to the negleift of this he afcnbes
the partial failure, or at leaft inferiority of one part
of his ground in the crop juft mentioned, the young
plants not being removed till near midfummer, and
then in fo dry a time, that they were almoft fcorch-
ed up.
In the Farmer’s Magazine, vol. ii. p. 217. we have Of water*
feveral pertinent remarks upon the culture of this ufe- ing cab¬
ful plant, particularly with regard to watering. “ It bages.
is a rule (fays this correfpondent) never to water the
plants, let the feafon be as dry as it may ; infilling
that it is entirely ufelefs.. If the land is in fine tilth
and well dunged, this may be right, as the expence
muft be confiderable ; but it is probable, in very dry
feafons, when the new fet plants have nothing but a
burning fun on them, that watering would fave vaft
numbers, and might very well anfwer the expence, if
a pond is near, and the work done with a water-cart.”
He takes notice alfo of another ufe. of cabbages, which
has not met with the attention it merits, vi%. the
planting of lands where turnips have failed. A late
fown crop of ihefe feldom turns to any account; but
cabbages planted on the ground without any plough¬
ing would prove very beneficial for flieep late in the
fpring; in all probability (unlefs on light, fandy, or
limeftone foils) of greater value than the turnips, had
they fucceeded.
Mr Mai {hall obferves, that in the midland diftriff, a .
valuable
424
AGRICULTURE. Praaice.
Culture of valuable fort of large green cabbage “ is propagated,
^ Plants31" ^ not ra^e(^> Bake well, who is not more cele-
. . brated for his breed of rams than for his breed of cab-
bages. Great care is obferved here in raifing the feed,
Cabbages being careful to fuffer no other variety of the braffica
cultivated tribe to blow near feed cabbages j by which means
land difld" are true to t^ie^r kind. To this end, it is
" faid that fome plant them in a piece of wheat} a good
method, provided the feed in that fituation can be pre-
- 74 ferved from birds/’
Diftance at The advantage of having large cabbages is that of
which theybeing able to plant them wide enough from each other,
®la^edt0 be *0 their being cleaned with the plough, and yet
to afford a full crop. The proper diftance depends in
fome meafure on the natural fize of the fpecies and
the ftrength of the foil} the thinner they (land, the
larger they will grow: but our author is of opinion
that cabbages, as wrell as turnips, are frequently fet
out too thin. Four feet by two and R half, accord¬
ing to Mr Marfhall, are a full diftance for large cab-
375 bages on a rich foil.
-Method of \Ve think it of importance to take notice of the fol-
lowing mode of tranfplanting cabbages, or earthing
earthmg them, as being confiftent with the beft mode of prac-
them. tice, and coming from the moft refpe&able practical
Annals of authority, Mr George Cully of Fenton. “ We plant
Agriculture, the cabbages, fays he, not only in right lines but equi-
vol. xv. diftant every way, fo that we can plough between the
rows, both long-ways and crofs ever ; which, by loof-
ening the earth fo effe&ually on all fides, very much
promotes their growth. But the matter I wifhed to
inform you of, is the taking them up by the roots in
the autumn whenever they have completed their growth,
and putting them into the neareft ftubble field you have,
where a plough is ready to draw a ftraight furrow in
the moft convenient place } and at twenty yards dif¬
tance, more o^ lefs, the ploughman makes another fur¬
row parallel to the firft. The cabbages are now turn¬
ed out of the carts as conveniently as may be for a fuf-
ficient number of women to lay them along tjiefe fur¬
rows as clofe one to another as poflible. The plough¬
man begins again where he firft ftarted, and turns a large
furrow upon the cabbages which is trodden down and
righted by one, two, or more as occafion requires, with
each a fpade in his hand to aflift where the plough has
by chance or accident not thrown earth enough. Thus
the work goes on till all is finilhed.”
“ We think we derive two advantages by the above
procefs. In the firft place the cabbages keep fuffici-
ently well through the winter in their new fituation,
while they do not drawr or exhauft the land fo much
where they were growing : and, fecondly, that land is
at liberty to be fown with wheat as foon as cleared of
the cabbages) which grain, in general, anfwers well
after that green crop.”
How pro- Cabbages and greens in general are apt to be infeft-
tefted from ed by caterpillars. They may ufually however be pro-
^ tefted againft thofe vermin by pulling off the large
imdermoft leaves, which may be given to cows in the
month of Auguft, or when the common wdiite butterflies
begin to appear in numbers. Thefe butterflies lay
their eggs, which produce the cabbage caterpillar, on
the under fide of the largeft leaves of the cabbage
plants. There is alfo faid to be another remedy. It
tjpnfifts of fowing beans among the cabbages, which will
greatly prevent the breeding of thefe worms } for it is Culture of
faid that the butterflies have an antipathy to the flavour Grafs. ^
of beans. v ^
c. The Root of Scarcitv.
. . . 2>11
The racine de difette, or root of fcarcity (Betaci- Culture of
c/tf), delights in a rich loamy land well dunged. It is i.he ,r?ot °f
direded to be fowrn in rows, or broad*caft, and as foonlcarci -
as the plants are of the fize of a goofe quill, to be tranf-
planted in row's of 18 inches diftance, and 18 inches
apart, one plant from the other: care muft be taken
in the fowing, to fow very thin, and to cover the feed,
which lies in the ground about' a month, an inch only.
In tranfplartting, the root is not to be fliortened, but the
leaves cut at the top } the plant is then to be planted
with a fetting ftick, fo that the upper part of the root
ftiall appear about half an inch out of the ground : this
laft precaution is very neceffary to be attended to.
Thefe plants wall ftrike root in twenty-four hours, and
a man a little accuftomed to planting will plant with
eafe 1800 or 2000 a day. In the feed-bed, the plants,
like all others, muft be kept clear of weeds: when
they are planted out, after once hoeing, they will take
care of themfelves, and fuffocate every kind of weed
near them.
The beft time to fow the feed is from the beginning
of March to the middle of April: it is, however, ad-
vifed to continue fowing every month until the begin¬
ning of July, in order to have a fucceflion of plants.
Both leaves and roots have been extolled as excellent
both for man and beaft. This plant is faid not to be
liable, like the turnip, to be deftroyed by infefts} for
no infeft touches it, nor is it affe&ed by exceflive
drought, or the changes of feafons. Horned cattle,
horfes, pigs, and poultry, are exceedingly fond of it
when cut fmall. The leaves may be gathered every
12 or 15 days} they are from 30 to 40 inches long,
by 22 to 25 inches broad. This plant is excellent for
milch cows, when given to them in proper proportions,
as it adds much to the quality as well as quantity of
their milk ; but care muft be taken to proportion the
leaves with other green food, otherwife it would abate
the milk, and fatten them too much, it being of fo ex¬
ceeding a fattening quality. To put all thefe proper¬
ties beyond doubt, however, further experiments are
wanting.
Sect. IV. Gidture of Grafs.
The latter end of Auguft, or the beginning of of living
September, is the beft feafon for fowing grafs feeds, as down fields
there is time for the roots of the young plants to fixto grafs-
themfelves before the ftiarp frofts fet in. It is fcarce
neceffary to fay, that moift weather is beft for fowing}
the earth being then warm, the feed will vegetate imme¬
diately } but if this feafon prove unfavourable, they will
do very w ell the middle of March following.
If you would have fine pafture, never fow on foul
land. On the contrary, plough it well, and clear it
from the roots of couch-grafs,, reft-harrow, fern, broom,
and all other noxious weeds. If thefe are fuffered to
remain, they will foon get above and deftroy your
young grafs. Rake thefe up in heaps, and bum them
on the land, and fpread the afhes as a manure. Thefe
ploughings and harrowings (hould be repeated in dry
weather.
Part I. AGRICULTURE.
Culture of weather. And if the foil be clayey and wet, make
, Grafs~ fome under-drains to carry off the water, which, if fuf-
v ^ fered to remain,. will not only chill the grafs, but make
it four. Before fowing, lay the land as level and fine
as poffible. If your grafs feeds are clean (which fhould
always be the cafe), three buffiels will be fufficient per
acre. When fown, harrow it in gently, and roll it in
with a wooden roller. When it comes up, fill up all
the bare fpots by frelh feed, which, if rolled to fix it,
will foon come up and overtake the reft.
In Norfolk they fow clover with their graffes, par¬
ticularly with rye-grafs; but this Ihould not be done
except when the land is defigned for grafs only three or
four years, becaufe neither of thefe kinds will laft long
in the land. Where you intend it for a continuance, it
is better to mix only fmall white Dutch clover, or marl
grafs, with your other grafs feed, and not more than
eight pounds to an acre. Thefe are abiding plants,
fpread clofe on the furface, and make the fweeteft feed
of any for cattle. In the following fpring, root up
thirties, hemlock, or any large plants that appear. The
doing this while the ground is foft enough to permit
your drawing them up by the roots, and before they
feed, will fave you infinite trouble afterwards.
The common method of proceeding in laying down
fields to grafs is extremely injudicious. Some fow bar¬
ley with their graffes, which they fuppofe to be ufeful in
ftiading them, without confidering how much the corn
draws away the nourifhment from the land.
Others take their feeds from a foul hay rick ; by
which means, befides filling the land with rubbifti and
■weeds, what they intend for dry foils may have come
379 from moift, where it grew naturally, and vice verfa.
different The confequence is, that the ground, inftead of being
^‘n|S °f covered with a good thick fvvard, is filled rvith plants
unnatural to it. The kinds of grafs molt eligible for
pafture lands are, the annual meadow, creeping, and
fine bent, the fox’s tail, and the crefted dog’s tail, the
poas, the fefcues, the vernal oat-grafs, and the ray or
rye-grafs. We do not, however, approve of fowing
all thefe kinds together; for not to mention their ri¬
pening at different times, by which means you can ne¬
ver cut them all in perfection and full vigour, no kind
of cattle are fond of all alike.
_ Horfts will fcarcely eat hay which oxen and cows
will thrive upon.} ffieep are particularly fond of fome
kinds, and refufe others. The darnel-grafs, if not
cut before feveral of the other kinds are ripe, becomes
fo hard and wiry in the italks, that few cattle care to
eat it.
As the fubjeCt of paftures is very important, we lhall
firft take notice of the general mode of improving or¬
dinary paftures, and of the particular graft plants that
ought to be cultivated in them. After which we lhall
mention the celebrated modern improvements upon
graft lands, by flooding them artificially with water.
Pafture land is of fuch advantage to hufbandry, that
many prefer it even to corn land, becaufe of the fmall
hazard and labour that attends it 5 and as it lays the
foundation for moft of the profit that is expefted from
the arable land, becaufe of the manure afforded by
the cattle which are fed upon it. Pafture ground is
of two forts : the one is meadow land, which is often
overflowed} and the other is upland, which lies high
and dry. I he firft of thefe will produce a much
Vol. I. Part II.
greater quantity of hay than the latter, and will n<Jt Culture o*
require manuring or drefiing fo often : but then the C^rafs.
hay produced on the upland is much preferable to the "V-*"*
other} as is alfo the meat which is fed in the upland
more valued than that rvhich is fatted in rich mea¬
dows } though the latter will make the fatter and
larger cattle, as is feen by thofe which are brought
from the low rich lands in Lincolnftiire. But where
people are nice in their meat, they will give a much
larger price for fuch as hath been fed on the dowms,
or in Ihort upland pafture, than for the other, which
is much larger. Befides this, dry paftures have an
advantage over the meadow's, that they may be fed
all the winter, and are not fo fubjeift to poach in
w7et wmather j nor will there be fo many bad weeds
produced ; which are great advantages, and do in
a great meafure recompenfe for the fmallneft of the
crop. _ ■ 380
The firft improvement of upland pafture is, by fen-Howtoim'
cing it, and dividing it into fmall fields of four, five,
fix, eight, or ten acres each, planting timber trees turej.F *
in the hedge-rows, which will fcreen the grafs from
the dry pinching winds of March, which will prevent
the graft from growing in large open lands ; fo that if
April proves a dry month, the land produces very
little hay 5 whereas in the fheltered fields, the graft
will begin to grow early in March, and will cover the
ground, and prevent the fun from parching the roots
of the graft, whereby it will keep growing, fo as to
afford a tolerable crop if the fpring ihould prove dry.
But in fencing of land the inclofure muft not be
made too fmall, efpecially where the hedge-row's are
planted with trees} becaufe, when the trees are advan¬
ced to a confiderable height, they will fpread over the
land } and where they are clofe, will render the graft
fo four, that inftead of being of an advantage, it will
greatly injure the pafture.
The next improvement of upland pafture is, to make
the turf good, where, either from the badnefs of the
foil, or for want of proper care, the grafs hath been
deftroyed by rufties, bulhes, or mole-hills. Where the
furface of the land is clayey and cold, it may be im¬
proved by paring it off, and burning it} but if it is a
hot fandy land, then chalk, lime, marl, or clay, are
very proper manures to lay upon it} but thefe Ihould be
laid in pretty good quantities, otherwife they will be
of little fervice to the land.
If the ground is overrun with bufties or rufties, it
will be of great advantage to the land to grub them
up towards the latter part of fummer, and after they
are dried to burn them, and fpread the alhes over the
ground juft before the autumnal rains; at which time
the furface of the land Ihould be levelled, and fown
with grafs feed, wThich will come up in a fhort time,
and make good grafs the following fpring. So alfo,
W’hen ihe land is full of mole-hills, thefe ftiould be pa¬
red off, and either burnt for the allies, or fpread im¬
mediately on the ground when they are pared off, ob-
ferving to fow the bare patches with graft feed juft, as
the autumnal rains begin.
W here the land has been thus managed, it will be
of great fervice to roll the turf in the months of Fe¬
bruary and March with a heavy wmoden roller } always
obferving to do it in moift weather, that the roller
may make an impreflion } this will rendej the furface
3 H level
426 AGRICULTURE. Pradice.
Culture of level, and make it muck eafier to mow the grafs than
. Grai~s- when the ground lies in hills *, and will alfo caufe the
* turf to thicken, fo as to have what people ufually
term a good bottom. The grafs likewife will be the
fweeter for this hufbandry, and it will be a great help
to deftroy bad weeds.
Another improvement of upland paftures is, the
feeding of them j for where this is not praSifed, the
land muft be manured at leaft every third year j and
where a farmer hath much arable land in his poffef-
fion, he will not care to part with his manure to the
pafture. Therefore every farmer fliould endeavour to
proportion his patlure to his arable land, efpecially
where manure is fcarce, otherwife he will foon find
his error ; for the pafture is the foundation of all the
profit which may arife from the arable land.
Whenever the upland paftures are mended by ma¬
nure, there fliould be a regard had to the nature of the
foil, and a proper fort of manure applied : as for in-
ftance, all hot fandy land fliould have a cold manure j
neats dung and fwines dung are very proper for fuch
lands ; but for cold lands, horfe dung, allies, and other
warm manures, are proper. And when thefe are
applied, it Ihould bo done in autumn, before the rains
have foaked the ground, and rendered it too foft to
cart on } and it ftiould be carefully fpread, breaking
all the clods as fmall as poflible, and then harrow¬
ed with bulhes, to let it down to the roots of the
grafs. When the manure is laid on at this feafon,
the rains in winter will wafti it down, fo that the
following fpring the grafs wall receivejsthe advantage
of it.
There fliould alfo be great care taken to deftroy
the weeds in the pafture every fpring and autumn :
for, where this is not praftifed, the weeds will ripen
their feeds, which wall fpread over the ground, and
thereby fill it with fuch a crop of weeds as will foon
overbear the grafs, and deftroy it j and it will be very
difficult to root them out after they have gotten fuch
pofleffion, efpecially ragwort, and fuch other weeds as
have dowm adhering to their feeds.
The grafs which is fawn in thefe upland paftures
feldom degenerates, if the land is tolerably good: where¬
as the low' meadows, on which water ftagnates in win¬
ter, in a few years turn to a harih ruftiy grafs, though
the upland will continue a fine fweet grafs for many
years without renewing.
There is no part of hufbandry of which the farmers
are in general more ignorant than that of the pafture :
xnoft of them fuppofe, that when old pafture is ploughed
up, it can never be brought to have a good fward a-
gain ; fo their common method of managing their land
after ploughing, is to fow with their crop of barley fome
grafs feeds as they call them ; that is, either the red
clover, which they intend to ftand two years after the
corn is taken off the ground, or rye-grafs mixed with
trefoil; but as all thefe are at moft but biennial plants,
whofe roots decay foon after their feeds are perfected,
fo the ground, having no crop upon it, is again plough¬
ed for corn ; and this is the conftant round which the
lands are employed in by the better fort of farmers.
But whatever may have been the pra&ice of thefe
people, it is certainly poflible to lay down lands which
have been in tillage with grafs, in fuch a manner as that
She fward ffiaU be as good, if not better7 than any na¬
tural grafs, and of as long duration. But this is never Culture of
to be expefted in the common method of fowing a crop Grafs,
of com with the grafs feeds 5 for, wherever this has —v--—'
been praftifed, if the corn has fucceeded well, the
grafs has been very poor and weak $ fo that if the land
has not been very good, the grafs has fcarcely been
worth faving ; for the following year it has produced
but little hay, and the year after the crop is worth
little, either to mow or feed. Nor can it be expelled
to be otherwife, for the ground cannot nourilh two
crops j and if there were no deficiency in the land, yet
the corn, being the firft and moft vigorous of growth,
will keep the grafs from making any confiderable pro-
grefs} fo that the plants will be extremely weak, and
hut very thin, many of them which come up in the
fpring being deftroyed by the com ; for wherever there
are roots of corn, it cannot be expe&ed there fliould
be any grafs. Therefore the grafs muft: be thin ; and
if the land is not in good heart to fupply the grafs
with nourifhment, that the roots may branch out after
the corn is gone, there cannot be any confiderable
crop of clover; and as their roots are biennial, many
of the ftrongeft plants will perifh foon after they are
cut ; and the weak plants, which had made but little
progrefs before, will be the principal part of the crop
for the fucceeding year j which is frequently not worth
Handing. < # 381
Therefore, when ground is laid down for grafs, How to
there fhould be no crop of any kind fown with the f°w upland!
feeds ; or at leaft the crop fhould be fown very thin,Pa^ure3‘
and the land fhould be well ploughed and cleaned from
weeds, otherwife the weeds will come up the firft, and
grow fo ftrong as to overbear the grafs, and if they
are not pulled up, will entirely fpoil it. The beft fea¬
fon to fow the grafs feeds upon dry land, when no
other crop is fown with them, is about the middle of
September or fooner, if there is an appearance of rain :
for the ground being then warm, if there happen fome
good fhowers of rain after the feed is fown, the grafs
wall foon -make its appearance, and get fufficient root¬
ing in the ground before winter : fo will not be in dan¬
ger of having the roots turned out of the ground by
froft, efpecially if the ground is well rolled before the
froft comes on, which will prefs it down, and fix
the earth clofe to the roots. Where this hath not
been praftifed, the froft‘has often loofened the ground
fo much, as to let in the air to the roots of the grafs,.
and done it great damage ; and this has been brought
as .an objeftion to the autumnal fowing of grafs ; but
it wall be found to have no weight if the above direc¬
tion is praftifed : nor is there any hazard of fowdng
the grafs at this feafon, but that of dry weather after
the feeds are fown; for if the grafs comes up well,,
and the ground is well rolled in the end of Oftober, or.
the beginning of November, and repeated again the
beginning of March, the fward will be clofely joined
at bottom, and a good crop of hay may be expe&ed
the fame fummer. But where the ground cannot be
prepared for fowing at that feafon, it may be perform¬
ed the middle or latter end of March, according to
the feafon’s being early or late j for, in backward
fprings, and in cold land, w?e have often fowed the
grafs in the middle of April with fuccefs $ but there is
danger, in fowing late, of dry weather, and efpecially
if the land is light and dry) for we have feen many
times
fart L
A G R I C U
Culture of times the whole furface of the ground removed by
Grafs, ftrong winds at that feafon $ fo that the feeds have been
driven in heaps to one fide of the field. Therefore,
whenever the feeds are fown late in the fpring,f it will
be proper to roll the ground well foon after the feeds
are fown, to fettle the lurface, and prevent its being
removed.
The forts of feeds which are the beft for this pur-
pofe, are, the beft fort of upland hay feeds, taken
from the cleaned: paftures, where there are no bad
weeds ; if this feed is lifted to clean it from rubbilh,
three bulhels will be fufficient to fow an acre of land.
The other fort is the trifohum pratenfs album, which is
commonly knowh by the names white Dutch clover, or
white honeyfuckle grafs. Eight pounds of this feed will
be enough for one acre of land. The grafs feed ftiould
be fown firft, and then the Dutch clover feed may be
afterwards fown j but they Ihould not be mixed toge¬
ther, becaufe the clover feeds being the heavieft will
fall to the bottom, and confequently the ground will
be unequally fown*
When the feeds are come up, if the land fhould
produce many weeds, thefe Ihould be drawn out before
they grow fo tall as to overbear the grafs 5 for where
this has been neglefted, the weeds have taken fuch
pofieftion of the ground as to keep down the grafs,
and ftarve it j and when thefe weeds have been fuffer-
ed to remain until they have Ihed their feeds, the land
has been fo plentifully flocked with therti as entirely
to deftroy the grafs ; therefore it is one of the principal
parts of hulbandry never to fuffer weeds to grow on
the land.
If the ground is rolled two or three times at proper
diftances after the grafs is up, it will prefs down the
grafs, and caufe it to make a thicker bottom ; for, as
the Dutch clover will put out roots from every joint
of the branches which are near the ground, fo, by
prefling down of the ftalks, the roots will mat fo clofely
together, as to form a fvCard fo thick as to cover the
whole furface of the ground, and form a green carpet,
and will better refill the drought. For if we do but
examine the common paftures in fumiiier, in moft of
which there are patches of this white honeyfuckle grafs
growing naturally, we lhall find thefe patches to be the
only verdure remaining in the fields. And this, the
farmers in general acknowledge, is the fweeteft feed for
all lorts of cattle ; yet never had any notion of propa¬
gating it by feeds, nor has this been long praftifed in
England.
As the white clover is an abiding plant, fo it is cer¬
tainly the very beft fort to fow, -where paftures are
laid dowm to remain j for as the hay-feeds which are
taken from the beft paftures will be compoied of va¬
rious forts of grafs, fome of which may be but annual^
and others biennial; frq when thofe go off, there will
be many and large patches of ground left bare and na¬
ked, if there is not a fufficient quantity of the white
clover to fpread over and cover the land. Therefore
a good fward can never be expeiled where this is not
fbwn ; for in moft of the natural paftures, we find this
plant makes no fmall ftiare of the fward •, and it is equally
good for wet and dry land, growing naturally upon
gravel and clay in moft parts of England : which is a
4>kdn indication how eafily this plant may be cultivated
383
Advanta¬
ges of roll
ing grafs.
L T U R E. 42;
to great advantage in moft forts of land throughout this Culture of
kingdom. Graft.
Therefore the true caufe why the land which has ‘ ^
been in tillage is not brought to a good turf again, in
the ufual method of hulbandry, is, from the farmers
not diftinguilhing which graffcs are annual from thofe
which are perennial : for if annual or biennial grafles
are fown, theie will of courfe foon decay $ fo that,
unlefs where fome of their feeds may have ripened and
fallen, nothing can be expe£ted on the land but what
will naturally come up. Therefore this, with the co¬
vetous method of laying down the ground with
a crop of corn, has occafioned the general failure
of increafing the pafture in many parts of Britain, *
where it is now much more valuable than any arable
land.
After the ground has been fown in the manner be¬
fore direcled, and brought to a good fward, the way
to preferve it good is, by conftantly rolling the ground
with a heavy roller, every fpring and autumn, as hath
been before dire&ed. This piece of huihandry is rarely
pradlifed by farmers j but thofe who do, find their ac¬
count in it, for it is of great benefit to the grafs. Ano¬
ther thing ihould'alfo be carefully performed, which is,
to cut up docks, dandelion, knapweed, and all fuch bad
weeds, by their roots every fpring and autumn 5 this will
increafe the quantity of good grafs, and preferve the pa¬
ftures in beauty. Dreffmg of thefe paftures every
third year is alfo a good piece of hufbandry $ for other-
wife it cannot be expelled the ground ftould continue
to produce good crops. Befides this, it will be necef-
fary to change the feafons of mowing, and not to mow
the fame ground every year, but to mow one feafon
and feed the next $ for where the ground is every year
mown, it muft be conftantly dreffed, as are moft of the
grafs grounds near London, othen^ife the ground will
be foon exhaufted.
Culmiferous graffes might be divided into two ge-Culmife-
neral claffes for the purpofes of the farmer, that ^rous
might be of ufe for him to attend to : viz. 1 ft, Tlaofe
which, like the common annual kinds of corn, run
chiefly to feed-ftalks j the leaves gradually decaying
as they advance towards perfeflion, and becoming to¬
tally withered or falling off entirely when the feeds are
ripe. Rye-grafs belongs to this clafs in the ftri&eft
fenfe. To it likewife may be affigned the vernal
grafs, dogs-tail grafs, and fine bent grafs. 2dly, Thofe
whofe leaves continue to advance even after the feed-
ftalks are formed, and retain their verdure and fuccu-
lence during the whole feafon, as is the cafe with the
fefcue and poa tribes of grafles, whofe leaves are as
green and fucculent when the feeds are ripe and the
flower-ftalks fading, as at any other time.
“ It is wonderful, Mr Stillingfleet | remarks, to fee { Tran, re
how long mankind have neglefted to make a proper#0
advantage of plants of fuch importance, and which, in Nat-
almoft every country, are the chief food of cattle.&c'
The farmer, for want of dirtinguiftung and fele&ing Culpable
grafles for feed, fills his paftures either with weeds or negligenc<*
bad or improper graffes; when, by making a rightoffarmers
choice, after fome trials, he might be fare of the beft about tb®
grafs, and in the greateft abundance that his land ad-j^jsof
mits of. At prefent, if a farmer wants to lay down grafles.
his land to .grafs, what does he do ? he either takes
3 H 2 his
*
428 A G R 1 G U L T U R E. Pradkc.
Culture of his feeds indifcriminately from his own foul hay rack,
Crrafs. or fen(js to his next neighbour for a fupply. By this
. -v—means^ befides a certain mixture of all forts of rubbifli,
which muft neceffarily happen, if he chances to have
a large proportion of good feeds, it is not unlikely but
that what he intends for dry land may come from moift,
where it grew naturally, and the contrary. This is
fuch a flovenly method of proceeding, as one would
think could not poflxbly prevail univerfally : yet this
is the cafe as to all graffes except the darnel-grafs, and
what is known in fome few counties by the name of
the Suffolk-grafs ; and this latter inftance is owing, I
believe, more to the foil than any care of the hulhand-
man. Now, would the farmer be at the pains of fe-
parating once in his life half a pint or a pint of the
different kinds of grafs feeds, and take care to fow
them feparately, in a very little time he would have
wherewithal to flock his farm properly, according to
the nature of each foil, and might at the fame time
fpread thefe feeds feparately over the nation, by fup-
plying the feed (hops. The number of grafles fit for
the farmer is, I believe, fmall; perhaps half a dozen
or half a fcore are all he need to cultivate $ and how
fmall the trouble would be of fuch a tafk, and how
great the benefit, muft be obvious to every one at firft
fight. Would not any one be looked on as wild who
fhould fow wheat, barley, oats, rye, peafe, beans,
vetches, buck-wheat, turnips, and weeds of all forts
together ? yet how is it much lefs abfurd to do what
is equivalent in relation to graffes ? Does it not import
the farmer to have good hay and grafs in plenty ?
and will cattle thrive equally on ail forts of food ? We
know the contrary. Horfes will fcarcely eat hay
that will do well enough for oxen and cows. Sheep
are particularly fond of one fort of grafs, and fatten
upon it fafter than any other, in Sweden, if we may
give credit to Linnaeus. And may they not do the
fame in Britain ? How fhall we know till we have
385 tried?”
Kinds of The graffes commonly fown for pafture, for hay, or
grafs com- to cut green for cattle, are red clover, white clover,
yellow clover, rye-grafs, narrow-leaved plantain, com-
n" monly called ribwort, fainfoin, and lucerne.
Red clover is of all the moft proper to be cut green
for fummer food. It is a biennial plant when fuffered
to perfedt its feed 5 but when cut green, it will laft
three years, and in a dry foil longer. At the fame
time the fafeft courfe is to let it ftand but a lingle year:
if the fecond year’s crop happen to be fcanty, it proves,
like a bad crop of peafe, a great encourager of weeds
by the ftielter it affords them.
Here, as in all other crops, the goodnefs of feed is
of importance. Choofe plump feed of a purple colour,
becaufe it takes on that colour when ripe. It is rtrl
when hurt in the drying, and of a faint colour when
8(J unripe.
Of red clo- Red clover is luxuriant upon a rich foil, whether clay,
ver. loam, or gravel: it will grow even upon a moor, when
properly cultivated. A wet foil is its only bane j for
there it does mot thrive.
To have red clover in perfection, weeds muft be ex¬
tirpated, and Hones taken off. The mould ought to
be made as fine as harrowing can make it; and the
furface be fmoothed with a light roller, if not fuffi-
ciently finooth. without it. This gives opportunity fox
diftributing the feed evenly : which muft be covered Culture of
by a fmall harrow with teeth no larger than thofe of a Grafs.
garden rake, three inches long, and fix inches afun- ‘
der *. In harrowing, the man ftiould walk behind * Plate
with a rope in his hand fixed to the back part of the VIII. fig. 7-
harrow, ready to difentangle it from ftones, clods, tur¬
nip or cabbage roots, which would trail the feed, ^nd
difplace it.
Nature has not determined any precife depth for the
feed pf red clover more than of other feed. It will
grow vigoroufly from two inches deep, and it wTill grow
when barely covered. Half an inch may be reckoned
the moft advantageous pofition in clay foil, a whole
inch in what is light or loofe. It is a vulgat error,
that fmall feed ought to be fparingly covered. Milled
by that error, farmers commonly cover their clover
feed with a bulhy branch of thorn j which not only
covers it unequally, but leaves part on the furface to
wither in the air.
The proper feafon for fowing red clover, is from the
middle of April to the middle of May. It will fpring
from the firft of March to the end of Auguft 5 but fuch
liberty ought not to be taken except from neceflity.
There cannot be a greater blunder in hulbandry than
to be fparing of feed. Ideal writers talk of fowing an
acre with four pounds. That quantity of feed, fay
they, will fill an acre with plants as thick as they ought
to ftand. This rule may be admitted where grain is
the objeift j but it will not anfwer with refpedi to gra%
Grafs feed cannot be fown too thick ; the plants Ihel-
ter one another ; they retain all the dew j and they
muft pufh upward, having no room laterally. Obferve
the place where a fack of peafe, or of other grain, has
been fet down for fowing : the feed dropt there acci¬
dentally grows more quickly than in the reft of the
field fow’n thin out of hand. A young plant of clover,
or of fainfoin, according to Tull, may be raifed to a
great fize w here it has room •, but the field will not
produce half the quantity. When red clover is fown
for cutting green, there ought not to be lefs than 24
pounds to an acre. A field of clover is feldom too
thick : the fmaller a Item be, the more acceptable it is
to cattle. It is often too thin } and wiien fo, the Hems
tend to wood.
Grain may be fown more fafely with red clover of fowing
than with almoft any other grafs •, and the moft clover witk
proper grain has been found to be flax. The foil grain,
muft be highly cultivated for flax as well as for
red clover. The proper feafon of fowing is the fame
for both j the leaves of flax being very fmall, ad¬
mit of free circulation of air ; and flax being an early
crop, is removed fo early as to give the clover time for
growing. In a rich foil it has grown fo fall, as to af¬
ford a good cutting that very year. Next to flax, bar¬
ley is the beft companion to clover. The foil muft be
loofe and fre^ for barley \ and fo it ought to be for
clover : the feafon of fowing is the fame j and the clo<-
ver is well eftablifhed in the ground before it is over¬
topped by the barley. At the fame time, barley com¬
monly is fooner cut than either oats or wheat. In a
wmrd, barley is rather a nurfe than a ftepmother to
clover during its infancy. When clover is fown in
fpring upon w'heat, the foil which has lain five or fix
months without being ftirred, is an improper bed for
it ^ and the wheat, being in the vigour of growth,
overtops
Part I. AG
Culture of overtops it from the beginning. It cannot be Town
Grafs, along with oats, becaufe of the hazard of froft ; and
j,,,—> y/hen town as ufual among the oats three inches high,
it is overtopped, and never enjoys free air till the oats
be cut. Add, that where oats are fown upon the win¬
ter furrow’, the foil is rendered as hard as when under
wheat.—Red clover is fometimes fown by itfelf with¬
out other grain : but this method, bende loimg a crop,
is not falutary j becaufe clover in its infant ftate re¬
quires {belter.
As to the quantity of grain proper to be fown with
clover : In a rich foil well pulverized, a peck of barley
on an Englifla acre is all that ought to be ventured j
but there is not much foil in Scotland fo rich. Two
Linlithgow firlots make the proper quantity for an
acre that produces commonly fix bolls of barley j half
a firlot for what produces nine bolls. To thofe who
are governed by cuftom, fo final! a quantity will be
thought ridiculous. Let them only confider, that a
rich foil in perfect good order, will from a fingle feed
of barley produce 20 or 30 vigorous Hems. People
may flatter themfelves with the remedy of cutting bar¬
ley green for food, if it happen to opprefs the clover.
This is an excellent remedy in a field of an acre or twTo 5
but the cutting an extenfive field for food muft be flow ;
and w’hile one part is cutting, the clover is fmothered in
other parts.
White and The culture of white clover, of yellow’ clover, of
yellaw clo- ribw’ort, of rye-grafs, is the fame in general with that
ver^nb-^ of red clover. We proceed to their peculiarities. Yel-
rye-grafs ^ow ci°ver> ribwort, rye-grafs, are all of them early
plants, blooming in the end of April or beginning of
May. The two latter are evergreens, and therefore
excellent for winter pafture. Rye-grafs is lefs hurt by
frofl: than any of the clovers, and will thrive in a
moifter foil : nor in that foil is it much affefted by
drought. In a rich foil, it grows four feet high : even
in the dry fummer 17.75, ^ r0^e t0 three feet eight
inches} but it had gained that height before the drought
came on. Thefe graffes are generally fown with red
clover for producing a plentiful crop. The proportion
of feed is arbitrary } and there is little danger of too
much. When rye-grafs is fown for procuring feed, five
firlots wheat meafure may be fown on an acre ; and
for procuring feed of ribwort, 40 pounds may be fown.
The roots of rye-grafs fpread horizontally : they bind
the foil by their number ; and though fmall, are yet
fo vigorous as to thrive in hard foil. Red clover has a
large tap-root, which cannot penetrate any foil but
what is open and free } and the largenefs of the root
makes the foil ftill more open and free. Rye-grafs,
once a great favourite, appears to be difcarded in many
parts of Britain. The common practice has been, to
fow it with red clover, and to cut them promifcuoufly
the beginning of June for green food, and a little later
for hay. This indeed is the proper feafon for cutting
red clover, becaufe at that time the feed of the rye-
grafs is approaching to maturity, its growth is flopped
for that year, as much as of oats or barley cut after the
feed is ripe. Oats or barley cut green before the feed
forms, will afford two other cuttings •, which is the cafe
of rye-grafs, of yellow7 clover, and of ribwort. By
fuch management, all the profit will be drawn that
thefe plants can afford.
When red clover is intended for feed, the ground
429
ought to be cleared of weeds, were it for no other pur- Culture of.
pole than that the feed cannot otherwife be preferved
pure : w’hat wreeds efcape the plough ought to be taken1 ■ ■ ~
out by the hand. In England, when a crop of feed is
intended, the clover is always firlt cut for hay. This
appears to be done, as in fruit trees, to check the
grow’th of the wood, in order to encourage the fruit.
This praftice will not anfwer in Scotland, as the feed
w’ould often be too late for ripening. It would do
better to eat the clover with flieep till the middle of
May, which would allow the feed to ripen. The feed
is ripe wdien, upon rubbing it between the hands, it
parts readily from the hulk. Then apply the fcythe,
fpread the crop thin, and turn it carefully. When
perfectly dry, take the firfl: opportunity of a hot day
for threlhing it on boards covered wfith a coarfe flieet.
Another way, lefs fubject to riik, is to Hack the dry-
hay, and to threfti it in the end of April. After the
firfl; threffnng, expofe the hulks to the fun, and threfh
them over and over till no feed remain. Nothing is
more efficacious than a hot fun to make the hulk part
wdth its feed 5 in w’hich view7 it may be expofed to the
fan by parcels, an hour or two before the flail is ap¬
plied.
White clover, intended for feed, is managed in th&
fame manner. No plant ought to be mixed with rye- '
grafs that is intended for feed. In Scotland, much
rye-grafs feed is hurt by tranfgreffing that rule. The
feed is ripe when it parts eafily with the hulk. The
yellowmefs of the Item is another indication of its ripe-
nefs ; in w’hich particular it refembles oats, barley, and
other culmiferous plants. The belt manner to manage
a crop of rye-grafs for feed, is to bind it loofely in
fmall fheaves, widening them at the bottom to make
them Hand ere£t ; as is done with oats in moift wea¬
ther. In that Hate they may Hand till fufficientiy dry
for threlhing. By this method they dry more quickly,
and are lefs hurt by rain, than by clofe binding and
putting the ffieaves in Ihocks like corn. The word:
way of all is to fpread the rye-grafs on the moift ground,
for it makes the feed malten. The fheaves, when fuf¬
ficientiy dry, are carried in clofe carts to where they
are to be threlhed on a board, as mentioned above for
clover. Put the ftraw in a rick when a hundred ftone
weight or fo is threlhed. Carry the threlhing board to
the place where another rick is intended $ and fo on
till the whole feed be threlhed, and the ftraw ricked.
There is neceffity for clofe carts to fave the feed, w’hich
is apt to drop out in a hot fun j and, as obferved above,.
a hot fun ought always to be chofen for threfhing.
Carry the feed in facks to the granary or barn, there •
to be feparated from the hulks by a fanner. Spread
the feed thin upon a timber floor, and turn it once or
twice a-day till perfectly dry. If fullered to take a
heat, it is ufelefs for feed..
The writers on agriculture reckon, fainfoin prefer- Culture a&
able to clover in many refpefts : They fay, that it pror fainfoin.
duces a larger crop ; that it does not hurt cattle when
eaten green j that it makes better hay } that it conti¬
nues four times longer in the ground \ and that it will
grow7- on land that will bear no other crop.
Sainfoin has a very long tap-root, which is able to
pierce very hard earth. The roots grow very large 5
and the larger they are, they penetrate to the greater
depth j and hence it may be concluded, that this grafs,
when.
RIGULTURE.
43<> . .
Culture of wnen it thrives well, receives a great part of its nou-
Grafs. riihment from below the Jlaple of the foil: of courfe, a
.v—.jr ^eep ^ry. p0j| js for the culture of fainfoin. When
plants draw their nourilhment from that part of the foil
that is near the furface, it is not of much confequence
whether their number be great or fmall. But the cafe
is very different when the plants receive their food, not
only near, but alfo deep below, the furface. Befides,
plants that fhoot their roots deep are often fupplied
with moifture, when thofe near the furface are parched
with drought..
To render the plants of fainfoin vigorous, it is ne-
ceflfary that they be fown thin. The bell method of
doing this is by a drill; becaufe, when fown in this
manner, not only the weeds, but alfo the fupernume-
rary plants, can eafily be removed. It is feveral years
before fainfoin comes to its full llrength $ and the num¬
ber of .plants fufficient to flock a field, while in this
imperfeft ftate, will make but a poor crop for the firft
year or two. It is therefore neceffary that it be fown
in fuch a manner as to make it eafy to take up plants
in fuch numbers, and in fuch order, as always to leave
'in the field the proper number in their proper places.
This can only be done, with propriety, by fowing the
plants in rows by a drill. Suppofing a field to be dril¬
led in rows at ten inches diftance, the partitions may
Be hand-hoed, and the rows dreffed in fuch a manner
^s to leave a proper number of plants. In this fi-
tuation the field may remain two years; then one-
fourth of the rows may be taken out in pairs, in fuch a
manner as to make the beds of fifty inches, with fix
rows in each, and intervals of thirty inches, which
may be ploughed. Next year, another fourth of the
rows may be taken out iii the fame manner, fo as to
leave double rows with partitions of ten inches, and
intervals of thirty: All of. which may be hoed at
once or alternately, as it may be found moft couve-
riient.
The great quantity of tins grafs which the writers
on this fubjeft affure us may be raifed upon an acre,
and the excellency and great value of the hay made of
it, (hould induce farmers to make a complete trial of
it, and even to ufe the fpade in place of the hoe, or
boe-plough, if neceffary.
The plants taken up from a field of fainfoin may be
fet in another field j and if the tranfplanting of this
grafs fucceeds as well as the tranfplanting of lucerne
has done with M. Lunin de Chateauvieux, the trouble
and expence will be fufficlently recompenfed by the
largenefs of the crops. In tranfplanting, it is necef-
5i fary to cut off great part of the long tap-root: this
will prevent it from ftriking very deep into the foil,
and make it pufli out large roots in a floping direftion
from the cut end of the tap-rootw Sainfoin managed
in this manner, will thrive even on Ihallow land that
has a wet bottom, provided it be not oyerftocked
Tvith plants.
Whoever inclines to try the culture of this grafs in
Scotland, {hould take great pains in preparing the land,
and making it as free from weeds as poffible.
In England, as the roots ftrike deep in that chalky
foil, this plant is not liable to be fo much injured by
drought as other graffes are, whofe fibres ftrike hori¬
zontally, and lie near the furface. The quantity of hay
•produced is greater and better in quality than any
■3
Practice.
other. But there is one advantage attending this grafs, Culture of
which renders it fuperior to any other ; and that arifes Grafs,
from feeding with it milch cows. The prodigious increafe
of milk which it makes is aftoniftiing, being nearly
double that produced by any other green food. The
milk is alfo better, and yields more cream than any
other $ and the butter procured from it is much better
Coloured and flavoured.
The following remarks by an Englifli farmer are
made from much experience and obfervation.
Sainfoin is much cultivated in thofe parts where Remarks
the foil is of a chalky kind. It will always fucceed on the cul-
well where the roots run deep \ the worft foil of all ferture offain-
it is where there is a bed of cold wet blay, which the^n.irV.
tender fibres cannot penetrate. This plant will make ^
a greater increafe of produce, by at leaft 30 times,
than common grafs or turf on poor land. Where it
meets with chalk or ftone, it will extend its roots
through the cracks and chinks to a very great depth
in fearch of nouriftiment. The drynefs is of more
confequence than the richnefs of land for fainfbm 5 al¬
though land that is both dry and rich will always pro¬
duce the largeft crops.
It is very commonly fown broad-caft j but it is found
to anfwer beft in drills, efpecially if the land be made
fine by repeated ploughing, rolling, and harrowing.
Much depends on the depth at which this feed is fown.
If it be buried more than an inch deep, it will feldom
grow ; and if left uncovered, it will pufh out its roots
above ground, and thefe will be killed by the air.
March and the beginning of April are the beft feafonS
for fowing it, as the feverity of winter and the drought
of fummer are equally unfavourable to the young plants.
A bulhel of feed fown broad-caft, or half that quantity
in drills, if good, is fufficient for an acre. The drills
fhould be 30 inches apart, to admit of horfe-hoeing
between them. Much, however, depends on the good-
nefs of the feed, which may be beft judged of by the
following marks:
The hulk being of a bright colour, the kernel plump*
of a gray or bluifti colour without, and if cut acrofs,
greenifh and frefli withinfide ; if it be thin and furrow¬
ed, and of a yellowifh caft, it will feldom grow. When
the plants ftand Angle, and have room to fpread, they
produce the greateft quantity of herbage, and the feed
ripens beft. But farmers in general, from a miftaken
notion of all that appears to be walte ground being
unprofitable, plant them fo clofe, that they choke and
impoverilh each, other, and often die in a few years*
Single plants run deepeft and draw moft nourifhment j
they are alfo eafieft kept free from weeds* A Angle
plant will often produce half a pound of hay, wdien dry*
On rich land this plant wall yield t>vo good crops in a
year, with a moderate {hare of culture. A good crop
muft not be expefted the firft year ; but, if the plants
ftand not too thick, they will inereafe in fize the fecond
year prodigioufly.
No cattle fhould be turned on the field the firft win¬
ter after the corn is off with which it was fown, as
their feet would injure the young plants. Sheep {hould
not come on the following fummer, becaufe they would
bite off the crown of the plants, and prevent their
{hooting again. A fmall quantity of foapers afhes as a
top-dreffmg will be xxf great fervice, if laid on the firft
Winter,
AGRICULTURE.
If
Part L
Culture of
Grafs.»
A G R I G U
39*
Its excel¬
lence as
food for
cows.
392
Culture of
lucerne.
If the fainfom be cut juft before it comes into bloom,
it is admirable food for horned cattle ; and if cut thus
early, it will yield a fecond crop the fame feafon. But
if it proves a wet feafon, it is better to let it Hand till
its bloom be perxe&ed ; for great care muft be taken,
in making it into hay, that the flowers do not drop off,
as cows are very fond of them *, and it requires more
time than any other hay in drying. Sainfoin is fo ex¬
cellent a fodder for horfes, that they require no oats
while they eat it, although they be worked hard all the
time. Sheep will alfo be fattened with it fafter than
with any other food.
If the whole feafon for cutting proves very rainy, it
is better to let the crop ftand for feed, as that will
amply repay the lofs of the hay becaufe it will not
only fetch a good price, but a peck of it will go as far
as a peck and a half of oats for horfes.
The bcft time of cutting the feeded fainfoin is, when
the greateft part of the feed is well filled, the firft
blown ripe, and the laft blown beginning to open. For
want of this care fome people have loft moft of their
feed by letting it ftand too ripe. Seeded fainfoin
fliould always be cut in a morning or evening, when
the dews render the ftalks tender. If cut when the
fun Ihines hot, much of the feed will fall out and be
loft.
An acre of very ordinary land, when improved by
this grafs, will maintain four cows very well from the
firft 01 April to the end of November } and afford, be-
fides, a fufficient ftore of hay to make the greater part
of their food the four months following.
If the foil be tolerably good, a field of fainfoin will
laft from 15 to 20 years in prime; but at the end of
feven or eight years, it will be neceffary to lay on a
moderate coat of well-rotted dung ; or, if the foil be
very light and famdy, of marl. % this means the
future crops, and the duration of the plants in health
•and vigour, will be greatly increafed and prolonged.
Flence it will appear, that for poor land there is no¬
thing equal to this grafs in point of advantage to the
farmer.
Clover will laft only two years in perfe&ion 5 and of¬
ten, if the foil be cold and moift, near half the plants
will rot, and bald patches be found in every part of the
field the fecond year. Befides, from our frequent rains
during the month of September, many crops left for
feeding are loft. But from the quantity and excellent
quality of this grafs (fainfoin), and its ripening earlier,
and continuing in vigour fo much longer, much rifk
and certain cxpence are avoided, and a large annual pro¬
fit accrues to the farmer.
The writers on agriculture,, ancient as- well as mo¬
dern, beftow the higheft encomiums upon lucerne as
affording excellent hay, and producing very large crops.
Lucerne remains at leaft 10 or 12 years in the ground,
and produces about eight tons of hay upon the Scots
acre. I here is but little of it cultivated in Scotland.
However, it has been tried in feveral parts of that
country ; and it is found, that, when the feed is good,
Jt comes up very well, and ftands the winter froft. But
the chief thing which prevents this grafs from being
more uied in Scotland, is the difficulty of keeping the
foil open and free from weeds. In a few years the
lurface becomes fo hard, and the turf fo ftrong, that it
deftroys the lucerne before the plants have arrived at
L T U R E. . 43I
their greateft perfe&ion : fo that lucerne can fcarce be Culture of
cultivated with fuccefs there, unlefs forne method be Grafs,
fallen upon of deftroying the natural grafs, and pre¬
venting the furface from becoming hard and impene¬
trable. This cannot be done effe<ftually by any other
means than horfe-hoeing. This method was firft pro-
pofed by Mr 'lull, and afterwards pradlifed fuccefsful-
ly by M. de Chateauvieux near Geneva. It may be
of ufe therefore to give a view of that gentleman’s me¬
thod of cultivating lucerne.
He does not mention any thing particular as to the
manner of preparing the land ; but only obferves in ge¬
neral, that no pains fliould be fpared in preparing it.
He tried the fowing of lucerne both in rows upon the
beds where it was intended to ftand, likewife tire fow¬
ing it in a nurfery, and afterwards tranfplanting it in¬
to the beds prepared for it. He prefers tranfplant¬
ing ; becaufe, when tranfplanted, part of the tap-root
is cut oft, and the plant flroots out a number of lateral
branches from the cut part of the root, which makes it
fpread its roots nearer the furface, and confequentH
renders it more eafily cultivated : befides, this circum-
fiance adapts it to a fhallow foil, in which, if left in its
natural ftate, it would not grow.
1 he tranfplanting of lucerne is attended with many
advantages. The land maybe prepared in thefummer
for receiving the plants from the nurfery in autumn y
-by which means the field muft be in a much better
fituation than if the feed had been fown upon it in the
fpring. By tranfplanting, the rows can be made more
regular, and the intended diftances more exactly cb-
ferved ; and confequently the hoeing can be performed
more perfeaiy, and with lefs expence. M. Chateau¬
vieux likewife tried the lucerne in fingle beds three
feet wide, with fingle rows y in beds three feet nine
inches wide, with double rows y and in beds four feet
three inches wide, with triple rows.. The plants in
the fingle rows were fix inches afund'er, and thofe in-
the double and triple rows were about eight or nine-
inches. In a courfe of three years he found, that
a fingle row produced more than a triple row of the
lame length.. The plants of lucerne, when cultivated-
by tranfplantation, fhould be at leaft fix-inches afun-
der, to allow them room for extending their crowns.
He further obierves, that the beds or ridges ought
to be railed in the middle y that a fmall trench, two
or three inches deep, ffiould be drawn in the middle y
and that the plants ought to be fet in this trench, co¬
vered with earth up to the neck. Fie fays, that if the
lucerne be fown in fpring, and in a warm foil, it will
be ready for tranlplanting in September y that, if the
weatner be too hot and dry, the tranfplanting fliould
be delayed till Oftober; and that, if the weather be
unfavourable during both thefe months, this operation
rnuit be delayed till Ipring. He further direfts, that
the plants ffiould be carefully taken out of the nurfery, >
fo as not to damage the roots y that the roots be left
only about fix or feven inches long y that the green
crops be cut off within about two inches of the crown 5
that they be put into water as foon as taken up, there
to remain till they are planted; and that they ffiould
be planted with a planting ftick, in the fame manner as.
cabbages.
He does not give particular dire&ions as to the
times of norfe-hoeing y but only fays, in general, that
the-
393
Culture of
burnet.
432 ^ G R
Culture of the intervals Ihould be ftirred once in the month du-
Grafs. ring the whole time that the lucerne is in a growing
ft ate. He likewife obferves, that great care ought to
be taken not to fuft'er any weeds to grow among the.
plants, at leaft for the firft two or three years ; and
for this purpofe, that the rows, as well as the edges ol
the intervals where the plough cannot go, Ihould be
Weeded by the hand.
Burnet is peculiarly adapted to poor land j bo¬
lides, it proves an excellent winter-pafture when hard¬
ly any thing elfe vegetates. Other advantages are. It
makes good butter j it never blows or fwells cattle j
it is line pafture for fheep and will flourifh well on
poor, light, Tandy, or ftony foils, or even on dry chalk
hills.
The cultivation of it is neither hazardous nor expen-
five. If the land is prepared as is generally done for
turnips, there is no danger of its failing. After the
firft year, it will be attended with very little expence,
as the flat circular fpread of its leaves will keep down,
or prevent the growth of wreeds.
On the failure of turnips, either from the fly or the
black worm, fome of our farmers have iown the land
with burnet, and in March following had a fine pafture
for their ftieep and lambs. It will perfeft its feed twice
in a fummer j and this feed is faid to be as good aa
oats for horfes) but it is too valuable to be applied to
that ufe.
It is fometimes fown late in the fpring with oats and
barley, and fucceeds very well j but it is bell to fow it
fingly in the beginning of July, when there is a pro-
fpe£f of rain, on a fmall piece of la.nd, and in Oftober
following tranfplant it in row’s two feet apart, and
about a foot diftant in the row’s. This is a proper dif-
tance, and gives opportunity for hoeing the intervals in
the fucceeding fpring and fummer.
After it is fed down with cattle, it Ihould be har-
-rowred clean. Some hcrfes will not eat it freely at lirft,
but in two or theee days they are generally very fond
of it. It affords rich pleafant milk, and in great plenty.
A gentleman farmer near Maidftone, fome years
fince, fowed four acres as foon as the crop of oats v^as
got off, which was the latter end of Auguft. He
threw’ in x 2 pounds of feed per acre, broad-caft } and
no rain falling until the middle of September, the plants
did not appear before the latter end of that month.
There was howrever a good crop} and in the fpring he
fet the plants out with a turnip hoe, leaving them about
a foot diftant from each other. But the drill method
is preferable, as it faves more than half the feed. . The
land was a poor dry gravel, not worth three ftiillirrgs
an acre for any thing elfe. .
The fevereft froft never injures this plant 5 and the
oftener it is fed the thicker are its leaves, which fpring
-conftantly from its root.
We ftiall here enumerate a few more of the graffes
which have been accounted valuable, or are likely to
become fo.
Alopecurus bulbofus, Bulbous Foxtail-grass, is
recommended by I)r Anderfon % as promifing on fow.e
* n- occafions to afford a valuable pafture-grafs. It feems
ffkiltu're chiefly, he obferves, to delight in a moift foil, and
fee. * ’therefore promifes to be only fit for a meadowy pafture-
grafs. The quality that firft recommended it to his
notice, was-the unufual firmnefs that its matted roots
ICULTURE.
Pra&ica.
394
Bulbous
foxtail-
grafs.
* EJfays on
gave to the furface of the ground, naturally fort and Culture cf
moift, in which it grew j which feeincd to promife that. r<'1" .
it might be of ufe upon fuch foils, chiefly in prevent¬
ing them from being much poached by the feet of cat¬
tle which might pafture upon them. Molly ibiis elpe-
cially are fo much hurt by poaching, that any thing
that promiies to be of ufe in preventing it deferves to
be attended to. 395
Poci Gre at 3Me ADOW-GRAss, feems toap- Great ^ea.
proach in many refpeas to the nature of the purple dow-grafs.
fefeue 5 only that its leaves are broader, and not near lb
long, being only about a foot or 16 inches at their
greateft length. * Like it, it produces few feed ftalks
and many leaves, and is an abiding plant. . It aftebls
chiefly the dry parts of meadows, though it is to be
found' on moft good paftures. It is very retentive of its
feeds, and may therefore be buffered to remain till the
ftalks are quite dry. It bloffoms the beginning of June,
and its feeds are ripe in July. 396
Poa cotnprejfa, Creeping Meadow-grass, ac-Creeping
cording to Dr Anderfon, feems to be the moft valuable
grafs of any of this genus. Its leaves are firm and luc- 0
culent, of a dark Saxon-green colour j and growr fo
clofe upon one another, as to form the richeft pile of
pafture-grafs. The flower-ftalks, if fuffered to grow’,
appear in fufficient quantities) but the growth of thefe
does not prevent the growth of the leaves, both advan¬
cing together during the whole fummer j and when the
ftalks fade, the leaves continue as green as before. Its
leaves are much larger and more abundant than the
common meadow7-grals, poo triviohs j and thereioie it
better deferves to be cultivated. 397
Anthoxanthum odoratum, Vernal Grass, grows Venial
very commonly on dry hills, and like wife on founds
rich meadow-land. It is one of the earlieit graffes ve
have ; and from its being found on fuch kinds of paf¬
tures as ftieep are fond of, and from whence excellent
mutton comes, it is moft likely to be a good giafs for
flreep paftures. It gives a grateful odour to hay. In
one refpebf, it is very eafy to gather, as it fixeds its
feeds upon the leaft rubbing. A correfpondent of toe.
Bath Society, how’ever, mentions a difficulty that oc¬
curs in collebling them, owing to its being furrounoed
with taller graffes at the time of its ripening, and be¬
ing almoft hid among them. If it be not carefully
watched when nearly ripe, he obferves, and gathered
w’ithin a few days after it comes to maturity, great
part of the feed will be loft. The twdfted elaftic awns,
which adhere to the feed, lift them out of their recep¬
tacles with the leaft motion from the wind, even while
the ftraw’ and ear remain quite ereft. It is found moldy
in the moift parts of meadow’s j very little of it on dry
paftures. It flowers about the beginning of May, and
is ripe about the middle of June. 393
Cynofurus crijlatus^ Crested Dog’s-tail grass. Crefted
Mr Stillingfleet imagines this grafs to be proper for dos’s-tan
parks, from his having known one, where it a' ounds^1*15,
that is famous for excellent venifon. He recommends
it alfo, from experience, as good for ftieep \ the bell
mutton be ever tailed, next to that which comes ’mm
hills where the purple and fheep’s fefeue, tbe fine Lyr-t,
and the filver hair graffes abound, having been m m
ftieep fed with it. He adds, that it makes a very fine
turf upon dry fandy or chalky foils : but unlefs wept
over with the feythe, its flowering-Ikms will look
brown j
Part I.
Culture of
grafs.
399
Cock’s-tail,
or feather
grafs.
400
Fine bent.
401
Mountain
hair.
402
Silver hair
403
Flote
lefcue.
A G R I C
brawn 5 which Is the cafe of all grafles which are not
fed on by variety of animals. For that fome animals
will eat the flowering Items is evident from commons,
where fcarcely any parts of grafles appear but the ra¬
dical leaves. This grafs is faid to be the eafieft of the
whole group to colled a quantity of feed from. It
flowers in June, and is ripe in July.
Stipa pennata, Cock’s-Tail, or Feather Grass.
Agrojhs capillar is y Fine Bent, is recommended by
Mr Stillingfleet, from his having always found it in
great plenty on the belt Iheep paftures, in the different
counties of England that are remarkable for good mut¬
ton. This grais flowers and ripens its feed the latefl:
of them all. It feems to be loft the former part of the
year, but vegetates luxuriantly towards the autumn. It
appears to be fond of rnoift ground. It retains its feed
till full ripe j flowers the latter end of July, and is ripe
the latter end of Augurt.
Areiraflexuofa. Mountain Hair.
»— ■— caryophi/lea, Silver Hair.
The fame may be faid of thefe two grafles as of
the preceding one.
Fejluca jluitans, Flote Fescue. In a piece pub-
HiFed in the Amoenitates Academicse, vol. iii. entitled
Plants Efculentcey we are informed, that “ the feeds of
this grafs are gathered yearly in Poland, and from thence
carried into Germany, and fometimes into Sweden, and
fold under the name of manna feeds.—Thefe are much
ufed at the tables of the great, on account of their
nourifhing quality and agreeable tafte. It is wonderful
(adds the author), that amongft us thefe feeds have hi¬
therto been neglefted, flnce they are fo eafily collefted
and cleanfed.” There is a clamminefs on the ear of
the flote fefcue, when the feeds are ripe, that taftes like
honey j and for this reafon perhaps they are called
manna feeds.
Linnaeus [Tlor. Suec. art. 95.) fays that the bran
of this grafs will cure horfes troubled with botts, if
kept from drinking for fome hours.
Concerning this grafs we have the following infor¬
mation by Mr Stillingfleet. M Mr Dean, a very fen-
fible farmer at Rufcomb, Berkfliire, aflured me that a
field, always lying under water, of about four acres,
that was occupied by his father when he was a boy,
was covered with a kind of grafs, that maintained five
farm horfes in good heart from April to the end of
haveft, without giving them any other kind of food,
and that it yielded more than they could eat. He, at
my defire, brought me fome of the grafs, which pro¬
ved to be the flote fefcue with a mixture of the marffi-
bent; whether this laft contributes much towards fur-
nifhing fo good pafture for horfes, I cannot fay. They
both throw out roots at the joints of the ftalks, and
therefore are likely to grow to a great length. In the
index of dubious plants at the end of Ray’s Synopfis,
there is mention made of a grafs under the name of
gramen caninum fupinum longijfitnum, growing not far
trom Saliffmry, 24 feet long. This muff by its length
be a grafs with a creeping ftalk ; and that there is a
grafs in Wiltlhire growing in watery meadows, fo va¬
luable that an acre of it lets from 10 to 12 pounds, I
have been informed by feveral perfons. Thefe circum-
ftances incline me to think it muff be the flote fefcue j
but^ whatever grafs it be, it certainly muff deferve to
be inquired after.
Vol. I. Part II.
U L T U R E. 433
Alfjpecurus pratenfis. Meadow Foxtail. Lin- Culture of
nseus lays that this is a proper grafs to fow on grounds, grats-
that have been drained. Mr Stillingiieet was informed, '
that the belt hay which comes to London is from the Me allow
meadows where this grafs abounds. It is fcarce in foxtail,
many parts of England, particularly Hereford {hire,
Berkfliire, and Norfolk. It might lie gathered at ai-
moft any time of the year from hay-ricks, as it does not
Ihed its feeds without rubbing, which is the cafe of but
few grafles. It is among the moll grateful of all
grafles to cattle. It is ripe about the latter end of June. ^0 -
Poa annua. Annual Meadow Grass. “ This Annual
grafs (fays Mr Stillingfleet) makes the finefc of turfs.meadow
It grows everywhere by way fides, and on rich found §rafs‘
commons. It is called in fome parts the Suffolk grafs.
I have feen whole fields of it in High Suffolk without
any mixture of other grafles j and as fome of the belt
fait butter we have in London comes from that coun¬
ty, it is moft likely to be the beff grafs for the dairy.
I have feen a whole park in Suffolk covered with this
grafs but whether it affords good venifon, I cannot
tell, having never tailed of any from it. I Ihould ra¬
ther think not, and that the belt pafture for Iheep is al-
fo the bell for deer. However, this wants trial. I re¬
marked on Malvern-hill fomething particular in relation
to this grafs. A walk that was made there for the
convenience of the water-drinkers, in lefs than a year
was covered in many places with it, though 1 could not
find one fingle plant ef it befides in any part of the
hill. This was no doubt owing to the frequent tread-
ing, which above all things makes this grafs flourilh $
and therefore it is evident that rolling mull be very fer-
viceable to it. It has been objedled, that this grafs Is
not free from bents, by which word is meant the flow-
ering-ftems. I anfwer, that this is moft certainly true,
and that there is no grafs without them. But the
flowers and Hems do not grow fo foon brown as thofe
of other grafles; and being much fhorter, they do
not cover the radical leaves fo much ; and therefore
this grafs affords a more agreeable turf without mow¬
ing than any other whatever that I know of.” The
feeds of this fpecies drop off before they are dry, and
to appearance, before they are ripe. The utmoft care
is therefore neceflary in gathering the blades, without
which very few of the feeds will be faved. It ripens
from the middle of April, to fo late, it is believed, as
the end of Oflober j but moftly difappears in the
middle of the fummer. It grows in any foil and fitu-
ation, but rather affe&s the ftiade.
A new grafs from America (named Agrqftis cor- K
nucopue), was fome time ago much advertifed and ex- cornucopia,
tolled, as poflefling the moft wonderful qualities, and
the feeds of it were fold at the enormous rate of 681.
the bufhel. But we have not heard that it has at all
anfwered expeflion. On the contrary, we are in¬
formed by Dr Anderfon, in one of his publications*, *Bte,voLL
that “ it has upon trial been found to be good for no-p. 38.'
thing. Of the feeds fown, few of them ever germi¬
nated but enough of plants made their appearance, to
afcertain, that the grafs, in refpeft of quality, is
among the pooreft of the tribe 5 and that it is an an¬
nual plant, and altogether unprofitable to the farmer.”
Chiconum Inly bus, Chicory. Ch'c°^
Mr Arthur Young has anxioufly endeavoured to ^
diffufe a knowledge of this plant, and he appears to
3 I have
434
A G R I C U
Culture of have been the frrft perfon that introduced it into the
, S1 ak' , agriculture of England from France, where it grows
" v naturally on the fides of the roads and paths, and is
fometimes cultivated as a fallad. When it has been
fown by itfelf, in ground prepared by good tillage,. it
has yielded two crops the fame year. When lown
amongft oats', no crop is expe&ed till the following year.
This plant defies the greateft droughts, and refills every
£torm* Being of very early growth, its firft leaves,
wdiich are large and tufted, fpread fidewife, and cover
the ground fo as to retain the moilture and preferve
its roots from the heat which fo often dries up every
other vegetable production : it has not any thing to
fear from ftorms, for its thick and ftiff llalks fupport
themfelves againll the winds and heavielt rains. The
moft fevere cold and frolls cannot injure it. The
quicknefs of its growth, above all, renders it moll va¬
luable, becaufe it furnilhes an abundance of falutary
fodder in a feafon, when the cattle, difgulted with
their dry winter food, greedily devour frelh plants.
This plant is greedily eatfen by all forts of. cattle,
but it is difficult to make into hay. It is very volumi¬
nous, and drys ill, unlefs the weather be very favour¬
able for it. The dry fodder, however, which it does
yield, is eaten with pleafure by the cattle. The fol¬
lowing is the- refult of an experiment made with it. by
Mr Young upon an acre of ground
Annals of
Agriculture,
VOi. xv.
fown April 1788.
Cut July 24,
October 17,
Green produce.
Tons cwt.
9 IO
9 J4
Produce of the year of lowing, 19 4
1789. Cut May 21,
July 24,.
December 3,
16
9
Produce of the fecond year, 38 9
18
J9
408
Tall oat-
grafs.
409
Yellow oat-
grafs.
410
Rough oat
grafs.
411
Upright
hroom-
grafs.
41?
Blue tlogs-
tail. •
J790. Cut June 8,
Auguft 15,
Produce of the third year,, 38 4.
The following. Engliffi grafies are recommended to
attention by Mr Curtis, author of the Flora Londinen-
Jis; and he has given drfe&ions for making experi¬
ments with grafs feeds in fmall quantities..
“ Avena elatior, tall aat-grafs; common in wet
meadows, and by the fides of hedges, early, and very
produbfive, but coarfe.
“ Avena Jlavefcens, yellow oat-grafs -affefts a dry
foil, is early and productive, bids fair to make a good
fheep pafture.
“ Avena pubefcens, rough oat-grafs ; foil and fitua-
tion nearly fimilar to that of the meadow fefcue, hardy,
early, and productive.
“ Bromus ere&us, upright broom-graft; peculiar to
chalky foils; early and productive ; promifes to be. a
good grafs for chalky lands, and thrives indeed very
\vell on others.
“ Cynofurus ccerulcus, line dogs-tailgrafs / earlieft of
L T U R E. Pradice.
all the graffes } grows naturally on the tops of the Culture of
higheft limeitone rocks in the northern part of Great, ;
Britain : not very productive, yet may perhaps anfwer ^
in certain fituations, efpecially as a grafs for fneep :
bears the drought of fummer remarkably well: at all
events feems more likely to anfwer than the Jheeps
fefcue grafs, on which fuch encomiums have, molt un-
juftly, been laviffied.
“ Daffy lis glome rat us, rough cock's foot grafs ; a Rough
rough coarfe grafs, but extremely hard and prcduc-coc^ s f00t
live : foil and fituation the fame as the meadow-fefcue. °
“ Fejluca elatior, tallfefeue grafs*; tall and coarfe,TaUfaTcue
but very productive. 5 affeCts wet .fituations. grafs.
“ Fejluca duriufcula, hard fefcue grafs ; affeCts fuch 4X5
fituations as the fmooth-Jlalked meadow grafs ; is early *e*"cue
and tolerably productive : its foliage is fine, and of a8
beautiful green ; hence w4 * * 7e have fometimes thought it
was of all others the fitteft for a grafs-plat or bow ling-
green } but wre have found, that though it thrives very
much when firft fown or planted, it is apt to become
thin, and die away after a while. 416
“ Phleum pratenfe, meadow cats-tail grafs ; affeCts Meadow
wet fituations 4 is very productive, but coarfe and late.” oat,s-tail
To fow grafs feeds in fmall quantities, this author ^ a s’
gives the following directions :— 4x7
“ If a piece of ground can be had, that is neither Rules for
very moilt nor very dry, it will anfwer for feveral forts mafl'n2 ex~-
of feed: they may then be fown on one fpot j but if^lTgrafs
fuch a piece cannot be obtained, , they mult be fown on feeds,
feparate fpots according to their refpeCtive qualities, no
matter whether in a garden, a nurfery, or a field, pro¬
vided it be well feeured and clean. Dig up the
ground, level and rake it, then fow each kind of feed
thinly in a feparate row, each row about a foot apart,
and cover them over lightly with the earth ; the lat¬
ter end of Auguft or beginning of September will he
the moft proper time for this bufinefs. If the weather
be not uncommonly dry the feeds will quickly vege¬
tate, and the only attention they will require will be to
be carefully wreeded. In about a fortnight from their
coming up, fuch of the plants as grow' thickly toge¬
ther may be thinned, and thofe which are taken up
tranfplanted f® as to make more rows of the fame
grafs,
“ If the winter ffiould be very fevere, though na¬
tives, as feedlings, they may receive injury j therefore
it will not be amifs to proteCl them with mats, fern, or
by fome other contrivance.
“ Advantage ffiould be taken of the firft dry wea¬
ther in the fpting, to roll or tread them down, in order
to fatten their roots in the earth, which the froft ge¬
nerally loofens : care mutt ftill be taken to keep them
perfeQly clear from weeds. As the fpring advances,
many of them will throw up their flowrering Items, and
feme of them will continue to do fo all the fummer.
As the feed in each fpike or pannicle ripens, it mutt
be very carefully gathered and fowrn in the autumn,
at which time the roots of the original plants, which
will now bear feparating, ffiould be divided, and tranf¬
planted, fo as to form more rows} the roots of the
fmooth-ftalked meadow-grafs, in particular, creeping
like couch-gxafs, may readily be increafed in this way:}
and thus by degrees a large plantation of thefe graffes
may be formed and much feed collected.
“ While the feeds are thus encreafing, the piece cy
pieces
Part I.
CuIj;Ure of P^eces ground, which are intended to be laid down,
■-,r gl‘lU , diculd be got in order. If very foul, perhaps the belt
pra&ice (if pafture land) will be to pare off the fward
and burn it on the ground ; or if this ftiould not be
thought advifeable, it will be proper to plough up the
ground and harrow it repeatedly, burning the roots of
couch-grafs and other noxious plants till the ground is
become tolerably clean; to render it perfectly fo,
fome cleanfmg crop, as potatoes or turnips, ftiould be
planted or fown.
“ By this means, the ground we propofe laying
doivn will be got into excellent order without much
lofs ; and being now ready to form into a meadow
or pafture, ftiould be fown broad-caft with the follow¬
ing compofttions :
Meadow fux-tail, one pint $
Meadow fefcue, ditto ;
Smooth-Jialked meadow, half a pint ;
^ Rough J}a Iked meadow, ditto ;
Crejled dog's-tail, a quarter of a pint j
Sweet-fcented vernal, ditto ;
Dutch clover (trifolium repens), half a pint j
Wild red clover {trifolium pratenfe), or in its Head,
Broad clover of the /hops, ditto ;
For wet land, the crejled dog's-tail and fmooth-
f allied meadow may be omitted, efpecially the
fonner.
^ “ Such a compofftion as this, fown in the proportion
of about three buftiels to an acre on a fuitable foil, in a
favourable fituation, will, I am bold to aflert, form in
two years a moft excellent meadow; and, as all the
plants fown are ftrong, hardy perennials, they will not
eafily fuffbr their places to be ufurped by any noxious
plants, which by manure or other means, in fpite of all
our endeavours, will be apt to infinuate themfelves ; if
they ftiould, they muff be carefully extirpated j for fuch a
meadow is deferving of the greatell attention : but if
that attention cannot be bellowed on it, and in procefs of
time weeds ftiould predominate over the crop original¬
ly fown, the w'hole ftiould be ploughed up, and frefti
icuvn with the fame feeds, or with a better compofition,
if fuch (hall be difcovered j for I have no doubt but
at fome future time, it will be as common to fow a
meadowr with a compofftion fomewhat like this as it
now is to fow a field with wheat or barley.
“ One of the moft important improvements in agricul¬
ture that has occurred of late years, is the pratlice of
overflowing or flooding grafs lands, which is now com-
ing greatly into ufe, not only on level grounds, but
418 Situations in which a command of water can be
When the obtained. In the Monthly Review for Ocffober 1788,
watering of the editors acknowledge the favour of a correfpondent,,
was firft5 wll° !nformed tdem’ that watering of meadows was
praffci'ied in Pra&ded during the reigns of Queen Elizabeth and
England. James I. A book was written upon the fubjedl by
one Rowland Vaughan, -who feems to have been the
inventor of this art, and who pradtifed it on a verv ex-
tenfive plan in the Golden Valley in Herefordlhire.
I ill this note to the Reviewers appeared, the inhabi¬
tants of a village called South Cerney in Gloucefter-
fliire had affumed the honour of the invention to them¬
felves, as we are informed in a treatife upon the fub-
jedl by the Rev. Mr Wright curate of the place. Ac¬
cording to a received tradition in that village, water¬
ing of meadows has been praclifed there for about a
AGRICULTURE.
43S
Culture of
grafs.
century, and was introduced by one Welladvife, a
wealthy farmer in South Cerney. His firft experiment
was by cutting a large ditch in the middle of his
ground, from which he threw the water over fome
parts, and allowed it to ftagnate in othersbut finding
this not to anfwer his expeblations, he improved his me¬
thod by cutting drains and filling up the hollows 5 and
thus he fucceeded fo well, that his neighbours, who at
firft called him a madman, foon changed their opinion,
and began to imitate his example.
“ The advantages which attend the watering of mea- Advantages
dows are many and great 5 not only as excellent crops water-
of grafs are thus raifed, but as they appear fo early,
that they are of infinite fervice to the farmers for food
to their cattle in the fpring before the natural grafs
riles. By watering w^e have plenty of grafs in the be¬
ginning of March, and even earlier w7hen the feafon is
mild. The good effefls of this kind of grafs upon all
forts of cattle are likewife aftonifliing, efpecially upon
fuch as have been hardly wintered 5 and Mr Wright
informs us, that the farmers in his neighbourhood, by
means of watering their lands, are enabled to begin
the. making of cheefe at leaft a month fooner than
their neighbours who have not the fame advantage.
Grafs raifed by watering is found to be admirable for
the. nurture of lambs ; not only thofe defigned for fat¬
tening, but fuch as are to be kept for ftore ; For if
lambs when very young are flopped and ftinted in
their growth, they not only become contrafled for life
themfelves, but in fome meafure communicate the fame
diminutive fize to their young. The bell remedy for
preventing this evil is the fpring feed from watered
meadows ; and Mr Wright is of opinion, that if the
young of ali kinds of farmer’s flock were immediately
encouraged by plenty of food, and kept continually
in a growing ftate, there would in a few years be a
notable change both in the fize and fhape of cattle in
general. Such indeed is the forwardnefs of grafs
from watered meadows, that the feed between March
and May is. worth a guinea per acre j and in June an
acre will yield two tons of hay, and the after-math
is always worth twenty (hillings; and nearly the
fame quantity is conftantly obtained whether the fum-
mer be dry or wet. In dry fummers alfp, fuch far¬
mers as water their meadows have an opportunity of
felling their hay almoft at any price to their neioh-
bours. D
. “ Land treated in this manner is continually impro- Land con-
vmg in quality, even though it be mown every year : ftantb im-
the herbage, if coarfe at firft, becomes finer j the foil'PrQVCS b>'
if fwampy, becomes found ; the depth of its mould igWatenng*
augmented, and its quality meliorated every year.
To thefe advantages (lays Mr Bofwell in his trea¬
tife upon this fubjeft) another may be addreffed to
the gentleman who wifhes to improve his eftate, and
whole benevolent heart prompts him to extend a cha¬
ritable hand to the relief of the induftrious poor, and
not to idlenefs and vice : almoft the whole of the ex¬
pence in this mode of cultivation is the adlual ma¬
nual labour of a clafs of people who have no genius
to employ their bodily ftrength otherwife for their
own fupport and that of their families 5 confequently
v\hen viewed iu this light, the expence can be but
comparatively friiall, the improvement great and va¬
luable.” 6
3 1 2
As
436 A G R I C U L T U R E. Pradicc.
Culture of As a proof of the above doctrine, Mr Wright ad-
, S'rafs' , duces an inftance of one year’s produce of a meadow
^2I in his neighbourhood. It had been watered longer
Example of than the eldefl: perfon in the neighbourhood could re-
the produce member $ but was by no means the belt meadow upon
of a water- the dream, nor was the preceding winter favourable
e mea^ow- for watering. It contains fix acres and a half. The
fpring feed was let for feven guineas, and fupported
near 200 fheep from the ill of March till the begin¬
ning of May : the hay being fold for 30 guineas, and
the after-math for fix. Another and Hill more remark¬
able proof of the efficacy of watering, is, that two of
the molt fldlful watermen of that place were fent to
lay out a meadow of feven acres, the whole crop of
which was that year fold for two pounds. Though it
was thought by many impoffible to throw the water
over it, yet tire fldll of the workmen foon overcame
all difficulties; and ever fince that time the meadow
has been let at the rent of three pounds per acre. From
manifold experience, our author informs us, that the
people in that part of the country are fo much attach¬
ed to the pra&ice of watering, that they never fuffer
the fraallefi: fpring or rivulet to be unemployed. Even
thofe temporary floods occafioned by fudden {bowers
are received into proper ditches, and fpread equally
over the lands until their fertilizing property be totally
exhaufted. “ Neceffity ({ays he) indeed compels us
to make the moft of every drop : for we have near 300
acres in this pariffi, that mult all, if poffible, be wa¬
tered ; and the ftream that affords the water feldom
exceeds five yards in breadth and one in depth : there¬
fore we may fay, that a fcarcity of water is almoft as
much dreaded by us as by the celebrated inhabitants
422 of the banks of the Nile.”
The prac- Confidering the great advantages to be derived from
tice of wa- praftice of watering meadow's, and the many un-
ought to be d°ubted teftimonies in its favour, Mr Wright expreffes
more gene- his furprife, that it has not come into more general
rally ex- ufe, as there is not a ftream of water upon which a
tended. mill can be eretled but what may be made fubfervient
to the enriching of fome land, perhaps to a great quan¬
tity. “ I am confident (fays he), that there are in
each county of England and Wales 2000 acres upon
an average which might be thus treated, and every acre
increafed at lead one pound in annual value. The ge¬
neral adoption therefore of watering is capable of be¬
ing made a national advantage of more than ioo,oool.
per annum, befifles the great improvement of other laird
arifing from the produce of the meadows and the em¬
ployment of the induftrious poor. Such an improve¬
ment, one would think, is not unworthy of public no¬
tice ; but if I had doubled the fum, I believe I ffiould
not have exceeded the truth, though I might have
gone beyond the bounds of general credibility. In
this one pariffi where I refide there are about 300 acres
now watered; and it may be eafily proved that the
proprietors of the End reap from thence 1000I. yearly
profit.”
In Mr Bofwell’s treatife upon this fubjefl, publiffied
in 1790, the author complains of the negleil of the
practice of improving the wet, boggy, and ruftiy lands,
which' lie at the banks of rivers, and might be melio¬
rated at a very fmall expence, when much larger fums
are expended in the improvement of barren uplands
and large tra&s of heath in various parts of the king¬
dom : and he complains likewife of the little informa- Culture of
tion that is to be had in books concerning the method. 8'rafe- ,
of performing this operation. The only .author from J
whom he acknowledges to have received any informa¬
tion is Blyth j and even his method of watering is very
different from that praclifed in modern times, j for
wffiich reafon he propofes to furniffi an original trea¬
tife upon the fubjedl j and of this we ffiall now give
the fubftance. 423
The firfl: thing to be confidered is, what lands are Land ca-
capable of being watered. Thefe, according to MrPa|,'e °f
Bofwell, are all fuch as lie low, near the banks of ri-^1”! wa’
vulets and fprings, efpecially where the water courfe V
is higher than the lands, and kept within its bounds
by banks. If the rivulet has a quick defcent, the im¬
provement by watering will be very great, and the ex-
pences moderate. On level lands the water runs but
Howdy, wffiich is alfo the cafe with large rivers 5 and
therefore only a finall quantity of ground can be over¬
flowed by them in comparifon of what can be done in
other cafes : but the water of large rivers is generally
poffeffed of more fertilizing properties than that of ri¬
vulets. In many cafes, however, the rivers are navi¬
gable, or have mills upon them j both of wffiich are
ftrong objections to the perfect improvement of lands
adjacent to them. From thefe confiderations, our au¬
thor concludes, that the watering of lands may be per¬
formed in the belt and leafl: expenfive manner by fmall
rivulets and fprings.
There are three kinds of foils commonly found near
the banks of rivers and rivulets, the melioration of
which may be attempted by watering. 1. A gravelly
or found warm firm foil, or a mixture of the two to¬
gether. This receives an almofi: inftantaneous im¬
provement $ and the fafter the water runs over it the
better. 2. Boggy, miry, and rufliy foils, wffiich are
always found by the banks of rivers where the land is
nearly level. Thefe alfo are greatly improved by wa¬
tering ; perhaps equally fo with thofe already defcri-
bed, if we compare the value of both in their unim¬
proved ftate, this kind of ground being fcarce worth
any thing in its unimproved ftate. By proper water¬
ing, however, it may be made to produce large crops
of hay, by which horned cattle may be kept through
the winter and greatly forwarded •, though, in its un¬
cultivated ftate, it would fcarce produce any thing to
maintain ftock in the winter, and very little even in
fummer. Much more {kill, as w e 11 as expence, how¬
ever, is requifite to bring this kind of land into culture
than the former. 3. The foils moft difficult to be
improved are ftrong, wet, and clay foils $ and this dif¬
ficulty is occafioned both by their being commonly on
a dead level, wffiich will not admit of the w^ater run¬
ning over them ; and by their tenacity, which will not
admit of draining. Even when the utmoft care is ta¬
ken, unlefs a ftrong body of water is thrown over
them, and that from a river the w^ater of wffiich has a
very fertilizing property, little advantage will be gain¬
ed ; but wherever fuc h advantages can be had in the
winter, and a warm ipring fucceeds, thefe lands wall
produce very large crops of grafs. _ 424
The advantage of ufing fprings and rivulets for wa-Springs and
tering inftead of large rivers is, that the expence of rivulets
raifing wrares acrofs them will not be great; nor are
they liable to the other objeaions which attend the rivers®
ufe
Parti. A G R I C U
Culture of ufe of large rivers. When they run through a culti-
grafs. vated country alfo, the land floods occafloned by vio-
LlJI lent rains frequently bring with them fuch quantities
of manure as contribute greatly to fertilize the lands,
and rvhich are totally loft where the practice of wa¬
tering is not in ufe.
Springs may be ufeful to the coarfe lands that lie
near them, provided the water can be had in fufficicnt
quantity to overflow the lands. “ By fprings (fays .
our author), are not here meant fuch as rife out of
poor heath or boggy lands (for the water ifiuing from
them is generally fo fmall in quantity, and always fo
very lean and hungry in quality, that little if any ad¬
vantage can be derived from it) 5 but rather the head
of rivulets and brooks riling out of a chalky and gra¬
velly found firm foil, in a cultivated country. Thefe
are invaluable ; and every poflible advantage Ihould be
taken to improve the ground near them. The author
knows a confiderable trad of meadow-land under this
predicament j and one meadow in particular that is
watered by fprings iffuing immediately out of fuch a
foil, without any advantage from great towns, &c.
being fituated but a fmall diftance beloxv the head of
the rivulet, and the rivulet itfelf is fed all the way by
fprings rifing out of its bed as clear as cryftal. The
foil of the meadow is a good loam fome inches deep,
upon a fine fpringy gravel. Whether it is from the
heat of the fprings, or wkether the fricHon by the
water running over the foil raifes a certain degree of
warmth favourable to vegetation, or from whatever
caufe it arifes, the fecundity of this water is beyond
conception ; for when the meadow has been properly
watered and w'ell drained, in a warm fpring, the grafs
has been frequently cut for hay within five weeks from
the time the ftock was taken out of it, having eat it
bare to the earth : almoft every year it is cut in fix
weeks, and the produce from one to three waggon
loads to an acre. In land thus fituated, in the morn¬
ings and evenings in the months of April, May, and
June, the whole meadow will appear like a large fur¬
nace : fo confiderable is the fteam or vapour which
arifes from the warmth of the fprings afted upon by
the fun-beams : and although the water is fo exceed¬
ing clear, yet upon its being thrown over the land on¬
ly a few days in warm weather, by dribbling through
the grafs, fo thick a feum will arife and adhere to
the blades of the grafs, as will be equal to a confider¬
able quantity of manure fpread over the land, and (it
may be prefumed from the good effefts) ftill more en¬
riching.
“ It is inconceivable what 24 hours water properly
conveyed over the lands will do in fuch a feafon : a
beautiful verdure will arife in a few days where a
parched rufty foil could only be feen 5 and one acre
will then be found to maintain more ftock than ten
425 could do before.”
Explana- Mr Bofwell next proceeds to an explanation of the
terms ui'ed terms u^ec^ art ’ t^le inftruments neceflary to
in water- Perform it; and of the principles on which it is found¬
ing. ed. The terms ufed are :
1. A Ware. This is an erefiion acrofs a brook,
rivulet, or river, frequently conftnnfted of timber, but
more commonly of bricks or ftones and timber, with
openings to let the water pafs, from two to ten in num¬
ber according to the breadth of the ftreaxn ; the height
L T U R E. 437
being always equal to the depth of the ftream compa- Culture of
red with the adjacent land. The ufe of this is occa-, grafi:- i
fionally to flop the current, and to turn it afide into
the adjacent lands.
2. A Sluice is conftru&ed in the fame manner as
a ware 5 only that it has but a fingle paffage for the
water, and is put acrofs fmall ftreams for the fame pur-
pofes as a ware.
3. A Trunk is defigned to anfwer the fame pur-
pofes as a lluice ; but being placed acrofs fuch ftreams
as either cattle or teams are to pafs over, or where it
is neceflary to carry a fmall ftream at right angles to a
large one to water fome lands lower down, is for thefe
reafons made of timber, and is of a fquare figure.
The length and breadth are various, as circumftances
determine.
4. A Carriage is made of timber or of brick. If
of timber, oak is the belt ; if of brick, an arch ought
to be thrown over the ftream that runs under it, and
the fides bricked up : But when made of timber,
which is the moft common material, it is conftnnfted
with a bottom and fides as wide and high as the main
in which it lies. It muft be made very ftrong, clofe,
and well jointed. Its ufe is to convey the water in one
main over another, which runs at right angles to it j
the depth and breadth are the fame with thofe of the
main to which it belongs : and the length is determi¬
ned by that which it croffes. The carriage is the moft
expenfive inftrument belonging to watering.
5. A Drain-Sluice, or Dram-Trunk7 is always
placed in the lower part of fome main, as near to the
head as a drain can be found j that is, fituated low
enough to draw the main, &c. It is made of timber,
of a fquare figure like a trunk, only much fmaller. It
is placed with its mouth at the bottom of the main,
and let down into the bank ; and from its other end a
drain is cut to communicate with fome trench-drain
that is neareft. The dimenfions are various, and de¬
termined by circumftances. The ufe of it is, when the
water is turned fome other way, to convey the leaking
water that oozes through the hatches, &c. into the
drain, that otherwife would run down into the tails of
thofe trenches which lie loweft, and there poach and
rot the ground, and probably contribute net a little to
the making it more unfound for ftieep. This opera¬
tion is of the utmoft confequence in watering j for if
the water be not thoroughly drained off the land, the
foil is rotted j and when the hay comes to be removed,
the wheels of the carriages fink, the horfes are mired,
and the whole load fometimes fticks faff for hours to¬
gether. On the other hand, when the drain trunks
are properly placed, the ground becomes firm and dry,
and the hay is fpeedily and eafily removed.
7. Hatches are beft made of oak, elm, or deal j
the ufe of them is to fit the openings of wares, trunks,
or fluices; and to keep back the water when neceffa-
ry, from pafling one way, to turn it another. They
ought to be made to fit as clofe as poflible. When
hatches belong to wares that are erefted acrofs large
ftieams, or where the ftreams fwell quickly with heavy
rains, when the hatches are in their places to water the
meadows they are fometimes made fo, that a foot or *
more of the upper part can be taken off, fo that vent
may be given to the fuperfiuous water, and yet enough
retained for the purpofe of watering the meadows. In
A* AGRICULTURE. Praftice.
Culture of this cafe, they are called food-hatches : but Mr Bofwell
, _ gra‘^_li entirely difapproves of this conftru&ion, and recom¬
mends them to be made entire, though they fliould be
ever fo heavy, and require the afliftance of a lever to
raife them up. For when the water is very high, and
the hatches are fuddenly drawn up, the water falls with
great force upon the bed of the ware, and in time
greatly injures it: but when the whole hatch is drawn
up a little 'way, the water runs off at the bottom, and
does no injury.
8. A Head-Main, is a ditch drawn from the river,
rivulet, &c. to convey the water out of its ufual cur¬
rent, to water the lands laid out for that purpofe, by
means of leffer mains and trenches. The head-main is
made of various dimenfions, according to the quantity
of land to be watered, the length or defcent of it, &c.
Smaller mains are frequently taken out of the head
one $ and the only difference is in point of fize, the
fecondary mains being much fmaller than the other.
They are generally cut at right angles, or nearly fo
with the other, though not invariably. The ufe of
the mains, whether great or fmall, is to feed the
trenches with water, which branch out into all parts
of the meadow, and convey the water to float the land.
By fome, thefe fmaller mains are improperly called
carriages.
9. A Trench is a fmall ditch made to convey the
water out of the mains for the immediate purpofe of
■watering the land. It ought always to be drawn in a
ftraight line from angle to angle, with as few turnings
as poffible. It is never deep, but the width is in pro¬
portion to the length it runs, and the breadth of the
plane between that and the trench-drain. The breadth
tapers gradually to the lower end.
10. A Trench-Drain is always cut parallel to
the trench, and as deep as the tail-drain water will ad¬
mit, when neceffary. It ought always, if poffible, to
be cut down to a ftratum of fand, gravel, or clay. If
into the latter, a fpade’s depth into it will be of great
advantage. The ufe of it is to carry away the water
immediately after it has run over the panes from the
trench. It need not be drawn up to the head of the
land by five, fix, or more yards, accordiug to the na¬
ture of the foil. Its form is direftly the reverie of the
trench j being narrower at the head, and growing gra¬
dually wider and wider until it empties itfelf into the
tail-drain.
11. The Tail-Drain is defigned as a receptacle
for all the Water that flows out of the other drains,
which arc fo fituated that they cannot empty them-
felves into the river. It fliould run, therefore, nearly
a£ right angles with the trenches, though generally it
is thought moft eligible to draw it in the loweft part
of the ground, and to ufe it to convey the water out
of the meadows at the place where there is the great-
eft defcent j which is ufually in one of the fence-
ditches : and hence a fence-ditch is ufually made ufe
of inftead of a tail-drain, and anfwers the double pur¬
pofe of fencing a meadow, and draining it at the fame
time.
12. A Pane of ground is that part of the meadow
which lies between the trench and the trench-drain j
and in which the grafs grow’s for hay. It is watered
by the trenches, and drained by the trench-drains $
whence there is a pane on each fide of every trench.
3
13. A Way-Pane is that part of the ground which Culture of
lies in a properly watered meadow, - on the fide of the . ^rafs' ,
main where no trenches are taken out, but is watered v "
the whole length of the main over its banks. A drain
for c arty in g off the water from this pane runs parallel
to the main. The ufe is to convey the hay out of the
meadows, inftead of the teams having to crofs all the
trenches.
14. A Bend is made in various parts of thofe
trenches which 'have a quick defcent, to obftruft the
water. It is made, by leaving a narrow ftrip of green
fward acrofs the trench where the bend is intended to
be left j cutting occafionally a piece of the ftiape of a
wedge out of the middle of it. The ufe is to check
the water, and force it over the trench into the panes j
which, were it not for thefe bends, would run rapidly
on in the trench, and not flow over the land as it paffes
along. The great art in watering confifts in giving to
each part of the panes an equal proportion of -water.
15. A Gutter is a fmall gro'ove cut out from the
tails of thefe trenches where the panes run longer at
one corner than the other. The ufe is to carry the
water to the extreme point of the pane. Thofe panes
which are interfered by the trench and tail-drains,
meeting in an obtufe angle, require the afliftance of
gutters to convey the water to the longeft fide. They
are likewife ufeful, when the land has not been fo well
levelled, but fome part of the panes lie higher than
they ought: in which cafe, a gutter is drawn from
the trench over that high ground, which otherwife
would not be overflowed. Without this precaution,
unlefs the flats be filled up (which ought always to be
done when materials can be had to do it) the water
will not rife upon it; and after the watering feafon is
paft, thofe places would appear rufty and brown, while
the reft is covered with beautiful verdure. Our au¬
thor, however, is of opinion, that this method of treat¬
ing water meadows ought never to be followed *, but
that every inequality in water meadows ftiould either
be levelled or filled up. Hence the waterman’s fkill is
ftiown in bringing the water over thofe places to which
it could not naturally rife, and in carrying it off from
thofe where It would naturally flagnate.
16. A Catch-Drain is fometimes made ufe of when
water is fcarce. When a meadow is pretty long, and
has a quick defcent, and the water runs quickly down
the drains, it is cuftomary to flop one or more of them
at a proper place, till the wuter flowing thither rifes fo
Jiigh as to ftrike back either into the tail-drains fo as fo
ftagnate upon the fides of the panes, or till it flovrs over
the banks of the drains, and waters the grounds below,
or upon each fide. It is then to be conveyed over the
land in fuch quantity as is thought proper, either by a
fmall main, out of which trenches are to be cut with
their proper drains, of by trenches taken properly out
of it. In cafe of a ftagnation, the defign will not fuc-
ceed j and it will then be neceffary to cut a paffage to
let the ftagnating water run off. Even when the me¬
thod fucceeds belt, Mr Bofwell is of opinion, that it is
not by any means eligible \ the iVater having been fo
lately ftrained over the ground, tnat it is fuppofed by
the watermen not to be endowed with fuch fertilizing
qualities as at firft ; whence nothing \iut abfolute ne-
ceflity can juftify the pra&ice. \
17. A Pond is any quantity of water ftagnating
upon
Part I.
A G R I C
Culture of upon the ground, or in the tail-drain, trench-drains,
&c. fo as to annoy the ground near them. It is oc-
• , n cafioned foinetimes by the Hats not having been pro¬
perly filled up ) at others, when the ware not being
clofe fiiut, in order to water fome grounds higher up,
the water is thereby thrown back upon the ground
adjacent.
18. A Turn of water fignifies as much ground as
can be watered at once. It is done by ihutting down
the hatches in all thofe wares where the water is in¬
tended to be kept out, and opening thofe that are to
let the winter through them. The quantity of land to
be watered at once mull vary according to circum-
flances ; but Mr Bofwell lays down one general rule
in this cafe, viz. that no more land ought to be kept
under water at one time than the ftream can fupply
regularly with a fufficient quantity of water ; and if
this can be procured, water as much ground as pof-
fible.
19. The H had of the meadow’, is that part of it
into which the river, main, &c. fiift enter. •
20. The Tail is that part out of w^hich the river,
&.c. laft pafi'es.
21. The Upper Side of a main or trench, is that
fide which (when the main or trench is drawn at right
angles, or nearly fo, with the river) fronts the part
where the river entered. The knver fide is the op-
pofite.
22. The Upper Pane in a meadow, is that which
lies on the upper fide of the main or trench that is
drawm at right angles wnth the river : where the river
runs north and fouth, it enters in the former direc¬
tion, and runs out in the fouthern, the main and
trenches running eaft and weft. Then all thofe panes
which lie on the north fide of the mains are called
upper panes ; and thofe on the fouth fide the lower
panes. But when the mains, trenches, &c. run paral¬
lel to the river, there is no diftimftion of panes into up¬
per and lower.
The inftruments ufed in watering meadow’s are :
1. A Water level. The ufe of this is to take the
level of the land at a diftance, and compare it with
that of the river, in order to know’ whether the ground
can be overflowed by it or not. This inftrument,
how’ever, is ufed only in large undertakings *, for
fuch as are on a fmaller fcale, the workmen difpenfe
with it in the following manner : In drawing a main,
they begin at the head, and work deep enough to have
the water follow them. In draw’ing a tail drain, they
begin at the lower end of it and work upwards, to let
the tail water come after them. By this method we
obtain the moft exact level.
I. The Z/W, Reel, and Breq/l-Plough, are abfolutely
neceflary. The line ought to be larger and ftronger
than that ufed by gardeners.
3. Spades. Thofe ufed in watering meadows are made
of a particular form, on purpofe for the work : having
a Item confiderably more crooked than thofe of any
other kind. The bit is iron, about a foot wide in the
middle, and terminating in a point: a thick ridge runs
perpendicularly down the middle, from the ftern. al-
moft to the point. The edges on both fides are drawn
very thin, and being frequently ground and whetted,
the w’hole foon becomes narrow’ 5 after which the
fpades are ufed for trenches and drains} new ones be-
U L T U R E. 439
ing procured for other purpofes. The Items being Culture of
made crooked, the w’orkmen Handing in the trench or e:ra^‘
drain are enabled to make the bottoms quite fmooth
and even.
4. Wheel and Hand-barrows. The former are ufed
for removing the clods to the flat places, and are quite
open, without any fides or hinder part. The latter are
of fervice where the ground is too loft to admit the
ufe of w’heel-barrows, and when clods are to be re¬
moved during the time that the meadow is under
water.
5. Three-wheeled Carts are neceflary w’hen large
quantities of earth are to be removed ; particularly
w’hen they are to be carried to fome diftance.
6. Short and narrow’ Scythes are made ufe of to mow
the w’eeds and grafs, when the w ater is running in the
trenches, drains, and mains.
7. Forks, and long Crooks with four or five tines, are
ufed for pulling out the roots of fedges, rufnes, reeds,
&c. which grow in the large mains and drains. The
crooks Ihould be made light, and. have long Items to
reach wflierever the water is fo deep that the workmen
cannot work in it.
8. Strong Vi ater-boots, the tops of which will draw
up half the length of the thigh, are indifpenfably ne¬
ceflary. They muft alfo be large enough to admit a
quantity of hay to be Huffed down all round the legs,
and be kept well tallowed to refill the running water
for many hours together. ^
The principles on which the praclice of watering Principles
meadow’s depend are few and eafy. on which
1. Water will alwmys rife to the level of the recep-*^' pr.ac~
tacle out of which it is originally brought. terW de-”
2. There is in all ftreams a defeent greater or fmall-pend?.
er ; the quantity of which is in fome meafure fiiowm
by the running of the ftream kfelf. If it run fmooth
and How, the defeent is fmall 5 but if rapidly and with
noife, the deicent is confiderable.
3. Hence if a main be taken out of the river high
enough up the ftream, water may be brought from that
river to flow over the land by the fide of the river, to
a certain diftance below’ the head of the main, although
the river from whence is is taken Ihould, onpofite to
that very place, be greatly under it.
4. Water, funk under a carraiage which conveys
another ftream at right angles over it, one, .two, or
more feet below its owm bed, w’ill, when it has paf-
fed the carrige, rife again to the level it had be¬
fore.
5. Water conveyed upon any land, and there left
ftagnant for any length of time, does it an injury ; de-
ftroying the good herbage, and filling the place with,
rulhes, flags, and other w’eeds.
6. Hence it is abfoutely neceflary, before the work
is undertaken, to bo certain that the w’ater can be tho¬
roughly drained off.
In Mr Wright’s treatife upon this fubjeft, the au- Wright’s
thor confiders a folution of the three fallowing que-meth<^
Hions as a neoeffary preliminary to the opeiation of wa¬
tering. 1. Whether, the ftream of water will admit of
a temporary, dam or wrare acrofs it ? 2. Can the far¬
mer raife the water by this means a few inches above its
level, without injuring his neighbour’s land * 3. Can
the water be drawn oft" from the meadow as quick .as
it is brought on ? If a fatisfadory aufwer can be given
440 A G R I C U
Culture of to all thefe quefl^r.-s, he direfts to proceed in the fol-
, gra{~s- lowing manner.
Having taken the level of tne grouned, and compa¬
red it with the river, as directed by Mr Bofwell, cut
a deep wide nich as near the dam as poffible, and by
it convey the water direftly to the higheft part of the
meadow; keeping the fides or banks of the ditch of
an equal height, and about three inches higher than
the general furface of the meadow. Where the mea¬
dow is large, and has an uneven furface, it will fome-
times be neceffary to have three works in different di-
redtions, each five feet wide, if the meadow contains
15 acres, and if the higheft part be fartheft from the
ftream. A ditch of 10 feet wide and three deep will
commonly water 10 acres of land. When there are
three works in a meadow, and flood-hatches at the
mouth of each, when the water is not fufficient to co¬
ver the whole completely at once, it may be watered
at three different times, by taking out one of the
hatches, and keeping the other two in. In this cafe,
wflien the water has run over one divifion of the land
for 10 days, it may then be taken off that and tumbled
over to another, by taking up another hatch and let¬
ting down the former j by which means the three divi-
fions will have a proper fhare of the water alternately,
and each reap equal benefit. The bottom of the firft
work ought to be as deep as the bottom of the river,
when the fall in the meadow will admit of it $ for the
' deeper the water is drawn, the more mud it carries
along with it. From the wrorks, cut at right angles,
fmaller ditches or troughs, having a breadth propor¬
tioned to the diftance to which fome part of the water
is to be carried, their diftance from each other being
about 12 yards. A trough two feet wide and one
foot deep, will water a furface 12 yards wide and 40
feet long. In each trough as w-ell as ditch place fre¬
quent flops and obftru&ions, efpecially when the wa¬
iter is rapid, to keep it high enough to flow through
the notches or over the fides. Each ditch and trough
is gradually contrafted in width, as the quantity of
water conftantly decreafes the farther they proceed.
Between every twro troughs, and at an equal diftance
from both, cut a drain as deep as you pleafe parallel
to them, and wide enough to receive all the water that
runs over the adjacent lands, and to carry it off into
the mafter-drain with fuch rapidity as to keep the
wiiole Iheet of wrater in conftant motion j and if pof¬
fible, not to fuffer a drop to ftagnate upon the whole
meadow. “ For a ftagnation, fays he, (though it is
recommended by a Mr D. Young for the improve¬
ment of arable land), is what w7e never admit in our
fyftem of watering} for we find that it rots the turf,
foaks and ftarves the land, and produces nothing but
coarfe grafs and aquatic weeds.
“ When a meadow lies cold, flat, and fwampy, the
width of the bed, or the diftance between the trough
and drain, ought to be very fmall, never exceeding fix
yards : indeed, in this cafe, you can fcarcely cut your
land too much, provided the wrater be plentiful j for
the more you cut, the more water you require. The
fall of the bed in every meadow Ihould be half an inch
in a foot: lels wdll do, but more is defir able 5 for when
the draught is quick, the herbage is always fine and
•fweet. The wTater ought never to flow more than
L T U R E. Praake.
two inches deep, nor lefs than one inch, except in the Culture <4
wrarm months.” , Sr?45'
Mr Wright proceeds now to anfwer fome objec- " Tg"
tions made by the Reviewers in their account of the Objechonr
firft edition of his w7ork, 1. That the Gloucefterfhire to lua me-
farmers ufe more water for their lands than is necef- an*
fary. To this it is anfwered, That where water is plen-fwereti-
tiful, they find it advantageous to ufe even more water
than he recommends •, and when water is fcarce, they
choofe rather to water only one half, or even a fmaller
portion of a meadow at a time, and to give that a
plentiful covering, than to give a fcanty one to the 429
whole. 2. The Reviewers likewife recommend a re- A repeated
peated ufe of the fame water upon difierent and lower tlie
parts of the fame meadow, or to make each drain ferve
as a trough to the bed which is below it. But though ble. °
this method is in fome degree recommended by the
celebrated Mr Bakewell, and taught by a fyftematic
waterer in Staffordfliire, he entirely difapproves of it;
excepting where the great declivity of the land will
not admit of any other plan. “ This cannot (fays he)
be a proper mode of watering grafs-land in the win¬
ter time *, for it can be of no fervice to the loweft
parts of the meadow, unlefs as a wetting in fprxng or
fummer. The firft or higheft part of a meadow laid
out according to this plan will indeed be much im¬
proved 5 the fecond may reap fome benefit 3 but the
third, which receives the exhaufted thin cold water, will
produce a very unprofitable crop. Our farmers never
choofe more than a fecond ufe in the feme meadow,
and that very feldom 3 they call even the fecond running
by the fignificant name of fmall beer ; which, they fay,
may poflibly fatisfy thirft, but can give very little
life or ftrength to land. It is a much better method
to have a meadow laid out fo as to be watered at fe-
veral times, and to be at the expence of feveral fmall
flood-hatches, than to water the whole of it at once
by means of catch-drains.
“ Sometimes it is neceffary, in a large meadow7, to
convey the water that has been ufed under the works
and troughs; and then the water above is fupported
by means of boards and planks, which we call a carry-
bridge. Sometimes, the better to regulate the courfe
of the water on the furface, efpecially in the fpring,
narrow trenches are dug, and the mould laid by the
fide of them, in order to be reftored to its former
place when the watering is finiflied. The earth and
mud thrown out in cleanfing and paring the ditches
Ihould be carried to fill up the low hollow parts of the
meadow, and be trodden down with an even furface 3
which will eafily be done when the w7ater is on, the
w7aterman being always provided with a ftrong pair of
water-proof boots. If the mould thus ufed has upon
it a turf that is tolerably fine, place it uppermoft 3 but
if it is fedgy and coarfe, turn it under, and the water
if it runs quick wdll foon produce a fine herbage
upon it.
“ The grounds that are watered in the eafieft and
moft effectual manner, are fuch as have been ploughed
and ridged up in lands about twelve yaics wdde. Here
the water is eafily carried along the ridge by means of
a fmall ditch or trough cut along its fummit, and then,
by means of the flops in it, is made to run dow n the
fides or beds into the furrow s, by which it is earned
into
Parti. A G R I C U
Culture of into the rnafter-drain, which empties itfelf into the ri-
, Grafs- i ver. Every meadow, before it is well watered, mult
v be brought into a form fomething like a field that has
been thus left by the plough in a ridged Hate. Each
fide of the ridge Ihould be as nearly as poffible an exadt
inclined plane, that the water may flow over it as
equally as may be.” Mr Wright does not, like Mr
Bofwell, difapprove of the ufe of flood-hatches ; he
only gives the following hint, viz. that their bafis
Ihould be deep and firmly fixed, well fecured with
ftone and clay, that it be not blown up. The foliow-
430 ing directions are given for each month of watering.
Of cleaning In the beginning of November, all the ditches,
troug5:is> and drains, are to be thoroughly cleanfed by
works, the fpade and breaft-plough, from weeds, grafs, and
431 mud j and well repaired, if they have received any in-
Thick and jury from cattle. After a ftiower, when the water is
muddy wa-ancj muddy turn over the meadow as much wa
ter to be u-. • * • , , „ „ .
fed when it
L T U R E.
county, which lie next below a market town or vil-
ter to be u- ' ' . , ... , . .
tter as you can without injuring the banks of the
can be
done.
works, efpecially if the land be poor j as in this month,
according to our author, the water contains many more
fertilizing particles, which he calls fa/ts and richnefs,
than later in the winter. In defence of this pofition,
6f which it feems the Monthly Reviewers have doubt¬
ed, our author urges, that though he is not able to
prove it by any chemical analyfis, yet it feems evident,
that “ after the firft wafliing of farm yards, various
finks, ditches, and the furface of all the adjoining
fields, which have lain dry for fome time, the com¬
mon ftream fliould then contain much more fatnefs
than when the fame premifes have been repeatedly
waflied.” This is confirmed by the experience of the
Gloucerterfliire farmers ; who, if they can at this fea-
fon of the year procure plenty of muddy water to
overflow their grounds for one week, look upon it to
be equally valuable with what is procured during all
the reft of die winter. In fupport of this, he quotes
the following words of Mr Forbes, in a treatife on
watering : “ The water ftiould be let in upon the
meadow in November, when the firft great rains make
it muddy, for then it is full of a rich fediment, brought
down from the lands of the country through which it
runs, and is waflied into it by the rain ; and as the fe-
ciment brought by the firft floods is the richeft, the
carriages and drains of the meadow fliould all be
feoured clean and in order, before thefe floods come.”
In oppofition (adds Mr Wright) to the opinion
of practical waterers, that the muddinefs of the water
is of little confequence, I hefitate not to affirm, that
tne mud is of as much confequence in winter-watering,
as dung is in the improvement of a poor upland field.
For each meadow in this neighbourhood is fruitful in
proportion to the quantity of mud that it collefts from
the water. And, indeed, what can be conceived more
enriching than the abundant particles of putrid mat¬
ter which float in the water, and are diftributed over
the furface of the land, and applied home to the roots
of the grafs. It is true, that any the moft Ample
water thrown over a meadow in proper quantity, and
not fuffered to ftagnate, will (belter it in winter, and
in the warmth of fpring will force a crop 5 but this
unufual force muft exhauft the ftrength of the land,
w nich will require an annual fupply of manure in fub-
ftance, or, in a courfe of years, the foil wall be im¬
paired rather than improved. The meadows in this
Ydl. I. Part IL
44*
  .        . Culture of
lage, are invariably the belt 5 and thofe which receive Grafs,
the water after it has been two or three times ufed,
reap proportionably lefs benefit from it : For every
meadow that is well laid out, and has any quantity of
grafs upon its furface, will adl as a fine fieve upon the
water, which, though it flow in ever fo muddy, will
be returned back to the ftream as clear as it came from
the fountain. This circumftance, when there is a
range of meadows to be watered, the property of dif¬
ferent perfons, when water is fcarce, creates vehement
contentions and ftruggles for the firft ufe of it. The
proprietors are therefore compelled to agree among
themfelves, either to have the firft ufe alternately, or
for the higher meadows to dam up, and ufe only one
half or a lefs portion of the river. Our farmers know
the mud to be of fo much confequence in watering,
that whenever they find it collected at the bottom of
the river, or the ditches, they hire men whole days to
difturb and raife it with rakes made for the purpofe,
that it may be carried down by the water, and fpread
upon their meadows. One meadow in South Cerney, Inftance of
I think, is an inconteftible proof of the confequence of the good
muddy water. It is watered by a branch of the com-' fh dis of
mon ftream that runs for about half a mile down a ^lddy wa*
public road. This water, by the mud on the road
being continually difturbed by carriages and the feet
of cattle, becomes very thick, and when it enters the
meadow is almort as white as milk. This field, rvhich
confifts of feven acres, was a few years ago let for 10s.
an acre, but is already become the richeft land in the
pariffi, and has produced at one crop eighteen loads of
hay, and each load more than 25 hundred weight.” ^,
In further confirmation of what our author aflerts, Mr Wim-
he quotes, from the Annals of Agriculture, the fol- Pey’s °pi-
lowing words of Mr Wimpey : “ As to the forts Gf Ij'on uPon
water, little is to be found, I believe, which does L^. U )"
not encourage and promote vegetation, even the mo(T
Ample, elementary, and uncompounded fluid : heat
and moifture, as well as air, are the Jine qua non of
vegetation as well as animal life. Different plants re¬
quire different proportions of each to live and flou-
ri(h 5 but fome of each is abfolutely neccffary to all.
However, experience as well as reafon univerfallv
(hows, that the more turbid, feculent, and replete
with putrefcent matter the water is, the more rich
and fertilizing it proves. Hafty and impetuous rains,
of continuance fufficient to produce a flood, not only
diffolve the falfs, but wafti the manure in fubftance off
the circumjacent land into the rapid current. Such
turbid water is both meat and drink to the land ; and,
by the umftuous fediment and mud it depofits, the foil
is amazingly improved and enriched. The virtue of
water from a fpring, if at all fuperior to pure elemen¬
tary water, is derived from the feveral ftrata or beds of
earth it paffes through, which, according to the nature
of fuch ftrata, may be friendly or otherwife to ve¬
getation. _ If it paffes through chalk, marl, foflil (hells,
or any thing of a calcareous nature, it would in moft
foils promote the growth of plants 3 but if through me¬
tallic ores, or earth impregnated w ith the vitriolic acid,
it would render the land unfertile, if not wholly bar¬
ren. In general the water that has run faf is fuperior
to that which immediately flow’s from the fpring, and
more efpecially that which is feculent and muddy, con-
3 K fifttng
f
442
A G R I G U
435
Culture of fifting chiefly of putrid animal fubftances waffled down
, Grafs- , the dream.”
" To the fame purpofe alfo fays Mr Forbes : “ There
Confirmed is great difference in the quality of water, arifing
by Mr For-from the particles of different kinds of matter mixed
be*' with them. Thofe rivers that have a long courfe
through good land, are full of fine particles, that are
highly fertilizing to fuch meadows as are ufually over¬
flowed by them } and this chiefly in floods, when the
water is fullefl: of a rich fediment : for when the water
is clear, though it may be raifed by art high enough
to overflow the adjoining lands, and be of fome fervice
to them, the improvement thus made is far fhort of
what is obtained from the fame water when it is thick
and muddy.”
Mr Bofwell, though quoted by Mr Wright as an
well’s opi- advocate for the dodlrine juft now laid down, feems,
mon. jn one part 0£ hJg woj-j- at to be of a contrary
opinion. This is in the 14th chapter of his book,
where he remarks upon another publication on the
fame fubject, the name o£wThich he does not mention :
“ In page 4. of that pamphlet (fays Mr Bofwelj),
the writer informs us, ‘ if the water ufed be always
^)ure and Ample, the effeft will by no. means be equal
to the above ; that is,, of a ftream that is fometimes
thick and muddy. We have a ftriking inftance of this
in two of our meadows, which are watered immediately
from fprings that arife in the grounds themfelves.
Their crops are early and plentiful, but not of a good
quality, and the land remains unimproved after many
years watering.’
“ The writer of this treatife (Mr Bofwell}, in a for¬
mer edition, had afferted, and in this repeated, the
contrary effects from a ftream very near the fpring-
head, as clear as cryftal.
“ The gentleman (Mr Beverly of Keld) wThom
that writer mentions in his preface, made a fhort vifit
luft fpring into Dorfetlhire, to ..fatisfy himfelf of the
fa<ft. The editor had the pleafure to fhow' him the
ftream alluded to, which he traced almoft to the foun¬
tain-head. It was perfe£tly clear, and the water wras
then immediately conveyed out of the ftream upon the
lands adjoining, fome of which it was then running
over j others it had been upon, and the verdure was
then appearing. The gentleman expreffed himfelf
perfedlly fatisfied with the fa£t. To him the editor
wifhes to refer, &c. Mr George Culley of Fenton
near Wooler in Northumberland, with a truly noble
and public fpirit that does him great honour as a
friend to his country, fent a very fenfible young man
from*thence into Dorfetftiire, to learn the art of wa¬
tering meadows, and to work the whole feafon in'thofe •
meadows under different watermen. This man was •
often over thofe meadows, and worked in fome juft
below that were watered by the fame ftream. Might
the editor prefume to offer his opinion upon this feem-
ing contradiction, it is very probable that the ffoils-,
both the upper and under ftrata, are very different, as
well as thofe through which the different, fp.rings run.”
Fron^ this paffage, the latter part of which is not
very intelligible, we might conclude that Mr Bofwell
prefers clear to muddy water for overflowing mea¬
dows. In his chapter on land-floods, however, he ex-
preffes himfelf as follows: “ They will (fays he) al-
L T U R E. Practice.
ways be found of great ufe where the fweepings of Culture of
towns, farm-yards, &c. are carried down by them ;, Grafs.
feldom any other erection is wanting befides a fluice ^6 '
or fmall ware to divert and convey them over the Advantages
lands. If the fituation of the land happen to be onofland-
the fide of a hill, catch-drains are abfolutely neceffaryfi00^*-
for watering the lower part of the hill, after the wa¬
ter has been ufed upon the upper. In many parts of
the kingdom, where there are large hills or extenfive
rifing lands, great quantities of water run from them
into the valleys after heavy rains: Thefe might with
proper attention be collected together before they get
to the bottom or flat ground, and from thence be di¬
verted to the purpofe of watering thofe lands that lie
below, with great advantage to the occupier, and at 437
a ftnall expence. And ftiould the land thus fituated be Of convert-'
arable, yet it would be found a beneficial exchange
to convert it into pafture ; particularly if Pafture-pafture.
ground ftiould be a defirable. object to the occupier.
The method of performing it is thus recommended.
Qbferve the piece of land or field heft adapted to the
purpofe,. both for fituation and foil. If it ftiould be
arable, make it firft very level; and with the crop of
corn fow all- forts of hay feeds 5 and as foon as it has
got a green fward it may be laid out. In the. low eft
part of .the ground draw a deep ditch for the current
to run in through it 5 and continue it into, fome ditch
ojr low part in the lands below, that the water may
be freely carried oft', after it has been and while it is
in ufe. Draw ditches above the field intended to be
watered aflant the ftdes of the hill, in fuch a manner
that they may all empty themfelves into the. head of
the ditch above mentioned, juft where it enters the
field to be watered? then erecting a ware acrofs this
ditch, the field will be capable of being watered, ac¬
cording to the fituation' of the ditch in the middle or
om the fide of-the. field. It muft then be conveyed by
fmall mains or treoches, and fubdivided again by
brauch-trenches, according to the fitje of the. field and
quantity of water that can be- collected j trench-drains
muft be drawn, and the water conveyed into, the ditch
by means of tail-drains. A perfon unacquainted with
water-meadows cannot conceive the advantage arifing
from water thus coUe&ed and conveyed over this
Jfpecies of water-meadow (if it may be flo called), being
generally a firm good toil; but the water running
down from rich cultivated hills? eminences, &c.
fweeps away with it, when.the rain falls very heavy,
vaft quantities of.dung dropped by ffleepand other cat¬
tle, and the, manure carried upon arable lands? all
which being now diverted, and carried over the mea¬
dow-with an eafy defeent, gives time for the particles
of manure to fubfide upon the ground at- one feafon, or
of beiag filtered from it as it dribbles throegb the graft
at another ? after which the warm weather puffl.es on
vegetation amazingly. • Meadows thus • fituated would
be vaftly-fuperior to any . other, if they had. the advan¬
tage of a conftantftream ? but even, as they.axe, taking
the opportunity of watering them by. every heavy rain
or flood that happens, they will be found to be very va¬
luable. The occupier of fuch lands is ftrenuoully ad-
vifed to let no time be loft in appropriating, them to
this ufe ? becaufe thefe lands are healthy for all kinds
of cattle at almoft all feafons 3 and the expence of con¬
verting
Parti. A G R I C U
Culture of verting tliem into tills kind of water-meadow is ex-
Grais- ceeding fmall, the annual charges afterwards quite trif-
1"" v3 "T iihg, and the produce very confiderable.”
jtrMr Wright, having difcuffed the fubject of the qua-
Wright’s] lity of the water, proceeds to give directions for wa-
direftions tering through the different months of the year ■
ing throughU December and January, the chief care confifls
the differ- i'1 keeping the land fheltered by the water from the
ent months fevericy of frofty nights. It is neceffary, however,
of the year, through the whole winter, every ten days or fortnight,
to give the land air, by taking the water off entirely,
otherwife it would rot and deftroy the roots of the
grafs* It is neceffary, likewife, that a proper perfon
fhould go over every meadow at leaft twice every week,
to fee that the water is equally diftributed, and to re¬
move all obftruCtions arifing from the continual influx
of weeds, leaves, flicks, and the like. In February,
a great deal depends upon care and caution. If you
now fuffer the water to remain on the meadow for
many days without intermiffion, a white fcum is raifed,
very deltrudlive to the grafs; and if you take off the
water, and expofe the land to a fevere frolly night,
without its being previoufly dried for a whole day, the
greateft part of the tender grafs will be cut off. The
only ways to avoid both thefe injuries are, either to
take the water off by day to prevent the fcum, and
to turn it over again at night to guard againil the
froff ; or, if this practice be too troublefome, both
may be prevented by taking the water entirely off for
a few days and nights, provided the firft day of taking
oft' be a dry one 5 for if the grafs experience one fine
drying day, the froft at night can do little or no in¬
jury. The fcum is generated chiefly by the warmth
of the fun, when the water is thin and ufed too plen¬
tifully. Towards the middle of this month we vary
our practice in watering; by ufmg only about half the
quantity of water which is made ufe of earlier in the
winter, all that is now required being to keep the
ground in a warm moift flate, and to force vegetation.
“ At the beginning of March, the crop of grafs in
the meadows is generally fufficient to afford an abun¬
dant pafturage for all kinds of flock, and the water is
taken off for near a week, that the land may become
dry and firm before the heavy cattle are turned in -
It is proper, the firft week of eating oft' the fpfing-
feed, if the feai'on be cold, to give the cattle a little
439 hay each night.”
©fearing “ It is a cuftom (fays Mr Wright) with fome
off the farmers in Hampfhire, to eat off the fpring grafs of
g^their meadows with ewes and lambs, in the fame man-
*nd Iambs. ner t*lat we a turnbPs> by inclofing a cer¬
tain portion each day with hurdles or flakes, and gi¬
ving them hay at the fame time. This is certainly
making the moft of the grafs, and an excellent me¬
thod to fine and fweeten the future herbage. In this
month and April, you may eat the grafs as fhort and
clofe as you pleafe, but never later ; for if you trefpafs
only one week on the month of May, the hay-crop
will be very much impaired, the grafs will become foft
and woolly, and have more the appearance and quali¬
ty of an after-math than a crop. At the beginning
of May, or when the fpring feeding is finiftied, the
water is again ufed for a few days by way of wetting.
“ It is rather remarkable, that watering in autumn,
winter, or fpring, will not produce that kind of her-
L T U R E. 443;
bage which is the caufe of the rot in fheep •, but has Culture of
been known to remove the caufe from meadows, which Grafs,
before had that baneful elTeft. If, however, you ufe '
the water only a few days in any of the fummer How4wa-
months,' all the lands thus watered will be rendered tering may
unfafe for the pallurage of flieep. Of this I Wasoccafi°il
lately convinced from an experiment made by a friend. !,he rot m
At the beginning of July, when the hay was carried 1CCP”
oft', and the water rendered extremely muddy and
abundant by feveral days rain, he thought proper to
throw it over his meadows for ten days, in which
time a large collection of extremely rich manure was
made upon the land. In about a month the mea¬
dow was covered with uncommon luxuriancy and
blacknefs of herbage. Into this grafs were turned
eight found ewes and two lambs. In fix weeks time
the lambs were killed, and difcovered ftrong fymptoms
of rottennefs ; and in about a month afterwards one
of the ewes wyas killed, and though it proved very
fat, the liver was putrid and replete with the infeffc
called the JJuke or weevil: the other ew’es w'ere fold to
a butcher, and all proved unfound. This experiment,
how'ever, convinces me, by the very extraordinary
improvement made thereby in the meadow, that mud¬
dy water in the fummer is much more enriching than
it is in autumn or winter; and ought, therefore, to
be ufed for a week at leaft every wet fummer, notwith-
ftanding its inconveniences to fheep, the moft profit¬
able fpecies of ftock.”
Mr Bofwell, befides his general directions for wa¬
tering, gives many plans of the ditches, drains, &c.
for particular meadows, fome of them done from an
aftual furvey. But thefe being confined to particu¬
lar fituations, we fhall here only fpeak of his method
in general. In his third chapter, entitled ^general
Dcjcription of Water-meadows, he obferves, that lands Mr S
capable of being watered, lie fometimes only on one well’s ge-
fide, and fometimes on both fides of the ftream de-neral direc-
figned to fupply them with water. In the former cafe tions ^or
wdien they have a pretty quick defeent, the land may watcnn£’
be often watered by a main drawn out of the ftreara
itfelf, without any ware;” though he acknowledges that
it is by far the belt way to ere Cl a ware, and to draw
mains on each fide, to difpofe of the water to the bell
advantage.
Boggy lands require more and longer continued wa¬
tering than fuch as are fandy or gravelly ; and the lar¬
ger the body of water than can be brought upon them
the better. The weight and ftrength of the water
Vvill greatly affift in comprefling the foil, and deftroy-
ing the roots of the weeds that grow upon it; nor can
the water be kept too long upon it, particularly in the
winter feafon; and the clofer it is fed, the better.
To improve ftrong clay foils, we muil endeavour to
the utmoft to procure the greateft poffible defeent from
the trench to the trench-drain ; which is bell done by-
making the trench-drains as deep as poffible, and ap¬
plying the materials drawn out of them to raife the
trenches. Then, with a ftrong body of water, taking
the advantage of the autumnal floods, and keeping thC
water fome time upon them at that feafon, and a* often
as convenient during the winter, the greateft improve¬
ment on this fort of foils may be made. Warm fand
or gravelly foil, are the rnoft profitable under the wa¬
tering fyftem, provided the water can be brought over
3 & 2 ^ them
444
Culture of them at pleafure. In foils of this kind, the water muft
, Grafs- , not be kept long at a time, but often fliifted, thorough-
"' * ly drained, and the land frequently refreftied with it:
under which circumftances the profit is immenfe. A
fpring-feeding, a crop of hay, and two after-maths, may
be obtained in a year; and this, probably, where in a
dry fummer fcarce grafs enough could be found to keep
a Iheep alive. If the ftream be large, almoft any
quantity of land may be watered from it ; and though
the expence of a ware over it is great, it will foon be
repaid by the additional crop. If the ftream is fmall,
442 the expence will be fo in proportion.
Method of The following method of improving a water-mea-
af^rin^ ^°W WaS ^as ^een tmd by Mr Bofwell
water mea- w^th fuccefs. The meadow had been many years
dow. watered by a fpring rifing juft above it from a barren
fandy heath ; the foil near the furface was in fome
places a gravelly land, in others a fpongy cork, both
upon a ftrong clay and fand mixture, which retained
the draining of the lands above it. Whenever it had
been watered, and left to drain itfelf dry, a yellowilh
red water flood in many parts, and oozed out of others j
the herbage being no other than a poor, miferable,
hairy grafs and fmall fedge. Chalk and alhes had
been thrown over it to very little, purpofe. It wras
then drained underground aflant all the different de-
fcents, and all thefe drains carried into one large drain,
which had been already cut for the purpofe of carry¬
ing off the wrater when the meadow wras overflowed.
Thefe drains were cut quite through the mixture of
clay and fand, and as much deeper as the fall of the
ground below wrould admit of1, then, with chalk cut
for the purpofe, fmall hollow drains were formed at the
bottom of thefe ; the drains were then filled up with
the materials that came out.
This was done in the beginning of fummer, and
the work frequently examined through the feafon •,
the foil was found firmer than before, and none of
that nafty red wrater to be met with upon the furface,
though it continually oozed into the drains. In au¬
tumn the meadow was again prepared for waterings,
by repairing thofe trenches and drains that were proper¬
ly fituated ; and by cutting others where wanted, for the
purpofe of watering the meadow. The water being then
brought over it from the fame fpring as before, the
event anfwered the moft fanguine wilhes of the pro¬
prietor •, the effe&s were vifible the firft year, and the
443 ground has been conftantly improving ever fince.
it^Tandson a^° informs us» that a gentleman in
l^esS^f Scotland had applied to him for directions to water
yils, fome lands lying on the fides of hills, where the de-
fcent is quick •, and of which there are many in this
country, as well as iiyth* -no^th of England. It would
be difficult to water |uch lands by means of drains and
trenches according to the directions already given 5
becaufe the bends in the trenches muft be very near
together and large, as the water muft flow out of the
trench above the bend to flow over the pane below it;
the number and fize would likewife be inconvenient,
and greatly offend the eye.
Lands of this fort are generally capable of being
ploughed $ in which cafe our author directs them to
be once ploughed in the fpring, and fown with oats
or any other kind of grain that will rot the fward.
When the grain is harvefted, plough the land acrofs 3
Pra&ice.
the laft ploughing with the Kentiffi plough, which has Culture of
a moveable mouldboard, and is called a turn-xvnji Grais.
plough. This turns the furrows down the fide of the v ' '
hill, the horfes going forwards and backwards in the
fame furrows. By this means the land is laid flal
w ithout any open furrows in it: drefs it down in the
fpring very fine, and fow it w’ith oats, and mix with
fome kinds of grafs feeds very thick. Thus the ground
wdll have but few irregularities 5 and as foon as the
corn is carried off, or the following fpring at fartheft,
the mains and drains may be cut out.
For watering coarfe lands that are firm enough to
bear the plough, and fituated near a ftream, our au¬
thor gives the following directions.
“ Let the land thus fituated be ploughed once in Of water*
the fpring, and fown with any grain that will rot coarfe
fward. As foon as the crop is off, plough it again,lam*s-
and leave it rough through the winter. Work it down
early in the fpring, and plough it in the direction the
trenches are to lie, making the ridges of a proper fize
for watering, ten or twelve yards wide for inftance 3
work it fine 3 then gather the ridges up again in the
fame manner, making the lart furrows of each ridge
as deep as poffible. If the land be not fine, drefs it
down again, and gather it up a fecond time if necef-
fary 3 and with a Ihovel throw the earth from the
edges of the furrows to the tops of the ridges, to give
the greateft poffible defeent from the trench to the
drain. Sow it with oats and grafs feeds very thick 3
and after the corn is carried off, the trenches may be
formed upon the top of each ridge, difperfing the fur¬
rows with a fpade as much as the fall of the land will
admit of for the drains 3 taking care to procure fuffi-
cient fall at all events, to drain the lands after they
have been watered. By this method the crop of corn
wdll nearly pay all the expence, and the land wdll be
in excellent order.” 445
After the work of watering a meadow is totally Of the ma-
finiffied,and the hay carried off, cattle may be let in to”f^™ent
eat the after-math. When this is done, it will then (lows aft£?
be neceffary to examine whether or not the mains have watering, j
fuffered any injury from their feet 3 whether there be
quantities of mud or fand collected at the angles, &c.
all of which muft be thrown out and the breaches re-'
paired 3 by wffiich means the trenches, drains, &c. will
laft three years, but otherwife not more than two.
The roots, mud, &c. may be ufed in repairing the
breaches, but never left upon the fides of the trenches
out of which they are taken. The tail-drains require
to be cleanfed oftener than any of the other works, for
this, obvious reafon, that the mud, &c. is carried down
from all the. others into them 3 where, if it be allowed
to accumulate, it occafions a ftagnation of water upon
the meadow itfelf. In repairing the trenches, parti¬
cular care ought to be taken that the workmen do not
make them any wider than before, which they are
very apt to do 3 neither are they to be allowed ta
throw the materials which they dig out in a ridge be¬
hind the edge of the trench, which both widens it and
promotes wTeeds. 446
During the time of watering, it will be neceffary to Of the
examine the meadow* every two or three days in order
to remove obftrudtions, &c. If the drains ffiould be^Jjj con_
filled with water and run over, they ought to be made tinue upon
deeper 3 or if this cannot be done, they Ihould bethe mea-
widened dows*
AGRICULTURE.
Part L
A G R I C
Culture of widened. In the winter time a regular ftrong water
Grals~ , fhould be kept, avoiding very ftrong great floods. In
this feafon the water may be kept on the ground with
fafety for a month or even fix weeks, if the foil be
corky or boggy, or a ftrong clay; but not quite
fo long if it be gravel or fand. At the fecond wa¬
tering a fortnight or three weeks will be fufficient ;
and after Candlemas a fortnight will be rather too
long. At the third watering a week will be fufficient,
which will bring it to about the middle of March ; by
which time, if the -weather be tolerably mild, the grafs
will be long enough for the ewes and lambs, or fatting
lambs 5 which may then be turned into the meadow
with great advantage. Even in the end of February,
if the winter has been very mild, the grafs will be
long enough for them. Here they may be permitted
to teed till the beginning of May, changing them into
different meadows. As foon as they are taken out,
the water muft be turned in for a week, carefully ex¬
amining every trench and drain for the reafons already
given. The water is then to be ffiifted into others,
alternately watering and draining, leffening the time
the water remains upon it as the weather grows
warmer *, and in five, fix, or feven wreeks, the grafs
will be fit to be mown for hay, and produce from
one to two tons, or even more, an acre upon good
ground.
Mr Bofwell dire&s, that about a week before the
grafs is to be mown, the water llrould be let into the
meadow for 24 hours j which, he fays, will make the
ground moift at the bottom, the fcythe wall go through
it the more eafily, and the grafs will be mo*vn clofer
to the ground. This practice, however, is entirely
difapproved of by Mr Wright. “ Though it may
prevail in Dorfetlhire (fays he), it is very feldom ad-
vifable, for the following reafons: Water made to
run through a thick crop of grafs, though it may ap¬
pear ever fo pure, will leave t certain quantity of ad¬
herent fcum or fediment, which can never be feparated
from the hay, but will render it unpalatable,,if not pre¬
judicial, to the cattle that eat it. And this wetting
of the land and grafs will impede the drying or making
of the hay perhaps fome days, which in difficult fea-
fons is of very great confequence, and it will like-
wile make the turf too foft and tender to fupport the
wheels,of a loaded waggon in carrying off the hay,
Befides, there is reafon to believe that one day’s wet¬
ting in the fummer, will, upon molt meadows, endanger
the foundnefs of every ffieep that feeds upon the after-
math.”
The fpring-feeding ought never to be done by hea¬
vier cattle than ftieep or calves y for large cattle do
much hurt by poaching the ground with their feet,
deftroying the trenches, and fpoiling the grafs. Mr
Bofwell likewife greatly recommends a proper ufe of
fpring floods, from which he fays much benefit may be
derived ; but, if there is any quantity of grafs in the
meadows not eaten, thefe floods muft be kept out;
otherwife the grafs will be fpoiled ; for they bring
with them fuch quantities of fand and mud, which
flick to the grafs, that the cattle will rather ftarve
than tafte it. Great quantities of grafs or after-math
are frequently fpoiled in flat countries by the floods
which take place in the fall. In the winter time,
however, when the ground is bare, the fand and mud
447
Of’fpring-
fecding.
U L T U R E. 4^5
brought down by the floods is foon incorporated with Culture of
the foil, and becomes an excellent manure. The cer- Grafs-
tain rule with regard to this matter is, “ Make ufe of'"”'
the floods when the grafs cannot be ufed ; avoid them
when the grals is long or foon to be cut.” 448
“ It has often been a fubjefl of difpute (fays MrP^water"
Bofwell), whether, from the latter end of autumn to ^
Candlemas, the throwing a very ftrong body of water, autumn to
where it can be done, over the meadow-s, is of any ef-Candlemas*
feudal fervice or not ? Thofe who conlider it as ad¬
vantageous, affert, that when the waters run rude and
ftrong over the ground, they beat down and rot the
tufts of foggy or rough grafs, fedges, &c. that are al¬
ways to be found in many parts of coarfe meadowy-
ground ; and therefore are of peculiar fervice to
them. On the other fide it is alledged, that by com¬
ing in fo large a body, it beats the ground (in the
wreak places particularly) fo bare, that the fward is de-
ftroyed; and alfo brings with it fuch quantities of
feeds of weeds, that at the next hay feafon the land in
all thofe bare places bears a large burden of weeds, but
little grafs.
“ The general opinion of the watermen upon this
point is, that in wrater-meadow'S wffiich are upon a
warm, fandy, or gravelly foil, with no great depth of
loam upon them, rude ftrong watering, even in winter,
always does harm wdthout any poffible effential fervice.
On the contrary, cold ftrong clay land will bear a great
deal of water a long time wdthout injury ; and boggy,
corky, or fpongy foil, wdll alfo admit of a very large
and ftrong body of wrater upon it with great advantage
for almoft any length of time at that feafon, provided
the drains are made wdde and deep enough to carry it
off, wdth out forcing back upon the end of the panes.
The wreight and force of the water vaftly. affifts in
comprefling thofe foils, wffiich only want folidity and
tenacity to make them produce great burdens of hay :
nothing, in their opinion, corredls and improves thofe
foils fo much as a very ftrong body of w'ater, kept a
confiderable time upon them at that feafon.”
Notwdthftanding the above reafons, however, Mr
Bofwell informs us, that he has doubts upon the fub-
je£l ; nor can he by any means acquiefce in this opi¬
nion, unlefs, by rude ftrong waters he is permitted to>
underftand only rather a larger quantity of neater con¬
veyed over the land at this early feafon than ought to
be ufed in the fpring or fummer : unmanageable waters
he believes always hurtful.
“ It may be proper juft to add (continues he), that
as foon as the hay is carried off the meadows, cattle of
any fort except ffieep may be put to eat the grafs out
of the trenches, and what may be left by the mowers.
This perhaps will laft them a week ; when the water
may be put into the meadow's in the manner already
deferibed, taking care to mow the long grafs which
obftrudts the wTater in the trenches ; and this mowing
is beft done when the water is in them.- Let the wTeeds,>
leaves, &c. be taken out and put in heaps, to be car¬
ried awray into the farm yards ; examine the trenchesy
make up the breaches, &c.- take particular care that
the water only dribbles over every part of the pane*
as thin as poffible, this being the warmeft feafon of
the year. The firft watering ffiould not be fuffered ten
laft longer than two or three days before it is ffiifted'
off (and if the fealbn be wet, perhaps not fo long, as
wTarmth *
44-6
A G R I C U
Culture of wanntli feems to be tbe greateft reqiiifite after tae
Grafs. }an(j is once Wet to aflift vegetation) to another part
'' ' 1 or meadow beat out by tbe cattiCj by this ‘-line fit to
take it. Do by this meadow exactly the fame, and fo
by a third and fourth, if as many meadows belong to
the occupier. Obferve at ail times, when the water is
taken out of a meadow, to draw up the drain-1 nice
hatches •, as, without doing that, watering is an injury.
By the time that three or four parts are thus regularly
watered, the iirft will have an after-math, with fucn
rich and beautiful verdure as will be altonifbing $ and
both quantity and quality will be beyond conception
better than if the lands had not been watered.
“ Hence we fee why every perfon fhould, if povfible,
have three or four meadows that can be watered } for
here, while the cattle are eating the firft, the fecond is
growing, the third draining, &c. and the fourth under
water. In this manner the after-math will in a mild
feafon laft till Chriftmas. A reafon was given why the
fpring-grafs fhould be fed only by fheep or calves 5 a
reafon equally cogent may be given, why the after-grafs
ought not to be fed by them, becaule it will infallibly
rot them. Nfo fheep (fays our author), except fhcie
which are juft fat, muft ever be fuffered even for an
hour in w'ater-meadowTs except in the fpring of the
year •, and even then care muft be taken that every part
of the meadow’s have been w^ell watered, and that they
are not longer kept in them than the beginning of May.
Although at prefent it is unknown what is the occafion
of the rot, yet certain it is, that even half an hour’s feed¬
ing in unhealthy ground has often proved fatal. After
a fhort time they begin to lofe their flefh, grow weaker
and weaker } the beft feeding in the kingdom cannot
\ improve them alter they once fall away j and when
they die, animalcula like plaice are found in the livers.
Scarcely any ever recover from a flight attack •, but
Water when farther advanced, it is always fatal. Guard by
ought not to all means againft keeping tbe water too long upon the
be kept too mea(low J„ \Varm weather ; it will very foon produce a
fflefdows" whlte fobftance like cream, which is prejudicial to the
grafs, and fhows that it has beem too long upon the
ground already. If it be permitted to remain a little
longer, a thick feum will fettle upon the grafs of the
confiftence of glue, and as tough as leather, which tvill
quite deftroy it wftierever it is fuffered to be produced.
The fame bad effedls feem to arife from rude waters j
neither can the feum eafily be got off.
Advantages “ Rolling meadows in the fpring of the year is an
of rolling excellent method.. It fhould be done after Candlemas,
tneadows. -when the meadow7 has been laid dry a wreek. It fhould
be always rolled lengthwife of the panes, up one fide of
the trench and down the other. Rolling alfo contri¬
butes much to the grafs being cut clofe to the furface
when mown, which is no fmall advantage j for the lit¬
tle hillocks, fpewings of wrorms, ant-hills, &c. are by
this means preffed clofe to the ground, which would
otherwife obftruft the feythe and take off its edge 5 and
to avoid that inconvenience, the workmen always mow
over them.”
As a water-meadow7 has with fo much juftice been
called a hot-bed of grafs, and as the pra&ice of flood¬
ing tends fo completely to ameliorate the pooreft foils,
and to extirpate heath and all coarfe and woody plants,
we are fatisfied that the knowledge of it cannot be too
extenfively diffufed, or too minutely enquired into.
L T U R E, Praaice.
That it may be more clearly underflood, therefore, we Culture of
{hall here give a ftatement of the mode in which it is Cr‘LlJ-
practifed in Gloucefterfhire, as explained from Mr'
Wright’s pamphlet, by the Rev. Mr Charles Finlater, Vv’a^SnRg
in a "letter to the conduttors of the Farmer’s Magazine, explained
“ Fit . 6. reprefents a float-meadow under irrigation j by Mr Fin-
the dark fhading reprefenting the water. later-
“ When the hatch of the water dam-dike (marked H) Plate XII.
is lifted up, the water runs in the natural channel of
the river ; when the hatch is {hut, as reprefented in the
figures, the natural channel is laid dry below it, and
the water runs laterally along the main-feeder, in tue
dire&ion of the arrows, and is from it diitributed into
the floating-gutters (g, g, g, g), which are formed along
the crowns of the ridges, into which the meadow is
arranged, overflowing on both fides of (aid gutters, and
running down the fides of the ridges into the furrows
or drains betwixt the ridges (d, d, d, d), which drains
difeharge it into the main-drain, whereby it is returned
into its natural channel at the foot of the meadow.
“ The marks (o o, or A A), and the tufts, in the main-
feeder and the floating-gutters, denote—T he firft, ob-
ftru&ions (made by fmall flakes, or fods, or ft ones) _ to
raife the water, and make it flow over from the main-
feeder into the floating-gutters, or from the latter over
the fides of the ridges ; the fecond, nicks, made in
their Tides, with a ftmilar intention. If, however, the
main-feeder and floating-gutters are properly conftruft-
ed at their firft formation, thefe fupplementary aids will
be, in a great fneafure, unneceffary : For the main-
feeder ought, at its entrance, to be of dimenfions juft
fufficient to admit the quantity of water which is to be
conveyed to tbe meadow7 j and gradually to contra cl
its fize as it goes along, in order that the water, for
"want of room, may be forced over its fide, and into the
floating-gutters : thefe laft ought to be formed after the
fame model, that the w ater may, by their primary con-
ftruftion, overflow their fides, through their whole courfe.
That as little as poflible of the furface may be unpro-
du&ive, a fimilar conftrudtion fhould be adopted for
the drains ; they ought to be narrow nearell to the
main-feeder, where they receive little water, and to
diverge as they approach the mam-dram j which laft
is, for the fame reafon, fimilarly ccnftrufted. In the
plan, this mode of conftruftion is made obvious to the
eye.
“ The meadow7, in this plate, muft be conceived to he
in a regular and very gentle dope from the main-feeder
to the main-drain.
“ Fig. 4. and fig. 5. prefent a view of the ridges cut.
acrofs, with the feeding-gutter (g) upon their crown,
and the furrows, or difeharging drains (d, d) along
their fides. Fig. 5. fhows the ftiape (of gradual fiope)
into which they ought to be foimed at fiift, were it not
for the expence, i. e. wflten they are to be formed out
of grafs fields, preferving the grafs fw7ard. Fig. 4. re¬
prefents the mode in which they may, more cheaply,
though more roughly, be formed at firft 5 when, the
depofitions of fediment from the floating water, will
gradually fill the (boulders of the floating-gutters, up
to the dotted line, forming the ridge into the fliape of
' “ In the formation of the meadow, (particularly if ti e
declivity is very fmall), care fhould be taken to lole as
little as poflible of the level in the main-feeder, and in
the
Part T.
j Culture of
Grafs.
A G R I C
the floating-gutters •, in order that the greater defcent
. may be given to the water down the tides of the ridges,
% from the floating-gutters to their difcharging drains,
that the water may float over the ridges tides with the
more rapidity, and in the more quick fucceflion.
“ The diftance from the floating-gutter to the dif-
charging-drain, ought not to be lefs than four yards,
2. e. the breadth of the ridge eight yards; nor more
than five yards and a half, u e. the breadth of the ridge
eleven yards.
“ It is evident from the plan, that, when the latch
(H) is lifted up, the water refumes its natural channel,
and the meadow becomes at once dry. Its figure frees
it inftantly of all furface water. If any of it is wet from
fprings, thefe muft be carried off by under-draining 5
for it muft be thoroughly drained before you can drown
it to good effect.
7« “ This figure reprefents a float-meadow, where
the declivity is unequal, and which, alfo, is too large,
for the command of water, to admit of being floated
all at once.
“ In this meadow, it is fuppofed that the ground rifes,
from the natural channel of the river, up to (F 1.),
which is a feeder, with its floating-gutters (g, g, g, g) ;
and thence defcends to the hollow (D 1.), which is a
dram communicating with the main-drain, and re¬
ceiving the water from the lefier drains or receiving
furrows (V, 2/, d). It is fuppofed, that the ground
rifes again from the hollow (D 1.), up to the fecond
feeder (F 2.) ; and thence defcends again into the hol¬
low, along which is conduced the receiving-drain
(D 2.) The remainder of the meadow is fuppofed to
He in a regular Hope, from the main-feeder to the drain
laft mentioned, and the main-drain. The letter (r)
marks a very final! rut, made with a fpade, or triangu¬
lar hoe, for conducting water to places upon which it
appears not to fcatter regularly.
“ 1 he hatch upon the river’s natural channel, and that
upon the feeder (F 2.) are reprefented as fhut 5 and,
confequently the natural channel, together with that
part of the meadow which is floated from the feeder
(F 2.), as dry. The hatches upon the feeder (F 1
and upon the mam-feeder, are reprefented as drawn
up 5 and, confequently the two parts of the meadow,
floated from them, are reprefented as under water.
Fig. 8. . “ This reprefents catch-meadow, for a fteep decli¬
vity, or fide of a hill. It is called catch, becaufe,
when the rvhole is watered at once, the water float¬
ing over the uppermoft pitches is catched in the float¬
ing-gutters, which diftribute the water over the inferior
pitches.
“ The lateral horizontal feeding-gutters, which fcatter
the water over the firft and fecond pitches, are repre¬
fented as ftmt by fods or ftones, &cc. (8) ; and confe¬
quently thefe firft and feeond pitches appear dry ; The
whole water is reprefented as paffing down the main-
feeder into the loweft floating-gutter, whence it floats
the loweft or third pitch j and is received into the drain
at the foot of the meadow^ to be returned by it into
the natural channel.
“ When the whole is to be floated at once, the ob-
ftruClions (8) are taken from the lateral floating-gut¬
ters : obftruCtions, mean time, are placed in the main-
feeder, immediately under the floating-gutters, to force
the water into faid gutters.
U L T u R E. 447
“ N. B. In obftru&ing the main-feeder, care muft be Rotation of
taken not to obftruft it entirely, but to allow* always CroPs-
a part of the Water it contains to efcape in it to the ^
lower pitches 5 Tor, fuppofing the main-feeder to be
entirely fhut under the feeding-gutter (g 1.) 5- fo that
the whole water was made to run over the firft pitch,
from faid gutter and the horizontal part of the main-
drain, the water filtrated through the grafs of the firft
pitch, would be fo very much deprived of its fertilizing
qualities, as to be incapable of communicating almoft
any perceptible benefit to the pitches lying below. Wa¬
ter lb filtrated, is called technically ufed water ; and is
efteemed next to ufelefs ; and for this reafon, the grafs
neareft the floating-gutters is moft abundant, and of
beft quality, in all kinds of meadow*.
“ The proper breadth of the pitches of catch-meadow*,
from gutter to gutter, does not feem well determined j
they ought, probably, not to be much broader than
the diftance from the floating-gutter to the receiving-
dram in float-meadow, i. e. from four to five or fix
yards.—Catch-meadow is not fo much prized as float-
meadow*.
“ In the conftruftion of the float-meadows, the floating
gutters die aw*ay to nothing before they meet the main-
drain ; the water from the end of the gutter finding its
way oyer the intervening fpace, or being aflifted in
fcattering by fmall ruts marked (r). The receiving-
drains fhould, for like reafon, not be commenced till
w ithin half a ridge breadth of the main-feeder.”
It is to be obferved w*ith regard to the laft of thefe
modes of flooding, called catch-meadow, that although,
lands thus watered do not become equal to more level
grounds fubjefted to the fame procefs, or float-meadow*,
yet that the improvement of them is perhaps greater in
proportion to the value of the lands in their original
ftate *, for, in this way, lands upon the declivity of
hills, which once produced next to nothing, are enabled
to bear a confiderable crop of valuable grafs. As Itrearns
of water are in high countries frequently found de-
feending from very lofty fituations, and as in thefe cafes
the expence of forming catch-meadow is very trifiino',
k may be regarded as of the moft extenftve utility.
Sect. V. Rotation of Crops.
No branch of hufhandry requires more flu 11 and fa- Rotation c
gacity than a proper rotation of crops, ib as to keepcroPs*
the ground always in heart, and yet to draw* out of it
the greateft profit poflible. Some plants rob the foil,
others are gentle to it: fome-bind, others loofen. The
nice point is, to intermix crops, fo as to make the
greateft profit connftently wdth keeping the ground in
trim. In that view, the nature of the plants employ-
ed in hufbandry mull be accurately examined. 1 * ’ 4 ..1
I he difterence between culmiferous and leguminous Culmife-
plants, is occafionally mentioned above. With re-rous ancl k-
fpe& to the prefect fabjeft, a clofer iiifpeftion is necef-
(ary. Culmiferous plants, having fina-Il leaves and few p ants‘
in number, depend moftly on the toil for nouriftiment
and little on the air. During the- ripening of the feed,
they draw* probably their whole nouriftiment from the
foil; as the leaves by this time, being dry and wither¬
ed, muft have loft their pow er of drawing nourilhment-
ftom the uir. Now, as culmiferous plants are chiefi*^'
cultivated for their feed, and are not cut dow*n till the
iced'
448 AGRICULTURE. Pra&ice,
Rotation of feed be fully ripe, they may be pronounced all of them
, Cr0P» , to be robbery, fame more, fome lefs. But fuch plants,
v while young, are all leaves j and in that date draw
molt of their nourifhment from the air. Hence it is,
that where cut green for food to cattle, a culmiferous
crop is far from being a robber. A hay-crop accor¬
dingly, even where it confifts moftly of rye-grafs, is not
a robber, provided it be cut before the feed is formed $
v/hich at any rate it ought to be, if one would have
hay in perfection. And the foggage, excluding the
froft by covering the ground, keeps the roots warm. A
leguminous plant, by its broad leaves, draws much of
its nourilhment from the air. A cabbage which has
very broad leaves, and a multitude of them, owes its
growth more to the air than to the foil. One faCt is
certain, that a cabbage cut and hung up in a damp
place, preferves its verdure longer than other plants.
At the fame time, a feed is that part of a plant which
requires the molt nourifhment; and for that nourifh-
ment a culmiferous plant muft be indebted entirely to
the foil. A leguminous crop, on the contrary, when
cut green for food, muft be very gentle to the ground.
Peafe and beans are leguminous plants j but being cul¬
tivated for feed, they feem to occupy a middle ftation :
their feed makes them more fevere than other legumi¬
nous crops cut green; their leaves, which grow till
reaping, make them lefs fevere than a culmiferous plant
left to ripen.
Thefe plants are diftinguiftied no lefs remarkably by
the following circumftance. All the feeds of a culmi¬
ferous plant ripen at the fame time. As foon as they
begin to form, the plant becomes ftationary, the leaves
wither, the roots ceafe to pufh, and the plant, when
cut down, is blanched and faplefs. The feeds of a le¬
guminous plant are formed fucceflively : flowers and
fruit appear at the fame time in different parts of the
plant. This plant accordingly is continually growing,
and puftung its roots. Hence the value of bean or
peafe ftraw above that of wheat or oats: the latter is
withered and dry. when the crop is cut 3 the former,
green and fucculent. The difference therefore, with
refpedl to the foil, between a culmiferous and legumi¬
nous crop, is great. The latter, growing till cut
dowTn, keeps the ground in conftant motion, and leaves
it to the plough loofe and mellow. The former gives
over growing long before reaping j and the ground,
by want of motion, turns compaft and hard. Nor is
this all. Dew falling on a culmiferous crop after the
ground begins to harden, refts on the furface, and is
nicked up by the next fun. Dew that falls on a legu¬
minous crop, is ftiaded from the fun by the broad
leaves, and finks at leifure into the ground. The
ground accordingly, after a culmiferous crop, is not
«nly hard, but dry ; after a leguminous crop, it is not
only loofe, but foft and unftuous.
Of all culmiferous plants, wheat is the moft fevere,
by the long time it occupies the ground without ad¬
mitting a plough. And as the grain is heavier than
that of barley or oats, it probably requires more nou-
riftiment than either. It is obferyed above, that as
peafe and beans draw part of their nouriftiment from
the air by their green leaves while allowed to ftand,
rfhey draw the lefs from the ground 5 and by their con-
ilant growing they leave it in good condition for fub-
2 . ' ' •
fequent crops. In both refpedts they are preferable Rotation of
to any culmiferous crop. Crops.
Culmiferous crops, as obferved above, are not rob- ,"'"1 v J'
bers when cut green : the foil, far from hardening, is
kept in conftant motion by the puftiing of the roots,
and is left more tender than if it had been left at reft
without any bearing crop.
Bulbous-rooted plants are above all fuccefsful in di¬
viding and pulverizing the foil. Potato-roots grow
fix, eight, or ten inches under the furface ; and, by
their fize and number, they divide and pulverize the
foil better than can be done by the plough $ confequent-
ly, whatever be the natural colour of the foil, it is
black w hen a potato-crop is taken up. The potato,
however, with refpe<ft to its quality of dividing the
foil, muft yield to a carrot or parfnip j which are large
roots, and pierce often to the depth of 18 inches.
The turnip, by its tap-root, divides the foil more than
can be done by a fibrous-rooted plant $ but as its bul¬
bous-root grows moftly above ground, it divides the
foil lefs than the potato, the carrot, or the parfnip.
Red clover, in that refpefl, may be put in the fame
clafs with turnip.
Whether potatoes or turnip be the more gentle crop,
appears a puzzling queftion. The former bears feed,
and probably draws more nouriftiment from the foil
than the latter, when cut green. On the other hand,
potatoes divide the foil more than turnip, and .leave k
more loofe and friable. It appears no lefs puzzling,
to determine between cabbage and turnip : the former
draws more of its nouriffifhent from the air, the latter
leaves the foil more free and open.
The refult of the whole is what follows : Culmi¬
ferous plants are robbers $ fome more, fome lefs: they
at the fame time bind the foil; fome more, fome lefs.
Leguminous plants in both refpefls are oppofite : if
any of them rob the foil, it is in a very flight degree $
and all of them without exception loofen the foil. A
culmiferous crop, however, is generally the more pro¬
fitable : but few foils can long bear the burden of fuch
crops, unlefs relieved by interjected leguminous crops.
Thefe, on the other hand, without a mixture of cul¬
miferous crops, would foon render the foil too loofe.
Thefe preliminaries will carry the farmer fome length
in directing a proper rotation of crops. Where dung,
lime, or other manure, can be procured in plenty to
Recruit the foil after fevere cropping, no rotation is
more proper or profitable in a ftrong foil, than wheat,
peafe or beans, barley, oats, fallow', T he whole farm
may be brought under this rotation, except fo far as
hay is wanted. But as fuch command of manure is
rare, it is of more importance to determine what fliould
be the rotation when no manure can be procured but
the dung collefted in the farm. Confidering that cul¬
miferous crops are the more profitable in rich land, it
would be proper to make them more frequent than the
other kind. But as there are few' foils in Scotland that
wall admit fuch frequent culmiferous crops without buf¬
fering, it may be laid down ,as a general rule, that al¬
ternate crops, culmiferous and leguminous, ought to
form the rotation. Nor are there many foils that will
ftand good, even with this favourable rotation, un¬
lefs relieved from time to time by pafturing a few
years. If fuch extended rotation be artfully carried
on,
Part I. A G R I C U
Rotation of on, crops without end may be obtained in a tolerable
Crops - - -
good foil, without any manure but what is produced in
the farm.
4 S4
The nature - It 18 Scarce necefiary to be mentioned, being known
of foil con- to every farmer, that clay anfwers bell for wheat,
with6re mo^ c^a7 I°r beans, loam for barley and peafe, light
gard to "the ^or turnbh landy foil for rye and buck-wheat; and
rotation of that oats thrive better in coarfe foil than any other
crops. grain. Now, in directing a rotation, it is not fufli-
cient that a culmiferous crop be always fucceeded by
leguminous : attention muft alfo be given, that no crop
be introduced that is unfit for the foil. Wheat, being
a great binder, requires more than any other crop a
leguminous crop to follows But every fuch crop is
not proper : potatoes are the greatefl openers of foil;
but they are improper in a wheat foil. Neither will
turnip anfwer, becaufe it requires a light foil. A very
loofe foil, after a crop of rye, requires rye-grafs to bind
it, or the treading of cattle in pafturing : but to bind
the foil, wheat mull not be ventured j for it fucceeds
ill in loofe foil.
Another confideration of moment in diredling the
rotation is, to avoid crops that encourage weeds. Peafe
is the fitted of all crops for fucceeding to wheat, be¬
caufe it renders the grounds looie and mellow, and the
fame foil agrees wuth both. But beware of peale, un-
lefs the foil be left by the wdreat perfeflly free of weeds j
becaufe peafe, if not an extraordinary crop, fuller
weeds. Barley may be ventured after wheat, if the
farmer be unwilling to lofe a crop. It is indeed a rob¬
ber ; better, however, any crop, than run the hazard of
poifoning the foil with weeds. But to prevent the ne-
ceflity of barley after wdreat, the land ought to be fal¬
lowed before the wheat: it cleans the ground thorough¬
ly, and makes peafe a fecure crop after wheat. And
after a good crop of peafe, barley never fails. A
horfe-hoed crop of turnip is equal to a fallow for root¬
ing out w eeds j but turnip does not fuit land that is
proper for w heat. Cabbage does well in wheat foil}
and a horfe-hoed crop of cabbage, wdrich eradicates
Weeds, is a good preparation for wheat to be fucceed¬
ed by peafe ; and a crop of beans diligently hand-
hoed, is in that view little inferior. As red clover re-
quhes the ground to be perfeftly clean, a good crop
of it infures wheat, and next peafe. In loam, a drill¬
ed crop of turnip or potatoes prepares the ground,
equai to a fallow, for the fame iucceflion.
Another rule is, to avoid a frequent repetition of
the fame fpecies ; for to produce good crops, change
of fpecies is no lefs necefiary than change of feed.
The fame fpecies returning every fecond or third year,
will infallibly degenerate, and be a fcanty crop. This
is remarkably the cafe of red clover. Nor will our
fields bear pleafantly perpetual crops of wheat after
fallow, which is the practice of feme Englifh farmers.
Hitherto of rotation in the fame field. We add
one rule concerning rotation in different fields ; wdnch
is, to avoid crowding crops one after another in point
or time ; but to choofe fuch as admit intervals Sufficient
for leifurely drefiing, wdiich gives opportunity to ma-
nage. all with the fame hands, and with the fame cat¬
tle ; lor example, beans in January or Tebruarv, peafe
and oats in March, barley and potatoes in April, tur¬
nip in Tune or July, wheat and rye in Qdtober.
for 5 kill rating the foregoing rules, a few inllances
Vol. I. Part II.
L T U R E. 443
of exceptionable rotations wall not be thought amlfs. Rotation o1
The following is an ufual rotation in Norfolk. Firft, ^roPs-
wheat after red clover. Second, barley. Third, tur- v
nip. Fourth, barley with red clover. Fifth, clover Exception-
cut for hay. Sixth, a fecond year’s crop of clover able rota-
commonly paffured. Dung is given to the wheat and bons.
turnip.—Againll this rotation feveral objections lie.
Barley after wheat is improper. The twro crops of bar¬
ley are too near together. The fecond crop of clover
muft be very bad, if paituring be the bell w’ay of con-
fuming it ; and if bad, it is a great encourager of
weeds. But the ftrongell objection is, that red clover
repeated fo frequently in the fame field cannot fail to
degenerate j and of this the Norfolk farmers begin to be
lenfible. Salton in Fall Lothian is a clay foil; and the
rotation there ufually has been wdieat after fallow7 and
dung. Second, barley after twro ploughings j the one be¬
fore winter, the other immediately before the feed is
fown. Third, oats. Fourth, peafe. Fifth, barley. Sixth,
oats j and then fallow. This rotation confifts chiefly
of robbing crops. Peafe are the only leguminous
crop, which, even with the fallow7, is not fufficient to
loofen a ftiff foil. But the foil is good, which in fome
meafure hides the badnefs of the rotation. About
Seaton, and all the way from Prefton to Gosford, the
ground is ftill more feverely handled : v/heat after fal¬
low and dung, barley oats, peafe, wheat, barley, oats,
and then another fallow. The foil is excellent ; and
it ought indeed to be fo, to lupport many rounds of
fuch cropping.
In the parilhes of Tranent, Aberlady, Dirleton,
North-Berwick, and Athelllonefoord, the following
rotations were,formerly univerfal, and to this day are
much more frequent than any other mode.
1. After fallow and dung, wheat, barley, oats, peafe
and beans, barley, oats, wheat.
2. After fallow and dung, barley, oats, peafe and
beans, wheat, barley, oats, peafe, wheat.
3* After fallow and dung, wheat, oats, peafe, bar¬
ley, oats, wheat.
4. After fallow7 and dung, barley, oats, beans, wheat,
peafe, barley, oats.
Li the feveral hours that are publifhed by Young,
are found, in the bell counties of England, examples
without end, of rotations no lefs exceptionable than
many of thofe mentioned. (
\v here a field is laid down for pailure in order to be Fields not
recruited, it is commonly left in that Hate many years •t0 be kePt
for it is the univerfal opinion, that the longer it lies, ta° lon§ m
the richer it becomes for bearing corn. This may be l>d
true *, but in order to detennine the mode of cropping,
the important point is, what upon the whole is the
moil profitable rotation ) not what may produce luxu¬
riant crops at a diilant period. Upon that point, it
may be affirmed, that the farmer who keeps a field in
pailure beyond a certain time, lofes every year confi-
derably ; and that a few7 luxuriant crops of corn, after
20 years of pallure, and Hill more after 30, will not
make up the lofs.
Pafture-grafs, while young, maintains many animals;
and the field is. greatly recruited by wffiat they drop j
it is even recruited by hay crops, provided the grafs be
cut before feeding. But as old grafs yields little pro-
fit,^ the field ought, to be taken up for corn wThen the
pailure begins to fail} and after a few7 crops, it ought
3 I* te
45°
Rotation of to be laid down again with grafs feeds. Seduced by
Crops. a chimerical notion, that a field, by frequent corn crops,
~v is fatigued, and requires rert like a labouring man or
animal, careful farmers give long reft to their fields by
pafture, never adverting that it affords little pront. It
ought to be their ftudy, to improve their foil, by ma¬
king it free, and alfo retentive of moifture. . If they
accomplifti thefe ends, they need not be afraid of ex-
haufting the foil by cropping.
Examples Where a farmer has accefs to no manure but what
of rotations, is his own production, the cafe under confideration,
there are various rotations of crops, all of them good,
though perhaps not equally fo. W e {hall begin with
two examples, one in clay and one in free foil, each of
the farms 90 acres. Six acres are to be inclofed for a
kitchen garden, in which there muft be annually a crop
of red clover, for fummer food to the working cattle.
As there are annually 12 acres in hay, and 12 in paf¬
ture, a fingle plough with good cattle will be futhcient
to command the remaining 60 acres.
agriculture.
Rotation in a clay foil.
H I795-
1. jFallow.
2. (Wheat.
3. (Peafe.
4. Barley.
5- Ha7-
6. ^ats.
7. (Failure.
i796.
Wheat.
Peafe.
Barley.
Hay.
Oats.
Fallow.
Pafture.
I7?7*
Peale.
Barley.
Hay.
Oats.
Fallow.
Wheat.
Pafture.
i?98-
Barley.
Hay.
Oats.
Fallow.
Wheat.
Peafe.
Pafture.
1799-
Hay.
Oats.
Fallow.
Wheat.
Peafe.
Barley.
Pafture.
1800.
Oats.
Fallow.
Wheat.
Peafe.
Barley.
Flay.
Pafture.
When the rotation is completed, the feventh inclo-
fure, having been fix years in pafture, is ready to be ta¬
ken up for a rotation of crops which begins with oats
in the year 1801, and proceeds as in the fixth inclo-
fure. In the fame year 1801 the fifth inclofure is
made pafture, for which it is prepared by lowing pa-
fture-grafs feeds with the barley of the year 1800.
And in this manner may the rotation be carried on
without end. Flere the labour is equally diftributed
and there is no hurry nor confufion. But the chief
property of this rotation is, that two culmilerous or
white-corn crops are,never found together 5 by a due
mixture of crops, the foil is preferved in good heart
without any adventitious manure. At the fame time,
the land is always producing plentiful crops : neither
hay nor pafture get time to degenerate. I he whole
dung is laid upon the fallow.
Every farm that takes a grafs crop into the rota¬
tion muft be inclofed, which is peculiarly neceffary in
a clay foil, as nothing is more hurtful to clay than
poaching.
Rotation in a free foil.
r ^Pi-
Turnip.
Barley.
Hay.
Oats.
Fallow.
Wheat.
Pafture,
1796.
Barley.
Hay.
Oats.
Fallow.
Wheat.
Turnip.
Pafture,
1797.
Hay.
Oats.
Fallow.
Wheat.
Turnip.
Barley.
Pafture.
| i798-
!Oats.
I Fallow.
Wheat.
j Turnip.
^Barley.
Hay.
Pafture.
^799-
Fallow.
Wheat.
Turnip.
Barley.
Flay.
Oats.
Pafture.
1800.
Wheat.
Turnip.
Barley.
Hay.
Oats.
Fallow-.
Pafture.
Pra&icc,
For the next rotation, the feventh inclofure is taken Rotation of
up for corn, beginning with an oat crop, and proceed-. 'r(^s' ,
ing in the order of the fourth inclofure j in place o^
which, the third inclofure is laid down tor pafture by
fowing pafture-grafl.es with the laft crop in that inclo¬
fure, being barley, ft his rotation has all the advan¬
tages of the former. Here the dung is employed on
the turnip crop. ,
We proceed to confider what rotation is proper for
carfe clay. The farm we propofe confifts of 73 acres.
Nine are to be incloled for a kitcnen gaiden, affording
plenty of red clover to be cut green for the farm cattle.
The remaining 64 acres are divided into four inclo-
fures, 16 acres each, to be cropped as in the following
table.
1 95-
1796.
Beans. Barley.
Barley. Hay.
Hay. (Oats.
Oats. Beans.
1797.
Flay.
Oats.
Beans.
Barley,
1798.
Oats.
Beans.
Barley.
Hay.
Here the dung ought to be applied to the barley.
Many other rotations may be contrived, Keeping to
the rules above laid down, tallow, for example, wheat,
peafe and beans, barley, cabbage, oats, for clay. Here
dung muft be given both to the wheat and cabbage.
For free foil, drilled turnip, barley, led ciover, wheat
upon a fingle furrow, drilled potatoes, oats. ^ Both
the turnip and potatoes muft have dung. Another for
free foil: turnip drilled and dunged, red clover, wheat
on a fingle furrow- with dung, peafe, barley, potatoes,
oats. The following rotation has proved fuccefsful in
a foil proper for wheat. 1. Oats with red clovei, ar-
ter fallow without dung. 2. Hay. The clover ftubble
dunged, and wheat fown the end ox October with a
fingle furrow. 3- Wheat. 4* PeaSe. 5- Bailey. Fal¬
low- again. Oats are taken the in ft ciop, to lave the
dung for the wheat. Oats always thrive on a fallow-,
though without dung, which is not tne cafe ot barley.
But barley feldom fails after peafe. In ftrong clay
foil, the following rotation anfwers.' 1. W heat after
fallow- and dung. 2. Beans fown under furrow as early
as poffible. Above the beans, fow peafe end of March,
half a boll per acre, and harrow them in. The two
grains will ripen at the fame time. 3. Oats or barley
on a w-inter furrow with grafs-feeds. 4. Flay for one
year or two the fecond growth paftured. ^ Lay what
dung can be fpared on the hay-ftubble, and fow wheat-
with a fingle furrow.. 5. Wheat. 6. Beans or peafe.
7. Oats. Fallow again.
In. addition to thefe, we fliall here ftate from the
Agricultural Survey of ft orkfhire, an example of a ro¬
tation ufed in that county upon a marfti-land farm con-
fiftino-of 432 acres of arable land, in which a very
great3number of hands and horfes appear to have been
employed, but in which very valuable produfts are
reared*. “ The foil, where the principal part of the po¬
tatoes are grown, is a good w-arp ; the. other part otv
which potatoes are alfo cultivated, a mixture ol warp
and land : the remainder of the land, clay, w-ith a imail
portion of warp, but too ftrong to grow potatoes, ex¬
cept about 70 acres, which is tolerably good potato-
■r ' -laud,
Part I,
Reaping
and Storing
up Corn
and Hay.
AGRICULTURE.
land, but at too great a diftance from the river. Grafs
f land only fufficient to keep two milch cows, and horfes
neceiTary for working the farm : 69 acres of the belt
warp land divided into three equal parts j 1. fallow,
with from 16 to 20 loads of manure per acre j fet it
with potatoes j after, fowr wdreat; and then fallow
ag-ain : three acres of the fame kind of land that is
liable to be damaged by fparrows when fown with
corn, is fet with potatoes every year with about 10
loads of manure per acre each year : 84 acres of the
lighter land is divided in the fame manner, one-third
fallow, with 10 loads of manure per acre; fet potatoes
and then fow wheat, and fallow again : 42 acres of
land, lately an old pafture divided into three parts ;
one-third flax, then fown with rape, and after they
come off, plough and harrow' the land three or four
tames, and lay upon it about 20 loads of manure per
acre, which will make it in great condition alter
which fet potatoes, then fow flax again, and rape af¬
ter : i^o acres divided into three parts j 1. fallow'j
2. wheat; 3. beans, drilled at 9 inches dillance, hand-
hoed twdce at 6s. per acre ; fallow' again, &c. : 80
acres of land that was lately in old grafs divided into
four parts j fallow', wheat, beans drilled, and oats j
then fallow again, &c. The remaining four acres
thrown to any of the crops that are likely to fail.
Rent 25s. per acre j aflelfments 5s. per acre.
“ Dijlribution of crops for 1795.
Wheat,
Beans,
Oats,
Flax,
Rape,'
Potatoes,
Fallow',
To be throwm where a
crop is likely to fail,
Acres.
J 21
70
20
H
14
68
121
432
Average Produce of an Acre,
from 3 to 5 quarters,
from 3 to 6 quarters,
from 6 to 10 quarters,
from 45 to 55 Hones,
from 5 to 5 quarters,
from 60 to 100 facks.
“ Servants, Jiorfes, and Cows kept upon the Farm.
4 Houfe fervants,
16 Labourers,
26 Horfes,
2 Pvlilch cow's.
45*
©f ripenefs.
The above is an account of a farm belonging to
one of the beft managers of marfli-land. We mult ob-
ferve, he fallows his land very often ; yet he is well paid
by his fuperior crops. The laft year (179 c) he had
T 00 facks per acre off moft of his potato-land ; and fold
them from 8s. to 12s. per fack of 14 pecks. All their
corn is fold by the quarter of eight Winchefter bufhels,
though I believe their meafure rather overruns.”
Sect. VI. Of Reaping Corn and Hay Crops, and
Storing them up for Ufe.
Culmiferous plants are ripe when the Item is to¬
tally white : they are not fully ripe if any green ftreaks
remain. Some farmers are of opinion, that wheat ought
1  451
to be cut before it is fully ripe. Their reafons are, Reaping
fir ft, that ripe wheat is apt to {hake and next, that aih'
the flour is not fo good. With refpeft to the laft, it is Ha,%
contrary to nature, that any feed can be better in an 1 v 1
unripe ftate than when brought to perfeflion ; nor
will it be found lo upon trial. With refpe£t to the
firft, wheat, at the point of perfedlion, is not more apt
to fhake than for fome days before : the hu{k begins
not to open till after tbe feed is fully ripe •, and then
the fullering the crop to Hand becomes ticklifti ; after
the minute of ripening, it Ihould be cut down in an
inftant, if poflible. 4-9
This leads to the hands that are commonly engaged Of reapers,
to cut down corn. In Scotland, the univerfal praftice
was, to provide a number of hands, in proportion to
the extent of the crop, without regard to the time of
ripening. By this method, the reapers were often idle
for want of w'ork j and what is much w'orfe, they had
often more work than they could overtake, and ripe
fields W'ere laid open t® ftiaking winds. The Lothians
have long enjoyed weekly markets for reapers, where a
farmer can provide himfelf with the number he wants j
and this praftice is creeping into neighbouring {hires.
Where there is no opportunity of fuch markets, neigh¬
bouring farmers ought to agree in borrowing and lend¬
ing their reapers.
One {hould imagine, that a caution againft cutting
corn when wet is unneceffary $ yet from the impatience
of farmers to prevent {baking, no caveat is more fo.
Why do they not confider, that com {landing dries in
half a day ; when, in a clofe ftieaf, the weather muft
be favourable if it dry in a month ? in moift weather it
will never dry.
With refpeft to the manner of cutting, we muft pre- Manner of
mife, that barley is of all the moft difficult grain to be cutUng*
dried for keeping. Having no hulk, rain has an eafy
accefs j and it has a tendency to malten when wet.
Where the ground is properly fmoothed by rolling, it
feems beft to cut it down with the fcythe. This man¬
ner being more expeditious than the fickle, removes it
fooner from danger of wind ; and gives a third more
ftraw, which is a capital article for dung, wherd a farm
is at a diftance from other manure. We except only
corn that has lodged ; for there the fickle is more con¬
venient than the fcythe. As it ought to be dry when
cut, bind it up diredlly : if allowed to lie any time in
the fwath, it is apt to be difcoloured.—Barley fown
with grafs-feeds, red clover efpecially, requires a dif¬
ferent management. Where the grafs is cut along
with it, the difficulty is great of getting it fo dry as
to be ventured in a ftack. The beft way is, to cut
the barley with a fickle above the clover, fo as that
nothing but clean barley is bound up. Cut with a
fcythe the ftubble and grafs: they make excellent winter
food. The fame method is applicable to oats ; with
this only difference, that when the field is expofed to
the fouth-weft wind, it is lefs neceffary to bind imme¬
diately after mowing. As wheat commonly grows
higher than any other grain, it is difficult to manage
it with the fcythe ; for which reafon the fickle is pre¬
ferred in England. Peafe and beans grow fo irregu¬
larly, as to make the fickle neceffary.
The beft way for drying peafe, is to keep feparate Drying of
the handfuls that are cut; though in this way they wet Peafe*
eafily, they dry as foon. In the common way of heap-
3 L 2 ing
45 2
AGRICULTURE.
Pradlic^.
462
Size of
tfieaves.
Reaping ing peafe together for compoflng a flieaf, they wet aa
and Storing and dry not near fo foon. With refpeft to bean5;,
and fia" t^le toP t1ne handful laft cut ought to be laid on the
lIL-IlL bottom of the former y which gives ready accefs to the
wind. By this method peafe and beans axe ready for
the Hack in half the ordinary time.
A (heaf commonly is made as large as can be con¬
tained in two lengths of the corn made into a rope. Tot
lave frequent tying, the binder prelies it down with his
knee, and binds it fo hard as totally to exclude the air.
If there be any moifture in the crop, which feldom fails,,
a procefs of fermentation and putrefaction commences
in the {heaf} which is perfedted in the hack, to the
deltrudtion both of corn and draw. How ftupid is itr
to make the fize of a {heaf depend on the height of the
plants ! By that'rule, a wheat {heaf is commonly fo
weighty, as to be unmanageable by ordinary arms : it
requires an effort to move it that frequently burfts the
knot, and occafions lofs of grain, befide the trouble of
-a fecond tying. Sheaves ought never to be larger than
can be contained in one length of the plant, cut dole
to the ground} without admitting any exception, if
the plants be above 18 inches high. The binder’s
arm can then comprefs the {heaf fufficiently without
need of his knee. The additional hands that this way
of binding may require, are not to be regarded com¬
pared with the advantage of drying foon. Corn thus
managed may be ready for the Hack in a week y it
feldom in the ordinary way requires lefs than a fort¬
night, and frequently longer. Of a Imall fheaf com-
preffed by the arm only, the air pervades every party
nor.is it fo apt to be unloofed as a large {heaf, how¬
ever firmly bound. We omit the gathering of {heaves
into Ihocks, becaufe the common method is good, which
is to place the {hocks directed to the fouth-weft, in or¬
der to refill the force of the wind. Five {heaves on
each fide make a fufficient flay } and a greater number
cannot be covered with two head-lheaves.
Every article is of importance that haftens the ope¬
ration in a country, like Scotland, fubjefted to unequal
harveft weather; for which reafon, the moft expediti¬
ous method ihould be chofen for carrying corn from the
field to the Hack-yard. Our carriages are generally
too final! or too large. A fledge is a very awkward
machine : many hands are required, and little progrefs
made. Waggons and large carts are little lefs dilatory,
as they muff Hand in the yard till unloaded fheaf by
{heaf. The beH way is,, to ufe long carts moveable
upon the axle, fo as at once to throw the whole load
on-the ground y which is forked up to the flack by a
hand appointed for that purpofe. By this method, two
carts will do the work of four or five..
Building round Hacks in the yard is' undoubtedly
preferable to houfing corn. There it is {hut up from
the airy and it mufl be exceeding dry, if it contrail
not a muflinefs, which is the firfl Hep to putrefasffion.
Add to this, that in the yard, a Hack is preferved from
rats and mice, by being fey on a pedeflal: whereas no
method has hitherto been invented for preferving corn
in a houfe from fuch deflruilive vermine. The proper
manner of building, is to make every {heaf incline
downward from its top to its bottom. Where the
{heaves are laid horizontally, the Hack will take in rain
both above and below. The beH form of a Hack is
that of a cone placed on a cylinder ; and the tap of the
463
Carrying
off the
victual.
464
Of (tack-
cone fliould be formed with three (heaves drawn to a Reaping
point. If the upper part of the cylinder be a little ai1^ St-°^ng
wider than the under, fo much the better. ^
The delaying to cover a Hack for two or three ' ■
weeks, though common, is, howrever, exceeding ab- 465
lurdj for if much rain fall in the interim, it is beyond Covering,
the power of wind to dry the Hack. Vegetation be- t*ie Aac^s'
gun in the external parts, (huts out the air from the
internal} and to prevent a total putrefaklion, the Hack
mufl be thrown down and expofed to the air every
{heaf. In order to have a Hack covered the moment
it is finiflied, flraw and ropes ought to be ready ; and
the covering ought to be fo thick as to be proof againfl
rain.
Scotland is fu'oje6t not only to floods of rain, but to '
high winds. Good covering guards againfl the for¬
mer, and ropes artfully applied guard againfl the lat¬
ter. The folio-wing is a good mode, l ake a hay-
rope well twilled, and furround the flack with it, two
feet or fo below the top. Surround the flack with
another fuch rope immediately below the eafing. C011-
ne<A thefe two with ropes in an up-and-down-pofition,
diflant from each other at the eafmg about five or fix
feet. Then furround the flack with other circular
ropes parallel to the two firft mentioned, giving them
a twifl round every one of thole that lie up and down,
by which the whole will be conne&ed together in a
fort of net-work. What remains is, to finilh the two
feet at the top of the flack. Let it be covered with
bunches of ftraw laid regularly up and down } the un¬
der part to be put under the circular rope firft men¬
tioned, which will keep it fall, and the upper part be
bound by a ftnall rope artfully twifled, commonly call¬
ed the crown of the flack. This method is preferable
to the common way of laying long ropes over the top
of the flack, and tying them to the belting-ropes } which
flattens the top, and makes it take in rain. A flack
covered in the way here deferibed, xvill Hand two years
fecured both againft wind and rain 3 a notable advan¬
tage in this variable climate.
The great aim in making hay is, to preferve as much Hay-ma -
of the fap as poliible. All agree in this } and yet differ king,
w idely in the means of making that aim effefinal. To
delcribe all the different means would be equally tedi¬
ous and unprofitable.- We {hall confine ourfelves to
two, which appear preferable to all others. A crop of
rye-grafs and yellow clover ought to be fpread as cut..
A day or two after, when the dew is evaporated, rake
it into a number of parallel rows along the field, term¬
ed wind-rows, for the convenience-of putting it up into
finall cocks. After turning the rows once and again,
make finall cocks weighing a ftone or two. . At the
diflance of two days or fo, put two cocks into one,,
obferving always to mix the tops and bottoms together,
and to take, a new place for each cock, that the leaft
damage poflible may be done to the grafs. Proceed
in putting two cocks into one, till fufficiently dry for.
tramp-ricks of 100 ftone each. The eafieft way of
erefling tramp-ricks, is to found a rick in the middle
of the raw of cocks that are to compofeit. The cocks
may be carried to the rick by two perfons joining arms
together. When all the cocks are thus carried to the
rick within the diflance of 40 yards or fo, the reft of
the cocks wflll be more expeditioufly carried to the
rick, by a rope wound about them and dragged by a,
horfev
4*1
Hay of red
clover.
Part I.
Reaping horfe. Two ropes are iufficient to fecure the riclcs
and Storing from wIn(l the fliort time they are to Hand in the field.
up Com T i nJ
and Hay. in the year T775> 10,000 ftone were put into tramp-
—v—J ricks the fourth day after cutting. In a country fo wet
as many parts of Scotland are, expedition is of mighty
confequence in the drying both of hay and corn. With
refpeft to hay intended for horned cattle, it is by the
generality held an improvement, that it be heated a
little in the itack. But we violently fufpedl this doc¬
trine to have been invented for excufing indolent ma¬
nagement. An ox, it is true, will eat fuch hay $ but
it will always be found that he prefers fweet hay ; and
it cannot well be doubted, but that fuch hay is the inofl
falutary and the moil nouriihing.
The making hay confiiilng chiefly of red clover,
requires more care. The feafon of cutting is the lalt
week of June, when it is in full bloom ; earlier it may
be cut, but never later. To cut it later would indeed
produce a weightier crop ; but a late firil cutting-
makes the fecond alfo late, perhaps too late for drying.
At the fame time, the want of weight in an early firft
cutting, is amply compenfated by the weight of the
fecond.
When the feafon is too variable for making hay of
the fecond growth, mix draw with that growth, which
will be a fubftantial food for cattle during winter.
This is commonly done by laying ftrata of the draw
and clover alternately in the dack. But by this me¬
thod, the drata of clover, if they do not heat, turn
mouldy at lead, and unpalatable. The better way is,
to mix them carefully with the hand before they be put
into the dack. The dry draw imbibes moidure from
the clover and prevents heating..
But the bed method of hay-making feems to be that
recommended by Mr Anderfon *. “ Indead (fays
'A 'ruulturi, ^e)’ allowing the hay to lie, as ufual in mod pla-
vol. i. p. ’ces, f°r fome days in the fwathe after it is cut, and
i36. afterwards alternately putting it up into cocks and
fpreading it out, and tedding it in the fun, which tends
greatly to bleach the hay, exhales its natural juices,
and fubjedls it very much to the danger of getting rain,
and thus runs a great rilk of being good for little, I
make it a general rule, if poflible, never to cut hay
but when the grafs is quite dry j and then make the
gatherers follow clofe upon the cutters, putting it up
immediately into fmall cocks about three feet high each
when new put up, and of as fmall a diameter as they
can be made to dand wfith; always giving each of them
a flight kind of thatching, by drawing a few hand¬
fuls of the hay from the bottom of the cock all around,
and laying it lightly upon the top with one of the ends
hanging downwards. This is done with the utmofl
eafe and expedition; and when it is once in that date,
I confider my hay as in a great meafure out of dan¬
ger : for unlefs a violent wind ihould arife immediately
after the cocks are put up, fo as to overturn them, no¬
thing elfe can hurt the hay j as I have often experienced,
that no rain, however violent, ever penetrates into thefe
AGRICULTURE.
453
468
Other me¬
thod.
cocks but for a very little way. And, if they are Reaping
dry put up, they never fit together fo clofely as to anc^ ^tonng
heat 5 although they acquire, in a day or two, fuch a
degree of firmnefs, as to be in no danger of being' y •
overturned by wind after that time, unlefs it blows a
hurricane.
“ In thefe cocks I allow the hay to remain, until,
upon infpe&ion, I judge that it will keep in pretty
large tramp-cocks (which is ufually in one or two
weeks, according as the weather is more or lefs favour¬
able), when two men, each with a long pronged pitch¬
fork, lift up one of thefe fmall cocks between them
with the greated eafe, and carry them one after ano¬
ther to the place where the tramp-cock is to be
built (1) : and in this manner they proceed over the
field till the whole is finilhed.
“ The advantages that attend this method of ma-Advanta-
king hay, are, that it greatly abridges the labour j asScs °*
it does not require above the one-half of the work thatm£t^0f'’
is neceffary in the old method of turning and tedding
it: That it allows the hay to continue almoft as green
as when it is cut, and preferves its natural juices in the
greated perfe&ion ; for, unlefs it be the little that is
expofed to the fun and air upon the furface of the
cooks, which is no more bleached than every draw of
hay faved in the ordinary way, the whole is dried in
the mod flow and equal manner that could be delired ;
and, ladly, That it is thus in a great meafure fecured
from aimed the podibility of being damaged by rain.
This lad circumdance deferves to be much more at¬
tended to by the farmer than it ufually is at prefent;
as I have feen few who are fufficiently aware of the
lofs that the quality of their hay fudains by receiving a
flight (hower after it is cut, and before it is gathered *,
the generality of farmers feeming to be very well latis-
fied if they get in their hay without being abfolutely
rotted, never paying the lead attention to its having
been feveral times wetted while the hay was making.
But, if thefe gentlemen will take the trouble at any
time to compare any parcel of hay that has been made
perfectly dry, with another parcel from the fame field
that has received a diower while in the fwathe, or even
a copious dew, they will foon be fenfible of a very ma~
nifed difference between them; nor will their horfes or
cattle ever commit a midake in choofing between the
tW0, . . 470
“ Let it be particularly remarked, that in this man-Particular
ner of making hay, great care mud be taken that it be caut|0n.re~
dry when fird put into the cocks ; for if it is in
!ead degree wet at that time, it will turn indafttly '
mouldy, and fit together fo as to become totally imper¬
vious to the air, and will never afterwards become dry
till it is fpread out to the fun. For this reafon, if at
any time during a courfe of good fettled weather you
diould begin to cut in the morning before the dew is off
the grafs, iceep back the gatherers till the dew is eva¬
porated } allowing that which was fird cut to lie till it
is- dry before it is cocked. In this cafe, you will al~
mod
(T If the hay is to be carried to any confiderahle didance, this part of the labour may be greatly abridged;,
by cauling the carriers take two long dicks cf a fufficient drength, and having laid them down by the fmall
cocks parallel to one another, at the didance of one and a half, or two feet afunder, let them lift three or four,
eocks, one alter another, and place them carefully above the dicks, and then carry them altogether, as if upcata
* handbarrow, to the place where the large rick is to be built.
45 4 A O R. I C
Reaping tnofl: always find that the uncut grafs will dry fooner
"corn”^ t^an t^at whiGh has been cut when wet j and, there-
and Hay. ^ore5 the gatherers may always begin to put up that
u—y—which is frefh cut before the other; which will ufually
require two or three hours to dry after the new-cut hay
may be cocked. And if, at any time, in cafe of ne-
ceflity, you fhould be obliged to cut your hay before it
is dry, the fame rule muft be obferved always to allow
it to remain in the fwathe till it is quite dry : but, as
there is always a great rilk of being long in getting it
up, and as it never in this cafe wins (k) fo kindly as if
it had been dry cut, the farmer ought to endeavour,
if poffible, in all cafes, to cut his hay only when dry 5
even if it ftiould coll him fome additional expence to
the cutters, by keeping them employed at any other
work, or even allowing them to remain idle, if the
weather fliould be variable or rainy.
“ But if there is a great proportion of clover, and
the weather (hould chance to be clofe and calm at the
time, it may, on fome occafions, be neceflary to open
up thefe cocks a little, to admit fome frefh air into
them ; in which cafe, after they have flood a day or
two, it may be of great ufe to turn thefe cocks and o-
pen them up a little, which ought to be done in the
drieft time of the day; the operator taking that part of
each cock which was the top, and with it forming the
bafe of a new one 5 fo that the part which was moft ex-
pofed to the air becomes excluded from it, and that
which was undermoft comes to be placed upon the top,
fo as to make it all dry as equally as poflible.
“ If the hay has not been damp when it was firft
put up, the cock may be immediately finifhed out at
once 5 but if it is at all wet, it will be of great ufe to
turn over only a little of the top of the cock at firft,
and leaving it in that ftate to dry a little, proceed to
another, and a third, and fourth, &c. treating each in
the fame way, going on in that manner till you find
that the infide of the firft opened cock is fufficiently
dried, when it will be proper to return to it, turning
over a little more of it till you come to what is ftill
damp, when you leave it and proceed to another, and
fo on round the whole •, always returning afrefti till the
cocks are entirely finifhed. This is the beft way of
faving your hay, if you have been under the necefftty
of cutting it while damp j but it is always beft to guard
^yt againft this inconvenience, if poflible.”
Hay-ftacks. In the yard, a ftack of hay bught to be an oblong
fquare, if the quantity be greater than to be eafily
flowed in a round ftack $ becaufe a fmaller furface is
expofed to the air than in a number of round ftacks.
For the fame reafon, a ftack of peafe ought to have the
fame form, the ftraw being more valuable than that of
oats, wdieat, or barley. The moment a ftack is finifh¬
ed it ought to be covered j becaufe the furface hay is
much damaged by withering in dry weather, and moift-
ening in wet w'eather. Let it have a pavilion-roof;
for more of it can be covered w ith ftraw in that fhape,
than wdien built perpendicular at the ends. Let it be
roped as dire&ed above for corn-ftacks j with this dif¬
ference only, that in an oblong fquare the ropes muft
U L T U R E.
Practice.
be throwm over the top, and tied to the belt-rope be- -
low. This belt-rope ought to be fixed with pins to ^
the ftack: the reafon is, that the ropes throxvn over the
ftack will bag by the finking of the ftack, and may be
drawn tight by low ering the belt rope, and fixing it in
its new pofition with the fame pins.
The ftems of hops, being long and tough, make
excellent ropes j and it will be a faying article, to pro¬
pagate a few plants of that kind for that very end.
A ftack of rye-graft hay, a year old, and of a mode¬
rate fize, will wreigh, each cubic yard, 11 Dutch ftone.
A ftack of clover-hay in the fame circumftances weighs
fomewhat left.
Sect. VII. Manures.
“ The ufe of manures (fays M. Parmentier*), has* Memoirs
been known in all ages j but we are yet far from having 0fth.e Ro3al
any clear and precife ideas of the nature of the juices ^rkullure
which are deftined for the nourifhment of vegetables, parh. '
and of the nianner in which they are tranfmitted to their 473
organs. The waiters on agriculture, who have endea-M- Fa¬
voured to explain thefe matters, perceiving falls in moft men!:ier s
plants, were perfuaded that thefe falls, by the help of coB^erning
wrater and heat, pafled, in a faline form, through the manure,
vegetable filter. Thefe firft philofophers did not hefi-
tate to confider every thing that has been done by the
induftry of man, to improve the nature of land, and its
productions, as merely forming refervoirs of thefe falls,
W'hich they confidered as the principle of fertility. This
opinion was fo well eftabliftied among the improvers of
land, that, to this day, many of them have no object in
view, in their operations, but to difengage falls; and,
when they attempt to explain certain phenomena which
take place in their fields or orchards, they talk confi¬
dently about the nitre of the air, of rain, of fnow, of
dew, and fogs ; of the falls of the earth, of dung, of
marl, of lime, of chalk, &c. and make ufe of thofe vague
terms, oil, fulphur, fpirit, &c. which ought hencefor¬
ward to be banifhed from our elementary books on
agriculture.
“ Among the authors who have attacked, and com¬
bated with moft fuccefs, the opinion that the fruitful-
nefs of foils, and the aliment of vegetables, refide in fa-
line fubftances, muft be reckoned Eller and Wallerius.
Thefe philofophers examined, by every means which
chemiftry at that time could furnilh, the various kinds
of earth proper for cultivation, and alfo thofe fubftances
which have always been confidered as the moft power¬
ful manures, without being able to obtain, from any of
them, any thing more than mere atoms of fait.
“ Animated with the fame zeal, and taking advan¬
tage of the inftruftions found in their writings, I
thought it neceffary to determine, by experience, whe¬
ther, as has been aflerted, there really exift neutral
falls in earths } and alfo, whether thofe earths are more
fertile in proportion to the quantity of fuch falls they
contain. With this view, I lixiviated, by means of
diftilled water, many fpecies of cultivated earths, ta¬
ken in various ftates, from frefh earth to that which
had
(k) By winning hay, is meant the operation by which it is brought from the fucculent ftate of grafs to that
of a dry fodder.
Part I.
A G R I C
,Manures.. had been impoverillied by the growth of feveral crops:
^ i alfo tried dung, reduced mere or lefs into the date of
mould ; and likewife the mod active manures, fuch as
the offal of animal fubdances rotted by putrefaction ;
but in none of thefe, however carefully analyzed, were
found any falts in a free date. They contain indeed
the materials proper for forming falts, but if they con¬
tain any ready formed, it is merely by accident.
“ The refearches of Kraft, and thole of Alfton, were
not attended with different refults. Having fown fome
oats in adies, not lixiviated, and in fand drongly im¬
pregnated with potaftv and with faltpetre, and having
found that the oats did not grow, they concluded that
neutral falts, and alkalies, not only retarded the growth
of vegetables, but that they afcfolutely prevented it. It
is w’ell known that in Egypt there are didriCls where
the earth is entirely covered with fea-falt, and thefe di-
Itri&s are quite barren. It is probably owing to this
property of fea-falt, that the Romans were accuftomed
to fcatter large quantities of it over fields where any
great crime had been committed, and of which they
wilhed to perpetuate the remembrance, by rendering
the part barren for a certain time.
“ 1 he idea that falts had great influence in vegeta¬
tion . ought to have been greatly weakened by the fol¬
lowing Ample reflection. Suppofing that falts exifted
in garden-mould, they would be very foon diffolved by
the rain, and carried away, towards the lower ftrata of
the earth, to a depth to which the longelt roots -would
not reach. Indeed the famous experiment of Van Hel-
mont would have been fufficient to have deftroyed the
above opinion, if it did not generally happen that we
are no fooner fet free from one error than we fall into
another not lefs extraordinary. The furprifing effeCts
of vegetation brought about by the overflowing of wa¬
ter, and in the neighbourhood of fait marfhes, and the
infinite number of inhaling capillary tubes obferved up¬
on the furface of vegetables, led to an opinion that the
air and water, abforbed by the roots and leaves of
plants, wrere only vehicles loaded with faline matter,
analogous to the vegetables nouriihed by them.
“ To the experiment of Van Helmont, which was re¬
peated by many accurate obfervers, fucceeded thofe of
modern philofophers j from which it clearly appeared,
that plants could grow, and produce fruit, in the air of
the atmofphere, and in diftilled water, alfo in pure fand,
in powdered glais, in wet mofs or fponge, in the cavitv
of flefhy roots, Sec. and that plants which had nothing
but the above-mentioned fluids for their nourifliment,
gave, when fubmitted to chemical analyfis, the fame
produCIs as thofe which had undergone their procels of
vegetation in a foil perfeClly well manured. It was alfo
obferved, that the moft barren foils were rendered fer¬
tile when they were properly fupplied with water by
canals ; and the efficacy of irrigation wTas repeatedly
evinced in different ways : from thefe obfervations was
formed the following fyftem, that water rifes in plants
in the form of vapour, as in diftillation j that air in¬
troduces itfelf into their pores ; and that, if falts con¬
tribute to the fruitfulnefs of foils, it is only in confe-
quence- of their containing the two fluids above men¬
tioned in great abundance.”
Our autnor, after making many experiments upon
various foils and falts, maintains “ that faline fubftan-
ces have no fenfible effeCls in promoting vegetation,
li
U L T U R E. 455
except inafmuch as they are of a deliquefeent nature, Manures,
have an earthy bafis eaiily decompofed, and are ufed v''”*”"'
only in fmall quantity. In thofe circumftances they
have the power of attracting, from the immenfe refer-
voir of the atmofphere, the vapours which circulate in
it 5 thefe vapours they retain, along with the moilture
that is produced from rain, fnow, dew, fog, &c. which
moifture they prevent from running together in a mafs,
or from being loft, either by exhaling into the air of
the atmofphere, or by filtering itfelf through the infe¬
rior ftrata of the earth, and thereby leaving the roots
of vegetables dry *, they diftribute that moifture uni¬
formly, and tranfmit it, in a ftate of great divilion, to
the orifices of the tubes deftined to carry it into the
texture of the plant, where it is afterwards to undergo
the laws of aflimilation. As every kind of vegetable’
manure poffeffes a vifcous kind of moifture, it thereby
partakes of the property of deliquefeent falts. In fhort,
the preparation of land for vegetation has no other ob-
jeCt in view but to divide the earthy particles, to foft-
en them, and to give them a form capable of produ¬
cing the above-mentioned effefts. It is fufficient,
therefore, that water, by its mixture with the earth
and the manure, be. divided, and fpread out fo as to
be applied only by its furface, and that it keep the
root of the plant always wet, without drowning it, in
order to become the effential principle of vegetation.
But as plants which grow in the fhade, even in the belt
foil, are weakly, and as the greater part of thofe which
are made to grow in a place that is perfeCUy dark
neither give fruit nor florvers, it cannot be denied, that
the influence of the fun is of great importance in vege¬
table economy.”
Such was the opinion of M. Parmentier while the
old theory of chemiftry prevailed j but when it ap¬
peared, by more recent difeoveries, that air and water
are not fimple but compound bodies, made up of oxy¬
gen, hydrogen, and azote, and that they are refolved
into thefe principles by many operations of nature and
of art, he fo far altered his theory of vegetation as to
admit, that air and Water aCI their part in that procefs,
not in a compound ftate, but by means of the princi¬
ples of which they confift. Pie now concluded, that
the value of manured earth confifts of its tendency to
refolve water into gaffes which give out heat while
they are abforbed by the plants. As he thus fuppofes
that the gaffes conftitute the food of plants, it follows,
that the moft aerated waters will be the moft favour¬
able to vegetation y and hence arifes the value of thofe
in which putrid animal matters are diffolved. Salts
and dung aft as leavens in bringing on a ftate of fer¬
mentation in the fubftances with which they are ming¬
led, and operating the decompofition of water, which,
along with the carbon exifting in the atmofphere, he
imagines contains the whole materials of' the more
fimple vegetables. Too great a quantity of falts pre¬
vents fermentation, or the decempofition of -water, and
hence is prejudicial to vegetation, while a fmall quan¬
tity is more advantageous, as more favourable to that
procefs of putrefaction. Different manures alfo give
forth gaffes which are abforbed by plants, and give
them a peculiarity of character : hence, in a foil com-
pofed of mud and dung, cabbages acquire a bad tafte,
from the hepatic gas, or fulphurated hydrogen gas,',
which is there evolved. In addition to thefe chemical
properties
AGRICULTURE. Predict.
• properties of manure, it alfo, by its mechanical quali¬
ties, renders the foil more permeable to water and to
the roots of the plants, and is thus favourable to the
procefs of vegetation. At the fame time, as the earths
themfelves have a chemical aftion upon water, and are
capable of affording a proper bafis for plants, he confi-
ders them as in many cafes fufficient to promote vege¬
tation. Upon thefe principles, M. Parmentier takes a
view of different fubftances ufed as manures.
Marl, in his opinion, is capable of adling in the
fame manner as the moft fertile foil, when the princi¬
ples of which it is compofed, namely, clay, fand, cal¬
careous earth, and magnefian earth, are juftly propor¬
tioned to each other. But it is fometimes compaft and
tenacious, becaufe it contains a fuperabundant portion
of clay, and at other times porous and friable, becaufe
it contains too much fand, and therefore is not in
general fit for vegetation by itfelf. Thefe confidera-
tions ought always to be our guide when we mean to
employ marl as a manure.
It has been fuppofed that to marl is a fort of tech¬
nical expreffion, intended to denote the bringing toge¬
ther or dividing the earthy particles by means of clay
or fand. It appears to our author, that neither of the
above operations can properly be called marling ; be¬
caufe, in either cafe, all we do is, to put the foil into a
fituation to receive and to profit by the influence of the
atmofphere, and that of the manures made ufe of. The
peculiar principle of marl is, that part of it which, like
lime, acts very powerfully upon the different aeriform
fluids, is eafily reduced to powder, effervefces with a-
cids, and fends forth a quantity of air-bubbles when wa¬
ter is poured upon it. Now this matter, which in a
particular manner does the office of manure, refides
neither in clay nor in fand. Upon the proportion of it
depends the duration of the fertility it produces ; con-
fequently it is of importance, when we make ufe of
marl, to know which of its conftituent parts it contains
in the greatefl: proportion, otherwife in fome cafes we
fliould only add one common kind of earth to another.
Hence crur author infers, that for a chalky foil clay is
the proper manure, and that in fuch a foil a clay bot¬
tom is of more value than a gold mine.
“ Wood-afhes, as a manure, may be, in fome refpe£fs,
compared to marl; at leaft they contain the fame earth
as thofe which generally enter into the compofition of
marl, but they contain a greater quantity of faline fub¬
ftances, proceeding from the vegetables of which they
are the refidue, and from the procefs made ufe of in
their combuftion •, a procefs which increafes their a£li-
vity, -and fltould render us careful in what manner and
for what purpofes we employ them. Wood-alhes,
when fcattered over fields, at proper times and in pro¬
per quantities, deftroy weeds, and encourage the vege¬
tation of good plants. But do the allies produce this
effefl by a fort of corrofive power ? I cannot (fays our
author) think it j for in that cafe all kinds of plants
would indifcriminately be adled upon by them, and to
a certain degree deftroyed.
“ Befides, the alhes of frefh wood are feldom em¬
ployed until they have been lixiviated; in which ftate
they are deprived of their cauftic principle 5 thofe allies
which are moft commonly made ufe of for manure are
produced either from wood that has been floated in wa-
3
ter, or from turf, or from pit-coal* and contain little Manures,
or no alkaline fait. 1——y-—*
“ It appears much more probable that allies, when
laid upon ground, deftroy the weeds by a well known
effeft, namely, by feizing with eagernefs that moifture
which ferved to produce thofe weeds, and which in a
fuperabundant quantity is neceffary to their exiftence
and fupport. Whereas thofe plants which have a firmer
texture and a longer root, which are rendered ftrong
by age and by having withftood the rigour of winter,
and which are in fact the plants of which the fields are
compofed, do not fuffer any damage from the applica¬
tion of the alhes j but, on the contrary, by being freed
from the fuperfluous weeds which ftifled them, and rob¬
bed them of a part of their fuftenance, they receive a
quantity of nourifliment proportioned to their wants.
The ftate of relaxation and languor to which they were
reduced by a fuperabundance of water, leaves them, the
foil gets its proper confiftence, and the grafs, corn, &c.
acquiring the ftrength and vigour which is natural to
them, foon overcome the mofs, ruffles, and other weeds j
thus a good crop, of whatever the field confifts of, is
produced. It is in the above manner that wood allies
aft, whenever in the fpring it is neceffary to apply
them to meadows, corn fields, &c. the plants of wdiich
are ftifled and weakened by a luxuriant vegetation of
weeds, the ufual confequence of mild and w?et winters.
“ When wood-allies produce an effect different from
what is above defcribed, it is either becaufe they hap¬
pen to contain too much alkaline fait, or that they are
laid on the ground in too great quantity, or that the
fields to wdiich they are applied were not fufficiently
wet to reftrain their a£lion \ for when they are fcatter¬
ed upon cold foils, and buried by the plough before
the time of fowing, they are, like lime, of great fer-
vice. The laft-mentioned fubftance is very efficacious"
in other circumftances 5 and there is a w^ell known me¬
thod of ufing it praclifed by the Germans, as follows :
A heap of lime is formed by the fide of a heap of poor
earth, and wrater is poured upon the lime j the earth
is then thrown over it, and becomes impregnated with
the vapours which efcape from the lime while it is
flaked. The earth, after being thus aerated, may be
feparated 3 and although no lime remains mixed with^
it, is, by the operation juft defcribed, rendered capa¬
ble of giving a luxuriant vegetation to w hatever plant^
may be put into it.
“ It is poffible, therefore, to aerate earth as w^ell as
fluids 3 for this purpofe, by mixing it with certain fub¬
ftances during their decompofition, wTe muft attach to
it the principles of wffiich thofe fubftances are compo¬
fed 3 from which there refults a matter fo loaded with
gas, as to form a more compound fubftance, and one .
which has acquired n.ew properties. The Arabians, for
example, who take great pains to improve their land,
are accuftomed to make large pits, which they fill with
animals which happen to die : thefe pits they after¬
wards cover with calcareous or clayey earth 3 and after
fome time thefe earths, which of themfelves are fterile,
acquire the properties of the richeft manures.
“ The foregoing obfervations may at leaft be confi-
dered as proving, that thofe fubftances which, when
employed ffefli and in too great quantity, are moft pre¬
judicial to vegetation, have, on the contrary, an advan-
tageoui
Part I.
A G R I C U
Manures, tageous effect, when they are prevxoufly made to under-
g0 a fermentation ; or when they are mixed with earth
or water, in a proportion adapted to the end propofed.
The grais ot fields in which cattle or poultry go to
feed, after the firft or fecond crop of hay, appears to be
dried by the urine and dung of thofe animals, as if fire
had been applied to it ; whereas thefe fame excremen-
titious fubflances, when combined with earth, or diluted
with water, are capable, without any other prepara¬
tion, of performing the office of good manure.
“ But if animal fecretions, when applied in fubftance
to plants, were capable of a&ing upon them, as is af¬
firmed, in fuch a way as to corrode or burn them, how
could feed which has been fwallowed, and efcaped the
action of the digeftive powers, be prolific when thrown
out by the animal, after having remained fo long in its
dung ? yet we often fee oats, lo circumftanced, grow
and produce feed. Is it not more confiftent with ex¬
perience and obfervation to fuppofe, that thefe excre-
mentitious fubffances, being ftill endowed with animal
heat, and with an organic motion, diffufe round plants
in vegetation a deleterious principle or inflammable gas,
which deffroys them ? for foon after their application,
the foliage of the plant grows yellow, dries up, and
the plant withers, unlefs there happens a fhower of rain
which revives it. When thefe fubftances are diluted,
by being mixed with water and earth, they lofe that
principle which is fo deftru&ive to vegetable life, and
an incipient fermentation augments their power as a
manure, fo that they may be immediately made ufe of
without any apprehenflon of injury from their effe£ts.
“ B appears, therefore, that any operation upon ex-
crementitious fubffances, by which they are dried and
reduced to powder, cannot be praftifed without de¬
priving thofe lubftances of a great part of fuch of their
principles as are eafily evaporated, and upon which
their fluidity depends 5 thefe principles, when diluted
with water, and confined by being mixed with earth,
are capable of increafing the produce of the foil. Such
is the way in which the hufbandmen in Flanders make
ufe of this kind of manure, in the cultivation of a kind
of rape or cole feed, which is to them a very important
branch of agricultural induftry and commerce ; and
they never obferve that the fap carries up any of thofe
principles which give fuch manure its offenfive fmell 5
nor do they obferve, that the fodder produced from
fields fo manured, whether eaten frefh or drv, is dif-
agreeable to their cattle. The excrements of all ani¬
mals would be injurious to plants, if applied too frefh,
or in too great quantity; and a gardener could not
commit a greater fault, than to put more than a cer¬
tain quantity of them into the water he means to make
ufe of to water his young plants; in fhort, this kind
of manure is to be ufed in a very fparing manner ; and
he that is too prodigal of it will find, to his coft, that
excefs, even of that which is otherwife beneficial, be¬
comes an evil.
“ It muff certainly be allowed, that excrementitious
fubftances are a very advantageous manure for cold foils,
and fuited to moft vegetable produftions 5 a long ex¬
perience of their effedls over a large tract of country,
and the acknowledged intelligence of the Flemifh far¬
mers, ought to be conf.dered as fufHcient to overcome
the prejudice that has been raifed again!! this fort of
manure. Suppofing that the bad effe&s which have
Vom I. Part II.
L T U R E. 457
been attributed to it, when uled in the flate in which Manures,
it is taken out of privies, &c. are not the offspring of
a prejudiced imagination, they may have arifen from
its having been made ufe of at an improper time, or in
too great quantity ; or from its having been applied to
a foil and for the cultivation of plants to which it was
not adapted ; for we know that the excefs of any kind
of manure changes the fmell and tafte of plants, and
the fame efte£f is produced by watering them too fre
quently. Striking examples of this change are feen in
the ftraw’berry and in the violet, when fuch as have
grown in the woods are compared to thofe produced
from fome of our over-manured gardens ; alfo in the
lettuce, and fome other plants, w'hen thofe raifed for
fale by the gardeners about Paris are compared to thole
of fome particular kitchen gardens. In the markets of
fome cities, the carrots, turnips, and potatoes of the
fields, are preferred to the fame kind of roots cultiva¬
ted by the gardeners 5 for though the laft are of a larger
lize, they have not fo good a flavour. Some vegeta¬
bles, therefore, are like certain wild fpecies of the ani¬
mal kingdom ; they refill every kind of culture, as
thofe animals refill every effort to tame them.
“ Although experience has taught the Fiemhh far¬
mers, that excrementitious fubftances are more a£!ive
in their natural ftate than wdien dried, yet it cannot be
denied that drying them, and reducing them into pow¬
der, is fometimes very advantageous, becaufe in that
flate they are much lefs offenfive, are eafily tranfpert-
ed to any diftance, and may be ufed when moft conve¬
nient or moft proper. In many cities the inhabitants
pay to have their privies emptied : in other places, thofe
who empty them pay for their contents j and it wTould
aftonifh any one to be told howr great a revenue is pro¬
duced in the city of Lifle in Flanders by the fale of
this kind of manure. I am, however (fays our author),
far from thinking that it is right, in all cafes, to em¬
ploy it in the above-mentioned ftate of concentration j
it wxmld be better, in my opinion, to follow^ the ex¬
ample of the Flemifh farmers, who ufe it the firft: year
for the cultivation of plants for oil, or for hemp or flax
and the fecond year for the heft kinds of grain : thus
obtaining tw-o crops, inftead of one, without any far¬
ther preparation of the land. What is faid above may
be applied alfo to the manures produced from the dung
of cattle, poultry, &c. (particularly to pigeons dung,
■the moft powerful manure of its kind), all which, by
being dried and powdered before they are ufed, lofe a
great portion of their a6livity. From thefe obferva-
tions another faft may be deduced, namely, that ma¬
nure fhould not be taken from the place where it has
been thrown together until the feafon of the year and
the ftate of the land are fuch that it may be put into
the ground as foon as it is brought to it. In fome di-
ftridls a very injurious cuftom prevails of carrying the
manure into the fields, and leaving it there formed*into
fmall heaps, expofed for fome days to the dements ;
during w7hich time, either the fun and wind dry up its
natural moifture, leaving a mafs wdiich is much lefs ac¬
tive 5 or the rain diffolves and carries away the ex¬
tractive part impregnated with the fait. This kind of
brine, which is the moft: powerful part of the manure,
penetrates the earth to a confiderable depth, and fhews
(by the thick tufts which arife in thofe places, and
which produce more ilraw .than grain) that manure
3 M ought
458
AGRICULTURE.
Practice.
Manures.
473-
Praclncal
rule for
forming
manures.
* N° 7.5,
76»77> 78
ought to be put into the ground as foon as it is brought
to it, becaufe it then poffeffes its full force and effect,
and confequemly would be then ufed to the greateft
advantage.
“ We have always at hand the means of compoling,
from a great variety of vegetable and ammal lubftances,
fuch manures as, when brought into a proper date, and
mixed with land, contribute to its fertility. ^ Chemidry
alfo offers to us a number of fubdances, which, although
when ufed feparately they tend to diminilh the fertili¬
zing quality of the earth, are yet capable, by being
combined, of forming excellent manures •, fuch, for in¬
dance, is that faponaceous combination which is produ¬
ced from a mixture of potafh, oil, and earth. What
an advantage it would be, if, indead of being fparing
of manure, the inhabitants of the country would en¬
deavour to increafe the number of thefe refources, and
to render them more beneficial, by employing them in
a more effe&ual manner ! How many years had paffed
before it was known that the refufe of apples and pears,
after they are preffed (and which ufed to be thrown a-
way as ufelefs), is capable of forming as valuable a ma¬
nure, in cyder and perry countries, as the refufe of
grapes does in wine countries !”
° From what has been obferved, our author concludes,
that manures aft, in many circumdances, like medi¬
cines, and confequently that the fame fort of manure
cannot be adapted to every fituation, and every kind
of foil *, we mud therefore take care to make proper di-
dinftions between them. Whoever diall pretend that
any particular kind of manure may be ufed, with equal
benefit, in grafs land, corn fields, vineyards, orchards,
kitchen gardens, &c. ought to be claffed amongd thofe
quacks who undertake to cure all perfons with the fame
remedy, without any regard to their age, conditution,
&c. It is probably from not having paid fufficient at¬
tention to the forementioned didinftions, that feme au¬
thors have found fault with particular manures, while
others have fpoken too highly in their favour.
Having thus far dated the obfervations of this inge¬
nious author, we think it neceffary to remark, that the
praftical farmer, who widies ta advance fafely and pro-
fperoufly in his occupation,, will probably find* that the
bed principle upon which he. can proceed in forming
his plans for the preparation of manure, will confid-of
keeping driftly in view the ideas which we formerly
£ated*, when confidering the theory of agriculture.
When we vdfh to fertilize land by art,, we ought to
follow nature, or to imitate the procefs by which di£
fertilizes it. Vegetable fubdanees* fermented by the
putrefaftion of animal matters,. rapidly fall down into
earth, and affume the form of that rich black mould
yvhich is the mod'produftive of all foils. The great
bbjeft of the huibandman, therefore, ought to be to
procure large quantities of vegetable fubdances of every
kind, fuch as draw, dubble, rulhes, weeds, &c. and to
lay thefe up to ferment along with the frefh dung of
animals, particularly thofe animals which chew the cud,
for by digeding their food in a very perfeft manner,
their dung contains a large portion of animal matte^r.
As horfes, on the contrary, diged their food very weak¬
ly, their dung is often only lufficiently animalized to
bring on its own fermentation, which, however, is very
drong, on account of the large quantity of bits of draw,
hay, and other undeccmpojed parts of their food which
it contains. In the neighbourhood of cities, other am- _ M;inuie-.,
mal fubdances, befides dung, may frequently be ob¬
tained } fuch as bullocks blood, and the refufe of works
in which train oil is prepared, none of which ougnt to
be neglefted by the hufbandman.
The art of fermenting vegetable by animal matters,
or the true art of making dung, has not yet been brought
to perfeftion, nor is it in almod any fituation iufhcient*
ly attended to. In many places, we fee large quan¬
tities of ferns, rufhes, and the coarfe grafs of uogs,
which no cattle will confume, allowed to run to wade *,
whereas, though thefe plants do not readily ofthemfelves
run into fermentation, they might eafily, by proper care,
be made to undergo this procefs, and confequently be con¬
verted into a fource of riches, that is, into fertile mould.
On this fubjeft, we (hall here date a mode of prepar¬
ing dung upon the above principles, tnat has lately
been diicovered, and fuccefsfully adopted in Mid Lo¬
thian by the Hon. Lord Meadowbank, one of the ie-
nators of the College of Judice in Scotland. It con-
dds of fubjefting common peat-mofs to the procefs of
fermentation, now mentioned, and has been explained
by his lordfhip in a fmall printed pamphlet, of which,
though not fold to the public, a conficerable number of
copies have been didnbuted among his lordihip s friends.
It is in the following terms : “ It is proper to date in the
outfet”, fays his lordfiiip, “ fome general fafts con¬
cerning the preparation of manure, which every prac¬
tical farmer ihould be acquainted with.
« i. All recently dead animal or vegetable matter, Lortt Mea-
if diffidently divided, mold, and not chilled nearly todowbank’s
freezing, tends fpontaneoufly to undergo changes, that mode of
bring it at length to be a fat greafy.earth, which, mofs
when mixed with fands, clays, and a little chalk, or manure.
pounded limedone, forms what is called ricn .earn, or
garden-mould.
“ 2. In vegetable matter, when amaffed in quanti¬
ties, thefe. changes are at fird attended with very con-
fiderable beat, (fometimes proceeding the length of
inflammation), which, when not exceeding blood-
heat, greatly favours and quickens the changes, both
in animal matter, and the. further changes in vegetable
matter, that are not lenfibiy attended with the pio-
duftion of heat. The changes attended with heat, are
faid to happen by a. fermentation, named from what is
obferved in making of ale, wine, or vinegar. The
latter are afcribed to what is called putrejaBive- fer¬
mentation. '
« Befides moderate moidure and heat, and that
divifion of parts which admits the air in a certain dev
gree, circumdances which feem t° be neceffaiy to the
produftion of thefe changes, dirring, or mechanical'
mixture, favours them ; and a fimilar efteft arifes trora
the addition of chalk, pounded limedone, lime, ruh~
biffi of old buildings, or burnt lime brought back to
its natural date ; and alfo of affies of burnt coal, peat,
or wood, foap-leys, foot, fea-ffiells, and fea-ware. And*
on the other hand, the changes are dopped or retarded
by preffure or confolidation, excluding air j by much
water, efpecially when below the heat of a pool m
dimmer j by adringents $ and by caudic fubdances-,
as quicklime, acids, and pure alkalies, at lead till
their caudicity is mollified, atv the expence ol the de-
druftion „of part of the animal and vegetable matter to
which they are added, „ ^ Thefe
Part I.
, Manures. « Thefe changes are accompliflied by the fepa-
, v ration or decompofition of the paits or ingredients of
"which the dead vegetables and animals are compofed j
by the efcape of fomewhat of their fubftance in the
form of vapours or gaffes j by the imbibing alfo fome¬
what from water and from the atmofphere ; and by the
formation of compound matters, from the reunion of
parts or ingredients, which had been feparated by the
powers of the living vegetables and animals. The
earlier changes, and in general thofe which take place
previous to the deftru&ion of the adhelion and texture
of the dead vegetables and animals, appear to be rather
pernicious than favourable to the growth of living ve¬
getables, expofed to the diredl effect of them j where¬
as the changes fubfequent to the deftru&ion of the ani¬
mal and vegetable texture promote powerfully the
growth of plants, and, partly by their immediate effi¬
cacy on the plants expofed to their influence, partly by
the alterations they produce in the foil, conftitute what
is to be confidered as enriching manure (l).
“ 5. It ffiould be the objefl; of the farmer to give
his foil the full benefit of thefe latter changes, decom-
pofitions and recompofitions, which proceed flowly,
and continue to go on for years after the manure is
lodged in the foil. Even loam or garden-mould is
Hill undergoing fome remaining changes of the fame
fort •, and, by frequently ftirring it, or removing it,
and ufing it as a top-dreffing, its fpontaneous changes
are fo favoured, that it will yield heavy crops for a
time, without freffi manure ; or, in other words, it is
rendered in fo far a manure itfelf, as it decompofes
fafter than in its ordinary and more ftationary Hate,
and, in fo .doing, nouriffies vegetables more abundant¬
ly, or forms new combinations in the adjoining foil,
that enable it to do fo.
“ It ffiould alfo be the object of the farmer, to employ
the more early changes, not only to bring forward the
fubftances undergoing them into a proper ftate to be
committed to the foil, but to accelerate or retard them,
fo as to have his manure ready for ufe at the proper
feafons, with as little lofs as poffible, from part being
too much and part too little decompofed ; and alfo to
avail himfelf of the a&ivity of thofe changes, to reftore
to a ffate of fufficiently rapid fpontaneous decompoli-
tion, fuch fubftances in his farm, as, though in a ftate
of decay, had become fo ftationary, as to be unfit for
manure, without the aid of heat and mixture.
“ By attention to the two firft particulars, and the
proper ufe of compreffion, ftirring and mixture, the
farm dunghill, though formed flowly and of materials
in very various ftates of decay, is brought forward in
nearly the fame condition. By attention to the latter,
manure may, in moft fituations in Scotland, be tripled
or quadrupled ; et fonum ejl aurum. On the other
hand, by inattention to them, part of the manure is put
into the foil unprepared, that is, in a fttuation where
the texture of the vegetable is ftill entire ; and, its'de¬
compofition never having been carried far by the heat
aijd mixture of a fermenting mafs, proceeds in the foil
fo flowly, that, like ploughed down ftubble, it does not
merit the name of manure. Part, again, is apt to be
459
too much rotted, that is, much of it is too nearly ap- Manui es.
proaching to the ftate of garden-mould, whereby much*1 *
benefit is loft, by the efcape of what had been fepara¬
ted during the procefs it has undergone, and the good
effefts on the foil of what remains are lefs durable;
for, between folution in water and rapid decompofition
from its advanced ftate of rottennefs, it is foon reduced
to that of garden-mould ; and, in fine, the powers of
fermenting vegetable with animal matter, which, wffien
properly employed, are certainly moft efficacious in
converting into manure many fubftances that are other-
wife very ftationary and flow in their decompofition,
are loft to the farmer, fo that he is often reduced to
adopt an imperfeft and little profitable mode of culti¬
vation, from the want of the manure requifite for a
better, though fuch ma'nure may be lying in abun¬
dance within his reach, but ufelefs from his ignorance
how to prepare it.
“ Peat-mofs is to be found in confiderable quanti¬
ties within reach of moft farms in Scotland, particu¬
larly in thofe diftriffs where outfield land (i. e. land
not brought into a regular courfe of cropping and ma¬
nuring) forms the larger part of the arable land. It
confifts of the remains of ftrrubs, trees, heath, and other
vegetables, wffiich, under the influence of a cold and
moift climate, and in wet fituations, have got into a
condition almoft ftationary, but much removed from
that of the recently dead vegetable, and certainly con-
fiderably diftant from that of garden-mould. It is no
longer fufceptible of going of itfelf, though placed in
the moft favourable circumftances, into that rapid fer¬
mentation, accompanied with heat, which maffes of
freffi vegetables experience : But it is ftill a powerful
fuel wffien dried } and, on the other hand, it requires
long expofure to the feafons, in a dry fituatipn, be.-
fore, without mixture, it is fit for the nouriffiing of li¬
ving vegetables.
“ In general, however., there is nothing In the fitu-
ation of peat-mofs, or in the changes it has undergone,
that leads to think that it has fuftered any thing that
unfits it to be prepared for manure. It is no doubt
found fometimes mixed with particular mineral fub¬
ftances, that may be, for a time, pernicious to vegeta¬
tion j but, in general, there is no fuch admixture, and,
wffien it does take place, a little patience and attention
wall be fufficient to cure the evil. In the ordinary
cafe, the only fubftances found in peat that may be un¬
favourable to vegetation, in fo far at leaft as tending to
keep it ftationary and prevent its rotting, are twn, and
both abounding in frefli vegetables of the forts of
wffiich mofs is chiefly compofed : Thefe are, gallic
acid, and the aftrxngent principle, or tan; and as
thefe are got the better of in frefti vegetables by the
hot fermentation to which they are fubjedl, fo as to
leave the general mafs of the fubftances to which they
belonged properly prepared manure, there is no reafon
to fuppofe, that the fame may not be accompliffied with
the acid and tan of peat. Again, the powers of peat
as a fuel, and of allies of peat as a manure, ought to
convince every perfon, that the material and more ef-
fential parts of the dead vegetable, for the formation
3 M 2 of
AGRICULTU RE.
(l) Hot fermenting dung partakes of both forts of fermentation.
4oo
Manures.
A G R I C U
o£ manure, remain entire in peat. Here the inflam-
' mable oils and carbonaceous matter which abound in
the frefh vegetable, and the latter of which alfo
abounds in garden-mould, remain entire} the foot and
adies, too, which are the refults of the inflammation of
each, feem to be nearly equally fertilizing ; and, in
Ihort, little feems to be loft in peat but the effefts of
the fir ft fermentation in preparing the matter to un¬
dergo its future changes with the rapidity requifite to
conftitute manure. Befides, the foil produced from
peat-earth, by expofure for a courfe of years, feems not
to be fenfibly different from that obtained from dung
in the fame way. Both are deficient in firmnefs of
texture ; but are very prolific when mixed with clays,
' funds, and calcareous earths, in due proportion.
“ From confidering the preceding circumftances, and
from trying what fubftances operated on tan, and on
the acid found in peat-mofs, it was determined to fub-
je£! it to the influence of different forts of fermenting
dung, with due attention to the proportions ufed, and
to the eftefls of the different preparations j and the
following is the dire&ion, which an experience of fix
crops recommends to practice.
“ Let the peat-mofs, of which compoft is to be form¬
ed, be thrown out of the pit for fame weeks or months,
in order to lofe its redundant moifture. By this means,
it is rendered the lighter to carry, and lefs compaft
and weighty, when made up with frefh dung, for fer¬
mentation •, and accordingly lefs dung is required for
the purpofe, than if the preparation is made with peat
taken recently from the pit.
“ Take the peat-mofs to a dry fpot, convenient for
conftrufting a dunghill, to ferve the field to be manured.
Lay it in two rows, and dung in a row betwixt them.
The dung thus lies on the area of the compoft-dunghill,
and the rows of peat fhould be near enough each other,
that workmen, in making up the compoft, may be able
to throw them together by the fpade, without wheel¬
ing. In making up, let the workmen begin at one end.
Lay a bottom of peat, 6 inches deep, and 15 feet wide,
if the ground admit of it (m). Then lay about 10
inches of dung above the peat; then about 6 inches of
peat •, then four or five of dung, and then fix more of
peat 5 then another thin layer of dung ; and then
cover it over with peats at the end where it was begun,
at the twTo fides, and above. It fhould not be raifed
above 4 feet, or 4-^ feet high, otherwife it is apt to
prefs too heavily on the under part, and check the fer¬
mentation. When a beginning is thus made, the
workmen will proceed working backwards, and add¬
ing to the column of compoft, as they are furnifhed
with the three rows of materials, direfted to be laid
down for them. They muft take care not to tread on
the compoft, or render it too compaft 5 and of confe-
quence, in proportion as the peat is wet, it fhould be
made up in lumps, and not much broken.
“ In mild weather, feven cart-load of common farm-
dung, tolerably frefh made, is fufficient for 21 cart¬
loads of peat-mofs *, but in cold weather, a larger pro¬
portion of dung is defirable. 1 o every 28 carts of
the compoft, when made up, it is of ufe to throw on
L T U R E.
Pra&ice.
above it a cart-load of allies, either made from coal, , Manures. ^
peat, or wood j or if thefe cannot be had, half the
quantity of flaked lime may be ufed, the more finely
powdered the better. But thefe additions are nowife
effential to the general fuccefs of the coropcft.
“ The dung to be ufed fhould either have been recent¬
ly made, or kept frefh by comprefflon ; as, by the
treading of cattle or fwine, or by carts paffing over it.
And if there is little or no litter in it, a iinaller quan¬
tity will ferve, provided any fpongy vegetable matter
is added at making up the compoft, as frefh Weeds,
the rubbifh of a ftack-yard, potato-fhaws, fawings of
timber, &c. And as fome forts of dung*, even when
frefh are much more advanced in decompofition than
others, it is material to attend to this j for a much
lefs proportion of fuch dung, as is lefs advanced, will
ferve for the compoft, provided care is taken to keep
the mafs fufticiently open, either by a mixture of the
above-mentioned fubftances, or, if thefe are wanting,
by adding the mofs piece-meal, that is, firft mixing it
up in the ufual proportion of three to one of dung,
and then, after a time, adding an equal quantity, more
or lefs, of mofs. The dung of this chara6ter, of great-
eft quantity, is fhamble-dung, with which, under the
above precautions, fix times the quantity of mofs, or
more, may be prepared. The fame holds as to pigeon-
dung, and other fowl-dung 5 and to a certain extent,
alfo, as to that which is colleaed from towns, and
made by animals that feed on grains, refufe of diftil-
leries, &c.
“ The compoft, after it is made up, gets into a gene¬
ral heat, fooner or later, according to the Weather, and
the condition of the dung : in fummer, in ten days or
fooner 5 in winter, not perhaps for many weeks, if the
cold is fevere. It always, however, has been found to
come on at laft j and in fummer, it fometimes rifes fo
high, as to be mifchievous, by confirming the raateii-
als f fire-fangingA In that feafon, a ftick fhould be
ke^t in it indifferent parts, to pull out and feel now
and then : for if it approaches to blood-heat, it ftiould
either be watered, or turned over } and on fuch an oc-
cafion, advantage may be taken to mix it wflth a little
frefh mofs. The heat fubfides after a time, and with
great variety, according to the weather, the dung, and
the perfeftion of the making up of the compoft;, which
then fhould be allov'ed to remain untouched, till with¬
in three weeks of ufing, when it fhould be turned over,
upfide down, and outfide in, and all lumps broken .
then it comes into a fecond heat} but foon cools, and
ftiould be taken out for ufe. In this ftate, the whole,
except bits of the old decayed wood, appears a black
free mafs, and fpreads like garden-mould. _ Ufe it,
weight for weight, as farm-yard dung j and it will be
found, in a courfe of cropping, fully to ftand the com-
parifon.
“ The addition recommended of afhes or lime, is
thought to favour the general perfe&ion of the prepa¬
ration, and to haften the fecond heat. The lime laid
on above the dunghill, as direfted, is rendered mild by
the vapours that efcape during the firft heat.
« Compoft, made up before January, has hitherto
(m) This alludes to the propriety, in clay lands, of fuiting the dunghill to the breadth of a frngle rnfrc,
free of each furrow.
Parti. AGRICULTURE.
Manures, been in good order for the fpring-crops; but this may
v not happen in a long froft. In fummer, it is ready in
eight or ten weeks j and if there is an anxiety to have
it foon prepared, the addition of afhes, or of a little
lime-rubbifh of old buildings, or of lime, flaked with
foul water, applied to the dung ufed in making up,
will quicken the procefs conflderably.
“ Lime has been mixed previoufly with the peat j
but the compoft prepared with that mixture, or with
the Ample peat, feemed to produce equally good crops.
All the land, however, that it has been tried on, has
been limed more or lefs within thefe 25 years.
“ Peat prepared with lime alone, has not been found
to anfwer as a good manure. In one inftance, viz. on
a bit of fallow fown with wheat, it was manifeflly per¬
nicious. Neither wnth cow-water alone is it prepared,
unlefs by lying immerfed in a pool of it for a long
time, when it turns into a fort of fleetch, which makes
an excellent top-dreffing. Something of the fame fort
happens wuth foap-fuds, and water of common fliores,
&c. L ime-water was not found to unite with the tan
in peat, nor was urine (n). Peat made up with fea-
weed gets into heat, and the peat feems to undergo
the fame change as when prepared wuth dung. But
the effedf of this preparation on crops has not yet been
experienced. Peat has alfo been expofed to the fumes
of a putrefying carcafe. In one inftance the peat pro¬
ved a manure ; but much weaker than when prepared
with dung. There, however, the proportion ufed was
very large to the carcafe. Other trials are making,
where the proportion is lefs, and with, or without, the
addition of allies, lime, &c. In all thefe cafes, there
can be no fenfible heat. Peat, heated and rendered
friable by the adlion of the living principle of turnips
in growing, was not found entitled, wflien ufed as a
top-drefl'mg, to the character of manure. It had been
made up in the view of preferving the turnips during
froft. But the turnips fprung, and the mafs heated.
The turnips were taken out and -the peat afterwards
ufed as a top-drefling. Peat is now under trial, as
preparing with turnips and frefli weeds, in fermenta¬
tion, without the admixture of any animalized matters.
“ It is hud that dry peat-earth is ufed as a manure in
fome parts of England. But unlefs in chalky foils,
or others where there may be a great want of carbona¬
ceous matter, it is much doubted whether it could be
ufed with any fenfible advantage. Peat-afties were
found to raife turnips, but to have no fenfible effeft on
the next crop.
“ The quantity of the compoft ufed per acre, has va¬
ried conflderably, according to the richnefs of the foil
manured, and the condition in wfliich it is at manuring,
and the feafon in which the manure is applied. From
23 t0 35 cart-load, by two horfes each, is about what
has been given; the lelfer to fallows and ground in
good tilth, and the larger when to be ploughed in
with the fward of poor land 5 and the intermediate
quantities, with tares, peas, potatoes, &c. j and it has
in moft cafes undergone comparative trials with differ¬
ent forts of common dung.
“ It may be proper to add, that too much attention
cannot be paid to the proper preparation of the ground
for the reception of manure. It ftiould be clean, pret¬
ty dry at the application, and wrell mixed and friable.
Much of the manure applied is otherwife loft, whether
lime, dung, or compoft. The additional quantities
recommended when the land is coarfe, is juft fo much
that wmdd have been faved by better cultivation.
Common farmers are little aware of this. They might
fave at leaft half their lime, did they lay it on in powT-
der(o), and on fallows, only harrowing it, and let¬
ting it wait for a fliorver before it is ploughed in j a*nd
perhaps not much lefs of their dung. It is aftonilhing
what a vifible effedft is produced on land properly mix¬
ed by a fallow, from the addition of only a very fmall
quantity of properly prepared dung or compoft. Both
its texture and colour undergo a very fenfible change,
which cannot be accounted for, except from the extri¬
cation of fubftances from the decompoflng manure,
(probably from its fpontaneous tendency to decompofe
being aided by the chemical adlion of various matters
in a foil fo prepared) : And from thefe fubftances ope¬
rating in the foil, numberlefs compofitions and decom-
pofttions, or tendencies to them, take place, from the
various ele&ive attradlions of the different parts of
wrhich it is compofed. It is obvious, that an immenfe-
ly greater proportion of manure muft be required to
produce even a little of this, where the foil is coarfe or
lumpy, or confolidated by wTetnefs, than when put in¬
to a fttuation favourable to the reciprocal aftion of the
various fubftances contained in it, a variety and an ad¬
mixture formed by nature in perfection in the more
favoured foils, (as in the bottom of drained lakes,
haughs, Delta ground), and wftiich it is the bufinefs of
the Ikilful and induftrious farmer to form or make
compenfation for the w7ant of, by judicious manuring,
wrhere nature has been lefs bountiful of her gifts.
“ It was meant to have given a detailed account of
many of the experiments that have been made, whether
in Agriculture or Chemiftry. But as thefe are ftill
going on, and the praClical refults have attraCled fome
attention, and prompted imitation by neighbours and
acquaintance, fo that manufcript directions have been
often applied for and obtained, it has been prefer¬
red to print, in the mean time, this ftiort account
of the bufinefs, divefted of fcientific language, and flut¬
ed to the perufal of any practical huthandman. It
wras indeed felt as a degree of wrong, not to take fome
fteps to make it public, as foon as the certainty of
fuccefs warranted. And both the power and the dura¬
tion
461
Manures.
(n) Tan combines with animal gelly, and lofes its aftringency. The animalized matter, extricated in fer¬
menting dung, has probably this effeCt on the tan in peat, as wTell as to render the acid innocent. As vege¬
table matters feem in general to contain the ingredients of, and often fomewhat fimilar to, animal gluten, it is
poffible that the fermentation of frefti vegetables alone may prove fufficient to prepare the peat to rot in the foil
expeditioufly j but it is certainly defirable to ufe alfo animalized matter for this purpofe.
(°^ This they may, though driven in winter, and drowmed in the heaps by rains. They have only to turn
it over with a very fmall additional quantity of new burnt {hells when they come to ufe it.
AGRICULTURE.
Pra£liee.
47 S
0f the more
coramOn^
'Itinds of ^
476
Manures
ufed in
Norfolk.
tion of tne manure have now flood the teft of a great
' variety of trials, on a coniiderable extent of ground,
and of much diveriity of foil, continued without in-
termiflion during the laft fix years. Hitherto it has
been found equal, and indeed preferable, to common
farm-yard dung, for the firft three years, and decidedly
to furpafs it afterwards. It has been conjectured,
from the appearance and effects of the compoff, that
its parts are lefs volatile and foluble than thofe of
dung j but that it yields to the crop what is re-
quiffte, by the aftion of the living fibres of vegetables ;
and in this way waftes flower, and lafts longer. What¬
ever be in this, nothing has appeared more remarkable,
than its fuperiority in maintaining (for four and five
years) frelh and nourifhing the pafture of thin clays,
that had been laid down with it, and in making them
vield well when again ploughed, and that without any
top-dreiling, or new manure of any fort. Employed
in this way, the effect of common dung is foon over,
the foil becoming confolidated, and the pafture Hunt¬
ed ; and hence luch foils have not ufually been culti¬
vated with advantage, except by tillage, and by the
aid of quantities of manure, got by purchafe, and
much beyond the produce of the farm-yard. It is. be¬
lieved that the foregoing directions will, if pra&ifed,
prove beneficial to every farmer who has accefs to
peat-mofs within a moderate diftance *, but it is to
the farmers of the foils now mentioned, and of hungry
gravels, to whom they would be found particularly
valuable.
“ Let it be obferved, that the objeft in making up the
compoft is to form as large a hot-bed as the quantity
of dung employed admits of, and then to furround it
on all fldes, fo as to have the whole benefit of the
heat and effluvia. Peat, as dry as garden-mould, in
feed-time, may be mixed with the dung, fo as to double
the volume and more, and nearly triple the weight,
and inftead of hurting the heat prolong it. Work¬
men mult begin ■with ufing layers j but, when ac-
cuftomed to the juft proportions, if they are furnifhed
with peat moderately dry, and dung not loft in litter,
they throw it up together as a mixed mafs ; and they
improve in the art, fo as to make a lefs proportion of
dung ferve for the preparation.”
With regard to the other kinds of manure common¬
ly invife in this country, their efficacy is well known j
the oniy difficulty is to procure them in fufficient quan¬
tity.—In fuch lands as lie near the fea, fea-weeds offer
an unlimited quantity of excellent manure. . In the
neighbourhood of rivers, the weeds with which they
abound offer likewife an excellent manure in plenty.
Oil-cake, malt- coombs, the refufe of flaughter-houfes,
&c. all are excellent where they can be got: but the
fttuations which afford thefe are comparatively few *, fo
that in moft cafes the farmer muft depend much on his
own ingenuity and induftry for raifing a fufficient quan¬
tity of dung to anfwer his purpofes •, and the methods
taken for this purpofe vary according to the fituation
of different places, or according to the fancy of the
hufbandman.
In all countries where chalk, marl, or lime are t6 be
had, they are certainly to be employed in their proper
departments; but befides thefe, dung, properly fo called,
mixed with earth or putrid animal and vegetable fub-
ftances, everywhere conftitutes a principal part of the
manure. In Norfolk, Mr Marfhall tells us, that the qua- Mamirec
lity of dung is attended to with greater precifion than in
moft other diftri&s. Town-muck, as it is called,, is held
in moft eftimation 5 and the large towns Norwich and
Yarmouth fupply the neighbouring country. As Yar¬
mouth, however, is a maritime place, and otherwife
in a manner furrounded by marfhes, ftraw is of courle
a fcarce and dear article j whence, inftead of littering
their horfes with it, they ufe land. As the bed becomes
foiled or wet, frefti fand is put on, until the whole is in
a manner faturated with urine and dung, when it is
cleared away, and reckoned muck of fuch excellent ■
quality, that it is fent for from a very great diftance.
With regard to other kinds of dung, that from horfes
fed upon hay and corn is looked upon to be the beft j
that of fatting cattle the next ; while the dung of lean
cattle, particularly of cows, is fuppofed to be greatly
inferior, even though turnips make part of their food.
The dung of cattle kept on ftraw alone is looked upon
to be of little or no value ; while the muck from trod¬
den ftraw is by fome thought to be better than that from
the ftraw which is eaten by the lean flock.-—Compofts
of dung with earth or marl are very generally ufed. 477
In the midland counties of England, Mr Marfhall In the mid=
informs us, the cores of horns cruffied in a mill have
been ufed as manure; though he knows not with
what fuccefs. His only objeftion is the difficulty of
reducing them to powder. Hung is extremely dear
in Norfolk j half a guinea being commonly given for
a waggon-load driven by five horfes. Great quanti¬
ties c-f lime and marl are found in this diftridE With
regard to the method of raifing dung in general, per¬
haps the obfervations of Mr Marfflall upon the ma¬
nagement of the Yorkftiire farmers may be equally fa-
tisfaftory with any thing that has yet been publiffied
on the fubjefl. __ # 478
“ The general pradlice (fays he) is to pile the Mr Mar-
dung on the higheft part of the yard; or, which is ball’s di-
ftill°lefs judicious., to let it lie fcattered about on the°r
fide of a flope, as it were for the purpofe of diffipating dung>
its virtues. The unne which docs not mix \Mth the
dung is almoft invariably led off the neareft way to the
common fewer, as if it were thought a nuiiance to the
premifes. That which mixes with the dung is of courfe
carried to the midden, and affifts in the general diffipa-
tion. A yard of dung, nine-tenths of which .are ftraw,
will difcharge, even in dry weather, fome of its more
fluid particles; and in rainy weather, is, notwithftand-
ing the ftraw, liable to be wafhed away if expofed on.a
rifing ground. But how much more liable to wafte is
a mixture of dung and urine, with barely a iufficiency of
ftraw to keep them together ? In. dry weather the na¬
tural oozing is confiderable ; and in a net fealon every
(bower of rain wafties it away in quantities. The Nor¬
folk method of bottoming the dung-yard with mould
is here indifpenfably neceffary to common good ma¬
nagement. There is no better manure for grafs-lands
than mould faturated with the oozing of a dunghill:
it gets down quickly among the grafs, and has gene¬
rally a more vifible effeft than the dungitfelf. Under
this management the arable land would have the felf-
fame dung it now has ; while the grafs-land would
have an annual fupply of riches, which now run to wafte
in the fewers and rivulets. But before a dung-yard
caq with propriety be bottomed with mould, the bot¬
tom
Part I.
Manures.
479
Of lime as
a manure.
*N° 7c),
So, 8x.
Its opera¬
tion.
A G R I C U
tom of the yard itfelf ought to be properly formed.
A part of it fituated conveniently for carriages to come
at, and low enough to receive the entire drainings of
the liable, cattle-llalls, and hog-fties, Ihould be hol¬
lowed out in the manner of an artificial drinking-pool,
with a rim fomewhat rifing, and with covered drains
laid into it from the various fources of liquid ma¬
nure. During the fummer months, at leifure times,
and embracing opportunities of back-carriage, fill the
hollow nearly full with mould, fuch as the fcourings
of ditches, the Ihovellings of roads, the maiden earth
of lanes and wafte corners, the coping of Hone-quar¬
ries, &c. &c. leaving the furface fomewhat dilhed;
and within this dilh fet the dung-pile carefully keep-
ing up a rim of mould round the bafe of the pile higher
than the adjoining furface of the yard j equally to
prevent extraneous matter from finding its way into
the refervoirs, and to prevent the efcape of that which
falls within its circuit.”
The ufe of lime, as a manure, was formerly men¬
tioned *, and alfo the principle upon which its value de¬
pends. It ought to be ufed not for the purpofe of
giving food to the plants, but as a flimulant, tending
to bring the foil into adtivity, by reducing to mould
all the dead roots of vegetables with which it may
abound. Hence it ought never to be ufed without
dung upon foils that have been exhaufted by repeated
cropping, and that are in a clean Hate.
However people may differ in other particulars, all
agree, that the operation of lime depends on its inti¬
mate mixture with the foil j and therefore that the pro¬
per time of applying it, is when it is perfedtly powder¬
ed, and the foil at the fame time in the higeft degree
of pulverization. Lime of itfelf is abfolutely barren j
and yet it enriches a barren foil. Neither of the two
produces any good effedl; without the other ; and con-
fequently, the more intimately they are mixed, the effedt
mult be the greater.
Hence it follows, that lime ought always to be fla¬
ked with a proper quantity of water, becaufe by that
means it is reduced the moft effedtuaily into powder.
Lime left to be flaked by a moift air, or accidental rain^
is feldom or never thoroughly reduced into powder*
and therefore can never be intimately mixed with the
foil. Sometimes an opportunity offers to bring home
fhell-lime before the ground is ready for it j and it is
commonly thrown into a heap without cover, trufting
to rain for flaking. The proper way is, to lay the
fhell-lime in different heaps on the ground where it is
to be fpread, to reduce thefe heaps into powder by fla¬
king with water, and to cover the flaked lirne with fod,
fo as to defend it from rain. One, however, fnould
avoid as much as poffible the bringing home lime be¬
fore the ground be ready- for it. Where allowed to
lie long in a heap, there are two bad confequences ;
nrft, lime attradls moifture, even though well covered,
and runs into clots, which prevents an intimate mix¬
ture; and, next, we know that burnt limeffone, whe¬
ther in fhells or in powder, returns gradually into
its original Hate of limeftone ; and upon that account
alfo, is lefs capable of being mixed with the foil.
And this is verified by a fa<ff, that, after lying long,
it is fo hard bound together as to require a pick to fe-
parate the parts.
Tor. the fame reafon, it is a bad pradttce, though
L T U R E. 46j
common, to let fpread lime lie on the furface all win- Manures.
ter. The bad effe&s above mentioned take place here
in part : and there is another, that rain wafhes the
lime down to the furrows, and in a hanging field car¬
ries the whole a-way.
As the particles of powdered lime are both fmall and xlnfe of li-
heavy, they quickly fink to the bottom of the furrow, ming»
if care be not taken to prevent it. In that view, it is-
a rule, that lime be fpread and mixed with the foil
immediately before fowing, or along with the feed. In
this manner of application, there being no occafion to
move it till the ground be ftirred for' a new crop, it
has time to incorporate with the foil, and does not rea¬
dily feparate from it. Thus, if turnip-feed is to bo
fown bioad-caft, the lime ought to be laid on imme¬
diately before fowing, and harrowed in with the feed.
If a crop of drilled turnip or cabbage be intended, the
lime ought to be fpread immediately before forming in
drills. With refpeT to wheat, the lime ought to" be
fpread immediately before feed-furrowing. If fpread
more early, before the ground be fufficiently broken,
it finks to the bottom. If a light foil be prepared
for barley, the lime ought to be fpread after feed-fur¬
rowing, and harrowed in with the feed. In a ftrqng
foil, it finks not fo' readily to the bottom, and there^
fore, before fowing the barley, the lime ought to be
mixed with the foil by a brake. Where moor is ham¬
mer-fallowed for a crop of oats next year, the lime
ought to be laid on immediately before the laft plough-
ing, and braked in as before. It has fufficient time
to incorporate with the foil before the land be ftirred
again.
The quantity to be laid on depends on the nature of Qualititr
the foil. Upon a ftrong foil, 70 or 80 bolls of fhells ' ’
are not more than fufficient, reckoning four fmall fir-
lots-to the boll, termed wheat meafure; nor will it be an
overdofe to lay on 100 bolls. Between 50 and 60 may
fuffice upon medium foils ; and upon the thin or gra¬
velly, between 39 and.40. It is notffafe to lay.a much -
greater quantity on fuch foils. -
It is common to lime a pafture-iield immediately Liming pa-
before ploughing* This is an unfofe practice 5 it isfture-fidlds.
thrown to the bottom of the furrow, from which it is
never fully gathered up.- The proper time for liming
a pafture-field, intended to be taken up for corn, is a
year at leaftj or two, before ploughing. It is wafhed
m by rain among the roots of the plants, and has time to
incorporate with the foil..
Limeftone beat fmall makes an excellent manure j Beat lime--’
and fupplies the want of powdered lime where there is Acne,
no fuel to burn the limeftone. Limeftone. beat fmall
has not hitherto been much ufed as a manure ; and the
proportion between it and powdered lime has not been
afeertained. What follows may give fome light. Three
pounds of raw lime is by burning reduced to two
pounds of ffiell-lime. Yet nothing is expelled by the
fire but the air that was in the limeftone: the calca¬
reous earth remains entire. Ergo, two pounds of fhell-
lime contain as much calcareous earth as three pounds’
of raw limeftone. Shell-lime of the beft quality, when
flaked with water, will meafure out to thrice the quan¬
tity. But as linieftone lofes none of its bulk by being-
burnt into fhells, it follows, that three bufhels of raw*-
limeftone contain as much calcareous earth as fix bu¬
fhels of powdered lime j and confequently, if powdered
464
Manures.
485
Offliell-
marl.
486
Of clay and
ftone marls.
AGRICULTURE,
Pra&ice.
487
Of gypfum
^as a ma-
cure.
lime poITefs not fome virtue above raw limeftone, three
bulliels of the latter beat fmall Ihould equal as a manure
fix buftiels of the former. . .
Shell-marl, as a manure, is managed in every reipect
like powdered lime j with this only diherence, that a
fifth or a fourth part more in meafure ought to be given.
The reafon is, that Ihell-marl is lefs weighty than lime •,
and that a boll of it contains lefs calcareous earth, which
is the fructifying part of both.
Clay and ftone marls, with rcipect to hufbandry, are
the fame, though in appearance different.
The goodnefs of marl depends on the quantity of
calcareous earth in it: which has been knov n to
amount to a half or more. It is too expenfive if the
quantity be lefs than a third or a fourth part. Good
marl is the molt lubftantial of all manures •, becaule it
improves the weakeft ground to equal the beft borough-
acres. The low part of Berwickfhire, termed tie
Mcrfe, abounds everywhere with this marl} and is the
only county in Scotland where it is plenty.
Land ought to be cleared of weeds before marling j
and it ought to be fmoothed with the brake and har-
-row, in order that the marl may be equally fpread.
Marl is a foffil on which no vegetable will grow its
efficacy depends, like that of lime, on its pulverization,
and intimate mixture with the foil. Toward the for¬
mer, alternate drought and moifture contribute great¬
ly, as alfo froft. Therefore, after being evenly fpread,
it ought to lie on the furface all winter. In the month
of October it may be roufed with a brake j which will
bring to the furface, and expofe to the air and froit all
the hard parts, and mix wfith the foil all that is pow-
- dered. In that refpeft it differs widely from dung and
.lime, which ought ufually to be ploughed into the ground
without delay. Oats is a hardy grain, which will an-
fwer for height the firfi: crop after marling better than
any other *, and it will fucceed though the marl be not
thoroughly mixed with the foil. In that cafe, the marl
ought to be ploughed in wdth an ebb furrow imme¬
diately before fowing, and braked thoroughly. It is
tickliffi to make wheat the firft crop : if fown before
winter, froft fwells the marl, and is apt to throw the
feed out of the ground if fown in fpring, it will fufter
more than oats by want of due mixture.
Summer is the proper feafon for marling } became
in that feafon the marl, being dry, is not only lighter,
but is eafily reduced to powTder. hroft, however, is not
improper for marling, efpecially as in froft there is little
opportunity for any other work.
Marl is a heavy body, and finks to the bottom 01
the furrowq if indifcreetly ploughed. Therefore the
firft crop ffiould always have an ebb furrow. During
the growing of that crop, the marl has time to incor¬
porate with the foil, and to become a part of it} after
W’hich it does not readily feparate.
Of late a new manure has been introduced into fome
countries. This is gypfum, which is lime united with
fulphuric acid. In the eighth volume oi the Annals
of Agriculture wre are informed, that it is commonly
ufed as a manure in Switzerland. In the 10th volume
of the fame work, Sir Richard Sutton gives fome ac¬
count of an experiment made with it oi- his eftate-, but
in fuch an inaccurate manner, that nothing could be
determined. “ The appearance in general (jays he), I
think, wras rather againft the benefit of the plafter,
2
though not decidedly fo.” He tells us, that its virtues Manure^
were a fubjea of debate in Germany. In America this v
fubftance ieems to have met with more luccels than in
any other country. In the fifth volume of Bath Pa¬
pers, Mr Kirkpatrick of the Ifle of Wight, who had
himfelx vilited North America, informs us, that it is
much ufed in the United States, on account of its cheap-
nefs and efficacy \ though, from what is there ftated, w e
muft undoubtedly be led to fuppofe? that its efficacyy\x&
be very great before it can be entitled to the praile ox
cheapnefs. In the firft place, it is brought fiom the hills
in the neighbourhood of Paris to Havre de Grace, and
from thence exported to America j which of itici- muft
occafion a confiderable expence, though the plafter were
originally given In the next place, it muft be
powdered in a ftamping mill, and the finer it is powder¬
ed fo much the better. In the third place, it muft be
fown over the ground to be manured with it. The
quantity for grafs is fix buffiels to an acre. It ought
to be fow7n on dry ground m a wet day j and its efficacy
is faid to laft from feven to twelve years. It operates
entirely as a top-drefiing.
In the 10th volume of the Annals of Agriculture, W’e
have fome extrafts from a tveatife by Mr Powel, prefi-
dent of the Philadelphia Society for encouraging Agri¬
culture, upon the fubjeft of gypfum as a manure } of
the efficacy of which he gives the following inftances.
1. In O&ober 1786, plafter of Paris was fown in a
rainy day upon wheat-ftubble without any previous cul¬
ture. The crop of wheat had fcarce been worth reap¬
ing, and no kind of grafs feed had been fown upon the
ground j neverthelefs, in the month of June it W’as co¬
vered wdth a thick mat of w’hite exover, clean and even,
from fix to eight inches in height. A piece of ground
adjoining to this w’hite clover was alio fown with gyp¬
fum, and exhibited a fine appearance of w’hite and red
clover mixed with fpear-grafs. Some wet ground fown
at the fame time was not in the leaft improved.—This
anecdote refts entirely on the veracity of an anony¬
mous farmer. 2. Eight bulhels of plafter of Paris
fpread upon twTo acres and a half of wheat-ftubble
n-round, which the fpring before had been fowed with
about two pounds of red elover-feed to the acre for
pafture, yielded five tons of hay by the middle of
June. A fmall piece of ground of fimilar quality, but
without any plafter, produced only one ton and a
half in the fame proportion.—Mr Powel concludes in
favour of the effeds of the plafter upon arable as w’ell
as grafs land. . ,
Other accounts to the fame purpofe have been pub-
lilhed, though it muft alfo be remarked, that various
perfons who have made trial of this manure, declare
themfelves diffatisfied with it 5 but it does not ap¬
pear that it has hitherto been at all tried in this part of
the iiland. r
When a foil abounds too much m particles oi a par¬
ticular kind, it has been found expedient to mix it with
earth of a different charader. Hence we are informed
in the 12th volume of the Annals ot Agriculture, that
in Cornwall, large quantities of fea-fand are annually offea-fand
conveyed to the land, and laid upon the foil 5 a prac- as a ma¬
lice which will no doubt have a. tendency to ameliorate nure.
ftiff clays, and to render them more pervious to the
roots of plants. With the fame view, and alfo to lave
fuel a praftice is faid to exift in the Netherlands, of
* baking
Part I.
Prill or
Horfe-
hocing
Hulbandry.
AGRICULTURE.
4S9
Advanta¬
ges afcribe
Xo horfe-
490
Method of
lowing in
the drill j
hulbandry.
baking up tbe drofs or culm of coal, and alfo peat-
earth, with clay, into lumps or bricks, which when
dried in the air, make excellent fuel, and alio aiford
an immenfe quantity of valuable aihes to be laid upon
the land.
Sect. VIII. Principles and Operations of the Drill
or Horfe-hoeing Hujhandry.
The general properties attributed to the new or drill
hufbandry may be reduced to two, viz. the promoting
the growth of plants by hoeing, and the faving of feed \
both of rvhich are equally profitable to the farmer.
The advantages of tillage before fowing have already
been pointed out. In this place we mull confine our-
felves to the utility of tillage after fowing. This kind
of tillage is moil generally known by the name of horfe-
hoeing.
Land fowed with wdreat, however w7ell it may be
cultivated in autumn, finks in the winter j the particles
get nearer together, and the weeds rife 5 fo that in
i’pring, the land is nearly in the fame fituation as if it
never had been ploughed. This, however, is the fea-
fon when it fhould branch and grow with moll vigour j
and confequently Hands moll in need of ploughing or
hoeing, to dellroy the weeds, to fupply the roots with
frelh earth, and, by dividing anew the particles of the
foil, to allow the roots to extend and colledl nourilh-
ment.
It is well known, that, in gardens, plants grow with
double vigour after being hoed or tranfpkmted. If
plants growing in arable land could be managed with
cafe and fafety in this manner, it is natural to expedl,
that their growth would be promoted accordingly. Ex¬
perience Ihow'S, that this is not only practicable, but
attended with many advantages.
In the operation of hoeing wheat, though fome of
the roots be moved or broken, the plants receive no
injury 5 for this very circumllance makes them fend
forth a greater number of roots than formerly, wdiich
enlarge their pallure, and confequently augment their
growth.
Sickly wheat has often recovered its vigour after a
good hoeing, efpecially when performed in weather not
very hot or dry.
Wheat, and fuch grain as is fown before winter, re¬
quires hoeing more than oats, barley, or other grain
fown in the fpring ; for, if the land has been well
ploughed before the fowing of fpring corn, it neither
has time to harden, nor to produce many weeds, not
having been expofed to the winter’s fnow and rain.
Of Sowing.
As in the praclice of the new hufbandry, plants grow
with greater vigour than by the old method, the land
fhould be fowed thinner. It is this principle of the
new hufbandry that has been chiefly objefted to ; for,
upon obferving the land occupied by a fmall number
of plants, people are apt to look upon all the vacant
fpace as loll. But this prejudice wall foon be removed,
when it is confidered, that in the beft land cultivated
in the common method, and fowm very thick, each
feed produces but one or two ears; that, in the fame
land fown thinner, every feed produces two or three
three ears 5 and that a fingle feed fometimes, produces
18 or 21 ears.
Vol. I, Part II.
46
In the common method, as there are many more Drill or
plants than can find fufficient nourifhment, and as it is |^orle'
impoflible to a full them by hoeing, numbers die before Hnftandrv
they attain maturity 5 the greatefl part remain fickly > ---1
and drooping ; and thus part of the feed is loft. On
the contrary, in the new method, all the plants have
as much food as they require ; and as they are, from
time to time, aflifled by hoeing, they become fo vigo¬
rous as to equal in their produclion the numerous but
fickly plants cultivated in the common method.
* Of Hoeing.
The new hufbandry is abfolutely impraclicable in
lands that are not eafily ploughed. Attempting to cul¬
tivate land according to this hufbandry, without attend¬
ing to this circumflance, that it is prafticable in no
land excepting fuch as have already been brought into
good tilth by the old method, has gone far to make
it contemptible in many places.
When a field is in good tilth, it fliould be fown fo
thin as to leave fufficient room for the plants to extend
their roots. After being w'ell ploughed and harrowed,
it mull be divided into rows, at the diflance of thirty
inches from one another. On the fides of each of thefe
rows, two rows of wheat mufl be fowed fix inches di¬
flan t from each other. By this means there will be an
interval of two feet wide betwdxt the rows, and every
plant will have room enough to extend its roots, and
to fupply it with food. The intervals wrill likcwife be
fufficient for allowing the earth to be hoed or tilled
without injuring the plants in the rows. 491
The firll hoeing, which fliould be given before the Hw diffe-
winter, is intended to drain awray the wet, and to djf, ^ent fi°e“
pole the earth to be melhrwed by the frofls. Thefe m°S’
two ends will be anfwered by drawdng two fmall fur¬
rows at a little diflance from the rows, and throwing
the earth taken from the furrows into the middle of
the intervals. This firit hoeing fliould be given when
the wheat is in leaf.
The fecond hoeing, wffiich is intended to make the
plants branch, fhould be given after the hard frofls are
over. To do this wdth advantage, after flirring the
earth a little near the row's, the earth wffiich was thrown
into the middle of the intervals fhould be turned back
into the furrows. This earth, having been mellow'ed
by the winter, fupplies the plants wdth excellent food,
and makes the roots extend.
The third hoeing, wffiich is intended to invigorate
the ftalk, fhould be given wffien the ears of the Gorn
begin to fliow themfelves. This hoeing may, however,
be very flight.
But the lafl hoeing is of the greatefl importance,
as it enlarges the grain, and makes the ears fill at their
extremities. Phis hoeing fhould be given when the
wheat is in bloom; a furrow mufl be drawm in the
middle of the interval, and the earth throwm to the
right and left on the foot of the plants. This fupports
the plants, prevents them from being laid, and pre¬
pares the ground for the next fowing, as the feed is
then to be put in the middle of the ground that form¬
ed the intervals.
The bell feafon for hoeing is two or three days af¬
ter rain, or fo foon after rain as the foil will quit the
inflrument in hoeing. Light dry foils may be hoed al-
mofl at any time, but this is far from being the cafe with
3 N flrong
466
Drill or ftronsf clay foils j tlie fealon for hoeing fuch is fre-
Horte- quently lliort and precarious *, every opportunity there-
Hulbandr' ^ore be carefully watched, ancl eagerly embra-
* -v „ ced. The two extremes of wet and dry, are great ene¬
mies to vegetation in llrong clay foils. There is a pe¬
riod between the time of clay foils running together,
fo as to puddle by fuperfluous wet, and the time of their
caking by drought, in which they are perfectly ma¬
nageable. This is the junfture for hoeing } and fo
much land as lhall be thus leafonably hoed, will not
cake or cruft upon the furface, as it otherwife wrould
have done, till it has been foaked or drenched again
with rain ; in which cafe the hoeing is to be repeated
as foon as the foil will quit the inftrument, and as of¬
ten as neceffary *, i>y which time the growing crop will
begin to cover the ground, fo as to a£t as a fcreen to
the furface of the land againft the intenfe heat of the
fun, and thereby prevent, in a great meafure, the bad
effefts of the foil’s caking in dry weather.
By this fucceffive tillage, or hoeing, good crops will
be obtained, provided the weather is not very unfa¬
vourable.
But as ftrong vigorous plants are long before they
arrive at maturity, corn railed in the new way is later
in ripening than any other, and muft therefore be fown
earlier.
In order to prepare the intervals for fowing again,
fome well-rotted dung may be laid in the deep furrows
made in the middle of the intervals 5 and this dung
muft be covered with the earth that was before thrown
towards the row's of wheat. But, if the land does not
require mending, the deep furrow is filled without any
dung. This operation Ihould be performed immediate¬
ly after harveft, that there may be time to give the
land a flight flirting before the rows are fowled ; which
(liould occupy the middle of the fpace which formed
the intervals during the laft crop. The intervals of the
fecond year take up the fpace occupied by the ftubble
of the firft.
Suppofing dung to be neceffary, which is denied by
many, a very fmall quantity is fufficient } a fingle layer,
put in the bottom of each furrow, will be enough.
Description of the Instruments commonly ufed
in the New Husbandry.
Inftruments Tig. I. is a marking plough. The principal ufe of
ikfcribed. this plough is to ftraight and regulate the ridges. The
Mate X. fij-ft line is traced by the eye, by means of three poles,
placed in a ftraight line. The plough draw's the firft
furrow in the direffion of this line ; and at the fame
time, with the tooth A, fixed in the block of wrood
near the end of the crofs-pole or Aider BB, marks the
breadth of the ridge at the diftance intended. The
ploughman ne^t traces the fecond line or rutt made by
the tooth, and drarvs a fmall furrow along it ; and con¬
tinues in this manner till the whole field is laid out in
ftraight and equidiftant ridges.
Fig. 2. is a plough for breaking up ley,’ or turning
pp the bottom of land when greatly exhaufted. By its
conftruiftion, the width and depth of the furrow's can
he regulated to a greater certainty than by any other
hitherto known in this country. Its appearance is
heavy : but two horfes are lufficient to plough with it
in ordinary free land} and only four are neceftary in
Pra&lce*
the ftiffeft clay-foils. This plough is likewife eafily Dull or
held and tempered. A, is the fword fixed in the fizers
B, which runs through a mortoife E, at the end of Hufbandry.
the beam C, and regulates the depth of the furrow u— H
by railing or deprefting the beam ; it is fixed by putting
the pin If through the beam and fword, and is move-
able at E.
Fig. 3. is a jointed brake-harrow' with 24 teeth, Aia- piate X.
ped like coulters, and Handing at about an angle of 80
degrees. By this inftrument the land is finely pulve¬
rized, and prepared for receiving the feed from the
drill. It requires four horfes in ftiff, and two in
open land. This harrow is likewife ufed for level¬
ling the ridges ; which is done by prefling it down by
the handles where the ridge is high, and railing it up
when lown
Fig. 4. is an angular weeding harrow, which may
follow/ the brake when neceffary-. The feven hindmoft
teeth fhould ftand at a more acute angle than the
reft, in order to colleft the weeds, w'hich the holder
can drop at pleafure, by railing the hinder part, which
is fixed to the body of the harrow by two joints.
Fig. 5. is a pair of harrows with Aiafts. T his har¬
row is ufed for covering the feed in the drills, the horie
going in the furrow.
Fig. 6. is a drill-plough, conftrucled in fuch a man¬
ner as to fow at once two rows of beans, peafe, or
wheat. This machine is eafily wrought by two horfes.
A, is the happer for containing the feed 3 B, circular
boxes for receiving the feed from the happer 3 CC, two
fquare boxes which receive the feed from fmall holes in
the circular boxes, as they turn round 3 and laft of all,
the feed is dropped into the drill* through holes in the
fquare boxes, behind the coulters D. rl he cylinder E
follows, which, together with the wheel F, regulates
the depth of the coulters, and covers the feed', the har¬
row G comes behind all, and covers the feed more
completely. HH, two Aiders, which, when drawn
out, prevent the feed from falling into the boxes 3 and,
I, is a ketch which holds the rungs, and prevents the
boxes from turning, and loAng feed at the ends of the
ridges.
Fig. 7. is a fingle hoe-plough of a very fimple con-
ftruftion, by which the earth in the intervals is ftirred
and laid up on both fides to the roots of the plants,
and at the fame time the needs are deftroyed. A A
the mouldboards, which may be raifed or deprefied at
pleafure, according as the farmer wants to throw the
earth higher or lower upon the roots.
Fig. 2. is a drill-rake for peafe. This inftrument, plate IX.
which is chiefly calculated for fmall inclolures of light
grounds, is a fort of ftrong plough rake, with tour
large teeth at a, a, b, b, a little incurvated. The di¬
ftance from a to «, and from b to b, is nine inches.
The interval between the two inner teeth, a and b, is
three feet fix inches, which allows fnfhcient room for
the hole-plough to move in. To the piece of timber
c e, forming the head of the rake, are fixed the handles
</, and the beam e to which the horfe is faftened. When
this inftrument is drawn over a piece of land made
thoroughly fine, and the man who holds it bears upon
the handles, four furrows,^ g, k, z, will be formed, at
the diftances determined by the conitrudfion of the in-
ftrument. Thefe diftances may be accurately prefeiv-
ed, provided that the teeth a a return when the plough¬
man
AGRICULTURE.
Part I.
AGRICULTURE.
467
Drill or man comes back, after having ploughed one turn, in
Horle- t,vo 0f t]ie channels formed before, marked b b : thus
Hufban fry the furrows in the field will be traced with the fame
u—regularity. When the ground is thus formed into drills,
the peafe maybefcattered by a fingle motion of the hand
at a certain dillance from one another into the chan¬
nels, and then covered with the flat part of a hand-
rake, and prefled down gently. This inftrument is fo
Ample, that any workman may eafily make or repair it.
Plate XI. On Plate XI. is delineated a patent drill ma¬
chine, lately invented by the Reverend James Cooke
of Heaton-Norris near Manchefter. A, the upper
part of the feed-box. B, the lower part of the fame
box. C, a moveable partition, with a lever, by which
the grain or feed is let fall at pleafure from the upper
to the lorver part of the feed-box, from whence it is
taken up by cups or ladles applied to the cylinder
X), and dropped into the funnel E, and conveyed
thereby into the furrow or drill made in the land
fcy the coulter F, and covered by the rake or harrow
G. H, a lever, by which the wheel I is lifted out
of generation with the wheel K, to prevent the grain
or feed being fcattered upon the ground, while the
machine is turning round at the end of the land, by
which the harrow G is alfo lifted from the ground at
the fame time, and by the fame motion, by means of
the crank, and the horizontal lever h h. L, a Hiding
- lever, with a weight upon it, by means of which the
depth of the furrows or drills, and confequently the
depth that the grain or feed wull be depofited in the
land, may be eafily afcertained. M, a fcrew in the
coulter beam, by turning of which the feed-box B
is elevated or deprefled, in order to prevent the grain
or feed being crulhed or bruifed by the revolution of
the cups or ladles. Fig. 13. a rake with iron teeth,
to be applied to the under fide of the rails of the ma¬
chine, with dapples and fcrew nuts at n n, by which
many ufeful purpofes are anfwered, viz,, in accumula¬
ting cuitch or hay into rows, and as a fcarificator for
young crops of wheat in the fpring, or to be ufed upon
a fallow 5 in which cafe, the feed-box, the ladle cylin¬
der, the coulters, the funnels, and harrowrs, are all taken
away.
This fide view of the machine is reprefented, for the
lake of perfpicuity, with one feed-box only, one coul¬
ter, one funnel, one harrow, &c. whereas a complete
machine is furnilhed with five coulters, five harrows,
feven funnels, a feed-box in eight partitions, &c. with
ladles of different fizes, for different forts of grain and
feeds.
Thefe machines (with five coulters fixteen guineas,
with four coulters fifteen guineas), equally excel in fet-
ting or planting all forts of grain and feeds, even carrot-
feed, to exadtnefs, after the rate of from eight to ten
chain acres per day, with one man, a boy, and two
horfes. They depofite the grain or feed in any given
quantity from one peck to three bulhels per acre, re¬
gularly and uniformly, and that without grinding or
bruifing the feed, and at any given depth, from half an
inch to half a dozen inches, in rows at the diftance of
twelve, fixteen and twenty-four inches, or any other
diftance. They are equally ufeful on all lands, are
durable, eafy to manage, and by no means fubjeff to
be put out of repair.
The ladle cylinder D is furnifhed 'vtith cups or la¬
dles of four different fizes for different forts of grain
or feeds, which may be diftinguifhed by the numbers
1, 2, 3, 4.—N°i. (the fmalleft fize) is calculated for
turnip-feed, clover-feed, cole-feed, rape, &c. and will
fow fomething more than one pound per ftatute acre.
N° 2. for wheat, rye, hemp, ftax, &c. and will fow
femething more than one bufhel per acre. N° 3. for
barley ; and will low one bulhel and a half per acre.
N° 4. for beans, oats, peafe, vetches, &c. and will fow
two bulhels per acre.
Notwithftanding the above fpecified quantities of
grain or feeds, a greater or lefs quantity of each may
be fown at plcafure, by Hopping up with a little'clay
or by adding a few ladles to each refpedtive box. The
grain or feeds intended to be fown, mull be put in thofc
boxes, to which the cups or ladles as above deferibed
refpedtively belong, an equal quantity into each box,
and all the other boxes empty. The ladle cylinder may
be reverfed, or turned end for end at pleafure, for dif¬
ferent forts of grain, &c.
For fowing beans, oats, peafe, &c. with a five-coul¬
ter machine, four large ladles mull occafionally be ap¬
plied at equal dillances round thofe parts of the cy¬
linder which fubtend the two end boxes. And for
fowing barley, eight large ones mull be applied as a-
bove; or four ladles, N° 2. to each of the wheat boxes.
Fhefe additional ladles are fixed on the cylinder with
nails, or taken off in a few minutes; but for fowing
with a four coulter machine, the above alterations are
not neceffary.
The funnels are applied to their refpeftive places by
correfponding numbers. Care Ihould be taken, that
the points of the funnels Hand direftly behind the backs
of the coulters, which is done by wedges being applied
to one fide or other of the coulters, at the time they
are fixed in their refpedtive'places.
The machine being thus put together, which is rea¬
dily and expeditioufly done, as no feparate part will
coincide with any other but that to which it refpec-
tively belongs, and an equal quantity of grain or feed
in each of the refpeftive boxes, the land alfo being pre-
vioully ploughed and harrowed once or fo in a place to
level the furface ; but if the land be very rough, a rol¬
ler will beft anfwer that purpofe, whenever the land is
dry enough to admit of it ; and upon ftrong clays, a
fpiked roller is fometimes neceffary to reduce the fize
of the large dry clods; which being done, the driver
fliould walk down the furrow or edge of the land, and
having hold of the lafl: horfe’s head with his hand, he
will readily keep him in fuch a direction, as will bring
the outfide coulter of the machine within three or four
inches of the edges of the land or ridge, at which
uniform extent, he fiiould keep his arm till he comes
to the end of the land ; where having turned round,
he muff come to the other fide of his horfes, and walk¬
ing upon the laft outfide drill, having hold of the horfe’s
head with his hand as before, he will readily keep the
machine in fuch a dire6tion, as will ftrike the fucceed-
ing drill at fuch a diftance from the laft outfide one, or
that he walks upon, as the coulters are diftant from
each other.
The perfon who attends the machine ftiould put
down the lever H foon enough at the end of the land,
that the cups or ladles may have time to fill, before he
begins to fow ; and at the end of the land, he muft sp-
3 N 2 J ply
Drill or
Horfe-
hoeing
Htifbandry.
468 A G R I C U
Drill or ply his right hand to the middle of the rail between
Hone- t]le handles, by which he will keep the coulters in the
^bandr' grouucl> while he is lifting up the lever H with his left
f hand, to prevent the grain being fcattered upon the
headland, while the machine is turning round ; this he
will do with great eafe, by continuing his right hand
upon the rail between the handles, and applying his
left arm under the left handle, in order to lift the coul¬
ters out of the ground while the machine is turning
round.
If there be any difficulty in ufrng the machine, it
confiils in driving it ftraight. As to the perfon who
attends the machine, he cannot poffibly commit any er¬
rors, except fuch as are wilful, particularly as he fees
at one view the whole procefs of the bufmefs, viz. that
the coulters make the drills of a proper depth } that
the funnels continue open to convey the grain or feed
into the drills ; that the rakes or harrows cover the
grain fufficiently *, and when feed is wanting in the
lower boxes B, which he cannot avoid feeing, he rea¬
dily fupplies them from the upper boxes A, by apply¬
ing his hand, as the machine goes along, to the lever
C. The lower boxes B ihould not be fuffered to be¬
come empty before they are fupplied with feed, but
fhould be kept nearly full, or within an inch or fo of
the edge of the box.
If chalk lines are made acrofs the backs of the coul¬
ters, at fuch adiftance from the ends as the feed ffiould
be depofited in the ground (viz. about two inches for
wheat, and from tw*o to three for fpring corn), the per¬
fon that attends the machine will be better able to af-
certain the depth the feed ffiould be depofited in the
drills, by obferving, as the machine goes along, whe¬
ther the chalk lines are above or below the furface
of the land } if above, a proper weight mull be ap¬
plied to the lever L, which will force the coulters
into the ground ^ if below, the lever L and weight
mult be reverfed, which will prevent their finking too
deep.
In different parts of the kingdom, lands or ridges
are of different fizes ; where the machine is too wide
for the land, one or more funnels may occafionally be
flopped with a little loofe paper, and the feed received
into fuch funnel returned at the end of the land, or
fooner if required, into the upper feed-box. But for
regularity and expedition, lands confining of fo many
feet wide from outfi.de to outfide, as the machine con¬
tains coulters, wheii fixed at twelve inches dillance, or
twice or three times the number, &c. are befl calcula¬
ted for the machine. In wet foils or flrong clays,
lands or ridges of the width of the machine, and in dry
foils, of twice the width, are recommended. Tor fowr-
ing of narrow high-ridged lands, the outfide coulters
ffiould be let down, and the middle ones railed, fo that
the points of the coulters may form the fame curve
that the land or ridge forms. And the loofe foil har¬
rowed down into the furrows ffiould be returned to the
edges of the lands or ridges from whence it came, by
a double mouldboard or other plough, whether the
land be wet or dry.
Clover or other leys, intended to be fown by the
machine, ffiould be ploughed a deep flrong furrow and
■well harrowed, in order to level the furface, and to get
as much loofe foil as poffible for the coulters to work
in } and when fown, if any of the feed appears jja the
L T U R E. Piactice.
drills uncovered by reafon of the fciff texture of the Drill or
foil, or toughnefs of the roots, a light harrovr may be
taken over the land, once in a place, wffiich will effec- Huibanlh-v,
tually cover the feed, wdthout difplacing it all in the u—-y—
drills. Tor lowing, leys, a confiderable weight mull
be applied to the lever L, to force the coulters into
the ground 3 and a let of wrought-iron coulters, well
Heeled, and made ffiarp at the front edge and bottom,
are recommended 3 they will pervade the foil more rea¬
dily, confequently require lefs draught, and expedite
bufmefs more than adequate to the additional expence.
For every half acre of land intended to be fown by
the machine with the feed of that very valuable root
(carrot), one buffiel of faw-dull, and one pound of car¬
rot-feed, ffiould be provided 3 the fawr-dull ffiould be
made dry, and fifted to take out all the lumps and
chips, and divided into eight equal parts or heaps 3 the
carrot-feed ffiould likewife be dried, and well rubbed
between the hands, to take off the beards, fo that it-
may feparate readily 3 and being divided into eight
equal parts or heaps, one part of the carrot-feed mull
be well mixed with one part of the faw-dull, and fo on,
till all the parts of carrot-feed and faw-dull are w'eli
mixed and incorporated together 3 in which Hate it
may be fown very regularly in drills at twelve inches
dillance, by the cups or ladles N° 2. Carrot-feed re-
fembling faw-dull very much in its faze, roughnefs,
weight, adhefion, &c. will remain mixed as above du¬
ring the lowing 3 a ladleful of faw-dull will, upon an
average, contain three or four carrot-feeds, by wffiich
means tlie carrot-feed cannot be otherwife than regular
in the drills. In attempting to depofite fmall feeds
near the furface, it may fo happen that fome of the
feeds may not be covered with foil 3 in which cafe, a
light roller may be drawn over the land after the
feed is fown, which will not only cover the feeds, but
will alfo, by levelling the furface, prepare the land for
an earlier hoeing than could otherwife have taken
place.
It has alw-ays been found troublefome, fometimes
impracticable, to few any kind of grain or feeds (even
broad-call) in a high wind. This incoiavenience is en¬
tirely obviated by placing a fcreen of any kind of cloth,,
or a fack, fupported by two uprights nailed to the fades
of the machine, behind the funnels, which will prevent’
the grain or feed being blown out of its direflion in
falling froan the ladles into the funnels. Small pipes of
tin may alfo be put on to the ends of the fuaanels, to
coaavey the grain or feed fo near the furface of the
land, that the higheil wind ffiall not be able to inter¬
rupt its defcent iaito the drills.
Refpecling the ufe of the machine, it is frequently
remarked by fome people not converfant with the pro¬
perties of matter and motion, that the foil will clofe
after the coulters, before the feed is admitted into the
drills. Whereas the very contrary is the cafe 3 for the
velocity of the coulters in paffing through the foil, is
fo much greater than the velocity with wffiich the foil
clofes up the drills by its own fpontaneous gravity, that
the incifaons or drills will be conllantly open for three
or four inches behind the coulters 3 by wffiich means,
it is morally ianpoffable (if the points of the funnels
flaaid dare&ly behind the coulters) that the feed, with
the velocity it acquires in falling through the funnels,
act be adautted iato tire drills.
Part I.
AGRICULTURE.
469
Drill or
Horfe-
hoeing
Hulbandry.
Plate XI.
Fig. 1 2-. is a new conftructed fimple hand-hoe, by
which one man will effedtually hoe two chain acres per
day, earthing up the foil at the fame time to the rows
of corn or pulfe, fo as to caufe roots to ifiue from the
firft joint of the Hem, above the furface of the land,
which otherwife would never have exifted.
This hoe is worked much in the fame manner as a'
common Dutch hoe, or fcuffle, is worked in gardens.
The handle is elevated or depreffed, to fuit the fize of
the perfon that works it, by means of an iron -wedge
being refpectively applied to the upper or under fide of
the handle that goes into the focket of the hoe.
The wings or moulding plates of the hoe, which are
calculated to earth up the foil to the rows of corn, fo'
as to caufe roots to iffue from the- firft joint of the Hem
above the furface, which otherwife wmuld not have ex¬
ifted, iliould never be ufed for the firft hoeing, but fliould
ahvays be ufed for the laft hoeing, and ufed or not ufed,
at the option of the farmer,, when any intermediate
hoeing is performed.
Summary of the Operations neceffary in executing
the New Husbandry with the Plough.
493
Summary I. It is indifpenfably neceffary that the farmer be
ol the ope- provided with a drill and hoe-plough.
2. The new hufbandry may be begun either with the
winter or fpring corn.
3. The land mull be prepared by four good plough-
ings, given at different times, from the beginning of
April to the middle of September.
4. Thefe ploughings mult be done in dry wreather,
to prevent the earth from kneading.
S' The land mult be harrowed in the fame manner-
as if it wrere fowed in the common way.
6. The rowrs of wheat Iliould be fowed very flraight.
7. When the field is not very large, a line mult be
ftrained acrofs it, by which a rill may be traced wdth
a hoe for the horfe that draw's the-drill to go in ; and
when the row's are fown, 50 inches mull be left betwixt
each rill. But, when the field is large, flakes at five
feet diflance from each other muff be placed at the tw'o-
ends. The workman muff then trace a fmall furrow
with a plough that has no mouldboard, for the horfe
to go in that draw's the drill, dire cling hirafelf with his
eye by the flakes.
8. The fowing Ihould be finilhed at the end of Sep¬
tember, or beginning of Odlober.
9. The furrows muff be traced the long way of the
land, that as little ground as pofilble may be loff in
headlands.
10. The rows, if it can be done, Ihould run down
the Hope of the land, that the water mav get the ea-
fier off.
11. The feed-wheat muff be plunged into a tub of
lime-water, and ftirred, that the light corn may come
to the furface and be Ikimmed off.
12. The feed muff be next fpread oil a floor, and
frequently ftirred, till it is dry enough to run through-
the valves of the happer of the drill.
13. To prevent fmut, the feed may be put into a ley
of aihes and lime.
14. Good old feed-w'heat fhould be chofen in prefe¬
rence to new, as it is found by experience not to be fo
ih-bjefl to fmut.
Jj. After the happers of the drill are filled, the
horfe muff go flowly along the furrow that was traced. Drill or
That a proper quantity of feed may be fown, the a- Bor.te-
perture of the happer muff be fuited to the fize of the Huitandry
grain. » -- -
16. As the drill is feldomwell managed at firft, the
field fliould be examined after the corn has come up,
and the deficiencies be fupplied.
17. Upon wet foils or ftrong clays, wheat fihouldnot
be depofited more than twm inches deep, on any ac¬
count whatever; nor lefs than two inches deep on dry
foils. From two to three inches is a medium depth for
all fpring corn. But the exa£l depth at which grain
fhould be depofited in different foils, from the lighteft:
fand to the ftrongeft clay, is readily afcertained only
by obferving at w'hat diftance under the furface of the
land, the fecondary or coronal roots are formed in the
fpring.
18. Stiff lands, that retain the wet, muff be ftirred
or hoed in Odlober. This Ihould be done by opening,
a furrow in the middle of the intervals, and afterwards
filling it up by a furrow drawn on each fide, whicli-
will raife the earth in the middle of the intervals, and
leave two fmall furrows next the rows, for draining off
the water, which is very hurtful to wheat in winter.
19; The next ftirring muft be given about the end
of March, with a light plough. In this ftirring the
furnnvs made to drain the rows mull be filled up by,
earth from the middle of the interval.
20. Some time in May, the rows muft be evened y
which, though troublefome at firft, foon becomes eafv,
as the weeds are foon kept under by tillage.
21. In June, juft before the wheat is in bloom, ano¬
ther ftirring muft be given with the plough. A deep
furrow muft be made in the middle of the intervals, and
the earth thrown upon the fides of the rows.
22. When the W'heat is ripe, particular care muft b»
taken, in reaping it, to trample as little as poflible on
the ploughed land.
23. Soon after the wheat is carried off the field, the
intervals muft be turned up with the plough, to prepare
them for the feed. The great furrow in the middle*
muft not only be filled, but the earth raifed as much as
poflible in the middle of the intervals.
24. In September, the land muft be again fowed
with a drill, as above diredled.
25. In Oblober, the Hubble muft be turned in for
forming the new intervals 5 and the fame management
muft be obferved as dire£led in the firft year.
We pretend not to determine whether the old or new-
hulbandry be preferable in every country. With regard
to this point, the cliiftate, the fituation of particular-
land, Ikill and dexterity in managing the machinery,
the comparative expence in railing crops, and many
other circumftances muft be accurately attended to be¬
fore a determination can be given.
To give an idea of the arguments by which the drill
hulhandry was originally fupported, we lhall here take
notice of a comparative view of the old and new methods
of culture which was furniihed for the editors of Mr * .
Tull’s Horfe-hoeing Hulbandry, by a gentleman w'ho
for fome years pradifed both in a country where the foil
W'as light and chalky, like that from w'hich he drew' his
obfervations. It is neceffary to remark, that in the new
hulhandry every article is Hated at its full value, and
the cron of each year js four bulhels ftiort of the other j
though, -
47°
Drill or
Horfe-
hoeing
Hulbandry.
A G R I C U
t lieu oil, in feveral years experience, it has equalled and
generally exceeded thofe in the neighbourhood in the
old way.
“ An eilimate of the expence and profit of 10 acres of
. land in 20 years.
I. In the old way.
494
Compara- pb-ft year, for wheat, cofts 331. 5s.
live view of yjz> L. s.
LdpToTts' Firft ploughing, at 6s. per acre 3 o
of the old Second and third ditto, at 8s.
and new per acre - 4 0
hufbandry. Manure?
30s. per acre 15 o
Two harrowings, and lowing,
at 2s. 6d. per acre - 1 5
Seed, three bufhels per acre,
at 4s. per bulhel - 60
Weeding, at 2s. per acre, 1 o
Reaping, binding, and carry¬
ing, at 6s. per acre - 30
Second year, for barley, cofls
1 il. 6s. 8d. viz.
Once ploughing at 6s. per
acre - - 3 0
Harrowing and fowing, at
is. 6d. per acre - 0 I5
Weeding, at is. per acre o 10
Seed, four bulliels per acre,
at 2s. per bufhel - 4 0
Cutting, raking, and carry¬
ing, at 3s. 2d. per acre - 1 11
Grafs-feeds, at 3s. per acre 1 10
d.
o
o
o
o
o
o
o
ft
o
o
o
8
o
L.
22
11
11
s. d.
o o
6 8
44 11 8
Third and fourth years, lying in grafs,
coil nothing : fo that the expence of
ten acres in four years comes to 44I.
ns. 8d. and in twenty years to - 222 18 4
Tirft year’s produce is half a
loadofwheatperacre, at7l. 35 0 0
Second year’s produce is two
quarters of barley per acre,
at il. - - 20 O O
Third and fourth years grafs
is valued at iL 10s. per acre 15 O o
So that the produce of ten  
acres in four years is 70 O O
And in twenty years it will be 350 o o
Deduft the expence, and there remains l
clear profit on ten acres in twenty > 127 I 8
■« years by the old way - J
II. In the new way.
Firft year’s extraordinary expence is, tor
ploughing and manuring the land, the
fame as in the old way, L.22 0 0
vi
L T U R E.
L. S. d.
Ploughing once more, at 4s.
per acre - -200
Seed, nine gallons per acre,
at 4s. per bulhel - 250
Drilling, at 7d. per acre - o 5 10
Hand-hoeing and weeding,
■ at 2s. 6d. per acre - I 5 O
Horfe-hoeing fix times, at
1 os. per acre - 5 0 0
Reaping, binding, and carry¬
ing, at 6s. per acre - 300
The Handing aunualcharge on  
ten acres, is - I3I510
Practice
L.
d.
Dnii or
Horfe-
hoeing
H Lifbandry.
Therefore the expence on ten acres in
twenty years is - - 275 *6 ^
Add the extraordinaries of the firlt year, -•
and the fum is - - - 29716&
The yearly produce is at leaft two quar¬
ters of wheat per acre, at il. 8s. per
quarter j which on ten acres in twen¬
ty years, amounts to - - 560 O 0
Therefore, all things paid, there remains
clear profit on ten acres in twenty years ■■
by the new way - - - 2^2 3 4
“ So that the profit on ten acres of land in twenty Arguments
years, in the new way, exceeds that in the old by m favour of
135I. is. 8d. and confequently is confiderably more thant^^ry
double thereof*, and ample encouragement topraftife “ '
a fcheme, whereby fo great advantage will arile fiom
fo fmall a quantity of land, in the compafs of a twenty-
one years leafe } one year being allowed, both in the
old and new way, for preparing the ground.
“ It ought withal to be obferved, that Mr Tull’s
hufbandry requires no manure at all, though we have
here, to prevent objeftions, allowed the charge thereof
for the firft year and moreover, that though the crop
of wheat from the drill-plough is here put only at two
quarters on an acre, yet Mr Tull himfelf, by aftual
experiment and meafure, found the produce of his
drilled wheat crop amounted to almoft four quarters on
an acre.” . ... c
It appears alfo from a comparative calculation oi ex- •
pence and profit between the drill and common hul¬
bandry, taken from Mr Baker’s report to the Dublin
Society of his experiments in agriculture for the year
1-65, that there is a clear profit arifing upon an Infti
acre of land in 15 years in the drill hulbandry oi
c2l. 3s. 1 id. and in the common hulbandry of 27I. 19s.
2d. - and therefore a greater profit in the drilled acre
in this time of 24k 4s. 9d. which amounts to il. I2s.
qld. per annum. From hence he infers, that in every
iT years the fee-fimple of all the tillage-lands of the
kingdom is loft to the community by the common courfe
of tillage. In Hating the accounts, from which their
refult is obtained, no notice is taken of fences, water¬
cutting the land, weeding and reaping, becaufe thefe
articles depend on a variety of circumftances, and will,
in general, exceed in the common hulbandry thole in¬
curred by the other. . .
Befides, the certainty of a crop is greater m this new
way
Part T.
Drill or way than in the old way of Towing ; for moft of the
Horfe- accidents attending wheat crops, are owing to their
Hulbamfry- ^e^no late ^own» which is neceffary to the fanner in
the old -way, but in the horfe-hoeing method the far¬
mer may plough two furrows whereon the next crop
is to Hand immediately after the firft crop is off. In
this manner of hulhandry, the land may be ploughed
dry and drilled wet, without any inconvenience 5 and
the feed is never planted under the furrorv, but placed
juft at the depth which is moft proper, that is, at about
two inches ; in wdiich cafe it is eafy to preferve it,
and there is no danger of burying it. Thus the feed
has all the advantage of early fowing, and none of the
difadvantages that may attend it in the other way, and
the crop is much more certain than by any other means
that can be ufed.
The condition in which the land is left after the
crop, is no lefs in favour of the horfe-hoeing hufbandry
than all the other articles. The number of plants is
the great principle of the exhaufting of land. In the
common hufbandry, the number is vaftly greater than
in the drilling way, and three plants in four often
come to nothing, after having exhaufted the ground
as much as profitable plants ; and the weeds which live
to the time of harveft in the common way, exhauft the
land no lefs than fo many plants of com, often much
more. The horfe-hoeing method deftroys all the weeds
in the far greater part of the land, and leaves that part
unexhaufted and perfe&ly frefh for another crop. The
wheat plants being alfo but a third part of the number
at the utmoft of thofe in the fowing way, the land is
fo much the lefs exhaufted by them ; and it is very evi¬
dent from the whole, that it muft be, as experience
proves that it is, left in a much better condition after
496 this than after the common hufoandry.
Objections The farmers who are againft this method objeft, that
n' 11 rna^es t^e plants t0° ftrong, and that they are more
liable to the blacks or blights of infects for that rea-
ion ; but as this allows that the hoeing can, without
the ufe of dung, give too much nourifhment, it is very
plain that it can give enough •, and it is the farmer’s
fault it he do not proportion his pains fo as to have the
advantage of the nourifhment without the difadvanta¬
ges. It is alfo objedled, that as hoeing can make poor
land rich enough to bear good crops of wheat, it may
make good land too rich for it. But if this fhould
happen, the fowing of wheat on it may be let alone a
while, and in the place of it the farmer may have a
crop of turnips, carrots, cabbages, and the like, which
are excellent food for cattle, and cannot be over-nou-
r-ifhed : or, if this is not chofen, the land, vchen thus
made too rich, may foon be fufficiently impoverifhed
by fowing corn upon it in the common old wray.
The method of horfe-hoeing hufbandry, fo ftrongly
recommended by Mr Tull, is objefted to by many on
account of the largenefs of the intervals which are to
be left between the rows of corn. Thefe are required
to be about five feet wide j and it is thought that fuch
wide fpaces are fo much loft earth, and that the crop
is to be fo much the lefs for it. But it is to be obfer-r
wed, that the rows of corn feparated by thefe intervals
need not be fingle} they may be double, triple, or
quadruple, at the pleafure of the farmer; and four
rows thus Handing as one will have the five feet inter¬
val but one-fourth .of its bignels as to the whole quan-
471
tity, and it will be but as fifteen inch intervals to plant Eril! or
in fingle rows. Corn that is fown irregularly in the *Iorte-
common way, feems indeed to cover the ground bet- HmTmVuy
ter than that in rows j but this is a mere deceptio vifus; w—y— i
for the ftalks of corn are never fo thick as when they
come out of one plant, or as wdien they ftand in a row7 *,
and a horle-hoed plant of corn will have 20 or 30
ftalks in a piece of ground of the fame quantity, where
an unhoed plant wall have only two or three ftalks. If
thefe ftalks of the hoed plant were feparated and
planted over the intervals, the whole land would be
better covered than it is in the common way ; and the
truth is, that though thefe hoed fields feem to con¬
tain a much lefs crop than the common fowm fields, yet
they in reality do contain a much greater. It is only
the different placing that makes the fown crop feem
the larger, and even this is only while both crops are
young.
The intervals are not loft ground, as is ufually fup-
pofed, but when well horfe-hoed they are all employed
in the nourithment of the crop j the roots of the plants
in the adjoining rov7s fpreading themfelves through the
whole interval, and drawing fuch nouriftiment from it,
that they xncreafe accordingly. When the plants ftand
in the fcattered wray, as in common fowing, they are too
clofe to one another ; each robs its neighbour of part
of their nourilhment, and confequently the earth is foon
exhaufted, and all the plants half ftarved. The clofe
Handing of them alfo prevents the benefit of after-
tilling, as the hoe cannot be brought in, nor the ground
by any means ftirred between them to give it a new
breaking, and confequently afford them new food.
Experiments have abundantly proved, that in large
grounds of wheat w7here the different methods have
been tried, thofe parts where the intervals wrere largeft:
have produced the greateft crops, and thofe where hoe¬
ing was ufed without dung have been much richer than
thofe where dung was ufed without hoeing. If it were
poffible that plants could ftand as thick, and thrive
as well over the whole furface of the ground as they »
do in the rows feparated by .thefe large intervals, the7
crops of corn fo produced would be vaftly greater than
any that have been heard of; but the truth is, that
plants receive their growth not according to the ground
they ftand on, but to the ground they can extend their
roots into ; and therefore a fingle. row may contain
more plants than a large interval can nourifh, and there¬
fore the fame number that ftand in that row, and no
more than thefe, . could be nourifhed, if fcattered over
the whole interval: and they would be much worfe
nourifhed in that wayj.becaufe while the interval
void, the earth may be ftirred about them, and new
roots will be formed in great numbers from.every one
broken by the inftruments, and new nouriihment laid :
before thefe roots by the breaking the particles of
earth, by which the plants will have fupplies that they
cannot have when fcattered over the whole furface, be-
caufe the ground is then all occupied,.and cannot be
moved between the plants.
All foils and all fituations are not equally proper In what-
for this method of planting in rows, with large intervals fituations
and hoeing between. The Hghteft foils feeni to be beltthe new
for it, and the tough and wet clays the worft. Such ™^thod 1S'
grounds as lie on the fides of hills are alfo left proper
than others for this. work..
AGRICULTURE.
This-
47* A G R I C U
Briil or . This methoJ is not 'fo proper in common fields, but
hoeirC" t^iat not in refpeft of the foil, hut of the hulbandry of
Hulbandry. t^e owners> who are ufually in the old way, and. change
^ the fpecies of corp, and make at neceffary to fallow •
every fecond, third, or fourth year. Neverthelefs it
has been found by later experiments, that the intervals
betwixt the rows of plants, as recommended by Mr
Tull, were too great, perhaps double of what they
fliould be in the moft profitable method of culture 5 by
which means much lefs crops are obtained than might
be produced at nearly the fame expence. This has
rendered the profits of the drill method much lefs than
they would have been in a more judicious practice, and,
confequently, has proved a great difadvantage to it in
comparifon with the broad-caft. Mr Tull was led into
this, partly from the -want of more perfeft inftruments
for hoeing, , and of ploughs proper for drilling.
To the preceding ftatements, the following obferva-
tions by Sir John Anftruther, publifhed among the Se-
le£t Papers of the Bath Society, may not be improper-
.498 ly fubjoined.
Obferva- The flow progrefs which the drill-hulbandry has
tions by Sir xnacle in many parts of Great Britain fince Mr Tull’s
itruther1' ti11*e» ke obferves, has been principally owung to the
want of proper drill-ploughs. Before drilling can be¬
come general, thofe ploughs muft be Ample, fuch as a
common ploughman accuftomed to ufe ftrong inftru¬
ments can ufe without breaking, and fuch alfo as com¬
mon workmen can eafily make or repair. Mathema¬
tical accuracy he confiders as not required for deliver¬
ing the feed : for it matters very little whether there
be a quarter of a peck more or lefs fowm, if it be deli¬
vered with tolerable regularity. He therefore had a
plough made, according to his own directions, by a
common plough-wright, of fufficient ftrength for any
land made fit for turnips or wheat. It was tried on
very rough ground unfit for fowing, in order to afcer-
tain its ftrength •, and it had been ufed for eight years
without its needing any repair. It is a double drill-
plough, which fowrs two ridges at a time, the horfe go¬
ing in the furrow between them, and of courfe does
not tread upon the ground intended to be fown 5 which
with a Angle drill muft be the cafe, and does much
harm by the horfes feet finking and making holes in
the fine ground, which retain the water, and hurt the
wheat when young.
He proceeds to obferve, “ That having read Mr
Forbes upon the extenfive praftice of the new huf-
bandry, and fome other authors, who gave a more
clear and diftinft account of the different operations
in drilling than had heretofore been given, I wufti-
ed to try them, and to adapt my plough to fow the
quantities therein direfted. It was, however, ad-
jufted to fow a fmaller quantity, and the feed was not
fteeped.
“ Not having ground fo proper as I wiflied, it w'as
drilled on the fide of a field, the foil of which was
light and fandy, and in fuch bad order, that the pre¬
ceding crop was a very indifferent one. It was there¬
fore manured with a compoft-dunghill.
“ After crofs-ploughing and manuring, it was laid
into four and a half feet ridges, then harrowed and
drilled with one peck and a half of wdieat on an acre
and a quarter, which is nearly one peck and a fifth per
2
L T U R E. Pra&lce.
Englifh acre. It -was drilled the 27th of OClober, and
rolled after drilling. The crop was late in its appear¬
ance, and very backward in the fpring.
“ March 31ft, it was horfe-hoed one furrow fr om
the rowrs.
“ April 8th, it was hand-hoed and weeded in the
rows.
“ 25th, horfe-hoed again, laying a furrow back /«
the rows.
“ May 15th, hand-hoed the fecond time.
“ June 2d, horfe-hoed from the rows.
“ June 12th, hand-hoed the third time.
“ July 14th, horfe-hoed to the rows.
“ At this laft hoeing, as many of the ears were
beaten down into the intervals by wind and rain, a man
went before the horfe-hoe, and turned the ears back in¬
to their proper place.
“ The crop, when reaped and threlhed, yielded me
36 bulhels on one acre and a quarter, which is 28 bu-
ftiels and three pecks per acre 5 and the produce from
one peck and half 96 for one.
“ As the produce appeared fo great, from land in
fuch bad order, it was carefully meafured again, and
found to be right. But this increafe, though great,
•was not fo large as Mr Crake of Glafgow had without
dung.
“ Mr Randal fays, ‘ It is an experimental fa<ff, that
on a fine loam exquifitely prepared, 144 bufhek have
been produced from one acre. And, I believe, it is
not known what the increafe may be brought to in rich
lands by high cultivation.’
“ Some years fince, I had beans dropt alternately
with potatoes, at two feet diftance in the row’s, which
wrere three feet apart, and ploughed in the intervals.
The land adjoining wras fown with beans and peafe,
which were a good crop; but thofe fowm among the
potatoes a better one. I pulled one Item of the beans
planted with the potatoes, which had three branches
rifing from the bottom, and it produced 225 beans. In
all the trials of drilled beans, moft of the Items had
two branches, with many pods upon each.— From
thefe and other inftances, I believe it is not yet knowm
to what increafe grain may be brought by drilling,
good cultivation, and manure.
“ Horfe-hoeing is certainly preferable to clofe drill¬
ing or hand-hoeing j but the latter is fuperior to broad-
caft.
“ Horfe-hoeing the full depth increafes to crop, by
making it tiller or branch more than it otherwife wrould
do j and the advantage is diftinftly obfervable every
hoeing, by the colour of the grain. It prepares the
ground for the next crop, at the fame time that it in¬
creafes the crop growing, which hand-hoeing does not,
although it may deftroy the w-eeds. Thus drilled
ground is kept in a loofe open ftate to receive the
benefit of the influence of the air and weather, which
broad-caft has not; and it is evident, from certain ex¬
perience, that crops may be drilled many years to good
advantage wuthout manure.
“ Suppofe the crops only 20 buftiels per acre, what
courfe of broad-caft crops will give 5I. an acre for the
courfe ? But fuppofe they are dunged the fame as any
ground in the moft approved courfe, there is the great-
eft reafon to expert as much as in the above experi¬
ment,
Part I.
AGRICULTURE.
Drill or ment, which is 28-|-, and at 5s. per budiel amounts to
Horfe- <7!. ^s. 9d.
k°eir‘S u Calculations may be of fervice to thofe who wifii
\ to try drilliug, and have few books to diredt them.
“ One acre is 10 chains long, of 660 feet, or 220
yards long, and one yard broad, containing 4840
fquare yards. Then if the ridge is four feet fix inches,
this makes 24 ridges and three feet to fpare. This
length of 220 yards multiplied by 14 (the number of
ridges), gives a length of yards 3080, to which add
146 for the fpare three feet, audit will be 3226 yards.
And as two rows are drilled on a ridge, the number
of rows will be in length 6452 yards j but as a deduc¬
tion of 172 yards mult be made for the head ridges,
fuppofe three yards each, &c. the whole length to be
fown will be 6280 yards clear. Now a gallon (Win-
chelter) holds about 80,000 grains. The quantity
recommended to be drilled by Mr Forbes and others,
being fix gallons, or two-thirds of a bralhel per acre,
is nearly 78 grains to a yard, or 26 to a foot. But in
my experiment, by this calculation, it was only about
11 grains to a foot : which is quite fufficient, if the
feed be good, and it be not dellroyed by vermin.
“ Now with regard to the quantity of land this
drill-plough may fow •, if a horfe walks at the rate of
two miles per hour, he goes 16 miles in eight hours, or
28,460 yards. As he fo.ws two ridges at once, this is
feven lengths, and two-thirds per acre, or 1686 yards
to fow an acre, being nearly 17 acres in a day.
“ Four horfe-hoeings are calculated equal to two
ploughings. In plain ploughing they fuppofe the ridge
is ploughed with four furrows, or eight for twice
ploughing. The four horfe-hoeings are eight furrows,
equal to two ploughings.
u Mr Tull directs four hoeings, and Mr Forbes five.
I ft, In November, when the plant has four blades.
2dly, In March, deep, and nearer the rows than the
former ; both thefe hoeings fhould be from the rows,
qdly, Hand-hoed when it begins to fpindle, if the earth
be crumbly, to the rows, qthly, When it begins to
bloffom, from the rows, but as near to them as in the
fecond hoeing, ythly, When done bloffoming, to ri¬
pen and fill the grain, to the rows.
“ The laft hoeing Mr Tull does not direft, but Mr
Forbes advifes it, as being of effential fervice in filling
the grain, and faving trouble in making the next feed-
furrows. They advife the patent or fowing-plough for
horfe-hoeing ; and the expence is calculated by Mr
Craick at one guinea per acre, reaping included.
“ But let us fuppofe the following, which are the
prices in the county I live in (Fife).
Ploughing to form the ridges,
Harrowing, - ' -
Four hoeings, equal to two ploughings,
Sowing,
Hand-hoeihg txvice,
Seed, one peck and a half, at cs. a bufhel,
499
The drill
and the
broad-calt
methods
more parti¬
cularly
compared.
4
o
4
o
10
Whole expence per acre, L. 1 2 6”
Drill-hulbandry is, as a good writer has juftly de¬
fined it, “ the praBice of a garden brought into the feld.'"
Every man of the leaft refieftion muft be fenfi ble, that
the practice of the garden is much better than that of
Vol. I. Part II.
the field, only a little more expenfive 5 but if (as is the
cafe) this extra expence Ue generally much more than
repaid by the fuperior goodnefs and value of drilled
crops, it ought to have no weight in comparing the
two modes of hulhandry.
In the broad-caft method the land is often fown in
bad tilth, and always fcatteted at random, fometimes
by very unlkilful handjs. In drilling, the land muft be
in fine order ; the feed is fet in trenches drawn regu¬
larly, oil of nearly an equal depth, and that depth
fuited to the nature of each kind of feed. Thefe feeds
are alfo diftributed at proper diftances, and by being
equally and fpeedily covered, are protected from vermine
and other injuries j fo that the praftice of the garden is
here exaHly introduced into the field.
In the broad-caft method the feed falls in fome places
too thick, in others too thin ; and being imperfectly
covered, a part of it is devoured by vermin which fol¬
low the fewer 5 another part is left expofed to rain or
froft, or to heats, which greatly injure it. When har-
rowed, a great part of it (jmall feeds efpecially) is
buried fo deep, that if the foil be wet, it perilhes before
it can vegetate.
Again : W7hen thus fown, there is no meddling with
the crop afterwards, becaufe its growth is irregular.
T he foil cannot be broken to give it more nourilhment,
nor can even the weeds be dellroyed without much in¬
convenience and injury.
But in the drill-hulbandry the intervals between the
rows, whether double or Angle, may be horfe-hoed j
and thereby nourifhment may repeatedly be given to
the plants, and the weeds almoft totally deftroyed.
The very fame effefts which digging has upon young
fhrubs and trees in a garden, will refult from horfe-
hoeing in a field, whether the crop be corn or pulfe :
For the reafon of the thing is the fame in both cafes,
and being founded in nature and faCl, cannot ever fail.
In drilling, no more plants are railed on the foil than
it can well fupport; and by dividing and breaking the
ground they have the full advantage of all its fertility.
The plough prepares the land for a crop, but goes
no further j for in the broad-caft hulbandry it cannot
be ufed : but the crop receives greater benefit from the
tillage of the land by the horfe-hoe, while it is grow7-
ing, than it could in the preparation. No care in til¬
ling the land previous to fowing can prevent weeds ri¬
ling vdth the crop 5 and if thefe w7eeds be not deftroyed
while the crop is growing, they wall greatly injure it.
In the broad-caft hulbandry this cannot be dene 5 but in
drilling, the horfe-hoe will effect it ealily.
And what adds to the farmer’s misfortune is, that
the moll pernicious weeds have feeds winged with
down, which are carried by the wind to great diftances j
fuch as thiftles, fow-thiftles, colts-foot, and fome others.
If the expence of horfe-hoeing be objected, there are
tw7o anfwers which may very properly be made : The
firlt is, that this expence is much lefs than that of hand-
hoeing were it pi-adticable, or of hand-w7eeding. The
fecond is, that it is more than repaid by the quantity
of feed faved by drilling 5 to fay nothing of the extra
quantity and goodnefs of the crops, which are generally
felf-evident. .
Upon the whole : If the particular modes of culti-
.vating land by the new hufbandry Ihould, after all, be
3 O confidered
473
Drill or
Horfe-
hoeing
Hulbandry.
474
Flax and
Hemp.
500
The drill-
hufbandry
is not a mo¬
dern difco-
AGRICULTURE. Prattice.
confidered as perhaps too limited to be univerfally
adopted 5 yet it has been of great ufe in raifing fufpi-
cions concerning the old method, and in turning the
views of philofophers and farmers towards improving in
general. Many real improvements in agriculture have
been the confequences of thefe fufpicions •, and as this
fpirit of inquiry remains in full vigour, a fohd founda¬
tion is laid for expecting Hill further improvements in
this ufeful art.
It may be proper here to remark, however, that the
drill-hulbandry is by no means a modern European in¬
vention. It is now ufed in the Carnatic, and in all
probability has exifted among the induftrious nations of Flax and
India from a very early period. It is ufed not only for Hemp^
all grains, but alio for the culture of tobacco, cotton, "v—
and the caitor-oil plant. Befides the drill-plough, and
the common plough, the Indians ule a third, with a
horizontal ihare, which immediately follows the drill-
plough at work. It is fet into the earth, about the
depth of 7 or 8 inches, and paffes under three drills at
once. It operates by agitating the earth, fo as to make
the iides of the drills fall in and cover the feed, which
it does fo effedlually as fcarcely to leave any traces of
a drill.
very.
PART II. CULTIVATION OF VEGETABLES MORE PROPERLY ARTICLES O F
COMMERCE.
THESE in general are fuch as cannot be ufed for
food 5 and are principally flax, hemp, rape, hops,
and timber of various kinds. Of each of theie we (hall
treat particularly in the following ie£lions.
Sect. I. Of Flax and Hemp.
Flax^and Flax is cultivated not only with a view to the
hemp. common purpofes of making linen, but for the fake of
its feed alfo 5 and thus forms a moll extenflve article of
^02 commerce, all the oil ufed by painters, at l£atl for
Linfeed- common purpofes, being extradled from this feed. I he
cake, lin- cake vvhich remains after the extra&ion of the oil is
feed nfelf, fome places ufed as a manure, and in others fold for
oil, ufed for fattening of cattle. In the Vale of Gloucefler, Mr
fattening Marfhall informs us, that it is, next to hay, the main
cattle. article of llall-fattening 5 though the price is now' be¬
come fo great, that it probably leaves little or no profit
to the confumer, having within a few years rifen from
three guineas to fix and fix and a half, and the loweil
price being five guineas per ton ) and even this is lower
than it wras. lately. Hence fame individuals have been
induced to try the eft'ecf of linfeed itfelf boiled to a
jelly, and mixed with flour, bran, or chaff, with good
fuccefs, as Mr Marfhall has been informed •, and even
the oil • itfelf has been tried for the fame purpofe in
Herefordfhire. Though this plant is in univerfal cul¬
ture over the wrhole kingdom, yet it appears by the vafl
quantity imported, that by far too little ground is em-
Culture of ployed in that way. As Mr Marfhall takes notice of
flax in its culture only in the county of Yorkfhire, it probably
yorkibire. joes not make any great part of the hufbandry of the
other counties of which he treats; and even in h ork-
fiure he tells us, that its cultivation is confined to a few
diftridls. The kind cultivated there is that called blea
line, or the blue or lead-coloured fax, and this requires
a rich dry foil for its cultivation. A deep, fat, fandy
loam, is perhaps the only foil on which it can be culti¬
vated with advantage. If fown upon old corn land, it
ought to be well cleaned from w^eeds, and rendered
perfe&ly friable by a fummer-fallow. Manure is fel-
dom or ever fet on for a line crop : and the foil pro-
cefs confifts generally of a Angle ploughing. The feed¬
time is in the month of May, but much depends on the
ft ate of the foil at the time of fowing. “ It fliould
■ neither be wet nor dry j and the furface ought to be
made, as fine as that of a garden bed. Not a clod of
the fize of an egg fhould remain unbroken.” Two
bufhels of feed are ufually fown upon an acre : the fur-
face, after being harrowed, is fometimes raked with
garden or hay rakes ; and the operation would be Hill
more complete if the clods and other obilruftions,
which cannot be eafily removed, were drawn into the
interfurrowTs. A light hand-roller ufed between the
final raking and harrowing would much aflift this ope¬
ration. The chief requifite during the time of vegeta¬
tion is weeding, which ought to be performed with the
utmoft care > and for this reafon it is particularly re¬
quifite that the ground fliould be previoully cleanfed as
well as poffible, otherwife the expence of weeding be¬
comes too great to be borne, or the crop mull be con-
fiderably injured. It is an irreparable injury, if,
through a dry feafon, the plants come up in tivo crops •,
or if by accident or mifmanagement they be too thin.
The goodnefs of the crop depends on its running up
with a Angle ftalk without branches : for wherever it
ramifies, there the length of the line terminates j and
this ramification is the confequence of its having too
much room at the root, or getting above the plants
which furround it. The branches are never of any
ufe, being unavoidably worked oft in dreflmg ; and
the ftem itfelf, unlefs it bear a due proportion to the
length of the crop, is likewife worked off among
the refufe. This ramification of the flax will readily
be occafioned by clods on the ground when fown. A
fecond crop is very feldom attended with any profit *,
for being overgrown with the fpreading plants of the
firft: crop, it remains weak and fliort, and at pulling
time is left to rot upon the land.
Flax is injured not only by drought but by froft,
and is fometimes attacked even when got five or fix
inches high, by a fmall white flug, which ftrips off the
leaves to the top, and the ftalks bending with their
weight are thus fometimes drawn into the ground.
Hence, if the crop does not promile fair at weeding
time, our author advifes not to bellow farther labour
and expence upon it. A crop of turnips or rape will
generally pay much better than fuch a crop of flax.
The time of flax-harveft in Yorkfhire is generally in
the latter end of July or beginning of Auguft. ^
On the whole, our author remarks, that “ the good- jyrr Mar-
nefs of the crop depends in fome meafure upon its (hall’s re¬
length 5 and this upon its evennefs and clofenefs upon marks on
the ground. Three feet high is a good length, and ax troi1S;
the
A G R I C
5°5
Remarks
by a Dor-
fetikire
Part II,
Flax and the thlcknefs of a crow’s quill a good thicknefs. A
, HcmP- , fine flalk alfordg more line and fewer Olivers than a
thick one. A tall thick fet crop is therefore defi-
rable. But unlefs the land be good, a thick crop can¬
not attain a fufficient length of Hem. Hence the fol¬
ly of fowing flax on land which is unfit for it. Ne-
verthelefs, with a fuitable foil, a fufficiency of feed
evenly diftributed, and a favourable feafon, flax may
turn out a very profitable crop. The flax crop, how¬
ever, has its difadvantages: it interferes with harveft,
and is generally believed to be a great exhaufter of the-
• foil, efpecially when its feed is fuffered to ripen. Its
cultivation ought therefore to be confined to rich grafs-
land diftricts, where harveft is a fecondary objeft, and
where its exhauftion may be rather favourable than
hurtful to fucceeding arable crops, by checking the
505 too great ranknefs of rich frelh broken ground.
Mr Bart. In the 5th volume of Bath Papers, Mr Bartley, near
ley’s expe- Briftol, gives an account of the expences and produce
run 1». 0p five acres of flax cultivated on a rich loamy fand.
The total expence was 42I. 13s. 4d. the produce was
ten packs of flax at 5I. 5s. value 5 2I. 10s. 35 bulhels
of linfeed at 5s. value 81. 15s. the net profit therefore
was 18I. ns. 8d. or 4I. 13s. 4d. per acre. This gen¬
tleman is of opinion that flax-growers ought to make it
their ftaple article, and confider the other parts of their
farm as in fubferviency to it.
In the fecond volume of Bath Papers, a Dorfetfliire
gentleman, who writes on the culture of hemp and flax,
gives an account fomewhat different from that of Mr
gent eman. Marfliall. Inftead of exhauJHng crops, he maintains
that they are both ameliorating crops, if cut without
feeding ; and as the beft crops of both are raifed from
foreign feed, he is of opinion that there is little occa-
fion for raifmg it in this country. A crop of hemp,
he informs us, prepares the land for flax, and is there¬
fore clear gain to the farmer. “ That thefe plants
impoverilh the foil,” he repeats, “ is a mere vulgar
notion, devoid of all truth.—The beff hiftorical rela¬
tions, and the verbal accounts of honeft ingenious
planters, concur in declaring it to be a vain prejudice,
507 unfupported by any authority; and that thefe crops
Flax and really meliorate and improve the foil.” He is like-
be'cultiva- W1^e 0PiT}ion> growth of hemp and flax is
ted upon not neceffarily confined to rich foils, but that they may
poor as be cultivated with profit alfo upon poor fandy ground,
■well as rich if a little expence be laid out in manuring it. “ Spal-
ding-moor in Lincolnlhire is a barren fand ; and vet
with proper care and culture it produces the beft hemp
in England, and in large quantities. In the ifle of
Afholme, in the fame county, equal quantities are pro¬
duced ; for the culture and management of it is the
principal employ of the inhabitants $ and, according
to Leland, it was fo in the reign of Henry VIII. In
Marfhland the foil is a clay or ftrong warp, thrown
up by the river Oufe, and of fuch a quality, that it
cracks with the heat of the fun, till a hand may be put
into the chinks ; yet if it be once covered with the
hemp or flax before the heats come on, the ground
will not crack that fummer. When the land is fandy,
they firft fow it with barley, and the following fpring
they manure the ftubble with horfe or cow dung, and
plough it under. Then they fow their hemp or flax,
and harrow it in with a light harrow, having ftiort
teeth. A good crop deftroys all the weeds, and makes
u L t u R E. 475
it a fine fallow for flax in the fpring. As foon as the Flax and
flax is pulled, they prepare the ground for wheat. HemP-
Lime, marl, and the mud of ponds, is an excellent ""~v
compoft for hemp-lands.” „o8
Our author takes notice of the vaft quantity of flaxVaft quan-
and hemp, not lefs them 11,000 tons, imported in thet!t':e;>of flax
year 1763 into Britain ; and complains that it is notandhenlp
raifed in the illand, which he thinks might be done,iuto'Bft-
though it would require 60,000 acres for the purpofe.tain.
He obferves, that the greater part of thofe rich marflry
lands lying to the weft of Mendip hills are very proper
for the cultivation of hemp and flax ; and if laid out in
this manner could not fail of turning out highly advan¬
tageous both to the landholders and the public at large.
“ I he vaft quantities of hemp and flax (fays he) which
have been raifed on lands of the fame kind in Lincoln-
flure marlhes, and the fens of the Ifle of Ely and Huu-
tingdonfliire, are a full proof of the truth of my af-
fertion. Many hundreds of acres in the above-men¬
tioned places, which, for pafturage or grazing, were
not worth more than twenty or twenty-five ftiillings
per acre, have been readily let at 4I. the firrt year, 3I.
the fecond, and 2I. the third. The reafon of this fop-
pofed declining value of land, in proportion to the
number of years fown -with flax, is, that it is ufual with
them to feed it for the purpofe of making oil, that be¬
ing the principal caufe of the land being thereby im-
poverilhed.
It is certain, however, that the quantity of hemp
exported from St Peterlburgh in Britilh Ihips has con¬
tinued to increafe, fo that in 1785 the quantity of
hemp exported from Peterftmrgh in Britiflr Ihips was as
follows: •
Of clean hemp,
Outlhot,
Half clean,
Hemp codille,
Poods.
1,038,791
37>382
i8>374
I9>251
There are 63 poods to a ton, confequently the
whole amounted to 17,695 tons ; and it is laid that this
quantity has fmee been tripled and quadrupled. It is
therefore an objeH of great national importance to
confider, whether flax and hemp might not be profi¬
tably reared in our own country without producing
any alarm' concerning their tendency to exhauft the
foil. With this view we lhall here ftate the fubftance Mr Sno’s
of a report made by Mr Durno, Britilh conful at Pruf- report on
fia in 1789, to the lords of the Committee of Councilthe culture
for Trade, concerning the method of cultivatino-flax ^ flax and
and hemp in Pruflia, Ruflia, and Poland. ° PrTffia'&c
A black, not moraffy open gravelly foil is preferred,
as flax and hemp become exuberant and coarfe on too
rich a foil. To afeertain the proper middle degree of
ftrength of foil, previous crops of grain are taken. On
a vigorora foil wheat is firft fown ; then rye, barlev,
oats ; and laft of all flax or hemp. Two fucceflive
crops of hemp are taken if the land is intermediately
dunged. For one crop of flax, it is not dunged at all.
On a foil of lefs ftrength, flax and hemp are fown im¬
mediately after a winter crop of rye, the land being
ploughed in autumn, if the weather allows, if not, in
fpring. It is then harrowed and manured, and again
3 O 2 ploughed
i i
476 A G R i C U
Flax and ploughed immediately before lowing.. Another wm-
Hemp. ter crop of rye may immediately be town in the fame
^ " field after drawing the flax or hemp, but after the flax j
dung is in this cafe neceffary. A field that has been
laid°down in fallow, if only ploughed up, yields a bet¬
ter crop of flax than if manured and cultivated in the
above or any other way. Flax and hemp aie fo^n
from the 25th of May to the xolh of June, and the
flax is reaped in the end of Auguft, and hemp in the
end of September. _ . .
As to their effects on the foil, no kind of grain can
be fown immediately after a crop of flax without dung¬
ing, but after one of hemp, any grain, and even hemp
itfelf, may be fown without manure. Hemp cleans the
ground by fuffocating, by its broad leaves, all forts of
weeds or undergrowth } but flax muff, be weeded once
or twice before it blooms. Flax is,plucked when the
ftalk becomes yellowifh, the pods brown, and the feed
hard and full bodied. For finer flax, the ftalk is pull¬
ed while yet green j but the feed is then facrificed, and
fit only for crufhing for oil, of which it produces a
fmall quantity. Hemp is alfo plucked or drawn when
the ftalk and" pods have changed colour.. If the flax
is very dry when plucked, the feed is ftripped off im¬
mediately ; if not, it is allowed to dry on the field.
Seed-pods are fpread thinly on a floor, where they are
turned twice a-day, till fo dry that they open, of them-
felvesj when it "is threfhed and cleaned like other
grain. To gain the hemp-feed, the hemp itfelf, when
plucked, is let on end againft any convenient place.
The roots and top-ends are then cut off. The roots
are thrown away, and the top-ends are threfhed out
and cleaned. The feed is apt to be fpoiled by remain¬
ing in a moift ftate for any length of time.
As foon as the feed has been gained, the flax and
and hemp are fteeped in water till the flax feparate
from the rind, and the hemp till the harl fprings from
the ftalk. In foft water, in warm weather, nine or
ten days are fufftcient for this purpofe. In hard water,
with cold weather, from fourteen days to three weeks
are requifite. Stagnate is preferred to running water j
but fifh ponds and the drinking places of cattle muft
be avoided, as the fifh would be deftroyed, and the
water would be rendered unwholefome and unpalata¬
ble to the cattle j but a muddy or flimy bottom is pre¬
ferred. In the fouthern provinces of Poland, as Vol-
kinia, Podolia, &c. fteeping is not praffifed, on the
fuppofitiofi that it weakens the harl and darkens
the colour, though this idea feems to have no foun¬
dation.
After being taken out of the fteep, the flax is dried
On a grafs field ; after which it is gathered up into
fmall flacks j but the hemp, inftead of being .fpread out
on a field, is fet up againft the walls of buildings till it
is alfo dried, after which they are both houfed.
It is generally underftood in thefe countries, that
the cultivation of flax and hemp is more profitable than
that of any kind of grain.
'^re of To this we fhall add a concife ftatement of the mode
ax'in'ire- of cultivating flax in Ireland. A good crop of flax is
land. there expected from any ftrong clays that are fit for
the growth of corn J but an open black loamy foil, en¬
riched by having lain long in pafture, is preferable.
The ground muft be in fine tilth, and as free from
weeds as poftible. Potatoes ufually precede flax, though
L T U R E. rrflctke.
turnips, beans, or any manured crop, are a good prer- Rape or
paration 5 but the firft or fecond crop after pafture is ,Colc~Seed,1
preferred to any of thefe. Stubble lands, that have
been long in tillage, may, by proper preparation, bring
a crop } but it is apt to "fail in fuch fttuations, the fta:ks
turning to a reddifh colour called Jit ing bcioie it 11-
pens j upon which it muft immediately be pulied.
Two buftiels of feed are ufed to tire Englilh acre, un~
lefs for the purpofe of a very fine manufacture j in
which cafe a large quantity of feed is uied, and the
flax is pulled very green. The feafon of fowing is tne
firft fine weather after the middle ot March. the
moft approved mode of culture is in beus about fix ket
broad, covering the feed about an inch and a half deep,
with earth fhoveled out of the furrows : but the molt
ordinary mode is to fow on common ridges, ana to
harrow in the feed. P.efore tue flax is five inches
high it fhould be carefully hand-weeded j and, ii any
part lodges, it fhould be turned over. i no produce
is ufually worth 7I. fteiling the Englifh acie. ^ I he
crop fhould ftand till the lower part ct the ftalk be¬
comes yettowifh, and the under leaves begin to wither,
unlefs the feed is to be preferved, which is done by rip¬
pling it through an iron comb, and the flax may be
fteeped immediately after it is pulled. lurf-bog vya-
ter, if clear, anfwers well, but foul ftagnate water flams
the flax. Too pure a fpring is injurious. A. refer-
voir dug in clay is preferred. I he time of jving in
the fteep depends upon the quality, of the water and
the ftate of the weather. It is dried on grafs, by be¬
ing fpread thinj artificial heat has been recommended
for drying flax j but no good form of it has been lug-
gefted. . 511
In addition to what is here ftated, the compiler of sheep em-
this article accounts it proper to take notice of a mode ployed to
of weeding flax that has frequently been pradifed inweed nax*
Scotland. It conftfts of turning a flock of flieep at
large into the field, d hey will not tafte the young
flax plants, but they carefully fearch for the weeds
which they devour. It may alfo be remarked, that for
drying flax in wet feafons, the fleam kiln formerly pro- N° 34.
pofed would be a valuable inftrument.
Sect. II. Rape or Cole-Seed.
This, as well as linfeed, is cultivated for the pur¬
pofe of making oil, and will grow almoft anywhere.
Mr Hazard informs us, that in the north of England Bath Ar-
the farmers pare and burn their pafture lands, and then^rrx, vol. iv«
fow them with rape after one ploughing > the crop
commonly ftanding for feed, which will bring from 25k ^
to 30I. per laft (^80 bufhels). Poor clay, or ftone-Advantage
brafh land, will frequently produce from 12 to 16 or of cultivat-
18 bufhels per acre, and almoft any freih or virgin jng rape-
earth will yield one plentiful crop.; fo that many, in £e •
the northern counties have been raifed, by cultivating
this feed, from poverty to the greateft affluence. The
feed is ripe in July or the beginning of Auguft ; and the
thraftung of it out is condufted with the greateft mirth
and jollity. . , r ^ ^ j 513
The rape being fully ripe, is firft cut with fickles, and Of cutting
then laid thin upon the ground to dry; and when, in andthradf-
proper condition for thrafhing, the. neighbours are in-
vited, who readily contribute their affiftance. . The
thrafhing is performed on a large cloth in the middle
of
Part II.
Rape
Cole-3
5*4
Of fowlng
it.
5*5
Tran! plant
ing recom¬
mended.
5*6
Sheep may-
tie fed in
♦lie fpring
with rape.
5*7
Culture of
rape-feed
in Brabant.
A G R I C U
of the field, and the feed put into the facks and carried
home. It does not admit of being carried from the field
in the pod in order to be thrafhed at home, and there¬
fore the operation is always performed in the field j
and by the number of affiftants procured on this occa-
fion, a field of 20 acres is frequently thralhed out in
one day. The ftraw is burnt for the fake of its alkali,
the alhes being faid to equal the bell kind of thofe im¬
ported from abroad.
The proper time for fowlng rape is the month of
June } and the land lliould, previous to the fowing,
be twice well ploughed. About two pounds of feed
are fuffieient for an acre j and, according to our au¬
thor, it fnould be call upon the ground with only the
thumb and two fore fingers •, for if it be call with all
the fingers, it will come up in patches. If the plants
come up too thick, a pair of light harrow’s fhould be
drawn along the field length-wife and crofs-wufe } by
which means the plants will be equally thinned 5 and
when the plants which the harrows have pulled up are
withered, the ground Ihould be rolled. A few days
after the plairts may be fet out with a hoe, allowing 16
or 13 inches diitance betwixt every two pants.
Mr Hazard ilrongly recommends the tranfplanting
of rape, having experienced the good effecls of it him-
feif. A rood of ground, fown in June, will produce
as many plants as are fufheient for 10 acres 3 which
may be planted out upon ground that has previoufly
borne a crop of wheat, provided the wheat be harvefted
by the middle of Augult. One ploughing will be
fufficient for thefe plants 3 the beft of which lliould be
feledled from the feed-plot, and planted in row’s tw’O
feet afunder and 16 inches apart in the rows. As rape
is an excellent food for ftieep, they may be allowed to
feed upon it in the fpring 3 or the leaves might be ga¬
thered, and given to oxen or young cattle : frelh
leaves would fprout again from the fame ftalks, which
in like manner might be fed off by ewes and lambs in
time enough to plough the land for a trop of barley
and oats. Planting rape in the beginning of July,
however, would be moft advantageous for the crop it-
felf, as the leaves might then be fed off in the autumn,
and new ones would appear in the fpring. Our author
difeommends the pra&ice of fowing rape with turnips,
as the crops injure one another. “ Thofe who look
for an immediate profit (fays he), will undoubtedly
cultivate rape for feed 3 but perhaps it may anfwer
better in the end to feed it with {Keep: the fat ones
might cull it over firft, and afterwards the lean or
ftore-fheep might follow them, and be folded thereon 3
if this is done in the autumn feafon, the land will be in
good heart to carry a crop of w'heat 3 or where the rape
is fed off in the fpring, a crop’ of barley might follow.
In either cafe rape is profitable to the cultivator 3 and
when it is planted, and well earthed round the ftems,
it will endure the fevered; winter; but the fame can¬
not be advanced in favour of that which is fowm
broad-caff.
Cole-feed is cultivated in Brabant, in the following
manner, according to the Abbe Mann. “ It is fown about
the middle of July, and the young plants are tranfplan-
ted about the end of September. This is done with a
narrow’ fpade funk into the ground, and moved with '
the hand forwards ’and backwards 3 which fimple mo¬
tion, makes a fuffici'ent opening to receive the plant 3
L T U R E. 477
a boy or girl follow the labourer with plants, and put- Coriander-
ting one of them into each hole, treads againft it to Seed^Ga-
clole it up. If the plantation is done wuth the plough, n"rjfcee ’
the plants are placed at regular diftances in the furrow, 1—-y——'
and are covered with the earth turned up with the fuc-
ceeding furrow. Sometimes, after the cole-feed is plant¬
ed, the foot of the ftalks is covered, by means of a
common fpade or hoe, with the earth near it, which
furnilhes nourifhment for the plants during winter, by
the crumbling of thefe little clods of earth over the
roots. The cole-feed is reaped about midfummer or
later, according as the feafon is more or lefs advanced 3
it is left on the field for ten or twelve days after it is-
cut, and then thrafhed on a kind of fail-cloth, Ipread
on the ground for that purpofe, and the feed carried in
facks to the farm. When the crop is good, a bunder
produces about forty raziers of Solbs. weight each. It
is to be obferved, that the ground whereon cole-feed is
to be planted, muff be dunged and twice ploughed the
fame year it is put in ufe.”
Sect. III. Coriander-Seed.
This is ufed in large quantities by difiillers, drug-
gifts, and confeftioners, and might be a confiderable
objeft to fuch farmers as live in the neighbourhood of
great towns 3 but the price is very variable, vi%. from J.r3
16s. to 42s. per cwt. In the 4th volume of Bath Pa-Mr Bart-
pers, Mr Bartley gives an account of an experiment ley’s expe-
made on this feed, which proved very fuccefsful. Tennmeilt'
perches of good fandy loam were fown with coriander
on the 23d of March 1783. Three pounds of feed
•were fufficient for this fpot; and the whole expence
amounted only to 5s. xod. The produce was 87 pounds
of feed, which, valued at 3d. yielded a profit of ^s. ud.
or 15I. 18s. 4A per acre. He afterwards made feve-
ral other experiments on a larger fcale; but none of the
crops turned out fo well, though all of them afforded
a good profit.
Sect. IV. Canary-Seed.
5T9
This is cultivated in large quantity in the Me of Culture of
Thanet, -where it is faid they have frequently 20 buftiels canary,
to an acre. Mr Bartley, in the month*of March 1783,lLLa'
fowed half an acre of ground, the foil a mixture of
loam and clay, but had only eight bulhels and a half,
or 17 bufhels per acre. With this produce, however,
he had a profit of 4I. 2s. 3d. per acre.
Sect. V. IVoad.
The ufe of this in dyeing is -well known, and the
confumption is fo great, that the raifing of the plant
might undoubtedly be a objeft to an hufbandman,
provided he could get it properly manufadlured for the
dyers, and could overcome their prejudices. At pre-
fent, the growing of this plant is in a manner monopo¬
lized by fome people in particular places, particularly
at Keynfham near Briftol in England. Mr Bartley -y^cad
informs us, that in a converfation he had with thefe ly cultiva-
growers, the latter afferted, that the growth of woadte^-
was peculiar to their foil and fituation. The foil about
this place is a blackifh heavy mould, xvith a confider¬
able proportion of clay, but works freely: that of
Briflington,
4/8
Hops.
5*1
. Hops for¬
bid by adt
of parlia¬
ment.
| Annals of
Agrisulturc,
vol. li.
S22 r
Expence of
cultivating
them at
Caftle Hed-
ingham.
523
^In Eifex.
A G R I C U
Brifllngton, wliere Mr Bartley refides, a hazel Tan¬
dy loam; neverthelefs, having fowed half an acre of
this foil with woad-feed, it throve lb well, that he ne¬
ver faw a better crop at Keynlham. Having no ap¬
paratus, however, or knowledge of the manufafture,
he fuffered it to run to feed, learning only from the
experiment, that woad is very eafily cultivated, and
that the only difficulty is the preparing it for the
market.
Sect. VI. Hops.
The ufes of thefe as an ingredient in malt liquors,
are well known. Formerly, however, they were fup-
pofed to poffefs fuch deleterious qualities, that the ufe
of them was forbid by a£t of parliament in the reign
of James VI. But though this aft was never repeal¬
ed, it does not appear that much regard was ever paid
to it, as the ufe of hops has Hill continued, and is
found not to be attended with any bad effefts on the
human conftitution. The only quellion, therefore, is,
How far the railing a crop of them may be profitable
to an huffiandman ? and indeed this feems to be very
doubtful.
Mr Arthur Young, in a Fortnight’s Tour through
Kent and Effex, informs usj, that at Caftle Hedingham
he was told by a Mr Rogers, who had a confiderable
hop-plantation, that four acres of hop-ground coft him
upwards of 1 20I. and that the ufual expences of lay¬
ing out an acre of ground in this way amounted to
34I. 6s. By a calculation of the expences of an acre
in Kent, it appeared that the money funk to plant an
acre there amounted to 32I. 8s. 6d. $ that the annual
expence was 23I. and the profit no more than il. 8s.
id. In another place, he was informed by a Mr Potter,
who cultivated great quantities of hops, that if it were
not for fome extraordinary crops which occured now
and then, nobody would plant them. In Effex, the
expences of a hop-plantation are ftill greater than thofe
we have yet mentioned j an acre many years ago re¬
quiring 7 5I. to lay it out on hops, and now not lels
than 100I. the annual expence being eftimated at
3x1. is. while the produce commonly does not exceed
3 21-
In the neighbourhood of Stow-market in this
county, Mr Young informs us, there are about 200
acres planted with hops, but “ 18 or 20 are grubbed
qp within two years, owing to the badnefs of the
times.” Here they are planted on a black loofe moor,
very wet and boggy j and the more wet the better for
the crop, efpecially if the gravel, which conftitutes
the bottom, be not more than three feet from the fur-
face. In preparing the ground for hops, it is formed
into beds, 16 feet wide, feparated from each other by
trenches. In thefe beds they make holes fix feet
afunder, and about 1 2 inches diameter, three rows up¬
on a bed. Into each hole they put about half a peck
of very rotten dung or rich compoft ) fcatter earth up¬
on k, and plant Even fets in each 5 drawing earth
enough to them afterwards to form fomething of a
hillock. A hop garden, Mr Young informs us, “ will
laft almoft for ever, by renewing the hills that fail, to
the amount of about a fcore annually, but it is rec¬
koned better to grub up and nevy-plant it every 20 or
2_C years.” 1
L T U R E. Pra&ice*
In this volume of the Annals, Mr Young informs Ci.iw at.on
us, that “ one profit of hop-land is that of breaking . ^ .
it up. Mr Potter grubbed up one garden, which fail- ^
ing, he ploughed and fowed barley, the crop great : Profit of
then mazagan beans, two acres of which produced 16 breaking
quarters and five bufhels. He then fowed it with
wheat, which produced 13 quarters and lour buffiels rious 1
and an half: but fmce that time the crops have not
been greater than common. The fame gentleman has
had 10 quarters of oats after wheat.” In the ninth
volume of the fame work, however, tve have an ac¬
count of an experiment by Mr Le Bland of bitting-
bourn in Kent, of grubbing up 12 acres of hop-
ground, which was not attended with any remarkable
fuccefs. Part of the hops vvere grubbed up in the
year 1781, and mazagan beans fown in their ftead : but
by reafon of the feed being bad, and the dry fummer,
the crop turned out very indifferent. Next year the
remainder of the hops rvere grubbed up, and the whom
12 acres fown with wheat; but ftill the crop turned
out very bad, owing to the wet fummer of that year»
It was next planted with potatoes, which turned out
well: and ever fince that time the crops have been
good. This gentleman informs us, that the per-
fon who had the hop-ground above-mentioned did not
lofe lefs by it than 1500I. . £25
The culture of hops feems to be confined in a great Culture of
meafure to the fouthern counties of England ; for Mr rn
Marffiall mentions it as a matter of furprife, that in ^decline.
Norfolk he faw a “ tolerably large hop garden.” The
proprietor informed him, that three or four years be¬
fore there had been 10 acres of hops in the pariffi
(Blowfield) where he refided •, which was more than
could be colie ft ed in all the reft of the county •, but at
that time there were not above five : and the culture
was daily declining, as the crops, owing to the low
price of the commodity, did not defray the expence.
From all this it appears, that hops are perhaps the
moft uncertain and precarious crop on which the hui-
bandman can beftow his labour. Mr Young is of opi¬
nion, that fome improvement in the culture is neceffa-
ry ; but he dees not mention any, excepting that of
planting them in efpali'ers. This method was recom¬
mended both by Mr Rogers and Mr Potter above-
mentioned. The former took the hint from obferving,
that a plant which had been blown down, and after¬
wards ffiot out horizontally, always produced a great¬
er quantity than thofe which grew upright. He alfo
remarks, that hops which are late picked carry more
next year than fuch as are picked early, for which
reafon he recommends the late picking. I he only rea¬
fon for picking early is, that the hops appear much
more beautiful than the others.
Sect. VII. Cultivation of Fruit.
In Herefordffiire and Gloucefterlhire the cultivation
of fruit for the purpofe of making a liquor from the
juice, forms a principal part of their hulbandry. In
'Devonlhire alfo confiderable quantities of this kind of
liquor are made, though much lefs than in the two Firms Cul-
counties above-mentioned. tivated in
The fruits cultivated in Herefordffiire and Gloucef- Hereford-
terffiire are, the apple, the pear, and the cherry. From Q^cdter..
the two firft are made the liquors named cyder and/^-qnre,
O’*'
Fart II. AGRICULTURE.
Cultivation ry ; but though it is probable that a liquor of fome va-
t oi Fnut. ^ iue jnJght be made from cherries alfo, it does not ap-
v "' ' pear to have ever been attempted. Mr Marfhall re¬
marks, that nature has fumifhed only one fpecies of
pears and apples, v/a. the common crab of the woods
and hedges, and the wild pear, which is likewife pretty
Varieties 0fcommon* The varieties of thefe fruits are entirely ar-
fmitsen- tificial, being produced not by feed, but by a certain
tirely artifi- mode of culture j whence it is the bufinefs of thofe
cial. -who with to improve fruit therefore, to catch at fupe-
rior accidental varieties } and having raifed them by
cultivation to the higheft perfe&ion of which they are
- capable, to keep them in that ftate by artificial pro-
Varieties pagation. Mr Marfhall, however, obferves, that it is
cannot be impofliole to make varieties of fruit altogether perma-
made per- nent, though their duration depends much upon ma-
manent. nagement. “ A time arrives (fays he) when they can
no longer be propagated with fuccefs. All the old
fruits which raifed the fame of the liquors of this coun¬
try are now loft, or fo far on the decline as to be deem¬
ed irrecoverable. The red-ftreak is given up j the cele¬
bratedJlir-apple is going off j and the fquajh-pear, which
has probably furnilhed this country with more cham¬
paign than was ever imported into it, can no longer be
got to flourifti : the ftocks canker, and are unproduc¬
tive. In Yorklhire limilar circumftances have taken
place : feveral old fruits which were productive wuthin
my own recollection are loft j the ftocks cankered and
the trees wrould no longer come to bear.”
Our author controverts the common notion among
orchard-men, that the decline of the old fruits is owing
to a want of frefti grafts from abroad, particularly from
Normandy, from whence it is fuppofed that apples
were originally imported into this country. Mr Mar-
Ihall, however, thinks, that thefe original kinds have
been long fince loft, and that the numerous varieties of
which we are now poffeffed were raifed from feed in
this country. He alfo informs us, that at Ledbury he
was fhown a Normandy apple tree, which, with many
ethers of the fame kind-, had been imported immedi¬
ately from France. He found it, however, to be no
other than the bitter-fweet, which he had feen growing
as a negleCfed wilding in an Ehglilh hedge.
Mr M-fr Procefs °f railing new varieties of apples, ac-
fhall’sdi- cording to Mr Marftiall, is Ample and eafy. “ Elect
redtions for (fays he) among the native fpecies individuals of the
railing new higheft fiavour ; fow the feeds in a highly enriched
fhidt**65 ^ ^eechhe(L When new varieties, or the improvement of
old ones, are the objeCts, it may perhaps be eligible to
ufe a frame or ftove •, but where the prefervation of the
ordinary varieties only is wanted, an ordinary loamy
foil will be fuftkient. At any rate, it ought to be per¬
fectly clean at leaft from root weeds, and fhould be
double dug from a foot to 18 inches deep.. The fur-
face being levelled and raked fine, the feeds ought to
be fcattered on about an inch afunder and covered a-
bout half an inch deep with fome of the fineft mould
previoufty raked off the bed for that purpofe. During
fummer the young plants ihould be kept perfectly free
from weeds, and may be taken up for tranfplantation
the enfuing winter ; or if not very thick in the feed-
bed, they may remain in it till the fecond winter.
Ofthe° The nurfery ground ought alfo to be enriched, and
nurfery double dug to the depth of 14 inches at leaft *, though
ground. 18 or 20 are preferable. The feedling plants .ought , to
be forted agreeably to the ftrength of their roots, thatrCultivation
they may rife evenly together. The top or downward , of Duit. ^
roots fhould be taken off, and the longer fide rootlets
(hortened. The young trees fhould then be planted in
rows three feet afunder, and from 15 to 18 inches di-
ftant in the rows $ taking care not to cramp the roots,
but to lead them evenly and horizontally among the
mould. If they be intended merely for ftocks to be
grafted, they may remain in this fituation until they
be large enough to be planted out *, though, in ftriCl
management, they ought to be re-tranfplanted two
years before their being transferred into the orchard,
“ in frefh but unmanured double-dug ground, a quin¬
cunx four feet apart every way.” In this fecond
tranfplantation, as well as in the firft, the branches of
the root ought not to be left too long, but to be
fhortened in fuch a manner as to induce them to form
a globular root, fufficiently fmall to be removed with
the plant; yet fufficiently large to give it firmnefs and
vigour in the plantation.
Having proceeded in this manner with the feed-bed, Method of
our author gives the following directions. u SeleCt choofing
from among the feedlings the plants whofe wood andtke Plantv
leaves wear the moft apple-like appearance. Tranfplant
thefe into a rich deep foil in a genial fituation, letting
them remain in this nurfery until they begin to bear.
With the feeds of the faireft, richeft, and bert flavour¬
ed fruit repeat this procefs} and at the fame time, or
in due feafon, engraft the wood which produced this
fruit on that of the richeft, fweeteft, beft-flavoured
apple: repeating this operation,.and transferring the
fubject under improvement from one tree and fort to
another, as richnefs, flavour, or firmnefs may require ;.
continuing this double mode of improvement until the
defired fruit be obtained. There has, no doubt, been a
period when the improvement of the apple and pear
was attended to in this country; and ftiould not the
fame fpirit of improvement revive, it is probable that
the country will, in a courfe of years, be left deftitute
of valuable kinds of thefe two fpecies of fruit 5 which,
though they may in fome degree be deemed objeCls of
luxury, long cuftom feems to have ranked among the
neceffaries of life.”
In the fourth volume of Bath Papers^ Mr Grimwood Mr Grim-
fuppofes the degeneracy of apples to be rather imagi-wood’s opi¬
nary than real. He fays, that the evil complained Ofn<onoftlie
“ is not a real decline in the quality of the fruit, but 0f apples. ^
in the tree y owing either to want of health, the feafon,
foil, mode of planting, or the ftock they are grafted on,
being too often raifed from the feed of apples in the
fame place or county. I have not a doubt in my own.
mind, but that the trees which are grafted on.the ftocks
raifed from the apple pips are more tender than thofe-
grafted on the real crab-ftock } and the feafons in this
country have, for many years paft, been unfavourable
for fruits, which add much to the fuppofed degeneracy ■
of the apple. It is my opinion, that if planters of or¬
chards would procure the trees grafted on real crab-
ftocks from a diftant country, they would find their
account in fo doing much overbalance the extra expence
of charge and carriage. ^
In the fame volume, Mr Edmund Gillingwater af- Mr Gilling-
figns as a reafon for the degeneracy of apples the water’s opi-
mixture of various farina, from the orchards beingmon-
too near each other. In confequence of this notion,
, • ’ lie
480 A G R I C U
Cukiyation he alfo thinks that the old and beft kinds of apple
t ,'t r lult- i trees are not loft, but only corrupted from being plant¬
ed too near bad neighbours : “ Remove them (fays he)
to a fttuation where they are not expofed to this incon¬
venience, and they will immediately recover their for¬
mer excellency.” . This theory, however, is not fup-
534 ported by a Angle experiment.
Mr Samu- In this volume alfo Mr Richard Samuel expreffes his
el’sc^m0^^ at the “ prefent neglect of orchards, where the
thodofre" trees are decaying, withoufe^mper proviffion beksg
■covering made for the fucceeding age: ‘for if a farmer plants
the beft frefh trees (which* does, not frequently happen), there
fruit. }s feldom any care taken to propagate the better forts,
as his grafts are ufuaily taken promifcuoufly from any
ordinary kind "molt eafily procured in the neighbour¬
hood.” His remedy is to colledt-grafts from the belt
■ trees ) by which means he fuppofes that the fuperior
kinds of fruit would foon be recovered. To a care of
this kind he attributes the fuperiority of the fruit
in the neighbourhood of great towns to that in other
535 places.
Cultiva- With regard to the method of -cultivating fruit
effruifC* trees, it is Only neceffary to add, that while they re¬
trees. main in the nurfery, the intervals betwixt them may be
occupied by fuch kitchen-ltuff as will not crowd or
overfhadow the plants *, keeping the rows in the mean
time perfectly free from weeds. In pruning them, the
leader fhould be particularly attended to. If they fhoot
double,-the weaker of the contending branches Ihould
be taken off j but if the leader be loft, and not ealily
recoverable, the plant Ihould be cut down to within a
hand’s breadth of the foil, and a frelh Item trained.
The undermoft boughs Ihould be taken off by degrees,
going over the plants every winter ; but taking care to
preferve heads of fufficient magnitude not to draw the
items up too tall, which would make them feeble in the
lower part. The Items in Herefordfhire are trained to
fix feet high j but our author prefers feven, or even
half a rod in height. A tall-ftemmed tree is much lefs
injurious to what grows below it than a low-headed
one, which is itfelf in danger of being hurt, at the fame
time that it hurts the crop under it. The thicknefs of
the Item ought to be in proportion to its height "7 for
which reafon a tall flock ought to remain longer in
the nuiffery than a low one. The ufual fize at which
they are planted out in Herefordfhire is from four to
fix inches girt at three feet high j which fize, with pro¬
per management, they will reach in feven or eight
years. The price of thefe flocks in Herefordfhire is
is. 6d. each. Our author met with one inftance of
crabftocks being gathered in the woods with a good
^ profpeft of fuccefs.
Method of In Herefordfhire it is common to have the ground
managing Gf the orchards in tillage, and in Gloucefterfhire in
of ordiards Sra^s 5 which Mr Marfhall fuppofes to be owing to the
in Here1-1 S difference betwixt the foil of the two counties } that
fordfhire of Herefordfhire being generally arable, and Gloucef-
and Glou- ter grafs land. Trees, however, are very deftrudfive,
Cefterfhire. not onjy to a cr0p 0f corn? but to clover and turnips j
though tillage is favourable to fruit trees in general,
efpecially when young. In grafs grounds their pro-
grefs is comparatively flow, for want of the earth being
flirred about them, and by being injured by the cattle,
' efpecially when low-headed and drooping. After they
begin to bear, cattle ought by all means to be kept
3
L T U R E. Pra&ice.
away from them, as they not only deftroy all the fruit Cultivation
within their reach, but the fruit itfelf is dangerous to^ °f Fruit,
the cattle, being apt to flick in their, throats and choak v '
them. Thefe inconveniences may be avoided, by eat¬
ing the. fruit grounds bare before the gathering feafon,
and keeping the boughs out of the way of the cattle :
but Mr Marfhall is of opinion, that it is wrong to plant
•orchards in grafs land. “ Let them (fays he) lay their
old orchards to grafs j and if they plant, break up their
young orchards to arable. This will be changing the
courfe of hufbandry, and be at once beneficial to the
land and the trees. 537
Our author complains very much of the indolent and Indolence
carelefs method in which the Herefordfhire and Glou-t^>e far“
cefterfhire farmers manage their orchards. The natu- tjie(e parts
ral enemies of fruit trees (he fays) are, I. A redun- complained
dancy of wood. 2. The mifletoe. 3. Mofs. 4. Spring °A
frofls. 5. Blights. 6. Infedts. 7. An excefs of fruit.
8. Old age. _ ... 538
1. A redundancy of wood is prejudicial, by reafon Excefs of
of the barren branches depriving thofe which bear fruit WC0<M*0W
of the nourilhment which ought to belong to them.reme<Jied'
A multitude of branches alfo give the winds fuch an
additional power over the tree, that it is in perpetual
danger of being overthrown by them : trees are like-
wife thus injured by the damps and wrant of circulation
of air, fo that only the outer branches are capable of
bringing fruit to maturity. “ It is no uncommon fight
(fays he) to fee trees in this dillrift, with two or three
tires of boughs prefling down hard upon one another,
with their twigs fo intimately interwoven, that even
when the leaves are off, a fmall bird can fcarcely creep
in among them. 53^
2. The mifletoe in this country is a great enemy to Mifletoe
the apple tree. It is eafily pulled out with hooks in J(ow cle'
frofty weather, w'hen, being brittle, it readily breaksltroye
off from the branches. It likewife may be applied to a
profitable purpofe, flieep being as fond of it as of ivy. 540
3. Mofs can only be got the better of by induftry in Mofs on
clearing the trees of it ; and in Kent there are people fruit trees*
who make it their profeflion to do fo.
4. Spring-frofts, efpecially when they fuddenly fuc-Spring-
ceed rain, are great enemies to fruit trees ; dry froffcs frofts,
only keep back the bloffoms for fome time. Art can
give no farther afliftance in this cafe than to keep the
trees in a healthy and vigorous ftate, fo as to enable
them to throw out a ftrength of bud and bloffom j and
by keeping them thin of wrood, to give them an op¬
portunity of drying quickly before the froft fet in.
5. Blight is a term, as applied to fruit trees, which Blights an
Mr Marflhall thinks is not underftood. Two bearing uricertain
years, he remarks, feldom come together 5 and he isterm'
of opinion, that it is the mere exhaufting of the trees
by the quantity of fruit which they have carried one
year, that prevents them from bearing any the next.
The only thing therefore that can be done in thisrcafe
is, to keep the trees in as healthy and vigorous a ftate
as poflible. ^ ^
6. Infects deftroy not only the bloffoms and leaves, Method
But fome of them alfo the fruit, efpecially pears. In propofed of
the year 1783 much fruit wras deftroyed by wafps. (*elI™yinS
Mr Marfhall advifes to fet a price upon the femalew a P5'
wafps in the fpring; by which thefe mifchievous in¬
fers wmuld perhaps be exterminated, or at leaft greatly
leffened.
7. An
Part II.
AGRICULTURE.
546
Mr Mar-
IhalPs ob.
fervation
Timber <7. An excefs of fruit flints the growth of young
Trees. trees? ancl renders all in general barren for two or three
" Yj" years 5 while in many cafes the branches are broken
Of an ex- °ff by the weight of the fruit $ and in one cafe Mr
cefs of fruit. Marfhall mentions, that an entire tree had funk under
its burden. To prevent as much as peflible the bad
effedls of an excefs of fruit, Mr Marfhall recommends
“ to graft in the boughs,” and when fully grown, to
thin the bearing branches ; thus endeavouring, like the
gardener, to grow fruit every year.”
Duration of 8. Though it is impoffible to prevent the effe£ls of
fruit trees old age? yet by proper management the natural life of
d ^ru*t trees may be confiderably protrafted. The moft
0 ’ eligible method is to graft flocks of the native crab in
the boughs. The decline of the tree is preceded by a
gradual decline of fruitfulnefs, which takes place long
before the tree manifefls any fign of decay. During
this decline of fruitfulnefs, there is a certain period
when the produce of a tree will no longer pay for the
ground it occupies 5 and beyond this period it ought
by no means to be allowed to Hand. In the Vale of
Gloucefler, however, our author faw an inflance of
fome healthy bearing apple trees, which then had the
fecond tops to the fame Hems. The former tops ha¬
ving been worn out, were cut off, and the flumps faw-
grafted. Our author obferves, that the pear tree is
much longer lived than the apple, and ought never to
be planted in the fame ground. He concludes with
the following general obfervation : “ Thus confidering
the^ul *^ru^t trees as a croP m hufbandry, the general manage-
ture of nient appears to be this : Plant upon a recently bro-
fruit trees, ken-up wom-out fward. Keep the foil under a flate
of arable management, until the trees be well grown :
then lay it down to grafs, and let it remain in fward
until the trees be removed, and their roots be decayed :
when it will again require a courfe of arable manage¬
ment.”
SECT. VIII. Of Timber Trees.
The importance and value of thefe are fowell known,
that it is fuperfluous to fay any thing on that fubjeft
at prefent: notwithflanding this acknowledged value,
however, the growth of timber is fo flow, and the re¬
turns for planting fo diftant, that it is generally fup-
pofed for a long time to be a pofitive lofs, or at leafl
to be attended with no profit. This matter, however,
when properly confidered, will appear in another light.
Different There are four diflinft fpecies of woodlands ; vies.
kinds of woods, timber groves, coppice's, and woody waftes.
woodlands, WOO(js are a colleftion of timber trees and under-
wood ; the timber groves contain timber trees without
any underwood ; and the coppices are colleftions of
underwood alone. All thefe turn out to advantage
fooner or later, according to the quick or flow growth
of the trees, and the fituation of the place with refpeft
to certain local advantages. Thus in fome places un¬
derwood is of great confequence, as for rails, hoops,
flakes, fuel, &c. and by reafon of the quicknefs of its
548 growth it may be accounted the mofl profitable of all
What plan- plantations. An ofier-bed will yield a return of pro-'
tation will fit the fecond or third year, and a coppice in 15
brirT^n a °r 20 yeatS ’ w^e a Potation of oaks will not arrive
return 0/ at perfeftion in lefs than a century. This lafl period
profit. is fo long, that it may not unreafonably be fuppbfed
Vol. I. Part II.
4&I
likely to deter people from making jdahtatlohs of Timber
this kind, as few are willing to take any trouble for , rree;:’ <
what they are never to fee in perfeftion. It mull be " 'r*
remembered, however, that though the trees them-
felves do not come to perfeftion in a fhorter time, the
value of the ground will always increafe in proportion 549
to their age. Thus, fays one author upon this fub-Arfvan
jeft, “ we have fome "knowledge of a gentleman now t!|ges <>1\
living, who during his lifetime has made plantations,11 an ^
which in all probability will be worth to his fon as
much as his whole eflate, handfome as it is. Suppofing
that thofe plantations have been made 50 or 60 years,
and that in the courfe of 20 or 30 more they will be
worth 50,000! $ may we not fay, that at prefent they
are worth fome 20,cool, or 30,000!.? Mr Pavier,
in the 4th volume of Bath Papers, computes the value
of 50 acres of oak timber in 100 years to be 12,tool,
which is nearly 50s. annually per acre ; and if we con-
fider that this is continually accumulating, without any
of that expence or rifk to which annual crops are fub¬
jeft, it is probable that timber planting may be ac¬
counted one of the moft profitable articles in hulbandry.
Evelyn calculates the profit of 1000 acres of oak-land
in 150 years, at no lefs than 670,0001.5 but this is
moft probably an exaggeration. At any rate, however,
it would be improper to occupy, efpecially wuth timber
of fuch flow grow’th, the grounds which either in grafs
or corn can repay the trouble of cultivation with a good
annual crop.
In the fourth volume of the Bath Papers, Mr Wag- Planting
ftaffe recommends planting as an auxiliary to cultiva- meliorate*
tion. He brings an inftance of the fuccefs of Sir Wil-tlie
Ham Jerringham, who made trial of “ the moft unpro-
mifing ground perhaps that any fuccefsful planter has
hitherto attempted.” His method w^as to plant beech
trees at proper diftances among Scotch firs, upon
otherwife barren heaths. “ Thefe trees (fays Mr Wag-
ftaffe), in a foil perhaps without clay or loam, with the
heathy fod trenched into its broken ftrata of fand or
gravel, under the proteftion of the firs, have laid hold,
though flowly, of the foil 5 and accelerated by the fu-
perior growth of the firs, have proportionally rifen,
until they wanted an enlargement of (pace for growth,
when the firs wrere cut down.” He next proceeds to
obferve, that when the firs are felled, their roots decay
in the ground 5 and thus furnifli by that decay a new
fupport to the foil on which the beeches grow : by
which means the latter receive an additional vigour, as
well as an enlargement of fpace and freer air; the firs
themfelves, though cut down before they arrived at
their full growth, being alfo applicable to many valu¬
able purpofes.
In the 6th volume of Annals of Agriculture, we Culture of
find the culture of trees recommended by Mr Harries : timber
and he informs us, that the larch is the quickeft growertrees re-
and the moft valuable of all the refinous timber trees 5
but unlefs there be pretty good room allowed for the Hama. *
branches to ftretch out on the lower part of the trunk >
it will not arrive at any confiderable fize 5 and this ob¬
fervation, he fays, holds good of all pyramidal trees.
Scotch firs may be planted between them, and pulled
Out after they begin to obftruft the growth of the larch.
Some of thefe larches he had feen planted about 30
years before, which at 5 feet diftance from the ground
meafured from 4 feet to 5 feet 6 inches in’ circumfer-*
3 P ence.
4&2
AGRICULTURE, Plaice.
Timber ence. The mbft barren grounds, he fays, would an-
Trees. ^ fwer for thefe trees, but better foil is required for the
v ^ oaks. In this paper he takes notice of the leaves of
one of his plantations of oaks having been almolt en¬
tirely deftroyed by infects j in confequence of which they
did not increafe in bulk as ufual: but another which
had nearly efcaped thefe ravages,, increafed at an ave-
Increafe of rage I inch in circumference. “ A tree 4 feet round
oaJ* trees, (fays he), that has timber 20 feet in length, gains'by
this growth a folid foot of timber annually, worth one
{lulling at leaf!, and pays 5 /><rr cent, tor {landing. It
increafes more as the tree gets from 5 to 6 feet round.
I have a reafonable hope to infer from my inquiry, that
I have in my groves 3000 oaks that pay me one {hil¬
ling each per annum, or 150I. a-year. My poplars
have gained in circumference near two inches, and a
Worcefter and witch elm as much. I have lately-been
informed, that the fmooth cut of a holly tree, that
meafures 20 inches and upwrards round, is worth to the
553 cabinet-makers 2s. 6d per foot.
Increafe of The following table {hows the increafe of trees- in
trees in the 2I years from fir ft planting. It was taken from
ofLanf- the marquis of Lanfdowne’s plantation, begun in the
downe’s year 1 yfjy, and the calculation made on the 15th of
plantation. July 1786. It is about fix acres in extent, the foil
partly a fwampy meadowT uoon a gravelly bottom.
The meafures were taken at 5 feet: above the furface
of the ground } the {mall firs having been occafionally
drawn for polls and rails, as well as rafters for cottages y
and when peeled of the bark, will Hand well for. feven
years. -
wood, &c,
Lombardy poplar
Arbeal
Plane
Acacia
Elm
Chefnut
Weymouth pines
Clufter ditto
Scotch fir
Sprucb ditto
Larch
Height in
Feet.
60 to 80
5Q to 70
50 to 60
50 to 60
40 to 60
30 to 5Q
30 to 50
30 to 50
3.Q to 50
3° to 5°
50. to 60
Circumference
in Feet. Inch.
4 8
From this table it appears, that planting of timber-
treqs, where the return can be waited for during the
{pace of 20 years, will undoubtedly repay the original
profits of planting, as well as the intereft of the money
laid out; which is the better wmrth the attention of a
proprietor of land, as the ground on which they grow
may be fuppofed good for very little elfe. From a
comparative table of the growth of oak, afij, and
elm timber, given in the 11 th volume of the Annals
of Agriculture, it appears that the oak is by much the
lloweft grower of the three.
With refpe£l to the growth of underwood, which
in fome cafes is very valuable, it is to be remarked,
that in order to have an annual fall of it, the whole
quantity of ground, whatever its extent may be, ought
to be divided into annual fowings. The exa£l num¬
ber of fowings muft be regulated by the ufes to which
it is intended to be put. Thus if, as in Surrey, flakes,
edders, and hoops are faleable, there ought to be
eight or ten. annual fowings j or, if, as in Kent, hop-
poles are demanded, 1401 15 will be required; and Timber
if, as in Yorklhire, rails be w?anted, or, as in Glou-, Trees-
cefterftiire, cordwrood be moft marketable, 18 or 20 * "'* * *
fow’ings will be neceflary to produce a fucceflion of
annual falls.. Thus the bufinefs, by being divided,
will be rendered lefs burthenfome: a certain propor¬
tion being every year to be done, a regular fet of hands
will, in proper feafon, be employed ; and by begin¬
ning upon a fmall fcale, the errors, of the firll year will
be correfted in the pra&ice of the fecond, and thofe
of the fecond in that of the third.. The produce of
the intervals will fall into regular courfe ; and when
the whole is completed, the falls will follow each other
in regular fucceflion. The greateft objeSion to this
method of fowing woodlands is the extraordinary
trouble in fencing : but this objection does not hold if
the fowings lie at a diftance from one another ; on the
contrary,. if they lie together, or in plots, the entire
plot may be inclofed at once ; and if it contain a num¬
ber of fowings, fome fubdivifions will be neceffary,
and the annual fowings of thefe fubdivifions may be
fenced off with hurdles* or fome other temporary con¬
trivance ;, but if the adjoining land be kept under the
plough, little temporary fencing wiil be neeeffary. It
muft be obferved, however, that in railing a woodland
from feeds, it is not only neceffary to defend the young
plants againft cattle and flieep, but againft hares
and rabbits alfo : fo that a clofe fence of fome kind
is abfolutely neceffary.
With regard to the preparation of the ground for
raifing timber,.it may be obferved, that if the foil be of
a.ftiff clayey nature, it ftiould receive a whole year’s fal¬
low as for wheat; if light, a crop of turnips may
be taken ; , but at ail events it muft be made perfeflly
clean before the tree*feeds be fown, particularly from
perennial root weeds; as,, after the feeds are fown,
the opportunity of performing this neceffary bufinefs-
is in a great meafure loft. If the fituation be moift,,
the foil ftiould be gathered into wide lands* fufficiently
round to let the water run off from the furface, bur
not high. The time of fowing is either the month of ^
Oftober or March ; and the method as follows : “ The-Method of
land being in fine order, and the feafon favourable, thefow‘ng*-
whole fliould be fown with corn or pulfe adapted to
the feafon of fowing: if in autumn,, wdieat or rye-
may be the crop ; but if in Ipring, beans or oats.
Whichever of thefe three fpecies be adopted, the quan¬
tity of feed ought to be lefs than ufual, in order to
give a free admiftion of air,, and prevent the crop
from lodging. The fowling of the grain being com¬
pleted, that of the tree-feeds muft be immediately fet
about. Thefe are .to be put in drills acrofs the land :
acorns and nuts {hould be. dibbled in, but keys and.
berries fcattered in trenches or drills drawn with the
corner of a hoe, in the manner that gardeners fow their,
peafe. The diftance might be a quarter of a ftatute,
rod, or four feet and one inch and a half. A land-
chain {hould be ufed in fetting out the drills, as not.
being liable to be lengthened or ftiorteaed by the wea¬
ther.. It is readily divided into rods ; and the quarters
may be eafily marked..
The fpecies of underwood to be fown muft be
determined by the confumpt of it in the neighbour¬
hood of the plantation. Thus, if flakes, hoops, &c..
be in requeft; the oak} hazel, and aih, are efteemed:
Part II. A G R I C
Timber as underwood. Where charcoal is wanted for iron
* IreCS' . forges, beech is the prevailing underwood. The oak,
' box, birch, &c. are all in requeft in different countries,
and the choice muff be determined by the prevailing
demand. As the keys of the affi fometimes lie two
or even three years in the ground, it will be proper to
have the places where they are fown diftinguifhed by
fome particular marks, to prevent them from being
difturbed by the plough after harveft j as a few beans
fcattered along with them, if the crop be oatsj or oats,
if the crop be beans. The crop ftiould be reaped, not
mowfi, at harveft time, and be carried off as faff as pof-
fible. Between harveft and winter, a pair of furrows
fliould be laid back to back in the middle of each in¬
terval, for meliorating the next year’s crop, and laying
the feedling plants dry j while the flubble of the un¬
ploughed ground on each fide of the drills will keep
them warm during the wdnter. The next year’s crop
may be potatoes, cabbages, turnips, or if the firft was
corn, this may be beans ; if the firft was beans, this
may be wheat drilled. In the fpring of the third year
the drills which rofe the firft year muft be looked over,
and the vacancies filled up from.thofe parts which are
thickeft } but the drills of the afh fliould be let alone
till the fourth year. The -whole fhould afterwards be
looked over from time to time; and this, with culti¬
vating the intervals, and keeping the drills free from
weeds, will be all that is neceffary until the tops of the
plants begin to interfere.
The crops may be continued for feveral years ; and
if they only pay for the expences, they will ftill be of
confiderable advantage by keeping the ground ftirred,
and preferving the plants from hares and rabbits.
Even after the crops are difcontinued, the ground
ought ftill to be ftirred, alternately throwing the
mould to the roots of the plants, and gathering it into
a ridge in the middle of the interval. The beft method
of doing this is to fplit the ground at the approach
of wunter in order to throw it up to the trees on both
fides 3 this will preferve the roots from froft: gather
it again in the fpring, which will check the weeds, and
give a frefh fupply of air: fplit again at midfummer,
to preferve the plants from drought: gather, if necef¬
fary, in autumn, and fplit as before at the approach
of winter. The fpring and midfummer ploughings
ftiould be continued as long as a plough can pafs be
tween the plants.
Whenever the oaks intended for timber are in -dan¬
ger of being drawn up too flender for their height, it
will be neceffary to cut off all the reft at the height of
about an handbreadth above the ground 3 and thofe
defigned to Hand muft now be planted at about two
rods diftant from each other, and as nearly a quin¬
cunx as poflible. The fecond cutting muft be deter¬
mined by the demand there is for the underwood 3
with only this provifo, that -the timber ftands be not
too much crowded by it 3 for rather than this ftiould
be the cafe, the coppice fliould be cut, though the
wood may not have reached its moft profitable ftate.
What is here faid of the method of rearing oak trees
in woods, is in a great meafure applicable to that of
raffing other trees in timber groves. The fpecies mqft
ufually raifed in thefe are the afh, elm, beech, larch,
fpruce fir, Weymouth pine, poplar, willow, alder,
ohefnut, walnut, and cherry. The three laft are ufed
U L T U R E.
as fubftitutes for the oak and beech, and thefe two for
the mahogany.
The following account of the mode of planting that
was adopted by the earl of Fife, for no lefs than 550
acres 01 moorilh lands, is worthy of attention. It is
contained in a letter from his lordfhip to the publiflier
of the. Annals of Agriculture. “Where there are Earl of
ftones in the moor, I inclofe with a ftone wall five feet Fife’s plan-
high, coped with two turfs, which coft about 15s.tationSi
every Scots chain of 24 ells, and where there are no
ftones, which is moftly the cafe in the moors in the coun¬
ty of Murray, I. inclofe with a fence of turf, five feet
high, four feet wide at the foundation, and 22 inches at
top, at 4s. the Scots chain. I find thofe fences anfwer
as well as the ftone, for there are many of them now
above 20 years old, as good as at firft. I plant in every
acre about 1200 trees. I ufed to plant above 3000, but
by experience I find it better not to plant them fo thick,
but make them up, if neceffary, the third year (efpe-
cially m my plantations in the county of Murray),
where fcarcely a tree planted ever fails. The greateft
number of the trees are Scots firs raifed by myfelf,
or purchafed at lod. the thoufand, planted from the
feed-bed at three years old. I only confider them as
nurfes to my other trees, for they are regularly cut out
when they have done their duty as nurfes, and are
profitable lor fire, and ufeful in agriculture. I plant
every other fpecies of foreft trees intermixed with the
firs. I order different pieces of the moor to be trenched
where. the foil is beft, and moft ftieltered, and lay a
little lime and dung on it, and in thefe places I fow
feeds of trees for nurfery. I alfo plant in beds, year-
old trees of different kinds, taken from my other nur-
leries. I nurfe them for three years, and then plant
them a^l over the plantation 1 this I find very benefi¬
cial, as they are raifed in the fame foil. When I am
filling up the plantations, the firs are, for the firft time, »
cut down ; or they are tranfplanted, being raifed with
balls of earth when the moor is wet with rain, which
is very eafily done, and they are carried to inclofures
of ten or twelve acres, where, from a defire pf forward
woods, I.am planting trees more advanced. They are
planted in pits about 40 feet diftance, and feldom or
never fail, and anfwer a fecond time as nurfes.
“ My firft care after the inclofure is properly filled
up, is to guard againft injury from cattle : a fmall
allowance given to a few labourers anfwers that pur-
pofe, and if the fences are properly executed they re¬
quire very little repair. After the plantation is filled
up, the moft regular attention muft be had to the
weeding of it, and this is carried on over my planta¬
tions of all ages in the moft exaft manner; I make
roads through all the plantations which are carried for¬
ward. according to the fituation, never in a ftraight
line 10 .as to draw violent winds, and thofe roads go to
all parts of the plantation 3 they make agreeable rides
through fine woods, formerly a bleak moor, and an¬
fwer not only for filling up, but alfo for carrying away
the neceffary weedings. As I obferved before, the va¬
lue and profperity of the wood depends upon the unre-
nfttted attention in weeding -it.
•“.I begin to plant, in Oftober, and eontinue till
April. If the weather is frofty and not fit for planting,
all the people are employed in weeding the woods.”
It is proper, however, upon this fubjeft to remark,
3^3 that
484
Cattle pro.
per to be
employed.
557
Where
plantations
are eligible
or other-
wife.
A G R I C U
that the value of plantations of timber trees, as conneft-
ed with other branches of agriculture, is not a little li¬
mited. In a mountainous country, and in bleak moor-
ifli fituations, nothing tends more to increale the value
of the foil, than plantations properly diftributed. They
give (helter both to the cattle and to. the corn
crops ; and by preventing the warmth which is pro¬
duced by proper manures, and by the germination of
vegetables, from being diffipated, they give effba to all
the efforts of induftry. Accordingly, in fuch fituations,
plantations are no fooner reared, than the whole lace
of the country around them affumes an improving af-
pe£t, and difplays a richer verdure. When fuddenly
cut down, in confequence of the neceflities of an impro¬
vident proprietor, the reverfe of all this occurs. Ve¬
getation is chilled by the piercing blafts which now
meet with no refiftance, and the cattle droop from want
of (belter ^ fo that in a few years the place can fcarceiy
be known. But the cafe is very difi'erent with regard
to a rich and level country that is meant to be culti-
L T U R E. Pradice.
vated for corn. There the effea of numerous planta-Cattle pro-
tions, of high trees and lofty hedge rows, is altogether e!j“^
diftreffmg to the hufbandman. It is only in open fields; —
that grain appears well ripened and completely fihed.
When furrounded with timber trees, on the contrary,
it ripens ill, and is ill coloured and unequal. In fpring
the high ftteiter prevents the grounds from drying,
and keeps back the labour. In fummer the crop is
liable to difeafes from want of air, and is devoured by
large flocks of fmall birds. In autumn, from want of
a free circulation of air the corn ripens late, and in a
weeping climate it can never be gathered in good con¬
dition. ^ In wet feafons it is utterly ruined. In win¬
ter, when the fnow is drifting about, the trees prepare
a refting place for large quantities of it } tlieie fre¬
quently remain and flop the fpring work. Add to
this, that in a low country even the cattle are hurt by
the fwarms of vermin that are bred, and come fort it,
under the fhelter of lofty trees and high fences.
PART HI. OF THE CATTLE PROPER TO BE EOTLOYED IN FARM WORK i REAR-
ING AND MANAGEMENT OF THEM. OF HOGS, POULIRf, &c. Or 1HE TAIKY.
MAKING OF FRUIT LIQUORS. OFFENCES.
Sect. I. Of the Cattle proper to be employed.
AS great part of the flock of a hufbandman muff al¬
ways confift of cattle, and as one of his principal
expences muff confift of the maintenance of them,
this part of his bufinefs is certainly to be looked upon
as extremely important. I he cattle belonging to a
a farm may be divided into two claffes, viz. fuch as aie
intended for work, and fuch as are defigned ioi lale.
The former are- now principally horfes, the oxen, ibr-
merly employed being fallen into difule, though it does
-;3 not yet certainly appear that the reafons for the ex-
TVTr Ke- change are fatisfabfory. In the fecond volume of Bath
dington’s papers, wc have an account of a comparative experi-
experirnent men£ fpe utility of horfes and oxen in hufbandry by
parative™' Mr Keddington near Bury in Suffolk, in .which the
utility of preference is decifively given to oxen. He informs us,
horfes and that at the time he began the experiment (in 1779),
oxen. ]!e -was almoft certain that there was not an ox worked
in the whole county finding, however, the.expence of
horfes very great, he purchafed a {ingle pair of oxen,
but found much difficulty in breaking them, as the
workmen were fo much prejudiced againft tnem, that
they would not take the proper pains. At laft he
met with a labourer who undertook the tafk 5 and the
oxen “ foon became as traftable and as handy, both at
ploughing - and carting, as any horfes.On this he
determined to part with all his cart-horfes i and by the
time he wrote his letter, which was in 1781, he had
not a ftngle horfe, nor any more than fix oxen } which
inconfiderable number performed with eafe all the work
of his farm (eonfifting of upwards of 100 acres of
arable land and 60'of pafture and wood)-, befides the
ftatute duty on the highways, timber and corn cart¬
ing, harrowing, rolling,-and every part of rural bu¬
finefs.- They are conftantly {hoed j their harnefs“is
the fame as that of horfes (excepting the neceffary al¬
terations for difference of fize and ffiape) 3 they are
driven- with bridles and bits in their mouths, anfwer-
ing to the fame words of the ploughman and carter
as horfes will do. A fingle man holds the plough, and
drives a pair of oxen with reins : and our author in¬
forms us, that they will plough an acre .of ground in
lefs than eight hours time he is of opinion that they
could do it in feven. I he intervals oi a fmall plan¬
tation, in which the trees are fet in rows ten feet aiun-
der, are ploughed by a fingle ox with a light plough,
and he is driven by the man who holds it. The oxen
go in a cart either fingle, or one, two, or tnree, ac¬
cording to the load. Four oxen will draw 80 bufhels
of barley or oats in a waggon with eafe ; and if good
of their kind, will travel as faft as horfes with the fame
load. One ox will draw 40 bufhels in a light cart,
which our author thinks is the heft carriage of any.
On the whole, he prefers oxen to horfes for the follow¬
ing reafons. . 559
I. They are kept at much lefs expence, never, eating Reafons for
meal or corn of any kind. In winter they fed P^rrmg
with ftraw, turnips, carrots, or cabbages 5 or inftead^orfes.
of the three laft, they have each a peck of bran per
day while kept conftantly at work. In the fpring
they eat hay } and if working harder than ufual in
feed-time, they have bran befides. When the vetches
are fit for mowing, they get them only in the liable.
After the day’s work in fummer they have a imall
bundle of Fay, and Hand in the liable till they cool ;
after which they are turned into the pafture. Our au¬
thor is of opinion, that an ox may be maintained m
condition for the fame ccnftant work as a hone, for
at leaft 4I. lefs annually.
2. After a horfe is feven years old, his value de¬
clines every year t, and when lame, blind, or. very old,
he is fcarce worth any thing-, but an ox, in any oi
th^fe fituations, maybe fatted, and fold for even more
than the firft purchafe j and will always be fat foone>
after work than before.
q. Oxen are lefs liable to diieafes than hones.
4. Horfes are frequently liable to be fpoiled by er-
* vants
Part III.
A G R I C U
Cattle pro¬
per to be
employed
55°
Difficulty
in fhoeing
oxen.
5^1
Mr Mar-
ffiall’s cal
eolations.
A million
annually
left by
keeping
liorfes.
vants riding them without their mailer’s knowledge,
which is not the cafe with oxen.
5. A general ufe of oxen would make beef plenti¬
ful, and confequently all other meat; which would be
a national benefit.
Mr Ked.ington concludes his paper with acknow¬
ledging, that there is one inconvenience attending the
ufe of oxen, viz. that it is difficult to Ihoe them ;
though even this, he thinks, is owing rather to the
unlkilfulnefs of the fmiths who have not been accuf-
tomed to Ihoe thefe animals, than to any real difficulty.
Pie confines them in a pound wffiile the operation is
performing.
Mr Marffiall, in his Rural Economy of the Midland
Counties, {hows the advantage of employing oxen in
preference to horfes from the mere article of expence,
which, according to his calculation, is enormous on the
part of the horfes. He begins with ellimating the
number of fquare miles contained in the kingdom of
England ; and this he fuppofes to be 30,000 of culti¬
vated ground. Suppofmg the work of hulhandry to
be done by horfes only, and each fquare mile to em¬
ploy 20 horfes, which is about 3 to too acres, the
whole number ufed throughout Britain would be
600,000 ; from which deducting one fixth for the num¬
ber of oxen employed at prefent, the number of horfes
juft now employed will be 500,000. Admitting that
each horfe works ten years, the number of farm-horfes
which die annually are no fewer than 50,000 ; each of
Which requires full four years keep before he is fit for
wmrk. Horfes indeed are broke in at three, fome at
two, years old, but they are, or ought to be, indulged
in keep and work till they are fix ; fo that the coft
of rearing and keeping may be laid at full four ordi-
nary years. For all this confumption of vegetable pro¬
duce he returns not the community a Angle article of
food, clothing, or commerce j even his ikin for eco¬
nomical purpofes being barely worth the taking off.
By working horfes in the affairs of hulhandry, there-
fore, “ the community is lofing. annually the amount
of 200,000 years keep of a growing horfe j” which at
the low eftimate of five pounds a-year, amounts to a
million annually. On the contrary, fuppofing the bu-
finefs of hulhandry to be done folely by cattle, and
admitting that oxen may be fatted with the fame ex¬
penditure of vegetable produce as that which old horfes
require to fit them for full work, and that inftead of
50,000 horfes dying, 50,000 oxen, of no more than
52 Hone each, axe annually llaughtered j it is evident
that a quantity of beef nearly equal to what the city
of London confumes would be annually brought into
the market 5 or, in other words, 100,000 additional
inhabitants might be fupplied with one pound of ani-
mal. food a-day each ; and this without confuming one
additional blade of grafs. “ I am far from expefling
(fays Mr Marlhall), that cattle will, in a Ihort fpace
of time, become the univerfal beafts of draught in huf-
bandry 5 nor will I contend, that under the prefent
circumllances of the illand they ought in ftridl pro¬
priety to be ufed. But I know that cattle, under
proper management, and kept to a proper age, are
equal to every work of hulhandry, in "moft, if not all
lunations : And I am certain, that a much greater
proportion than there is at prefent might be worked
t\itn confiderable advantage, not to the community
L T U R E. 48 jv
only, but to the owners and occupiers of lands. If Cattle pro-
only one of the 50,000 carcales now loft annually to Per t0 be
the community could be reclaimed, the faving would ,emply'e(\
be an objedt.” '
In Norfolk, our author informs us, that horfes are No oxen
the only beafts of labour j and that there is not per-ufed.in
haps one ox worked throughout the whole county.Nortuik’
It is the fame in the Vale of Gloucerter, though oxen 5<y4
are ufed in the adjoining counties. Formerly fomeObjeaion
oxen were worked in it double j but, they were foundt0 tIiem in „
to poach the land too much, and were therefore given p,e Va!,e 0^
up. Even when worked lingle, the fame objection is "U"e Ci*
made :. but, fays Mr Marlhall, “ in this I fufpecl there
is a fpice of obftinacy in the old way 5 a want of a
due portion of the fpirit of improvement 5 a kind of
indolence. It might not perhaps be too fevere to fay
of the Vale farmers, that they would rather be eaten
up by their horfes than ftep out of the beaten track
to avoid them.” Shoeing oxen with whole Ihoes, in
our author’s opinion, might remedy the evil complained
of 5 “ but if not, let thofe (fays he) who are advo¬
cates for oxen, calculate the comparative difference
in wear and keep, and thofe who are their enemies
eftimate the comparative mifehiefs of treading ; and thus
decide upon their value as beafts of labour in the Vale.”
In the Cotfwold oxen are worked as well as horfes j Ufed in the
but the latter, our author fears, are Hill in the pro- Cotfwold.
portion of two to one : he has the fatisfaflion to find,
however, that the former are coming into more gene¬
ral ufe. They are worked in harnefs ; the collar and
harnefs being ufed as for horfes, not reverfed, as in
moft cafes they are for oxen. “ They appear (fays our
author) to be perfe&ly handy 5 and work, either at
plough or cart, in a manner which {hows, that although
horfes may be in fome cafes convenient, and in moft cafes
pleafurable to the driver, they are by no means necef-
fary to hulhandry. A convenience ufed in this coun-Mo4?fhIe
try is a moveable harnefs-houfe with a {ledge bottom, harnefs-*
which is drawn from place to place as occafion may re-houfes.
quire. Thus no labour is loft either by the oxen or
their drivers.
In Yorklhire oxen are Hill ufed, though in much why^L
fewer numbers than formerly 5 but our author does not ufe of oxen
imagine this to be any decifive argument agahift theiris decIinirg
utility. The Yorklhire plough was formerly of fuch^ York'
an unwieldy conftrudlion, that four or fix oxen, m Ure'
yokes, led by two horfes, were abfolutely requifite to
draw it 5 but the improvements in the conftrudlion of
the plough have of late been fo great, that two horfes
are found to be fufficient for the purpofe 5 fo that as
Yorklhire has all along been famous for its breed of
horfes, we are not to wonder at the prefent difufe of
oxen. Even in carriages they are now much difufed -
but Mr Marffiall affigns as a reafon for this, that the
roads were formerly deep in winter, and foft to the
hoof in fummer ; but now they are univerfally a caufe-
w'ay of hard limeftones, which hurt the feet of oxen
even when fhod. Thus it even appears matter of fur-
pi fe to our author that fo many oxen are employed
in this county 5 and the employment of them at ail is
to him a convincing argument of their utility as beafts
of draught. The timber carriers Hill continue to ufe
them, even though their employment be folely upon
the ^ road. They find them not only able to Hand
working every day, provided their feet do not fail them,
but
48
o A G R I C U
Cattle pro-but to bear long hours better than horfes going in the
ptj- to be fame pafture. An ox in a good pafture foon fills his
employedand ijes down to reft,; but a horfe can fcarce
^ fatisfy his hunger in a (hort fummer’s night. Oxen are
Superiority alfo cpnficlered as much fuperior at a difficult pull to
of'oKeato borfes; but this he is willing to fuppofe arifes from
horfes. -their ufmg half-bred hunters in Yorkihire, and not the
true breed of cart horfes. “ But wffiat (fays he) are
thorough-brei) cart horfcs ? Why, a fpecies of ftrong,
heavy, fluggiffi animals, adapted folely to the purpofe
of draught,; and according to the prefent law of the
country, cannot, -without an annual expence, which
pobody beftows -upon them, be ufed for any other pur¬
pofe. This fpecies -of hearts of draught coft at four
years old from 20I. to 30I. They will, with ex¬
travagant keep, extraordinary care and attendance,
and much good luck, continue to labour eight or ten
years ; and may then generally be fold for five (hil¬
lings a-head. If we had no other fpecies of animals
adapted to the purpofes of draught in the ifland, cart
horfes would be very valuable, they being much fu¬
perior to the breed of faddle horfes for the purpofe of
draught. But it appears evident, that were only a
fraall (hare of the attention paid to the breeding of
draught oxen which is now beftowed on the breeding
of cart borfes, animals equally powerful, more aftive,
lefs coftly, equally adapted to the purpofes of huffian-
dry if harneffed with equal judgment, lefs expenfive in
keep and attendance, much more durable, and infi¬
nitely more valuable after they have finiffied their la¬
bours, might be produced. A fteer, like a colt, ought
to be familiarized to bamefs at two or three years old,
but ffiould never be fubje&ed to hard labour until he
be five years old; from which age until he be 15 or
perhaps 20, he may be confidered as in his prime as a
beaft of draught. An ox which I worked feveral years
in Surrey, might at 17 or 18 years of age have chal¬
lenged for ftrength, agility, and %acity, the heft bred
cart horfe in the kingdom.
Notwithftanding all that has been faid, however,
everywhere and wr;tten about the fuperiority of oxen to horfes,
over'oxen. the latter are ftill coming into more general ufe, efpe-
cially in proportion as the breed of horfes improves ;
and we may add, in proportion as the date of cultiva¬
tion in any part of the country improves. The reafon
is obvious. The horfe is a more a&iv.e animal than
the ox, and can be turned with greater readinefs from
one kind of work to another. His hoof is lefs readily
injured by the hardnefs of good roads ; and for the ufe
of the plough upon a well-ordered farm, there is no
companion between the two kinds of animals. Where
land is once brought into a proper ftate of tillage, it is
eafily turned over; and the value of the animal em¬
ployed in doing fo confifts not fo much in the poftef-
lion of great ftrength as in the a&ivity which he exerts
jn going over a great extent of ground in a ihort time.
In this laft refpeft, a good breed of horfes fo far fur-
paffes every kind of oxen yet known in this .country,
that we fufpeft much the horfe will ftill continue to be
preferred by enterprifing hufbandmen.
With regard to the lofs which the public is fuppo-
fed to fuftain by preferring horfes to oxen, that point
has of late been rendered, to fay no more, extremely
doubtful. In the Agricultural Survey of the county
pf Northumberland, we have the following compara-
3
Horfes are
L T U R E. Praaice.
tive ftatement between horfes and oxen, for the pur- Cattle pro-
pofe of the draught“ By way of preliminary, it will P" ^
be neceffary to admit as data, that a horfe which eats, 
70 buftiels of oats per year, will not conlume of other
food fo much as an ox that gets no corn ; but in the Calcula-
following eftimate we ftiall allow horfes to eat as much
as oxen, as the difference is not yet fufficiently afcer-^ oj.
tained. horfes.
“ That the oxen are yoked at three years pld, and
are worked till fix, and for the firft year require eight
to do the work of two horfes; but after having been
worked a year, and become traftable and ftronger, fix
are equal to two horfes, either by being yoked three at
a time, or two, and driven by tbe holder with cords ;
of courfe, the expence of a driver may be eftimated to
be faved for one half the year.
“ That the expences of a ploughman, the plough,
and other articles that are the fame in both teams- need
not be taken into the account.
“And that oxen to work regularly through the yeaE,
qannot work more than half a day at a time'1.
Expence of an Ox per annum.
Summering.—-Grafs 2 acres at 20s. per
acre
Wintering.—On ftr&w and tur¬
nips L. 2 o O
But if on hay 400
L.2
The average is
300
B. 5 00
Intereft at 5 per cent, for price of the ox 010 O
Harnefs, ffioeing, &c.
Deduft for the increafed value of an ox
for 1 year
Gives the expence per annum of an ox for
the team
And the expence of 6 oxen
To which muft be added the expence of a
driver for half a year
o 15 o
650
100
5 5 0
31 10 o
3 10 o
Total expence of a team of 6 oxen B. 35 o o
An Eight-Ox team.
The expence *of an ox per annum .being B. 5 5 G
That of eight will be
To which £ffid the expence of a driver
42 o Q
800
Gives the expence per annum of anl^^ 0 0
eight-ox team J
Therefore the expence of a team of oxen
for -the firft year will be - B.. 50 o o
Bitto the fecond year - - 35 0 0
Ditto the third year - - 35 0 0
Divided by
3)120 o „p
Part III.
Gattle pro-
per to be Divided by
employed. ^
A G R I C
Brought over,
3)120 o
U L T U R E.
487
Gives the average expence per annum 1
of an ox team from 3 to 6 years old J ’ 4°
Expence of a horfe per annum.
Summering.—Grafs 2 acres at 20s. per
acre - - L. 2 o
Wintering.—Straw 13 weeks at pd. per
week - - o 10
Hay 16 ditto 14 tons at 2l. 3 o
Corn (for a year) 70 bufhels of oats at 2I. 7 o
Shoeing and harnefs - - i o
Annuity to pay off 25I. in 16 years the
purchafe value of the horfe at four years^
old - - 2 5
Expence of a horfe per annum-
Expence of a two-horfe team
L*i5 15
L.31 10
“ If a three horfe-team be ufed, the ac¬
count will ftand thus : ♦
The expence of a horfe per annurji being L. 15 15
Thatr of three will be -
To which add the expence of a driver
47 5
8 o
Gives the expence of a three-horfe team L. 55 5 a
“ If the comparifon be made with the horfe team of
many of the midland counties, where they ufe five-horfes
yoked one before another in one plough, the account will
Hand thus :
I he expence of one horfe per annum be-
ing - - - L.15 15 o
5
L. 96 15 c
That of five will be -- - 78 15 o
To which add the expence of a man to drive 18 o 0
The expence of a'team of five horfesl
will be f
ditto of 3 ditto
ditto of 2 ditto
ditto of 81 oxen
The average expence of an' ox-team from
three to fix years old, that will do the
fame quantity of work as two horfes
55
31
50
5
10
©
40
“ The conclufions to be drawn from the above fiate-
ment, are fo obvious as to need little elucidation. But
we cannot help remarking, how ftrong the force of pre¬
judice muft be, to continue the ufe of five horfes, and
heavy, clumfy, unwieldy wheel ploughs, where a fingle
/wing plough and two horfes yoked double, and driven
by the holder,.. w7ould do the fame quantity of work,,
equally well and at one half of the expence.”
“ But before any proper conclufion can be drawm,
whether ox teams or horfe are the molt eligible, it will
be neceflary to confider, whether the quantity of land
employed in fupporting thofe animals, be ufed in the Different
moil profitable mode to the community, as well as to uin<r£
the occupier. , or es‘ .
“ With the latter, the firft queftion for confidera-
tion is, whether eight oxen ufed in the team or in graz¬
ing will pay him the moft money ?
“ Suppofe eight oxen, at three years old, were put
to the plough, and plough fix acres per week, which,,
at 3s. 4d. per acre, is 20s. j and if they work forty-eight
weeks in a year, their whole earnings (after deducing
61. for expences of harnefs, (hoeing, &c.) -will be 42I.; *
but if they plough, only five acres per week (w hich ia
probably nearer the truth), then their whole earnings
will be only 34].
“ The fame oxen put to graze at the fame money
(hould improve in value 5I. 5s. each In the firll cafe, and
4I. 5s. in the latter j but we are inclined to believe
there are few fituations, if the cattle are of a good
quick-feeding kind,, where they would not pay confi-.
derably more..
“ In refpeft to the community, the account will be
nearly as follows :
“ From the above ftatements, we find that an ox for
fummering and wintering requires 34 acres
Therefore a fix-ox team will require 21 ditto
And two horfes for grafs and hay per annum
require - - -
For corn and draw
Land neceffary for keeping twro horfes per
annum - - - 11 ditto.
ditto
ditto
The difference in the quantity of land re¬
quired for a team of oxen more than horfes 10 ditto.
“ Hence it appears, that a team of fix oxen requires
ten acres more land to maintain them, than a team of
two horfes, which wull do the fame work j and of courfo
the produce which might be derived from thefe ten
acres is loft to the community. Suppofe it be one half
in graft, the other half in tillage, then we {hall have
<(r'5 Acres of clover or graft,
14 Ditto of oats,
14 Ditto of turnips or fallow,
14 Ditto of wheat.
“ It would then fend to market yearly, at the lowed
computation,
74 cwt: of beef,
8 quarters of oats,.
And 5 ditto of wheat.
“ From this view of the fubje<ft, it appears that if
oxen were univerfally ufed for the draught, in the room
of horfes, there wTould be a confiderable defalcation, in
the fupply of the markets, both in corn and animal food.
And the loft to the farmer would be the profit deriv¬
ed from the produce ; which, by the ufual mode of al¬
lowing one third for the farmer’s profit, would in this
cafe be about 10I.”
Sect. II. Of the different kinds of Horfes, and the-
Aiethod of Breeding, Rearing, and Feeding them.
571
The midland counties of England have for fome Account of
time been celebrated on account of their breed of the t^ie
black cart-horfe ; though Mr Marftiall is of opinion that carL~^01^
this kind are unprofitable as beads of draught in huf-
bandry,
AGRICULTURE.
573
Horfes de¬
longing to
Mr Bake-
well defcri.
bed.
. 573
Prices of
ft allions.
S74
Mr Mar-
ftiall’s ob-
fervations
on breed¬
ing horfes.
bandry. Tbe prefent improvement in the breed took
its rife from fix Zealand mares fent over by the late
Lord Chefterfield during his embaffy at the Hague.
Thefe mares being lodged at his lordlhip’s feat at Bret-
by in Derbylhire, the breed of horfes thus became
improved in that county, and for feme time it took
the lead for the fpecies of thefe animals. As the
irriproved breed palfed into Leicefterfhire, however,
through fome unknown circumftances, it became Hill
more improved, and Leicefter has for fome time taken
the le^d. It is now found, however, that the very
large horfes formerly bred in this diftridf are much lefs
ufeful than fuch as are of a ftnaller fize. Mr Marlhall
deferibes in magnificent terms one of thefe large horfes,
a ftallion belonging to Mr Bakewell named K (0>
which, he fays, was the handfomeft horfe he ever faw.
“ He was (fays he) the fancied war-horfe of the
German painters; who, in the luxuriance of imagi¬
nation, never perhaps excelled the natural grandeur of
this horfe. A man of moderate fize feemed to fhrink
behind his fore end, which rofe fo perfeftly upright,
his ears flood (as Mr Bakewell fays every horfe’s ears
ought to Hand) perpendicularly over his fore feet. It
ipay be faid, with little latitude, that in grandeur and
fymmetry of form, viewed as a pifturable objedt, he
exceeded as far the horfe which this fuperior breeder
had the honour of Ihowing to his Majefty, and which
was afterwards Ihown publicly at London, as that horfe
does the meaneft of the breed.” A more ufeful horfe,
bred alfo by Mr Bakewell, however, is deferibed as
having “ a thick carcafe, his back fhort and ftraight,
and his legs Ihort and clean ; as ftrong as an ox, yet
adlive as a poney ; equally fuitable for a cart or a light¬
er carriage.”
The ftallions in this county are bred either by farm¬
ers or by perfons whofe bufinefs it is to breed them,
and who therefore have the name of breeders. Thefe
laft either cover with themfelves, or let them out
to others for the feafon, or fell them altogether to flal-
lion-men who travel about with them to different
places.—The prices given for them are from 50 to
200 guineas by purchafe *, from 40 to 80 or a hun¬
dred by the feafon j or from half a guinea to two gui¬
neas by the mare. The mares are moftly kept by the
farmers, and are worked until near the times of foal¬
ing, and moderately afterwards while they fuckle : the
beft time for foaling is fuppofed to be the month of
March or April •, and the time of weaning that of
November.—44 The price of foals (fays Mr Marlhall),
for the lalt ten years, has been from five to ten pounds .
or guineas j for yearlings, 10 to 15 or 20} for two-
year-olds, 15 to 25 or 30 } for fix year-olds, from 25
to 40 guineas.”-—Our author acknowledges that this
breed of horfes, confidered abftradledly in the light in
which they appear here, are evidently a profitable fpe¬
cies of live Hock, and as far as there is a market for
fix-years-old horfes of this breed, it is profitable to
agriculture. 44 But (fays he) viewing the bufinefs ol*
agriculture in general, not one occupier in ten can
partake of the profit} and being kept in agriculture
after they have reached that profitable age, they be-
Pra&ice,
come indifputably one of its heavieft burdens. For Different
befides a ceffation of improvement of four or five gui- Hinds of
neas a-year, a decline in value of as much yearly takes , Ho‘ie's' f
place. Even the brood-mares, after they have palled
that age, may, unlefs they be of a very fuperior qua¬
lity, be deemed unprofitable to the farmer.”
Our author complains that the ancient breed of Nor- Norfolk
folk horfes is almoft entirely worn out. They were j?re.ecl
fmall, brown-muzzled, and light boned } but they cn et *
could endure very heavy work with little food } two
of them were found quite equal to the plough in the
foil of that county, which is not deep. The prefent
breed is produced by a crofs with the large one of Lin- ^
colnlhire and Leicefterlhire already mentioned. He Suffolk and
approves of the Suffolk breed, which (he fays) are a Gloucefter
44 half-horfe half-hog race of animals, but better a-breeds,
dapted to the Norfolk hulhandry than the Leicelter-
Ihire breed : their principal fault, in his opinion, is a
flatnefs of the rib.—In the Vale of Gloucefter moll
farmers rear their own plough-horfes, breeding of
horfes not being pra&ifed. They are of a very ufeful
kind, the colour moftly black, inclinable to tan co¬
lour, fliort and thick in the barrel, and low on their
legs. The price of a fix-year-old horfe frdm 25I. to
35I. Some cart-horfes are bred in Cotfwold hills}
the mares are worked till the time of foaling, but
not while they fuckle } and the foals are weaned early,
while there is plenty of grain upon the ground.
Yorkfhire, which has been long celebrated for its Yorkfliire
breed of horfes, ftill Hands foremoft in that refpedl horfes.
among the Englifh counties. It is principally remark¬
able for the breed of faddle-horfes, which cannot be rear¬
ed in Norfolk, though many attempts have been made
for that purpofe. Yorkfliire ftallions are frequently fent
into Norfolk} but though the foals may be handfome
when young, they lofe their beauty when old. In
Yorkfliire, on the other hand, though the foal be ever
fo unpromifing, it acquires beauty, ftrength, and acti¬
vity as it grows up. Mr Marfliall fuppofes that from
five to ten thoufand horfes are annually bred up be¬
tween the eaftern Morelands and the Humber.
44 Thirty years ago (fays Mr Marfliall), ftrong fad¬
dle-horfes, fit for the road only, were bred in the
Vale } but now the prevailing breed is the faftiionable
coach-horfe, or a tall, ftrong, and over-fized hunter
and the fliows of ftallions in 1787 were flat and fpirit-
lefs in comparifon wTith thofe of 1783.” The black
cart-horfe, an objeft of Mr Mar {hall’s peculiar aver-
fion, is alfo coming into the Vale.
In the breeding of horfes he complains greatly of
the negligence of the Yorkftiire people, the mares
being almoft totally neglefted } though in the brute
creation almoft every thing depends upon the female.
Of late years a very valuable breed of horfes has Lanarkfhire
been reared in the upper part of Clydefdale or Lanatk- breed of
{hire. They are of a middle fize, wTell ftiaped, and ex-~hodes.
tremely a&ive. They are not fit for a very heavy
draught, but the very quick ftep which they poffefs
gives them a decided preference for the ufe of the
plough upon well cultivated lands, as they are capable
of going over an immenfe quantity of ground in a ftiort-
time
(qj Mr Bakewell diftin gui flies all his horfes, bulls, and rams, by the letters of the alphabet.
2
Part III.
A G R I C
Different
Kinds of
Horfes.
S19
Nortolk
manage¬
ment of
horfes re-
rommend-
ed.
580
'This me¬
thod fol¬
lowed in
many pla¬
ces in Scot
land.
581
Calcula¬
tions of the
expence of
keeping
horfes.
time where the draught is not fevere. The fame qua¬
lities render them highly ufeful for the ordinary pur-
j poles of farm-work. They are rapidly fpreading over
all parts of the country, and have found their -way into
the north of England where they are greatly valued.
In the fame part of the country, a larger breed has
alfo of late been encouraged, which adds very con-
fiderable ftrength or power to the a&ivity of the
former kind. They are in great requelt about Glaf-
gow and other manufafturing towns. Their ufual
draught is a load of about 24 cwt. in addition to the
cart on which the load is placed.
With regard to the general maintenance of horfes,
wre have already mentioned feveral kinds of food upon
which experiments have been made with a view to de¬
termine the moft profitable mode of keeping them.
Perhaps, however, the moft certain method of afeer-
taining this matter is by obferving the practice of thofe
counties where horfes are moft in ufe. Mr Marlhall
recommends the Norfolk management of horfes as the
cheapeft method of feeding them praftifed anywhere ;
which, however, he feems willing to aferibe in a great
meafure to the excellency of their breed. In the win¬
ter months, when little work is to be done, their only
rack-meat is barley-ftraw ; a referve of clover-hay be¬
ing ufually made againft the hurry of feed-time. A
bulhel of corn in the moft bufy feafon is computed to
be an ample allowance for each horfe, and in more
leilure times a much lefs quantity fuffices. Oats, and
fometimes barley, when the latter is cheap and unfale-
able, are given 5 but in this cafe the barley is generally
malted, z. <?. fteeped and afterwards fpread abroad for
a few days, until it begin to vegetate, at which time
it is given to the horfes, when it is fuppofed to be lefs
heating than in its natural ftate. Chaff is univerfally
mixed with horfe-corn : the great quantities of corn
grown in this county afford in general a fufficiency
ol natural chaff 5 fo that cut chaff is not much in ufe :
the chaff, or rather the awns of barley, which in fome
places are thrown as ufelefs to the dunghill, are here
in good efteem as provender. Oat-chaff is defervedly
confidered as being of much inferior quality.—It may
here be remarked, that this method of keeping horfes
which Mr Marlhall approves of in the Norfolk farm-
ers, is praftifed, and probably has been fo from time
immemorial, in many places of the north of Scotland ;
and is found abundantly fufticient to enable them to
go through the labour required. In fummer they are
in Norfolk kept out all night, generally in clover leys,
and in fummer their keep is generally clover only, a
few tares excepted.
In the fourth volume of the Annals of Agriculture,
Mr Young gives an account of the expence of keep¬
ing horfes ; which, notwithftanding the vaft numbers
kept in the iftand, feems ftill to be very indeterminate,
as the informations he received varied no lefs than from
81. to 25I. a-year» From accounts kept on his own
farm of the expence of horfes kept for no other pur-
pofe than that of agriculture, he ftated them as follows :
1763 Six horfes coft per horfe
1764 Seven do.
1765 Eight do.
1766 Sixdo. - -
Average on the whole ill. 12s. 3d.
Vol. I. Part II.
L.
10
8
M
12
o
11
6
9
U L T U R E. 489
Ey accounts received from Horthmims in Hereford- Different
Kinds of
Horfes.
fliire, the expences flood as follow
1768 Expence per horfe
1769
1770
1771
1772
ills
*774
ills
1776
Average 16I. 13s. id.
L. s.
20 7
15 8
14 14
15 13
18
x5
x4
19
4
11
4
o
16 14
d.
o
5
2
3
o
8
5
5
S
On thefe difeordant accounts Mr Young obferves,
undoubtedly with juftice, that many of the extra ex¬
pences depend on the extravagance of the fervants 3
while fome of the apparent favings depend either on
their careleffnefs, or Jlealing provender to their beafts
privately, which will frequently be done. He con¬
cludes, however, as follows : “ The more exadlly the
expence of horfes is examined into, the more advan¬
tageous will the ufe of oxen be found. Every day’s
experience convinces me more and more of this. If
horfes kept for ufe alone, and nqt for fhow, have pro¬
ved thus expenfive to me, what muft be the expence
to thofe farmers who make their fat fleek teams an ob¬
ject of vanity ? It is eafier conceived than calculated.
It muft be obferved, however, that the above trials Ufe of roots
or accounts are of an old date 3 and that during the late for feeclillg
dearth a variety of experiments were made, which drew ho1 fes*
that horfes may be faccefsfully fed, even when engaged
in hard labour, with other articles than grain. With
this view, different roots have been given them as fub-
ftitutes 3 and a great faving has been experienced, at¬
tended with no lofs of labour or difadvantage to the
animal : fo that the continuance and extenfion of this
fyrtem is a matter of much importance to the public.
The articles that have been chiefly employed are turnips,
roota baga, potatoes, carrots, &c—Turnips have been
given in a raw ftate, withholding about one half of the
ufual allowance of cojn, and in moft inftances the ani¬
mals have done their work well, and appeared in good
condition. When the roota baga has been ufed, little
or no grain has been neceffary, and the other roots
already mentioned have been fuccefsfully ufed even in
a raw ftate 3 but when potatoes, yams, roota baga, &c.
are boiled, which has fometimes been done, it does not
appear that grain is at all neceflary. It is to be obfer¬
ved, that young horfes eat thefe roots readily and with
great relifti 3 and that during the winter, with them
and a fmall portion of dry food, they are kept in as good
condition and fpirit as when fed upon grafs during the
fummer. This is a matter of much importance to young
animals, as it muft contribute greatly to their growth
and future ftrength. Whereas, in a great majority of
cales, when reared without the aid of thefe roots, they
are fed in winter, when fubftantial food is meft neceffary
to fupport them againft the feverity of the weather, in
fuch a manner as to be barely kept alive. During the
winter months their growth is thus itopt 3 they lofe the
little flefh they had acquired dunng the preceding fum¬
mer, become ftinted and hide-bound, and, when the
fpring arrives, they are in fo miferable a ftate, that a
confiderable part even of the fummer elapfes before they
3 can
49°
Breeding
and Feed
ing ot
Black Cat
A G R
can refume their growth. In this way,
" years are required to bring them to the lize that others
of the fame fpecies attain in half that time under dif-
l c u L T
four or five thumberland.
"tIe. ferent management.
Sect. III. Of the Breeding and Rearing of Black
Cattle.
58.3
A hornlefs
breed of
black cat-
for work.
S84
Properties
These are reared for two different purpofes, viz.
work, and fattening for daughter. For the former
tle^defirable PurP0^e3 Mr Marlhall remarks, that it is obvioufly ne-
ceffary to procure a breed without horns. This he
thinks would be no difadvantage, as horn^ though for¬
merly an article of fome requeft, is now of very little
value. The horns are quite ufelefs to cattle in their
domellic Hate, though nature has bellowed them upon
them as weapons of defence in their wild Hate \ and
our author is of opinion that it would be quite prac¬
ticable to produce a hornlefs breed of black cattle as
well as of iheep, which lalt has been done by atten¬
tion and perfeverance } and there are now many horn¬
lefs breeds of thefe creatures in Britain. Nay, he in¬
fills, that there are already three or four breeds of
hornlefs cattle in the ifiand } or that there are many
kinds of which numbers of individuals are hornlefs,
and from thefe, by proper care and attention, a breed
might be formed. The firlt Hep is to feledl females j
and having obferved their imperfedlions, to endeavour
to corredt them by a wrell chofen male.
The other properties of a perfedl breed of black cat-
requifite in tie for the purpofes of the dairy as -well as others,
black cat- t)Ug}1t, according to Mr Marlhall, to be as follorv :
t^e' l. The head fmall and clean, to lellen the quantity of
offal. 2. The neck thin and clean, to lighten the fore¬
end, as well as to leffen the collar, and make it fit
clofe and eafy to the animal in work. 3. The car-
cafe large, the chell deep, and the bofom broad, with
the ribs Handing out full from the fpine j to give
ilrength of frame and conilitution, and to admit of
the interlines being lodged within the ribs. 4. The
fhoulders Ihould be light of bone, and rounded off at
the lower point, that the collar may be eafy, but
broad to give ftrength j and wrell covered with fielh
for the greater eafe of draught, as wTell as to furnilh
a delired point in fatting cattle. 5. The back ought
to be wide and level throughout) the quarters long j
the thighs thin, and Handing narrow at the round
bone ; the udder -large when full, but thin and loofe
when empty, to hold the greater quantity of milk j
with large dug-veins to fill it, and long elaffic teats-
for drawing it off with greater eafe. 6. The legs
(below the knee and hock) ffraight, and of a middle
length } their bone, in general, light and clean from
Helhinefs, but with the joints and finews of a mode¬
rate fize, for the purpofes of Hrength and aftivity.
*t. The flefh ought to be mellow in the Hate of fieffu-
nefs, and firm in the Hate of fatnefs. 8. The hide
mellow, and of a middle thicknefs, though in our au¬
thor’s opinion this is a point not yet well determined.
As the milk of cows is always an article of great
importance, it becomes an object to the huibandman, if
poliible, to prevent the waffe of that ufeful fluid, which
in the common wTay of rearing calves is unavoidable.
A method of bringing up thefe young animals at lefs
expence was at one time propofed by the duke of Nor*
585
Of rearing
calves
without
milk.
IT R E. Practice;
His plan was to make fkimmed milk an- Breeding
fwer the purpofe of that which is newly drawn from the an.tl Fe^c!■,
teat ; and which, he fuppofed, might anfwer the purpofe Black Cat-
at one-third of the expence of new milk. The articles to tie.
be added to the Ikimmed milk are treacle and the com-\——*
mon linfeed oil-cake ground very fine, and almolt to slnr.ah cf
an impalpable powder, the quantities of each being fo
fmall, that to make 32 gallons would coH only 6d.p_ ^6.
befides the Ikimmed milk. It mixes very readily
and almoH intimately with the milk, making it more
rich and mucilaginous, without giving it any difagree-
able tafle. The receipt for making it is as follows :
Take one gallon of Ikimmed milk, and to about a
pint of it add half an ounce of treacle, Hirring it un¬
til it is well mixed j then take one ounce of linfeed
oil-cake finely pulverized, and w ith the hand let it fall
gradually in very fmall quantities into the milk, Hir-
ring it in the mean time with a fpoon or ladle until it
be thoroughly incorporated ; then let the mixture be
put into the other part of the milk, and the whole be
made nearly as wrarm as new milk when it is firll taken
from the cow, and in that Hate it is fit for ufe. The
quantity of the oil-cake powder may be increafed from
time to time as occafion requires, and as the calf be- ^
comes inured to its flavour. On this fubjeft Mr Mr Young’*
Young remarks, that in rearing calves, there are twToexperi-
objefts of great importance. 1. To bring them upments'
without any milk at all} and, 2. To make fkimmed
milk anfwer the purpofe of fuch as is newly milked or
fucked from the cowT. In confequence of premiums
offered by the London Society, many attempts have
been made to accomplifh thefe defirable purpofes; and
Mr Budel of Wanborough in Surrey was rewarded
for an account of his method. This wras no other
than to give the creatures a gruel made of ground bar¬
ley and oats. Mr Young, however, w-ho tried this
method with tw-o calves, affures us that both of them
died, though he afterwards put them upon milk when
they were found not to thrive. When in Ireland he
had an opportunity of purchafing calves at three days
old from 2od. to 3s. each; by which he was induced
to repeat the experiment many times over. This he
did in different ways, having colfefted various receipts.
In confequence of thefe he tried hay-tea, bean-meal
mixed with w-heat-flour, barley and oats ground nearly,
but not exactly, in Mr Budd’s method ; but the prin¬
cipal one was flax-feed boiled into a jelly, and mixed
with w arm water ; this being recommended more than
all the refl. The refult of all thefe trials w-as, that
out of 30 calves only three or four were reared; thefe
few W'ere brought up with barley and oat-meal, and a
very fmall quantity of flax-feed jelly ; one only except¬
ed, which at the defire of his coachman was brought
up on a mixture of two-thirds of Ikimmed milk and
one-third of water, with a fmall addition of flax-jelly
well diffolved.
The fecond objeft, viz. that of improving fkimmed
milk, according to the plan of the duke of Northum¬
berland, feems to be the more practicable of the two.
Mr Young informs us, that it has anfwered well with
him for two feafons ; and two farmers to whom he
communicated it gave likewife a favourable report.
In the third volume of the fame work, wTe are in¬
formed that the' Cornwall farmers ufe the following
method in rearing their calves. “ They are taken
from
Part III.
A GRICULTU
Breeding from tlie cow from tKe fourth to the fixth day j after
theX ^ave raw milk, from fix to ten or fourteen
31ack Cat-^ays* After this, they feed them with fcalded ikim-
tie. med milk, and gruel made of (helled oats, from three
* - v'~' 1 quarts to four being given in the morning, and the fame
Method ^ in the evening. The common family broth is thought
rearing ° to as or better, than the gruel, the favour of
calves in feh being fuppofed to ftrengthen their bowels.
Cornwall. The proportion of gruel or broth is about one-third of
the milk given them. A little fine hay is fet before
them, which they foon begin to eat.
Mr Crook’s In the 5th volume of Bath Papers, we have an ac-
method. count by Mr Crook of a remarkably fuccefsful experi¬
ment on rearing calves without any milk at all. This
gentleman, in 1787, weaned 17 calves j in 1788, 23 j
and in 1789, 15. In 1787, he bought three facks of
linfeed, value 2I. 5s. which lafted the whole three
years. One quart of it wras put to fix quarts of wTater;
which, by boiling 10 minutes, was reduced to a jelly :
the calves were fed with this mixed wdth a fmall quan¬
tity of tea, made by fteeping the beft hay in boiling
water. By the u£e of this food three times a-day, he
fays that his calves throve better than thofe of his
neighbours, which w ere reared with milk. Thefe un¬
natural kinds of food, however, are in many cafes apt
to produce a loofenefs, wdiich in the end proves fatal to
the calves. In Cornwall, they remedy this fometimes
by giving acorns as an aftringent 5 fometimes by a cor¬
dial ufed for the human fpecies, of wdiich opium is the
bafis.
In Norfolk, the calves are reared with milk and tur¬
nips ; fometimes with oats and bran mixed among the
latter. Winter calves are allowed more milk than
fummer ones $ but they are univerfally allowed new
milk, or even to fuck. In the midland counties bull-
calves are allowed to remain at the teat until they be
fix, nine, or twelve months old, letting them run either
wdth their dams or with cowrs of lefs value bought on
purpofe. Each cowT is generally allowed one male or
two female calves. Thus they grow very fall, and
become furprifingly vigorous. The method of the
dairy-men is to let the calves fuck for a week or a
fortnight, according to their ftrength $ next they have
ne*v milk in pails for a few’ meals •, after that, new and
Ikimmed milk mixed 5 then Ikimmed milk alone, or
porridge made with milk, water, ground oats, &c.
fometimes with oil-cake, &c. until cheefe-making com¬
mences $ after which they have w’hey-porridge, or
fweet whey in the field, being carefully houfed in the
night until the warm wreather come in.
A late intelligent Scottilh clergyman, Mr John
fute’smode. jgradfute 0f Dunfyre, once or twice fuccefsfully made
trial of treacle, as a food by means of which to rear
calves without the aid of any kind of milk. He ufed
it diluted with common water, and fometimes with
what is called hay-tea, that is to fay, water in which
hay had been boiled. The whole expence of the
treacle neceffary to bring a calf the length of ufing
common food w-as at that time (15 years ago) about
4s. 6d. The animals came forward well, and enjoyed
good health *, but they grew much to the bone, and
did not fatten for a confiderable tim *
For feeding cattle, two modes of praflice have been
propofed, and in fome fituations adopted j the one
mode, which is the moft ancient, and the moll exten-
R E. 491
agricultural countries, confifts of Breeding
589
Norfolk
method,
&c.
590
Mr Brad-
Cattle are
jpaftured
lively pradlifed in _0    7 . „
turning out the cattle during the whole feafon that an^F^d*
any food for them can be found on the ground, and of
taking them into the houfe during the feverity of win- tie.
ter, and of feeding them with fuch articles as can be■v-—^
moll conveniently procured in the climate and litua-
tion, fuch as, draw er hay of different kinds, and
roots. 5£z
The other mode which has been adopted to fome or Hall fed.
extent by hulbandmen in Germany, and at times alio
in our own great towns, by perfons called cow-feeders,
who fupply the inhabitants with milk, is called the
fyltem of Hall-feeding. It confifts of keeping the
cattle continually in the houfe at every feafon of the
year, and of feeding them there. By many German
writers upon rural economy this fyftem is highly ap¬
proved of, as affording the means of drawing the high-
eft poffible produce from every portion of the land,
and as employing a great number of hands in the ufe-
ful occupations of huibandry. In a communication to
the Board of Agriculture from A. Thaer, M. D. phy-stall-feed-
lician of the eledloral court of Hanover, the advanta- ing in Gor¬
ges of this fyftem are faid to be founded upon the fol- many,
lowing incontrovertible principles :
“ 1. A fpot of ground wTich, when paftured upon,
will yield fufficient food for only one head, will abun¬
dantly maintain four head of cattle in the liable, if the
vegetables be mowed at a proper time, and given to the
cattle in a proper order.
“ 2. The Hall-feeding yields at lealt double the
quantity of manure from the fame number of cattle ;
for the beft and moll efficacious fummer manure is pro¬
duced in the liable, and carried to the fields at the
moll proper period of its fermentation, whereas, when
fpread on the meadow, and exhaufted by the air and
fun, its pow’er is entirely wafted.
“ 3. The cattle ufed to Hall-feeding will yield a
much greater quantity of milk, and increafe fafter in
weight when fattening than when they go to the field.
“ 4. They are lefs fubjedl to accidents, do not fuf-
fer by the heat, by flies, and infe£ls, are not affefted
by the baneful fogs winch are frequent in Germany,
and bring on inflammations : on the contrary, if every
thing be properly managed, they remain in a conftant
Hate of health and vigour.”
It is added that a fufficient, or rather plentiful fup¬
ply of food for one feed of cattle daily, if kept in
a liable, confifts upon an average of 130 pounds of
green, or 30 pounds of dry clover, which anfwers the
fame purpofe. Hence one head of cattle requires in
365 days, about 10,950 pounds of dry clover, or
about 100 cwts. of no pounds each, the portion of
food being according to this mode of feeding alike
both in fummer and winter. Each head of heavy fat
cattle fed in the liable, if plenty of food be given,
yields annually 16 full double cart loads of dung. Th
rotation of crops that is moll frequently ufed in Ger¬
many upon farms, occupied in Hall-feeding, appears to
be the following: “ One year, manured for beans,
peafe, cabbages, potatoes, turnips, linfeed, &c. •,
2. Rye; 3. Barley, ‘mixed with clover ; 4. Clover,,
to be mowed two or three times ; 5'. Clover, to be
mowred once, then to be broken up, ploughed thr^e
or fouy times, and manured; 6. Wheat; 7. Oats.”—In
confequence of the large quantity of liable dung pro-
3 Qji duced
49 2
A G R I C
Breeding duced upon farms thus occupied, every acre of land
and Feed- j-gcdves every three years io double cart loads of that
°r t beft 0:f a11 kimis manure*
tie ^ is undoubtedly to be wiflied that a fimilar mode
u—■ 1 of management could be profitably introduced into this
country, from the tendency which it would have to
augment the number of perfons occupied in rural af¬
fairs, from the importance which it would give to
farms of a moderate extent, and from the benefit which
mull arife from making the moll of every part of the
foil. It has already been introduced into feveral
places in England, and we have little doubt that the^
praflice will gradually extend itfelf, in confequence ol
the increafing demand for butchers meat, and for all
the produ&xons of the dairy.
Two modes Of Hall-feeding, however, whether with a view to
U L T U R E. Pradice.
cover or lid, having a (mail hole for filling it with ®reedinj
of ftall-
ieeding,
the maintenance or to the fattening of cattle, it mull
be obferved, that there are two modes of proceeding.
Of late years it has been found advantageous to culti¬
vate to a great extent turnips, potatoes, and other
roots, and thefe now conftitute a large portion of the
winter food of cattle. Thefe roots are either given to
the cattle in their natural raw Hate, or they are given
after being boiled. Of thefe twro modes ol feeding,
that of giving them to the cattle raw has hitherto been
the moll common, but it is extremely improper, as
being a thriftlefs plan of proceeding. I he fame quan¬
tity of thefe roots, if given in a raw Hate, that will
barely fupport ahorfe in idlenefs, will enable him, when
boiled, to encounter the fevereH labour without injury
to his health or fpirit. There are many animals alio,
fiuch as hogs, which cannot be fattened by roots unleis
they undergo this procefs. Thefe animals can be rear¬
ed to the full fize upon raw potatoes, yams, carrots,
roota baga, &c. and may be kept in good health mr
any length of time without the aid of any othei food.
Under that management, however, they very feldom
if ever fatten, but when the roots are boiled, they im¬
mediately begin to feed, and foon become fat upon a
fmaller allowance than what was necefiary to keep
them barely alive wThen given in a raw Hate.
The fame holds true in a great degree with regard
to all cattle. With a view, therefore, to make the
moH of the various fucculent roots wirich are now cul¬
tivated, and which will perhaps one day be accounted
the moH valuable productions ot our foil, it isabfolute-
ly necfiffary that they fhould be given to cattle boiled,
ivoo i- Many hufbandmen have long been fenfible of this, but
ven to cat- it has appeared a very formidable operation to boil the
tie fhould greateH part of the food of perhaps 2ohorfes, and IOO
head of black cattle. There is nothing more true,
however, than that this labour when undertaken upon
fkilful principles, may be rendered not only eafy, but
fo trilling, that it may be performed by a fingk old
man, or by a w7oman. Eo accomphfh this objeCl,
however, it is peceilary, that the roots be boiled not
over the fire in a chaldron of metal, but at a diilance
from it in a large wooden vat or tub by the Hearn of
boiling water.
There are two ways of boiling roots by Hearn. They
may either be boiled in fuch a way as to retain their
original figure, or they may be converted into foflp j
both modes are performed with equal eafe. All that
is neceflfary, is to ereCl a boiler in any outboufe : I he
boiler, which may be of call iron, ought to have a clofe
59$.
Roots gi¬
be boiled.
59*
Cheap
mode of
boiling
roots by
fleam.
water, which can be eafily clofed up, and another ^
hole in the centre of about one-fourth cf trie diameter Black Cat-
of the cover. To this lafl bole ought to be foldered tie.
a tube of tin-plate, commonly called white iron, by v
which the fleam may afcend. This tube ought to rile
perpendicularly to the height of fix feet, narrowing
gradually to about two inches diameter. It may then
bend off at right angles, to the moft convenient fitua-
tion for the tub or vat in which the roots are to be
boiled. When it comes perpendicularly over the cen¬
tre of the vat, it muff be made to defcend to within tw o
or three inches of the bottom of it, being properjy
fupported and fixed all the way.
To boil roots with this apparatus, it is only necef-
fary to tumble them into the tub or vat into which the
end of the wdrite iron tube defcends. I he tub ought
then to be covered negligently, d ne water in the
boiler being heated to ebullition, its fleam or vapour
rifes and pafles along the white iron tube, and at lair
defcends to the bottom of the wooden veffel containing
the roots, and in a very trifling fpace of time renders
them completely foft. If it is wufhed to conveit ti e»e
roots into foup, it is only neceffary to throw among
them a quantity of water, and to mafli them down
with any large ladle or other inffvument. 1 he fleam
continuing to defcend will ipeedily boil the W’atei, and
agitate and mingle the wdiole ingredients of which Tie
foup may be compofed. In this way by various mix¬
tures of roots, with little or no trouble, rich broths,
which human beings wmuld not diilike, may be formed
for-feeding a multitude of cattle, and the loup may ev¬
illy be drawm oft from the bottom of the vat by mean.,-*
of a hole to be occafionally opened or flmt with a round
piece of wood.
In performing the above operation, however, of
forming broth or foup, before allowing the water in
the veffel over the fire to give over boiling, the hole
ought to be opened by which it is ufually filled with
water, as the liquor in the vat might otherwife, in con¬
fequence of the preffure of the atmofphere, afcend
through the white iron tube and come over into the
boiler. To ftrengthen the white iron tube, it may be
proper alfo to cover it all over with paper palled to it
with glue, or wfith a mixture of peale-meal and w ater.
To fatten cattle with fuccefs, then, we apprehend Rules for
that the following rules ought to be adhered to. As fattening,
a man is kept thin and meagre by whatever agitates his caltle-
mind, or renders him anxious, fretful, and uncomfort¬
able, fo we ought to confider that cattle, though they
want forefight of the future, have nevertheless minds
capable of being irritated and difturbed, which mull
fo far wafte their bodies. In attempting to fatten them,
therefore, care ought to be taken to preferve the tran¬
quillity of their minds, and as much as pofiible to
keep them in a Hate of cleannefs and of moderate
warmth. The food they receive ought to be varied at
times to increafe their appetite ; but above all thugs it
ought to be made as far as poflible of eafy digeftion,
that they may receive it in larger portions, and.that a
o-reater quantity of it may incorporate with their con-
ftitution, and not be thrown off by dung, as. happens
wdien they receive coarfe nouriflvment. It. is m vam to
objeft to this artificial mode of proceeding, that the
natural food of animals is grafs alone, and that their
Part III.
AGRIC ULTURE.
Rearing natural dwelling is tlie open air. The fame might be
fa id with regard to the human fpecies. In his natural,
that is, in his unimproved ftate, a favage may be un¬
der the neceffity of eating raw fleih or herbs, or ox
climbing into a tree for ihelter j but although it may
be poffible for him to fublift in this way, yet we knowr
that this is by no means the bell mode of his exigence,
and that his life and health are better preferved by the
fhelter of a fettled dwelling, and by more delicate food
prepared by indulfry. In the fame manner it is no
doubt true, that cattle can exift upon very coarfe food,
and may be even fattened by means of it; but as a great¬
er quantity of it becomes neceffary, thx? hulhandman’s
profit in rearing them is fo far diminifhed, and the va¬
lue of his lands to the community is leffened.
Sect. IV. Of the Rearing and Fattening of Hogs.
The pradlice of keeping thefe animals is fo general,
efpecially in England, that one fhould think the profit
attending it would be abfolutely indifputable ; and this
the more efpecially, when it is confidered how little
nicety they have in their choice of food. From fuch
experiments, however, as have been made, the matter
appears to be at lead very doubtful, unlefs in particu-
593 lar circumftances. In the firlt volume of Annals of
Mr Mine’s Agriculture, we have an experiment by Mr Mure of
ffients.' feeding hogs with the clufter potato and carrots; by
which it appeared, that the profit on large hogs w^as
much greater than on fmall ones ; the latter eating al-
moft as much as the former, without yielding a pro¬
portionable increafe of fleih. The gain was counted
by weighing the large and fmall ones alive ; and it was
found, that from November 10th to January 5th, they
had gained in the following proportion :
20 large hogs, - - - L. 1 3 6
20 fmall, - - - -078
2 flag hogs, - - . 1 17 8
On being finiihed with peafe, however, it appeared,
that there w'as not any real profit at lafl: ; for the ac¬
counts flood ultimately as follow^:
493
23
Dr
Value of hogs at
putting up, L. 44
33 coomb peafe,
at 14s.
2 ditto, 2 bufliels
barley, at 14s.
56 days attend¬
ance of one
man, at i4d.
950 buihels of car¬
rots, and 598 of
potatoes, at 3id.
per bufliel,
Cr
42 hogs fold
fat at L, 95
I5
3 5 4
22 1
8
L.95 o o L. 95 o o
In fome experiments by Mr Young, related in the
fame volume, he fucceeded ftill worfe, not being able
to clear his expences. His firft experiment W’as attended
with a lofs of one guinea per hog 5 the fecond with a
lofs of ns. 8d. ; the third, of only 3s. In thefe three
the hogs were fed with peafe 3 given whole in the two
firft, but ground into meal in the lafl. The fourth ex-^ Rearing
periment, in which the hog was fed w ith Jerufalem ar_ i atten-
tichokes, was attended with no lofs 3 but another, in ,ing H°gs\
which peafe wrere again tried, was attended with a lofs
of 4s. Other experiments were tried with peafe,
which turning out likewife unfavourable, barley was
tried ground along with peafe and beans. This was
attended with a fmall profit, counting nothing for
the trouble of feeding the animals. The expences on
two hogs w^ere 14I. 13s. ioid, the value 15I. 11s.
3Jd. fo that there was a balance in his favour of
17s. 4^. In another experiment in which the hogs
were fed with peafe and barley ground, the beans be¬
ing omitted as ufelefs, there wras a profit of 12s. 3d*
upon an expence of 20I. 15s. 9d ; which our author
fuppofes would pay the attendance. In this experi¬
ment the peafe and barley meal were mixed into a liquor
like cream, and allowed to remain in that ftate for
three weeks, till it became four. This w^as attended
in two other inftances with profit, and in a third with
lofs : however, Mr Young is of opinion, that the prac¬
tice will ftill be found advantageous on account of the
quantity of dung raifed 3 and that the farmer can thus
ufe his peafe arid barley at home without carrying them
to market.
It is to be obferved,. that the above experiments were
not made upon the fattening of hogs in the proper man¬
ner in which that animal ought to be fed. Its food
ought undoubtedly to confift chiefly of roots, fuch as
yams, potatoes, See. 3 but thefe roots, as already men¬
tioned, ought always to be boiled, or made into foups.
With this mode of proceeding, the hog, from its rapid
multiplication, and quick growth, is a very profitable
kind of flock. It ought to be remembered, however,
that of this, as well as of moft other kinds of animals,
a large breed is always to be preferred 3 for the dif¬
ference is very trifling, or rather, in general, amounts
to nothing at all, between the quantity of food ne¬
ceffary to fupport a fmall animal, and the quantity <ne-
ceffary to fupport a large animal of the fame kind. ^
Hogfies are of Ample cemftruttion 3 they require only Defcription :'
a warm dry place for the fwine to lie. in, with a fmallot a proper-
area before, and troughs to hold their food. They arehogfty‘
generally made with Ihed-roofs, and feldom above 6 or
7 feet wide.
Although fwine are generally confidered as the fil-
thieft of all animals, yet there is no animal delights
more in a clean comfortable place to lie down in, and
none that cleanlinefs has a better effeefl upon with re-
fpetft to their thriving and feeding. In order to keep
them dry, a fufticient Hope muft be given, not only to
the infide where they lie, but to the outfide area, with
proper drains to. carry off all moifture. The infide
fliould alfo be a little elevated, and have a ftep up from
the area at leafl 5 or 6 inches. Hogflies thould have
leveral divifions to keep the different forts of fwine fe-
parate, nor^thould a great many ever be allowed to go
together 3 for it is thought they feed better in fmall
numbers, and of equal fize, than when many are put
together of different fizes. Proper divifions muft there¬
fore be made, fome for fwine when with the boar,,
others for brood fwine, and for them to farrow in, for.
weaning the pigs, for feeding, &c.
Swine are apt to fpill and wafte a great deal of their'
meat by getting their teet among it, unlefs proper pre- •
cautions ->
494
A G R I C U
Sheep, cautions are taken to prevent them. This may be done
by making a rail or covering of thin dale Hope from
the back part of the trough towards the fore part,
leaving juft room enough to admit their heads. There
Ihould alfo be divifions acrofs the troughs, according to
the number of fwine, to prevent the itrongeft -driving
away the weakeft. Thefe diviftons need not extend to
the bottom of the troughs, but ftiould rife a little higher
than the top, and may be made of pieces of board a-
bout 8 or 10 inches broad.
Sties ought to be conftrufted that the fwine may be
eafily fed without going in among them. In fome
places it is fo contrived that they may be fed through
openings in the back kitchen wall, without even going
out of doors. This is very convenient where only a
few fwine are kept for family ufe, and makes it eafy to
give them the refufe of vegetables and other things
from the kitchen, which, perhaps, would otherwife be
thrown away. Where pigs are to be reared on an ex-
tenfive fcale, there ought to be what is called in Eng¬
land a pigs kitchen, that is, a proper apparatus ought
to be erecfted adjoining to the hogfty, for boiling their
food. To avoid expence, fteam ought always to be
ufed for this purpofe, in the way already defcribed.
Sect. V. Sheep.
The rearing of flieep properly belongs to the article
pafturage. So far, however, as they are fed upon the
products of human induftry, they belong to the prefent
fheep with fubje<ft. In the Memoirs of the Royal Society of A-
root?' griculture in Paris for the year 1788, the refult is
given of certain experiments upon the advantage and
economy of feeding Iheep in the houfe with roots. The
experiments were made by M. Crette de Palluel. He
ftates that the cuttom of feeding ftieep in a houfe is
common in feveral of the French provinces, but in
others is unknown : That the mode of fattening them
in that fituation conftfted of giving them clean corn and
choice hay : That in fubftituting roots for corn, hay
was continued to be given to them, either of clover,
lucern, after-math, or any other fort. The com com¬
monly ufed for fattening Iheep is barley and oats.
Sometimes gray peafe, or the marlhed bean, and rye.
“ Although the Iheep fed upon roots (fays M. Crette)
did not acquire quite fo great a degree of fatnefs as
thofe fed upon corn ; it is however true, that they all
fattened, and that if their food had been varied, they
600
‘Experi¬
ments on
feeding
L T U R E. Prattle?.
would have made greater progrefs : I can even affert Sheep,
the faft of four, which were put upon change of food ^
towards the end of the experiment, and ate much
more.
“ The Iheep put to potatoes ate little at firft, for
fome days, which prevented them from thriving fo much
as the others ; but they recovered the fecond month
what they loft the firft. As for thofe put to turnips and
beets, they fed heartily from the firft moment, and con¬
tinued it. They all drank much lefs than thofe fed upon
corn.
“ Corn might with advantage be added to the roots :
When the ftieep are intended to be fold, two feeds of
corn given them for a fortnight, in the intervals of
their meals of roots, would harden both their flefli and
their tallow.
“ It was not fufficient to prove the poftibility of fat¬
tening ftieep with different kinds of roots; it was far¬
ther neceffary to afeertain the qualities which their flelh
might acquire, by the ufe of them. Four ftieep, fed
upon the four regimens, were killed the fame day 5 there
wras indeed fome trifling difference in the texture of
their fleih, but upon the whole the flavour of all was
the fame. Let us then conclude, that the culture of
roots opens to us infinite refources, not only for fat¬
tening of ftieep, but alfo of beafts 5 and we do not
doubt of their being ufed to the greateft advantage in
bringing up cattle in the countries where they are
bred.
The knowledge of thefe experiments muft induce
farmers to adopt this culture, fince it is fo advantage¬
ous. Roots cannot be exported j corn, on the contrary,
is exported j and the grower may fell the roots inftead
of confirming them. One acre of roots is equal to five
acres of corn. By this means he multiplies his land,
and may confequently multiply his cattle and his dung¬
hill : added to this, roots are not fubjedl, like corn, to
the inclemencies of the feafons ) the produce is always
more certain ; thefe plants being of different natures,
it is not likely that they Ihould all fail $ the earth is a
more faithful depofitory of our treafures than the at-
mofphere } the dreadful hurricane of the 15th of this
month (July) deftroyed every thing but roots j they
are the only produft with efcaped its ravages j if the
hail tore their leaves, others will foon fhoot; and car¬
rots, beets, turnips, and potatoes, will be fafe.”
The refult of the experiments alluded to is given in
the following terms:
Experiment
AGRICULTURE.
Experiment upon Fatting Sheep, and their Increafe from Month to Month.
Sixteen fheep, of the fame age, of four different breeds, were picked out of my flock, viz. four the breed of the
country, four of Beauce, four of Champagne, and four of Picardy ; I weighed them alive, and marked each
with a number j I divided them into four lots, and fed them on four different forts of food, as under.
Weights at different Periods.—1788.
I Jan. 20. Feb. 20. Mar. 20. April 20. May 20.
Increafe each Month,
ift M. 2d M. 3d M. 4thM.
Total incr. which
each food has pro¬
duced upon four
Sheep.
Potatoes, 2
h
r 5
Turnips, ^
l 8
Oats,
ley,'
gray peas.
Ifle de-France,! 69^1b,
Beauce,
Champagne,
Picardy,
69$
88
79ilb,
824
83
95
90^ lb.
82^
IOI
931b,
84
95 lb-
olb,
IS
lb.
^ 70 lb.
Ifle de France,
Beauce, ^
Champagne,
Picardy,
Beets,
Ifle de France,
Beauce,
Champagne,
Picardy,
5°i
4i
86
86
78i'
954
87
824
97t
84
97i
84^
161
584
i4
72
7°i
77t
80
834
804
904
934
9o4
86
984
94
s, bar- P
.and
ypeas. ^
Ifle de France,
Beauce,
Champagne,
Picardy,
48
74
734
71
71
9i
844
864
87
954
9r4
93
102
96
106
74
34
44 64
74
64
59
184 j
'674
‘ 71
• 924
“ Observation. The increafe of thefe (Keep, du¬
ring the firft month, being fo much more confiderable
than in the following months, muff be attributed to this
caufe, that lean cattle put up t© fatten, eat greedily un¬
til they are cloyed, which only, fills them, without
much inoreafing their flefh •, but, on the contrary, the
increafe produced in the enfuing months, although ap¬
parently lefs, turns all to profit in flefh and tallow.”
Sect. VI. Rabbits;
In particular fituations thefe animals may be kept to '
advantage, as they multiply exceedingly, and require
no trouble in bringing up. A confiderable number of
them are kept in Norfolk, where many parts, confirt-
ing of barren hills or heaths, are proper for their re¬
ception. They delight in the fides of fandy hills,
which are generally unproduftive when tilled j but
level ground is improper for them. Mr Marfhall is of
opinion, that there are few fandy or other loofe-foiled
hills which would not pay better in rabbit warrens than
any thing elfe. “ The hide of a bullock (fays he)
is not worth more than ^’oth of his carcafe ; the fkin Rabbits
of a fheep may, in full wool, be worth from a fixth to more va-
a tenth of its carcafe j but the fur of a rabbit is ^abJe tha£
worth twice the whole value of the carcafe ; therefore o/fheep! *
fuppofing a rabbit to confume a quantity of food in
proportion to its carcafe, it is, on the principle offered,
a fpecies of ftock nearly three times as valuable as ei¬
ther cattle or fheep. Rabbit warrens ought to be in-
clofed with a ftone or fod wall 3 and at their firft
flocking, it will be neceflary to form burrows to them
until they have time to make them to themfelves.
Boring the ground horizontally with a large auger is
perhaps the beft method that can be praflifed. Eagles, ^
kites, and other birds of prey, as well as cats, weafels, Method of
and pole-cats, are great enemies of rabbits. The Nor-deftroyin^
folk warreners catch the birds by traps placed on the birds oi
tops of flumps of trees or artificial hillocks of a coni- prey'
cal form, on which they naturally alight.—Traps alfo
feem to be the only method of getting rid of the other
enemies; though thus the rabbits themielves are in
danger of being caught.
Rabbits may be fed during the fummer with clover
and-'
496 A G R I C U
Poultry. ^ and other green food, and during the winter with cab-
bages. Where they are kept in an inclofure as part
of the flock of the farm, a pra&ice which has not yet
been ufed in this country, they ought to be fed with
great regularity, and with as much as they are willing
to take. When this is done they thrive upon a very
moderate quantity of food j but if they are once al¬
lowed to fuffer hunger in any great degree, they be¬
come extremely ravenous, and for a long time can
fcarcely be fatisfied with food. In a communication
to the Board of Agriculture from M. Bertrand of
603 Mechlin, in the Netherlands, we are informed that the
b^eiTof ra^^ts t^le Angora breed yield in Normandy an
rabbit*. uncomfnonly valuable wool, which ferves as a primary
material in feveral conflderable manufa&ures. The
Normans affert, that each rabbit yields wool of the
value of a crown or fix livres. M. Bertrand having
difcovered that-thefe rabbits are extremely fond of the
leaves of the robinia pfeudo acacia^ (the falfe acacia),
made the following trial of its effects. He fed fome
females with thefe leaves only, while to others he gave
cabbage leaves and the common food furniftied to
thefe animals. He obferved that the young ones pro¬
ceeding from the females fed on the leaves of the ro¬
binia, grew larger and in lefs time, and that their coats
and wool were finer than on the others fed in the com¬
mon way. He caufed the Ikins of the indigenous rab¬
bits fed with the robinia leaves to be examined by hat¬
ters, and they valued them much more than the com¬
mon ones, afferting that their wool approached in qua¬
lity to that of hares. The robinia, he obferves, thrives
on barren heaths. Its branches and leaves are re¬
markably numerous. Its leaves may be converted in¬
to hay, which rabbits and other animals devour eager¬
ly. One perfon is able to cut a fufficient quantity of
branches for a great number of rabbits; and turnips,
vetches, beans, and other vegetables, can be Town
under the trees.
Sect. VII. Poultn.
Poultry Poultry, if rightly managed, might be a fource of
ought to be great profit to the farmer, but where many are kept,
confined, they ought hot to be allowed to go at large, in which
cafe little profit can be expelled from them, for not
only will many'of their eggs be loft, and many of
themfelves perhaps deftroyed by vermin, but at cer¬
tain feafons they do a great deal of mifchief both in
the barn-yard and in the field. No doubt they pick
up fome grain at the barn doors that might otherwife
be loft, but if the ftraw is properly threfhed and fliaken,
there would be very little of this. In the common
carelefs way of threlhing a great deal of corn is un¬
doubtedly thrown out among the ftraw ; but when we
confider the dung of the fowls and their feathers that
get among it, and the injury thefe muft do to the cat¬
tle, this is no objeft. It is much better to allow the
poultry a certain quantity of food, and to let the cat¬
tle have the benefit of what corn may remain among
the ftraw.
Poultry ought therefore always to be confined, but
not in a clofe, ‘dark, diminutive hovel, as is often the
cafe •, they fhould have a fpacioiis airy place properly
conftrufted for them. Some people are of opinion
that each fort of poultry ftiould be kept by itfelf.
1
L T U R fi. Pra£ice.
This, however, is not abfolutely neceiTary; for all forts Poultry,
may be kept promifcuoufly together, provided they '"“■"■'V——'
have a place fufficiently large to accommodate them
conveniently, and proper divifions and nefts for each
kind to retire to feparately, which they will naturally
do of themfelves.
This method is praftifed with great fuccefs at Mr ComnwnUa-
Wakefield’s, near Liverpool, who keeps a large flock ^ io tie
of turkeys, geefe, hens, and ducks, all in the fame °f
place j and although young turkeys are in general by Robert*'
confidered fo difficult to bring up, he rears great num- Beatfon,
bers of them in this manner every feafon with little or Efq.
no trouble whatever. He has about three quarters or 6o5
near a whole acre inclofed with a fence only fix or ExamPle
feven feet high, formed of flabs fet on end, or any modeof
thinnings of fir or other trees fplit and put clofe to- keeping
gether. They are faftened by a nail near the top and poultry,
another near the bottom, and are pointed ffiarp, which
I fuppofe prevents the poultry flying over, for they
never attempt it although fo low. Within this fence
are places done up flightly (but well fecured from wet)
for each fort of poultry ; alfo a pond or ftream of wa-*
ter running through it. Thefe poultry are fed al-
moft entirely wuth potatoes boiled in fleam, and thrive
aftoniffiingly well. The quantity of dung that is made
in this poultry-place is alfo an objedl worth attention $
and when it is cleared out, a thin paring of the furface
is at the fame time taken oft', which makes a valuable
compoft.
It is generally underftood that a full-grown hen
continues in her prime for three years, and that during
that period, if properly fed, ftie will lay at a medium
200 eggs every year. The number, however, of eggs
may be greatly increafed by making the place to
which this kind of poultry retire at night very w arm
and comfortable by its being placed contiguous to a
wall, on the other fide of which, a fire is kept, or by
its being heated in any other manner. In the cottages
of the poor in Scotland, where the poultry and the in¬
habitants fleep under the fame roof, the hens continue
with a moderate portion of food to produce eggs during
the greateft part of the winter. ^
In Norfolk a great number of turkeys are bred, of a Great num-
fize and quality fuperior to thofe in other parts. Mrberoftur-
Marfhall accounts for their number in the following
manner: “ It is underftood in general, that to rearm 01 0
turkeys wdth fuccefs, it is neceflary that a male bird
ftiould be kept upon the fpot to impregnate the eggs
fingly j but the good houfewives of this country know,
that a daily intercourfe is unneceflary ; and that if the
hen be fent to a neighbouring cock previous to the
feafon of exclufioh, one a£t of impregnation is fufficient
for one brood. Thus relieved from the expence and
difagreeablenefs of keeping a male bird, moft little far¬
mers, and many cottagers, rear turkeys. This accounts
for their number 5 and the fpecies and the food they are
fatted with (which, I believe, is wholly buck) account
for their fuperior fize and quality.”
The following account of the Lincolnffiire manage¬
ment of geefe is given by Mr John Foote of Bran¬
don, in the Annals of Agriculture. “ It is generally Vcl. xlv.
allowed, that three geefe to one gander is fufficient 5 ^7
more geefe would be too many, fo as to render the a, mJ_
eggs abortive. The quantity of eggs to every goofe eagement
for fitting about 12 or 13. They muft be fed wuth of geefe.
corn
Part III. A G R I C U
Manage- com in tlieir water whilft fitting, near tliem, fo as to
m Dairyfeed at Pleafure‘ Tile ganders fhbuld be allowed to
i keep near them, fo that they can fee them, as they will
naturally watch as a guard over their own geefe.
“ Their nefts Ihould be made for them of ftraw, and
confined fo as the eggs cannot roll ®ut when the geefe
turn them, which they do every day.
“ When near hatching, the (hell Ihould be broke a
little againft the beak or bill of the gofling, to give air,
or to enable it to receive ftrength to throw off the Ihell
at a proper time. 1 he method of plucking them about
the beginning of April is this : Pluck gently and care¬
fully the fine feathers off their breaft and back j but be
careful not to pull or interrupt their down nor pen
ieathers.
ii \ ou alfo pull their quills, five out of a wing ; but
I think four wrould be better. The quills will bear
pulling in 13 or 14 weeks again, twice in a year ; the
feathers three times a year, of the old geefe and gan¬
ders, feven weeks from the firft pulling j and then
again feven weeks after, which is the laft pulling of
the year.
“ 1 he young geefe may be pulled once at 13 or 14
weeks old, but not quilled, being hatched in March.
“ If the geefe are late in hatching, I expeft the
brood geefe fiaould not be plucked fo foon as April, but
the month after.
“ If they are fed with barley and oats, as they ought
to be, they will thrive and do the better, and their fea¬
thers will grow' the fafter, and be better in quality ; they
muff have plenty of grafs and wrater.
“ Although perfons not acquainted with the manage¬
ment of geefe, as above deferibed, may think it in¬
human j yet I am credibly informed, they wall do bet¬
ter than where they do not pluck them", if they are
properly done, as they lofe their feathers by moulting,
and wmuld not be fo healthy.
“ It is proved, that by annually plucking geefe, as
in Lincolnlhire, there is faved, by the increafe of fea¬
thers, many hundred pounds value, wThich other coun¬
tries wraffe, though a miftaken opinion, as not an object
W’orth their attention. Goofe feathers are now fold at
18s. a ftone, that ufed about 25 years ago to be bought
at 1 os. or iis. in that county.
“ A gooie wiil produce by this method about is. 6d.
annually of good feathers and quills.”
608
Sect. VIII. Of the Management of the Dairy.
uuo
Importance but the richeft corn countries, this is a moft im-
the dairy, portant branch of the bufinefs of a huibandman. It in¬
cludes not only the proper method of prefeeving milk in
-a wholefome and uncorrupted Hate, but alfo the manu-
fa&uring from it the two valuable articles of butter and
Eheefe. We {hall firft confider the fubjeft of the dairy in
a general manner; after which, we {ball take notice of
5op the mode of preparing butter and cheefe.
Principles Dr James Anderfon remarks, that when a dairy is
a^airICh f^^ed, the undertaker may fometimes think it his
ought^0 be ^ntereft to obtain the greateft poflible quantity of pro-
managed. duce ; fometimes it may be more beneficial for him to
have it of the fineft quality; and at other times it may
be neceffary to have both thefe obje&s in view, the one
or the other in a greater or lefs proportion: it is there¬
fore of importance that he fhould know' how' he may
Vox.. I. Part II.
L T U R E. 497
accomplifh the one or the other of thefe purpofes m the Manage-
eafieft and moft direft manner. ment of the
To be able to convert his milk to the higheft poffi-, 1>airy- i
ble profit in every cafe, he ought to be fully acquaint-
ed with every circumftance refpe&ing the manufafture
both of butter and of cheefe ; as it may in ibme cafes
happen, that a certain portion of that milk may be
more advantageoufiy converted into butter than into
cheefe, while another portion of it would return more
profit if made into cheefe.
The firft thing to be adverted to, in an undertaking
of this nature, is to choole cows of a proper fort. A~
mong this clafs of animals, it is found by experience,
that fome kinds give milk of a much thicker confid¬
ence, and richer quality, than others; nor is this rich-
nefs of quality neceffarily connefted with the fmallnef?
of the quantity yielded by cow's of nearly an equal fize ;
it therefore behoves the owner of a dairy to be pecu¬
liarly attentive to this circumftance. In judging of the
value of a cow, it ought rather to be the quantity and
the quality of the cream produced from the milk of the
cow, in a given time, than the quantity of the milk it-
felf: this is a circumftance that will be {hewn hereafter
to be cf more importance than is generally imagined.
1 he fmall cow's of the Alderney breed afford the rich-
eft milk hitherto known; but individual cows in every
country may be found, by a careful fele&ion, that afford
much thicker milk than others ; thefe therefore ought
to be fearched for with care, and their breed reared with
attention, as being peculiarly valuable.
lew perfons, who have had any experience at all in
the dairy, can be ignorant, however, that in comparing
the milk of two cows, to judge of their refpeaive quali¬
ties, particular attention muft be paid to the time that
has elapfed fince their calving; for the milk of the fame
cow is always thinner foon after calving than it is af¬
terwards ; as it gradually becomes thicker, though ge¬
nerally lefs in quantity, in proportion to the time fince
the cow has calved. The colour of the milk, foon after
calving, is richer than it is aftenvards ; but this, efpe-
cklly for the firft tw'o weeks, is a faulty colour, that
ought not to be coveted.
To make the cows give abundance of milk, and of a
good quality, they muft at all times have plenty of
food. Grals is the beft food yet known for this pur-
poie, and that kind of grafs which fprings up fponta-
neoufly on rich dry foils is the beft of all. ’ If the tem¬
perature of the climate be fuch as to permit the cows
to graze at eafe throughout the day, they fhould be
fuffered to range on fuch paftures at freedom ; but if
the cows are fo much incommoded by the heat as to
be prevented from eating through the day, they ought
in that cafe to be taken into cool fhadcs for proteflion;
where, after allowing them a proper time to ruminate,
they fhould be fupplied with abundance of green food,
frefh-cut for the purpole, and given to them by hand
frequently, in fmall quantities, frelh and frelh, fo as to
induce them to eat it with pleafure. When the heat
of the day is over, and they can remain abroad with
eafe, they may be again turned into the pafture, where
they fhould be allowed to range with freedom all night,
during the mild weather of fummer.
Cows, if abundantly fed, ftiould be milked three times
a day during the whole of the fummer feafon ; in the
morning early, at noon, and in the evening, juft before
3 & night-falh
4Q3 A G R I C U
Manage- night-fall. In the choice of perfons for milking the
ment of the cows> great caution fhould be employed j for if
‘ ■ that operation be not carefully and properly performed,
not only the quantity of the produce of the dairy .will
be greatly diminilhed, but its quality alfo will be very
much debafed j for if all the milk be not thoroughly
drawn from a cow when Ihe is milked, that portion of
milk which is left in the udder feems to be gradually
abforbed into the fyftem, and nature generates no more
than to fupply the w7aile of what has been taken away.
If this leffened quantity be not again thoroughly drawn
off, it occafions a yet farther diminution of the quan¬
tity of milk generated j and thus it may be made to
proceed, in perpetual progreflion from little to lefs, till
none at all is produced. In Ihort, this is the praftice
in all cafes followed, when it is meant to allow a cow’s
milk to dry up entirely, without doing her hurt. In
this manner, therefore, the profits of a dairy might be
wonderfully diminifhed; fo that it much behoves the
owner of it to be extremely attentive to this circum-
llance, 'if he wifhes to avoid ruin. It ought to be a
rule without an exception, never to allow this important
department to be entrufted, without controul, to the ma¬
nagement of hired fervants. Its importance will be ftill
more mamfeft from the following aphorifms.
Aphorifm I. “Of the milk that is draw'n from any
cow at one time, that which comes off at the firft is
always thinner, and of a much rvorfe quality, than that
which comes afterwards j and the richnefs goes on con¬
tinually increafing to the very laft drop that can be
drawn from the udder at that time.”
Few perfons are igjiorant that the milk which is laft
of all taken from the cow at milking (in this country
called Jiroakings') is richer than the reft of the milk $
but fewer ftill are aware of the greatnefs of the difpro-
portion between the quality @f the firft and the laft
drawn milk, from the fame cow, at one milking. The
following faffs (fays our author) refpeffing this circum-
ftance were afcertained by me many years ago, and
have been confirmed by many fubfequent experiments
and obfervations.
Having taken feveral large tea-cups, exaffly of the
fame fize and ftiape, one of thefe tea-cups was filled ,at
the beginning of the milking, and the others at regular
intervals, til), the laft, which was filled with the dregs
of the ftroakings. Thefe cups were then weighed, the
weight of each having been fettled, fo as to afcertain
that the quantity of milk in each was precifely the
fame; and from a great number of experiments, fre¬
quently repeated with many different cows, the refult
wTas in all cafes as follows:
F/r/?, The quantity of cream obtained from the firft-
drawn cup was, in every cafe, much fmaller than from
that which was laft drawn} and thofe between afforded
lefs or more as they were nearer the beginning or the
end. It is unneceffary here to fpecify theie intermediate
proportions; but it is proper the reader Ihould be in¬
formed, that the quantity of cream obtained from the
laft-drawn cup, from fome cows, exceeded that from
the nrft in the proportion of fixteen to one. In other
cows, however, and in particular circumftances, the dif-
pi^portion was not quite fo great j but in no cafe did it
fall fhort of the rate of eight to one. Probably, upon
an average of a great many cows, it might be .found to
run as ten or twelve to one.
L T U R E. Pradice.
Secondly, The difference in the quality of the cream, Manage-
however, obtained from thefe two cups, was muchment ,01 tiie
greater than the difference in the quantity. In the firft , I'a’r-Y' ,
cup, the cream was a thin tough film, thinner, and per¬
haps whiter, than writing paper j in the laft, the cream
wras of a thick butyrous confiftence, and of a glowing
richnefs of colour that no other kind of cream is ever
found to poffefs.
Thirdly, The difference in the quality of the milk
that remained, after the cream was Separated, was per¬
haps ftill greater than either in refped to the quantity
or the quality of the cream. The milk in the firft cup
was a thin bluilh liquid, as if a very large proportion of
water had been mixed with ordinary milk ; that in the
laft cup was of a thick confiftence, and yellow colour,
more refembling cream than milk both in tafte and ap¬
pearance.
From this important experiment, it appears that the
perfon who, by bad milking of his cows, lofes but half
a pint of his milk, lofes in faft about as much cream as
would be afforded by fix or eight pints at the begin¬
ning, and lofes, befides, that part of the cream which
alone can give richnefs and high flavour to his butter.
Aphorifiti 2. “ If milk be put into a dilh, and allowed
to Hand till it throws up cream, that portion of cream
which rifes firft to the furface is richer in quality, and
greater in quantity, than what rifes in a fecond equal
fpace of time } and the cream that rifes in the fecond in¬
terval of time is greater in quantity, and richer in qua¬
lity, than that which rifes in a third equal fpace of time;
that of the third than the fourth, and fo on : the cream
that rifes decreafing in quantity, and declining in qua¬
lity, continually, as long as any rifes to the furface.”
Our ingenious author confeffes, that his experiments
not having been made w ith fo much accuracy in this
cafe as in the former, he was not enabled to afcertain
the difference in the proportion that takes place in
equal portions of time j but they have been fo often re¬
peated as not to leave any room to doubt the fa£t, and
it will be allowed to be a fadft of no fmall importance in
the management of the dairy. It is not certain, how¬
ever, but that a greater quantity of cream may, upon
the whole, be obtained from the milk by taking it
away at different times : but the procefs is fo trouble-
fome as not to be counterbalanced by the increafed quan¬
tity obtained, if indeed an increafed quantity be thus
obtained, which is not as yet quite certain.
Aphorifm 3. “ Thick milk abvays throws up a fmaller
proportion of the cream it actually contains, to the fur¬
face, than milk that is thinner ; but that cream is of a
richer quality. If water be added to that thick milk,
it will afford a confiderably greater quantity of cream
than it would have done if allowed to remain pure, but
its quality is, at the fame time, greatly debafed.”
This is a fa£l that every perfon attentive to a dairy
muft have remarked but I have never (fays our author)
heard of any experiment that could afcertain, either the
precife amount of the increafed quantity of cream that
might thus be obtained, or of the ratio in the decreafe
of its quality. The effe&s of mixing wTater with the
milk in a dairy are at leaft afcertained j and the know¬
ledge of the fail will enable attentive perfons to follow
that pra&ice which they think will beft promote their
own intereft.
Aphorifm 4. “ Milk which is put into a bucket or
other
Part III. AGRICULTURE. 499
Manage- other proper veffel, and carried in it to any confiderable
ment of the diftance, fo as to be much agitated, and in part cooled,
, Dair>'- j before it be put into the milk-pans to fettle for cream,
v never throws up fo much, nor fo rich cream, as if the
fame milk had been put into the milk-pans dire&ly
after it was milked.”
In this cafe, it is believed the lofs of cream will be
nearly in proportion to the time that has elapfed, and the
agitation the milk has fuftained, after being drawn from
the cow. But Dr Anderfon fays that he is not yet in
poffeflion of any experiments which fufficiently afcer-
tain how much is to be afcribed to the time, and the
agitation, taken feparately. On every branch of agri¬
culture we find experiments wanting, at each ftep we
advance in our inquiries; and it is the duty of every in¬
quirer to point out, as he goes along, where they are
wanted, fince the labours of no one man can poflibly
complete the whole.
From the above facfts, the following corollaries feem
to be clearly deducible :
FzVy?, It is of importance that the cows Ihould be
always milked as near the dairy as poflible, to prevent
the neceflity of carrying and cooling the milk before it
is put into the diihes j and as cows are much hurt
by far driving, it mull be a great advantage in a dairy-
farm to have the principal grafs fields as near the dairy
or homeftead as poflible.
Secondly, The practice of putting the milk of all
the cows of a large dairy into one veffel, as it is milked,
there to remain till the whole milking is finilhed, before
any part of it is put into the milk-pans—feems to be
highly injudicious ; not only on account of the lofs that •
is fuftained by agitation and cooling, but alfo, more
efpecially, becaufe it prevents the owner of the dairy
from diftinguilhing the good from the bad cow’s milk
lb as to feparate thefe from each other, where it is ne-
ceffary. He may thus have the w'hole of his dairy pro-
du6i: greatly debafed by the milk of one bad cow, for
years together, without being able to difcover it. A
better praftice, therefore, would be, to have the milk
drawn from each cow put feparately into the creaming-
pans as foon as it is milked, •without being ever mixed
with any other. Thus would the careful manager of
the dairy be able on all occafions to obferve the parti¬
cular quality of each individual cow’s milk, as well as
its quantity, and to know with precifion which of his
cows it was his intereft to difpofe of, and which of them
he ought to keep and breed from.
Thirdly, If it be intended to make butter of a very
fine quality, it will be advifable in all cafes to keep the
milk that is firft drawn feparate from that which comes
laft $ as it is obvious, that if this be not done, the qua¬
lity of the butter will be greatly debafed, without much
augmenting its quantity. It is alfo obvious, that if this
is done, the quality of the butter will be improved in
proportion to the fmallnefs of the quantity of the laft-
drawn milk that is retained ; fo that thofe wdio wilh to
be Angularly nice in this refpecl, will do w'ell to retain
only a very fmall portion of the laft drawn milk.
To thofe owners of dairies who have profit only in
view, it muft ever be a matter of trial and calculation,
how far it is expedient for them to carry the improving
of the quality of their butter at the expence of dimi-
nilhing its quantity. In different fituations prudence
will point out different kinds of praftioe as molt eli¬
gible ; and all perfons muft be left, after making accu- Manage-
rate trials, to determine for themfelves. It is likewife ment °f ^
a confideration of no fmall importance, to determine in , T)‘i'ry' .
what way the inferior milk, that is thus to be fet apart
where fine butter is wanted, can be employed with the
greateft profit. In the Highlands of Scotland they
have adopted, without thinking of the improvement of
their butter, a very fimple and economical pra&ice in
this refpedl. As the rearing of calves is there a prin¬
cipal objeil with the farmer, every cow is allowred to
fuckle her own calf with a part of her milk, the remain¬
der only being employed in the dairy. To give the
calf its portion regularly, it is feparated from the cowq
and kept in an inclofure, with all the other calves be¬
longing to the fame farm. At regular times, the cows
are driven to the door of the inclofure, wdrere the young
calves fail not to meet them. Each calf is then fepa¬
rately let out, and runs direftly to its mother, where it
fucks till the dairy-maid judges it has had enough j fhe
then orders it to be driven away, having previoufty
fhackled the hinder legs of the mother, by a very fim¬
ple contrivance, to oblige her to Hand ftill. Boys drive
away the calf with Twitches, and return it to the inclo¬
fure, while the dairy-maid milks off what was left by
the calf: thus they proceed till the whole of the cows
are milked. They obtain only a fmall quantity of
milk, it is true, but that milk is of an exceeding rich
quality 5 which, in the hands of fuch of the inhabitants
as know how to manage it, is manufa&ured into the
ficheft marrowy butter that can be anywhere met with.
This richnefs ,of the Highland butter is univerfally
afcribed to the old grafs the cows feed upon in their
remote glens; but it is in fa6t chiefly to be attributed
tq the practice here defcribed, which has long prevailed
in thofe regions. Whether a fimilar praflice could be
economically adopted elfewhere, our author takes not
upon him to fay; but doubtlefs other fecondary ufes
might be found for the milk of inferior quality. On
fome occafions, it might be converted into butter of an
inferior quality j on other occafions, it might be fold
fweet, where the fituation of the farm was within reach
of a market-town ; and on others, it might be convert¬
ed into cheefes, wThich, by being made of fweet milk,
would be of a very fine quality if carefully made.
Still other ufes might be devifed for its application j
of which the following is worthy of notice. Take
common fkimmed milk, when it has begun to turn four,
put it into an upright ftand-churn, or a barrel with one
of its ends out, or any other convenient veffel. Heat
fome water, and pour it into a tub that is large enough
to contain with eafe the veffel in which the milk was
put. Set the veffel containing the milk into the hot
water, and let it remain there for the fpace of one
night. In the morning it will be found that the milk
has feparated into twTo parts ; a thick cream-like fub-
ftance, which occupies the upper part of the veffel, and
a thin watery part, that remains at the bottom. Draw
off the thin part (called in Scotland 'luigg') by opening
a ftop-cock, placed for that purpofe clofe above the
bottom, and referve the cream for ufe. - Not much lefs
than half of the milk is thus converted into a fort of
cream, wdiich, when well made, feems to be as rich and
fat as real cream itfelf, and is only diftiuguifliable from
it by its fournefs. It is eaten wdth fugar, and efteemed
a great delicacy, and ufually fells at double the price
3 R 2 of
500 A G R I C U
Manage- of frefti unfkim'med milk. ' It requires praftice, how-
ment of the ever to |-)er to ^[s nicely j the degree of the
i -a*ry’ . heat of the water, and many other circumltances,; great¬
ly affe£ting the operation.
Fourthly, If the quality of the butter be the chief
object attended to, it will be neceffary, not only to fe-
parate the firft from the lad drawn milk, but alfo to
take nothing but the cream that is firft feparated from
the beft milk, US’ it is this firft rifing cream alone that
is of the prime quality. The remainder of the milk,
wThich will be ftill fweet, may be either employed for.
the purpofe of making fweet-milk cheefes, or may be
allowed to ftafufy to throw up cream for making butter
of an inferior quality, as circumftanceS may dire^f.
Fifthly, From the above fafts, we are enabled to
perceive, that butter of the very beft poflible quality
can only be obtained from a dairy of confiderable ex¬
tent, judicioufly managed ; for when only a fmall por¬
tion of each cow’s milk can be fet apart for throwing
up cream, and when only a fmall proportion of that
cream can be referved, of the prime quality, it follows
^the quantity of milk being upon the whole very in-
eonfiderable), that the quantity of prime cream pro¬
duced would be fo fmall as to be fcarcely worth manu-
fa(during feparately.
Sixthly, From thefe premifes we are alfo led to draw
another conclufion, extremely different from the opi¬
nion that is commonly entertained on this fubjefl, viz.
That it feems probable, that the Very beft butter could
be made with economy in thofe dairies only where the
manufafture of cheefe is the principal objeft. The rea-
fons are obvious : If only a fmall portion of milk fhould
be fet apart for butter, all the reft may be made into
cheefe, while it is yet warm from the cow, and perfeft-
ly fweet $ and if only that portion of cream which rifes
during tlje firft three or four hours after milking is to
be feferved for butter, the rich milk-which is left after
that cream is feparated, being ftill perfe&ly fweet, may
be converted into cheefe with as great advantage near¬
ly as the newly-milked milk itfelf.
But as it is not probable that many perfons Could be
found who W’ould be willing to purchafe the very fineft
butter, made in the manner above pointed out, at a
price that would be fufficient to indemnify the farmer
for his trouble in making it, thefe hints are thrown out
merely to fhew the curious in what way butter poffef-
fing this fuperior degree of excellence may be obtained,
if they choofe to be at the expence ; but for an Ordi¬
nary market, Dr Anderfon is fatisfied, from experience
and attentive obfervation, that if in general about the
firft drawn half of the milk be feparated at each milk¬
ing, and the remainder only fet up for producing cream,
and if that milk be allowed to ftand to throw up the
•whole of its cream (even till k begins fenfibly to tafte
fourifti), and that cream be afterwards carefully mana¬
ged, the butter thus obtained will be of a quality great¬
ly fuperiqr to what can ufually be procured at market,
and its quality not confiderably lefs than if the whole
of the milk had been treated alike. This, therefore, is
the practice that he thinks moft likely to fuit the frugal
farmer, as his butter, though of a fuperior quality,
could be afforded at a price that would always enfure
610 3 raPid fale*
D^i'y de- Our author now proceeds to enumerate the proper-
frated. ties of a dairy. The railk-houfe ought’to be cool in
L T U R E. Practice,
fummer and Warm in winter; fo that an equal tem- Manage-
perature may be preferved throughout the year. Itment .ot tlie
ought alfo to be dry, fo as to admit of being kept ■ a^* .
fweet and clean at, all times. A feparate building •
fliould be erefted for the purpofe, near a cool fpring
or running water, where the cows may have ealy ac-
cefs to it, and where it is not liable to be incommo¬
ded by ftagnant water. The apartment where the
milk ftands fhould be well thatched, have thick walls,
arid a ventilator in the top for admitting a free circu¬
lation of air. There fhould alfo be an apartment with
a fire-place and caldron, for the purpofe of fcalding
and cleaning tha Veffels. The Deft or is of opinion,.that'
the temperature of from 50 to 55 degrees is the moft
proper for feparating the cream from the milk, and by
proper means this might eaiily be kept up, or nearly
fo, both fummer and winter.
The utenfils of the dairy fhould be all made ofWooden
wood, in preference either to lead, copper, or evenutenfiIspre~
caft iron. Thefe metals are all very eafily foluble iHever^other
acids •, the folutions of the two firft highly poifonous3hind^ ° **
and though the latter is innocent, the tafte of it might
render the products highly difagreeable. ^ 3
Butter, though tifed at prefent as food in moft coun- Hiftary of
tries of Europe, Was not known, or known very im-butter,
perfeftly, to the ancients. This, we think, is com¬
pletely proved by Profeffor Beckmann in the fecond vo-'
lume of his Hi/lory of Inventions. In our tranflation of
the Hebrew Scripture, there is indeed frequent mentiorv
made of butter at very early periods 5 but, as the Pro¬
feffor well obferves, the greateft mafters of biblical cri-
ticifrh unanimoufly agree, that the Word fo tranflated
fignifies milk or cream, or four thick milk, and cannot
poflibly mean what we call butter. The word plainly
alludes tofomething liquid, which was ufed for wafhing
the feet, which was drunk, and which had fometimes
the power of intoxicating j and we know that mares
milk may be fo prepared as to produce the fame effeft,
See Koumiss.
The oldeft mention of butter, the Profeffor thinks, is
in the account of the Scythians given by Herodotus
(lib. iv. 2.), who fays, that “ thefe people pour the
milk of their mares into wooden veffels, caufe it to be
violently ftirred or lhaken by their blind flaves, and fe¬
parate the part whiqh arifes to the furface, as they
confider it as more valuable and delicious than what*
is collefted below it.” That this fubftance mult have
been a foft kind of butter, is well known ; and Hip¬
pocrates gives a fimilar account of ScytHian butter,.
and calls it •xtniya, which Galen tranflates by the
word The poet Anaxandrides, who lived’
foori after Hippocrates, deferibing the marriage-feaft'
of Iphicrates, who married the daughter of Cotys king;
of Thrace, fays, that the Thracians ate butter, which*
the Greeks at that time confidered as a wonderful kind^
of food.
Diofcorides fays, that good butter was prepared from-
the fatteft milk, fueh as that of ftieep or goats, by {ba¬
king it in a veffel till the fat was feparated. To this
butter he aferibes the fame effefts, when ufed external¬
ly, as thofe produced by our butter at prefent. He
adds alfo, and he is the firft writer w'ho makes the ob¬
fervation, that frelh butter might be melted and pour¬
ed over pulfe and vegetables inftead of oil, and that it
might be employed in paftry in the room of other fat
* fubftances.
Part III. A G R I C
Manage- fubftances. A kind of foot likewife was at that time
m Daip'the PrePared fr°m Gutter for external applications, which
i ^ . was ufed in curing inflammation of the eyes and other
diforders. For this purpofe the butter was put into a
lamp, and when confumed, the lamp was again filled
till the defired quantity of foot was colledled in a vef-
fel placed over it.
Galen, who diftinguifhes and confirms in a more ac¬
curate manner the healing virtues of butter, exprefsly
remarks, that cows milk produces the fatted butter ;
that butter made from Iheep’s or goats milk is lefs
rich ; and that affes milk yields the pooreft. He expref-
es his aftonilhment, therefore, that Diofcorides fhould
fay that butter was made only from the milk of Iheep
and goats. He aifures us that he had feen it made
from cows milk, and that he believes it had thence
acquired its name. “ Butter (fays he) may be very
properly employed for ointments 5 and when leather is
befmeared with it, the fame purpofe is anfvvered as
when it is rubbed over with oil. In cold countries,
which do not produce oil, butter is ufed in the baths j
and that it is a real fat, may be readily perceived by
its catching fire when poured over burning coals.’’
What has been here faid is fufficient to fhew that but¬
ter mud have been very little known to or ufed by the
Greeks and the Romans in the time of Galen, that is,
at the end of the fecond century.
The profeflbr having collefted, in chronological or¬
der, every thing which he could find in the works of
the ancients refpe&ing butter, concludes, that it is not
a Grecian, and much lefs a Roman invention, but that
the Greeks were made acquainted with it by the Scy¬
thians, the Thracians, and the Phrygians, and the Ro¬
mans by the people of Germany. He is likewife de¬
cidedly of opinion, that when thefe two polilhed nations
had learned the art of making it, they ufed it not as
food, but only as an ointment, or fometimes as a medi¬
cine. “ We never find it (fays he) mentioned by Ga¬
len and others as a food, though they have fpoken of it
as applicable to other purpofes. No-notice is taken of
it by Apicius ; nor is there any thing faid of it in that
refpeft by the authors who treat on agriculture, though
they have given us very particular information concern¬
ing milk, cheefe, and oil.”
The ancient Chriftians of Egypt burnt butter in
their lamps inftead of oil 5 and in the Roman churches,
it was anciently allowed, during Chriftmas time, to
bum butter inftead of oil, on account of the great con-
6t 3 fumption of it otherwife.
Qualities Butter is the fat, oily, and inflammable part of the
ef batter, milk. This kind of oil is naturally diftributed through
all the fubftance of the milk in very fmall particles,
which are interpofed betwixt the cafeous and ferous
parts, amongft which it is fufpended by a flight adhe-
fion, but without being difiblved. It is in the fame
ftate in which oil is in emalftons: hence the fame
whitenefs of milk and emulfions 3 and hence, by reft,
the oily parts feparate from both thefe liquors- to the
furface, and form a cream. See Emulsion.
When butter is in the ftate of cream, its proper oily
parts are not yet fufficiently united together to form a
homogeneous mafs. They are ftill half feparated by
the interpofition of a pretty large quantity of ferous
and cafeous particles. The butter is completely form¬
ed by preiTmg out thefe heterogeneous parts by means
u L T u R E.
of continued percuflion. It then becomes an uniform Manage-
foft mafs. raent of the
Frefh butter, which has undergone no change, has > ■
fcarcely any fmell 3 its tafte is mild and agreeable, it
melts with a weak heat, and none of its principles are
difengaged by the heat of boiling water. Thefe pro¬
perties prove, that the oily part of butter is of the na¬
ture of the fat, fixed, and mild oils obtained from ma¬
ny vegetable fubftances by expreflion. See Oils.—
The half fluid confiftence of butter, as of moft other
concrete oily matters, is thought to be owing to a con-
fiderable quantity of acid united with the oily part 3
which acid is fo well combined, that it is not percep¬
tible while the butter is freih, and has undergone no
change 5 but when it grows old, and undergoes fome
kind of fermentation, then the acid is difengaged more
and more 3 and this is the caufe that butter, like oils
of the fame kind, becomes rancid by age.
Butter is conftantly ufed in food, from its agreeable
tafte 3 but to be wholefome, it muft be very frefb and
free from rancidity, and alfo not fried or burnt 3 other-
wife its acrid and even cauftic acid, being difengaged,
diforders digeftion, renders it difficult and painful," ex¬
cites acrid empyreumatic belclungs, and introduces
much acrimony into the blood. Some perfons have
ftomachs fo delicate, that they are even affedled with
thefe inconveniences by frefti butter and milk. This
obfervation is alfo applicable to oil, fat, chocolate, and
in general to all oleaginous matters.
Dr James Anderfon, whom wTe have already quoted,
gives the following minute directions for making and 6r..-
preferving butter. The creaming dilhes, when pro-Rules for-
perly cleaned, fweet, and cool, ought to be filled with making
the milk as loon as it is drawn from the cow, having ^utter'
been firft carefully ftrained through a cloth, or dole
ftrainer made of hair or wire : the doftor prefers filver
wire to every other. The creaming dilhes ought never
to exceed three inches in- depth 3 but they may be fo
broad as to contain a gallon and a half 3 when filled
they ought to be put on the Ihelves of the milk-houfer.
and remain there until the cream be fully feparated.
If the fineft butter be intended, the milk ought not to
ftand above fix or eight hours, but for ordinary butter
it may ftand 12 hours or more ; yet if the dairy be
very large, a fufficient quantity of cream will be fepa¬
rated in two, three, or four hours, for making the bell
butter.. It is then to be taken off as nicely as poffible
by a fkimming diih, without lifting any of the milk 3
and immediately after put into a veffel by itfelf, until a
proper quantity for churning be eollefted. A firm,
neat, wooden barrel feems well adapted for this pur¬
pofe, open at one end, and having a lid fitted to dole
it. A cock or fpigot ought to be fixed near the bot¬
tom, to drawr off any thin or lerous part which may
drain from the cream 3 the infide of the opening ftiould.
be covered with a bit of fine lilver wire gauze, in order
to keep back the cream while the ferum is allowed to
pafs 3 and the barrel fhould be inclined a little on its
ftand, to allow the whole to run off.
The doftor contradicts the opinion' that very fine c-etm
butter cannot be obtained, except from cream that is ought to
not above a day old. On the contrary, he infifts that be kept
it is only in very few cafes that even tolerably good foine Ume
butter can be obtained from cream that is not above ^ei0Jre.lt be
one day old. The feparation of butter from cream butter
only
6x6
Of the
churn.
502 A G R I C
Manage- only takes place after the cream has attained a cer-
^ tain degree of acidity. If it be agitated before that
1 ' j acidity has begun to take place, no butter can be ob¬
tained, and the agitation muft be continued till the
time that the fournefs is produced 5 after which the
butter begins to form. “ In fummer, while the cli-
mature is warm, the heating may be, without very
much difhculty, continued until the acidity be pro¬
duced, fo that butter may be got: but in this cafe the
procefs is long and tedious j and the butter is for the
mod part of a foft confidence, and tough and gluey to
the touch. If this procefs be attempted during the
cold weather in winter, butter can fcarcely be in any
way obtained, unlefs by the application of fome great
degree of heat, which fometimes aflids in producing a
very inferior kind of butter, white, hard, and brittle,
and almod unfit for any culinary purpofe whatever.
The judicious farmer, therefore, will not attempt to
imitate this practice, but will allow his cream to re¬
main in the veiTel appropriated for keeping it, until it
has acquired the proper degree of acidity. There is
no-rule for determining how long it is to be kept *, but
our author is of opinion, that a very great latitude is
allowable in this cafe j and that if no ferous matter be
allowed to lodge among the cream, it may be kept
good for making butter a great many weeks.
The churn in which butter is made likewife admits
of confiderable diverfity j but our author prefers the
old-fafhioned upright churn to all others, on account
of its being more eafily cleaned. The labour, when
the cream is properly prepared, he thinks, very trifling.
Much greater nicety, he fays, is required in the pro¬
cefs of churning than mod people are aware of *, as
a few hady and irregular drokes will render butter bad,
which otherwife would have been of the fined quality.
After the procefs is over, the whole ought to be fepa-
rated from the milk, and put into a clean diih, the in-
fide of which, if made of wood, ought to be well rub¬
bed with common fait, to prevent the butter from ad¬
hering to it. The butter fhould be preffed and worked
with a flat wooden ladle or fkimming diflr, having a
fhort handle, fo as to force out all the milk that was
lodged in the cavities of the mafs. This operation re¬
quires a confiderable degree of drength as well as dex¬
terity j but our author condemns the beating up of the
butter with the hand as “ an indelicate and barbarous
praftice.” In like manner he condemns the employ¬
ing of cold water in this operation, to wajh the butter
as it is called. Thus, he fays, the quality of it is de-
bafed in an.adonifhing degree. If it is too foft, it may
be put into fmall veffels, and thefe allowed to fwim in
a tub of cold water ; but the water ought never to
touch the butter. The beating fhould be continued till
the milk be thoroughly feparated, but not till the butter
become tough and gluey; and after this is completely
done, it is next to be faked. The veffel into which
it is to be put mud be well feafoned with boiling wa¬
ter feveral times poured into it : the infide is to be
rubbed over with common fait, and a little melted but¬
ter poured into the cavity between the bottom and
fides, fo as to make it even with the bottom ; and it is
then fit for receiving the butter. Indead of common
fait alone, the doctor recommends the following com-
pofition. “ Take of fugar one part, of nitre one part,
and of the bed Spanifh great fait two parts. Beat the
I
t>i7
"Sutter
ought not
to be put
into water,
618
Compofi-
tion for
preferving
butter.
U L T U R £. Pradice*
whole into a fine powder, mix them well together, and Manage-
put them by for ufe. One ounce of this is to bemei t ,oJ t!l®
thoroughly mixed with a pound of butter as foon as it, ‘ .
is freed from the milk, and then immediately put into
the veffel defigned to hold it ; after which it mud be
prefled fo clofe as to leave no air-holes j the furface is
to be fmoothed and covered with a piece of. linen, and
over that a piece of wet parchment j or, in defefl of
this lad, fine linen that has been dipped in melted but¬
ter, exacdly fitted to the edges of the vefifel all round,
in order to exclude the air as much as poffible. When
quite full, the calk is to be covered in like manner,
and a little melted butter put round the edges, in order
to fill up effectually every cranny, and totally to ex¬
clude the air. “ If all this (fays the dodtor) be care¬
fully done, the butter may be kept perfectly found in
this climate for many years. How many years I can¬
not tell j but I have feen it two years old, and in every
refpect as fweet and found as when only a month old.
It deferves to be remarked, that butter cured in this
manner does not tafte well till it has flood at leaf! a
fortnight after being faked j but after that period Is
elapfed, it eats with a rich marrowy tafte that no other
butter ever acquires j and it takes fo little fait, that a
perfon who had been accuftomed to eat butter cured
with common fait only, would not imagine it had got
one-fourth part of the fait neceffary to preferve it.”
Our author is of opinion, that ftrong brine may be ufe-
ful to pour upon the furface during the time it is ufing,
in order the more effectually to preferve it from the
air, and to avoid rancidity. 6
As butter contains a quantity of mucilaginous mat- x0 prepare
ter much more putrefcible than the pure oily part, our butter for
author recommends the purifying it from this mucilage ^enc^'ng
by melting in a conical veffel, in which the mucilage
will fall to the bottom ; the pure oily part fwim-
ming at top. This will be ufeful when butter is to be
fent a long voyage to warm climates, as the pure part
will keep much better than when mixed with the ^20
other. He propofes another method of preferving Preferved
butter, viz. by mixing it with honey, wkich is very by honey,
antifeptic, and mixes intimately with ti e butter. Thus
mixed, it eats very pleafantly, and may perhaps be
fuccefsfully ufed with a medicinal intention. 621
In England no butter is efteemed equal to that which Eppingbul¬
ls made in the county of Effex, well known by theter*
name of Epping butter, and which in every feafon of
the year yields at London a much higher price than
any other. The following directions concerning the
making and management of butter, including the Ep¬
ping method, are extracted from the 3d volume of the
Bath Society Papers.
In general it is to be obferved, that the greater the
quantity made from a few cows, the greater will be the
farmer’s profit •, therefore he fhould never keep any
but what are efteemed good milkers. A bad cow will
be equally expenfive in her keep, and will not perhaps
(by the butter and cheefe that is made from her) bring
in more than from three to fix pounds a-year 5 whereas
a good one will bring from feven to ten pounds per an¬
num : therefore it is obvious that bad cows fliould be
parted with, and good ones purchafed in their room.
When fuch are obtained, a good fervant fhould be
employed to milk them •, as through the negleck and
mifmanagement of fervants, it frequently happens that
.the
Part III,
AGRICULTURE.
5°3
Manage- the heft cows are fpoiled. No farmer fhould trufl: en-
ment ot the tJreiy to fervants, but fometimes fee themfelves that
■ a^iry' , their cows are milked clean $ for if any milk is fuffer-
ed to remain in the udder, the cow will daily give lefs,
till at length fhe will become dry before the proper
time, and the next feafon (lie will fcarce give milk fuf-
ficient to pay for her keep.
It fometimes happens that fome of a cow’s teats may
be fcratched or wounded fo as to produce foul or cor¬
rupted milk; when this is the cafe, we Ihould by no
means mix it with the fweet milk, but give it to the
pigs} and that which is conveyed to the dairy-houfe
fhould remain in the pail till it is nearly cool, before
it be ftrained, that is, if the weather be warm \ but
in frofty‘weather it Ihould be immediately ftrained,
and a fmall quantity of boiling water may be mixed
with it, which will caufe it to produce cream in abun¬
dance, and the more fo if the pans or vats have a large
furface.
During the hot fummer months, it is right to rife
with or before the fun, that the cream may be Ikim-
med from the milk ere the dairy becomes warm j nor
fhould the milk at that feafon Hand longer in the vats,
&c. than 24 hours, nor be Ikimmed in the evening till
after funfet. In winter milk may remain unfkimmed
for 36 or 48 hours j the cream Ihould be depofited in
a deep pan, which Ihould be kept during the fummer
in the cooleft part of the dairy ; or in a cool cellar
where a free air is admitted, which is Hill better.
Where people have not an opportunity of churning
every other day, they fhould ftiift the cream daily into
; clean pans, which will keep it cool, but they ftiould
never fail to churn at leaft twice in the week in hot
weather 5 and this work fhould be done in a morning
before the fun appears, taking care to fix the churn
where there is a free draught of air. If a pump-churn
be to be ufed, it may be plunged a foot deep into a
tub of cold water, and fhould remain there during the
whole time of churning, which will very much harden
the butter. A ftrong rancid flavour will be given to
butter, if we churn fb riear the fire as to heat the wood
in the winter feafon.
After the butter is churned, it fhould be immediate¬
ly wafhed in many different waters till it is perfectly
cleanfed from the milk j but here it muff be remarked,
that a warm hand will foften it, and make it appear
greafy, fo that it will be impoflible to obtain the belt
price for it. The cheefemongers ufe two pieces of
wood for their butter j and if thofe who have a very
hot hand were to have fuch, they might work, the but¬
ter fo as to make it more faleable.
«£ The Epping butter is made up for market in long
rolls, weighing a pound each ; in the county of So-
merfet, they difh it in half pounds for fale ; but if they
forget to rub fait round the infide of the difh, it will
be difficult to work it fo as to make it appear hand-
fome.
Butter will require and endure more working in
winter than in fummer j but it is remarked, that no
perfon whofe hand is warm by nature makes good
butter.
Thofe who ufe a pump-churn muff endeavour to
keep a regular ftroke j nor fhould they admit any per¬
fon to aflift them, except they keep nearly the fame
ffroke : for if they churn more flowly, the butter will
in the winter go back, as it is called 5 and if the ftroke Manage-
be more quick and violent in the fummer, it will caufe
a fermentation, by which means the butter will imbibe . >
a very difagreeable flavour.
Where people keep many cows, a barrel-churn is
to be preferred} but if this be not kept very clean,,
the bad effe&s will be difcovered in the butter j nor
muff; we forget to ftiift the fltuation of the chum when
we ufe it, as the feafons alter, fo as to fix it in a warm
place in winter, and where there is a free air in fum¬
mer.
In many parts of this kingdom they colour their but¬
ter in winter, but this adds nothing to its goodnefs j
and it rarely happens that the farmers in or near Ep¬
ping ufe any colour; but when they do, it is very in¬
nocent. They procure fome found carrots, whofe juice
they exprefs through a fieve, and mix with the cream
when it enters the churn, wdiich makes it appear like
May butter j. nor do they at any time ufe much fait,
though a little is abfolutely neceffary.
As they make in that country but very little cheefe,
fo of courfe very little wThey butter is made j nor in¬
deed Ihould any perfon make it, except for prefent
ufe, as it will not keep good more than twro days j and
the whey will turn to better account to fatten pigs
with. Nothing feeds thefe fafter, nor will any thing
make them fo delicately white. At the fame time it is
to be obferved, that no good bacon can be made from
pigs thus fatted j, where much butter is made, good
cheefe for fervants may be obtained from fkimmed milk,
and the wrhey will afterwards do for ftore pigs.
The foregoing rules will fuffice for making good Weft of
butter in any country j but as fome people are partial Engird
to the weft country method, it ftiall be defended as m°v
briefly as poflible. _ _ > butter;
In the firft. place, they depofit their milk in earthen
pans in their dairy-houfe, and (after they have flood
twelve hours in the fummer, and double that fpace in
the winter) they remove them to ftoves made for that
purpofe, which ftoves are filled wuth hot embers ; on
thefe they remain till bubbles rife, and the cream
changes its colour $ it is then deemed heated enough,
and this they call fealded cream y it is afterwards re¬
moved fteadily to the dairy, where it remains 12 hours
more, and is then fkimmed from the milk and put into
a tub or churn : if it be put into a tub, it is beat well
with the hand, and thus they obtain buttery but a
cleanlier way is to make ufe of a churn. Some feald it
over the fire, but then the fmoke is apt to affe£t it;.
and in either cafe, if the pans touch the fire, they will
crack or fly, and the milk and cream will be wafted. 6
The Cambridgefhire fait butter is held in the higheft Cam-3
efteem, and is made nearly after the fame method as bridgeftiire-’
the Epping $ and by wafhing and working the faitbutter*
from it the cheefemongers in London often fell it at a
high jbrice for frefti butter. They depofite it -when
made into wooden tubs or firkins, which they expofe to
the air for two or three weeks, and often wafh them 5
but a readier way is to feafon them with unflaked lime,
or a large quantity of fait and water well boiled wall
do: with this they.muft be ferubbed feveral times, and
afterwards thrown into cold water, where they flrould
remain three or four days, or till they are- wanted;
then they fhould be ferubbed as before, and well rinfed
with cold water; but before they receive the butter,
car©.
$04 AGRICULTURE. Pradice.
Manage- care muft be taken to rub every part of the firkin with
m Dairy e^aIt : t^len ^ t^le ^utter properly made, and perfe&ly
i—J.:.' ^ iweet, it may be gently p re (led into the firkin 5 but it
muft be well faked when it is made up, and the fait
Ihould be equally diftributed through the whole mafs,
and a good handful of fait muft be fpread on the top of
the firkin before it is heated, after which the head
624 ihould be immediately put on.
Yorkiliire They purfue nearly the fame method in Suffolk and
butteSrUT°lkYorkfhire 3 nor is the butter that is made in thefe
. 1 ’ counties much inferior to that made in Cambridgefhire j
indeed it is often fold in London for Cambridge but¬
ter : and no people make more butter from their cows
than the-Yorkfhire farmers do, which is certainly owing
to the care they take of their cows in the winter ; as at
that feafon they houfe them all, feed them with good
hay, and never fuffer them to go out (except to water)
but when the weather is very ferene ; and when their
cows calve, they give them comfortable malt mefties
for two or three days after ; but thefe cows' never an-
fwenif they are removed to other counties, except the
fame care and attendance be given them, and then
none anfwer better.
Land whereon cows feed does very often affeft the
butter. If wild garlic, charlock, or May-weed, be
found in a pafture ground, cows ftiould not feed there¬
in till after they have been mown, when fuch perni¬
cious plants will appear no more till the following
fpring ; but thofe cow's that give milk muft not par¬
take of the hay made therefrom, as that will alfo dif-
fufe its bad qualities.
Great part of the Epping butter is made from cowts
that feed during the fummer months in Epping foreft,
where the leaves and ftirubby plants contribute greatly
to the flavour of the butter. The mountains of Wales,
the highlands of Scotland, and the moors, commons,
and heaths in England, produce excellent butter where
it is properly managed ; and though not equal in
quantity, yet far fuperior in quality to that which is
produced from the richeft meadow's ; and the land is
often blamed wdien the butter is bad through mifma-
nagement, fluttifhnefs, or inattention.
Turnips and rape affeft milk and butter, but brewers
grains are fweet and wholefome food, and will make
cows give abundance of milk j yet the cream thereon
will be- thin, except good hay be given at the fame
time, after every meal of grains. Colewmrts and cab¬
bages are alfo excellent foods and if thefe and favoys
were cultivated for this purpofe, the farmers in general
would find their account in it.
Cows fliould never be fuffered to drink improper
water 5 ftagnated pools, water wherein frogs, &c.
fpawn, common fewers, and ponds that receive the
-g,,. drainings of ftables, are improper.
Frauds in Divers abufes are committed in the packing and
the fale of faking of butter, to increafe its bulk and weight, a-
butter. gainft which we have a ftatute exprefs. Pots are fre¬
quently laid with good butter for a little depth at the
top, and with bad at the bottom j fometimes the but¬
ter is fet in rolls, only touching at top, and {landing
hollow at bottom. To prevent thefe cheats, the fac¬
tors at Utoxeter keep a furveyor, who, in cafe of fuf-
picion, tries the pots writh an iron inftrument called a
butter-bore, made like a cheefe-tafter, to be ftuck in
obliquely to the bottom.
3
In the Annals of Agriculture, vol. xvii. jthe follow- Manage¬
ing mode of preventing butter and cream from receiv- nient .of the
ing a taint from the cows feeding on cabbages and tur- , Da’ry' ,
nips is ftated by J. Jones Efq. of Eolas-heath, Newport, 62<j
Shropfhire. “ I find by experience (fays he) that a fmall How but-
bit of faltpetre, powrdered and put into the milk-pan,ter may he
with the new milk, does effe&ually prevent the cream
and butter from being tainted, although the cows be cabbages*
fed on the refufe leaves of cabbages and turnips. In and turnip*.-
the beginning of this laft winter, my men were very
careful in not giving to the cows any outfide or decay¬
ed leaves of the cabbages or turnips j yet the cream
and butter were fadly tainted : but as foon as the maid
ufed the faltpetre, all the taint was done awray j and
afterwrards no care was taken in feeding the cows, for ,
they had cabbages and turnips in ail ftates. Our milk-
pans hold about nine pints of milk.”
The trade in butter is very confiderable. Some com- £xtent of
pute 50,000 tons annually confumed in London. It the butter
is chiefly made within 40 miles round the city. Fifty trade,
thoufand firkins are faid to be fent yearly from Cam¬
bridge and Suffolk alone j each firkin containing 56
lbs. Utoxeter in Staffordfhire is a market famous for
good butter, infomuch that the London merchants have
eftablilhed a faftory there for that article. It is bought
by the pot, of a long cylindrical form, weighing iqlb.
The other grand obje6l of the dairy is cheefe-mak- cheefe de-
ing. Cheefe is the curd of milk, precipitated orfcribed.
feparated from the whey by an acid. Cheefe differs in
quality according as it is made from new or fkimmed
milk, from the curd which feparates fpontaneoufly upon
{landing, or that which is more fpeedily produced by
the addition of runnet. Cream alfo affords a kind of
cheefe, but quite fat and butyraceous, and which does
not keep long. Analyzed chemically, cheefe appears
to partake much more of an animal nature than butter,
or the milk from which it was made. It is-infoluble in
every liquid except fpirit of nitre, and cauftic alkaline
ley. Shaved thin, and properly treated with hot wa¬
ter, it forms a very ftrong cement if mixed with quick¬
lime *. When prepared with the hot water, it is re- * See
commended in the Swredilh memoirs to be ufed by ment.
anglers as a bait. It may be made into any form, is
not foftened by the cold water, and the filhes are fond
of it. As a food, phyficians condemn the too free ufe
of cheefe. When new, it is extremely difficult of di-
geftion : when old, it becomes acrid and hot; and,
from Dr Percival’s experiments, is evidently of a fep-
tic nature. It is a common opinion that old cheefe di»
gefts every thing, yet is left undigefted itfelf j but this
is without any folid foundation. Cheefe made from
the milk of fheep digefts fooner than that from tb»
milk of cows, but is lefs nouriftiing ; that from the
milk of goats digefts fooner than either, but is alfo
the leaft nourifhing. In general, it is a kind of food
•fit only for the laborious, or thofe whofe organs of di-
geftion are ftrong.
Every country has places noted for this commodity:
thus Cheftcr and Gloucefter cheefe are famous in Eng¬
land ; and the Parmefan chqefe is in no lefs repute
abroad, efpecially in France. This fort of cheefe is
entirely made of fweet cow-milk : but at Rochefort in
Languedoc, they make it of ewe’s milk and in other
places it is ufual to add goat or ewre’s milk in a certain
proportion to that of the cow. There is likewife a
kind
Part HI. AGRICULTURE. 505
Manage- kind of medicated cheefe made by intimately mixing
TOe^0^the the expreffed juice of certain herbs, as fage, baum,
. ‘^irV' , mint, &c. with the curd before it is fafliionetl into a
cheefe. The Laplanders make a fort of cheefe of the
milk of their rein-deer ; which is not only of great fer-
vice to them as food, but on many other occafions. It
is a very common thing in thefe climates to have a
limb numbed and frozen with the cold : their remedy
for this is the heating an iron red hot, and thrufting it
through the middle of one of thefe chcefes j they catch
what drops out, and with this anoint the limb, which
foon recovers. They are fubjeft alfo to coughs and
difeafesr' of the lungs, and thefe they cure by the fame
fort of medicine : they boil a large quantity of the
cheefe in the frefh deer’s milk, and drink the decoc¬
tion in large draughts warm feveral times a-day. They
make a lefs ftrong decodtion of the fame kind alfo,
which they ufe as their common drink, for three or
four days together, at feveral times of the year. They
do this to prevent the mifchiefs they are liable to from
their water, which is otherwife their conftant drink,
and is not good.
Making of In making cheefe the fame precaution is to be ob-
cheefe. ferved as with regard to butter, viz. the milk ought
not to be agitated by carrying to any diftance; nor
ought the cows to be violently driven before they
are milked, which reduces the milk almoft to the fame
ftate as if agitated in a barrel or churn. To this
caufe Mr Twamley, who has written a treatife upon
dairy management, attributes the great difficulty fome-
times met with in making the milk coagulate ; four
or five hours being fometimes neceffary inftead of one
(the ufual time employed) j and even after all, the
curd will be of fuch a foft nature, that the cheefe will
fwell, puff up, and rent in innumerable places, without
ever coming to that folid confiftence which it ought
to have. As this frequently happens in confequence
of heat, Mr Twamley advifes to mix a little cold
fpring water with the milk. It is a bad practice to
put in more rurtnet when the curd appears difficult to
be formed, for this, after having once formed the curd
by the ufe of a certain quantity, will diffolve it again
630 by the addition of more.
General de- The moft common defefts of cheefe are its appear-
cheeftf *nS when cut bdl °f fmall holes called eyes ; its puffing
up, cracking, and 'pouring out quantities of thin ferous
liquor ; becoming afterwards rotten and full of mag¬
gots in thofe places from which the liquor iffucd. All
this, according to our author, proceeds from the for¬
mation of a fubflance called by himJhfi curd, a kind of
half coagulum, incapable of a thorough union with the
true curd, and which when broken into very fmall bits
produces eyes; but if in larger pieces, occafions thofe
rents and cracks in the cheefe already mentioned ; for
though this kind of curd retains its coagulated nature
for feme time, it always fooner or later diffolves into
a ferous liquid. This kind of curd may be produced,
u. Ty ufing the milk too hot. 2. By bad runnet.
g. By not allowing the curd a proper time to form.
The firft of thefe is remedied by the ufe of cold water,
which our author fays is fo far from being detrimental
to the quality of the cheefe, that it really promotes
the aftion of the runnet upon the milk. The fecond,
viz. a knowledge of good from bad runnet, can only
be acquired by long practice, and no particular direc-
Vol. I. Part II.
tions can be given, farther than that the utmoff care Manage-
muft be taken that it have no putrid tendency, nor me"t ?f the
any rancidity from too great heat in drying. The. * i
only rule that can be given for its preparation is to 651
take out the maw of a calf which has fed entirely upon Of prepa-
milk ; after it is cold, fwill it a little in water ; rub it ring run"
well with fait; then fill it with the fame, and after-net*
wards cover it. Some cut them open and fpread them
in fait, putting them in layers above one another, let¬
ting them continue in the brine they produce, fome¬
times ftirring or turning them for four, fix, or nine
months $ after which they are opened to dry, ftretch-
ed out upon flicks or fplints. They may be ufed im¬
mediately after being dried, though it is reckoned belt
to keep them till they be a year old before they are
ufed. The beft method of making the runnet from
the Ikins, according to our author, is the following:
“ Take pure fpring water, in quantity proportioned
to the runnet you intend to make j it is thought beft
by fome twro Ikins to a gallon of water 5 boil the wa¬
ter, which makes it fofter or more pure; make it
with fait into brine that will fwim an egg: then let it
ftand till the heat is gone off to about the heat of
blood-warm; then put your maw-fkin in, either cut
in pieces or whole 5 the former I fhould imagine beft
or moft convenient; letting it fteep 24 hours, after
which it will be fit for ufe. Such quantity as is
judged neceffary muft then be put into the milk j
about a tea-cupful being neceffary for ten cows milk j
though in this refpeft very particular diredlions cannot
be given.” _ 533
In the Bath Papers, Mr Hazard gives the follow- Mr Ha-
ing receipt for making runnet. “ When the mawT-fkin za.rd’sfre*
is well prepared and fit for the purpofe, three pints or^Pj^1
two quarts of foft water, clean and fweet, ftiould be
mixed with fait, wdierein Ihould be put fweet brier,
rofe leaves and flowrers, cinnamon, cloves, mace,
and in fhort almoft every fort of fpice and aromatic
that can be procured j and if thefe are put into two
quarts of water, they muft boil gently till the liquor
is reduced to three pints, and care ftiould be taken that
this liquid is not fmoked } it Ihould be ftrained clear
from the fpices, &c, and when found not to be warmer
than milk from the cow, it ftiould’be poured upon
the veil or maw $ a lemon may then be fliced into it,
when it may remain a day.or two j after which it ftiould
be ftrained again and put into a bottle, where, if well
corked, it will keep good for twelve months or more )
it will fmell like a perfume, and a fmall quantity of it
wall turn the milk, and give the cheefe a pleafing fla¬
vour.” He adds, that if the veil or mawr be faked and
dried for a week or two near the fire, it will do for £he
purpofe again almoft as well as before. ^
In the making of cheefe, fuppofing the runnet to Particular
be of. a good quality, the following particulars muftt0 be oj3-
be obferved : I. The proper degree of heat. This^^1^
ought to be vrhat is called milk-warm, or, “ a few cheefef °
degrees removed from coolnefs,” according to Mr
Twamley j confiderably below the heat of milk taken
from the cow. If too hot, it may be reduced to a
proper temperature by cold water, as already men¬
tioned. 2. The time allowed for the runnet to take
effeft. This, our author obferves, ought never to be
lefs than an hour and a half. The procefs may be ac¬
celerated, particularly by putting fait to the milk be-
d S fore
506
A G R I C U
Manage- fore the funnet is added. Mr Twamley advifes two
tnem of the ten or twelve cows milk 5 but he affures
1 d‘ry' ■ us, that no bad confequence can follow from the curd
being formed ever fo foon ; as it then only becomes
more folid and fit for making cheefe of a proper qua¬
lity. 3. To prevent any difficulty in feparating the
curd from the whey, prepare a long cheefe-knife from
lath 5 one edge being fharpened to cut the curd acrofs
from top to bottom in the tub, eroding it with lines
checkerwife : by which means the whey rifes through
the vacancies made by the knife, and the curd finks
with much more eafe. A fieve has alfo been ufed with
fuccefs, in order to feparate the whey perfectly from
the curd. 4. Having got the curd all firm at the bot¬
tom of the tub, take the whey from it; let it Hand a
quarter of an hour to drain before you put it into
the vat to break it. If any bits of flip-curd fwim
among the whey, pour it all off together rather than
put it among the cheefe, for the reafons already given.
Some dairy-women allow the curd to (land for twro
hours } by which time it is become of fo firm a nature
that no breaking is neceffary : they have only to cut it
in dices, put it into the vat, and work it wTell by
fqueezing thoroughly to make it fit clofe; then put
it into the prefs. Our author, however, approves
more of the method of breaking the curd, as lefs apt
to make the cheefe hard and horny. 5. When the
whey is of a white colour, it is a certain fign that the
curd has not fubfided } but if the method juft now laid
down be followed, the whey will always be of a green
colour; indeed this colour of the whey is a Ways a
certain criterion of the curd having been properly
managed. 6. The beft method of preventing cheefe
from heaving, is to avoid making the runnet too ftrong,
to take care that it be clean, and not tainted ; to be
certain that the curd is fully come, and not to ftir it
before the air has had time to efcape j a quantity of
air being always difeharged in this as in many other
chemical proceffes. 7. Cheefe is very apt to fplit in
confequence of being “ faked within,” efpecially
when the vat is about half filled. In this cafe the
curd, though feparated only in a fmall degree by the
fait, never clofes or joins as it ought to do. Mr Twam¬
ley prefers faking in the milk greatly to this method.
8. Dry cracks in cheefe are generally produced by
keeping curd from one meal to another, and let¬
ting the firft become too ftiff and hard before it is
mixed with the other. 9. Curdly or wrinkle-coated
cheefe is caufed by four milk. Cheefe made of cold
milk is apt to be hard, or to break and fly before the
knife. 10. Such coated cheefe is caufed by being
made too cold, as cheefe that is made in winter or late
in autumn is apt to be, unlefs laid in a warm room after
it is made.
Cheefe is of very different quality, according to the
milk from which it is made : Thus, in Gloucefterffiire,
what is called the fecond or frim-meal cheefe, is made
from one meal of new milk and one of (kimmed or old
milk, having the cream taken away. Skimmed cheefe
or cheefe, is made entirely from flummed milk,
the cream having been taken off to make butter. It
goes by the name of Suffolk cheefe, and is much ufed
at fea j being lefs liable to be affe&ed by the heat of
warm climates than the other kinds. A great deal
of difference, however, is to be obferved in the quali-
. 634
Different
kinds of
efteefe.
L T U R E. Praftice,
ty of it, which our author fuppofes to arife chiefly Mana^e-
from greater care being taken in fome places than in ment of d16
others. b ^
Slip-coat or foft cheefe is made entirely of flip-curd,
and diffolves into a kind of creamy liquor } which is a
demonftration of the nature of this curd, as already
mentioned. It is commonly computed, that as much
milk is required to make one pound of butter as two
of cheefe \ and even more where the land is poor,
and the paftures afford but little cream. ^
Beji methods of making cheefe in England. The Double
double Gloucefter is a cheefe that pleafes almoft every Gloucefter.
palate. The beft of this kind is made from new, or
(as it is called in that and the adjoining counties)
covered milk. An inferior fort is made from what is
called half covered milk; though when any of thefe
cheefes turn out to be good, people are deceived, and
often purchafe them for the beft covered milk cheefe:
but farmers who are honeft have them ftamped with
a piece of wood made in the ftiape of a heart, fo that
any perfon may know7 them.
It will be every farmer’s intereft (if he has a fuffi-
cient number of cows) to make a large cheefe from one
meal’s milk. This, when brought in warm, will be
eafily changed or turned with the runnet; but if the
morning or night’s milk be to be mixed with that
which is freffi from the cow7, it will be a longer time
before it turns, nor will it change fometimes without
being heated over the fire, by which it often gets dull
or foot, or fmoke, which wdll give the cheefe a very
difagreeable flavour.
When the milk is turned, the whey ftiould be care¬
fully ftrained from the curd. The curd ftiould be bro¬
ken fmall w ith the hands $ and when it is equally bro¬
ken, it muft be put by a little at a time into the vat,
carefully breaking it as it is put in. The vat ftiould
be filled an inch or more above the brim, that when
the whey is preffed out, it may not (brink below the
brim j if it does, the cheefe will be worth very little.
But firft, before the curd is put in, a cheefe-cloth or
drainer fliould be laid at the bottom of the vat : and
this ffiould be fo large, that when the vat is filled with
the curd, the ends of the cloth may turn again over
the top of it. When this is done, it fliould be taken to
the prefs, and there remain for the fpace of two hours,
when it ftiould be turned and have a clean cloth put
under it and turned over as before. It muft then be
preffed again, and remain in the prefs fix or eight
hours ; when it fliould again be turned and rubbed on
each fide with fait. After this it muft be preffed again
for the fpace of 12 or 14 hours more \ when, if any
of the edges projeft, they fliould be pared off: it may
then be put on a dry board, where it ftiould be regu¬
larly turned every day. It is a good way to have three
or four' holes bored ground the lower part of the vat,
that the whey may drain fo perfectly from the cheefe
as not the leaft particle of it may remain.
The prevailing opinion of the people of Gloucefter-
ftiire and the neighbouring counties is, that the cheefes
will fpoilif they do not ferape and w7affi them when,
they are found to be mouldy. But others think that
fuffering the mould to remain mellows them, provided
they are turned every day. Thofe, however, who will
have the mould off, ftiould caufe it to be removed
with a clean dry flannel, as the wafliing the cheefes
Part III.
A G R I C U
Dairy.
636
Chedder
cheefe.
637
Chefliire
dieet'e.
Manage- is only a means of making the mould (which is a
niei.t oi the fpecies 0f fungus rooted in the coat) grow again im-
"j mediately.
Some people fcald the curd : but this is a bad and
mercenary pra&ice $ it robs the cheefe of its fatnefs,
and can only be done with a viewr to raife a greater
quantity of whey butter, or to bring the cheefes for¬
ward for fale, by making them appear older than they
really are.
As moft people like to purchafe high coloured
cheefe, it may be right to mix a little arnotto with the
milk before it is turned. No cheefe will look yellow
without it ; and though it does not in the lead add to
the goodnefs, it is perfeftly innocent in its nature and
effefts.
Chedder cheefe is held in high efteem ; but its
goodnefs is faid to be chiefly owing to the land where¬
on the cows feed, as the method of making it is the
fame as is purfued throughout Somerfetihire, and the
adjoining counties.
Chefliire cheefe is much admired ; yet no people
take lefs pains with the runnet than the Chelhire far¬
mers. But their cheefes are fo large as often to ex¬
ceed one hundred pounds weight each j to this (and
the age they are kept, the richnefs of the land, and the
keeping fuch a number of cows as to make fuch a
cheefe without adding a fecond meal’s milk) their ex¬
cellence may be attributed. Indeed they fait the curd
(which may make a difterence), and keep the cheefes
m a damp place after they are made, and are very care¬
ful to turn them daily.
The following account of the mode of making this
cheefe is ftated in the Annals of Agriculture, by IVIr
John Chamberlaine of Chefter. “ The proceis of ma-
king Chelhire cheefe is as follows, viz. on a farm ca¬
pable of keeping 25 cows, a cheefe of about fixty
pounds weight may be daily made, in the months of
May, June, and July.
“ The evening’s milk is kept untouched until next
morning, when the cream is taken off, and put to warm
in. a brafs pan heated with boiling water; then one-
third part<)f that milk is heated in the fame manner,
fo as to bring it to the heat of new milk from the cowt j
( 1 his part of the bufinefs is done by a perfon who does
not aflifl: in milking the cows during that time.) Let
the cows be milked early in the morning $ then the
morning’s new milk and the night’s milk, thus prepa¬
red, are put into a large tub together with the cream $
then a portion of runnet that has been put into water
milk-warm the evening before is put into the tub, fuf-
ficient to coagulate the milk ; and at the fame time, if
arnotto be ufed to colour the cheefe, a fmall quantity,
as requifite for colouring, (or a marigold or carrot in-
fufion) is rubbed very fine, and mixed with the milk,
by Birring all together ; then covering it up warm, it
is to Band about half an hour, or until coagulated 5 at
which time it is firB turned over with a bowl, to fepa-
ra.te the wrhey from the curds, and broken foon after
wita the hand and bowl into very fmall particles j the
whey being feparated by Banding feme time, is taken
from the curd, which finks to the bottom j the curd is
then collected into a part of the tub which has a flip
or loofe board acrofs the diameter of the bottom
of it, . for the foie ufe of feparating them ; and a
board is placed thereon, with weights, from fixty to
L T U R E. So7
a hundred and twenty pounds, to prefs out the whey: Manage-
when it is getting into a more folid confifience, it is cut, ment of the
and turned over in Dices feveral times, to extract, a
all the whey, and then weighted as before; which
operations may take up about an hour and a half. It.
is then taken from the tub, as near the fide as poflible,
and broken very fmall by hand, and falted, and put in¬
to a cheefe vat, enlarged in depth by a tin hoop to
hold the quantity, it being more than bulk when final¬
ly put into the prefs. Then prels the fide well by
hand, and with a board at top well weighted j and pla¬
cing wooden fkewers round the cheefe to the centre,
and drawing them out frequently, the upper part of
the cheefe will be drained of its whey : then fliift it
out of the vat 5 firfl put a cloth upon the top of it, and
reverfe it on the cloth into another vat, or the fame,
which vat fhould be well fealded before the cheefe is
returned into it; then the top part is broken by hand
down to the middle, and fait mixed with it, and fkew-
ered as before, then prefled by hand, weighted, and all
the whey extra&ed. This done, reverfe the cheefe
again into another vat, warmed as before, with a cloth
under it ; then a tin hoop or binder is put round the
upper edge of the cheefe and within the Tides of the
vat, the cheefe being firfl inclofed in a cloth, and the
edges of it put within the vat.
N. B. 1 he cloth is of fine hemp, one yard and a
half long by one yard wide. It is fo laid, that on one
fide of the vat it fliall be level with the fide of it, on
the other it {hall lap over the whole of the cheefe, and
the edges put within the vat; and the tin fillet to go
over the whole. All the above operations will take
from feven in the morning till one at noon. Finally,
it is put into a prefs of fifteen or twenty cwt. and
ftuck round the vat into the cheefe with thin wire
fkewers, which are fhifted occanonally. In four hours
more, it fliould be fhifted and turned, and in four hours
more, the fame, and the fkewTering continued. Next
morning, let it be turned by the woman who attends
the milk, and put under another or the fame prefs, and
fo turned at night and the next morning j at noon, ta¬
ken out finally to the falting room, there fait the out-
fide, and put a cloth binder round it. The cheefe
fhould, after fuch falting, be turned twice a-day for
fix or feven days, then left two or three weeks to dry,
turned and cleaned every day, taken to the common
cheefe room, laid on ftraw on a boarded floor, and daily
turned until grown hard.
The room fhould be moderately warm; but no
wind or draught of air fhould be permitted, which ge¬
nerally cracks them. Some rub the outfideswith but¬
ter or oil to give them a coat.
“ *1 he Ip ring-made cheefe is often flapped for the
London market in the follow ing autumn, and it is fup-
pofed to be much ameliorated by the heating on board
the velfel.” ’ ° ^ R
But of all the cheefe this kingdom produces, none is Stilton
more highly efteemed than the Stilton, which is called cheefe.
the Parmefan of England, and (except faulty) is never
fold for lefs than is. or is. -2d. per pound.
The.Stilton cheefes are ufually made in fquare vats,
and wreigh from fix to twelve pounds each cheefe. Im¬
mediately after they are made, it is neceflary to put
them into fquare bqxes made exatfily to fit them ; they
being fo extremely rich, that except this precaution
3 S 2 be
508
A G R I C U
Manage- be taken they are apt to bulge out, and break afunder.
They (hould be continually and daily turned in thefe
1 y" boxes, and muft be kept two years before they are pro¬
perly mellowed for fale.
Some make them in a net fomewhat like a cabbage
net $ fo that they appear, when made, not unlike an
acorn. But thefe are never fo good as the other, hav¬
ing a thicker coat, and wanting all that rich flavour
and mellownefs which make them fo pleafing.
It is proper to mention that the making of thefe
cheefes is not confined to the Stilton farmers, as many
others in Huntingdonfhire (not forgetting Rutland and
Northamptonfliire) make a fimilar fort, fell them for
the fame price, and give all of them the name of S(i7~
ton cheefes.
Though thefe farmers are remarked for cleanlinefs,
they take very little pains with the runnet, as they in
general only cut pieces from the veil or maw, which
they put into the milk, and move gently about with
the hand, by which means it breaks or turns it fo, that
they eafily obtain the curd. But if the method above
defcribed for making runnet were put in pra£tice, they
would make their cheefe dill better •, at leaf! they
would not have fo many faulty and unfound cheefes j
for notwithftanding their cheefes bear fuch a name and
price, they often find them fo bad as not to be fale-
able 5 which is probably owing to thsir being fo care-
lefs about the runnet.
It has been alleged, that as good cheefe might be
made in other counties, if people would adhere to the
Stilton plan, which is this: They make a cheefe every
morning •, and’ to this meal of new milk they add the
cream taken from that which was milked the night be¬
fore. This, and the age of their cheefes, have been
fuppofed the only reafons why they are preferred to
others 5 for from the niceft obfervation, it does not ap¬
pear that their land is. in any refpedf fuperior to that
of other counties.
Excellent cream cheefes are made in Lincolnfhire,
by adding the cream of one meal’s milk to milk which
comes immediately from the cow; thefe are prefled
gently two or three times, turned for a few days, and
are then difpofed of at the rate of is. per pound, to be
eaten while new with radifhes, falad, &c.
Many people give ikimmed milk to pigs, but the
whey will do equally w’ell after cheefes are made
from this milk y fuch cheefes will always fell for at
lead: 2d. per pound, which will amount to a-large fum
annually where they make much butter. The pea-
fants and many of the farmers in the north of Eng¬
land never eat any better cheefe } and though they ap¬
pear harder, experience hath proved them to be much
eafier of digeftion than any new milk cheefes. A
good market may always be found for the fale of them
at Briftol.
Account of the making of Parmefan cheefe ; by Mr
Zappa of Milan: in finfwer to queries from Arthur.
Young, Efq.
“ Are the cows regularly fed in ftables ?”—From
the middle of April, or fooner if poflible, the cows
are fent to pafture in the meadow's till the end of No¬
vember ufually.
“ Or only fed in ftables in winter ?”—When the
feafon is paft, and fnow comes, they are put into
ftables for the whole winter, and fed with hay,.
<>39
Parreefan
cheefe.
L T U R E. Practice..
“ Do they remain in the pafture from morning till Manage-
night ? or only in hot weather ?”—Between nine andment ot the
ten in the morning the cows are fent to water, and, Dairy- i
then to the paftures, w'here they remain four or five v
hours at moft, and at three or four o’clock are driven
to the ftables if the feafon is frefh, or under porticoes if
hot j where for the night, a convenient quantity of hay,
ii given them.
“ In what months are they kept at pafture tha
whole day ?”—Moftly anfwered already : but it might
be faid, that no owner will leave his cattle, without,
great caufe, in uncovered places at night. It hap¬
pens only to the fhepherds from the Alps, when they
pafs, becaufe it is impoflible to find ftables for all their
cattle.
“ What is the opinion in the Lodefan, on the bell
condu£f for profit in the management of meadows ?”
—For a dairy farm of 100 cowrs, which yields daily a
cheefe weighing 70 or 75 lb. of 28 ounces, are want¬
ed 1000 perticas of land. Of thefe about 8oc> are.
Handing meadow's, the other 200 are in cultivation for
corn and grafs fields in rotation.
“ Do they milk the cows morning and evening ?”
—Thofe that are in milk are milked morning and
evening, with exception of fuch as are near calving.
“ One hundred cows being wanted to make a Lo¬
defan each day, it is fuppofed that it is made wuth the
milk of the evening and the following morning $ or of
the morning and evening of the fame day : how' is it ?”
—The 100 cows form a dairy farm of a good large •
cheefe j it is reckoned that 8a are in milk, and 2a
with calves fucking, or near calving. They reckon
one with the other about 32 boccalis of 32 oz. of milk
Such is the quantity for a cheefe of about yolb. of 28
ounces. They join the evening wuth the morning
milk, becaufe it is frelher than, if it was that of the
morning and evening of the fame day. The morning
milk w'ould be 24, hours old when the next morning
the cheefe ftiould be made.
“ Do they Ikim or not the milk to make butter be¬
fore they make the cheefe ?”—From the evening milk,,
all the cream poflible is taken awray for butter, maf-
carponi (cream cheefe), &c. The milk of the morn¬
ing ought to be flammed flightly y but every one flams
as much cream as he can. The butter is fold on the
fpot immediately at 24. fous : the cheefe at about 28
fous.. The butter lofes nothing in weight y the cheefe
lofes one-third of it, is fubjeft to heat, and requires
expences of fervice, attention, warehoufes, &c. before
it is fold; and a man in two hours makes 45 or 5olb.
of butter that is fold direftly. However, it is not pof-
fible to leave much cream in the milk to make Lode-
fan cheefe, called grained cheefe ; becaufe if it is too
richr it does not laft long, and it is neceffary to con-
fume it while young and found..
“ Is Parmefan or Lodefan cheefe made every day
in the year or not?”—With 100 cow's it is. In
winter, how'ever, the milk being lefs in quantity, the
cheefe is of leffer weight, but certainly more delicate.
“ After gathering or uniting the milk, either flam¬
med or not, what is exaftly the whole operation ?”—
The morning of the 3d of March 1786, I have feen
the whole operation, having gone on purpofe to the
fpot to fee the whole work from beginning to end. At
16 Italian.hours, or-ten.in the morning, according ts>
the-
Part Ilf. A G R I C U
Manage- the northern way to account hours, the fkimmlng of
tllCmorn^n§,s gathered only two hours before,
. " ■ was finiihed. I did, meanwhile, examine the boiler or
pot. At the top it was eight feet (Engliih) diameter,
or thereabout *, and about five feet three inches deep,
made like a bell, and narrowing towards the bottom
to about tw'o and one-half feet. They joined the cream
produced that morning with the other produced by
the milk of the evening before. That produced by
this lad milk was double in quantity to that of the
morning milk, becaufe it had the wdiole night to unite,
and that of the morning had only two hours to do it :
in which it could not leparate much. Of the cream,
fome was deftined to make mafcarponies (cream cheefe),
and they put the reil into the machine for making but¬
ter. Out of the milk of the evening before and of
that morning, that was all put together after fkimming,
they took and put into the boiler 272 boccali, and
they put under it two faggots of w’ood ; which being
burnt, w'ere fufficient to give the milk a warmth a
little fuperior to lukewarm. Then the boiler being
withdrawm from the fire, the foreman put into it the
runnet, which they prepare in fmall balls of one ounce
each, turning the ball in his hand always kept in the
milk entirely covered ; and after it wfas perfedlly dif-
folved, he covered the boiler to keep the milk defend¬
ed, that it might not fuffer from the coldnefs of the
feafon, particularly as it was a windy day. I w;ent
then to look on the man that was making mafcarpo¬
nies, &c. and then we wrent twice to examine if the
milk wras fufficiently coagulated. At the 18 hours, ac¬
cording to the Italian clocks, or noon, the true manu-
fadlory of cheefe began. The milk w^as coagulated in
a manner to be taken from the boiler in pieces from
the furrace. The foreman, with a Hick that had 18
points, or rather nine fmall pieces of wood fixed by
their middle in the end of it, and forming nine points
on each fide, began to break exa&ly all the coagulated
milk, and did continue to do fo for more than half
an hour, from time to time examining it to fee its Hate.
He ordered to renew the fire, and four faggots of
willow branches were ufed all at once : he turned the
boiler that the fire might afl} and then the underman
began to work in the milk wdth a Hick, like ths above,
but only with four fmaller flicks at the top, forming
eight points, four at each fide, a fpan long each point.
In a quarter of an hour the foreman mixed in the
boiler the proper quantity of faffron, and the milk w'as
all in knobs, and finer grained than before, by the ef-
fecf of turning and breaking the coagulation, or curd,
continually. Every moment the fire was renewed or
fed 5 but with a faggot only at a time, to continue it
regular. The milk was never-heated much, nor does
it hinder to keep the hand in it to know the finenefs
of the grain, which refines- continually by the flick-
work of the underman. It is of the greatefl confe-
'queqpe to mind when the grain begins to take a con-
fiflence. When it comes to this flate, the boiler is
turned from the fire, and the underman immediately
takes out the whey, putting it into proper receivers.
In that manner the grain fubfides to the bottom of
the boiler; and leaving only in it whey enough to
keep the grain covered a little, the foreman extending
himfelf as much as he can over and in the boiler,
unites with his hands the grained milk,, making like a-
L T U R E. 509
body of pafle of it. Then a large piece of linen is Making of
run by him under that pafte, while another man keeps Fruit-Li-
the. four corners of it, and the whey is dire&ly put, quors'
again into the boiler, by which is facilitated the means v
of rajfing that pafle that is taken out of the boiler, and
put for one quarter of an hour into the receiver where
the whey was put before, in the fame linen it was ta¬
ken from the boiler; which boiler is turned again di-
reflly on the fire, to extract the mafcarpa (whey
cheefe) ; and is a fecond product, eaten by poor peo¬
ple. After the pafle remained for a quarter of an
hour in that receiver, it was taken out and turned into
the wooden form called fajfcra, without any thing elfe
made than the rotundity, having neither top nor bot¬
tom. Immediately after having turned it into that
round wooden form, they put a piece of wood like a
cheefe on it, putting and increafing gradually weights
on it, which lerve to force out the remnant of the
whey ; and in the evening the cheefe fo formed is car¬
ried into the warehoufe, where, after 24 hours, they
begin to give the fait. It remains in that warehoufe
for 15 or 20 days ; but in fummer only from 8 to 1 2
days. Meanwhile the air and fait form the crufl to it ;
and then it is carried into another warehoufe for a dif¬
ferent fervice. In the fecond warehoufe they turn
every day all the cheefes that are not older than fix
months ; and afterwards it is enough if they are onlv
turned every 48 or 60 hours, keeping them clean, in
particular, of that bloom which is inevitable to them,
and which, if neglected, turns mufty, and caufes the
cheefe to acquire a bad fmell, The Lodefan, becaufe
it is a province watered, has a great deal of meadows,
and abounds with cows, its product being moftly in
cheefe, butter, &c. However, the province of Pavia
makes a great deal of that cheefe ; and we Milanefe
do likewife the fame from the fide of Porte Tofa, Ro-
mana, Ticinefe, and Vercilino, becaufe we have fine
meadows and dairy farms.
Sect. IX. Making of Fruit-Liquors.
These, as objects of Britilh hufbandry, are prin-
cipally two, Cyder arid Perry; the manufacturing ofquors.
■which forms a capital branch in our fruit-counties,
and of which the improvement mull be confidered as
of great importance to the public, but particularly fo
to the inhabitants of thofe diltririts where thefe liquors
conftitute their common beverage.
Cyder and perry, when genuine and in high per-Excefience
feftion, are excellent vinous liquors, and are cer-of cyder'
tainly- far more w'holefome than many others whichand Perr.v-
at prefent are in much higher eftimation. When
the mull is prepared from the choiceft fruit, and un¬
dergoes the exafl degree of vinous fermentation re-
quifite to its- perfeflion, the acid and the fweet are
fo admirably blended with the aqueous, oily, and fpi-
rituous principles, and the whole fo imbued with the
grateful flavour of the rinds, and the agreeable aro¬
matic bitter of the .kernels, that it affumes a new cha-
rafler; grows lively, fparkling, and exhilarating; and
when completely mellowed by time, the liquor becornes
at once highly delicious to the palate, and congenial
to the conllitution ; fuperior in every refperil to moll
other Englilh wines, and perhaps not inferior to many* B&thPa*
of the belt foreign wines. jSuch (fays Dr Eothergill* )/*>-,, vol. v.
Would.!’--
5-io
Making of
.Fruit-Li¬
quors.
AGRICULTURE.
Praftice.
642
Art of ma¬
king them
not yet per-
■ fedtly un-
deritood.
•J- Rural E-
con.of Glow
cejlerjhire,
ii. p. 308.
643
Errors
pointed
out.
would it be pronounced by all competent judges, were
it not for thq popular prejudice annexed to it as a cheap
home-brewed liquor, and confequently within the reach
of the vulgar. To compare fuch a liquor with the
foreign fiery fophifticated mixtures often imported un¬
der the name of wines, would be to degrade it; for
it certainly furpaffes them in flavour and pleafantnefs,
as much as it excels them in tvholefomenefs and cheap-
nefs. But rarely do wre meet with perry or cyder of
this fuperior quality. For what is generally fold by
dealers and inn-keepers is a poor, meagre, vapid li¬
quor, prone to the acetous fermentation, and of courie
very injurious to the conflitution. Is it not very mor¬
tifying, after the experience of fo many centuries,
that the art of preparing thofe ancient Britifh liquors
fhould dill be fo imperfeftly underftood as to feem to
be in its very infancy ?—That throughout the princi¬
pal cyder diftrifts, the praftice fhould dill red on the
mod vague indeterminate principles, and that the ex¬
cellence of the liquor fhould depend rather on a lucky
random hit, than on good management? Yet fuch ap¬
pears to be really the cafe even among the mod expe¬
rienced cyder-makers of Hereforddure and Gloucef-
terfhire.'
Mr Marfhall, that nice obferver of rural affairs, in
his tour f through thofe counties (exprefsly under-
- taken for the purpofe of inquiry on this fubjeft),
informs us, that fcarcely two of thefe profeflional ar-
tids are agreed as to the management of fome of the
moil effential parts of the procefs : That palpable er¬
rors are committed as to the time and manner of ga¬
thering the fruit—in laying it up—in neglefting to
feparate the unfound—and to grind properly the rinds
and kernels, &c.: That the method of condudfing
the vinous fermentation, the mod critical part of the
operation, and which damps the future value of the
liquor, is by no means ascertained *, while fome pro¬
mote the fermentation in a fpacious open vat, others
reprefs it by inclofing the liquor in a hogfhead, or
drive to prevent it altogether : That no determinate
point of temperature is regarded, and that the ufe of
the thermometer is unknown or neglefted : That they
are as little confident as to the time of racking off;
and whether this ought to be done only once, or five
or fix times repeated : That for fining down the li¬
quor, many have recourfe to that odious article,
bullocks blood, when the intention might be much
better anfwered by whites of eggs or ifinglafs. And,
finally, that the capricious tade of particular cudomers
is generally confulted, rather than the real excellence
of the liquor; and confequently that a very imperfeft
liquor is often vended, which tends to reduce the price,
to difgrace the vender, ana to bring the ufe of cyder
and perry into difrepute.
The art of making vinous liquors is a curious che¬
mical procefs j and its fuccefs chiefly depends on a dex¬
terous management of the vinous fermentation, be-
ddes a clofe attention to fundry minute circumdances,
the theory of which is perhaps not yet fully underflood
by the ableff chemids. Can we longer woltder then that
fo many errors fliould be committed by illiterate cyder-
makers, totally unverfed in the firff principles of the
chemical art ? Some fevr, indeed, more enlightened
than their brethren, and lefs bigqtted to their own
opinions, by dint of obfervation flrike out improve¬
ments, and produce every now and then a liquor of Making of
fuperior quality, though perhaps far fliort of excel- FruIt'Ll"
lence, yet dill fufficient to fliow what might poflibly t qt^rs' „
be accompli died by a feries of new experiments con- 644
dufted on philofophical principles. This might lead Means of
to fucceflive improvements, till at length our Englifli improve-
fruit-liquors might be carried to a pitch of perfeftionmen *
hitherto unknown, by which the demand, both at
home and abroad, would foon be enlarged, the prices
augmented according to the quality, the value of
edates increafed, and the health and profperity of
thefe counties proportionably advanced. This might
alfo help to point out a method of correfting the
imperfeftions of thefe liquors; and of meliorating
thole of a weak meagre quality, by fafer and more
effeftual means than are now praftifed : and though
nothing can fully compenfate the defeft of funihine
in maturing the faccharine juices in unfavourable
feafons, yet probably fuch liquors might, without
the dangerous and expenfive method of boiling in
a copper veffel, admit of confiderable improvement by
the addition of barm or other fuitable ferment, as yet
unknown in the praftice of the cyder diflrifts j or
perhaps rather by a portion of rich mud, or fome
wholefoxne fweet, as honey, fugar-candy, or even mo-
laffes, added in due proportion, previous to the fermen¬
tation. In faft, it appears from a late publication *, * Hopfont
that the Germans are knowri to meliorate their thin Cbcmiftry*
harfh wines by an addition of concentrated mud, not
by evaporation, but by freezing. By this Ample pro-
cefs they are made to emulate good French wines: a
praftice worthy of imitation, efpecially in the northern
climates.
Cycler, as is w^ell known, is made from apples, and per¬
ry, from pears only. The general method of preparing
both thefe liquors is very much the fame 5 and under the
article Cyder a defcription will be given of the way
in which thofe fruits are gathered, ground, and prefled.
The mill is not effentially different from that of a com- 645
mon tanner’s mill for grinding bark. It confids of a mill- Description
done from two and a half to four feet and a half in
diameter, running on its edge in a circular done trough, miii_houfe.
from nine to twelve inches in thicknefs, and from one
to two tons in weight. The bottom of the trough in
which this done runs is fomewhat wider than the
thicknefs of the done itfelf; the inner fide of the groove
rifes perpendicularly, but the outer fpreads in fuch a
maimer as to make the top of the trough fix or eight
inches wider than the bottom 5 by which means there
is room for the done to run freely, and like wife for
putting in the fruit, and Airring it up while grinding.
The bed of a middle-fized mill is about 9 feet, fome
1 o, and fome 12 j the whole being compofed of two,
three, or four dones cramped together and finifhed
after being cramped in this manner. The bed flones
are found in the fored of Dean j generally a dark, red-
difh gritflone, not calcareous-, for if it were of a calcare¬
ous quality, the acid juice of the fruits would aft upon
it and fpoil the liquor : a clean-grained grindflone
grit is the fitted for the purpofe. The runner is mo¬
ved by means of an axle pafling through the centre,
with a long arm reaching without the bed of the mill,
for a horfe to draw by 5 on the other fide is a {hotter
arm pafling through the centre of the done, as repre-
fented
Part III. A G R I C
Making ot Tented in tKe figure. An iron bolt, with a large head,
Frmt-Li- paflfes through an eye, in the lower part of the fwivel
i, ■ on which the ftone turns, into the end of the inner
arm of the axis 5 ancf thus the double motion of it is
obtained, and the ftone kept perfeflly upright. There
ought alfo to be fixed on the inner arm of the axis,
about a foot from the runner, a cogged wheel work¬
ing in a circle of cogs, fixed upon the bed of the mill.
The ufe of thefe is to prevent the runner from Aiding,
which it is apt to do when the mill is full; it likewife
makes the work more eafy for the horfe. Thefe
wheels ought to be made with great exaftnefs. Mr
Mar (hall obferves, that if is an error to make the horfe
draw by traces : “ The afting point of draught (fays
he), the horfe’s (boulder, ought for various realbns, to
be applied immediately at the end of the arm of the
axis *, not two or three yards before it; perhaps of a
fmall mill near one fourth of its circumference.”
The building in which the mill is enclofed ought to be
of fuch a fize, that the horfe may have a path of three
feet wide betwixt the mill and the w-alls ; fo that a
middling-fized mill, with its horfe-path, takes up a
fpace of 14 or 15 feet every way. The whole dimen-
fions of the mill-houfe, according to our author, to
render it any way convenient, are 24 feet by 20 : it
ought to have a floor thrown over it at the height of
feven feet 5 with a door in the middle of the front,
and a window oppofite, with the mill on one fide
and the prefs on the other fide of the window. The
latter muft be as near the mill as convenience will al¬
low, for the more eafy conveying the ground fruit
from the one to the other. The prefs, which is of
a very fimple conftru£tion, has its bed or bottom
about five feet fquare. This ought to be made en¬
tirely either of wood or ftone ; the pra&ice of co¬
vering it with lead being now univerfally known to
be pernicious. It has a channel cut a few inches
within its outer edge, to catch the liquor as it is ex-
prefled, and convey it to a lip formed by a projection
on that fide of the bed oppofite to the mill ; having
under it a ftone trough or wooden veflel, funk with¬
in the ground, when the bed is fixed low, to receive it.
The prefs is worked with levers of different lengths j
firft a (hort, and then a moderately long one, both
worked by hand j and laftly, a bar eight or nine feet
long worked by a capftan or windlafs. The expence
of fitting up a mill-houfe is not very great. Mr
Marfliall computes it from 20I. to 25I. and, on a
fmall fcale, from 10I. to 15I. though much depends
on the diftance and carriage of the (tone : when once
fitted up it will laft many years.
The making of the fruit-liquors under confidera-
tion requires an attention to the following parti¬
culars. I. The fruit. II. The grinding. III. Pref-
ung. IV. Fermenting. V. Correfting. VI. Laying
up. VII. Bottling , each of which heads is fubdi-
645 vided into feveral others.
Manage- I. In the management of the fruity the following par-
of the tiCulars arc to be confidered.
I. The time of gathering j which varies according
to the nature of the fruit. The early pears are fit for
the mill in September 5 but few apples are ready
for gathering before Michaelmas j though, by reafon
of accidental circumftances, they are frequently manu-
f l t u r e.- 5II.
fafhired before that time. For fale cyder, and keeping Making of
drink, they are fuffered to hang upon the trees till fully Fndt-Li-
ripe : and the middle of Oftober is generally looked , ,
upon to be a proper time for gathering the ftire-apple. ’ ~
I he criterion of a due degree of ripenefs is the fruit
falling from the tree: and to force it aw^ay before that
time, in Mr Mar (hall’s opinion, is robbing it of fome
of its moft valuable particles. “ The harvefting of fruit
(fays he) is widely different in this refpeft from the
harvefting of grain ; which has the entire plant to feed
it after its reparation from the foil 3 while fruit, after
it is fevered from the tree, is cut off from all poftibility
of a further fupply of nourilhment $ and although it
may have reached its wonted fize, fome of its more
effential particles are undoubtedly left behind in the
tree.” Sometimes, however, the fruits which are late
in ripening are apt to hang on the tree until fpoiled
by frofts 3 though weak watery fruits feem to be moft
injured in this manner 3 and Mr Marlhall relates an in-
ftance of very fine liquor being made from golden pip¬
pins, after the fruit had been frozen as hard as ice.
^Themelhod of gathering This, as generally MethS of
practned, is direftly contrary to the principle laid down gathering
by Mr Marihall, wss. beating them down with long ft.
(lender poles. An evident difadvantage of this method
js, that the fruit is of unequal ripenefs 3 for the apples
on the fame trees will differ many days, perhaps even
weeks, in their time of coming to perfe&ion j whence
fome part of the richnefs and flavour of the fruit will be
effectually and irremediably cut off. Nor is this the
only evil to be dreaded 3 for as every thing depends on
the fermentation it has to undergo, if this be interrupt¬
ed, or rendered complex by a mixture of ripe and un¬
ripe fruits, and the liquor be not in the firft inftance
Efficiently purged from its feculencies, it is difficult to
clear the liquor afterwards. The former defeCt the cy¬
der-makers attempt to remedy by a mixture of brown
fugar and brandy, and the latter by bullocks blood and
brimftone 3 but neither of thefe can be expe&ed to an-
fwei- the purpofe very effeaually. The beft method of
avoiding tire inconveniences arifing from an unequal
ripening of the fruit is to go over the trees twuce, once
wuth a hook, wffien the fruit begins to fall fpontane-
oufly 3 the fecond time, wffien the latter are fufficiently
ripened, or when the winter is likely to fet in, wffien
the trees are to be cleared wuth the poles above men¬
tioned.
3. Maturing the gathered fruit. This is ufually done Maniinr
by making it into heaps, as is mentioned under the ar- it, See*
tide Cyder : but Mr Marffiall entirely difapproves of
the pradice 3 becaufe, wffien the whole are laid in a
heap together, the ripeft fruit will begin to rot before
the other, has arrived at that degree of artificial ripenefs
which it is capable of acquiring. I he due degree
of maturation of fruit for liquor (be obferves) is a fub-
jea about which men, even in this diftria, differ much
in their ideas. The prevailing praaice of gathering
into heaps until the ripeft begin to rot, is wafting the
beft of the fruit, and is by no means an accurate crite¬
rion. Some (hake the fruit, and judge by the rattling
of the kernels 3- others cut through the middle and
judge by their blackneis 5 but none of thele appear to
be a proper teft. It is not the date of the kernels but
t»f the fleih 3 not of a few individuals, but of the greater
Fart of the prime-fruit, which renders the coliedive bo¬
dy
AGRICULTURE. Plaice*
Making of dy fit or unfit to be fent to the mill. The moft ra-
Fruit-Li- tjonal teft Qf t},e ripenefs of the fruit, is that of the Belli
: C; : having acquired fuch a degree of mellovvnefs, and its
•texture fuch a degree' of tendernefs, as to yield to mo¬
derate preffure. I hus, when the knuckle or the end of
the thumb can with moderate exertion be forced into
the pulp of the fruit, it is deemed in a fit Bate for
grinding.”
4. Preparation for the mill. The proper manage*-
ment of the fruit is to keep the ripe and unripe fruit fie-
parate from each other : but this cannot be done with¬
out a confiderable degree of labour ; for as by number-
lefs accidents the ripe and unripe fruits are frequently
confounded together, there cannot be any effeftual me¬
thod of feparating them except by hand } and Mr Mar-
Ihall is of opinion, that this is one of the grand fecrets
of cyder-making, peculiar to thofe who excel in the
bufinefs; and he is furprifed that it Ihould not before
this time have come into common praftice.
5. Mixing fruits for liquor. Our author feems to
doubt the propriety of this pra&ice 5 and informs us,
that the finer liquors are made frem leleft fruits ; and
he hints that it might be more proper to mix liquors
after they are made, than to put together the crude
649 fruits.
.Grindlag. II. Grinding, and management of the fruit when
ground.
1. For the greater convenience of putting the
fruit into the mill, every mill-houfe Ihould have a
fruit-chamber over it, with a trap-door to lower the
fruit down into the mill. The beft manner in which
this can be accomplifhed, is to have the valve over the
bed of the mill, and furnilhed with a cloth Ipout or
tunnel reaching down to the trough in which the flone
moves. No ftraw is ufed in the lofts ; but fometimes
the fruit is turned. In Herefordfhire, it is generally
believed, that grinding the rind and feeds of the fruit as
well as the fleflyy part to a pulp, is neceffary towards
the perfection of the cyder; whence it is neceflary, that
every kind of pains Ihould be taken to perform the
grinding in the moft perfeCt manner. Mr Marshall
complains, that the cyder-mills are fo imperfettly finilh-
ed by the workmen, that for the fab fifty years they
Cannot perform their work in a proper manner. Inftead
of being nicely fitted to one another with the fquare
and chifel, they are hewn over with a rough tool in fuch
a carelefs manner, that horfe-beans might lie in fafety
in their cavities. Some even imagine this to be an ad¬
vantage, as if the fruit was more effe&ually and com¬
pletely broken by rough than fmooth ftones. Some
ufe fluted rollers of iron ; but thefe will be corroded by
the juice, and thus the liquor might be tinged. Smooth
rollers will not lay hold of the fruit fufficiently to force
it through.
Another improvement requifite in the cyder-mills is
to prevent the matter in the trough from rifing before
the ftone in the laft ftage of grinding, and a method
of ftirring it up in the trough more effeftually than
can be done at prefent. To remedy the former of
thefe defe&s, it might perhaps be proper to grind the
fruit firft in the mill to a certain degree ; and then put k
between two fmooth rollers to finifti the operation in
the moft perfeCt manner. It is an error to grind too
much at once ; as this clogs up the mill, and prevents
k from going eafxly. The ufual quanttty for a middle-
v- ■ 3
iized mill is a bag containing four corn bufhels; but Making of
our author had once an opportunity of feeing a mill ™
in which only half a bag was put ; and thus the work
feemed to go on more eafily as well as more quickly
than when more was put in at once. t he quantity
put in at one time is to be taken out when ground.
The ufual quantity of fruit ground in a day is as
much as will make three hogftieads of perry or two of
cyder.
2. Management of the ground fruit. Here Mr Mar-
fhall condemns in very ftrong terms the practice ot
prefling the pulp of the fruit as foon as the grinding is
finilhed ; becaufe thus neither the rind nor feeds have
time to communicate their virtues to the liquor. In
order to extract thefe virtues in the moft proper man¬
ner, fome allow the ground fruit to lie 24 hours or
more after grinding, and even regrind it, in order to
have in the moft perfeft manner the flavour and vir¬
tues of the feeds and rind.
III. Prefiing the fruit, and management of the n?-faffing,
ftduum. This is done by folding up the ground fruit ^
in pieces of hair-cloth, and piling them up above one
another in a fquare frame or mould, and then pulling
down the prefs upon them, which fqueezes out the
juice, and forms the matter into thin and almoft dry
cakes. The firft runnings come off foul and muddy ;
but the laft, efpecially in perry, wall be as clear and
fine as if filtered through paper. It is common to
throw away the refiduum as ufelefs : fometimes it is
made ufe of when dry as fuel; fometimes the pigs will
eat it, efpecially when not thoroughly fqueezed; and
fometimes it is ground a fecond time with water, and
fqueezed for an inferior kind of liquor ufed for the fa¬
mily. Mr Marfhall advifes to continue the preffure as
long as a drop can be drawn. “ It is found (fays he),
that even by breaking the cakes of refufe with the
hands only gives the prefs frefh power over it; for
though it has been prefled to the laft drop, a gallon or
more of additional liquor may be got by this means.
Regrinding them has a ftill greater eileft : In this
ft ate of the materials the mill gains a degree of power
over the more rigid parts of the fruits, which in the
firft grinding it could not reach. If the face of the
runner and the bottom of the trough were dreffed with
a broad chifel, and made true to each other, and a
moderate quantity of refiduum ground at once, fcarcely
a kernel could elcape unbroken, or a drop of liquor re¬
main undrawn.”
But though the wdiole virtue of the fruit cannot be
extra&ed without grinding it very fine, fome inconve¬
nience attends this practice, as part of the pulp thus
gets through the haircloth,, and may perhaps be inju¬
rious to the fubfequent fermentation. This, however,
may be in a great meafure remedied by Braining the
firft runnings through a fieve. The whole Ihould alfo
be allowed to fettle in a calk, and drawn off into a
frelh veffel previous to the commencement of the fer¬
mentation. The reduced fruit ought to remain fome
time between the grinding and prefling, that the liquor
may have an opportunity of forming an extrafl with
the rind and kernels : but this muft not be puftied too
far, as in that cafe the colour of the cyder would be
hurt; and the moft judicious managers objeft to the
pulp remaining longer than 12 hours without preffure.
“ Hence flays our author), upon the whole, the. moft
eligible
Part III. AGRICULTURE.
Making of eligible management in this flage of the art appears to
qi'rr; ke t^s ' Grind one prefsful a-day; prefs and re/grind
uthe refiduum in the evening ; infufe the reduced mat¬
ter all night among part of the firft runnings *, and
in the morning reprefs while the next prefsful is grind-
651 ing.
Fermenta- IV. Termentation. The common practice is to have
the liquor turned \ that is, put into calks or hogf-
heads immediately from the prefs, and to fill them
quite full : but it is undoubtedly more proper to leave
fome fpace empty to be filled up afterwards. No ac¬
curate experiment has been made with regard to the
temperature of the air proper to be kept up in the
place where the fermentation goes on. Frofl is pre¬
judicial : but when the procefs ufually commences,
that is, about the middle of October, the liquor is put
into airy ihades, where the warmth is'fcarce greater than
in the open atmofphere ; nay, the calks are frequently
expofed to the open air without any covering farther
than a piece of tile or flat Hone over the bunghole,
propped up by a wooden pin on one fide to caufe the
rain water to run oft. In a complete manufactory of
fruit-liquor, the fermenting room Ihould be under the
iame roof with the mill-houfe \ a continuation of the
prefs-room, or at lealt opening into it, with windows
or doors on every fide, to give a free admifiion of air
into it \ fufficient defences againit froft j fruit-lofts
over it, and vaults underneath for laying up the liquors
after fermentation ; with fmall holes in the crown of
the arch to admit a leathern pipe, for the purpole of
conveying the liquors occafionally from the one to the
other.
In making of fruit-liquors, no ferment Is ufed as in
making of beer 5 though, from Mr Marfliall’s account
of the matter, it feems far from being unneceffary.
Owing to this omiftion, the time of the Commencement
ot the fermentation is entirely uncertain. It takes
place fometimes in one, two, or three days} fometimes
not till a week or month after turning : but it has been
obferved, that liquor which has been agitated in a car-
riage,. though taken immediately from the prefs, will
fometimes pafs almolt immediately into a ftate of fer¬
mentation. The continuance of the fermentation is no
If is uncertain than the commencement of it. Liquors
w hen much agitated, will go through it perhaps in one
day 5 but when allowed to remain at reft, the fermen¬
tation commonly goes on two or three days, and fome¬
times five or fix. The fermenting liquor, however,
puts on a different appearance according to circum-
itances. When produced from fruits improperly ma¬
tured, it generally throws up a thick feurn refembling
that of malt liquor, and of a thicknefs proportioned to
the fpecies and ripenefs of the fruit ; the riper the
fruit, the more feum being thrown up. Perry gives
but little feum, and cyder will fometimes alfo do the
fame 5 fometimes it is intentionally prevented from
doing it.
After having remained fome time in the fermenting
VeiTel, the liquor is racked or drawn oft from the lees
and put into frelh calks. In this part of the opera¬
tion alfo Mr Marftiall complains greatly of the little
attention toat is paid to the liquor. The ordinary
time for racking perry is before it has done biffing, or
fometimes when it begins to emit fixed air in plenty.
M lie only intention of the operation is to free the l"i-
Yol. I. Part II.
quor from its faeces by a cock placed at a little diftanee Making of
from the bottom j after which the remainder is to be
filtered through a canvas or flannel bag. This filtered .•
liquor differs from the reft in having a higher colour^
having no longer any tendency to ferment, but on the
Contrary checking the fermentation of that which is
racked off 5 and if it lofes its brightnefs, it is no lon¬
ger eafily recovered.—A frelh fermentation ufually
commences after racking 5 and if it become violent, a
frelh racking is neceffary in order to check it \ in con-
fequence of which the fame liquor will perhaps be
racked five or fix times : but if only a fmall degree of
fermentation takes place, which is fretting, it is
allowed to remain in the fame calk ; though even here
the degree of fermentation which requires racking is
by no means determined. Mr Marlhall informs us that
the beft manufafturers, however, repeat the rackings
until the liquor will lie quiet, or nearly fo 5 and if it.
be found imprafticable to accomplilh this by the ordi¬
nary method of fermentation, recourie muft be had to
fumigation with fulphur, which is called JIumtning the
calks. For this fumigation it is neceffary to have
matches made of thick linen cloth about ten inches
long, and an inch broad, thickly coated with brim-
ftone for about eight inches of their length. The calk
is then properly feafoned, and every vent except the
bunghole tightly Hopped 5 a match is kindled, lowered
uown into the calk, and held by the end undipped
until it be well lighted and the bung be driven in 5
thus fufpending the lighted match within the calk.
Having burnt as long as the contained air will fupply
the fire, the match dies, the bring is raifed, the rein
nant of the match drawn out, and the calk fuffered to
remain before the liquor be put into it for two-or three
hours, more or lefs according to the degree of power
the fulphur ought to have. The liquor retains a fmell
of the fulphureous acid ; but this goes off in a Ihort
time, and no bad effedt is ever obferved to follow.
In fome places the liquor is left to ferment in open
calks, where it Hands till the firft fermentation be
pretty well over ; after which the froft or yeaft col-
ledted upon the lurface is taken oft, it being luppofed
that it is this yeaft mixing with the clear liquor which
caufes it to fret after racking. The fermentation being
totally ceafed, and the lees fubfided, the liquor is
racked off into a frelh calk, and the Ices filtered as
above diredfed. Our author mentions a way of fer¬
menting fruit-liquors in broad (hallow vats, not lefs
than five feet in diameter, and little more than two
feet deep 5 each vat containing about two hoglheads.
In thefe the liquor remains until it has done riling, or
till the fermentation -has nearly ceafed, when it is rack¬
ed oft without Ikimming, the critical jundlure being
caught before the yeaft fall; the whole finking gradu-
ally together as the liquor is drawn off. In this prac¬
tice alio the liquor is feldom drawn off a fecond time. 6.-2
Cyder is made of three different kinds, viz. rm/p-^, Different
yW/, and of a middle richnefs. The firft kind being ki"clsof
ufually deftined for fervants, is made with verv little^ ei*
ceremony. “ It it is but xeyder (fays Mr Marlhall),
and has boay enough to keep, no matter for the rich-
nefs and flavour. The rougher it is, the further it
will go, and the more acceptable cuftom has rendered
it not only to the workmen but to their mailers. A
palate accuftomed to fweet cyder would judge the
3 I rough
5 r4
Making of
Frnit-Li-
auors.
.A G R 'I C U L T U R E.
<>53
Of correcfl-
ing or doc¬
toring the
liquors.
rough cyder of the farm-houfes to be a mixture of
vinegar and water, with a little dtffolved alum to give
it roughnefs.” 1 he method of producing this auftere
liquor is to grind the fruit in a crude under-ripe date,
and fubject the liquor to a full fermentation.—For the
fwe;et liquor, make choice of the fweeter fruits : ma¬
ture them fully •, and check the fermentation of the
liquor.—To produce liquors of a middle richnefs, the
nature of the fruit, as well as the feafon in which it is
matured, muft be confidered. The fruits to be made
choice of are fuch as yield juices capable of affording
a fufficiency both of richnefs and ffrength 5 though
much depends upon proper management. Open vats,
in our author’s opinion, are preferable to clofe veffel's:
but if cafes be ufed at all, they ought to be very-
large, and not filled 5 nor ought they to lie upon their
fides, but to be fet on their ends with their heads out,
and to be filled only to fuch a height as will produce
the requifite degree of fermentation : but in whatever
way the liquor be put to ferment, Mr Marfhall is of
opinion that the operation ought to be allowed to go
on freely for the find time ; though after being racked
off, any fecond fermentation ought to be prevented as
much as poflible.
V. Correcting, provincially called doEioring. The
imperfections which art attempts to fupply in thefe li¬
quors are, 1. Want of ffrength ; 2. Want of richnefs ;
Want of flavour-, 4. Want of colour and bright-
nefs.
The want of ftrength is fupplied by brandy or any
other fpirit in fufficient quantity to prevent the ace¬
tous fermentation. The want of richnefs is fupplied
by what are generally termed fweets, but prepared in
a manner which our author fays has never fallen un¬
der his notice. To fupply the want of flavour, an in-
fufion of hops is fometimes added, which is faid to
communicate an agreeable bitter, and at tne fame time
a fragrance j whence it becomes a fubflitute for the
juices of the rind and kernels thrown aw^ay to the pigs
and poultry, or otherwife wafted. The want of
colour is fometimes fupplied by elder berries, but
more generally by burnt fugar, which gives the de-
fired colour, and a degree of bitter which is very much
liked. The fugar is prepared either by burning it
a falamander, and fufferiug it to drop, as it melts, in¬
to water ; or by boiling it over the fire (in which cafe
brown fugar is to be ufed), until it acquire an agreeable
bitter ; then pouring in boiling rvater in the proportion
of a gallon to two pounds of fugar, and ftir until the li¬
quor become uniform. A pint of this preparation will
colour a hogfliead of cyder. Brightnefs is obtained by
a mixture of the blood of bullocks or ffieep -, that of
fwine being rejefled, though it does not appear to be
more unfit for the purpofe than either of the other
two. The only thing neceffary to be done here is to
ftir the blood well as it is drawn from the animal, to
prevent the parts from feparating -, and it ought to be
ftirred “ both ways, for a quarter of an hour.” The
liquor, however, is not always in a proper condition for
being refined with this ingredient: on which account a
little of it ought frequently to be tried in a vial. A
quart or lefs will be fufficient for a hogfliead. After
the blood is poured in, the liquor ffiould be violently
agitated, to mix the whole intimately together. This
is done by a ftick flit into four, and infeited into the
2
FratfUctS
bunghoie ; working it brifely about in the liqubr un- Making ,,!
til the whole be thoroughly mixed. In about 24 hours F!u;t~Ll~
the blood will be fubfided, and the liquor ought in-1
ftantly to be racked off; as by remaining upon the
blood even for two or three days, it will receive a
taint not eafily to be got rid of. It is remarkable that
this refinement with the blood carries down not only
the faeces, but the colour alio -, rendering the liquor,
though ever fo highly coloured before, almoft as lim¬
pid as water. Ifinglafs and eggs are fometimes made
ufe of in fining cyder as well as wine.
VI. The laying up or {hutting up the cyder in clofe Of laying -
cafes, according to Mr Marihall, is as little underftoodyT or caT-
as any of the reft of the parts 5 the bungs being com-1 lg-
monly put in at forne certain time, or in feme parti¬
cular month, without any regard to the ft ate the li¬
quor itfelf is in. “ The only criterion (fays he) I
have met with for judging the ciritical time of laying
up, is when a fine white cream-hke matter hrft begins
to form upon the furface. But this may be too late j
it is probablv a fymptom at leaft of the acetous fermen¬
tation, which if it take place in any degree muft be in¬
jurious. Yet if the cafes be bunged tight, fome crite¬
rion is neceffary -, otherwife, if the vinous fermenta¬
tion have not yet finally ceafed, or fhould recommence,
the cafes will be endangered, and the liquor injured.
Hence, in the pradlice of the moft cautious manager
whofe practice I have had an opportunity of obferving,
the bungs are firft driven in lightly, when the liquor
is fine, and the vinous fermentation is judged to be
over y and home time afterward, when all danger is
part, to fill up the calks, and drive the bungs fecurely^
with a rag, and rofin them over at top. Moft rarmers
are of opinion, that after the liquor is done ferment¬
ing, it ought to have fomething to feed upon ; that is,
to prevent it from running into the acetous fermenta¬
tion. For this purpofe fome put in parched beans,
others egg-fhells, fome mutton fuet, &c. Mr Mar-
{hall does not doubt that fomething may be ufeful j
and thinks that ifinglafs may be as proper as any thing,
that can be got. 655
VII. Bottling. This depends greatly on the qua-Bottling,
lity of the liquors themfelves. Good cyder can feldom
be bottled with propriety under a year old ; lometimes
not till two. The proper time is when it has acquired
the utmoft degree of richnefs and flavour in the-cafes }
and this it will preferve for many years in bottles. It
ought to be quite fine at the time of bottling \ or. if
not fo naturally, ought to be fined artificially with
ifinglafs and eggs. ^
The liquor, called cydcrkin, purre, or perhin, is made Of cyder-
of the murk or grofs matter remaining after the cyderkm-
is prefled out. To make this liquor, the murk is put
into a large vat, w ith a proper quantity of boiled water,
which has flood till it be cold again : if half the quan¬
tity of wTater be ufed that there was of cyder, it will
be good j if the quantities be equal, the cyderkin will
be fmall. The whole is left to infufe 48 hours, and
then well preffed 5 what is fqueezed out by the prefs
is immediately tunned up and flopped 5 it is fit to drink
in a few days. It clarifies of itfelf, and ferves in fami- of Cy(ier
lies inftead «f fmall beer. It will keep, if boiled, after wine, ac-
preffure, with a convenient quantity of hops. cording to
r _ _ „ Dr Ruth’s
We muft not conclude this feftion without parti-recipe.
cular
Bait III. AGRICULTURE. flu
Making of cular notice of the liquor called cyder wine, which is
,Jruit-L:- maje from the juice of apples taken from, the prefs
, , an(] boiled, and which being kept three or four years
is faid to refemble Rheniih. The method of pre¬
paring this wine, as communicated by Dr Rufti of
America, where it is much pra&ifed, conlifts in eva¬
porating in a brewing copper the frelh apple-juice
till half of it be confumed. The remainder is then
immediately conveyed into a wooden cooler, and af¬
terwards is put into a proper calk* with an addition
of yeaft, and fermented in the ordinary .way. The
procefs is evidently borrowed from what has long
been praftifed on the recent juice of the grape, under
the term of vin cuit, or boiled wine, not only in Italy,
but alfo in the illands of the Archipelago, from time
immemorial.
This procefs has lately become an object of imitation
in the cyder counties, and particularly in the weft of
England, where it is reported that many hundred hogf-
heads of this wine have already been made : and as it
is faid to betray no fign of an impregnation of copper
by the ufual chemical tefts, it is conlidered as perfedt-
ly wholefome, and is accordingly drunk without ap-
prehenfion by the common people. Others, however,
fufpedl its innocence j whence it appeared an objedl
of no fmall moment to determine in fo doubtful a mat¬
ter, whether or not the liquor acquires any noxious
quality from the copper in which it is boiled. With
* Bath Pa-this view Dr Fothergill * made a variety of experi-
pers, vol. v. ments j and the refult feemed to afford a ftrong pre-
P- 339* fumption that the cyder wine does contain a minute
impregnation of copper j not very confiderable indeed,
but yet fufficient, in the Dodlor’s opinion, to put the
public on their guard concerning a liquor that comes
in fo very “ queftionable a ftiape.”
It is a curious chemical fad!, he obferves, if it be
really true, that acid liquors, while kept boiling in
copper veffels, acquire little or no impregnation from
the metal, but prefently begin to adt upon it when
left to ftand in the cold. Can this be owing to the
agitation accafioned by boiling, or the expulfion of
the aerial acid ? Atmofpheric air powerfully corrodes
copper, probably through the intervention of the aerial
or rather nitrous acid, for both are now acknowledged
to be prefent in the atmofphere. But the latter is
doubtlefs a much ftronger menftruum of copper than
the former.
In the prefent procefs the liquor is properly diredted
to be paffed into a wooden cooler as foon as the boil¬
ing is completed. But as all acids, and even common
■water, acquire an impregnation and unpleafant tafte,
from ftanding in copper veffels in the cold, why may
not the acid juice of apples adl in fome degree on the
copper before the boiling commences ? Add to this,
that brewing coppers, without far more care and at¬
tention than is generally beftowed on them in keeping
them clean, are extremely apt to contradl verdigrife,
("a rank poifon), as appears from the blue or green
ftreaks very vifible when thefe veffels are minutely exa¬
mined. Should the unfermented juice be thought in¬
capable of adling on the copper either in a cold or
boiling iftate, yet no one will venture to deny its
power of walking off or diffolving verdigrife already
formed on the internal furface of the veffel. Sup-
pofe only one-eighth part of a grain of verdigrife to be
contained in a bottle of this wine, a quantity that Making or
may elude the ordinary tefts, and ,that a. bottle Ihould T.ruit-Li-
be drunk daily by a perfon without producing any vio- < .
lent fymptoms or internal uneafinefs j yet what perfon
in his fenfes would knowingly choofe to hazard the ex¬
periment of determining how long he could continue
even this quantity of a flow poilbn in his daily beve¬
rage with impunity ? And yet it is to be feared the
experiment is but too often unthinkingly made, not
only with cyder wine, but alfo with many of the foreign
wines prepared by a fimilar procefs. For the grape
juice, when evaporated in a copper veffel, under the
denomination of vino cotto or boiled wine, cannot but
but acquire an equal, if not yet ftronger impregnation
of the metal, than the juice of apples, feeing that ver-
digrife itfelf is manufactured merely by the' application
of the acid hulks of grapes to plates of copper.
Independent of the danger of any metallic impreg¬
nation, the DoCtor thinks, it may be juftly queftioned
how far the procefs of preparing boiled wines is necef-
fary or reconcileable to reafon or economy. The
evaporation of them mult by long boiling not only oc-
cafion an unneceffary wafte of both liquor and fuel,
but alfo diflipates certain effential principles, without
which the liquor can never undergo a complete fer¬
mentation } and without a complete fermentation there
can be no perfeCt wine. Hence the boiled wines are
generally crude, heavy, and flat, liable to produce in-
digeftion, flatulency, and diarrhoea. If the evapora¬
tion be performed haftily, the liquor contracts a burnt
empyreumatic tafte, as in the prefent inftance j if flow-
ly, the greater is the danger of a metallic impregna¬
tion. For the procefs may be prefumed to be gene¬
rally performed in a veffel of brafs or copper, as few
families poffefs any other that is fufficiently capacious.
Nor can a veffel of caft-iron, though perfectly fafe, be
properly recommended for this purpofe, as it would pro¬
bably communicate a chalybeate tafte and dark Colour.
to the liquor. At all events, brafs and copper veffels
ought to be entirely banifhed from this and every other
culinary procefs.
Sect. X. Of Fences.
658
We (hall conclude the prefent fubjeCI of agriculture Kinds of
by taking notice of the various kinds of fences thatiences emK
may be found valuable in it.—Robert Somerville, Efq. merate<f
of Haddington, in a communication to the Board of
Agriculture, has endeavoured to enumerate the whole
Ample and compound fences that are at prefent ufed.
Simple fences are thofe that confift of one kind only
as a ditch, a hedge, or a wall.—Compound fences are
made by the union of two or more of thefe, as a hedge
and ditch, or hedge and wall. The following is the
lift which he has given of them:
“ Simple Fences'.
I. Simple ditch, with a bank on one fide.
II. Double ditclj, with a bank of earth between.
III. Bank of earth, with a perpendicular facing of fod.
IV. Ha-ha, or funk fence.
V. Palings, or timber fences, of different kinds, viz .
1. Simple nailed paling of rough timber.
2. Jointed horizontal paling.
3. Upright lath paling.
3 T 2 4. Horizontal
6S9
Ditches.
A G R I C U
4. Horizontal paling of young firs.
5. Upright ditto of do.
6. Chain fence.
7. Net fence.
8. Rope fence.
g. Flake or hurdle fence.
10. Ozier or willow fence.
I j,. Fence of growing polls.
12. Shingle fence, horizontal.
13. Ditto, upright.
14. Warped paling.
15. Open paling, warped with dead thorns or branches
of trees.
VI. Dead hedges, various kinds.
VII. Live hedges.
VIII. Walls.
1. Dry ftone wall, coped and uncoped.
2. Stone and lime ditto, do.
3. Stone and clay, do.
4. Stone and clay, harled, or dalhed with lime.
5. Dry Hone, ditto, lipped with lime.
6. Dry ftone, ditto, lipped and harled.
n. Dry ftone, pirned and harled.
8. Brick wralls.
9. Frame wTalls.
10. Galloway dike or wrall.
11. Turf wall.
1 2. Turf and ftone, in alternate layers.
13. Mud walls, with ft raw.
“ Compound Fences.
1. Hedge and ditch, with or without paling.
2. Double ditto.
3. Hedge and bank, with or without paling.
4. Hedge in the face of a bank,
c. Hedge on the top of a bank.
6. Devonftrire fence.
7. Hedge, with fingle or double paling.
8. Hedge and dead hedge.
9. Hedge and wall.
10. Hedge, ditch, and wall.
11. Hedge in the middle of a wall.
1 2. Hedge and ditch, with row of trees.
1 3. Hedge, or hedge and wall, with belt of planting.
14. Hedge with the corners planted.
I 5. Reed fence, or port and rail, covered with reeds.”
Of the nature of each of thefe, and the advantages
attending the ufe of them, we fhall take fome Ihort no¬
tice. The ditch, which is one of the fimple fences, is
moft frequently confidered merely as an open drain in¬
tended to relieve the foil of fuperfluous moifture. It
is frequently alfo, however, made ufe of without any
fuch intention, as a fence for the confinement of cattle ;
but it is more frequently ufed with the double view of
ferving as a fence, and as a drain. It is made in a va¬
riety of ways, according to the objett in view. If a
ditch is meant to be ufed merely as a drain, the earth
thrown out of it ought by no means to be formed into
a bank upon the fide of it, becaufe fuch a praftice, as
formerly ftated, when treating of draining, has a ten¬
dency to injure its utility by cutting off its communi¬
cation with one fide of the field to be drained ; but
when a ditch is intended to be ufed as a fence, a dif¬
ferent rule of proceeding muft be followed. In that
L T U R E. Pradice.
cafe, the objeft in view will be greatly forwarded by t Fences,
forming the earth taken out of the ditch into a bank v
upon its fide, wdiich when added to the depth of the
ditch, will form a barrier of confiderable value.
Ditches are fometimes formed of an uniform breadth
at top and bottom. This kind of ditch is liable to
many objections. After frofts and rains, its fides are
perpetually crumbling down and falling in, and if the
field in which fuch a ditch is placed have a confider-
able declivity, the bottom of the ditch will be extreme¬
ly liable to be undermined by any current of water,
that either permanently or cafually takes place in it j
at the fame time, fuch ditches have been found very
ufeful in low-lying clay cr carfe foils where the coun¬
try is level. From the nature of the foil, the fides of
the ditches in fuch fituations are tolerably durable. b\o
rapid current of water can exift to undermine them g
and, by their figure, they withdraw from the plough
the fmalleft poffible portion of lurface.
Other ditches are conftrucfed wide above, with a
gradual fiope from both fides downwards. I his form
of a ditch is in general the beft, where it^is at ail to be
ufed for the drainage of the field, as the fides are not
fo liable as in the former cafe to be excavated by the
current of water. Hence it is more durable, and by
diminilhing the quantity of digging at the bottom, it
is more eafily executed.
A third kind of ditches are fo formed as to have
one fide Hoping, and the other perpendicular. This
kind of ditch partakes of the whole perfe&ions and
imperfeclions of the two former. It is extremely ufe¬
ful, however, in fields of which Iheep form a part of
the ftock, and where the bottom of the ditch contains
a current of water ; for, in iuch cales, when Iheep
tumble into a deep ditch, whofe fides are pretty ftecp,
they are very apt to perifti ; but by making (one
fide of the ditch very much Hoped, while the other^ap-
proaches to the perpendicular, they are enablea to
make their efcape j while at the lame time, by the
bed of the ftream being widened, the perpendicular
fide of the ditch is lefs liable to be undermined. When
A-1. ^ *.4-V\ 4- L /vnF
^ T/xv-t-rv**H intr* n notik
one fide, a projecting vacant (pace of 6 cr 8 inches
ought always to be left between the bank and the
ditch, to prevent the earth from tumbling in and fil¬
ling up the ditch.
A double ditch, with a bank of earth between the
two, formed out of the earth obtained by digging them,
has many obvious advantages over the fingle ditch,
when confidered as a fence 5 for the earth taken out of
the two ditches, wdien properly laid up in the middle,
will naturally become a very formidable rampart, which
cattle will not readily attempt to crofs. It is alfo ex¬
cellently adapted for the purpofe of open drainage, and
it oiwht always to be ufed upon the fides of highways,
where the adjoining lands have a confiderable declivity
towards the road. In fuch cafes, the inner ditch re¬
ceives the water from the field, and prevents it from
w-aftiing down or overflowing the road in the time of
heavy rains j an inconvenience which frequently cannot
otherwife be avoided. _ _ 66a-
The bank of earth, with a perpendicular facing of Bank of
fod, and a Hope behind, is ufeful in fome fituations, as earth,
in making folds for the confinement of Iheep or cattle,
in which cafe the front or perpendicular fide of the
bank
Part III.
AGRICULTURE.
Fences, bank mull be turned inwards. It is alfo valuable on them to remain uncorrupted for a longer period than
u— tne fides of highways to protefl the adjoining fields, can be accompliihed by any artificial coating. It is no
and alio for fencing belts of planting, or inclofing ftack- objection to this, that a part of the uncovered wood,
yards and cottages. The front of the bank is made or the bottom of the flake or poft muft be inferted in
with the turfs taken from the furface of the Hoping the earth j for it is not at the bottom that flakes or
ditch, and the mound at the back with the earth taken ports begin to decay, but at the uppermort place at
cut of it. I his fence, when well executed, is faid to which the earth touches them, or between the wet and
661 laft a confiderable time. the dry as it is called. Of the kinds of paling it is un-
The ha-ha, The ha-ha, or funk fence, very nearly refembles the necefiary to fay much.
fenSk In.0und .of ?arth vvit^ ,the Perpendicular facing of turf, The Ample nailed paling of rough timber, confifts of
with this difference, tuat the facing of the ha-ha is ot ports or flakes inferted in the earth, and crofied with
ftone. The height of both depends almoft entirely upon three, four, or more horizontal bars or {labs as they
the depth ot the ditch 5 both of them in truth confirt are called in Scotland. It is the mort common of all,
of the kind of ditch already mentioned, of which the and is ufed to proteft young hedges, or to flrengthen
one iide Hopes while the other is perpendicular, and ditches when ufed as fences.
differ from it chiefiy in this refined, that the perpendi- The jointed horizontal paling, confifts of maffy fquare
cuiar fide is faced with turf or ftone. I he ftone- poles drove into the earth, and having openings cut
facing is made either of dry ftone, or of ftone and lime. into them for the reception of the extremities of the
In the Agricultural Report of Cromarty, the mode of horizontal bars. Thefie openings, however, weaken,
making the funk fence is thus deferibed : a Upon the the poles much, and caute them foon to decay 5 but
line where this fence is intended, begin to nnk your this kind of paling has a very handi'ome and fubftantial
ditch, taking the earth from as far as eight feet out- appearance.
ward, and throwing^ it up on the infide of the lines. The upright lath paling, is formed by driving ftrong
This ditch and bank is not made quite perpendicular, but piles of wood into the earth, and crofling theie at to p
inclining inward towards the field as it rifies } to this and bottom, with horizontal pieces of fimilar ftrenpth.
.s built a facing of dry ftone, four feet and a half in Upon thefe laft are nailed, at every 6 or 12 inches di¬
height, one foot and three quarters broad at bottom, ftance, laths or pieces of fawn wood, of the fliape and
and one foot at top, over which a coping of turf is laid : fize of the laths ufed for the roofs of tiled houfes. This
t e ditch or funk part forms an excellent drain. The kind of paling prevents cattle from putting their heads
vho!e ci: this is pertormed, wnen the ftones (we ftiall through to crop or injure young hedges or trees,
iuppoie) can be procured at a quarter of a mile’s di- The horizontal paling of firs, or the weedings of
Itance, for 6d. per yard.” The principal defeft of the other young trees, does not differ from the palincs al-
iunk fence confifts in this, that unlefs the bank at the ready deferibed, unlefs in this refpett, that the materials
back of it is confiderably fteep, or has a railing at the of which it is formed, conlift not of timber cut down
top, it forms a kind of fnare^on that fide for cattle, as for the purpofe, but of the thinnings of woods or belts
they muft always be apt to tumble over it in dark of planting. Such palings are ufuaily more formidable
6^ ni§fflts; * . , to cattle than any other, becaufe when the lateral
uiings. alings or timber fences, are m many places much twfigs that grow out of large branches are loped off in a
uied, though they never can be confidered with pro- coarfe manner, the branch ftill retains a roughneis
pnety as forming permanent inclofures. Of whatever which keeps cattle at a diftance.
materials they are formed, their decay commences from The chain horizontal fence is made by fixing ftrong
tne inftant they are erefted. _ This decay begins with piles of wood in the earth in the direftion in which
the part of the paling that is put into the ground, the fence is to run, and fixing three chains at regular
which is Ipeedily rotted by the moifture, or confiimed diftances, extending horizontally from nile to pile in-
by worms or other animals that attack it. To guard Head of crofs bars of wood. Inftead of ports of w cod
as irtuch as poffiole agamft this caufe of decay, various pillars of mafon wmrk are fometimes ufed, and between
devices have been adopted. It is a very general prac- thefe the chains are extended. A chain fence will
tiee to burn the fur.ace ot that part of the ftandards of confine horfes er cattle, but is unfit to confine fib.eep or
the pahng wmen is meant to be driven into the earth. hogs. From its expenfive nature, it can only be ufed
fit is alio cuftomary to cover the fame part of the wood in public walks, or far ftretching acrofs ftreams or
abo been ufed^ with tolerable fuccefs to defend the ex- fence may be a very pretty ornament, but could be of
trcmities ot tne ftandards of paling. In fome cafes little ufe againft the horns of cattle,
where the expence could be afforded, large ftones have The rope fence is conftructed like the chain fence
been iunk into the earthy with holes cut into them and differs from it only in the ufe of cords inftead of
of a fize adapted to receive the ends of the ports metal chains, and has the fame defied of being ufelefs
ot the paring. 1 he durability of the vrood in this againft fwine and fheep.
cafe is greater, but it bears no proportion to the ad- The moveable wooden fence nr HAe nr b,,^
, O --   niccjj ui caiue to a certain ipot Wlien teeding
the bar* Hill upon them, this natural covering enables upon a turnip field, and in this view it is extremely
ixtremely
ufefnl;
5i8 A C II I C U
Fences, ufeful j for if the cattle were allowed to range at large
' over the field, a great quantity of the turnips would he
deftroyed by having pieces eaten from them, which
would immediately fpoil and rot before the remainder
could be confumed ; whereas, by the ufe of thefe move-
able palings, the fheep or cattle having only a certain
quantity of food allotted to them at a time, are com¬
pelled to eat it clean up without any lofs.
The ofier or willow fence, or wattled fence, is made
• by driving in the direftion of the fence, flakes of wil¬
low or poplar, of half the thicknefs of a man’s wrii't
into the earth, about 18 inches afunder. They are
then bound together with fmall twigs of the willows or
poplars twilled and interwoven with them. If the up¬
right flakes have been recently cut dowur, and if the
fence is made about the end of autumn, they will take
root and growr in the fpring. If their new lateral
branches are afterwards properly interwoven and twnfl-
ed together, they will become in two or three years a
permanent and almoft impenetrable fence.
The paling of growing trees, or rails nailed to growr-
. ing polls, is formed by planting beech, larch, or other
trees, at the diftance of a yard from each other, in the
diredtion in which the fence is wanted. When 10 or
12 feet high, they mull be cut down to 6 feet. The
cutting of the tops wnll make them pulh out a great
number of lateral branches, which may be interwoven
with the upright part of the tree, as in the cafe of the
willow fence already mentioned.
The horizontal and upright Ihingle fence is formed
in this manner 5 flout piles are driven into the earth,
and deals of from half an inch to an inch thick, are
nailed horizontally upon them in fuch a way, that the
under edge of the uppermoll deal projedls over the up¬
per edge of the one immediately below it, like Hates
or tiles upon houfes. In like manner, the Ihingles or
boards may be placed perpendicularly and bound to¬
gether, by being nailed to horizontal bars of wood.
The warped paling confifts of pieces of w ood driven
into the earth, which are twilled and interwoven with
each other, fo as to form a very open net-wmrk ; the
•tops of the pieces of wood being bound together by
willow or other twigs.
The light open fence with thorns, or branches of
trees wnve into it, is nothing more than a common
paling, whofe interftices are filled up with thorns or
branches of trees. It is a very effedlual fence while it
lalls.
Dead hedges are made of the prunings of trees, or
the tops of live hedges that have been cut dowm. They
are fometimes made upon the top of the mound of
earth taken out of a ditch, by inferting the thick ends
of the twigs in the earth, and making them reft in an
oblique manner. Sometimes the llronger pieces or
Hakes are fixed in the earth, and the fmaller twigs are
ufed to fallen them together at top, by a kind of net¬
work. What is called the Hake and rue fence in Scot¬
land, confilts of a dead hedge or fence, formed of up¬
right polls, the intervals between which are filled up
with twigs woven horizontally. All thefe, however,
can only be regarded as fences of a very temporary
General di nature> which are conftantly in want of repairs, and
redhons for therefore requiring a continual expence,
planting Before planting live hedges, it is proper to confider
hedges. t]ie nature of the land, and what forts-of plants will
L T U R E.
Era dice.
thrive bell in it ; and alfo, what is the foil from whence Fences,
the plants are to be taken. As for the nze, the fets
ought to be about the thicknefs of one’s little finger, and
cut within about four or five inches of the ground they
ought to be frefli taken up, Hraight, fmooth, and well-
rooted. Thofe plants that are railed in the nurfery are
to be preferred.
In planting outfide hedges, the turf is to be laid,
with the grafs-fide downwards, on that fide of the ditch
on which the bank is defigned to be made 5 and fome ol
the bell mould Ihould be laid upon it to bed the quick,
which is to be let upon it a foot afunder. When the
firll row of quick is let, it mull be covered with mould ;
and when the bank is a foot high, you may lay ano¬
ther row of fets againll the fpaces of the former, and
cover them as you did the others : the bank is then
to be topped with the bottom of the ditch, and a dry
or dead hedge laid, to lhade and defend the under¬
plantation. Stakes ihould then be driven into the
loofe earth, fo low as to reach the firm ground : thefe
are to be placed at about two feet and a half dillance :
and in order to render the hedge yet llronger, you
may edder it, that is, bind the top of the Hakes with
imall long poles, and when the eddering is finilhed,
drive the Hakes anew. .
The quick mufl be kept conflantly weeded, and fe-ofmana-
cured from being cropped by cattle } and in February ging the
it will be proper to cut it within an inch of the ground, iiawtllorn*
which will caufe it flrike root afrelh, and help it much
in the growth. 665
The crab is frequently planted for hedges 5 and if Of the crab,
the plants are raifed from the kernels of the fmall wild
crabs, they are much to be preferred to thofe raifed
from the kernels of all forts of apples without diilinc-
tion ; becaufe the plants of the true fmall crab never
fhoot fo flrong as thofe of the apples, and may there¬
fore be better kept within the proper compafs of a
hedge. 666
The black thorn, or floe, is frequently planted for Black
hedges j and the beH method of doing it, is to raife Hlorn-
the plants from the Hones of the fruit, which fhould
be Town about the middle of January, if the weather
will permit, in the place where the hedge is intended j
but when they are kept longer out of the ground, it
will be proper to mix them with fand, and keep them
in a cool place. The fame fence will do for it when
fown, as when it is planted. 66y
The holly is fometimes planted for hedges ; but Holly,
where it is expofed, there will be great difficulty in
preventing its being deHroyed; otherwife, it is by far
the moll beautiful plant; and, being an evergreen, will
afford much better Ihelter for cattle in winter than any
■other fort of hedge. The beff method of railing thele
hedges, is to fow the Hones in the place where the
hedge is intended ; and, where this can be convenient¬
ly done, the plants will make a much better progrefs
than thofe that are tranfplanted : but thefe berries
Ihould be buried in the ground feveral months before
they are fown. The way to do this, is to gather the
berries about ChriHmas, when they are ufually ripe,
and put them into large flower -pots, mixing fome fand
with them 5 then dig holes in the ground, into which
the pots mull be funk, covering them over with earth,
about ten inches thick. In this place they mufl re¬
main till the following Odober, when they Ihould be
taken
Part III.
A G R I C U L T U R E.
Fences.
66S
Of garden
3'.edges.
669
Of flower¬
ing ftrubs.
(taken up, and Town in the place where the hedge is
intended to be made. The ground fhould be wTell
trenched, and cleared from the roots of all bad weeds
bullies, trees, &c. i hen two drills fhould be made,
at about a foot diftance from each other, and about
two inches deep, into which the feeds fhould be fcat-
tered pretty clofe, left fome Ihould fail. When the
plants grow up, they muft be carefully weeded : and
if they are defigned to be kept very neat, they Ihould
be cut twice a year, that is in May and in Auguft ;
but if they are only defigned for fences, they need only
be fheered in July. The fences for thefe hedges, while
young, Ihould admit as much free air as pollible j the
beft fort are thofe made with polls and rails, or with
ropes drawn through holes made in the polls 5 and if
the ropes are painted over with a compolition of melt-
eu pitcn, brown Spanilh colour and oil, well mixed,
they will laft feveral years.
Hedges for ornament in gardens are fometimes
planted with evergreens, in which cafe the holly is
preferable to any other : next to this, moll people
prefer the yew; but the dead colour of its leaves
renders thofe hedges lefs agreeable. The laurel is one
of the moll beautiful evergreens; but the Ihoots are fo
luxuriant that it is difficult to keep it in any tolerable
ftiape ; and as the leaves are large, to prevent the dif-
agreeable appearance given them by their being cut
through with the ffieers, it will be the beft way to prune
them with a knife, cutting the flioots juft down to a
leaf. The lauruftinus is a very fine plant for this pur-
pofe ; but the lame objedlion may be made to this as
to^ the laurel :• this, therefore, ought only to be pruned
wuth a knife in April when the flowers are going off;
but the new7 (hoots of the fame fpring muft by no means
be ffiortened. The fmall-Ieaved and rough-leaved
lauruftinus are the beft plants for this purpofe. The
true phillyrea is the next beft plant for hedges, which
may be led up to the height of 1 o or 12 feet ; and if
they are kept narrow7 at the top, that there may be
not too much width for the fnow to lodge upon them
they will be clofe and thick, and make a fine appear¬
ance. The ilex, or evergreen oak, is alfo planted
for hedges, and is a fit plant for thofe defigned to
grow very tall.—The deciduous plants ufually""planted-
to form hedges in gardens are, the hornbeam, which
may be kept neat with lefs trouble than moft other
plants. I he beech, which lias the fame good quali¬
ties as the hornbeam; but the gradual falling of its
leaves in winter caufes a continual litter. The fmall-
leaved Englilh elm is a proper tree for tall hedges,
but thefe ftiould not be planted clofer than eight or
ten feet. The lime-tree has alfo been recommend¬
ed for the fame purpofe ; but after they have Hood
fome years, they grow7 very thin at bottom, and their
leaves frequently turn of a black difagreeable colour.
Many of the flowering ftirubs have alfo been planted
in hedges, fuch as rofes, honeyfuckles, fweet briar, &c.
but thefe are difficult to train ; and if they are cut to
bring them within compafs, their flowers, which are
their greateft beauty will be entirely deilroyed. A
correfpondent of the fociety for improving agriculture
in Scotland, however, informs us, that he tried with
iuccels the eglantine, fweet-briar, or dog-rofe, when
sll the methods of making hedges praaifed in Effex
and Hampftiire had been tried in vain. Ris method
was to gather the hips of this plant, and to lay them
in a tub till March : the feeds were then eafily rubbed
out ; after wffiich they were fowed in a piece of ground
prepared for garden peafe. Next year they came up ;
and the year after they w7ere planted in the following
manner. After marking out the ditch, tb,e plants were
laid about 18 inches aiunder upon the fide grafs, and
their roots covered with the firft turfs that w7ere taken
off from the furface of the intended ditch. The earth
fide of thefe turfs w7as placed next to the roots, and
other earth laid upon the turfs which had been taken
out of the ditch. In four or five years thefe plants
made a fence which neither horfes nor cattle of anv
kind could pafs. Even in two or three years none of
the larger cattle will attempt a fence of this kind.
Sheep indeed w7ill fometimes do fo, but they are always'
entangled to fuch a degree, that they would remain
there till they died unlefs relieved. Old briars dug un
and planted foon make an excellent fence; and, where
thin, it may be eafily thickened by laying down bran¬
ches, wffiich in one year wall make (hoots of fix or fe-
ven feet. '1 hey bear clipping very well. ^
. ^ Anderfon, who hath treated the fubjed of hedg-Dr Ander-
ing very particularly, is of opinion, that fbme other *°n’s dh'ec-
plants befides thofe above mentioned might be ufefully t“)ns’
employed in the conftrudlion of hedges. Among thefe
he reckons the common willow. This, he fays, by -Efays on
no means requires the wetnefs of foil which is common-A?r,('“^urA
ly fuppofed. “ It is generally imagined (fays he),*" &'c’
that the willow can be made to thrive nowhere^ except
in wet or boggy ground : but this is one of thofe vul¬
gar errors, founded upon inaccurate obfervation, too
often to be met with in fubjedls relating to rural af¬
fairs ; for experience has fufficiently convinced me.
that this plant wull not only grow7, but thrive, in any
rich well cultivated foil (unlefs in particular circum-
ftances that need not here be mentioned), even although
it be of a very dry nature. It could not, however, in
general be made to thrive, if planted in the fame man¬
ner as thorns; nor would it, in any refpedl, be proper
to train it up for a fence in the fame way as that plant. 671
I he willow7, as a fence, could feldora be luccefsfully Of the
employed, but for dividing into feparate inclofures any ^illp'v’
extenfive field of rich ground: and, as it is always ne-
cefiary to put the foil into as good order as poflible be-
Tore a hedge of this kind is planted in it, the eafieft
method of putting it into the neceffary high tilth, will
be to mark off the boundaries of your feveral fields in
the winter, or early in the fpring, with a defign to give
a complete fallow to a narrow ridge, fix or eight "feet
broad, in the middle of which the hedge is intended
to be planted the enfuing winter. This ridge ought
to be frequently ploughed during the fummer feafon
and m the autumn to be well manured with dung or
lime or both (for it cannot be made too rich), and be
neatly formed into a ridge before w inter.
•u prepared the ground in this manner, it
wii be m readinefs to receive the hedge, wffiich ought
to be planted as early in winter as can be got conve¬
niently done ; as the willow is much hurt by being-
planted late in the fpring. But before you begin to
ma e a ence of this kind, it will be neceffary to pro-
viae a fufficient number of plants : which will be- beftr
done
A G R r c u
done by prevloully rearing them in a nurfery or your
own, as near the field to be inclofsd as you can conve¬
niently have it} for as they are very bulky, the car¬
riage of them would be troublefbme if they were
brought from any confiderable diftance, i he belb
kinds of willow for this ufe, are fuch as make the
longed and dronged ihoots, and are not of a brittle
nature. All the large kinds of hood-willows^ may be
employed for this ufe ; but there is another kind with
dronger and more taper dioots, covered with a dark
green bark when young, which, upon the older iLoots,
becomes of an alh gray, of a firm texture,^ and a little
rough to the touch. The leaves are not fo long, and
3. great deal broader than thofe of the common hoop-
tvillow, pretty thick, and of a dark-green colour.
What name this fpecies is ufually known by, I cannot
tell; but as it becomes very quickly of a large nze at
the root, and is drong and firm, it ought to be made
choice of for this purpofe in preference to all other
kinds that I have feen. I he dioots ought to be of
two or three years growth before they can be proper¬
ly ufed, and dlould never be lefs than eight or nine feet
in length. Thefe ought to be cut over clofe by the
ground immediately before planting, and carried to
the field at their whole length. The planter having
dretched a line along the middle oi the ridge which
was prepared for their reception, begins at one end
thereof, thruding a row of thefe plants firmly into the
ground, clofe by the fide of the line, at the diilance of
18 or 20 inches from one another } making them ail
flant a little to one fide in a direftion parallel to the
line. This being finiihed, let him begin at the oppo-
fite end of the line, and plant another row in the inter¬
vals between the plants of the former row 5 making
thefe incline as much as the others, but in a dire&ion
exactly contrary; and then, plaiting tnefe batket-vays,
work them into lozenges like a net, fadening the tops
by plaiting the fmall twigs ivith one anothei, which
with very little trouble may be made to bind together
very firmly. I he whole, when finiihed, affumes a
very beautiful net-like appearance, and is e\en at mil
a tolerable good defence } and, as theie plants im¬
mediately take root and quickly increafe in fize,. it
becomes, after a few years, a very drong fence which
nothing can penetrate. I his kind of hedge I myielf
have employed j and find that a man.may plant and
twill properly about a hundred yards in a day, if the
plants be laid down to his hand : and, in a fituation
fuch as I have defcribed, I know no kind of fence
which could be reared at fuch a fmall expence fo quick¬
ly become a defence, and continue fo long in good or¬
der. But it will be greatly improved by putting a
plant of eglantine between each two plants of willow,
which will quickly climb up and be fupported by them;
, and, by its numerous prickles, would effedlu&lly pre-
ferve the defencelefs willow from being browfed upon
by cattle.
* “ As it will be neceffary to keep the narrow ridge,
upon which the hedge is planted, in culture for one
vear at lead, that the plants of eglantine may not be
•choked by weeds, and that the roots of the willow
may be allowed to fpread with the greater eafe in the
tender mold produced by7 this means, it wiL. be proper
to H r the earth once or twice by a gentle ho-rfe-hce in
L T U R E. Fra&ice.
the beginning of fummer > and, in the month of June, , Fences, ^
it may be fowed with turnips, or planted with cole-
worts, which will abundantly repay the expence of the
fallow.” ^72
The fame author alfo gives the following ufeful di- Of planting
reclions for planting hedges in fituations very much ex-expoi'ed 11-
pofed to the weather, and recovering them when outuat;0nSj
the point of decaying. “ dhofe who live in an openanc} reco-
uncuitivated country, have many difficulties to encoun-^eiing
ter, which others who inhabit more warm and (helter-^1^^ cn
ed regions never experience j and, among .thefe difn-jj.
culties, maybe reckoned that of hardly getting hedges p_ l6>
to grow with facility. For, where a young hedge is
much expoled to violent snd#continued gulls of wind,
no ait will ever make it rife with fo much freedom, or
grow with fuch luxuriance, as it would do in a more
flickered fituation and favourable expoiure.
“ But although it is impoflible to rear hedges in
this fituation to io much perfection as m the others,
yet they may be reared even tfiere, with a little atten¬
tion and pains, lo as to become very fine fences.
“ It is advifeable in all cales, to plant the hedges up¬
on the face of a bank } but it becomes abfolutely ne-
celTary in fuch an expofed fituation as that x have now
defcribed : for the bank, by breaking the force of the
wind, fereens the young hedge from the violence of
the blail, and allows it to advance, for iome time at
firll, with much greater luxuriance than it otherwife
could have done.
“ But as it may be expe&ed foon to grow as high
as the bank, it behoves the provident hufbandman to
prepare for that event, and guard, with a wile forecali,
againft the inconvenience that may be expecled to aide
from that circumliance.
“ With this view, it will be proper for him, inliead
of making a fingle ditch, and planting one hedge, to
raife a pretty high bank, with a ditch on each fide, cn
it, and a hedge on each face of the bank } in which
fituation, the bank wall equally Ihel.ter each of the two
hedges while they are lower than it} and, wnen they
at length become as high as the bank, the one hedge
will in a manner afford Ihelter to the other, fo as to
enable them to advance with much greater luxuriance
than either of them would have done fingly.
“ To effefluate this Hill more perfectly, let a row
of fervice trees be planted along the top of the bank,
at the diftance of 18 inches from each other, with a
plant of eglantine between each tw’O fervices. I ids
plant will advance, in fome degree, even in this expo-
fed fituation-, and by its numerous Ihoots, covered
with large leaves, w7ill effectually fereen the hedge on
each fide of it, which, in its turn, will receive fome
fupport and (belter from them 5 fo that they will be
enabled to advance all together, and form, in time, a
clofe, ftrong, and beautiful fence.
“ The fervice is a tree but little known in Scotland j
although it is one of thofe that ought perhaps to be
often cultivated there in preference to any other tree
whatever, as it is more hardy, and, in an expofed fitu¬
ation, affords more {belter to other plants than almoft
afiy other tree I know : for it fends out a great many
ftrong branches from the under part ol the ftem,
which, in time, affutne an upright direction, and con¬
tinue to advance with vigour, and carry many leaves to
Part III.
Fences.
*73
Of the
black alder
AGRICULTURE. g-u
of the ground; by which means they will flioot out fences,
many branches. 1'his tree may be trained into very
thick and clofe hedges, to the height of 20 feet and
upwards. It will thrive exceedingly on the Tides of
brooks} for it growls bell when part of its roots are
the very bottom, almoft as long as the tree exifls: fo
; that if it is not pruned, it rifes a large clofe bulb, till
it attains the height of a foreft tree.
“ It is of the fame genus with the rawm-tree, and
has a great refemblance to it both in llower and fruit 5
its branches are more waving and pliant j its leaves un ■
divided, broad, and round, fomewhat refembling the
elm, but white and mealy on the under fide. It de-
ferves to be better known than it is at prefent.
“ But if, from the poornefs of the foil in which
your hedge is planted, or from any other caufe, it
mould fo happen, that, after a few years, the hedge
becomes fickly, and the plants turn poor and Hunted
in appearance, the eafiefi: and only effeftual remedy for
that difeafe, is to cut the Hems of the plants clean over,
at the height of an inch or two above the ground j af¬
ter which they wall fend forth much ftronger flioots
than they ever wrould have done without this opera¬
tion. And if the hedge be kept free of weeds, and
trained afterwards in the manner above defcribed, it
will, in almoll every cafe, be recovered, and rendered
frefh and vigorous.
“ This amputation ought to be performed in au¬
tumn, or the beginning of winter ‘7 and in the fpring,
when the young buds begin to (how themfelves, the
Humps ought to be examined with care, and all the
buds be rubbed off, excepting one or two of the ftrong-
efi: and belt placed, which Ihould be left for a ftem.
For if the numerous buds that fpring forth round the
Hem arc allowed to fpring up undifturbed, they wdll
become in a few" years as weak and Hunted as before j
and the hedge will never afterwards be able to attain
any confiderable height, Hrength, or healthfulnefs. 
I have feen many hedges, that have been repeatedly
cut over, totally ruined by this circumflance not hav¬
ing been attended to in proper time.
“If the ground for fixteen or twenty feet on each
fide of the hedge be falloured at the time that this ope¬
ration is performed, and get a thorough dreffing with
rich manures, and be kept in high order for fome years
afterwards by good culture and meliorating crops, the
hedge will profper much better than if this had been
omitted, efpecially if it had been planted on the level
ground, or on the bank of a (hallow ditch.”
Mr Miller greatly recommends the black alder as
fuperior to any other that can be employed in moifl
foils. It may either be propagated by layers or trun¬
cheons about three feet long. The befi time for plant¬
ing thefe lafi is in February or the month of March,
They ought to be fiiarpened at their largefi end, and
the ground wTell loofened before they are thruH into
it, lefi the bark firould be torn off, which might occa-
fion their mifcarriage. They Ihould be fft at leaft two
feet deep, to prevent their being blown out of the
ground by violent w inds after they have made ftrong
Ihoots; and they Ihould be kept clear of tall wTeeds
until they have got good heads, after which they wall
require no farther care. When raifed by laying down
the branches, it ought to be done in the month of Oc¬
tober j and by that time twelvemonth they will have
roots Sufficient for tranfplantation, which muff be done
by digging a hole and loofening the earth in the
place wffiere the plant is to Hand. The young fets
muff be planted at leaff a foot and a half deep ; and
their top ffiould be cut off to within about nine inches
Vol. I. Part II.
674
in w^ater; and may, if planted there, as is ufual for
willows, be cut for poles every fifth or fixth year.
Its w-ood makes excellent pipes and Haves j for it will
laff a long time under ground or in water: and it is
likewife in great effimation among plough-wrights,
turners, &c. as w7ell as for making feveral of the uten-
fils neceffary for agriculture. Its bark alfo dies a good
black.
The birch is another tree recommended by Mr Mil- Of the
ler as proper for hedges 5 and in places where thebil'ch>
young plants can be eafily procured, he fays that the
plantation of an acre will not cofl 40 Ihillings, the af¬
ter expence will not exceed 20 ffiillings ; fo that the
wffiole will not come above three pounds. Afh trees
ought never to be permitted in hedges, both becaufe
they injure the corn and grafs by their wide extended
roots, and likewife on account of the property their
leaves have of giving a rank taffe to butter made from
the milk of fuch cattle as feed upon the leaves. No
aflr trees are permitted to grow in the good dairy-coun-
ties.
Where there are plenty of rough flat Hones, the Of hedges
fences which bound an eflate or farm are frequently™’^ on
made with them. In Devonfliire and Cornwall it isthetoPof
common to build as it w7ere two walls with thefe Hones^ccs
laid upon one another j firff tu7o and then one be- ^ ^
tween : as the walls rife they fill the intermediate fpace
with earth, beat the Hones in flat to the fides, which
makes them lie very firm, and fo proceed till the
whole is raifed to the intended height. Quick hedges,
and even large timber trees, are planted upon thefe
Walls, and thrive extremely well. Such inclofures are
reckoned the beff defence that can be had for the
ground and cattle ; though it can fcarce be fuppofed.
but they muff be difagreeable to the eye, and Hand in
need of frequent repairs, by the Hones being forced
out of the way by cattle. The beff way to prevent
this is to build fuch wall in the bottom of a ditch
made wide enough on purpofe, and Hoped down on
each fide. Thus the deformity will be hid; and as
the cattle cannot Hand to face the wall fo as to attempt
to leap over it, the Hones of which it is compofed will
be lefs liable to be beaten down. The earth taken out
of the ditch may be fpread on the adjacent ground,
and its fides planted with fuch tr£es or underwood as
will beff fuit the foil. By leaving a fpace of feveral
feet on the infide for timber, a fupply of that valuable
commodity may be had without doing any injury to
the more valuable paffure. ^ .
'I he following is an excellent method of making a Method of
durable and beautiful fence in graffy places. Digconftrudl.
pieces of turf four or five inches thick, the breadth o°f inS an ex’
the fpade, and about a foot in length. Lay thefe turfs
even by a line on one fide, with the grafs outward, at grally pla.
the diffance of ten or twelve inches within the markces.
at which the ditch afterwards to be dug in the folid
ground is to begin. Then lay, in the lame manner,
but with their grafs fides turned out the contrary way,
another row7 of turfs, at fuch a diflance as to make" a
breadth of foundation proportioned to the intended
3 U height
height of the bank.
<r-77
Elms re¬
commend¬
ed.
A G R I C U
Thus, even though the ground
fhoukh prove defective, the bank would be prevented
from giving way. A ditch may then be dug of what
depth and breadth you pleafe •, or the ground may be
lowered with a dope on each fide ; and in this cafe
there will be no lofs of pafture by the fence} becaufe
it may be fowed with hay-feeds, and will bear grafs
on both fades. Part of the earth taken out of the
ditches or dopes will fill the chafm between the rows
of turf, and the reft may be fcattered over the adjacent
ground. Three, four, or more layers of turf, may be
thus placed upon one another, and the interval be¬
tween them filled up as before till the bank is brought
to its defired height; only obferving to give each fide
of it a gentle dope for greater ftrength. The top of
this bank ftiould be about two feet and a half wide,
and the whole of it filled up with earth, except a fmall
hollow in the middle to retain fome rain. Quickfets
fhould then be planted along this top, and they will
foon form an admirable hedge. By this means a bank
four feet high, and a dope only two feet deep, will
make, befides the hedge, a fence fix feet high, through
which no cattle will be able to force their way : for
the roots of the grafs will bind the turf fo together,
that in one year’s time it will become entirely folid j
and it will yet be much ftronger when the roots of the
quick fhall have diot out among it. The only pre¬
cautions neceffary to be obferved in making this bank
are, I. Not to make it when the ground is too dry;
becaufe, if a great deal of wet Ihould fuddenly fol¬
low', it will fw'ell the earth fo much as, perhaps, to
endanger the falling of fome of the outfide ; which,
however, is eafily remedied if it diould happen. 2. If
the dope be fuch as fheep can climb up, fecure the
young quicks, at the time of planting them, by a fmall
dead hedge, either on or near the top, on both fades.
If any of the quicks diould die, which they wdll hard¬
ly be more apt to do in this than in any other fitua-
tion, unlefs perhaps in extremely dry feafons, they
may be renewed by fome of the methods already men¬
tioned.—Such fences will anfwer even for a park; efpe-
cially if we place polls and rails, about two feet high,
a little doping over the fide of the bank, on or near its
top : no deer can creep through this, nor even be able
to jump over it. It is likewdfe one of the bed: fences
for fecuring cattle ; and if the quicks on the banks be
kept clipped, it will form a kind of green wnll pleafing
to the eye.
In the iirft volume of the Bath Papers we find elms
recommended for fences ; and the following method
of railing them for this purpofe is laid to be the bell.
When elm timber is felled in the fpring, fow the chips
made in trimming or hewing them green, on a piece
of ground newdy ploughed, as you would corn, and
harrow them in. Every chip which has an eye, or
bud-knot, or fome bark on it, will immediately Ihoot
like the cuttings of potatoes; and the plants thus
railed having no tap-roots, but {hooting their fibres
horizontally in the riche ft part of the foil, will be more
vigorous, and may be more fafely and eafily tranfplant-
ed, than when railed from feeds, or in any other me¬
thod. The plants thus raifed for elm fences have
greatly the advantage of others ; as five, fix, and forne-
times more, Items will arife from the. fame chip ; and
fueh plants if cut down within three inches ..of the
Fences.
678
L T U R E. Fra&lce.
ground, will multiply their fide {hoots in proportion,
and make a hedge thicker, without running to naked
wmod, than by any other method yet pradlifed. If
kept clipped for three or four years, they wall be al-
moft impenetrable.
In the fecond volume of the fame work, w7e meetObferva-
v/ith feveral obfervations on quick hedges by a gentle-tions °n
man near Bridgewater. He prefers the white and black
thorns to all other plants for this purpofe ; but is of
opinion, that planting timber trees in them at proper
intervals is a very eligible and proper method. He
raifed fome of his plants from hawrs in a nurfery ;
others he drew up in the woods, or vdierever they
could be found. His banks were made fiat, and three
feet wide at the top, with a {loping fide next the ditches,
which laft were dug only two feet below the furface,
and one foot wide at bottom. The turfs were regu¬
larly laid, with the grafs downwards, on that fide of
the ditch on which the hedge was to be raifed, and
the beft of the mould laid at top. The. fets were
ftraight, long, fmooth, and even growing ones plant¬
ed as foon as poflible after taking up. I hey w7ele
planted at a foot diftance ; and about every 40 feet
young fruit-trees or thofe of other kinds, fuch as afti,
oak, elm, beech, as the foil fuited them. A fecond
row of quickfets was then laid on another bed of fi elh
earth at the fame time, and covered with good mould;
after which the bank w7as finiftied and fecured properly
from injuries by a dead hedge well wrought together,
and fattened by Hakes of oak-trees on the top of the
bank at three feet diftance. Wherever any of the
quickfets had failed or were of a dwindling appearance,
he had them replaced with frelh ones from the nur¬
fery, as w'ell as fuch of the young trees as had been
planted on the top of the bank ; and cleared the whole
from weeds. Thofe moft deftrudlive to young hedges
ai'e the white and black bryony, bindweed, and the
traveller’s joy. The root of white bryony is as big as
a man’s leg, and runs very deep : that of black bryony
often grow7s to 30 feet long, and w ith a kind of ten-
dials takes hold of the root of the young quick, and
chokes it. This root mult be dug very deep in order
to deftroy it. The third is ftill more deftruflive to
yoymg quicks than the other tw o, overftiadowing the
hedge like an arbour. Its root is imaller than that of
the two former, but muft be dug out very clean, as the
leaft piece left will fend up frelh {hoots. It is very
deftruftive to hedges to allow cattle to browze upon
them, which they are very apt to do ; but where cattle
of fome kind muft be allowred accefs to them, horfes
will do by far the leaft mifchief. <77 ^
With regard to the advantage arifing from hedges, Cyder frait
our author obferves, that “ if they were of no farther trees re-
ufe than as mere fences, it would be the farmer’s inte-^IT!™end*
reft to keep them up carefully ; for the better they are, jie(jge5>
the more fecure are his cattle and crops. But if a ju¬
dicious mixture of cyder fruit-trees were planted in
hedges, the profit arifing from them only would abun¬
dantly repay the ccft of the whole without any lofs of
ground. It may poflibly be objefted by fome, that
the hedges wmiild often be hurt by the boys climb-
ing up to get the fruit : but thofe W’ho make it
ftiould remember, or be, told, that the beft kinds of
cyder-fruit are fo hard and auftere at the time of their
being gathered, that nobody can eat them, and even
hogs
Part IIL AGRICULTU R E
, [ liogs will liardly toucli them. But the greateft bene-
iit, where no fruit-trees are planted, a rife? from the
thorns and wood which quick hedges yield for the fire
6go and other purpofes.”
Method of 1 he author of the Effays on Hufhandry recommends
hornbeam ^orn^eam P^an*- as one °f the belt yet known for
hedges in makin§ fences, according to the method pradifed in
Germany. Germany, where fuch fences are common. “ When
the German hufbandman (^fays he^ ereds a fence of
this nature, he throws up a parapet of earth, with a
ditch on each fide, and plants his hornbeam fets in fuch
a manner, that every two plants may be brought to iri-
terfed each other in the form of St Andrew’s crofs. In
that part where the two plants crofs each other, he gently
fcrapes off the bark, and binds them w ith ftrawv thwart-
wife. Here the two plants confolidate in a kind of in-
dufoluble knot, and puflr from thence horizontal fiant-
ing fhoots, which form a fort of living palifado or che-
vaux de frife ; fo that fuch a protedion may be called
a rural fortification. The hedges being pruned annu-
elly, and with difcretion, will in a few years render the
S»i fence impenetrable in every part.
I)r Ander- “ It lometimes happens (lays Dr Anderfon) that a
thod3 !Isdge may have been lon£ negle,aed, and be in general
mending in a healthy ftate, but full of gaps and openings, or fo
decayed and draggling, as to form but a very imperfed
hedges. lort of fence. On thefe occafions, it is in vain to hope
to fill up the gaps by planting young quicks j for thefe
would always be outgrown, choked, and ftarved, by
the old plants : nor could it be recovered by cutting
clear over by the roots, as the gaps would Hill conti-
. 11116 where they formerly were. The only methods
that I know of rendering this a fence are, either to
mend up the gaps with dead wood, or to plajh the
hedge ; which laft operation is always the moft eli¬
gible where the gaps are not too large to admit of be¬
ing cured by this means.
“ I he operation I here call plafhing, may be de-
fined, “ a wattling made of living wood.” To form
this, fome Hems are firft feleded, to be left as flakes at
proper diftances, the tops of which are all cut over at
, height of four feet from the root. The draggling
iide-branches of the other part of the hedge are alfo
lopped away. Several of the remaining plants are then
cut over, clofe by the ground, at convenient didances;
and the remaining plants are cut perhaps half through,
fo as to permit them to be bent to one fide. They
are then bent down almod to a horizontal pofition,
and interwoven with the upright dakes, fo as to retain
them in that pofition. Care ought to be taken that
thefe be laid very low at thofe places where there were
formerly gaps ; which ought to be farther drengtbened
by fome dead dakes or truncheons of willows, which
will frequently take root in this Cafe, and continue to
hve. And fometim^s a plant of eglantine will be able
to overcome the difficulties it there meets with, drike
root, and gro\y up fo as to drengthen the hedge in a
mod effectual manner.
“ The operator begins at one end of the field, and
proceeds regularly forward, bending all the dems in
one cdre&ion, lo that the points nfe above the roots of
the others, till the ■whole wattling is completed to the
fame height as the uprights.
“ expert operator will perform this work with
much greater expedition than one who has not feen it
done could eafily imagine. And as all the diagonal Fences,
wattlings continue to live and fend out fhoots from ~v~”“
many parts of their dems, and as the upright fhoots
that rife from the dumps of thofe plants that have been
cut over quickly rulh up through the whole hedge,
thefe ferve to unite the whole into one entire mais, that
fo: :ms a drong, durable, and beautiful fence.
“ This is the bed method of recovering an old
neglefted hedge that hath as yet come to my know¬
ledge.
“ In fome cafes it happens that the young fhoots of
a hedge are killed every winter ; in which cafe it foon
becomes dead and unfightly, and can never rife, to any
confiderable height. A remedy for this difeafe may
therefore be wifhed for.
“ Young hedges are obferved to be chiefly affefted
with this diforder j and it is almod always occafioned
by an injudicious management of the hedge, by means
of which it has been forced to fend out too great a
number of fhoots in fummer, that are thus rendered fo
fmall and weakly as to be unable to relid the fevere
weather in winter.
“It often happens that the owner of a young hedge,
with a view to render it very thick and clofe, cuts it
over with the {hears a few inches above the ground the
firft winter after planting; in confequence of which,
many fmall fhoots fpring out from each of the ftems
that has been cut over :—Each of which, being after¬
wards cut over in the fame manner, fends forth a dill
greater number of fhoots, which are fmaller and fmaller
in proportion to their number.
“ If the foil in which the hedge has been planted is
poor, in confequence of this management, the branches,
after a few years, become fo numerous, that the hedge
is unable to fend out any fhoots at all, and the utmoft
exertion of the vegetative powers enables it only to
put forth leaves. Thefe leaves are renewed in a fickly
date for fome years, and at laft ceafe to grow at all—
the branches become covered with fog, and the hedge
perilhes entirely.
“ But if the foil be very rich, notwithftanding this
great multiplication of the ftems, the roots will dill
have fufficient vigour to force out a great many fmall
dioots, which advance to a great length, but never
attain" a proportional thicknefs. And as the vigour
of the hedge makes them continue to vegetate very
late in autumn, the foods come on before the tops of
thefe dangling (hoots have attained any degree of
woody firmnefs, fo that they are killed almoft entirely
by it: the whole hedge becomes covered with thefe
long dead fhoots, which are always difagreeable to
look at, and ufually indicate the approaching end of
the hedge. °
t he caufes of the diforder being thus explained,
it will readily occur, that the only radical cure is am¬
putation y which, by givirig an opportunity to begin
with training the hedge anew, gives alfo an opportuni¬
ty of avoiding the errors that occafioned it. In this
cafe, care ought to he taken to cut the plants as clofe
to the ground as poffible, as there the dems will be lefs
numerous than at any greater height. And particu,
lar attention ought to be had to allow very few fhoots
to arife from the ftems that have been cut over, and
to guard carefully againft fhortening them.
“ But as the roots, in the cafe here fuppofed, will
3 U 2 be
524 A G R I C U
Fences, be very ftrong, the {hoots that are allowed to fprhig..
from the Items will be very vigorous, and there will be
fome danger of their continuing to grow later in the
feafon than they ought in fafety to do •, in which cafe,
fome part of the top of the {hoot may perhaps be kill¬
ed the firft winter, which ought if poilible to be pre¬
vented. This can only be effectually done by giving
a check to the vegetation in autumn, fo as to allow the
young {hoots to harden in the points before the winter
approaches. If any of the leaves or branches of a tree
are cut away while it is in the Jtate of vegetation, the
whole plant feels the lofs, and it fuffers a temporary
check in its growth in proportion to the lofs that it
thus fuftains. To check,therefore, the vigorous vege¬
tation at the end of autumn, it will be prudent to
choofe the beginning of September for the time of
lopping off all the fupernumerary branches from the
young hedge, and for clipping off the fide-branches
that have fprung out from it} which will, in general,
be fufficient to give it fuch a check in its growth at
that feafon, as will prevent any of the {hoots from ad-
Trancing afterwards. If the hedge is extremely vigo¬
rous, a few buds may be alkwed to grow upon the
large flumps in the fpring, with a view to be cut off at
this feafon, which will tend to Hop the vegetation of
the hedge dill more effectually,
“ By this mode of management, the hedge may be
preferved entire through the firft winter. And as the
v {hoots become lefs vigorous every fucceffive feafon,
there wall be lefs difficulty in preferving them at any
future period. It will always be proper, however, to
trim the lides of a very vigbrous hedge for fome years
while it is young, about the fame feafon of the year,
which will tend powerfully to prevent this malady.
But ■when the hedge has advanced to any confiderable
height, it will be equally proper to clip it during any
of the winter-months, before Candlemas.”
Lord Karnes, in his work entitled the Gentleman
Farmer, gives feveral dire&ions for the railing and
mending of hedges conliderably different from thole
above related. For a deer-park he recommends a wall
of ftone coped with turf, having laburnums planted
clofe to it. The heads of the plants are to be lopped
off, in order to make the branches extend laterally, and
interweave in th'e form of a hedge. The wall will pre¬
vent the deer from breaking through \ and if the hedge
be trained eight feet high, they will not attempt to
leap over. He prefers the laburnum plant, becaufe
51& beaft will feed upon it except a hare, and that only
when young and the bulb tender. Therefore, no ex¬
traordinary care is neceffary except to preferve them
from the hare for four or five years. A row of alders
may be planted in front of the laburnums, which no
hare nor any other beaft will touch. The wTalI he re¬
commends to be built in the following manner, as be¬
ing both cheaper and more durable than one conftrubl-
ed entirely of ftone. Raife it of ftone to the height
of two feet and a half from the ground, after -which it
is to be coped with fod as follows. Firft, lay on the
wall, with the graffy fide under, fod cut with the fpade
four or five inches deep, and of a length equal to the
thicknefs of the wall. Next, cover this fod with loofe
earth rounded like a ridge. Third, prepare thin fod,
caft with the paring fpade, fo long as to extend, be¬
yond the tbicknefs of the wail, two inches on each fide.
<ss*
Lord
Karnes’s
obferva-
tions.
6S3
Fence tor
deer-park
L T U R E. Pradice.
With thefe cover the loofe earth, keeping the graffy Fences,
fide above } place them io much on the edge, that' " *
each fod ftiall cover part of another, leaving only about
twro inches without cover: when 20 or 30 yards are
thus finilhed, let the fod be beat with mallets by two
men, one on each fide of the wall, ftriking both at the
fame time. By this operation, the fod becomes a com-
pa<ft body that keeps in the moifture, and encourages
the grafs to grown Laftly, cut oft' the ragged ends of
the fod on each fide of the wall, to make the covering
neat and regular. The month of Oftober is the pro¬
per feafon for this operation, becaufe the lun and
wind, during fummer, dry thofod, and hinder the
grafs from vegetating. Moift foil affords the belt fod.
Wet foil is commonly too fat for binding 5 and, at
any rate, the watery plants it produces will not thrive
in a dry fituation. Dry foil, on the other hand, be¬
ing commonly ill bound with roots, {hakes to pieces in.
handling. The ordinary way of coping with fod,
which is to lay them fiat and fingle, looks as if intend¬
ed to dry the fod and kill the grafs; not to mention
that the foil is liable to be blown off the wall by every
high wind. . ^
The advantages of a thorn hedge, according to ourAdvan-
author, are, that it is a very quick grower, w'hentages of a,
planted in a proper foil} {hooting up fix or feven feet
in a feafon. Though tender, and apt to be hurt by 6 *
weeds when young, it turns ftrong, and may be cut
into any Ihape. Even when old, it is more difpofed
than other trees to lateral ftroots j and laftly, its prickles
make it the moft proper of all for a fence. None of
thefe thorns ought to be planted in a hedge till five
years of age, and it is of the utmoft importance that
they be properly trained in the nurfery. The beft
foil for a nurfery, his lordihip obferves, is betiveen
rich and poor. In the latter the plants are dwarfilh :
in the former, being luxuriant and tender, they are
apt to be hurt during the feverity of the weather j and
thefe imperfe&ions are incapable of any remedy. An
effential requifite in a nurfery is free ventilation. “ Hew 0f a pv0.
common (fays his lordfhip) is it to find nurferies in per nurfery
hollow ftieltered places, furrounded with walls and for raifing
high plantations, more fit for pine-apples than bar-the Plants*'
ren trees ! The plants thruft out long {hoots, but fee¬
ble and tender : when expofed in a cold fituation, they
decay, and fometimes die. But there is a reafon for
every thing : the nurfery man’s view is to make profit
by faving ground, and by impofing on the purchafer
tall plants, for which he pretends to demand double
price. It is fo difficult to purchafe wholefome and
well nurfed plants, that every gentleman farmer ought
to raife plants for himfelf. 6M
u As thorns will grow pleafantly from roots, I Of railing-
have long praftifed a frugal and expediti®us method
raifing them from the wounded roots that muft be cut^
off -when thorns are to be fet in a hedge. Thefe roots, iiedges.-
cut into fmall parts, and put in a bed of frefh earth,
will produce plants the next fpring no lefs vigorous
than what are produced from feed ; and thus a perpe¬
tual fucceffiou of plants may be obtained without any
more feed. It ouglrt to be a rule, never to admit into
a hedge plants under five years old ; they delerve all
the additional fum that can be demanded for them.
Young and feeble plants in a hedge are of flow7 growth y
and, befides the lofs of time, the paling neceffary to-
fecure
Part III. AGRICULT URE.
Fences, fecure them from cattle muft be renewed more than
once before they become a fence, A thorn hedge
may be planted in every month of winter and fpring,
unlefs it be froft. But I have always obferved, that
thorns planted in Oftober are more healthy, pufh more
vigoroufly, and fewer decay, than at any other time.
In preparing the thorns for planting, the roots ought
to be left as entire as poflible, and nothing cut away
6S7 but the ragged parts.
fhocTof116" “ a t^orn ^e(%e fuffers greatly by v'eeds, the
planting, ground where they are planted ought to be made per¬
fectly clean. The common method of planting, is to
leave eight or nine inches along a fide of the intended
ditch, termed a fcarfement; and behind the fcarfement
to lay the furface foil of the intended ditch, cut into
fquare fods twTo or three inches deep, its graffy furface
under. Upon that fod, whether clean or dirty, the
thorns are laid, and the earth of the ditch above them.
The grafs in the fcarfement, with what weeds are in
the moved earth, foon grow up, and require double di¬
ligence to prevent the young thorns from being cho¬
ked. The following method deferves all the addition¬
al trouble it requires.' Leaving a fcarfement as above
of 10 inches, and alfo a border for the thorns, broad
or narrow according to their ftze } lay behind the
border all the furface of the intended ditch, champed
fmall with the fpade, and upon it lay the mouldery
earth that fell from the fpade in cutting the faid fur¬
face. Cover the fcarfement and border with the under
earth, three inches thick at leaft ; laying a little more
on the border to raife it higher than the fcarfement, in
order to give room for weeding. After the thorns are
prepared by fmoothing their ragged roots with a
knife, and lopping oft their heads to make them grow
bufhy, they are laid fronting the ditch, with their roots
on the border, the head a little higher than the root.
Care muft be taken to fpread the roots among the fur-
face-earth taken out of the ditch, and to cover them
with the mouldery earth that lay immediately below.
This article is of importance, became the mouldery
earth is the fineft of all. Cover the ftems of the thorns
with the next ftratum of the ditch, leaving always an
inch at the top free. It is no matter how poor this
ftratum be, as the plants draw no nouriftrment from it.
Go on to finifh the ditch, prefting down carefully
every row of earth thrown up behind the hedge,
which makes a good folid mound impervious to rain.
It is a fafeguard to the young hedge to raife this
mound as perpendicular as poffible ; and for that rea-
fon, it may be proper, in loofe foil, when the mound
is raifed a foot or fo, to bind it with a row of the
tough fod, which will fupport the earth above till it
become folid by lying. In poor foil more care is ne-
ceffary. Behind the line of the ditch the ground in¬
tended for the fcarfement and border fhould be fum-
mer fallowed, manured, and cleared of all grafs roots 5-
and this culture will make up for the inferiority of the
foil. In very poor foil, it is vain to think of planting
a thorn hedge. In inch ground there is a neceflity
for a ftone fence.
“ The only reaion that can be given for laying
thorns as above defcribed, is to give the roots fpace to
pufh in all directions \ even upward into the mound of
earth. There may be feme advantages in this j but,
in my apprehend!on, the difauvantage is much greater
of heaping fo much earth upon the roots as to exclude Fences,
not only the fun, but the rain which runs down the
Hoping bank, and has no accefs to the roots. Inftead
of laying the thorns fronting the ditch, would it not
do better to lay them parallel to it 5 covering the roots
with three or four inches of the beft earth, which
would make a hollow between the plants and the Hop¬
ing bank ? This hollow would intercept every drop of
rain that falls on the bank, to fink gradually among
the roots Why, at any rate, fhould a thorn be put in¬
to the ground Hoping ? This is not the praftice with
regard to any other tree *, and I have heard of no ex¬
periment to perfuade me that a thorn thrives better
Hoping than ereft. There occurs, indeed, one objec¬
tion againft planting thorns ere£f, that the roots have
no room to extend themfelves on that fide where the
ditch is. But does it not hold, that when, in their
progrefs, roots meet with a ditch, they do not puflr on¬
ward } but, changing their direction, pufh downward
at the fide of the ditch ? If fo, thefe downward roots
will fupport the ditch, and prevent it from being moul¬
dered down by frofi. One thing is evident without ex¬
periment, that thorns planted ereft may fooner be made
a complete fence than when laid Hoping as ufual. In
the latter cafe, the operator is confined to thorns that
do not exceed a foot or 15 inches \ but thorns five or
fix feet high may be planted ere£l j and a hedge of
fuch thorns, -well cultivated in the nurfery, will in
three years arrive to greater perfeftion than a hedge
managed in the ordinary way will do in twice that
... ... , , 6SS
After the hedge is finifired, it is abfolutely necefla- Of fecuring;
ry to fecure it for fome time from the depredations ofa hedge
cattle 5 and this is by no means an eafy matter. “ The ajterit,18
ordinary method of a paling (fays his lordlhip) is no d
fufficient defence againft cattle : the moft gentle make
it a rubbing poll, and the vicious wantonly break it
down with their horns. The only effectual remedy is
expenfive ^ viz. two ditches and two hedges, with a
mound of earth between them. If this remedy, how¬
ever, be not palatable, the paling ought at leaft to be
of the ftrongeft kind. I recommend the following as-
the beft I am acquainted with : Drive into the ground
ftrong flakes three feet and a half long, with intervals
from eight to tvrelve inches, according to the fize of
the cattle that are to be inclofed ; and all precifely of
the fame height. Prepare plates of wood fawed out
of logs, every plate three inches broad and half an
inch thick. Fix them on the head of the ftdkes with
a nail driven down into each. The flakes will be-
united fo firmly, that one cannot be moved without
the whole ; and will be proof accordingly againft the
rubbing of cattle. But, after all, it is no fence againft
vicious cattle. The only proper place for it is the fide
of a high road, or to fence a plantation of trees. It
will indeed be a fufficient fence againft ftieep, and en¬
dure till the hedge itfelf becomes a fence. A fence
thus completed, including thorns, ditching, wood,
nails, &c. will not much exceed two fhillings every
fix yards.”, 6S9
His lordfhip diftommends the ordinary method of Of training
training hedges by cutting off the top and ftiortening VT hedges
the lateral branches in order to make it thick and
bulky. This, as well as the method of cutting oft' the
ftems two or three inches above the ground, indeed
produce!
526
Fences.
r6go
Piafliing of
hedges dif-
commend-
ed.
691
Hedges
ought to be
planted on
the lide of
the hank,
and no
trees allow¬
ed in them.
A G R I C
produces a great number of {boots, and makes a very-
thick fence, but which becomes fo weak when bare of
leaves, that cattle break through it in every part. To
determine the belt method of proceeding in this cafe,
his lordlhip made an experiment on three hedges,
which were twelve years old at the time he wrote.
The fkft was annually pruned at the top and Tides ; the
Tides of the fecond were pruned, but not the top ; and
the third was allowed to grow without any pruning.
The firft, at the time of writing, was about four feet
broad, and thick from top to bottom but weak in
the items, and unable to refill any horned bead: : the
fecond was ftrong in its Items, and clofe from top to
bottom : the third was alfo itrong in its fteriks, but
bare of branches for two feet from the ground j the
lowef ones having been deprived of air and rain by the
thick fhade of thofe above them. Hence he directs
that hedges Ihould be allowed to grow till the items
be five or fix inches in circumference, which will be
in ten or twelve years •, at which time the hedge will
be fifteen feet or more in height. The lateral branches
next the ground muft be pruned within two feet of the
item 5 thofe above muft be made fhorter and (borter in
proportion to their diftance from the ground ; and at
five feet high they muft be cut clofe to the Item, leav¬
ing all above full freedom of growth. By this dref-
iiug the hedge takes on the appearance of a very fteep
roof ; and it ought to be kept in that form by pruning.
This form gives free accefs to rain, fun, and air : eve¬
ry twig has its Ihare, and the whole is preferved in vi¬
gour. When the items have arrived at their proper
bulk, cut them over at five feet from the ground, where
the lateral branches end. This anfwers two excellent
purpofes : the firft is to ftrengthen the hedge, the lap
that formerly afcended to the top being now diftri-
buted to the branches} the next is, that a tall hedge
ftagnates the air, and poifons both corn and grafs near
it. A hedge trained in this manner is impenetrable
even by a bull.
With regard to the pradlice of plajhing an old hedge
recommended by Dr Anderfon, his lordlhip obferves
that “ it makes a good interim fence, but at the long
run is deftruftive to the plants; and accordingly there
is fcareely to be met with a complete good hedge
■where plalhing has been long praftifed. A thorn is a
tree of long life. If, inftead of being maffacred by
plalhing, it were i^ifed and dreffed in the way here
defcribed, it would continue a firm hedge perhaps 500
years.
“ A hedge ought never to be planted on the top of
the mound of earth thrown up from the ditch. It has
indeed the advantage of an awful fituation ; but being
planted in bad foil, and deftitute of moifture, it can¬
not thrive : it is at beft dwarfiih, and frequently de¬
cays and dies. To plant trees in the line ol the hedge,
or within a few feet of it, ought to be abfolutely proT
hibited as a pernicious practice. It is amazing that
people fhould fall into this error, when they ought to
know that there never was a good thorn hedge with
trees in it. And how ftiould it be otherwife ? An oak,
a beech, an elm, grows fafter than a thorn. When
fuffered to grow in the midft of a thorn hedge, it
fpreads its roots everywhere, and robs the thorns of
their nourifhment. Nor is this all : the tree, oyeriha-
dowing the thorns, keeps the fun and air from them.
.1
U L T U R E. Practice,
At the fame time, no tree takes worfe with being over- Fences.
ftiadowred than a thorn. ' ^^ '*
“ It is fcarce necefiary to mention gaps in a hedge,
becaufe they will feldom happen where a hedge is train- Up gaps*
ed as above recommended. But in the ordinary me¬
thod of training, gaps are frequent, partly by the fai¬
lure of plants, and partly by the treipaffing of cattle.
The ordinary method of filling up gaps is to plant fweet
briar where the gap is fmall, and a crab where it is
large. This method I cannot approve for an obvious
reafon : a hedge ought never to be compofed of plants
which grow unequally. Thofe that grow faft, overtop
and hurt the ftow growers } and with refpeft, in parti¬
cular, to a crab and fweet briar, neither of them thrive
under the (hade. It is a better method to remove all
the withered earth in the gap, and to fubftitute freih
fappy mould mixed with fome lime or dung. Plant
upon it a vigorous thorn of equal height with the hedge,
which in its growth will equal the thorns it is mixed
with. In that view there ftiould be a nurfery of thorns
of all fizes, even to five feet high, ready to fill up gaps.
The beft feafon for this operation is the month of Oc-
tober. A gap filled with fweet briar, or a crab lower
than the hedge, invites the cattle to break through 4ml
trample the young plants under foot} to prevent which,
a paling railed on both fides is not fufticient, unlefs it
be raifed as high as the hedge. -
“ Where a field Is too poor to admit of a thorn In what
hedge, if there be no quantity of ftones eafily procu- cafes whin*
rable, whins are the only refource. Thefe are com- ale^necef-
monly placed on the top of a dry earth dyke, in which '
lituation they feldom thrive well. The following feems
preferable. Two parallel ditches three feet wide and
two deep, border a fpace of twelve feet. Within this
fpace raife a bank at the fide of each ditch with the
earth that comes out of it, leaving an interval between
the two banks. Sow the banks with whin feed, and
plant a row of trees in the interval. When the whins
are pretty well grown, the hedge on one of the banks
may be cut down, then the other as foon as it becomes
a fence, and fo on alternately. While the whins are
young, they will not be difturbed by cattle, if paflages
be left to go out and in. Thefe paffages may be
clofed up when the hedge is fufficiently ftrong to be a
fence. A whin hedge thus managed, will laft many
years, even in ftrong froft, unlefs very fevere. There
are many whin hedges in the fhire of Kincardine not To
Ikilfully managed, and yet the poffeffors appear not to
be afraid of froft. Such fences ought to be extremely
welcome in the fandy grounds of the {hire of Moray,
where there is fcarce a ftone to be found. The few
earth fences that are there raifed, compofed moftly of
fand, very foon crumble down.”
In the fourth volume of Mr Young’s Northern lour, Annals of
the author recommends the tranfplanting of old hedges, Agriculture,
which his correfpondent Mr Beverly fays he has tried voi-Jvl\i
with prodigious fuccefs. . ... ^
Mr Bakewell, we are told, is very curious in his- ^
fences, and plants his quicks in a different manner from Mr Bake-
what is common in.various parts of the kingdom. He weli’s fen"
plants one row at a foot from fet to fet, and making his ClS‘
ditch, lays the earth which comes out of it to form a
bank on the fide oppofite to the quick. In the com¬
mon method, the bank is made on the quick fide above
it. Reafons are not wanting to induce a preference of
this
PartHI. AGRICULTURE. 5^7
Fences, tliis method. The plants grow only in the furface the
earth uncovered from the atmofphere, which muft ne-
ceffarily be a great advantage j whereas, in the ufual
xvay of planting, that earth, which is always the beft,
is loaded by a thick covering obliquely of the earth
out of the ditch. If the roots {hoot in the beft foil,
they will be out of the reach of the influences of the
air j the confequence of which is, that they cannot
have fo large a fpace of that earth as if fet on the flat.
The way to have a tree or a quick thrive in the beft
manner poflible, is to fet it on the furface without
any ditch or trench, that cuts off half its pafture. But
if a ditch is neceffary, the next beft way muft of courfe
be ftill to keep it on the flat furface j and the worft
way to cover up that furface, by loading it with the
dead earth out of a trench. To fay that there are
good hedges in the common method is not a conclu-
live argument, unlefs both were tried on the fame foil
695 and expofure.
Of hedges ln the 7th volume of the fame work, a correfpon-
andgrave! ^ent’ w^° %ns M. M. obferves, that notwith-
ly f0iis. ‘ {landing all the improvements that have been made
in the conftru&ion of hedges and fences, there are
many foils in England, which, from their fandy and
gravelly natures, are little adapted to any,of the plants
in common life, and are therefore fubje£t to all the
inconveniences of dead hedges and gaps. Of this kind
are all the fandy and gravelly inclofures, which con-
ftitute fo large a part of many diftrids in the ifland.
For thefe our author recommends a triple row of furze;
though, notwithftanding its advantages, he fays it is
liable to be deftroyed by fevere winters, contrary to
the affertion of Lord Kames above related. “ It is
liable (fays he) to be fo completely cut off by a fevere
winter, that I have feen trafts of many hundred acres
laid open in the fpace of a few weeks, and reduced to
as defencelefs a ftate as the furrounding wafteSi On
fuch foils therefore he recommends the holly j the only
difadvantage of which, he fays, is its flow growth. On
moft of thefe foils alfo the black thorn will rife fpon-
taneoufly ; and even the quick, though {lowly, will ad¬
vance to a fufficient degree of perfection. The birch,
however, he particularly recommends, as growing
equally on the drieft and on the wetteft foils, propa¬
gating itfelf in fuch numbers, that, were they not de¬
ftroyed, all the fandy waftes of this kingdom w6uld
be quickly covered with them. He recommends par-
ticularly the keeping of a nurfery for fuch plants as
Of a proper are commonly ufed for hedges. “ I generally (fays
nurfery. ke) out a bit of barren land, and after plough¬
ing it three or four times to bury and deftroy the
heath, I find it anfwer extremely well for a nurfery.
Into this fpot I tranfplant quick, hollies, and every
tree which I ufe for fences or plantations. By efta-
blifhing fuch a nurfery, a gentleman will always be
able to command a fufficiency of ftrong and hardy
plants which will not deceive his expeftatiens. I look
upon thorns of five or fix years old, which have been
twice tranfplanted from the feed-bed, to be the beft
of all; but as it may be neceffary to fill up cafual gaps
in hedges that'have been planted feveral years, a pro-
vifion fhould be made of plants of every age, to twelve
or fourteen years old. All plants which are intended
to be moved, Ihbuld be tranfplanted every two, or at
molt three years j without this attention, they attach
themfelves fo firmly to the foil as renders a fubfequent Fences,
operation dangerops. All who tranfplant quicks or * v '
hollies ought to begin their labours as early as conve¬
nient in the autumn; for I have found, by repeated
experience, that neither of thefe plants fucceed fo well
in the fpring.” 697
Where the fences of a trad of ground are in a very Of repair-
ruinous condition, it is abfolutely neceffary to fcour jnS ™*nous
the ditches, throw up the banks, and fecure the whole ie< ges'
immediately by the firmeft dead fences we can procure.
If there is a total want of living plants, tire cultivator
Can do nothing but plant new hedges j but if, as is
generally the cafe, the banks are furnilhed with a mul¬
titude of old ftems, though totally unconnefted as a
fence, the time and labour requifite for the intended
improvement will be confiderably abridged. All the
ftraggling branches which add no folidity to the fence.
are to be cut off; after which the reft of the ftems
muft be fhortened to the height of three or four feet.
The method of cutting down every thing to the
ground, which is now fo general, our author highly
condemns. “ Such a fence (fays he) has within it no
pritfciple of ftrength and connexion $ it is equally ex~
poffed in every part to depredations of cattle and fportf-
men ^ and even {hould it efcape thefe, the firft fall of
fnow wall nearly demolifh it. On the contrary, where-
ever thefe vegetable palifades can be left, they are im¬
penetrable either for man or horfe, and form fo many
points of union which fupport the reft.”
Another method of ftrengthening defe&ive fences is,
to bend down fome of the lateral {boots in a horizon¬
tal direction, and to fpread them along the line of the
farm, like efpalier trees in a garden. A fingle ftem,
when it rifes perpendicularly, will not fecure a fpace
of more.than two or three feet, but when bent longi¬
tudinally, it will form a barrier at leaft fufficient to
repel all cattle but hogs for twelve or fourteen on one
fide. By bending dewn, our author does not meanplaflung of
the common plafhing method, which is very injurious hedges dit¬
to the plants j but the fpreading two or three of the^mmen<^
moft convenient branches along the hedge, and fallen-6
ing them down either by pegs or tying, without in¬
jury to the ftem, until they habitually take the pro-
pofed dire£lion. Thofe who make the experiment for
the firft time will be aftonifhed how fmall a.number
of plants may be made to fill a bank, with only trifling
intervals. The birch-is particularly ufeful for this pur-
pofe 5 being of fo flexible a nature, that {hoots of ten
or twelve feet in length may be eafily forced into a
horizontal direction ; and if the other {hoots are pru¬
ned away, all the juices of the plant will be applied to
nouriffi the felefted few: by which means they will -:
in a few years acquire all the advantages of polls and
rails, with this material difference, that inltead of de¬
caying, they become annually better. It is befides
the property of all inclined branches'to fend up a mul¬
titude of perpendicular {hoots j fo that by this hori¬
zontal inclination, if judicioufly made, you may ac¬
quire almoft all the advantages of the thickeft fence $
but when the ftems are too old and brittle to bear this
operation, it will be advifable to cut off all the ufelefs
ones clofe to the ground, and next fpring they will be
fucceeded by a number of young and vigorous ones.
Seleft the beft of thefe to be trained in the manner
already directed, and extirpate all the. reft, to increaie.
theix:
5 28
Fence?.
699
Of thicken¬
ing hedges
by laying
down the
joung
fhoots.
700
In what
cafe .the
cutting
down of
hedges is
.proper.
A G R I C U
their vigour. The fhoots of fuch old ftems as have
been juft now defcribed will attain a greater fize in
three or four years than any young ones that can be
planted will do in twelve.
Another method which our author has praftifed
with the greateft fuccefs is the following. The ten¬
der ftioots of moft trees, if bended downwards and co¬
vered with earth, will put forth roots, and being divi¬
ded from the parent ftem at a proper time, become
frefh plants •, an operation well known to gardeners,
under the name of laying. This may be as advanta¬
geous to the farmer, if he rvill take the very moderate
trouble of laying down the young and flexible branch¬
es in his fences. IMoft fpecies of trees, probably all,
rvill be propagated by this method j but particularly
the withy, the birch, the holly, the white thorn, and
the crab, will alfo take root in this method, though
more (lowly j the latter being an excellent plant for
fences, and not at all nice in the foil on which it
grows. The advantage of laying dorvn branches in
this manner over the planting of young on€s is, that
when you endeavour to fill up a gap by the latter me¬
thod, they advance very dowdy, and are in danger of
being ftified by the {hade of the large trees j wdiereas,
if you fortify a gap by fpreading the branches along it
in the manner juft mentioned, and at the fame time in-
fert fome of the moft thriving fhoots in the ground,
they will advance with all the vigour of the parent
plant, and you may allow them to grow until they
•are fo fully rooted as to be free from danger of fuffo-
cation.
It frequently happens, that the fences of an eftate
have been negle&ed for many years, and exhibit no¬
thing but ragged and deformed ftems at great inter¬
vals. In this cafe it will be proper to cut them all off
level with the ground : the confequence of this is, that
next year they will put forth a great number of fhoots,
which may be laid down in everg^dire&ion, and train¬
ed for the improvement of the fence. When this ope¬
ration is performed, however, it ought always to be
done with an axe, and not with a faw 5 it being found
that the latter inftrument generally prevents the vege¬
tation of the plant. All the flioots laid down in this
manner fhould be allowed to remain for feveral years,
that they may be firmly rodted. Thus they will make
prodigious advances •, and it is to be obferved, that
the more the parent plant is divefted of all fuperfluous '
branches, the greater will be the nourifhment tranfmit-
ted to the feions.
Our author, however, is inclined to fufpeft that
the moft perfeft form of a hedge, at leaft in all but
thofe compofed of thorns and prickly plants, is to
train up as many ftems als will nearly touch each other.
The force of every fence confifts chiefly in the up¬
right' ftems : where thefe are fufficiently near and
ftrong, the hedge refifts all oppofition, and will equally
repel the violence of the bull, and the infidious at¬
tacks of the hogs. It is abfolutely proper that all
hedges fhould be infpe&ed once a-year j when hot
only the ditch ought to be thrown out, and the bank
fupported, but the ftraggling ftioots of all the live
plants ought to be pruned. By thefe are meant all
fuch as project over the ditch beyond the line of the
hedge, and which add nothing to its ftrength, though
they deprive the ufeful ftems of part of their nourifti-
3
L T U R E. Practice.
ment. Where a hedge is compofed of plants of in- Fences,,
ferior value, it will be proper to train thofe in the s—
manner juft now recommended, and to plant the bank
with quick or holly. When thefe laft have attained
a fufticient fize, the others may be extirpated j which
is beft done by cutting down all the fhoots repeated¬
ly in the fummer, and leaving the roots to rot in the
hedge. _ 7®r
In the 13th volume of the Annals, W. Erfkine, Efq. Mr Er-
gives an account of a method of fencing very much me*
refembling that recommended by Lord Karnes, and
which has been already defcribed. That gentleman is ing hedge?,
of opinion, that, in fome cafes deadfione walls, as they
are called, are more advantageous than hedges. “That
hedges (fays he) are more ornamental, cannot be de¬
nied $ and they are generally allowed to afford more
fhelter : but the length of time, the conftant atten¬
tion, and continual expence of defending them until
they bear even the refemblance of a fence, induces
many people in thofe places where the materials are
eafily procured, to prefer the dry ftone walls; for though
the firft coft is confiderable, yet as the farmer reaps
the immediate benefit of the fence (which is undoubt¬
edly the moft fecure one), they are thought on the
whole to be the leaft expenfive ; befides, the cattle in
expofed fituations, and efpecially in thefe northern
parts, are fo impatient of confinement at the com¬
mencement of the long, cold, wet nights, that no
hedges I have ever yet feen, in any part of this ifland,
are fufticient to keep them in.”
From confiderations of this kind, the late Sir George
Suttie of Eaft Lothian was induced to think of a fence
which might join the ftrength of the wall to the or¬
nament of the hedge. His thorns were planted in the
ufual manner on the fide of the ditch : but inftead of
putting behind them a poft and rail or paling on the
top of the bank, he ere&ed a wall two feet and a
half high ; and being well fituated for procuring lime,
he ufed it in the conftru&ion of thefe walls which Mr
Hif/kme greatly recommends ; “ as the fatisfa&ion they
afford, by requiring no repairs, and the duration of
them, more than repay the expence : but where the
price of lime is high they may be built without any
cement, and anfwer the purpofe very well if the work
is properly executed.”
In making a new fence of this kind, the furface of
the ground fhould be pared off the breadth of the
ditch, and likewife for two feet more, in order to pre¬
vent as much as pofiible the thorns from being injured
by the growth of grafs and weeds. The ditch fhould
be five feet broad, two and a half in depth, and one
foot broad at the bottom. Leave one foot for an
edging or fcarfement, then dig the earth one fpit of
a fpade for about one foot, and put about three inches
of good earth below the thorn, which fhould be laid
nearly horizontal, but the point rather inclining up¬
wards, in order to let the rain drip to the roots ; then
add a foot of good earth above it : leave three or four
inches of a fcarfement before another thorn is planted j
it muft not be dire&ly over the lower one, but about
nine inches or a foot to one fide of it : then throw a
foot of good earth on the thorn, and trample it well
down, and level the top of the bank for about three
feet and a half for the bafe of the wall to reft on. This
bafe fliould be about nine or ten inches, but muft not
exceed
Part III. A G R I C U
Fences, exceed one foot from the thorn. The wall ought to
u—-y—be about two feet thick at the bottom and one foot at
the top : the cope to be a fmgle ftone laid flat ; then
covered with two fods of turf, the grafs of the under-
moll; to be next the wall, and the other fod muft have
the grafs fide uppermoft. The fods fhould be of fome
thicknefs, in order to retain moifture 5 fo that they may
adhere together, and not be eafily difplaced by the
wind. The height of the wall to be two feet and a
half, exclufive of the fods ; which together fhould be
from four to fix inches, by which means the wall would
be near to three feet altogether. The expence of the
fences cannot fo eafily be counted, on account of the
diflerence of the prices of labour in different parts. Mr
Erlkine had them done with lime, every thing included,
from ioi to 13d. per ell (which is equal to 37 inches
2 parts), according to the eafe or difficulty of working
the quarry, and the diftance of it from the place where
the fence is erected. The lime cofts about 6d. per boll
of about 4.0872667 buffielsj and from 15 to 16 bolls
of lime are ufed to the rood of 36 fquare ells Scots
meafure ; and there are upv/ards of 43 Scots ells, or
44 Engliih yards. When the common round or flint
ftones are made ufe of, as they require more lime, it is
neceffary to ufe 30 or 35 bolls of lime to the rood.
The thorns are fold from five to ten ffiillings per thou-
fand, according to their age, reckoning fix fcoretothe
hundred. Making the ditch, laying the thorns, and
preparing the top of the wall, generally coft from yd.
to 8d. every fix ells. About 50 carts of Hones, each
cart carrying from feven to nine cwt. will build a
rood ; the carriage at 2d. per cart for half a mile’s di¬
ftance.
Warmth is undoubtedly extremely beneficial to
529
Fences.
hedges ; and the walls give an effedlual fhelter, which
in expofed fituations is abfolutely neceflary for rearing
young hedges j and they like wife preferve a proper de¬
gree of ihoiiture about the roots. If the hedges have
been planted for fix or feven years before the wall is
built, cut them over to two or three inches above the
ground with a ffiarp tool, either in October or Novem¬
ber, or early in the fpring ; and eredt the rvall as
quickly in that feafon as poffible (the fpring in this
country can fcarcely be faid to begin till the end of
March). It is almofi: impoffible to imagine the rapi¬
dity with which hedges grow in favourable fituations.
Mr Erfkine had one cut over in the fpring, and by the
end of the year it was almoft as high as the wall/ In
three years he fuppofed, that not even the Highland
iheep, who ealily overleap a wall of four feet and a
half in height, wmuld have been able to break through
it.
Re a Ions for Notwithftanding the reafons that have been given
planting already againft the planting of timber trees in hedges,
hed<rtrCeSm WC t^e Pra^ce recommended by fome authors as
1C one the belt fituations for railing ihip-timber. The
reafons are, that the roots have free range in the ad¬
joining inclofures, and the top is expofed to the ex~
ercife of the winds j by -which means the trees are ai
once enabled to throw out ftrong arms, and have a
large fpreading head at the fame time 5 fo that we
thus at once obtain quicknefs of growth with ftrength
and crookednefs of timber. Well trained timber trees
it is alleged are not prejudicial to hedges, though pol¬
lards and low fpreading trees are deftrudtive to the
Vol. I. Part II.
L T u R e.
hedge-wood which grows under them 5 neither are
high trees prejudicial to corn-fields like high hedges
and pollards, which prevent a proper circulation of
air 5 and in Norfolk, where the cultivation of grain
is carried on in great perfe&ion, fuch lands are faid to
be wood-bound. But when a hedge is trimmed down
to four or five feet high, with oaks interfperfed, a cir¬
culation of air is rather promoted than retarded by it:
and a trimmed hedge will thrive quite well under tall
Hemmed trees, particularly oaks. For arable inclo¬
fures, therefore, hedges are recommended of four or
five feet high, with oak-timbers from 15 to 25 feet
Hem. Higher hedges are more eligible for grafs-lands ;
the graffes affeft warmth, by which their growth is
promoted, and confequently their quantity is increafed,
though perhaps their quality may fuffer fome injury.
A tall fence likewife affords flicker to cattle, provided
it be thick and clofe at the bottom j but otherwife, by
admitting the air in currents, it does rather harm than
good. The fliade of trees is equally friendly to cattle
in fummer : for which reafon it is recommended in
grafs inclofures to allow the hedge to’make its natural
flioots, and at the fame time to have oak-trees planted
in it at proper intervals. Upon bleak hills, and in ex¬
pofed fituations, it will be proper to have two or even
three rows of hedge-wood, about four feet diflant from
each other 5 the middle row being permitted to reach,
and always to remain at, its natural height : whilfl the
fide rows are cut down alternately to give perpetual
fecurity to the bottom, and afford a conflant fupply of
materials for dead hedges and other purpofes of un¬
derwood.
Much has been faid of the excellency of the holly Belt?°e-
as a material for hedges ; and indeed the beauty of thod of
the plant, with its extreme clofenefs, and continuing Plantil?f>
green throughout the winter, evidently give it the pre- r^fing
ference to all others ; and could it be raifed with equal hedaesT
eafe, there is no doubt that it would come into uni- ^
verfal prablice. Befides the above properties, the
holly will thrive almofl upon any foil; but thin-foiled
Hony heights feem to be its natural fituation ; and it
may properly enough be faid, that holly will grow
wherever corn will. Its longevity is likewife. excef-
five ; and being of flow growth, it does not fuch the
land, as the farmers exprefs it, or deprive the crop of
its nourilhment, as other hedges do. The difficulty
of raifing holly may be obviated by planting it under
crabs, which have a tendency to grow more upright
than hawthorns, and confequently affording more air,
will not impede its progrefs though they afford Ihel-
ter. It may even be railed alone without any great
diiliculty ; only in this cafe the dead fence, to fecure it,
muff b'e kept up at leaff ten or twelve years, inffead
of fix or feven, as in the other cafe 5 and indeed, con-
fidering the advantages to be derived from fences of
this kind, they feem to merit all the additional trouble
requifite.
The holly may be raifed either under the crab or
hawthorn in two ways, viz. by lowing the berries
when the quick is planted, or by inferring the plants
themlelves the enfuing midfummer. The former is by
much the more fimple, and perhaps upon the whole
the better method. The feeds, may either be Mat¬
tered among the roots oi the deciduous plants, or
be Town in a drill in front: and if plants of holly
3 X be
533
Fences.
704
Hedges of
whins or
furze.
A G R I C U
be put in, they tnay either be planted between thofe
of the crab, or otherwife in front in the quincunx
manner.
“ Whins (furze) have been often employed, fays Dr
Anderfon, as a fence when fown upon the top of a
bank. They are attended with the convenience of
coming very quickly to their perfeftion, and of grow¬
ing upon a foil on which few other plants could be
made to thrive ; but in the way that they are common¬
ly employed, they are neither a ftrong nor a lading
fence. The firft of thefe defers may, in fome mea-
fure, be removed, by making the bank upon which
they are fowed (for they never Ihould be tranf-
planted) of a conliderable breadth 5 in order that the
largenefs of the aggregate body, confidered as one
mafs, may, in fome meafure, make up for the want of
ilrength in each individual plant. With this view, a
bank may be raifed of five or fix feet in breadth at
the top, with a large ditch on each fide of it ; railing
the bank as high as the earth taken from the ditches
will permit •, the furface of which fhould be fowed
pretty thick with whin feeds. Thefe will come up
very quickly : and in two or three years rvill form a
barrier that few animals will attempt to break through,
and will continue in that date of perfeftion for fome
years. But the greateft objeftion to this plant as a
fence is, that, as it advances in fize, the old prickles
always die away j there being never more of thefe alive
at any time upon the plant, than thofe that have been
the produce of the year immediately preceding : and
thefe thus gradually falling away, leave the ftems na¬
ked below as they advance in height j fo that it very
foon becomes an exceeding poor and unfightly fence ;
the ftems being entirely bare, and fo flender withal as
not to be able to make a fufficient refiflance to almoft
any animal whatever. To remedy this great defeft,
either of the two following methods may be adopted.
The firft is to take care to keep the bank always Hon¬
ed with young plants ; never allowing them to grow
to fuch a height as to become bare below : and it was
principally to admit of this, without lofmg at any
time the ufe of the fence, that I have advifed the bank
to be made of fuch an unufual breadth. For if one
lide of the hedge be cut quite clofe to the bank, when
it is only two or three years old, the other half will
jemain as a fence till that ftde become ftrong again;
and then the oppofite lide may be cut down in its turnq
and fo on alternately as long as you may incline : by
which means the bank null always have a ftrong hedge
upon it without ever becoming naked at the root. And
as this plant, when bruifed, is ene of the moft valuable
kinds of winter food yet known for all kinds of domef-
tic animals, the young tops may be carried home
and employed for that purpofe by the farmer j- which
will abundantly compenfate for the trouble of cutting,
and the wafte of ground that is occafioned by the
breadth of the bank.
“ The other method of preferving a hedge of whins
from turning open below, can only be pracftifed where
fheep are kept ; but may be there employed with great
propriety. In this cafe it will be proper to fow the
feeds upon a conical bank of earth, Ihoved up from the
furface of the ground on each lide without any ditches.
If this is preferved from the Iheep for two or three
years at firft, they may then be allowed free accefs to
L T U R E
Practice.
it j and, as they can get up clofe to the foot of the Fences.
bank upon each fide, if they have been accuftomed to 1  —1
this kind of food, they wall eat up all the young {hoots
that are within their reach, which will occafion them
to fend out a great many lateral Ihoots : and thefe be¬
ing continually browfed upon, foon become as clofe as
could be defired, and are then in no lort oi danger of
becoming naked at the root, although tne middle part
ftiould advance to a confiderable height.
Where furze or whins are'to be ufed either as a fence
by themfelves, or in afliftance to another, it is perhaps
more proper to ufe the French ieed than that produced
in Great Britain, as the former feldom ripens in this
country, and coniequently cannot like the latter over¬
run the adjacent inclofure. It may be had at tne ieed-
Ihops in London for about I5d. per pound, and one
pound will fow 40 ftatute roods. When uled as an
afliftant to a hedge, it is more proper to low it on the
back of the bank than on the top of it; as in this cale
it is more apt to overhang the young plants in the face
of the bank ; whilft in the other it is better fituated
for guarding the bank, and preventing it from being
torn down by cattle. The method of fowing is as
follows : Chop a drill with a (harp ipade about two-
thirds of the way up the back of the bank, making
the cleft gape as wide as may be without breaking off
the lip } and having the feed m a quart bottle, itopped
with a cork and goofe quill, or with a perforated
wooden ftopper, trickle it along the arid, covering it
by means of a broom drawn gently above and o\er
the mouth of the drill. Clofing the drill with the
back of the fpade, fhuts up the feeds too much from
the air, and thus keeps them too long from rifing. ^
We do not know that any perfon has yet attempted Gcofeberry
to make ufe of the goofeberry for the purpofe of ma-hedge,
king hedges, though few plants feem better adapted
for that purpofe. It grows readily, dome varieties
of it rife to a confiderable height, and by the ftrength
and number of its prickles, it would effeaually prevent
any animal from breaking through.—It is faid that
fome fpecies of the mulberry not only grow and thrive
in England, but are capable of being reared to per-
fe&ion in Scotland, as has been experienced at Dal¬
keith. As the leaves of this plant are the food of the
filk-worm, which produces the moft beautiful and va¬
luable of all the materials that can occupy the loom, it
is perhaps worthy of attention how far it might be
worth while to rear it as a fence in hedge-rows with a
view to its becoming the bafis of a valuable manu¬
facture. # r v r j
Dry ftone walls are fometimes ereCled of thofe round Fences of
and apparently water-worn ftones which the plough ftone walls,
throws out, and which may be gathered in every
field. They are ufually coped with fod. This, how¬
ever, is a very indifferent fence. In moft inftances-k
is ereCted by common labourers, and is therefore ill
conftru&ed, fo ass not even to be ef an uniform thick-
nefs from top to bottom. The round figure of the
ftones alfo prevents the building from being well
bound together. Even the cattle rubbing themfelyes
againft it are apt to make confiderable gaps, which
render conftant attention necefiary to keep it in re^-
pair. It is cheaply executed, however, and aflords the
means of at once fencing the land and clearing it
of ftones. When dry ftone walls are Ikilifully bulk
by
Part III. AGRICULTURE.
53i
Fences, by ms funs, anu made with quarried hones finifned with
a good coping, they look well and laft for many
years 5 but the coping ought to be of hone and not of
turf or mud.
To render hone and lime wralls valuable as fences,
they hiould have a broad bafe, and have a foundation
fuhiciently deep to prevent their being injured by the
loofening of the foil which is produced by froh. This
fence is very durable, but it is alfo very expenhve. To
be in perfe&ion, it ought to be executed not with com¬
mon hones gathered from the fields, but with hones
from the quarry : It ought to be fecured at the top
with a coping of hone of the flag kind laid together in
fuch a way as to render the wall narrow at top like
the roof of a houfe. If the coping is neglefted, the
moihure foon finds its way into the heart of the wall,
and it is alfo liable to various accidents from idle per-
fons climbing over it.
The Gallo- The Galloway dike ow^es its name to the county in
way dike, tvhich it wras firh ufed. It confifls of a broad building
of dry hones tapering upwards. Large flat hones are
then laid on like a coping, and project over the wall
on each fide. Above thefe Rories large rugged round
hones are laid, and fmaller hones above thefe, fo as to
admit a free paflage to the winds wdiich whihle through
them. The Gallowuy dike is never raifed very high,
but its tottering appearance fo terrifies the cattle and
fheep, that they dare not touch it j fo that it is a very
effedtual fence, though it neither affords flicker nor or¬
nament to the country. It has the advantage, how¬
ever, of being erefted at a very trifling expence; it
is not unfuitable to thofe lower parts of the country in
which the flielter of high trees and hedges would prove
pernicious to the corn crop, and where the confinement
of the flock is all that is required.
Clay is fometimes ufed inftead of lime for binding
ftone walls; but it is a very defective cement; for if
frofl fuddenly fucceed to wret weather it is apt to fwell
and to tumble down at the next thawu To guard
againft the effefts of moifture, thefe flone and clay
wralls are fometimes rough-caft or coated over with
lime. If the coating is very thick and the w^all pro¬
perly coped, it may laft in this way as long as a wall
of ftone and lime.
708
Frame
Vails.
For the fake of the appearance, dry-ftone walls have
fometimes two or three inches at the top of them on
each fide lipped or waflied with lime, wdiich adds no¬
thing to their ftrength, but gives them the appearance
of being built entirely with ftone and lime. With
the fame view, and with the fame effect, they are
fometimes alfo broad-caft or coated wdth lime over their
whole furface. Dry-ftone walls, after they are finiflied
are fometimes pinned and harled, or rough-caft, that is,
the mafon fills up all the interftic.es of the building
writh fmall ftones, and afterwards coats it over with
lime, which adds oonfiderably to its durability.
Lowr dry-ftone walls have fometimes a light paling
at the .top, wffich gives them a handfome appearance.
Brick walls are lometimes ufed where ftones are ex¬
tremely fcarce, but they are chiefly eitiployed for
facing garden w^alls.
Frame walls are conftru&ed in the following man¬
ner. A frame of boards of the width and heighth in¬
tended for the future wrall is placed upon the line that
has been dug for a foundation. The frame is filled to
the top with ftones gathered from the adjoining fields, Fences,
and a quantity of liquid mortar is poured in amongft * "'4
them fufficient to fill up every interftice. The wdiole
is allowed to remain for a day or two, or longer, till
the building is dried io far as to have acquired fome
liability. The frame is then removed, and placed a
little farther on in the fame line, but in contaft with
the laft-made piece of wall, and the operation is re¬
newed. This is fuppofed to have been a very ancient
mode of building.
Turf walls are found very ufeful in upland diftricts
for temporary purpofes, fuch as for folds, or for pro¬
tecting young plantations or young hedges. Their
ftrength is fometimes increafed, without augmenting
the expence of the conftruftion, by intermingling them
writh ftones, that is, by forming the wTall of alternate
layers of turf and ftone. , yQ9
Mud walls with a mixture of ftraw, are very frequent Mud walls,
in many places both of England and Scotland, and
they are ufed not only for fences, but alfo for con-
ftrucling the walls of farm houfes and oftices, in the
poorer parts of the country. They are formed in
the following manner. Straw7 and clay are incor¬
porated with each other, like hair with plaifter lime,
and formed into large pieces. A ftratum of thefe is
laid at the bottom of the intended wall. The different
pieces are then firmly kneaded with the hand, and
preffed at each fide with a flat board, which not only
confolidates, but gives fmoothnefs and uniformity to
the work. Succeflive ftrata are added till the w’all is
reared to its intended height. If walls thus conftrucfted
are. properly coated with lime, to protect them againft
moifture, they become very durable; and their appear¬
ance is not inferior to that of a ftone and lime building.
Of compound fences, the moft ordinary is the Angle Compound
hedge and ditch, with or without paling. The mode fences. 1
of planting thefe hedges has been already ftated on the
authority of Lord Karnes and others j and we ftiall only
add, that if a hedge is wiihed to rife with rapidity, the
fpot in which it is planted ought to be enriched with
lime, compoft, or other manures, as hedge plants cannot,
any more than other plants, fpring rapidly w ithout culti¬
vation. Where a hedge is planted at the top of a ditch,
it may alfo be remarked, that it is doubly neceffary to
give the ditch a proper degree of Hope, that it may
not be undermined by any accident, which would have
the effect to lay bare the roots of the hedge, or entire¬
ly to bring it down. Where it is wiihed to render lands
inclofed wuth hedge and ditch fencible at once, a kind
of Gallow-ay dike, confifting of fome rows of large
coarfe loofe ftones, may be placed upon the top of the
bank, which will have the effect of protefting the hedge
againlt cattle.
The double ditch with a hedge in the front of each,
is now pra&ifed, particularly on cold lands, in many
parts of Great Britain. It may be remarked, that
wdiere thefe double ditches are w7anted for drains, it is
undoubtedly a proper praftice; but in other fttuations it
is exceptionable, as laying out unprofitably a large por¬
tion of the foil.
When a hedge and ditch is ufed, whether Angle or
double, the hedge is fometimes placed not at the bot¬
tom of the bank, wffich is the ufual way, but in the
middle of it, at fome height above the ordinary furface
of the field. In fuch a mode of planting, the hedge is
3X2 expofed
AGRICULTURE. Practice.
Fences, expofed to great injury from tlie bank mouldering down,
*-——1 and from want of proper nourifhment} 'but tire practice
is fometimes necelfary upon wet lands, where hedges
would not thrive, if placed upon the common furface.
Sometimes the face ot a natural declivity is cut down,
in a doping dire&ion, to within 18 or 20 inches of the
bottom. Here a bed is made and covered with good
earth, in which the plants are inferted. A hedge plant¬
ed in this way looks formidable, from the fide facing
the bank ; but it is expofed to more accidents^ from a
failure of its foil in confequence of frofts, than if plant-
yu ed at the bottom of the bank.
Hedge and Sometimes what is called a hedge and bank, or hedge
bank fence. on the top of a bank, is made ufe of. It confifts of a
bank of earth taken from the adjoining grounds, broad
at bottom and tapering towards the top, along the fum-
mit of which the hedge is planted. Such hedges are
extremely liable to decay, m confequence of tire arti¬
ficial mound on which they hand, being unable to re¬
tain lulhcient moifture for their fupport, or being wafli-
ed awuy from about their roots.
Devonfhire The Devonihire fence refembles the one now defcrib-
fcace. ed. It conlifts of an earthen mound J feet wide at bot¬
tom, and 4 feet at the top, and 5 feet in height. In
the middle of the top of it a row of quicks is planted,
and on each fide at two feet diftance a row of willow
flakes, of about an inch in diameter each, and from
18 inches to two feet in length, is ftuck in, doping a
little outwards. Thefe flakes take root, and form a
kind of live fence for, the prefervation of the quicks
in the middle.
Palings are frequently employed for the proteblion
of young hedges, whether planted on the plain foil or
on the top of a ditch : dead hedges, of the kinds for¬
merly mentioned, are alfo employed for the fame pur-
pofe. The dead hedge is preferable to the paling, as
it {belters the young plants from the inclemency of
the weather. The dead hedge, however, ought al¬
ways to be at fome diftance from the living one, to al¬
low the latter freely to put forth its branches. As al¬
ready noticed, walls of different kinds are fometimes
eredled, whether Galloway dikes or of ftone and lime,
for the prote&ion of young hedges j but there is a
Hedge in mode of making a hedge in the middle or in the face
the face of 0f a wall which deferves attention. It is executed in
a wall. t|ie following manner : The face of the bank is firft
cut down not quite perpendicular, but nearly fo.
A facing of ftone is then begun at the bottom,
and carried up regularly in the manner that ftone
walls are generally built. When it is raifed about 18
inches or 2 feet high, according to circumftances, the
fpace between the wall and the bank is lilled up with
good earth, well broke and mixed with lime or com-
poft. The thorns are laid upon this earth in fuch a
manner, as that at laft 4 inches of the root and ftem
{flail reft upon the earth, and the extremity of the top
ftiall project beyond the wall. When the plants are thus
regularly laid, the roots are covered with earth, and
the -wall continued upwards, a hole having been left
which each plant peeps through. .As the wall ad¬
vances upwards, the fpace between it and the bank is
gradually filled up : when completed the wall is finilhed
with a coping of fod or of ftone and lime. When the
plants begin'to vegetate, the young flioots appear in
the face of the wall, rifing in a perpendicular direction.
2
It is faid, that Sir James Hall of Dunglafs has adopted Fences,
this mode of inclofing to a confiderable extent in Eaft
Lothian *, that the hedges have made great progrefs j
and that they exhibit, upon the whole, an extremely
handfome appearance. _ 7x4
Whatever may bethought of the propriety of plant-Belts of
ing trees in hedge-row's, there can be no doubt, that in planting,
certain fituations the addition to a hedge or hedge and
ditch of a belt of planting is a valuable acquifition to
its owner and to the country. It is- certain, however,
as formerly ftated, that in low rich foils where corn is
chiefly cultivated, particularly when furrounded by
hills, belts of planting are not only unneceffary, but
even hurtful to the crop. But there are other fitua¬
tions in which they are of the higheft value.. The
peninfula, which forms the county ot Caithnefs, is faid
to be a proof of this. Its foil is of a good quality, but
its value is greatly impaired by its being expofed to
fea-winds, w hole feverity checks all vegetation. Many
tradls throughout the ifiand are nearly in the fame fi-
tuation } and in all of them nothing more is wanted to
improve the country than to interiedf it in a judicious
manner with hedges and belts of planting. Where
belts of planting are meant to remain as an efficient
fence, they ought to be of a confiderable breadth. In
poor and cold fituations the breadth ought to be fuch
as to allow fpace for planting a great number of trees,
which, from the fhelter they mutually afford, may pro-
te£l each others growth againft the feverity of the cli¬
mate. With the fame view7, in cold and expofed fitua¬
tions, the young trees fhould be planted very thick $
perhaps four or five times the number that can grow
to a full fize fhould be planted. This praftice affords
a choice of the moft healthy plants to be left when the
plantation is thinned. In belts of planting an error is
iometimes committed of mingling firs, larches, and pines,
with oaks, afhes, &c. with the intention that the ever¬
greens fhould proteft for a certain time the other trees,
and thereafter be removed. The effeft of which too
frequently is, that when the evergreens are taken away,
their growth is not only checked for feveral } tars j
but being unable, after experiencing fo much fhelter,
to refift the feverity of the climate, they die altoge¬
ther. This is the more likely to happen in confe-
quence of the rapidity with which the firs and larches
grow ; for the oaks and other trees are drawn up along
with them, and acquire, in fome meafure, the nature of
hot-houfe plants, unfit to encounter the blafts of a
northern climate : hence belts of planting fhould either
be made altogether of evergreens or altogether of de¬
ciduous plants, fuch as oak, afh, &c. It tne ever¬
greens are at all introduced among thefe laft, it
ought to be fparingly, and at the outfide of the belt,
with the view to afford only a moderate degree of
fhelter, . .
Where fields are meant to remain conftantly m pa-
fturage, the belts may be made in a ferpentine, and
fometimes in a circular form, both for the fake of or¬
nament, and to afford more complete fhelter; but this
cannot be done where the plough p meant to be in¬
troduced. Upon a north expofure, the belts fhould
crofs each other at proper diftances to afford more
complete fhelter. Upon a fouth expofure, they ought
to run from fouth, to north to afford a defence againft
the eaft and weft winds which are the ftrongeft m this
country.
Index,
A G R I C U
Fences.
7l$
The reed
fence.
country.
fenced.
Belts of planting require themfelves to be
A fence, which is merely intended to proted
their growth, may confift of a mud wall; but if a per¬
manent fecurity is wanted, a hedge and ditch will be
neceffary.
In fome fituations, inftead of the belt of planting, it
is cuftomary to plant only the corners of the fields j
and this plan is advilable where the country requires
but a moderate degree of fhelter, added to that which
it may derive from thriving hedges.
It has been propofed, that on all fheep farms of any
extent, there ought to be one or more circular belts of
planting, inclofing a fpace of about an acre or an
acre and a half in the centre, with a ferpentine road
leading through the belt into this inclofure, the ufe of
which is evident. In heavy falls of fnow numerous
flocks are fometimes buried, and the lives of the Ihep-
herds are not unfrequently loll in attempting to drive
them to a place of fafety. On fuch occafions, the in-
clofures we have now mentioned, would be of the ut-
moft value. When a llorm threatened, the flieep
might be driven to thefe inclofures where the fnow
could never be piled up by driving, winds; and they
might there be fed and remain with entire fafety. If
due care were taken to litter the place, a quantity of
valuable dung might be collefted, if the ftorm Ihould
remain for any length of time.
rh^ iced fence has hitherto been only uled in gar¬
dens. It confifts of a kind of wall, formed by fewing
with wrought yarn bundles of reeds, applied perpendi¬
cularly to a railing. This fence feems well adapted
for giving temporary {belter to cattle, but as the ma¬
terials of it cannot be everywhere found, its ufe muft
be very limited.
L T U R E. 533
The entry to every inclofure ought to be fecured by Fences,
gate-pofts j which, if circumftances will permit, ought
always to be of ftone, and if poffible, of hewn A°ne> Gate pofl'~
as thefe, when properly conftrutSted, will never fail.
Trees are fometimes planted for this purpofe, and
when they have acquired a certain fize, they are cut
ever about ten feet above the furface of the ground.
Thefe form the moft durable of all gate-pofts. They
fometimes, however, mifgive; in which cafe it is dif¬
ficult to repair the defied. When gate-pofts are made
of dead timber they fliould be ftrong, and the wood
well prepared by a coat of oil paint, as already men¬
tioned.
Of gates for inclofures there are different kinds. Gate's! ^
What is called the fwing-gate,. that croffes the whole
breadth of a carriage road, and is of one piece, is by
no means an advifable form. The length of its bars
renders it expenfive, and its great weight with which
it pulls againft the gate-poft, overftrains its own hinges,
and is apt to bring down the fide of the gate, unlefs it
is ereded in a very coftly and folid manner. For this
reafon, a gate wfith two folding doors is preferable : it
hangs upon the gate-poft only with half its weight, in
confequence of its being divided into two parts. ' Its
hinges are not fo liable to be hurt by {training, nor are
its joints fo liable to be broke. What is called the
Jlip-bar gate, confifting of three feparate bars which
are taken out, and put into the gate-pofts every time
the entry to the fields is opened and Ihut, is the beft
kind of gate, fo far as cheapnefs and durability are
concerned j but it does not admit of being locked,
which renders it unfit for ufe near a public road, and
the opening and {hutting of it are alfo attended with a •
confiderable degree of trouble.
INDEX.
N° 62
I
A
Ac a 1 lie A millefolium,
Agriculture defined,
wherein it differs from gar¬
dening,. 2
is a feparate art or employ¬
ment, 3
includes the rearing of
cattle, 4
general importance of, ^
advantage of, to the farmer, 6
hiftory of, 7
board of, 8
theory defe£tive, 11
practice of divifion of the
fubjeft, 116
Agricultural improvement, obftacles
t0> . 115
Agrojlis cornucopue, 406
capillar is, 400
Ar eira fexuofa, ^Oi
caryophillea, 402
Alopecurus bulbofus, 394
Anderfon's, Dr, opinion of the nature
of mofs,
Angora breed of rabbits, rpj
Anthoxanthum odoratum, K° 397
Arfenic ufed to prevent the mildew', 102
B
Bank of earth fence, 660
Barley, culture of, 261
ribbing, 262
better mode of, 263
advantages of, 264
feed, how managed in a dry
feafon, 265
experiments on, 266
time of fowing, 267
general remarks on the culture
^ , 268
culture in Norfolk, 269
vale of Gloucefter, 270
Cotfwold, 271
midland diftridft, 272
culture difficult, 273
in Yorkffiire, 274
importance of, to the revenue, 275
its chief value, from being ea-
fily converted into a faccha-
rine lubftance, 21
culture of by broad-caft, 282
in drills, 283
Bee/, white, recommended, N° 47
Black cattle, a good breed defirable, 583
properties requifite of, 584
Blight, a difeafe of wheat, 96
Board of Agriculture ' 8
commences its fittings, 9
Bogle, Mr, his mode of wheat-fetting, 225
226, 227, 228, 229
Brake,
its ufes,
Broom, how deftroyed,
Bulbous foxtail grafs,
Burnet,
recommended,
difapproved of,
culture of, .
Butter, hiftory of,
qualities of,
rules for making,
cream for making, not to be
156
*51
93
394
44
45
46
393
612
613
614
new, 613-
churn, 616
not to be put into water, 617
compofitions for preferving, 618
how prepared for warm cli¬
mates, 619
Butter
534 _ A G
Buffer preferved by honey, N° 620
Effex or Epping, 621
Weft of England, 622
Cambridgeftiire, 623
Yorkfhire and Suffolk, 624
frauds in the fale of, 625
how kept untainted by cabba¬
ges, 626
trade in extenfive, 626
Butterfly, corn, 112
Buck-wheat, 42
culture of, 276
advantages of cropping, 277
C
Cabbages, their properties, 36
render air noxious, 37
turnip-rooted, 38
culture of, 370
quantity produced on an
acre, _ 375
of watering thenij 372
cultivated in the midland
diftrift, _ 373
diftance at which they ought
to be planted, 374
how tranfplanted or earth-
e<J> 375
how protefted from cater¬
pillars, 376
.Canary feed, 519
Calves reared without milk, 585
by Mr Young, 586
mode pf rearing in Cornwall, 587
by Mr Crook, 588
in Norfolk, 589
by Mr Bradfute, 590
Cattle, fee Black Cattle, 585
rearing of, included under agri¬
culture, 4
qualities requifite for their food, 35
are paftured 591
or ftall-fed, 592
ftall-feeding in Germany, 593
ftall-fed in two ways, 594
ihould receive all roots in a
boiled ftate, 595
rules for fattening, 597
feeding of, not brought to per-
fedtion, 68
Carrots, 40
culture of, 342
cultivated in Suffolk and Nor-
folk, 343
why the culture of, not extend¬
ed, _ _ 344
fuperiority of, to turnips, 345
difficulty of ascertaining the va¬
lue of, 346
experiments with, recommend¬
ed, . 347
feeding lambs with, 348
compared with cabbages, 349
preferred to potatoes, 350
fuperior to turnips and oats, 351
R I C U L T U
Carrots, how ufed to give colour to but-
ter, N°352
fown in young plantations, 353
Carfe of Cowrie, mode of draining in, 173
Cheefe defcribed, 628
making, 629
defedts of, 630
runnet for, how prepared, 631
Mr Hazard’s receipt for runnet, 63 2
particulars to be obferved in ma-
king, _ 633
different kinds of, 634
double Gloucefter, 635
Ghedder, 636
Cheffiire, 637
Stilton, 638
Parmefan, 639
Chicory, 407
Clover, red, 386
of fowing with grain, 387
white and yellow, 388
Cy nofur us crifatus, 398
Cole feed, fee Rape feed.
Coriander feed, experiments on, 518
Corn-butterfy, 112
Coulter of the plough, 130
Cultivator .defcribed, 155
Car/in potatoes, 113
modes of prevention, 114
Cyder, excellence of, ^41
art of making, imperfedl, 642
errors in making, 643
means of improving, 644
mill and houfe defcribed, 645
different kinds of, 641
Cyderkin, 64 5
Cyder-wine, Dr Rulh’s receipt for, 646
D
Dairy, importance of, 608
principles on which it ought to
be managed, 609
defcribed, 610
wooden veffels to be ufed in
the, 611
Difeafes of vegetables ill underftood, 95
of wheat, 96
of faffron, 105
Ditches, 648
Drainage of quarries and mines, 192
Draining, importance of, 168
principles of, as to fprings, 182
difcoverer of the new mode, 183
pradtical rules in the cafe of
fprings, 184
the fide of a hill, 185
a bog, by letting the water
afcend freely, 186
Dr Anderfon’s rules, 187
Mr Wedge’s mode, 188
of landlocked bogs, 189
landlocked bogs in Germa-
ny, 190
in Roxburghfhire, 191
Drains are open or hollow, 170
R E. Index*
Drains, hollow, when inapplicable, N° 171
fit for clay foils, 172
in the Carfe of Gowrie, 173
open, rules for making, 174
hollow, nature and hiftory of, 175
rules for making, 176
materials for filling, 177
pipe or fod, 178
hollow, duration of, 179
when the wetnefs ~is caufed by
fprings, 180
Drill-hufbandry, advantages of, 489
mode of fowing in, 490
different hoeings in, 491
inftruments ©f the, 492
fummary of operations
of the profits of, 494
arguments for the, 495
objedlions to, and an-
fwers, 496
where improper, 497
Sir J. Anftruther on, 498
compared with broad-
caft, 499
is not a modem in¬
vention, 509
Durno, Mr, his report on flax and
hemp, 509
Erfkine of Marr’s mode of preventing
limit in wheat, 104
F
Fallow-cleanfng machine, 164
Farmers ignorance formerly, 148
Fences, kinds of, enumerated, 658
in graffy places, 676
for deer-parks, 683
of ftone-walls, 706
Gallorvay dikes, 707
of frame walls, 708
of mud walls, 709
compound, 710
of a hedge and bank, 711
Devonffiire, 712
of a hedge in the face of a wall, 713
belt of planting, 714
Fertility of certain foils, 84
of the earth limited, 88
Furt&e, how deftroyed, 93
Fefcue, iheep’s, 49
defcribed, 5 2
purple, 50
its appearance cultivated, 51
ftieep’s, appearance cultivated, 53
foil proper for, 54
Fefuca fuitans, 403
Flax, 5.01
feed-cake, and oil for fattening
cattle, 502-
culture of, in Yorkfliire, 503
Mr Marlhall on, 504
Mr Bartley’s experiments on, 505
a Dorfetffiire gentleman on, 506
may be cultivated by the poor, 507
Flax,
3
Index.
Ftax, vail quantities imported, N° 508
culture of, in Pruffia, &c. 509
culture of, in Ireland, 510
weeded by fheep, 511
Flooding land, fee Watering.
Fly, turnip, 109
how prevented, 110,111
Fontana's opinion about the caufe of
mildew, l0o
Forfyth, Mr, his procefs for converting
roots into flour, 33
his fleam-apparatus, 34
Four-coultered plough, 133
Frojl, effedl of, on ploughed land, 251
Foxtail-grafs, bulbous, 394
Fruits not trufted to as human food, 16
ripen (lowly, and are liable to
be deflroyed in wars, 17
Fruit-trees, how recovered, 534
culture of, 33 3
in Herefordihire, &c. 336
indolence of cultivators of, 337
excefs of wood on, 538
mifletoe on, how deftroyed, 539
mofs on, 340, 430
fpring-frofls hurtful to, 341
blights on, 342
to deftroy wafps on, 343
excefs of fruit on, 344
duration of, how lengthen¬
in’
Marfltall on the culture of, 346
Fruit-liquors, 640
management of fruit for, 646
fermentation of, 639
corre&ing of, 642
calking, 643
bottling, 644
rnnt, mode or gathering, 647
maturing, 648
grinding, 649
prefling, 630
Fruits, where cultivated chiefly, 326
varieties-of, artificial, 327
not permanent, 328
how procured, 529
nurfery-ground for, 330
how to choofe plants for,. 331
degeneracy of, 332, 333
G
Galloway dikes, 707
Garden mould, the nature of, 73
Gardening, wherein different from agri¬
culture,. 2
Gates, 717
Gate-pojls, 716
Geefe, management of in Lincolnlhire, 607
Cowrie, Carfe of, drains, 173
Gram, commonly ufed as human food, t8
its ufe objedfled to, 19
different kinds not effentially
different, 22
why in certain cafes p>offponed
to rearing of cattle, 7 2
carrying from the field, 463
AGRICULTURE.
Grafs, laying down fields in, N° 378
different kinds of, 379
to improve upland paffure, 380
how to fow upland paftures
with, 381
advantage of rolling, 382
culmiferous, 383
negligence about right kinds 0^384
kinds of, commonly fown, 383
bulbous foxtail, 394
great meadow, 393
creeping meadow, 396
vernal, 397
crefted dog’s-tail, 398
cock’s-tail or feather, 399
Fine bent, 400
mountain-hair, 401
Silver-hair, 402
flote fefcue, 403
meadow foxtail, 404
annual meadow, 403
tall oat, 408
yellow oat, 409
rough oat, 410
upright broom, 411
blue dog’s-tail, 412
rough cock’s foot, 413
tall fefcue, 414
hard fefcue, 413
meadow cat’s-tail, 416
howto make experiments with, 417
Gracing compared with the plough, 63
66, 67, 70
Crenel's mode of granulating potatoes, 3 2
Grubs, 108.
H
Ha-ha, or funk fence, 661
Harrow, imperfe&ion of the common, 138
properties of new, 160
cleanfing, 208
Haymaking, 466
of red. clover, 467
different mode, 468
its advantages, 469
cautions requi-
fite in, 470
Hay flack's, _ 471
Headrick, Mr, his opinion of the na¬
ture of mofs, 193
Hedges, directions for planting, 663
of hawthornr 664
black thorn, 666
holly, 667
garden,. 668
flowering fhrubs for, 669
Dr Anderfon’s dire&ions for
railing,. 670
willow, 671
how planted in expofed fitua-
tions, 67 2
black alder, 673
birch, 674
on the top of done fences, 673
elms, 677
quick, 678
*****
Hedges of fruit-trees, N° 679
hornbeam in Germany, 680
Dr Anderfon on mending de¬
cayed, 68 r
Kames on, 682
thorn, 684
nurfery for, 683, 696
raifed from old roots, 686
mode of planting thorn, 687
fecuring, 688
training, 689
plafliing, difapproved of, 690, 698
on the fide of the bank, 691
filling gaps of, 692
whins for, when neceffary, 693
Bakewell’s, 694
in ftony foils, 693
repairing, 697
thickening of, 699
cutting down, when improper, 700
Mr Erfkine’s, 701
oak trees in, 702
railing holly for, 703
of whins or furze, 704
of goofeberries, 703
in the (ace of a wall, 713
Hemp, 307,308
culture of, in Pruflia, &c. 309
Hi/lory of agriculture, 7
Hogs, experiments on fattening, cqS
Hogfly defcribed, 399
Holcus lanatus, - -
Hops, once forbidden in malt liquorSj 3-2 x
expence of cultivating, 322
in Effex, * 323
profit of, precarious, 324
in Norfolk, 323
Horfes and oxen compared, 338
fuppofed lofs by keeping, 362
gradually gaining a preference
over oxen, 369
calculation in favour of, 370
black cart, 371
Bakewell’s, 372
prices of ftallions, 373
Marfliall on the breed of^ 3 74
Norfolk breed of, 373
Suffolk breed'of, 376
Yorklhire,
Lanarkftiire, 378
Norfolk management of, 379
followed in Scotland, 380
expence of keeping, t^8l
roots ufed for feeding, 382
whins ufed, 43
Hujbandmen, w’hy led fometimes to pre¬
fer cattle to corn, 72
Hufhandry, horfe-hoeing, 483
I
InfeBs deftroy vegetables, 106
deftroyed by lime-water, 107
K
Kincardine, mofs of, improved, 196
L
Levelling of ridges, 202, 203, 204, 205
Lirrur
A C R I C U L
Lime deftroys one kind of poor foil, N° 79
enriches another, 80
Anderfon’s opinion concerning, 82
what a proper foil for, 83
Lord Karnes’s theory of, incon-
fiftent, 85
water deftroys infe&s, 107
Lucerne, 63
culture of, 392
, M
Manure, M. Parmentier upon, 47 2
pradlical rule for forming, 473
Lord Meadowbank’s mode of
converting mofs into, 474
more common kinds of, 475
jifed in Norfolk, 476
Midland diftridl, 477
MrMarfhall’s rulesfor railing, 478
lime as a, 479
operation of lime, 480
time of uling lime, 481
quantity of lime, 482
lime on pafture fields, 483
limeftone reduceckto powder, 484
Ihell-marl, 485
clay and done marls, 486
gypfum, 487
fea-fand, 488
Meadows watering, fee Watering.
Mildew, a difeafe of wheat, 96
red and black, or fmut, 98
opinions concerning its caufes, 99
Milk vetch, 56
qualities of, 57
Moor, how to be cultivated, 198
Mofs, nature and origin of, 193
black and yellow, 194
of Kincardine, removed by hu¬
man labour, 196
mode of improving by Mr Smith, 197
Moffes, produced by cutting down fo-
refts, 195
Mouldboard of the plough, 131
how to be formed, 132
N
Nature, procefs by which Ihe fertilizes
T U R E,
Oaw,calculations in favour of, N° 561
lofs by not keeping, 562
not ufed in Norfolk, 563
objection to in the vale of Glou-
cefter, 564
ufed in Cotfwold, 565
moveable harnefs-houfe of, 566
why the ufe of declines in York-
the earth,
78
Index.
N4 149
I5°
Oats, valuable as human food, 20
culture of, 252
in Norfolk, 253
ploughed down, 254
wild, a weed in vale of Glou-
cefter, 255
not cultivated in vale of Glou-
cefter, 256
culture of, in the midland diftrift, 257
Yorkfhire, 258
mode of threftiing, 259
black, experiment on, 260
Objlacles to agricultural improvement, 115
Opinions about the caufe of mildew, 99
Oxen and horfes compared, 558
preferred to horfes, 559
difficulty ofihoeing, . 560
fibre, 567
fuperiority of to horfes, 568
gradually going into difufe, 569
calculations againft, 570
P
Palings, 662
Paring and burning, how far ufeful, 200
Parfnips, the culture of, too much ne-
gle&ed, 354
Mr Hazard’s mode of cul-
ture, _ _ 355
culture of, wdth beans in Jerfey,
Pafurage and agriculture, 65, 66, 67, 70
Pea, everlafting, 61
Peafe, culture of, 278
fetting in drills, 279
crops of, muft not be repeated, 280
Marfhall’s obfervations on 281
drying of, 461
Poultry ought to be confined, 604
proper mode of keeping, 605
Perry, excellence of, 641
art of making imperfect, 642, 643
644
Pickles, to prevent fmut or mildew in
wheat, 101
Plants, culmiferous, 214
leguminous, 215
their difeafes ill underftood, 95
Plough, 118
its value, 119
may be improved, 120
the talk it performs, 121
its general form, 122
advantages of this form, 123
its feveral parts, 1 25
its focks, 126
breadth of the foie of, 127
foie ffiould be level, 128
length of, 129
Hope of the coulter, 130
mouldboard of, 131
how to be formed, 132, 135
inftrument for
•forming the mouldboard, 133
pofition of the fod turned by
the plough, 134
mode of its action, 136
point of its draught, 138
in trim, 139
of Argylelhire, 140
objections to, 141
I5r
!52
I53
405
395
39^
Scots,
Plough, chain advantages of,
fmall fingle horfe,
Rotheram,
paring,
four-coultered,
Poa annua,
pratenfis,
comprefjfa.
Population, greateft where vegetable
food is ufed, 71
Potato (larch, 31
Potatoes, 41
granulated by Mr Grenet, 32
not prejudicial to mankind, 284
general culture, 285
particular culture, 286
to prevent the grub in, 287
cheap preparation of, 288
culture on fxnall fpots, 289
fmall farms, 290
mode for which a premium
was granted, 291
mode of taking up, 292
preferving, 293
clultered experiments, on, 294
greater experiments, 295
advantageous, 296
varieties of endlefs, 297
the curl in,- 113
modes of prevention, 114
how raifed from feed, 299
by Dr Anderfon, 300
if they degenerate, 301
howto obtainan early crop of, 302
planted by fcooping out the
eyes, 303
Procefs by which nature fertilizes the
chain,
defcribed,
its properties,
where improper,
earth,
76
142
143
144
*45
146
Rabbits, value of, 601
enemies of, how deftroyed, 602
Angora breed of, 603
Rape feed, advantage of cultivating, 512
cutting and thrdhing of, 513
fowing of, 514
tranfplanting, 515
(heep fed on, in fpring, 516
culture of, in Brabant, 517
Reapers, 459
Reaping, manner of, 460
Ridges, high, for draining clay foils, 172
how formed, 201
inconvenient modes of levelling,
when not to be levelled, 203, 204
proper direftion of, 206
narrow, advantageous, 207
Ripenefs, 458
Roller, 161
Rolling, feafon for, 162
e(Fe£ls of, 163
of fcarcity, culture of, 377
Root a baga, fee Swedijh turnip.
Roots ufed as human food, 23
more profitable than grain,
y when ufed as food, ' 24
Roots,
Index.
AGRICULTURE.
ifroAr, their defe&s as food, N° 25
the tranfportation of them ex-
penlive, 26
are unfit for long prefervation, 27
are too bulky for the ftomach, 28
how they differ from grain, 29
how rendered equal in value to
grain, _ 30
Forfyth’s procefs for reducing to
flour, 33
when given to cattle, fhould be
boiled, 393
cheap mode of boiling by fleam, 396
Rotation of crops, 432
different kinds of plants, 433
nature of the foil to be confi-
dered, 434
exceptionable, 433
from pafture advifable, 436
examples of, 437
Rotheram plough, 131
Runnet for cheefe, 620, 621
S
Saffron, difeafes of, 103
Sainfoin, culture of, 389
in England, 390
its excellence for cows, 391
Scarcity, root of, 48
how cultivated, 377
Scots plough, 143
properties of, 144
where improper, 143
Sheaves, fize of, 462
Sheep, experiments on feeding with roots, 600
Sheep's fefcue grafs, 49
Shrubs, deftroyed by flooding the land, 94
Single-horfe plough, 130
Smith, Mr, his mode of imp ro ting mofs, 197
Smut, account of, 98
Sock of the plough, 126, 147
Soil, clay, 209
chalky, 210
light poor, 211
light rich, 212
coarle rough, 213
Soils, four kinds of, 74
conjecture about the caufe of their
being exhaufted, 77
procefs by which they are fertilized, 7 6
when poor, how reftored, 81
fuppofed perpetually fertile, 84
but never are fo, 86
clay and fandy, 87
fertility of, limited, 88
pulverized by certain vegetables, 89
feemingly enriched by fome, 90
Sole of the plough, 127
Somerville, Robert, Efq. account of
blight and fmut, 96
Sowing machine, univerfal, 163
Springs, the nature of, 181
Stacking, 464
Stacks, covering, 463
hay, 466, 467
Stones, importance of removing, 166
modes of removing, 167
Voi.. I. Part II.
Swampy lands, how cultivated, N° 199
Swedijh turnip, 367
culture of in Nottinghamfture, 368
T
Tare, blue, 39
Theory of Agriculture, firft, defeClive, 10
difficulty of forming it, 11
what it ought to contain, 12
Timber trees, 347
which, moft profitable, 348
advantage of planting, 349
ameliorate the foil, 330
culture of, recommended, 331
increafe of oak, SS2>-553
underwood among, 334
mode of fowing, 331;
Earl of Fife’s plantations of, 336
where plantations of, eligible or
otherwife, 337
Timothy-grafs, 64
Trees for fruit, fee Fruit trees,
Turkeys, how reared in Norfolk, 606
Turnip-rooted cabbages, culture of, 337
value of, ,358, 359
how raifed for tranfplanting, 360
quantity of feed ufed for, 361
experiments with, 362
difad vantages attending, 363
why to be cultivated, 364
number of ffieep on an acre of, 363
experiments with, at Cullen
houfe, 366
Turnip, Swediffi, fee Swedifh turnip,
cabbage, culture of, 369
Turnip-rooted cabbage, 38
Turnip-fly, 109
remedies againft, no, in
Turnips, 39
method of preferving, 341
culture of, 304
time and mode of fowing, 303
different forts of, 306
feed, remarks on, 307
culture in Norfolk, 308
by drill and broad-caft,
compared, 309
value of, as cattles food, 310
mode of preferving, 311
culture of, ffippofed unprofi¬
table, 312
compared with other vegeta-
t b!f\ . . 3*3
the fly injurious to, 314
feed, fteeps for, if ufeful, 313
fumigation of, 316
to be rolled, 317
early fowing of, recommended, 318
muchfeed ought to befown, 319,3 21
when to be manured, 320
feed, the quality of, 322
fown with grain, 3 23
wheat, 324
beans, 323, 329
objefted to, 3 26
repiy* 327
opinion on, 3 28
537
inflrument for tranfplanting,N° 330
Norfolk culture of, 331
marl with in Norfolk, 332
different manures with in Nor¬
folk, ^ # 335
early, how raifed in Norfolk, 334
mode of fowing and culture in
Norfolk, 333
raifed for feed, 336
mode of planting, 337
fearing birds from 338
drawing, 339
fnow-fledge for, 340
V
Vegetable mould, apt to be buried, 203
Vegetables, their value is abfolute or
relative, 13
are ufeful, direClly or indi-
reCtly, 14
produce fruit or roots, 13
profit of, limited by circum-
ftances, 69
nature of their growth, 73
are the food of each other, 78
Ibrne pulverize the foil, 89
fome feem to enrich the foil, 90
difeafes of^ are ill under-
flood, 93
deftroyed by infeCls, 106
cultivation of, divided into
four heads, 113
Vetch, bufh, 60
Vetch ling, yellow, 38
W
Watering meadows, when firft prac-
tifed, 418
advantages of, 419
improves the land, 420
increafe of produce from, 421
ought to be extended, 422
land capable of, 423
by fprings and rivulets, if
preferred, 424
terms .ufed in, 423
principles of, 426
Mr Wright’s mode of, 427
objeftions anfwered, 428
ufed water, not good for, 429
repairing works, ufed in, 430
with muddy water, when
preferred, 431
good effefls of, 43 2
Mr Wimpey’s opinion of, 433
Mr Forfyth’s opinion of, 434
Mr Bofwell’s ditto, 433
with land floods, 436
makes pafture preferable to
ploughed land, 437
Mr Wright’s dire&ions for, 438
how grafs confirmed after, 439
how it may caufe the rot in
ftieep, 440
Mr Bofwell’s rules for, 441
fpringymeadowimproved by,44 2
hill fides improved by, 443
coarfe lands, 444
3 ^ Watering,
J38 AG
Wateringy management of meadows af-
ter _ N° 445
now long to be continued, 446
fpring feeding while, 447
from autumn to Candlemas, 448
not to be too long continued, 449
advantage of rolling while, 450
explained by Mr Findlater, 451
Weedsy annual and perennial, 91
perennial, how deltroyed, 92
ground, how cleanfed of, 204
Wetnefs is caufed by rain or fprings, 168
Wheat, the bell: kind of bread, 18
its ufe obje&ed to, 19
difeafes to which it is liable, 96
fallowing for, 216
drefling, 217
on fandy foil, 215
time for fowing, 219
R I C U L T U R
Wheat, fetting of, N® 220
an improvement, 221
method of, 222
advantages of, 223
propagated by dividing the
roots, 224
fetting, by Mr Bogle, 225
objefted to, 226
pra&icability, 227, 229
Bath Society’s,
obfervations on, 226, 228, 230
culture of in Norfolk, 231
fucceffion of, crops in Norfolk, 232
rice, balking of, 233
manuring for, in Norfolk, 234
time of fowing, in Norfolk, 235
Norfolk mode of preparing the
feed, 236
fowing, 237
E. Index.
Wheat, Norfolk mode of ploughing un¬
der furrow, N° 238
inftrumentsfor dibbling, 239
dibbling, obje&ed to, 240
midland diftrict, culture of, 241
in vale of Gloucefter, culture of, 24 2
fmall fheaves, 243
in Cotfwold hills, 244
hoeing, good effefts of, 245
cutting, mildewed very green, 246
in Yorkfhire, culture of, 247
varieties of, raifed, 248
prepared with arfenic, 249
and turnips fown together, 250
Whins, food for horfes, 34
Wood, culture of, 520
Y
Young, Arthur, Efq. his experiments
to prevent the fmut in wheat, 103
A G R
Agrifolium AGRIFOLIUM, or Aquieolium. See Ilex,
|j Botany Index.
Agrigen- AGRIG'AN, or ifland of St Francis Xavier, in Geo-
t . U^n‘ . graphy, one of the Ladrone or Marianne iflands. It
is 50 miles in circumference, is very mountainous, and
has a volcano in it; fituated in N. Lat. 19. 4. E. Long.
146.
AGRIGENTUM, in Ancient Geography, a city of
Sicily, part of the fite of which is now occupied by
a town called Girgenti from the old name. See Gm-
GENTI.
According to ancient authors, Dedalus, the moft fa¬
mous mechanician of fabulous antiquity, fled to, this
fpot for protection againft Minos, and built many won¬
derful edifices for Cocalus king of the ifland. Long
after his flight, the people of Gela fent a colony hither
600 years before the birth of Chrift and from the
name of a neighbouring ftream called the new city A-
cragas, whence the Romans formed their word Agri-
gsntum. Thefe Greeks converted the ancient abode of
the Siculi into a citadel to guard the magnificent city
which they ereCled on the hillocks below.
An advantageous fituation, a free government with
all its happy effeCls, and an aftive commercial fpirit,
exalted their commonwealth to a degree of riches and
power unknown to the other Greek fettlements, Syra-
cufe alone excepted. But the profperity of Agrigen-
tum appears to have been but of ftiort duration, and
tyranny foon deftroyed its liberties.
Phalaris was the firft who reduced it to flavery. His
name is familiar to moft: readers on account of his
cruelty, and the brazen bull in which he tortured his
enemies. (See Phalaris.)—Phalaris met with the
common fate of tyrants, and after his death the Agri-
gentines enjoyed their liberty for 150 years-, at the
expiration of which term Thero ufurped the fovereign
authority. The moderation, juftice, and valour of this
prince preferved him from oppofition while living, and
have refcued his memory from the obloquy of pofteri-
ty. He joined his fon-in-law Gelo, king of Syracufe,
in a war againft the Carthagipians 3 in the courfe of
A G R
v'hich victory attended all his fteps, and Sicily faw Agrigerr-
herfelf for a time delivered from her African oppref- turn,
fors. Soon after his cieceafe, his fon Thrafydeus was y—J
deprived of the diadem, and Agrigentum reftored to
her old democratical government. Ducetius next di-
fturbed the general tranquillity. He w-as a chief of
the mountaineers, defcendants of the Siculi j and was
an overmatch for the Agrigentines while they were un-
fupported by alliances, but Tank under the weight of
their union with the Syracufans. Some trifling alter¬
cations diffolved this union, and produced a war, in,
which the Agrigentines were wprfted, and compelled
to fubmit to humiliating terms of peace. Refentment
led them to embrace with joy the propofals of the A-
thenians, then meditating an attack upqn Syracufe.
Their new friends foon made them feel that the la-
crifice of liberty and fortune would be the price of
their protection 3 and this confideration brought them,
fpeedily back to their old connexions. But as if it
had been decreed that all friendftiip (hould be fatal to
their repofe, the reconciliation and its effeCls drew up¬
on them the anger of the Carthaginians. By this ene¬
my their armies wrere routed, their city taken, their
race ahnoft extirpated, and fcarce a veftige of magnifi¬
cence was left. Agrigentum lay 50 years buried un¬
der' its owm ruins 3 when Timoleon, after triumphing
over the Carthaginians, and reftoring liberty to Sici¬
ly, collected the defcendants of the Agrigentines, and
fent them to re-eftablifti the dw-ellings of their forefa¬
thers. Their exertions were rew arded with aftonifhing
fuccefs 3 for Agrigentum rofe from its allies with fuch
a renewal of vigour, that in a very fliort time we find,
it engaged in the bold fcheme of feizing a lucky mo¬
ment, when Agathocles and Carthage had reduced Sy¬
racufe to the loweft ebb, and arrogating to itfelf fiipre-
macy over all the Sicilian republics. Xenodicus was
appointed the leader of this arduous enterptife 3 and
had his latter operations been as fortunate as his firft
campaign, Agrigentum would have acquired fuch a
preponderance of reputation and power, that the rival
ftates would not have even dared to attack it. But a
few
AGRICULTUllE. I'Ut, VI,
t
A ( \ 1 ! I < 1 T r i» t x
A. (i }\ I c: lrL T V 11 K
1 I
Ijl
[[L 
1
• ( //.>< /// ■< •//.
Hute XI .
A G i: x c r t. t TJ n i :.
mate XII
A G R t 539 1 A G R
Agrlgen- few brilliant exploits were fucceeded by a fevere over-
tum- , throw ; the Agrigentines loft courage, difagreed in
Y council, and humbly fued for peace to Agathocles.
This commonwealth afterwards took a ftrong part with
Pyrrhus •, and when he left Sicily to the mercy of her
enemies, threw itfelf into the arms of Carthage. Du¬
ring the firft Punic war Agrigentum was the head
quarters of the Carthaginians, and was befieged by the
Roman confuls, who after eight months blockade took
it by ftorm. It neverthelefs changed mafters feveral
times during the cont'eft between thefe rival ftateSj and
in every inftance fuffered moft cruel outrages. After
this period very little mention of it occurs in hiftory,
nor do we know the precife time of the deftruftion of
the old city and the building of the new one. See
Girgenti.
The principal part of the ancient city lay in the
vale ; the prefent town, called Girgenti, occupies the
mountain on which the citadel of Cocalus flood.
It was difficult to be more judicious and fortunate
in the choice of fituation for a large city. The in¬
habitants were here provided with every requilite for
defence, pleafure, and comfort of life ; a natural wall,
formed by abrupt rocks, prefented a ftrong barrier
ngainft affailants; pleafant hills ffieltered them on
three fides without impeding the circulation of air ;
before them a broad plain, watered by the Acragas,
gave admittance to the fea breeze, and to a noble pro-
fpeift of that aw-ful element j the port or emporium lay
in view at the mouth of the river, and probably the
road acrofs the flat was lined with gay and populous
fuburbs.
The hofpitality and parade for which the Agrigen¬
tines are celebrated in hiftory were fupported by an ex-
tenfive commerce j by means of which, the common-
wealth wras able to refill many (hocks of adverfity, and
always to rife again wdth freffi fplendour. It was,
however, cruffied by the general fall of Grecian liber¬
ty ; the feeble remnants of its population, which had
furvived fo many calamities, were at length driven out
of its walls by the Saracens, and obliged to lock them-
lelves up for fafety among the bleak and inacceffible
rocks of the prefent city.
At the north-eaft angle of the ancient limits, upon
fome foundations of large regular {tones, a church has
been eretted j a road appears hewn in the folid rock
for the convenience of the votaries who vifited this
temple in ancient days. It was then dedicated to Ce¬
res and her daughter Proferpine, the peculiar patronef-
fes of Sicily.
At the fouth-eaft corner, where the ground, riling
gradually, ends in a bold eminence, -which is crowned
with majeftic columns, are the ruins of a temple faid to
have been confecrated to Juno. To the weft of this
Hands the building commonly called the Temple of
Concord; the ftone of which, and the other buildings,
is the fame as that of the neighbouring mountains and
cliffs, a conglutination of fea fand and (hells, full of
perforations, of a hard and durable texture, and a deep
reddilh brown colour. This Doric temple has all its
columns, entablature, pediments, and walls entire ;
only part of the roof is w anting. It owes its preferva-
tion to the piety of fome Chriftians, who have co¬
vered half the nave, and converted it into a church
confecrated under the invocation of St Gregory bifhop Agrig^i
of Girgenti. . tl!in',
Proceeding in the fame dire&ion, you wralk between y
rows of fepulchres cut in the rock wherever it admit¬
ted of being excavated by the hand of men, or wTas fo
already by that of nature. Some maffes of it are hewn
into the lhape of coffins •, others drilled full of fmall
fquare holes employed in a different mode of interment,
and ferving as receptacles of urns. One ponderous
piece of the rock lies in an extraordinary pofition ; by
the failure of its foundation, or the (hock of an earth¬
quake, it has been loofened from the general quarry,
and rolled dowm the declivity, where it now remains
fupine with the cavities turned upwards. Only a Angle
column marks the confufed heap of mofs-grown ruins
belonging to the temple of Hercules. It flood on a
projefting rock above a chafm in the ridge, wffiich wras
cut through for a paffage to the emporium.
In the fame tra£l, over fqme hills, is fituated the
building ufually called the Tomb of Tbero. It is fur-
rounded by aged olive trees, which call a wild irregu¬
lar fliade over the ruin. The edifice inclines to the
pyramidical (hape, and confifts at prefent of a triple
plinth, and a bafe fupporting a fquare pedeftal j uporf
this plain folid foundation is raifed a fecond order, ha¬
ving a window in each front, and at each angle twro
Ionic pilafters crowned with an entablature of the Do
ric order. Its infide is divided into a vault, a ground
room, and one in the Ionic ftory, communicating with
each other by means of a fmall internal ftaircafe.
In the plain are, feen the fragments of the temple of
Tfculapius j part of two columns and two pilafters,
with an intermediate wall, fupport the end of a farm-
houfe, and were probably the front of the cella. Pur-
fuing the track of the walls tow*ards the weft, you ar¬
rive at a fpot wffiich is covered with the gigantic re¬
mains of the temple of the Olympian Jupiter, minute¬
ly deferibed by Diodorus Siculus. It may literally be
faid that it has not one ftone left upon another 5 and
it is barely poffible, with the help of much conjefture,
to difeover the traces of its plan and dimenfions. Dio¬
dorus calls it the largeft temple in the whole illand:
but adds, that the calamities of war caufed the w’ork to
be abandoned before the roof could be put on; and
that the Agrigentines were ever after reduced to fuch
a ftate of poverty and dependence^ that they never had
it in their power to finilh this fuperb monument of the
tafte and opulence of their anceftors. The length of
this temple was 370 Greek feet, its breadth 60, and
its height 220, exclufive of the foundations or bafement
ftory; the extent and folidity of its vaults and under¬
works wore wonderful 3 its fpacious porticoes and ex-
quifite fculpture wore fuited to the grandeur of the
whole. It was not built in the ufual ftyle of Sicilian
temples wdth a cella of maffive walls and a periftyle,
but was defigned in a mixt tafte with half columns let
into the wolls on the outfide, the infide exhibiting a
plain furface.
The next ruin belongs to the temple of Caftor and
Pollux : vegetation has Covered the lowor parts of the
building, and only a fewr fragments of columns appear
between the vines. This wras the point of the hill
where the wall ftopt on the brink of a large filh-pond
fpoken of by Diodorus: it was cut in the folid rock
3 Y 2 S'*
A G R t 54o ] A G R
Agrlmonia 30 feet deep, and water was conveyed to it from tlie
i| hills. In it was bred a great quantity of fifli for the
^g'VV'1 ^ ufe 0f pUblic entertainments j fwans and various other
kinds of wild fowl fwam along its furface, for the a-
mufement of the citizens, and the great depth of water
prevented an enemy from furpriiing the town on that
fide. It is now dry and ufed as a garden. On the
oppofite bank, are two tapering columns without their
capitals, moft happily placed in a tuft of carob trees.
Monte Toro, where Hannp encamped with the Car¬
thaginian army, before the Roman confuls drew him
into an engagement that ruined his defenfive plan, is a
noble back-ground to this pi£turefque group of obje£ls.
—The whole fpace comprehended \*lthin the walls of
the ancient city abounds with traces of antiquity, foun¬
dations, brick-arches, and little channels for the con¬
veyance of water; but in no part are any ruins that
can be prefumed to have belonged to places of public
entertainment. This is the more extraordinary, as the
Agrigentines'were a fenfual people, fond of ftiows and
dramatic performances, and the Romans never dwelt
in any place long without introducing their favage
games. Theatres and amphitheatres feem better calcu¬
lated than molt buildings to refill the outrages of time j
and it is furpriiing that not even the velliges of their
form fhould remain on the ground.
AGR'IMONIA, Agrimony. See Botany Index.
Hemp Agrimont. See Eupatorium, Botany In¬
dex.
Water Hemp Agrimony. See Bidens, Botany In¬
dex.
AGRIONI A, in Grecian Antiquity, feltivals annual¬
ly celebrated by the Boeotians in honour of Bacchus.
At thefe feftivals, the women pretended to fearch after
Bacchus as a fugitive \ and, after fome time, gave over
their inquiry, faying, that he had fled to the Mufes, and
was concealed among them.
AGRIOPHAGI, in Antiquity, a name given to
thofe who fed on wild beafts. The word is Greek,
compounded of “ wild,” “ favage,” and <px.y»,
“ I eat.” The name is given, by ancient writers, to
certain people, real or fabulous, faid to have fed alto¬
gether on lions or panthers. Pliny and Solinus fpeak
of Agriophagi in Ethiopia, and Ptolemy of others in
India on this fide the Ganges.
AGRIPPA, Cornelius, born at Cologne in i486,
a man of confiderable learning, and by common report
a great magician j for the monks at that time fufpe£led
every thing of herefy or forcery which they did not un-
derlland. He compofed his Treatife of the Excellence
of Women, to infinuate himfelf into the favour of Mar¬
garet of Aullria, governefs of the Low-Countries. He
accepted of the charge of hiltoriographer to the empe¬
ror, which that princefs gave him. The treatife of the
Vanity of the Sciences, which he publifhed in 1530, en¬
raged his enemies extremely } as did that of Occult Phi-
ipfophy, which he printed foon after at Antwerp. He
was iniprifoned in France for fomething he had writ¬
ten againll Francis I.’s mother ; but was enlarged, and
went to Grenoble, where he died in 1534. His works
are printed in two volumes oftavo.
Agrippa, Herod, the fon of Arifiobul'us and
Mariamne, and grandfon to Herod the Great, was
born in the year of the world 3997, three years be¬
fore the birth of our Saviour, and feven years be¬
fore the vulgar seta. After the death of Arifiobu- Agrippa.
lus his father, Jofephus informs us, that Herod his u-—v—
grandfather took care of his education, and lent him
to Rome to make his court to Tiberius. The em¬
peror conceived a great affe£Hon for Agrippa, and
placed him near his fon Drufus. Agrippa very foon
won the, graces of Drufus, and of the emprefs An¬
tonia. But Drufus dying fuddenly, all thofe who
had been much about him were commanded by Tibe¬
rius to withdraw from Rome, left the fight and pre¬
fence of them Ihould renew his affli&ion. Agrippa,
who had indulged his inclination to liberality, was ob¬
liged to leave Rome overwhelmed with debts, and in a
Very poor condition. He did not think it fit to go to
Jerufalem, becaufe he was not able to make a figure
there fuitable to his birth. He retired therefore to
the’caftle of Maflada, where he lived rather like a pri¬
vate perfon than a prince. Herod the Tetrarch, his
uncle, who had married Herodias his lifter, aflifted him
for fome time with great generofity. Fie made him
principal magiftrate of Tiberias, and prefented him.
wuth a large lum of money : but all this was not fuffi-
cient to anfwer the exceflive expences and profufion
of Agrippa *, fo that Herod growing weary of aflifting
him, and reproaching him with his bad economy, A-
grippa took a refolution to quit Judea, - and return to
Rome. Upon his arrival, he wras received into the
good graces of Tiberius, and commanded to attend
Tiberius Nero the fon of Drufus. Agrippa, however,
having more inclination for Caius the fon of Germani-
cus, and grandfon of Antonia, chofe rather to attach
himfelf to him } as if he had fome prophetic viewrs of
the future elevation of Caius, who at that time was be¬
loved by all the w-orld. The great afliduity and agree- ‘
able behaviour of Agrippa fo far engaged this prince,
that he kept him continually about him.
Agrippa being one day overheard by Eutyches, a
flave whom he had made free, to exprefs his wdlhes for
Tiberius’s death and the advancement of Caius, the
flave betrayed him to the emperor j whereupon A-
grippa w7as loaded with fetters, and committed to the
cuftody of an officer. Tiberius foon after dying, and
Caius Caligula fucceeding him, the new emperor
heaped many favours and much wrealth upon Agrippa •,
changed his iron fetters into a chain of gold 5 fet a
royal diadem upon his head j and gave him the tetrar-
chy which Philip, the fon of Herod the Great, had
been pofieffed of, that is, Batansea and Trachonitis.
To this he added that of Lyfanias •, and Agrippa re¬
turned very foon into Judea to take poffeflion of his
new kingdom,
Caius being foon after killed, Agrippa, who -was
then at Rome, contributed much by his advice ta
maintain Claudius in pofleffion of the imperial dignity^,
to which he had been advanced by the army. But in
this affair Agrippa a6led a part wherein he lhowred
more cunning and addrefs than fincerity and honefty ,
for wffiile he made a fliow of being in the intereft of
the fenate, he fecretly advifed Claudius to be refolute,
and not to abandon his good fortune. The emperor,
as an acknowledgment for his kind offices, gave him
all Judea and the kingdom of Chalcis, which had been,
poffeffed by Herod his brother. Thus Agrippa be¬
came of a hidden one of the greateft princes of the-
eaft} and was poffeffed of as much, if not more ter-
ihoiies
A G R [ 541 ] A G U
Agrippa, ritories taan had been held by Herod the Great his
grauJfather. He returned to Judea, and governed it
to the great fatisfaftion of the Jews. But the defire
of pleafing them, and a miftaken zeal for their religion,
induced him to commit an unjuit action, the memory of
which is preferved in Scripture, A£ts xii. 1, 2, &c. for
about the feaft of the paffover, in the year of Jefus Chrift
44, St James major, the fonof Zebedee and brother of
St John the Evangelilt, was feized by his order and
put to death. He proceeded alfo to lay hands on St
Peter, and imprifoned him, waiting till the feflival was
over, that he might then have him executed. But
God having miraculoufly delivered St Peter from the
place of his confinement, the defigns of Agrippa were
fruftrated. After the paflbver, this prince went from
Jeruialcm to Csefarea, and there had games performed
in honour of Claudius. Here the inhabitants of Tyre
and Sidon waited on him to fue for peace. Agrippa
being come early in the morning to the theatre, with
a defign to give them audience, feated himfelf on his
throne, dreffed in a robe of filver-tiffue, worked in the
mod: admirable manner. The riling fun darted on it
with its rays, and gave it fuch a luftre as the eyes of
the fpe&ators could not endure. When therefore the
king fpoke to the Tyrians and Sidonians, the parafites
around him began to fay, that it was the voice of a
god, and not that of a man. Inftead of rejecting thefe
impious flatteries, Agrippa received them with an
air of complacency ; but at the fame time obferved an
owl above him on a cord. He had feen the fame bird
before when he was in bonds by order of Tiberius ;
and it was then told him, that he fliould be foon fet
at liberty : but that whenever he faw the fame thing a
fecond time, he fliould not live above five days after¬
wards. He was therefore extremely terrified 5 and he
died at the end of five days, racked with tormenting
pains in his bowels, and devoured with worms. Such
was the death of Herod Agrippa, after a reign of feven
years, in the year of Chrift 44.
Agrippa II. fon of the preceding Herod, was made
king of Chalcis ; but three or four years after, he
was deprived of that kingdom by Claudius, who gave
him m the place of it other provinces. In the war Vef-
pafian carried on againft the Jews, Herod fent him a
fuccour of 2000 men; by which it appears that though a
Jew by religion, he was yet entirely devoted to the Ro¬
mans, whofe afliftance indeed he wanted to fecure the
peace of his own kingdom. He lived to the third year
of Trajan, and died at Rome A. C. xco. He was the
feventh and laft king of the family of Herod the Great.
It was before him and Berenice his lifter that St Paul
pleaded his caufe at Caefarea.
Agrippa, Marcus Vifpanius, fon in-law to Au-
guftus, of mean birth, but one of the moft confiderable
generals among the Romans. Auguftus’s vi<!ftory over
Pompey aftd Mark Antony was owing to his counfel.
He adorned the city with the pantheon, baths, aque¬
ducts, &c.
AGRIPPINA, daughter of Germanicus, After of
Caligula, and mother of Nero} a woman of wit, but
exceffively lewd. She was thrice married, the laft time
to Claudius her own uncle, whom flie poiloned to make
wTay for Nero her fon. Nero afterwards caufed her to
be murdered in her chamber, when ftie bid the execu¬
tioner ftab her firft in the belly that had brought forth Agrippina
fuch a monfter. II
Agrippina colonia ubiorum, in Ancient Geo- A^Ifa'
graphy, now Cologne: fo called from Agrippina, the 1 ' »
daughter of Germanicus, and mother of Nero, who
had a colony fent thither at her requeft by the empe¬
ror Claudius, to honour the place of her birth. See
Cologne.
AGRIPPINIANS, in Church Hi/lory, the followers
of Agrippinus biihop of Carthage, in the third century,
who firft introduced and defended the practice of re-
baptization.
AGROM, a difeafe frequent in Bengal and other
parts of the Indies, in wmich the tongue is parched,
chaps, and is fometimes covered with white fpots. The
Indians are very fearful of this difeafe, which they at¬
tribute to extreme heat of the ftomach. Their remedy
is, to drink fome chalybeate liquor, or the juice of mint.
AGROSTEMMA, Wild Lychnis, or Campion,
in Botany. See Botany Index.
AGROSTIS, Bent-grass, in Botany. See Bo¬
tany Index.
AGROSTOGRAPHIA, lignifies the hiftory or
defeription of gralfes.
AGROUND, the lituation of a Ihip whofe bottom,
or any part of it, hangs, or refts upon the ground, fo
as to render her immoveable, till a greater quantity of
water floats her off, or till fhe is drawn out into" the
ftream by the application of mechanical powers.
AGRYPNIA, among Phyfecians, implies an inapti¬
tude to fleep ; a troublefome fymptom of feveriih and
other diforders.
Agrypnia, in the Greek Church, implies the vigil
of any of the greater fertivals.
AGUE, a general name for all periodical fevers,
which, according to the different times of the returns'
of the feverifh paroxyfm, are denominated tertian, quar¬
tan, and quotidian. See Medicine Index.
AavE-Cake, the popular name for a hard tumour on
the left fide of the belly, lower than the falfe ribs, faid
to be the effetft of intermittent fevers.
Slav E-Tree, a name given to the faffafras, on ac¬
count of its febrifuge qualities.
AGUEPERSE, a town of France, fituated on the
Lyonnois, in the department of Puy-de-Dome, about
15 miles north of Clermont.
AGUILLANEUF, or Augillaneuf, a form of
rejoicing ufed among the ancient Franks on the firft
day of the year. The word is compounded of the
French Bl “ to,” gui “ mifleto,” and Can neuf “ the
new year.” Its origin is traced from a druid ceremo¬
ny : the priefts ufed to go yearly in December, which
with them was reputed a iacred month, to gather mifleto
of the oak in great folemnity. The prophets marched
in the front, finging hymns in honour of their deities j
after them came a herald with a caduceus in his hand y
thefe were toilowed by three druids abreaft, bearing
the things neceffary for facrifice ; laft of all came the
chief or arch druid, accompanied with the train of
people. The chief druid climbing the oak, cut off the
miiTeto with a golden fickle, and the other- druids re¬
ceived it in a white cloth ; on the firft day of the year
it was diftributed among the people, after having blef-
fed and cordecrated it by crying si gui Can neuf, to
proclaim.
A G U [ 542 ] AHA
Aguilar proclaim the new year. This cry is ftill continued in
H. Picardy, with the addition of Plante’s, Planter, to
■ J 'i with a plentiful year. In Burgundy and fome other
parts, the children ufe the fame word to beg a new-
year’s gift. In latter times the name Aguillaneuf was
alfo given to a fort of begging, pra&ifed in fome dio-
cefes, for church-tapers, on new year’s day, by a troop
of young people of both fexes, having a chief, &c.
It was attended with various ridiculous ceremonies, as
dancing in the church, &c. which occalioned the fy-
nods to fupprefs it.
AGUILAR, a town of Spain, in the province of
Navarre, about 24 miles weft from Eftella.
Aguiljr del Campo, a town of Old Oaftile, with
the title of marquifate, about 15 leagues north of the
city of Burgos.
AGUILLON, or Aguillonius, Francis, a Je-
fuit, born at Bruffels: he was re&or of the Jefuits col¬
lege at Antwerp, and eminent for his fldll in mathe¬
matics. He was the firft who introduced that fcience
among the Jefuits in the Low Countries : he wrote a
book of Optics, and wras employed in finifhing his Ca¬
toptrics and Dioptrics, when he died in 1617.
AGUIRRA, Joseph Saenz de, a Benedifline, and
one of the moft learned men of the 17th century, was
born March 24. 1630, He was cenfor and fecretary
of the fupreme council of the inquifition in Spain, and
interpreter of the Scriptures in the univerfity of Sala¬
manca. He printed three volumes in folio upon Phi-
lofophy, a commentary upon Ariftotle’s ten books of
Ethics, and other pieces. He died at Rome in 1699.
AGUL, in Botany, a fynonyme of the hedyfarum.
See Hedysarum, Botany Index.
AGUR. The xxxth chapter of the Proverbs be¬
gins with this title : “ The words of Agur, the fon
of Jakeh $” -which, according to the ftgnification of
the original terms, may be tranflated, as the Vulgate
has it, Verba congregantis, JUii vomentis ; which tranf-
latioh Le Clerc condemns, fuppofing thefe to be pro¬
per names which ought not to be tranflated. Thefe
words are rendered by Louis de Dieu : “ the w^ords
of him who has recolle&ed himfelf, the fon of obe¬
dience.” The generality of the fathers and commen¬
tators will have it, that Solomon deferibes himfelf un¬
der the name of Agur the fon of Jakeh $ others con¬
jecture that Agur, as well as Lemuel (in chap. xxxi.
I.) were wife men who lived in the time of Solomon,
and were his interlocutors in the book of Proverbs j
an opinion which F. Calmet thinks is without the
leaft fliow of probability, this book being nothing like
a dialogue. This laft expofitor thinks it probable,
that Agur was an infpired author different from So¬
lomon, whofe fentences it was thought fit to join with
thofe of this prince, becaufe of the conformity of their
matter.
AGURAH, in JewiJl) Antiquity, the name of a fil-
ver coin, otherwife called gerah and kejhita.
AGURIUM, or Agyrium, in Ancient Geography,
a town of Sicily in the Val di Demona, near the river
Semetus, The people wrere called Populus Agyrinenjis
by Cicero ; Agyrinus by Pliny. It was the birth-place
of Diodorus Siculus, as he himfelf teftifies } but he
calls it Argyrium, as it is now called S. Philippa d'Ar-
gyrone, which modern name feems to confirm that Ar¬
gyrium is the true reading.
AGUSADURA, in Ancient Cujloms, a fee due from Aguiadur*
vaffals to their lord for the (harpening their ploughing I!
tackle. Anciently the tenants in fome manors were , Aha^- ,
not allowed to have their rural implements fharpened
by any but whom the lord appointed j for which an
acknowledgment was to be paid, called agu fadura, in
fome places agufage: which fome take to be the fame
with what was otherwife called reillage, from the an¬
cient French reille, a ploughfhare.
AGUSTINA, a netv earth 5 which, as the word
fignifies, is taftelefs, infoluble in water, and when pure
refembles alumina. It was difeovered in the year
1800 by Trommfdorff in the Saxon beryl. But as his
experiments have not been repeated, the exiftence of
this earth refts folely on his authority.
AGUTI, in Zoology, the trivial name of a fpecies
of the moafe, belonging to the mammalia glires of
Linnaeus.
AGYEI, in Antiquity, a kind of obelifks, facred to
Apollo, ere£led in the veftibules of houfes, by way of
fecurity.
AGYNEIA, in Botany. See Botany Index.
AGYNIANI, in Church Hi/lory, a feft who<on~
demned all ufe of flefh, and marriage, as not inftituted
by God, but introduced at the inftigation of the devil.
The word is compounded of the privative * and yvm
woman. They are fometimes alfo called Agynenfes, and
Agynii: and are faid to have appeared about the year
694. It is no wonder they were of no long continuance.
Their tenets coincide in a great meafure with thofe of
the Abelians, Gnoftics, Cerdonians, and other preachers
of chaftity and abftinence.
AGYRTzE, in Antiquity, a kind of ftrolling im-
poftors running about the country, to pick up money,
by telling fortunes at rich men’s doors, pretending to
cure difeafes by charms, facrifices, and other religious
myfteries 5 alfo to expiate the crimes of their deceafed
anceftors, by virtue of certain odours and fumigations j
to torment their enemies, by the ufe of magical verfes,
and the like. 7’he w-ord is Greek Ayvglxj, formed of
the verb xyugu, I congregate; alluding to the prac¬
tice of charlatans or quacks, who gather a crowd about
them.
Agyrtce, among the Greeks, amount to the fame with
JErufcatores among the Latins, and differ not much
from Gypfies among us.
AHAB, fon of Omri king of Ifrael, fucceeded his
father A. M. 3086, and furpaffed all his predcceffors
in impiety and wickednefs. He married Jezebel the
daughter of Ethbaal king of the Zidonians, who in¬
troduced the idols of Baal and Aftarte among the If-
raelites, and engaged Ahab in the worlhip of thefe
falfe deities. God, being provoked by the fins of
Ahab, fent the prophet Elijah to him (1 Kings xvii.
l.feqi), who declared to him, that there would be a
famine of three years continuance. The dearth having
lafted three years, the prophet defired Ahab to gather
all the people to Mount Carmel, and wdth them the
prophets of Baal: when they were thus affembled,
Elijah caufed fire to defeend from heaven upon his fa-
crifice, after which he obtained of God that it ftiould
rain; and then the earth recovered its former fertility.
Six years after this, Ben-hadad king of Syria (chap,
xx.) laid fiege to Jerufalem. But God, provoked at
this proud Syrian, fent a prophet to Ahab, not only
to
AHA [ 543 ] A II A
Ahab. to affure him of victory, but to inflruft him likewife
in what manner he was to obtain it. Ahab was or¬
dered to review the princes of the provinces, which he
found to be a choice company, confining of 23 2 young
men, who were to command the people in Samaria,
amounting to about 7000 men; with this fmall army
Ahab was directed to fall upon the great holt of the
Syrians, and that at noon-day, while Ben-hadad and
the 3 2 kings that accompanied him were drinking and
making merry. Ben-hadad having notice that they
v/ere marching out of the city, ordered them to be
brought before him alive, whatever their defigns were j
but the young men, follow’ed by this fmall army, ad¬
vanced, and killed all that oppofed them. Such a pa¬
nic feized the Syrian troops, that they began to fly,
and even Ben-hadad himfelf mounted his horfe and fled
with his cavalry : which Ahab perceiving, purfued
them, killed great numbers of them, and took a con-
flderable booty. After this the prophet came to Ahab,
to animate him with frelh courage, and to caution him
to keep upon his guard ; afluring him, that Ben-hadad
would return againft him the year following. Ac¬
cording to this predi&ion, at the end of the year he
returned and encamped at Aphek, with a refolution
to give the Ifraelites battle. Both armies being ranged
in order of battle for feven days fucceflively, at length
upon the feventh day, a battle enfued, wherein the If¬
raelites killed 100,000 of the Syrians, and the reft fled
to Aphek but as they were prefling to get into the
city, the walls of Aphek fell upon them and killed
27,000 more. Ben-hadad throwing himfelf upon the
mercy of Ahab, this prince received him into his own
chariot, and made an alliance with him. The year
following, Ahab deliring to make a kitchen garden near
his palace (chap. xxi.J, requefted of one Naboth, a
citizen of Jezreel, that he would fell him his vineyard,
becaufe it lay convenient for him. But being refufed,
he returned in great difcontentment to his houfe,
threw himfelf upon the bed, turned towards the wall,
and would eat nothing. Jezebel his wife coming in,
atked the reafon of his great concern ; of which being
informed, fhe procured the death of Naboth, and Ahab
took poffeflion of his vineyard. As he returned from
jezreel to Samaria, the prophet Elijah met him, and
faid, “ Haft thou killed and alfo taken poffeflion ? Now
faith the Lord, In the place where dogs licked up the
blood of Naboth, lhall dogs lick thy blood, even thine.
As for jezebel, of her the Lord fpoke, faying, The
dogs lhall eat Jezebel by the way of Jezreel.” Ahab,
hearing thefe and other denunciations, rent his clothes,
put fackcloth upon his flelh, and gave other indications
of his forrow and repentance. But his repentance was
neither lincere nor perfevering. Two years after thefe
things, Jehofhaphat king of Judah came to Samaria
to vifit Ahab (chap, xxii.) at a time when he was
preparing to attack Ramoth-gilead, which Ben-hadad
king of Syria unjuftly withheld from him. The king
of Ifrael invited Jehofhaphat to accompany him in
this expedition ; which that prince agreed to do, but
defired that feme prophet might firft be confulted.
Ahab therefore aflembled the prophets of Baal, in num¬
ber about 400} who all concurred in exhorting the
king to march refolutely againft Ramoth-gilead. But
Pvficaiah being alfo confulted, at Jeholhaphat’s fuggef-
tion, prophelkd the ruin of Ahab. Upon this, Ahab
gave orders to his people to felze Micaiah, and to car- Ahab
ry him to Amon the governor of the city, and to Joafh N
the king’s fon j telling him in his name, “ Put this, Aliaz'
fellow in prifon, and feed him with the bread of af-
fli&ion, and with the water of aftli&ion, until I come
in peace.” But Micaiah faid, “ If thou return at all
in peace, the Lord hath not fpoken by me.” Ahab,
therefore, and Jehofhaphat marched up to Ramoth-
gilead ; and the king of Ifrael faid unto Jehofhaphat,
“ I will difguife myfelf, and enter into the battle, but
put thou on my robe :” for he knew that the king
of Syria had commanded two and thirty captains that
had rule over his chariots, faying, “ Fight neither
with fmall nor with great, fave only with the king of
Ifrael.” Thefe officers, therefore, having obferved
that Jehofhaphat was tlreffed in royal robes, took
him for the king of Ilrael, and fell upon him with
great impetuofity : but this prince feeing himfelf pref-
fed fo clofely, cried out; and the miftake being dif-
covered, the captains of the king of Syria gave over
purfuing him. But cne of the Syrian army fhot a
random arrow, which pierced the heart of Ahab. The
battle lafted the whole day, and Ahab continued in his
chariot with his face turned towards the Syrians. In
the mean time, his blood was ftill ifluing from his
wound, and falling in his chariot ; and towards the
evening he died : whereupon proclamation was made
by found of trumpet, that every man fhould return to
his own city and country. The king of Ifrael being
dead, was carried to Samaria and buried : but his cha¬
riot and the reins of his horfes were wafhed in the lifh-
pool of Samaria, and the dogs licked his blood, ac¬
cording to the word of the prophet. Such was the
end of Ahab. His fon Ahaziah fucceeded him in the
year of the world 3107.
AHiETULA, the trivial name of a. fpecies of the
coluber. See Coluber.
AHASUERUS, or Artaxerxes, the hufhand of
Efther ; and according to Archbifhop Ufher and F.
Calmet, the Scripture name for Darius, the fon of Hy-
ftafpes, king of Perfia •, though Scaliger fuppofed
Xerxes to have been the hulhand of Efther, or the
Ahafuerus of Scripture : and Dr Prideaux believes
him to be Artaxerxes Longimanus. See Hiftory of
Persia.
^ AHAZ, king of Judah, the fon of Jotham, remark¬
able for his vices and impieties. One of his fans he
confecrated, by making him pafs through and perilh
by the fire, in honour of the falfe god Moloch ; and'
he offered facrifices and incenfe upon the high places,,
upon hills, and in groves. Rezin king of Syria and?
Pekah king of Ifrael invaded Judea in the beginning
of the reign of Ahaz ; and having defeated his armv
and pillaged the country, they laid fiege to Jerufaiem.
W hen they found that they could not make themfelves
mafters of that city, they divided their army, plunder¬
ed the country, and made the inhabitants prifoners of
war. Rezin and his part of the confederate army
marched with all their fpoil to Dam ale us ; but Pekah
with his divifion of the army having attacked Ahaz.
killed 120,000 men of his army in one battle, and car¬
ried away men, women, and children, without diflinc-
tion, to the number of 200,000. But as they were
carrying thofe captives to Samaria, the prophet Oded.
tvith the principal inhabitants of the city, came out to
meet
A H I [ 544 ] A H I
Ahaciali meet them •, and by their remonftrances prevailed with
x II. them to fet their-.priibners at liberty. At the fame
. time, the Philillines and Edomites invaded other parts
of his land, killed multitudes of the people, and car¬
ried off much booty. In this diftreffed condition, A-
,haz finding no other remedy for his affairs, fent ambaf-
fadors to Tiglath-pilefer king of the Alfyrians ; and to
engage him to his intereft, he ftripped the temple and
city of all the gold which he could meet with, and
fent it as a prefent. Accordingly Tiglath-pilefer
marched to the aflxftance of Ahaz, attacked Rezin and
killed him, took his capital Damafcus, deftroyed it,
.and removed the inhabitants thereof to Gyrene.
The misfortunes of this prince had no influence to
make him better : on the contrary, in the times of
his greatert affli&ion, he facrificed to the Syrian dei-
. ties, whom he looked upon as the authors of his cala¬
mities, and endeavoured to render propitious to him,
by honouring them in this manner. He broke in
pieces the veffels of the houfe of God, fhut up the
.gates of the temple, and erefted altars in all parts of
Jerufalem. He fet up altars likewife in all the cities
of Judah, with a defign to offer incenfe on them. At
length he died, and was buried in Jerufalem, but not
in the fepulchres of the kings of Judah his predecef-
. fors : which honour he was deprived of, on account of
his ii i«]uitous courfe of life. Hezekiah his fon fuc-
ceeded him in the year of the world 3287, before Je-
fus Chrifl; 726.
• AHAZIAH, the fon and fucceflbr of Ahab king
of Ifrael, reigned two years, part alone and part with
his father Ahab, who ordained him his affociate in the
kingdom a year before his death. Ahaziah imitated
his father’s impieties (1 Kings xxii. 52,^.), and paid
his adoration to Baal and Aftarte, the worfhip of whom
had been introduced in Ifrael by Jezebel his mother.
The Moabites, who had been always obedient to the
kings of the ten tribes ever fince their feparation from
the kingdom of Judah, revolted after the death of A-
hab, and refufed to pay the ordinary tribute. Aha¬
ziah had not leifure or power to reduce them (2 Kings
i. 1, 2, &c.) 5 for about the lame time, having fallen
through a lattice from the top of his houfe, he hurt
himfelf confiderably, and fent meffengers to Ekron, in
order to confult Baalzebub, the god of that place,
whether he ftiould recover of the indifpofition occafion-
. ed by this accident. But the prophet Elijah went to
Ahaziah, and declared that he ftiould not recover from
Bis illnefs : and accordingly he died in the year of the
world 3108, and Jehoram his brother fucceeded to the
prown.
Ahaziah, king of Judah, the fon of Jehoram and
Athaliah, fucceeded his father in the kingdom of Ju¬
dah, in the year of the world 3119. He walked in the
ways of Ahab’s houfe, to which he was allied. He
reigned only one year. He was flain by Jehu the fon
-of Nimftii.
AHEAD, a fea term, fignifying further onward
than the (hip, or at any diftance before her, lying im¬
mediately on that point of the compafs to which her
Hem is dire&ed. It is ufed in oppofition to aftern,
which expreffes the fitoation of any objeft behind the
Ihip.
AHIJAH, the prophet of Shilo. He is thought
£p be the perfon who fpoke twice to Solomon from
God, once while he wTas building the temple (1 Kings Ahitsphel.
vi. 11.), at which time he promifed him his protec- v*— ■’
tion; and at another time (id. xi. 6.) after his falling
into all his irregularities, when God exprefled his in¬
dignation with great threatenings and reproaches. A-
hijah was one of thofe who wrote the annals or hiftory
of this prince (2 Chr. ix. 29.) The fame prophet
declared to Jeroboam that he would ufurp the king¬
dom (1 Kings xi. 29, &c.), and t;hat two heifers fhould
alienate him from the Lord, meaning the golden calves
erefted by Jeroboam, one at Dan, the other at Bethel.
About the end of Jeroboam’s reign, towards the year
of the world 3046, Abijah the fon of that prince fell
fick j upon which Jeroboam fent his wife to this pro¬
phet to inquire what would become of the child. The
queen therefore went to Ahijah’s houfe in Shilo, dif-
guifed: But the prophet, upon hearing the found of
her feet, faid, “ Come in, thou wife of Jeroboam, why
feigneft: thou thyfelf to be another ? for I am fent to
thee with heavy tidings.” Then he commanded her
to go and tell Jeroboaga all the evil that the Lord had
declared he would bring upon his houfe for his impie¬
ties j that fo foon as (he (hould enter into the city her
fon Abijah ftiould die, and fhould be the only one of
Jeroboam’s houfe that fhould come to the grave or re¬
ceive the honours of a burial. Ahijah in all probabi¬
lity did not long furvive the time of this laft prophecy ;
but with the time and manner of his death we are not
acquainted.
AHITOPHEL, a native of Gillo, wras for feme
time the counfellor of King David, wdiom he at length
deferted, by joining in the rebellion of Abfalom. This
prince, upon his being preferred to the crown by the
greateft part of the Ifraelites, fent for Ahitophel from
Gillo (2 Sam. xv. 12.) to afftfl him with his advice in
the prefent ftate of his affairs: for at that time Ahi-
tophel’s counfels were received as the oracles of God
himfelf (chap. xvi. ult.') Nothing gave David more
uneafinefs than this event; and when Hufhai his friend
came to wait on him and attend him in his flight, he
intreated him to return rather to Jerufalem, make a
fhow of offering his fervices to Abfalom, and endea¬
vour to fruftrate the prudent meafures which fhould
be propofed by Ahitophel. When Abfalom was come
to Jerufalem, he defired Ahitophel to deliberate wdth
his other counfellors upon the meafures which were
proper for him to take. Ahitophel advifed him in the
firfl: place to abufe his father’s concubines ; fo that
wBen his party Ihould underftand that he had dif-
honoured his father in this manner, they might con¬
clude that there were no hopes of a reconciliation, and
therefore efpoufe his intereft more refolutely. A tent,
therefore, being prepared for this purpofe upon the ter¬
race of the king’s palace, Abfalom, in the fight of all
Ifrael, lay with his father’s concubines. The next
thing Ahitophel propofed was in the terms following;
“ Let me now ehoofe out 12,000 men, and I wrill arife
and purfue after David this night, and I will come
upon him while he is w^eary and weak-handed, and I
will make him afraid, and all the people that are with
him flee, and I will finite the king only $ and I will
bring back all the people unto thee; the man w hom
thou feekeft is as if all returned : fo all the people
fhall be in peace.” This advice was very agreeable
to Alpfalotn and all the elders of Ifrael. However,
Abfalom
A I
Ahmella
Ai.
Atfalom defired Hufhai to be called to have his opi¬
nion. Hufhai being come, and hearing what advice
j Ahitophel had given, laid, “ The couni’el which Ahi-
tophel has given is not good_at this time j what, for
the prefent, in my opinion, may do better, is this :
Let all Ifrael be gathered unto thee, from Dan even
to Beerlheba, as the fand that is by the fea for multi¬
tude, and put thyfelf in the midft of them, and where-
ever David is, we may fall wpon him, and overwhelm
him with our numbers, as the dew falleth upon the
ground.” This laft advice being more agrefeable to
Abfalom and all the elders of Ifraei, was preferred ;
upon which Ahitophel faddled his afs, went to his
houfe at Gillo, hanged himfelf, and was buried in the
fepulchre of his fathers. He forefaw^, without doubt,
all that wrould happen in confequence of Hulhai’s ad¬
vice, and was determined to prevent the death w'hich
he had deferved, and which David wrould probably
have inllidted on him, as foon as he ihould be refettled
on his throne.
AHMELLA, in Botany. See Bidens, Botany
Index.
AHOLIBAH and Aholah , are twyo feigned names
made ufe of by Ezekiel (xxiii. 4.) to denote the two
kingdoms of Judah and Samaria. Aholah and Aho-
libah are reprelented as tw’o fillers of Egyptian extrac¬
tion. Aholah Hands for Samaria, and Aholibah for
Jerufalem. The firft fignifies a tent; and the fecond,
my tent is in her. They both proftituted themfelves
to the Egyptians and Affyrians, in imitating their abo¬
minations and idolatries ; for w7hich reafon they were
abandoned to thofe very people for whom they had
fhown fo pafiionate and fo impure an affeflion 5 they
w7ere carried into captivity, and reduced to the fevereit
fervitude.
AHULL, in the fea-language, the fituation of a
Ihip when all her fails are furled on account of the vio¬
lence of the ftorm, and when having lafiied her helm
on the lee-fide, ihe lies nearly with her fide to the wind
and fea, her head being fomewhat inclined to the di-
reclion of the wand.
AH UN, a town in France, in the Upper Marche
and generality of Moulins, in the department of Creufe.
It is feated on the river Creufe, eight miles fouth-eall
of Gueret, 30 north-call of Lomages, and 55 fouth-
eall of Moulins. E. Long. 1. 52. N. Lat. 49. 5.
AHUYS, a towm of Gothland in Sweden. It is
fmall, but very llrong by its fituation, and has a good
port. It is in the principality of Gothland, in the ter¬
ritory of Bleckingy, near the Baltic fea, about 18
miles from Chriftianftadt. E. Long, 14. 10. N. Lat.
56. 20..
AI, in Ancient Geography, a towm in Judea, to the
north of Jericho, called Atva by Jofephus, and the in¬
habitants Ainatce. Jolhua having fent a detachment of
3000 men againil Ai, God permitted them to be re-
pulfed on account of Achan’s fin, who had violated the
anathema pronounced againil the city of Jericho. But
after the expiation of this offence, God commanded
Jolhua (chap, viii.) to march with the whole army of
the Ifraelites againlt Ai, and treat this city and the
kingdom thereof as he had treated Jericho, with this
difference, that he gave the plunder of the towm to the
people. Jolhua fent by night 30,000 men to lie in
arobufh behind Ai j having firft wrell inftrudled thofe
Vol. I. Part II.
[ 545 ]
A J A
who had the command of them in what they were to
do ; and the next day, early in the morning, he march¬
ed again!! the city with the remainder of his army.,
The king of Ai, perceiving them, fallied hallily out
of the towm with all his people, and fell upon the for¬
ces of the Ifraelites, w7ho, upon the firft onfet, fled, as
if they had been under fome great terror.
As foon as Jofbua faw the enemy all out of the
gates, he raifed his Ihield upon the top of a pike, wdiich
w7as the fignal given to the ambufcade j whereupon
they immediately entered the place, which they found
without defence, and fet fire to it. The people of Ai
perceiving the fmoke afcending, w7ere walling to re¬
turn, but diicovered thofe who had fet fire to the city
in their rear, while Jofhua and thofe who were with
him turning about, fell upon them, and cut them in
pieces. The king w7as taken alive, and afterw'ards put
to death.
The chevalier Folard obferves, that Joftma’s enter-
prife on Ai, excepting in fome particulars of military
art, is very like that of Gibeah, which is fcarce any
thing more than a copy of it. It would appear, fays
that writer, by the Scripture account, that Jolhua was
not the author of the ftratagem made ufe of by him :
for when God directs himfelf to Jofhua, he fays, “ Go
up againft Ai ; lay an ambufcade behind the towm; I
have delivered the king and the people of it into thine
hands yet notwithftanding this, God might leave the
whole glory of the invention and execution of it to
him, as to a great general. “ Jofhua arofe, (fays the
facred author), and all the people of wmr, to go up
againft Ai (verfe 3.) •, and Jofhua chofe out 30,000
mighty men of valour, and fent them awray by night.”
Folard remarks, that there is a manifeft contradihlion
between this verfe and the 12th, wherein it is faid,
that Jofhua chofe out 500 men, whom he fent to lie in
ambulh, betwmen Bethel and Ai. How7 is this to be
reconciled ? Calmet fays, that Mafius allows but ?ooo
men for the ambufcade, and 25,000 for the attack of
the city, being perfuaded that an army of 600,000
men could only create confufion on this occafion, with¬
out any neceflity for, or advantage in, fuch numbers :
but the generality of interpreters, continues Calmet,
acknowdedge two bodies to be placed in ambufcade,
both between Bethel and Ai ; one of 25,000, and the
other of 5000 men.
With regard to the fignal Jofhua made to that part
of his army which lay in ambufcade, the learned Fo¬
lard embraces the opinion of the Rabbins, who believe
wrhat is called the fhield to be too fmall to ferve for a
fignal : hence they make it to be the rtaff of one of
their colours : from this, our author concludes, that
the whole colours w7ere ufed on this occafion ; for in
the Afiatic Hyle, wThich is very near the poetic, the
part is oftentimes to be taken for the w hole.
AJALON, in Ancient Geography, a town of the
tribe of Dan, one of the Levitical. Another in the
tribe of Benjamin, in whofe valley Jofhua commanded
the moon to ftand Hill, being then in her decreafe, and
confequently to be feen at the fame time w7ith the fun.
A JAN, a coaft and country of Africa, has the ri¬
ver Quilmanci on the fouth ; the mountains from which
that river fprings, on the weft ; Abyffmia, or Ethio¬
pia, and the ftrait of Babelmandel, on the north;
and the Eaftern, or Indian ocean, on the eaft. The
3 2S coafts
Ai
Ajan.
Ajax
H
Aichftat.
A I C [ 546 ] A I G
coaft abounds with all neceffaries of life, and has plenty
of very good horfes. The kings of Ajan are often at
war with the emperor of the Abyffins ; and all the
prifoners they take they fell to the merchants of Cam-
baya, thofe of Aden, and other Arabs, who come to
trade in their harbours, and give them in exchange, co¬
loured cloths, glafs-beads, railins, and dates j for which
they alfo take back, befides flaves, gold and ivory. The
whole fea coaft, from Zanguebar to the ftrait of Babel-
mandel, is called the coaft of Ajan •, and a confider-
able part of it is ftyled the Defert coaft.
AJAX, the fon of Oileus, W'as one of the princi¬
pal generals who wrent to the liege of Troy. He ravifti-
ed Caflandra the daughter of Priam, even in the temple
of Minerva, where lire thought to have found fandluary.
It is laid, he made a ferpent of 15 feet long fo familiar
with him, that it ate at his table, and followed him
like a dog. The Locrians had a fmgular veneration
for his memory.
Ajax, the fon of Telamon, wras, next to Achilles,
the moft valiant general among the Greeks at the liege
of Troy. He commanded the troops of Salamis, and
performed many great adlions, of which we have an
account in the Iliad, in Diciys Cretenfis, and in the 23 d
book of Ovid’s metamorphofes. He w'as fo enraged
that the arms of Achilles were adjudged to Ulyffes,
that he immediately became mad. The Greeks paid
great honours to him after his death, and eredled a
magnificent monument to his memory upon the pro¬
montory of Rhetium.
Ajax, in Antiquity, a furious kind of dance, in ufe
among the Grecians ; intended to reprefent the mad-
nefs of that hero after his defeat by Ulyffes, to w'hom
the Greeks had given the preference in his conteft for
Achilles’s arms. Lucian, in his treatife of Dancing,
fpeaks of dancing the Ajax.—There was alfo an annual
feaft called Ajantia, Aictflux, confecrated to that prince,
and obferved with great folemnity in the illand of Sa-
lamis, as well as in Attica : where, in memory of the
valour of Ajax, a bier was expofed, fet out with a com¬
plete fet of armour.
AJAZZO, afea-port of the itland of Corfica, in the
Mediterranean, with a bilhop’s fee. It is lituated in a
fertile territory, which produces excellent wines. It
has a fmall citadel; the ftreets are fpacious, the houfes
well built, and the walks agreeable. The number of
inhabitants is computed about 4000 j many of them
are Greeks. The trade of Ajazzo confilts of timber,
and black, red, and white coral, in the fifhery of
which the inhabitants are employed. E. Long. 8. 50.
N. Lat. 41. 50.
Ajazzo, a fea-port town of Natolia, in the province
of Caramania, anciently Cilicia, feated on the coaft of
the Mediterranean, 30 miles north of Antioch and 50
weft of Aleppo, where the city of Iffus anciently flood,
and near which Alexander fought his fecond battle
with Darius. E. Long. 33. 10. N. Lat. 37. o.
AICHSTAT, a town of Germany, in Franconia,
and capital of a bifhopric of the fame name. It is re¬
markable for a curious piece of workmanfhip, called
the Sun of the Holy Sacrament, which is in the church.
It is of maffy gold, of great weight; and is enriched
with 350 diamonds, 1400 pearls, 250 rubies, and
Other precious ftones. This place is moderately large,
and feated in a valley on the river Altmul, 10 miles
north of Nieuburg, and 37 fouth of Nuremberg. E.
Long. 11. 10. N. Lat. 49. o. The bifliopric is 45
miles in length and 17 in breadth 5 and the bifhop is
chancellor of the church of Mayence or Mentz.
AID, in a general fenfe, denotes any kind of aflift-
ance given by one perfon to another.
Aid, in Law, denotes a petition made in court to
call in help from another perfon who has intereft in
land, or any thing contefted.
AiD-de-Campiin Military Affairs, an officer employed
to receive and carry the orders of a general.
Aid, Auxiliary!, in Ancient Cuflums, a fubfidy paid
by vaffals to their lords on certain occafions. Such were
the aid of relief, paid upon the death of the lord
mefne to his heir j the aid cheval, or capital aid, due
to the chief lord on feveral occafions, as, to make his
eldeft fon a knight, to make up a portion for marrying
his daughter, &c.
AIDS, in the French Cujlorns, were certain duties
paid on all goods exported or imported into that king¬
dom.
Courts of Aids, in France, a fovereign court former¬
ly eftablifhed in feveral cities, which had cognizance
of all caufes relating to the taxes, gabelles, and aids,,
impofed on feveral forts of commodities, efpecially
wine.
Aids, in the Manege, are the fame with what fome
writers call cheri/hings, and ufed to avoid the neceffity
of corredfions.—The inner heel, inner leg, inner rein,
&c. are called inner aids ; as the outer heel, outer leg,
outer rein, &c. are called outer aids.
A1DAN, a famous Scottilh bhhop of Lindisfarne,
or Holy Ifiand, in the 7th century, was employed by
Ofwald king of Northumberland in the converfion of
the Englifti, in which he was very fuccefsful. He
wras a monk in the monaftery of Jona, one of the He¬
brides. He died in 651.
AIGHENDALE, the name of a liquid meafure
ufed in Lancafhire, containing feven quarts.
AIGLE, a bailiwick in the territory of Romand
in Switzerland, confifts of mountains and valleys, the
principal of which are the Aigle and Bex. Through
thefe is the great road from Valais into Italy. When
you pafs by Villeneuve, which is at the head of the
lake of Geneva, you enter into a deep valley three
miles wfide, bordered on one fide with the Alps of
Switzerland, and on the other fide with thofe of Savoy,,
and croffed by the river Rhone. Six miles from
thence you meet with Aigle, a large town, feated in a
wide part of the valley, where there are vineyards,,
fields, and meadow's. The governor’s caftle is oh an
eminence that overlooks the town, and has a lofty
marble tower. This government has nine large pa-
riihes ‘y and is divided into four parts, Aigle, Bex,
Olon, and Ormont. This laft is among the moun¬
tains, and joins to Rougemont. It is a double valley,
abounding in pafture-lands. Ivorna, in the diftrhft of
Aigle, was in part buried by the fall of a mountain,
occafioned by an earthquake in 1584.
Aigle, a fmall town in France, in Upper Norman¬
dy, 23 miles from D’Evereux, and 38 from Rouen, in
the department of Orne. It is furrounded with walls
and ditches, and has fix gates, three fuburbs, and three
pariffies. It trades in corn, toys, and more particularly
in needles and pins. E. Long. 1.5. N. Lat. 48. 35.
AIGUILLON,
Aid
t!
Aigle.
A 1 L [ 547 ]
Alguillon AIGUILLON, a fmall town of France in the pro- nites of the
Ailana v^nce Guienne, and department of Garonne and Lot,
i y ' ■■ which has a conllderable trade in wines, brandy, and
hemp. E. Long. o. 22. N. Lat. 44. 25.
AIGUISCE, in Heraldry, denotes a crofs with its
four ends (harpened, but fo as to terminate in obtufe
angles.—It differs from the crofs fitchee, in as much as
the latter tapers by degrees to a point, and the former
only at the ends.
AIKMAN, William, a painter of confiderable
eminence, was born in Scotland, October 24, 1682.
He was the fon of William Aikman Efq. of Cairney,
and was intended by his father to follow his own pro-
feffion, which was that of an advocate at the Scotch
bar. But the genius of the fon led him to other flu-
dies. He devoted himfelf to the fine arts, efpecially
that of painting, and having for fome time profecuted
his (Indies in Britain, in the year 1707 he went to
Italy, refided in Rome for three years, afterwards tra¬
velled to Conftantinople and Smyrna, and in 17x2 re¬
turned to his own country. About the year 1723 he
fixed his refidence in London, where he followed the
profeffion of painting, and had the good fortune to be
patronifed by the duke of Argyle, the earl of Bur¬
lington, Sir Godfrey Kneller, and other liberal en-
couragers of the arts. He painted many portraits of
perfons of the firft rank in England and Scotland 5 and
a large pi&ure of the royal family for the earl of Bur¬
lington, now in the poffefiion of the duke of Devon-
fhire, which was unfinifhed at his death. Some of his
portraits painted in Scotland are in the poffeffion of the
duke of Argyle, the duke of Hamilton and others.
Mr Aikman died in London, June 4. 1731. Six
months previous to his death he had loll a fon at the
age of 17. The remains of both were removed to
Edinburgh, and wrere interred in the Grayfriars church¬
yard on the fame day. Mr Somerville the author of the
Chace, Mr Mallet, Mr Allan Ramfay the Scottilh poet,
and Mr Thomfon, were among Mr Aikman’s intimate
acquaintances 5 and the mufe of each, in elegiac num¬
bers, offered a warm tribute to the memory of their
departed friend. The following epitaph from the pen
icf Mr Mallet, was engraved on his tomb ;
Dear to the good and wile, difprais’d by none,
Here lleep in peace the father and the fon ;
By virtue as by nature clofe ally’d.
The painter’s genius, but without the pride ;
Worth unambitious, wut afraid to Ihine,
Honour’s clear light, and friendlhip’s warmth divine :
The fon fair riling knew too Ihort a date ;
But, oh ! how more fevere the father’s fate !
He faw him torn untimely from his fide,
Felt all a father’s anguilh—wept and died.
Mr Aikmari’s llile of painting was an imitation of
the pleafing fimplicity of nature. It is diftinguilhed
hy foftnefs of light, mellownefs of lhade, and mildnefs
«nd harmony of colouring. His compofitions have
more placid tranquillity of eafe, than boldnefs of touch
and brilliancy of effedl. His portraits are fuppofed to
have fome refemblance to thofe of Kneller, and not on-
A I L
Red fea. It was alfo called Eliath, and
(Stephanos, Strabo, Mofes). The fame with
ly in the imitation of the dreffes of the time, but in
the fimilarity of tint and manner of working.
AILANA, Ailath, or Aheloth, anciently a
town of Arabia Petrsea, fituated near the Sinus Ela-
E/oth
Ela?ia.
AILANTHUS, in Botany. See Botany Index.
AILE, in Law, a writ which lies where a perfon’s
grandfather, or great-grandfather, being feiled of lands,
&c. in fee-fimple, the day that he died, and a ilranger
abates and enters the fame day, and difpoffeffes the heir
of his inheritance.
AILESBURY, Aylesbury, or AlesbOry, a bo¬
rough town in Euckinghamlhire, confining of about
400 houfes. The lireets lie round the market-place,
in the middle of which is a convenient hall, where the
feflions are held, and fometimes the affizes for the
county. It fends two members to parliament. It is
fixty miles fouth-eall of Buckingham, and forty-four
north-well of London. W. Long, 0.40. N. Lat. 31. 40.
AILMER, or 2Ethelmare, earl of Cornwall and
Devonlhire, in the reign of King Edgar. It is not
known of what family he was. His authority and
riches were great, and fo alfo in appearance was his
piety. He founded the abbey of Cemel, in Dorfet-
luire } and had fo great a veneration for Eadwald, the
brother of St Edmund the Martyr, ■who had lived a
hermit in that country, near the Silver Well, as they
called it, that, with the aflillance of Archbilhop Dun-
llan, he tranllated his relics to the old church of
Cernel. In 1016, when Canute, the fon of Sueno, in¬
vaded England, and found himfelf lloutly oppofed by
that valiant Saxon prince Edmund Ironfide, the fon
-dLthelred, this Earl Ailmer, with that arch traitor
Eadric Streone, earl of Mercia, and Earl Algar, join¬
ed the Dane againll their natural prince, which was
one great caufe of the Saxon’s ruin. He did not long
furvive this j and we find mentioned in hiltory only one
fon of his, whofe name was iEthelw^ard, earl of Corn¬
wall, who followed his father’s maxims, and was pro¬
perly rewarded for it. lor in 1018, Canute reaping
the benefit of their treafons, and perceiving that the
traitors were no longer uleful, he caufed the infamous
Eadric Streone, and this Earl iEthelward, to be both
put to death.
A1LRED, or Ealred, abbot of Revelby in Lin-
colnllure, in the reigns of Stephen and Henry II. He
was born in 1109, a noble family, and educated in
Scotland w ith Henry the fon of King David. On his
return to England, he became a monk of the Cillertian
order, in the monallery of Revelby, of which he after¬
wards was made abbot. He died on the 12th of Ja¬
nuary ii66; aged 57, and was buried in his mona¬
llery. _ “ He was (fays Leland) in great elteem du¬
ring his life 5 celebrated for the miracles wrought after
his death j and admitted into the catalogue of faints.”
He was author of feveral works j moll of w’hich were
publilhed by Gilbo the Jeluit at Douay, 1631 ; part
of them may be alfo found in the Bibliotheca Ciftertien-
fis, and Bibliotheca Patrum. His principal wrork is the
Speculum charitatis. Leland, Bale, and Pits, mention
feveral manufcripts which never were publilhed.
AILSA, an infulated rock on the wrellern coall of
Scotland, between the Ihores of Ayrlhire and Cantire.
Aile
A ilia.
It is two miles in circumference at the bale, is accef-
fible only at one place, and rifes to a great height in a
pyramidical form. A few goats and rabbits pick up
a fubUftence among the fhort grafs and futze 5 but the
3 ^ 2 importance
Air.
AIR [543
Amfwortli importance of the rock confilts in the great variety and
immenfe numbers of birds which frequent it, particu-
, larly the gannets or folan geefe, fome of which are ta¬
ken for the table, and others for the feathers. The
rock is rented from the earl of Caflilis at 25I. per an¬
num. The depth of water around the bale is from 7
to 48 fathoms. It is furrounded with excellent banks,
well Hocked with cod and other white fiih. On one
part of the rock are the remains of an old caftle, whic 1
is faid to have been erefted by Philip II. of Spam, a-
bout the time that the Spanilh armada invaded Britain.
AINSWORTH, Dr Henry, an eminent noncon-
formift divine, who, about the year 1590, diftingmlh-
ed himfelf among the Brownills •, which drew upon
him fuch troubles that he was obliged to retire to Hol¬
land, and became minifter of a church at Amfterdam.
His {kill in the Hebrew language, and his excexlent
Annotations on the Holy Scriptures, which are Hill
highly eiteemed, gained him great reputation. He
allb wrote feveral pieces in defence of the Browni s,
and feveral other works. .
Ainsworth, Robert, born at Woodyale in Lanca-
fhire in 1660, was mafter of a boarding fchool at Beth¬
nal green, from whence he removed to Hackney, and
to other places in the neighbourhood of London. A-
ter acquiring a moderate fortune, he retired, and lived
privately till the time of his death, which happened m
1743. We are indebted to his induilry for a Latin
and Englilh Diaionary, which has been much ufed m
fchools : he publilhed it in quarto 1736 ; and m 1752,
the fourth edition, under the care, of Dr Y\ ard ot
Grelham College, and the Rev. William T ounge, was
enlarged to two vols. folio.
h IR, in Rhyfics, a thin, fluid, elaftic, tranfparent,
ponderous, compreflible, and dilatable body, furround-
ing the terraqueous globe to a confiderable icig t. ee
Atmosphere, Meteorology, and Pneumatics.
/ 1R in Mythology, was adored by tue Heathens un¬
der the names of Jupiter and Juno 5 the former repre-
fentin" the fuperior and finer part of the atmofphere,
and the latter the inferior and grofler part. The augurs
alfo drew prefages from the clouds, thunder, light¬
ning, &c. ,
Air, m Painting, &c. denotes the manner and very
life of aftion; or it is that which exprefles the difpofi-
tion of the agent.—It is fomctimes alfo uled m a lyno-
nymous fenfe with geflure or attitude. .
' Air, in Mufic, is taken in different fenfes.. It is
fometimes contrafted with harmony *, and, m this ienle,
it is fynonymous with melody in general.—Its proper
meaning is, A tune, which is fet to words, or to fhort
pieces of poetry that are calledyo^r. .
In operas, we give the name of air to fuch pieces of
mufic as are formed with meafures and cadences, to di-
ftinguifh it from the recitative ; and, m general, every
piece of mufic is called an air, which is formed for the
voice, or even for inftruments, and adapted to ftanzas,
whether it forms a whole in itlelfi, or whether it can be
detached from any whole of which it forms a part, and
be executed alone. . r .
If the fubieft admits of harmony, and is let in parts,
the air is, according to their number, denominated a
duett, a trio, a quartette, &c. We need not follow
Rouffeau, and the other philologifts, in their endeavours
to mveftigate the etymon the word air. Its dema-
] AIR
tion, though found and afeertained, would ccntiibute
little to illuftrate its meaning in that remote lenfe, to
w’hich, through a long continuance of time, and the
various viciffitudes of language, it has now palled. 1 he
curious may confult the fame article in the DtCtionaa c
de Mufique by M. Roufleau.
In modern mufic, there are feveral different Rinds ox
airs, each of which agrees to a certain kind of dancing;
and from thefe dances the airs themfelves taue their
fpecific names. # . ,
The airs of our operas are, if we may be permitted
the expreflion, the canvas or fubftratum upon which
are painted all the pitflures of imitative mufic ; melody
is the defign, and harmony the colouring; every pic+u-
refque objeft fekaed from the moft beautiful parts oi
nature, every reflefted fentiment of the human heart,
are the models which the artift imitates; whatever
gains attention, whatever interefts the foul, whatever
charms the ear, or caufes emotion in the heart, the,e
are the objefts of his imitation. .An air which delights
the ear, and difeovers the learning of the compoler;
an air invented by genius, and compoied with taue ;
is the nobleft effort of mufic : it is this which explores
the compafs, and difplays the delicacy, of a beautiful
voice ; it is in this where the charms ot a well.conduc-
ted fymphony flrine ; it is by this, that the paflions, ex¬
cited" and inflamed by nice gradations, reach and agi¬
tate the foul through the avenues ot external, ienie.
After hearing a beautiful air, the mind is acquiescent
and ferene : the ear is fatisfied, not difguffed : it re¬
mains impreffed on the fancy, it becomes a part oi our
effence, we carry it with us, we are able to repeat it
at pleafure : without the ability acquired, by haoit to
breathe a Angle note of it, we execute it in our ima¬
gination in the fame manner as we heard it upon the
theatre: one fees the feene, the aeffor, the theatre;
one hears the accompaniments and the applames. i he
real enthufiaft in mufic never forgets the beaut .mi ans
which he has heard ; when he choofes, he cauies the
opera to recommence.
The words to which airs are adapted are not always
rehearfed in regular fucceflion, nor fpoken m the fame
manner with thofe of the recitative; and.though, m
general, they are very fliort, yet they are interrupted,
repeated, tranfpofed, at the pleafure ot the artift. I hey
do not conftitute a narrative, which once is to It. over :
they either delineate a pi&ure, which it is.nec.eitary to
contemplate in different points of view;, or nnpire a ien-
timent in which the heart acqmefces with pleafure, and
from which it is neither able nor willing to be dilen-
gaged; and the different phrafes of the air, are nothing
elfe but different manners of beholding the lame image.
This is the reafon why the fubjeft of an air ftiould be
one It is by thefe repetitions properly placed, it is
by thefe redoubled efforts, that an impreflion, which at
firft was not able to move you, at length ftiakes your
foul, agitates you, tranfports you out oi yourlelf:. and
it is likewife upon the fame principle, that the runnings,
as they are called, or thofe long, mazy, and inarticu-
lated inflexions of the voice, in pathetic airs, fre¬
quently feem, though they are not always nnpro-
perlv placed: for whilft the heart is afteded v, ith a ien-
timent exquifitely moving, it often expreffes its emo¬
tions by inarticulate founds, more ftrongly and fenlibly
than it could do by words themfelves.
Aif-
Bladder
!1
Air-Pipes.
A 1 R [ 549
The form of airs is of trvo kinds. The fmall airs this
are often compofed of two flrains, which ought each of
them to be fung twice; but the important airs in ope-
' ras are frequently in the form of rondeaus.
Air, in Geography. See Ayr.
AiR-Bladder, in fifties. See Comparative Ana¬
tomy and Ichthyology Index.
AiR-Gun, a pneumatic machine for exploding bul¬
lets, &c. with great violence. See Pneumatics.
Ant-Jacket, a fort of jacket made of leather, in
which are feveral bags, or bladders, compofed of the
fame materials, communicating with each other. Thefe
are filled with air through a leather tube, having a brafs
ilop-cock accurately ground at the extremity, by which
means the air blown in through the tube is confined in
the bladders. The jacket mull be wet, before the air
be blown into the bags, as other-wife it will immediate¬
ly efcape through the pores of the leather. By the
help of thefe bladders, wduch are placed near the bread:,
the perfon is fupported in the water, without making
the efforts ufed in fwimming,
AiR-Pipes, an invention for drawing foul air out of
drips, or any other clofe places, by means of fire.
Thefe pipes were firit found out by one Mr Sutton, a
brewTer in London j and from him have got the name
of Sutton's Air-pipes. The principle on which their
operation depends is known to every body, being in¬
deed no other than that air is neceflary for the fupport
of fire ; and, if it has not accefs from the places mod
adjacent, wdll not fail to come from thofe that are more
remote. Thus, in a common furnace, the air enters
through the aftr-hole j but if this is clofed up, and a
hole made in the fide of the furnace, the air wdll ruftr
in with great violence through that hole. If a tube of
any length whatever be inferted in this hole, the air
■will rufti through the tube into the fire, and of confe-
quence there will be a continued circulation of air in
that place where the extremity of the tube is laid. Mr
Sutton’s contrivance then, as communicated to the
Royal Society by Doftor Mead, amounts to no more
than this.—•“ As, in every ftrip of any bulk, there is
already provided a copper or boiling place proportion-
able to the fize of the vedel j it is propofed to clear
the bad air, by means of the fire already ufed under
the faid coppers or boiling places for the necedary ufes
of the ftrip.
' “ It is wrell known, that under every fuch copper or
boiler, there are placed two holes, feparated by a grate 5
the fird of which is for the fire, and the other for the
allies falling from the fame 5 and that there is alfo a
flue from the fire placed upward, by which the fmoke
of the fire is difcharged at fonae convenient place of
the ftiip.
“ It is alfo well known, that the fire once lighted in
thefe fire-places, is only preferved by the conftant
draught of air through the forementioned two holes
and flue j and that if the faid two holes are clofely
flopped up, the fire, though burning ever fo brilkly
before, is immediately put out.
“ But if, after ftrutting up the abovementioned holes,
another hole be opened, communicating wutli any
other room or airy place, and with the fire •, it is clear,
the faid fire mull again be raifed and burn as before,
there being a light draught of air through the fame as
there was before the flopping up of the £rlt holes;
1 AIR
cale cltTerlng only from the former in this, that Air-Pipe*
the air feeding the fire wall now be fupplied from ano- *
ther place.
“ It is therefore prepofed, that, in order to clear the
holds of (hips of the bad air therein contained, the two-
holes above mentioned, the fire-place and afh-place, be
both clofed up with fubftantial and tight iron doors ;
and that a copper or leaden pipe, of fufficient fize, be
laid from the hold into the aih-place, for the draught
of air to come in that way to feed the fire. And thus
it feems plain, from what has been already faid, that
there will be, from the hold, a conflant difeharge of
the air therein contained ; and confequently, that that
air, fo difcharged, muft be as conftantly fupplied by frefti
air down the hatches or fuch other communications as
are opened into the hold j whereby the fame muft be
continually frefliened, and its air rendered more wThole-
fome and fit for refpiration.
“ And if into this principal pipe fo laid into the
hold, other pipes are let in, communicating refpeftive-
3y either with the wrell or low er decks ; it muft follow,
that part of the air, confumed in feeding the fire, muft
be refpeftively drawn out of all fuch places to which
the communication (hall be fo made.”
This account is fo plain, that no doubt can remain
concerning the efficacy of the contrivance : it is evi¬
dent, that, by means of pipes of this kind, a conftant
circulation of frefh air wmuld be occafioned through
thofe places where it would otherwife be moft apt to
ftagnate and putrefy. Several other contrivances have
been ufed for the fame purpofe \ and Dr Hales’s ven¬
tilators, by feme unaccountable prejudice, have been
reckoned fuperior in efficacy and even fimplicity to Mr
Sutton’s machine, w-hich at its firft invention met with
great oppofition, and even when introduced by Dr
Mead, who ufed all his intereft for that purpofe, was
fhamefully neglecfed.
A machine capable of anfwering the fame purpofe
was invented by Mr Defaguliersp which he called the
Jhip's lungs. It confifted of a. cylindrical box fet up
on its edge, and fixed to a wuoden pedeftal. From
the upper edge of the box iffued a fquare trunk open
at. the end, and communicating with the cavity of the
Within this box was placed a cylindrical wheel
box.
turning on an axis. It was divided into 12 parts, by
means of partitions placed like the radii of a circlet
Thefe partitions did not extend quite to the centre,
but left an open fpace of about 18 inches diameter in
the middle ; towards the circumference, they extended
as far as pofiible wuthout interfering with the cafe, fo
that the wheel might always be allowed to turn freely.
— i hings being thus circumftanced, it is plain, that if
the wheel was turned towards that fide of the box on
which tne trunk was, every divifion would pufh the
air before it, and drive it out through the trunk, at the
fame time that frefh air would come in through the open
fpace at the centre, to fupply that which was thrown
out through the trunk. By turning the wheel fwiftly,
a ftrong blaft of air would be continually forced out
through the fquare trunk, on the fame principles on
which a common fanner w innows corn. If the wheel
is turned the oppofite way, a draught of air may be
produced from the trunk to the centre. If this ma¬
chine, then, is placed in a room where a circulation of
air is wanted, and the trunk made to pafs through one
of
AIR [ ] A 1 R
by turning the wheel fwiftly round, the breadth, and of the fame fafhion with the groove, to
draw ore as well as air.
yliR-^hreads, in Natural Ili/lory, a name given to
the long filaments, fo frequently leen in autumn tloat- i.
ing about in the air.
Thefe threads are the work of fpiders, efpecially of
that fpecies called the long-legged field-ipider $ which,
having mounted to the fummit of a bulb or tree, darts
from its tail feveral of thefe threads, till one is produced
capable of fupporting the creature in the air : on this
it mounts in quell of prey, and frequently rifes to a very
confiderable height. See Aranea.
AiR-'Trunk, is alfo a contrivance by Dr. Hales
to prevent the llagnation of putrid effluvia in jails,
and other places where a great number of people are
crowded together in a fmall fpace. It confills only of
a long fquare trunk open at both ends *, one of which is
inferted into the ceiling of the room, the air of which
is required to be kept pure j and the other extends a
good way beyond the roof. Through this trunk a
continued circulation is carried on : -and the reafon is,
that the putrid effluvia which do fo much mifchief when
collefted, being much lighter than the pure atmofphere,
arife to the top of the room j and, if they there find a
vent, will continually go out through it. Thefe effluvia
arife in very confiderable quantity, being calculated by
the late Dr Keil at no lefs than 39 ounces from one
man in 24 hours.
Thefe trunks were firll made trial of by Mr Yeoman,
over the Houfe of Commons, where they were nine
inches wide within ; and over the Court of King’s Bench
in Weftminfter-hall, where they were fix inches wide.
They are fometimes made wider, and fometimes nar¬
rower : but the wider they are the longer they ought
to be, more effeclually to promote the afcent of the va¬
pour. The reafon why vapours of this kind afcend
more fwiftly through a long trunk than a fhort one, is,
that the preffure of fluids is always according to their
different depth, without regard to the diameter of their
bafis, or of the veffel which contains them ; and, upon
this principle, a gallon of water may be made to fplit
a ftrong calk. See Hydrostatics. When the co¬
lumn of putrid effluvia is long and narrow, the differ¬
ence between the column of atmofphere preffing on the
upper end of the trunk, and that which preffes on the
lower end, is much greater than if the column of pu¬
trid effluvia was Ihort and wide} and confequently the
afcent is much fwifter.—One pan of a fingk pair of
fcales, which was two inches in diameter, being held
w ithin one of thefe trunks over the Houfe of Commons,
the force of the afcending air made it rife fo as to re¬
quire four grains to reilore the equilibrium, and this
when there was no perfon in the houfe j but when it
was full, no lefs than 12 grains were requifite to re-
ftore the equilibrium j which clearly Ihows that thefe
trunks mull be of real and very great efficacy.
AiR-VeJfeh, are fpiral dufts in the leaves, &c. of
plants, fuppofed to be analogous to the lungs of ani¬
mals, in fupplying the different parts of a plant with air.
See Botany Index.
AIRA, ‘xnBotany, Hair-grass. See Botany/>wkv.
AIRANI, in Church-hijlory, an obfcure fe£l of A-
rians, in the fourth century, who denied the confubllan-
tiality of the Holy Ghoft with the Father and the Son.
They are otherwife called Airani/le i and are faid to
have
Air-Pump of the walls 7  0 ,
II . air will be forced with great velocity out of that room,
Air-Shafts.^ at ^ fame t;me that frefii air will enter through any
chinks by which it can have accefs to iupply that which
has been forced out.
It is evident, that the circulation which is promoted
by this machine, is entirely of the fame kind with that
produced by Mr Sutton’s ; the turning of the wheel in
' Mr Defaguliers’s machine being equivalent to the rare-
faftion of the air by fire in Mr Sutton’s : but that the
latter is vaftly fuperior, as afling of itfelf, and without
intermiffion, requires no arguments to prove. Mr Sut¬
ton’s machine has yet another conveniency, of which
no other contrivance for the fame purpofe can boaft *,
namely, that it not only draws out putrid air, but de-
ftroys it by caufing it pafs through fire ; and experience
has abundantly ffiown, that though putrid air is thrown
into a great quantity of freffi air, it is fo far from lofing
its pernicious properties, that it often produces noxious
difeafes. We do not fay, indeed, that, putrid air be¬
comes falutary by this means; but it is undoubtedly
rendered lefs noxious than before ; though whether it
Is equally innocent with the fmoke of a fire fed in the
common way, we cannot pretend to determine.
Befides this machine by Mr Defaguliers, the venti¬
lators of Dr Hales, already mentioned, and thofe cal¬
led wind-fails, are likewife ufed for the fame purpofe.
, The former of which is an improvement of the Heffian
bellows : the other is a contrivance for throwing frefh
air into thofe places where putrid air is apt to lodge j
but this has the laft-mentioned inconvenience in a
much greater degree than any of the others, as the
blaft of frefh air throws out that which was rendered
putrid by llagnation, in fuch a manner as to contami¬
nate all around it.
AiR-Pujjjp, a machine by which the air contained in
a proper veffel may be exhaulled or drawn out. See
Pneumatics.
Air-Sacs, in Birds. See Comparative Anato¬
my.
AiR-Shafts, among Miners, denote liples or lhafts let ’
down from the open air to meet the adits and furnilh
frelh air. The damps, deficiency, and impurity of air
which occur, when adits are wrought 30 or 40 fathoms
long, make it neceffary to let down air-lhafts, in order
to give the air liberty to play through the whole vmrk,
and thus difcharge bad vapours, and furnifh good air
for refpiration : the expence of which lhafts, in regard
of their vail depths, hardnefs of the rock, drawing' of
water, &c. fometimes equals, nay exceeds, the ordinary
charge of the whole adit.
Sir Robert Murray defcribes a method, ufed in the
coal-mines at Liege, of working mines without ain-lhafts.
When the miners at Mendip have funk a groove,
they will not be at the charge of an air-lhaft till they
come at ore ; and for the fupply of air have boxes of
elm exaftly clofed, of about fix inches in the clear, by
which they carry it down about twenty fathoms. They
cut a trench at a little dillance from the top of the
groove, covering it with turf and rods difpofed to re¬
ceive the pipe, which they contrive to come in fideways
to their groove, four feet from the top *, which carries
down the air to a great depth. When they come at
ore, and need an air-lhaft, they fink it four or five fa¬
thoms dillant, according to the conveniei. c: the
3
Air-
Threatb
II
Airani.
A 1 T [ 551 ] A I U
Aire have taken their name from one Airos, who diftinguifh-
!! ed himfelf at the head of this party, in the reigns of
^ltun- , Valentinian and Gratian.
v AIRE, in Geography, an ancient town of France,
in the department of Landes, formerly Gafcony. It
is feated on the river Adour, on the declivity of a
mountain, 155 leagues from Paris. E. Long. 5. 26. N.
Lat. 43. 47.
Aire,^ a flrong town in the Netherlands, in the
county of Artois, now the department of Pas-de-Calais,
with a cattle. It was taken by the French in 1710,
and was confirmed to them by the treaty of Utrecht.
It is feated on the river Lis, 22 miles fouth of Dun¬
kirk, and communicates with St Omer’s by a canal
cut from the river Aa. E. Long, 2. 31. N. Lat. 50.
AIRING, a term peculiarly ufed for the exercifing
horfes in the open air. It purifies the blood 5 purges the
body from grofs humours; and, as the jockies exprefs
it, teaches the horfe how to make his wind rake equally,
and keep time with the other motions of his body. It
alfo fharpens the llomach, and keeps the creature hun¬
gry •, which is a thing of great confequence, as hunters
and racers are very apt to have their ftomach fall off,
either from want of exercife, or from the too violent
exercife which they are often expofed to. If the horfe
be over fat, it is beft to air him before funrife and
after funfetting ; and in general, it is allowed by all,
that nothing is more beneficial to thofe creatures than
early and late airings. Some of our modern manegers,
however, difpute this; they fay, that the cold of thefe
times is too great for the creature j and that if, in par¬
ticular,^ he is fubjeft to catarrhs, rheums, or the like
complaints, the dews and cold fogs, in thefe early and
late airings, wall be apt to increafe all thofe diforders.
Nature, we fee, alfo points out the fun-beams as of
great uie to thefe animals ; thofe which are kept hardy
and lie out all night, always running to thofe places
where the funfhine comes, as foon as it appears in a
morning. 1 his fhould feem to recommend thofe airings
that are to be made before lunfet, and a little time
after funrife. As to the caution, fo earneftly incul¬
cated by Markham, of ufing thefe early and late air¬
ings for fat horfes, it is found unnecefiary by many :
for they fay, that the fame effect may be produced by
airings at warmer times, provided only that they are
made longer ; and that, in general, it is from long air¬
ings that we are to expert to bring a horfe to a perfedl
wind and found courage.
AIRS, in the Manege, are the artificial motions of
taught horfes $ as the demivolt, curvet, capriole, &c.
AIRY, or Aery, among Sportfmen, a term expref-
fing the neft of a hawk or eagle.
Airy Trip/icity, among AJirologers, denotes the three
figns, Gemini, Libra, and Aquarius.
AISNE, a river of France, which rifes in Champagne,
and runs weft by Soiffons in the Me of France, falling
into the river Oife, a little above Compiegne.
It gives name to one of the five departments which
comprehend the ancient Me of France, and contains
five communal diftricfts.
AITOCZU, a confiderable river of LefTer Alia,
which rifes in Mount Taurus, and falls into the fouth
part of the Euxine fea.
ALIGN, William, an eminent botanift and gar¬
dener,. was born at a village near Hamilton in Setft- A) ton
land, in 1731. Having been regularly trained to the II
profeflion of a gardener, he came into England in the , Alu5‘
year 1754, and foon obtained the notice of the cele- v
brated Philip Miller, then fuperintendent of the phy.
fic-garden at Chelfea, who engaged him as an affiftant.
His induftry and abilities recommended him to the
pnncefs-dowager of Wales as a fit perfon to manage
the botanical garden at Kew. In 1759, he was ap¬
pointed to this office, in which he continued during
lite, and which was the fource of his fame and fortune.
The garden at Kew, under the aufpices of his prefent
majefty, was deftined to be the grand repolitory of all
the vegetable riches which could be accumulated, by
regal munificence, from refearches through every quar¬
ter of the globe. Thefe treafures were fortunately-
committed to the hands of Mr Aiton, whofe care and
ftrill in their cultivation, and intelligence in their ar¬
rangement, acquired him high reputation among the
lovers of the Icience, and the particular efteem of his
royal patrons. Under his fuperintendence, many im¬
provements took place in the plan and edifices of Kew-
gardens, which rendered them the principal fcene of
botanical culture in the kingdom. In 1783, his merit
was. properly rewarded with the lucrative office of ma-
naging the pleafure and kitchen-gardens of Kew, which
he was allowed to retain with the botanical depart¬
ment. In 1789, he publilhed his Hortus Kewenjis;
or a Catalogue of the Plants cultivated in the Royal
Botanic Garden at Kew, in three vols. 8vo. with 13
plates j a work which had been the labour of many
years. I he number of fpecies contained in this W'ork
amounted to between five and fix thoufand, many of
which had not before been defcribed. A new and cu¬
rious article in it relates to the firft introduftion of par¬
ticular exotics into the Engliffi gardens. The fyftem
of arrangement adopted is the Linnsean, with improve¬
ments, which the advanced ftate of botanical fcience
required. Mr Aiton with candour and modefty ac¬
knowledges the affiftance he received in this w-ork
from the two eminent Swedifti naturalifts, Dr Solander
and Mr Jonas Dryander. Indeed his charaffer wras
fuch as fecured him the friendfhip and good offices of
the moft diftinguiffied names in fcience of his time.
He was for many years peculiarly honoured by the no¬
tice of Sir Jofeph Banks, the prefident of the Royal
Society. The Hortus Kewenjis was received with avi¬
dity by the botanic world, and a large impreffion was
foon difpofed of.
Notwithftanding the lingular aUivity and tempe¬
rance of Mr Aiton, he fell into that incurable malady,
a fchirrous liver, of which he died in 1793, in his fix-
ty-fecond year. His eldeft fon, devoted to the fame
purfuits, was, by the king’s owm nomination, appointed
to all his.father’s employments. Mr Aiton’s private
charadler wras highly eftimable for mildnefs, benevo¬
lence, piety, and every domeftic and focial virtue. Hft
was interred in the churchyard of Kew, amidft a moft
refpe<ftable concourfe of friends. (Gen. Biog.)
A11 ONIA, in Botany. See Botany Index.
AJUGA, Bugle, in Botany. See Botany Index.
AIUS locutius, the name of a deity to whom the
Romans erefted an altar. The words are Latin, and
fignify “ a fpeaking voice.” The following accident
gave occafion to the Remaps erefting an altar to
Aius
A I X
[ 55
Av-itage, Axus Locutius. One M. Seditius, a plebeian, ac-
^ix- quainted the tribunes, that, in walking the ftreets by
night, he had heard a voice over the temple of Vefta,
giving the Romans notice that the Gauls were coming
againil them. This intimation was, however, ne¬
glected y but after the truth was confirmed by the
event, Camillus acknowledged this voice to be a new
deity, and eredled an altar to it under the name of
Aius Locutius.
AJUTAGE, or Adjutage, a kind of tube fitted
to the mouth of the veffel through which the water of
a fountain is to be played. To the different form and
ftrudture of ajutages" is owing the great variety of
fountains.
AJX, a fmall but ancient town in the duchy of Sa¬
voy, with the title of a marquifate. It is feated on
the lake Bourget, at the foot of a mountain, between
Chamberry, Annecy, and Rumilly. There is here a
triumphal arch of the ancient Romans, but it is almoff
entirely ruined. I he mineral waters bring a great
number of ftrangers to this place. The place was
originally called Aqucv Gcatuwcc^ from the hot baths
built there by the emperor Gratian. E. Long. 5. 48.
N. Lat. 45. 40. . .
Aix, in Geography, an ancient city, the capital ot
the department of the Bouches du Rhone, formerly
Provence, in France. T his city has an air of lilence
and gloom commonly charadlenflic of places deilitute
of commerce or induftry. It is, however, v\ell built j
and moft like Paris of any place in the kingdom, as
well for the largenefs of the buildings as in refpeft of
the politenefs of the inhabitants. It is embellilhed
with abundance of fine fountains, and fsveral beautiful
fquares. The Preachers fquare is on the fide of a hill;
it is about 160 yards in length, and is furrounded with
trees, and houfes built with ftone three ftories high.
The town-hall is at one end of the city, and is diftii-
' buted into feveral fine apartments : the two loweft are
taken up by the board of accounts, and by the fene-
fchal •, that above is defigned for the ^ feffions of par¬
liament. The hall of audience is adorned with the
pictures of the kings of France on horfeback. . M he
hotel of the city is a handfome Uiildmg, but hid by
the houfes of the narrow ftreet in which it is placed.
The cathedral church is a Gothic ftrudfure, with tombs
of feveral earls of Provence, and fome good piftures by
French mailers. The Corle, or Orbiteile, is a magni¬
ficent walk, above 300 yards long, formed by a triple
avenue of elms, and two rows of regular and {lately
houfes. The church of- the fathers of the oratory is a
handlome building} and not far from thence is tne
chapel of the blue penitents, which is full of paintings.
The convent of preachers is very fine ; in their church
. is a filver ftatue of the Virgin Mary almoft as big as
the life. There are other churches and buildings which
contain a great number of rarities. The baths with¬
out the city, which were difcovered not long fince,
have good buildings, railed at a vail expence, for the
accommodation of thofc who drink the waters. A l¬
though Aix was the firil Roman fettlement in Gaul, it
is not remarkable for ancient remains. The warm
fprings, from which it is now known and frequentea, in¬
duced Sextus Calvinus to found a colony here, to which
he gave the name of Aquce Sextur. They were fup-
pofed to pofiefs particular virtues in cafes of debility 5
2 ] AIX
and feveral altars have been dug up facred to Pnapus,
the infcriptions on which indicate their gratitude to
that deity for his iuppofed fuccour and afliftance. E. ^
Long. 5. 32. N. Lat. 43. 32.
Aix, a fmall iiland on the coaft of France, between
the ifie of Oleron and the continent. It is 12 miles
north-weft of Rochfort, and 12 fouth-louth-weft of Ro¬
chelle. W. Long. 1. 4. N. Lat. 46. 5.
Aix-la-chapelle, a fine city of Germany, in the
circle of Weftphalia and duchy of Juliers, and capital
of the department of Roer.
All authors are agreed about its antiquity, it being
mentioned in Csefar's Commentaries and the Annals
of Tacitus. The Romans had colonies and fortrefles
there, when they were at war with the Germans •, but
the mineral waters and the hot bath fo increafed its
fame, that, in procefs of time, it wTas advanced Jo the
privileges of a city, by the name of Aquaegranii, that
is, the waters of Graniiis } that which it has now, of
Aix-la-Chapelle, wTas given it by the French, to diilin-
guiih it from the other Aix. It is fo called, on ac¬
count of a chapel built in honour of the fioly Virgin
bv Charlemagne 5 who having repaired, beautified, and
enlarged the city, wftiich was deftroyed uy the Huns
in the reign of Attila in 45 U made it the ufiial place
of his refidence. Ihe town is fcated in a valley fur-
rounded with mountains and wTcods, and yet the air is
very wholefome. It may be divided into the inward
and outw-ard city. Fhe inward is encompaljed with a
wTall about three quarters of a league in circumference,
having ten gates } and the outward w;all, in wnicii
there are eleven gates, is about a league and a half in
circumference. There are rivulets which run Arougn
the town and keep it very clean, turning- feyeral
mills; befides 20 public fountains, and many private
ones. They have ftone quarries in the neighbour¬
hood, which furniih the inhabitants witly proper ma¬
terials for their magnificent buildings, of which the
ftadt-houfe and the cathedral are the chief, I here
are likewife'30 parochial or collegiate churches. The
market-place' is very fpacious, and the houfes round it
are {lately. In the middle, before the ftadt-houfe, is
a fountain of blue ftones, which throw’s out water,
from fix pipes, into a marble bafon placed beneath, 30
feet in circumference. On the top of this fountain is
placed the ftatue of Charlemagne, of gilt brafs, hold¬
ing a fceptre in his right hand, and a globe in his leit.
The ftadt-houfe is adorned with the ftatues of all the
emperors fince Charlemagne. This fabric has three
ftories, the upper of which is one entire room ol 160
feet in length and 60 in breadth. In this the new-
elefted emperor formerly entertained all the ele&ors of
the empire. ...
Aix-la-Chapelle is a free imperial city, and changes
its magiftracy every year on the eve of St John Bap-
tift. The mayor is in the nomination of the eledlor
palatine, in the quality of the duke of Juliers, as pro-
teflor of the city. This place is famous xor ieverai
councils and treaties of peace concluded here *, parti¬
cularly thofe between France and Spain in i663, and
between Great Britain and France in 1748.
The hot fulphureous w aters for which this place has
fo long been celebrated, arife from feveral fources,,
wdiich fupply eight baths conftru&ed in different 1 aits
of the town. Thefe waters near the fources are clear
and
Aix,
Aix-la-
Chapelle,
^ ^ 555 ]
and pellucid j and have a ftrong fulphureons fmell re- many other cafes.
Chapel e. femblmg the wafliings of a foul gun j but they lofe
this fmell by expofure to air. Their tafte is faline,
bitter, and urinous. They do not contain iron. They
are alfo neutral near the fountain, but afterwards are
manifeftly and pretty ftrongly alkaline, infomuch that
clothes are walhed with them without foap. On the
vaults above the fprings and aqueduds of thefe waters
is found, every year, when they are opened, a quantity
of fine white-coloured flowers of fulphur, which has
been fublimed from the waters.
The heat of the water of the hotteft fpring, by Dr
Lucas’s account, raifes the quickfilver of Fahrenheit’s
thermometer to 136°—by Monf. Monet’s account, to
146°—-and the heat of the fountain, where they com¬
monly drink, by Dr Lucas’s account, to 112°.
Dr Simmons has given the following account of their
feyeral temperatures, as repeatedly obferved by himfelf
with a thermometer conftrufted by Nairne.
The fpring which fupplies the Emperor’s Bath
(Bain de PEmpercur), the New Bath (Bain
Neuf), and the Queen of Hungary’s Bath (Bain
fie la Reine de Hongrie), I 27°
St Quirin’s Bath (Bain de St pairin'), - 1120
The Rofebath (Bain de la Rofe), and the Poor’s
Bath (Bam des Pauvres), both which are fup-
plied by the fame fpring. 11 2°
Charles’s Bath (Bain de Charles), and St Cor¬
neille’s Bath (Bain de St Corneille}, - 1120
The fpring ufed for drinking is in the High Street,
oppofite to Charles’s Bath ; the heat of it at the
pump is - - _ . I06o
Dr Lucas evaporated the water of the hotteft fpring
(of the Emperor’s Bath), and obtained 268 grains of
lolid matter from a gallon, compofed of 13 grains of
calcareous earth, 10 grains of felenites, and 243 grains
of a faline matter made up of natron and fea-falt. They
are at firft naufeous and harfh, but by habit become
familiar and agreeable. At firft drinking, alfo, they
generally affeft the head. Their general operation is
by ftool and urine, without griping or diminution of
ftrength 3 and they alfo promote perfpiration.
The quantity to be drank as an alterative is to be
•varied according to the conftitution and other circum-
ftances of the patient. In general, it is beft to begin
with a quarter or half a pint in the morning, and in-
creafe the dofe afterwards to a pint, as may be found
convenient. The water is beft drank at the fountain.
When it is required to purge, it ftiould be drank in
large and often repeated draughts.
In regard to bathing, this alfo muft be determined
By the age, fex, ftrength, &c. of the patient, and by
the feafon. The degree of heat of the bath Ihould like-
wife be confidered. The tepid ones are in general the
beft, though there are fome cafes in which the hotter
ones are moft proper. But even in thefe, it is beft to
begin with the temperate baths, and increafe the heat
gradually.
^ 1 hefe wraters are efficacious in difeafes proceeding
irom indigeftion and from foulnels of the ftomach and
bowrels 5 in rheumatifms 3 in the fcurvy, fcrophula,
and difeafes of the fkin 3 in hyfteric and hypochondriacal
•diforders ; in nervous complaints and melancholy; in the
ftone and gravel 3 in paralytic complaints ; in thofe evils
which follow an injudicious ufe of mercury 3 and in
Vcl. I. Baft II.
A K E
 j —They ought not, however, to be Aizoon,
given in heftic cafes where there is heat and fever, in Akenfide.
putrid dilorders, or wdiere the blood is diffblved or the " v
conftitution much broken down.
The time of drinking, in the firft feafon, is from the
beginning of May to the middle of June ; and, in the
latter feafon, from the middle of Auguft to the latter
end of September.
There are galleries or piazzas under which the com¬
pany walk during the time of drinking, in order to
promote the operation of the wmters.—The Poor’s Bath
is free for every body, and is frequented by crowds of
poor people.
_ It is fcarcely neceffary to add, that there are all
kinds of amufements common to other places of public
refort 3 but the fharpers appear more fplendid here than
eliewhere, aflliming titles, with an equipage fuitable to
them. I his city wras taken by the French in 1792.
They loft it the year following, but retook it in 1794.
Aix-la-Chapelle is 21 miles from Spa, 36 from Liege,
and 30 from Cologne. E. Long. 5. 48. N. Lat. 51.
55-
AIZOON, in Botany. See Botany Index.
AKENSIDE, Mark, a phyfician, who publifhed
in Latin “ A 1 reatife upon the Dyfentery,” in 1764,
and a few pieces in the firft volume of the “ Medical
I ranfaftions” of the college of phyficians, printed in
1768 3 but far better known, and to be diftinguilhed
chieffy hereafter, as a poet. He w'as born at Newcaftle-
upon-Tyne, November 9. 1721 3 and after being edu¬
cated at the grammar-fchool in Newcaftle, was lent to
the univerfities of Edinburgh and Leyden 3 at which
laft he took his degree of do&or in phyfic. He wras af¬
terwards admitted by mandamus to the fame degree at
Cambridge ; defied a fellowT of the college of phyfi¬
cians, and one of the phyficians at St Thomas’s Ho-
fpital; and, upon the eftablifhment of the queen’s houfe
hold, appointed one of the phyficians to her majefty.
I hat Dr Akenfide vTas able to acquire no other kind
of celebrity than that of a fcholar and a poet, is to be
accounted for by the following particulars in his life
and conduft, related by Sir John Hawkins.—Mr Dyfon
and he wrere fellow-ftudents, the one of laur and the
other of phyfic, at Leyden 3 where, being of conge¬
nial tempers, a friendftiip commenced between them
that lafted through their lives. They left the univer-
fity at the fame time, and both fettled in London : Mr
Dyfon took to the bar, and being poflefled of a hand-
fonm fortune, fupported his friend while he was endea¬
vouring to make himfelf known as a phyfician 3 but in
a ftiort time, having purchafed of Mr Hardinge his
place of clerk of the houfe of commons, he quitted
W eftmmfter-hall 3 and for the purpofe of introducing
Akenfide to acquaintance in an opulent neighbourhood
near the town, bought a houfe at North-End, Harap-
ftead 3 wftere they dw’elt together during the fummer
feafon, frequenting the long-room, and all clubs and
affemblies of the inhabitants.
At thefe meetings, which, as they were not felecf,
muft be fuppofed to have confifted of fuch perfons as
ufually meet for the purpofe of gofiiping, men of
wealth, but of ordinary endowments, and able to talk
of little elfe than news and the occurrences of the dav,
Akenfide was for difplaying thofe talents which had
acquired him the reputation he enjoyed in other com-
4 A panics:
A K E [ 554
Akenude. panics : but here they were of little ufe to him •, on the
w ' contrary, they tended to engage him in diiputes that
betrayed him into a contempt of thofe that differed in
opinion from him. It was found out that he was a man
of low birth, and a dependent on Mr Dyfon j circum-
ffances that furnilhed thofe whom he offended with a
ground of reproach, which reduced him to the neceflity
of afferting in terms that he wTas a gentleman.
Little could be done at Hampftead after matters had
proceeded to this extremity : Mr Dyion parted with
his villa at North-End, and fettled his friend in afmall
houfe in Bloomfbury-fquare j affigning for his fupport
Inch a part of his income as enabled him to keep a
chariot.—In this new fftuation Akenfide ufed every
endeavour to become popular, but defeated them all,
by the high opinion he everywhere manifefted of him-
felf, and the little condefcenffon he fhowed to men of
inferior endowments •, by his love of political contro-
verfy, his authoritative cenfure of the public councils,
and his peculiar notions refpecling government. In the
winter evenings he frequented Tom’s coffee-houfe in
Devereux-court, then the refort of lome of the moff:
eminent men for learning and ingenuity of the time •,
with fome of whom he was ,involved in difputes and al¬
tercations, chiefly on fubjefts of literature and politics,
which fixed on his char after the ftamp of haughtinefs
and felf-conceit. Hence many, w'ho admired him for
his genius and parts, were fhy of his acquaintance. .
The value of that precept which exhorts us to live
peaceably with all men, or, in other words, to avoid
creating enemies, can only be eftimated by tbe reflec¬
tion on thofe many amiable qualities againff which the
negleft of it will preponderate. Akenfide was a man
of religion and ftrift virtue •, a philofopher, a fcholar,
and a fine poet. His converfation was of the moff de¬
lightful kind 5 learned, inftruftive, and without any
affectation of wit, cheerful and entertaining.
Dr Akenfide died of a putrid fever, June 23. 177OJ
and is buried in the parilh-church of St James’s, Weft-
mi niter.
His poems, publiihed foon after his death in qto and
8vo, confift of “ The Pleafures of Imagination,” two
books of “ Odes,” a “ Hymn to tbe Naiads,” and
fome “ Infcriptions.” “ The Pleafures of Imagina¬
tion,” his capital work, was firft publiihed in 1744 i
and a very extraordinary produftion it was from a man
who had not reached his 23d year. Pie was afterwards
Jenfible, however, that it wanted revifion and correc¬
tion } and he went on reviiing and correfting it for
feveral years : but finding this talk to grow upon his
hands, and defpairing of ever executing it to his own
fatisfaftion, he abandoned the purpofe of correfting,
and refolved to write the poem over anew upon a fome-
what different and enlarged plan. He finilhed two
books of his new poem, a few copies of which were
printed for the ufe of the author and certain friends;
of the firft book in 1757, of the fecond in 1765. He
finilhed alfo a good part of a third book, and an in-
troduftion to a fourth *, but his moll munificent and ex¬
cellent friend, conceiving all that is executed of the new
•work, too inconfiderable to fupply the place, and fu-
perfede the republication of the original poem, and yet
too valuable to be withheld from the public, hath
caufed them both to be inferted in the collection of his
goems.
] A L M
AK1BA, a famous rabbin, flourifhed a little after
•the deftruftion of Jerufalem by 'I itus. He kept the
flocks of a rich citizen of Jerufalem till the 40th year
his age, and then devoted himfelf to ftudy in the
Akita
Aue.
of  0-7  
academies for 24 years ; and was afterwards one of the
greateft mailers in Ifrael. According to the Jewilh
accounts, he had 24,000 fcholars. He declared for
the impoftor Barcochebas, whom he owned for the
Meffiah *, and not only anointed him king, but took
upon himfelf the office of his mafter of the horfe. Tire
troops which the emperor Hadrian fent again ft the
Jews, who under the conduct of this fali’e Meffiah had
committed horrid maffacres, exterminated this faftion.
Akiba was taken, and put to death with great cruelty.
Pie lived 120 years } and was buried with his wife in
a cave upon a mountain not far from Tiberias, and
his 24,000 fcholars were buried round about him upon
the fame mountain. It is imagined he invented a iup-
pofttitious work under the name of the patriarch A-
braham.
AKISSAT, the ancient Thyatira, a city in Natolia*
in Afia, fituuted in a plain 18 miles broad, which pro¬
duces plenty of cotton and grain. The inhabitants
who are reckoned to be about 5000, are faid to be all
Mahometans. The houfes are built of nothing but
earth or turf dried in the fun, and are very low and ill
contrived : but there are fix or feven molques, which
are all of marble. There are remarkable infcriptions
on marble in feveral parts of the town, which are part
of the ruins of the ancient Thyatira. It is feated on
the river Hermus, 50 miles from Pergamos. E. Long.
28. 30. N. Eat. 38. 50.
AKOND, an officer of juftice in Perfia, who takes
cognizance of the caufes of orphans and widows •, bf
contrafts, and other civil concerns. He is the head ct
the fchool of law, and gives leftures to all the fubaltern
officers , he has his deputies in all the courts of the
kingdom, who, with the fecond fa dr a, make all con¬
trafts.
AL, an Arabic particle prefixed to words, and fig-
nifymg much the fame with the Englilh particle the .
Thus "they fay, alkermes, alkoran, &c. 2. e. the ker-
mes, the koran, &.c.
Al, or Ald, a Saxon term frequently prefixed to
the names of places, denoting their antiquity ^ as Aid-
borough, Aldgate, &.c. , . .
ALA, a Latin term properly fignifying a wing 5.
from a refemblance to which feveral other things are
called by tbe fame name : Thus,
Ala, is a term ufed by botanifts for the hollow o. a
ftalk, which either the leaf, or the pedicle of the leaf,
makes with it ; or it is that hollow turning, or finus,
placed between the ftalk or branch of_ a plant and the
leaf, whence a new’ offspring ufually lilues. Sometimes
it is ufed for thofe parts of leaves othenvife called lobes,
or wings.
AL/E (the plural number) is ufed to fignify thole
petals or leaves of papilionaceous flowers, placed be¬
tween thofe others which are called the vtxiilum and
carina, and which make the top and bottom of the
flowers. Inftances of flowers of this ftrufture are feen
in thofe of peale and beans, in which the. tep leaf or
petal is the vexillum, the bottom the carina, and the
fide ones the alae.
Ala: is alfo ufed for thofe extremely flender and
m r aniTC e. OUS
, ALA [ S5S ]
Alie membranaceous parts of fome feeds, which appear as turned
Mali alter winSs placed on them ; it likewife fignifies thofe mem-
t. J-1-, '/ branaceous expanfions running, along the Items of fome
plants, which are therefore called datedJialks.
Al.«, in Anatomy, a term applied to the lobes of
the liver, the cartilages of the noltril, &c.
Al«, in the Roman Art of War, were the two wings
or extreme parts of the army drawn up in order of
battle.
AL AB A, one of the three fmalleft diliricts of Bifcay
in Spain, but pretty fertile in rye, barley, and fruits.
There are in it very good mines of iron, and it had
formerly the title of a kingdom.
ALAB ANDA, in Ancient Geography, a town of Ca¬
rla, near the Meander, fituated beneath eminences refem-
bling affes with pack-faddles, which gave rife to the jeft j
and between Amyzo to the weft and Stratonice to the
eaft. Under the Romans they enjoyed aflizes, or a
convention of jurifdiftion, by Pliny reckoned the fourth
in order ; hence the proverb in Stephanus, exprefling
their happinefs. It was built by Alabandus, whom
therefore they deemed a god. The people were called
Alahandi, Alabandenfes, (Cicero}) and Aiabandeis, after
the Greek manner, in coins of Auguftus and Claudius;
they wefe alfo called Alabandeni (Livy).
ALABARCHA, Antiquity, a kind of magiftrate
among the Jews of Alexandria, whom the emperors al¬
lowed them to ele<ft, for the fuperintendency of their
policy, and to decide differences and difputes which
arofe among them.
ALABAST ER, William, an Englifh divine, tvas
born at Hadley in the county of Suffolk. He was one
of the doctors of Trinity college in Cambridge j and
he attended the earl of Effex as his chaplain in the ex¬
pedition to Cadiz in the reign of Queen Elizabeth. It
is faid, that his firft refolutions of changing his religion
were occafioned by his feeing the pomp of the churches
of the Roman communion, and the reipeft with which
the priefts feemed to be treated amongft them; and
appearing thus to waver in his mind, he foon found
perfons who took advantage of this difpofition of his,
and of the complaints which he made of not being ad¬
vanced according to his deferts in England, in fuch a
manner, that he did not fcruple to go over to the Po-
pifh religion, as foon as he found that there was no
ground to hope for greater encouragement in his own
country. However that matter be, he joined himfelf
to the Romilh communion, but was difappointed in
his expectations. He was foon difpleafed at this ; and
he could not reconcile himfelf to the difcipline of that
church, which made no conftderation of the degrees
which he had taken before. It is probable too that
he could not approve of the worfhip of creatures, which
Proteftants are ufed to look upon with horror. Upon
this he returned to England, in order to refume his
former religion. He obtained a prebend in the cathe¬
dral of St Paul, and after that the redlory of Therfield
in Hertfordlhire. He was well Ikilled in the Hebrew
tongue ; but he gave a wrong turn to his genius by
ftudying the Cabala, with which he was ftrangely in¬
fatuated. He gave a proof of this in a fermon which
he preached upon taking his degree of dodlor of
divinity at Cambridge. He took for his text the be¬
ginning of the firft book of Chronicles, Adam, Seth,
Enos; and having touched upon the literal fenfe, he
Alauulia.
ALA
immediately to the myftical, afftrting, that Alahafter
Adam fignified misfortune and mifery, and fo of the reft.
His verfes were greatly efteemed. He wrote a Latin .
tragedy intitled Roxana ; which, when it was adted in
a college at Cambridge, was attended with a very re¬
markable accident. I here wTas a lady who wras fo ter¬
rified at the laft word of the tragedy, Sequar, Sequcr,
which was pronounced with a very {hocking tone, that
ftie loft her fenfes all her lifetime after. He died in
the year 1640. His Apparatus in Revelationem Jefu
Chrijit was printed at Antwerp in 1607. His Spira-
culum tubarum, feu fans Spiritua/ium Expoftionum ex
cequivocis Pentaglottifgnifcationibus, and his Ecce Spon-
fus venit, feu tuba pulchritudinis, hoc ejl demonf ratio
quod non ft illicitum nec impofjibile computare dura-
tionem mundi ct tenipus fecundi advent us Chrifti, were
printed at London. From thefe titles wTe may judge
what were the tafte and genius of the author.
Alabaster, in Natural llifory, a mineral fub-
ftance whofe bale is calcareous earth. It differs from
marble in being combined, not with the carbonic, but
with the fulphuric acid. See Chemistry, and Mi¬
neralogy Index.
Alabaster, in Antiquity, a term ufed for a vafe
wherein odoriferous liquors were anciently put. The
reafon of the denomination is, that veffels for this pur-
pofe were frequently made of the alabafter ftone, which
Pliny and other ancients reprefent as peculiarly pro- -
per for this purpofe. Several critics will have the box
mentioned in the Gofpels as made of alabafter to have
been of glafs : And though the texts fay that the wo¬
man broke it, yet the pieces feem miraculoufiy to have
been united, fince we are told the entire box v.ras pur-
chafed by the emperor Conftantine, and preferved as
a relic of great price. Others will have it, that the
name^ alabafer denotes the form rather than the matter
of this box: In this view they define alabafter by a
box without a handle, deriving the word from the pri¬
vative x, and anfa, handle.
Alabaster, is alfo faid to have been ufed for an
ancient liquid meafure, containing ten ounces of wine,
or nine of oil. In this fenfe, the alabafter was equal
to half the fextary.
ALABASTRUM dendroide, a kind of laminat¬
ed alabafter, beautifully variegated noth the figures of
fhrubs, trees, &c. found in great abundance in the pro¬
vince of Hohenftein.
ALADINISTS, a fe£l among the Mahometan?,
anfwering to freethinkers among us.
ALAJDULIA, a confiderable province of Turkey
in Afia, in that part called Natolia, between the moun¬
tains of Antitaurus, which feparate it from Amafia
on the north, and from Carimania on the weft. It has
the Mediterranean fea on the fouth 5 and the Euphrates,
or brat, on the eaft, whicli divides it from Diarbeker.
It comprehends the Leffer Armenia of the ancients,
and the eaft part of Cilicia. Formerly it had kings of
its pwn ; but the head of the laft king was cut off by
Selim I. emperor of the Turks* who had conquered the
country. It is now divided into two parts : the north,
comprehended between Taurus, Antitaurus, and the
Euphrates, is a beglerbeglic, which bears the name of
Marafh, the capital town \ and the fouth, feated be¬
tween Mount I aurus and the Mediterranean, is united
to the beglerbeglic of Aleppo. The country is rough,
4 A 2 rugged,
A L A
r
JO
5 j
ALA
Alain
II
Alaman-
this.
rugged, and mountainous j yet there are good paftures,
and plenty of horfes and camels. i he people are har¬
dy and thievifh. The capital is Malatigah.
I ALAIN, ChARTIER, fecretary to Charles VII.king
of France, born in the year 1386. He was the author
of feveral works in profe and verfe j but his moft famous
performance was his Chronicle of King Charles VII.
Bernard de Girard, in his preface to the Hiftory of
France, ftyles him “ an excellent hiftorian, who has
given an account of all the affairs, particulars, ceremo-
nies, fpeeches, anfwers, and circumftances, at which he
was prefent himfelf, or had information of.” Giles
Coroxet tells us, that Margaret, daughter io the king
of Scotland, and wife to the dauphin, palling once
through a hall where Alain lay afleep, Ihe Hopped and
kifl'ed' him before all the company who attended : feme
of them telling her, that it was ilrange Hie fliould kifs
a man who had fo few charms in his perfon, Ihe icpn-
ed, “ I did not kifs the man, but the mouth from
whence proceed fo many excellent fayings, fo many
wife difeourfes, and fo many elegant expveffions.”
Mr Fontenelle, among his Dialogues of the Dead, has
one upon this incident, between the princefs Margaret
and Plato. Mr Pafquier compares Alain to Seneca,
on account of the great number of beautiful fentences
interfperfed throughout his writings.
ALAIS, a conliderable town of France, in*the de¬
partment of Card, and formerly the province of Lan¬
guedoc, lituated on the river Gard, at the foot of
the Cevennes. The Jefuits had a college in this place;
and a fort was built here in 1689* It is 34 miles
north of Montpelier, and $40 from Paris. E. Long.
4. 20. N. Lat. 44. 8.
AL AM AG AN, in Geography, ant of the La-
drone or Marianne illands, in the Indian ocean, is lituat¬
ed in N. Lat. 18. and E. l^ong. 146. 47" ^ ^
irregular form, and about 1 2 miles m circumference.
The land in feme places of this illand is pretty high,
fo that it may be feen at the dillance of 1 2 or 14
leagues. Near the north end of the iiland there is a
volcano which emitted an immenfe body of imoke in
the year 1799, "when it vras vilited by Captain Bals.
* The volcano is in a mountain clofe to the lea, riling
above its level x 200 or 1500 feet. The high parts of
the ifland are rugged and Iferile. In the lower parts
there is a protulion and luxuriance ox vegetation. I hey
abound with cocoa-nut trees, feveral kinds of. done
fruit, and the mellora or bread-tree ol the Nicobar
illands. Some fmall fugar canes, lome banana, trees,
and one bread-fruit tree were diicovered. Lizards,
land-crabs, large partridges, quails, pigeons, owls,
thrulhes, and bullfinches, are numerous. But no frelh
water, which was the object of Captain B?.fs s vifit,
could be found. _
ALAMANDUS, Lewis, in French A7<?«i7«, aren-
bilhop of Arles, and cardinal of St Cecilia, was one of
the greateft men of the fifteenth century. The cardi¬
nal prefided in the council of Bafil, which depofed Eu-
genius IV. and ele&ed the antipope Felix V. He is
much commended by Aineas Sylvius, as a man extreme¬
ly well formed for prefiding in fuch affemblies, firm and
vigorous, illuftrious by his virtue, learned, and of an
admirable memory in recapitulating all that the ora¬
tors and difputants had faid. One day, when he ha¬
rangued again ft the funeriority of the pope over the
council, he diftingufhed himfelf in fuch an eminent Alamanni
manner, that feveral perfons went to kifs him, while Aja^10S>
others preffed even to kifs his robe. They extolled, te >
the ikies his abilities and genius, which had railed him,,
though a Frenchman, to a fuperiority over the Italians,
notwithftanding all their natural fubtlety and fineffe.
There is no need of alking, whether' Pope Eugenius
thundered againft the preftdent of a council which de¬
pofed him. He deprived him of all his dignities, and
treated him as a fon of iniquity. However, notwith¬
ftanding this, Lewis Alamandus died in the odour of
fanftity, and performed fo many miracles after his death,
that at the requeft of the canons and Celefline monks
of Avignon, and the felicitation of the cardinal of
Clermont, legate a latere of Clement VII. he was bea¬
tified by the pope in the year 1527.
ALAMANNI, Lewis, was born at Florence, of
a noble family, on the 28th of October 1495. He
was obliged to fly his country for a confpiracy againft
Julius de Medici, who was loon after chofen pope un¬
der the name of Clement VII. During this voluntary
banilhment, he went into France ; where Francis I.
from a love to his genius and merit, became bis patron.
This prince employed him in feveral important affairs,
and honoured him with the collar of the order of St
Michael. About the year 1540, he was admitted a
member of the Inflammati, an academy newly ere&ed
at Padua, chiefly by Daniel Barbaro and Ugolin Mar-
telli. After the death of Francis, Henry duke of Or¬
leans, who fucceeded him in 1537, fhowed no lefs fa- .
vour to Alamanni 5 and in the year 1.551, fent him as
his ambaffador to Genoa : this wTas his laft journey to
Italy j and being returned to France, he died at Am-
boife on the 18th of April 1556, being in the 61ft
year of his age. He left many beautiful poems, and
other valuable performances, in the Italian language.
We have alfo fome notes of his upon Homer’s. Iliad
and Odyffey ; thofe upon the Iliad were printed in the
Cambridge edition of Homer in 1689, and Jolhua
Barnes has alfo inferted them in his, fine edition of
Homer in 1711.
ALAMODALITY, in a general fenfe, is the ac¬
commodating a perfon’s behaviour, drefs, and. actions,
to the prevailing tafte of the country or times in which
he lives.
Alamodality of writing, is defined the accommo¬
dation of mental produftions, both as to the choice of
fubject and the manner of treating it, to the genius or
tafte of the times, in order to render them more ac¬
ceptable to the readers.
ALAMODE, a phrafe originally French, import-
inp- a thing to be in the faftuon or mode. I he phrafe
has been adopted not only into feveral of the living
languages, as the Englifh and High-Dutch, but fome
have even taken it into the Latin. Hence we meet
with Alamodicus and Alamodahtas.
Alamode, in Commerce, a thin gloffy black filk,
chiefly ufed for women’s hoods and men’s mourning
fcarfs. .
ALAMOS, Balthasar, a Spamfh writer, born at
Medina del Campo in Caftile. After having ftudied
the lawT at Salamanca, he entered into the. iervice ot
Anthony Perez, fecretary of ftate under i hilip II. He
was in high efteem and confidence with his maftei, up¬
on which account he was imprifoned after the diigrace
oi
ala [ 557 ] ALA
of this minifter. He was kept in confinement 11 years,
when Philip III. coming to the throne, fet him at li¬
berty, according to the orders given by his father in
his will. Alamos continued in a private capacity, till
the duke of Olivarez, the favourite of Philip IV. cal¬
led him to public employments. He was a man of wit
as well as judgment, but his pen was fuperior to his
tongue. He died in the 88th year of his age. His
Spanifh tranflation of Tacitus, and the aphorifms which
he added in the margin, gained him great reputation.
This work was publiihed at Madrid in 16x4-, and was
to have been followed, as mentioned in the king’s pri¬
vilege, with a commentary, which however has never
yet appeared. The author compofed the whole du¬
ring his imprifonment.
ALAN, Cardinal William, was born at Roflal in
Lancalhire, in the year 1532, He went to Oxford
at the age of 15, and in 1550 was elected fellow of
Oriel college. In 1556, being then only 24 years old,
he was chofen principal of St Mary’s hall, and one of
the proflors of the univerfity. In 1558 he was made
canon of York j but, upon Queen Elizabeth’s accef-
fion to the throne, he left England, and fettled at Lou¬
vain in an Englifh college, of which he became the
chief fupport. In 1565 he vifited his native country 5
but, on account of his extreme aftivity in the propa¬
gation of the Roman Catholic religion, he was obli¬
ged to fly the kingdom in 1568. He went firll to
Mechlin, andthen toHouay, where he was made doflor
of divinity. Soon after, he was appointed canon of
Cambray, and then canon of Rheims. Lie was crea¬
ted cardinal on the 28th of July 1587, by the title of
St Martin in Montibus ; and obtained from the king of
Spain a rich abbey in the kingdom of Naples, and af¬
terwards the biihoprick of Mechlin. It is i’uppofed to
have been by the advice and iniligation of this prieft,
that Philip II. attempted to invade England. He died
on the 20th of October 1594, aged 63 ; and was bu¬
ried in the Englifh college at Rome. He was a man
of confiderable learning, and an elegant writer, fie
wrote many books in defence of the Romifh religion.
The mofl remarkable are, 1. vi defence of the 12 mar¬
tyrs in one year. Tho. Alfield was hanged for bring¬
ing, and publifhing, this and other of Alan’s works,
into England, in the year 1584. 2. A declaration of
the fentence of Sextus V. &c. A work intended to ex¬
plain the pope’s bull for the excommunication of Queen
Elizabeth, and to exhort the people of England to
take up arms in favour of the Spaniards. Many thou-
fand copies of this book, printed at Antwerp, were
put on board the Armada *, but the enterprife failing,
they were afterwards deftroyed. 3. Of the worfhip
due to faints and their relicks 1583. This treatife was
anfwered by Lord Burleigh, and is efleemed the mofl
elegant of the cardinal’s writings.
ALAND, in Geography, with its dependant iflands,
to the number of eight v, is fituated between the gulfs
of Bothnia and Finland. Thefe iflands lie between
N. Lat. 59. 47. and 60. 30. and between E. Long:
19. 17. and 22. 7. Aland conflitutes the fmallefl of
the ppiTeffions belonging to the crown of Sweden. It
contains about feventy-feven fquare Englifh miles,
and is in length about twenty Englifh miles, and fixteen
in breadth.
Aland has been fuppofed anciently to have been
governed by its own monarchs; it is certain, however,
that fince the fourteenth century it has made part of
the bifhoprick and government of Abo, with the ex¬
ception that in the year 1743 Aland and the other
iilands fubmitted to Ruflia, and fwore allegiance to the
czarina, but were foon after rellored to Sweden by
the treaty of Abo. Thefe iflands in former times
frequently fuffered from the invafions of the Ruffians,
and the inhabitants had been forced to fly from their
houfes and fertile plains. But in 1718 a congrefs
was held here for the refloration of peace, by which
the enjoyment of tranquillity was fecured to them.
Aland and the feveral ifles contain eight parifhes,
each of which has a church 5 and befides fhefe places of
worfhip, there are feven chapels.
The Laplanders and Fins were undoubtedly the
earliefl inhabitants of thefe iflands, and their refidence
here is plainly to be traced in the names of places which
fiill remain.
Several lakes are met with in thefe Iflands, and but
one rivulet, which however is fufficient to work two
mills, one of which is a faw-mill. The mountains are
numerous j the highefl of them is called LTfdubs Klint.
The revenues which the crown of Sweden receives
from Aland and the other iflands, amount annually to
nineteen thoufand nine hundred and eighty-fix rix-
dollars. Two hundred and ninety-eight failors are
regiflered in thefe iflands, which coil the king of
Sweden about five thoufand rix-dollars yearly.
Aland contains about three thoufand feven hundred
and fifty acres of land in cultivation, which produce
rye, wheat, oats, and barley, in the proportion of feven
for one. The annual grov’th of wheat is about twenty-
two thoufand five hundred barrels. There is one parifh
which has no arable land, and in this refpedt refembles
Lapland. The inhabitants of this parifh employ them-
felves in fifhing, and purchafe all the corn they have
occafion for of their neighbours. They catch vaft
numbers of pilchards, of which they make great profit,
it being the chief traffic of thefe iflands.
It has been in agitation to build a city in the ifle of
Aland, but the projefl has not hitherto been carried
into execution, owing it is faid, to the difficulty of
chufing a proper fpot fof it.
The ufual route from Sv’eden to Finland is from the
pofl office of Griflehamn in Upland, wRIch is eleven
and a half Swediffi miles, to Eckero in Aland ; and
from that place acrofs the ifland to Abo, which is five
miles more. A Swediffi mile makes between fix and
feven Englifh miles.
In the year 1792 the number of inhabitants upon
the ifland of Aland amounted to eleven thoufand two
hundred and fixty, vffiich is upwards of a thoufand to
every fquare Swediffi mile 5 a very great number when
it is confidered how mountainous the ifland is. The
inhabitants of thefe iflands live to very great ages. From
the year 1692 to the prefent time, nine perfons are
recorded to have died at the great age of one hundred
years; and perhaps the number had been found greater,
had it been thought worthwhile to notice this particular.
In 1703 there died a woman named Anna Berg, who
was one hundred and nine years old: and at Kumblinge,
in the year 1766, another perfon of the fame fex died
at an age of upwards of one hundred and twenty years.
One fixth part of the inhabitants are above fifty years
old*
ALA [ 558 ] A L A
Aland, old } a circutnfiance which affords a convincing proof
Alaraf. 0f healthinefs of the place.
The fea which furrounds the ifle of Aland is very
feldom frozen, and was lefs fo formerly than at the
prefent time. In 1546 it was remarked as an extra¬
ordinary event, that in that year the fea was fo frozen
as to be croffed on the ice. It feems latterly that
thefe fevere frofts happened once in ten years. The
winter of the year 1702 was remarkably mild, fo that
barley was fown on the twenty-fifth of March, at which
time there was plenty of pafture for cattle : confider-
ing its high latitude, Aland enjoys a very favourable
climate.
In their manners and cufloms the inhabitants of
Aland do not differ greatly from the peafants of Up¬
land. Their marriages and funerals are celebrated
much in the fame manner.
The Alanders commonly ufe nourifhing food } their
bread is generally made of rye, even when the crops of
that kind of corn have proved unfavourable. Frefh fifh,
and fifir dried or falted, together with milk, butter, cheefe,
and flefh-meat, are their ufual fare. They make ufe of
the flefh of feals, and prepare a difir called fkalkroppe,
compofed of collops of the flefh mixed up with flour
and lard, and this they reckon excellent. In their
voyages by fea they lay in a good flock of provifions,
and at thofe times are not fparing of meat and butter.
The drefs of the Alanders is becoming. The men
wear, in general, fhort jackets which on holidays are
commonly of blue cloth. The young peafants com¬
monly wear cotton {lockings, and many of them have
even watches. The women, when full dreffed, wear
a petticoat and apron of camlet, cotton, or print¬
ed linen, and fometimes of lilk. Their drefs in
mourning is generally of black fiik, with a camlet
petticoat.
The dwellings of the peafants are very neat and
convenient, kept in good repair, and well lighted.
They are ufually built of wood, fir, or deal, and co¬
vered with the bark of the birch tree, or fhingles.
Their out-houfes are moflly thatched. As theyr have
no running ftreams and water-mills, fcarcely any pea-
fant is without a windmill.
The Alanders are an ingenious, lively, and courteous
pebple 5 and on the fea difplay a great degree of {kill
and refolution. They are far from being fuperftitious,
but are faid to be of a litigious difpofition.
No bears or fquirrels are to be found in thefe iflands j
and the elk, which formerly was uncommonly nu¬
merous, is now no longer feen in them. The animals
chiefly found are wolves, (which are faid to crofs the
fea from Finland, when it has happened to be frozen
over) foxes, martens, hares, ermines, bats, moles, rats,
mice, &c. ; otters are but rarely met with : on the
coaft are found feals, &c. Above a hundred fpecies
of birds are found in the iflands. Fifh are in great a-
bundance. The number of infects amounts to eight
hundred fpecies, fome of which are extremely deftruc-
tive to trees and newly built houfes. The mountains
are chiefly formed of red granite. (Accrb/Ps Travels.)
ALARAF, in the Mahometan Theology, the par¬
tition wall that feparates heaven from hell. The word
is plural, and properly written al araf; in the Angular
it is written al arf It is derived from the Arabic
■verb arafa, to diftinguilh. Alaraf gives the denomi-
2
nation to the feventh chapter of the Alcoran, wherein Alarbes
mention is made of this wmli. Mahomet feems to have , H.
copied his Alaraf, either from the great gulf of fepa-, 1
ration mentioned in the New Tell ament, or from the
Jewilh writers, who alfo fpeak of a thin wall dividing
heaven from hell. Mahometan writers dift’er extremely
as to the perfons who are to be found on Alaraf. Some
take it for a fort of limbus for the patriarchs, pro¬
phets, &c. others place here fuch whole good and evil
works fo exaflly balance each other, that they deferve
neither reward nor punifliment. Others imagine this
intermediate fpace to be pofieffed by thofe who, going
to war without their parents leave, and fuffering mar¬
tyrdom there, are excluded paradife for their dii’obedi-
ence, yet efcape hell becaufe they are martyrs.
ALARBES, a name given to thofe Arabians who
live in tents, and diftinguifli themfelves by their drefs
from the others who live in towns.
ALARES, in Roman Antiquity, an epithet given
to the cavalry, on account of their being placed in the
two wings of the army.
ALARIC, a famous general of the Goths. He
entered Thrace at the head of 200,000 men, and laid
walie all the country through which he palled. He
marched next to Macedonia and Theflaly : The Thef-
falians met him near the mouth of the river Peneus,
and killed about 3000 of his army j neverthelefs he ad¬
vanced into Greece, and after having ravaged the whole
country, returned to Epirus, loaded with immenfe
fpoils. After flaying here five years, he refolved to turn
his arms to the weft. He marched through Pannonia ;
and, finding little refiftance, entered Italy, in the con-
fullhip of Stilicho and Aurelianus, A. D. 400. Af¬
ter various battles and treaties, he at laft took Rome
by treachery, and permitted his foldiers to plunder it j
this happened A. E). 409. Alaric, having laid wafte
a great part of Italy, intended to pafs into Sicily : but
a ftorm obliging him to land again, he befieged the
city of Cofenza; and having taken it, he died there in
411, eleven years after he firft entered Italy.
ALARM, in the Military Art, denotes either the
apprehenfion of being fuddenly attacked ; or the notice
thereof, fignified by firing a cannon, firelock, or the
like. Falfe alarms are frequently made ufe of, to ha-
rafs the enemy, by keeping them conftantly under
arms. Sometimes alfo this method is taken to try the
vigilance of the piquet-guard, and what might be ex¬
pelled from them in cafe of real danger.
Alarm-BcII, that rung upon any fudden emergency,
as a fire, mutiny, or the like.
Alarm-PoJI, or AiARM-place, the ground for drawr-
ing up each regiment in cafe of an alarm. This is other-
wife called the rendezvous.
Alarm, in Fencing, is the fame with what is other-
wife called an appeal, or challenge.
ALASCANI, in Church Hi/lory, a fe£t of Antilu-
therans, whofe diftinguiflring tenet, befides their deny¬
ing baptifm, is faid to have been this, that the words,
This is my body, in the inftitution of the eucharift, are
not to be underftood of the bread, but of the wdiole
aftion, or celebration of the fupper. They are faid to
have taken the name from one Joannes Alafco, a Po-
lifh baron, fuperintendant of the church of that coun¬
try, in England. See the next article.
ALASCO, John, a Polilh nobleman of the 16th
century,
A- L A -[ 559 ] ALB
• Alatarnaha century, v.lio, imbibing the reformed opinions, was ex-
'{ polled his country, and became preacher to a Proteftant
' , ^-1 j congregation at Embden ^ but forefeeing perlecution
there, came to England about the year 1551, while the
reformation was carrying on under Edward the VI.
The publication of the Interim driving the Proteftants
to fuch places as afforded them toleration, 380 were
naturalized here, and obtained a charter of incorpora¬
tion, by which they were eredled into an ecclefialtical
eftabliihment, independent on the church of England.
The Augulline friars church was granted them, with
the revenues, for the maintenance of Alafco as fuper-
intendant, with four afliftant minifters, who were to be
approved by the king : and this congregation lived
undifturbed until the acceffion of Queen Mary, when
they were all fent away. They were kindly received
and permitted to fettle at Embden; and Alafco at lad,
after an abfence of 20 years, byr the favour of Sigif-
mund, returned to his own country, where he died in
1560. Alafco was much edeemed by Erafmus, and
the hidorians of }iis time fpeak greatly in his praife ;
we have of his writing, De Cana Domini liber ; Epijlola
continens Sutnmam Contrcroerjice de Cana Domini, is'e.
He had fome particular tenets j and his followers are
called jilafeani in church-hiftory.
A L AT A M AH A, a large river of North America,
which, riling in the Apalachian mountains, runs fouth-
ead through the province of Georgia, and falls into the
Atlantic ocean, below the town of Frederica,
ALATERNUS, in Botany, the trivial name of a
fpecies of the rhamnus. See Rhamnus, Botany
Index.
ALAVA, a didrift of Spain, about 20 miles in
length, and 17 in breadth, containing very good iron
mines. Vi&oria is the capital towm.
ALAUDA, or Lark, fee Ornithology Index.
ALAUTA, a condderable river of Turkey in Eu¬
rope, which, after watering the north-ead part of Tran-
fylvania and part of Wallachia, falls into the Danube
almod oppofite to Nicopolis.
ALAY, fignifying in the Turkiih language “ The
Triumph,” a ceremony which accompanies the afi’era-
bling together the forces of that vail empire upon the
breaking out of a war. It confids of the mod infipid
buffoonery, and is attended with a&s of the mod
fliocking barbarity. That which took place upon oc-
cafion of the late war between the Porte and Ruflia is
deferibed by Baron Tott in his Memoirs as follows :
“ It confids in a kind of mafquerade, in which each
trade fucceffively prefents to the fpeftators the mecha¬
nical exercife of its refpedfive art. The labourer draws
his plough, the weaver handles his dvnttle, the joiner
his plane ; and thefe different chara&ers, feated in
cars richly ornamented, commence the proceflion, and
precede the dandard of Mahomet, when it is brought
out of the feraglio to be carried to the army, in order
to infure victory to the Ottoman troops.
“ This banner of the Turks, which they name
Sandjah-Cheriff, or The Standard of the Prophet, is
fo revered among them, that, notwithftanding its re¬
putation has been fo often tarnidred, it dill retains
their implicit confidence, and is the facred fignal unto
■which they rally. Every thing proclaims its fanftity.
None but the emirs are allowed to touch it •, they are
its guards, and it is carried by their chief. The Muf-
fulmans alone are permitted to look upon it. If touch- Alb,
ed by other hands, it would be defiled j if feen by , Alba-
other eyes, profaned. In fhort, it is encompaffed by
the mod barbarous fanaticifm.
“ A long peace had unfortunately caufed the ridicu-
loufnefs, and efpecially the danger, of this ceremony
to be forgotten. The Chridians imprudently crowd¬
ed to fee it \ and the lurks, who, by the fituation of
their houfes, could make money of their windows, be¬
gan to profit by the advantage ; when an emir, who
preceded the banner, proclaimed with a loud voice,
‘ Let no infidel dare to profane with his prefence the
holy dandard of the prophet j and let every Mufful-
man who perceives an unbeliever make it known under
pain of reprobation^
“ From that moment no afylum was to be found 5
even thofe became informers, who, by letting out their
houfes, had rendered themfelves accomplices in the
crime. A religious fury feized on every mind, and
put arms in every hand •, the more atrocious the cruelty,
the more was it meritorious. No regard was paid to
fex or age ; pregnant women, dragged by the hair,
and trodden under feet by the multitude, peridied in
the mod deplorable manner. Nothing was refpetted
by thefe monders j and under fuch aufpices the Turks-
commenced the war.”
ALB, or Albe, in the Romifh Church, a vedment
of white linen hanging down to the feet, and anfwering
to the furplice of the Englifli clergy. In the ancient
church, it was ufual, with thofe newly baptized, to wear
an alb, or white vedment 5 and hence the Sunday after
Eader was called dominie a in albis, on account of the
albs worn by thofe baptized on Eader-day.
Alb, is alfo a name of a Turkiih coin, otherwife
called afper. See Aspe,r.
ALBA, in Ancient Geography, a town of the Marfx
in Italy, fituated on the north fide of the Lacus Fuci-
nus, dill retaining its name. It Hands upon an emi¬
nence, and is noted in Roman hiftory for being the
date prifon where captive prices were fhut up, after
being barbaroufly dragged through the flreets of Rome
at the chariot wheels of a triumphant conful. Perfeus
king of Macedon terminated his wretched career in
this confinement, with his fon, the lad hope of an il-
ludrious line of kings. Syphax the Mumidian, and Bi-
tuinus king of the Averni, were alfo condemned to
this gaol by the particular clemency of the fenate,
which fometimes indulged its favage difpodtion by put¬
ting its captives to death.
Alba being fituated in the centre of Italy, amidd:
ditficult mountainous paffes, and far from all means of
efcape, was edeemed a mod proper place for the pur-
pofe of guarding prifoners of importance. Artificial
drength was added to its natural fecurity by fortifica¬
tions, wdiich remain to this day in a date that proves
their ancient folidity. For the entertainment of the
garrifon, wdiich wTas required in a place of fuch confe •
quence, an amphitheatre wns erefted, of which the
ruins are dill valuable, as w^ell as the foundations of a
temple, and other buildings of Roman times.
Lucius \ itellius, brother to the emperor of that name,
had a villa near this place, famous for the variety and
excellence of its fruit trees, which he had brought from
Syria. His gardens were the nurferies wdiere feveral
01 the moft delicious done-fruits, that are now fo com¬
mon.
ALB
[ 56o -]
ALB
mon in Europe, were firft cultivated and multiplied.
It mull have been necell'ary at Alba to {belter trees
;‘.tranfplanted from Afia, and to treat them with great
tendernefs and care, in order to rear them to peifec-
tion : for the climate of this high region is extremely
rigorous in winter 5 the cold feafon lafts long, and is
accompanied with violent llorms of wind and falls of
fnow. The lake has been often frozen entirely over.
Alba Finna, or Album, in cur Old Cujloms, denoted
rent paid in lilver, and not in corn, which was called
black-mail.
Alba Terra, one of the numerous names for the
philofopher’s Hone.
■ Alba Regalis. See Stuhl Weissenburgh.
Alba Helviorum, or Albaugujla, in Ancient Geogra¬
phy, afterwards called Vivarium, now V’.viers, in the
fouth-eaft of Languedoc, on the Rhone. In the lower
age the inhabitants were called Albenfes, and their city
Civitas Albenjium, in the Notitia Galliae. L. Long.
4. 45. Lat. 44. 50.
Alba Julia, in Ancient Geography, now Weijfenburg,
a town of Tranfylvania, on the river Marifius, or Me-
j-ifch, to the weft of Hermanllat, fuppofed to be called
Alba Julia, after Julia Domna the mother of Caracalla.
There are, however, feveral infcriptions found at or
near Weiffenburg, which bear Col. Apul, that is
■Colonia Apulenjis, without the leaft mention of Alba
Julia, though infcribed after Caracalla’s time. Add,
that Ulpian, reciting the colonies of Dacia, calls this
■colony Apulenfis, and neither Alba nor Julia. Whence
there is a fufpicion, that Alba Julia is a corruption of
Apulum. It was aJfo called Apvlum Augujlum. E. Long.
25. O. Lat. 46.. 46.
Alba Longa, in Ancient Geography, a colony from
Lavinum, in Latium, eftablilhed by Afcanius the fon
of yEneas, at the foot of the Mons Albanus : call¬
ed Alba, from a white fow found by Atneas, which
farrowed 30 w'hite pigs on that ipot which circum-
itance was interpreted to portend the building of a. city
.there in 30 years after (Propertius). The epithet
Longa wTas added on account of its length. It was the
royal relidence till the building of Rome, as was fore¬
told by Apchifes (Virgil) j was deftroyed by Tullius
Jdoftilius, all but the fane or temple 5 and the inhabi¬
tants wrere tranfplanted to Rome (Strabo).
Alba Pompeia, in Ancient Geography, on the river
Ceba, now Leva, in Liguria, the birth-place of the
emperor Pertinax j a colony either eftablilhed at firft
by Pompey, or re-eftablilhed by him after having been
before fettled by Scipio. The inhabitants wrere called
Albenfes Pompeiani. At this day the town is limply
called Alba, wdthout any epithet.
ALBAHURIM, figura fexdecim latcrum, a figure
of great importance according to aftrological phyfi-
cians, who built their prognoftics on it.
ALBAN, Sr, is faid to have been the firft perfon
who fuffered martyrdom for Chriftianity in Britain ;
he is therefore ufually ftyled the protomartyr of this
ifland. He was born at Verulam, and flourifhed to¬
wards the end of the third century. In his youth he
took a journey to Rome, in company with Amphiba-
lus a monk of Caerleon, and ferved feven years as a
foldier under the emperor Dioclefian. At his return
home, he fettled in Verulam ; and, through the exam¬
ple and inftructions of Amphibalus, renounced the er¬
rors of Paganifm, in which he had been educated, and
became a convert to the Chriftian religion. It is ge- ^
nerally agreed, that Alban fuffered martyrdom during
the great perfecution under the reign of Dioclefian 5
but authors differ as to the year when it happened :
Bede and others fix it in 286 * fome refer it to the year
296 j but Ullier reckons it amongft the events of 303.
The ftory and circumftances relating to his martyrdom,
according to Bede, are as follows. Being yet a Pagan
(or at leaft it not being known that he was a Chriftian),
he entertained Amphibalus in his houle. The Roman
governor being informed thereof, fent a party of fol-
diers to apprehend Amphibalus ; but Alban, putting
on the habit of his gueft, prefented himfelf in his Head,
and was carried before that magiftrate. The governor
having afked him of what family he w’as ? Alban re¬
plied,1 “ To wThat purpbfe do you inquire of my fa¬
mily ? if you wmuld knowT my religion, I am a Chri-
flian.” Then being afked his name, he anfwered.
“ My name is Alban j and I worfhip the only true and
living God, who created all things.” The magiftrate
replied, “ If you would enjoy the happinefs of eternal
life, delay not to facrifice to the great gods.” Alban
anfwered, “ The facrifices you ofter are made to devils j
neither can they help the needy, or grant the petitions
of their votaries.” His behaviour fo enraged the go¬
vernor, that he ordered him immediately to be behead¬
ed. In his way to execution, he w?as flopped by. a ri¬
ver, over which w^as a bridge fo thronged with fpefla-
,tors that it was impoflible to crofs it j the faint, as
we are told, lifted up his eyes to heaven, and the ftream
was miraculoufly divided, and afforded a paffage for
himfelf and a thoufand more perfons. Bede does not
indeed give us the name of this river; but, notwith-
ftanding this omiftion, the miracle, we fuppofe, wall
not be the lefs believed. This wonderful event convert¬
ed the executioner upon the fpot, who threw away his
drawn fword, and, falling at St Alban’s feet, defired
he might have the honour to die with him. This hid¬
den converfion of the headfman occafioning a delay
in the execution till another perfon could be got to
perform the office, St Alban walked up to a neigh¬
bouring hill, where he prayed for water to quench his
thirft, and a fountain of water fprung up under his
feet : here he wras beheaded, on the 23d of June. The
executioner is faid to have been a fignal example of di¬
vine vengeance j for as foon as he gave the fatal ftroke,
his eyes dropt out of his head. We may fee the opini¬
on of Mr Milton in regard to this narrative, in his Hi-
ftory of England. His words are thefe, ipeaking of
St Alban : “ The ftory of whofe martyrdom, foiled
and worfe martyred with the fabling zeal of fome idle
fancies, more fond of miracles than apprehenfive of
the truth, deferves no longer digreffion.” Between
400 and 500 years after St Alban’s death, Offa, king of
the Mercians, built a very large and (lately monaftery
to his memory ; and the town of St Albans in Hert-
fordfhire takes its name from our protomartyr.
ALB ANA, in Ancient Geography, a fea-port town
of Albania, on the Cafpian fea, between the rivers
Cafius and Albanus; now called Bachu, or Bachy,
giving name to the Cafpian fea, viz. Tier de Baku.
E. Long. 49. o. N. Lat. 40. o.
ALBAN ENSES, in Church FUJI ory, the fame with
Albigenfes. See Albigenses.
• S ALBANI,
Albar
Alban;:
ALB [561
ALBANI, in Roman Antiquity, a college of the
Salii, or priefts of Mars} fo called from Mount Albanus,
the place of their refidence. See Salii.
Albani, Francis, a celebrated painter, born in
Bologna, March 17. 1578. His father was a filk
merchant, and intended to bring up his fon to that
builnefs j but Albani having a ftrong inclination to
painting, when his father died, devoted himfelf entirely
to that art, though then but twelve years of age. He
firit ftudied under Denys Calvert; Guido Rheni being
at the fame time under this mailer, with whom Albani
contracted a very great friendlhip. Calvert drew but
one profile for Albani, and afterwards left him entirely
to the care of Guido ; under whom he made great im¬
provement, his fellow-difciple inftrudling him with the
utmoll humanity and good humour. He followed
Guido to the fchool of the Caracci: but a little af¬
ter their friendlhip for each other began to cool j
which was owing perhaps to the pride of Albani, who
could not bear to fee Guido furpafs him, or to the jea-
loufy of Guido at finding Albani make fuch rapid pro-
grefs. They certainly endeavoured to eclipfe one ano¬
ther ; for when Guido had fet up a beautiful altar-piece,
Albani would oppofe to it fome fine picture of his :
thus did they behave for fome time, and yet fpoke of
each other with the highell elteem. Albani, after ha¬
ving greatly improved himfelf under the Caracci, went
to Rome, where he continued many years, and married
in that city j but his wife dying in childbed, at the
earned requeft of his relations he returned to Bologna,
where he entered again into the date of matrimonv.
His fecond wife (Doralice) was well defeended, but
had very little fortune ; which he perfectly difregarded,
fo drongly was he captivated with her beauty and
good fenfe. Albani, befides the fatisfadlion of poffef-
ling an accomplifhed wife, reaped likewife the advan¬
tage of having a mod beautiful model; fo that he had
now no occafion to make ufe of any other woman to
paint a Venus, the Graces, Nymphs, and other deities,
whom he took a particular delight in reprefenting.
His wife anfwered this purpofe admirably well; for
befides her bloom of youth, and the beauty of her per-
fon, he difeovered in her fo much modedy, fo many
graces and perfections, fo well adapted to painting,
that it was impoflible for him to meet with a more fi-
niilied woman. She afterwards brought him feveral
boys, all extremely beautiful and finely proportioned j
fo that die and her children were the originals of his
mod agreeable and graceful compofitions. Doralice
was fo conformable to his intentions, that (Ire took a
plealure in fetting the children in different attitudes,
holding them naked, and fometimes- fufpended by
drings, when Albani would draw them in a thoufand
different ways. It was from them, too, that the fa¬
mous fculptors Flamand and Argaldi modelled their
little Cupids.
Albani wras of a happy temper and difpofition ; his
paintings, fays Malvafia, breathing nothing but con¬
tent and joy. Happy in a force of mind that con¬
quered every uneafinefs, his poetical pencil carried him
through the mod agreeable gardens to Paphos and Cy-
theria : thofe delightful feenes brought him over the
lofty Parnaffus to the delicious abodes of Apollo and
the Mufes : whence what Du Frefnoy fays of the fa¬
mous Giulio Romano may be judly applied to Albani:
Vox. I. Part II.
] ALB
Taught from a child in the bright Mufes’ grots, Albania.
He open’d all the treafures of Parnaffus,
And in the lovely poetry of painting
The myd’ries of Apollo has reveal’d.
He died the 4th of October 1660, to the great grief
of all his friends and the whole city of Bologna. Mal¬
vafia has preferved fome verfes of Francifco de Lemene,
intended for his monument ; the fenfe. whereof is,
“ That the mortal remains of the iiludrious Albani,
he who gave life to diade, lie interred in this tomb
the earth never produced fo wonderful an artid, or a
hand equal to his immortal one } which gave co¬
lours to the foul, and a foul to colours. Prometheus
animated clay, and gave life by means of the fun j but
Albani animated merely by the afiidance of (hade.”
He was very famous in his lifetime, and had been vi-
fited by the greated painters. Several princes honour¬
ed him with letters; and amongd the red King
Charles I. who invited him to England by a letter
figned with his own hand.
ALBANIA, a province of Turkey in Europe, on
the gulf of Venice, bounded by Livadia on the fouth,
by Theffaly and Macedonia on the ead, and on the
north by Bofnia and Dalmatia. The people are drong,
large, courageous, and good horfemen ; but are faid
to be of a thievifh difpofition. The grand feignior pro¬
cures excellent foldiers from hence, particularly caval¬
ry, known by the name of Arnauts. There are feve¬
ral large towns in this province 5 and the inhabitants
are almod all Chridians of the Greek church, and de¬
feended from the ancient Scythians. Formerly it was
part of the kingdom of Macedonia. Their chief ma-
nufa&ure is carpets. The principal places are Duraz-
zo, Velona, Antivari, Scutari, Croya, Aleffo, Dibra,
Dolcigno, and Albanapoli. Long, from iS°to 21° E.
Lat. from 390 to 430 N.
Albania, a country of Afia, bounded on the wred
by Iberia *, on the ead by the Cafpian fea j on the north
by Mount Caucafus 5 on the fouth by Armenia, and the
river Cyrus, now Kur; which, fpringing from the
Mofchian mountains that feparate Colchis from Arme¬
nia, and watering the country of Mokan, receives the
Aragus and Araxes, and falls into the Cafpian fea
within a fmall didance from the fouthern borders of
this country.—The vffole country formerly called Al¬
bania, now goes under the names of Schirwan and EaJI-
Georgia, and is extremely fruitful and pleafant. The
ancient hidorians take notice of the Albanian men
being tall, drong-bodied, and, generally fpeaking, of
a very graceful appearance j far excelling all other na¬
tions in comelinefs as well as dature. Modern travel¬
lers take no notice of the appearance of the men ; but
extol the beauty of the women, which feems to be un¬
noticed by the ancients. The Albanians were ancient¬
ly an independent and pretty powerful people ; but
we find no mention made of their kings till the reign
of Alexander the Great, to wdiom the king of Alba¬
nia is laid to have prefented a dog of an extraordinary
fiercenefs and fize.—It does not appear that the Alba¬
nians were ever conquered by the Romans, even wrhen
their powder was at the greated height; though when
they ventured to engage in vrar with that powerful em¬
pire, they were always defeated, as might naturally be
expefted.
ALBANO, a town of Italy, on a lake of the fame
4 B name
ALB [ 562 ] ALB
Albamo, name, in the Campagna of Rome. It was called by
Albans, ancients /ilbatium Pompeii^ and built out of the
v ruins of the ancient Alba Longa, which was deftroyed
by Tullus Hoililius. It ftands within twelve miles
fouth-eaft of Rome, and for the pleafantnefs of its il-
tuation is the ilxmmer retirement of a great many Ro¬
man princes. It is likewife the fee of a bilhop, who is
one of the fix fenior cardinals. The town is famous
for its excellent wine, and the ruins of a maufoleum,
which, according to the tradition of the inhabitants,
was made for Alcanius. The profpeft from the garden
of the Capuchins is extremely pleafant, taking in the
Campania of Rome, and terminating in a full view of
the Tufcan fea. Clofe by the town lies the Alban lake,
of an oval figure, and about feven miles in circumfe¬
rence, which, by reafon of the high mountains round it,
looks like the area of a great amphitheatre. It abounds
•with excellent fiih, and over againft the hermitage it is
faid to be unfathomable. The mountain of Albano is
called Monte Cavo ; on the top of which was a celebra¬
ted temple dedicated to Jupiter and Juno. Near the
Capuchins there is another convent of Francifcans 5 and
not far from thence the palace of Cardinal Barberini,
remarkable for very pleafant gardens, with the ruins of
ancient baths, and feveral old fragments of mofaic
work. E. Long. 13. 10. N. Lat. 41. 43.
Albano is alfo a town in the kingdom of Naples,
remarkable for the fertility of the furrounding terri¬
tory, and for the nobility of the inhabitants.
ALBANS, Saint, a market town of Hertfordflrire,
is a very great thoroughfare, accommodated with good
inns, on the north-weft road from London, at the di-
ftance of ?.i miles. This town fends two members to
parliament, gives the title of duke to the noble family
of Beauclerc, and has one of the beft markets for
wheat in England. St Albans is feated near the ruins
of an ancient Roman city, by Tacitus called Verulam;
and by the Saxons Wathnqcefter, becaufe it is feated
on the road called Watlingfireet. Nothing now re¬
mains of Verulam but the ruins of old w^alls j in the
fields adjacent to which they continue to find Roman
coins, as they formerly found tcffelated pavements. In
memory of St Alban, Offa, king of the Mercians,
anno 795, erefted an abbey, calling it St Albans;
and near it the town of the fame name was afterwards
built. The church of the abbey is remaining to this
day: time and the weather have made it look like
ftoue on the outfide ; but if you break a bit off, the
rednefs of the brick immediately appears. When the
monafteries w?ere diilolved, the townfmen paid 400I.
to prevent its being levelled with the ground, and have
fince converted it into a pariih-church, which, for its
largenefs, beauty, and antiquity, claims a particular re¬
gard. It had a very noble font of folid brafs, in which
the children of the kings of Scotland wrere ufed to be
baptized } and was brought from Edinburgh, by Sir
Philip Lea, when the city was in flames ) but in the
times of the late civil wars, it was taken away. Not
many years fince, a tombwras difcovered in this church,
faid to be that of Humphry duke of Gloucefter: when
the leaden coffin was opened, the body was pretty en¬
tire, being preferved in a fort of pickle. There was
a ftately crofs in the middle of the town, as there w ere
in many other places, where Queen Eleanor’s body
idled when it was brought cut of the north for inter¬
ment at Weftminfter •, but it is now demolifhed. W. Albanus
Long. o. 12. N. Lat. 51.44. 8 .
ALBANUS mons, in Ancient Geography, now call-
ed Mont Albano, 26 miles from Rome, near where Al¬
ba Longa flood.
Albanus mons, rev Ancient Geography, to the north
of Iftria, called Albius by Strabo ; the extremity of
the Alps, which, together with the mountains to the
eaft, joining it, called Montes Bcebii, feparate the far¬
ther Liburnia and Dalmatia from Pannonia.
ALBANY, a fortrefs belonging to the Britifh,
feated on the S. W. of Hudfon’s bay. W. Long. 84.
20. N. Lat. 53. 20.
Albany, a town of North America, the capital
of one of the ten counties of the province of New-
York, which goes by the fame name, is a well-built
place, confidering the country. Here the fachems, or
the kings of the Rive Nations of Iroquois, met the
governors of the Britifh plantations, when they entered
into any treaty with them. W. Long. 44. 29. N. Lat.
42. 30.
ALBARAZIN, a ftrong town, and one of the
moft ancient of the kingdom of Arragon in Spain. It
is feated upon an eminence, near the river Guadalquivir,
a little below its fource, and on the frontiers of Valen¬
cia and New Caftile. It is the feat of a bifliop, and
produces the beft wool in all Arragon. It is about
100 miles eaft of Madrid. E. Long. 2. 10. N. Lat.
4°. 32.
ALBARII, in Antiquity, properly denoted thofe
wdro gave the whitening to earthen veffels, &c. In
which fenfe they flood contradiftinguifhed from Dealba-
tores, who whitened walls.
ALBARIUM opus, in the ancient building, the
incruftation or covering of the roofs of houfes with
white plafter, made of mere lime. 1 his is otherwdfe
called opus album. It differs from Teciorium, which is
a common name given to all roofing or ceiling, inclu¬
ding even that formed of lime and fand, or lime and
marble j whereas Albarium wms reftrained to that made
of lime alone.
ALBATEGNI, an Arabic prince of Batan in
Mefopotamia, and a celebrated aftronomer, who li¬
ved about the year of Chrift 880, as appears by his ob-
fervations. He is alfo called Muhammed ben Geber
Albatani, Mahomet the fon of Geber, and Muhamedes
Araffenfs. He made aftronomical obfervations at
Antioch, and at Racah or Ara£la, a town of Chaldea.
He is highly fpoken of by Dr Halley as a man of ad¬
mirable genius, and an excellent obferver.
Inftead of the tables of Ptolemy which were imper-
fe£l, he computed newT ones : thefe were adapted to the
meridian of Aracfta or Racah, and were long ufed as
the beft among the Arabs. Albategni compofed in
Arabic a work under the title of The Science of the
Stars, comprifing all parts of aftronomy, according to
his owm obfervations and thofe of Ptolemy. Phis wmrk
was tranilated into Latin by Plato of Tibur, and pub-
lifhed at Nuremberg in 1537, w ith fome addidons and
demonftrations of Regiomontanus. It was reprinted at
Bologna in 1645, with this author’s notes. Dr Hal¬
ley detefted many faults in thefe editions: Philof.
Tranf for 1693, N° 204. In this work, Albategni
gives the motion of the fun’s apogee fince Ptolemy’s
time, as well as the mcUon of the ftars, which he
makes
ALB [ 563 j ALB
Albati makes one degree in 70 years. He made the longi-
il . tude of the firft ftar of Aries to be 18° 1' \ and the
beltl‘ , obliquity of the ecliptic 23® 35'. Upon Albategni’s
obfervations were founded the Alphonfine tables of the
moon’s motions. (Hatton's Math. Diet.)
albAti equi, an appellation given to fuch hor-
. fes, in the games of the ancient circus, as wore wrhite
furniture.
ALBATROSS, in Ornithology, a fpecies of the
diomedea. See Diomedea, Ornithology Index.
ALB AZIN, a towm of Greater Tartary, with a
Rrong caftle. It is lituated upon the river Amur, or
Yamour, and belongs to the Mufcovites. E. Long.
103. 30. N. Lat. 54. o.
ALBE, a fmall piece of money, current in Ger¬
many, worth only a French fol and feven deniers.
ALBEMARLE, or Aumarle, a town of France,
in Upper Normandy, and in the territory of Caux,
from whence the noble family of Keppel takes the title
of Earl. The ferges of this town are in high efteem.
It is feated on the declivity of a hill, on the confines of
Picardy, 35 miles north-eafl of Rouen, and 70 north-
weft of Paris. E. Long. 2. 21. N. Lat. 49. 50. ,
Alb emarle, the moll northern part of the province
of North Carolina in America.
ALBENGUA, a town of Italy, in the territory of
Genoa. It is the fee of a bilhop j and is a very an¬
cient handfome town, but not well peopled, on account
of the infalubrity of the air. It is feated in a very
beautiful plain, which is well cultivated ; and the out-
fide of the town is furrounded with olive-trees. It is a
fea-port, about 38 miles fouth-weft of Genoa. E. Long.
8. 13. N. Lat. 44. 4.
ALBERNUO, a kind of camlet, brought from
the Levant by the way of Marfeilles.
ALBERONI, Julius, the fon of a poor gardener
in the fuburbs of Placentia, born in 16645 who, by
his great abilities and good fortune, rofe from this low
origin to the employment of firll miniller of Hate at
the court of Spain, and to the dignity of cardinal. He
roufed that kingdom out of the lethargy it had funk
into for a century pall 5 awakened the attention, and
railed the allonilhment of all Europe, by his projefts 5
one of which was to fet the Pretender on the throne of
Great Britain. He was at length deprived of his em¬
ployment, and banilhed to Rome. He died in 1752,
at the great age of 89. His Tejlament Politique, col-
ledled from his memoirs and letters, was publilhed at
Laufanne in 1 7 53.
ALBERT, Margrave of Brandenburg, and the lall
grand mailer of the Teutonic order, laid afide the ha¬
bit of his order, embraced Lutheranifm, and conclu¬
ded a peace at Cracow in 1525., by which he was ac¬
knowledged duke of the call part of Pruffia (formerly
called for that reafon Ducal Prujjia'), but to be held as
a fief of Poland, and to defeend to his male heirs. See
Prussia.
ALBERTI, Leone Battista, was defeended
from a noble family in Florence 5 and was perfedly ac¬
quainted with painting, fculpture, and architedlure.
He wrote of all three in Latin 5 but his Hudies did not
permit him to leave any thing confiderable behind him
in painting. He was employed by Pope Nicholas V.
in his buildings, which he executed in a beautiful man¬
ner 5 and his wTork on architeflure, which confilts of
10 books, is greatly elleemed. He alio wrote feme Albertifts
treatiles of morality, and a piece of arithmetic. Pie
. n • 1 Albx.
died in 1485. 1
ALBERTISTS, a fe£l of fcholallics, fo named from
their leader Albertus Magnus.
ALBERTUS, Magnus, a Dominican friar, and
afterwards bilhop of Ratilbon, was one of the moll
learned men and moll famous dodlors of the 13th cen¬
tury. He is laid to have a fled as a man-midwife 5 and
fome have been highly offended that one of his pro-
fefiion Ihould follow fuch an employment. A book
entitled De Naiura Rerum, of w’hich he was reputed
the author, gave rife to this report. In this treatife
there are feveral inltrudtions for midwives, and fo much
Ikill fhowm in their art, that one would think the au¬
thor could not have arrived at it without having him-
felf praflifed : but the advocates for Albert fay he
was not the waiter thereof, nor of that other- piece De
Secretis Mulierum; in wTiich there are many phrafes
and exprelhons unavoidable on fuch a fubjefl, which
gave great offence, and railed a clamour againft the
fuppofed author. It mull be acknowledged, however,
that there are, in his Comment upon the Mailer of Sen¬
tences, fome quellions concerning the praflice of con¬
jugal duty, in which he has ufed fome words rather
too grofs for challe and delicate ears 5 but they allege
what he himfelf ufed to fay in his own vindication,
that he came to the knowledge of fo many monllrous
things at confelhon, that it was impoffible to avoid
touching upon fuch quellions. Albert wras certainly
a man of a moll curious and inquifitive turn of mind,
which gave rife to other accufations brought againfl
him. It is laid, that he laboured to find out the phi-
lofopher’s Hone 5 that he w-as a magician 5 and that he
made a machine in the fhape of a man, wdiich wras an
oracle to him, and explained all the difficulties he pro-
pofed. He had great knowledge in the mathematics,
and by his Ikill in that fcience might probably have
formed a head with fprings capable of articulating
founds 5 like to the machines of Boetius, of which
Caffiodorus has laid, “ Metals lowe 5 the birds of Dio-
medes trumpet in brafs; the brazen ferpent hiffes j
counterfeited fwallows chatter, and fuch as have no
proper note, from brafs fend forth harmonious mufic.”
John Matthseus de Luna, in his treatife Z)e Rerum In-
ventonbus, has attributed the invention of fire-arms to
Albert 5 but in this he is confuted by Naude, in his
Apologie des Grendes Homines. Albert died at Co¬
logne in 1280. His works were printed at Lyons, in
1651, in 21 volumes in folio.
ALBERTUS, a gold coin, worth about fourteen
French livres : it was coined during the adminillration
ef Albertus archduke of Aultria.
ALBESIA, in Antiquity, a kind of Ihields other-
wife called Decumana. See D£cumana.
ALBI, a city of France, in the department of the
Tarn, the capital of the Albigeois, in Upper Langue¬
doc. The cathedral is dedicated to St Cecilia, and has
one of the fineft choirs in the kingdom. Here is a ve¬
ry valuable filver ffirine, of exquifite workmanfhip, of
the mofaic kind : it contains the reliques of St Clair,
the firft biffiop of this city. The chapel of this pre¬
tended faint is magnificent, and adorned with paint¬
ings. The Lice is a fine large w-alk w-ithout the city;
what diftinguiffies this from all others, is a terrace-
4 B 3 above
ALB [ 564 ] ALB
Atbigenfes. above a deep mall, which ferves inftead of a fofle j it
is bordered with two rows of very fine trees, which are
kept in excellent order. There are four gates,
through which you may view all the beauties of a de¬
lightful plain. At one end of this is the convent of
the Dominicans. The archbifhop’s palace is very
beautiful. The river walhes its walls, and ferves both
for an ornament and defence. This city is feated
on the river Tarn, 35 miles north-eaft of Touloufe,
and 250 fouth of Paris. E. Long. 2. 9. N. Lat.
43»
The Albigeois is a fmall territory about twenty-fe-
ven miles in length, and twenty in breadth, abounding
in corn, woad, grapes, faffron, plums, and fheep 5 and
the inhabitants have a great trade in dried prunes,
grapes, a coarfe fort of cloth, and wines of Gaillac.
Thefe wines are the only fort hereabouts that are fit
for exportation : they are carried down to Bourdeaux,
and generally fold to the Britifh. They have likewife
feveral coal mines.
ALBIGENSES, in Church Hiflory, a feft or party
of reformers, about Touloufe and the Albigeois in Lan¬
guedoc, who fprung up in the 12th century, and diftin-
guilhed themfelves by their oppofition to the difcipline
and ceremonies of the Romilh church.
This feft had their name, it is fuppofed, either by
reafon there were great numbers of them in the diocefe
of Albi, or becaufe they were condemned by a coun¬
cil held in that city. In effeft, it does not appear that
they were known by this name before the holding of
that council. The Alhigenfes were alfo called Aibiani,
Albigefei, Albii, and Albanenfes, though fome difiinguilh
thefe laft from them. Other names given to them
are, Henricians, Abclardijh, Bulgarians, &c.; fome on
account of the qualities they aflumed 5 others on that
of the country from whence it is pretended they were
derived ; and others on account of perfons of note who
adopted their caufe, as Peter de Brius, Arnold de
Breffe, Abelard, Henry, &c. Berengarius, if not Wick-
liff hirafelf, is by foine ranked in the number. The
Albigenfes are frequently confounded with the Walden-
fes ; from whom, however, they differ in many refpefts,
both as being prior to them in point of time, as having
their origin in a different country, and as being char¬
ged with divers herefies, particularly Manicheifm, from
whence the IValdenfes are exempt. But feveral Prote-
ilant waiters have vindicated them from that imputa¬
tion. Dr Allix (hows that a great number of Mam-
chess did fpread over the w^eflern countries from Bulga¬
ria j and fettled in Italy, Languedoc, and other places,
where they were alfo Albigenfes ; by which means, be¬
ing both under the imputation of herefy, they came,
either by ignorance or malice, to be confounded, and
called by the fame common name, though in reality en¬
tirely different.
Other errors imputed to them by their opponents,
the monks of thofe days, were, That they admitted
two Chrifts} one evil, who appeared on earth ; the
other good, who has not yet appeared : That they de¬
eded the refurie&ion of the body 3 and maintained hu¬
man fouls to be demons imprifoned in our bodies, by
way of punilhment for their fins : That they condemn¬
ed all the facraments of the church 3 reje&ed baptifm
as ufelefs 3 held the eucharift in abhorrence 5 exclud¬
ed the ufe of. confeffions and penance 3 maintained
marriage unlawful 3 laughed at purgatory, prayers for Albigenfes.
the dead, images, crucifixes, &c. There were like- v " ^
wife faid to be two claffes of them 3 the Perfect, and the
Believers. The perfeft boarted of their living in con¬
tinence, of eating neither fiefh, eggs, nor cheefe. The
believers lived like other men, and were even loofe
in their morals 3 but they were per funded they fliould
be faved by the faith of the perfect, and that none were
damned who received impofition of hands from them.
But from thefe charges alio they are generally acquit¬
ted by Proteftants 3 vrho confider them as the pious in¬
ventions of the Romilh church, whofe members deem
it meritorious by any means to blacken heretics.
However this be, the Albigenfes grew fo formidable,
that the Catholics agreed upon a holy league or cru-
fade again!! them. They were at firfl: fupported by
Raimond, count of Touloufe. Pope Innocent III. de-
firous to put a ffop to their progrefs, fent a legate into
their country 3 which failing, he ftirred up Philip Au-
guftus, king of France, and the other princes and
great men of the kingdom, to make war upon them.
Upon this the count of Touloufe, who had fided with
them, made his fubmiffion to the pope, and went over
to the Catholics : but foon after, finding himfelf plun¬
dered by the crufades, he declared war again!! them,
and was joined by the king of Arragon. His army
wras defeated at the fiege of Muret, where he himlelf
wTas killed, and the defeat followed by the furrender of
the city of Touloufe, and the conqueft of the greatei!
part of Languedoc and Provence. His Ion Raymond
fucceeded him 3 who agreed with the king and the pope
to fet up the inquifition in his eftates, and to extirpate
the Albigenfes. In an affembly held at Milan, the
archbifliop of Touloufe drew up articles 3 agreeable to
which the count made a mofi ample declaration againff
them, which he publifhed at Touloufe in 1 253. From
this time the Albigenfes dwindled by little and little,
till the time of the Reformation 3 when fuoh of them
as were left fell in with the Vaudois, and became con¬
formable to the doftrine of Zuinglius and the difcipline
of Geneva.
Albigenses is aifo a name fometimes given to the
followers of Peter Vaud, or Waldo 3 and hence fyno-
nymous with what we more properly call Vv aldenfes, or
Poor Men of Lyons. In this fenfe the word is applied
by Camerarius, Thuanus, and feveral other writers.
The reafon feems to be, that the two parties agreed in
their oppofition to the papal innovations and encroach¬
ments, though in divers other refpedls faid to be dif¬
ferent enough. The biihop of Meaux labours hard to
fupport a diifin6tion between the tw® fefts, alleging
that the Albigenfes were heretics andManichees; where¬
as the IValdenfes were only fchifmatics, not heretics 3
being found as to articles of faith, and only feparating
from the church of Rome on account of forms and
difcipline. Dr Allix endeavours to fet afide the di-
ftindfion : and (hows, that both of them hold the fame
opinions, and were equally, condemned and held for he¬
retics ; and this not for points of faith, but for declaim¬
ing again!! the papal tyranny and idolatry, and hold¬
ing the pope to be the Antichrift 3 which la!!, accord¬
ing to M. de Meaux, conffitutes nothing lefs than
Manicheifm. In this fenfe the Lollards and "Wicklif-
fites in England were not only Albigenfes but Ma-
niehees.
ALBINTEMELIUM..
ALB
[ 5% ]
ALB
Albinos.
Albinteme- ALBINTEMELIUM. Albintimilium, (Ta-
liutn citas)j or atfull length, Axsium Intemelium, (Pli-
11 ny, Strabo) ; now Vintimiglia, fituated in the fouth-
, well of the territory of Genoa, near the borders of the
county of Nice, with a port on the Mediterranean, at
the mouth of the rivulet Rotta, about halfway be¬
tween Monaco and S. Remo. E. Long. 7- 40, Eat.
43- I7-
ALBIOECE, or Alebece, (Pliny,Strabo); other-
wife called Reii Apollmares, from their fuperftitious
vorfhip of Apollo } alio Civitas Reienjium; now Rie%,
in Prdvence, about 18 leagues to the north-eaft of Tou¬
lon, on the north fide of the rivulet Verdon j was ori¬
ginally a Roman colony, (Infcription). It is fometimes
written Regium. The people were called Albiciy (Cae-
far.) E. Long. 1. o. N. Lat. 43. 20.
ALBINI, in Antiquity, the workmen employed in
what was called Opus Albarium. They make a differ¬
ent profeflion from the dealbatores or whiteners.
ALBINOS, the name by -which the Portuguefe call
the white Moors, who,are. looked upon by.the negroes
as monfters. They at a diftance might be taken for
Europeans j but, when you come near them, their
white colour appears like that of perfons affedted with
•a leprofy.
In Sauffure’s Voyages dans les Aipes, is the follow¬
ing account of two boys, at Chamouni, who have
been called Albinos. “ The elder, who was at the end
of the year 1785 about twrenty, or one-and-twenty years
qf age, had a dull look, with lips fomewhat thick, but
nothing elfe in his features to diftinguifh him from
other people. The other, who is two years younger, is
rather a more agreeable figure j he is gay and fpright-
ly, and feems not to want wit. But their eyes are not
blue j the iris is of a very diftinct rofe colour ; the pu¬
pil too, when viewed in the light, feems decidedly red;
which feems to demonftrate, that the interior mem¬
branes are deprived of the uvea, and of that black mu¬
cous matter that Ihould line them. Their hair, their
eye-brows, and eye-ladies, the dowm upon their Ikin,
were all, in their infancy, of the moil perfedl milk-
white colour, and very fine ; but their hair is now of
a reddifh caft, and has grown pretty firong. Their
fight too is fomewhat ftrengthened •, though they ex¬
aggerate to ftrangers their averfion for the light, and
half Ihut the eye-lids, to give themfelves a more extra¬
ordinary appearance. But thofe who, like me, have
feen them in their infancy, before they were tutored to
this deceit, and when too few people came to Cha¬
mouni to make this affeRation profitable to them, can
atteff that then they were not very much offended with
the light of day. At that time they were fo little de-
firous of exciting the curiofity of ftrangers, that they
hid themfelves to avoid fuch ; and it was neceffary to
do a fort of violence to them before they could be pre¬
vailed on to allow themfelves to beinfpe&ed. It is al-
fo well known, at Chamouni, that when they were of a
proper age they were unable to tend the cattle like the
other children at the fame age ; and that one of their
uncles maintained them out of charity, at a time of life
when others were capable of gaining a fubfiftence by
their labour.
“ I am therefore of opinion, that we may confider
thefe two lads as true albinos; for if they have not the
thick lips and flat nofes of the white negroes, it is be¬
came they are albinos of Europe, not of Africa. This
infirmity affeRs the eyes, the complexion, and the co¬
lour of the hair ; it even diminifties the ftrength, but
does not alter the conformation of the features. Be-
fides, there are certainly in this malady various de¬
grees } fome may have lefs ftrength, and be lefs able
to endure the light : but thefe circumftances in thofe
of Chamouni are marked with charaRers fufficiently
ftrong to entitle them to the unhappy advantage of be¬
ing claffed with that variety of the human fpecies de¬
nominated albinos.
“ When nature prefentsthe fame appearance often,
and with circumftances varied, we may at laft difcover
fome general law, or fome relation which that appear¬
ance has with knowrx caufes: but when a faR is fo An¬
gular and fo rare, as that of thofe albinos, it gives but
little fcope to conjeRure : and it is very difficult to ve¬
rify thofe by which we attempt to explain it.
“ I at firft imagined that this difeafe might be refer¬
red to a particular fort of organic debility ; that a re¬
laxation of the lymphatic veffels within the eye might
fufter the globules of the blood to enter too abundant¬
ly into the iris, the uvea, and even into the retina,
which might occafion the rednefs of the iris and of the
pupil. The fame debility feemed alfo to account for
the intolerance of the light, and for the whitenefs of
the hair.
“ But a learned phyfiologift, M. Blumenbach, pro-
feffor in the univerfity at Gottingen, wTho has made
many profound obfervations on the organs of fight,
and has confidered wuth great attention the albinos
of Chamouni, attributes their infirmity to a different
caufe.
“ The ftudy of comparative anatomy has furnifhed
him with frequent opportunities of obferving this phe¬
nomenon 5 he has found it in brutes, in white dogs,
and in owls \ he fays, it is generally to be feen in the
warm-blooded animals \ but that he has never met
with it in thofe with cold blood.
“ From his obfervations, he is of opinion, that the
rednefs of the iris, and of the other internal parts of
the eye, as -well as the extreme fenfibility that accom¬
panies this rednefs, is owing to the total privation of
that brown or blackfill mucus, which, about the fifth
wTeek after conception,, covers all the interior parts of
the eye in its found ftate. He obferves, that Simon
Pontius, in his treatife de Coloribus Oculorum, long
ago remarked, that in blue eyes the interior mem¬
branes wrere lefs abundantly provided with this black
mucus, and were therefore more fenfible to the aRion
of light. This fenfibility of blue eyes agrees very
well, fays M. Blumenbach, with northern people, du¬
ring their long twilight j w’hile, on the contrary, the
deep black in the eyes of negroes enables them to
fupport the fplendour of the funbeams in the torrid
zone.
“ As to the connexion between this red colour of
the eyes and the whitenefs of the Ikin and hair, the
fame learned phyfiologift fays, that it is owing to a fi-
milarity of ftruRure, confenfus ex Jimihtudine fabrics.
He afferts, that this black mucus is formed only in the
delicate cellular fubftance, which has numerous blood-
veffels contiguous to it, but contains no fat } like the
infide of the eye, the ikin of negroes, the fpotted pa¬
late of feveral domeftic animals, See. And, laftly, he
Albinos.
ALB [ 566 1 ALB
Albinos. ftlyS} that the colour of the hair generally correfponds
vvith that of the iris. Gazette litt. de Gotinzue. Oft.
1784.
“ At the very time that M. Blumenbach was read¬
ing this memoir to the Royal Society of Gottingen,
M. Buzzi, furgeon to the hofpital at Milan, an eleve
of the celebrated anatomiit Mofcati, publilhed in the
Opufcoli Scelti de Milan, 1784, tom. vii. p. 11. a very
interefting memoir, in which he demonftrates by diffec-
tion what Blumenbach had only fuppofed.
“ A peafant of about 30 years of age died in the
hofpital of Milan of .a pulmonary diforder. His body,
Being expofed to view, was exceedingly remarkable by
the uncommon whitenefs of the Ikin, of the hair, of the
beard, and of all the other covered parts of the body.
M. Buzzi, who had long defired an opportunity of dii-
fefting fuch a fubjeft, immediately leized upon this.
He found the iris of the eyes perfeftly white, and the
pupil of a rofe colour. The eyes were dilfefted with
the greatefl poflible care, and were found entirely def-
titute of that black membrane which anatomifts call
the uvea : it was not to be feen either behind the iris
or under the retina. Within the eye there was only
found the choroid coat extremely thin, and tinged of
a pale red colour, by veffels filled with difcoloured
blood. What was more extraordinary, the Ikin, when
detached from different parts of the body, feemed al-
moft entirely divefted of the rete mucofum: maceration
did not difeover the leaf! veftige of this, not even in
the wrinkles pf the .abdomen, where it is moll abun¬
dant and mofl vifible.
“ M. Buzz! likewife accounts for the whitenefs of
the fkin and of the hair, from the abfence of the rete
tnucofum, which, according to .him, gives the colour
to the cuticle, and to the hairs that are fcattered over
it. Among other proofs of this opinion, he alleges a
well-known faft, that if the Ikin of the blackeft horfe
be accidentally dellroyed in any part of the body, the
hairs that afterwards grow on that part are always
white, becaufe the rete mucofutn which tinges thofe
hairs is never regenerated with the fkin.
“ The proximate caufe of the whitenefs of albinos,
and the colour of their eyes, feems therefore pretty evi¬
dently to depend on the abfence of the rete mucofutn :
But what is the remote caufe ?
“ In the firfl place, it feems probable that men af-
fefted with this infirmity form no diftinft fpecies, for
they are produced from parents that have dark fkins
' and black eyes. What is it then that deflroys the
rete mucofum in fuch perfons ? M. Buzzi relates a An¬
gular faft, v'hich feems to throw fome light on this
fubjeft.
“ A woman of Milan, named Calcagni, had feven
fons. The two eldefl had brown hair, and black eyes \
the three next had white fkins, white hair, and red
eyes *, the two lafl refembled the two eldefl. It was
faid that this woman, during the three pregnancies
that produced the albinos, had a continual and immo¬
derate appetite for milk, which fhe took in great quan¬
tities : but that when fhe vras with child of the other
four children, fhe had no fuch defire. It is not how¬
ever afeertained, that this preternatural appetite w^as
not itfelf the effeft of a certain heat, or internal dif-
,eafe, which deflroyed the fete mucofum in the children
before they were born.
Albinus.
“ The albinos of Chamouni are alfo the offspring of Albinova-
parents with dark fkins and black eyes. They have nus>
three fillers by the fame father and mother, who are 1
alfo brunettes. One of them that I faw had the eyes
of a dark browm, and the hair almofl black. They
are faid, however, to be all afflifted with a weaknefs
of fight. When the lads are married, it will be cu¬
rious to obferve how the eyes of their children w ill be
formed. The experiment would be particularly deci-
five if they were married to women like themfelves.
But this faulty conformation feems to be more rare
among women than among men.5 for the four of Mi¬
lan, the two of Chamouni, the one deferibed by Mau-
pertuis, the one by Helvetius, and almofl all the in-
flances of thefe lingular produftions, have been of our
fex. It is known, however, that there are races of
men and women affefted wuth this difeafe, and that
.thefe races perpetuate themfelves in Guinea, in Java,
at Panama, &c.
“ Upon the whole, this degeneration does not feem
to be owing to the air of the mountains 5 for though
I have traverfed the greatefl part of the Alps, and the
other mountains of Europe, thefe are the only indivi¬
duals of the kind that ever I met with.”
ALBINOVANUS, a Latin poet, whom Ovid fur-
named the Divine. There is now nothing of his ex¬
tant, except an Elegy on Drufus, and another on the
Death of Mectenas.
ALBINUS, Bernhard Siegfred, a celebrated
phyfician and anatomifl, was born of an illuflrious fa¬
mily at Francfort on the Oder in 1697. His father
was then profeffor of the praftice of medicine in the
univerfity of Francfort j but in the year 1702 he re¬
paired to Leyden, being nominated profeffor of anato¬
my and furgery in that univerfity. Here his fon had
fin opportunity of Itudying iij^der the moll eminent
mailers in Europe, who, from the lingular abilities
which he then .difplayed, had no difficulty in prognoili-
cating his future eminence. But while he w7as di-
ftinguilhed in every branch of literature, his attention
was particularly turned to anatomy and furgery. His
peculiar attachment to tbefe branches oflcnowledge
gained him the intimate friendlhip of Ruyfch and Rau,
who at that time flourilhed in Leyden \ and the latter,
fo jullly celebrated as a lithetomill, is faid to have fel-
dom performed a capital operation without inviting
him to be prefent. Having finilhed his Itudies at Ley¬
den, he went to Paris, where he attended the leftures
of Du Verney, Vaillant, and other celebrated profef-
fors. But he had fcarce fpent a year there, when he was
invited by the curators of the .univerfity of Leyden, to
be a lefturer in anatomy and furgery at that place.
Though contrary to his own inclination, he complied
with their requell, and upon that occafion was created
doftor of phyfic without any examination. Soon after,
upon the death of his father, he was appointed to fuc-
ceed him as profeffor of anatomy ; 'and upon being
admitted into that office on the 9th of November 1721,
he delivered an oration, De vera via ad fabric a: hum.ani
corporis cognitionctn ducente; w hich was heard v’ith
univerfal approbation. In the capacity of a profeffor,
he not only bellowed the greatell attention upon the
inllruftion of the youth entrulled to his care., but in the
improvement of the medical art. W ith this view, he
publilhed many important difeoveries of hjs own y and
by
2
ALB
[ 567 1
ALB
Alborak.
Albion by elegant editions, turned the attention of pliyficians
to works of merit, which might otherwife have been
, neglefted. By thefe means his fame was foon extended
over Europe-, and the Societies of London, Peterf-
burgh, and Haerlem, cheerfully received him as an
aflfociate. In 1745, he was appointed profeffor of the
practice of medicine at Leyden, and was fucceed in the
anatomical chair by his brother Frid. Bern. Albinus.
Fie was twice re£tor of the univerfity, and as often he
refufed that high honour when it was voluntarily of¬
fered him. At length, worn out by long fervice and
intenfe ftudy, he died on the 9th of September 1770,
in the 74th year of his age.
ALBION, the ancient name of Britain.
New Albion, a name given by Sir Francis Drake
to California, on the north-wed coaft of America,
which he difcovered and took poffedion of in the year
1578. Captain Cook vifited this coaft in 1778, and
landed in a place fituated in N. Lat. 44. 33. E. Long.
235. 20. In the year 1792, it was again vifited by
Captain Vancouver, who was employed in furveying
the weftern coaft of North America. The extent of
New Albion, according to the latter circumnavigator
is between the 30th and 45th degrees of N. Latitude.
ALBIREO, in AJlronomy, a ftar of the third or
fourth magnitude, in the conftellation Cygnus.
ALBIS, in Ancient Geography, now the Elbe, which
divided ancient Germany in the middle, and was the
boundary of this country, fo far as it wTas known to the
Romans : all beyond they owned to be uncertain, no
Roman except Drufus and Tiberius having penetrated
fo far as the Elbe. In the year of the building of the
city 744, or about fix years before Chrift, Domitius
Ahenobarbus, crofting the river with a few, merited
the ornaments of a triumph ; fo glorious was it reckon¬
ed at Rome to have attempted the paffage. In the
following age, however, the river that before occupied
the middle of ancient Germany, became its boundary
to the north, from the irruptions of the Sarmatae, wdio
poflefted themfelves of the Tranfalbin Germany. The
Elbe rifes in the borders of Cilicia out of the Rifenberg,
runs through Bohemia, Mifnia, Upper Saxony, An¬
halt, Magdeburg, Brandenburg, Danneberg, Lauen-
burg, Holftein, and after being fwelled by many other
rivers, and pafting by Hamburg and Gluckftadt, to
both which places the river is navigable by large veflels,
falls into the German or North fea.
ALBISOLA, a fmall town belonging to the repu¬
blic of Genoa. Here is a porcelain manufacture, and
feveral country-houfes of the Genoefe nobility. It was
bombarded in 1745 by the Englilh. E. Long. 8. 20.
N. Lat. 44. 15.
ALBOGALERUS, in Roman Antiquity, a wdiite
cap worn by the flamen Diaiis, on the top of which was
an ornament of olive branches.
ALBORAK, amongft the Mahometan Writers, the
beaft on which Mahomet rode in his journeys to hea¬
ven. The Arab commentators give many fables con¬
cerning this extraordinary mode of conveyance. It
is reprefented as of an intermediate fliape and fize be¬
tween an afs and a mule. A place, it feems, w-as fe-
cured for it in paradife at the interceftion of Mahomet j
which, however, w7as in fome meafure extorted from
kite prophet, by Alborak’s refufing to let him mount
when the angel Gabriel was come to conduft him to
heaven.
ALBORO, in Zoology, a name by which the ery-
thrinus, a fmall red fiih caught in the Mediterranean, is
commonly known in the markets of Rome and Venice.
ALBOURG, a town of Denmark, in North Jut¬
land, capital of the diocefe of the fame name, and a
biftiop’s fee. It has this name, which fignifies eel town,
on account of the great number of eels taken here. It
is feated on a canal, 10 miles from the fea, 30 north
of Wiburg, and 50 north of Arhuys. It has an ex¬
change for merchants, and a fafe and deep harbour.
They have a confiderable trade in herrings and corn j
and a manufactory of guns, piftols, faddles, and gloves.
E. Long. 29. 16. N. Lat. 56. 35.
ALBRICIUS, born at London, v7as a great phi-
lofopher, a learned and able phyfician, and w-ell ver-
fed in all the branches of polite literature. He lived
in the nth century, and wrote feveral works in
Latin; particularly, 1. Of the Origin of the Gods.
2. The Virtues of the Ancients. 3. The Nature of Poi-
fon, &c.
ALBUCA, Bastard Star-of-Bethlehem. See
Botany Index.
ALBUGINEA tunica, in Anatomy, the third or
innermoft coat or covering of the teftes; it is likewife
the name given to one of the coats of the eye.
ALBUGINEUS, in Anatomy, a term fometimes
applied to the aqueous humour of the eye.
ALBUGO, or Leucoma, in Medicine, a diftemper
occafioned by a white opaque fpot growing on the cor¬
nea of the eye, and obftruCting vifion. See Medicine
Index.
ALBUM, in Antiquity, a kind of white table, or
regifter, wherein the names of certain magiftrates, pu¬
blic tranfaClions, &c. were entered. Of thefe there
were various forts; as the album decurionum, album fe-
natorum, album judicum, album prcetoris, &c.
Album Decur'ionum, was the regifter wherein the
names of the decuriones -were entered. This is other-
wife called matriculatio decurionum.
Album Senatorum, the lift of fenators names, which
was firft introduced by Auguftus, and renewed yearly.
Album Judicum, that wherein the names of the per-
fons of thofe decurice who judged at certain times were
entered.
Album Prcetoris, that wherein the formula of all
addons, and the names of fuch judges as the prsetor
had chofen to decide caufes, "were written.
The high prieft entered the chief tranfadions of each
year into an album, or table, which was hung up in his
houfe for the public ufe.
Album is alfo ufed, in later times, to denote a
kind of table, or pocket-book, wherein the men of let¬
ters with whom a perfon has converfed, infcribed their
names with fome fentence or motto.
Album Grcecum, the white dung of dogs, formerly
prefcribed for inflammations of the throat, &c. but
now difufed, and chiefly employed by leather-drefl'ers
to foften leather after the application of lime.
ALBUMAZAR, a learned Arabian aftronomer in
the tenth century, who wrote a treatife Of the Revolu¬
tion of the Years.
ALBUMEN, & fubftance found both in animal and-
vegetable
Alboro
AlVumen.
Alcaeus
A L G [ 568 ]
A L C
Albuquer- vegetable matters, and in great abundance in the white
que of eggs. See Chemistry//zrZfA’.
, A‘1 . ALBUQUERQUE, a town of Spain, in the pro-
^ vince of Eilremadura, is feated on an eminence, nine
miles from the frontiers of Portugal. It is command¬
ed by an almolt impregnable fortrefs, built on a high
mountain, and fefving to defend the town. It carries
on a great trade in wool and woollen manufactures. It
was taken by the allies of Charles king of Spain in
170$. W. Long. 7. o. N. Lat. 38. 52.
ALBURN, the Englilh name of a compound co¬
lour, being a mixture of white and red, or reddifh
brown. Skinner derives the word, in this fenfe, from
the Latin a/bus, and the Italian bunio, from bruno,
il brown.”
ALBURNUM, the foft white fubftance which in
trees is found between the liber or inner bark and the
wood, and in progrefs of time acquiring folidity, be¬
comes itfelf the wood. From its colour and compara¬
tive foftnefs, it has been ftyled by fome waiters the lat
of trees, culeps arborutn.
The alburnum is found in large!! quantities in trees
that are vigorous; though in fuch as languifh, or are
fickly, there is a great number of beds. In an oak
fix inches in diameter, this fubilance is nearly equal in
bulk to the wood. In a trunk of one foot diameter,
it is as one to three and a half; of tvm and a half feet
diameter, as one to four and a half, &c. but thefe pro-
'portions vary according to the health and conftitution
of the trees.—The alburnum is frequently gnawed in
pieces by infe&s, which lodge in the fubftance, and are
nourilhed from it.
ALB URN US, in Zoology, a fpecies of the cyprinus
of Linnaeus. See Cyprinus, Ichthyology Index.
ALCA, or Auk. See Ornithology Index.
ALCiEUS, a famous ancient lyric poet, born at
Mitylene, in the bland of Lefbos. Horace leems to
think him the inventor of this kind of poefy :
Now the Roman mufe infpire,
And warm the fong with Grecian fire. Francis.
But when Alcaeus lifts the ftrain
To deeds of war and tyrants flain,
In thicker crowds the ihadowy throng ,
Drink deeper down the martial fong. Francis.
Alc.t.us, an Athenian tragic poet, and, as fome
think, the firft compofer of tragedies. He renoun¬
ced his native country Mitylene, and pafled for an A-
thenian. He left 10 pieces, one of which w’as Pa-
fiphae, that which he produced when he difputed wuth
Ariftophanes, in the 4th year of the 97^ Olympiad.
There is another Alc/eus mentioned in Plutarch,
perhaps the fame whom Porphyrius mentions as a com¬
pofer of fatirical iambics arid epigrams, and who wrote
a poem concerning the plagiarifm of Euphorus the hi-
ftorian. Fie lived in the 145th Olympiad.
We are told likewife of one Alcaeus, a Meflenian,
who lived in the reign of Vefpafian and Titus. We
know7 not which of thefe it was who fuffered for his
lew7dnefs a very lingular kind of death, which gave oc-
cafion to the following epitaph :
’AXKXiZ TCCpOi 8T&;, &.C.
This is Alcteus’s tomb j who died by a radifh,
The daughter of the earth, and punilher of Adulterers.
This punilhment inflicled on adulterers, was tbrufting:
one of the large!! radilhes up the anus of the adulterer:
or, for wrant of radifties, they made ufe of a fiih with
a very large head, which Juvenal alludes to :
^uofdam nuxchos et tnugihs intrat. Sat. x.
The mullet enters fome behind.
Hence w7e may underftand the menace of Catullus,
slh ! turn te mi/'ermn, malique fall,
^uem attraBus pedibus, patente porta,
Percurrent raphanique, mugilefque. Epig. xv.
Ah ! wretched thou, and born to lucklefs fate,
Who art difeover’d by the unftiut gate !
If once, alas ! the jealous hufband come,
The radilh or the fea-fiih is thy doom.
Akaic.
He flouriftied in the 44th Olympiad, at the fame time
with Sappho, who was likewife of Mitylene. Alcteus
was a great enemy to tyrants, but not a very brave fol-
dier. He was prefent at an engagement, wherein the
Athenians gained a vitlory over the Lefbians 3 and
here, as he himfelf is faid to have confefied in one of
his pieces, he threw down his arms, and faved himfelf
by flight. Horace, who, of all the Latin poets, moft
reiembled Alcaeus, has made the like confeftion :
With thee I faw Philippi’s plain,
Its fatal rout, a fearful feene !
And dropp’d, alas 1 th’ inglorious fhield,
Where valour’s felf was forc’d to yield 3
Where foil’d in duft the vanquifh’d lay,
And breath’d th’ indignant foul aw7ay. Francis.
The poetical abilities of Alcaeus are indifputable 3 and-
though his writings were chiefly in the lyric ftrain, yet
his mufe was capable of treating the fublimeft fubjects
with a fuitable dignity. Hence Horace fays,
Alcaeus ftrikes the golden ftrings,
And feas, and war, and exile, fings.
Thus while they ftrike the various lyre,
The ghofts the facred founds admire;
ALCAICS, in Ancient Poetry, a denomination given'
to feveral kinds of verfe, from Alcaeus, their inventor.
The firft kind confifts of five feet, viz. a fpondee, or
iambic 3 an iambic 3 a long fyllable 3 a dadlyle 3 ano¬
ther dadftyle : fuch is the following verfe of Horace :
Omnes j eo\dem cogimur, ] omnium
Verfa\tur ur\na \fcrius j ocyus |
Sors exitura.
The fecond kind confifts of two daflyles and two tro¬
chees : as,
Exili\iwi impoJi\tura \ cymb/z.
Befides thefe two, which are called daclylic Alcaics,'
there is another ftyled Amply Alaiic; confifting of an
epitrite 3 a choriambus ; another choriambus 3 and a
bacchius : the follow ing is of this fpecies,
Cur timet J!a\vutn Tiber bn tan\gere, cur J oltvuni ?
Alcaic Ode, a kind of manly ode compofed of ie-
veral ftrophes, each confifting of four verfes the two
firft of which are always Alcaics of the firft kind 3 the
third verfe is a diameter hypercataleftic, or confifting
of four feet and a long fyllable 3 and the fourth verle
is an Alca'ic of the fecond' kind. The following ftrophe
is
A L G
Alcaid
II
Alcanna.
is of tliis fpecies, which Horace calls minaces Alctvi
camerue.
Non po(Jidentem tnulla vocaveris
Retie beatum : reclius occupat
Nomen beati, qui deorutn
Muneribus fapicnter uti, (b'c.
ALCAID, Alcayde, or Alcalde, in the polity
of the Moors, Spaniards, and Portuguefe, a magillrate,
or officer of juftice, anfwering nearly to the French
provoft and the Britifh juftice of peace.—The alcaid
among the Moors is veiled with fupreme jurifdiclion,
both in civil and criminal cafes.
ALCALA de Guadeira, a fmall town of Spain,
in Andalufia, upon the river Guadeira. Here are
abundance of fprings, from whence they convey water
to Seville by an aquedudl. W. Long. 6. 16. N. Lat.
37-r5- . . '
Alcala de Tlenares, a beautiful and large city of
Spain, in New Caftile, feated upon the river Henares,
which wailies its walls. It is built in a very agreeable
plain, and is of an oval figure. The ftreets are hand-
i’ome and pretty ftraight } one of them is very long,
running from one end of the city to the other. The
honfes are well built •, and there are feveral fquares,
the largeft of which is an ornament to the city ; it is
furrounded on all fides with piazzas, where tradefmen
have their fliops, to expofe feveral forts of commodi¬
ties to fale, of which there is as great plenty and va¬
riety as in mod towns of Spain. The univerfity was
founded by Cardinal Ximenes, archbiffiop of Toledo,
about the beginning of the 16th century. The land
about Alcala is watered by the Henares, well cultiva¬
ted, and very fruitful, while that at a diftance is dry
and fterile : it yields grain in plenty, very good muf-
cat wine, and melons of a delicious kind. Without
the wTalls is a fpring, the v'ater of which is fo pure and
fo well tafted, that it is inclofed and Unit up for the
king of Spain’s owm ufe, from whence it is carried to
Madrid.—This city is 10 miles fouth-wreft of Guada-
laxara, and 13 miles eaft of Madrid. W. Long. 4. 20.
N. Lat. 40. 30.
ALCALA-Real, a fmall city of Spain, in Andalufia,
with a fine abbey. It is built on the top of a high
mountain, in a mountainous country j and the road to
it is incommodious, rough, and unequal ; but to make
amends for this, here are feveral kinds of exquifite fruit
and wine. W. Long. 4. 15. N. Lat. 37. 18.
ALCALY, or Alcali, or Alkali. See Che¬
mistry Index.
ALCANIS, a town of Arragon in Spain, feated
on the river Guadeloupe, 12 miles from Cafpe. It
was formerly the capital of the kingdom of the Moors j
but being taken from them, it wras made a commandery
of the order of Calatrava. Here is a very remarkable
fountain, which throw’s up water through 42 pipes.
It is furrounded with gardens and fruit trees, and de¬
fended by a good fortrefs. W. Long. o. 5. N. Lat.
41. o.
ALCANNA, or Alkanna, in Commerce, a powT-
der prepared from the leaves of the Egyptian privet,
in which the people of Cairo drive a coniiderable trade.
It is much ufed by the Turkifh women to give a gol¬
den colour to their nails and hair. In dyeing, it gives
a yellow colour wffien fteeped with common water, and
'Vol. I. Part II.
[ 569 I
A L C
a red one when infufed in vinegar. There is alio an
oil extra&ed from the berries of alcanna, which is
fometimes ufed in medicine.
ALCANTARA, a fmall, but very ftrong city of
Eftremadura, in Spain. It gives name to one of the
three orders of knighthood. It is feated on the banks
of the Tajo, or Tagus, 21 miles from Coria, in a
very fruitful foil, and is celebrated for its bridge over
that river. This wras built in the time of the emperor
Trajan, as appears by an infcription over one of the
arches, by the people of Lufitania, who were affefied
to fupply the expence. It is raifed 200 feet above the
level of the wrater 5 and though it confifts but of fix
arches, is 670 feet in length, and 28 in breadth. At
the entrance of the bridge, there is a fmall antique
chapel hewn in a rock by the ancient Pagans, who de¬
dicated it to Trajan, as the Chriftians did to St Julian.
'Phis city wTas built by the Moors, on account of the
convenience of this bridge 5 wrhich is at a place where
the Tajo is very deep, running between two high fteep
rocks: for this reafon they called it Al-Cantara, which
in their language, fignifies the Bridge. It was taken
from them in 1214, and given to the knights of Cala¬
trava, who afterwards affumed the name of Alcantara.
It wTas taken by the earl of Galway, in April, 1706,
and retaken by the French in November following.
It is 45 miles from Madrid, and 125 from Seville,
W. Long. 7. 12.. N. Lat. 39. 30.
Knights of Alcaktara, a military order of Spain,
which took its name from the above-mentioned city.
They make a very confiderable figure in the hiftory of
the expeditions againft the Moors. The knights of
Alcantara make the fame vows as thofe of .Calatrava,
and are only diftinguiftied from them by this, that the
crofs fleur de lys, wffiich they bear over a large white
cloak, is of a green colour. They poflefs 37 com-
manderies. By the terms of the furrender of Alcan¬
tara to this order, it was ftipulated, that there ftiould
be a confraternity between the twro orders, writh the
fame pradtices and obfervances in bothy and that the
order of Alcantara Ihould be fubjedf to be vifited by
the grand-mafter of Calatrava. But the former foon
releafed themfelves from this engagement, on pretence
that their grand-mafter had not been called to the elec¬
tion of that of Calatrava, as had been likewdfe ftipula¬
ted in the articles. After the expulfion of the Moors,
and the taking of Granada, the fovereignty of the or¬
der of Alcantara and that of Calatrava was fettled in
the crowm of Caftile by Ferdinand and Ifabella.—In
1540, the knights of Alcantara fued for leave to mar¬
ry, wffiich wras granted them.
ALCAREZ, a fmall city of La Mancha, in Spain
defended by a pretty ftrong caftle, and remarkable for
an ancient aquedudf. It Hands near the river Guarda-
mena, and the foil about it is very fruitful. They
have a breed of little running horfes, which are very
fleet and ftrong. It is 25 miles north of the confines
of Andalufia, 108 fouth of Cuenza, and 138 fouth by
eaft of Madrid. W. Long. 1. 50. N. Lat. 38. 28.
ALCASS AR do-sal, a town of Portugal, in Eftre¬
madura, which has a caftle faid to be impregnable. It
is indeed very ftrong, both by art and nature, being
built on the top of a rock wffiich is exceedingly fteep on
all fides. Here is a falt-work which produces very
white falt; from whence the towm takes its name. The
4 C fields
Alt antera
I!
Akaffar.
A L e [ 570 ] A L C
Alcaffar fields produce large quantities of a fmt of ruflies, of
1! which they make mats, which are transported out of
A the kingdom. W. Long. 9. 10. N. Lat. 38. 18.
Alcassar, a city of Barbary, feated about two
leagues from Larache, in Afga, a province of the king¬
dom of Fez. It was of great note, and the feat of the
governor of this part of the kingdom. It was built
by Jacob Almanzor, king of Fez, about the year 1180,
and defigned for a magazine and place of rendezvous
for the great preparations he was making to enter
Granada in Spain, and to make good the footing Jo-
feph Almanzor had got fome time before. It is faid
his father firll invaded Spain with 300,000 men, moll
of whom he was obliged to bring back to Africa to
quell a rebellion that had broke out in Morocco. 'I his
done, he returned to Spain again with an army, as is
faid, of 200,000 hoife and 300,000 foot. The city
is now fallen greatly to decay, fo that of fifteen mofques
there are only two that they make ufe of. 1 he reafon,
probably, is the bad fituation of the town j for it flands
fo low, that it is exceflively hot in fummer, and almoll
overflowed with water in the winter. This they affirm
to be owing to a curfe of one of their faints. Here
are a great number of ftorks, who live very familiarly
with the people, walking about the town, poflefling
the tops of the houfes and mofques without molefta-
tion 5 for they efleem them facred birds, and account it
finful to diilurb them. At prefent, the balhaw of Te-
tuan appoints a governor to this town, which is the
laft of his dominions towards Mequinez. Near this city
there is a high ridge of mountains, running towards
Tetuan, whofe inhabitants were never brought entirely
under fubjeffion •, and whenever it was attempted, they
revenged themfelves by infefting the roads, and robbing
and deifroying the travellers. When they were purfued,
they retired into their woody mountains, where none
could fafely follow them. Not far from hence is the
river Elmahaffen, famous for the battle fought between
Don Sebaftian king of Portugal and the Moors 5 in
which the Portuguefe were defeated and their king
flain. W. Long. 1 2. 35. N. Lat. 35. 15.
ALCAVALA, in the Spani/h finances, was at
firll a tax of xo per cent, afterwards of 14 per cent, and
is at prefent of only 6 per cent, upon the fale of every
fort of property, whether moveable or immoveable j
and it is repeated every time the property is fold. The
levying of this tax requires a multitude of revenue-of¬
ficers fufficient to guard the tranfportation of goods,
not only from one province to another, but from one
fhop to another. It fubjefts not only the dealers in
fome forts of goods, but thofe in all forts, every farmer,-
every manufaidurer, every merchant and fhopkeeper,.
trt the continual vifits and examination of the tax-
gatherers. Through the greater part of a country in
which a tax of this kind is eftablifhed, nothing can
be produced for diflant fale. The produce of every
part of the country mult be proportioned to the confump-
tion of the neighbourhood. It is to the Alcavala, ac¬
cordingly, that Ullaritz imputes the ruin of the manu-
faftures of Spain. He might have imputed to it like-
wife the declennon of agriculture, it being impofed not
only upon manufactures, but upon the rude produce of
the land.
ALCAZAR leguer, a town of Africa, in the
kingdom of Fez, and in the province of Ilshat. It
3
was taken by Alphonfo, king of Portugal, in 1468 5 A
but foon after that, it was abandoned to the Moors.
It is feated on the coald of the flraits of Gibraltar.
W. Long. 3.50. N. Lat. 38. o.
ALCAZER, a town of Spain, in New Callile, feat¬
ed on the river Guardamena, which has a fortreis on
a high hill for its defence, and lies in a very fruitful
country. It is 100 miles north-well of Caithagena.
W. Long. 2. 10. N. Lat. 38. 15.
ALCE, Alces, or Elk, in '/.oology, the trivial name
of a fpecies of the cervus, belonging to the order of
mammalia pecora. See Cervus.
ALCEA, the Holly-Hock. See Botany Index.
ALCEDO, or Kingsfisher. See Ornithology
Index.
ALCPIEMILLA, or Ladies-mantle. See Bo¬
tany Index.
ALCFIEMIST, a praflitioner in alchemy.
ALCHEMY, that branch of chemillry which had
for its principal objefls the tranfmutation of metals
into gold \ the panacea, or univerfal remedy 5 an alka-
hefl, or univerfal menltruum 5 an univerfal fernaent j
and many other things equally ridiculous.
Kircher, inftrufled in all the fecrets of chemillry,
has fully expofed the artifices and impollures of alche-
miils. An alchemift puts into a crucible the matter
which is to be converted into gold : this he fets on the
fire, blows it, llirs it with rods 5 and, after divers ope¬
rations, gold is found at the bottom of the crucible,
inllead of the matter firll: put in. This there are a
thoufand ways of effedling, without any tranfmuta¬
tion. Sometimes it is done by dexteroufly dropping in
a piece of gold concealed between the fingers, lome-
times by calling in a little of the dull of gold or filver
difguifed under the appearance of fome elixir, or other
indifferent matter 5 fometimes a crucible is ufed which
has a double bottom, and gold put between the tw^o j
fometimes the rod ufed to llir the matter is hollow,
and filled with the dull of the metal defired } at other
times there is metal mixed with the charcoal, the afhes
of the furnace, or the like. Mr Harris very properly
diltinguifhes alchemy from chemillry 5 and defines
the former to be ars fine arte, cujus principium ef mcn-
tiri, medium labor are, et fnis mendicare; and the Ita¬
lians have a proverb, non tifdiare al alchennjla povero
0 medico amalato. The ruin which has attended this
delufion has occafioned feveral Hates to make fevere
laws againll pretences to alchemy. The Romans for¬
merly baniihed all fuch as profeffed it; and the facred
canons likewife direfted the thunder of their cen-
fure againft them. Dioclefian and Caefar direfled alb
books which treated of this fubjecl to be burnt. Ry-
mer furnilhes us- with a licenfe for praflifing alchemy,
with all kinds of metals and minerals, granted to one
Richard Carter in 14.76; Rym. Feed. tom. xii. Ne-
verthelefs, we have had fevere laws againft alchemy,,
and multiplying of metals, as much fo as againll coin¬
ing itfelf.
ALCHORNEA. See Botany Index.
ALCIAT or Alciate, Andrew, a great lawyer,
who flourifhed in the icth century, was born at Milan..
He mixed much of polite learning in the explication
of the laws, and happily drove out the barbarity of
language which till then had reigned in the lectures
and writings of lawyers: for which I huanus highly
praifea-
A L C [ 571 ] A L C
Aiciluades pralfes him. He publiihed a great many law-books,
II and fome notes upon Tacitus. His Emblems have been
. Alcmnrr.. admired, and tranflated into French, Italian, and
’ " Spaniih j and feVeral learned men have written com¬
mentaries on them.
ALCIBIADES, an Athenian general. It was the
fate of this great man to live at a time when his coun¬
try was a fcene of confulion. The Greeks, grown in-
folent from their conquefts in Perfia, turned their armies
againft each other, and bandied together under the
conduiff of the two moft opulent (f ates, Athens and La-
cedtemon. Alcibiades, in the midlt of an expedition
he had planned againlf the enemies of his country, was
recalled home to anfwer fome charge of a private na¬
ture ) but fearing the violence of his enemy, inftead
of going to Athens, he offered his fervices at Sparta,
where they were readily accepted. By his advice the
Lacedaemonians made adeague with Perlia, which gave
a very favourable turn to their affairs. But Ins credit
in the republic railing jealoufies againft him, he pri¬
vately reconciled himfelf to his country, and took a-
gain the command of an Athenian army. Here victory,
waiting as it were at his command, attended all his
motions. The lofs of feven battles obliged the Spar¬
tans to fue for peace. He enjoyed his triumphs, how¬
ever, only a fhort time at Athens. One unfuccefsful
event made him again obnoxious to the malice of his
citizens •, and he found it expedient to retire from A-
thens. In his abfence the Spartans again took the lead,
and at the fatal battle of ./Egos entirely fubdued the
Athenian power. Alcibiades, though an exile, endea¬
voured to reflore the power of his country ; of which
the Spartans having intelligence, procured him to be
affaffmated. He was a man of admirable accomplifh-
ments, but indifferently principled ; of great parts;
and of an amazing verfatility of genius.
ALCINOUS, king of the Phaeacians, in the ifland
now called Corfu, was fon of Naufithous, and grand-
fon of Neptune and Peribea. It is by his gardens this
king has chiefly immortalized his memory. He re¬
ceived Ulyffes with much civility, when a (form had
call him on his coaft. The people here loved pleafure
and good cheer, yet were fkilful feamen ; and Alcinous
was a good prince.
ALCMAER, a city of the United Provinces, feat-
ed in North Holland, about four miles from tbe fea,
15 from Haerlem, and 18 from Amfterdam. It is a
handfome city, and one of the cleaneft in Holland.
The flreets and houfes are extremely neat and regular,
and the public buildings very beautiful. It had for¬
merly two parifh-churches, dedicated to St Matthew
and St Lawrence. The latter had fo high a tower,
that it ferved for a fea mark to the veffels that were in
the open fea; but, in 1464, it tumbled down, and
damaged the other church fo much, that they were
both demolifhed in 1670, and one church was built in
their (lead, dedicated to the fame faints. The Spaniards,
under the command of Frederic of Toledo, fon of the
duke of Alva, came to befiege it, after they had taken
Haerlem in 1573 ; but were forced to raife the fiege,
after three months lying before it, as well on account
of the infection of the air as the flout refiflance of the
inhabitants and foldiers ; even the women fignalizing
themfelves bravely in its defence. It is recorded in
the regifler of this city, that) in the year 1637, 120
tulips, with the offsets, fold for 90,000 florins. The Aleman
town has a very good trade in butter and cheefe, of ^ ^
which a vail quantity is fold every year, and is efleem-,
ed the bed in Holland. E. Long. 4. 26. N. Lat.
52. 28.
ALCMAN, a lyric poet, who flouriflied in the 27th
Olympiad, about 670 years before Chnfl. He was
born at Sparta ; and compofed feveral poems, of which
only fome fragments are remaining, quoted by Athe-
naeus and fome other ancient writers. He was very
amorous ; accounted the father of gallant poefy ; and
is faid to have been the firft that introduced the cuflom
of finging love fongs in company. He is reported to
have.been one of the greatefl eaters of his age ; upon
which Mr Bayle remarks, that fuch a quality would
have been extremely inconvenient, if poetry had been
at that time upon fuch a footing as it has been often
fmee, not able to procure the poet bread. He died of
a flrange difeafe ; for he was eaten up with lice.
ALCMAN I AN, in Ancient Lyric Poetry, a kind
of verfe confiding of two da&yles and two trochees;
as,—
Virgini\bus pui\rifque\canto.
The word is formed from Aleman, the name of an an¬
cient Greek poet, in great edeem for his erotics or
amorous compodtions.
ALCMENA, the daughter of Eleflryo king of
Mycenae, and wife of Amphitryon. Jupiter putting
on the diape of her hufband while he was abroad in
the wars, begot Hercules upon her : he made that
night as long as three ordinary ones.
ALCOCK, John, doflor of laws, and bidiop of Ely
in the reign of King Henry VII. was born at Beverly
in Yorkdiire, and educated at Cambridge. He was
fird made dean of Wedmmder, and afterwards ap¬
pointed mader of the rolls. In 1471, he was confe-
crated bifliop of Rocheder : in 1476, he was tranflated
to the fee of Worceder ; and in i486, to that of Ely,
in the room of Dr John Morton, preferred to the fee
of Canterbury. He was a prelate of great learning
and piety ; and fo highly edeemed by King Henry,
that he appointed him lord prefident of Wales, and
afterwards lord chancellor of England. Alcock found¬
ed a fchool at Kingdon upon Hull, and built the fpa-
cious hall belonging to the epifcopal palace at Ely.
He was alio the founder of Jefus-college in Cambridge,
for a mader, fix fellows, and as many fcholars. This
houfe was formerly a nunnery, dedicated to St Radi-
gund : and, as Godwin tells us, the building being
greatly decayed, and the revenues reduced almoil to
nothing, the nuns had all forfaken it, except two ;
whereupon Bidiop Alcock procured a grant from the
crown, and converted it into a college. But Camden
and others tell us, that the nuns of that houfe were
fo notorious for their incontinence, that King EJenry VII.
and Pope Julius II. confented to its diffolution : Bale
accordingly calls this nunnery fpiritualium meretricum
cambium, “ a community of fpiritual harlots.” Bifhop
Alcock wTrote feveral pieces ; amongd which are the
following ; 1. Mans Pcrfc&ionis. 2. In Pfalmos Pe¬
nitent ia/es. 3. Homilia- Vulgares. 4. Meditationes Pirn.
He died October 1. 1500; and was buried in the
chapel he had built at Kingflon upon Hull.
ALCOHOL, or Alkool, in Chemiflry, fpirit of
wine highly rectified. It is alfo ufed for any highly
4 C 2 re&ified
Alcoran.
A L G [57
Alcohol rectified fplrit.—Alcohol Is extremely'light and inflam¬
mable : It is a ftrong antifeptic, and therefore employ-
1 ed to preferve animal fubllances. bee Chemistry
Index.
Alcohol is alfo ufed for any fine impalpable
powder.
ALCOHOLIZATION, the procefs of reftifying
any fpirit. It is alfo ufed for pulverization.
ALCOR, in AJlronomy, a fmall ftar adjoining to
the large bright one in the middle of the tail of urfa
major.—The word is Arabic. It is a proverb among
the Arabians, applied to one who pretends to fee fmall
things, but overlooks much greater : Thou canjifee Al-
cor, and yet not fee the full moon.
ALCORAN, or Al-koran, the fcripture, or bible
of the Mahometans. The word is compounded of the
Arabic particle al, and coran or koran, derived from
the verb caraa or karaa, to read. The word therefore
properly lignifies, the reading; or rather, that which
ought to be read. By this name the Mahometans de¬
note not only the entire book or volume of the Koran,
but alfo any particular chapter or feclion of it ; juft as
the Jews call either the whole Scripture, or any part of
it, by the name of Karah, or Mihra, words of the fame
origin and import.
Befides this peculiar name, the Koran is alfo honour¬
ed with fever al appellations common to other books of
Scripture : as, al Farkhn, from the vzr\) foraha, to di¬
vide or dijlinguijh ; not, as the Mahometan doctors fay,
becaufe thole books are divided into chapters or fec-
tions, or diftinguifh between good and evil; but in the
fame notion that the Jews ufe the word Perek, or Pirha,
from the fame root, to denote a feflion or portion of
Scripture. It is alfo called al Mojhaf the volume, and
al Kit ah, the book, by way of eminence, which anfwers
to the Biblia of the Greeks j and al Dhikr, the admo¬
nition, which name is alfo given to the Pentateuch and
Gofpel.
The Koran is divided into 114 larger portions of very
unequal length, which we call chapters ; but the Ara¬
bians fowar, in the Angular fura, a word rarely ufed
on any other occafion, and properly Signifying a row,
order, or a regular feries •, as a courfe of bricks in
building, or a rank of foldiers in an army ; and is the
fame in ufe and import with the Sura, or I ora, of the
jews, who alfo call the fifty three fed ions of the Pen¬
tateuch Sedarim, a word of the fame fignification.
Thefe chapters are not, in the manufcript copies, di-
ftinguahed by their numerical order, but by particular
titles, which are taken fometimes from a particular
matter treated of, or perfon mentioned therein j but
ufually from the find word of note, exactly in the fame
manner as the Jews have named their Sedarim \ though
the word from which fome chapters are denominated
be very far diftant, towards the middle, or perhaps the
end, of the chapter 3 which feems ridiculous. But the
occafion of this appears to have been, that the verfe or
paflage wherein fuch word occurs, was, in point of
time, revealed and committed to writing before the
other verfes of the fame chapter which precede it ip or¬
der 3 and the title being given to the chapter before it
was completed, or the paffages reduced to.their prefent
order, the verfe from whence fuch title wTas taken did
not always happen to begin the chapter. Some chap-
2 ] A L C
ters have two or more titles, occafioned by the difference
of the copies.
Some of the chapters having been revealed at Mecca,
and others at Medina, the noting this difference makes
a part of the title : but the reader will obferve, that fe-
veral of the chapters are faid to have been revealed part¬
ly at Mecca and partly at Medina 3 and, as to others,
it is yet a difpute among the commentators to which
of the two places they belong.
Every chapter is fubdivided into fmaller portions, of
very unequal length alfo, which wTe cuftomarily call
verfes : but the Arabic word is ayat, the fame with the
Hebrew ototh, and fignifies fgns or wonders: fuch as
are the fecrets of God, his attributes, works, judge¬
ments, and ordinances, delivered in thofe verfes 3 many
of which have their particular titles alfo, impofed in
the fame manner as thofe of the chapters.
Befides thefe unequal divifions of chapter and verfe,
the Mahometans have alfo divided their Koran into fix-
ty equal portions, which they call Ah%ab, in the lin¬
gular Hi%b, each fubdivided into four equal parts; which
is alfo an imitation of the Jews, who have an ancient
divifion of their Mifhna into fixty portions called Maf-
ftcloth. But the Koran is more ufually divided into
thirty fettions only, named Aj-za, from the Angular
Jo%, each of twice the length of the former, and in the
Tike manner fubdivided into four parts. Thefe divi¬
fions are for the ufe of the readers of the Koran in the
royal temples, or in the adjoining chapels where the
emperors and great men are interred. There are thirty
of thefe readers belonging to every chapel, and each
reads his feclion every day ; fo that the whole Koran is
read over once a-day.
Next after the title, at the head of every chapter,
except only the ninth, is prefixed the following folemrt
form, by the Mahometans called the Bifmallah, In
THE NAME OF THE MOST MERCIFUL Goo; which
form they conftantly place at the beginning of all their
books and writings in general, as a peculiar mark or
diftinguifhing chara&eriftic of their religion, it being
counted a fort of impiety to omit it. The Jews, for
the fame purpofe, make ufe of the form, In the name
of the Lord, or, In the name of the great Gob 3 and
the eaftern Chriftians that of, In the name of the Fa¬
ther, and of the Son, and of the Holy Ghojl. But Ma¬
homet probably took this form, as he did many other
things, from the Perfian Magi, who ufed to begin
their books in thefe words, Benam Te%dan bak-
Jhaifhgher dadar ; that is, In the name of the moji mer¬
ciful juft God.
There are twenty-nine chapters of the Koran, which
have this peculiarity, that they begin with certain let¬
ters of the alphabet, fome with a fingle one, others with
more. Thefe letters the Mahometans believe to be
the peculiar marks of the Koran, and to conceal feve-
ral profound myfteries 3 the certain underftanding of
which, the more*intelligent confefs, has not been com¬
municated to any mortal, their prophet only excepted.
Notwithftanding which, fome will take the liberty of
guefling at their meaning by that fpecies of Cabala
called by the Jews Notcrikon, and fuppofe the letters
to ftand for as many words, expreilmg the names and
attributes of God, his works, ordinances, and decrees 3
and therefore thefe myfterious letters, as well as the
Alcoran.
A L C
Alcoran, verfes themfelves, feem in the Koran to be called
Others explain the intent of thefe letters from their
nature or organ, or elfe from their value in numbers,
according to another fpecies of the Jewifh Cabala call¬
ed Gematria ; the uncertainty of which conje&ures fuf-
ficiently appears from their difagreement. Thus, for
example, five chapters, one of which is the fecond, be¬
gins with thefe letters, A. L. M. which fome imagine
to Hand for Allah latiff magid, ‘‘God is gracicus and
to be glorified A1 or, Ana liminni, i. e. to me and from
mey viz. belongs all perfection, and proceeds all good •,
or elfe for Ana Allah alamy “ / am the mojl wife
God,” taking the firft letter to mark the beginning
of the firft word, the fecond the middle of the fecond
word, and the third the laft of the third word j or for
Allah, Gabriel, Mohammed, the author, revealer, and
preacher of the Koran. Others fay, that as the letter
A belongs to the lower part of the throat, the firft of
the organs of fpeech j L to the palate ; the middle or¬
gan ; and M to the lips, which are the laft organ •, fo
thefe letters fignify that God is the beginning, middle,
and end, or ought to be praifed in the beginning, mid¬
dle, and end, of all our words and a&ions : or, as the
total value of thofe three letters, in numbers is feventy-
one, they fignify, that, in the fpace of fo many years,
the religion preached in the Koran fhould be fully efta-
blifhed. The conjefture of a learned Chriftian is at
leaft as certain as any of the former, who fuppofes
thofe letters were fet there by the amanuenfis, for
Amar li Mohammed, i. e. at the cojnmand of Moham¬
med, as the five letters prefixed to the nineteenth chap¬
ter feem to be there written by a Jewifh fcribe, for
Coh yaas, i. e. Thus he commanded.
The Koran is univerfally allowed to be written with
the utmoft elegance and purity of language, in the dia¬
lect of the tribe of Koreiih, the moft noble and polite
of all the Arabians, but with fome mixture, though
very rarely, of other dialers. It is confefiedly the
ftandard of the Arabic tongue, and, as the more or¬
thodox believe, and are taught by the book itfelf, ini¬
mitable by any human pen (though fome feftaries have
been of another opinion), and therefore infilled on as a
permanent miracle, greater than that of railing the
dead, and alone {efficient to convince the world of its
divine original.
And to this miracle did Mahomet himfeif chiefly
appeal for the confirmation of his miffion, publicly
challenging the moft eloquent men in Arabia, which
was at that time flocked with thoufands whofe foie
ftudy and ambition it was to excel in elegance of ftyle
and compofitionj to produce even a fingle chapter that
might be compared with it (a).
To the pomp and harmony of expreffion fome aferibe
all the force and effett of the Alcoran ; which they
conftder as a fort of mufic, equally fitted with other fpe¬
cies of that art to raviffi and amaze. In this Mahomet
fucceeded fo well, and fo ftrangely captivated the minds
of his audience, that feveral of his opponents thought
A L C
it the eftedft of witchcraft and enchantment, as he him- Alcoran,
felf complains.—Others have attributed the effeft of v
the Alcoran to the frequent mention of rew’ards and
punifhments •, heaven and hell occurring almoft in eve¬
ry page. Some fuppofe, that the fenfual pleafures of
paradife, fo frequently fet before the imaginations of
the readers of the Alcoran, were what chiefiy bewitch¬
ed them. Though, with regard to thefe, there ?s a
great difpute whether they are to be underftood lite¬
rally or fpiritually. Several have even allegorized the
whole book.
The general defign of the Koran vras to unite the
profeffors of the three different religions, then followed
in the populous country of Arabia (wffio for the moft
part lived promifcuoufly, and wandered without guides,
the far greater number being idolaters, and the reft
Jews and Chriftians moftly of erroneous and heterodox,
belief), in the knowledge and worfhip of one God,
under the fan&ion of certain laws, and the outward
figns of ceremonies partly of ancient and partly of no¬
vel inftitution, enforced by the confideration of re¬
wards and puniftunents both temporal and eternal j
and to bring them all to the obedience of Mahomet,
as the prophet and ambaffador of God, who, after the
repeated admonitions, promifes, and threats, of former
ages, was at laft to eftabliffi and propagate God’s re¬
ligion on earthy and to be acknowledged chief pontiff
in fpiritual matters, as well as fupreme prince in tem¬
poral.
The great doftrine then of the Koran, is the unity
of God j to reftore which point Mahomet pretended
was the chief end of his miftiqn •, it being laid down
by him as a fundamental truth, That there never was,
nor ever can be, more than one true orthodox religion.
For, though the particular laws or ceremonies are only
temporary, and fubjefl to alteration, according to the
divine direftion ; yet the fubftance of it being eternal
truth, is not liable to change, but continues immutably
the fame. And he taught, that, whenever this reli¬
gion became neglefted, or corrupted in effentials, God
had the goodnefs to re-inform and re-admonifh man¬
kind thereof, by feveral prophets, of whom Mofes and
Jefus were tire moft diftinguifhed., till the appearance
of Mahomet, who is their feal, and no other to be ex¬
pelled after him. The more effe&ually to engage
people to hearken to him, great part of the Koran is
employed in relating examples of dreadful punifhments
formerly infiidted by God on thofe who reje&ed and
abufed his meffengers ; feveral of which ftories, or
fome circumftances of them, are taken from the Old
and New’ Teftaments, but many more from the apo¬
cryphal books and traditions of the Jew's and Chri¬
ftians of thofe ages, fet up in the Koran as truths in op¬
position to the Scriptures, which the Jews and Chri-
ftians are charged with having altered : and indeed,
few or none of the relations or circumftances in the
Koran wrere invented by Mahomet, as is generally
fuppofed, it being eafy to trace the greateft part c£
* them
[ 573 1
(a) As the compofition and arrangement of words, however, admit of infinite t'arieties, it can never be ab-
folutely faid that any one is the beft poffible. In faft, Hamzah Benahmed wrote a book again!! the Alcoran
with at leaft equal elegance } and Mofelema another, wffiich even furpaffed it, and occafioned a defeftion of a
cveat part of the Muffulmans. Journ. de S^av. tom. xiii. p. 280. Oeuvr. de S$av, Nov, 1708, p. 404.
A L 0 [ j;
them much higher, as the reft might be, were more of
' thofe books extant, and was it worth while to make
the inquiry.
The reft of the Alcoran is taken up in prefcribing
neceffary laws and directions, frequent admonitions to
moral and divine virtues, the worftiip and reverence of
the Supreme Being, and refignation to his will. One
of titar moft learned commentators diftinguiflies the
contents of the Alcoran into allegorical and literal;
under the former are comprehended all the obfeure,
parabolical, and enigmatical paffages, with fuch as are
repealed, or abrogated ; the latter, fuch as are clear,
and in full force.
The moft excellent moral in the whole Alcoran, in¬
terpreters fay, is that in the chapter Al Alraf, viz.
“■Shew' mercy, do good to all, and dilpute not with the
ignorantor, as Mr Sale renders it, “ Ufe indulgence,
command that which is juft, and withdraw far from the
ignorant.” Mahomet, according to the authors of the
Kefchaf, having begged of the angel Gabriel a more
ample explication of this paffage, received it in the fol¬
lowing terms: “ Seek him who turns thee out, give to
him who takes from thee, pardon him who injures
thee j for God will have you plant in your fouls the
roots of his chief perfeftions.” It is eafy to fee that
this commentary is copied from the gofpel. In reali¬
ty, the necefllty of forgiving enemies, though fre¬
quently inculcated in the Alcoran, is of a later dat^
among the Mahometans than among the Chriftians j
among thofe latter, than among the heathens •, and to
be traced originally among the Jews. (See Exodus
xxxiii. 4. <;.) But it matters not fo much who had it
fft-ft, as who obferves it beft. The caliph Haffan, fon
of Hali, being at table, a Have unfortunately let fall a
difh of meat reeking hot, which fealded him feverely.
The Have fell on his knees, rehearfmg thefe words of
the Alcoran, “ Paradife is for thofe who reftrain their
anger.” I am not angry with thee, anfwered the
caliph.—“ And for thofe who forgive offences againft
them,” continues the Have. I forgive thee thine, re¬
plies the caliph “ But above all, for thofe wBo teturn
good for evil,” adds the Have. I fet thee at liberty,
rejoined the caliph ; and I give thee ten dinars.
There are alfo a great number of occaftonal paffages
in the Alcoran, relating only to particular emergencies.
For this advantage Mahomet had in the piecemeal me¬
thod of receiving his revelation, that whenever he hap¬
pened to be perplexed and gravelled w-ith any thing, he
bad a certain refource in fome new morfel of revelation.
It was an admirable contrivance of his, to bring down
the whole Alcoran at once, only to the loweft heaven,
not to earth *, ftnee, had the whole been publifhed at
once, innumerable objedlions would have been made,
which it would have been impoffible for him to folve ;
but as he received it by parcels, as God faw fit they
fhould be publifhed for the converfion and inftruftion
of the people, he had a fure way to anfwer all emer¬
gencies, and to extricate himfelf with honour from any
difficulty which might occur.
It is the general and orthodox belief among the Ma¬
hometans, that the Koran is of divine^ original} nay,
that it is eternal and uncreated, remaining, as fome ex-
prefs it, in the very effence of God : that the firft
tranfeript has been from everlafting by God’s throne,
written on a table of vaft bignefs, called the preferved
4 ] A L c
table, in which are alfo recorded the divine decrees
paft and future : that a copy from this table, in one '
volume on paper, was by the miniftry of the angel Ga¬
briel fent down to the loweft heaven, in the month of
Ramadan, on the night of power: from whence Ga¬
briel revealed it to Mahomet by parcels, fome at Mec¬
ca, and fome at Medina, at different times, during the
fpace of 23 years, as the exigency of affairs required ;
giving him, however, the confolation to fliow him the
whole (which they tell us was bound in filk, and
adorned with gold and precious ftones of paradife)
once a-year ; but in the laft year of his life he had the
favour to fee it twice. They fay, that few chapters
were delivered entire, the moft part being revealed
piecemeal, and written down from time to time by
the prophet’s amanuenfis in fuch a part of fuch and
fuch a chapter, till they were completed, according to
the directions of the angel. T he fii ft parcel that was re¬
vealed is generally agreed to have been the firft five
verfes of the 96th chapter.
After the new-revealed paffages had been from the •
prophet’s mouth taken down in writing by his feribe,
they were publithed to his followers 5 leveral of whom
took copies for their private ufe, but the far greater
number got them by heart. T. he originals, when re¬
turned, were put promifeuoufly into a cheft, obferving
no order of time ; for which reafon it is uncertain when
many paffages were revealed.
When Mahomet died, he left his revelations in the
fame diforder, and not digefted into the method, fueh
as it is, in which we now find them. This was the
work of his fucceffor Abu Beer} who, confidering
that a great number of paffages were committed to
the memory of Mahomet’s followers, many of whom
were Hain in their wars, ordered the whole to be
collefted, not only from the palm-leaves and fldns on
which they had been written, and which were kept
between two boards or covers, but alfo from the
mouths of fuch as had gotten them by heart. And
this tranfeript, when completed, he committed to the
cuftody of Haffa the daughter of Omar, one of the
prophet’s widows. s
From this relation it is generally imagined that Abu
Beer was really the compiler of the Koran •, though,
for aught appears to the contrary, Mahomet left the
chapters complete as we now have them, excepting fuch
paffages as his fucceffor might add or correCt from
thofe who had gotten them by heart j what Abu Beer
did elfe, beir?g perhaps 110 more than to range the
chapters in their prefent order, which he feems to have
done without any regard to time, having generally
placed the longeft firft.
However, in the 30th year of the Hegira, Othman
being then caliph, and obferving the great difagree-
ment in the copies of the Koran in the leveral pro¬
vinces of the empire : thole of Irak, for example, iol-
lowing the reading of Abu Mufa al Aftiari, and the
Syrians that of Macdad Ebn Afwad } he, by the ad¬
vice of the companions, ordered a great number of co¬
pies to be tranferibed from that of Abu Beer, in Haf-
fa’s care, under the inlpeClion of Zeid Ebn .Fhabet,
Abd’allah Ebn Zobair, Said Ebn al As, and Abd’al-
rahman Ebn al Hareth the Makhzumite } whom he
direfted, that, wherever they difagreed about any
word, they ftiould write it in the dialed of the Ko-
Akeran.
mstanifm
P* *57*
A L C [ 575
Alcoran, reifh, in wKicK it was at firlt delivered. Thefe copies,
when made, were difperfed in the feveral provices of
the empire, and the old ones burnt and fu^prefled.
Though many things in Haifa’s copy were correfted
by the above-mentioned revifers, yet fome few various
readings Hill occur.
In fine, the book of the Alcoran is held in the highell
efteem and reverence among the Muffelmans. They
dare not lb much as touch the Alcoran without being
firlt waihed, or legally purified j to prevent which, an
infcription is put on the cover or label, Let none touch
but they who are clean. It is read with great care and
refpedt} being never held below the girdle. They
fwear by it *, take omens from it on all weighty occa-
fions •, carry it with them to war j write fentences of it
in their banners 5 adorn it with gold and precious Hones;
and knowingly fuffer it not to be in the pofleflion of
any of a different religion. Some fay that it is punilh-
able even with death, in a Chriffiau, to touch it ;
others, that the veneration of the Muffulmans leads
them to condemn the tranflating it into any other
language as a profanation: but thefe feem to be ag¬
gravations. The Mahometans have taken care to have
their Scripture tranflated into the Perfian, the Javanele,
the Malayan, and other languages; though, out of
refpedl to the original, thefe verfions are generally, if
not always, interlineated.
0/ By the advocates of Mahometanifm, the Koran, as
Cbrijllanity already obferved, has always been held forth as the
and Mala- greateff of miracles, and equally ffupendous with the
a£t of railing the dead. The miracles of Mofes and
Jefus, they fay, -were tranfient and temporary 5 but that
of the Koran is permanent and perpetual; and there¬
fore far furpaffes all the miraculous events of preceding
ages. We will not detraft from the real merit of the
Koran : rve allow it to be generally elegant, and often
fublime : but at the fame time we reject with difdain
its arrogant pretence to any thing fupernatural; all the
real excellence of the work being eafily referable to
natural and vifible caufes.
“ In the language of Arabia, a language extremely
loved and diligently cultivated by the people to whom
it was vernacular, Mahomet found advantages which
were never enjoyed by any former or fucceeding im-
poffor. It requires not the eye of a philofopher to
difcover in every foil and country a principle of national
pride : and if we look back for many ages on the hi-
ffory of the Arabians, we fiiall eafily perceive that pride
among them invariably to have confifled in the know¬
ledge and improvement of their native language. The
Arabic, which has been juffly efieemed the moff copi¬
ous of the Eaffern tongues 5 which had exiffed from
the remoteH antiquity 5 which had been embeililhed by
numberlefs poets, and refined by the conflant exercife
of the natives j was the moff fuccefsful inffrument which
Mahomet employed in planting his new religion among
them. Admirably adapted by its unrivalled harmony,
and by its endlefs variety to add painting to expreflion,
and to purfue the imagination in its unbounded flight ;
it became in the hands of Mahomet an irrefiffible
charm to blind the judgment, and to captivate the fan¬
cy of his followers.
“ Of that defcription of men, who firft compofedthe
adherents of Mahomet, and to whom the Koran was
addreffed, few, probably, wexe able to pafs a very ac-
| A L C
curate judgment on the propriety of the fentiments, or Aicora
on the beauties of the di&ion : but all could judge of
the military abilities of their leader j and in the midff
of their admiration it is not difficult to conceive, that
they would aferibe to his compofitions every imaginary
beauty of infpired language.
“ The ffiepherd and the foldier, though awuke to the
charms of thofe wild but beautiful compofitions, in
which w7ere celebrated their favourite occupations of
love or war, were yet little able to criticife any other
works than thofe which were addreffed to the ima¬
gination or the heart. To abflradl reafonings on the
attributes and the difpenfations of the Deity, to the
comparative excellencies of rival religions, to the ccn-
fiftency of any one religious fyffem in all its parts, and
to the force of its various proofs, they were quite inat •
tentive. In fuch a fituation, the appearance of a work
which poffeffed fomething like wifdom and confiffence:
wffiich preferibed the rules, and illuftrated the duties
of life 5 and which contained the principles of a new
and comparatively fublime theology, independently of
its real and permanent merit, was likely to excite their
aftoniffiment, and to become the flandard of future com-
pofition.
“ In the firff periods of the literature of every coun¬
try, fomething of this kind has happened. The father
of Grecian poetry very obvioufly influenced the tafii
and imitation of his countrymen. The modern nations
of Europe all poffefs fome original author, who, riling
from the darknefs of former ages, has begun the career
of compofition, and tinflured with the charadler of his.
own imagination the ftream which has flowed through
his pofterity.
“ But the prophet of Arabia had in this refpecl ad¬
vantages peculiar to himfelf. His compofitions w ere
not to his followers the works of man, but the genuine
language of Heaven, which had fent him. They were
not confined therefore to that admiration which is fo
liberally beftowed on the earlieft produftions of genius,
or to that fond attachment with which men every¬
where regard the original eompofitions of their coun¬
try : but with their admiration they blended their piety.
To know and to feel the beauties of the Koran, was
In fome refpeft to fliare in the temper of heaven ; and
he who was moil affected with admiration in the peru-
fal of its beauties, leaned moft fitly the object of that
mercy which had given it to ignorant man. The Ko¬
ran, therefore, became naturally and neceffarily the
ftandard of taffe. With a language thus hallowed in
their imaginations, they were too well iatisfied, cither
to difpute its elegance or improve its ffrufture. In
fucceeding ages, the additional fanftion of antiquity',
or prefeription, was given to thefe compofitions which
their fathers had admired : and while the belief of its
divine original continues, that admiration, which has
thus become the teft and the duty of the faithful, can.
neither be altered nor diminilhed.
“ When therefore we confider thefe peculiar advan¬
tages of the Koran, we have no reafon to be furprifed
at the admiration in which it is held. But if, defeerd-
ing to a more minute invefiigation of it, we confider
its perpetual inconfiflenee and abfurdity, we ft;all in¬
deed have caufe for aftonifliment at that weaknefs of
humanity which could ever have received fuch compc-
fitiens as the work of the Deity.
il Th*
ALC I576] ALG
Alcoran. “ The firft praife of all the produ&icns of genius, is
Invention j that quality of the mind, which, by the ex¬
tent and quicjcnefs of its views, is capable of the lar-
geft conceptions, and of forming new combinations of
objects the moft diftant and unufual. But the Koran
bears little impreflion of this tranfcendent chara&er.
Its materials are wholly borrowed from the Jewilh and
Chriitian Scriptures, from the Talmudical legends and
apocryphal gofpels then current in the Eaft, and from
the traditions and fables which abounded in Arabia.
The materials collected from there feveral fources are
here heaped tbgether, with perpetual and needlefs re¬
petitions, without any fettled principle or vifible con¬
nection.
“ When a great part of the life of Mahomet had been
Tpent in preparatory meditation on the fyitem he was
about to eftabliih, its chapters were dealt out {lowly
and feparately during the long period of 23 years. Yet
thus defective in its Itru&ure, and not lets exception¬
able in its doftrines, was the work -which Mahomet
delivered to his followers as the oracles of God.
“ The moft prominent feature of the Koran, that
point of excellence in which the partiality of its ad¬
mirers has ever delighted to view it, is the fublime no¬
tion it generally imprefies of the nature and attributes
of God. If its author had really derived thefe juft
conceptions from the infpiration of that Being whom
they attempt to deferibe, they would not have been
fiirrounded, as they now are on every fide, wuth error
and abfurdity. But it might eafily be proved, that
whatever it juftly defines of the divine attributes, was
borrowed from our Holy Scripture 5 which even from
its firft promulgation, but efpecially from the comple¬
tion of the New Teftament, has extended the views
and enlightened the underftandin^s of mankind} and
thus furnilhed them with arms, which have too often,
though ineffe&ually, been turned againft itfelf by its
ungenerous enemies.
“ In this inftance particularly, the copy is far below
the great original, both in the propriety of its images,
and the force of its deferiptions. Our Holy Scriptures
are the only compofitions that can enable the dim fight
of mortality to penetrate into the invifible world, and
to behold a glimpfe of the Divine perfe&ions. Accor¬
dingly, when they would reprefent to us the happinefs
of Heaven, they deferibe it, not by any thing minute
and particular, but by fomething general and great ;
fomething that, without defeending to any determinate
objeft, may at once by its beauty and immenfity ex¬
cite our willies and elevate our affections. Though in
the prophetical and evangelical writings the joys that
ihall attend us in a future ftate are often mentioned
with ardent admiration, they are expreffed rather by
allufion than fimilitude, rather by indefinite and figura¬
tive terms, than by any thing fixed and determinate.
‘ Eye hath not feen, nor ear heard, neither have en-
• tered into the heart of man, the things which God
hath, prepared for them that love him.’ 1. Ccr. ii. 9.
What a reverence and aftoniftiment does this paffage
excite in every hearer of tafte and piety ! What ener¬
gy, and at the fame time what fimplicity, in the expref-
fion ! How fublime, and at the fame time how obfeure,
is the imagery !
“ Different was.the conduct of Mahomet in his de¬
feriptions of heaven and of paradife. Unaffifted by the
I
neceffary influence of virtuous intentions and Divine Alcorsn,
infpiration, he was neither defirous, nor indeed able, to ''■““’V"""-
exalt the minds of men to fublime conceptions, or to ra¬
tional expectations. By attempting to explain what is
inconceivable, to deferibe what is ineffable, and to ma¬
terialize what in itfelf is fpiritual j he abiurdly and im-
pioufly aimed to fenfiualize the purity of the Divine
effence. Thus he fabricated a fyftem of incoherence,
a religion of depravity, totally repugnant indeed to the
nature of that Being, who, as he pretended, was its
objeCt y but therefore more likely to accord with the
appetites and conceptions of a corrupt and fenfual age.
“ That we may not appear to exalt our Scriptures
thus far above the Koran by an unreafonable preference,
wTe {hall produce a part of the fecond chapter of the
latter, which is defervedly admired by the Mahometans,
who wear it engraved on their ornaments, and recite it
in their prayers. ‘ God ! there is no God but he j
the living, the felf-fubfifting: neither {lumber nor fleep
feizeth him : to him belongeth whatfoever is in hea¬
ven, and on earth. Who is he that can intercede with
him but through his good pleafure ? He knoweth that
which is paft, and that which is to come. His throne
is extended over heaven and earth, and the preferva-
tion of both is to him no burden. He is the high, the
mighty.’ Sale's Kor. ii. p. 30. qto edit.
“ To this defeription who can refufe the praife of
magnificence ? Part of that magnificence, however, is to
be referred to that verfe of the Pfalmift, whence it w^as
borrowed, ‘ He that keepeth Ifrael, ftiall neither {lum¬
ber nor fleep.’ P/al. exxi. 4.
“ But if w’e compare it with that other paffage of
the fame infpired Pfalmift, all its boafted grandeur is at
once obfeured, and loft in the blaze of a greater
light.
“ O my God, take me not awTay in the midft of my
days } thy years are throughout all generations. Of
old haft thou laid the foundations of the earth j and
the heavens are the work of thy hands. I hey {hall
perilh, but thou {halt endure: yea all of them {hall wax
old, as doth a garment j as a yefture {halt thou change
them, and they ftiall be changed } but thou art the
fame, and thy years fhall not fail.’
“ The Koran, therefore, upon a retrofpettive view
of thefe feveral circumftances, far from fupporting its
arrogant claim to a fupernatural work, finks below the
level of many compofitions confeffedly of human origi¬
nal; and ftill lowrer does it fall in our eftimation, when
compared with that pure and perfect pattern which we
juftly admire in the Scriptures of truth.
“It is therefore abundantly apparent, that no miracle
either wTas externally performed for the fupport, or is
internally involved in the compofition, of the Maho¬
metan revelation.”
Alcoran, is alfo figuratively applied to certam
other books full of impieties and impoftures. In this
fenfe wfe meet with the Alcoran of the Cordeliers,
which has made a great noife ; wherein St Francis is
extravagantly magnified, and put on a level with Jefus
Chrift. The Alcoran of the Cordeliers is properly
extraft of a very fcarcebook, entitled, 1 he Conformity
of the Life of the feraphic father St Francis with the
Life of Chrift, publifhed in 1510, qto ; fmee, at Bo¬
logna, in folio. Erafmus Albertus, being by the elec¬
tor of Brandenburg appointed to vifit a monaftery of
Francucans,
A L C I 5
A1. or an lit» Fraiicifcans, found this book ; and being iiruck with the
, il. extreme folly and abfurdity of it, collefted a number
.A‘.k U> nU:>‘ i of curiofities out of it, and publifhed them under the
title of the Alcoran of the Francifcans, with a preface
by Martin Luther.
ALCORANISTS, among Mahometans, thofe who
adhere ftriftly to the letter or text of the Alcoran, from
an opinion of its ultimate fufficiency and perfeftion.
The Perfians are generally Alcoranijls, as admitting the
Alcoran alone for their rule of faith. The Turks,
Tartars, Arabs, &c. befides the Alcoran, admit a mul¬
titude of traditions. The Alcoraniils, among Maho¬
metans, amount to much the fame with the Textuaries
among the Jews. The Alcoranilts can find nothing
excellent out of the Alcoran \ are enemies of philofo-
phers, metaphyficians, and fcholaftic writers. With
them the Alcoran is every thing.
ALCOVE, in ArchiteBnre, a recefs, or part of a
chamber feparated by an ertrade, or partition of co¬
lumns, and other correfponding ornaments, in which
is placed a bed of flate, and fometimes feats to enter¬
tain company. Thefe alcoves are frequent in Spain •,
and the bed is raifed two or three afcents, with a rail
at the foot.
ALCUINUS, Flaccus, an ecclefiaftic of the
eighth century. He was born, it is fuppofed, in York-
Ihire. He was educated, however, at York, under
the direclion of Archbilhop Egbert, as we learn from
his own letters, in which he frequently calls that great
prelate his beloved martey, and the clergy of York the
companions of his youthful Itudies. As he furvived
Venerable Bede about 70 years, it is hardly poffible
that he could have received any part of his education
under him, as fome writers of literary hiflory have af¬
firmed *, and it is worthy of obfervation, that he never
calls that great man his mafter, though he fpeaks of
him with the higheft veneration. It is not ivell knowm
to what preferments he had attained in the church
before he left England, though fome fay he was abbot
of Canterbury. The occafion of his leaving his native
country, was his being fent on an embaflfy by Ofta
king of Mercia to the emperor Charlemagne j who
contracted fo great an erteem and friendfiiip for him,
that he earneftly folicited, and at length prevailed up¬
on him, to fettle in his court, and become his precep¬
tor in the fciences. Alcuinus accordingly inftructed
that great prince in rhetoric, logic, mathematics, and
divinity j which rendered him one of his greatefi: fa¬
vourites. “ He was treated with fo much kindnefs
and familiarity (fays a cotemporary writer) by the
emperor, that the other courtiers called him, by way
of eminence, the emperor's delight." Charlemagne
employed his learned favourite to write feveral books
againit the heretical opinions of Felix bifliop of Ur-
gel, in Catalonia, and to defend the orthodox faith
againft that herefiarch, in the council of Francfort,
A. D. 894 j which he performed to the entire fatif-
faffion of the emperor and council, and even to the
conviction of Felix and his followers, vyho abandon¬
ed their errors. The emperor confulted chiefly wuth
Alcuinus on all things relating to religion and learn¬
ing •, and by his advice, did many great things for
the advancement of both. An academy was efia-
blifhed in the imperial palace, over which Alcuinus
prefided, and in which the princes and prime nobi-
Vol. I. Part II.
7 ] ^ A L C
lity toere educated j and other academies wrere efla- Akuieus.
blilhed in the chief towns of Italy and France, at Ajcvynjuc
his inftigation, and under his infpe&ion. “ France u—
(fays one of our belt writers of literary hiftory) is in¬
debted to Alcuinus for all the polite learning it boaft-
ed of in that and the following ages. The univeifities
of Paris, Tours, Fulden, Soiffbns, and many others,
owe to him their origin and increafe 5 thofe of whom
he was not the fuperior and founder, being at leaf! en¬
lightened by his doCtrine and example, and enriched
by the benefits he procured for them from Charle¬
magne.” After Alcuinus had fpent many years in the
moll intimate familiarity with the greatell prince of
his age, he at length, with great difficulty, obtained
leave to retire from court to his abbey of St Martin’s
at Tours. Here he kept up a conllant correfpondence
by letters with Charlemagne j from which it appears,
that both the emperor and his learned friend were ani¬
mated with the molt ardent love to learning and reli¬
gion, and conltantly employed in contriving and exe¬
cuting the noblelt defigns for their advancement. He
compofed many treatiles on a great variety of fubjedts,
in a llyle much fuperior in purity and elegance to that
of the generality of writers in the age in which he flou-
riihed. Charlemagne often folicited him, -with all the
warmth of a moil affedtionate friend, to return to court,
and favour him with his company and advice ; but he
Hill excufed himfelf; and nothing could draw him
from his retirement in his abbey of St Martin in Tours,
where he died A. D. 804. Plis works rvere colledled
and publilhed by Andrew du Chefne in one volume fo¬
lio, Paris, 16x7. They confiftof, i.Tradls upon Scrip¬
ture. 2. Tradls upon dodlrine, difcipline, and mora¬
lity. 3. Hiltorical treatifes, letters, and poems. Since
that edition, there has been publilhed an incredible
number of tradls, poems, &c. afcribed to this author,
moil of which, in all probability, were not his.
ALCYON, the trivial name of a fpecies of alcedo.
See Alcedo, Ornithology Index.
ALCYONIUM, an obfolete name of a fubmarine
plant. It is alfo ufed for a kind of coral, or ailroites,
frequently found foffil in England.
Alcyonium Stagnant, in Ancient Geography, a lake
in the territory of Corinth, wffiofe depth was unfathom¬
able, and in vain attempted to be difcovered by Nero.
Through this lake Bacchus is faid to have defcended to
hell, to bring back Semele ; (Paufanias).
ALCYONIUS, Peter, a learned Italian, who flou-
riffied in the 16th century. He was well verfed in the
Greek and Latin tongues, and wrote fome pieces of
eloquence which met with great approbation. He
was corredlor of the prefs a confiderable time for Al¬
dus Manutius, and is entitled to a fhare in the praifes
given to the editions of that learned printer. He pu¬
blilhed a treatife concerning banifhment, which con¬
tained fo many fine paffages intermixed with others
quite the reverfe, that it was thought he had tacked
to fomewhat of his own, feveral fragments of a treatife
of Cicero de Gloria ; and that afterwards, in order to
fave himfelf from being detefled in this theft, he burnt
the manufcript of Cicero, the only one extant. Pau-
lus Manutius, in his commentary upon thefe words of
Cicero, Librum tibi celeriter mittam de gloria, “ I
will fpeedily fend you my treatife on Glory }” has the
following paffage relating to this affair : “ Fie means
4 D (fays
A L D [57
Aldborough (fays he) his two books on Glory, which were handed
II down to the age of our lathers 5 lor Bernard Juftinian,
Aldermatn tjie jn(jex 0f }jJs books, mentions Cicero de. Gloria.
' This trcatife, howrever, when Bernard had left his whole
library to a nunnery, could not be found, though
fought after with great care : nobody doubted but Pe¬
ter Alcyonius, who, being phyfician to the nunnery,
was entrufted with the library, had bafely ftolen it. And
truly, in his treatife Of Baniihment, fome things are
found interfperfed here and there, which ieem not to
favour of Alcyonius, but of fome higher author.” The
two orations he made after the taking of Rome, where¬
in he reprefented very ftrongly the injuftice of Charles \ .
and the barbarity of his foldiers, were excellent pieces.
There is alf° an oration afcribed to him, on the Knights
who died at the liege of Rhodes.
ALDBOROUGH, a fea-port town of England
in Suffolk. It is pleafantly lituated, in a dale, be¬
tween a high hill to the weftward, on which its large
old-built church Hands $ the fea to the eaft, and its ri¬
ver running fouth-wreft. It is a large, long, ordinary
town, made up of two or three ftreets of low houfes,
running parallel to each other. A quarter of a mile
to the fouth lies Slaughden, where they have a com¬
modious key, wuth warehoufes for filh : more foutherly
ftill, they have conveniences for drying their north-
fea filh. Their employment in the filhery is their chief
bufinefs, which is confiderable in the feafons for catch¬
ing herrings and fprats C an(I it i® the only place in
England for curing red fprats. It is a towm corporate,
and fends two members to parliament. Towards the
fea, it has fome pieces of cannon planted for its defence.
It is 88 miles north-eaft from London. E. Long. 1. 3 2.
N. Lat. 52. 50. _ ( >
Aldborough, a market-towm in the weft riding
of Yorkihire, feated on the river Oufe, 15 miles north-
weft of York, and 200 miles north of London. It
fends two members to parliament. W. Long. o. 20.
N. Lat. 54. 1 5. It was anciently a Roman city, call¬
ed Ifunum Bngantum; and feveral coins and monu¬
ments of the Saxons and Romans have been difcover-
ed there.
ALDEBARAN, in AJironomy, a ftar of the firft
magnitude, called in Englifti the bull's eye, as making
the eye of the conftellation rI aurus. Its longitude is
6 deg. 32 min. 9 fee. of Gemini, and its latitude 5 deg.
29 min. 40 fee. fouth.
ALDER-tree. See Betula, Botany Index.
ALDERHOLM, an iftand of Sweden, formed by
the three arms of a river running through Gentle, a
town of Nordland, in Sweden, 80 miles north from
Stockholm. Here is a wharf, a repofitory for planks
and deals, two packing houfes, a large cuftomhoufe for
taking toll of the ftiips, an arfenal for cannon, and a
granary.
ALDERMAN, in the Britilh policy, a magiftrate
fubordinate to the lord-mayor of a city or town-cor¬
porate. The number of thefe magiftrates is not limit¬
ed, but is more or lefs according to the magnitude of
the place. In London there are 26 5 each having one
of the wards of the city committed to his care. This
office is for life 5 fo that when one of them dies, or re-
figns, a ward mote is called, who return two perfons,
one of whom the lord-mayor and aldermen choofe to
fupply the vacancy. All the aldermen are juftices of the
3 ] A L D
peace, by a charter of 15 Geo. II. The aldermen of Alderman
London, &c. are exempted from ferving inferior off-
ces} nor (hall they be put upon affizes, or ferve on
ries, fo long as they continue to be aldermen.
Alderman, among our Saxon anceftors, was a de¬
gree of nobility anfwTering to earl or count at prefent.
Alderman was alio ufed, in the time of King
Edgar, for a judge or juftice. Thus we meet with
the^ titles of aldermannus totms Angluv, aldermannus
re Ais, comitatus, civ it at is, burgi, cajhdli, hundredi Jive
’wabentachii, et novemdecimorum. According to Spel-
man, the aldermannus totius Anglic? feems to have been
the fame officer who wTas afterwards ftyled capilahs
juJHciarius Anglic?, or chief-juftice of England 5 the
aldermannus rsgis feems to have been an occalional
matriftrate, anfwering to our juftice ol aflize \ and the
aldermannus comitatus, a magiftrate who held a middle
rank between what was afterward called the carl and
the JhcriJf; he fat at the trial of caufes with the biihcp:
the* latter proceeding according to ecclefiaftical law,
and the former declaring and expounding the common
law7 of the land.
ALDERNEY, an iftand in the Britilh channel,
fubjeft to the crown of Great Britain. It is about
eight miles in compafs, and is feparated from Cape la
Hogue, in Normandy, by a narrow ftrait, called the*
Race of Alderney, which is a very dangerous paffage
in ftormy weather when the twro currents meet 5 other-
wife it is fafe, and has depth of wmter for the largeft
ftiips. Through this ftrait the French fleet made
their efcape after their defeat at La Hogue, in 1692..
It is a healthy iftand, has but one church, is fruitful
both in corn and pafture, and is remarkable for a fine
breed of cov7s. The inhabitants, for their greater fafety,
live together in a town of the fame name. The num¬
ber of houfes is faid to be 200, and the inhabitants
1000. It has but one harbour, called Crabby, which
is at a good diftance from the tovm *, and is only fit for
fmall veffels. To the weft lie the range of rocks call¬
ed the Cafkets, fo dangerous to manners. W. Long.
2. 17. N. Lat. 49. 50.
ALDHELM, or Adelm, St, bilhop of Shirebum
in the time of the Saxon Heptarchy. Fie is laid to
have been the fon of Kenred, brother to Ina, king of
the Weft-Saxons 5 but, in the opinion of William of
Malmfbury, his father was- no more than a diftant re¬
lation to the king. Having received the firft part of
his education in the fchool which one Macduff, a learn¬
ed Scot, had fet up in the place where Malmfbury now
ftands, he travelled into France and Italy for his im¬
provement. At his return home, he ftudied fome time
under Adrian abbot of St Auguftine’s in Canterbury,
the moft learned profeffor of the fciences who had ever
been in England. In thefe different feminaries he ac¬
quired a very uncommon flock of knowledge j and be¬
came famous for his learning, not only in England, but
in foreiom countries: whence feveral learned men fent
him their writings for his perufal and corre&xon 5 par¬
ticularly Prince Arcivil, a fon of the king of Scotland,
who wrote many pieces which he fent to Aldhelrn,
“ entreating him to give them the laft polilh, by rub¬
bing off their Scots raft.” He was the firft Englifh-
man who wrote in the Latin language both in profe
and verfe, and compofed a book for the inftrudlion of
his countrymen in the profedy of that language. Ke-
fides
A L D [ 579 } A L D
Aldhelm fides this, he wrote feveral other treatifes on various
II fubjefts; fome of which are loft, and others publiftied
^ a‘et' , by Martin Delrio and Canifius. Venerable Bede, who
ftourifhed in the end of this and the beginning of the
next century, gives the following charafter of Aldhelm:
“ He was a man of univerfal erudition, having an ele¬
gant ftyle, and being wonderfully well acquainted with
books, both on philofophical and religious fubjedts.”
In faff, conftdering the cloud of ignorance by which
he was furrounded, and the great difficulty of acquir¬
ing knowledge without proper inftruffion, Aldhelm was
a very extraordinary man. From one of his letters to
Hedda biihop of Winchefter, concerning the nature of
his ftudies whilft at Canterbury, he appears to have
been indefatigably determined to acquire every fpecies
of learning in his power. For a copy of this curious
epiftle, fee Henry’s Hiftory, vol. ii. p. 320. King Al¬
fred the Great declared, that Aldhelm was the beft of
all the Saxon poets 5 and that a favourite fong, which
was univerfally fung in his time, near 200 years after
its author’s death, was of his compofition, When he
was abbot ©f Malmlhury, having a line voice, and great
Ikill in muftc as well as poetry, and -obferving the
backwardnefs of his barbarous countrymen to liften to
grave inftruftions, he compofed a number of little
poems, which he fung to them after mafs in the fweet-
eft manner *, by which they were gradually inftrufled
and civilized. After this excellent perfon had govern¬
ed the monaftery of Malmfbury, of which he was the
founder, about 30 years, he was made bifhop of Shire-
burn, where he died A. D. 709.—He wrote, 1. De
oclo vitiis principalibus. This treatife is extant in Bi¬
bliotheca Patrum of Caniftus. 2. JEnigmatum verfus
mille. This, with feveral other of his poems, was
publifhed by Martin Delrio at Mentz, 8vo, 1601.
3. A book addreffed to a certain king of Northumber¬
land, named Alfrid, on various fubje&s. 4. De vita
monachorum. $. De laude fanSlorum. 6. De anthme-
tica. 7. De ajlrologia. 8. A book againft the miftake
of the Britons concerning the celebration of Eafter 5
printed by Sonius, 1576. 9. De laude virginitatis ; ma-
nufeript, in Bennet-college, Cambridge ; publiftied a-
mong Bede’s Opufcu/a. Beftdes many fonnets, epiftles,
and homilies in the Saxon language.
ALDPORT, an ancient name for Manchefter.
See Manchester.
ALDRED, abbot of Taviftock, was promoted to
the bilhopric of Worcefter in the year 1046. He was
fo much in favour with King Edward the Confeftbr,
and had lb much power over his mind, that he obliged
him to be reconciled with the worft of his enemies,
particularly with Sweyn fon of the earl Goodwin, who
had revolted againft him, and came with an army to
invade the kingdom. Aldred alfo reftored the union
and friendlhip between King Edwrard and Griffith king
of Wales. He took afterwards a journey to Rome,
and being returned into England, in the year 1054,
he was fent ambaffador to the emperor Henry II. He
ftaid a whole year in Germany, and was very honour¬
ably entertained by Herman archbiffiop of Cologne,
from wffiom he learned many things relating to ecclefi-
aftical difeipline, which on his return he eftabliftied in
his own diocefe. In the year 1058 he went to Jeru-
falem, which no archbiffiop or biffiop of England had
ever done before him. Two years after he returned to
England ; and Kinftus archbiffiop of York dying the Aldred.
22d of December 1060, Aldred was ele&ed in his ftead '-—"■v—”
on Chriftmas day following, and vras permitted to re¬
tain the fee of Worcefter with the archbiffiopric of
York, as fome of his predeceffors had done. Aldred
went foon after to Rome, in order to receive the
pall from the pope : He was attended by Toft on
earl of Northumberland, Gifo biffiop of Wells, and
Walter biftiop of Hereford. The pope received Tol-
ton very honourably, and made him fit by him in the
fynod which he held againft the fimonifts. He grant
ed to Gifo and Walter their requeft, becaufe they ■were
tolerably well learned, and not accufed of fimony. But
Aldred being by his anfxvers found ignorant, and guil¬
ty of fimony, the pope deprived him very' feverely of
all his honours and dignities j fo that he vras obliged
to return without the pall. On the way home he and
his three fellow-travellers were attacked by fome rob¬
bers, who took from them all that they had, though
they did not offer to kill them. This obliged them to
return to Rome ; and the pope, either out of cornpaf-
fion, or by the threatenings of the earl of Northum¬
berland, gave Aldred the pallium j but he was obli¬
ged to refign his biffiopric of Worcefter. However, as
the archbilhopric of York had been almoft entirely-
ruined by the many invafions of foreigners, King Ed-
xvard gave the new archbiffiop leave to keep 12 vil¬
lages or manors which belonged to the biffiopric of
Worcefter. Edward the Confeffor dying in 1066,
Aldred crowned Harold his fucceffor. He alfo crown¬
ed William the Conqueror, after he had made him
take the following oath, viz. that he would protedl the
holy churches of God and their leaders 5 that he would
eftabliffi and obferve righteous laws ; that he would en¬
tirely prohibit and fupprefs all rapines and unjuft judge¬
ments. He was fo much in favour with the Conquer¬
or, that this prince looked upon him as a father ; and,
though imperious in regard to every body elfe, he yet
fubmitted to obey this archbiihop : John Brompton
gives us an inftance of the king’s fubmiffion, which at
the fame time fhows the prelate’s haughtinefs.—It hap¬
pened one day, as the archbiffiop was at York, that
the deputy-governor or lord-lieutenant going out of
the city with a great number of people, met the arch-
bilhop’s fervants, who came to town with feveral carts
and horfes loaded with provifions. The governor alk-
ed them to whom they belonged ; and they having an-
fwered they were Aldred’s fervants, the governor or¬
dered that all thefe provifions flrould be carried to the
king’s ftorehoufe. The archbifhop fent immediately
fome of his clergy to the governor, commanding him
to deliver the provifions, and to make fatisfaftion to St
Peter, and to him the faint’s vicar, for the injury he
had done them ; adding, that if he refufed to comply,
the archbiihop would make ufe of his apoftolic autho¬
rity againft him, (intimating thereby that he would ex¬
communicate him). The governor, offended at this
proud meffage, ufed the perfons whom the archbiffiop
had fent him very ill, and returned an anfwer as haugh¬
ty as the meffage was. Aldred thereupon went to
London to make his complaint to the king j but in
this very complaint he adfedwith his wonted infolencej
for meeting the king in the church of St Peter at
Weftminfter, he fpoke to him in thefe words : “ Hear¬
ken, O William : when thou waft but a foreigner, and
4 D 2 God,
A L D . C 58
Aldreil, God, to punilh the fins of this nation, permitted thee
Aldrich. become mafter of it, after having (bed a great deal
U“"“V 1 0f blood, I confecrated thee, and put the crown upon
thy head with bleffings j but now, becaufe tnou naft
deferved it, I pronounce a curfe over thee, inftead of
a bleffing, fince thou art become the perfecutor of
God’s church, and of his minifters, and haft broken the
promifes and the oaths which thou madeft to me be¬
fore St Peter’s altar.” The king, terrified at this dif-
courfe, fell upon his knees, and humbly begged the
prelate to tell him, by what crime he had delerved fo
fevere a fentence. The noblemen, who were prefent,
were enraged againft the archbilhop, and loudly cried
out he deferved death, or at leaft banifhment, for hav¬
ing offered fuch an injury to his foyereign ^ and they
prefled him with threatenings to raife the king, from
the ground. But the prelate, unmoved at all this, an-
fwered calmly, “ Good men, let him lie there, for he
is not at Aldred’s but at St Peter’s feet •, he .muff feel
St Peter’s power, fince he dared to injure his vicege¬
rent.” Having thus reproved the nobles by his epif-
copal authority, he vouchfafed to take the king by the
hand, and to" tell him the ground of his complaint.
The king humbly excufed himfelf, by faying he had
been ignorant of the whole matter } and begged of the
noblemen to entreat the prelate, that he might take off
the curfe he had pronounced, and to change it into a
bleffing, Aldred was at laft prevailed upon to favour
the king thus far ; but not without the promife of fe-
veral prefents and favours, and only after the king had
granted him to take fuch a revenge on the governor as
he thought fit. Since that time (adds the hiftorian)
none of the noblemen ever dared to offer the leaft in¬
jury. It may be queftioned, which was more furpri-
fing here, whether the archbiftiop’s haughtinefs, who
dared to treat his fovereign after fo unbecoming a man¬
ner ; or the king’s ftupidity, who fuffered fuch info-
lence and audacioufnefs from a prieft ' f he Danes
having made an invafion in the north of England in
the year 1668, under the conduft of Harold and Ca¬
nute the fons of King Sweyn, Aldred was fo much af-
fliaed at it, that he died of grief the nth of Septem¬
ber in that fame year, having befought God that he
might not fee the defolation of his church and country.
ALDRICH, Robert, bifliop of Carlifle, was born
at Burnham in Buckinghamfhire about the year 1493,
and educated at Eaton fchool •, from whence, in 1.507,
he was eleaed fcholar of King’s college, Cambridge,
where he took his degree in arts, and was afterwards
proaor of the univerfity. In 1525, he was appointed
mafter of Eaton fchool, then became fellow of that
eollege, and finally provoft.. In 1529, he went to
Oxford, where, being firft incorporated bachelor of
divinity, in the following year he proceeded doaor
in that faculty : in 1531, he was made archdeacon of
Colchefter ; in 1534, canon of Windfor and the fame
year, regiftrary of the order of the garter. He w^as
confecrated bilhop of Carlifle in the year 1537, and
died at Horncaftle in Lincolnfiiire in 1556. He wrote,
5. Epijiola ad Gul. Hormanum, in Latin verfe •, printed
in Herman’s StntiboJJican^ Lond. 1521, of which book
Pitts erroneoufly makes Aldrich the author. 2. Epi-
grammata varia. 3. Latin verfes, and another epijilc
to Horrnan, prefixed to the Vulgar in puerorum of that
author, Lond. 1519, flto. 4. Jnfwers to certain que~
o ] A L D
ries concerning the alufes of the mafs ; alfo about recei-1 Aianrt:.
ving the facrament.
Aldrich, Dr Henry, an eminent Englifh divine
and philofopher, born at London in 1647, was edu¬
cated at Weftminfter fchool under the famous Dr Bul-
by, and admitted of Chrift-church college, Oxford.
He had a great lhare in the controverfy with the Pa-
pifts in the reign of James II. and Bifliop Burnet ranks
him among thofe who examined all the points of Po¬
pery with a folidity of judgment, clearnefs .of argu¬
ment, depth of learning, and vivacity of writing, far
beyond any who had before that time written in our
language. He rendered himfelf fo confpicuous, that
at the Revolution, when Mafley the Popifti dean of
Chrift-church fled, his deanery was conferred on him.
In this ftation he behaved in an exemplary manner, and
that fabric owes much of its beauty to his ingenuity :
it wras Aldrich wdio defigned the beautiful fquare called
Peckwater-Quadrangle, which is efteemed. an excellent
piece of architedlure. In imitation of his predeceffor
Dr Fell, he publiftied, yearly, a piece of feme ancient
Greek author, as a prefent to the Undents of his houfe.
Ele publiihed A Sy/lem of Logic, with fome other pieces
and the revifing Clarendon’s Hiftory of the Rebellion
was intrufted to him and Bifliop Sprattbut it doth
not appear that they made any additions, or confider-
able alterations in it, as has been afferted by Mr Old-
mixon. Befides his preferments above mentioned, Dr
Aldrich was alfo reftor of Wem in Shropfliire. He
was chofen prolocutor of the convocation in 1702.
This worthy perfon died at Chrift-church on the 14th
of December 1710. As to his charafter, he w^as a
moft univerfal fcholar, and had a tafte for all forts of
learning, efpecially arc-hitefture. Sir John Hawkins
has favoured the public with feveral particulars relative
to Dr Aldrich’s {kill in mufic ; and on account of the
Doctor’s eminence in this refpeft, Sir John hath gi¬
ven his life, with his head prefixed. Elis abilities as
a mufician rank him, we are told, among the greateft
mafters of the fcience. He compofed many fervices
for the church, which are well known ; as are alfo his
anthems, nearly to the number of 20. He adapted,
with great (kill and judgment, Englifti words to many
of the notes of Paleftrina, Cariflimi, Viaoria, and other
Italian compofers for the church, lome of which are
frequently fung in our cathedrals as anthems. By the
happy talent which Dr Aldrich pofleffed, of naturali¬
zing the com petitions of the old Italian mafters, and
accommodating them to an Englifti ear, he increafed
the ftores of our own church. Though the Doaor
chiefly applied himfelf to the cultivation of facred mu¬
fic, yet, being a man of humour, he could divert him¬
felf bv producing pieces of a lighter kind. There are
two catches of his j the one, “ Hark the bonny Chrift-
church Bells j” the other entitled, “ A Smoking
Catch,” to be fung by four men fmoking their.pipes,
which is not more difficult to fing than diverting to
hear. His love of fmoking was, it feems, fo exceffive
as to be an entertaining topic of diicourfe in the uni¬
verfity. Such was Dr Aldrich’s regard for the ad¬
vancement of mufic, and the honour of its profeffors,
that he had formed a defign of waiting a hiftory of the
fcience ) and the materials from which he propofed to
compile it are yet extant in the library of his own col-
lea-e. It appears from thefe materials, that he had
& marked
A L D [ j3i ] ALE
Aldrich marked down every thing which he had met with con-
^ cerning midic and muficians j but that he had brought
d'us' an~ no Part into any kind of form.
-. I(—j Dr Aldrich is of fome note as a Latin poet. In the
Mufee Anglican#, we find two elegant copies of verfes
by him 5 one on the acceilion of King William III. and
the other on the death of the duke of Gloucefter. Sir
John Hawkins has preferved a humorous tranllation
by him of the well-known Englilh ballad,
“ A foldier and a failor,
“ A tinker and a tailor,” &c.
The following epigram, entitled “ Caufae Bibendi,”
is likewife afcribed to Dr Aldrich :
“ Si bene quid memim, Cauf# funt quinque bibendi,
“ Hofpitis Adventus ; prcefens Sitis, atque futura ;
“ Aul Vim Bonitas ; aut qu# hbet altera CaufaA
The epigram has been thus tranfiated
“ If on my theme I rightly think,
“ There are five reafons why men drink :
“ Good wfine, a friend, becaufe I’m dry,
“ Or leafl I flrould be and bye,
“ Or any other reafon why.”
The tranflation is not equal to the original. It is
evident, from the verfes cited and referred to, that Dr
Aldrich was of a very cheerfi.il and pleafant turn of
mind. Indeed, he is always fpoken of as having been
a man of wit; and as one who, to his great talents and
virtues, joined thofe amiable qualities which rendered
him the objedl of general affedfion, as well as of gene¬
ral efteem and refpeft. Having never been married,
he appropriated his income to works of hofpitality and
beneficence, and in encouraging learning to the utmofl:
of his power, of which he wras a moll munificent pa¬
tron, as well as one of the greatelf men in England,
if conlidered as a Chriftian or a gentleman. He had
always the intereft of his college at heart, wLereof he
was an excellent governor. His modefty and humili¬
ty prevented him from prefixing his name to the learn¬
ed tra&s which he publilhed during his life. At his
death he wfilhed to be buried in the cathedral without
any memorial; which his thrifty nephew complied with,
' ,pofiting him on the fouth fide of Bilhop Fell’s grave,
December 22. eight days after his deceafe j which
happened in the 63d or 64th year of his age.
ALDROVANDA. See Botany Index.
ALDROVANDUS, Ulysses, profeffor of philo-
fophy and phyfic at Bologna, the place of his nativity.
He was a moft curious inquirer into natural hiftory,
and travelled into the moll diftant countries on pur-
pofe to inform himfelf of their natural produftions.
Minerals, metals, plants, and animals, were the ob¬
jects of his curious refearches j but he applied himfelf
chiefly to birds, and was at great expence to have fi¬
gures of them drawn from the life. Aubert le Mire
fays, that he gave a certain painter, famous in that
art, a yearly falary of 200 crowns, for 30 years and
■upwards 5 and that he employed at his own expence
Lorenzo Bennini and Cornelius Swintus, as well as the
famous engraver Chriftopher Coriolanus. Thefe ex-
pences ruined his fortune, and at length reduced him
to the utmoft neceflity ; and it is faid that he died
bhnd in an hofpital at Bologna, at a great age, in
1605. Mr Bayle obferves, that antiquity does not Alduabls,
furnifh us with an inftance of a defign fo extenfive and A'e-
fo laborious as that of Aldrovandus, with regard to v " 1
natural hiftory $ that Pliny has treated of more kinds
of fubjedls, but only touches lightly on them, faying
but a little upon any thing, whereas Aldrovandus has
colledled all he could meet with. His compilation, or
that compiled upon his plan, confifts of 13 volumes in
folio, feveral of which were printed after his death.
He himfelf publifhed his Ornithology, or Hiftory of
Birds, in three folio volumes, in 1599 j and his feven
books of infefts, wdiich make another volume of the
fame fize. The volume Of Serpents, three Of Qua¬
drupeds, one Of Fifties, that Of exanguious Animals,
the Hiftory of Monfters, with the Supplement to that
of Animals, the treatife Of Metals, and the Dendro-
logy or Hiftory of Trees, were pubiilhed at feveral
times after the death of Aldrovandus, by the care of
different perfons ; and Aldrovandus is the foie author-
only of the firft fix volumes of this work, the reft ha¬
ving been finifhed and compiled by others, upon the
plan of Aldrovandus : a moft extenfive plan, wherein
he not only relates what he has read in naturalifts, but
remarks alfo w’hat hiftorians have written, legifla-
tors ordained, and poets feigned : he explains alfo the
different ufes which may be made of the things he
treats of, in common life, in medicine, architecture,
and other arts; in fliort, he fpeaks of morality, pro¬
verbs, devices, riddles, hieroglyphics, and many other
things which relate to his fubject.
ALDUABIS, vn Ancient Geography, a river of Cel¬
tic Gaul, wLich rifing from Mount Jura, feparating
the Sequani from the Helvetii, and running through
the county of Burgundy, or the Tranche Comte, envi¬
rons almoft on every fide the city of Befangon ; and
running by Dole, falls into the Saone near Chalons.
By Caefar it is called Alduafdubis; in Ptolemy, Du-
bis : nowT le Doux.
ALE, a fermented liquor obtained from an infufion
of malt, and differing from beer chiefly in having a
lefs proportion of hops. (See Brewing.) This
liquor, the natural fubftitute of wine in fuch countries
as could not produce the grape, was originally made
in Egypt, the firft planted kingdom, on the difperfion
from the eaft, that was fuppofed unable to produce
grapes. And, as the Noachian colonies pierced fur¬
ther into the weft, they found, or thought they found,
the fame defe<ft, and fupplied it in the fame manner.
Thus the natives of Spain, the inhabitants of France,
and the aborigines of Britain, all ufed an infufion of
barley for their ordinary liquor : and it was called by
the various names of Ccelia and Ccria in the firft coun¬
try, Gerevijta in the fecond, and Curmi in the laft ; all
literally importing only the Jlrong water.
“ All the feveral nations (fays Pliny) who inhabit
the weft of Europe, have a liquor with which they
intoxicate-themfelves made of corn and water. The
manner of making this liquor is fomewhat different in
Gaul, Spain, and other countries, and is called by
many various names 5 but* its nature and properties are
everywhere the fame. The people of Spain, in parti¬
cular, brew this liquor fo well, that it will keep good
a long time. So exquifite is the cunning of mankind,
in gratifying their vicious appetites, that they have
thus invented a method to make water itfelf intoxi-
oate,”
1
ALE r ?S2 } ALE
cate.” The method in which the ancient Britons, and
other Celtic nations, made their ale, is thus deferibed
by Ifidorus and Orofius. “ The grain is fteeped in
water and made to germinate, by which its fpirits are
e-xcited and fet at liberty 5 it is then dried and grind¬
ed j after which it is infufed in a certain quantity of
water $ which being fermented, becomes a pleafant,
warming, ftrengthening, and intoxicating liquor.” This
ale was mod commonly made of barley } but fometimes
of wheat, oats, and millet.
Anciently the Welch and Scots had alfo two kinds
of ale, called common ale and fpiced ale ; and their va¬
lue was thus afeertained by law: “ If a farmer hath
no mead, he fliall pay two calks of fpiced ale, or four
calks of common ale, for one calk of mead.” By
this law, a calk of fpiced ale, nine palms in height,
and 18 palms in diameter, was vahmd at a fum of mo¬
ney equal in efficacy to 7I. 10s. of our prefent money 5
and a calk of common ale, of the fame dimenfions, at
a fum equal to 3I. 15s. This is a fufficient proof, that
even common ale in this period was an article of luxu¬
ry among the Welch, which could only be obtained
by the great and opulent. Wine feems to have been
quite unknown even to the kings of Wales, in this pe¬
riod, as it is not ib much as once mentioned in their
laws; though Giraldus Cambrenlis, who flourilhed
about a century after the Conquelt, acquaints us, that
there was a vineyard in his time at Maenarper, near
Pembroke, in South Wales*
Ale was the favourite liquor of the Anglo-Saxons
and Danes, as it had been of their anceltors the an¬
cient Germans. Before their converlion to Chriltiani-
ty, they believed that drinking large and frequent
draughts of ale was one of the chief felicities which
thofe heroes enjoyed who were admitted into the hall
of Odin.
There are various forts of ale knowm in Britain, par¬
ticularly pale and brown : the former is brewed from
malt llightly dried j and is efteemed more vifeid than
the latter, which is made from malt more highly dried
or roafted.
Pale ale brewed writh hard waters, as thofe of fprings
and wrells, is judged the moft wholefome, in regard the
mineral particles tend to prevent the cohefions of thofe
drawn from the grain, and enable them to pafs the pro¬
per fecretions the better j fofter waters, as thofe of ri¬
vers, and rain, feem better fuited to draw out the fub-
ftance of high-dried malts, which retain many igneous
particles, bell abforbed in a fmooth vehicle.
In Staffordlhire, they have a fecret of fining ale in
a very Ihort time. Plot conjectures it to be done by
adding alum, or vinegar, in the working.
Ale is prepared various ways, and of various ingre¬
dients, as of wffieat, rye, millet, oats, barley, the ber¬
ries of the quickbean, &.c.
Some have found that the juice which bleeds from
the birch or fycamore is of great ufe on this occafion,
applied inllead of water. It makes one buffiel of malt
go as far as four in the common way.
Some have a method of preparing ale, fo that it will
keep, carried to the Ealt or Well Indies. The fecret
is, by malhing twice with frelh malt; boiling twice $
and, after Ihipping it, putting to every five gallons two
new-laid eggs whole, to remain therein. It is faid,
that in a fortnight’s time, the Ihells will be diffolved j
3
and the eggs become like wind-eggs $ and that after¬
wards the white would difappear and the yoke remain
untouched.
The confumption of ale in thefe kingdoms is incre¬
dible. It was computed twenty years ago at the va¬
lue of four millions yearly, including Great Britain
and Ireland.
The duties on ale and beer make a principal branch
of the revenue in Britain. They wTere firll impofed
by the 12th of Car. II. and have been continued by
feveral fubfequent a£ls of parliament to firll Geo. III.
which lays an additional duty of 3d. per barrel. In
the whole, the brewer of ale and beer for fale lhall pay
8s. for every barrel of either, above 6s. a barrel 5 and
for every barrel of 6s. or under, the fum of is. qd.
Medicated Ales, thofe wherein medicinal herbs have
been infufed, or added during the fermentation.
Gill Ale, is that in which the dried leaves of gill or
ground-ivy have been infufed. It is elteemed ablter-
five and vulnerary, and eonfequently good in diforders
of the breait and obftruftions of the vifeera.
Ale Conner, an officer in London, who infpeCls the
meafures ufed in public houfes. There are four ale
conners, who are all chofen by the liverymen in com¬
mon hall on Midfummer day.
Alehouses mull be licenfed by jultices of the peace,
who take recognizances of the perfons licenfed, and
of their fureties, viz. 10I. each, that they will not fuf-
fer unlawful gaming, nor other diforderly praftices in
their houfes. Every perfon, excepting thofe who fell
ale in fairs, negleriing to procure a licenfe, is liable
to a penalty of 40s. for the firft offence, 4I. for the
fecond, and 61. for the third, with all cofts. The li¬
cenfe granted on the firit of September, or within
twenty days after, at a general meeting of the juftices
for the divifion to which he belongs, upon his produ¬
cing a certificate to his chara£ter, unlefs, by living in
a city or town-corporate, this laft circumflance is dif-
penfed with, and continues in force for one year only.
Alehoufe-keepers, felling ale in fhort meafure, are
liable to a penalty not exceeding 40s. and not lefs
than 1 os. and likewife to a fine of 10s. for permitting
tippling, &c.
By 29th Gep. II. c. 12. perfons keeping alehoufes
in Scotland fhall be licenfed as in England, and the
juftices there fliall meet annually to licenfe alehoufes ;
on each of which licenfes a fee of is. is payable to the
clerk of the peace. Magiftrates of royal boroughs ihall
meet yearly for the like purpofe j but where there ftiall
not be a fufficient number of magiftrates to aft in any
royal borough, juftices may grant licenfes, to be in
force for one year only. IbuL
Perfons in Scotland convifted of keeping unlicenfed
alehoufes ftiall forfeit for the firft offence 5s. for the
fecond 10s. for the third 20s. and to be difqualified *,
and for every fubfequent offence 40s. to be levied by
diftrefs and fale, one moiety to the informer, the other
to the poor of the parifti. Conviftion to be intimated
to the offender, and certified to the clerk of the peace,
and recorded : but perfons aggrieved may appeal to
the quarter-feffions. Ibid.
Licenfes for houfes on the military roads in Scot¬
land ftiall be iffued on payment of is. only to the clerk
of the peace : making out licenfes before the fame be
ftamped, is a penalty of 10I. and making them con¬
trary
ALE [ 583 ] ALE
Ale trary to the intention of this aft, 5I. and the fame fhall
Ue(Joi be vacated, unlefs the duty and fine be paid, and the
mantia° receipt produced, and licenfe ftamped. Ibid.
—_/ ALR-Silver, a tax paid annually to the lord-mayor of
London, by all who fell ale within the city.
ALE A, in Roman Antiquity, denotes in general
all manner of games of chance ; but, in a more re-
ftrifted fenfe, was ufed for a particular game played
with dice and tables, not unlike our backgammon.
ALEANDER, Jerome, cardinal and archbifhop
of Brindifi, was born in 1480 ; and diftinguifiied him-
felf at the beginning of the reformation, by the oppo-
fition he made to Luther : for being fent into Ger¬
many as the pope’s nancio in 1519, he afted, as occa-
fion ferved, in the charafter both of ambaffador and
doftor; and declaimed three hours together againft
Luther’s doftrine before the diet of Worms, but could
not prevent that celebrated reformer from being heard
in that diet. He publifhed feveral works, and died at
Rome in 1542.
Aleander, "Jerome, nephew7 of the former, a learn¬
ed man of the feventeenth century, born in the prin¬
cipality of Friuli, of the fame family with the prece¬
ding. When he went to Rome, he was employed as
fecretary under Cardinal Oftavius Bandini, and dif-
charged this office with great honour for almoft twenty
years. He afterwards, by the perfuafion of Urban VIII.
who had a great efteem for him, became fecretary to
Cardinal Barberini, whom he accompanied to Rome
when he went there in the charafter of legate a latere,
and in whofe fervice he died in 1631. He was one of
the firft members of the academy of Humoriits, wmote
a learned treatife in Italian on the device of the fo-
ciety, and difplayed his genius on many different fub-
jefts. Barberini gave him a magnificent funeral at the
academy of Humorifts ; the academifts carried his
corpfe to the grave ; and Gafpar Simeonibus, one of
' the members, made his funeral oration.
ALECTO, one of the Furies, daughter of Ache¬
ron and Night, or, as others would have it, of Pluto
and Proferpine.
ALECTORIA, a ftone find to be formed in the
gall-bladders of old cocks, to which the ancients aferi-
bed many fabulous virtues. This is otherwife called
AleBorius Lapis, fometimes Aleciorolithos, in Engliffi
the cock-Jlone. The more modern naturalifts hold the
aledtorius lapis to be originally fwallowed down, not
generated in, the ftomach or gizzard of cocks and
capons. It is knovm that many of the fowl kind make
a praftice of fwallovfing pebbles, as it is fuppofed to be
of fervice in the bufinefs of trituration and digeition.
ALECTOROMANTIA, in Antiquity, a fpecies
of divination performed by means of a cock. T his is
othenvife called Ale&ryornancy ; of which there appear
to have been different fpecies. But that moft fpoken
of by authors w7as in the following manner : A circle
was deferibed on the ground, and divided into twen¬
ty-four equal portions} in each of thefe fpaces wras
written one of the letters of the alphabet, and on each
of the letters wras laid a grain of wheat 5 after which,
a cock being turned loofe in the circle, particular no¬
tice w7as taken of the grains picked up by the cock,
becaufe^ the letters under them, being- formed into a
W'ord, made the anfwer defired. It was thus, according
to Zonaras, that Libanius and Jamblicus fought wTho
ffiould fuccecd the emperor Valens; and the cock eat- Alee
ing the grains anfwering to the fpaces ©EOA, feveral ^^ ^
w’hofe names began with thofe letters, as Theodotus, V'
Theodiftes, Theodulus, &c. w7ere put to death ; which
did not hinder, but promote, Theodofius to the fuc-
ceffion. But the ftory, how'ever current, is but ill fup-
ported : It has been called in queftion by fome, and
refuted by others, from the filence of Marcellinus, So¬
crates, and other hiftorians of that time.
ALEE, in the fea language, a term only ufed when
the wind, croffing or flanking the line of a ffiip’s courfe,
preffes upon the marts and fails fo as to make her in¬
cline to one fide, which is called the lee-fide : hence,
wffien the helm is moved over to this fide, it is find to
be alee, or hard-a-lee.
ALEGAMBE, Philip, a celebrated Jefuit,'born
at Bruffels in 1592, diftinguifired himfelf by publiffiing
a Bibliotheque of the writers of his order, and died at
Rome in 16?2.
ALEGRETTE, a fmall town of Portugal, in A-
lentejo, on the confines of Port Alegre, on the river
Caja, which falls into the Guadiana, a little below Ba-
jadoz, near the frontiers of Spaniffi Efiremadura. It
is a very pretty town, and finely fituated y feven miles
fouth-eaft of Port Alegre, and thirty north of Elvas,
W. Long. 5. 20. N. Lat. 39. 6.
ALEIUS CAMPUS, in Ancient Geography, a plain
in Cilicia, on this fide the river Pyramus, near the
mountain Chimera, famous for Bellerophon’s wander¬
ing and perifhing there, after being thrown oft' Pega-
fus 5 which is the reafon of the appellation.
ALEMANIA, or Allemania, in Ancient Geo¬
graphy, a name of Germany, but not known before
the time of the Antonines, and then ufed only for a
part. After the Marcomanni and their allies had re¬
moved from the Rhine, a rabble, or colleftion of peo¬
ple from all parts of Gaul, as the term, Aletnanni de¬
notes, prompted either by levity or poverty, occupied
the lands, called Decumates by Tacitus, becaufe they
held them on a tithe ; now fuppofed to be the duchy of
V/irtemburg. Such appear to have been the fmall begin¬
nings of Alemania, which -was in after-times greatly en¬
larged : but ftill it wras confidered as a diftinft part ; for
Caracalla, who conquered the Alemanni, affumed the
furname both of Aiemannicus and Germanicus.
ALEMBDAR, an officer in the court of the Grand
Signior, who bears the green ftandard of Mahomet,
when the fultan appears in public on any folemn occa-
fion.
ALEMBERT, John le Rond d’, an eminent
French philofopher, was born at Paris in 1717. He
derived the name of John le Rond from that of the
church near which, after his birth, he wTas expofed as
a foundling. His father, informed of this circum-
rtance, lillened to the voice of nature and duty, took
meafures for the proper education of his child, and for
his future fubfiftence in a ftate of eafe and indepen¬
dence.
He received his firft education in the College of the
Four Nations, among the Janfenirts, wffiere he gave
early marks of capacity and genius. In the firft year
of his philofophical ftudies, he compofed a Commen¬
tary on the Epiftle of St Paul to the Romans. The
Janfenifts confidered this produftion as an omen that
portended to the party of Port-Royal a reftoration to
fome
A L E
Alemfeert. fome part of their ancient fplendour, and hoped to find
 '■ one day in M. d’Alembert a fecond Pafcal. To ren¬
der this refemblance more complete, they engaged their
rifing pupil in the ftudy of the mathematics : but they
foon perceived that his growing attachment to this
fcience was likely to difappoint the hopes they had
formed with refpedt to his future deftination : they
therefore endeavoured to divert him from this line j but
their endeavours were fruitlefs.
At his leaving college, he found himfelf alone and
unconnected in the world-, and fought an afylum in
the houfe of his iiurfe. He comforted himfelf with the
hope, that his fortune, though not ample, would bet¬
ter the condition and fubfiftence of that family, which
was the only one that he could confider as his own:
Here, therefore, he took up his refidence, refolving to
apply himfelf entirely to the ftudy of geometry ; And
here he lived, during the fpace of forty years, with the
greateft fimplicity, difeovering the augmentation of his
means only by increafing difplays of his beneficence,
concealing his growing reputation and celebrity from
thefe honeft people, and making their plain and uncouth
manners the fubjeCT of good-natured pleafantry and
philofophical obfervation. His good nurfe perceived
his ardent aftivity j heard him mentioned as the writer
of many books but never took it into her head that
he was a great man, and rather beheld him with a kind
of compaffion. “ You will nevery faid die to him one
day, “ be any thing but a philofopher—and what is a
philofopher ?—a fool, who toils and plagues hirnfelf dur¬
ing his life, that people may talk of him when he i s n o
more.”
As M. d’Alembert’s fortune did not far exceed the
demands of neceflity, his friends advifed him to think
of a profeftion that might enable him to augment it.
He accordingly turned his views to the law, and took
his degrees in that line *, but foon abandoned this
plan, and applied to the ftudy of medicine. Geome¬
try, however, was always drawing him back to his for¬
mer purfuits j and after many ineffectual efforts to refill
its attractions, he renounced all views of a lucrative
profefiion, and gave himfelf over entirely to mathema¬
tics and poverty.
' In the year 1741 he was admitted member of the
Academy of Sciences *, for which diftinguilhed literary
promotion, at fuch an early age, he had prepared the
* The Ana- way by correcting the errors of a celebrated work *,
lyfe demon- which was deemed claffical in France in the line of
geometry. He afterwards fet himfelf to examine, with
deep attention and afliduity, what mull be the motion
of a body which paffes from one fluid into another
more denfe, in a direction not perpendicular to the
furface feparating the two fluids. Every one knows
the phenomenon which happens in this cafe, and which
amufes children under the denomination of Ducks and
Drakes ; but M. d’Alembert wTas the firft who explain¬
ed it in a fatisfaCtory and philofophical manner.
Two years after his election to a place in the acade¬
my, he publifhed his Treatife on Dynamics. The new
principle developed in this treatife confifted in efta-
blilhing equality, at each inftant, between the changes
that the motion of a body has undergone, and the for¬
ces or powers which have been employed to produce
them 5 or, to exprefs the thing otherwife, in feparating
into two parts the aCtion of the moving powers, and
2
[ 584 ]
ALE
tree of F.
Beniau.
confidering the one as producing alone the motion of Alembert-
the body in the fecond inftant, and the other as em-1 "r '
ployed to deftroy that which it had in the firft.
So early as the year 1744, M. d’Alembert had ap¬
plied this principle to the theory of the equilibrium,
and the motion of fluids j and all the problems before
folved by geometricians became, in fome meafure, its
corollaries. The difeovery of this new principle wras
follower! by that of a new calculus, the firft trials of
which w-ere publiflred in a Difcourfe on the general
Theory of the Winds, to which the prize-medal w as ad¬
judged by the academy of Berlin in the year 1746,
and which was a new and brilliant addition to the fame
of M. d’Alembert.
He availed himfelf of the favourable circumftance of
the king of Pruflia having juft terminated a glorious
campaign by an honourable peace, and in allufion to
this dedicated his w-ork t© that prince in the three fol¬
lowing Latin verfes :
Hac ego de vends, dum ventorum ocyor alis,
Palantes agit Aufriacos Fredericus, et orbi,
Injignis lauro, ramum preetendit olivee.
Swifter than wind, while of the winds I write.
The foes of conquering Frederick fpeed their flight,
While laurel o’er the hero’s temple bends
To the tir’d world the olive branch he fends.
This flattering dedication procured the philofopher a
polite letter from Frederick, and a place among his
literary friends.
In the year 1747 d’Alembert applied his new cal¬
culus of “ Partial Differences” to the problem of vibrat¬
ing chords, wkofe folution, as well as the theory of
the ofcillations of the air and the propagation of found,
had been given but incompletely by the geometricians
who preceded him, and thefe were his mafters or his
rivals.
In the year 1749 he furniftied a method of applying
his principle to the motion of any body of a given fi¬
gure ; and he folved the problem of the preceflion of
the equinoxes, determined its quantity, and explained
the phenomenon of the nutation of the terreftrial axis
difeovered by Dr Bradley.
In 1752, M. d’Alembert publiftied a treatife on the
Refijlance of Fluids, to which he gave the modeft title
of an Fffay ; but which contains a multitude of origi¬
nal ideas and new obfervations. About the fame time
he publilhed, in the Memoirs of the Academy of Ber¬
lin, Refearches concerning the Integral Calculus, which
is greatly indebted to him for the rapid progrefs it has
made in the prefent century.
While the ftudies of M. d’Alembert were confined
to geometry, he was little known or celebrated in his
native country. His connexions wrere limited to a
fmall fociety of feleft friends : he had never feen any
man in high office except Meffrs d’Argenfon. Satis¬
fied with an income which furniftied him with the ne-
ceffaries of life, he did not afpire after opulence or ho¬
nours, nor had they been hitherto beftowed upon him,
as it is ealier to confer them on thofe who folicit them
than to look out for men who deferve them. His
cheerful converlation, his fmart and lively fallies, a hap¬
py knack at telling a ftory, a Angular mixture of ma¬
lice of fpeech with goodneis of heart, and of delicacy
of
. - • •, .A ,L E ' . . [
tAlembertof.wit with fimplicity of manners, rendered him a plea-
" v h»g and interefting companion, and his company con-
fequently was much fought after in the fafhionable cir¬
cles. His reputation, at length, made its way to the
throne, and rendered him the objeft of royal attention
and beneficence. He received alfo a penfion from Go¬
vernment, which he owed to the friendfhip of Count
d’Argenfon.
_ The tranquillity of M. d’Alembert was abated when
his fame grew more extenfive, and when it w^as known
beyond the circle of his friends, that a fine and enlight¬
ened tafle for literature and philofophy accompanied
his mathematical genius. Our author’s eulogifl afcribes
to envy, detraction, and to other motives equally un¬
generous, all the difapprobation, oppofition, and cen-
lure that M. d’Alembert met with on account of the
publication of the famous Encyclopedical Dictionary of
Arts and Sciences, in conjunftion with Diderot. None
furely wall refufe the well-deferved tribute of applaufe
to the eminent difplays of genius, judgment, and true
literary talte, with which 1\T. d’x\lembert has enriched
the great work now mentioned. Among others, the
Preliminary Difcourfe he has affixed to it, concerning
the rife, progrefs, connexions, and affinities of all the
branches of human knowledge, is perhaps one of the
firft productions of which the philofophy of the prefent
age can boaft, and will be regarded as a ftriking fpe-
cimen of juft arrangement and found criticifm, and alfo
as a model of accurate thinking and elegant writing.
Some time after this, d’Alembert publifhed his Phi-
lofophical, Hiflorical, and' Philological Mifcellanies.
Thefe were followed by the Memoirs of Chriftina queen
of Sweden •, in which M. d’Alembert fhowed that he
was acquainted with thg natural rights of mankind, and
was bold enough to affert them. His Ejfay on the In-
tercourfe of Men of Letters with Perfons high in Rank
and OJfice, wounded the former to the quick, as it ex-
pofed to the eyes of the public the ignominy of thofe
fervile chains, which they feared to ihake off, or were
proud to wear. A lady of the court hearing one day
the author accufed of having exaggerated the defpo-
tifm of the great, and the fubmiffion they require, an-
fwered flyly, If he had confu/ted me, I would have told
himflill more of the matter.
M. d’Alembert gave very elegant fpecimens of his
literary abilities in his tranflations of fome feleft pieces
of 1 acitus. But thefe occupations did not divert him
from his mathematical fludies: for about the fame time
he enriched the Encyclopedic with a multitude of ex¬
cellent articles in that line, and compofed his Refearches
on feveral important Points of the Syfem of the World,
m which he carried to a higher degree of perfeCHon
the folution of the problem of the perturbations of the
planets, that had feveral years before been prefented to
the Academy.
I759 published his Elements of Philofophy: a
work extolled as remarkable for its precifion and per-
ipicuity; in which, however, are fome tenets relative
both to metaphyfics and moral fcience, that are far
from being admiftible.
1 he refentment that was kindled (and the difputes
that foliowred it) by the article Geneva, inferted in the
.1 mcyclopedie, are well known. IVI. d’Alembert did
not leave this field of controverfy xvith dying colours.
Voltaire was an auxiliary ia the conteft ; but as. in
Vol. I. Part II.
J
ALE
point of candour and decency, he had no reputation Alembert
to lofe ; and as he weakened the blows of his enemies II
by throwing both them and the fpeflators into fits Qf Aiembroth.
laughter, the iffue of the war gave him little uneafi- v"
nefs. It fell more heavily on d’Alembert 5 and expofed
mm, even at home, to much contradiclion and oppofi¬
tion. ri
It was on this occafion that the late king of Pruflia
offered him an honourable afylum at his court, and the
place of prefident ^>f his academy •, and was not of¬
fended at his refufal of thefe diffindfions, but culti¬
vated an intimate friendfhip with him during the reft
of his life. He had refuied, fome time before this,
a propofal made by the emprefs of Rufiia to intruft
him with the education of the grand duke ;—a pro¬
pofal accompanied with all the flattering offers that
could tempt a man ambitious of titles, or defirous of
making an ample fortune : but the objefts of his am¬
bition were tranquillity and ftudy.
, l!l the year 1765, he publifhed his Difertation on
the DefruRhon of the Jefuits. This piece drew upon
him a fwarm of adverfaries, who confirmed the merit
and credit of his work by their manner of attacking
it. 0
. Behde the works already mentioned, he publifhed
nine volumes of memoirs and treatifes, under the title
of Gpufcules; in which he has folved a multitude of
problems relative to aftronomy, mathematics, and na¬
tural philofophy j of which our panegyrift gives a par¬
ticular account, more efpecially of thofe which exhibit
new fubjecb, or new methods of inveftigation.
He publifhed alfo Elements of Mufc ; and rendered
at length, the lyftem of Rameau intelligible ; but he
did not think the mathematical theory of the fonorous
body futficient to account for the rules of that art.
- He was always fond of mufic ; which, on the one
hand, is connected xvith the moft fubtile and learned
refearches of rational mechanics ; while, on the other
its power over the fenfes and the foul exhibits to phi-
lofophers phenomena no lefs fingular, and ftill more in¬
explicable.
In the year 1772, he xvas chofen fecretarv to the
french academy. He formed, foon after this prefer¬
ment, the defign of writing the lives of all the deceafed
academicians from 1700 to 1772 j and in the fpace of
three years he executed this defign, by compofing-~o
eulogies. 6
M. d’Alembert died on the 29th of O-ftober 1783.
.There xxere many amiable lines of candour, modeftv
difintereftednefs, and beneficence, in his moral charac¬
ter ; which are defcribed, xvith a diffufive detail, in his
eloge, by M. Condorcet, Hijl. de R Acad. Roy ale des
Sciences, 1783.
ALEMBIC, a chemical veffel ufually made of glafs
or copper, formerly ufed for diftillation. The bottom
part, which contained the fubjeft for diftillation, is
called, from its fliape, the cucurbit; the upper part
which receives and condenfes the fteam, is called the’
head, the beak of which is fitted into the neck of a
receiver. Retorts, and the common worm-fill, are
now more generally employed.
ALEMBROTH, in the writings of the alchemifts,
a word ufed for a fort of fixed alkaline fait, which had
the pox\ er of the famous alkaheft, in diffolving bodies,
opening the pores of moft or all known fubftances, and
4 -E thence,
A’enio
I!
Aleppo.
ALE [586 A
thence, as well as by deftroying fulpburs, promoting renders*tins labour more
tbe feparation of metals from their ores.—It is alfo
j ufed for a compound of corrofive mercury and fal am¬
moniac.
ALENIO, Julius, a Jefuit, born at Brefcia in the
republic of Venice. He travelled into the eaftem
countries j and arrived at Macao in 1610, where he
taught mathematics. From thence he went to the
empire of China, where he continued to propagate the
Chriftian religion for thirty-fix years. He was the
fir ft who planted the faith in the province of Xanfi,
and he built feveral churches in the province of Fokien.
He died in Auguft 1649, leaving behind him feveral
works in the Chinefe language.
ALENTEJO, a province of Portugal, between the
rivers Tajo and Guadiana : the foil is very fertile,
and the inhabitants laborious and induftrious. The
principal town is Evora.
ALENZON, a town of France, the capital of the
department of Orne, in Lower Normandy. It is fur-
rounded with good walls, and flanked with towers.
The caftle was formerly a place of great confequence,
and has held out long fieges. It has but one pariih-
church, which has a bold and noble front. Among the
nunneries, that of St Clair is moft remarkable. It is
feated on the river Sarte, in a vaft open plain, which
produces all forts of corn and fruit. Near it there are
quarries of ftone fit for building, wherein are found
a fort like Briftol ftones. The trade of Alenzon is in
linen, lace, fluffs, and leather. It is 20 miles north
of Mons, 63 fouth-by-weft of Rouen, and 88 fouth-
weft of Paris. Long. o. 10. N. Lat. 48. 25.
ALEPPO, or Halab, the capital of a pachalic,
and of all Syria, and the ordinary refidence of the pa¬
cha, is fituated in the vaft plain which extends from'
the Orontes to the Euphrates, and which towards, the
fouth terminates in the defert. It is built on eight
hills or eminences, on the higheft of which the caftle
is ere£Ied, and is fuppofed to be the ancient Beraea.
This mount is of a conic form, and feems in a great
meafure to be raifed with the earth thrown up out of
a deep broad ditch which furrounds it. The fubiirbs
to the north-north-eaft are next in height to this, and
thofe to the weft-fouth-weft are much lower than the
parts adjacent, and than any other part of the city.
The houfes are large and commodious, having terraces
on their tops, and generally Iky-lights in form of a
dome to let the light into the rooms, which from their
loftinefs, the gilding on the window Ihutters, cup¬
board-doors, &c. have at firft entrance a very grand
and agreeable effeft. They are all fo equal in height,
that there are feldom any fteps to afeend or defeend in
going from one houfe to another ; while feveral large
vaulted ftreets increafe the facility of communication,
by affording a paffage to every part of the city free
from the embarraffment of the open ftreets. They are
carefully paved ; have gutters and a foot-pavement on
each fide j and the middle of the ftreet is laid with
brick, the fmall end upwards, for the convenience of
the horfes. There is alfo a cleanlinefs obferved here
unknown to the other cities of Turkey, and which is
not attended with the trouble of our fcavengers, there
being afs-drivers who go about the city and take up
the rubbilh and dull, which each inhabitant is obliged
to fweep together ? and though the heat of the climate
L E
    _ eafy, the fame heat obliges Aleppo.
them to greater cleanlinefs in order to preferve the fa-—v~“
lubrity of the air.
The mofques in Aleppo are numerous, and fome few
of them magnificent. Before each of them is an area,
with a fountain in the middle, defigned for ablutions
before prayers ; and behind fome of the larger there are
little gardens. There are many large khans, or cara-
vanferas, confifting of a capacious fquare, on all fides
of which are a number of rooms, built on a ground-
floor, ufed occafionally for chambers, warehoufes, or
ft able s. Above flairs there is a colonnade or gallery on
every fide, in which are the doors of a number of fmall
rooms, wherein the merchants, as well ftrangers as na¬
tives, tranfaft moft of their bufinefs.
The bazars or market-places are long covered nar¬
row ftreets, on each fide of which are a great number
of fmall fliops, juft fufficient to hold the tradefman and
his goods, the buyer being obliged to Hand without.
Each feparate branch of bufinefs has a particular bazar,
which is locked up, as well as the ftreets, an hour and
a half after funfet: but the locks are of wood, though
the doors are cafed with iron. The flaughter-houfes
are in the fuburbs, open to the fields. The tanners
have a khan to work in near the river. To the fouth-
ward in the fuburbs they burn lime 5 and a little be¬
yond that there is a village where they make ropes and
catgut. On the oppofite fide of the river, to the weft-
ward, there is a glafs-houfe, where they make a coarfe
white glafs, in the winter only *, for the greateft part
of this manufadfture is brought from a village 35 miles
weft ward.
The fituation of Aleppo, befide the advantage of
a rich and fruitful foil, poffeffes alfo that of a ftream
of frefh water, which never becomes dry. This rivu¬
let, which is about as large as that of the Gobelins at
Paris, or the New River near London, rifes in the
mountains of Aentab, and terminates fix leagues be¬
low Aleppo, in a morafs full of wild boars and pelicans.
Near Aleppo, its banks, inftead of the naked rocks
which line them in the upper part of its courfe, are
covered with a fertile ^arth, and laid out in gardens,
or rather orchards, which in a hot country, and efpe-
cially in Turkey, cannot but be delightful. . The city
is in itfelf one of the moft agreeable in Syria, and is
perhaps the cleaneft and beft built of any in Turkey.
On whatever fide it is approached, its numerous mi¬
narets and domes prefent an agreeable profpedl to the
eve, fatigued with the continued famenefs of the brown
and parched plains. In the centre is an artificial moun¬
tain furrounded by a dry ditch, on which is a ruinous
fortrefs. From hence we have a fine profpeft of the
whole city, and to the north difeover the fnowy tops-
of the mountains of Bailan j and on the weft, thofe
which feparate the Orontes from the fea while to the
fouth, and eaft, the eye can difeern as far as the Eu¬
phrates. In the time of Omar, this caftle flopped the
progrefs of the Arabs for feveral months, and was at
laft taken by treachery, but at prefent would not be
able to refill the feebleft affault. Its flight wall, low,
and without a buttrefs, is in ruins ; its little old tow¬
ers are in no better condition j and it has not four can¬
non fit for fervice, not excepting a culverine nine
feet long, taken from the Petfians at the fiege of
Baffora. Three hundred and fifty Janizaries, who
ALE [ 5^7 ] ALE
Aleppo, {liould form the garrifon, are bufy in their {hops, and
v'~ 1 the aga fcarcely finds room in it to lodge his retinue.
It is remarkable that this aga is named immediately
by the Porte, which, ever fuipicious, divides as much
as poflible the different offices. Within the walls of
the caftle is a well, wffiich, by means of a fubterrane-
ous communication, derives its water from a fpring a
league and a quarter diftant. In the environs of the
city, we find a number of large fquare {tones, on the
top of which is a turban of {tone, which are fo many
tombs. There are many riling grounds round it,
which, in cafe of a fiege, w^ould greatly facilitate the
approaches of the affailants. Such, among others, is
that on which the houfe of the Derviches itands, and
which commands the canal and the rivulet: Aleppo,
therefore, cannot be efteemed a place of importance
in war, though it be the key of Syria to the north j
but, confidered as a commercial city, it has a different
appearance. It is the emporium of Armenia and
Diarbekar j fends caravans to Bagdad and into Perfiaj
and communicates with the Perfian gulf and India,
by Baffora, with Egypt and Mecca by Damafeus, and
with Europe by Scanderoon (Alexandretta) and La-
takia. Commerce is there principally carried on by
-barter. The chief commodities are raw or fpun cot¬
tons, clumfy linens fabricated in the villages, filk fluffs
manufactured in the city, copper, bourres (coarfe
cloths) like thofe of Rouen, goats hair brought from
Natalia, the gall nuts of the Kourdeftan, the mer-
chandife of India, fuch as ffiawls and muffins, and pif-
tachio nuts of the growth of the neighbourhood. The
articles fupplied by Europe are the Languedoc cloths,
•cochineal, indigo, fugar, and fome other groceries.
The coffee of America, though prohibited, is introdu¬
ced, and ferves to mix with that of Moka. The
French have at Aleppo a conful and feven counting-
tioufes ; the Engliffi and the Venetians two, and the
merchants of Leghorn and Holland one. The em¬
peror appointed a conful there in 1784, in the perfon
of a rich Jew merchant, who ffiaved his beard to af-
iume the uniform and the fword. Ruffia has alfo fent
one very lately. Aleppo is not exceeded in extent by
any city in Turkey, except Conftantinople and Cairo,
and perhaps Smyrna. The number of inhabitants has
been computed at 200,000 j but in thefe calculations
certainty is impoffible. However, if we obferve that
this city is not larger than Nantes or Marfeilles, and
that the houfes confift only of one ftory, wre {hall per¬
haps not think it probable they exceed 100,000. The
people of this city, both Turks and Chriftians, are
with reafon efteemed the moft civilized in all Turkey,
and the European merchants nowhere enjoy fo much
liberty, or are treated wdth fo much refpeft.
'I he air of Aleppo is very dry and piercing, but at
the fame time very falubrious for all who are not troTi-
bled with afthmatic complaints. The city, however,
and the environs, are fubjeft to a Angular endemial
diforder, which is called the ringworm or pimple of
Aleppo ; it is in faff a pimple which is at firft inflam¬
matory, and at length becomes an ulcer of the fize of
the nail. The ufual duration of this ulcer is one year j
it commonly fixes on the face, and leaves a fear wffiich
disfigures almoft all the inhabitants. It is alleged that
every ftranger who refides there three months is at¬
tacked with it j experience has taught that the beft
mode of treatment is to make ufe of no remedy. No Aleppo,
reafon is affigned for this malady : but M. Volney fu- v—
fpedts it proceeds from the quality of the water, as
it is likewife frequent in the neighbouring villages, '
in fome parts of Diarbekar, and even in certain di-
ftri<Eb near Damafeus, wffiere the foil and the water
have the fame appearances. Of the Chriftian inhabi¬
tants the greater number are Greeks, next t© them,
the Armenians, then the Syrians, and laftly the Ma-
ronites ; each of whom have a church in the city called
Judida ; in which quarter, and the parts adjacent, moft
of them refide. The common language is the vulgar
Arabic, but the Turks of condition ule the Turkiffi.
Moft of the Armenians can fpeak the Armenian, fome
few Syrians underftand Syriac, and many of the Jew's
Hebrew; but fcarce one of the Greeks underftand a
wrord of Greek. The people in general are of a mid¬
dle ftature, and tolerably well proportioned ; but they
feem neither vigorous nor affive. Both fexes are hand-
fame wffien young : but the beard foon disfigures the
men : and the women,- as they come early to maturity,
alfo fade very foon j females are generally married from
14 to 18 years of age, and many under 14. The
people of rank here are polite and affable, making al¬
lowances for that fuperiority which the Mahometan re¬
ligion inftruffs its votaries to affume over all who hold
a different faith. Their bread is generally of wheat
flour made into thin cakes, but very ill prepared, and
is generally eaten as foon as it comes out of the oven.
The principal people have fmall loaves of a finer flour,
which are well fermented and baked. Befides thefe,
there is a variety of bifeuits, moft of wffiich are ftrew-
ed on the top with fome kind of feeds. The Euro¬
peans have very good bread, baked and prepared in the
French manner. All the inhabitants of both fexes
fmoke tobacco to great excefs \ even the very fervants
have almort conftantly a pipe in their mouths. Coaches
or carriages are not ufed here ; therefore perfons of qua¬
lity ride on horfeback in the city, with a number of
fervants walking before them, according to their rank:
ladies of the firft diftinftion are even compelled to
walk on foot in the city, or to any place at a moderate
diftance j in longer journeys they are carried by mules,
in a kind of couch clofe covered up. There are a
number of public bagnios in this city, wffiich are ufed
by people of all ranks, except thofe of the higheft di-
ftinftion, who commonly have baths and every other
convenience in their own houfes. Aleppo is 70 miles
eaft of Scanderoon, on the fea-coart, and 175 north-by-
eaft of Damafeus. E. Long. 37. 40. N. Lat. 36. 12.
Aleppo, The Fachalic of, one of the five govern¬
ments into which Syria is divided. It comprehends
the country extending from the Euphrates to the Me¬
diterranean, between two lines, one drawn from Scan¬
deroon to Beer, along the mountains : the other from
Beles to the fea, by Mara and the bridge of Shoger.
This fpace principally confifts of two plains y that of
Antioch to the weft, and that of Aleppo to the eaft :
the north and the fea-coaft are occupied by confider-
ably high mountains, known to the ancients bv the
names of Amanus and of Rhofus. In general, the
foil of this government is fat and loamy. The lofty
and vigorous plants which {hoot up everywhere after
the winter rains prove its fertility, but its aflual fruit-
fulnefs is but little. The greateft part of the lands lie
4 E 2 w afte $
ALE [ 583 ] ALE
Aleppo, wafte ; fcarcely can we trace any marks of cultivation
"”~v in the environs of the towns and villages. Its princi¬
pal produce Confifts in wheat, barley, and cotton, which
are found efpecially in the flat country. In the moun¬
tains, they rather choofe to cultivate the vine, mulber¬
ry, olive, and fig trees. The Tides of the hills to¬
wards the fea-coafl: are appropriated to tobacco, and
the territory of Aleppo to piftachios. The pafturage
is not to be reckoned, becaufe that is abandoned to the
wandering hordes of the Turcomans and Curds.
In the greater part of the pachalics the pacha is, as
his title imports, at once the viceroy and fanner-gene¬
ral of the country j but in that of Aleppo he does not
poflefs the latter office. This the Porte has bellowed
on a mehajfel or colleftor, who is immediately account¬
able for what he receives. His leafe is only for a year.
The prefent rent of his farm is 800 purfes (above
40,000!.) j but to this mull be added the price of the
babouches (Turkilh flippers), or a prefent of three or
four thoufand pounds, to purchafe the favour of the
vizier, and men in office. For thefe two fums the far¬
mer receives all the duties of the government ; which
are, firlt, The produce of import and export duties on
merchandife coming from Europe, India, and Conltan-
tinople, and on that exported in exchange. Second¬
ly, The taxes paid by the herds of cattle brought
every year by the Turcomans and Curds from Armenia
and Diarbekar, to be fold in Syria. Thirdly, The
fifth of the falt-works of Djeboul. And laftly, The
miri, or land-tax. Thefe united may produce about
6o,oool.
The pacha, deprived of this lucrative branch of the
adminiifration, receives a fixed allowance of about
830QI. This revenue has always been inadequate to
the expences \ for, befides the troops he is obliged
to maintain, and the reparation of the highways and
fortrefles, the expences of which he is obliged to de¬
fray, he is under the neceflity of making large pre-
fents to the minifters, in order to keep his place ; but
the Porte adds to the account the contributions he
may levy on the Curds and Turcomans, and his extor¬
tions from the villages and individuals } nor do the
pachas come Ihort of this calculation. Abdi Pacha,
who governed 13 or 14 years ago, carried off, at the
end of 15 months, upwards of i6o,oool. by laying
under contribution every trade, even the very cleaners
of tobacco-pipes ; and very lately another of the fame
name has been obliged to fly for fimiiar opprellions.
The former was rewarded by the divan with the com¬
mand of an army againff the Ruffians 5 but if the lat¬
ter has not enriched himfelf, he will be flrangled as an
extortioner. Such is the ordinary progrefs of affairs in
Turkey !
In confequence of fuch wretched government, the
greater part of the pachalics in the empire are impo-
veriffied and laid waile. This is the cafe in particular
v/ith that of Aleppo. In the ancient defiars, or re-
gifters of impofls, upwards of 3200 villages were rec¬
koned j but at prefent the colleftor can fcarcely find
400. Such of our merchants as have refided there
20 years, have themfelves feen the greater part of the
environs of Aleppo become depopulated. The travel¬
ler meets wfith nothing but houies in ruins, cifterns
rendered ufelefs, and fields abandoned. Thofe wffio
cultivatew them, have fled into the towns, .where the po^
pulation is abforbed, but wffiere at lead the individual Alena x
conceals himfelf among the crowd from the rapacious H
hand of defpotifm. . 'A^ct .
ALER1A, Alalia, or Alaria, in Ancient Geo¬
graphy, a town of Corfica, fituated near the middle of
the eafl: fide of the ifland, on an eminence, near the
mouth of the river Rotanus mentioned by Ptolemy j
built by the Phocceans (Diodorus Siculus}. After¬
wards Sylla led a colony thither. It is now7 in ruins,
and called Aleria Dijirutta.
ALES, Alexander, a celebrated divine of the con-
feffion of Augibourg, was born at Edinburgh the 23d of
April 1500. He foon made a confiderable progrefs
in fchool divinity, and entered the lifts very early
againft Luther, this being then the great controverfy
in faftiion, and the grand field wherein all authors,
young and old, ufed to difplay their abilities. Soon
after, he had a fiiare in the difpute which Patrick Ha¬
milton maintained againfi: the ecclefiaftics, in favour of
the new faith he had imbibed at Marpurg. He en¬
deavoured to bring him back to the Catholic religion j
but this he could not efieft, and even began himfelf to
doubt about his owm religion, being much aftefted by
the difcourfe of this gentleman, and ftill more by the
conftancy he ffiowed at the flake, wffiere David Beaton,
archbifhop of St Andrew’s, caufed him to be burnt.
Beginning thus to waver, he wras himfelf perfecuted
with fo much violence, that he was obliged to retire
into Germany, wdiere he became at length a perfect
convert to the Proteftant religion. The change of re¬
ligion which happened in England after the marriage
of Henry VIII. with Anna Bullen, induced Ales to
go to London in 1535. He wras highly efteemed by
Cranmer archbifhop of Canterbury, Latimer, and
Thomas Cromwell, who were at that time in high fa¬
vour with the king. Upon the fall of thefe favourites,
he w'as obliged to return to Germany j where the elec¬
tor of Brandenburgh appointed him profcfibr of divi¬
nity at Frankfort upon the Oder, in 154c. But lea¬
ving this place upon feme dilguif, he returned to Leip-
fic, where he was chofen profeffor of divinity, and died
in March 1565. He wrote a Commentary on St John,
on the Epiflles to Timothy, and on the Pfalms, &c.
ALESA, Alasa, or Halesa, in Ancient Geogra¬
phy, a town of Sicily, on tire Tufcan fea, built, accor¬
ding to Diodorus Siculus, by Archonides of Herbita,
in the fecond year of the 94th Olympiad, or 403 years
before'Chrill ; fituated on an eminence about a mile
from the fea : now in ruins. It enjoyed immunity from
taxes under the Romans (Diodorus, Cicero). The in¬
habitants were called Halejim (Cicero, Pliny) 5 alfo
Alcjini, and Alcejini.
ALESHAM, a fmall neat towm in Norfolk. It is
15 miles north of Norwich, and 121 north-eaft-by
north of London. E. Long. o. 30. N. Lat. 52. 53.
The town confifts of about 400 houies.
ALESIA, in Ancient Geography, called Alexia by
Livy and others ; a town of the Mandubii, a people of
Celtic Caul 3 fituated, according to Ctefar, on a very
high hill, wdiofe foot was waftied on two fides by two
rivers. The town wras of fuch antiquity, that Diodo¬
rus Siculus relates it w7as built by Hercules. It is fup-
pofed to be the city of Alife, in the duchy of Burgun¬
dy, not far from Dijon.
ALET, a town of France, in the department of the
Aude,.
ALE
Aletris
Aade, and diftricl of Limoux, at the foot of the Pyre-
Alexander neeS' ^ is remark;able for baths, and for the grains
of gold and filver found in the dream which runs from
the Pyrenean mountains, at the foot of which it Hands.
It is feated on the river Aude, I 9 miles fouth of Car-
caffone, and 37 north-weft of Narbonne. E. Lana-.
2. 5. N. Lat. 42. 59.
ALETRIS. See Botany Index.
ALETUM, or Aleta, \v\ Ancient Geography, a
town of Celtic Gaul, now extindt. From its ruins
arofe St Malo in Britanny, at the diftance of a mile.
Its ruins are called Guich Aleih in the Britifh.
ALEURITES. See Botany Index.
ALEUROM ANC T, the fame with what was
ctherwife called alphitomantia, and cnthomanthia, and
means an ancient kind of divination performed by
means of meal or flower.
ALEUTIAN, or Aleutsky Islands, a group or
chain of iflands on the north-eaft fide of Kamfchatka,
and near the continent of America, which are fubjedt
to Rulfta. Part of thefe iflands were difcovered by
Behring in the year 1741, and the reft at different pe¬
riods fince that time. Captain Cook vifited thefe
iflands in I77b> and diredted his refearches and obfer-
vations to a furvey of them and of the adjacent coafts
of Alia and America. On the Aleutian iflands and
the neighbouring coaft, the Ruffians have formed nu¬
merous eftablifhments for the fupport of the fur-trade,
which is one of the moft advantageous commercial
concerns to the Ruffian empire. Captain Billings,
wno was lent out by the late emprefs Catharine to
make difeoveries in the north-eaft fea,. explored, in the
fummer 1790, the whole chain of thefe iflands. They
feem to be of volcanic origin ; have no wood, but what
boats from fea j and lie between the 51ft and the 56th
degrees N. Lat. and the 164th and the 197th degrees
of E. Long. 6
tJArLEXA^ER; THE great, king of Macedonia,
xlis rather Philip laid the plan of that extenfive empire,
which his fon afterwards completed. Philip, having
made himfelf mafter of Greece, began to call: his eyes
upon Perfia, with a view to retaliate upon that haughty
empire the injuries of former times. It was the po-
pular topic of the day. But this prince w as cut off in
the midft of his enterprife. Such, however, w^as the
influence of Alexander in the affembly of the Grecian
dates, that he was created general of their combined
forces in the room of his father. Having made every
peedful preparation, at the head of a veteran army he
invaded Afia. The lieutenants of Darius, who was
tnen king of Perfia, oppofed him at the river Grani-
cus, where Alexander obtained a complete viftory, af¬
ter which he purfued his march through Afia.* At
Xffus, near Scanderoon, he was met by Darius in per-
»on, at the head of a prodigious army. Here he ob¬
tained a fecond viftory 3 and took the camp of Darius,
together with his family, w7hom he treated with the
utmoft humanity. Contrary to all the maxims of wrar,
inftead of purfuing Darius, he made an excurfion into
.gyP1 i and, as far as appears, through no better mo¬
tives than thofe of vanity. Here he was acknowledged
to be the fon of Jupiter Ammon. In the mean time
Darius recruited his ftrength, and got together an ar¬
my fuperior to what he brought into the plain of Iffijs.
[ 589 1
ALE
Alexander having nnifhed his Egyptian expedition, tra- Alexander,
verfed Afia, and paffed the Euphrates. At Arbela, a ‘
towm in Alfyria, he met Darius. Here a decifive
battle was fought, which put all Perfia into the hands
of Alexander. His ambition not being fatefied with
the conqueft of that vaft country, he proje&ed an ex¬
pedition into India. Here he met with great oppoli-
tion from Porus, a gallant prince, whom in the end he
reduced. Beyond the Ganges lay a country ftill un-
fubdued. He notified it to his'army, that he propofed
to pafs the river. But thefe veterans, haraffed with
their fatigues, and feeing no end of their labour, muti¬
nied, and refufed to march further. The difappointed
chief was therefore obliged to return. At Babylon he
propofed to receive ambafladors, appoint governors, and
fettle his vaft monarchy 3 but his exceffes put an end
to his life in the midft of his defigns, and in the flower
of his age.
The chara&er of this hero is fo familiar to every bo-
dy, that it is almoft needlefs labour to draw it. All
the world knows, fays Mr Bayle, that it was equally
compofed of very great virtues and very great vices.
Lie had no mediocrity in any thing but his ftature ;
in his other properties, whether good or bad, he was
all extremes. His ambition rofe even to madnefs. His
father was not at all miftaken in fuppofing the bounds
of Macedon too fmall for his fon : for how could Ma-
cedon bound the ambition of a man, who reckoned
the whole world too fmall a dominion ? He w7ept at
hearing the philofopher Anaxarchus fay, that there was
an infinite number of worlds : his tears were owing to
his defpair of conquering them all, fince he had not
yet been able to conquer one. Livy, in a fliort di-
greffion, has attempted to inquire into the events which
might have happened, if Alexander, after the conqueft
of Afia, had brought his arms into Italy >. Doubtlefs
things might have taken a very different turn with,
him 3 and all the grand projects, which fucceeded fo
well againft an effeminate Perfian monarch, might eaftly
have mifearried if he had had to do with rough hardy
Roman armies. And yet the vaft aims of this mighty
conqueror, if feen under another point of view, may ap¬
pear to have been confined in a very narrow’ compafs 3
fince, as we are told, the utmoft wiffi of that great
heart, for which the whole earth was not big enough,
was, after all, to be praifed by the Athenians : for it
is related, that the difficulties which he encountered in
order to pafs the Hydafpes, forced him to cry out,
“ O Athenians, could you believe to what dangers I
expofe myfelf for the fake of being celebrated by
you ?” But Bayle affirms, that this was quite confif-
tent with the vaft unbounded extent of his ambition,
as he wanted to make all future time his own, and be
an objeft of admiration to the lateft pofterity 3 yet did
not expert this from the conqueft of worlds, but from
books. He W’as perfe&ly in the right, fays Bayle 3
“ for if Greece had not furnifhed him wuth good wri¬
ters, he would long ago have been as much forgotten
as the kings who reigned in Macedon before Amuhi-
tryon.”
Alexander has been praifed upon the fcore of con-
tinency, yet his life could not furely be quite regular
in that refpeft. Indeed, the fire of his early youth ap- •
peared fo cold towards women, that his mother fuf-
pefted
ALE [ s
Alexander, pe^ed lum to be impotent; and, to fatisly herfelf in
* this point, did, with the confent of Philip, procure a
very handfome courtezan to lie with him, whole ca-
reffes, however, were all to no purpofe. His behaviour
afterwards to the Perlian captive Ihows him to have had
a great command over himfelf in this particular. ^ 1 he
wif6 of Darius was a finilhed beauty ; her daughters
likewife were all beauties j yet this young prince, who
had them in his power, not only bellowed on them all
the honours due to their high rank, but managed their
reputation with the utmoil delicacy. They were kept
as in a cloifter concealed from the world, and fecured
from the reach of every difhonourable (not only at¬
tack, but) imputation. He did not give the lead han¬
dle to fcandal, either by his vilits, his looks, or his
words : and for other Perfian dames his prifoners,
-equally beautiful in face and lhape, he contented him¬
felf with faying gayly, that they gave indeed much pain
to his eyes. The amazon Thaleltris could not obtain
from him a compliance with her gallant requell till after
a delay of thirteen days. In the mean time, what are
we to conclude from his caufmg his favourite millrefs
Pancalle to be drawn naked by Apelles, though it is
true he gave her to the painter, who tell in love with
her ? What of that immoderate love of boys, which
Athenaeus relates of him ? What of that prodigious
-number of waves and concubines which he kept ?
His exceffes with regard to wine were notorious,
and beyond all imagination ; and he committed, when
- drunk, a thoufand extravagances. It was owing to
wane, that he killed Clitus who faved his life, and
. burnt Perfepolis, one of the moll beautiful cities of the
Ealt : he did this lall indeed at the inlligation of the
. courtezan Thais •, but this circumllance made it only
the more heinous. It is generally believed, that he
died by drinking immoderately : and even Plutarch,
who affedls to contradict it, owuis that he did nothing
but drink the whole day he was taken ill..
In Ihort, to fum up the charafter of this prince, we
-cannot be of opinion, that his good qualities did in
anywafe compeniate for his bad ones. Heroes make a
• noife : their aftions glare, and llrike the fenfes forci¬
bly j while the infinite deltruftion and. mifery they
. occalion lie more in the fhade, and out of light. .One
good legiflator is worth all the heroes that ever did or
will e'xift. See Macedon.
Alexander ab Alexandro, a- Neapolitan law¬
yer, of great learning, wrho flounfhed toward the end
of the 15th and beginning of the 16th century. He
followTed the profeflion of the law firll at Naples,
afterwards at Rome : but he devoted all the time he
could fpare to the ftudy of polite literature *, and at
length he entirely left the bar, that he might lead a
more eafy and agreeable life wdth the Mufes. The par¬
ticulars of his life are to be gathered from his wmrk en¬
titled “ Dies GenialesWe are there informed,
that he lodged at Rome, in a houfe that was haunted ;
and he relates many furprifmg particulars about the
. ghofl. He fays alfo, that when he was very young, he
went to the leClures of Philelphus, who explained at
Rome the Tufculan queflions of Cicero ; he was there
alfo wdien Nicholas Perot and Domitius Calderinus read
-their leClures upon Martial. The particular time when
-he died is not knowmy but he was buried in the mo-
gallery of the Olivets. Tiraquea wTOte a learned com-
2
cp ] A L E
mentary upon his w’ork, which was printed at Lyons in Alexander.
11587, and reprinted at Leyden, in 1673, with the notes
of Dennis Godfrey, Chrillopher Colerus, and Nicholas
Mercerus.
Alexander, Neckkam, an eminent Englifh wai¬
ter in the 12th and 13th centuries, born at St Al¬
bans in Hertfordfhire. In 1215 he was made abbot of
Exeter, and died in 1227. He wrote feveral works,
which were never publifhed j but they are to be found
in manufeript in the libraries of England and other
countries.
Alexander, Noel, an indefatigable writer of the
17th century, born at Rouen in Normandy, 1639. Af¬
ter finifliing his fludies at Rouen, he entered into the
order of Dominican friars, and was profeffed there in
1655. Soon after he went to Paris, to go through a
courfe of philofophy and divinity in the great convent,
where he diftinguifhed himfelf fo, that he was appoint¬
ed to teach philofcphy there, which he did for 12
years. M. Colbert fhow^ed him many marks of his
efleem ; and being determined to omit nothing to per-
feft the education of his fon, afterwards archbifhop of
Rouen, he formed an affembly of the moll learned per-
fons, wrhofe conferences upon ecclefiaflical hiilory might
be of advantage to him. Father Alexander was in¬
vited to this affembly, where he exerted himfelf with
fo much genius and ability, that he gained the. parti¬
cular fnendfhip of young Colbert, who fhowed him the
utmoft regard as long as he lived. Thefe conferences
gave rife to Alexander’s defign of writing an eccle¬
fiaflical hiflory ; for, being deiired to reduce what was
material in thefe conferences to writing, be did it with
fo much accuracy, that the learned men who compofed
this affembly, advifed him to undertake a complete
body of church hiflory.. This he executed with great
afliduity, colkaing and digefling the materials him¬
felf, and writing even the tables with his own hand.
He at laft completed his work in 1686. Towards the
latter part of his life, he w?as afflicbed w7ith the lofs of
his fight •, a mofl inexpreffible misfortune to one wEofe
whole pleafure was in ftudy, yet he bore it with great
patience and refignation. He died merely of a decay
of nature, 1724, in the 86th year of his age.
Alexander Severus, emperor of Rome, fucceed-
ed Heliogabalus about A. D. 222, when but 16 years
of age. His mother’s name was Mammeea, and by her
advice he in a great meafure regulated his conduit. He
applied himfelf to the reformation, of abides, tne date
having been greatly difordered by the vicious conduft
of his predeceffor } he was a molt ftriil lover of juftice,
an encourager of learning and learned men, and favour¬
able to the Chriftians. He made a fuccelsful expedi¬
tion againft the Perfians j but endeavouring to reform
his troops, who had grown very licentious under, the
late bad government, they murdered him at the infti-
gation of Maximinus, in the 29th year of his age, to¬
gether with his mother, A. D. 235*
Alexander VI. Po/**’, had four baftards when he
wTas cardinal, for one of which he had Ip great af-
feilion, that he ftuck at nothing to raife him. De-
figning to poifon feme cardinals, he was poiioned him¬
felf, A. D. 1503. See Borgia.
Alexander VII. Pope. See Chigi.
Alexander biftiop of Lincoln in the reigns of Teii-
ry I. and Stephen, was a Norman by birth, and ne-
J ' phew*
ALE [ 59* ] A L E
Alexander, phew of the famous Roger, bifhop of Salisbury, who
firft made him archdeacon of Salifbury, and after¬
wards, by his interdt with the king, raifed him to the
mitre. Alexander was confecrated at Canterbury,
July 22. 1123. Having received his education under
his uncle the biihop of Salifbury, and been accuftomed
to a fplendid way of living, he affe&ed (how and date
more than was fuitable to his charatter, or confident
with his fortunes. This failing excepted, he was a
man of worth and honour, and every way qualified for
his dation. The year after his confecration, his ca¬
thedral church at Lincoln having been accidentally
burnt down, he rebuilt it, and fecured it againd the
like accident for the future by a done roof. This pre¬
late increafed the number of prebends in his church,
and augmented its revenues with feveral manors and
edates. In imitation of the barons and fome of the
bidiops, particularly his uncle the bifhop of Salif¬
bury, he built three cadles j one at Banbury, another
at Sleaford, and a third at Newark. He likewife
founded two monaderies *, one at Haverholm, for re¬
gular canons and nuns together, the other at Tame
for white friars. He went twice to Rome in the years
1142 and 1144. The fird time, he came back in qua¬
lity of the pope’s legate, for the calling a fynod, in
which he publilhed ieveral wholefome and neceffary
canons. In Augud 1147, he took a third journey to
the pope, who was then in France; where he fell fick
through the exceflive heat of the weather, and return¬
ing wfith great difficulty to England, wdiere he died in
the 24th year of his prelacy.
Alexander, William, earl of Stirling, an eminent
Scots datefman and poet in the reigns of James VI.
and Charles I. wdio, after travelling with the duke of
Argyle as his tutor or companion, wrote a poetical
tomplaint of his unfuccefsful love of fome beauty, un¬
der the title of Aurora. He then removed to the
court of James VI. wdtere he applied to the more folid
parts of poetry, forming himfelf upon the plan of the
Greek and Roman tragedians. In 1607, he publifhed
fome dramatic performances, entitled The Monarchic
Tragedies, dedicated to King James ; who was fo well
pleafed with them, as to call him his philofophical
poet. After this, he is faid to have written A fufi-
plement to complete the third part of Sir Philip Sid¬
ney’s Arcadia j and in 16x3, he produced a poem
called Doomfday, or the Great Day of 'Judgment. He
was made gentleman ufher to Prince Charles, and ma¬
iler of the requells j was knighted j and obtained a
grant of Nova Scotia, where he proje£led the fettle-
ment of a colony, but afterwards fold it to the French.
In 1626, he was made fecretary of Hate for Scotland j
was created firft vifcount, and then earl, of Stirling j
and died in 1640.
Alexander I. St, whom St Irenasus reckons the
fifth bifhop of Rome, fucceeded St Evariftus in the
year 109, and died in the year 119. There is no ac¬
count of his life ; and the epiftles which are attributed
to him are fuppofititious.
Alexander II. king of Scotland, fucceeded his fa¬
ther William in 1213, at 16 years of age. He made
an expedition into England, to oppofe the tyranny of
King John ; who returned the vifit, and wras offered
Battle by Alexander, but refufed it. He took the ci¬
ty of Carliile from Henry III. which was afterwards
exchanged for Berwick. Alexander died in 1249, in Alexanders
the 51 It year of his age, and 35th of his reign j and It
left for his fuccelfor, his fon   Alexan-
Alexander III. who was crowned king of Smt, 1 y
land in 1249. The Cummings, a powerful family,
took arms againft him 5 and taking him prifoner, con¬
fined him at Stirling : but he was afterwards re¬
leafed by his fubjesSts. He married the daughter of
Henry III. king of England ; and was at length kill¬
ed by a fall from his horfe, on the xothof April 129c,
after having reigned 42, or according to others 37,.
years.
ALEXANDERS, in Botany. See Smyrnium.
ALEXANDRE! I A, by the Turks called Scan- 1
deroon ; a town in Syria, at the extremity of the Me¬
diterranean fea. It is the port of Aleppo, from wdiich
it is diflant 28 or 30 leagues. It is now, properly
fpeaking, nothing elfe but a village, without walls, in
W'hich the tombs are more numerous than the houfesr
and which entirely owes its exiftence to the road which”
it commands. I his is the only road, in all Syria,
where veifels anchor on a folid bottom, without their
cables being liable to chafe : but in other refpe&s it
has many inconveniences. It is infefted, during win¬
ter, by a peculiar wind, called by the French failors
le Raguier, wMichy rufhing from the fnowy fummits of
the mountains, frequently forces fhips to drag their an¬
chors feveral leagues : And when the fnow7 begins to
cover the mountains which furround the gulf, tempef-
tuous winds arife which prevent veflels from entering
for three or four months together. The road alfo to
Aleppo by the plain is invefted by Curd robbers, who
conceal themfelves in the neighbouring rocks, and fre¬
quently attack and plunder the Ilrongell caravans. But
the worft circumftance is the extreme unwholefomenefs
of the air, occafioned here by Itagnant waters and me¬
phitic exhalations. It may be affirmed that this every1
year carries off one-third of the crews of the veffels
which remain here during the fummer ; nay, Ihips fre¬
quently lofe all their men in two months. The feafon
for this epidemic diforder is principally from May to
the end of September : it is an intermitting fever of
the moil malignant kind j and is accompanied with
obllruftions of the liver, which terminate in dropfy.
To this baneful epidemic, Alexandretta, from its fitua-
tion, feems to be irremediably condemned : for the
plain on which the town is built is fo low and fiat,
that the rivulets, finding no declivity, can never reach
the fea. When they are fwelled by the winter rains
the fea, fwelled likewife by tempefts, hinders their dif-
charging themfelves into it : hence their waters, forced
to fpread themfelves, form lakes in the plain. On the
approach of the fummer, the wraters becoming corrupt¬
ed by the heat, exhale vapours equally corrupt, and
which cannot difperfe, being confined by the moun¬
tains that encircle the gulf. The entrance of the bay
befides lies to the weft, which in thofe countries is the
moft unhealthy expofure when it correfponds with the
fea. The labour neceffary to remedy this would be
immenfe, and after all infufficient 5 and, indeed, fuch
an undertaking wrould be abfolutely impoffrble under a
government like that of the Turks. A few years ago^
Mr Volney informs us, the merchants of Aleppo, dif-
gufted with the numerous inconveniences of Alexan¬
dretta, wiftied to abandon that port and carry the trade
to?
ALE [ S9> ) ALE
Alexan- to Latakia. They propofed to the pacha of Tripoli
dretta, to repair harbour at their own expence, provided
. ua; he would grant them an exemption from all duties for
ten years. To induce him to comply with their re-
queft, the agent they employed talked much of the ad¬
vantage which would, in time, re fait to the whole
country : “ But what iignifies it to me what may hap¬
pen in tune, replied the pacha ? I w>as yefterday at Ma-
rach 5 to-morrowr, perhaps, I {hall be at Djedda : Why
(hould I deprive myfelf of prefent advantages, which
are certain, for future benefits I cannot hope to par¬
take ?” The European factors were obliged therefore
to remain at Scanderoon. There are three of thefe
factors, two for the French, and one for the Englifh
and Venetians. The only curiofity which they have
to amufe ftrangers with confifts in fix or feven marble
monuments, fent from England, on wrhich you read :
Here lies fuch a one, carried off in the flower of his age,
by the fatal effeBs of a contagious air. The light of
thefe is the more diitreflfmg, as the languid air, yellow
complexion, livid eyes, and dropfical bellies of thofe
wdio (how them, make it but too probable they cannot
long efcape the fame fate. It is true, they have fome
refource in the village of Bailan, the pure air and ex¬
cellent waters of which furprifingly reftore the lick.
The aga, for fome years pall, has applied the duties
of the cullomhoufe of Alexandrctta to his own ufe, and
rendered himfelf almoll independent of the pacha of
Aleppo. The Turkiih empire is full of rich rebels,
who frequently die in peaceable polfeflion of their ufur-
pations.
ALEXANDRIA, in Ancient Geography, a moun¬
tain of Mylia, on the fea coaft, forming a part of
Mount Ida, where .Paris gave judgment on the three
goddelfes.
Alexandria, now Scanderia, by Athenasus call¬
ed Y.Pvrn j a city of Lower Egypt, and for a long
time its capital. This city was built by Alexander the
Great, foon after the overthrow of Tyre, about 333
years before Chrill. It is fituated on the Mediterra¬
nean, twelve miles w-ell of that mouth of the Nile an¬
ciently called Canopicum ; and lies in E. Long. 30. 9.
N. Lat. 31. 10.
Alexander is faid to have been induced to build this
pity, on account of its being conveniently fituated for
a fine port *, and fo hidden was his refolution, that af¬
ter he had direbled vdiere every public llrudlure was
to be placed, fixed the number of temples, and the dei¬
ties to whom they fhould be dedicated, &c. there wrere
no inftruments at hand proper for marking out the
walls, according to the cullom of thofe times. Upon
this, a workman advifed the king to collefl what meal
•was among the foldiers, and to lift it in lines upon the
ground, whereby the circuit of the wralls would be
fufficiently marked out. This advice vras followed 5
and the new method of marking out the walls was, by
Ariilander, the king’s foothfayer, interpreted as a pre-
fage of the city’s abounding with all the neceflaries of
life. Nor was he deceived in his prediclion j for A-
lexandria foon became the llaple, not only for mer-
chandife, but alfo for all the arts and fciences of the
Greeks.
Alexandria was a league and a half long, by one-
third in breadth, which made the circumference of
its wTalls about four leagues. Lake Mareotis bathed
1
its wTalls on the fouth, and the Mediterranean on the Alexaadm-
north. It was interfefled lengthwife by llraight pa-
rallel ftreets. This dire6lion left a free paflage to the
northerly wind, which alone conveys coolnefs and fa-
lubrity into Egypt. A ftreet of 2000 feet wide be¬
gan at the gate of the fea, and terminated at the gate
of Canopus. It was decorated with magnificent
houfes, temples, and public buildings. In this extenfive
range, the eye was never tired with admiring the marble,
the porphyry and the obelilks, which were deltined at
fome future day to embellilh Rome and Conilantinople.
This ftreet, the handfomeft in the univerfe, was inter-
fecled by another of the fame breadth, which formed
a fquare at their junction of half a league in circumfe¬
rence. From the middle of this great place, the two
gates were to be feen at once, and veffels arriving un¬
der full fail from the north and from the fouth.
A mole of a mite in length ftretched from the con¬
tinent to the iile of Pharos, and divided the great har¬
bour into twm. That which is to the northward pre¬
ferred its name. A dike drawn from the illand to the
rock whereon was built the Pharos, fecured it from the
wrefterly winds. The other wTas called Eunoflos, or the
Safe Return. The former is called at prefent the new,
the latter the old harbour : a bridge that joins the
mole to the city, ferved for a communication between
them. It v'as railed on lofty pillars funk into the fea,
and left a free pafiage for Ihips. The palace, which
advanced beyond the promontory of Lochias, extended
as far as the dike, and occupied more than a quarter
of the city. Each of the Ptolemies added to its mag¬
nificence. It contained within its inclofure, the nm-
feum, an afylum for learned men, groves, and buildings
worthy of royal majefty, and a temple where the body
of Alexander wTas depofited in a golden coffin. The
infamous Seleucus Cibyofadles violated this monument,
carried off the golden coffin, and put a glafs one in its
place- In the great harbour was the little ifland of
Anti-Rhodes, uffiere flood a theatre, and a royal place
of refidence. Within the harbour of Eunoftos was a
fmaller one, called Kibotos, dug by the hand of man,
which communicated with Lake Mareotis by a canal.
Between this canal and the palace wras the admirable
temple of Serapis, and that of Neptune near the great
place wffiere the market was held. Alexandria extend¬
ed likewife along the fouthern banks of the lake. Its
eaftern part prefented to view the gymnafium, with its
porticoes of more than 600 feet long, fupported by fe-
veral rows of marble pillars. Without the gate of Ca¬
nopus wras a fpacious circus for the chariot races. Be¬
yond that, the fuburb of Nicopolis ran along the fea-
Ihore, and feemed a fecond Alexandria. A fuperb am¬
phitheatre was built there with a race-ground, for the
celebration of the quinquennalia.
Such is the defeription left us of Alexandria by the
ancients, and above all by Strabo.
The architect employed by Alexander in this un¬
dertaking was the celebrated Dinocrates, who had
acquired fo much reputation by rebuilding the temple
of Diana at Ephefus. The city was firft rendered
populous by Ptolemy Soter, one of Alexander’s cap¬
tains, who, after the death of the Macedonian monarch,
being appointed governor of Egypt, foon affumed the
title of king, and took up his refidence at Alexandria,
about 304 years before Chrift.
In
A, L E 1S
Alexandna. Iu the 30th year of Ptolemy Soter’s reign, he took
his fon Ptolemy Philadelphus partner with him in the
empire ; and by this prince the city of Alexandria was
much embellilhed. In the firft year of his reign the
famous watch-tower of Pharos was finilhed. It had
been begun feveral years before by Ptolemy Soter 5
and, when finilhed, was looked upon as one of the
wonders of the world. The fame year, the ifland of
Pharos itfelf, originally feven furlongs diftant from the
continent, was joined to it by a caufeway. This was the
work of Dexiphanes, who completed it at the fame
time that his fon put the lad hand to the tower. The
tower was a large fquare ftrufture of white marble ; on
the top of which fires were kept conftantly burnino-,
for the direction of failors. The building coft 800
talents j which, if Attic, amounted to 165,000!. j if
Alexandrian, to twice that fum.
The architedl employed in this famous ftruclure
fell upon the following contrivance to ufurp the whole
glory to himfelf.—Being ordered to engrave upon it
the following infcription, “ King Ptolemy to the
Gods the Saviours, for the benefit of Sailors j” inltead
of the king’s name he fubftituted his own, and then
filling up the hollow of the marble with mortar, wrrote
upon it the above-mentioned infcription. In procefs
of time, the mortar being worn off, the following in¬
fcription appeared: “ Sostratus the Cnidian, the
fon of Dexiphanes, to the Gods the Saviours, for the
benefit of Sailors.”
This year alfo was remarkable for the bringing of
the image of Serapis from Pontus to Alexandria. It
was fet up in one of the fuburbs of the city called
Rhacotis, vyhere a temple was afterwards erefted to his
honour, fuitable to the greatnefs of that ftately me¬
tropolis, and called, from the god w'orfnipped there,
Serapeum. This ftruclure, according to Ammianus
Marcellinus, furpaffed in beauty and magnificence all
others in the world, except the capitol at Rome.  
Within the verge of this temple was the famous Alex¬
andrian libraryj It was founded by Ptolemy Soter, for
the ufe of an academy he inftituted in this city ; and,
by continual additions by his fucceffors, became at laft
the fineil library in the world, containing no fewer
than '700,000 volumes. I he method followed in col-
ledling books for this library, was, to feize all thofe
which were brought into Egypt by Greeks or other
foreigners. The books were tranfcribed in the mufeum
by perfons appointed for that purpofe 5 the copies were
then delivered to the proprietors, and the originals
laid up in the library. Ptolemy Euergetes, having
borrowed from the Athenians the works of Sophocles,
Euripides, and JEfchylus, returned them only the
copies, which he Caufed to be tranfcribed in as beauti¬
ful * manner as poffible ; prefenting the Athenians at
the lame time with fifteen talents (upwards of 3000I.
llerling) for the exchange.
As the mufeum rvas at firft in that quarter of the
city called Br/zcA/un, near the royal palace, the library
was placed there like wife j but w'hen it came to con¬
tain 400,000 volumes, another library, within the
Serapeum, was erefted by way of fupplement to it,
and on that account called the daughter of the former.
In this fecond library 300,000 volumes, in procefs of
time, were depofited ; and the two together contained
Vol. I. Part II.
>3 ] A L E
the 700,000 volumes already mentioned. In the war
carried on by Julius Caefar again!! the inhabitants of
this city, the library in the Bruchion, with the 400,000
volumes it contained, w^as reduced to allies. The li¬
brary in the Serapeum, however, ftill remained ; and
here Cleopatra depofited 200,000 volumes of the Per-
gamean library, which Marc Antony prefented her
with. Thefe, and others added from time to time,
rendered the new library at Alexandria more nume¬
rous and confiderable than the former; and though it
was often plundered during the revolutions and troubles
of the Roman empire, yet it was again and again re¬
paired, and filled with the fame number of books.
For 293 years Alexandria w*as held in fubjeftion
by the Ptolemies. Here is a lift of thefe princes, w ith
the dates of their refpeftive reigns.
Ptolemy the fon of Lagus, furnamed Sotcr, reigned
39 years, and died in the year of the world 3720.
Ptolemy Philadelphus reigned 39 years, and died in
3758. Ptolemy Euergetes reigned 25 years, and died
in 3783. Ptolemy Philopater reigned 17 years, and
died in 3800. Ptolemy Epiphanes reigned 24 years,
and died in 3824. Ptolemy Philometor reigned 37
years, and died in 3861. Ptolemy Euergetes, or Phyf-
con, reigned 53 years, part with his brother Philcme-
tor and part alone. He died in 3888. Ptolemy La-
thyrus reigned 36 years fix months. He died in 3923.
Cleopatra, the daughter of Lathyrus and w ife of Alex¬
ander I. reigned fix months. Alexander I. the ne¬
phew of Lathyrus, wras eftablilhed in 3924, and died
*n 3943- Alexander II. the fon of Alexander I. was
difpoffeffed by the Alexandrians in 3939. Ptolemy
Nothus, or Auletes, the fon of Lathyrus, reigned 13
years, and died in 3953. Ptolemy, furnamed^D/oz;jr-
fius or Bacchus, reigned three years eight months, and
died in 3957- Cleopatra reigned from 3957, and kill¬
ed herfelf in 3974.
'Phis city, as we have already obferved, foon became
extremely populous, and was embelliftied both by its
own princes and the Romans ; but, like moft other
noted cities of antiquity, hath been the feat of terrible
maftacres. About 141 years before Chrift, it was al-
moft totally depopulated by Ptolemy Phyfcon. That
barbarous monfter, without the leaf! provocation, gave
free liberty to his guards to plunder his metropolis and
murder the inhabitants at their pleafure. The cruel¬
ties praflifed on this- occafion cannot be exprefled ; and
the few who efcaped were fo terrified that they fled
into other countries. Upon this, Phyfcon, that he
might not reign over empty houfes, invited thither
ftrangers from the neighbouring countries; by whom
the city was repeopled, and foon recovered its former
fplendour. On this occafion many learned men having-
been obliged to fly, proved the means of reviving learn¬
ing in Greece, Alia Minor, the iflands of the Archi¬
pelago, and other places, where it was almoft totally
loft.
The new inhabitants were not treated with much
more kindnefs by Phyfcon than the old ones had been j
for, on their complaining of his tyrannical behaviour,
he refolved on a general maflacre of the young men.
Accordingly, when they were one day aflembled in the
gymnafium, or place of their public exercifes, he or¬
dered it to be fet on fire j fo that they all perifti-
4 F ed>
AleKandna.
ALE
Alexandria, ed, either in the flames, or by the fwords of his mer-
cenaries, whom the tyrant had placed at all the ave¬
nues.
Though Julius Caefar was obliged to carry on a war
for fome time againft this city, it feems not to have
fuffered much damage, except the burning of the li¬
brary already mentioned. Before Csefar left Alex¬
andria, in acknowledgment of the afllilance he had re¬
ceived from the Jews, he confirmed all their privileges
there, and even engraved his decree on a pillar of brafs.
This, however, did not prevent the maflacre of 50,000
of them in this city about the year of Chrifl: 67.
The city of Alexandria feems to have fallen into de¬
cay foon after this, and to have forfeited many of its
ancient privileges, though for what offence is not
known ; but when Adrian vifited Egypt, about the
year 141, it was almoft totally ruined. He repaired
both the public and private buildings, not only refto-
ring the inhabitants to their ancient privileges, but
heaping new favours upon them \ for which they re¬
turned him their felemn thanks, and conferred upon
him what honours they could while he was prefent ;
but as foon as he was gone, they publiflied the molt bit¬
ter and virulent lampoons againfl: him.
The fickle and fatirical humour of the Alexandrians
was highly difliked by Adrian, though he infli&ed no
punifliment upon them for it \ but when they lampoon¬
ed Caracalla, he did not let them efcape fo eafily.
That tyrant, in the year 215, when he vifited their
city, having become the fubje£f of their foolifh fatires,
ordered a general maffacre by his numerous troops, who
were difperfed all over the city. The inhuman orders
being given, all were murdered, without diftindtion of
age or fex 5 fo that in one night’s time the whole city
floated in blood, and every houfe was filled with car-
cafes. The monfter who occafioned this had retired
during the night to the temple of Serapis, to implore
the protection of that deity ; and, not yet fatiated with
daughter, commanded the maffacre to be continued all
the next day 5 fo that very few of the inhabitants re¬
mained. As if even this had not been fufficient, he
ftripped the city of all its ancient privileges ; fuppref-
fed the academy; ordered all ftrangers who lived
there to depart j and that the few who remained might
not have the fatisfa&ion of feeing one another, he cut
off all communication of one ftreet with another, by
walls built for that purpofe, and guarded by troops left
there.
Notwithffanding this terrible difaffer, Alexandria
foon recovered its former fplendour, as Caracalla was
murdered a fliort time after. It was long efteemed the
firft city in the world, next to Rome j and we may
judge of its magnificence, and the multitude of people
contained in it, from the account of Diodorus Siculus,
who relates, that in his time (44 years before Chrift)
Alexandria had on its rolls 300,000 freemen. To¬
wards the middle of the fixth century, Amrou Ehn al
/las, Omar’s general, took it by fform, after a fiege
of 14 months, and with the lofs of 23,000 men. He-
raclius, then ernperor of Conftantinople, did not fend
a Angle (hip to its affiftance. This prince affords an
example very rare in hiftory; he had difplayed fome
vigour in the firft year of his reign, and then fuffered
himfelf to be lulled into idlenefs and effeminacy. Ar
wakened fuddenly from his lethargy by the noife of
[ 594 1
ALE
the conqueffs of Cofroes, that fcourge of the eaft, he Alexandria,
put himfelf at the head of his armies, diffinguilhed 1 ■■■ v
himfelf as a great captain from his very firft campaign,
laid wafte Perffa for feven years, and returned to his
capital covered with laurels : he then became a theo¬
logian on the throne, loft all his enegry, and amufed
himfelf the reft of his life with difputing upon Mono-
theilm, whilft the Arabs were robbing him of the fineft
provinces of his empire. Deaf to the cries of the un¬
fortunate inhabitants of Alexandria, as he had been to
thofe of the people of Jerufalem, who defended them-
felves for two years, he left them a facrifice to the for¬
tunate afcendant of the indefatigable Amrou. All
their intrepid youth perifhed with their arms in their
hands.
The vitftor, aftoniftied at his conqueft, wrote to the
caliph, “ I have taken the city of the weft. It is of
an immenfe extent. I cannot defcribe to you how
many wonders it contains. There are 4000 palaces,
4000 baths, 12,000 dealers in- frefti oil, 12,000 gar¬
deners, 40,000 Jews who pay tribute, 400 theatres or
places of amufement.”
At this time, according to the Arabian hiftorians^
Alexandria confifted of three cities, vi’z. Menna, or
the port, which included Pharos, and the neighbouring
parts; Alexandria, properly fo called, where the mo¬
dern Scanderia now ftands j and Nehita, probably the
Necropolis of Jofephus and Strabo.
At that time John, furnamed the grammarian, a
famous Peripatetic philofopher, being in the city, and
in high favour with Amrou Ebn al Aas the Saracen
general, begged of him the royal library. Amrou re¬
plied, that it was not in his power to grant fuch a re-
queft ; but that he would write to the caliph on that
head ; fince, without knowing his pleafure, he dared
not to difpofe of a fingle book. He accordingly wrote
to Omar, who was then caliph, acquainting him with
the requeft of his friend : To which the ignorant ty¬
rant replied, That if thofe books contained the fame
dodlrine with the Koran, they could be of no ufe, fince
the Koran contained all neceflary truths } but if they
contained any thing contrary to that book, they ought
not to be fuffered j and therefore, whatever their con¬
tents were, he ordered them to be deftroyed. Purfuant
to this order, they were diftributed among the public
baths ) where, for the fpace of fix months, they lerved
to fupply the fires of thofe places, of which there was
an incredible number in Alexandria.
After the city wus taken, Amrou thought proper
to purfue the Greeks wrho had fled farther up the coun¬
try 5 and therefore marched out of Alexandria, leaving
but a very flender garrifon in the place. The Greeks,
who had before fled on board their fliips, being apprif-
ed of this, returned on a fudden, furprifed the tqwn,
and put all the Arabs they found therein to the fword ;
but Amrou, receiving advice of wdiat had happened,
fuddenly returned, and drove them out of it w ith great
daughter •, after which the Greeks wrere fo intimidated,
that he had nothing farther to fear from them.—A few
years after, how'ever, Amrou being deprived of his
government by the caliph Othman, the Egyptians were
fo much difpleafed with his difmiflion that they inclined
to a revolt 5 and Conftantine the Greek emperor, having
received intelligence of their difaffedlion, began to m5T
dilate the reduction of Alexandria.. For this purpofe,. •
he-
ale [ 595 ] ALE
Alexandria. He Tent one Manuel, an eunuch, and His general, with Tyrians who formerly engroffed all the Eall India traf- Alexandria
f1 powerful aimy, to retake that place j which, by the fic. Of the immenfe riches which that trade afforded,' ' ‘
anifiance of the Greeks in the city, who kept a fecret we may form an idea, from confidering that the Ro-
coirefpondence with the imperial forces while at fea, mans accounted it a point^)f policy to opprefs the Egyp-
and joined them as foon as they had made a defeent, tians, efpecially the Alexandrians j and after the defeat
he eftected, without any confiderable eftufion of Chri- of Zenobia, there was a fiiigle merchant of iVlexandria
Ilian blood. The caliph, now perceiving his miftake, who undertook to raife and pay an army out of the
immediately reftored Amrou to his former dignity. profits of his trade. The Greek emperors drew prodi-
i ms Hep was very agreeable to the natives ; who hav- gious tributes from Egypt, and yet the caliphs found
mg had experience ot the military fkill and bravery of their fubje£ls in fo good circumftances as to ferew up
renowned general, and apprehending that they their revenues to three hundred millions of crowrns.
fhould be called to an account by the Greeks for their Though the revolutions which happened in the go-
-cirmer perfidious conduft, had petitioned Othman to vernment of Egypt, after it fell into the hands of the
fend him again into Egypt.—Upon Amrou’s arrival, Mahometans', frequently affefted this city to a very
therefore, at Alexandria, the Copts or natives, with great degree j yet Hill the excellence of its port, and
t.ie traitor Al-Mokawkas (who had formerly betrayed the innumerable conveniences refulting from the Ealf
j°. ■^•Oirou the fortrefs of Mefr) at their head, not only India trade, to whomfoever were mailers of Egypt
joined him, but fupplied him with all kinds of provi- preferved Alexandria from total deftruftion, even when
fions, exciting him to attack the Greeks without delay. m the hands of the molt barbarous nations. Thus in
1 his he did j and, after a moft obftinate difpute which the 13th century, when the barbarifm introduced* by
1 ailed feveral days, drove them into the town, where, the Goths, &c. began to wear off from the European
tor iome time, they defended themfelves with great nations, and they acquired a tafte for the elegancies
bravery, and repelled the utmoft efforts of the befiegers. of life, the old mart of Alexandria began to revive •
I his lo exafperated Amrou, that he {wore, “ If God and the port, though far from recovering its former
enabled him to conquer the Greeks, he would throw magnificence, grew once more famous by becoming the
down the walls ot the city, and make it as eafy of ac- centre of commerce : but having fallen under the do-
cefs as the houfe of a prollitute. Nor did he fail to minion of the lurks, and the paffage round the Cape
execute his threat ; for having taken the town by ftorm, of Good Hope being difeovered by the Portuguefe in
he quite difmantled it, entirely demolifhing the walls 1499, a fatal blow w as given to the Alexandrian com-
and fortifications. 1 he lives of the citizens, however, merce, and the city has fince fallen into decay,
were fpared at lead asfar aslay in the general’s power; At prefent, the city of Alexandria is reckoned to
but many of them were put to the fword by the fol- have about 14,000 or 15,000 inhabitants ; a ftrange
dxers on their firft entrance. In one quarter particu- colluvies of different nations, as well as from various
larly, Amrou found thein butchering the Alexandrians parts of the Turkilh empire. They are in general given
with unrelenting barbarity ; to which, however, by to thieving and cheating ; and (like their predeceffors)
his iealonable interpolition, he put a Hop, and on that feditious above all others, w7ere they not kept in awe
fpot ere&ed a mofque, which he called the mofqus of by the feverity of their government.' The Britilh and
merfy' . French carry on a confiderable commerce with them,
from this time Alexandria never recovered its for- and have each a conful refiding here. Some Venetian
mer fplendour. It continued under the dominion of the fliips alfo fail thither yearly, but with French colours
caliphs till the year 924, when it was taken by the Ma- and under the prote&ion of France. The fubjefts of
giebians, two years after its great church had been de- thofe kingdoms which keep no conful here, are iubjeft-
ftroyed by fire. This church was called by the Arabs ed to a tax by the Grand Signior : but the fews have
Al Kaifariit, or Cafarea; and had formerly been a pa- found out a method of indemnifying themfelves for
gan temple, eredled in honour of Saturn by the fa- this difad vantage ; namely, by fellimr their commodities
mous queen Cleopatra. cheaper than other foreigners can "afford. They are
i he city was loon after abandoned by the Magre- alfo favoured by the farmers of the revenue ; \vho
bums; but m 928 they again made themfelves mailers know, that if they do not pay fome private regard to
of it ; their Heet being afterwards defeated by that be- them, the Jews have it in their power to caufe fewer
longing to the caliph, Abu/ Kafem the Magrebian ge- merchandifes come into their port during the tw7o years
neral retired from Alexandria, leaving there only a gar- that their farm lalls. ^ ^
rifon of 300 men ; of which rhmaal, the caliph’s ad- The prefent city is a kind of peninfula fituated be-
miral, being appnled, he m a few days appeared before tween the two ports. That to the weftward was called
the town, and carried off the remainder of the inhabi- by the ancients the Portus Eunq/Ius, now the Old Port
tants to an ifiand m the Nile called Abuhair. This and is by far the bell; Turkilh veffels only are allowed
was done to prevent Abul Kafem from meeting with to anchor there : the other called the New Port is
any entertainment at Alexandria, in cafe he Ihould think for the Chriffians; at the extremity of one of the arms
proper to return.. According to Eutychius, above of which Hood the famous Pharos. The New Port
200,000 of the miferable inhabitants perilhed this year. the only harbour for Europeans, is clogged up with
What contributed to raife Alexandria to fuch a pro- fand, infomuch that in llormy weather Hups are liable
digious height of fplendour as it enjoyed for a long time, to bilge ; and the bottom being alfo rocky, the cables
was its being the centre of commerce between the call- foon chafe and part ; fo that one veffel driving againft
ern and weltern parts of the world. It was with the a fecond, and that again!! a third, they are perhaps all
view of becoming mailer of this lucrative trade, that loll. Of this there was a fatal inltance fome years a-o
Alexander built this city, after having extirpated the when 42 veffels were dallied to pieces on the mole
4 F 2 in
ALE [
Alexandria.in a gale of wind from the north-weft, and numbers
v—’v-—1 have been fmce loft there at different times. If it be
afked in Europe, Why do they not repair the New
Port ? the anfwer is, That in Turkey they deftroy
every thing, and repair nothing. I he old harbour
will be deftroyed likewife, as the ballaft of veffels has
been continually thrown into it for the laft 200 years.
The fpirit of the Turkiih government is to ruin the la¬
bours of paft ages, and deftroy the hopes of future times,
becaufe the barbarity of ignorant defpotifm never con-
fiders to-morrow.
In time of war, Alexandria is of no importance *,
no fortification is to be feen 5 even the Farillon, with
its lofty towers, cannot be defended. It has not four
cannon fit for fervice, nor a gunner who knows how
to point them. The 500 janizaries, wdio fhould form
the garrifon, reduced to half that number, know no¬
thing but how to fmoke a pipe. But Alexandria is a
place of which the conqueft would be of no value. A
foreign power could not maintain itfelf there, as the
country is without water. This muft be brought from
the Nile by the kalidj, or canal of 12 leagues, which
conveys it thither every year at the time of the inun¬
dation. It fills the vaults or refervoirs dug under the
ancient city, and this provifion muft ferve till the next
year. It is evident, therefore, that were a foreign
power to take poffeftion, the canal would be (hut, and
all fupplies of water cut off. It is this canal alone
which connefts Alexandria with Egypt •, for from its
fituation without the Delta, and the nature of the foil,
it really belongs to the deferts of Africa. Its environs
are fandy, flat, and fterile, without trees and without
houfes 5 where we meet with nothing but the plant
■which yields the kali, and a row of palm trees which
follows the courfe of the kalidj or canal.
The city is governed like others in the fame king¬
dom. (See Egypt.) It hath a fmall garrifon of fol-
diers, part of which are Janizaries and Affaffs; who are
very haughty and infolent, not only to ftrangers, but to
the mercantile and induftrious part of the people,
though ever fo confiderable and ufeful. The govern¬
ment is fo remifs in favour of thefe wretches, that Mr
Norden informs us, one of them did not hefitate to kill
a farmer of the cuftoms, for refufmg to take lefs of him
than the duty imnofed, and went off unpunifhed ; it
being a common falvo among them, that what is done
cannot be undone.
T he prefent condition of Alexandria is very defpi-
cable, being now fo far ruined, that the rubbifh in many
places overtops the houfes.. The famous tower of Pha¬
ros has long fince been demolifhed, and a.caftle, called
Fariilon, built in its place. The caufeway which joined
the iftand to the continent is broken down, and its place
fupplied by a ftone bridge of feveral arches.
Some parts of the old walls of the city are yet Hand¬
ing, and prefent us with a mafterpiece of ancient ma-
ibnry. They are flanked with large towTers, about 200
paces diftant from each other, with fmall ones in the
middle. Below are magnificent cafemates, which may
ferve for galleries to rvalk in. In the lower part of the
towmrs is a large fquare hall, whofe roof is fupported
. by thick columns of Thebaic ftone. Above this are
feveral rooms, over which there are platforms more
than 20 paces fquare. The ancient refervoirs, vaulted
596 ] ALE
with fo much art, which extend under the whole town, Alexandria,
are almoft entire at the end of 2000 years.
Of Cmfar’s palace there remain only a fewr porphyry
pillars, and the front, which is almoft entire, and looks
very beautiful. The palace of Cleopatra was built
upon the walls facing the port, having a gallery on the
outllde, fupported by feveral fine columns. Not far
from this palace are two obelifks vulgarly called Cleo¬
patra's Needles. They are of Thebaic ftone, and co
vered wuth hieroglyphics. One is overturned, broken,
and lying under the fand j the other is on its pedeftal.
Thefe two obelifks, each of them of a fmgle ftone, are
about 60 feet high, by feven feet fquare at the bafe.
Denon, who went to Egypt along with the French ar¬
my in 1798, fuppofes that thefe columns decorated the
entrance of the palace of the Ptolemies, the ruins of
which ftill exift at no great diftance from the place of
the obeliiks. Towards the gate of Rofetta, are five
columns of marble on the place formerly occupied by
the porticoes of the gymnafium. The reft of the co¬
lonnade, the defign of which wxis difcoverable 100 years
ago by Maillet, has fince been deftroyed by the barba-
rifm of the Turks.
But what moft engages the attention of travellers is
the pillar of Pompey, as it is commonly called, fitua-
ted at a quarter of a league from the fouthern gate.
It is compofed of red granite. The capital is Corin¬
thian, with palm leaves, and not indented. It is nine
feet high. The fhaft and the upper member of the
bafe are of one piece of 90 feet long, and 9 in diame¬
ter. The bafe is a fquare of about 15 feet on each
fide. This block of marble, 60 feet in circumference,
refts on two layers of ftone bound together w ith lead }
which, however, has not prevented the Arabs from
forcing out feveral of them, to fearch for an imaginary
treafare. The wdiole column is 114 feet high. It is
perfedlly w'dl poliftied, and only a little fliivered on the
eaftern fide. Nothing can equal the majefty of this
monument j feen from a diftance, it overtops the town,
and ferves as a fignal for veffels. Approaching it
nearer, it produces an aftonifhment mixed wfith awe.
One can never be tired with admiring the beauty of
the capital, the length of the Ihaft, nor the extraordi¬
nary fimplicity of the pedeftal. This laft has been
fomewhat damaged by the inftruments of travellers,
who are curious to poffefs a relick of this antiquity ^
and one of the volutes of the column was immaturely
brought dowm about twelve years ago, by a prank of
fome Englifh captains, which is thus related by Mr
Irwin.
Thefe jolly fons of Neptune had been pufliing about
the can on board one of the Ihips in the harbour, until
a ftrange freak entered into one of their brains. The
eccentricity of the thought occafioned it immediately
to be adopted j and its apparent impoflibility was but
a fpur for the putting it into execution. The boat royage ami
wras ordered ; and with proper implements for the at- Route,
tempt, thefe enterprifing heroes puftied aftiore, to drink P- 37°*
a bowl of punch on the top of Pompey’s pillar ! At
the fpot they arrived j and many contrivances wTere
propofed to accomplilh the defired point. But their
labour was vain 5 and they began to defpair of fuccefs,
when the genius who ftruck out the frolic happily fug-
gefted the means of performing it. A man was dii-
patched
A L E r 597 ] ALE
Alexandria, patched to the city for a paper kite* The inhabitants
1“" v were by this time apprized of what was going forward,
and flocked in crowds to be witneffes of the addrefs
and boldnefs of the Engliih. The governor ox Alex¬
andria was told that theie feamen were about to pull
down Pompey’s pillar. But whether he gave them
credit for their refpeel to the Roman warrior, or to
the Turkifn government, he left them to themfelves;
and politely anfwered, that the Englifli were too great
patriots to injure the remains of Pompey. He knew
little, however, of the difpofition of the people who
were engaged in this undertaking. Had the Turkifh
empire rifen in dppofition, it would not perhaps at that
moment have deterred them. The kite was brought,
and flown fo dire&ly over the pillar, that when it fell
on the other fide, the firing lodged upon the capital.
1 he chief obftacle was now overcome. A two-inch
rope was tied to one end of the firing, and drawn over
the pillar by the end to which the kite was affixed.
By this rope one of the feamen afcended to the top 5
and in lefs than an hour a kind of fliroud was con-
ftrufted, by which the whole company went up, and
drank their punch amid the ihouts of the aftonifhed
multitude. To the eye below, the capital of the pil¬
lar does not appear capable of holding more than one
man upon it; but our feamen found it could contain
no lefs than eight perfons very conveniently. It is
aftonifhing that no accident befel thefe madcaps, in a
fituation fo elevated, that would have turned a land-
man giddy in his fober fenfes. The only detriment
which the pillar received, was the lofs of the volute be¬
fore mentioned j which came down with a thundering
found, and was carried to England by one of the cap¬
tains, as a prefent to a lady who commiflioned him for
a piece of the pillar. The difcovery which they made
amply compenfated for this mifchief; as without their
evidence, the world would not have known at this
* Vide
SpartLin ’s
Ufe of
Severus,'
chap. 17,
hour, that there was originally a ftatue on this pillar,
one foot and ancle of which are fiill remaining. The
ftatue muft have been of a gigantic fize; to have ap¬
peared of a man’s proportion at fo great an height.
There are circumftances in this ftory which might
give it an air of fiftion, were it not demonftrated be¬
yond all doubt. Befides the teftimonies of many eye-
witnefles, the adventurers themfelves have left us a
token of the fadl, by the initials of their names, which
are very legible in black paint juft beneath the capital.
Learned men and travellers have made many fruit-
lefs attempts to difeover in honour of what prince it
•was eredled. The beft informed have concluded, that
it could not be in honour of Pompey, fince neither
Strabo nor Diodorus Siculus have fpoken of it. The
Arabian Abulxeda, in his Defcription of Egypt, calls
it the Pillar of Severus. And hifiory informs us'*, that
this emperor “ vifited the city of Alexandria : That
he granted a fenate to its inhabitants, who until that
time, under the fubjediion of a fingie Roman magi-
ftrate, had lived without any national council, as under
the reign of the Ptolemies, when the wall of the prince
•was their only law : rl hat he did not confine his be-
nefedfions there 5 he changed feveral laws in their fa¬
vour.” This column, therefore, Mr Savary concludes
to have been eredled by the inhabitants as a mark of
their gratitude to Severus. And in a Greek inferip-
tion, now half effaced, but vifible on the wTeft fide when
3
the fun fhines upoft it, and xvhich probably was L
in the time of Abulfeda, he fuppofes the name c
verus to have been preferved. He further obferves,
that this was not the only monument erefred to him by
the gratitude of the Alexandrians: for there is fiill
feen in the midft of the ruins of Antinoe, built by A-
drian, a magnificent pillar, the infeription on which is
ftill remaining, dedicated to Alexander Severus.
Denon whom we have already quoted, feems to be
of a different opinion. “We paffed (fays he) near Pom¬
pey’s pillar. This monument is in the predicament of
almoft every thing famous, which lofes on a near feru-
tiny. It was named Pompey’s pillar in the fifteenth
century, when learning began to recover itfelf from
the torpid ftate in which it had fo long languilhed. A t
that epoch, men of fcience, but not obfervers, beftow-
ed names on all the monuments 5 and thefe names have
been handed down by tradition, and without being dif-
puted, from century to century. A monument had
been raifed to Pompey at Alexandria : it had difap-
peared, and w.as thought to be recovered in this pillar
or column, winch has fince been converted into a tro¬
phy erefted to the memory of Septimius Severus. It
is, however, placed on the ruins of the ancient city j
and in the time of Septimius Severus, the city of the
Ptolemies was not in a ruinous ftate. To fupport this
column by a folid foundation, an obelilk has been funk
in the earth, on which is placed a very clumfy pedeftal,
having a fine fhaft, and furmounted by a Corinthian ca¬
pital of bad workmanlhip,
“ If the fhaft of this column, feparating it from the
pedeftal and the capital, once belonged to an ancient
edifice, it is an evidence of its maenificence, and of the
fkill with which it was executed. It ought therefore
to be laid, that what is called Pompey’s pillar, is a fine
column, and not a fine monument. It fhould be faid,
that the column of St Maria Maggiore, notwithftand-
ing it is one of the fineft in exiftence, has not the cha¬
racter of a monument} that it is merely a fragment ;
and that, if the columns of Trajan and Antoninus are
not in the fame predicament, it is becaufe they appear
ax coloflal cylinders, on which the hiftory of the glo¬
rious expeditions of thefe two emperors is pompoufly
difplayed, and •which, if reduced to their fimple form
and dimenfions, would be nothing more than dull and
heavy monuments.
“The earth about the foundations of Pompey’s pil¬
lar having been cleared away by time, two fragments
of an obelifk of white marble, the only monument of
that fubftance which I have feen in Egypt, have beerr
added to the original bafe, to render it more folid.
i<r Excavations made round the circumference of this
column, would, no doubt, afford feme information re¬
lative to its origin. The (baking of the earth, and the
fo rm it takes on treading on it, feem to attefi that thefe
refearches wrouid not be fruitlels. They would perhaps
ditcover the bafe and atrium of the portico to which
this column belonged, which has been the fubjeCt of
differtations made by literati who have feen the draw¬
ings only, orivhofe information has been limited to the
deferiptions of travellers. Thefe travellers have ne-
gleCIed to apprize them, that fragments of columns of.
the fame fubftanee and diameter are found in the vici¬
nity 5 and that the (baking of the earth indicates the de-
ftrucUon of great edifices buried beneath, the forms of
which:;
gible AI
f Se-
ALE
Alexandria.which may be diftinguifhed on the furface, fuch as a.
^ y / fqUare 0£ a confiderable iize, and a large circus, the
principal dimenfions of which may be meafured, not-
withftanding it is covered with fand and ruins.
“ After having obferved that the column, entitled
Pompey's pillar, is very chafte both in ftyle and execu¬
tion j that the pedeftal and capital are not formed of
the fame granite as the (haft ; that their workmanfhip
is heavy, and appears to be merely a rough draught;
and that the foundations, made up of fragments, indi¬
cate a modern conftru&ion; it may be concluded, that
this monument is not antique, and that it may have
been eretted either in the time of the Greek emperors,
or of the caliphs ■, fince, if the capital and pedellal are
well enough wrought to belong to the former of thefe
periods, they are not fo perfefi but that art may have,
reached fo far in the latter.” enorPs Travels.')
On the fouth-weft fide of the city, at a mile’s di-
flance, are fituated the catacombs, the ancient burial-
place of Alexandria; and although they cannot be
compared to thofe of the ancient Memphis, which the
Arabs will not permit to be vifited, in order to make
the better market of their mummies, it is probable
that, the method of embalming being the fame, the
form of thefe catacombs can only differ in their pro¬
portions. The Baron dc Tott, in defending thefe,
obferves, “ that Nature not having furnifhed this part
of Egypt with a ridge of rocks, like that which runs
parallel with the Nile above Delta, the ancient inha¬
bitants of Alexandria could odly have an imitation by
digging into a bed of folid rock ; and thus they form¬
ed Necropolis, or “ City of the Dead.” The excava¬
tion is from 30 to 40 feet wide, and 200 long, and
25 deep, and is terminated by gentle declivities at
each end. The two fides, cut perpendicularly, con¬
tain feveral openings, about 10 or 12 feet in widtli
and height, hollowed horizontally j and which form,
by their different branches, fubterranean ftreets. One
of thefe, which curiofity has difencumbered from the
ruins and fands that render the entrance of others dif¬
ficult or impoffible, contains no mummies, but only
the places they occupied. The order in which they
wrere ranged is ftill to be feen. Niches, 20 inches
fquare, funk fix feet horizontally, narrowed at the
bottom, and feparated from each other by partitions
in the rock, feven or eight inches thick, divide into
checkers the two walls of this fubterranean vault. It
is natural to fuppofe, from this difpofition that each
mummy w7as introduced with the feet foremoft into the
cell intended for its reception ; and that new ffreets
■were opened, in proportion as thefe dead inhabitants of
Necropolis increafed.” This obfervation, he adds,
which throws a light on the catacombs of Memphis,
may perhaps likewife explain the vaft fize and multi¬
tude, as well as the different elevations, of the pyra¬
mids in the Higher and Lower Egypt.
About 70 paces from Pompey’s pillar is the khalis
or the canal of the Nile, which was dug by the an¬
cient Egyptians, to convey the water of the Nile to
Alexandria, and fill the cifterns under the city. On
the fide of the khalis are gardens full of orange and le¬
mon trees, and the fields are full of caper and palm
trees. On the top of a hill is a tower, on which a
fentinel is always placed, to give notice, by means of
a flag, of the (hips that are coming into the port.
[ 598 ]
ALE
From this hill may be feen the fea, the whole extent Alexandria,
of the city, and the parts round it. u—y—
In going along the fea-coaft, there is a large bafon
cut out of the rock that lines the fhore. On the fides
of this bafon, two beautiful falcons are hewn out by
the chifel, with benches that run acrofs them. A ca¬
nal made zig-zag, for the purpofe of Hopping the fand
by its different windings, conveys into them the water
of the fea, as pure and tranfparent as cryftal. Seated
on the ftone-bench, the water rifes a little above the
waift j while the feet foftly repofe on a fine fand.
The waves of the fea are heard roaring againft the
rock, and foaming in the canal. The fw.ell enters,
raifes you up, and leaves you j and thus alternately
entering and retiring, brings a continual frefli fupply
of water, and a coolnefs which is truly delicious under
a burning fky. This place is vulgarly called the Bath
oj Cleopatra. Some ruins announce that it was former¬
ly ornamented.
In 179S Alexandria was taken by the French under
the command of Bonaparte. It fell into the hands of
the Britifh army in the year 1801, but by an article
in the treaty of peace, diclated probably by mutual
jealoufy, it is to be reftored to the Ottoman Porte,
and again fubjecled to the barbarous policy of the
Turkifh government.
Alexandria is about 50 leagues north of Cairo.
E. Long. 31. 15. N. Lat. 31. 12.
Alexandria, a ftrong and confiderable city of Ita¬
ly, belonging to the duchy of Milan, with a good
caftle, built in 1178 in honour of Pope Alexander III.
This pope made it a biihopric, with feveral privileges
and exemptions. Prince Eugene of Savoy took this
qity in 1706, after three days fiege. The French
took it in 1745 ? but the king of Sardinia, to whom
it belongs by the treaty of Utrecht, retook it in 1746.
The fortifications of the town are trifling, but the ci¬
tadel is confiderable. It is 15 miles feuth-eaft of Caf-
fal, 3 5 north-by-weft of Genoa, and 40 fouth-by-weft
of Milan. E. Long. 8. 40. N. Lat. 44. 53. The
country about this town is called the Alexandrin.
Alexandria, in Ancient Geography, a city of Ara-
chofia, called alfo Alexandropolis, on the river Ara-
chotus (Stephanus, Ifidorus Characenus).—Another
Alexandria in Gedrofia, built by Leonatus, by order
of Alexander (Pliny).—A third Alexandria in Aria,
fituated at the lake Arias (Ptolemy) ’7 but, according
to Pliny, built by Alexander on the river Arius.—
A fourth in Baclriana (Pliny).—A fifth Alexandria,
an inland town of Carmania (Pliny, Ptolemy, Ammi-
an).—A fixth Alexandria, or Alexandropolis, in Sog-
diana (Ifidorus Characenus).—A feventh in India,
at the confluence of the Acefines and Indus (Arrian).
—An eighth, called alfo Alexandretta, near the Simfs
Ifiicus, on the confines of Syria and Cilicia, now Scan-
deroon (fee Alexandretta), the port town to Alep¬
po.—A ninth Alexandria of Margiana, which being
demoliihed by the barbarians, wTas rebuilt by Antio-
chus the fon of Selcucus, and called Antiochia of Sy¬
ria (Pliny) ; watered by the river Margus, which is
divided into feveral channels, for the purpofe of wa¬
tering the country wdiich was called Zotale. The city
was leventy ftadia in circuit, according to Pliny 5 who
adds, that, after the defeat of Craffus, the captives
were conveyed to this place by Orodes, the king of
the
ALE
Afexan- the Parthians.—A tenth, of the Oxiatta, built on the
! dr.,an’ c Oxus by Alexander, on the confines of Ba&ria (Pli-
) ny).—An eleventh, built by Alexander at the foot of
Mount Paropamifus, which was called Caucafuj (Pli¬
ny, Arrian.)—A twelfth Alexandria in Troas, called
allb Troas and Antigonia (Pliny).—A thirteenth on
the laxartes, the boundary of Alexander’s victories to¬
wards Scythia, and the laft that he built on that fide.
ALEXANDRIAN, in a particular fenfe, is ap¬
plied to all thofe who proflefled or taught the fciences
in the Ichool of Alexandria. In this fenfe, Clemens
is denominated Alexandrians, though born at Athens.
I he fame may be faid of Apion,* who was born at
Oafis; and Aroilarchus, by birth a Samothracian. The
chief Alexandrian philofcphers were, Amonius, Plo¬
tinus, Origen, Porphyry, Jamblicus, Sopater, Maxi¬
mus, and Dexippus.
Alexandrian is more particularly underfiood of a
college of priefis, confecrated to the fervice of Alex¬
ander Severus after his deificatisn. Lampridius re¬
lates, that, notwithftanding Severus was killed by
Maximin, the fenate profecuted his apotheofis ; and,
for regularity of worlhip, founded an order of priefts,
or fodales, under the denomination of Alexandria.
Alexandrian Manufcript, a famous copy of the
Scriptures, confuting of four volumes, in a large quar¬
to fize ; which contains the whole Bible in Greek, in¬
cluding the Old and New Teflament, with the Apo¬
crypha, and fome fmaller pieces, but not quite com¬
plete. This manufcript is now preferved in the Britifh
Mufeum.. It was fent as a prefent to King Charles I.
from Cyrillus Lucaris, patriarch of Conftantinople, by
Sir Thomas Rowe, ambaffador from England to the
Grand Signior, about the year 1628. Cyrillus brought
it with him from Alexandria, where probably it was
written. In a fchedule annexed to it, he gives this
account: That it was written, as tradition informed
tnem, by fhecla, a noble Egyptian lady, about 1300
years ^ ago, not long after the council of Nice. But
this high antiquity, and the authority of the tradition
to which the patriarch refers, have been difputed j nor
are the moll accurate Biblical writers agreed about its
=ige. Giaoe tninks tnat it might have been written
before the end of the fourth century y others are of
opinion, that it was not written till near the end of
the fifth century, or fomewhat later.
Alexandrian, ox Alexandrine, \\\ Poetry, a kind
of verfe confiding of twelve, or of twelve and thirteen
fyllables alternately y fo called; from a poem on the life
of Alexander written in this ’kind of verfe by fome
French poet. Alexandrines are peculiar to modern
poetry, and feem well adapted to epic poems. They
are fometimes ufed by moil nations of Europe ; but
chiefly by the French, whofe tragedies are generally
compofed of Alexandrines.
ALEXICACUb, fomething that preferves the bo¬
dy from harm or mifdiief. The word amounts to
much the fame as alexiterial.
Alexicacus, in Antiquity, was an attribute of
Neptune, whom the tunny-fifhers ufed to invoke under
this appellation, that their nets might be preferved
from die or fword-fifh, which ufed to tear them:
and that he might prevent the afliftance which it was
pretended the dolphins ufed to give the tunnies on this
QCcafion,
[ 599 1
ALE
nncs
Alfet.
ALEXIPHARMICS, in Medicine, are properly Alexiphar-
remedies for expelling or preventing the ill eft'e&s of
poifon : but fome of the moderns having imagined that
the animal fpirits in acute dillempers were affeaed by '
a malignant, poilon, the term has been underilood to
mean medicines adapted to expel this poifon by the
cutaneous pores, in the form of fweat. In this fenfe
alexipharmics are the fame as fudorifics.
ALEXIS, a Piedmontefe. There is a book of
Secrets, wrhich for a long time has gone under his
name. It was printed at Bafil 1536, in 8vo, and
tranllated from Italian into Latin by Wecher y it has
alfo been tranflated into French, and printed feveral
tunes with additions. 1 here is a preface to the piece
wherein Alexis informs us, that he was born of a noble
family y that he had from his moft early years applied
himfelf to ftudy; that he had learned the Greek, the
Latin, the Hebrew, the Chaldean, the Arabian, and
leveral other languages 5 that having an extreme cu-
nofity to be acquainted with the fecrets of nature, he
had collected as much as he could during his travels
"or 57 years ; that he picqued himfelf upon not com-
mumcating his fecrets to any perfon y but that when
he was 82 years of age, having feen a poor man who
had oied of a ficknefs which might have been cured
had he communicated his fecret to the furgeon who
took care of him, he was touched with fuch a remorfe
of confidence, that he lived almoft like a hermit: and
it was in this folitude-that he arranged his fecrets in
fuch order as to make them fit to be publiflied. The
hawkers generally carry them, with other books, to
the country fairs- Thefe, however, contain only the
ieleft remedies of Seignior Alexis of Piedmont; the
entire collection would make too large a volume for
them.
ALEXITERIAL, among Phyjicians, a term of
much the fame import with alexipharmic ; though fome*
times ufed in a fynonymous fenfe with amulet.'
ALET N, Charles, an Englifia poet in the reign
o.-Charles 1. In 1631, he publiihed two poems, en¬
titled, “ The Battailes of Creffey and PoiCtiers, un¬
der the fortunes and valour of King Edward of that
name, and his forme Edward prince of Wales, named the
BlackP He fucceeded his father as‘clerk of the ord¬
nance, and was commiflary-general of the artillery to
the king at the battle of Edgehill. The next piece he
wrote was a poem in honour of Henry VII. and the
vi&ory that gained him the crown of England. In
1639, the year before he died, he tranflated the hiito-
ry of Eurialis and Lucretia, from the Latin epiftles of
./Eneas Sylvius.
ALFANDIGA, the nan*e of the cuftomhoufe at
Liibon-.
ALFAQTJES,, among the Moors, the name gene¬
rally ufed for their clergy, or thofe who teach the Ma¬
hometan religion y in oppofition to the Morabites, who
anfwer to monks among Chriflians,
ALP AT ERNA, in Ancient Geography, the laft
town of Campania, beyond Vefuvius (Diodorus) ; the
fame with Nocera, which fee. The inhabitants Alfa*-
terni (Pliny).
ALFDOUCH, a name given by the Moors to a.
fort of vermicelli, which they make of flour and water,
and are very fond of in their entertainments.
ALFET, in our Old Cufioms. denotes a caldron
full
ALE
[
iAIford, full of boiling water, wherein an accufed perfon, by
Alfred- way of trial or purgation, plunged his arm up to the
, elbow.
ALFORD, a town of Lincolnfhire, fituated on a
fmall brook that runs through the town. A fait fpring
was difcovered here in 1670, from the pigeons which
Hew thither in great numbers to drink the water $
thofe birds being known to be fond of fait. It con¬
tains a ftrong purging fait, together with a portion of
fea-falt. It is recommended as cooling, cleanfing, and
attenuating, as a good remedy in the leurvy, jaundice,
and other glandular obftru&ions. It alfo promotes
urine and fweat, and therefore is good in gravelly and
other diforders of the kidneys and bladder. Alford is
fix miles from the fea, and" 20 north of Boflon. E.
Long. o. 15. N. Lat. 53. 30.
ALFRED, or ALlfred, the Great, king of Eng¬
land, was the fifth and youngeft fon of /Ethelwolf
king of the Weft Saxons, and was born at Wantage
in Berkfture in 849. He diftinguifhed himfelf, du¬
ring the reign of his brother Ethelred, in feveral en¬
gagements againft the Danes j and upon his death fuc-
ceeded to the crown, in the year 871, and the 22d of
his age. At his afcending the throne, he found him¬
felf involved in a dangerous war with the Danes, and
placed in fuch circumftances of diftrefs as called for
the greateft valour, refolution, and all the other vir¬
tues with which he was adorned. The Danes had al¬
ready penetrated into the heart of his kingdom ; and
before he had been a month upon the throne, he was
obliged to take the field againft thofe formidable ene¬
mies. After many battles gained on both fides, he
was at length reduced to the greateft diftrefs, and was
entirely abandoned by his lubjedts. In this fituation,
Alfred, conceiving himfelf no longer a king, laid afide
all marks of royalty, and took fhelter in the houfe of
one who kept his cattle. He retired afterwards to the
i!le of /Ethelingey in Somerfetlhire, where he built a
fort for the fecurity of himfelf, his family, and the few
faithful fervants who repaired thither to him. When
he had been about a year in this retreat, having been
informed that fome of his fubjedfs had routed a great
army of the Danes, killed their chiefs, and taken their
magical ftandard (a), he iffued his letters, giving no¬
tice where he was, and inviting his nobility to come
and confult with him. Before they came to a final
determination, Alfred, putting on the habit of a harp-
600 j ALE
er, went into the enemy’s camp, where, without fufpi-
cion, he was everywhere admitted, and had the ho¬
nour to play before their princes. Having thereby
acquired an exadt knowledge of their fituation, he re¬
turned in great fecrecy to his nobility, whom he order¬
ed to their refpediive homes, there to draw together
each man as great a force as he could ; and upon a
day appointed there was to be a general rendezvous at
the great wood called Sehvood, in Wiltfhire. This af¬
fair was tranfadled fo fecretly and expeditioufly, that,
in a little time, the king, at the head of an army, ap¬
proached the Danes, before they had the leaft intelli¬
gence of his defign. Alfred, taking advantage of the
furprife and terror they wTere in, fell upon them, and
totally defeated them at /Ethendune, now Eddington.
Thofe who efcaped tied to a neighbouring caftle, where
they were foon befieged, and obliged to furrender at
diferetion. Alfred granted them better terms than
they could expecL He agreed to give up the whole
kingdom of the Eaft-Angles to fuch as would embrace
the Chriftian religion, on condition they would oblige
the reft of their countrymen to quit the ifland, and, as
much as it was in their power, prevent the landing of
any more foreigners. For the performance thereof he
took hoftages j and when, in purfuance of the treaty,
Guthrum the Danilh captain came, with 30 of his
chief officers, to be baptized, Alfred anfwered for him
at the font, and gave him the name of JEthelJlane ; and
certain laws were drawn up betwixt the king and Gu¬
thrum for the regulation and government of the Danes
fettled in England. In 884, a freftv number of Danes
landed in Kent, and laid fiege to Rochefter •, but the
king coming to the relief of that city, they were ob¬
liged to abandon their defign. Alfred had now great
fuccefs; which was chiefiy owing to his fleet, an ad¬
vantage of his own creating. Having fecured the fea-i
coafts, he fortified the reft of the kingdom with caftles
and w-alled towns; and he befieged and recovered from
the Danes the city of London, which he refolved to re¬
pair, and to keep as a frontier (b).
After fome years refpite, Alfred was again called
into the field : for a body of Danes, being worfted in
the weft of France, came with a fleet of 250 fail on the
coaft of Kent j and having landed, fixed themfelves at
Apple-tree : fhortly after, another fleet of 80 veffels
coming up the Thames, the men landed, and built a
fort at Middleton. Before Alfred marched againft the
enemy,
Alfred.
(a) u This (fays Sir John Spelman) wTas a banner, with the image of a raven magically wrought by the tnree
filters of Hinguar and Hubha, on purpofe for their expedition, in revenge of their father Lodebroch s murder,
made, they fay, almoft in an inftant, being by them at once begun and finiftied in a noontide, and believed by^the
Danes to have carried great fatality with it, for which it v,7as highly efteemed by them. It is pretended, teat,
being carried in battle, towards good fuccefs it would always feem to clap its wings, and make as if it would fly j
but towards the approach of miffiap, it would hang down and not move.'’ (Life of Alfred, p. 61.) .
(b) The Danes had poffeffed themfelves of London in the time of his father; and had held it till now. as a
convenient place for them to land at, and fortify themfelves in ; neither was it taken from them but by a clofe
fiege. However, when it came into the king’s hands, it wTas in a miferable condition, fcarce habitable, and all
its-fortifications ruined. The king, moved by the importance of the place, and the defire of ftiengthening 1m
frontier againft the Danes, reftored it to its ancient fplendour. And obferving, that through the conmfion of
the times, many, both Saxons and Danes, lived in a loofe diforderly manner, without owning any government,
Re offered them now7 a comfortable eftabliffiment, if they would fubmit and become his fubjecls. Ibis propoli-
tion was better received than he expefted; for multitudes growing weary of a vagabond kind of life, joyfully
accepted fuch an offer. (Chron. Sax. p. 88.)
A L F
[ 601 ]
A L F
Alfreii. enemy, lie obliged the Danes, fettled in Northumber-
—~yr—land and Eifex, to give him hoftages for their good
behaviour. He then moved towards the invaders, and
pitched his camp between their armies, to prevent their
junftion. A great body, however, moved off to Ef-
fex j and eroding the river, came to Farnham in Surry,
where they were defeated by the king’s forces. Mean
while the Danes fettled in Northumberland, in breach
of treaty, and notwithftanding the hollages given,
equipped two fleets •, and, after plundering the northern
and fouthern coafts, failed to Exeter, and befleged it.
The king, as foon as he received intelligence, marched
againft them •, but before he reached Exeter, they had
got poifeflion of it. He kept them, however, blocked
up on all fldes ; and reduced them at lalt to fuch ex¬
tremities, that they rvere obliged to eat their horfes,
and were even ready to devour each other. Being at
- length rendered defperate, they made a general fally on
the beflegers ; but were defeated, though with great
lofs on the king’s fide. The remainder of this body of
Danes fled into Etfex, to the fort they had built there,
and to their (hips. Before Alfred had time to recruit
himfelf, another Danifh leader, whofe name was Laf,
came with a great army out of Northumberland, and
deftroyed all before him, marching on to the city of
Werheal in the weft, which is fuppofed to be Chefter,
where they remained the reft of that year. The year
following they invaded North-Wales ; and after having
plundered and deftroyed every thing, they divided, one
body returning to Northumberland, another into the
territories of the Eaft-Angles ; from whence they pro¬
ceeded to Effex, and took pofleflion of a fmall ifland
called Merejig. Here they did not long remain $ for
having feparated, fome failed up the river Thames, and
others up the Lea-road j where drawing up their ihips,
they built a fort not far from London, wdiich proved a
great check upon the citizens, wdio went in a body and
attacked it, but were repulfed with great lofs : at har-
veft time the king himfelf was obliged to encamp with
a body of troops in the neighbourhood of the city, in
order to cover the reapers from the excurfions of the
Danes. As he was one day riding by the fide of the
river Lea, after fome obfervations he began to think
that the Danifli fhips might be laid quite dry : this he
attempted, and fucceeded \ fo that the Danes deferted
their fort and Ihips, and marched away to the banks of
the Severn, where they built a fort, and wintered at a
place called ^uatbrig (c). Such of the Danifh fhips as
could be got off, the Londoners carried into their owm
road *, the reft they burnt and deflroyed.
Alfred enjoyed a profound peace during the three
laft years of his reign, which he chiefly employed in
eftablifhing and regulating his government, for the fecu-
rity of himfelf and his fucceffors, as well as the eafe and
benefit of his fubje&s in general. After a troublefome
reign of 28 years, he died on the 28th of OHober
Vol. I. Part II.
A. D. 900 } and was buried at Winchefter, in Hyde- Alfred,
abbey, under a monument of porphyry. u—^
All our hiftorians agree in diftinguifhing him as one
of the moft valiant, wifeft, and Left of kings that ever
reigned in England } and it is alfo generally allowed,
that he not only digefted feveral particular laws ftiil in
being, but that he laid the firft foundation of our pre-
fent happy conftitution. There is great reafon to be¬
lieve that w'e are indebted to this prince for trials by
juries; and the Doomfday book, which is preferved in
the exchequer, is thought to be no more than ano¬
ther edition of Alfred’s book of Winchefter, which
contained a furvey of the kingdom. It is faid alfo, that
he was the firft who divided the kingdom into Ihires,
What is aferibed to him is not a bare divifion of the
country, but the fettling a new form of judicature ; for
after having divided his dominions into (hires, he fab-
divided each (hire into three parts, called trythings.
There are fome remains of this ancient divifion in the
ridings of Yorkfliire, the laths of Kent, and the three
parts of Lincolnlhire. Each trything wTas divided in¬
to hundreds or wapentakes j and thefe again into ty-
things or dwellings of ten houfeholders : each of thefe
houfeholders flood engaged to the king, as a pledge for
the good behaviour of his family, and all the ten were
mutually pledges for each other j fo that if any one of
the tythings w^as fufpe<fted of an offence, if the head
boroughs or chiefs of the tythings would not be fecurity
for him, he was imprifoned j and, if he made his efcape,
the tything and hundred were fined to the king. Each
fhire was under the government of an earl, under w honl
wras the reive, his deputy ; lince, from his office, called
Jhtre-reive, or fheriff. And fo effedlual were thefe re¬
gulations, that it is faid he caufed bracelets of gold to
be hung up in the highways, as a challenge to robbers:
and they remained untouched.
In private life, Alfred was the moft amiable man in
his dominions *, of fo equal a temper, that he never
fuffered either fadnefs or unbecoming gaiety to enter
his mind j but appeared always of a calm, yet cheerful
difpofition, familiar to his friends, juft even to his ene¬
mies, kind and tender to all. He was a remarkable
economift of his time ; and Afferius has given us an
account of the method he took for dividing and keep¬
ing an account of it : he caufed fix wax-candles to be
made, each of 1 2 inches long, and of as many ounces
weight; on the candles the inches wTere regularly mark¬
ed, and having found that one of them burnt juft four
hours, he committed them to the care of the keepers of
his chapel, who from time to time gave him notice how
the hours went: but as in windy weather the candles
wxre wafted by the imprefixon of the air on the flame,
to remedy this inconvenience, he invented lanthorns,
there being then no glafs in his dominions.
This prince, we are told, was 12 years of age be¬
fore a mafter could be procured in the weftern kingdom
4 G to
(c) The king’s contrivance is thought to have produced the meadow between Hertford and Borv 5 for
at Hertford was the Danifti fort, and from thence they made frequent excurfions on the inhabitants of
London. Authors are not agreed as to the method the king purfued in laying dry the Daniffi (hips : Dugdale
fuppofes that he did it by ftraitening the channels } but Henry of Huntingdon alleges^ that he cut feveral ca¬
nals, which exhauiled its water.
A L F - [ 602 ' ] A L G
Alfred, to teach him the alphabet; fuch tv as the ilate of learn-
v iag when Alfred began to reign. He had felt the mi-
• fery of ignorance ; and determined even to rival his co¬
temporary Charlemagne in the encouragement of lite¬
rature. He is fuppofed to have appointed perfons to
read lectures at Oxford, and is thence confidered as the
founder of that univerfity. By other proper eftablilh-
ments, and by a general encouragement to men of abi¬
lities, he did every thing in his power to difFufe know'-
ledge throughout his dominions. Nor wTas this end
promoted more by his countenance and encouragement
than by his own example and his writings. For not-
withftanding the latenefs of his initiation, he had ac¬
quired extraordinary erudition ; and, had he not been
illuftrious as a king, he would have been famous as an
author. His works are, 1. Brevianum quoddam collec-
tum ex Legibus Trojanorum, &c. Lib. i. A Breviary col-
iefted out of the laws of the Trojans, Greeks, Britons,
Saxons, and Danes, in one book. Leland faw this book
in the Saxon tongue, at Chrift-church in Hampfhire.
2. Vifi-Saxonum Leges, Lib. i. The laws of the Weft-
Saxons, in one book. Pitts tells us, that it is in Ben-
net-College library, at Cambridge. 3. InJHtuta quee-
dam, lib. i. Certain Inflitutes, in one book. This is
mentioned by Pitts, and feems to be the fecond capi¬
tulation with Guthrum. 4. Centra Judices iniquos,
lib. i. An inveftive againft TJnjuft Judges, in one
book. c. Asia Magtftratuum fuorum, lib. i. Afts of
his Magiflrates, in one book. This is fuppofed to be
the Book of Judgments mentioned by Horne •, and was,
in all probability, a kind of reports, intended for the
ufe of fucceeding ages. 6. Regum fortunce varue, lib. i.
The various Fortunes of Kings, in one book. 7. Dic¬
ta Sapientum, lib. i. The fayings of Wife Men, in one
book. 8. Paraboht et Sales, lib. i. Parables and plea-
fant Sayings, in one book. 9. ColleBiones Chronicorum,
Collection of Chronicles. 10. EpiJloLe ad Wulfsigium
Epifcopum, lib. i. Epiftles to Brfhop Wulfsig, in one
book. 11. Manuals Meditationum. A Manual of Me¬
ditations.—Befides thofe original wmrks, he tranilated
many authors from the Latin, &c. into the Saxon lan¬
guage, viz. 1. Bede’s Hiftory of England.. 2. Paulinus
Orofinus’s Hirtory of the Pagans. 3. St Gregory’s Paf-
toral, &c. The firft of thefe, with his prefaces to the
others, together with his laws, were printed at Cam¬
bridge, 1644. His law's are likewife inferted in Spel-
man’s Councils. 4. Boethius de Confolationey lib. v.
Boetius’s Confolations of Philoiophy, in five books.
Dr Plot tells us, King Alfred tranflated it at Wood-
ftock, as he found in a MS. in the Cotton Library.
5. JEfopi Eabuhe, JEfop’s Fables : which he is faid to
have tranflated from the Greek both into Latin and
Saxon. 6. Pfalterium Davidicum, lib. i. David’s Pfalter,
in one book. This was the lafi: work the king attempt¬
ed, death furprifing him before he had finifhed it ; it
was, however, completed by another hand, and pub-
liflied at London in 1640, in quarto, by Sir John Spel-
inan. Several others are mentioned by Malmfbury j
and the old hiftory of Ely afferts, that he tranflated the
Old and New Teftaments.
The life of this great king was firft written by Af- Ai^s
ferius Mencvenfis *, and fuft publiftied by Archbilhop |j
Parker, in the old Saxon chara&er, at the end of his Mgarva.
edition of Haflingham’s hiftory, printed in 1674, fol.
ALGA, in Botany, the trivial name of the lichen,
fucus, and feveral other plants of the cryptogamia clafs.
ALGAl, flags •, one of the feven families or na¬
tural tribes into which the whole vegetable kingdom is
divided by Linnaeus, in his Philofophra Botanica. They
are defined to be plants, whofe root, leaf, and ftem, are
all one. Undijr this defeription are comprehended all
the fea-weeds, and feme other aquatic plants. In the
fexual fyftem, they conftitute the 3d order of the 24th
clafs, Cryptogamia ; in Tournefort, the fecond genus of
the fecond feflion, Mariner, aut fiuviatiles, of the 17th
clafs, Afpermce vulgo habitce; and the 57th order ia
Linnaeus’s Fragments of a Natural Method. The
difeoveries made in this part of the vegetable kingdom
are uncertain, and imperfeff; and the attempts, in
particular, to arrange flags by the parts of the ffu£!L
fication, have not been attended with great fuccefs.
Dillenius has arranged this order of plants from their ge¬
neral habit and ftru&ure j Michelius from the parts of
fructification.
ALGAGIOLA, a fmall fea-port town in the ifland
of Corfica, fortified with walls and baftions. It was
almoft deftroyed by the malecontents in 1731, but has-
fince been repaired* E. Long. 9. 45. N. Lat. 42. 20.
ALGAROTH, in Chemijlry, is a white oxyde of
antimony, which is obtained by waihing the butter or
oxymuriate with pure waiter. See Chemistry Index.
ALGAROTTI, Count, a celebrated Italian, w'as
born at Padua 5 but the year is not mentioned. Led
by curiofity, as well as a defire of improvement, he
travelled early into foreign countries j and was very
young when he arrived in France in 1736. Here he
compofed his “ Newtonian Philofophy for tlfe Ladies
as Fontenelle had done his Cartefian Aftronomy, in
the wTork entitled “ The Plurality of wmidds.” He
was noticed by the king of Pruflia, who gave him
marks of the efteem he had for him. Pie died at Pifa
the 23d of May 1764 j and ordered his own maufo-
leum, with this infeription to be fixed upon it : “ Hie
jacet Algarottus, fed non omnisA He is allowed to
have been a very great connoiffeur in painting, fculp-
ture, and architeflure. He contributed much to the
reformation of the Italian opera. His works, which
are numerous, and upon a variety of fubjefts, abound
with vivacity, elegance, and wdt: a collection of them
has lately been made, and printed at Leghorn in 1763,
in 4 vols. 8vo.
ALGARYA, a province in the kingdom of Portu¬
gal, 67 miles in length and 20 in breadth ; bounded
on the weft and fouth by the fea, on the eaft by the
river Guadiana, and on the north by Alentejo. It is
very fertile in figs, almonds, dates, olives, and excellent
wines ; and, befides, has a very abundant and lucrative
fifhery. The capital town is Pharo. It contains four
cities, 12 towms, 67 pariihes, and it is faid, above
90,000 inhabitants.
✓
ALGEBRA,
t 603 ]
ALGEBRA.
INTRODUCTION.
Biitory. x. A LGEBRA is a general method of reafon-
-fA- ing} concerning the relations which magni¬
tudes of every kind bear to each other in refpefl of
quantity. It is fometimes called univerfal arithmetic ;
its firft principles and operations being fimilar to thofe
of common arithmetic. The fymbols which it em¬
ploys to denote magnitudes are, however, more general
and more extenfive in their application than thofe em¬
ployed in that fcience ) hence, and from the great fa¬
cility with which the various relations of magnitudes
to one another may be expreffed, by means of a few
ligns or characters; the application of algebra to the
refolution of problems is much more extenfive than
that of common arithmetic.
2. There are various opinions as to the etymology of
tiie name algebra. It is pretty certain, however, that
the word is Arabic, and that from the Arabians the
name, as well as the art itfelf, is derived. Lucas de
Burgo, the firft European, author whofe treatife on al¬
gebra was printed, calls it by the Arabic name Alghe-
bra e Almucabala, which is explained to denote the
art of rejlitution and comparifon, or oppojition and corn-
par f on, or refolution and equation, all which agree well
enough with the nature of this art. Befides this ety¬
mology of the name algebra, feveral others have been
imagined j that, however, which we have juft now
given feems to be the moft probable of any hitherto af-
li^ned.
3. The origin of algebra, as well as that of moft;
other branches of mathematical fcience, is involved in
obfcurity \ there are indeed traces of it to be found
in the works of fome of the earlieft philofophers and
mathematicians, the fubjeft of whofe writings muft ne-
oeffarily have led them to the difcovery •, and, in fome
meafure, to the application of this fcience.
4. I he oldeft treatife of algebra, which has come
down to the prefent times, was written by Diophantus
of Alexandria, who fiourifhed about the year 350 af¬
ter Chrift, and who wrote 13 books on algebra or
arithmetic in the Greek language ; though only fix of
thefe have hitherto been printed, and one book, which is
imperfeift, on multangular numbers. It was not, how¬
ever, from this author, but from the Moors or Ara-
,bians, that this, as well as moft other fciences, was
received in Europe ; and fome writers are of opinion,
that 'they again received it from the Greeks, while
others fuppofe that they had it from the Perfians; and
that thefe laft derived algebra, as wTell as the arithme¬
tical method of computing by ten charadlers or digits,
fr-em the Indians.
5. The Arabians themfelves fay, that it was in¬
vented by Mahomet ben Mufa or fon of Mofes, who
it feems fiourilhed about the 8th or 9th century. It
feems more probable that Mahomet was not the inven¬
tor, but only a perfcn well Ikilled in the art j and that
the Arabians received their knowledge of it from
Diophantus, or other Greek wrriters, as they did that
of geometry and fome other fciences, which they im- Hiftory.
proved and tranflated into their own language. v——"■»
6. However this may be, it feems to be pretty cer¬
tain, that the fcience was firft brought to Europe about
the beginning of the 15th century, by Leonardus Pi-
fanus, who travelled into Arabia and other eaftern
countries for the purpofe of acquiring mathematical
knowledge ; and, in a fhort time, it began to be culti¬
vated in Italy, where it was called /’ Arte Magiore,
“ the greater art,” to diftinguilh it from common arith¬
metic, which was called l"1 ArteM'nore, “ the leffer art.”
It was alfo known in that country by the name Rcgola
de la Cofa, or “ rule of the thing,” where by Cofa, or
the thing, was meant the firft, or fimple power of the
unknown quantity.
7. Between the years 1470 and 1487 Lucas Pa-
ciolus or Lucas de Burgo, a Cordelier, or Minorite
friar, publifiied feveral treatifes on arithmetic, algebra,
and geometry ; and, in 1494, his principal work, en¬
titled Summa de Arithmetica Proportioni et Proportiona-
hta was printed. The part of this work, which relates
to algebra, and which he calls P Arte Mrgiore : ditto dal
vulgo la Regola de la Cofa over Alghebra e Almucabala,
may be confidered as exhibiting a pretty accurate ftate
of the fcience, as it was then known in Europe ; and
probably it was much the fame in Africa and Afia,
from whence the Europeans derived the knowledge
of it. It appears from this -work, that their knowledge
extended no farther than quadratic equations, of which
they ufed only the pofitive roots •, that they ufed only
one unknown quantity ; that they ufed no marks nor
figns for either quantities or operations, excepting a
few abbreviations of the words or names thernfelves ;
and that the art was only employed in the refolution
of certain numeral problems. So that either the Afri¬
cans had not carried algebra beyond quadratic equa¬
tions j or elfe (what indeed is not improbable) the
Europeans had not learned the whole of the art, as it
was then known to the former.
8. After the publication of the books of Lucas de
Burgo, algebra became more generally known and
improved, efpecially in Italy 3 for about the year 1505,
Scipio Ferreus who was then profeffor of mathematics
at Bononia, found out a rule for refolving one cafe of
a compound cubic equation 3 but, as appears to have
been the cuftom of the times with refpeft to fuch mat¬
ters, he kept the rule a profound fecret from his con¬
temporaries. The fame thing was afterwards difeo-
vered in 1535 by Nicolas Tartalea, who then refided
in \ enice, and who had five years before found the re¬
folution of two other cafes of cubic equations.
9. The next work upon algebra which was printed
after the books of Lucas de Burgo, was written by
Hieronymus Cardan, of Bononia, a very learned man,
who publifhed in 1539 arithmetical writings, in
nine books, at Milan, where he pradtifed phyfic, and
read public ledlures on mathematics. The fame au¬
thor in 1545 publiflied a tenth book, containing the
whole dodlrine of cubic equations, which had been in
part communicated to him under an oath of fecrecy
4 G 2 by
604
ALGEBRA.
Hiftory. by Tartalca, but which, notwithftanding this circum-
Itance, Cardan thought proper to publiAi, alleging (not
altogether without reafon) that he had made ib many
additions to Tartalea’s difcovery as to render it in a
manner his own. Accordingly we find, that even to
the prefent times, the common rule for refolving cubic
equations is generally known by the name of Cardan’s
rule, although it would certainly be more juft to attri¬
bute it to its firll inventor, Tartalea.
10. Equations of the fourth order appear to have
been firft refolved by Lewis Ferrari, a difciple of Car¬
dan’s ; and different methods of relolution were after¬
wards given by Defcartes and others. This indeed
is the greateft length that mathematicians have been
i able to carry the refolution of equations ; for, with
refpect to thofe of the fifth, and all higher degrees, all
attempts to refolve them, except in particular cafes,
have hitherto been found impiaflicable.
it* After this period, writers on, algebra became
more numerous ; and many improvements were gra¬
dually made, both in the notation and in the theory of
the Icience. Among other writers who cultivated it
with fuccefs may be reckoned Bombelli, another Ita¬
lian mathematician ; Stifelius and Scheubelius, both of
Germany ; Robert Recorde, an Englifh mathemati¬
cian ; and many others.
12. Among the mathematicians to whom algebra is
particularly indebted, it is proper to mention Francis
Vieta, a native of h ranee, who wrote about the year
16.00. Among various improvements in all parts of
the fcience, he firft introduced the general ufe of the
letters of the alphabet, to denote indefinite given quan¬
tities, which, before his time, had only been done in
fome. particular cafes. The Englifh mathematician,
Harriot, deferves alfo to be particularly mentioned.
His algebra, which was publifhed after his death, in
1631, ihews that he cultivated that fcience with great
fuccefs. For, befides improving the notation, fo as to
render it nearly the fame as it is at prefent, he firft ex¬
plained clearly a moft important propofition in the
theory of equations, namely, that an equation of any
degree may be confidered as produced by the conti¬
nual multiplication of as many fimple equations as there
are units in the exponent of the higheft power of the
unknown quantity in that equation : Hence he {hew¬
ed the relation which fubfifts between the coefficients
of the terms of an equation and its roots.
13. 'Vv ithout mentioning all the writers on algebra
who flourifhed about this time, and who feverally con¬
tributed more or lefs to its improvement, we proceed
to obierve, that nothing has contributed more to the
advancement of every branch of mathematical knowT-
ledge than the happy application which the celebrated
philofopher Defcartes made of algebra to the fcience
of geometry ; for his geometry, firft publiffied in 1637,
may be confidered rather as the application of algebra
to geometry than as either algebra or geometry taken
by rtfelf as a fcience. Befides this happy union ef-
fefted between the two fciences, Defcartes contribu¬
ted much to the improvement of both ; and indeed he
may be confidered as having paved the way for all the
difeoveries which have finee been made in mathema¬
tics.
14. After the publication of Defcartes’ Geometry,
the ftience of algebra may be confidered as having at¬
tained fome degree of perfection. It has, however,
received many improvements from later writer^ who,
purfuing the paths ftruck out by Harriot and Defcar¬
tes, have produced many new and beautiful theories,
both in algebra and geometry. The writers upon al¬
gebra from this time became too numerous, and the
refpeftive improvements made by each too minute, to
be particularly noticed in this introduction. It is,
however, neceffary to mention another mathematician,
to w'hom algebra lies under confiderable obligations,
namely, M. Fermat, who may be confidered as the ri¬
val of Defcartes ; for it appears that he was in poffef-
fion of the method of applying algebra to the improve¬
ment of geometry before the publication of the cele¬
brated work of the latter philofopher. Befides, Fer¬
mat appears to have been deeply verfed in the theory
of indeterminate problems 5 and he republifhed the old-
eft and moft efteemed treatife upon that fubjeft which
is known, namely, Diophantus’s Arithmetic, to which
he added many valuable notes of his own.
15. Flaving now given a brief account of the origin
of algebra, and of the writers who contributed the moft:
to bring it to the ftate of perfeClion it had attained
about the middle of the 16th century, which indeed
was confiderable, we fliall conclude this introduClion,
by obferving, that although its progrefs has fince been
very gradual, it has been upon the whole confiderably
improved ; particularly by the labours of tbefe foreign
mathematicians, Schooten, Hudde, Van-Heuraet, De
Witte, Slufius, Huygens, &c. As to the algebraical
writers of our own country, thofe whofe labours have
been moft confpicuous were Wallis, and more efpe-
cially Sir I. Newton, to whom, among other things,
we owe the invention of the binomial theorem : alfo
Pell, Barrow, Kerfey, Halley, Raphfon, and many
Gibers. We now proceed to explain the fcience itfelf.
Nctaticn:
Notation and Explanation of the Signs.
16. In arithmetic there are ten charafters, which
being varioufly combined, according to certain rules,
ferve to denote all magnitudes whatever. But this me¬
thod of expreffing quantities, although of the greateft
utility in every branch of the mathematics, (for we
muft always have recourfe to it in the different appli¬
cations of that fcience to praftical purpofes) is yet found
to be inadequate, taken by itfelf, to the more difficult
cafes of mathematical inveftigation ; and it is therefore
neceffary in many inquiries concerning the relations of
magnitude, to have recourfe to that more general mode
of notation, and more extenfive fyftem of operations,
which conftitute the fcience of algebra.
17. In algebra quantities of every kind may be de¬
noted by any charafters whatever, but thofe common¬
ly ufed are the letters of the alphabet : And as in every
mathematical problem, there are certain magnitudes
given, in order to determine other magnitudes, which
are unknown, the firft letters of the alphabet, a, b, c, &c.
are ufed to denote known quantities, while thefe to be
found are reprefented by v, x,y, &.c. the laft letters of
the alphabet.
18. The fign -j- (plus') denotes that the quantity be¬
fore which it is placed is to be added to fome other
quantity. Thus a b denotes the fum of a and b}
3 + 5 denotes the fum of 3 and 5, or 8.
19. The fign — {minus) fignifies that the quantity
before
A L G
flotation, before v/bich it is placed is to be fubtra&ed. Thus
a — b denotes the excefs of a above b ; 6 •— 2 is the
excefs of 6 above 2, or 4.
20. Quantities which have the fign -f. prefixed to
them are called pqfitive or affirmative ; and fuch as have
the fign — are called negative.
When quantities are confidered abftradledly, the
terms pojitive and negative can only mean that fuch
quantities are to be added or fubtra&ed j for as it is
impoffible to conceive a number lefs than o, it follows,
that a negative quantity by itfelf is unintelligible. But,
in confidering the affedions of magnitude, it appears,
that in many cafes, a -certain oppofition may exifl: in
the nature of quantities. Thus, a perfon’s property
may be confidered as a pofitive quantity, and his debts
as a negative quantity. Again, any portion of a line
drawn to the right hand may be confidered as pofitive,
while a portion of the fame line, continued in the op-
pofite diredion, may be taken as negative.
Wh en no fign is prefixed to a quantity, is always
underflood, or the quantity is to be confidered as pofi¬
tive.
21. Quantities which have the fame fign, either -f-
or —, are faid to have like figns. Thus, -{- a and -f.
b have like figns, but -j- «, and — c have unlike figns.
2 2. A quantity which confifls of one term, is faid to
btftmple ; but if it confifl of feveral terms, conneded
by the figns -j- or —, it is then faid to be compound.
Thus -f- a and — c are fimple quantities; and b c,
alfo a b — d are compound quantities.
23. Fo denote the produd arifing from the multi¬
plication of quantities ; if they be fimple, they are
either joined together, as if intended to form a word,
or elfe the quantities are conneded together,. with the
fign X interpofed between every two of them. Thus
ab, or a y, b, denotes the produd of a and b; alfo
abc, or a X b X c denotes the produd of a, b, and c ;
the latter method is ufed when the quantities to be mul¬
tiplied are numbers. If fomeof the quantities to be multi¬
plied be compound, each of them has a line drawn over it
called a vinculum, and the fign X is interpofed between
as before. Thus a x c^dx e—f denotes that a is to
be confidered as one quantity, the fum of c and as a
fecond, and the difference between e and ^ as a third 5
and that thefe three quantities are to be multiplied into
one another. Inflead of placing a line over fuch com¬
pound quantities as enter a produd, it is now common
among mathematical writers to enclofe each of them
between two parenthefes, fo that the laft produd may
be otherwife expreffed thus, + </)(>__/), or thus,
*x(V+OxO—/).
24. A number prefixed to a letter is called a nume¬
ral coefficient, and denotes how often that quantity is to
be taken. Thus, 35 fignifies that a is to be taken
three times. When no number is prefixed, the coeffi¬
cient is underftood to be unity.
25- The quotient arifing from the divifion of one
quantity by another is exprefied by placing the dividend
above a line, and the divifor below it. Thus —- de-
notes the quotient arifing from the divifion of 1 2 by 3
b
or 4 j — denotes the quotient arifing from the divifion
E B R A. 60 j
of b by a. This expreffion of a quotient is alfo called Addition,
a fradion. u-—
26. I he equality of two quantities is expreffed by
putting the fign = between them. Thus a-\-bz=.c—d
denotes that the lum of a and b is equal to the exeefs
of c above d.
27. Simple quantities, or the terms of compound
quantities, are faid to be hhe, which confifl; of the fame
letter or letters. Thus -p ab and — $ab are like quan-
ties ; but -f- ab and -p abb are unlike.
There are fome other charaders which will be ex¬
plained when we have occafion to ufe them 5 and in
what follows we ffiall fuppofe that the operations of
common arithmetic are fufficiently underftood ; for al- ■
gebra, being an extenfion of that fcience, ought not to
be embarrafied by the demonilration of its elementary
rules.
Sect. I. Fundamental Operation!.
28. The primary operations in algebra are the fame
as in common arithmetic, namely, addition, fubtrac-
tion, multiplication, and divifion j and from the vari¬
ous combinations of thefe four, all the others are de¬
rived.
Problem I. To Add Quantities.
29. In addition there may be three cafes : the quan¬
tities to be added may be like, and have like figns; or,
they may be like, and have unlike figns > or, laftly,
they may be unlike.
Cafe x. To add quantities which are like, and have
like figns.
Rule. Add together the coefficients of the quantities,
prefix the common fign to the fum, and annex the
letter, or letters, common to each term.
Examples.
Add together
Add together
{E
lax
ax
K,ax
I lax
Sum, + 130 Sum, —ioax
Cafe 2. To add quantities which are like, but have
unlike figns.
Rule. Add the pofitive coefficients into one fum, and
the negative ones into an other ; then fubtradl the
leaft of thefe fums from the greateft, prefix the fign
of the greateft to the remainder, and annex the com¬
mon letter, or letters, as before.
Examples.
2ax
f~ -p ZUK
Add together-j Add together
L+ 9ax
' Qcih q
-f ab— 5
_-p *]ab—13
Sum of the pofi -p 1 iav Sum of the pof. -p 16
Sum of the neg. — e[ax Sum of the neg. — qab—1&-
Sum required, -p ^jax Sum required,-p — 2
E B
606
SubtraC-
tion.
a a 4. lax— xx
-laa + ^ax— <\xx
6a a—5<7A:-j- 1 lxx
A L G
—^aab
-f- nab
-}- ^dab
Sum, 5<7<7 o 4 6xx Sum, o
Cafe 3. To add unlike quantities.
Rule. Put down the quantities, one after another, in
any order, with their figns and coefficients prefixed.
Examples.]
la
3b
“4C
ax 4 2. ay
bb—^b%
Sum, 217 4 3 b—4
.Sum, ax4 2ay 4 bb—
Prob. II. To Subtract Quantities.
30. General Rule. Change the figns of the quantities
to be fubtradled, or fuppofe them changed, and then
.add them to the other quantities, agreeably to the
rules of addition.
Examples.
Prom 517—\2b
Subtract 2a— 5^
Remainder 317— 7b
kxv—24 8*— V
ixy— 8— Sx—3y
From 6x— 8y 4 3
Subtraft 2x-\- qy—2
Remainder 4—I7J45
aa—ax—yy
bb —by 4 2-8
2xy 4 6 416^ 4 2y
a a—ax—yy—bb 4 by-^cstn
31. The reafon of the rule for fubtra&ion may be
explained thus. Let it be required to fubtrafl 2p—
from 77/4/7. If we fubtracl 2/> from 77747/ there will
remain tn-\-n—2p ; but if we are to fubtrad! 2/>—3y,
rvhich is lefs than 2/>, it is evident that the remainder
will be greater by a quantity equal to 3y ; that is, the
remainder will be 77/4/7—2/4 3^ ,• hence the reafon
-of the rule is evident.
Pros. III. To Multiply Qicantities.
3 2. General Rule for the Signs. If the quantities to
be multiplied have like figns, the fign of the produdf
is + J but if they have unlike figns, the fign of the
produft is —.
■ 33. The examples of multiplication may be refer¬
red to two cafes 5 the firfi: is when both the quantities
are fimple •, and the fecond when one or both of them
are compound.
Cafe I. To multiply fimple quantities.
Rule. Find the fign of the produdl by the general rule,
and annex to it the produft of the numeral coeffi¬
cients, then fet down all the letters, one after ano¬
ther, as in one word.
Multiply +a
By 4 c
Produft 4ac
Examples.
+ $b
—4//
•2oab
—-3/7.V
4 ^b
'itaabx
R A.
lab Multiplica*
46/7^/72;
Cafe II. To multiply compound quantities.
Rule. Multiply every term of the multiplicand by all
the terms of the multiplier, one after another, by
the preceding rule, and colledl their produfls into
one fum, which will be the produdl required.
Examples.
Multiply 4/7—2/7 4 c 2x 4J'
By 3/7 x—2y
Produft 12aa~6ab 4 Zac 2XX + xy
—w—iyy
2xx—3 xy— 2yy
a—b-^c
aJf-b—c
aa—ab-\.ac
•\-ab —bb-\~bc
-~-ac 4 bc—cc
aa * * —bb 4 2.bc—cc.
4
34. The reafon of the rules for the multiplication of
quantities may be explained in the following manner :
Let it be required to multiply a—b by c—d. becaufe
multiplication is a repeated addition of the multipli¬
cand as often as the multiplier contains unity, there¬
fore, a—b is to be taken as often as there are units in
c—d, and the fum will be the produft required. Now
if a—b be taken as often as there are units in c, the
refult will evidently exceed the produft required, and
that by a quantity equal to a—b, taken as often as
there are units in d. But, from the nature of addition *>
a—b taken as often as there are units in c, is ca-~~chy
and for the fame reafon, a—b taken as often as there
are units in d is da—db ,■ therefore, to obtain the pro-
dudt required, we muft fubtracl da—db from ca-^-cb :
but from what has been (hewn in fubtraftion, the re¬
mainder will be ca—cb—da 4 db ; therefore the pro-
duft arifing from the multiplication of a—b by c—d is
ca—cb—elaJf-db) hence the reafon of the general
rule for the figns, as well as the other rules, is manifeft.
35. When feveral quantities are multiplied together
fo as to conftitute a produft, each of them is called a
factor of that producl thus /?, b, and c are faftors of
the produft abc; alfo a-\-x, and b—x are factors of
the producl (77 4 —-''O-
36. The products arifing from the continual multi¬
plication of the fame quantity are called powers of that
quantity, which is called the root. Thus aa, aaa,
aaaa, &c. are powers of the root a. Thefe powers
are commonly expreffed, by placing above the root,
towards the right hand, a figure, denoting how often
the root is repeated. This figure ferves to denomi¬
nate the power, and is called its index or exponent.
Thus, the quantity a being confidered as the root, .or
as the firlf power of a, wTe have aa or d1 for its fecond
powder,
aa—ab 4 bb
a-\-b
aaa—aab 4 abb
4 aab—abb 4 bbb
* * 4 bbb
3
fion.
A L G E
power, a a a or for its tliird power, aaaa or a* for
its fourth power, and fo on.
37. The fecond and third powers of a quantity are
generally called its fquare and cube ; and the fourth,
fifth, and fixth powers are fometimes refpeftively call¬
ed its biquadrate, furfolid, and cubocube.
38. Ey confidering the notation of powers, and the
rules for multiplication, it appears that powers of the
fame root are multiplied by adding their exponents.
Thus alfo X j and in general am
Xan=an,+n.
Prob. IV. To Divide Quantities.
39. General Rule for the Signs. If the figns of the
diVifor and dividend be like, the fign of the quotient
is + j but if they be unlike, the fign of the quotient
is —.
This rule is eafily derived from the general rule for
the figns in multiplication, by confidering that the
quotient mud be fuch a quantity as when multiplied
by the divifor fhall produce the dividend^ with its pro¬
per fign.
40.. The quotient arifing from the divifion of one
quantity by another may be expreffed by placing the
dividend above a line and the divifor below it, (§ 25),
but it may alfo be often expreffed in a more finiple
manner by the following rules :
Cafe 1. When the divifor is fimple, and a faftor of eve¬
ry term of the dividend.
Rule. Divide the coefficient of each term of the divi¬
dend by the coefficient of the divifor, and expunge
out of each term the letter or letters in the divifor :
the refult is the quotient.
Ex. 1. Divide ilabchy^ac*
From the method of notation, the quotient may be
\ 2, ci be
expreffed thus -1—; but the fame quotient, by the
3ac
rule juft given, is more fimply expreffed thus 4^.
Ex. 2. Divide i6ahy—28a\xz2 qa'x* by ^a*x.
The quotient is ^ay—72s1-J-a:*.
If the divifor and dividend be powers of the fame
quantity, the divifion will evidently be performed by
fubtrading the exponent of the divifor from that of the
dividend. Thus ai* divided by has for a quotient
<zs—i-xza*.
Cafe 2. When the divifor is fimple, but not a fa&or of
the dividend.
Rule. The quotient is expreffed by a fradion, of which
the numerator is the dividend, and the denominator
the divifor..
Thus the quotient of ^ab1 divided by 2mbc is the
2m be’
, ^ fometimes happen, that the quotient found
tnus may be reduced to a more fimple form, as ftiall be
explained when we come to treat of fradions.
Co/} 3. When the divifor is compound.
Rule. 1. The terms of the dividend are to be arran¬
ged according to the powers of fome one of its 1st-
2.
BRA Goj
ters, and thofe of the divifor according to the powers Divifion.
of the fame letter. u—y—
The firft term of the dividend is to be divided by
the firft term of the divifor, ohferving the general
rule for the figns; and this quotient being let down
for a part of the quotient wanted, is to be multi- ^
plied by the whole divifor, and the produdt fubtracl-
ed from the dividend. If nothing remain, the divi¬
fion is finiihed ; but if there be a remainder, it is to
be taken for a new dividend.
3. 1 he firft term of the new dividend is next to be di¬
vided by the firft term of the divifor, as before, and
the quotient joined to the part already found, with
its proper fign. The whole divifor is alfo to be
multiplied by this part of the quotient, and the pro-
ducl fubtraefed from the new dividend ; and thus
the. operation is to be carried on till there be no re¬
mainder, or till it appear that there will always be
a remainder. v.
To illuftrate this rule, let it be required to divide
8a1~±-2al—15^ by 2a-\-f}-y the operation will ft and
thus,
2fl + 3^)8a*+ lab—15^(4^.— -f}
8a2-\-i2ab . •
—iOfli5—1 si2
—ICab—15^*
Here the terms of the divifor and dividend are ar¬
ranged according to the powers of the quantity a. We
now divide 8a', the firft term of the dividend, by ra
the firrt term of the divifor 5 and thus get e\a for the
firft term of the quotient. We next multiply the di¬
vifor by 4a, and fubtracl the produft 8a'-{-T2ab from
the. dividend j we thus get—icab—ijb' for a new
dividend.
By proceeding in all refpefts as before, we find
—5b for the fecond term of the quotient, and no re¬
mainder ; the operation is therefore finiffied, and the
whole quotient is 4a—5b.
The following examples will alfo ferve to illuftrate
the manner of applying the rule.
Ex. 1.
3<z,—b')3a3—i2a*—a'b-j- ioab~2b2la'—4a4-2b.
3*3 —a2b ^ ^
—1 2a2 -{-icab
— 12a2 -f 4ub
-f-6ab—2b2
-\-6ab—2b2
Ex. 2-
a-\-F) (j2Qbi(<a2—ab-\-b2
az-i(-a2b
—a1b-\-bi
—a2b—ab2
jf-aE—D
€o8
Fra&ions.
ALGEBRA.
Ex. 3.
7 3 A3
-.r)i
1-
4-C3A3—
Ifi
Ex. 4.
(l 4-* +A^ + ^-C.
4-5?
4- X A’*
-
4-A*
4-^
-A 3
4-v3.
41. Sometimes, as in this laft example, the quotient
'will never terminate : in fuch a cafe it may either be
confidered as an infinite feries, the law according to
which the terms are formed being in genercd fufficient-
ly obvious ; or the quotient may be completed as in
arithmetical divifion, by annexing to it a fraflion, the
numerator of which is the remainder, and denominator
the divifor. Thus the quotient in lail example may
Hand thus i4-5,,4-a,i4 —
1—x
42. The reafon of the rule for divifion is fufficiently
manifeH. For in the courfe of the operation, all the
terms of the quotient obtained by it are multiplied by
all the terms of the divifor, and the produfts fuccef-
fively fubtradled from the dividend, till nothing re¬
main ; that therefore mull evidently be the true quo¬
tient.
Sect. II. Of Fractions.
43. In the operation of divifion, the divifor maybe
fometimes lefs than the dividend, or may not be con¬
tained in it an exaft number of times ; in either cafe
the quotient is expreffed by means of a fraftion. There
can be no difficulty, however, in ellimating the mag¬
nitude of fuch a quotient •, if, for example it were the
fraftion 4, we may confider it as denoting either that
fome unit is divided into 7 equal parts, and that 5 of
thefe are taken, or that 5 times the fame unit is divid¬
ed into 7 equal parts, and one of them taken.
44. In any fraction the upper number, or the divi¬
dend is called the numerator, and the lower number
or the divifor is called the denominator. Thus in the
fra&ion 7, a is the numerator, and b the denominator.
b
45. If the numerator be lefs than the denominator,
fuch a fradlion is called a proper fraflion ; but if the
numerator be either equal to, or greater than the de¬
nominator, it is called an improper fraction ; and if a
quantity be made up of an integer and a fraftion, it is
called a mixed quantity. Thus —- is a proper frac¬
tion ; alfo —are both improper fraftions ; and
a a
X
£4-- is a mixed quantity.
46. The reciprocal of a fraction is another fraction, Fracbo:^.
having its numerator and denominator refpectively equal '*~~
to the denominator and numerator of the former.
b , . * (l
Thus - is the reciprocal of the fraction
47. The following propofition is of great importance
in the operations relating to fraftions.
If the numerator and denominatorof a fraction be
either both multiplied, or both divided by the fame
quantity, the value of that fraction is the fame as be¬
fore.
For let any fraftion —=rc; then becaufe c is the quo-
a
tient arifing from the divifion of b by a, it follows that
b~ac; and multiplying both by any quantity rc, w7e
have nb~nac : let thefe equals be both divided by the
fame quantity na, and the quotients will be equal, that
is —; hence the truth of the propofition is ma-
na a
nifell.
48. From this propofition, it is obvious that a frac¬
tion may be very differently expreffed, without chang¬
ing its value, and that any integer may be reduced to
the form of a fraflion, by placing the produfl arifing
from its multiplication by any affumed quantity as the
numerator, and the affumed quantity as the denomina¬
tor of the frafticn. It alfo appears that a fradlion very
complex in its form may often be reduced to another
of the fame value, but more fimple, by finding a quan¬
tity which will divide both the numerator and denomi¬
nator, without leaving a remainder. Such a common
meafure, or common divifor, may be either fimple or
compound $ if it be fimple, it is readily found by in-
fpedlion, but if it be compound, it may be found as in
the following problem.
49. Pros. I. Fu Jind the greatejl common Meafure of
two -Quantities.
Rule 1. Range the quantities according to the powers
of fome one of the letters, as taught in divifion,
leaving out the fimple divifors of each quantity.
2. Divide that quantity wffiich is of moft dimenfions by
the other one, and if there be a remainder, divide it
by its greateft fimple divifor; and then divide the laft
compound divifor by the refulting quantity, and if
any thing yet remains, divide it abb by its greatell
fimple divifor, and the lalt compound divifor by the
refulting quantity : proceed in this way till nothing
remain, and the lall divifor ffiall be the common
meafure required.
Note. It will fometimes be neceffary to multiply the
dividends by fimple quantities in order to make the
divifions fucceed.
Ex. 1. Required the greateft common meafure of
the quantities a*x—xl and a*—~2aix-\-ax*. The fimple
divifor x being taken out of the former of thefe quan¬
tities, and a out of the latter, they are reduced to
cP—x‘, and —2ax-\-x1, and as the quantity a riles to
the fame dimenfions in both, wm may take either of
them as the firlt divifor ; let us take that which con-
fifts of feweft terms, and the operation will Hand thus:
a1—
!
2
Fraction.*.
A L G E
a*
-x'-
Vv'liich divided by
—2ax-\-x% remainder
-2.r is a—x)a'—x\a + x
a*—ax
~f- ax—x*
-f- ax—x*
* *
Hence it appears tbat a—„v is the greatefl common
meafure required.
fix. 2. Required the greateft common meafure of
lOtfZ’-1-{-2Z-4, and ^a*b——3^4-
^ It is evident, from infpedlion, that is a fimple di-
\nor of both quantities j it v\rill therefore be a fadtor
of the common meafure required. Let the fimple di-
vifors be now left out of each quantity, and they are
reduced to qa'—sab+b' and ^—^b + ab'—b* j
but as the fecond of thefe is to be divided by the firfl,
it muff be multiplied by q. to make the divifion fuc-
ceed, and the operation will Hand thus :
4a1—jaZ- -f b1) 12a3— x 2a'b -f $ab'—^ (3a
12a?—I Sa'b + zab'
^a'b-Jcab1—-qZ*3
This remainder is to be divided by b, and the new di¬
vidend multiplied by 3, to make the divifion again fuc-
ceed, and the work will Hand thus :
^a' + ab—4Z»)i2a*—X5aZ-}- 3^(4
I2a1+ qaZ—i6Zs
6 R A.
by ax and bx ; let q be the quotient, and the remainder Fractions,
will evidently be bx—qaxy which is. evidently divifi-
ble by x.
3. Whatever quantity meafures both the divifor and
remainder, the fame will alfo meafure the dividend.
For let the divifor be ax, and the remainder rx,
then, q denoting the quotient, the dividend will be
aqx-^rx, which, as well as the divifor and dividend,
is divifible by x.
51. Let us apply thefe obfervations to the lafl: ex¬
ample. From the firft obfervation, the reafon for
leaving out the fimple quantities in the courfe of the
operation, as well as for multiplying by certain other
quantities, to make the divifions fucceed, is obvious j
and from the fecond obfervation it appears, that what¬
ever quantity meafures qa*—Sab + b1, and 12a3—i2a*£
-j-4flZ>*—qZJ, the fame muft meafure ^a'b-l^-ab'—4Z3,
the firfl: remainder, as alfo —19^-f 19^* the fecond
remainder ; but the only compound divifor which this
laft quantity can have is a-—b, wdiich is alfo found to
be a divifor olia' + ab—4^, or of la'b+ab* qZ-3 the
firrt remainder, therefore, by the third obfervation, a—b
muft alfo be a divifor of i2aJ—i^ab + ^b', or of qa*
—SabJr^-> the firft divifor, and therefore alfo it muft
be a divifor of 12a3—i2a'b+/[ab' q£3 the firft divi¬
dend, fo that a—b is the greateft common meafure as
was required.
52. Pros. II. To Reduce a Fra&ion to its lowcjl
Terms.
Rule. Divide both numerator and denominator by
their greateft common meafure, which may be found
by prob. 1.
— ipuZ-j- 19Z*.
This remainder is to be divided [by — 19^, which be¬
ing done, and the laft divifor taken as a dividend as
before, the reft of the operation will be as follows :
a—^)3<2z4- ab—4^1(3<2-j-q3
3<js—3*3
_j_ e\al—4/y*
•+• quZ—qZ*
* * '
from which it appears that the compound divifor fought
is a—b, and remarking that the quantities propofed
have alfo a fimple divifor b, the greateft common mea¬
fure which is required will be b{a—h).
50. The reafon of the rule given in this problem
may be deduced from the following confiderations.
1. If two quantities have a compound divifor com¬
mon to both, and they be either multiplied or divided
by any fimple quantities, the refults wall each have the
lame compound divifor. Thus the quantities />
and q(ji—x) have the common divifor a—x, and the
quantities nj> (a—.•«), rq (a—x) have each the very
lame divifor.
2. In the operation of divifion, whatever quantity
meafures both the divifor and dividend, the fame will
alfo meafure the remainder. For let x be fuch a quan¬
tity, tnen the divifor and dividend may be reprefented
Vol. I. Pan II.
Ex. 1. Reduce ~—2_f. to its loweft terms.
2^adc'
It appears from infpe&ion, that the greateft com¬
mon meafure is Sac, and dividing both numerator and
denominator by this quantity, we have .
2Atadcz ^dc
Ex. 2. Reduce —   —; — to its loweft terms.
a}—2a2x-[-ax*
We have already found in the firft example of
prob. 1. that the greateft common meafure of the nu¬
merator and denominator is a — x ; and dividing both
by this quantity we have
— x*  ex -j- x*
«3—2a2x-^-ax1, a2—ax'
In like manner we find _
Sa*b2 — 1 cab3 zb*
9<334-3a^J1
~SaL' ’ t^ie common tneafure being b (u—b) as
was Ihown in example'2. problem 1.
53. Prob. III. To Reduce a mixed Quantity to an
improper FraBion.
Rule. Multiply the integer by the denominator of
the fraction, and to the product add the numerator,
and the denominator being placed under this fum
will give the improper fra&ion required.
4 H Ex.
6i©
Fractions.
ALGEBRA.
Em. I. Let *-] , and«——
a *»
improper fraftions.
^ ax-\-x* , .
Firft x  =   , the aniwer.
be reduced to
And # —
a*—x* «* — a* + **
2x
Ex. 2. Reduce a-
tion.
■x +
a-^-x
a—x-\-
x* _(a-\-x)(a—x)
a-{-x
a -*[-x
= —Anf.
Or\-x
tity.
-j- tbe anfwer required.
Ex. 2. Reduce —■— alfo
a-f-x
mixed quantities.
r1rft^±^‘=* +
— yl*
— to whole or
And
a-\-x
x* — v*
x—y
the anfwer.
a-{-x
— x y z. whole quantity W'hich is
ax(^a-{-x)zz a*x -f. ax*
(a2—x1) (#—x)=a3—aix—ax1 -j- x3
}
new numerators.
Fractions.
a——K* common denominator.
Hence
a*x4-ax* , a*—x2 a3—a*x—ax+x%
—     and — —
a-if-x
■, Anf.
x
to an improper frac-
54. Pros. IV. To Reduce an improper EraBion to a
whole or mixed Nufnber.
Rule. Divide the numerator by the denominator for
the integral part, and place the remainder, if any,
over the denominator, and it will be the mixed
quantity required.
Ex. I. Reduce — to a whole or mixed quan-
56. Pros. VI. To Add or SubtraB FraBions.
Rule. Reduce the fractions to a common denominator,
and add or fubtraft their numerators, and the fum
or difference placed over the common denominator,
is the fum or remainder required.
Ex. 1. Add together ^ andj>
a __ adf
b ~bdf
c   bcf
'd ~bdf
e bde
f~W
ace adf4- bcf A- bde , r . ,
Hence r+-. + ^= .h the fum required.
b ' d j baj
Ex. 2. From
a-\-x
fubtradt
x—y
the anfwer.
55. Pros. V. To Reduce FraBions of different Deno¬
minators to others of the fame value which flail have
a common Denominator.
Rule. Multiply each numerator feparately into all the
denominators except its own for the new numera¬
tors, and all the denominators together for the com¬
mon denominator.
d C 6
Ex. 1. Reduce r, —, and — to fraftions of equal va-
bdf
lue which have a common denominator.
axdxfzzadffj
c X r xf—cbf > New numerators,
f X ^ X dzzebdy
a a-f-x
o-f-x a*2axx%
a a2 -f- ax
a   a*
a-\-x a1 -[-ax
,, a4-x a 2axA‘Xt
Hence —-———;— = —— 
a a-\-x *
* 11 1 x-4-2 x , x— C
Ex. 3. Add together , - and -.
3 4 2
x -f- 2 t x t x—5 _ 8 x + 16 +_6^ 4~ 12 x — 6a __
~3 ^4"* ~~~ 24
If it be required to add or fubtraft mixed
quantities, they may either be reduced to the form of
fraflions by prob. 3. and then added, or fubtrafted,
or elfe thefe operations may be performed firft on the
integer quantities, and afterwards on the fractions.
57. Prob. VII. To Multiply FraBions.
Rule. Multiply the numerators of the fractions for the
numerator of the produft, and the denominators for
the denominator of the product.
Ex. 1. Multiply “ hy -
- X — = —■ the product required.
a c ac
b'X.dy.fxzbdf Common denominator.
a adf c cbf e ebd
Hence we find j = ^ j = andwhere
the new fractions have a common denominator, as was
required.
Q,X - X*
Ex. 2. Reduce -—— and •—-—to fractions of equal
a—x a-\-x
value and having a common denominator.
Ex. 2. Multiply by -
-b*
, the produ£l.
cd
If it be required to multiply an integer by a frac¬
tion, the integer may be confidered as having unity
v ^d a+X id
for a denominator. Thus (o-{-x)X“ = —~— X
Sad+jd*
ALGEBRA.
Fractions. Mixed quantities may be multiplied after being re-
duced to the form of fra&ions by prob. 3. Thus
+ s - + ^a'b + abx __ab+b}<
V a i x a x ax ~~ x
58. The reafon of the rule for multiplication may be
explained thus. If ^ is to be multiplied by c, the
produfl will evidently be ~; but if it is only to be
multiplied by —, the former produdt mull be divided
by d, and it becomes — w^hich is the produfl required.
Or let m, and —— n, then azzbtn and c~dn and
*e-=zbdmn ; hence mn, or yX
b d bd
59. Prob. VIII. To Divide Fractions.
Rule. Multiply the denominator of the divifor by the
numerator of the dividend for the numerator of the
quotient. Then multiply the numerator of the di¬
vifor by the denominator of the dividend for the de¬
nominator of the quotient.
Or, multiply the dividend by the reciprocal of the
divifor, the produdt will be the quotient required.
Ex. i. Divide ~ by %.
b J d
c\a(ad . . . a d ad
d)A~bc the qUOtient re(lUIred’ or £ x as be¬
fore.
Em« 2. Divide a-±^~ by
lx a—b
30* ^Arabia'—ab* a'—b* ,
^=6J~^r \-6?^=-6^- the !uotient-
Sect. III. Of Involution and Evolution.
61. In treating of multiplication, we have obferved,
that when a quantity is multiplied by itfelf any num¬
ber of times, the produdl is called "a power of that
quantity, while the quantity itfelf, from which the
powers are formed, is called the root 36.) Thus a,
a4, and a? are the firft, fecond, and third powers of the
root a } and in like manner -i-, and —.denotethe
a a* a*
fame powers of the root -.
a
62. But before confidering more particularly what
relates to powers and roots, it will be proper to obferve,
that the quantities —, —&c. admit of being- ex-
a a a1 °
preffed under a different form; for, like as the quanti¬
ties a, a', a*, &c. are expreffed as pojitive powers of the
root a, fo the quantities —, -i-, &c. may be re-
a a1 a* J
fpe&ively expreffed thus, a—I, a—*, a—5, &c. and
confidered as negative powers of the root a.
63. This method of exprefTmg the fra&ions-1-, —,
a a*
as powers of the root a, but with negative indices,
is a confequence of the rule which has been given for
the divifion of powers j for we may confider - as the
a
quotient arifing from the divifion of any power of a by
the next higher power, for example from the divifion
of the 2d by the 3d, and fo wre have -=r but fince
a ai
powrers of the fame quantity are divided by fubtrafting
the exponent of the divifor from that of the dividend
G 4°)> ^ follows, that ?T=a*-t=a-t; therefore the
as
If either the divifor or dividend be an integer quan¬
tity, it may be reprefented as a fra&ion, by placing
unity for a denominator j or if it be a mixed quantity
it may be reduced to a fraftion by prob. 3. and the’
operation of divifion performed agreeably to the rule
60. The reafon of the rule for divifion may be ex¬
plained thus, let it be required to divide - by f..
d } b‘
2 is to be divided by a, the quotient is but if
is to be divided by then the laft quotient muff
multiplied by b; thus we have ^ for the quotient re¬
quired. Or let ~b —m, and ^ then a — bm and
c—dn; alfo adzzbdm and bczibdn / therefore ~
, bdm
n be
m ~ ad'
fradtion - may alfo be expreffed thus, a~x. By confi-
dering —j as equal to —it will appear in the fame
a or
1 1
manner that ~gf:=:a~* 5 an<i> proceeding in this
way, we get ~~ ~=a~*, &c. andfo
a* a5 a* a6
on, as far as wTe pleafe. It alfo appears, that unity or
1 may be reprefented by a0, wdiere the exponent is a
, . a1
cypher, for I=-~=ai-3=a*.
a
64. The rules which have been given for the multi¬
plication and divifion of powrers with pofitive expo¬
nents will apply in every cafe, whether the exponents
be pofitive or negative, and this muff evidently take
place, for the mode of notation, by which wre reprefent
fradlional quantities as the powers of integers, but with
negative exponents has been derived from thofe rules.
Thus ~ X<33 or fl-1X«5=fl~2+J=:a-,=-, alfo — X
a ax1,
4 H 2 J_
V3
&12
Involution.
ALGEBRA.
If it be required to find the fame powers of cj—it Involution,
will be found, that "
X x+ ? “O.'-3 + 3 I.
65. From this method of notation it appears, that
any quantity may be taken from the denominator of a
fraftion, and placed in the numerator, by changing the
fign of its exponent j and hence it follows, that every
fraftion may alfo be reprefented as an integer quantb
ty. Thus denotes the fame thing as —— or as
efb-1
bc^
alfo
may be otherwife exprefied
a* -f- tf-v
•J— UX 2C*
h7, + lax -f- x1 the fquare, or fecond power
Ki-\-2azx-\-ax1
~b a1x-\-2ax*-{~xi
the cube, or third power
a-\-x
a*~i-3^^x-\-^aix2~\-axi
-}-■ a3 x -j- 3aV1 -j- qditf5 -{-Jt4
-f-x4 the fourth power,
a—x is the root, or firil power j
a2—lax-^-x1 the fquare, or 2d power ;
<33-
aA-
(x—i)J
thus, a*(x—1)~5.
Of Involution.
66. Involution is the method of finding any power
of any afligned quantity, wdrether it be fimple or com¬
pound 5 hence its rules are eafily derived from the ope¬
ration of multiplication.
Cafe 1. When the quantity is fimple.
Rule. Multiply the exponents of the letters by the in¬
dex of the power required, and raife the coefficient
to the fame power.
Note. If the fign of the quantity be all its powers
will be pofitive 5 but if it be —, then all its powers
whofe exponents are even numbers are pofitive, and
all its powers whofe exponents are odd numbers are
negative.
.Ex. 1. Required the cube, or third power of 2a*x.
(2a*x) 3 = 2 X 2 X 2rt,X5xI>< 3 = 8a<5x3, the anfwer.
Ex. 2. Required the fifth power of —3a*x}
(—3a,.v3)sr:—243dl0xis, the anfwer.
2 ax2
Ex. 3. Required the fourth powTer of —^/f~'
(—2ax*\4 16a*x9 . -
—rr— ) = n—>-5—„ the aniwer.
3% J 8ibsy*
Cafe 2. When the quantity is compound.
Rule. The powers mull be found by a continual multi¬
plication of the quantity by itfelf.
Ex. Required the fir ft four powers of the binomial
quantity a-^x.
a-fx the root, or firft power
-3<z2x-b3dx*—x3 the cube, or 3d power j
-4a3 x-j-ba3*1—4<3x3+x4 the 4th power.
Hence it appears, that the powers of fl-J-x differ from
the powers of a—-x, only in this refpecl, that in the
former the figns of the terms are all pofitive, but in the
latter, they are pofitive and negative alternately.
67. Befides the method of finding the powers of a
compound quantity by multiplication, which we have
juft now explained, there is another, more general, as
■well as more expeditious, by which a quantity may be
raifed to any power whatever without the trouble of
finding any of the inferior powers, namely, by means
of what is commonly called the binomial theorem.
This theorem may be expreffed as follows. Let a-\-x
be a binomial quantity, which is to be raifed to any
power denoted by the number n, then (a-J-*) ff-
V->*+ ”fenil(5r=il
1 A — 3 .v 3
I ' 2
n (« —
t) —2) (a-
2 ' 3
• I • 2
n(n—i)(ff—2)[n~
x*
-3) (A—4)
an-sxs4~, Sec. This
I • 2 • 3 ' 4 • . 5
feries will always terminate when n is any whole pofi¬
tive number, by reafon of fome one of the factors »—-1,
n—2, &c. becoming = o j but if « be either a nega¬
tive, or fraftional number, the feries will confift of an.
infinite number of terms ; as, however, we mean to
treat in this fedtion only of the powers of quantities
when their exponents are whole pofitive numbers Vre
ffiall make no farther remarks upon any other 3 we fhall
afterwards give a demonftration of the theorem, and
fhew its application to fractional and negative powers
in treating of infinite feries. The «th power of a—x will
not differ from the fame power of A-f-x but in the
figns of the terms which compofe it, for it will ftand
thus: (a—x)" =a s-f-y*3’
n{n—1)
 an~.ix~
I * 2
n(n—i)(ff—2)
v3
n(n—i)(77-~2)(t?—3)
1*2*3 ' 1 ’ 2 • 3 ■ 4
—, &c. where the figns are -f- and — alternately*
Ex. 1. Let it be required to raife a—x to the fifth
power.
Here n the exponent of the power being 5, the firft
term a* of the general theorem will be equal to a5,
n ( n— 11
the fecond nan~1x— Ca4x, the third Ar-3x3~
J 1-2
tX4 , , , 1 t —1)(7?—2)
: -t-— a3x3= ioa3x% the fourth —   1 an~-i
1X2 I ' 2 • 3
x3 = zz ioa3x!
1X2X3
«(«—i)(a—2) (/?—3)
the fifth
, 4 5 X 4 X 3 X 2
lX4 — -AX
and the fixth and laft
«(a-
4r= cax4
1X2X3X4
1) C”—2)(e — 3) CW—4)
,!7—5 -yS ■
I * 2
5X4X3X2XI
IX2X3X4XJ
3*4*5
theremainingterms
of
{
A L G
olution. of the general theorem all vanifh, by reafon of the
' faftor ti—5=0 by which each of them is multiplied,
fo that we get {a-\-x)s =:as-±-5a*x + ioa* x1ioa*x3
-b Sax* 4* xS‘
Ex. 2. It is required to raife 2</— — to the third
3
power.
In this cafe «=3, fo that if -we put a—2d and xzz ~
3
we have the firft term of the general theorem, or
an zz%d3, the fecond -«n-**=:3 X 4^’X-=6^*z, the
«(«—1) „ . , , 2^2;* , ,
third   a”-1 x* =z 3 x 2dx—= , and the
1 • 2 9 3
fourth and laft term —~an'~ixi^:—, and
i- 2 • 3 27
lance the figns of the terms of any power of c—-w are
and — alternately we have ^2d—~^3z= 8d3 — 6d* z
2d'&
3 27'
68. If the quantity to be involved conlifts of more
than two terms, as if —r were to be raifed to the
2d power, put p~a and q—r—b then {p-\-q — r)* =
(a-f b')1 —ai-\-2ab-\-b% =pl-f 2p{q — r)-\-(q—r)* but
2p —r) z=.2pq—2/>r, and by the general theorem
(?—ry—q*—2^r+r*, therefore, we get (/>+^—r)*
■z=.pi-\-2pq—2pr-\-q%—2qr-\-t* ; and by a fimilar me¬
thod of procedure a quantity conlifiing of four or more
terms may be raifed to any power.
E B R A. 613
even number j but if it be an odd number, the root Evolution.^
can be politive only.
2. The root of a negative quantity is alfo negative
when the index of root is an odd number.
3. But if the quantity be negative, and the index of
the root even, then no root can be affigned.
Ex. I. Required the fquare root of 36a*x4.
Here the index of the root is 2, and the root of the
coefficient 6, therefore V^d^x13—■Jr6axt or V7t6a1x*r
=—6ax*, for either of thefe quantities, when multi¬
plied by itfelf, produces 36aJx4 5 fo that the root re¬
quired is zfcrbtfx1, where the lign z±z denotes that the
quantity to which it is prefixed may be confidered either
as pofitive or negative.
Ex. 2. Required the cube root of 12^a6x(>.
Here the index of the root is 3, and the root of the-
coefficient 5, therefore y'l 25a<5x9=5fl*A;3 the root re¬
quired j and in like manner the cube root of—I2?a6x9
is found to be .—^azx3.
72. If it be required to extract the fquare of—a*, it
wrill immediately appear that no root can be affigned j
for it can neither be 4-/7, nor—*7, feeing that each of
thefe quantities when fquared produces -f-a*, the root
required is therefore faid to be impojjible, and may be
exprelfed thus: V—a'.
The root of a fraftion is found by extra&ing that
root out of both numerator and denominator. Thus the
r - ACpx* . 2X0*
iquare root 01 is -7-7.
9by6 3^>’3
Of Evulutlon.
69. Evolution is the reverfe of involution, or it is
the method of finding the root of any quantity, w’hether
fimple or compound, which is confidered as a power of
that root j hence it follows that its operations, general¬
ly fpeaking, mull be the reverfe of thofe of involution.
70. To denote that the root of any quantity is to be
taken the fign f (called the radicalfgn) is placed’be¬
fore it, and a fmall number placed over the fign to ex-
prefs the denomination of the root. Thus if a denotes
5 —. 4—
the fquare root of a, fa its cube root, fa its fourth
root, and in general, fa its «th root. The number
placed over the radical fign is called the index or expo¬
nent of the root, and is ufually omitted in expreffing
the fquare root, thus either fa or fa denotes the fquare
root of a.
Cafe 2. When the quantity of which the root is to be-
extra£led is compound.
73* I* To extrafl the fquare root.
Range the terms of the quantity according the powTers
of the letters, as in divifion.
Find the fquare root of the firft term for the firft part
of the root fought, fubtraft its fquare from the given
quantity, and divide the remainder by double the part
already found, and the quotient is the fecond term of
the root.
Add the fecond part to double the firft, and multi¬
ply their fum by the fecond part, fubtraft the produft
from the remainder, and if nothing remain, the fquare
root is obtained. But if there is a remainder, it muft
be divided by the double of the parts already found,,
and the quotient will give the. third term of the root,,
and fo on.
■71. Cafe 1. When roots of fimple quantities are to be
found.
Eale. Divide the exponents of the letters by the index
of the root required, and prefix the root of the nu¬
meral coefficient, the refult will be the root re¬
quired.
Nate 1. The root of any pofitive quantity may be either
pcfitive or .negative, if the index of the root be an
Eix. 1, Required the fquare root of a*-\-2axfx*.
a2-}-2ax-{-A:I(u4-w the root required.
d1
2a-}-x\ -j- 2ax
x-vy-f 2ax
Ex. 2..
A
614
Evolution.
L C E B R
Ex, 2. Required the fquare root of x*—2x3 -f-
2' 16
x4~—2k j -f- —x1—-4-~(x1—x 4- — .
1 2 2 1 x6\ 4
X*
A.
59049(243 the root required.
4
44)19°
176
483)1449
X449
Evolution,
X—x—2x3+ X*
and by a comparifon of the two operations, the reafon
•f the common rule is obvious.
75. II. To extract the cube root.
I
X-
4
Hi. -+.L
2 2 16
* * #
74. To underhand the reafon of the rule for finding
the fquare root of a compound quantity, it is only ne-
jceffary to involve any quantity, as to the le-
cond power, and obferve the compofition of its fquare;
for we have (a + 6+cy=a1 + 2a6 + 6*+2ac+2l>c+c9
but 2^4-^I=(2<3-j-^)^ and 2ac-{- 26c-t-czzz(2a+ 26
+<r)c therefore,
(a 4-£ 4 e)1:;: a*-f-( 20 + £) £ 4-( + 2-5-{-cV
and from this expreffion the manner of deriving the
rule is obvious.
As an illuftration of the common rule for extra&ing
the fquare root of any propofed number, we lhall fup-
pofe that the root of 59049 is required.
Accordingly we have (a4“^+c)*:=59c,49> and from
hence we are to find the values of a, b and c.
<r= 200 X 200=40000 40
59049(200 a ~) Hence 243 is the
2*7=400
b— 40
- 2*7 4-^=440
=al
d
root required
I9°49
17 600 =(2*7 4-^)^
2*74- 2/5=480
£•= 3
.2*74" 2^ 4" 4^3
1449
1449= ( 2*7 4" 2^ +c c
The fame example when wrought by the common
rule (fee Arithmetic) will hand thus:
Range the terms of the quantity according to the
powers of fome one of the letters.
Find the root of the firft term, for the firft part of
the root fought; fubtradl its cube from the whole quan¬
tity, and divide the remainder by 3 times the fquare
of the part already found, and the quotient is the le-
cond part of the root.
Add together, 3 times the fquare of the part of the
root already found, 3 times the produft of that part
and the fecond part of the root, and the fquare of the
fecond part; multiply the fum by the fecond part, and
fubtraiil the produdl from the firft: remainder, and if
nothing remain, the root is obtained ; but if there is
a remainder, it muft be divided by 3 times the fquare
of the fum of the parts already found, and the quotient
is a third term of the root, and fo on, till the whole
root is obtained.
ILv. Required the cube root of *75 4* S'8** 4-3^* 4* *3 •
a5 4- 3a*x 4- 3«x* 4” *5 (<7 4" * ^ toot required.
a}
3*7* 4-3*7x 4-4-3a*14-x}
3*z1x4-3*7xl4-tf3
* #
76.The reafon of the preceding rale is evident from
the compofition of a cube, for if any quantity as *7 4-
b+c be raifed to the third power wre have (a-f-^q-a)3
—ai 4- (3*7* 4- 3*7£ 4-£*)£ 4- (3 (*7 4-£)* 4- 3 (*7 4-£> 4-^>,
and by confidering in what manner the terms a, b and
c are developed from this expreffion for. the cube of
their fum, we alfo fee the reafon for the common rule
for extradling the cube root in numbers. Let it be re¬
quired to find the cube root of 13312053, where the
root will evidently confift of three figures ; let us fup-
pofe it to be reprefented by a-\-b-\-c and the operation
for finding the numerical values of thefe quantities may
Hand as follows.
13312053(200=*7
=aJ= 8000000 b
1 —
3«* = i2oooo'53i2053  
3«£= 18000I * 237 the root required.
b1— 900I
3a14.3^ 4_£s=: 13 8900 4167000= (3«a 4-3^^
3 (a 4-^*=! 58700! ii 45053
3(a4-£)c= 4830
ca= 49
3 (a 4-6)* 4-3(77 4-6>4-c4= x 63579
2
1145°53—[3('74-^),'f'3(^"f'^)f "f
The
A L G
Evolution., The operation as performed by the common rule
'r~mJ (fee Arithmetic) will Hand thus:
I33I2053(237 r0°t required.
8
12. .
18.
9
!389
1587..
383-
49
I^3579
S312
4^7
II45053
14.5053
77. III. To extrafl any other root.
Ru/e. Range the quantity, of which the root is to be
found, according to the powers of its letters, and ex¬
tra# the root of the firft term, and that ihall be the
firft member of the root required.
Involve the firft member of the root to a power lefs by
unity than the number that denominates the root
required,^ and multiply the power that arifes by the
number itfelf 5 divide the fecond term of the given
quantity by the produ#, and the quotient fliall give
the fecond member of the root required.
Tind the remaining members of the root in the fame
manner by confidering thofe already found as making
one term.
Ex. Required the cube root of x6-[-6xi—40.V3 -f-
96.V—64
x6 -j- 6v?—40V3 -j- 9 6.y—6 4 (v* -f- ix—4
(v1)3z=v5
^>x*)6xi
(x% 2x)*zzx6 _p. 6vs -f I 2X4 -f-8v}
2,!^+, &c.) 12X*
(x'^-lx—4) 3—.Y64-6.rs—40*5 -f 96.Y—64
*
In this example, the cube root of x6, or x1, is the
firft member of the root, and to find a fecond member
the firft is raifed to the power next lower, or to the fe¬
cond power, and a'lfo multiplied by 3, the index of the
root required •, thus we get -3*4 for a divifor, by which
the fecond term 6x! being divided, we find 2x for the
fecond member of the root. We muft now confider
**-4-2* as forming one term ; accordingly having fub-
tra#ed its cube from the quantity, of which the root is
fought, we have —12*4—, &c: for a new dividend ;
and having alfo raifed **4-2* to the fecond power, and
multiplied the refult by 3, we find 3*44-, &c. for a
divifor. As it is only the terms which contain the
higheft powers of the dividend and divifor that we
have occafion for, the remaining terms are exprelfed
Having divided —12x* by 3.Y4, we find —4
E B R A. 615
for the third term of the root *, and becaufe it appears Surds,
that **4-2^—4j when raifed to the third power, gives ' ' » ' *
a refult the very fame with the propofed power, we
conclude **4-2*-—4 to be the root fought.
78. In the preceding examples, the quantities whofe
roots were to be found have been all fuch as could
have their roots expreffed by a finite number of terms 5
but it will frequently happen, that the root cannot be
otherwife affigned than by a feries confifting of an in¬
finite number of terms : the preceding rules, however,
will ferve to determine any number of terms of the
feries. Thus the fquare root of <2* 4-** will be found
X* X* x^ c
to be a -—n—r 4—7—:——■■Q , 4- Sic. and the cube'
2a 1 16a5 i28ay 1
root of £3 4-*3 will ftand thus a4—^- 
30* 9*s
TO**
5X
.1 Oil •
—  Sic. but as the extraftion of roots in the
243c
form of feries can be more eafily performed by other
methods, we ftiall refer the reader to fedftion 17. wdiich
treats of feries, where this fubje# is again refumed.
Sect. IV. Of Surds.
79. It has been already obferved (71), that the root
of any propofed quantity is found by dividing the ex¬
ponent of the quantity by the index of the root ; and
the rule has been illuftrated by fuitable examples, in
all which, how ever, the quotient expreffmg the expo¬
nent of the refult is a whole number ; but there may
be cafes in which the quotient is a fra#ion. Thus if
the cube root of a* were required, it might be expref--
fed, agreeably to the method of notation already ex-
3   2
plained, either thus \/ax, or thus aT.
80. Quantities W'hich have fractional exponents are ‘
called furds, or imperfe# powers, and are faid to be
irrational, in oppofition to others with integral expo¬
nents wdiich are called rational.
81. Surds may be denoted by means of the radical
fign, but it will often be more convenient to ufe the
notation of fractional exponents 5 the following exam¬
ples will ftiew how they may be expreffed either w’av.
\Za~a1, \latab1—2ha'L, tJa^b' — a^U*, ftd-^-b2,
= 0*4-Z>*)4-, \/(a—by—(a—by, —532:= (^4-P'
 I I
a
82. The operations concerning furds depend on the'
following principle. If the numerator and denomina¬
tor of a fractional exponent be either both multiplied,
or both divided by the fame quantity, the value of the v
" m cm m
power is tke fame. Thus a~ — a~. For let = b,
then, raifing both to the power n, am=b\ and farther
raifing both to the power c we get acm~bcn ; let the
root cn be now taken and we find acn —h—a~‘
83. Pros. I. To Reduce a rational Quantity to the
form of a Surd of any given denomination.
Rule. Reduce the exponent of the quantity to the
form of a fradion of the fame denomination as the
given furd.
Ex. 1,
\
6i6
Surds.
ALGEBRA.
Ex. i. Reduce a* to tlie form of the cube root.
Here the exponent 2 muft be reduced to the form
of a fraftion having 3 for a denominator, which will
6 6 
be the fraftion 4 j therefore c3=cTr=
Ex. 2. R educe 5 to the form of the cube root, and
^ab* to the form of the fquare root.
prob. 2.} and then reduce them to their limpleft
terms by lafl problem. Then, if the furd part be
the fame in them all, annex it to the fum, or dif¬
ference of the rational parts, with the fign of mul¬
tiplication, and it will give the lum, or difference
required. But if the lurd part be not the fame in
all the quantities, they can only be added, or fub-
trailed by placing the figns -j~ or — between them.
Surds.
j 3   3  
Firft 5=5T = ^5 x 5 X 5 = 25-
And 3abtzz3*aTb*-z:{3ta*b*y:ya'b*
84. Prob. II. To Reduce Surds of different denomi¬
nations to others of the fame value^ and of the fame
denominations.
Rule. Reduce the frailional exponents to others of the
fame value, and having the fame common denomi¬
nator.
_ 3  j_
Ex. 1. Reduce a and b*, or rt1 and b' to o-
ther equivalent furds of the fame denomination.
The exponents t» when reduced to a common
denominator, are -I- and ; therefore, the furds re-
3 4 6  6  
quired are as and , ox \da* and ffb*.
Ex. I. Required the fum of V27 and ^48.
By prob. 3. we find and -v/qSzrdv^,
therefore V/27-{-V'48=:3 V^-J-qV
3 _ 3 
Ex. 2. Required the fum of 3 and 5 vVt'
3 _ 3 3_ 3   3   5 _
3 v4=3 = 1 ^2 and 5 VVT = 5 = 4 a/2,
3 _ 3 _ 3 3 3
therefore 3^4+5 ^ ^ — i 'v/'2-f-i v2=:,-g-7 v 2.
Ex. 3. Required the difference between V8oa\v and
V 2oa.*x1*
\l80aAx — (41 <s4 X5^)^=4«*v/5^, and a/2oazx3 zz
('£a1x1 X = 2axfffx ; therefore V 80 a* x 
V'20flI.v3= (qa*— 2a x} \l $x.
I I
Ex. 2. Reduce 3x and 2T to furds of the fame de¬
nomination.
The new exponents are 4 and therefore we have
x 3 6    6  X X   <3 _
fzzyzz Vs 5 — ^27, and 21 =r 2‘3' = x/2* = V 4*
A X
And in the fame way the furds Am, B” are reduced
mn mn 
to thefe two VA” and VBm.
35. Prob. III. To Reduce Surds to their mojlfimple
terms.
Rule. Refolve the furd into two factors, fo that one
of them may be a complete power, having its ex¬
ponent divifible by the index of the furd. Extrail
the root of that powrer, and place it before the re¬
maining quantities, with the proper radical fign be¬
tween them.
Ex. 1. Reduce 48 to Its moll fimple terms.
The number 48 may be refolved into the two fac¬
tors 16 and 3, of which the firft is a complete fquare 5
therefore A/qSrrfq2 X 3)^=4 X 3^ = 4v/3’
Ex. 2. Reduce \f y8a*x, and V^qahv-f-qoa3#*, each
to its moft fimple terms.
Firft Vg8aAx=z{faA X ixff X (2x)Tzz']dt
\l 2x.
3    X
Alfo v^qflh'v-j-qoa3#2 = (23 3 (3#-j-5#*))t =
3    
la \/3v-}-5.'v*.
86. Prob. IV. To Add and Subtraft Surds.
Rule. If the furds are of different denominations, re¬
duce them to others of the fame denomination, by
87. Prob. V. To Multiply and Divide Surds.
Rule. If they are furds of the fame rational quantity,
add and fubtrail their exponents.
But if they are furds of different rational quantities,
let them be brought to others of the fame denomina¬
tion, by prob. 2. Then, by multipying or dividing
thefe rational quantities, their produdl, or quotient
may be fet under the common radical fign.
Note. If the furds have any rational coefficients, their
produfl or quotient muft be prefixed.
3   t
Ex. x. Required the produft of and y.
3 * _ T T T+f -xr ,-~
yV XvV —a —a z=va ,
Anf.
Ex. 2. Divide ffp — b% by Vayb.
Thefe furds when reduced to the fame denomina¬
tion are (a2—-and Hence
/fa1 — b1
-([£szm-zz(
\ J V
{ayb^a—bf.
a -\- b
{a+bf
Ex. 3. Required the product of jy'g and 3^/5.
SVT X3x/T= 5 X 3 X a/T X a/J =r 15 X a/^ =
15X^4 Xio=3°A^.
3   3   
Ex. 4. Divide & \l56 by qv' 2.
8 \/s6  
4VT“
2
2 \/28*
Ex,
i
Proportion.
ALGEBRA.
E:c. 5. Required tlie product of x
and x ■'
by b~
quotient arifing from the diviflon of a
\ JL+1 ^
Firfl xm X ^ =xm n — x mn =
617
alfo the ^le t^r<^ anc^ f°urth> the quantities are called arithme- Arithmeti-
ticalproportionals. Such, for example, are the num- cal ProPor-
. bers 2, 5, 9, 12} and, in general, the quantities ■ t^>n‘ .
a-\-d, b, b-\~d. . If the ttvo middle terms are equal, the
quantities conftitute what are called three arithmetical
proportionals.
88. Prob. VI. To Involve and Evolve Surds.
Surds are involved or evolved in the fame manner
as any other quantities, namely, by multiplying or di¬
viding their exponents by the index of the power, or
root required. Thus the fquare of 3 \/3is 3X3
* 3   X TO
X (3)1 :=9'\/ 9 ■ "I he nth power of X"> is x «m
The cube root of H */ a is -(2)^= v~ and the nth
8v 2
x_ 1
root of xm is xmn.
89. If a compound quantity involve one or more
furds, its powers may be found by multiplication. Thus
the fquare of 3 -{- ^/J is found as follows :
93. 1 he moll material property of four arithmeti¬
cal proportionals is the following : If four quantities
be arithmetically proportional, the fum of the extreme
terms, is equal to the fum of the means. Let the
quantities be a, a-^-d, b, b-^-d, where is the differ¬
ence between the fird and fecond, and alfo between the
third and fourth, the fum of the extremes is a-\-b~\-dt
and that of the means a-\-d+b; fo that the truth of
the proportion is evident. Hence it follows, that if
any three quantities be arithmetically-proportional, the
fum of the two extremes is double the mean.
94. If any three terms of four arithmetical pro¬
portionals be given, the fourth may be found from
the preceding propofition. Let a, b, c, be the fird,
iecond, and fourth terms, and let * the third term be
required} becauferf-ftherefore a—rtf
In like manner any two of three arithmetical propor¬
tionals being fuppofed given, the remaining term may
be readily found. J
■3 + ^A
3 + ^5”
9+SVs
+3\/lS-\r5
. 9-I-6V5 +5=I4+6V'7 the fquare re¬
quired.
90. The fquare root of a binomial, or refidual furd
A-f B, or A—B may be found thus. Take
D}
then ✓A+B=y5±5+y^2>
and
2 2
Thus the fquare root of 8-j-2V/7 is i-f-v/f} and the
fquare root of 3—V8 is 4/2—1. With refpecd to the
extraction of the cube or any higher root no general
rule can be given.
Sect. V. Of Proportion.
91. .In comparing together any two quantities of the
tame kind in refped of magnitude, we may confider
how much the one is greater than the other, or elfe
how many times the one contains either the whole, or
fome part ot the other } or which is the fame tiling
we may confider either what is the difference between
the. quantities, or w’hat is the quotient arifing from the
diviiion of the one quantity by the other } the former of
thefeis called their arithmetical ratio, and the latter
their geometrical ratio. Thefe denominations, how¬
ever, have, been -affumed arbitrarily, and have little or
no connexion with the relations they are intended to
exprefs.
L Of Arithmetical Proportion.
92. When of four quantities the difference between
the fird and fecond is equal to the difference between
Vql. I. Part II.
95. If a feries of quantities be fuch, that the dif¬
ference between any two adjacent terms is always the
fame, thefe terms form a continued arithmeticalpropor-
tion. . Thus the numbers 2, 4, 6, 8, 10, &c. form
a feries m continued arithmetical proportion, and, in
general, fuch a feries may be reprefented thus :
tf, tf+tf', tf + 2tf?, tf-f-3//, tf+4V, tf-f 54 a+6d, Stic.
where a denotes the fird term, and d the common dif¬
ference.
Lj a little attention to tnis feries, we readily difeo-
vei that it has the following properties :
1. The lad term of the feries is equal to the fird term,
together with the common difference taken as often as
there are terms after the fird. Thus, when the num¬
ber of terms is 7, the lad term is a + 6d; and fo on,
lienee if % denote the lad term, n the number of terms,
and a and d exprefs the fird term, and common differ¬
ence, we have —i)d.
2. The fum of the fird and lad term is equal to the
fum of any two terms at the fame didance from them.
Thus fuppofe the number of terms to be 7, then the
lad term is a^-6d, and the fum of the fird and lad
2tf -J- 6d; but the fame is . alfo the fum of the fecond’
and lad but one, of the third and lad but two, and fo
on till we come to the middle term, which, becaufe it
is equally didant from the extremes, mud be added to
itfelf.
96. From this lad mentioned property we derive a
rule for finding the fum of all the terms of the feries.
for if the fum of the fird and lad be taken, as alfo the '
mm of the fecond and Jad but one, of the third and
ad but two, and fo on along the feries till we come to
the ium of the lad and fird terms, it is evident that we
lhall have as many dims as there are terms, and each
equal to the fum of the fird ‘and lad terms } but the
aggregate of thofe dims is equal to all the terms of the
leries taken twice, therefore the dim of the fird and
lad term, taken as often as there are terms, is equal to
twice the fum of all the terms, fo that if j- denote that
fum, we have 2szzn(a + z), and s=:-(a + z).
4l
r
Hence
6i8
A L G E
tion.
Geometri- Hence the fum of the odd numbers i, 3, 5, 7, 9, &c.
eal Proper- continued to n terms, is equal to the fquare of the num-
j ber of terms. For in this cafe <7 =rl, (Izz2, 5Z=l-{-
(ji—\)(l—2n 1, therefore sz=.-Y>2nzzn1.
II. Of Geometrical Proportion.
97. When of four quantities, the quotient arifing
from the divifion of the firft by the fecond is equal to
that arifing from the divifion of the third by the fourth,
thefe quantities are faid to be in geometrical proportion,
or are called limply proportionals. Thus 12, 4, 15, 5,
are four numbers in geometrical proportion 5 and in
general, na, a, nb, b may exprefs any four proportion¬
als, for —z=.n, and alfo -r-zzn.
a b
98. To denote that any four quantities a, o, c, d,
are proportional, it is common to place them thus,
a:b ::c: d, or thus a : bzzc : d, which notation, when
expreffed in w^ords, is read thus, a is to £ as c to d, or
the ratio of to £ is equal to the ratio of c to d.
The firft and third terms of a proportion are called
the antecedents, and the fecond and fourth, the con-
fequents.
99. When the two saiddle terms of a proportion are
the fame, the remaining, terms, and that quantity, con-
ftitute three geometrical proportionals j fuch are 4, 6,
9, and in general na, a, In this cafe the middle
quantity is called a mean proportional between the other
two.
100. The principal properties of four proportionals
are the following :
I. If four quantities be proportionals, the produft
of the extremes is equal to the product of the means.
Let a, b, c, d, be four quantities, fuch, that a :b:-.c : d;
then from the nature of proportionals > let t^e^e
equal quotients be multiplied by bd, and we have
cbd
= -r, or
adzzbc. Hence it follows that when three
abd 
b d
quantities are proportional, the produft of the extremes
is equal to the fquare of the middle term. It alfo
appears, that if any three of four proportionals be given,
the remaining one may be found. Thus let a, b, c, the
three firft be given, and let it be required to find x the
fourth term j becaufe a : b : : c : x, axzzbc, and dividing
be
by a, xzz-—. This conclufion may be confidered as a
J a
demonftrati'on of what is called the rule of three in
arithmetic.
2. If four quantities be fuch that the produft of two
of them is equal to the produft of the other two, thefe
quantities are proportionals.
Let a, b, c, d, be the quantities, which are fuch
that adzzbc, if thefe equals be divided by bd, we get
ov^tzz-j, hence it follows, from the definition
bd bd a a
BRA.
given of proportionals, ($ 97.) that a :h \ : c d. From Geometri-
this property of proportionals it appears, that if three cal Proper-
quantities be fuch that the fquare of one of them be. ^11, ,
equal to the product of the other two, thefe quantities
are three proportionals.
101. If four quantities are proportional, that is, if
a \ b :: c \ d, then will each of the following combina¬
tions or arrangements of the quantities be alfo four pro¬
portionals.
ift, By inverfion b \ awd'.c
2d, By alternation a : c : \ b : d *
3d, By compofition a-\-b: a : : c-\-d: c
or a-\-b : b :: c-\-d: d
4th, By divifion a—b : a : : c—d: c
or a—b : b : : c—d: d
jth,By mixing a-\-b : a—~h : : c-\-d: c——d
6th, By taking any equimultiples of the antecedents,
and alfo any equimultiples of the confequents
na \pb \\ nc \ pd
7th,Or by taking any parts of the antecedents and
abed
conlequents
^ n p n p
That the preceding combinations of the quantities
a, b, c, d are proportionals, may be readily proved,
by taking the produdls of the extremes and means ;
for from each of them we derive this conclufion, that
adzzbc, which is known to be true, from the original
affumption of the quantities.
102. If four quantities be proportional, and alfo
other four, the produft of the correfponding terms will
be proportional.
Let a : b :: c : d,
and e : f : : g : b,
Then ae : bf:: eg : dh.
Yor adzzbc and ehzzfg (§ 100.), therefore, multiply¬
ing together thefe equal quantities adehzzicfg, or ae X
dhzzbf X eg, therefore by the fecond property (§ 100.),
ae \ bf:: eg: dh.
103. flence it follows, that if there be any number
of proportions whatever, the produfts of the corre-
fponding terms will ftill be proportional.
104. If a feries of quantities be lo related to each
other, that the quotient arifing from the divifion of any
term by that which follows it is always the fame quan¬
tity, thefe quantities are faid to be in continued geome¬
trical proportion, fuch are the numbers 2, 4, 8, 16, 32,
See. alfo \, I, i, ttj, and in general a feries of
fuch quantities may be reprefented thus, a, ar, ar ,
rtr3 ar*, ars, &c. Here a is the firft term, and r the
.quotient of any two adjoining terms, which is alftx
called the common ratio.
105. By infpefting this feries we find that it has the
following properties :
I. The laft term is equal to the firft, multiplied by
the common ratio raifed to a power, the index of which-
is one lefs than the number of terms. 1 herefore if a
denote the laft term, and n the number of terms,
2. The.
* The quantities in. this cafe muft be all of the fame kind, that is, if a and b denote fojfaces, then c and &
UGuft alfo denote fuxfaces, but they cannot reprefent lines, &.C.
Redudlon
2.
A L G E
^ The product of the firft and laft: term is equal to
Equations t^ie Pr°du61: of any two terms equally diftant from
e—them ; thus, fuppofing ars the laft term, it is evident
that a X nrs~ar X ar*~art X 3, &c.
106. The fum of all the terms may be found thus :
let s reprefent that fum, then, fuppofing the number of
terms to be fix, szza-^ar-^-ar1 •{■ar1 -{-a?''*, and
multiplying thefe equals by r, sr=zar-\-ar%-{-ar^ -\-ar*
-\-ars-^-ar6. If from the lower line, or sr-zzar-\-ar' -\-
. . .-{-ar6, we fubtraft the upper line, or s=a-\-ar-\.
. . . -f- ars, the remainders will evidently be equal;
but on the one fide of the fgn — ,we have rr f)
and on the other ar^—a: therefore, sr—szziar6—a,
and dividing by r—-x, j;
 . Let us now, in-
/ — i
Head of 6, fabftitute n (for the number of terms put
down was 6), and we have the following general rule
for finding the fum of a feries of quantities in continued
geometrical proportion, rrr-
-a a(rn—i)
—, or s— .
■I ’ r—i
6ect. VI. Of the Reduction of Equations involving
one unknown quantity.
loq. The general objedt of algebraic inveftigation
is to ftifcover certain unknown quantities, by compar¬
ing them with other quantities which are given, or
luppofed to be known. The relation between the
known and unknown quantities is either that of equa¬
lity, or elfe fuch as may be reduced to equality ; and
a propofition which affirms that certain combinations
of quantities are equal to one another is called an equa¬
tion. Such are the following, --f-f——, 2x-^^y —
xy; the firft of thefe equations expreffes the relation
between an unknown quantity and certain known
numbers and the fecond expreffes the relation which
the two indefinite quantities x and y have to each
other.
108. When a quantity ftands alone on one fide of
an equation, the terms on the other fide are faid to be
a value of that quantity. Thus in the equation .r—
ay+b—c, the quantity a? ftands alone on one fide and
ny-\-b—c is its value.
109. The conditions of a problem maybe fuch as to
require feveral equations and fymbols of unknown
quantities for their complete expreffion j thefe, how¬
ever, by rules hereafter to be explained, may be re¬
duced to one equation, involving only one unknown
quantity and its powers, befides the known quantities j
and the method of expreffing that quantity, by means of
the known quantities, conftitutes the theory of equa¬
tions, one of the moft important, as well as moft in¬
tricate branches of algebraic analyfis.
110. An equation is faid to be refolved^ when the
unknown quantity is made to Hand alone on one fide,
and only known quantities on the other fide 5 and the
value, of the unknown quantity is called a root of the
equation.
. 111 • ^Equations containing only one unknown quan¬
tity and its powers, are divided into different orders, ac¬
cording to the higheft power of that quantity contained
m any one of its terms. The equation, however, is
BRA* 619
fuppofed to be reduced to fudh a fotm, that the un* Redudlk n
known quantity is found only in the numerators of the „ or.
terms, and that the exponents of its powers are expref- T^u^'10'a'.
fed by pofitive integers.
112. If an equation contains only the firft power of
the unknown quantity, it is called a fimple equation,
or an equation of the firft order. Such is ax-\-b—c,
where x denotes an unknown, and a, b, c known
quantities.
113. If the equation contains the fecond power of
the unknown quantity, it is faid to be of the fecond
degree, or is called a quadratic equation ; fuch is
-f-3*=:l2, and in general ax* -\-kx~c. If it contains
the third power of the unknown quantity, it is of the
third degree, or is a cubic equation. Such are a:3—
2**4-4*= 10, and axi-\-bx*-\-cx=dt and fo on, with
refpedt to equations of the higher orders. A fimple
equation is fometimes faid to be linear, or to be of one
dimenfon. In like manner, quadratic equations are
faid to be equations of two dimenfions, and cubic equa¬
tions to be of three dimenfions.
114. When in the courfe of an algebraic inveftiga¬
tion we arrive at an equation involving only one un¬
known quantity, that quantity will often be fo entangled
in the different terms, as to render feveral previous re¬
ductions neceffary before the equation can be expreffed
under its charaCteriftic form, fo as to be refolved by
the rules which belong to that form.
Thefe reductions depend upon the operations which
have been explained in the former part of this treatife,
and the application of a few felf-evident principles,
namely, that if equal quantities be added to, or fub-
traCted from equal quantities, the fums or remainders
will be equal j if equal quantities be multiplied, or di¬
vided by the fame quantity, the produCts or quotients
will be equal; and, laftly, if equal quantities be raifed
to the fame power, or have the fame root extracted out
of each, the refults will ftill be equal.
From thefe confiderations are derived the following
rules, which apply alike to equations of all orders,
and are alone fufficient for the refolution of fimple
equations.
115. Rule 1. Any quantity may be tranfpofed from
one fide of an equation to the other, by changing
its figns.
Thus, if a;—3—5
Then x=s + 3
Or x—8
And if 3A—1 on: 2a;-J-5
Then 3A:—2A=r5-}-io
Or x= 15
Again, if ax-j-b~cx—dx-j-e
Then ax—cx-j-dx~e—b
Or [a—c-\.d)x~e—b
The reafon of this rule is evident, for the tranfpof-
ing a quantity from one fide of an equation to the
other is nothing more than adding the fame quantity
to each fide of the equation, if the fign of the quan¬
tity tranfpofed was —- j or fubtraCling it, if the fign
was -J-.
From this rule we may infex, that if any quantity
be found on each fide of the equation with the fame
fign, it may be left out of both. Alfo, that the figns
of all the terms of an equation may be changed into
4 I 2 the
620
A L G E B R
Redu&ien the contrary without affecting the truth of the equa-
of. tion.
Equations.
Thus, if a-}-x=^-j-a—-c
Then x=6-j-c
And if a—x~b—d
Then x—a—d—b
i It5. Rule. 2. If the unknown quantity in an equa¬
tion be multiplied by any quantity, that quantity
may be taken away, by dividing all the other terms
of the equation by it.
If 3*—24
Then x=—=8
3
If ax—b—c
rj.j^en x b—c b c
a a a
Here equal quantities are divided by the fame quan¬
tity, and therefore the quotients are equal.
317. Rule 3. If any term of an equation be a frac¬
tion, its denominator may be taken away by multi¬
plying all the other terms of the equation by that
denominator.
If *=7
Then ^=35
If -—b.
a
Then x~ab-
If a ——c,
x
ax—b~cx.
+d
.ac-\-ad
In thefe examples, equal quantities are multiplied
fey the fame quantity, and therefore the products are
equal.
118. The denominators may be taken away from
feveral terms of an equation by one operation, if we
multiply all the terms by any number which is a mul¬
tiple of each of thefe denominators.
Tims, if
2 3 4
Let all the terms be multiplied by 12, which is a
multiple of 2, 3, and 4* and we have
I 2X I 2X I 2X
  1 j —31 2
2 3 4
Or 6x-{-^x-Ip ^x =312
Hence 13^—312
Univerfally,- if --
x .x_
"be'
zd •—£.
A.
If axzzab—ac
Then x~b-—c
And if -=£+-
Reduction
of
Equations.
I
a a a
Then x-=zb-\-c.
120. Rule. If the unknown quantity is found in any
term which is a furd, let that furd be made to Hand
alone on one fide of the equation, and the remain¬
ing terms on the oppolite fidej then involve each fide
to a power denoted by the index of the furd, and
thus the unknown quantity (hall be freed from the
furd expreffion.
If v'x-\-6=:iO
Then by tranfpofition X^xzzio—6—4
And fquaring both fides Vx X 4X4
Or Arm: 16.
Alfo, if az-{-x7‘—b=:x
By tranf. VV + xzz=.b -J-at
And fquaring, a*-\-xl=.(J>-\-x')*~bi-\-2bx-{-xt’
Hence a'—b* -\-2bx.
And if \l azx—bzx—a
Then azx—bzx—aJ.
121. Rule 5. If the fide of the equation* which contains-
the unknown quantity, be a perfeft power, the equa¬
tion may be reduced to another of a lower order,
by extradling the root of that power out of each fide
of the equation.
Thus if at3—64a3
Then, by extradling the cube root, X—8a
And if {aJpxy—b1—az
Then a-\-xz=.\l bz—az
122. The ufe of the preceding rules will be farther
illuflrated by the following examples :
Ex. 1. Let 2C—3*—8=60—7#
7 AT—$x—6c -J- 8-
4Ar=:48
Therefore by rule 2. Ar=i2»
Ex. 2. Let ax—b—cx-\-d
ax-—cx~b-\-d
(a^—c^x—b-Jpd
b-\-d
And by rule 2. x~——.
J ✓? r'
By rule 1.
Or
By rule 1.
Or
•20
To take away the denominators «, b, c, let the whole
equation be multiplied by ab c, their product, and we
have
hex—acx abx~ab c{d—e)
Or {be—acab) x—abc {d—e).
119. From the two laft rules it appears that if all
the terms of an equation be either multiplied or divid¬
ed by the fame quantity, that quantity may be- left out
of all the terms.
Ex. 3. Let
By rule 3.
x+i . x-\-2_ A-f3
f
x -f-1 —j-
16.
4
2A-{-4  2X-\-6
4
6/v 18
:32
3X+3 T 2^+4—9^—'
l k2‘:v+I2+^'r+][6—3^4—6x—
Or 20x4-28=366—6a?
Hence, by rule 1. 26x~2,2,8
And by rule 2. xr—13.
In this example, inftead of taking atvay the deno¬
minators one after another, they might have been all
taken away'at once, by multiplying the given equation
by
A L G E B
Reduction by 15, which is divifible by the numbers 2, 3, and 4 • And
liquations. thuAWe ftiould have got 6^-f 6+4^+8=192—3AT-9,
^ and hence, as before, #=13.
. 4. Let 6xJ—20a;2=i6«z + 2a?j
Then dividing by 2*% 3.r-— 10=8+v
R A.
And tranfpofing,
Or
And therefore
3X-
■ x =8 + 10
2x~ 18
T P
Let a —~c
x
Then
And
Wlience
ax—b'—cx
ax—cx—b*
Ex. 6. Let x—6= —^ 
x 24
Then (.r—6) (^+24)=^*
That is .v* + i8.y—144=.%*
Therefore 18 Y= 144
And
y=8.
Ex. 7. Let ax+Z'2 = - X
■ 1 c+.v
Then (fl+Y)(flY+Z',)=flx*+^ra
Or a*x -{-ab1 -)-axz -\-bzx=ax2 -±-ac*
Hence aix-}-b1x=:aci—abz
ac*—ab*
And
Ex. 8. Let-^=«
i+v
Then 1—x~a-j-ax
And _™«.y—ax~a—1
Or changing the figns, x-\-ax~i—a
Whence
I d
'.a V1—»*+ vi.
-= VTH1?
'Yz=(l +c) v 1—.Vs
621
Reduction
of
Equations.
And, taking the fquare of both fides, ——A = I—'A?*
(1+fl)4
Therefore, by tranfpofition, x*—!--——~
(i+«)a
(1+g)1—(1—a)* 4^
(i+fl)4 (i+«)s
Therefore xzz —- - .
1 + «
That is, x*—-
Ex. 1 2. Let #+,*= ^a2 +y V^ +y2'
Then (<7+.,v)I=fl*+y \/^2+yj
That is, + lax+a2=«2 +y + b1 +.v“
Therefore 2tfv+Y,=Y V^^+a;2
And dividing by at, 2«+Y=V,^a+V5
Again taking the fquares of both fides, 4ai+4<z.Y+A4
=r^*+Aa
Wrhence qa1+4^=//
And —4a2 $ fo that x,
_Jr—¥P-
4« *
123. In all thefe examples we have been able to de¬
termine the value of the unknown quantity by the
rules already delivered, becaufe in every cafe the firli,
or at moft the fecond power of that quantity, has beeix
made to Hand alone on one fide of the equation, while
the other confifted only of known quantities; but the
fame methods of reduftion ferve to bring equations of
all degrees to a proper form for folution. Thus if
1—/>+<7+r' /-
 j = i —p—x + -5 by proper reduclion, we
X 11 X
have x3 +/W* +yx= r, a cubic equation, which maybe-
refolved by rules to be afterwards explained.
Hence, x—
’ i+tf
Ex. 9. Let Vi 2+v=2+VT.
Then by rule 4. 12 + *=4 + 4 vT+ x
And by tranfpofition 8=4 x^c
And by divifion 2= Vat
And again by rule 4. 4=*-.
Ex. 10. Let a?+ y^+V 7a ■
V^ + A’2
Then, by rule 3. a: v/oJ + As + fli + Az=2fl4
And by tranfpofition, &c. a Va1—a*
Therefore, by rule 4. a1A* + A4=«4—2arAI+A4
Whence $a2x*—a*
And a2=—„ therefore, rule 5. a=-~t.
3 -Y3
I- t 1—V7'
La. 11. Let —
1 + V i—x*
Then 1— v/i —a* = +« Vi
Sect. VII. Of the ReduFtion of Equations involving
more than one unknown quantity.
124. Having fliown in the laft fedtion in what man¬
ner an equation involving one unknown quantity may
be refolved, or at lead fitted for a final (elution, we are.
next to explain the methods by which two or more
equations, involving as many unknown quantities, may
at lad be reduced to one equation, and one unknown
quantity.
As the unknown quantities may be combined toge¬
ther in very different ways, fo as to conditute an equa¬
tion, the methods mod proper for their extermination
mud therefore be various. The three following, how¬
ever, are of general application, and the lad of them
may be ufed with advantage, not only when the un¬
known quantity to be exterminated ariles to the fame
power in all the equations, but alfo when the equations
contain different powers of that quantity.
125. Method I. Obferve which of the unknown
quantities is the lead involved, and let its value be
found from each equation by the rules of lad fedlion.
Let the values thus found be put equal to each
other, and hence new equations will nrilh, from which
thati
622 A L G E
'Redudion tliat quantity is wholly excluded. Let the fame ope-
°*. ration be now repeated with the new equations, and
< ^ the unknown quantities exterminated one by one, till
at laft an equation be found, which contains only one
unknown quantity.
Ex. Let it be required to determine x and y from
thefe two equations.
2A’+3d — 2.3
$X 2J'=I0
From the Srft equation 2xzz 23—3y
And
2
From the fecond equation $xrz 1 o -f- 2y
And
x—
lo + 2y
Let thefe values ®f x be now put equal to each
other.
And we have
Or
Therefore
And
And fince xzz^-
Io+2y _ 23—gy
5 2
20+4d= lI5—1SS
19d = 95
y = s
, or from either
2 ’ 5
of thefe values we find *'=4.
126. Method 2. Let the value of the unknown quan¬
tity, which is to be exterminated, be found from that
equation wherein it is lead: involved. Let this value,
and its powers, be fubftituted for that quantity, and
its refpefhve powers in the other equations j and with
the new equations thus arifing, let the operation be re¬
peated, till there remain only one equation,. and one
unknown quantity.
Ex. Let the given equations, as in laft method, be
2*+3^= 23
5*—2p=io
From the firft equation x~~- — -
And this value of x being fubftituted in the fecond
. 23—3v
equation, we have 5 X ~ ~ ^  2y~io
Or 115—4p=20
Therefore pjrriqy
And s~y
2^— 1 ^ At
And hence x~ as before.
127. Method 3. Let the given equations be multi¬
plied or divided by fuch numbers or quantities, whe¬
ther known or unknown, that the term which involves
the higheft power of the unknowm quantity may be the
fame in each equation.
Then by adding or fubtra&ing the equations, as oc-
cafion may require, that term will vanifh, and a new
equation emerge, wdierein the number of dimenfions of
the unknowm quantity in feme cafes, and in others the
number of unknown quantities, will be diminilhed $
and by a repetition of the fame, or fimilar operations,
I
BRA.
a final equation may be at laft obtained, involving only RechuSion
one unknown quantity. Equations.
Ex. Let the fame example be taken, as in the il-
luftration of the twro former methods, namely,
2V-f3J=T23
$X 2y—lQ
and from thefe two equations wTe are to determine X
and^. To exterminate x, let the firft equation be
multiplied by 5, and the fecond by 2, thus we have
15
10#-— 4y~, 20
Here the term involving x is the fame in both equa¬
tions, and it is obvious that by fubtrafling the one .
from the other, the refulting equation wall contain on¬
ly y, and known numbers, for by fuch fubtra&ion wTe
find I94'=:95, and therefore y'=5.
Having got the value of jq it is eafy to fee how x
may be found, from either of the given equations ; but
it may alfo be found in the fame manner as we found y.
For let the firft of the given equations be multiplied
by 2, and the fecond by 3, and w7e have
qx-j-byrz 46
i5A—6d—3°
By adding thefe equations, wTe find
19X—76
and therefore x— 4
128. The followdng examples will ferve farther to il-
luftrate thefe different methods of exterminating the
unknown quantities from equations.
Ex. I. Given
l--l= 2 C
**5 9 J
Required x and y.
By Method I.
From the firft equation wre find x—3 2—••
And from the fecond
x=io4-
2J
3
$y
Therefore io4-~= 32——
9 - 3
Or 9o4-5y=:288—6y
Hence 1 yen 98
And y~ 18
The value of y being fubftituted in either of the va ¬
lues of x, namely, 32—-“ or 10-j-—■ we find x=:20.
By Method 2.
Having found from the firft; given equation xrr32—
—, let this value of x be fubftituted in the fecond,
3
thus we have
-I 32—
5' 3
_ 3 2 2y V
Or —-=2,
( 2yN y
Hence
And
5 15 9
198=1 y
18= y
The
A L G E B R
Redu&ion
of
Equations.
The value of^ being now fubflituted in either of the
given equations, we thence find x—20 as before.
By Method 3.
The denominators of the two given equations being
taken away by rule 3. of laft fe£lion, we have
3*-}-2)^96
9-v—sy—9°
From three times the firft of thefe equations, or 9.V
-}-6j/r:288, let the fecond be fubtrafted, and there
remains
11^=198
And hence 18
The value of y being now fubftituted in either of
the equations 3^-j-2y=:96, 9X—5^=190, wTe readily
find ^=20.
129. Having now (hewn in what manner the dif¬
ferent methods of exterminating the unknown quanti¬
ties may be applied, we (hall, in the remaining exam¬
ples of this fedtion, chiefly make ufe of the laid method,
becaufe it is the moft eafy and expeditious in pra&ice.
Ex. 2. Given
{
^-ii=i+8
2 4
5 ^3 4
1
2y—x I
It is required to determine x and y.
From the ift equation we have 4# 96=2y-f-^4*
And from the fecond, l2Ar-f-i2y-j-20*'-_48o=3qy
—I5tf-f-i620.
Thefe two equations when abridged become-
4.r 2y=i6o
47.V l8)’=2IOO
To exterminate from this laft equation let 9 times
the one preceding it be fubftradled.
Thus we find iitf=66o
And x-=.6o
And becaufe 2y—atx 160=80
Therefore jy= 40.
Ex. 3. Given T0 determine x and'^y.
To exterminate y, let the firft equation be multiplied
by f and the fecond by b ; and we have
afx4-bfy~cf
bdx+bfy—bg
Taking now the difference between thefe equations
we find
afx bdx—cf—bg
Or (af.—bd)x-=icf bg
And therefore x=C^~~^—..
aj—bd
In the fame manner may y be determined, by mul¬
tiplying the firft of the given equations by d1 and the
fecond by a ; for we find
adx -\-bdy~cd
adx+afy—ag
and taking the difference as before, we get
A.
kdy.
And therefore
-afy—cd-
cd—
y-bdZTaf
-4T
.ag
623
Reduction
of
Equations.
Ex. 4. Given
{
This laft example may be confidered as a general
folution of the following problem. Two equations
exprefling the relation between the firft powers of two
unknowm quantities being given, to determine thofe
quantities. For whatever be the number of terms in
each equation, it will readily appear, as in example 2d,
that by proper redu&ion, they may be brought to the
fame form as thofe given in the 3d example.
130. Let us next confider fuch equations as involve
three unknown quantities.
x+y+x =29-,
x-4-2y-[-'ZZ—62 . . .
x y 2; > To find x, y, and
-+Z+- =10
,2 3 4 J
We ftiall in this example proceed according to the
rules of the firft method for exterminating the unknown
quantities.
From the firft equation *=29 y z
From the fecond #=62 2y 325
From the third at=20 — —.
3 2
Let thefe values of x be put equal to each other^
thus wre get the two following equations..
29—y—z=6 2—2y—325
2y z
29—y—55=20———
3 2
Again, from thefe two equations, by tranfpofition, &c..
we find
J'—33—225
y=27_^
33—22=27—
Therefore
32
And hence, by redudion z=i2
Whence alfo y=33 255=9
And *=29—y—£=8.
Ex. 5. Given < ~
x , y , * c
—I—1—— 62
234
x . y .z
7+^+7—47
4 5
H+s=38
► To find a?, y, and z.
Here the given equations, when cleared from frac¬
tions, become
I 2a:-J- 8y-{- 625=1488
2035-j-I jy 4- I 22= 28 20
3035-j- 24y 4- 20«=456o.
To exterminate 2; by the third method, let the firft
equation be multiplied by 10, the fecond by 5, and the
third by 3, the refults will be thefe :
i<20A? 4- 8oy 4-6025=14880
Toox 4.7 4- 6025= 14100
90.V ft-7 2y-j-6o«=13 680
. Let*
of
Equations,
6*24 A L G E
Reduction Let the fecond equation be now fubftra&ed from the
firft, and the third from the fecond, and we have
20x-\- $y—7
10# 4-3^=: 4 20
Next to exterminate y, let the firft of thefe equations
be multiplied by 3, and the fecond by 5, hence
60# 4 15^=2340
5 o# -j-1 $y~ 2100
Subtrafling now the latter equation from the former.
10#=: 240
Hence #=124
T'u r 420—I0;v ^
i hererore y=z— rroo
 1448—12#—Sy
And
= 120.
131. From the preceding examples, it is manifeft in
what manner any number of unknown quantities may
be determined, by an equal number of equations, which
contain only the firft power of thofe quantities, in the
numerators of the terms. Such are the following
ax~{~by-\~cz—n
dx-\-cy\-f%—p
gx -\-hy -{-kx—q
where a, b, c, &c. reprefent known, and #, y, «, un¬
known quantities •, and in every cafe of this kind, the
unknown quantities may be diredtly found, for they
will be always exprefted by whole numbers, or rational
fraftions, provided that the known quantities a, b, c,
&c. are alfo rational.
132. We ftiall now add a few examples, in which
the equations that refult from the extermination of an
Unknown quantity arife to feme of the higher degrees j
and therefore their final folution muft be referred to the
feflions which treat of thofe degrees.
Ex. 6. Let x—y~2, and #y45‘r—6j':= 120; it is
required to exterminate x.
From the firft equation #=y4 2 j which value being
fubftituted in the other equation according to the fe¬
cond general method (§ 126) it becomes
. O' + 2)y + 5 O' + 2 )—6y=z 120
that is y* 2 y 5 y -\-i o—6y= 120
•therefore the equation required is^-f-J—no.
Ex. 7. There is given x-\-y~a, and x* -\-yi—b to ex¬
terminate x.
From the firft; equation x~a—y, and —-y)1.
And from the fecond xi~b—-y2.
Therefore (a—y)2~b—-y2
That is az—2ay-j-y2—b—y3
Hence 2y2—2ay~b—rz 5 an equation involving on-
hy-
Ex. 8. Given To
From the firft; equation we find y=:
And front the fecond
</•—bx
ax -j-c
V-J-8X
y-fx+l>
BRA.
. d—bx k—gX . . i . , , Simpls
Thereiore —~~ — an equation m which the Equations.
tlx ■“C TOC *"J" to .
unknown quantity J’ is not found.
Ex. 9. Given Sf-3*yt To extermi-
^ lyz -j- 2a x—by—^x—w J nate y.
As the coefficient of yz is unity in both equations, if
their difference be taken the higheft power of y wall
vaniffi j but to give a general folution, let the terms of
the equations be brought all to one fide and made equal
to o, thus,
y—( 3#+«)j-—w=o
y1—by 4 2ax—/\xz-\-Lz—o
Let us in the firft equation put i=A, ■—(3#4a)
= B, —and in the fecond, i=D, —£=E, 2ax
—4#*4^*—F and the two equations become
Ay 4 4 Crr o
%I4%+F=:o
To exterminate y, let the firft equation be multi¬
plied by D, and the fecond by A, and we have
ADy 4 BDy 4 CD=o
ADy 4 AEy 4 AF=o
Therefore, taking the difference of thefe equations,
(BD—AE )y 4 CD—AF= o
A F—CD
And ^ BD—AE
Again, to find another value oiy, multiply the firft:
equation by F, and the fecond by C, then
AFy 4 BFy 4 CF=o
CDy 4CEy 4CF=o
Therefore, fubtrafting as before, we get
(AF—CD)y 4 (BF—CE)y=ro,
And dividing by (AF—CDJ)y 4 BF—CE =0,
Therefore, y.
CE—BF
:AF—CD*
Let this value ofy be put equal to the former value,
, , AF—CD CE—BF
thus we have B£J__AE— AF—CD’
And therefore (AF—CD)*=( BD—AE) (CE—BF).
Now as y does not enter this equation, if we reftore
the values of A, B, C, &c. -we have the following equa¬
tion which involves only #, and known quantities.
(£*4 2ax—3^2)s= (^4^—3X) (bx*—(tf—3#)( 2ax—
4#*4^*.)> this equation when properly reduced will
be of the fourth order, and therefore its final refolu-
tion belongs not to this place.
Sect. VIII. fShiefUons producing Simple Equations.
133. When a problem is propofed to be refolvcd
by the algebraic method of analyfis, its true meaning-
ought in the firft place to be perfe£fly underliocd, fo
that, if neceffary, it may be freed from all fuperfluous
and ambiguous expreffions j and its conditions exhibited
in the cleareft point of view poffible. The feveral
quantities concerned in the problem are next to be de¬
noted by proper fymbols. and their relations to one
another exprefted agreeably to the algebraic notation.
Thus
3
ALGEBRA.
62s
Simple Thus we (hall obtain a ferles of equations, which, if
Aquations.^ t^e que£};iGn be properly limited, will enable us to de-
v termine all the unknown quantities required by the
rules already delivered in the two preceding feftions.
134. In reducing the conditions of a problem to
equations, the following rule will be of fervice. Sup-
pofe that the quantities to be determined are actually
found, and then conlider by what operations the truth
of the folution may be verified ; then, let the fame
„ operations be performed upon the quantities, whether
known or unknown, and thus all the conditions of the
problem will be reduced to a feries of equations, fuch
as is required. For example 5 fuppofe that it is re¬
quired to find two numbers, fuch, that their fufti is
20, and the quotient ariling from the divifion of their
difference by the lelfer 3 ; then if we denote the great¬
er of the two numbers by x, and the leffer by y, and
proceed as if to prove the truth of the folution, we
ihall have x-\-y for the fum of the numbers, and x-—y
for their difference. Now as the former muff be equal
to 20, and the latter divided by y equal to 3 5 the
firll condition of the problem will be expreffed by this
equation and the fecond by
x—v
Hnd
that a problem is limited, when the qonditlons afford Simple
juft as many independent equations, as there are un- Equations?,
known quantities to be determined ; if there be fewer U“"“V'“T—^
equations the problem is indeterminate 5 but if there
be more, the problem in general admits of no folution
whatever.
138. In expreffing the conditions of a problem by
equations, it will, in general, be convenient to intro¬
duce as few fymbols of unknown quantities as pofTible.
Therefore, if two quantities be fought and their fum
be given, fuppofe it ru s, then if the one quantity be
reprefented by x, the other may be denoted by s—x.
If again their difference be given rr d, the quantities
may be denoted by X, and d-\-x, or by x, and x—d.
If their produfl be given rz />, the quantities are x,
and ; and fo on.
x
139. We fliall now apply the preceding obferva-
tions to fome examples, which are fo chofen as to ad¬
mit of being refolved by fimple equations.
Ex. 1. What is that number, to which if there be
added its half, its third, and its fourth part, the fum
will be 50.
Let x denote the number fought. Then its half
£rom thefe, the values of x and y may eafily be found.
135. When the conditions of a problem have been
expreffed by equations, or as it were tranflated from
the common language into that of algebra j we mull
next confider, whether the problem be properly limit¬
ed } for in fome cafes, the conditions may be fuch as
to admit of innumerable folutions ; and in others, they
may involve an abfurdity 5 and thus render the pro¬
blem altogether impoffible.
136. Now by confidermg the examples of laft fec-
tion, it will readily appeal-, that to determine any
number of unknown quantities, there mull be given as
many equations, as there are unknown quantities,
Thefe equations, however, muft be fuch as cannot be
derived from each other; and they muft not involve
any contradiction for, in the one cafe, the problem
would admit of an unlimited number of anfwers j and
in the other cafe, it would be impoflible. For exam¬
ple, if it were required to determine x and y from thefe
two equations, 2x—3^—13, qv—6y=26as the lat¬
ter equation is a confequence of the former (for each
term of the one is the half of the correfponding term
of the other) it is evident, that innumerable values of
x and y might be found to fatisfy both equations. A-
gain, if x and y were to be determined from thefe
equations, v-}-2y—8, 3v-J-6y—26, it will quickly ap¬
pear, that it is impofiible to find fuch values of » and
y, as will fatisfy both equations j for from the firft of
them, we find 3zr 24—6y ; and from the fecond, 3^
zz:26—6y; and therefore 24—6yzzr26—-6y, or 24^
26, which is abfurd ; and fo alfo muft have been the
conditions from which this conclufion is drawn.
137. But there is yet another cafe in which a pro¬
blem may be impoflible ; and that is, when there are
more equations than unknown quantities 5 for it ap¬
pears, that in this cafe, by the rules of laft feCtion,
we would at laft find two equations, each involving
the fame unknown quantity. Now unlefs thefe equa¬
tions happened to agree, the problem would admit of
no folution. Upon the whole, therefore, it appears,
Vol. I. Part II,
will be —, its third — and its fourth—.
^ 3 4
Therefore <0.
2 3 4
Hence we find 24#+12r-p §*-{-. 6w—i 200
Or 50xzzzl200.
Therefore w—24.
Thus it appears, that the number fought is 24,
which upon trial will be found to anfwer the condi¬
tions of the queftion.
Ex. 2. A poft is i of its length in the mud, y m
the water, and xo feet above the water, what is its
whole length ?
Let its length be x feet, then the part in the mud is
x # x
and that in the water —;
4 . 3
of the queftion
therefore, from the nature
x x
— 4—4- xozrv.
4 3
From which equation we find *]x-\-120=1 2a;, and xxz
24.
Ex. 3. Two travellers fet out at the fame time from
London and York, whofe diftance is 150 miles-, one
of them goes 8 miles a day, and the other 7 5 in what
time will they meet ?
Suppofe that they meet after x days.
1 hen the one traveller has gone 8v miles, and the
other 7# miles j now the fum of the diftances they
travel is, by the queftion, equal to the diftance from
London to York.
Therefore 1 8^4-7^=150
That is 15^=150, and a= 10 days.
Ex. 4. A labourer engaged to ferve for 40 days,
upon thefe conditions 5 that for every day he worked
he was to receive 2od. but for every day he playt d,
or was abfent, he was to forfeit 8d.; now at the end
4 K of
626
ALGEBRA.
Simple of the time he had to received ]1. 11s. 8d. It is re-
Eguations. qUJre{j to £|n(j j^any Jays he worked, and how
'' many days he was idle.
Let x be the number of days he worked.
Then will 40—x be the number of days he wras idle.
Alfo 20 X x~ 20.r—the fum he earned, in pence.
And 8 X(4Q—.v)—320—S^mthe fum he forfeited.
Now the difference of thefe two w'as il. 11s. 8d. or
3 Sod.
Therefore 2 0Y—(320—SyJ—380
That is 28^—700
Hence y—25= the number of days he worked.
And 40—x=z 15= the number of days he was idle.
Ex. 5. A market wotaan bought a certain number
of eggs at 2 a-penny, and as many at 3 a-penny ; and
fold them all out again at 5 for 2d. ; but inflead of
getting her own money for them, as {he expected, fhe
loft 4<1.: what number of eggs did Ihe buy r1
Let x be the number of eggs of each fort.
Then will k be the price of the firft fort,
X
And — = the price of the fecond fort.
3
Now the whole number being 2.r, we have
A ft
5 : 2y : : 2 : — = price of both forts at 5 for 2d.
X X AX
Therefore —T :::: 4> ^7 the queflion.
Hence 1 jv -f-1 oy—2 4V= 120,
And Y=i20, the number of each fort.
Ex. 6. A bill of 120I. was paid in guineas and
moidores ; the number of pieces of both forts that
were ufed was 100 ; how many were there of each ?
Let the number of guineas be y.
Then the number of moidores will be 100—x.
Alfo the value of the guineas, reckoned in {hillings,
will be 2 Iy; and that of the moidores 27(100—Y)=r
2700—27Y.
Therefore, by the queftion, 21 y -f- 2700—2 yx— 2400.
Hence we find 6y—300 and y=:50.
So that the number of pieces of each fort wasjo.
Ex. 7. A footman agreed to ferve his mafter for
81. a-year, and livery j ;but wras turned away at the
end of 7 months, and received only 2I. 13s. 4d. and
his livery } what was its value ?
Suppofe y the value of the livery, in pence.
Then his wages for a year were to be y-{- 1920 pence.
But for 7 months he received y 4-640 pence.
Now he was paid in proportion to the time he ferved.
m m
Therefore 12:7 : : Y-{-i920 : Y4-640
And taking the product of the extremes, and means.
12Y 4-7680=^4-13440.
Hence 5Y=576od. and Yrzrl 1524.—4I. 16s.
Ex. 8. A perfon at play loft 4 of his money, and
then won 3 {hillings ; after which he loft 4 °f what
he then had j and then won 2 {hillings j laftly, he loft
4 of what he then had} and this done, found he had
only 12 {hillings left j what had he at firft ?
Suppofe he began play -with x {hillings. Simple
Y X Equations.
He loft 4 °f his money, or — , and had left y — k
4 4
3Y
He won 3 s. and had then — 4"3='^~^~ •
He loft 4 of-'H+ii, „r fii, and had Uft 3i±i?
4 4 4
Y +4_ 2Y 4-8
4 4
TT ,1,1 2Y4-8 2Y4- 16
He won 2s. and had then —-— 4. 2~ ,
He loft ■ of^+Aor andl]ad
4 2^ 4
f2Y4-l6 I 2Y-{- 96
28 28
And becaufe he had now 12s. left, we have this
12Y4-96
equation   5-— — 12.
2 o
Hence 12Y—240 and y~2o.
Ex. 9. Two tradefmen A and B are employed upon
a piece of work, A can perform it alone in 15 hours,
and B in 10 hours } in what time will they do it when
workinjj together.
e> t>
Suppofe .that they can do it in x hours, and let the
whole work be denoted by 1.
h h x
Then 1 c ; y : : 1 : — rz the part of the work done
a 1- e
by A.
h h x
And 10 : y : : 1 : t^e Part ^one by B.
Nowr by the queftion, they are to perform the whole
work between them ;
Y Y
I herefore, —4-— — 1,
’ x 5 r 10
Hence 25Y—150 and x—6 hours.
Ex. 10. The lum of any two quantities being given
—sy and their difference=</, it is required to find each
of the quantities.
Let y denote the greater of the two quantities, and
y the lefier
Then Y-f-jnrr, and y—y~d
Taking the fum of the equations we get 2y—
And fubtrafling the fecond from the firft, 2y~s—d
Therefore y—-kt— and y~ 
2 J 2
Ex. 11. A gentleman diftributing money among fome
poor people, found he wanted 10s. to be able to give
each 5s. therefore he gave only 4s. to each, and had
5s. left. Required the number of {hillings and poor
people.
Let the number of {hillings be y, and that of the
poor people y, then from the nature of the queftion we
have thefe two equations.
.9—y 4-1 o 41'—y—-5
From the firft equation, y~jy*—10,
And from the fecond, y—4y4"5
Therefore ;y—10=243'4-5
Hence 15, and y=t43’4-5=65.
Ex.
Simple
Equations.
ALGEBRA.
627
Ex\ I 2. A farmer kept a fervant for every 40 acres
of ground lie rented, and on taking a leafe of 104 more
acres, he engaged 5 additional fervants, after which
he had a fervant for every 36 acres. Required the
number of fervants and acres.
Suppofe that he had at firfi; x fervants, and y acres.
And in like manner 2(v-f-2)r^the fourth quantity, Simple
Now by the queftion, the fum of all the four “90, , .qnamn-.,
X | 2 ^
Therefore a;-{-'tf+4-f'~—j
Hence 9^=162, and .v=:i8.
Therefore the numbers required are 18, 22, XO, and 46.
From the firfi condition of the queftion x—~
4°
And from the fecond tf-f- c—~r ^
36
By comparing the values of x, as found from thefe
, v 4-104 y
equations, we have-—- -- -—err—
36 40-
Hence 40314-4160—7200—363/, fo that 4)’—3040,
V
Therefore j'rrybo, and v——— 19.
Ex. 13. Two perfons, A and B, were talking of
their ages; fays A to B, feven years ago I was juft
three times as old as you were then, and feven years
hence I ftiall be juft twice as old as you will be. What
is their prefent ages ?
Let the ages of A and B be x and y refpetftively.
Their ages feven years ago were x—7 and j’—7, and
feven years hence they will be #4-7 an^d'"^'7•
Therefore by the queftion
*—7=30-7) and *+7=2Cy+7)*
From the firft equation, .V—qy-—14,
And from the fecond x—iy +7*
Therefore 33'—-14—23/4-7 ? hence 3/—21.
And becaufe 23/4-7, therefore .v—49.
Ex. 14. A hare is 50 leaps before a greyhound, and
takes 4 leaps to the greyhound’s 3, but 2 of the grey¬
hound’s leaps are as much as 3 of the hare’s. How
many leaps mull the greyhound take to catch the hare ?
In this example there is only one quantity required,
it will, however, be convenient to make ufe of two
letters *, therefore let x denote the number of leaps of
the greyhound, and 3/ thofe of the hare \ then, by con-
fidering the proportion between the number of leaps
each takes in the fame time, we have
3 : 4 v * hence 33/=r4*.
Again, by confidering the proportion between the num¬
ber of leaps each muft take to run the fame diftance,
we find x : 504-3/ : : 2:3, hence 1004-23'—3,*.
From the firft equation we find 63'—8v,
And from the fecond 6y=gx—300,
Flence gx—300= 8v, and a.-—300.
Ex. 15. To divide the number 90 into 4 fuch parts,
that if the firft be increafed by 2, the fecond diminiih-
ed by 2, the third multiplied by 2, and the fourth di¬
vided by 2 ; the fum, difference, product, and quo¬
tient, fhall be all equal to each other.
In this queftion there are four quantities to be deter¬
mined) but inftead of introducing feveral letters, having
put x to denote the firft of them, we may find an ex-
preflion for each of the remaining ones, as follows :
Becaufe a?4-2—fecond quantity—-2,
Therefore a4-4=the fecond quantity.
And becaufe a-j-2= third x 2,
X 2
Therefore —^——the third quantity.
Ex. \6. A and B together can perform a piece of
work in 12 hours, A and C in 20, and B and C in
15 hours j in what time will each be able to perform
it when working feparately ?
That we may give a general folution, let us fuppoie
A and B can perform the work in a hours, A and C
in b hours, and B and C in c hours. Let x, y, and a,
denote the times in which A, B, and C, could perform
it refpedlively, if each wrought alone ; and let the wholtf
work be reprefented by x.
H H
Then x : a ■.
y:a :
Alfo x : b :
x: b :
And y:c
1 the part done by A 1
a in <7 hours.
I : the part done by B
y
b
J
I : _= the part done by A
x
1 : = the part done by C
1 :C-— the part done by B
y
1 : In the part done by C
}‘
}
in b hours.
in c hours.
Now by the queftion we have the three following
equations.
a a b b c c
—(- ——1,4——1 ’ —— —1 •
~ ' 3/ w ' a; y *
x
Let the firft equation be divided by the fecond
by and the third by c, thus we have
I 1 I—1
'x'y a
I 1 1 ix 1
 f- ~—Tj  —
X ' 53 3/ Z C
If thefe be added together, and their fum divided
by 2, we find
x y z 2a 2b 2c
From this equation let each of the three laft be fub-
tra&ed in its turn j thus we get
I _ 1
z 2a"^'
I I  4- ab-\-ac—be
2b 2c 2abc
1   I I 1 abc ac +bc
y 2a ib^ 2c
- =
V* /* ./* • Z, x-.
2 abc
ab+ ac +hc
X 2a
Hence znr
20 2C
2 abc
2 a be
    =^=60
Jf-ab-^-ac—be 120
2abc 7200
^ 4-aZ>—ac-^-bc 360
2abc  7200 
= 20
~ab J(-ac-\-bc
4 K 2
240
30-
Sect,
628
Quadratic
Equation?.
A L G E
Sect. IX. Of Quadratic Equations.
140. We are next to explain the maimer of refolv-
ing equations of the fecond degree, or quadratic equa¬
tions. Thefe involve the i'econd power of the un¬
known quantity, as has been already obferved (§113.)
and may be divided into two kinds, pure and adfe£ied.
141. I. Pure quadratic equations are fuch as after
proper reduction have the fquare of the unknown quan¬
tity in one term, while the remaining terms contain
only known quantities. Thus, .r*—64, and ax*+ b—c
are examples of pure quadratics.
142. II. AdfeBed quadratic equations, contain the
fquare of the unknown quantity in one term, and its
firll or limple power in- another, and the remaining
terms confiit entirely of known quantities. Such are
the following, xzf^x==2S} 2^=33—^x, a&-\-bx—
C—d.
I43- The manner of refolving a pure quadratic
equation is fuffieiently evident ; if the unknown quan¬
tity be made to hand alone on one fide, with unity as
a coefficient, while the other fide confifts entirely of
known quantities, and if the fquare root of each fide
be taken, we finall immediately obtain the value of the
fimple power of the unknown quantity as already di-
redted by Rule 5th of Seft. VI.
144. In extradling the fquare root of any quantity,
however, it is neceffary to obferve, that the fign of the
root may be either -j- or — This is an evident con-
fequence of the rule for the figns in multiplication j for
fince by that rule any quantity, whether pofitive or ne¬
gative, if multiplied by itfelf, will produce a pofitive
quantity, and therefore the fquare of -f* <7, as wTell as
that of — is -j- 5 fo on the contrary, the fquare
root of -{- n* is to be confidpred either as -f- or as
— 77, and may accordingly be expreffed thus u±= a.
145. Having remarked that the fquare of any quan¬
tity whatever be its fign, is always pofitive j it evi¬
dently followrs, that no real quantity whatever, when
multiplied by itfelf, can produce a negative quantity;
and therefore, if the fquare root of a negative quantity
be required, no fuch root can be afilgned. Hence it
alfo follows, that if a problem requires for its folution
tne extradHon of the fquare root of a negative quanti¬
ty, fome contradidlion muft neceffarily be involved,
either in the conditions of the problem, or in the pro¬
cess of reafoning by which that iblution has been ob¬
tained.
146. When an adfedled quadratic equation is to be
refolved, it may always, by proper redudfion, be
brought to one or other of the three following forms.
BRA.
fuppofe p-~ 277, or
, . . , , . „ Quadratic
:t7, the quantities x*^-px and A3-f- Equations.
277.V vyili be equal; and as xz^-2ax is rendered a com¬
plete fquare, by adding to it az, io alio may x1 ~\-px be
ip*
completed into a fquare, by adding to it —, which is
4
* P*
equal to 77*; therefore, let ™- be added to both fides
of the equation x7, an(i we have
x"JrPxJr~-~Jr^ or (*+0 =
and extradling the fquare root of each fide, .r-}--=:
hence x=—-r±r^/——
1. A*-\-pX~q
2. x*—px—q
3. X1,—pxzz —
4 2 ' 4
148. From thefe obfervations, we derive the follow- "
ing general rule for refolving adfedled quadratic equa¬
tions.
1. Franfpofe all the terms involving the unknown
quantity to one fide, and the known quantities to the
other fide, and fo that the term involving the fquare
of the unknown quantity may be pofitive.
2. If the fquare of the unknown quantity be multi¬
plied by a coefficient, let all the other terms be divi¬
ded by it, fo that the coefficient of the fquare of the
unknown quantity may be 1.
3. Add to both fides the fquare of half the coeffi¬
cient of the unknown quantity itfelf, and the fide of
the equation involving the unknown quantity will now
be a complete fquare.
4. ExtradI the fquare root of both fides of the equa¬
tion, by which it becomes fimple with refpedl to the
unknown quantity ; and, by tranfpofition, that quanti¬
ty may be made to Hand alone on one fide of the equa¬
tion, while the other fide confifis of known quantities;
and therefore the equation is refolved.
Note. The fquare root of the firft fide of the equation
is always equal to the fum, or difference of the un¬
known quantity, and half the coefficient of the fe¬
cond term. If the fign of that term be -}-> it is
equal to the fum, but if it be —, then it is equal to
the difference.
Ex. 1. Given .v1-}-2^=35, to determine .v.
Here the coefficient of the fecond term is 2, there¬
fore, adding the fquare of its half to each fide, we have
*’ + 2*+*:=35 + I=36 __
And extradling the fquare root x-\-i — V^6=:=t=6
Hence x—z±=.6—-I, that is or x—7, and
either of thefe numbers wall be found to fatisfy the
equation for 5 X i-f2 X 5=35> alfo-^7 x ~-7-f 2 X
—7~35-
But as the manner of refolving each of the three
forms is the very fame, it will be fufficient if we conli-
der any one of them.
147. Refunjing therefore the firft equation, or vJ4-
px—q; let us compare the fide of it which involves
the unknown quantity x with the fquare of a binomial
x -f-77 ; that is, let us compare x*-\-px with x* -f- 2ax -f-
#?*.—(.v-fa)1; and it will prefently appear, that if we
Ex. 2. Given —■—12~x to find x.
This equation, when reduced, becomes x7,—
And by completing the fquare, x7,—6#-ppm724-9
=81.
Hence, by extracting the fquare root, x—3—211:9.
And v—r+rq-j- 3, therefore tfrzr-j- 12, or x~—6,
and upon trial we find that each of thefe values fatif-
, fies
ALGEBRA.
629
Quadratic
£(juations.
fies the original equation, for
12X12
6
~ s 2, alfo
Ex. 3. Given ux, to find x.
Then x*—1 i.vzr—28.
And, completing the fquare, xz—11 *-f- —
4
I I Q
Therefore, by extra£ling the root, x——~r±r—
II 3
Hence x~ ^ r±=~, that is a-zr + y, or .r—4-4.
In the firfl: two examples, we found one pofitive va¬
lue for x in each, and alfo one negative value, but in
this example both the values of x are pofitive, and
upon trial each of them is found to fatisfy the equa¬
tion j for X7, alfo 4x44-28=11x4.
149. As at firll fight it appears remarkable, that in
every quadratic equation the unknown quantity ad¬
mits always of two diftinft values, or roots, it will be
proper to confi^er a little farther the circumftances
upon which this peculiarity depends. This is the
more necefiary, as the property of the unknown quan¬
tity admitting of feveral values is not peculiar to qua¬
dratics, but takes place alfo in equations of the higher
degrees, where the caufe of the ambiguity requires an
explanation fomewhat different from that which we
have already given in the prefent cafe.
150. Let us again confider the equation-r* 4* 2^=
35, which forms the firft of the three preceding exam¬
ples } by tranfpefing all the terms to one fide, the fame
equation may be alfo expreffed thus, x1^r2x—35=03
fo that wre fiiall have determined x, when we have
found fuch a number, as when fubftituted for it in the
quantity x1-\-2x—35 will render the refult equal to o.
But x1-\-zx—35 is the product of thefe two factors
—5, and ^4* 7, as may be proved by aftual multipli¬
cation 3 therefore to find x we have (.t— 5) (*4-7)
=0 3 and as a product can only become =0, wrhen
one of its faftors is reduced to o, it follows, that either
of the twro faftors x—5 and x-\-^ may be affumed
= 03 if x—5=0, then *=53 but if then
xzz-—7, fo that the twm values of x, or two roots of
the equation x*-\-2x—?)$ are 4-5 3Rd —7, as we have
already found in a different manner.
151. What has been juft nowr fhewn in a particular
cafe is true of any quadratic equation whatever, that
is, if x1 -\-pxxzq, or by bringing ail the terms to one
fide, x1 -^■px-—q'=zo, it is always poflible to find twro
factors x-\-a, and x—b, fuch, that xz+px—j=(v4-<7)
(v—Z<), where a and are known quantities which
depend only upon p and q the given numbers in the
equation, and fince that to have (x—tf)(#-fiZ») = o, w’e
may either affume #—<7=0, ot x + bzzo, it evidently
follows that the conditions of the equation x2-\-px q
= 0, or xz-\-px—q are alike fatisfied by taking x—-\-a
or x——b.
From thefe confiderations, it follows, that x can
have only twro values in a quadratic equation 3 for if
it could be fuppofed to have three, or more values,
then it would be pofiible to refolve x^-^px—q into as Quadratic
many factors 3 x—c, x—d, &c. but the produff of ,E(iuatlons,1
more than two faeftors muft neceffarily contain the third
a: higher powders of x ; and as x2-\-px—q contains no
higher power than the fecond, therefore no fuch refo-
lution can take place.
152. Since it appears that x2^-px—q may be confi-
dered as the produdf of two factors x—a, and x-{-by
let us examine the nature of thefe fa£lors 3 according¬
ly, taking their produdf by adfual multiplication, we
find it xz-\-{b—u)v—-ab ; and fince this quantity muft
be equal to x* -\-px—7, it follows, that l—a~p and
ab^=q, or, changing the figns of the terms of both
equations, a—b=—p, —ab^=—q. Now if wre confi-
der that -\-a, and —b are the roots of the equation
x2-\-px*=zq ; it is evident that a—b is the fum of the
roots, and —ab their product. So that from the equa¬
tions a—/>=—/>, and —ab~q, we derive the foliowr¬
ing propofition relating to the roots of any quadratic
equation. The fum of the roots of any quadratic
equation x*-\-px—q is equal to —p, that is to the co¬
efficient of the fecond term, having its fign changed 3-
and their product is equal to —7, or to the latter fide
of the equation, having its fign alfo changed.
153. This propofition enables us to refolve feveral
irriportant queftions concerning the roots of a quadra¬
tic equation, without actually refolving that equation.
Thus wre learn from it, that if q, the term which does
not involve the unknown quantity (called fometimes
the abfolute number) be pofitive, the equation has one
of its roots pofitive, and the other negative 3 but if
that term be negative, the roots are either both pofi¬
tive or both negative. It alfo follow's, that in the for¬
mer cafe the root wffiich is denoted by the leaft num¬
ber wull have the fame fign with the fecond term, and
in the latter cafe, the common fign of the roots will be
the contrary to that of the fecond term.
154. From this property of the roots wre may alfo de¬
rive a general folution to any quadratic equation x* -\-px
=7; for wre have only to determine twTo quantities
wffiole fum is —p, and produdf —7, and thefe quanti¬
ties ftiall be the two values of a1, or the two roots of
the equation.
Without confidering the figns of the roots, let us
call them v and s, then
u4-s=—p and us=—7
From the fquare of each fide of the firft equation let
four times the fecond be fubtradfted and wre have
v2—2U5S 4-4-47, or [v—^%)2—p2Jr^qy
therefore, by extracting the fquare root, n—x=dt;
V/>a 4- 4y > from this equation, and from the equation
^4-2s=/>, we
readily obtain v = —L-—
2
that is, if o=~~^. ±-^—1?, then
2 , 2
*=_£=Z±4i and \iv~-fxd£±E, then
2 2
0.——4+ ^4-4?
2
But the value of u, upon the one fuppofition, is the
fame as the value of % upon the other fuppofition, and
vice verfa, therefore in reality the only two diftinft
vice
63*
Quadratic
Equations.
A L G
—p+^F+m ami
  2
——which agrees with the condufiort we
values of tile roots rd and sj aro
have already found, 14B.)
155. It appears from what has been already fhewn,
that the roots of a quadratic equation if J^px—q al_
ways involve the quantity ^p1 Yl > hence it follows,
that p1 -f- qy mult be a pofitive quantity j for if it were
negative, as the fquare root of fuch a quantity could
not be found, the value of x could not pofllbly be
obtained. If for example the value of x were required
from tins equation a*-}-13 “4#, or x* — qx — —13^
we (hould fmd xzz2z±z\/'—9; and as this expreflion
for the roots requires us to extraft the fquare root of
—9, the equation from which it is derived mult necef-
farily have involved fome contradiftion. It is not dif¬
ficult to fee wherein the abfurdity confilfs, for fince in
this cafe />=:—4, and yrr—13, the roots of the equa¬
tion ought to be both pofitive (§ 154), and fuch that
their fum — 4, while their product rr 13, (§ I53)>
wrhich is impofliblei
136. Although imaginary quantities ferve no other
purpoie in the refolution of quadratic equations, than
to fliew that a particular problem cannot be refolvedj
by reafon of fome want of confiftency in its data ; yet
they are not upon that account to be altogether rejedl-
cd. By introducing them into mathematical inveltiga-
tions, many curious theories may be explained, and pro¬
blems refolved in a more concife way, than can be done
without the ufe of fuch quantities. This is particularly
the cafe with refpeft to the higher parts of the mathe¬
matics.
157. The method which has been applied to the re¬
folution of quadratic equations, properly fo called,
namely, fuch as are of this form x* -[-px—q, will alfo
apply to all equations of this form,
x xn-\-px n—q.
Where the unknown quantity x is found only in two
terms, and fuch, that its exponent in the one term is
double that in the other j for let us alfume xn =v,
then xln=y1, and therefore the equation
-{-a1 1 ”-b/w" ==y becomes
y*+py—<7-
a quadratic equation, from which y may be found, and
thence x, by confidering that x—y^.
158. Before proceeding to give examples of quef-
tions producing quadratic equations, it is proper to ob-
ferve, that although every fuch equation admits of
two roots } yet it will frequently happen, that only
one of them can be of ufe, the other being excluded
by the conditions of the queftion. This will often be
the cafe with refpedt to the negative root, as for ex¬
ample, when the unknown quantity denotes a number
of men, a number of days, &c. And hence, in reckon¬
ing the cafes of quadratic equations, it is common to
negledl this one x*+px——q, where the roots are both
negative 5 for an equation of this form can only be de¬
rived from a queftion wdiich has fome fault in its enun¬
ciation, and which, by a proper change in its form, will
produce another equation having both its roots pofitive.
159. The remainder of this feftion fhall be employ¬
ed in folving fome queftions which produce quadratic
equations. 9
E B R A*
Ex. I. It is required to divide the numbet I0 Quadratic
into two fuch parts, that the fum of their fquares may Equation?
be 58. '  *—
Let x be the one number.
Then, fince their fum is 10, we have 10—x for the
other.
And by the queftion A*-j-(io—a)*—if8
That is ^*4- ro©»—20V + A1—58
Or 2Xx—20^—58—loon:—42
Hence x1—iox~—21
And completing the fquare xf-—iox-j-25—2 $—21=4
Hetice, by extracting the root, x—^z=z±zx/'^z=^z±z-2.
And x—$x±z2—q
That is x=7 or ^=3.
If we take the greateft value of x, viz. 7, then the
other number to—x will be 3 ; and if we take the
leaft value of v, viz. 3, then the other number is 7.
Thus it appears, that the greateft; value of the one num¬
ber correiponds to the leaft value of the other ; and in¬
deed this muft necefl’arily be the cafe, feeing that both
numbers are alike concerned in the queftion. Hence
upon the w hole, the only numbers that will anfwer the
conditions of the queftion are 7 and 3.
Ex. 2. What twTo numbers are thofe whofe produft
is 28 ; and fuch, that twice the greater, together with
thrice the lefler is equal to 26.
Let x be the greateft and y the leaft: number, then,
from the nature of the queftion, we have thefe tw?o
equations
xj—28, 2x-{-3^=26.
28
From the firft equation wre havej/=—.
And froln the fecond y~-~-——■
3
26 2.V 28
Hence, = —.
3 *
And, reducing, 26*’—
Or txf—26^=—84
Hence x1—13^=—42
And comp, the fq. .v1—i3A-|-iA5.=
1 6 g
-42 =
■ x v ^—c±r1
_i 3-+-I
Hence, by extracting the root A>
Therefore x
Z
That is 7, or x—6.
28
And fince —, wrehavey=4, oryr=-E^.
Thus ive have obtained twm fets of numbers, which
fulfil the conditions required, viz.
*=7, y—4 : Or v=6, y=2~.
And befides thefe, there can be no other numbers.
j£x. 3. A company dining together at an inn, find
their bill amount to 175 Ihillings ; two of them W'ere
not allowed to pay, and the reft found, that their ftiares
amounted to 10 fliilligs a-man more than if they had
all paid. How many were in company ?
Suppofe their number to be x.
Then, if all had paid, the fhare of each would have
t *75
been — •
But,
Quadratic
.Equations.
But, becaufe only x-
'75
A L G
-2 paid, tlie fnare of each was
E B R A.
631
Therefore, by the queflion, ~~—^-^ ==10.
And by proper redu&ion 175^—175^+350=
~i-20.
That is io.'v*—20^=350
Or x2—2x—35
And comp, the fq. x*—2x-\-i=^^-^1 — ^6
Hence, by extra&ing the root, a;z -f*: ^ 6.
Therefore, or x——7. ^But from the na¬
ture of the queftion, the negative root can be of no
ufe j therefore x=6.
Ex. 4. A mercer fold a piece of cloth for 24I. and
gained as much per cent as the cloth coft him 3 what
was the price of the cloth ?
Suppofe that it coil x pounds,
Then the gain was 24—.v,
And by the queftion 100 : # : : # : 24—v.
Therefore, taking the produdl of the extremes and
means, 2400—ioo.v=a?*,
Or A-3-|-iooar=:2400,
And comp, thefq. a:*-j-100^?-[-2500=4900,
Hence, taking the root, *-[-5o=r±;7o,
And xz=. -[- 20 or—120.
Here, as in the laft queition, the negative root cannot
apply 3 therefore xzz 20 pounds, the price required.
Ex. 5. A grazier bought as many iheep as coil him
60I. out of which he referved 15, and fold the remain¬
der for 54I. and gained 2s. each upon them. How
many fheep did he buy, and what did each cod him ?
Suppofe that he bought x iheep,
Then each would coft him (hillings.
Therefore, after referving 15, he fold each of the
r 1200 n ....
remaining x—15 tor —^—{-2 (hillings,
Hence, he would receive for them (*-15X^2+ 2)
(hillings. And, becaufe 54!. = 1080 (hillings, we have
by the queftion (#-
N.1200 .
'I5)C h2)=Io8°-
IC.v
3*“
From the firft equation v,Te hare y~
And from the fecond y—x-^ 2
Therefore a; 4- 2   -
3X—1
And 3r4-[-5.r—2= low
Hence x2—y x~y
And comp. fq. .r1—yX -j- -[ y j- -[- y— |
Therefore, taking the root x—^ — oiz J
So that x~ 2, or x——y
Here it is evident that the negative root is ufelefs 3-
hence we have j—r-j- 2=4, and 24 for the number
required.
Ex. 7. It is required to find two numbers whofe
product is 100 3 and the difference of their fquare
roots 3.
Equations,
in general.
Let x be the one number 3 then
the other.
100
muft denote
10
Now by the queftion
Hence we have 10—x—^x/x — ^x^
Or a,-[-3a?:i=xo
I 9
And comp, the fq. -[-T=io-f~f:
and taking the root xi-L-—
2 2
i
So that 4.5 or w2=—-2
and therefore w= 2 5 or ^=4.
If w=4, the other number is —4^
25, then the other number is 4
■ 4
:25, and if xz
Which by proper reduftion becomes x2
Or, completing the fquare, ws-[-45A, + '_~^:::=
Therefore, extrafting the root, &c. wnr+r—’-——_
And taking the politive root, 75, the number of
(lieep 3 and confequently 16 (hillings the pnee
75
of each.
Ex. 6. What number is that, which, when divided
by the product of its two digits, the quotient is 3 3 and
if 18 be added to it, the digits are inverted. Let x
and y denote the digits 3 then the number itfelf will be
exprelfed by low-f-ft’/ and that number, in which the
digits are inverted, by loy + w. Thus the conditions
of the problem will be expreffed by thefe two equations,
TOW-f-v , , o
——-=3, icw-hr+iSmcy-f-*
fo that, in either
cafe, the two numbers which anfwer the conditions of
the queftion are 4 and 25.
Ex. 8. It is required to find two numbers, of which,
the product (hall be 6, and the fum of their cubes 35.
Let x be the one number, then — will be the other.
x
216
Therefore, by the queftion, x3-[—— = 35
Hence x5-|-2l6^r35wJ
Or x6—35W5——216
This equation, by putting becomes
yz—35J'=~-2'6
Hence we find yzz2J, ory—8.
And (ince ac’—j'; therefore w—3, or x~2.
If xrr3, then the other number is 2, and if w—2,
the other number is 3 3 fo that 2 and 3 are the num¬
bers required.
In general, if it be required to find two numbers,
which are exa&ly alike concerned in a queftion that
produces a quadratic equation 3 the two numbers fought
will be the roots of that equation. A (imilar obferva-
tion applies to any number of quantities which require
for the determination the refolution of an equation of
any degree whatever.
Sect. X. Of Equations in General.
160. Before we proceed to the refolution of cubic,,
and the higher orders of equations, it tvill be proper
to
6^2
ALGEBRA.
Equations to explain feme general properties, which belong to
in general. equati0ns of every degree j and alfo certain operations,
^“v ‘-“~J w}1ic]1 mu(t frequently be performed upon equations,
before they be fitted for a final folution.
161. In treating of equations in general, we (hall
luppofe all the terms tranfpofed to one fide, and put
equal to o ; this we have already done in explaining
the nature of quadratics, and in like manner an equa¬
tion of the fourth degree will Hand thus :
x*-\- qxx -j-rA’ -f-j-=nO,
where x denotes an unknown quantity, and />, y, r, s,
known quantities, either pofitive or negative. In this
equation the coefficient of the higheft power of x is
unity, but if it had been any other quantity, that
quantity might have been taken away, and the equa¬
tion reduced to the above form, by rules already ex¬
plained, Sefh VI.
162. The terms of an equation being thus arranged,
if fuch a quantity be found, as when fubftituted for .v,
will render both fides = o, and therefore fatisfy the
equation, that quantity whether it be pofitive or nega¬
tive, or even imaginary, is to be confidered as a root
of the equation. But we have feen that every qua¬
dratic equation has always two roots, real or imagina¬
ry, we may therefore fuppofe that a fimilar diverfity of
roots will take place in all equations of a higher de¬
gree •, and this fuppofition we fhall prefently find to be
well founded, by means of the following propofition
which is of great importance in the theory of equa¬
tions.
If a root of any equation, as x* -\-qx-\-r—o, be
reprefented by a, the firfi: fide of that equation is divi-
fible by x—~a.
For fince a4 -j-px3 rx -f-s—o
And alfo a* -jf-pa* -\-qa -\-7-a -\-s—o
Therefore, by fubtradtion, a4—a4-j-/>(A’3—
(pc'1—a*) -^-r(x—a)=o.
163. But any quantity of this form xn—an, where
/t denotes a whole pofitive number, is equal to
(a—a1 -f- . . .
as may be eafily proved by multiplication ; therefore,
putting a=4, 3 and 2 fucceffively, wre have
x4—a 4=(a—a) (a3 -j-flA’1 -f-tf -{■a'3)
x3— a3=z(x—a) (a* -\-ax -J-tf1)
x1—^—(x—a^)(x~j-a)
x—a = x—a
and by fubftitution, and colledling into one term, the
coefficients of the like powers of x, the equation
x4—rt4-f-/,(x3—a3) -\-q{x'1—al)-\-r(<x—rz)—o becomes
(x—a) [xJ-|-( <74-/1) x4 -{-{a1 -\-p a -\-q) x -\-a3 -\-p a1 -\-q a
4-r]=o, fo that putting p'=za-\-p> q'=:a4-\-pa-\-q, r'
—a3-\-pa2-\-qa-\-r, we have
x 4 -j-px3 -{- <7*^ 4-rx 4- s—( x—a ) (x3 -^-p’x1 -f- q'x~\-rJ )
Hence, if the propofed equation x44-/>x3-}-yx24-^x4-J■
be divided by x—<7, the quotient will be x3-pp'x2-\-
qx-\-r', an integer quantity, and fince the fame mode
of reafoning will apply to any equation whatever 5 the
truth of the propofition is evident.
164. We have found that (x*—a)(x3-\-p'x1 q'x
4-r')=o, and as a produdl becomes =0, when any
one of its fadtors =0, therefore, the equation will have
2
its conditions fulfilled, not only when x—fltrd, but F-quation?
alfo when x3~\-p'xx-^-q'x-\-r'-=:0. in genera!.
Let us now fuppofe that b is a root of this equation,
then by reafoning exadlly as in laft article, and putting
p"—b-\-p\ q”~b1+p b-\-q', we fiiall have
x3 -\-p'xz 4- y fx 4^ ^— ( a—b ) (xs -\-p:ix -\-q”}~o
and therefore
x4 -\-px3 -j- qx14- rx -|-r— (x—a ) (x—b)(x2 -\-p,rx 4-y").
165. By proceeding in the fame manner with the
quadratic equation x% -\-p/,x-\-q”—o, we lhall find that
if c denote one of its roots, then
X* -j- P’'x -j- q'xX: ( X—C ) (x 4 ^ 4'/i'/)
So that if we put d~—(^+/>"), we at laft find
x^^-px3-\-qx1-\-j'x-^-s~[x—a) (x—£) (x—c)(x—d) j
and fince each of the fadlors x—<7, x—b, x—c, x—d
may be afl'umed —o j it follows, that there are four
difterent values of x, which will render the equation
x4 4-/>x3 -{- qxA4-rx4-j-rr0, namely, xrro, x^zb, x—c,
x—d.
166. The mode of reafoning which has been juft
now employed in a particular cafe, may be applied to
an equation of any order whatever ; we may therefore
conclude, that every equation may be confidered as the
produdl of as many fimple fadlors, as the number de¬
noting its order contains unity ; and therefore, that
the number of roots in any equation is precifely equal
to the exponent of the higheft power of the unknown
quantity contained in that equation.
167. By confidering equations of all degrees as
formed from the product of factors x—<7, x—b, x—<r,
See. we difeover a number of curious relations, which
fubfift between the roots of any equation whatever,
and its coefficients. Thus, if we limit the number of
fadtors to four, and fuppofe that <7, Zq c, d, are the roots
of this equation of the fourth degree
x4 4-/>x5 -\-qx4-prx-j-s—o
we Ural 1 alfo have (x—<7)(x—b)(x—c)(x—d)—0$ and
therefore, by adtual multiplication
-j-ab'
-f-tfO
—c ' -|-/;o
—d-! 4-^
-\-cd ^
168. If we compare together the coefficients of the
fame powers of x, we find the following feries of equa¬
tions :
o 4- b -f- c 4~ d p
ah -\-ac -\-ad -\-bc -\-bd -\-cd— ~\-q
abc ~\-abd -\-acd -\-bcd-=z—r
abcd~-\-s
r4i—a"
—b
X -l-abcd~Q.
and as a fimilar feries of equations will be obtained
for every equation wffiatever, we hence derive the fol¬
lowing propofitions, which are of the greateft import¬
ance in the theory of equations.
1. The coefficient of the fecond term of any equa¬
tion taken with a contrary fign, is equal to the fum of
all the roots.
2. The coefficient of the third term is equal to the
fum of the produdls of the roots multiplied together
two and tw-o.
3. The coefficient of the fourth term, taken with a
contrary
Equations
in general.
A L G
contrary fign, is equal to the fum of the roots multi-
, plied together three and three, and fo on for the re¬
maining coefficients, till we come to the laft term of
the equation, which is equal to the product of all the
roots, having their figns changed.
169. Inftead of fuppofmg an equation to be produ¬
ced by multiplying together limple equations, we may
confider it as formed by the produft of equations of
any degree, provided that the fum of their dimenfions
is equal to that of the propofed equation. Thus, an
equation of the fourth degree may be formed either
from a fimple and cubic equation, or from two quadra¬
tic equations.
170. If n denote the degree of an equation, we have
ffiewm, that by confidering it as the produft of limple
factors, that equation wdll have // divifors of the firlt
degree ; but if we fuppofe the limple faftors to be com¬
bined two and two, they will form quantities of the fe¬
cund degree, which are alfo factors of the equation ;
^ - fuch combina-
1. 2
»(«-
-0
I. 2
divifors of
and lince there may be formed
tions, any equation will admit of
the lecond degree.
171. Tor example, the equation x*+qx1-\-rx
~}-'f=0 which we have confidered as equal to
( x—a ) (.v—b ) (x—c) (.y—(/)=o
may be formed by the product of trvo factors of the
fecond degree, in thefe fix different wrays.
■b) and (y—c)(y—d)
(y—£)(y—d)
ix—b)(x—c)
(y—a)(x—d)
(Y tf)(Y—c)
(y—<j)(y—b)
By the produfl of (y—o)(y
(y—u)(y—c)
(y—a)(y—d)
(y—Z<)(y—c )
(y—^)(y—d)
( Y " ■ c') (^x — d)
Thus an equation of the fourth degree may have
-—--=6 quadratic divifors.
1X2 ^
172. By combining the fimple factors three and
three, we ffiall have divifors of the third degree, of
which the number for an equation of the «th order will
—I Vr?—2) , .
be   • and fo on.
1.2. q 7
173. When the roots of an equation are all pofitive,
its fimple faftors will have this form x—a, x b, x c
&c. and if for the fake of brevity we take only thefe
three, the cubic equation which refults from their pro¬
duct will have this form
Y3 -px* -j- yY rz=o
wherep—a~\-b-\-c, q—ab+ac+hc, r=abc,
and here it appears that the figns of the terms are -{-
and — alternately.
Hence wTe infer, that wffien the roots of an equation
are all pofitive, the figns of its terms are pofitive and
negative alternately.
174. If again the roots of the equation be all nega¬
tive, and therefore its factors Y-ffrt, x-\-b,x-\-c, then
A q and r being as before, the refulting equation wall
Hand thus:
y3 -{-7>Y*-j-yY-j-r=o.
And hence w-e conclude, that when the roots are all
negative, there is no change whatever in the fipns.
Vol. I. Part II.
E B R A.
I75- In general, if the roots of an equation be all
real, that equation wall have as many pofitive roots as
there are changes of the figns from -f- to —, or from
— to -f- j and the remaining roots are negative. This
rule, however, does not apply when the equation has
imaginary roots, unlefs fuch roots be confidered as ti-
ther pofitive or negative.
176. That the rule is true when applied to quadratic
equations will be evident from Sect. IX. With refpect
to cubic equations, the rule alfo applies when the roots
are either all pofitive, or all negative, as we have juft
now ffiewn.
When a cubic equation has one pofitive root, and the
other two negative, its factors will be v—a, Y-ffi, Y-f c,
and the equation itfelf.
x3 —a ~l —ab
c33
Equations
in genera!.
—a ~i —ab ~l
xz —ac x—abcz=zO.
+c J +^J
1L,
-c J
Here there muft always be one change of the figns,
fince the firft term is pofitive, and the laft negative •
and there can be no more than one ; for if the "fecond
term is negative, or^-f-r lefs than a, then {b+c)1 will
be lefs than but is always greater
than be, therefore be will be much lefs than {b-\-c)a
or ab-\-ac, fo that the third term muft alfo be negative,
and therefore in this cafe only one change of the figns!
If again the fecond term be pofitive, then becaufe^the
fign of the laft term is negative, whatever be the fign
of the third term, there can ftill be no more than one
change of the figns.
When the equation has two pofitive roots and one
negative, its fa&ors are x—a, x—b, x-j-c, and the
equation.
+abl
-ac > x-\-abc~o.
-J-c —be j
Here there muft always be two changes of the figns;
for if a+b be greater than c, the fecond term is nega¬
tive, and the laft term being always pofitive, there
muft be two changes, whether the fign of the third
term be pofitive or negative. If again a-\-b be lefs
than c, and therefore the fecond term pofitive ; it may
be fhewn as before, that ab is much lefs than rfr-f-A;
and hence the third term will be negative; fo that in
either cafe there muft be two changes of the figns.
We may conclude therefore, upon the whole, that in
cubic equations there are always as many pofitive
roots, as changes of the figns from -f to —, or from 
to -j- ; and by the fame method of reafoning, the
rule will be found to extend to all equations what¬
ever.
177. It appears from the manner in which the co¬
efficients of an equation are formed from its roots, that
when the roots are all real, the coefficients muft con-
fift entirely of real quantities. But it does not follow,
on the contrary, that when the coefficients are real, the
roots are alfo real; for we have already found, that in
a quadratic equation, y1-f/w-fy=o where p and q de¬
note real quantities, the roots are fometimes both ima¬
ginary.
178. When the roots of a quadratic equation are
imaginary, they have always this form a 
V—b1, which quantities may alfo be expreffed thus,
4 L a-\-b
<5^4
ALGEBRA.
Equations
/in general.
a-\-b*/ —i, a—b V—i,fothatwe have thefe two factors
x—a—bV—i , x—a —I ,and taking their product,
x*—lax-^-a1—fr—o 5
Thus we fee that two imaginary factors may be of
fuch a form as to admit of their product being expreffed
by a real quantity •, and hence the origin of imaginary
roots in quadratic equations.
lyp. It appears by induftion, that no real equation
can be formed from imaginary faftors, unlefs thofe
factors be taken in pairs, and each pair have the form
arr+ztf—Z> V—/, xz+za-^b \/—i j for the product of
three, or any odd number of imaginary factors, what¬
ever be their form, is flill an imaginary quantity. Thus,
if we take the product of any three of thefe four ima¬
ginary expreflions x a -\-b V— I, x a —b V — I,
x+c+dV—i, x-j-c—d\f—i we may form four dif¬
ferent equations, each of which will involve imaginary
quantities. If, however, each equation be multiplied
by the remaining factor, which had not previoufly en¬
tered into its compofition, the product will be found to
be rational, and the fame for all the four.
180. Hence wre may deduce the three following in¬
ferences refpefting the roots of equations :
1. If an equation have imaginary roots, itmuft have
two, or four, or fome even number of fuch roots.
2. If the degree of an equation be denoted by an
odd number, that equation muft have at lead one real
root.
3. If the degree of an equation be denoted by an
even number, and that equation have one real root, it
wall alfo have another real root.
181. We Ihall now explain fome transformations
which are frequently neceffary to prepare the higher
orders of equations for a folution.
Any equation may have its pofitive roots changed
into negative roots of the fame value, and its negative
roots into fuch as are pofitive, by changing the figns
of the terms alternately, beginning with the firft. The
truth of this remark will be evident, if we take two
equations,
(v—o') (a;—V) (at -{-c) = o
(*-}-«) (*/) = o,
(which are fuch, that the pofitive roots of the one have
the fame values as the negative roots of the other) and
multiply together their refpedlive factors, for thefe
equations will {land thus :
a"! -\-ab~l
—b V.v*—ac \ x-{-abc~0
~bc 3
-\-b > x*—ac > x—abc=zO
—O —a 3
where it appears that the figns of the firfl and third
terms are the fame in each, but the figns of the fecond
and fourth are juft the oppofite of each other. And
this will be found to hold true, not only of cubic equa¬
tions, but of all equations to whatever order they be¬
long.
182. It will fometimes be ufeful to transform an
equation into another, that Ihall have each of its roots
gr eater or lefs than the correfponding roots of the other
equation, by fome given quantity.
A
Let (v—tf)(cV—^)(.r-{-r)=:0 be any propofed equa- Equations
tion which is to be transformed into another, having its ,*B Kenera^
roots greater or lefs than thofe of the propofed equa- r v
tion by the given quantity n ; then, becaufe the roots
of the transformed equation are to be -\-az±zn,-\-bz±zn
and —rzhzn, the equation itfelf will be
(j'qpn—a)(yz+zn—b)(y=pn-\-c)—o. _
Hence the reafon of the following rule is evident.
If the new equation is to have its roots greater than
thofe of the propofed equation, inftead of x and its
powers, fubftitutc y—n and its powders \ but if the roots
are to be lefs, then inftead of x fubftitute y -\-n ; and
in either cafe, a new equation will be produced, the
roots of which {hall have the property required.
183. By means of the preceding rule, an equation
may be changed into another, which has its roots either
all pofitive, or all negative j but it is chiefly ufeful in
preparing cubic and biquadratic equations for a folu¬
tion, by transforming them into others of the fame de¬
grees, but wdiich -want their fecond term.
Let x* -l~/>xz-j-t/xtj-r=o be any cubic equation j if
wre fubftitute y-|-« for x, the equation is changed into
the following :
5+3?
+ /’J
+3«*7 +«5“)
+ 2J>vh+/>nt(
+ +?« f ’
+ rj
Now, that this equation may want its fecond term, it
is evident, that we have only to fuppofe 3«-{-/i=o, or
n=—~, for this affumption being made, and the value
of n fubftituted in the remaining terms, the equation
becomes
/>*
y*+(?-f)y+^
pq
-f-r=o,
/, and -f- ———
27 3
-j-r — r' the
ft
or, putting—y+y
fame equation may alfo Hand thus,
y* +g'j+rr—o-
184. In general, any equation whatever may be
transformed into another, which {hall wrant its fecond
term by the following rule.
Divide the coefficient of the fecond term of the pro¬
pofed equation by the exponent of the firft term, and
add the quotient, with its fign changed, to a new un¬
known! quantity ; this fum being fubftituted for the un¬
known quantity in the propofed equation, a new equa¬
tion will be produced, which will want the fecond term,
as required.
185. By this rule, any adfefled quadratic equation
may be readily refolved ; for by transforming it into
another equation, which wants the fecond term, we
thus reduce its folution to that of a pure quadratic.
Thus if the quadratic equation x2—5x-j-6—O be pro¬
pofed ; by fubftituting for x, we find
y+sy+y
-O or y*—-4=0,
2+5j+V7
—5^—V [ :
+ 63
Hence y==±=i, and fince x==y-f-i, therefore x=.z±z~
or +2*
186. It has been {hewn (§ 169) that in any equa¬
tion, the coefficient of the fecond term, having its fign
changed, is e<pa&l to the fum of all the roots, or ab-
ftra&ing
A L G E
Cubic ftra&ing from their figns, it is equal to the difference
J::qii‘Uions.‘ between the fum of the pofitive, and the fum of the
negative roots. Therefore, if the fecond term be
wanting, the fum of the pofitive roots in that equation
muft neceffarily be equal to that of the negative roots.
187. Inftead of taking away the fecond term from
an equation, any other term may be made to vanifh,
by an affumption fimilar to that which has been em¬
ployed to take away the fecond term. Thus if in
§ 183 we affume o, by refolving this
quadratic equation, a value of n will be found, which
when fubftituted in the equation, will caufe the third
term to vanifh ; and by the refolution of a cubic equa¬
tion the third term might be taken away •, and fo on.
188. Another fpecies of transformation, of ufe in
the refolution of equations, is that by which an equa¬
tion, having the coefficients of fome of its terms ex-
prefled by fraftional quantities, is changed into another,
the coefficients of wffiich are all integers.
Let x* -\—=^=o denote an equation to
be fo transformed; and let us aflume y—abex; and
therefore * = then by fubftitution, our equation
z becomes
y3 , /> 1 . ? , r
— a'b'c* a^b'c'^ ab2c ^ c °
and multiplying the whole equation by a^b^c*, we have
y3 -\rbcpy* ■\-a1bc*qy-\-a'ib'i frz^o.
Thus we have an equation free from fractions, while
at the fame time the coefficient of the highell power
of the unknown quantity is unity, as before.
189. This transformation may always be performed
by the following rule. Inftead of the unknown quan¬
tity fubftitute a new unknown quantity divided by the
produdl of all the denominators j then, by proper re-
duftion, the equation will be found to have the form
required.
190. If, however, the equation have this form,
X* 4--Arl + -A? 4--r=:o,
a a a
it will be fufficient to aflume y~ax, and therefore x —
- ; for then we have
And y' +pylJraqy-\-air=o,
which laft equation has the form required.
Sect. XL Of Cubic Equations.
191. Cubic equations, as well as equations of every
higher degree, are, like quadratics, divided into two
claffes ; they are faid to be pure, when they contain
only one power of the unknown quantity j and adfeBed,
when they contain two or more powers of that quan¬
tity.
192. Pure cubic equations are therefore of this form
.t3 = iz5, or —27, or in general r; and
hence it appears, that the value of the fimple power of
the unknown quantity may always be found, without
difficulty, by extracting the cube root of each lide of
BRA.
the equation 5 thus from the full of the three preced
ing examples we find #:=+5, from the fecond x
3 _
and from the third x~f r,
193. It would feem at firft fight, that the only value
which x can have in the cubic equation „y5—r, or put¬
ting t~cl, .r5—c3—o, is this one, x=c, but fince
xi—c3 maybe refolved into thefe two factors .r—c
and ad+rtt+c*, it follows, that befides the value of x
already found, which refults from making the faftor
x—r-T-o, it has yet other two values, which may be
found by making the other fadlor xt+cx-)rc','—o \
and accordingly by refolving the quadratic equation
xz-\~cx=—we find thefe values to be ——— —
—c—V—3<r* —1 O- V—3 —1-
and — or—  ^rand 
2 2 2
Thus it appears that any cubic equation of this form
x'zzc*, or «3—r3 =;o has thefe three roots
2
v:
-3
— i 4-V
xzxc, x — -—4 
2
13 -1-^
- c, xxz   ,
2
the firfi: of which is real, but the two laft are imagi¬
nary. If, however, each of the imaginary values of x
be raifed to the third power, the fame reiults will be
obtained as from the real value ofx; the original equa¬
tion #3—c3=o may alfo be reproduced, by multiply-
ing together the three factors x—r, .v——r-^~ V—^
2r
—I — \/—3
c, and x   c.
2
194. Let us now confider fuch cubic equations as
have all their terms, and which are therefore of this
form
x3 -j- Ax*-j-Bx-f-r=o
where A, B, and C denote known quantities, cither
pofitive or negative.
It has been (hewn (§ 184) how an equation having
all its terms may be transformed into another, which
wants the fecond term ; let us therefore affume .v~r—
—, as dire6ted in that article, then, by proper fub-
ftitution, the above equation will be changed into ano¬
ther of this form
yi+qy+r—o
where q and r denote known quantities, whether po¬
fitive or negative, now the roots of this equation be¬
ing once found, it is evident that thole of the former
may alfo be readily obtained by means of the aflumed
A
equation x—y 
195. Refuming, therefore, the equation y3-J-jy
-{-f—0, let us fuppofe yrru-j-js, and it becomes
' +3,y1is-f-3‘y»*-l-*5 T
J- =0
+ ^ J
Thus we have got a new equation, which, as it in¬
volves two unknown quantities v and z, may be re¬
folved into any two other equations, which will Am¬
plify the determination of thofe quantities.
Now it appears, that the only way in wffnch we can
4 L 2 divide
ALGEBRA.
636
Cubic divide that equation into two others, fo as to Amplify
Equations, quefl;ion) is the following
-\-qv-\-qz—o
The firft of thefe equations may alfo be exprefied
thus
(3^ + 500+*0—o
Hence we muft either fuppofe that or that
3vz + q=:0 ; but the former fuppofition cannot be ad¬
mitted, without fuppofing alfo that ^=0, which does
not agree with the hypothefis of the equation y*-\-qy
-\~r=o j therefore we muft adopt the latter. So that
to determine v and z we have thefe two equations
3'yz-|-y=C, -f-r—O.
Hence the three values of^y are alfo thefe
3 _ 3
y = v'A-f \/b
3 _ 3
y=zx
3 _ 3
y = /3 fyA
The Arft of thefe formulae is commonly known by
the name of Cardan’s rule ; but it is well known that
Cardan was not the inventor, and that it ought to be
attributed to Nicholas Tartalea, and Scipio Ferreus,
who difcovered it much about the fame time, and in¬
dependently of each other (fee the Introduction.)
197. The formulae given -fn laft article for the roots
of a cubic equation may be put under a different form,
and perhaps better adapted to the purpofes of arith¬
Cubic
Equations.
O fl *
From the firff, we find vz———, and ■y,s3 — —— ;
3 27
and from the fecond v'i-\-z'i——r, fo that to deter¬
mine the quantities v5 and z3, we have given their fum,
and produ£l : now this is a problem which we have
already refolved when treating of quadratic equations,
§ 155 5 and by proceeding in the fame manner, in the
prefent cafe, we lhall find
v3 =—ir+ VTVy3 -K^ »3 ='—-fir1
3   3 
^—i-r-f. V3 -j-{rz z=z v/—fr—V-^q3 -f |r*
3 
and y = v-\-z=^ — \.r+ V
1   
— 4 r ^ TT? 3 4"
7'hus we have at laft obtained a value of the un¬
known quantity y, in terms of the known quantities q
and r ; therefore the equation is refolved.
196. But this is only one of three values which y
may have j let us, for the fake of brevity, put
A=—!r+ B=—Jr—V^^3
and denote the imaginary expreftions
—1 -}. t/—3 —1——3
2 * 2
by x and ,S. Then, from w'hat has been fhewm
(§ 193), it is evident that v and z have each thefe
three values
metical calculation as follows. Becaufe vz=—
3
O I <7 I 3 __
therefore  X———-XI T^, hence ,y4-s;=: \/a
3 v 3 VA
1 _
5 thus it appears that the three values of y
Va
may alfo be expreffed thus
V^A
t7
Va
y- Wa
— * ./“a T?154
y=pV A-
Va
198. To fhowr the manner of applying thefe formulae,
let it be required to determine x from the cubic equa¬
tion
at3 -}-3xJ-f-9.r—13 = 0
And as this equation has all its terms, the firft ftep to¬
wards its refolution is to transform it into another which
(hall want the fecond term, by fubftitutingy—1 for x
as directed (§ 184). The operation will ftand thus
3/+3y— 1
+3xl= +3/—6y+ 3
+9*=: +9y— 9
—13 — ~i3
The transformed equation is y 3 +6y —20—0
3  3  3
V—V a, V=zxV A, V = /3VrA
3  3  3 
z~v B, zrr«l/ B, zzz/SV B
To determine the correfponding values of v and z,
ff 3 
w^e muft confider that vzz=. \/ ABnow if wre ob-
3
ferve that «/3r=l, it wull immediately appear that v-\-z
has thefe three values
3 _ 3 _
v+z = v'A +*/B
3 _ 3 _
V+zz=x -y/A-f
3 _ 3 _
which being compared with the general equation
yi +qy+r=o
gives q—6, r~—20 ; hence
3 3    
A—^—ir-\-V At? 3 +^—^10 + */108
Therefore, the firft formula of laft article gives y—
v' 10 4-108—3 /   : but as this expreflion
involves a radical quantity, let the fquare root of 108
be taken and added to 10, and the cube root of the fum
found 3 thus we have 3v/io+^108=2.732, nearly.
A L G :
Cubic 2 2
Equations, and therefore ? /—~ ~   ~.73 2; hence we
‘ v ' v ro-fjo8 2.732 ’
at laft find one of the values of y to be 2.732—.732 = 2.
In finding the cube root of the radical quantity
108 we have taken only its approximate va¬
lue, fo as to have the expreflion for the root under a
rational form, and in this way we can always find, as
near as we pleafe, the cube root of any furd of the
form b where £ is a pofitive number. But it will
fometimes happen that the cube root of fuch a furd can
be exprefled exaftly by another furd of the fame form 3
and accordingly, in the prefent cafe, it appears that the
cube root of 10 108 is 1 + ^ 3* as may be proved
by actually raifing 1 + to the third power. Hence
we find ^=L==;=_-i^= 
'wo-f-vioS i-j-v'3 (1—V/3)(i-f A/3)
=— (I—V/3 ) 3 fo that we have y— 1 -f- ^3 -j- 1—V3
=2, as before.
The other two values of y will be had by fubflitu-
— 3 _ 1 „
ting I -J- 3 and I—for VA and in the fe-
va
cond and third formulae of laft article, alfo reftoring the
values of x and /3. We thus have
— 1 + V/—3 , , . —1—k/—3 _
y~—^—ix(i+v/3)+ ^x(i—^3)
=_r+v^5_
So that the three values of y are
+ 2, —i-fv'—9, —1—V'y
and fince x—•y+I» correfponding values of x are
+ 1, —2-f-'V/—9, —2—
thus it appears that one of the roots of the propofed
equation is real and the other two imaginary.
The two imaginary roots might have been found
otherwife,. by confidering that fince one root of the
equation is 1, the equation muft be divifible by x 1
(§ i63). Accordingly the divifion being aftually per¬
formed, and the quotient put =0, we have this qua¬
dratic equation
**+4* +13=0
which, whenj-efolved by the rule for quadratics, gives
*=—2c±='\/9, the fame imaginary values as before.
199. In the application of the preceding formula
(§ 196 and i97) to the refolution of the equation-f.
9y~\~r—°i ^ neceffary to find the fquare root of
tt?3now when that quantity is pofitive, as in
the equation y3-j-6y—20—0, w'hich was refolved in
laft article, no difficulty occurs, for its root may be
.lound, either exadtly, or to as great’ a degree of accu¬
racy as we pleafe.
As, however, the coefficients q and r are indepen¬
dent of each other, it is evident that q may be nega-
i B R A. 637
tive, and fuch that t1-?3 is greater than in this cafe Cubic
the expreffion will be negative, and there-
fore its fquare root an imaginary quantity. Let us
take as an example this equation y3—6y-f-4=® 3
here ?=—6, r=+4, lr=2,^3=—8, ^=+4,
^ %\qlzz V—4 = 2 V—1, hence, by recurring
to the formulae (§ 196), we have A=2-f2V/~i>
E=2—x/—1, and therefore the three roots of the
equation exprefled thus
3   ^ -
y = v 24-2 v7—1 -f v 2—2V7—7
3   ?  
y—x 'V^2-f-2V/7' 1 4-/3 v/2 2 V 1
3    3 
y=/3 ^2-f 2 V7—1 4-« v/2 2 V—I
Here all the roots appear under an imaginary form 3
but we are certain from the theory of equations as
explained in Sedl. X. that every cubic equation muft
have at leaft one real root. The truth is, as we fhall
fhew immediately, that in this cafe, fo far from any of
the roots being imaginary (as in the former example),
they are all real 3 for it appears by aftual involution
that the imaginary expreffion 2-f-2V/—1 is the cube
of this other imaginary expreffion —14. v7—1, and,
in like manner, that 2—2 V—1 is the cube of  1
— v/—1, fo that ve have
3   3  
y= ^2 4- 2 V7 —1 4- ^2—2 V—1 =—1 4- —
1— V—1=—2
2 X (—14- 4-~I~ x
(_i—v/~f)=I4_
X (—! 4- \/^)4-~I +2V~3 X
(—1 — v7^i) = 1 — VJ.
200. We now7 proceed to prove in general, that as
often as the roots of the equation x‘i-\-qx-\-rxzo are
real, q is negative, and ^3 greater than 3 and, on
the contrary, that if be greater than ^r1 the roots
are all real.
Let us fuppofe a to be a real root of the propofed
equation,
Then *3 4-7* 4-^=0
And- a*-\-qa-\-r—o
And therefore by fubtra&ion *3—a%-\-q(x a) = o 3.
hence, aividing alfo q^x—ci') by x—a, we have
x1 -\-ax -\-a2 4-7=0
This quadratic equation is formed from the two re¬
maining roots of the propofed equation, and by refolv-
ing it we find
*=—4rt=fc: \/—la-—q
And as, by hypothefis, all the roots are real, it is
evident that 7 muft neceffarily be negative, and great¬
er than j for otherwife the expreffion v7—\cF^q,
would be imaginary. Let us change the fign of 7, and
putt
A L © E B R A
638
Cubic put -\-d \ thus the roots of the equation ^34-o.v
Equations. +r==Q wiU be
flj 1 "■ '4$ “h ■ —^(i ■"" dy
and here is a pofitive quantity.
To find an expreflion for r in terms of a, and d, let
^’-{“^befubftitutedfor^in theequationfl3
we thence find r=—^ai -{-ad; fo that to compare to¬
gether the quantities q and r we have thefe equations,
203. It is remarkable that the expreflion
x' a q-Z'V7—i-, + ^ a—^ y/—1 >
and in general,
n   n
V^^/^7, + V a—
where n is any power of 2, admits of being reduced to
another form in which no impofiible quantity is found
Cubic
Equations.
q—la'+d
—■—■ '■ ^a3 -p-ad.
In order to make this comparifon, let the cube of \q
be taken, alfo the fquare of {r, the refults are
t’t'? 5 :=:TTa6_{“TV^ ^d-\-~i^]d^
lr'=.i%a*—\a*d+\cdd'
and therefore, by fubtra&ion,
tt? 1 —\r%z=zd’6n *d—^a'd1 -f- d^d1
=3^( 4—Tsa'd + -fyd1
Now the fquare of any real quantity being always pofi¬
tive, it follows that ^d^{az—will be pofitiv'e when
d is pofitive 3 hence it is evident that in this cafe ^q3
muft be greater than -Jr* $ and that the contrary can¬
not be true unlefs d be negative, that is, unlefs that
—d, —\a—vV, the two other roots of the
equation, are imaginary. If we fuppofe </z=o, then
and the roots of the equations,- which in this
cafe are alfo real, are a, — —{a.
Upon the whole, therefore, we infer, that fince a
cubic equation has always one real root, its roots will
be all real as often as q is negative, and greater
than |r* j and confequently, that in this cafe the for¬
mulae for the roots muft exprefs real quantities notwith-
ftanding their imaginary form.
201. Lety3—yy-f-r—o denote any equation of the
form which has been confidered in laft article, namely,
that which has its roots all real, then, if we put a——
b=:^-jql—^r*, one of the roots, as expreffed by the
firft formula, § 196, will be
3     j 
y—^a-^bV—1 -j- ^a—bV—1
'hhis expreflion, although under an imaginary form,
muft (as we have fhewn in laft article) reprefent a real
quantity. It will fometimes happen, as in laft example,
§ 199, that the two furds which compofe the root are
perfetft cubes of the form ( A-j-B ^ — 1) 3 and (A—B
V7—i)3, and then the value of y becomes
A-f-B V*—1 -f A—B V—1 ~2A.
But the rules for determining when this is the cafe
depend upon trials, and are befides troublefome in the
application : And if we attempt by a dire£t procefs to
inveftigate the numerical values of A and B, we are
brought to a cubic equation, of the very fame form as
that whofe root is required.
202. This imaginary expreflion for a real quantity
has greatly perplexed mathematicians ; and much pains
has been taken to obtain the root under another form,
but without fuccefs. Accordingly the cafe of .cubic
equations, in which the roots are all real, is now called
the irreducible cafe.
Thus a j^bf—1 ^a—bf—.1 uz
*   4 
^a bV — 1 -f- ^ a—b V—1 =3
as is eafily proved by firft fquaring the imaginary for¬
mulae, and then taking the fquare root of each. But
when n is 3, it does not feem that fuch reduftion can
poflibly take place.
204. If each of the furds be expanded into an infinite
feries and their fum be taken, the imaginary quantity
^ —'c will vanilh 5 and thus the root may be found by
a direft procefs. There are, however, other methods
which feem preferable, and the following which is de¬
rived from the application of algebra to geometry feems
to be the beft.
205. It w ill be demonftrated in Se<ft. XXV, that if a
denote an arch of a circle, the relation between the co¬
fine of the arch and the cofine of one-third of that
3
arch is expreffed by the following cubic equation,
Cof.3 { cof. - = cof. a.
3 3
V
Let us affume cof. - then, by fubftitution, the
, 3 «
equation is transformed into the following
3j'
Or
L-__Ai= cof. a.
ni 4//
y ’ —~n* * co^ a'
and in this cubic equation one of the roots is evidently
y = « X cof. - : Now from the arithmetic of fines it ap¬
pears that cof. a, cof. (360°—a) and cof. (36o°-f-n)
are all expreffed by the fame quantity *, therefore the
equation muft have for a root, not only n x cof. —, but
r 360°—a , . 360°-t-a
alfo n X cof. ^ , and « X cof. *- 1—. But
3 o3
from the arithmetic of fines cof.   = — fin.
9°°-”, and cof.3®2l±?=
3 3 .
the three roots of the equation are
fin. Therefore
-a _ 9004-(? •
-, —«Xfin. ----- ■
r a P 900-
n X cof. —n X fin. — 
3 3 d
Let us next fuppofe that y3—is a cubic equa¬
tion
Equations.
, A L G
•mfatinn- 'v^°^e roots are required, and let us compare it
With the former equation^5-— ~— y ~ X cof. a ;
4
then it is evident that if we aifuine the quantities n and
cof, a7 fucb, that
  — q, «3 X col. a'zz. r
4
the two equations will become identical, and thus their
roots will be expreffed by the very fame quantities.
But from thefe two affumed equations we find
cot.a=s.~JnE.=z^l
3 ^3 ni 4 S'3 2gy/q
and fince the cofine of an arch cannot exceed unity
2^7 r* *
therefore, muft be a proper fradion, that is qqJ
muft exceed zqr', or TV?3 mufi exceed ; if we
now recoiled that y is a negative quantity it will im¬
mediately appear that the propofed equation muft ne-
ceflarily belong to the irreducible cafe.
206. The rule, therefore w'hich we derive from the
preceding analyfis for refolving that cafe is as" follows.
Let j;5—qy—r be the propofed equation.
Find in the trigonometrical tables an arch a7 whofe
natural cofine
2q\^q
The roots of the equation are
y=z>J-x
cof.-
X fin.
90°—a
X fin.
3
9oe-|-a
3 ' 3
Thefe formulae will apply, whether r be pofitive or
negative, by proper attention to the figns : If, how¬
ever, r be negative, or the equation have this form,
y% — qy~-—r7 the following will be more convenient:
Find in the tables an arch a7 whofe fine — ^
Then the roots of the equation are
JT
y=2s/l
y—lJ— x cof. 9°
„ a
X fin. —
3 3
3
J q
y——2 v —
X cof.
3
90°—a
, nr’ 3 3
u he laft formulae are derived from the equation
0. }a a a
Sm. —— fin. — fin. a
3 4 3
in the lame manner as the former w’ere found from the
firft equation of laft article.
Ex. 1. It is required to find the roots of the equation
E B R A.
6.39
  _ r 6g0 r a _ Biquadratic
x— “ co^ ^ ^ Cof. 20 — I.8793852 Equations.
I co°
Hence ^ x——2 fin. -^~=_2fin.5o#=_i.5320888
x——2 fin.
3°
^ = — 2 fin. 1 ©° = .34.7 2964.
. Ex' 2- H is required to find the roots of the equa¬
tion*;3—3* 1. ^
T, 3V3 3VT
a; = 2 fin. ~~ — 2 fin. 10® = .3472964
.120°
2 cof.— — 2 cof. 40° — 1.5320888
r6o°
2 cof.--——2 cof. 20° = — 1.8793852.
Sect. XII. Of Biquadratic Equations.
20*].' When a biquadratic equation contains all its
terms, it has this form,
.v4-}-A*3 B^-f C*-f D = o
where A, B, C, D, denote any known quantities
whatever.
208. We lhall firft confider pure biquadratics, or
luch as contain only the firft and laft terms, and there¬
fore are of this form x4 = b\ In this cafe it is evi¬
dent that x may be readily had by two extraftions of
the Iquare root; by the firft we find and by
the fecond x _ b. This, however, is only one of the
values which x may have; for fince x4=^4, there¬
fore x4—Mzro; but x4—b* may be refolved into two
faftors x'—b* and x' + b\ each of which admit of a
fimikr refolutionj_for xs b'={x — b)(x + b) and
—1 —1 ). Hence it appears
that the equation x4—Z-4==0 may alfo be expreffed
thus :
(x—^)(x+^)(x—X^ + ^\^r)=0,
lo that x may have thefe four values
, ,ir f ^ , — b v/—i,
wo or which are real and the others imaginary.
r 209’ ]^e^t Pur.e biquadratic equations, in refpeft
of eafinfefs of refolution, are fuch as want the fecond
and lourth terms, and therefore have this form
A;4 -j- q xz -j- s —— c.
Thefe may be refolved in the manner of quadratic equa¬
tions j for if we put / = .v* We have
y + qj + S = 0  
? — ^q2  
from which wre find y ■—
fore x = z±z jtJ
’4s
, and there-
a1—
•4J-
x3-—
1.
Here
3n/3„ 3X1/3
2qVg~6X\/^
— 4 — cof. 6c°— cof. 0.
210. When a biquadratic equation has all its terms
the manner of refolving it is not fo obvious as in the two
former cafes,.but its refolution may be always reduced to
that of a cubic equation. There are various methods by
which fuch a reduction may be effefted j the follow¬
ing, w'hich we feleft as one of the moft ingenious, was
firft given by Euler in the Feterfburgh Commentaries,
and
640
ALGEBRA.
Biquadratic and afterwards explained more fully in his Elements of
,E(luations-, Algebra.
We have already explained § 184, in what manner
an equation which is complete in its terms may be
transformed into another equation of the fame degree,
but which wants the fecond term } therefore, any pro-
pofed biquadratic equation may be reduced to this
form,
d'4 + /,/+S'd'+r==°
where the fecond term is wanting, and where />, q, r,
denote any known quantities whatever.
2il. That we may form any equation fimilar to the
above, let us affume y r= -f- V'b -f~ anc^ ^et us
alfo fuppofe that the letters a, b, c, denote the roots of
the cubic equation
2;5 -J- P iZ* + Qj? R = O
then from the theory of equations we have
a-\-b-\-c— — P, ab-{• ac-\-bc—Q^abc = R.
Let us now fquare the affumed formula
y =z VT + ^/7 + and we obtain
4'4 —^ ^-J-2f -j-X^ae 6c )
or fubftituting — P for a -j- b -j-c, and tranfpoling,
y + p = ^(i/jr+t/ir+v/TT).
Let this equation be alfo fquared and we have
y “h 2 Pji*_J- P* rr 4 (ab-j-ac -j-bc) a3bc -j- V*ab3c
yV abc3), and iince ab-j-ac-\-bczzQ^
and \/a3bcyVabzcy ^abc1—*/abc{ a-\-Vby Vc)
— \/Ry ; the fame equation may be expreffed thus :
y4-}- 2Py*-f-PI:=4 Qj- 8 \/Ry.
Thus we have obtained the biquadratic equation
y4-f 2P/ —8^ +P2 —4 0 = 0,
one of the roots of which y —y~a y>y~b +^7, and in
which #, Z>, c are the roots of the cubic equation
2i5 -J- Pssx -}- Q« — R rz: o.
212. That we may apply this refolution to the pro-
pofed equation y4-f/iy1-fyy-f rzz o, we mull ex-
prefs the affumed coefficients P, Q^R by means of/>, y, r
the coefficients of that equation. For this purpofe let
us compare together the equations;
J’4+/,/-K),+r=°
y 4 + 2Pyz—8 y'Ry + P1—4Qrr o,
and it immediately appears that l¥ —p, — Sy'R —y,
P*-4Q = r ; and from thefe three equations we find
P = -i 0=^—-^-,R——. Hence it follows, that
2 16 64
the roots of the propofed equation are generally ex¬
preffed by the formula yrr^/J^. ^/7; wbere
a, b, c denote the roots of this cubic equation
16 64“
0.
213. But to find each particular root, we muft con-
fider, that as the fquare root of a number may be
either pofitive or negative, fo each of the quantities
\/7, \/l, \/c may have either the fign -f or — pre¬
fixed to it 5 and hence our formula will give eight dif¬
ferent expreffions for the root. It is, however, to be
obferved, that as the produft of the three quantities
1
V'T, b, \/ c muff be equal to or to
therefore when q is pofitive, their produft muff be a
negative quantity ; and this can only be effcfled by
making either one or three of them negative; again,
when q is negative, their product muff be a pofitive
quantity, fo that in this cafe they muft either be all po¬
fitive, or two of them muft be negative. Thefe con-
fiderations enable us to determine, that four of the
eight expreffons for the root belong to the cafe in
which q is pofitive, and the other four to that in which
it is negative.
214. We fhall nowT give the refult of the preceding
inveftigation, in the form of a practical rule, for re-
folving biquadratic equations j and as the coefficients
of the cubic equation which has been found, § 212,
involve fractions, we ftiall transform it into another,
in which the coefficients are integers, by fuppofing
Biquadratic
Equations.
s rr -. Thus the equation a? -j- - 2* 1—j™. % —-
%- —o becomes, after reduftion, v3 2/iu1 -f- (/ft—yr)v
04
— q3—® j it alfo follows, that fince the roots of the
former equation are a, b, c7 the roots of the latter are
—, -, fo that our rule may now be expreffed thus:
Let y 4 ff- py3 qy r ~ o be any biquadratic
equation wanting its fecond term. Form this cubic
equation
3 -{- 2 p v1 (p3 — 4 r) t; — q3 rz 0,
and find its roots, which let us denote by a, £, c.
Then the roots of the propofed biquadratic equation
are
when q is negative
y—J^y a -\-yb -\-V c}
a—V b — \/c)
y=i(—y&+y b—yc}
y=i(—y<i—yb y yy
when q is pofitive
y—4(—y~a—y b—yc)
y=i(—ya jf-yb+yc)
y=l(y a—y b-\.v c)
y=i( ya xHj—VC ).
215- This refolution of biquadratic equations fug-
gefts the following general remarks upon the nature of
their roots.
1. It is evident from the form of the roots, that if
the cubic equation
u3 -}- 2pv3 -f- (/>*—<\r)v—q3~o
have all its roots real, and pofitive, thofe of the biqua¬
dratic equation fliall be all real.
2. Since the laft term of the cubic equation is nega¬
tive, wffien its three roots are real, they muft either be
all pofitive, or twTo of them muft be negative and one
pofitive j for the laft term is equal to the product of
all the roots taken with contrary figns, § 169 ; fo that
in this laft cafe tw^o of the three quantities a, b, c, muft
be negative, and therefore all the four roots of the bi¬
quadratic equation imaginary. If, however, the two
negative roots be equal, they will deftroy each other
in two of the roots of the biquadratic equation, which
will then become real and equal. Let us fuppofe for
example that b and c are negative, and equal j the two
firft values ofy in each column become then imagi¬
nary,
ALOE
Biquadratic nary, and the remaining values of_y are in the firft fet
Eqiuit_c n^ 0£ roo^s ^ \ Va, yzz <?> and in the fecond
7= + iV^, y-iVa.
3. When the cubic equation has only one real, and
two imaginary roots, its real root mull neceflarily be
pofitive. For the imaginary roots can only come from
a quadratic equation, having its laft term pofitive,
Sect. IX. and therefore of this form +A‘D-f-B=o,
hence, the fimple factor which contains the remaining
root muft have this form v—y, otherwife the laft term
of the cubic equation could not be negative.
By refolving the equation vi At* B =: 0, we
find
A /A*
v— dt*/ —
2 v 4
-B
here, the roots being fuppofed imaginary, — — B
muft be a negative quantity. That we may fimplify
the form of the roots, let us put — — =r « and — 
2 4
B=—/3*, then
V——IX.Z±Z V— /3l— otztzji \'/—III
and <y — —v4—1, v — —«,—/3 V—1
Hence we have
azza-^jiV-—1, b — a—/3 v7—1, c~y ;
fo that in two of the four values ofy, we have a quan¬
tity of this form
but this quantity, although it appears to be imaginary,
is indeed real j for if we firft fquare it, and then take
its fquare root, it becomes
V2«+2V«*4l^*
Vvhich is a real quantity. The two other roots in¬
volve this other expreflion
s/* +/3 vCHI— v/«—p \/ZZi
which, being treated in the fame manner as the former,
becomes
^ let 2 S^ct1 -f-S2
an imaginary quantity, and therefore the roots, into
which it enters, are imaginary.
4. We may difeover from the coefficients of the pro-
ppfed biquadratic equation in what cafe the roots of the
cubic equation are all real j for this purpofe the latter
is to be transformed into another which {hall want the
fecond term by affiuming v—n—^; thus it becomes
"’-(T+^-iy+T-^05
and in this equation the three roots will be real when
is greater than
216. As an example of the method of refolving a
biquadratic equation, let it be required to deternSne
the roots of the following,
XT r + 36~0.
Vol. I. Part II. •
B H A, 641
By comparing this equation with the general formula, B-eciprocal
we have />——25, q~ 4 60, r——36, hence Equations,
2/>=—50, 41—769, y*=3600,
and the cubic equation to be refolved is
-y*—5cm*4769?*—36oo=:o ;
the roots of which are found by the rules for cubics,
to be 9, 16, and 25, fo that we have 3, 4,
V/c =5. Now in this cafe q is pofitive, therefore
—3—4—i)~—6
*=-K—3 + 4+5)-+3
^=t( + 3—4+5)= + 2
i( +3 + 4—i) —+ i‘
217. We have now explained the particular rules
by which the a.oots of equations belonging to each of
the firft four orders may be determined 3 and this is
the greateft length mathematicians have been able to
go in the direft refolution of equations 3 for as to thofe
of the fifth, and all higher degrees, no general method
has hitherto been found, either for refolving them di-
re£lly, or for reducing them to others of an inferior
degree.
It even appears that the formulae which exprefs the
roots of cubic equations are by no means of univerfal
application 3 for in one cafe, that is, when the roots
are all rea^ they become illufory, fo that no conclufion
can be drawn from them. The fame obfervation will
alfo apply to the formulae for the roots of biquadratic
equations, becaufe, before they can be applied, it is al¬
ways ^neceffary to find the roots of a cubic equation.
But in either cubics or biquadratic equations, even
wffien the formulae involve no imaginary quantities, and
therefore can be always applied, it is more convenient
in praftice to employ fome other methods wffiich we
are hereafter to explain.
Sect. XIII. Of Reciprocal Equations.
218. Although no general refolution has hitherto
been given of equations belonging to the fifth, or any
higher degree 3 yet there are particular equations of all
orders, which by reafon of certain peculiarities in the
nature of their roots, admit of being reduced to others
of a lower degree, and thus, in fome cafes, equations
of the higher orders may be refolved by the rules which
have been already explained for the refolution of equa¬
tions belonging to the firft four orders. 1
. 219- When the coefficients of the terms of an equa¬
tion form the fame numerical feries, whether taken in
a direft or an inverted order, as in this example
+/>*3 + ?** +/* 41 =o
that equation may always be transformed into another*
ot a degree denoted by half the exponent of the higheft
powder of the unknown quantity, if that exponent be
an even number, or by half the exponent diminiffied
by unity, if it be an odd number.
of fhh f31116 obf'erVatlou al*° aPP17 to any equation
-{-pa** 4 qoPx14 pa^x 4 a*—0
where the given quantity a and the unknown quantity
4 M
x are
ALGEBRA,
642
Reciprocal x are precifely alike concerned j for by fubftituting ay
Equations. £or ^ becomes
a*y* -\-a4—o j
and dividing by a*,
y* +Ay5 +qyz +py +1=0,
an equation of the fame kind as the former.
220. That we may effedt the propofed transforma¬
tion upon the equation
x* -f-px3 -\-qxl -\-px-j- i~o
let every two terms which are equally diftant from the
extremes be colledled into ene, and the whole be di¬
vided by .v*, thus we have
xi+'£T-hP C'r+“)+?—°»
Let us aflutne #4--—£
x
Then A’,4-2 4-^r=ras and x*-l-~~zt—2
X X*
Thus the equation + +5r—0
becomes z?-\-pKq—2=o.
And fmce x therefore xi~-%x -f- irro.
and putting alfo fo that x*.—*x-fi=0, tve \Sh
X ' Roots.
have .v*-}--=»*—2 1
x
Hence, by fubftitution, the propofed equation is
transformed into the following cubic equation
*3+/>«i + (?—3 )*+r—2/>= °-
Therefore, putting a', a", zr" to denote its roots, the
fix roots of the propofed equation will be had by re-
folving thefe three quadratics
x1—z’x-f 1 = 0, a;1—z"x-f-1 = O, a;*—z"x-f irro,
and here it is evident, as in the former cafe, that the
roots of each quadratic equation are the reciprocals of
each other, fo that the one half of the roots of the pro¬
pofed equation are the reciprocals of the other half.
224. I he method of refolution we have employed
in the two preceding examples is general for all equa-.
tions whatever, in which the terms placed at equal di-
ftances from the firil and laft have the fame coefficients,
and which are called reciprocal equations, becaufe any
fuch equation has the fame form when you fubftitute
for x its reciprocal —.
x
221. Hence upon the whole, to determine the roots
of the biquadratic equation
a-4 px3 -f qx% + px +1=0
we have the following rule.
Form this quadratic equation
z* -{- pz 4-5’*—2=0
and find its roots, which let us fuppofe denoted by 2/
and zr\ Then the four roots of the propofed equation
R/ill be found by refolving two quadratic equations
X* z'x 4- I =0, AT* Z,rX 4- I =0.
22 2. It may be obferved refpeftmg thefe two quadra¬
tic equations, that fince the laft term of each is unity, if
we put a, a’ to denote the roots of the one, and b, U
thofe of the other, we have from the theory of equa¬
tions aal—x, and therefore alfo bb'zzi, and U
— j ; now a, a\ b, br are alfo the roots of the equation
A*4 —j—pX3 4-JAT* —|—X 4“ X O
Hence it appears that the propofed equation has this
peculiar property, that the one half of its roots are the
reciprocals of the other half; and to that circumftance
we are indebted for the fimplicity of its refolution.
223. The following equation
x* 4-/>a:s -J-iyv4 4-gy3 -\-qx* -\-px 4-1=0,
which is of the fixth order, admits of a refolution in all
refpefts fimilar to the former ) for by putting it under
this form
*3 +7?+^(** +*) +r=0»
225. If the greateft exponent of the unknorvn quan¬
tity in a reciprocal equation is an odd number, as in
this example
Xs -j-px* -j-qx* -j-qx1 -{-px 4-1=0
the equation will always be fatisfied by fubftituting'
—1 for x ; hence —1 muft be a root of the equation,
and therefore the equation muft be divifible by x-{-i.
Accordingly, if the divifion be aftually performed, wre
ftiall have in the prefent cafe
x*-i-(P—J—(P—q—1 )xl+(P—i)a^ 4-1=0
another reciprocal equation, in wffiich the greateft ex¬
ponent of x is an even number, and therefore refolv-
able in the manner we have already explained.
Sect. XIV. Of Equations, •which have Equal Roots.
226. When an equation has two or more of its roots
equal to one another, thofe roots may alwrays be difco-
vered, and the equation reduced to another of an infe¬
rior degree, by a method of refolution which is pecu¬
liar to this clafs of equations j and which we now pro¬
ceed to explain.
227. Although the method of refolution wre are to
employ will apply alike to equations having equal
roots, of every degree, yet, for the fake of brevity, we
(hall take a biquadratic equation
x* 4*/w3 -\-qx*-\-rx 4-^= o
the roots of which may be generally denoted by ar bt
c, and d. Thus we have, from the theory of equations,.
(x—tf)(at—b') (x—c) (a:—d') at4 -\-px3 -\-qxl -\-rx -J-J
Let us put
A= (a—a) (a?——c) A"=: (x—ra)(x—c)(x—d)
A'= (at—a) (x —b)(x—d) A"'=(r—b)(x—c)(x—d)
Then,
Equations
with equal
Roots.
A L
Then, by a&ual multiplication, we have
A~xi—a
A'rr.r3—n
—b
7 +^7
> x1 ad J-:
3 +^3
-f <7^ 1
-j-ac i-.v—abc
+bc\
-j-abl
A"=:
al +ac-i
•c > x1 ad > x-
■d 3 -\-bd 3
-\-bc'
x1 -\-hd |
+cd\
i—b-l +bc-)
—c r ‘v* -{-bd V
—^3 +cd\
-cibd
-acd
-bed
G E B R A. 64J
which is evidently derived from tlie former, by multi- Equations
plying each of its terms by the exponent of # in thatwith e^ual
term, and then dimxniihing the exponent by unity. , Roots- i
231. If wre fuppofe that the propofed equation has
two equal roots or azzb, and alfo two other equal roots,
or czzd, then, by, reafoning as before, it will appear that
the equation derived from it muft have one root equal
to a or b, and another equal to c or d, fo that w'hen
the former is divifible both by (x—a)1 and (.v r)%
the latter will be divifible by (.v—d) (x c).
232. The fame mode of reafoning may be extend¬
ed to all equations whatever; fo that if w>e fuppofe
xn+Px” ‘-f-Q**-* f-S**-j-TA7-fU=0
an equation of the mth degree to have a divifor of this
form
and taking the fum of thefe four equations
A +A'+A"+A'"= 4x 3 —3a
c —3""7
>xz
—3c r
—3"J
—j~~ lab
-\-iac
-\-iad
-\-2bt
■\-ibd
\-2cd ^
—abc
— abd
> x—acd
—bed
But fmee a, b, c, d are the roots of the equation
x* -\-pxJ -f-yA* -f-rA: -j-mo
we have —3(a+b-pc-\.d)=3p
2.\ab -j-ac -\-ad-j-bc -^-bd-j-cd)~2^
—{abcabdacd-\- bed)—r
Therefore, by fubftitution
A -{-A'-fA'-f A'"=4x 5 3/»x* -f- 2 y* r
228. Let us now fuppofe that the propofed biqua¬
dratic equation has two equal roots, or then x 
a—x—b, and fmee one or other of thefe equal fa&ors
enters each of the four produ&s A, A', A", A'" it is
evident that A-f-A'-fA"-f-A'" or qx5-f 3/>x*-f-2yx
+ r mull be divilible by x—a, or x—b. Thus it ap¬
pears that if the propofed equation
x* ~\rPx 3 -j-y^-j-^-fj-rro
has two equal roots, each of them mull alfo be a root
of this equation
4*’ +3A't*“f-22r-v+r—o;
for when the firlt of thefe equations is divifible by
(.v—a)* the latter is neceflarily divifible by „v a.
229. Let us next fuppofe that the propofed equation
lias three, equal roots or a—b—c, then two at lealt of
the three equal fadlors x—a, x—x—r, mull enter
each of the four produfls A°, A\ A'', A!" 5 fo that in
this cafe A-f-A'-f-A"-{-A"', or 4xl-\-3xz-\-2qx r
mull be twice divilible by x—a. Hence it follows
that as often as the propofed equation has three equal
roots,^ two of them mull alfo be equal roots of the
equation
4*5 +3Arl + 2y*-f r—0
230. Proceeding in the fame manner, it may be
(hewn that wrhatever number of equal roots are in the
propofed equation
x*Jrpxl -f yx’-fr.v-frzro
they will all remain except one, in this equation
4*J + 2(lx 4-r—
(x—a)”{x—d)p {x—fy... &c.
The equation
Px'"-Z+ {m—2)Qx”-'.... +2Sx
4-T=o,
which is of the next lower degree, will have for a di¬
vifor
(x—a)n-l(x—dy~l(x—fy~l... &c.
.slid as this lall produ6l mull be a divilor ol both equa¬
tions, it may always be difeavered by the rule which
has been given (§ 49) for finding the greatell common
divifor of twro algebraic quantities.
233’ Again, as this lall equation mull, in the cale
of equal roots, have the fame properties as the original
equation j therefore, if we multiply each of its terms
by the exponent of a,', and diminilh that exponent by
unity, as before, we have
m{m—i)xm-* 4- {m— 1) {m~.2) Pxm-' 4- (m—2)
{m—3)Qx>»-\ ... +2S=o,
a newr equation, which will have for a divifor
{x—a) "-z{x—dy-1{x—/y-\
where the exponent of the faftors are one lefs than
thofe. of the equation from which it was derived ; and
as this lall divifor is alfo a divifor of the original equa¬
tion, it may be difeovered in the fame manner as the
former, namely, by finding the greatell common mea-
luie of both equations j and fo on we may proceed as
far as we pleafe.
234. As a particular example, let us take this equa¬
tion
Xs—13^4.67*3—i7ix*4-2l6Ar—108=0,
and apply to it the method we have explained, in order
to difeover whether it has equal roots, and if fo, what
they are. We mull therefore feek the greateft’ com¬
mon meafure .of the propofed equation and this other
equation, which is formed agreeably to what has been
fhewn § 228,
SX* ~h^ixi—342x -\-216zzo
and the operation being performed, wre find that they
have a common divifor 4-21.r—18, which is
of the third degree and confcquently may have feveral
faftors. Let us therefore try whether the lall equation
and the following
20#*'—I56#j4-402#—342=0.
which is derived from it, as dire&ed in § 228, have
any common divifor; and by proceeding as before, w^e
4^2 find
ALGEBRA,
644
Equations find that they admit'o£ this divifor x—3, which is alfo
with ratio-a fa£tor of the latt divifor xz—8xi-\-2ix—18, and
. J‘l ^ s', therefore the product of remaining factors is immedi¬
ately found by divilion to be x%—5-r-j-6 which is evi¬
dently refolvable into x—2 and x—3.
Thus it appears upon the whole, that the common
divifor of the original equation, and that which is im¬
mediately derived from it,'is (x—2) (#—3)* y and that
the common divifor of the fecond and third equations
is x—3. Hence it follows that the propofed equation
has (.m—2)* for one faftor, and (#—3)3 for another
faftor ; fo that the equation itfelf may be exprefied
thus, (.r—2)i(x—3)3=o, and the truth of this con-
cluiion may be eafily verified by multiplication.
Sect. XV. Refolution of Equations nuhofe Roots are
rational.
235. It has been (hewn in § 169 that the lafi: term
of any equation is always the produdl: of its roots taken
with contrary figns : Hence it follows that when the
roots are rational they may be difcovered by the fol¬
lowing rule.
Bring all the terms of the equation to one fide ;
find all the divifors of the laft term, and fubftitute
them fucceffively for the unknown quantity in the
equation. Then each divifor, which produces a re¬
mit equal to o, is a root of the propofed equation.
Ex. 1. Let .v3——^tf-J-iorro be the propofed
equation.
Then, the divifors of 10 the lafl: term are I, 2, 5,10,
each of which may be taken either pofitively, or ne¬
gatively, and thefe being fubflituted fucceffively for x,
wre obtain the following refults.
By putting-f-1 for a-, 1— 4—. y-f-ior: o
— I ■—1— 4+ y-f-ior: 12
_|_2 8— 16—i4-j-io=—12
—2 —8'— i6-j-i4-i-io= o
+5 125—100—3 5-fio= o
Here the divifors which produce refults equal to o
are -j-i, — 2 and -f-5> and therefore thefe numbers are
the three roots of the propofed equation.
236. When the number of divifors to be tried hap¬
pens to be confiderable, it will be convenient to tranf-
fbrm the propofed equation into another, in which the
lafi: term has fewer divifors. This may, in general,
be done by forming an equation, the roots of which
are greater or lefs than thofe of the propofed equa¬
tion by fome determinate quantity, as in the following
example :
Ex. 2. Lety4—qy3—be propofed.
Here the divifors to be tried are 1, 2, 4, 8, 16, 32,
each taken either pofitively or negatively j but to pre¬
vent the trouble of fo many fubftitutions, let us tranf-
form the equation, by putting x-J-i for y.
Then y4=rx4'-|-4x3-J- 6.V1-}- qx-j- 1
— 4y3~ —4A’3—12xx—12x  4
—8y rr — 8x— 8
+32= +32
— (we1.—i6.v-f-2J= o
is the transformed equation, and the divifors of the lafi Equation*
term are --f-1? — L +3> •—3, +7) —7- Thefe being Wltil1 rat:o"
put fucceffively for xy we get -|-i and -f-3 for two ,nal ^0uth
roots of the equation j and as to the two remaining
roots, it is eafy to fee that they muft be imaginary.
They may, however, be readily exhibited by confider-
ing, that the equation^4—fix1—i6x-|-2I=:o is divi-
fible by the produdl of the two faftors x—I and a—3,
and therefore may be reduced to a quadratic. Accord-
ingly, by performing the divifion, and putting the quo¬
tient equal o, w’e have this equation,
a1 4 a1 —J— 7 —o,
the roots of which are the imaginary quantities
—2 -f- V — 3 and — 2—V”— 3 ? fo that finceyjzrx-}-!,
the roots of the equation^/4—qy3 8y-|- 32=0 are thefe,
y= + 2, y=-f-4,y=—
If this literal equation were propofed
a; 3—(3rt-i-/')x*-{-(2rt*-{-3flZ')x—2a*bzzoi
by proceeding as before, we ftiould find x=za, x~2a1
x~b for the roots.
237. To avoid the trouble of trying all the divifors
of the lafi term, a rule may be invefiigated for re-
ftriHing the number to very narrow limits as fol¬
lows :
Suppofe that the cubic equation v3 -^-px2 -\-qx-\-r~o
is to be refolved. Let it be transformed into another,
the roots of which are lefs than thofe of the propofed
equation by unity : this may be done by afiuming
y=:A’—1, and the laft. term of the transformed equa¬
tion wall be 1 -f/’H-? "hT- Again, by affumingyrrrx -j-1
another equation will be formed wdiofe roots exceed
thofe of the propofed equation by unity, and the laft
term of this other transformed equation will be
—1 -\- p—y-f-T. And here it is to be obferved, that
thefe two quantities I and —1+ / — q +
are formed from the propofed equation x3 -^px1 -\-qx-\-r
by fubftituting in it fucceffively -f-i and —1 for x.
Now the values of x are fome of the divifors of r,
which is the term left in the propofed equation, when
x is fuppofed = o ; and the values of the y’s are fome
of the divifors of 1 -\-p~\-q-\-n and —I-fA—‘?+r r6-
fpeftively j and thefe values are in arithmetical pro-
grefiion, increafmg by the common difference unity j
becaufe x-—1, x, x -f-1 are In that progreffion j and it is
obvious, that the fame reafoning will apply to an equa¬
tion of any degree whatever. Hence the following
rule.
Subftitute in place of the unknown quantity, fuccef¬
fively, three or more terms of the progreffion 1, ©,—1,
Sec. and find all the divifors of the fums that refult,
then take out all the arithmetical progreffions that can
be found among thefe divifors, whofe common differ¬
ence is I, and the values of x will be among thefe terms
of the progreffions, which are the divifors of the refult
arifing from the fubfiitution of x =: o. When the fe-
ries increafes, the roots will be pofitive j and, when it
decreafes, they will be negative.
Ex. 1. Let it be required to find a root of the equa¬
tion X3-—.A 1 OX-f-6=0.
- The
Therefore x4
ALGEBRA.
Equations
with ratio¬
nal Root?.*
The operation.
SubJIit.
Refult.
tii
-#*•—ioat-J-6:
— 4
+ 6
+ 14
1. 2. 4.
1. 2. 3. 6.
1. 2. 7. 14.
sir. Pro.
645
Equations
with ratio¬
nal Roots.
In this example there is only one progreflion, 4, 3, 2,
the term of which oppofite to the fuppofition of O
being 3, and the feries dccrealing, we try if 3 fub-
flituted for x makes the equation vanifh, and as it fuc-
ceeds, it follows that —3 is one of its roots. To find
the remaining roots, if „r3—x1—iox + 6 be divided by
*+3> and the quotient —4* 2 put —0, they will
appear to be 2+^2 and 2—^2.
Ex. 2. Let the propofed equation be
xA + a3—lyx*—9* 4- 180=0.
To find its roots.
Sub.
Ref.
Divifors.
ProgreJJtons
70
M4
180
160
9°,
1. 2. 5. 7. 10. 14. 35. 70.
1. 2. 3. 4. 6. 8. 9. 12, &c.
1. 2. 3. 4. 5. 6. 9. 10, &c.
1. 2. 4. 5. 8. 10. 16. 20, &c.
1. 2. 3. 5. 6. 9. 10. 15, &c.
Here there are four progreffions, two increafing and
two decreafing : hence, by taking their terms, which
are oppofite to the fuppofition of x~o, we have thefe
tour numbers to be tried as roots of the equation 4"3»
4-4, —3> —5> which are found to fucceed.
238. If any of the coefficients of the propofed equa¬
tion be a fraflion, the equation may be transformed into
another, having the coefficient of the higheft power
unity, and thofe of the remaining terms integers by
^ 189 and the roots of the transformed equation being
found, thofe of the propofed equation may be eafily
derived from them.
For example, if the propofed equation be x3 {x1
4* x—6=zo. Let us aflume x — -, thus the equa¬
tion is transformed to
lL
64
If
'64
+
16
Or y.3—7/4-140^—384=0,
-one root of which isy=3 •, hence
The propofed equation being now divided by x—4 35
reduced to this quadratic xz a’4-8=o the roots of
which are both impoffible.
239. When the coefficients of an equation are inte¬
gers, and that of the higheft power of the unknown
quantity unity, if its roots are not found among the di¬
vifors of the laft term, we may be certain that, whe¬
ther the equation be pure or adfefted, its roots cannot
be exaftly expreffed either by whole numbers or ratio¬
nal fra£Hons. This may be demonllrated by means of
the following propofition. If a prime number P be a
divifor of the produfl of two numbers A, and B 5 it
will alfo be a diviibr of at leaft one of the numbers.
240. Let us fuppofe that it does not divide B, and
that B is greater than P •, then, putting q for the
greatell number of times that P can be had in B, and
B B'
B' for the remainder, w’e have —=74*~p'j an<^ there¬
fore
AB
P
=?A +
AB'
P
Hence it appears, that if P be a divifor of AB, it is
alfo a divifor of A Bk Now B' is lefs than P, for it is
the remainder which is found in dividing B by P j
therefore, feeing wre cannot divide B' by P, let P be
divided by B', and q' put for the quotient, alfo B" for
the remainder j again let P be divided by B", and qf
put for the quotient, and B"' for the remainder, and
fo on j and as P is fuppofed to be a prime number, it
is evident that this feries of operations may be conti¬
nued till a remainder be found equal to unity, wffiich
will at laft be the cafe, for the divifors are the fuccef-
five remainders of the divifions, and therefore each is
lefs than the divifor which preceded it. By perform¬
ing thefe operations we obtain the following feries of
equations
P=7'B'4-B"
P=y,'B"4-B/", >
&c.
and therefore
B"
B":
P—B'
q"
&c.
Hence we have AB'rzr
AP—AB"
and
q' A B' AP—AB"_ A B"
P - p -A ~p~
Now, if AB be divifible by P, we have fhewm that
AB', and confequently q'API is divifible by P, there¬
fore, from the lait equation, it appears that AB" mull
alfo be divifible by P.
Again, from the preceding feries of equations, we
have AB'~——-j- , and therefore
q
?"AB"__ AP—AB'"_ A AB'"
p — p —p j
hence we conclude that AB;' is alfo divifible by P.
Proceeding in this manner, and obferving that the
feries of quantities B', B", B'", &c. continually de-
creafe till one of them =1, it is evident that xve Ihall
at laft come to a product of this form Ax L wffiich
mull
(>4<J A L G
Equations muft be drvifible by P, and hence the truth of the oro-
vuth ratio- pofition is manifeft. . ^
r 241. It iollows Irom this propofition, that if the
prime number P, which we have fuppofed not to be a
divifor of £, is at the fame time not a divifor of A, it
cannot be a divifor of AB the produft of A and b’
242. Let “ be a fra&ion in its lowed terms, then
the numbers a and h have no common divifor j but
from what has been juft now ihewn, it appears^ that if
a prime number be not a divifor of a it cannot be a
diyifor of ay, a ox a*, and in like manner, that if a
prime number is not a divifor of b, it cannot be a di¬
vifor of byb, or bl; therefore, it is evident that a*
and b1 have no common divifor, and thus the fra&ion
b* . . .
—T is alfo in its lowed terms.
.a
Hence it follows that the fquare of any fraftional
quantity is dill a fradlion, and cannot podibly be a
whole number ; and, on the contrary, that the fquare
root of a whole number cannot podibly be a fra&ion j
fo that all fuch whole numbers as are not perfect
fquares can neither have their roots expreifed by inte¬
gers nor by fractions.
243. Since that if a prime number is not a divifor
of a, it is alfo not a divifor of a%, therefore if it is not a
divifor of a, it cannot be a divifor of ay a* or a*, $ 241,
and by reafoning in this way, it is obvious that if a
prime number is not a divifor of a, it cannot be a di¬
vifor of an ; alfo, that if it is not a divifor of b, it can-
fa
not be a divifor of bn, therefore if - is a fra&ion in its
a
lowed terms —is alfo a fradtion in its lowed terms j
fo that any power whatever of a fra&ion is alfo a frac¬
tion, and on the contrary, any root of a whole num¬
ber is alfo a whole number. Hence it follows that if
the root of a whole number is not expredible by an in¬
teger, fuch root cannot be expreded by a fradlion, but
is therefore irrational or incommenfurable.
244. Let us next fuppofe that
*n+P*"-1 + Q*"-*... -f T* -f U=o
is any equation whatever, in which P, Q^&c. denote
integer numbers 5 then if its roots are not integers they
cannot podibly be rational fradlions. For if podible,
let us fuppofe *=-, a fra&ion reduced to its lowed
E B R A.
Sect. XVI. Rejolution of Equations by Approxi-
mat ion. 1 — -
terms, then, by fubditution
+T?+U=o
and, reducing all the terms to a common denominator,
an + Van~lb-{.Qa”-2bi . . . -f Ta^-f UZ>"rro,
which equation may alfo be exprefled thus
a'+btfa" '+Qa*-*lb .. . O,
where the equation confids of two parts, one of which
is divifible by b. But by hypothefis a and b have no
common meafure, therefore an is not divifible by b,
§ 243, hence it is evident that the two parts of the’
equation cannot dedroy each other as they ought to
do $ therefore x cannot podibly be a fraction.
I
245* When the roots of an equation cannot be ac¬
curately exprefled by rational numbers, it is neceflary
to have recourle to the methods of approximation, and
by thefe we can always determine the numerical values
of the roots to as great a degree of accuracy as we
pleafe.
246. The application of the methods of approxima¬
tion is rendered eafy by means of the following prin¬
ciples :
If two numbers, either whole or fraftional, be found,
which, when fubdituted for the unknown quantity in
any equation, produce refults with contrary ligns; we
may conclude that at lead one root of the propofed
equation is between thofe numbers, and is confequ^ntly
real.
Let the propofed equation be
X 3 $X* -}- I OX 15—0
which, by collefting the podtive terms into one fum,
and the negative into another, may alfo be expreifed
thus
*3 IO*-—(5**4.
then, to determine a root of the equation, we mud
find fuch a number as when fubdituted for x will
render
10*:= 5**415.
Let us fuppofe * to have every degree of magnitude
from o upwards in the fcale of number, then *3 410*
and 5**415 will both continually in ere afe, but wdth
different degrees of quicknefs, as appears from the fol¬
lowing table.
Succeflive values of*, o, I, 2, 3, 4, 5, 6, &c.
 of *3 410*. o, 11, 28,57, io4> 175, 276, &c.
 of 5**415.15, 20,35,60, 95,140,195, &c.
By infpefting this table, it appears that while * In-
creafes from o to a certain numerical value, which ex¬
ceeds 3, the pofitive part of the equation, or *’410*,
is always lefs than the negative part, or c**4i c : fo
that the expreffion
*3 410*—(5*14i5)» or *3—5**410*—-15
mud neceffarily be negative.
It alfo appears that when * has increafed beyond that
numerical value, and which is evidently lefs than 4,
the pofitive part of the equation, indead of being lefs
than the negative part, is now greater, and therefore
the expredion
*3—5^'* +1 o*— 15
is changed from a negative to a pofitive quantity.
247. Hence we may conclude that there is fome
real and determinate value of *, which is greater than
3, but lefs than 4, and which wall render the pofitive
and negative parts of the equation equal to one another j
therefore that value of * mud be a root of the propofed
equation j and as what has been jud now fhewn in a
particular cafe will readily apply to any equation what¬
ever, the truth of what has been afferted at § 246 is
obvious.
248. Twro
A L G
Approxima- 248. Two limits, between which all the roots of any
; tl°n' , equation are contained, may be determined by the fol-
lowing propofition.
Let N be the greateft negative coefficient in any
equation. Change the figns of the terms taken alter¬
nately, beginning with the fecond, and let N' be the
greateft negative coefficient after the figns are fo
changed. The pofitive roots of the equation are con¬
tained between o and and the negative roots
between o and —N'—1.
Suppofe the equation to be
x*—fix'* -f-yv1—rx—r—O
which may be alfo exprefi'ed thus
*4(i.
x x-
r_ _£\
~x3 a;4/
:0.
Then, whatever be the values of the coefficients />, q, r,
&c. it is evident that x may be taken fo great as to
render each of the quantities ~ as fmall as
X X* Xi7 X4
tve pleafe, and therefore their fum, or - -4- -2- -L
* X~xl xi—x4
lefs than 1 j but in that cafe the quantity
xA(i 
v x ' a;*
or x4—•J.v3 -}-qx*—rA:ffi-r
will be pofitive, and fuch, that the firft term a?4 is
greater than the fum of all the remaining terms, there¬
fore alfo x4-j-qxa the fum of the pofitive terms will be
much greater than flx* -j-r the fum of the negative
terms alone.
Hence it follows, that if a number be found, which
when fubftituted for at, renders the expreffion x4—pxi
-{-qxz—rx—s pofitive, and which is alfo fuch that every
greater number has the fame property, that number will
exceed the greateft pofitive root of the equation.
Now, if we fuppofe N to be the greateft negative
coefficient, it is evident that the pofitive part of the
equationr or a:4-f-^v*, is greater than /w5-f-rx-{-r,
provided that a:4 is greater than N#3-f N**-j-N*
4-N, or N(*r3-f-xa-J-tf-f-i) } but K3
x4— 1
—i, therefore a pofitive refult will be obtained, if
condition will evidently be fulfilled if we take x* x4
=rN.r4, and from this equation we find x—N-f-l ; but
it farther appears that the fame condition will alfo be
fulfilled as often as x5—^^Nx4 or x—i^N, that
is- a: 1, therefore N-j-i rnuft be a limit to the
greateft pofitive root of the propofed equation, as was
to be fhewm.
4249» H y be fubftituted for -f-x, the equation
is fixi-f-qx*—rx—-r —o will be transformed into
d'4 3 ~h7J’i-hry—■J'—0 j which equation differs from
E B R A. 547
the former only in the figns of the fecond, fourth, &c. Approxima-
terms; and as the pcfitive roots of this laft equation ticn-
are the fame as the negative roots of the propofed equa-
tion, it is evident that their limit muft be fuch as has
been affigned.
250. From the twro preceding propofitions it will
not be difficult to difcover, by means of a few trials,
the neareft integers to the roots of any propofed numeral
equation, and thofe being found, we may approximate
to the roots continually, as in the following example :
x4—qx3*—3A: 427—0.
Here the greateft negative coefficient being 4, it fol¬
lows, $ 248, that the greateft pofitive root is lefs than
5. If —-y be fubftituted for a;, the equation is trans¬
formed to
y4+4y1*+3y+27=°
an equation having all its terms pofitive 5 therefore, it
can have no pofitive roots, and confequently the pro¬
pofed equation can have no negative roots; its real
roots muft therefore be contained between o and 4 5.
251. To determine the limits of each root in parti¬
cular, let o, 1, 2, 3, 4, be fubftituted fucceflively for
x ; thus we obtain the following correfponding refults-
Subftitutions for x o, 1, 2, 3, 4
Refults 427,421,45,—9,415
Hence it appears that the equation has twro real roots,
one between 2 and 3, and another between 3 and 4.
252. That we may approximate to the firft root, let
us fuppofe x=2-j-y, wffiere j; is a fra&ion lefs than
unity,, and therefore its fecond, and higher powers but
fmall in comparifon to its firft power ; hence, in find¬
ing an approximate value of j/, they may be reje&ed.
Thus we have «
a-*—4!6432V-, &c.
—4x3 =■—32—48j-, &c..
427 =427
A
Hence o = 5—igjr nearly
andJ—“—zS, therefore, for a firft approximation,
we have vm 2.26.
Lee us next luppofe x~ 2.26-\-y\ then, reje£ling as
before the fecond and higher powers of yf on account
of their fmallnefs, we have
x4:r: 4 26.087 446.17 2/ &c.
—4.v}=r—46.172—61.2914 &c.
3X =— 6.780— 34
+ 27 = + 27
0 — — l ft.1194 nearly
Hence4=—^-=:.0075 and x= 2.2644= 2‘2(^7S>
This value of a; is true to the laft figure* but a more
accurate value may be obtained by fuppofing at—2.675
44', and finding the value of 4' in the fame manner
as we have already found thofe of y' and y ; and thus
the
u is pIaced M£ "ntqual-
643
A L G
Approxima- the approximation may be continued till any required
, tlon‘ degree of accuracy be obtained.
^ " ‘ The fecond root of the equation, which we have
already found to be between 3 and 4, may be invefti-
gated in the fame manner as the fir if, and will appear
to be 3.6797, the approximation being carried on to
the fourth figure of the decimal, in determining each
root.
2 ^3. In the preceding example we have fhewn how
to approximate to the roots of an adfefted equation,
but the fame method will alfo apply to pure equations.
For example, let it be required to determine x from
this equation *5~2.
Becaufe x is greater than 1, and lefs than 2, but
nearer to the former number than to the latter, let us
affume I -|-y, then,-rejedling the powers of y which
exceed the firft, we have x* =zl and therefore
2z=l-\~3y, andy=y—.3 nearly, hence x~1.3 nearly.
Let us next affume xzzi.^-^-y', then, proceeding as
before, we find 2= 2.197-j-5.o7y', hence /=—~~
——.039, and x~ 1.3—.0393=1.26 nearly.
To find a ftill nearer approximation let us fuppofe
.v—i.26-f-y,5 then from this affumption we find y—
—.000079, and therefore x=:l2.59921, which value
is true to the laft figure.
254. By affuming an equation of any order with li¬
teral coefficients, a general formula may be inveftigat-
ed, for approximating to the roots of equations belong¬
ing to that particular order.
Let us take for an example the cubic equation
-j-?#+r=o,
and fuppofe that xz=:a -j-y, where a is nearly equal to
x, and y is a fmall fraction. Then, by fubrtituting
a-\-y for x in the propofed equation, and rejefting the
pow-ers of y which exceed the firft, on account of their
fmallnefs, we have
a' +r+(ja' + y:aJrq)y=o
E B R A.
vantage of fhewing the progrefs made in the approxi-Approxima.
mation by each operation. This improved form we now , tion‘
proceed to explain. w-y—
Let a denote the whole number, next lefs to the
root fought, and - a fraftion, which when added to a,
completes the root, then If this value of x
y
be fubftituted in the propofed equation, a newr equation
involving y will be had, which, when cleared of frac¬
tions, will neceffarily have a root greater than unity.
Let b be the whole number which is next lefs than
that root, then, for a firft approximation, we have a —
But b being only an approximate value of yt
in the fame manner as a is an approximate value of a*,
we may fuppofe y-rr/j + i, then, by fubftituting
for 5', wre fhall have a newT equation, involving only y\
which muft be greater than unity •, putting therefore br
to denote the next whole number lefs than the root of
the equation involving y(, wTe have y=b~{-~ ——
and fubftituting this value in that of x the refult is
y
x=a+M+i
for a fecond approximate value of x.
To find a third value w7e may take yrzr^'-f-—, then
if b" denote the next whole number lefs than y", we
have
, „ x b'b"+\ ,
+777=—T— whence-
y=bJr
b"
AZ=rt-f
b'b"-\-l
b'b”+l
'bb'b"-\-b" + b
b"~ y
_bb'b»+b"+b
b'b"-\- X
and
Hence y~-
a5 -f-pa' -\-qa-\-i'
3a1 —j— 2pa ”j—^
a ' -\-pa' -\-qa + r la1, -\-pa'—r
2)a'-]r2pa-\-q 3a' -\-2pa-\-q
255. Let it be required to approximate to a root of
the cubic equation x*-{• 2x'^x—jonro. Here />=:2
<7=33 and r——50 j and by trials it appears that x is
between 2 and 3, but neareft the latter number; there¬
fore for the firft approximation a may be fuppofed=:3,
hence wTe find
r—2/73 -}-pa' r , , ?
$a'+2pa+q a,‘
By fubftituting -It f°r a m the formula, and proceed¬
ing as before, a value of x would be found more exadt
than the former, and fo on we may go as far as wTe
pleafe.
2 56. The method wTe have hitherto employed for ap¬
proximating to the roots of equations is known by the
name of 'The methodoffuccejjivefubfhtutions, and was firft:
propofed by New’ton. It has been fince improved by
Lagrange, who has given it a form which has the ad-
2
and fo on to obtain more accurate approximations.
257. We ftiall apply this method to the following
example
#3—7Af-j-73=o.
Here the pofitive roots muft be between o and 8 let us
therefore fubftitute fucceffively, o, 1, 2, . . . to 8 and
we obtain refults as follow :
Subftitutions.
o, 1, 2, 3, 4, 5, 6, 7, 8.
Refults.
+ 7> + I> + 1> + I3> +43> +97> + I8i, +301,4-4^3*
but as thefe refults have all the fame fign, nothing can
be concluded refpedting the magnitude of the roots
from that circumftance alone. It is, however, obferva-
ble, that while x increafes from o to 1 the refults de-
creafe; but that whatever fucceffive magnitudes x has
greater than 2, the refults increafe ; wre may therefore
reafonably conclude that if the equation have any pofi¬
tive roots they muft be between 1 and 2. According¬
ly by fubftituting x.2, 1.4,1.6, and 1.8 fucceffively for
a* wx find thefe refults -{-.328, —*056, —.104, -f- •232,
and'
A L G E
Apptoxima-and as tliere are here two changes of the figns, it follows
, tLOr1, , that the equation has two pofitive roots, one between
1.2-and 1.4 and another between 1.6 and 1.8.
Hence it appears that to find either value of .v we
may affume A-m-f--, thus, by fubftitution, we have
y
y—4/+3.y+I=°-
The limit of the pofitive roots of this laft equation is 5,
and by fubftituting o, 1, 2, 3, 4 fuccefiively for y, it
will be found to have two, one of which is between
1 and 2, and the other between 2 and 3. Therefore
for a firft approximation we have
x~ 1 -{-4, that is x~2, A’=4.
To approach nearer to the firft value of j>, let us take
, and therefore
y
y3_2yi—y 4-1=0.
BRA.
—4, and to find a nearer value we may put xzz—3^—
“* hence we have —20y>-—py—1 = 0, and yr^’20,'
y-*^2X and therefore, for the firft approximation, x—
By putting y=2o-f-—, &c. we may
-TO “
6 l
649
Infinite
Series.
obtain fuccefiive values of x, each of which wall be
more exaft than that which preceded it.
258. The iucceflive equations which involvey, y\
y , &c. have never more than one root greater than
unity, unlefs that twro or more roots of the propofed
equation are contained between the limits a, and a-j-i,
but when that circumftance has place, as in the pre¬
ceding example, feme one of the equations involving
yi y j &c. will have more than one root greater than
unity, and from each root a feries of equations may be
derived, by which we may approximate to the parti¬
cular roots of the propofed equation contained between
the limits a and a-j-i.
This laft equation wall be found to have only one real
root betw7een 2 and 3, from w7hich it appears that
t —1 -— 1', and x—!. 1 —j— y j.
Let us next fuppofe y,= 2-{-~, hence w7e find
y"7—3y''*—4y"—1=o
and from this equation y" is found to be between 4
and 5. Taking the leaft limit we have
V> *’=1+TT=-rT*
It is eafy to continue this procefs by afiuming y'zz
4+yT/» and fo on, as far as may be judged neceffary.
We return to the fecond value of x, which was
found =1 by the firft approximation, and w7hich cor-
refponds to y~ 2. Putting y— 2 4—and fubftituting
this value in the equation y3—qy*which
was formerly found, we get
y3+y*—2y'—i=ro,
this equation, as well as the correfponding equation em¬
ployed in determining the other value of x, has only
one root greater than unity, wdiich root being between
1 and 2, let us takey'rzri, we thence find
y=3 and and *■= I t-
Put y'=z 1 +y7» an^ 'v'’e thence find by fubftitution
y'3—sy"1—4y"—1=0
an equation which gives y" betw7een 4 and 5, hence as
before,
y=|,y=V4,
That we may proceed in the approximation wre have
only to hippofey^zr^-j-—and fo on. The equation
*3—7*+ 7 has alfo a negative root between —*3 and
Vol, I. Part II.
Sect. XVII. Of Infinite Series.
.259*. ,THE refolving of any propofed quantity into a
feries, is a problem ot confiderable importance in the
application of algebra to the higher branches of the ma¬
thematics, and there are various methods by which it
may be performed, fuited to the particular forms of the
quantities which may become the fubjeft of confidera-
tion.
260. Any rational fraction may be refolved into a
feries by the common operation of algebraic divifion
as in the following examples :
Ex. 1. T o change   into an infinite feries
a v
Operation.
(*4"7-{“r+^+, &c,
ax-—x%
-f*1
Thus it appears, that
ux x , x x*
+> &c.
Here the law of the feries being evident, the terms
may be continued at pleafure.
Ex. 2. It is required to convert -—into an in-
(a-t-x)*
finite feries
4 N
a*-f~
6^o
Infinite
Series, or lax-\~«x)ax
ALOE
2.v 3** 4X5
. tx jx qx' 0
ai-{-2ax-\-xi
—2ax—x
—2a x—4ar—-
2x-:
BRA.
into feries, and which is alfo of very exteniive ufe in the
higher parts of the mathematics, confiits in affuming a (
feries with indeterminate coefficients, and having its
terms proceeding according to the powers of fome
quantity contained in the propofed expreffion.
That we may explain this method, let us fuppofe
that the fraftion
2x:
+3JC* +
U
, 6xi , 3x4
+ 3X -I—  f“~T~
a a
Therefore
4*::
a
3X
2X
■ r
a a
3*
qx
a1
+
5»4
&c.
(a+x)*"
the law of continuation being evident.
261. A fecond method by which algebraic quanti¬
ties, whether rational or irrational, may be converted
a* -{-ax -\-x%
•where A denotes thefe terms of the feries into which
k does not at all enter ; Bw the terms which contain
only the firft power of x ; Cx* the terms which con¬
tain only the fecond power, and fo on. Let both fides
of the equation be multiplied by a* -\-ax-{-x* fo as to
take away the denominator of the fradlion, and let
the numerator a1 be tranfpofed to the other ffde, fo
that the whole expreffion may be =0, then
ax A -f-tf*
—az-{-a
*£1 -fu’C*) +aiDl ■)
Aj* -}-<^B>.\’, -j-12 ^ f &c. >■ =ro.
-f-ikj J
Now the quantities A, B, C, D, &c. being fup-
pofed to be entirely independent of any particular va¬
lue of x, it follows that the whole expreflion can only
be = o, upon the fuppolition that the terms which
multiply the fame powers of x are feparately =0 j for
if that were not the cafe, it would follow that x had a
certain determinate relation to the quantities A, B, C,
&c. which is contrary to what we have all along fup-
pofed. To determine the quantities A, B, C, D, &.c.
therefore, we have this feries of equations
a*A—a1 —0 Hence A—1
a a
C=_—=0
a a*
d=_—_4=A
a a* a1
axB -\-aA rro
<34 C-f-^ BA re o
idD-j-tfC-j-Bzrro
-{-C rro
&c.
a
&c.
zAB-f-i =0
2AC-J-B* —o
AD + BC=o
&c.
B—“lA:
B-
2A"
D=_^
I
2a
1
~8a*
1
16a5
Here the law of relation which takes place among
the quantities A, B, C, D, &c. is evident, viz. that if
P, Q^, R, denote any three coefficients which imme¬
diately follow each other
a2R-f-aQj--1^ 0
and from this equation, by means of the coefficients al¬
ready determined, we find Frzo, G—II — —
a6 a1
Krro, &c.
Therefore, refuming the affumed equation, and fub-
ftituting for A, B, C, &c. their refpe&ive values, we
have
&c.
and fubftituting for A, B, C, &c. their values
. . tgA ^6
2 a ’8a3T~ i6ai
&c.
This method of refolving a quantity into an infinite
feries will be found more expeditious than any other,
as often as the operations of divifion and evolution are
to be performed at the fame time, as in thefe expref-
fions
v/
Va*—x1
1 */a* -\-x
x x*
X6
—— 5k -i—r——v &C
/i* ' ,76 //7 ‘ 1 7
a*-{-ax -f-.A'
t 262, As a fecond example of the method of indeter-
263. The binomial theorem affords a third method
of refolving quantities into feries, but before tve ex¬
plain this method it will be proper to fhew how the
theorem itfelf may be inveftigated.
Let a-{-x be any binomial quantity, which is to be
railed
Infinite
Series.
is to be converted into a
a2-\~ax-{-x*
feries proceeding by the powTers of x ; we are therefore
to affume
—rrA-J-Bx-J-Ca^-J-Da;3-f-E*4-j-, Ge¬
minate coefficients, let it be required to exprefs the
fquare root of a1—x% by means of a feries. For this
purpofe w;e might affume
VV—A’*:rrA-TBtt-f-Cx*-f-D.v3-j-E.v4-}-, &c.
but as we would find the coefficients of the odd powers
of x, each —o, let us rather affume
vV-—x1—A -j-BA -j-Cv4 -j-DT5-{-, &c.
then, fquaring both fides, and tranfpofing, we have
f A2 -f-2ABl -f-2ACl -f 2AD1
o=< -j- i [-x* Va4
L—a* j + B43 -ff2BCj
Hence A2—a* rro and A—a
Infinite
Series.
A L G E B R A.
*
7U
raifed to a power denoted by -—, where m and n de-
i n
note any numbers either pofitive or negative. Or be-
caufe a-{-x=zayi ^ we Put ~—y’ then (a-\-x)n
Becaufe un=i-\-y and vnzzl+z, by fubtracling
the latter equation from the former, un vn—y z,
hence, and from the laii feries, we have
y-
fo that if we fubflitute for
' + u'
~an X (I 5 therefore inftead of a-\-x we may
conlider i -j-J', which is fomewhat more fimple in its
form.
264. By confidering fome of the firft powers of
1 viz.
(1-|-v)*=i-}-2;e-{- x*
(1-j-;v)3:=ix'
(I -i-.v)4=i -j-4Ar-}-6A;*-j-4X5 -f-.v4
&c.
it appears that the powers of 1 -f-v have this form
1A.rB.v*Ca?3D,*4-{-, &c.
where the coefficients A, B, C, D, &c. are numbers
which are altogether independent of any particular
value of x. It alfo appears that the feries cannot con¬
tain any negative power of x ; for if any of its terms
had this form-^q then, the fuppofition of xzzo would
X
render that term indefinitely great, whereas the whole
feries ought in that cafe to be reduced to unity.
265. Let us therefore affurae
, m
(+J,)n = i+Ar + B/ + Cy3+Dj;4-f, &c.
Then we have alfo
m
(AiS-j-B^-j-Cfc3 &c.
Let us put (1 -\-y)nz=.u, (1 -{-*)” = and therefore or t0 t^le following :
tn m
(l+y)n—um, z=vm, then, taking the differ¬
ence between the two feries, we have
a*—A(y—3)+B(/—**) + C(y3_.:s3)-fD
O’4—*4)+, &c.
um—vm _ A0’—g) f
Un—v* r__z + v__2, ^
D(_y4—z4)
y-
-f-, &c.
266. But every expreffion of the form um vm is
divifible by u—v, when wz is a whole number, thus we
have
um—vn=:(u—<u)(um-1+um~xv ...
Un Vn—(u v)(un~x + Un-xV ... -j-a-Un~*-f-'t)"-1)
um vr'
its value, as found
from thefe equations, and divide each term of the feries
by the denominator y 2 we have
A + B(j' + 20 -f- -j- «J)-{-D(yJ-|-y*2-4-iy2;*
+ *3)+E(j'4+d'3!2+/2il+J'z3 +24)-j-, &C.
Now as this laft equation muff be true, whatever be
the values of y and z, we may fuppofe jw=:k, but in
that cafe 1-f-jym-f-s or and therefore zz=i;.
Thus the equation is reduced to
mu**—^
——r=A+2B4--f3C>'*-f4Dj;3-f5Ey4+, &c.
— —«"(a+2%+3c/+4%j+5e/+> &c.),
fo that, putting for um and u" their values (i+^'and
!+y we have
( I +j)(A + 2:B^+3 Q>,'+4r)J'}+5%4+, &c.)
_ f A + 2Bj>-f3C/-f4D)'3+5 Ey4+, &c.
1 + A j 4-2B/4-3cJ3 &c.
But from the equation originally affumed we have
therefore
+,).-=^+^A,+^B/+^.C,.+f y + >&c.
mm. 77t 7n m
V+T^-^+T®-’' +~Cy'+~v’}>+' &c>
_ r A+2 Bj--{-3 Cy_j_ 4D4)3 4-5 E^4-{-, &C.
1 + A j 4-2Bd’,-i-3cd'3+4DJ’44->
And as the coefficients of the terms have no connexion of y on the other fide. Therefore, to determine
ivith any particular value of j’, it follows, that the co- A, B, C, &c. we have the following feries of equ-
emcient of any power of on the one fide of the equa- tions:
tion mull be equal to the coefficient of the fame power
4 N 2
A=r
ALGEBRA.
A=-
Hence Arr-
A
n
m
2 B-f A
3 C-f 2B=—B
n
4D+3C=^C
5E+4D=^d
&c.
B
K{m — n)
2n
D-
E =
2
  n 2) B(m—2«)
3 —— 3*
n  C(m—3«)
b(v-)
4«
5
&c.
D(wz—4«)
' J«
Or, fubftituting for A, B, C, &c. their values as
determined from the preceding equations :
^ m
B
n
m[m—«)
i. 2 «*
 m{m—«)(/«—2ti)
~ TTz ^ 3
^ m(m—n)(/n—2/i)(m—3/2)
1 • 2 . 3 . 4 n+
y m(m—n)(m—2n)(m—322) (w—427)
I. 2 .3 .4 . 5 72s
&c.
267. Refuming now the affumed equation,
(1 ~hd’) n—:I "h>
x ” ” ”
And obferving that “—J' and (aq-^) n~a »( 1 -\-y)n
we have
rm x t A(m—22) a;1 ( B (222—222)
Vi
(,i+*)*:=a-(i+— -+
222
3^
422
where A, B, C, &c. denote the coefficients of the pre¬
ceding terms, or
„ ” ™ m 222(222—22) , ,
(22 4-^) H a n w + n * +
' ‘ ' r 22 I . 2 22*
*72 (:n—22) ( m—222) __-bl .
—2 L± -i a ”
1 • 2 . 3 22s
1.2.3 *4 ”4
and either of thefe formulae may be confidered as a ge¬
neral theorem for raffing a binomial quantity <2-|-2e to
any power whatever.
268. In determining the value of the expreffion
— jvhen u~v it has been taken for granted that
w
1 u“—v
— is pofitive, but the fame conclufion will be obtain- Series!
n t " s
ed when — is negative. For, changing -j-w int°
—-222, and obferving that
m —n
we have
irm—v~m i_ /vm—um \ 1 /22™—vm \
un—vn umvm \ un—vn J um vn‘ \ u"—vn /
Now we have already found, that when u~v, the
fraftion
cafe
becomes —r-, therefore in the fame
~vn nu
n —1 mu
-X r
and from this lad expreffion we derive the lame value
for u~m or (1 -J-j') " as before, regard being had to the
change of the lign of the exponent.
269. If we fuppofe 222 to be a pofitive integer, and
22“ I the feries given in laft article for the powers of
tf-J-# will abvays terminate, as appears alfo from the
JJl
operation of involution ; but if 222 be negative, or —
a fra&ion, the feries will confifl: of an indefinite num¬
ber of terms. Examples of the application of the
theorem have been already given upon the firft fuppo-
fition, when treating of involution *, we now proceed
to ffiewr howT it is to be applied to the expanfion of al¬
gebraic quantities into feries upon either of the two lafi:
hypothefes.
270. Ex. 1. It is required to exprefs by means
of a feries.
Becaufe
Therefore
1 +“
(7-+a)3
(■+;)
Let (1+7)
have
be compared with (27-f-x)'1 and we-
27—1, x~ m~—3, 72—1.
Hence, by fubftituting thefe values of 27, x, 222, 22 in the
firft general formula of (§267) we have
r I.27*2 1.2.37*5
' L
1.2.37
jcx?
Ex. 2.
ALGEBRA,
653
Tleverficn
of Series,
Ex. 2. It is required to exprefs Va-f-b by the form of a feries.
Becaufe
■
3  
/ T w
a
b\\ . . , £
Reverfion
of Series.
Therefore Va -±-b — \/a X = cT^i +-^T
(b\* *
i+-jT with (a-}-x)~ we have <7=1, * —w=3>
and fubilituting as in laft example
C-Af.,'* l.2b’ 1.2.$*'. I.2.5.?
3  \ V 3.6«ji_3.6.9«} s-6*^1
l=a7li-]   4- r —  
L \ ' 3« ort4 ' 8i«J 243d
l.b 1.2b* I.2.5&* I.2.5.8^4
2a
i£v. 3. It is required to refolve
Becaufe
3a 9a*
into a feries.
ob*
243^
+ ,&C.J
C^+«3H
— i
r* X (rT+^ 3) 3 if we raife to the — y power, and multiply the refulting feries
(>J+a3H"
by r*, we fhall have the feries required. Or the given quantity may be reduced to a more limple form thus y
■A
becaufe r** X
Therefore (r’-}-»5)T=:r*^i an(l
FWt=(^=(,+^) t‘
f=(^)
I 2*5
Hence
(r3 4-*3)y
<! =1.
2*J 2.5Z6 2.5.8*9 2.5.8.II*1
3rl 3-br6 3.6.9^ 3.6.9.12^
— I.
5Z
3z j~
V3+ 9 ~~
40ay
87^
+
I IOZ1*
243r*
I—j &c.
—, &c.
4. It is required to find a feries equal to
Firfl by the binomial theorem we have
. — - - - I iy3 v ^ V ^
Va* -j- x‘~(a1 + *2)T — a -\ 
v za
1 < 2 2^-7 1 , K*
-====(» -AT) =- +
V a*4'A'’*
8a3 1 16as
3X* . S*6
See.
■x
za? 8a1 16a ’
4-, &c.
Therefore, by taking the produfl of the two feries,
and proceeding in the operation only to fuch terms as
involve the 6th power of x, we find
v/«* 4-a
Va2—x
iy>^ a-* 4 iy6
*-V iAf (A a
:I+~^+2V &c-
Sect. XVIII. Of the Reverjlon of Series.
271. The method of indeterminate coefficients, which
we have already employed when treating of infinite fer
ries, may alfo be applied to what is called the reverting:
of feries j that is, having any quantity expreffed by an
infinite feries compiled of the powers of another quan¬
tity, to exprefs, on the contrary, the latter quantity by
means of an infinite feries compofed of the powers of
the former.
272. Let J'=«4-flA:4-Z>X'*4-£'^, 4-</v44-, &c.
Then to revert the feries we mull find the value of
x in terms of^y. For this purpofe we fhall tranfpofe //,.
and put zz=y—«r, then
z—ax-\-bx%-{-ex*-tf-dx*&c.
Now when x=o, it is evident that z—o, therefore we
may affume for x a feries of this form
a;i=Az4-Bz*4-Cz3 4-Dz44-, See.
where the coefficients A, B, C, D, &c. denote quan¬
tities as yet unknown, but which are entirely indepen¬
dent of the quantity x. To determine thofe quantities
let the firft, fecond, third, &c. powers of the feries
Aa^B^ + C*3 4'-D*4-}~> &c.
be
%4
OfLoga- be found by multiplication, and fubftituted for x*.
nthms, &c. r ci- i • V - *
i Xsy &.C. reipecuvely, m the equation
ALGEBRA.
uted for x, x*r
orr—%-\-ax-\-bx%-\-cx'i &c.
thus we have
•\-ax —aA.z-\-al*> al-f~ aCz* -}- aDz4-|-&c.*
•\-bx*x=. Azs&* -f 2^> ABz;3 -f- 2^ ACz4 -f Stc.
Z'B* z4 'f =o
-f-cz^rr cA’z J-f-3cA*B2i4-r&c.
-f^Z4= 4- 4!A4 244-&C.
&c.
and, putting the coefficients of z, z*, z5, &c. each—o,
«A—i—o, tfB-{-^A*—o, aC-|-s^AB-f-cA1—o
i^AC-f-^B^d-d^A*B-b<fA4=o, &c*
thefe equations give
A—~
a
b=_A
aJ
^ zft—ac
D
8tc.
  —^abc-\-azd
Therefore a;—-z -^-z* 4-— —z*
a a1 as
_5j;-5gfc+av.+> &c_
powers of 2 for inftance may become equal, either ex- Of Loga-'1
aftly, or "nearer than by any affignable difference, toyithms’
all numbers whatever, from o upwards. If the ex- L“““V*“J
ponents be integers we ffiall have only the numbers
which form the geometrical progreffion i, 2, 4, 8,
i6r &c. but the intermediate numbers may be expref-
fed, at lead: nearly, by means of fradlional exponents.
Thus the numbers from o to 1 o may be expreffed by
the powers of 2 as follows;
2U =1
21 —2
2x.J8S
2Z =4
22.J« — 3
2ViT8J — g
2x.807 y
2>- = 8
23-*?0- 9
23.3»
In like manner may fra&ions be expreffed by the
powers of 2. Thus
• —*■3 1 »
*3:
2
r,&c.
where it is obfervable that the exponents are now ne¬
gative.
In the fame manner may all numbers be expreffed
by the powers of 10. Thus
10*
10-
— -i
I0.30i __ 2
io*4 7 7 ro 3
&c.
10-6 9 9 _ .2
10--JZJ _
Sec.
273. As an example of the application of this formu¬
la, let it be required to determine x from the equation
— + — +, Sec.
2 3 4
y=x.
In this cafe we have
z=y, a=i, b-—\, c=}, Sec.
Therefore, fubftituting thefe values, we hare
*=y+T+^+yi+’&c-
274. In the equation
aJ’+Ay1 TO'5 "I-» &:c* —(i,x-\-b,xl-\-cx'i Sec.
In which both fides are expreffed by feries, and it is
required to find y in terms of x, we muff affume, as
before,
4>=A#-f B^-fCAr1-f-D#4-]-, Sec.
and fubftitute this feries and its powers for y and its
powers in the propofed equation, afterwards, by bring¬
ing all the terms to one fide, and making the coefficients
of each power ofjy, rro, a feries of equations will be
had by which the quantities A, B, C, D, Sec. may be
determined.
Sect. XIX. . Of Logarithms and Exponential
Quantities.
275. All pofitive numbers may be confidered as
powers of any one given affirmative number. The
2
276. Even a fra&ion might be taken in place of 2, or
10, in the preceding examples, andfuch exponents might
be found as would give its powers equal to all num¬
bers from o upwards. There are therefore no limita¬
tions with refpedl to the magnitude of the number, by
the powers of which all other numbers are to be ex¬
preffed, except that it muff neither be equal to unity,
nor negative. If it were =1, then all its powers
would alfo be zri, and if it were negative, there are
numbers to which none of its powers could poffibly be
equal.
277. If therefore y denote any number wdiatever,
and r a given number, a number x may be found,
fuch, that r* ~y, and #, that is the exponent of r
which gives a number equal to y, is called the lo¬
garithm of y.
278. The given number r, by the powers of which
all other numbers are expreffed, is called the radical
number of the logarithms which are the indices of
thofe powers.
279. From the preceding definition of logarithms
their properties are eafily deduced, as follow's;
1. The fum of two logarithms is equal to the lo¬
garithm of their product. Let y and y' be tw7o num¬
bers, and x and x' their logarithms, fo that r*—y, and
rH —y'y then r* X r* —yftor * ~yy\ hence, from
the definition, x + x' is the logarithm of yy', that is
the fum of the logarithms of y and yf is the logarithm
of yf.
2. The difference of the logarithms of two num¬
bers is equal to the logarithm of their quotient j for
if
A L G E
OfLojra- / x
rrthms, &c. if r — y and r* —j’', tlien — — or * — —-
 v 1 ~ jk y' yn
therefore, by the definition, x—x' is the logarithm of
bra.
I • 2
nx(nx—i)(«.v-
6SS
• 2) Ox'Loga-
 tf3 rithmf,
| (nx— i) (;n-— 2)(A
I • 2 1 3 : 4 a c’
y • •
— 3 that is the difference of the logarithms ofy and yf
is the logarithm of -dy.
3. Let n be any'number whatever, then, log. N"=r«
X log. N. For Nn is N multiplied into itfelf n times,
therefore the logarithm of Nn is equal the logarithm
of N added to itielf n times, or to « x log. N.
280. From thefe properties of logarithms it follows,
that it wre pollefs tables by which we can aihgn the
logarithm correfponding to any given number, and al¬
io the number correfponding to any given logarithm,
the operations of multiplication and divifion of num¬
bers may be reduced to the addition and fubtracHon of
their logarithms, and the operations of involution and
evolution to the more limple operations of multiplica¬
tion and divifion. Thus if two numbers x and y are
to be. multiplied together, by taking the fum of their
logarithms, we obtain the logarithm of their produft
and, by infpe&ing the table, the produft itfelf. A fimi-
lar obfervation applies to the quotient of two numbers
and alfo to any power or to any root of a number.
281.. The general properties of logarithms are inde¬
pendent of any particular value of the radical number,
and hence there may be various fyftems of logarithms,
according to the radical number employed in their
confiruclion. "Thus if the radical number be 10, we
lhall have the common fyftem of logarithms, but if it
were 2,7i828l8 we fhould have the logarithms firfl:
confirucfed by Lord Napier, which are called hyper¬
bolic logarithms.
282. We have already obferved (§ 277), that the
relation between any number and its logarithm is ex-
preffed by the equation r*=rj', wdiere y denotes a num¬
ber, x its logarithm, and r the radical number of the
fyftem, and any.two of thefe three quantities being gi¬
ven, the remaining one may be found. If either y or
r were the. quantity.required, the queftion would in¬
volve no difficulty } if, however, the exponent x were
wonlidered as tue unknoisn quantity while /*andy were
fuppofed given, the equation to be relolved would be
of a different form than any that we have hitherto con-
fidered : Equations of this form are called exponential
equations, to refolve fuch an equation is evidently the
fame thing as to determine the logarithm of a given
number, and this problem we ftiall now proceed to in-
veftigate.
2S3. We therefore relume the equation r*—y, where
r,.a?, andy denote as before, we are to find a value of
x in terms of r and y. Let us fuppofe r—i-j-a and
y—1 Jrvt then, our equation will ftand thus
(1 = i
^10 tnat, by railing, both fides to the power n, where
n denotes an indefinite number, which is to difappear
in the courle of the inveftigation, we have (r-l-rt)”*
= 0+^", and refolving both fides of the equation in¬
to feries by means of the binomial theorem,
n(n—O ,
— 1 -j- n v -j—^   v*
n [n — 0 («
~T' 2 ■
2)0—3)
ri* 2 * 3 • 4
•ift-f-, &C.
3
Therefore, fubtrafting unity from both fides, and di¬
viding by n, we have
X * 2 1-2 * 3
t -Y(nX—1 ) ( nX~2 ) ( " V—3 ) , .
2 •—3—:—
. n—1 2 , («— 0 — 2) ,
= ^4 f -4- ^ Li Lr0i
1*2 I .2-3
(/;—1)(//—2) in—3. .
+ —Vr a &c-
and by fuppofing the fa£lors which conftitute the terms
of each feries to be actually multiplied, and the pro-
du£!s arranged according to the powers of n, the laft
equation will have this form
xa + (P *—“)«* +(P'" + Q«* +
-|*Rv3—, &c.
=v + {pn— T V + {pn+2’V* -f -!>3 4- [p"n+qin* -f r«3
— i)v4+, &c.
Here the coefficients of the powers of n, viz. P, P', P//
&c. Q^Q^&c. R, &c. alfo p, p!, p\ &c. y, y',’&c!
r, &c. are expreffiens which denote certain combina¬
tions of the powers of .r in the firft feries, and certain
numbers in the fecond •, but as they are all to vanilh irt
the courfe of the inveftigation, it is not neceffary that
they Ihould be expreffed in any other way than by a
fingle letter.
284. Now each fide of this laft equation may evi¬
dently be refolved into two parts, one of wffiich is en¬
tirely tree from the quantity /z, and the other involves
that quantity, hence the fame equation may alfo Hand,
thus,
&c.
2 ^ 1 7
-f-P»<3J-f-^P '‘?+Q£p)tf3+(P,'/7-fQjz*-j-R»3)zj* Sec.
+ v—&c.
■\-pnv 4- {phi -}- )-y3 _J_ {Jjln _j_ yVz* 4- r«4 ) id &c.
Phis equation muft hold true, whatever be the value
of /?, which is a quantity entirely arbitrary, and there¬
fore ought to vanilh from the equation exprefling the
relation between v and v; hence it follows that the
terms on each fide of the equation, which involve n,
ought to deftroy each other, and thus there will re¬
main.
iosS ALOE
Ot Loga- main only the part of each fide, which does not involve
:khmJ’ &c; n, that is
x a1 xa1 xa4 ^   v* v*
xa — h ^ 4 C‘ ~V 2
v*
■+» &c*
4
. a% a* , . . ?;* i/5
or (<7— j — f-, &c.) a; = v —
V 2 3 4 2 3
&c.
45
Let us now put A to denote the conftant multiplier
2 3 4
-l)3 (r—x)4
&c.~ (r— 1)
(r—1)*
+>
3.4.
and fubftitute for vy its value y—i, thus we at laft find
* = ^g- y = + -~p~
-<J=^+. &c.)
and by this formula the logarithm of any number a lit¬
tle greater than unity may be readily found.
285. If y be nearly rz 2 the feries will, however,
converge too llowly to be of ufe, and if it exceed 2, the
feries will diverge, and therefore cannot be dire&ly
applied to the finding of its logarithm. But a feries
which fhall converge fafler and be applicable to every
cafe may be inveftigated as follows :
BRA.
Becaufe log. (I-f *.i) = (o——|-, &c.) ruhms^sic.
2 3 4 1 <
By fubftituting v for -f. v we have
1 ^ \ 1 I v* v"1 vA „ ^
log. &C.J
Now, log. (I -j-o) — log. (1—v) ~ log. - -X-
therefore, fubtradling the latter feries from the former
1 , 1+^ I / 2^’ 2VS 2V1 „ \
we have log. rr—- [ zv-\  1 {- &c. j
1—v A\ 3 S 7 '
I I ^ V I
Put   ~y, then tv~—— and the laft feries be-
i—v J-+I
comes
This feries will always converge whatever be the va¬
lue of j/, and by means of it the logarithms of fmall
numbers may be found with great facility.
286. "When a number is compofite, its logarithm
will moft eafily be found, by adding together the lo¬
garithms of its faftors •, but if it be a prime number,
its logarithm may be derived from that of fome con¬
venient compofite number, either greater or lefs and
an infinite feries. Let n be a number of which the lo¬
garithm is already found $ then fubllituting
y in the laft formula we have
for
T,&c
1 n-j-z  1 [ 2z t I 2z? , I 2 a*
°S‘ n “''A\2«-f*'^3 {2tT-\-zy~^~S {2n-\-%y
But log. r!-~— leg. («-fz) — log. «, therefore
log. (,+,)= log. * + ^(^+3 +• &c-j
This feries gives the logarithm of «-{-* hy means of
the logarithm of n, and con%rerges very fall when n is
confiderable.
287. It appears from the feries which have been
found for log. j; in § 284 and 285, that the logarithm
of a number is always the produft of two quantities j
one of thefe is variable, and depends upon the number
itfelf, but the other, viz. -i- is conftant, and depends
A
entirely on the radical number of the fyftem. This
quantity has been called'by writers on logarithms the
modulus of the fyftem.
288. The moft fimple fyftem of logarithms in re-
fpetl to facility of computation is that in which -4*—I
A.
or Am. The logarithms of this fyftem are the fame
as thofe firft invented by Napier, and are alfo called
hyperbolic logarithms.
The hyperbolic logarithm of any numbers, y is there¬
fore (§ 284)
(y—lY , O'—1)3
and that of /\the radical number of any fyftem is
1
(r—1 )* , (fv—1)*
2 "r 2
&c.
but this laft feries is the fame as we have denoted by
A j hence it follows, that the modulus of any fyftem is
the reciprocal of the hyperbolic logarithm oi the radi¬
cal number of that fyftem. Thus it appears, that
the logarithms of numbers, according to any propofed
fyftem, may be readily found from the hyperbolic lo¬
garithm of the fame numbers, and the hyperbolic lo¬
garithm of the radical number of that fyftem.
289. Let L denote the hyp. log. of any number,
and /, lf the logarithms of the fame number according
to two other fyftems whofe moduli are m and m j then
/ ~ L, I'—tn'Ja
l lf
therefore —~—- and m . m! \ \ l \ l'
m m
That is, the logarithms of the fame number, accord¬
ing to different fyftems, are diredlly proportional to
the moduli of thofe fyftems, and therefore have a given
ratio to one another.
290. We fttall now apply the feries here inveftigated
to the calculation of the hyperbolic logarithm of 10,
the reciprocal of which is the modulus of the common
fyftem
A L G
Of Log'a- fyftem cf logarithms j and alfo to the calculation of
mhms, &lc. tke common logarithm of 2. The hyp. log. of 10
may be obtained by fubftituting 1 o for y in the for¬
mula
hyp. +&C.
but the refulting feries —1—-4-,&.c.con-
II * 2*11^ ‘ , 7
verges too flowly to be of any praftical utility, it will
therefore be better to derive the logarithm of 10 from
thofe of 2 and 5. By fubftituting 2 in the formula
we have
hyp. log. 2=2(--f——L- 1 &c.)
'3 3’3J 5'3S '7*37 '
this feries converges very fall, fo that by reducing its
terms to decimal fra&ions, and taking the fum of the
firft feven terms wre find the hyp. log. of 2 to be
*693147 2*
The hyp. log. of 5 may be found in the fame man¬
ner, but more eafily from the formula given in § 286.
Tor the log. of 2 being given, that of 4=2* is alfo
given j 279. Therefore, fubftituting log. 4=2 log. 2
for log. n, and 1 for 2, in the feries
hyp. log.^+z)=liyp. log. „+2(_2j_+■
&C’)
we have
hyp. log. 5—2hyp. log. 2-f 2^ +—+-^+, &c.)
The firft three terms of this feries are fufficient to
give the refult true to the feventh decimal, fo that we
have hyp. log. 5=1.6094379, and
hyp. log. lorrhyp. log. 2-j-hyp. log. 5=2.3025851.
Hence the modulus of the common lyftem of loga¬
rithms, or i~~~Yog~~ro '1S ^oun^ *4342945•
fame number, becaufe of its great utility in the con-
itruftion of tables of logarithms, has been calculated
to a much greater number of decimals. A celebrated
calculator of th elaft century,’Mr A. Sharp, found^it
to be
0.43429448190325182765112891891660508229
43970°58o3666566i14454.
E B R A.
that x—
log. b
657
The ufe of this formula will appear rithms,&6
log;a .
in next feftion which treats of computations relative
to annuities.
292. The theory of logarithms requires the folution
of this other problem. Having given the radical num¬
ber of a fyftem, and a logarithm, to determine the coi-
refponding number. Or having given the equation
{■*=)’, wrhere r, x and y denote as in § 282, to find
a feries which fhall exprefs in terms of r and x.
293. For this purpofe, let us fuppofe r=i-J-<7, then
our equation becomes y=(i-f-#)*, which, may alfo be
expreffed thus:
J=l(i+a)n]~
where n is an indefinite quantity, rvhich is to difappeax
in the courfe of the inveftigation.
By the binomial theorem we have
(1 1
n{n—1) t «(/?—!)(*?—2)
this equation, by multiplying together the fa&ors
which compofe the terms of the feries, and arranging
the refults according to the powers of may alfo be
cxprefled thus
(1 -|-A«-f B^-pCw5 -f, &c.
where it will readily appear that
A =<t-
+ —+,&c.
3 4
as to the values of B, C, &c. it is of no importance to
know them, for they will all difappear in the courfe
of the inveftigation. Hence, by fubftituting for
(1 +^)n its value, as expreffed by the laft feries, we
have
y=(i-f-A«-{-B/2*-J-C«3-f, &c.)«
and expanding the latter part of this equation by means
of the binomial theorem it becomes
y:=i4~^(A«4-B/**4“ &c*)+(An 4. B«* 4- &c.)3
■^(*-")(=e\A„+B„-+, &c.).+,&c
I ’ 2
3«-
Having found the hyp. log. of 2 to be *6931472
the common logarithm of 2 is had immediately, by
multiplying the hyp. log. of 2 by the modulus of the
fyftem, thus we find
com. log. 2=4*342945X-693I472=*3oio3oo
291. We have already obferved § 282, that to de¬
termine the logarithm of a given number, is the fame
problem as to determine the value of x in an equation
of this form aK —b, where the unknown* quantity is an
exponent. But in order to refolve fuch an equation,
it is not neceflary to have recourfe to feries j for a
table of logarithms being once fuppofed conftrufted,
the value of x may be determined thus. It appears
from § 279, that .vxlog. tf=log. b. Hence it follows,
Vol. I. Part II.
But A«4-B«*4-, &c. =«(A4-B«-f, &c.) alfo
( A«4-B«*4-, &c.)* = RI(A4-Bn4-, &c.)*, and
(A«4-B«*4-, &c.)5 = «3(A4-B7z4-, &c.)3, &c.
therefore, by leaving out of each term of the feries
the powers of n which are common to the numerator
and denominator, the equation will ftand thus
^=l+*(A+B»+>&c.)+^iT^(A+B„+1&c.)’
x(x—n)(x—2n),. ^
+4-2 ■ , + &c.
Now* n is here an arbitrary quantity, and ought, from
the nature of the original equation, to difappear from
the value of y ; the terms of the equation which are
4 O multiplied
6;S
ALGEBRA.
Jn ter eft and multiplied by// ought therefore to deftroy each other j
^Annuuu.E.^ ancj this being the cafe, the equation is reduced to
;•*=>>—14
xA
x
!A*
I * I ' 2
and fmce we have found
.v3 A ^ a4 A4
+ ^77^+, &c.
I-2-3 i-2-3‘4
A:
://-
3 4
(r—i)
-f-, &c.
( r i)? (r—i)
It is evident from § 288 that A is the hyperbolic lo¬
garithm of the radical number of the fyitem.
294. If in the equation r*=ry we fuppofe a—1, the
value ofy becomes
A’ +, &c.
, A , A‘
T — I -j j 
I 1*2
I*2*3
Here the radical number is exprelfed by means of its
hyperbolic logarithm. Again, if we fuppofe xzz-~,
then
i i
:I+I+_L_
I 1*2
I-2*3 I-2-3
+, &c.
Thus it appears that the quantity is equal to a con-
flant number, which, by taking the fum of a fuf-
ficient number of terms of the feries, will be found ==
2.71828x828459045 ... Let us denote this number
i
by e, then r^—e, and hence rrre * Now if we re¬
mark that A is the hyp. log. of r it muft be evident
(§ 277 and 278) that e is the radical number of the
hyperbolic fyftem of logarithms.
Again, fmee rA=:e, therefore —X log. r= log. e
and A-!^
log.
-, here log. r and log. e denote logarithms
taken according to any fyftem whatever.
295. If we now refume the equation.
zy— 1 "I—:—i
xA . a*A1 . a’3 A1
I *2
&C.
wTe fhall have the
i*2*3
and fubftitute for A its value r
lo8* e
following general expreffion for any exponential quan¬
tity whatever
■'='*KS3*S(£:-3V^(g-;)'+t.
Jog. eJ ' 1.2 V log.
which by fuppofing 7-=e becomes
e* ~ 1 4-—-
i
1*2 I*2*3
-f, &C.
Sect. XX. 0/' Intcrejl and Annuities*
296 The theory of logarithms finds its application
In fome meafure to calculations relating to intereft and
annuities 5 thefe we now pfcceed to explain. There
are two hypothefes, according to either of which mo- Compound
ney put out at intereft may be fuppofed to be im- Intereft.
proved. We may fuppofe that the intereft, which is
always proportional to the fum lent, or principal, is
alio proportional to the time during which the princi¬
pal is employed ; and on this hypothesis the money is
faid to be improved at Jimple intereft. Or we may
fuppofe that the intereft, which ought to be paid to
the lender at fucceflive ftated periods, is added to the
principal inftead of being aflually paid, and thus their
amount converted into a new principal; when money
is laid out according to this fecond hypothefts, it is
faid to be improved at compound intereft.
297. In calculations relating to intereft, the things
to be confidered are the principal, or fum lent ; the
rate of interef, or fum paid for the ufe of xool. for one
year ; the time during which the principal is lent; and
the amount, or fum of the principal and intereft at the
end of that time.
Let p denote the principal, il. being the unit.
r the intereft of iL for one year, at the
given rate.
t the time, one year being the unit.
a the amount.
We ftiall now* examine- the relations which fubfift
between thofe quantities, according to each of the twro
hypothefes of ftmple and compound intereft,
I. Simple Interejl.
298. Becaufe the intereft of il. for one year is /%
the intereft of il. for t years muft be rt, and the in¬
tereft of p pounds for the fame time prt, hence we
have this formula
pJrpt't~a
from which we find
a—p
a—p
1 i-f-r/ pt pr
As the manner of applying thefe formulae to que-
ftions relating to fimple intereft is fufficiently obvious^
we proceed to coitfider compound iatereft.
II. Compound Interejl.
299. In addition to the fymboTs already aflfumed,
let Rzzri -\-r= amount of ll. in one year, then, from
the nature of compound intereft, R is alfo the princi¬
pal at the beginning of the fecond year. Now, inte¬
reft being always proportional to the principal we
have
1 : r : : R : rR=: the intereft of R for a year,
and R -j-rR—(1 amount of R in a year,
therefore R* is the amount of il. in two years, wTicht
fum being affumed as a new principal, we find, as be¬
fore, its intereft for a year to be rR*, and its amount
R*-|-rR*=r(i-f-?’)R*=R3 j fo that R3 is the amount
of il. in three years. Proceeding in this manner we
find in general that the amount of il. in / years is R*j
and ofp pounds/R*, hence we have this formula
— pRl^za
wkkli
A L G
Annuities, which from the nature of logarithms may alfo be ex-
prefled thus :
log./’-f/Xlog. R" log. a
Hence we find
/>=-
R=t A
 log. a—log. f>
t
R*
or, by logarithms,
log. /> =r log. a—/x log. R. log. R
^Jog. g—Xo^.p
log. R
300. As an example of the ufe of thefe formulae, let
it be required to determine what fum improved at 5per
cent, compound interefl: will amount to 500I. in 42years.
In this cafe we have given <7=500 rzr.oj, Rirri.oy,
t—42, to find/>.
From
fubtraft
log. a=log. joo = 2.6989700
/Xlog.R=42X log. 1.05= 0.8899506
remains log./» 1.8090194
therefore/>rr64.42l.=64l. 8s. 5d. the fum required.
E B R A, 659
quires punclual payment of interefl, ami therefore the Continued.
i-ntereft in fuch calculations is ufually made low. FraAions.
303. Let A denote the annuity j
P the prefent worth, or purchafe money j
t the time of its continuance j
let r and R denote as before.
The feller, by improving the price P at compound
intereft during the time 7, has PR'.
The purchafer is fuppofed to receive the firft an¬
nuity A at the end of one year, which being impro¬
ved for t—1 years amounts to AR'~l. Hq receives
the fecond years annuity at the end of the fecond year,
which being improved for t—2 years amounts to
AR'-\ In like manner the third year’s annuity be¬
comes AR - 5, and fo on to the lalt years an¬
nuity, which is Amply A. Therefore, the whole
amount of the improved annuities is the geometrical
feries.
A-f-AR-f-AR*+AR3 ... .4. AR'*-1
the fum of which, by § 106, is A ^ -= A^- 1
R-
and fince this fum mufl be equal to the amount of the
purchafe money, or PR', wre have
Ex. 1. In wrhat time will a fum laid out at 4 per
Cent, compound intereft be doubled.
. Tet any fum be exprefled by unity, then we have
givenp—iy rzr.04, R=i.04, <7=2, to find t.
From the formula t— ~^0^' P — J.°?d .2 
log. R log. 1.04
- , ^ *3010300
we find t—-'—  =17.7 years nearly.
"OI7°333
301. In treating of compound intereft tve have fup¬
pofed the interefl: to be joined to the principal at the
end of every year. But we might have fuppofed it to
be added at the end of every half year or every quar¬
ter, or even every inftant, and fuitable rules might
have been found for performing calculations according
to each hypothefis. As fuch fuppofitions are, however,
never made in adlual bufinefs, we fhall not at prefent
fay any thing more of them. '
III. Annuities.
302. An annuity is a payment made annually for
a term of years, and the chief problem relating to it is
to determine its prefent worth, that is the fum a per-
fon ought to pay immediately to another, upon condi¬
tion of receiving from the latter a certain fum annual¬
ly for a given time. In refolving this problem, it is
fuppofed that the buyer improves his annuity from the
time he receives it, and the feller the purchafe money
in a certain manner during the continuance of the an¬
nuity, fo that at the end of the time, the amount of
each may be the fame. There may be various fuppo¬
fitions as to the way in which the annuity and its pur-
chaie money may be improved ; but the only one com¬
monly applied to practice is the higheft improvement
poftible of both, viz. by compound interefl:. As the
taking compound intereft is, however, prohibited by
law, the realifing of this fuppofed improvement re-
PR= A R— .
r
and from this equation, we find
p=A/I_JLV A-rPR' ._>g-A-iog.(A-rP)
r V R'/ R—r log. R
As to r, it can only be found by the refolution of an
equation of the t order.
304. To find the prefent value of an annuity in re-
ver/ion, that is an annuity which is to commence at
the end of « years, and continue during t years ; firft
find its value for n-\-t years, and then for n years, and
fubtraft the latter from the former. We thus obtaiij
the following formula
305. If the annuity is to commence immediately,
and to continue for ever, then, becaufe in this cafe R' 'is
infinitely great, and therefore A — 0j ^ formula
P= becomes Amply P— A.
And if the annuity is to commence after n years and
continue for ever'the formula P—1 —\hr
rRn\ R‘
n A
comes P=r-—-.
rRn
Sect. XXI. Of continued Fractions.
306. Every quantity which admits of being ex¬
prefled by a common fradlion may alfo be exprefled in
4 Q 2 the
66o ALGEBRA..
Continued the form of what is called a continued fraSlion. The na- it will evidently be reduced to a common fraction by Continuc4
Fra6tions. ture £-uc]1 fraftions will be ealily underftood by the adding the reciprocal of d to b, and the reciprocal Fractions.
following example.
Let the common fra&ion be —, or which is
100000’
^he fame 3-f- Since 100000=7 X 14159 + 887,
therefore
100000
14159 141C9
100000 7x14159 + ^87'
7-f
887
MI59
3Hl59
100000
=3 +
7-1
887
14159
Now'
887 _887
14159 15x887 + 854
*5 +
!i4’
887
and fubfti-
o o — 2141ro
tuting this for  , in the value of —■ ■ already
& 15159 100000
:?I4I W . I
found we have   — —3 +T , 1
100000 7+' 
15 +
854
» . 854 854
Again, ko- =
887 854 + 33
I +
33
854
887
which being fub-
ftituted as before, gives •^--^■—=3-1
0 100000
7 +
15 +
1 +
By operations fimilar to the preceding we find-^-^
25 +
_ £9
29’ 33
33
fubftitution
3Hl59
1 +
29
29
7+-*
4
.rooooo
3 +
7+^+t+-1
2^t+i .
,+7+4
of that fum to b, and again the reciprocal of this
laft fum to a; now the reciprocal of d, or added
to c is c + ^ = "i^, again the reciprocal of this
focd
cd-\-\ '
cd-\-1
and fum»or
—, added to ^ is ^ -j—^—
c^+i’ cd•+1
33
854
33
and the reciprocal of this laft quantity, viz.
when added to a gives
abcd-\-ab-\-ad-\-cd-\-\  1
bcd-\-b-\-d —j
c+d~
308. This manner of exprefting a fraftion enables us
to find a feries of other fraftions, that approach in value
to any given one, and each of them expreffed in the
fmalleft numbers poffible. Thus in the example
^14159 wi1jcj1 t)een ref0lved into a continued frac-*-
x 00000
tion, § 306, and which is known to exprefs nearly the:
proportion of the diameter of a circle to its circumfe¬
rence j if we take only the firft two terms of the con¬
tinued fraction, and put *• for —4—2 we fhall have
100000
w=3+4—V nearly, and this is the proportion whicUr
was found by Archimedes.
Again by taking the firft three terms we have
*■=3+- . 1
74 
*5
=q . JLL=3M
^^xob io5
therefore, by
which is nearer the truth than the former.
And by taking the firft four terms we have
i5+_
.335
ll3
which is the proportion afligned by Metius, and is more
exaft than either of the preceding. Thefe refults are
alternately greater and lefs than the truth.
309. Among continued fradtions, thofe have been
particularly diftinguifhed in which the denominators,
after a certain number of changes, are continually re-
By an operation, in all refpe&s the fame as has peated in the fame order. Such for example is the
been juft now performed may any fradtion whatever be fradtion
reduced to the form 1
1 1^~2+- 1
o+i+I 1 3+3+t+)&c.
c+d+,&c. 3
and it is then called a continued fraction. The amount of this fraftion, though continued
307. It is eafy to fee in what manner the inverfe of finitum, may be eafily found *, for leaving out the firli
the preceding operation is to be performed, or a con- term, which is an integer, let us fuppo e
tinued fradtion reduced to a common fradtion, 1
Thus if the continued fradtion be x~z^2Jr- j
”+?+!, . 3+^+j+’ &c-
Then fince after the fecond, all the terms return in
» ' the
algebra.
66 f
Continued the fame order, it follows that their amount is alfo —x,
Fraftions. ^hus we have
x=za+ r~r i
i+i“+-L
Indetermi¬
nate Pro¬
blems.
XZ=.~ . I
1
3+ar
b'+7'
Hence x~\ .v1 -i- 3.tand a; _- 3 +
—1 _|_ V/T5
Therefore a?-f 1, or the fum of the fenes, 5=   
In general if #=— , 1
a+lA-1
+a+, &c.
77 and fo on continually.
we find
Though the denomi¬
nators did not return in the fame order till a^te^ ^
greater interval, the value of the fraftion would ftill
be expreffed by the root oc a quadratic equation. And
converfely, the roots of all quadratic equations may be
expreffed by periodical continued fraftions, ^ and may
often by that means be very readily approximated m
numbers, without the trouble of extrafting the fquare
1 31 o. The reduction of a decimal into the form of a con¬
tinued fra&ion fometimes renders thejaw of its continua¬
tion evident. Thus we know that 2— 1.41 213 56
but from the bare hifpeftion of this decimal we difcover
no rule for its further continuation. . If, however, it
be reduced into a continued fraction, it becomes
— 1 +- 1
r
2~r2-{-, Sec.
and hence we fee it what way it may be continued to
any degree of accuracy.
311. When the root of any equation is found by the
method explained in $ 256, the value of the unknown
quantity is evidently expreffed by a continued fra&ion.
For if » be the root fought, we have x=a-j--, y—b
y
y'=b'+~r y"=b"+JJ77’ &c- where b'> b">
y y y
bm See. denote the whole numbers, which are next
lefs than the true values of x, y, /, Sec. If there¬
fore in the value of x we fubftitute ^or ^ ^e"
comes
r
x~a A 
b+'--
y
Sect. XXII. Of Indeterminate Problems.
312. When the conditions of a queftion are fuch
that the number of equations exceeds the number ot
unknown quantities, that queftion will admit Ox innu¬
merable folutions, and is therefore faid to be indeter¬
minate. Thus, if it be required to find two numbers
fubjeft to no other limitation than that their fum be
1®, we have two unknown quantities x and^y, and on¬
ly one equation, viz. which may evidently
be fatisfied by innumerable difterent values of x andy,
if fraftional folutions be admitted. It is, howevei^-
ufual in fuch queftions as this, to reftrict the values Oi
the numbers fought to politive integers, and therefore,
in this cafe, we can have only thefe nine folutions j
* = 1, 2, 3, 4, 5, 6, 7, 8, 9.
y — 9» 7» 5> 4? 3j 2> * *
which indeed may be reduced to five, for the firft
four become the fame as the laft four, by Amply chang¬
ing x into y, and the contrary.
313. Indeterminate problems fire of different orders
according to the dimenlions of the equation which is
obtained after all the unknown quantities, but two
have been exterminated by means of the given equa¬
tions. Thofe of the firft order lead always to equations
of this form,
axArby—c,
where <7, b, c denote given whole numbers, and jc, y
two numbers to be found, fo that both may be integers.
That this condition may be fulfilled, it is neceffary that
the coefficients a, b have no common divifor which is
not alfo a diviior of c, for if a ~ md and b zz. Tney
then ax -\-by—mdx -\-mey~c, and dx eyzz — ; but
d, <?, x, y are fuppofed to be whole numbers, there¬
fore —- is a whole number, hence m mult be a divi-
m
for of e.
314. We proceed to illuftrate the manner of re-
folving indeterminate equations of the firft order byfome
numerical examples.
Ex. 1. Given 2tf-{-3y=25, to determine a; and y in
whole pofitive numbers.
1 2 <f—3 y
From the given equation we have x~  —- = 1 z
 y-J. now fince x muft be a whole number it
Again, if in this fecond value of x we fubftitute follows that muft be a whole number. Let us
affume z, then 1—y= 2» andy = 1 — 2z,and
2
fince X z= 12—-=12—y+:z, therefore^ —
12—1-J-ZE-fz } hence we have
^=114-3^ y=i —2»
bkAf. — for v it becomes /
y"
x = a+ltjt.-
h’+J’
The next value of * is in like manner found to Jjc
where
662 ■
A L G E
Indetermi- where 55 might be any whole number whatever, if there
0"'blem-0' wcre no imitation as to the figns of x and y; but
>, ^ > fince thefe quantities are required to be pofitive, it is
evident from the value of y, that % muft either be o
or negative, and from the value of x that, abftrafting
from the fign, it muft be lefs than 4 j hence » may
have thefe three values o,— 1, —2, —3.
If z~ o, 2—.
Thenj*-11’ JC~
ly= 1, y—
-i, K=r—2, —3.
8, 5, 2.
3> y~ 5r y~ 7-
Ex. 2. It is required to divide 100 into fuch parts
that the one may be divifible by 7 and the other
by 11.
Let 7 a; be the firft part, and 11 y the feeond, then
by the queftion 7 x 4- 11J— too* and
 100—ny___ 2—4y
K   —14—J’ i  — 5
7 7
lienee it appears that muft be a whole num-
7
ber. Let us afliime 2_ZZi^—s, then a:—14—y-j-z and
7
4y~2—7» or y—-1— 2 ii?—2, therefore
4 4 4
muft be a whole number. AfTume^—thenyrr
/—s, and 32=2—4/, or z= 1—If;
there-
fo
— muft; be a whole number.
Affume now -—-—V, then z~v—t and /— 2 qu,
. . 3
here it is evident v may be any whole number taken
at pleafure, fo that to determine x and y we have the
following feries of equations :
t — 2—31/
«=r v— t— 4^1 — 2
J'= t— 2= 4 — 7^
14— y-f-s—I i^-j-8.
Now from the value ofy it appears, that v mufl ei¬
ther be = o, or negative j but from the value of x we
find that v cannot be a negative wdrole number, there¬
fore v can only be rr o } hence the only values which
x and y can have in whole numbers are x~8, y=4.
Ex. 3. It is required to find all the poflible ways
in which 60I. can be paid in guineas and moidores
only.
Let x be the number of guineas and y the number
of moidores. Then the value of the guineas, expref-
fed in {hillings, is 2I.v, and that of the moidores 2yy,
therefore from the nature of the queftion 2ii'-j-27y
~ 1200, or, dividing the equation by 3, y.r-j-pyrrqoo,
hence
_40C—py
= 57—y H fo that -——
jnuft be a wrhole number.
AlTume —then *=57—y-f-2; and
2J.
-32 therefore —
-S'. - Indeter.nl •
— muft nate Pro¬
blems,
BRA.
1—72 1—5
-7* o^'=-r-=—
be a whole number. ,
Afliime —~— — V, then yrri)—32 and sm—2v
therefore v may be taken any wrhole number at plea¬
fure, and x and y may be determined by the following
equations
2=1 2 V
y ==v—3Z— 7V—3
*=57—y-fz=6i—gv
From the value of x, it appears that v cannot ex¬
ceed 6, and from the value of y, that it cannot be lefs
than 1.
Hence if v= 1, 2, 3, 4, 5, 6,
we have * = 52, 43, 34, 25, 16, 7,
y= 4, 11, 18, 25, 32, 39.
. 3!5- *n the foregoing examples the unknown quan¬
tities x and y have each a determinate number of pofi¬
tive values, and this will evidently be the cafe as often
as the propofed equation is of this form ax+by~c. If,
however, b be negative, that is, if the equation be of
this form ax—byzzc, or ax=by + c, we fliall have que-
ftions of a different kind, admitting each of an infinite
number of folutions, tliefe, however, are to be refolved
in the fame manner as the preceding, as will appear
from the following example.
Ex. 4. A perfon buys fome horfes and oxen, he pays
31 crowns for each horfe, and 20 crowms for each ox,
and he finds that the oxen coft him feven crowns more
than the horfes. How7 many did he buy of each ?
Let x be the number of horfes, and y that of the
oxen, then by the queftion
, 3ir-4-7 . iir-4-7
20vr=3 iy+7, and xxz- —y -j —-.
20
11 y 4. *7
Therefore •—muft be a whole number.
20
T Iiy-f-7 i , 20 V—I
JLet —  -zxv, then x—y-\-v and y= v
9V—7
hence
9®—7
11
muft be a whole number.
Let   -=/, then yzzv4-t and n~—..7—/ t_
11 ^ ^ 9 ^
2/4-7 . 2/ -}- 7 . . ,
 ; therefore  is a wmole number.
9 9
T 2/-4-7 1 , QJ1—*7
L,et L—Si then v~t-{-'s and l~~ ^”41 4.
9 2
   j therefore ^—-
Put
is a whole number.
-rrr, then /—414-7* and 1—2/-4-7-
Having now7 no longer any fractions, we return to
the values of x andy by the following feries of equa¬
tions
2
indetermi¬
nate Pro¬
blems.
A L G
jrr 2^4-7
Jz= .\s-\-r=z pr-j-^S
■‘D— /-J-j-rzl if-j-35
y~ ~ number of oxen,
eczzz y-f-,y“3ir-f-98 = number of horfes.
E B R A. 663
B denote the greatefl multiple of c contained m and'Indetermi*
d the remainder 5 and C the greateft multiple of d con- nate *>ro“
tained in r, and e the remainder j and fo on, till one 1
of the remainders be found equal to o. The numbers
A, B, C afford a feries of equations from which ano¬
ther feries may be derived as in the following table.
blems.
The leaf! pofitive values of .v and y will evidently be
obtained by making r~—3, and innumerable other
values will be had by putting r——2, r=;—1, r—o,
r=-}-i, &c. Thus we have.
.r —5, 36, 67, 98, 129, 160, 191, 222, &c.
J,:=3> 23» 43> 63» 83» io3> I23> M3» &c-
each feries forming an arithmetical progreffion, the
common difference in the firft being 31 and in the fe-
cond 20.
316. If we conflder the manner in which the num¬
bers x, y, in this example, are determined, from the
fucceeding quantities v, t, &c. we fhall immediately
perceive that the coefficients of thofe quantities are the
fame as the fucceflive quotients which arife in the arith¬
metical operation for finding the greatefl; common mea-
flire of 20 and 31, the coefficients of the given equa¬
tion 2o.v ~31 y + 7. The operation performed at
length vnll hand thus
20)31(1
20
Il)20(l
1 l
9)11(1
9
2)9(4
8
1)2(2
2
fi-zzAb-{-c hence
Be -\-d
c = Cd-j-e
d-Be+f
f=Yg-\-o
ve derive xz=:Ay 4- v
j—B-j +t
t'“C t -j- s
/—Dj -\-r
j—Er ']
r—Yqz±zn
and in the lafl equation of the fecond feries any num¬
ber whatever may be put for y, it is alfo to be obferv-
ed that the given number n is to have the fign -{-
prefixed to it, if the number of equations be odd, bufe
— if that number be even. Having formed the fe¬
cond feries of equations, the values of x and y may be-
thence found as in the foregoing examples. We pro¬
ceed to fhevv the application of the rule.
Ex. 5. Required a number which being divided
by 1 r leaves the remainder 3, but being divided by
19 leaves the remainder 5.
Let N be the number, and #, y the quotients which
arife from the refpeftive divifions, then we have N=
1 ix--f-3, alfo N—ipj'-f-y, hence 11«4-3—I9d,+5 an(f
1 \x—\£)y-\-z, an equation which furnifhes the follow¬
ing table.
19= x x 114- 8 * — y 4-^
iiz=ix 84-3 y='v+t
8=2 x 34-2 ‘y:=2/-f r
3—i X 2 + 1 /= s+r
2—2 X 14-0 J,~2r 4-2
Here r may be aflfumed of any value whatever,
Hence we have
o
Hence we may form a feries of numeral equations
which, when compared with the feries of literal equa¬
tions exprelllng the relations between x, y, v9 &c. as
put down in the following table, will render the me¬
thod of determining the latter from the former fuifi-
eiently obvious
31m X204-11
20=1 x ix 4- 9
11 — 1 x 94- 2
9=4 X 24- 1
2— 2 X 24- O
x—\ x y4-‘y
y—\ X^-f/
v— 1 x s 4-j-
t=4Xs-i-r
s = 2Xr-j-7
And as every queftion of this kind may be analyzed
in the fame maimer, rve may hence form the following
general rule for refolving indeterminate problems of
the firll order.
317. Let bx = ay-j-n be the propofed equation
in -which a, b, n, are given integers, and x, y numbers
to be found. Let a be the greatefl; of the two num¬
bers «, /», and let A denote the greateft multiple of b
which is contained in <7, and c ; the remainder alfo let
s =2r-j-2
/ — j- 4-> 3r-f 2
v—2t-\-s~ 87*4- 6
y— v-j-/rzri i/'-j- 8
x— y
and the number required Nru209?/4-157 where it is
evident that the leaft number which can exprefs N is
'57-
Ex. 6. f 34; 4- yy-f- *jz—s6o 1 To determine x, yy z
Given (_ 9x4-25^4-492;=:2920 in whole numbers.
From 7 times the firft equation fubtraft the fecond 5
thus we have 12*4-1 oy=iQOO, or 6*4-5^=500 and
from this laft equation by proceeding as in the forego¬
ing examples we find
*=500—5-y, y—6-v—500.
Let thefe values of * and y be fubftituted in either of
the original equations j in the firft, for example, as
being the moft limple, and we find 72; 4-* 5^=1560.
This laft equation being refolved in the fame manner
we find
^4
Indetermi¬
nate Pro¬
blems.
ttrrijSo—11
v—iS1 —3120
^=8860—42/
fl?=35/ —73°°
ALGEBRA.
and hence it appears that the only values which t can
have fo as to give whole pofitive numbers for x, y, z
are 209 and 21 o, thus we have
*=15 y~%2
or jr—50 j'=40 2=30.
322. It remains to confider the formula J— Indetevtm-
Va + fx+cx* where ^ is to be found _fo that y may be blems.
a rational quantity, but as the condition of having x 1 »mj
and y alfo integers would add greatly to the difficulty
of the problem and produce refearches of a very intri¬
cate nature, we mult be fatisfied for the molt part with
fractional values. The poffibility of rendering the pro-
pofed formula a fquare depends altogether upon the
coefficients a, b, c; and there are four cafes of the pro¬
blem, the folution of each of wrhich is connected with
fome peculiarity in their nature.
318. If an equation was propofed involving three
unknown quantities, as ax-[-by-\-cz~d, by tranfpo-
lition wre have ax-{-by—d—cz and, putting —cz^zc',
dx-\-by—c'. From this lalt equation we may find
values of x and y of this form
x—mr-^nc', y—m'r-\-n'cf
or x—mr-\-n(d—cz), y—ttfr-\-n\d—cz)
323. Cafe I. Let c be a fquare number, then, put-
ting gx for a, wTe have y—^gz -f- bx 4- cx%. Suppofe
\fgrJrbx-\-cx*zzg-\-mx then g* -\-bx-\- cx'—g1 -f- 2gtfix
or bx+cxi=2gtnx+m,x*, that is b + cx~ 2grn
hence
2?m—b . ; eg—bm~\-gtn
■v——— , y—y p -i-bx -\-cx — 7 *
c—mx * J ^ ^ c—ml
where z and r may be taken at pleafure, except in fo
far as the values of x, y, z may be required to be all po¬
fitive, for from fuch reftriftion the values of z and r
may be confined within certain limits to be determined
from the given equation.
319. We proceed to indeterminate problems of the
fecond degree. Thefe produce equations of the three
following forms,
1. y=
a
h-^cx*
II. y =
a-\-bx
c -^dx*
III. y~Va-\-bx-\-cx*.
In all thefe equations a, b, c denote given numbers ;
in the two firfi: x is to be determined fo that y may be
an integer, and in the third x is to be determined fo
thatj may be a rational quantity.
320. In the equation ^ it is evident b-\~cx
mult be a divifor of a, let d be one of its divifors, then
b+cx—d, and x— , hence, to find x we mull
fearch among the divifors of a for one fuch that if b be
lubtraCled from it the remainder may be divilible by c,
and the quotient will be fuch a value of x as is requir¬
ed.
Here m may be any rational quantity either whole
or fraftional.
324. Cafe Let c be a fquare number then
putting Va-}-bx-}-gzx*=:m-j-gx, we find a-j-bx-^-g^x*
—m1-}- 2tngx or a+bx—m1-\-2mgx, hence we
find *
nr—a /——7—■——
X—- , y= y a-\-bx+gfxt,
_ bm—gm*—dg
~b—2mg
b—2mg
325. Cafe 3. When neither a nor c are fquare num¬
bers, yet, if the expreffion a+bx+cx1 can be refolved
into two fimple faftors as f-\-gx and h-\-kx the irra¬
tionality may be taken away as follows.
Alfume \U+bx + c*’ = xXf+gxXh+ kr)~w
(f+gx), then (f+gx) {h+kx^rnff -\-gxY, or h+kx
•=.nf(f-\-gx), hence we find
and in thefe formulae m may be taken at pleafurc.
321. When if ^ be a divifor of b, x will
0 J c -\-dx
be taken out of the numerator if wTe divide it hy c-\-dx
aiid this form is then reduced to the preceding. But
if d is not a divifor of b, multiply both fides by d, then
dy=z aJry~~ or dy—b and fo x is found by
J c+dx J • c+dx ’ J
making c-\-dx equal to a divifor of ad—be.
Example.Given x-^y-If 2xy=:ig^ to determine x and
y in whole numbers.
From the given equation j’—therefore
300—2x 301 -T
2->'=:7+5r=-I+T±-27- Now 391 17 X 23
hence we mull affume or 23» the
firll fuppofition gives us x~8, y—i 1 j and the fecond
x— \ 1, the fame refult in elfeCl as the former.
1
326. Cafe 4. The expreffion a+bx+cx1 may be
transformed into a fquare as often as it can be refolved
into twTo parts, one of w'hich is a complete fquare, and
the other a produCl of two fimple faftors j for then, it
has this form pl-\-<lri w'here p, q, and r are quantities
which contain no powTer of x higher than the firll. Let
us affume ‘d'jF+qr—p+mq > thus we have f + qr
—p' -f 2mpq\-m1q1 and r—irtp+m'q, and as this equa¬
tion involves only the firll power of x we may by pio-
per reduction obtain from it rational values of and
y as in the three foregoing cafes.
327. If we can by trials difeover any one value of
x which renders the expreffion \la-^-bx^ cx1 rational
we may immediately reduce the quantity under the ra¬
dical fign to the above-mentioned foim, and thence-
find a general expreffion from which as many more va¬
lues of x may be determined as we pleafe. T hus let
us iuppofe that /> is a value of x which Satisfies the .con¬
dition
ALGEBRA. 665
InctetermL dition required, and that <7 is the correfpondinsr value n . f P-\ IP />* . , _ 2/1 Refolution
natePro. of then 0 I+V=( 1r=1 +"£^4-then = 0fG
biems- y'=a+bx+cx* 2 V 2 9 trica
Hence by proper redu&ion
Therefore, by fubtra&ion, ^ ^
reome-
? trical Pro¬
blems.
yi—qi=}>(x—p) -f c(^—/>")—(/-+f/>+ex') (.V—/>)
and y—Vq1 -\-(b-irc/)-\-cx')(<x—■/>). The quantity un¬
der the radical fign being now reduced to the preferib-
ed form, it may be rendered rational by the fubftitu-
•tion pointed out in laft article.
328. The application of the preceding general me¬
thods of refolution to any particular cafe is very eafy,
we lhall therefore conclude with a very few examples.
Ex. 1. It is required to find two fquare numbers
whofe fum is a given fquare number.
Let a1 be the given fquare number, and .v% yP, the
numbers required. Then by the queflion x2 -\-y3xza*,
and yzz. Va2—#*. This equation is evidently of fuch
a form as to be refolvable by the method employed in
cafe 1. Accordingly by comparing V" az—x* with
the general expreflion Vg2-\-bxcxz we have g — a,
b=z6, cz=—1, and fubftituting thefe, values in the
formulas of § 323. alfo—n for -j-w, we find
lan ei(n2—1) , ,
X— , ■ *, y — , hence the numbers
required are
08
(v+0s J («2+i)2
If where n is any number whatever, the
fquare numbers x* and y* will both be integers, viz.
w*~4«i and y'=t(nx—1)*. Let us fuppofe n~2, then
a — n2 -Jf-izr: 5, and c* = 25, hence sc2 =r 4 — 16,
y=(«*—1 )l=9- Thus it appears that the fquare num¬
ber 25 may be refolved into two other fquare numbers
9 and 16.
Ex. 2. It is required to find two fquare numbers
whofe difference fhall be equal to a given fquare num¬
ber b2.
This queftion may be refolved in the fame manner
as the lalt. Or, without referring to any former in-
veftigation, let and v2 be the numbers fought,
then (tf -j-n)*--,**;=:£*, that is inx + n' — b1, hence,
b2—n2 b2~l-n2
x— and t^iat the numbers
’fought are
(b2 + n2)2 (b2—n2)2
where n may be any number whatever. If for exam¬
ple ^=25 and «=!, then x—iz and x^-n=r^ j fo
that the numbers required are 144 and 169.
Ex. 3. It is required to determine x, fo that
may be a rational fquare.
Let j> be the fide of the fquare required, then -—
~y2 and 4x2-^^x~8y:t. Let the firfl part of this equa¬
tion be completed into a fquare by adding 1 to each
fide, then 4Vj-f-4v-f-1 —I-f 8y% and taking the root
iX'^-i — v/t -f-8ys, fo that we have to make t4-8v2
a iquare. Aflume
Vol. I. Part II.
/   8a2-l~p2 t>2
fince ix-L-x — V 1-j- 8ysm:———^therefore.vmrp—f—1
' 8q“—p2 8q2—p2
and ■—!—~
4/>y
quired.
(8y*+/>3)
--n, a rational fquare as was re¬
Sect. XXIII. Of the Refolution of Geometrical
Problems.
329. When a geometrical problem is to be refolved
by algebra, the figure which is to be the fubjeft of in-
veftigation muft be drawn, fo as to exhibit as well the
known quantities, connefted with the problem, as the
unknown quantities, which are to be found. The con¬
ditions of the problem are next to be attentively con-
fidered, and fuch lines drawn, or produced, as may be
judged neceffary to its refolution. , This done, the
known quantities are to be denoted by fymbols in the
ufual manner, and alfo Inch unknown quantities as can
molt eafily be determined ; which may be either thofe
direftly required, or others from which they can be
readily found. We mult next proceed to deduce from
the known geometrical properties of the figure a feries
of equations, expreffing the relations between the know n
and unknown quantities j thefe equations mult be in¬
dependent of each other and as many in number as
there are unknowm quantities. Having obtained a fuit-
able number of equations, the unknowm quantities are
to be determined in the fame manner as in the refolu¬
tion of numerical problems.
330. No general rule can be given for drawing the
lines, and felefting the quantities molt proper to be re-
prefented by fymbols, fo as to bring out the fimplelt
conclufion; becaufe different problems require differ¬
ent methods of folution. The belt way to gain expe¬
rience in this matter is to try the folution of the fame
problem in different ways, and then apply that wdrich
fucceeds belt to other cafes of the fame kind, when
they afterw-ards occur. The following particular di-
redtions however may be of fome ufe.
1. In preparing the figure by drawing lines, let
them be either parallel or perpendicular to other lines
in the figure, or fo as to form limilar triangles. And
if an angle be given, it will be proper to let the per¬
pendicular be oppofite to that angle, and to fall from
one end of a given line, if poflible.
2. In felecting the quantities for which fymbols are
to be fubftituted, thofe are to be chofen, whether re¬
quired or not, which lie neareff the knowm or given
parts of the figure, and by means of which the next
adjacent parts may be expreffed by addition and fub-
tradtion only, without the intervention of furds.
3. When twTo lines, or quantities, are alike related
to other parts of the figure, or problem, the beft way
is to fubftitute for neither of them feparately but to
fubftitute for their fum, or difference, or redlangle, or
the fum of their alternate quotients, or fome line ox-
lines in the figure, to which they have both the lame
relation.
4?
4. When
666
A L G E
Refolution 4. ’When the area, or the perimeter of a figure is
of Geome- givenj or fuch like parts of it as have only a remote
^bleafs10** relat^on to the parts required : it is fometimes of ufe to
> ' 1 aflume another figure fimilar to the propofed one, hav¬
ing one fide equal to unity, or fome other known quan¬
tity. For from hence the other parts of the figure
may be found by the known proportions of like lides
or parts, and fo an equation will be obtained.
331. We fhall now give the algebraical folutions of
fome geometrical problems. •
Prob. 1. In a right angled triangle, having given
' the bale, and the fum of the hypothenufe and perpen¬
dicular, to find both thefe two fides.
Let ABC (Plate XIV. fig. 1.) reprefent the propo¬
fed triangle, right angled at B. Let AB, the given
bafe, be denoted by />, and AC-J-BC the fum of the
hypothenufe and perpendicular by s ; then if x be put
for BC the perpendicular, the hypothenufe AC will
be —s—x. But from the nature of a right angled
triangle ACJ=ABJ-f-BC% that is
b1+(,r—X )2— Isx -\-xz
_
Hence ZdzrP—2sx, and x~-
s2 — b1 s2 + b2_
> b*
=BC.
2S
Alfo
S xzzs— - = —-—— AC. Thus the perpen-
2S 2S
dicular and hypothenufe are expreffed by means of the
known quantities b and s as required.
If a folution in numbers be required, we may fup-
|>ofe AB=£=3 and AC-j-CB—j—q, then
BC = ~—=4, and AC
2S
—fldbi!-
2 s - ’
Pros. 2. In a right angled triangle, having given
the hypothenufe, alfo the fum of the bafe and perpen¬
dicular, it is required to determine both thefe two fides.
Let ABC (fig. I.) reprefent the propofed triangle,
light angled at B. Put a—A.C the given hypothe¬
nufe, and jzr AB-f-BC the given fum of the fides, then
if x be put for AB, the bafe, s—x will denote BC the
perpendicular.
Now from the nature of right angled triangles
AC^ AB2-f-BC4, therefore ^-{-(r—xy=a2, or ^-f-
j2—2sx-\-x2=a2, hence we have this quadratic equa-
a? -■■■ s* » #
tion x2 rx=z— , which being refolved, by complet¬
ing the fquare, we find *=
szz=. V 2a2
rr±r V~:
zr AB, and
s—ae¬
ther of the two quantities
=BC. Thus it appears that ei-
j-f- V 2a2—s2
■ V202
BRA.
AD cutting EF the fide of the fquare in Iv, then, be- Refolutlba
caufe the triangle is given, the perpendicular AD may of.G^°Fe"
be confidered as given. Let BC—Zq ADzr/>, and, ^^lems.0
conlidering AK as the unknown quantity, (becaufe u—y—»J
from it the fquare may be readily determined), let
AK—A'; then KD— EF—/—x.
The triangles ABC, AEF are fimilar j therefore
AD : BC : : AK : EF ; that is p : b : : x :p—x. Hence
by taking the product of the extremes and means,/j*
p2
—bx—bx. and at——— = AK. If the fide of the
. t, + b
fquare be required, it may be immediately found by
fubtrafting AK from AD the perpendicular. Thus
p2 pb * .
wre have p—KD—EF. Hence it ap¬
pears that we may either take AK a third proporticn-
al to AD-f-BC and AD, or take DK a fourth pro¬
portional to AD-J-BC, AD and BC, and the point K
being found, the manner of conftrudting the fquare is
fufficiently obvious.
Prob. 4. Plaving given the area of a reflangle in-
feribed in a given triangle, it is required to determine
the fides of the reflangle.
Let ABC (fig. 3.) be the given triangle, and EDGE
the reftangle whole fides are required. Draw the per¬
pendicular Cl cutting DG in H. Put ABurZ*, Cl—/>,
DG—EF—x, DE—Hlrry, then CH—/—Let a*
denote the given area.
The triangles CDG, CAB are fimilar, hence
CH : DG :: Cl : AB, or p—y : x \ : p . b.
So that to determine x and y wre have thefe two equa¬
tions
xy—ci2, bp—by~px.
From the firlt equation we find y—
fecond j'—^ , therefore ■ ~~
and from the
- hence x2—
a2b
bx= —, and from this quadratic equation, by com-
P
pleting the fquare, &c. we find
2 4
a2b a2
. , and y——:
p x
4 b *
2 2
may be taken for AB, but which ever of the twm be
taken, the remaining one is neceflarily equal to BC.
Prob. 3. It is required to inferibe a fquare in a gi¬
ven triangle.
Let ABC (fig. 2.) be the given triangle, and
EFGH the inferibed fquare. Draw the perpendicular
ci^b b3.
Hence it appears that if — be lefs than —, that is if
' P 4
a2 be lefs than —, there are two different re&angles,
having the fame area, which may be inferibed in the
given triangle. It alfo appears that to render the pro¬
blem polfible, the given fpace a2 mull not be greater
than —, that is, than half the area of the given tri-
4
angle.
Prob. 5. In a triangle, there are given, the bafe,
the vertical angle, and the fum of the fides about that
angle to determine each of thefe fides.
Let us fuppofe that ABC (fig. 4.) is the triangle, of
which there is given the bafe AC, the vertical angle
ABC
algebra.
667
Xefohiticn ABC and 'the futn of the Tides AB, BC. Put AC—a,
■of Geome- AB + BC=£, cofine of ABC=c, and let AB, BC,
^blem^0" t^ie required, be denoted by x and y.
Let CD be drawn from either of the angles at the bafe
perpendicular to the oppofite fide AB, then, rad. : cof.
B :: CB : BD •, therefore BD=cof. B X CBz=0’-
Now, from the principles of geometry, AC*rr ABS
^_BCZ—2 AB X BD. Hence, and from the queftion,
we have thefe two equations
x-\-y—b, x*—2cxy-\-y>,—a*.
From the fquare of the firfl: of thefe equations, vi%.
x*-\'2xy -{-y'—b*t let the fecond be fubtradled, thus we
have —a*, and 2xy.
1 c
Again,
from the fquare of the firft equation let the double of
this lall equation, ‘d/s. q.ry—
2(Z<1—a1)
i+c
, be fubtrafted,
—f I I c)b%
and the refult is x*—2.vr+ y1— ^ , fo that
J l-fc
by taking the fquare root of this laft equation we ob¬
tain
/
x—y—d ■
2a1—(I -f
"l+C *
Thus we have found the difference between the fides,
now their fum is givenrrZ>, hence, by adding 4 the dif¬
ference to 4 the fum we find
2d1—(1 -\-c)bz
i-f-c
and fubtra£ling 4 the difference from 4 the fum
v—t A /la'—ii+c)^
y 2 lS/ i-fc
If the angle at B be a right angle this problem be¬
comes the fame as prob. 2.
332-. By a method of inveffigation, in all refpedts fi-
milar to that which has been employed in thefe ex¬
amples any propofed geometrical problem may be re¬
duced to an algebraic equation, the roots of which will
exhibit arithmetical values of that geometrical magni¬
tude which conftitutes the unknown quantity in the
equation. But the roots of algebraic equations may
alfo be expreffed by geometrical magnitudes, and hence
a geometrical conftru&ion of a problem may be derived
from its algebraic folution. For example, quadratic
equations, which all belong to one or other of thefe
three forms,
fore, if CD be called x, then CErrAr-h^, but if CE Loci of
—.v, then CDrfAr—a. Now by the elements of geo-
metry EC X CDm AC X CB, that is x^x-dzza^—bc or v •
x*=±:ax=zbc, which equation comprehends the firfl and
fecond cafes.
If the negative roots be required, that of the firft
cafe will be CE and that of the fecond CD.
When b and c are equal the conftrudlion will be ra¬
ther more fimple, for then AB vaniihing, AC will coin¬
cide with the tangent CF. Therefore if a right an¬
gled triangle HFC be conftrudted whofe legs HF and
FC are equal refpectively to \a and /», then will CD,
the value of x in the firft cafe be equal to CH—HF
and CE, the value of x in the latter, rcCH-f-HF.
334. Conjlruftion of the third form.—Let a circle
EADB (fig. 6.) be defcribed with a radius rr4 <* as
before, in which apply a chord AB=£+c, and take
AC-=zb. Through C draw the diameter DCE, then
either DC or EC will be pofitive roots of the equation.
For fince EDrrrt, if either EC or CDrctf, the remain¬
ing part of the diameter (hall be a—x, now by the
nature of the circle EC X CD~AC X CB, that is .v
( a—.v ) —be or xx—ax——be, hence it is evident that
the roots are rightly determined.
If b and c are equal the conftrudlion will be the
fame, only it will then not be neceffary to deferibe
the whole circle ; for fince AC will be perpendicular
to the diameter, if a right angled triangle HCik be
conftru&ed, having its hypothenufe HArrr-jrt and bale
AC~b, the roots of the equation will be exprefied by
AH+PIC and AH—HC.
335. If b and c be fo unequal, that b—c in the firft
two cafes, or £-f-c in the third, is greater than a, then,
inftead of thefe quantities, \b and 2c, or in general
- and nc (where n is any number whatever) may be
ufed. Or a mean proportional may be found between
b and r, and the conftrudtion performed as diredted in
each cafe when b and c are equal.
336. If appears from § 333 and 334, that every
geometrical problem which produces a quadratic equa¬
tion may be conftrudted by means of a itraight line
and a circle, or is a plane problem, hence on the con¬
trary, if a problem can be conftrudted by ftraight lines
and circles, its algebraic refolution will not produce
an equation higher than a quadratic. Cubic and bi¬
quadratic equations may be conftrudted geometrically
by means of any two conic feed ions, hence it follows
that every geometrical problem which requires for its
conftruttion two" conic fedtions, will, when refolved by
algebra, produce a cubic or biquadratic equation.
x'fax—be, x1—ax—he, x1—ax——be
or xtycfa^—bc, x{x—a}—be, x{_a—x)—bc
may be conftrudted as follows.
333. ConftruRion of the firft andfecond forms. Let
a circle EABD (fig. 5.) be defcribed -wdth a radius
—\a, in which, from any point A in the circumference
apply a chord ABz^—c [h being fuppofed greater
than c) and produce AB fo that BC~c; then AC—a.
Let H be the centre of the circle, join CH cutting
the circumference in D and E, then, in the firft cafe, the
pofitive value of at fhall be reprefented by CD, and in
the fecond by CE. For, by conftru&ion DEz=tf, there-
Sect. XXIV. Of the Loci of Equations.
337. When an equation contains twro indeterminate
quantities x and y, then for each^p articular value of x
there may be a§ many values of y as it has dimenfions
in that equation. So that if in an indefinite line
AE (fig. 7.) there be taken a part AP to reprefent x,
and a perpendicular PM be drawai to reprefent y,
there will be as many points M, M', &c. the extre¬
mities of thefe perpendiculars, as there are dimenfions
of y in the propofed equation. And the values of PM,
PM', &.c. will be the roots of the equation which are
found by fubftituting for „r its value in any particular
, 4 P 2 cafe.
668 A L G E
Loci of cafe. Hence it appears that in any particular equation
Equations. we may determine as many points M, as we pleafe,
and a line which paffes through all thefe points is call¬
ed the locus of the equation. The line AP which ex-
preffes any value of x is called an abfcifs; and PM
which exprcffes the correfponding value ofj' is called
an ordinate. Any two correfponding values of x and
pare alfo called co-ordinates.
338. When the equation that arifes by lufellituting
for x any particular value AP has all its roots pofitive,
the points M, Mf, &c. will lie all on one fide of AE,
but if any of them be negative, thefe'muft be fet off
on the other fide of AE towards 7n.
If x 'be fuppofed to become negative, then the line
Kp which reprefents it is to be taken in a direction
the oppofite to that which reprefents the pofitive va¬
lues of x 1 the points M, tfz, are to be taken as before,
and the locwi is only complete when it paffes through
all the points M, m, fo as to exhibit a value ofjp cor¬
refponding to every pofiible value of x.
If in any cafe one of the values of j’vanifii, then
the point M coincides with P, and the/ocat meets AE
in that point. If One of the values of jy become infi¬
nite, then it fiiews that' the curve has an infinite arc,
and in .that cafe the line PM becomes an afymptote to
the curve, or touches it at an infinite diftanee, if AP
itfelf is finite.
If when .vis fuppofed infinitely great, a value ofj'
vanilh, then the curve approaches to AE as an afymp¬
tote:
If any values of y become impoflible, then fo many
points Mvanifh.
330. From thefe obfervations and the theory of equa¬
tions, it appears that when an equation is propofed in¬
volving two indeterminate quantities x and p, there
may be as many interfeftions of the curve that is the
locus of the equation and of the line PM, as there are
dimenfions of j’in the equation j and as many inter-
feftions of the curve and the line AE as there are di¬
menfions of x in the equation.
340. A curve line is called geometrical or algebraic,
when the equation which expreffes the relation between v
andy, any abfcifs and its correfponding ordinate, confirts
of a finite number of terms, and contains befides thefe
quantities only known quantities. Algebraic curves are
divided into orders according to the dimenfions of the
equations which expreffes the relations between their
ubfeiffes and ordinates, or according to the number of
points in which they can interfedl a ftraight line.
341. Straight lines themfelves conftitute the firfl: or¬
der of lines, and when the equation exprefling the re¬
lation between x and y is only of one dimenfion, the
points M muft be ail found in a ftraight line rvhich
contains with AE a given angle. Suppofe for example
that the given equation is ay—-bx—cdxzo, and that its
locus \$ required.
bx-\-cd
Sinceyz=z—-—, it follows that APM (fig. 8.)
being a right angle^ if AN be drawn making the angle
NAP fuch that its cofine is to its fine as a to b, and
drawing AD parallel to the ordinates PM, and equal
C<h
to —, if DF be drawn parallel to AN,. then will DF
BRA.
be the locus required ; where it is to be obferved that Loci of
AD and PN are to be taken on the fame fide of AE fijaanonSy
if bx and cd have the fame fign, but on oppofite fides
of AE if they have contrary figns.
342. Thefe curves whofe equations are of two di¬
menfions conftitute the fecond order of lines, and the
yfoyTkind of curves. Their interfections with a ftraight
line can never exceed two (§ 339-)
The curves whofe equations are of three dimenfions
form the third order of lines, and the fecond kind of
curves 5 and their interfeclions with a ftraight line can
never exceed three, and after the fame manner curves
of the higher orders are denominated.
Some curves, if they were completely deferibed,
would cut a ftraight line in an infinite number of
points, but thefe belong to none of the orders we have
mentioned, for the relation between their ordinates and
abfeiffes cannot be expreffed by a finite equation, in¬
volving only ordinates and ablcifles with determinate
quantities. Curves of this kind are called mechanical
or tranfcendentaL
343. As the roots of an equation become impoflible
always in pairs, fo the interfections of a curve and its
ordinate PM muft vanifh in pairs if any of them vanifh.
Let FM (fig. 9.) cut the curve in the points M and
m, and by moving parallel to icfelf come to touch it in
the point N, then the two points of interfe&ion M '
and m go to form one point of contact N. If PM
ftill move on parallel to itfelf, the points of interfe&iorr
will beyond N become imaginary, as the two roots of
an equation firft become equal, and then imaginary.
344. The curves of the 3d, 5th, 7th orders, and
all whofe dimenfions are odd numbers, have always
one real root at leaft, and confequently for every va¬
lue of x the equation by which y is determined muft
have at leaft one real root } fo that as x, or AP may
be increafed in infinitum on both fides, it follows that
]\I muft go off in infinitum on both fides without li¬
mit.
In curves whofe dimenfions are even numbers, as the
roots of their equations may become all impoflible, it
follows that the figure of the curve may be like a circle
or oval that is limited within certain bounds, beyond
which it cannot extend.
345. When two roots of the equation by which 4/ is
determined become equal, either the ordinate PM
touches the curve, two points of interfecHon in that
cafe going into a point of contaff, or the point M is a
puncium duplex in the curve, two of its arcs interfer¬
ing each other there 5' or fome oval that belongs to
that kind of curve becoming infinitely little in M, it
van!dies into what is called a puncium conjugatum.
If in the equation j; be fuppofed =0, then the roots
of the equation by which # is determined, will give
the diftances of the points where the curve meets AE
from A, and if two of thofe roots be found equal, then
either the curve touches the line AE, or AE paffes
through a pundtum duplex in the curve. When y is
fuppofed —o, if one of the values of x vaniflq the
curve in that cafe paffes through A. If two vanilh,
then either AE touches the curve in A, or A is a.
punBum duplex.
As a pun&um duplex is determined from the equality
of two roots, fo is a punBum triplex from the equality
of three roots,.
346, To
4
ALGEBRA.
Loci of 345. To iHuftrate tHefe obfervations we (hall take a
,Eq«^ion!; few examples.
Ex. 1. It is required to defcribe the line that is the
/ocus of this equation y'^=zax-\-ab, or y2—ax—ab—O,
where a and b denote given quantities. Since y*
~±t: x^ax-j-ab, if AP“a- (fig. 10.) be aflumed of a.
known value and PM, Pw fet off on each fide equal to
Vax-\-ab the points M, m, will belong" to the locus
required ; and for every pofitive value of AP there
may thus be found a point of the locus on each fide.
The greater AP, or x, is taken, the greater does
vVv-j-flZ' become, and confequently PM and Pot the
greater, and if AP be fuppofed infinitely great, PM
and Pot will alfo become infinitely great, therefore the
locus has two infinite arcs that go off to an infinite di-
Itance from AE and from AD. If x be fuppofed to.
vanifh, then y~r±z Vab, to that v does not vanifh in
that cafe, but pafies through D and d, taking AD and
Aff each — x^ab.
If P be fuppofed to move to the other fide of A,
then v becomes negative, and y—ab—ax, fo that
y will have two values as before, while at is lefs than b
but if AB=:/?, and the point P be fuppofed to come to
B, then tfArraw, and yrr r±:-x/oi'—^—05 that is PM
and Pot vanifli, and the curve there meets the line AE.
If P be fuppofed to move from A beyond B, then x
becomes greater than b, and ax greater than ab, fo
that ab—c?.r being negative, \‘ ab—ax becomes imagina¬
ry } that is, beyond B there are no ordinates which meet
the curve, and confequently on that fide the curve is
limited in B.
All this agrees very well with what is known by
other methods, that the curve whofe equation is y*—ax
-\-ab\ is a parabola whofe vertex is B, axis BE, and-
parameter equal to a. For fince BP-and
yzrPM, from the equation abz±z.ax—y2, or a(bz±=.x)
—y1, we have a x BP—PM1, which is the well known
property of the parabola.
Ex. 1. It is required to defcribe the line that is the
Ecus of the equation xy -\-ay -{-cy—bc -^-bx,
bc-X-bx
or yrz 1 .
Here it is evident (Tig. it.) that the ordinate PM
can meet the curve in one point only, there being but
one value of‘y correfponding to each value of x. When
be
x~o, then y—fo that the curve does not pafs
through A. If x be fuppofed to increafe, theny will
increafe, but will never become equal to b, fince y—Z'
r-{-v
X
tf-j-c-j-v’
and-rz +c+x is always greater than r-f-v.
If x be fuppofed infinite, then the terms a and c vanifh
compared with x, and confequently y-
zb X ~~b ; from
x
which it appears, that taking AD—£, and drawing
GD parallel to AE, it rvill be an afymptotefzwd. touch
the curve at an infinite diffance. If x be now fuppofed
negative, and AP be" taken on the other fide-of Ar
then yz=.b X
(l
66g?
,v Loci of
—, and if x be taken on that fide Equations.
—r, thenyzz/'X °> that the curve muff pafs
through B if AB—o. If x- be fuppofed greater than
c, then will c—x become negative, and the ordinate
will become negative, and lie on the other fide of AE,
till x become equal to a-\-c, and theny—£x -g~, that
is, becaufe the denominator is o, x becomes infinite, fo
that if A be taken—the ordinate KD will be an
afl'ymptote to the curve.
If x be taken greater than a-\-c or AP greater than
AK, then both e—x and a-\-c—x become negative,
and confequently X;
x ^—~ becomes a pofitive
quantity j and fince v—c is alivays greater than.r—a—cs
it follows thaty will be ahvays greater than b or KG,
and confequently the reft of the curve lies in the angle
EG PI. And as x increafes, fince the ratio of x—c to
x—a—c approaches ftill nearer to -a ratio of equality,
it follows that PM approaches to an equality with PN,
therefore the curve approaches to its alymptote GH on
that fide alfo.
This curve is the common hyperbola, for fince b{e
-j-x)cry(a-f-c q-x), by adding ab to both fides, b(a
+C \-x^—y[a->rC-\-x)-\-ab, and (Z>—y)(d-|-c-{-*)—
that is NM x GN—GC X BC which is the property of
the common hyperbola.
Ex. 3. It is required to defcribe the locus of the
equation ay1—xyz~xi-^-bx2.
Here and therefore
a—x a—x
hence PM and PM (fig. 12.) are to be taken on each
—  j this expreflion by fup--
pofing xzza becomes infinite becaufe its denominator is
then —o, therefore if AB be taken — a and BK be
drawn perpendicular to AB, the line BK fhall bean
afymptote to the curve. If x be fuppofed greater than
a, or AP greater than AB, then a—x- being negative,
the fradlion ; wfill become negative, and itsfquare
root impoffible j fo that no part of the locus can lie
beyond B. If x be fuppofed negative, or P taken on
1 f -V ^ —L. hx*
the other fide of A, thenynrt:^/——j ^ence
the values of y will be real and equal as long as x is
lefs than b, but if x~b, then y —fj ^
=r v ———7—-=o, and confequently if AD be takeiv
a—b
~b} the curve will pafs through D, and there touch
the
670
Loci of
Equations.
ALOE
the Ordinate. .v he taken greater than b, then
becomes imaginary, fo that no part
of the curve is found beyond D. The portion between
A and D is called a nodus. If jy be fuppofed =0, then
will x3 ‘-^-bx1=zo be an equation tvhofe roots are-^—b,o, o,
from which it appears that the curve pafles twice
through A, and has in A a punEiutn duplex. This
locus is a line of the 3d order.
If b is fuppofed to vanilh in the propofed equation,
fo that ay1—xy'—x*, then will A and D coincide
(fig. 13.J and the nodus vanifh, and the curve wall
have in the point A a cufpis, the two arcs AM and
Am, in this cafe, touching one another in that point.
This is the fame curve which the ancients called the
Ciffbid of Diodes.
If inftead of fuppofing b pofitivej or equal to o, we
fuppofe it negative, the equation will be ay1—xyl~x'i
-L—bx*, the curve will in this cafe pafs through D as be¬
fore, (fig. 14.) and taking AB—BK wall be its
afymptote. It wall have a punEium conjugatum in A,
becaufe when y vanilhes two values of x vanifh, and
the third becomes —b or AD. The wdrole curve, be-
fides this point, lies between DQ^and BK. Thefe re¬
marks are demonftrated after the fame manner as in
the firfl cafe.
BRA.
which may be refolved into thefe twro, X—y—Arithmetic
-\-b—o, is found to be twro ftraight lines cutting the , ot S‘ne:'' .
abcifs AE (fig. 19.) in angles of 450 in the points A, " *
B, whofe diftanCe AB=Z<. In like manner fom$ cu¬
bic equations can be refolved into three fimple equa¬
tions, and then the locus is three ftraight lines, or may
be refolved into a quadratic and fimple equation, and
then the locus is a ftraight line and a conic fedlion.
In general, curves of the iuperior orders include all the
curves of the inferior orders, and wdrat is demonftrated
generally of any one order is alfo true of the inferior
orders. Thus, for example, any general property of
the conic feclions holds true of two ftraight lines as
well as a conic feflion, particularly that the redlangles
of the fegments of parallels bounded by them will al¬
ways be to one another in a given ratio.
330. From the analogy which fubfifts between alge¬
braic equations and geometrical curves it is eafy to fee
that the properties of the former muft fuggeft corre-
fponding properties of the latter. Hence the princi¬
ples of algebra admit of the moft extenfive applica¬
tion to the theory of curve lines. It may be demon¬
ftrated, fc- example, that the locus of every equation of
the fecond 'order is a conic fedlion j and, on the con¬
trary, the various properties of the diameters, ordinates,
tangents, &c. of the conic feftions may be readily de¬
duced from the theory of equations.
347. If an equation have this form
y—axn-\-bxn—l-\-cxn-‘1-\-, &C.
and n is an even number, then will the locus of the
equation have two infinite arcs lying on the fame fide
Of AE, (fig. 15.) for if x become infinite, whether
pofitive or negative, xn wall be pofitive and axn< have
the fame fign in either cafe, and as axn becomes in¬
finitely greater than the other terms bxn~%, &c. it fol¬
lows that the infinite values ef y will have the fame
lign in thefe cafes, and confequently the two infinite
arcs of the curve wall He on the fame fide of AE.
But if n be an odd number, then when x is negative
xn will be negative, and axn will have the contrary
fign to what it had when x is pofitive, and therefore
the two infinite arcs will in this cafe lie on different fides
of AE, as in fig. 16. and tend towards parts diredlly
oppofite.
348. If an equation have this form yx^—d'f1, and
n be an odd number, then wdien x is pofitive jrr——,
; xn
i * #
but when X Is negative y= fo that this curve
oc
muft all lie in the vertically oppofite angles KAE,
FAe, (fig. 17.) as the common hyperbola, FK, Eelae-
ing afymptotes.
But if n be an even number then y is always po¬
fitive whether x be pofitive or negative, becaufe xn in
this cafe is always pofitive, and therefore the curve muft
all lie in the two adjacent angles KAE and KA<?
(fig. 18.) and have AK and AE for its afymptotes.
349. If an equation be fuch as can be reduced into
two other equations of lower dimenfions, without af-
fedling y or x wfith any radical fign, then the locus
ft] all confift of the twro loci of thofe inferior equations.
Thus the locus of the equation^—zxy-fby-frx1—bx~o,
Sect. XXV. Of the Arithmetic of Sines.
351. The relations which fubfift between the fines
and cofines of any arches of a circle, and thofe ©f their
funis, or differences, &c. conftitute what is called the
arithmetic offnes. This branch of calculation has its
origin in the application of algebra to geometry, and
is of great importance in the more difficult parts of the
mathematics, as Well as in their application to phyfics.
352. In treating this fubjeft it is neceffary to attend
to the following obfervations.
1. If the fines of all arches between 0° and 18o° be
fuppofed pofitive, the fines of arches between 18o° and
360° muft be confidered as negative } again, the fines
of arches between 360° and 540° will be pofitive, and
thofe of arches between 54O0 and 720° negative, and
fo on.
2. If the cofines of arches between o° and 90® be
fuppofed pofitive, the cofines of arches between po9
and 270® muft be confidered as negative, and the co¬
fines of arches between 270° and 450* pofitive, and fo
on.
3. When an arch changes from -f- to —, or from
— to -j- its fine undergoes a like change, but its cofine
is the fame as before.
The truth of thefe obfervations muft be evident from
this confideration, that wffien a line, taken in a certain
direction, decreafes till it become =0, and afterwards
increafes, but in a contrary direction j then, if in the
former ftate it was confidered as pofitive, it muft be
negative in the latter, and contrariwife.
3 C3. The following propofition may be confidered
as the foundation of the arithmetic of fines.
Let a and b denote any two arches of a circle.'
Then, if radius be fuppofed m.
fin. (a ) =: fim a X cof. b + cof. a X fin. b.
Let
Arithmetic
»f Sines.
ALGEBRA.
671
Let C be tbe centre ef tbe circle, (fig. 2o.) and
AB, BD the arches denoted by a and b; then AD
■=:a-\-b: draw the radii CA, CB, CD, and the fines
BE, BF, DG $ then BE, BF, DG are the fines of a,
b, and a-\-b, refpeftively ; and CE, CF, CG their
cofines. Join EF, and draw FH parallel to DG. Be-
caufe the angles CEB, CFB are right angles^ the
points C, E, B, F are in the circumference of a circle,
hence, the angle FCB is equal to FEB ; that is, to
the alternate angle EFH j now CFB, EHF are both
right angles, therefore the triangles CFB, EHF are
fimilar, hence CF : CB (“CD) : : FH : FE •, but
CF : CD :: FH : DG; therefore FH : FE : : FH : DG,
hence FE=DG=fin. {a-\-b). Becaufe EBFC is a
quadrilateral infcribed in a circle, from the elements of
geometry, we have BC X EF~ BE x CF-j-BF x CE
but BE= fin. a, CF= cof. b, BFrrrfin. £, CE—
cof. a, BC=i, and EF=rDG—fin. (rf-}-£), therefore
fin. (tf-f£):=:fin. aXcof. £-f-cof. «xfin- as was to
be proved.
354. If in the preceding theorem we fuppofe the
arch b to become negative, then fin. b will alfo become
negative. Thus we obtain a fecond theorem, viz.
Sin. {a—b) =fm. a X cof. b—cof. a X fin. b.
Becaufe cof. (<2-j-■ fon ((9°°—anv^
by the fecond theorem fin. (C9C0—a)—Z>) — fin.
(qo*—a) X cof. b — cof. (90°—a) X fin. b = cof. a X
cof. b—fin. a X fin. b, therefore
cof. (^-Z>) = cof. f* x cof. fin. tfXfin. 4
which is the third theorem.
If we now fuppofe b to become negative, then fin. b
becomes alfo negative j thus we have
Theor. IV. Cof. ia—b) rrcof. a X cof.^ + fin.a X fin>.
Arithmetic
of Sines.
395. We have found that fin. {a-\-b')— fin. a X
cof. b + cof. a X fin. b; alfo, that fin. (a — b~) — fin.
a X cof. b—ccf. rt X fin. b, therefore, taking the fum of
thefe two equations, we find,
Theor.V. Sin. (0-—^0—2 fin. a X cof. 5.
In like manner, by taking the difference between the
equations, we have
Theor. VI. Sin. —fin.(a—£) = 2cof.aX fin.£.
And, by taking the fum and difference of the equations,
which conftitute the third and fourth theorems, we alfo
have
Theor. VII. Cof. (*—£) +cof.(*+£)=2cof. a X cof.A
Theor. VIII. Cof. (*—£)—cof.(a-f £)=2fin.a X fin.i.
If in the four laft theorems w7e fubftitute na for a, and
a for £, we derive from them thefe other four;
Theor. IX. 2 Cof. a X fin. na — fin. -f- 0 -J" fin. (n— a
Theor. X. 2 Sin. a X cof. na = fin. (« -f 1) — fin. (« — 1) u
Theor. XI. 2 Cof. a X cof. na — cof. (« -f- 0 ^ + c°fi — 1) a
Theor. XII. 2 Sin. a X fin. na rr —cof. (« -j- 1) "t* c°fi i.n ~~~ 0
3 ^6. By means of the four laft theorems, the powers and produ&s of the fines and cofines of arches may be
exprefied in terms of the fums and differences of certain multiples of thofe arehesv v
' Thus, if in theor. XII. we fuppofe «=l , it becomes
2 Sin.* a zz — cof. 2 a -{• 1.
To find the third power of fin. a, let both fides of this equation be multiplied by 2 fin. a, then 4 fin. * a = 2-
£n. a ( cof. 2 c 1), but 2 fin. a X cof. 2 azz fin. 30 — fin. a, theor. X. Therefore
4 SinJ = — fin 3 a 3 nn. a.
Again, for the fourth power, let both fides of the laft equation be multiplied by 2 fin. a, then 8 fin.4 a~ 2fin.a'
( ftn. 3 3 fin*i but 2 fin* a ^ fi11, 3 := —" c°fi 4 "f" co^" 2 an(^ 2 ^n'a ^ ^n’a ~~ co^' 2 ^
theor. XII. therefore by fubftitution
8 Sin.4 a — cof 40 — 4cof 2^ + 3.
Proceeding in this way the fucccftivc powers of fin. a may be calculated as in the following table >
Sin. a =
2 Sin.* a _ —
4 Sin.3 a — —
8 Sin.4 a =
16 Sin.s a =
3 2 Sin.6 a — —
64 Sin.7 a — ~
&c.
fin. a
cof 2 « -f- I
fin. 3 a -j- 3 fin* a
cof 4 « — 4 cof 2 a 3
fin. 5 a — 5 fin. 3 « -j- 1 o fin. a
cof 6 a 6 cof 45 — 15 cof 2 a + 10
fin. 7 a 4* 7 fin. 5 <2 21 fin. 3 « -L 3d* ^n‘
The
VQ <J
72
rithmetic
oi Sines.
ALGEBRA.
The fucceffive powers of the cofines may be found in the fame manner. Thus
Cof. a = cof. a
1 Cof.J a — cof. 1 a
4 Cof.3 a =. cof. 3 ^ -j- 3 cof. a
8 Cof.4 a — cof. 4 o -{- 4 cof. 2 rt-f- 3
\6 Cof.5 a — cof. S a ^ S co^ 3 10 co^ a
3 2 Cof.15 a — cof. 6 a 6 cof. 4 «+ 15 cof. la 10
64 Cof.7 a zz cof. 7 « -f* 7 co^ 5 21 co^ 3^ + 35 C0‘-
&c.
Arithmetic
of Sines.
337. As an example of the produ&s of the fines and cofines of an arch, let it be propofed to exprefs fin.-*«
X cof.* a by the fines, or cofines of multiples of a. We have already found 4 fin.5 a — — 3 3 4~ 3 a*
therefore
16 fin.5 a X cof.
-I
2 cof. a X 2cof. «(— 3 fin. 3 -f- 3'fin.
2 cof. — fin. 4«-f- 2 hn- 2d)
— fin. 5a -f- fin. 3 a -j- 2 fin. a.
a)
Thus it appears that all pofitive integer powers of
the fine and cofine of an arch, or any product of thofe
powers, may be expreffed in finite terms by the fines and
cofines of multiples of that arch.
358. On the contrary, the fine and cofine of any
arch may be expreffed by the powers of the .fine and
cofine of an arch whereof it is a multiple. For it ap¬
pears from the 9th and nth theorems that
Sin. (« -}- x) « rr 2 cof.c X fin* — fin- (« —1)«
Cof. {n \ } a — 2 cof.tf X cof.no-—cof. (77 —1)0.
therefore, by taking n~o, 1, 2, 3, &c. fucceflively
xve have
Sin. a — fin. a
Sin. 2 a — 2 cof. a X fin. a
Sin. 3 « = 2 cof. a X fin. 2 77 —fin. a
Sin. 40—2 cof. a X fin. 3 # — fin. 2 a
Sin. $a — 2 cof. a X fin. 40 — fin. 3 a,
&c.
Cof. a tr cof.«
Cof. 2 a =. 2 cof. a x cof. a—i.
Cof. ^ a — 2 cof. a x cof. 2 a —cof. a
Cof. 4 n z= 2 cof. a x cof. 3 a —cof. 2 a
Cof. $a — 2 cof. a x cof. 4 a —cof. 3 4,
&c.
So that, putting s for the fine, and c for the cofine
of the arch a, and remarking that c* = 1 — j*.
Sin. a — s
Sin. 2a— 2cs
Sin. 30= 4 cV — s — — 4r3 -f- 3.?
Sin. 40= 8c3r— 4cr=:c(—8j'3-j-4'r)
Sin. 5 a zz 16 c*s —12 c*s szz 16 — 20 j 3 -f- jr,
&c.
Cof. a— c
Cof. 2a— 2c1— r
Cof. 30= 4c3— 3c
Cof. 477= 8c4— 8e*-|-i
Cof. 577= 16c5—20c* +5C,
&c.
359. If it be required to find the fine or cofine of
in arch, from having given the fine or cofine of fom
2
multiple of that arch, it may be found by refolving an
equation of an - order denoted by the numerical co¬
efficient of the multiple arch. Thus if the cofine of
an arch be given, to determine the cofine of half the
arch, let C denote the given cofine, and x that which
is required, then the equation cof. 2azz2c2-—I becomes
Cur 2x*—1, which equation being refolved gives
x
If the fine be required, from that
of twice the arch being given, it may be found from
the equation fin. 2azz2cs, which, by putting S for the
given fine, and y for the fine required, becomes S=:
2yVi .j/% or, by fquaring both fides, and reducing,
* S* 1 , 1 rffic V/i — S*
y* —ij’- — — $ whence y  ana
4 2
The twro values of x indicate that there are two
arches, the one as much lefs than 90®, as the other
exceeds 90°, fuch, that the cofine of the double of
each is expreffed by the fame number. And the four
values afy ffiewT that there are four arches, viz. tw'O
pofitive and two negative, fuch, that the fine of the
double of each is expreffed by the fame number.
Suppofe now that the cofine of an arch is given to
find the cofine of one-third of that arch, then, putting
C to denote the given cofine, and x that which is re¬
quired, the equation to be refolved is
^ , C
4#3,—or x}———-rro.
By comparing this cubic equation with the general
equation .v3-f-y,v-(-7'=o, it appears that q is negative
and fuch that .473 *^27/-*, for C is always lefs than
unity $ hence it follow's that the equation belongs to
the irreducible cafe, or that which cannot be refolved
by Cardan’s rule. The equation 4 fin.3 .—3 fin. a—
—Jin. 377 is alfo of the fame form •, in order, therefore,
to find either the fine or cofine of one-third of a given
arch recouffe muff be had to the methods of approxi¬
mation explained in Sdft. XVI.
- 360. The fum of any powers of the fines, or co¬
fines of arches which conftitute the arithmetical pro-
greffion 7?, a-\-p, t7-4-2/>, &-c* 1° may
be
ALGEBRA, <573
We have already found, therefore, by fubftitutlng a, See. fuc-Arithmetic
Sin. (/>-j-r/)r=2 cof. d X fin./> — fin. (/»—
Arithmetic be found as follows.
ef Sines. t}leor> Y_ t]lat
ceflively for p we obtain the following feries of equa¬
tions.
Sin. a rrfin. a
Sin. (a^)=2 cof. </xfn. a —fn. (a—</)
Sin. (a -{-2d)z=2 cof. </xhn. (a-\- d)—iin. a
Sin. (fl-f-3^)=2 eof. d^m, (a-|-2^)—fin.
&c.
Sin. {a-\-nd') r=2 cof. i/x fin. + —fin. —2)</}
Sin. («-b(«-|-i)^)=2 cof. </xfin* •—fin. —i)^)
Therefore, if we fubftitute
S=:fin. c-b^n* («+<f)+^n* C^ + 2^)» &c* +fin. (a-\-nd')y
by taking the fum of all the equations, it is evident that
S-j-fin. («-{-(«-}-1 V)=fin. a~\-2 cof. </xS—fin. —^)-—(S—fin. («-]-«</))
which equation, by proper reduction becomes
 fin. a—fin. + i V)-}-fin. (a-\-nd')—fin. (a—d)
2(1—cof. </)
By proceeding in the fame manner with theor. VII. viz.
Cof. (/>-b^)=2 cof. d X cof. /> —cof. (/>—d)
-and fubftituting a, a-\-d, a-\-2d, See. fuccefiively for />, alfo putting
Cnmcof. —|—cof. (piPfd')2d^) Stc. -j—cof.
we obtain this other theorem
 cof. a—cof. (<7-(-C«-f'I)^)+C0^(^-l~w^)—co^ [a—d)
T 2( 1—cof. d)
361. It is worthy of remark, that if the arch d is
contained n + l times, either in the whole circumfe¬
rence, or any number of circumferences, that is, if
(n _|_ i)^/=y X 360°, where q is any whole number, then
W—yXSbo®—d. Thus we have fin. y;
rr fin. (a-f-y X 360°) r= fin. a, alfo fin. (a-\-nd) — fin.
— d q x 360°) —fin.(<7—d), for the fine of any
arch is equal to the fine of the fame arch increafed by
any number of circumferences, and the fame is true
alfo of the cofine of an arch. Hence it appears that
in thefe circumftances the terms in the numerators of
the fradtions, which are equal to S and C, deftroy one
another, and thus S and C are both —o ; that is, the
pofitive fines, and cofines are equal to the negative
fines, and cofines, refpettively. Now if the circum¬
ference of a circle be divided into 1 equal parts at
the points A, A', A", A'", &c. (fig. 21.) and any
diameter BC drawn, then, if the arch BA=ztf, and
the arch AA!—d, the arches BAA', BAA'A''', &c.
will be equal to a-\-d, a-\-2d, &c. refpedlively ) and,
fuppofing the extremity of the diameter to fall betw-een
A and Aiv, the arch BA, &c. Aiv will be equal to
a-\-nd. Hence we derive the following remarkable
Vol. I. Part II.
property of the circle^ Let the circumference of a circle
be divided into any number of equal parts at the points
A, A', A'', &c. j and from the points of divifion let the
fines AD, A'D7, A" D", &c. be drawm upon any diame¬
ter BCE ; then, the fum of AD, A'D', &c. the fines on
one fide of the diameter fhall be equal to the fum of A"
D'7, A7" D'", &c. the fines on the other fide of the dia¬
meter. Alfo, the fum of CD, Ciy DlV, the cofines on
one fide of the centre fhall be equal to the fum of C7 D',
C" D", &.c. the cofines on the other fide of the centre.
362. Let us next inveftigate the fum of the fquares
of the fines of the arches <7, a-\-d, a-\-ld, &c. For
this purpofe we may form a feries of equations from
the theorem
2 fin.* am-—cof. 2a
Thus wTe have
2 fin.* a — I—cof. 2a
2 fin.1 (a-j-a7) :m—cof. 2(a~f-a')
2fin.1 (a-p 2a')m—cof. 2(a*b 2^)
&c.
2 fin.1 (a-b«a')—1—cof. 2{a-\-nd')
4 CL ket
algebra.
Let S'rr (<2-{-</)
Then, by addition, and obferving that cof. 2(2-bco^ 2(a + 6?)4-> ^^'c• +co^*
 cof. 2a—cof. 2(a-\-(n-\-i)d) -}-cof. 2(<7-f-^)—cof. 2{a—-d)
2(1—cof.2</)
we have
cof. —cof. 2(<7+ (w+ 1 )d) -j-cof. 2(a-\-nd)—cof. 2{a—d)
2 (1 cof. 2d)
Arithmetic
of Sines.
In the fame manner by forming a feries of equations from this theorem 2 cof.* a ~ 1 cof. 2a, and putting
cof.* a-1-cof.* (« + ^) + co^* (tf + 2d)-\~, &c. -{-cof.* (a-^nd)
we find
,  cof. 2a—cof. 2(t7-{-(«-f'I)fl9_hC0^ 2
2 2(1—cof. 2d)
363. If we now fuppofe d to be fuch an arch that
(«.{_ \ )d— the whole circumference — 360°, then
cof.2(«-{-(«-{- i)t/)=:cof.(2a-{-2 X36o°)=cof. 2a, alfo
Cof.2(r7-f«r/) = Cof.(2(t7—'</^4-2 X 36o0)=rCof.2(t7 //).
Thus it appears that in this particular cafe the nume¬
rators of the fractional parts of the values of 2 S' and
2C' are each —O, and hence 2 S' and 2C' are each=r«.
We muft except, however, the cafe of n—\, for then
dzzz. 18o°, and cof. 2d~\, fo that the denominator of
each fraCtion vanifhing as well as the numerator, it
would be wrong to conclude that the fractions them-
felves vanilh.
Now if the circumference of a circle be divided into
n-\-i equal parts at the points A, A', A", &c. (fig. 21.)
and any diameter BE, as alfo the fines AD, A' D',
A" D", &c. be drawn, then, if the arch BA—tf, and
the arch AA'=zd, W'e have, as in $361, AD~fin. tf,
A'D' —fin. (#-{-</), A'' D"rrfin.(fl -f- 2d), &c. and,
fuppofing the point B to fall between A and AiT,
AlVDlV—fin.(rt-f «//). Hence wre derive the following
very elegant and general theorem relating to the circle.
Let the circumference of a circle be divided into n
equal parts (where « is any number greater than 2)
at the points A, A', A", &c. and from the points ©f
divifion let the fines AD, A'D', A'D'7, &c. be drawn
perpendicular to any diameter whatever. Twice the
fum of the fquares of the fines AD, A'D', A''D", &c.
is equal to n times the fquare of the radius of the cir¬
cle : Alfo twice the fum of the fquares of the cofines
CD, CD'', C D", &c. is equal to n times the fquare
of the radius of the circle.
364. We might now proceed to find the fum of the
cubes of the fines of the arches a, a-\-d, a-\-2d, &c.
from the equation
{a + nd) —cof. 2{a—d)
4 find a—2, fin a—fin. 377
and the fum of the cubes of the cofines front the equa¬
tion
4 cofd 77=3 cof. tf-f-cof. 35
and thence deduce properties of the circle fimilar to
thofe which we have found in § 361, and § 363 j but
as the manner of proceeding in the cafe of the cubes
and higher powers, difters not at all from that which
we have employed in finding the fum of their fquares,
w e fhall for the fake of brevity leave the powers which
exceed the fquare to exercife the ingenuity of the
reader.
365. The chords of arches pofiefs properties in all
refpefts analogous to thofe of their fines. For, from
the nature of the chord of an arch
4 chord 77=fin. 4 a, and 4 chord, fupp. a—cof. 4 a.
Therefore, if in the various theorems, which wre have
inveftigated, relating to the fines and cofines of arches,
we fubftitute half the chord of the arch for the fine of
half the arch, and half the chord of its fupplement for
its cofine, wTe fltall have a new elafs of theorems rela¬
ting to the chords of arches and the chords of their
fupplements.
366. For example, the 9th and nth theorems,
which may alfo be expreifed thus,
2fin.(77-{-i)4tf—2cof.4tf X 2fin.7/477'—2fin. (7/—1)4#
2cof.(7z-J— i} 4azcz2cof.4^ X 2 cof. n\a—2cof. (/z—i)4a
by making the propofed fubftitutions are transformed
to thefe other twyo theorems
ch. («-{-i)77=r ch. fup. 77X ch. na—ch. (n—l)a
ch. fup.(«4-i)z7—ch. fup. 77X ch. fup. /ia— ch. fup. (/?—i)z7
367. Let x= chord of a, and y= chord of its fup¬
plement, then, putting o, 1, 2, 3, &c. fucceflively for
7?, and obferving that ch. o 7z=:o, w^e obtain from the
frft of thefe theorems the following feries of equations
ch. a~x
ch. 2a-=zjxy
ch. 3Z7=*(/—1)
ch. 477=^(y3—2y)
ch. §a~x(y4—3^*-f-1)
ch. 677—#( ys—qtiSA o 1,)
ch. 777—v(y«—5y«_f-6y*—-1),
&.C. .
Alfo, obferving that ch. fup. oa = diam. 2, we
find from the fecond theorem that
ch. fup. arzy
ch. fup. 277—y*—2
ch. fup. 377zry*—3y
ch. fup. 477—y4—4y*-f 2
ch. fup. sa==ys—5y34-5y
ch. fup. 677—y6—fiyi-j-py1—2,
&c.
If 4—v*, and the powers of that quantity be fubfti-
tuted for y1, and its potvers, in the chords of 377,
7*y
Al^Cr E BJ\A.
I’latc X I \f.
~ .T"
} i '
/
/
f
*
T
I
/
!
Arithmetic
oF Sines.
ALGEBRA.
67 s
ya, Sec. alfo m the chords of the fupplements of 2a,
4a, 6a, &c. we ftiall obtain the following feries of
equations expreffing the relations between the chord
of any arch, and the chords of the multiples of that
arch, if thofe multiples be odd numbers, or the chords
of their fupplements, if they be even numbers
ch. a—-\-x
ch. fup. Ztfrr—x*-\~2
ch. 3a— 
ch. fup. 4a— -j-.v4—q.r1 -|-2
ch. $a=z-\-xs—
ch. fup. 6a——x&-\-6x*—qv*-f- 2
ch. 7*——x1 —14a’3+7.1*,
&c.
this equation, by dividing each term in the numerator Arithmetic
and denominator of the latter part of it by cof. a X , of Sines-1
cofi b, may alfo be cxprelfed thus v^n"
fin. a fin. b
fin. (#-{-£)  col.a cof. b
coi. (a-f-i1) ^ fin. a X fin. b
col. a X cof. b
But the fine of any arch divided by its cofine is equal
to the tangent of that arch, hence the lalt equation be¬
comes
4-
tan. a-f- tan. b
.—tan. a X tan. b
Theor. XIII. tan. (a-\-b)—'
Thefe equations are the foundation of the theory of
angular fections, or method of dividing a given angle,
or arch of a circle, into any propofed number of equal
parts ; a problem which evidently requires for its ge¬
neral algebraic folution the determination of the roots
of an equation of a degree equal to the number of
parts into which the arch is to be divided. By means
of the fame feries of equations we may alfo find the
fide of any regular polygon inferibed in a circle, and
in this cafe the multiple arch, being equal to the whole
circumference, will have its chord =0.
368. The relation between the tangents of any two
arches and that of their fum may be readily found by
means of the ill and 3d theorems of this fedlion. For
fince fin. [a-\-b) — fin. a x cof. £-}- cof. a X fin. b and
cof. (a-\-b) — cof. a X cof. b— fin. a X fin. b, therefore,
dividing the former equation by the latter
fin. fin, a X cof. b cof. a X fin. £
cof. (<7 ~\-b) cof. a X cof. b— fin. a X fin.
and by fuppofing the arch b negative, we alfo find
tan. a-— tan. b
1 -j- tan. a X tan. b
365. From the firll of thefe two theorems a feries of
equations may be derived exprefling the relations which
take place between the tangent of an arch and the tan¬
gent of any multiple of that arch. Thus by alfuming
bzxa, la, &c. and putting t for tan. a
2t
tan. 2a~ 
1—tx
Theor. XIV. tan. {a—b)-
tan. ^a—
&c.
3/—
and hence the tangent of an arch being given, the tan¬
gent of any part of that arch, as its half, third, &c.
may be found by the refolution of an equation.
A L G
Algedo ALGFDO, a fupprelfed gonorrhoea, a name which
^ .. occurs in old authors. See Gonorrhoea, Medicine
Algiabani. r ,
t ^ , index*
ALGENEB, a fixed liar of the fecond magnitude^
in Perfeus’s right fide. Its longitude is 270 46' 127
of Taurus, and its latitude 30° 50' 28" north, accord¬
ing to Mr Flamftead’s catalogue.
ALGEZ1RA, a town of Andalufia in Spain, with
a port on the coall of the flraits of Gibraltar. By
this city the Moors entered Spain in 713 ; and it was
taken from them in 1344, after a very long fiege, re¬
markable for being the firlt in which cannon were made
ufe of. It was called Old Gibraltar, and is about four
leagues from the New. W. Long. 5. 20. N. Lat.
36. c.
ALGHIER, or Alger 1, a town in Sardinia, with
a bilhop’s fee, upon the weftern coall of the ifiand, be¬
tween Safferi and Bofa. Though it is not large, it is
well peopled, and has a commodious port. The coral
filhed for on this coall is in the highell elleem of any in
the Mediterranean, W. Long. 4. 2. N. Lat. 36. o.
ALGIABARII, a Mahometan left of predellina-
rians, who attribute all the aftions of men, good or
evil, to the agency or influence of God. The Algia-
barii Hand oppofed to the Alkadarii. They hold
A L G
abfolute decrees and phyfical promotion. For the Algidum,
jullice of God in punilhing the evil he has caufed, , A!Siei'-
they refolve it wholly into his abfolute dominion over
the creatures.
ALGIDUM, a town of Latium, in Italy, between
Prenelle and Alba, near the mountains. On the top
of one of thefe mountains v7as erefted a temple of Diana,
to which Horace refers, lib. i. od. 21. “ ^ucrcunqac
aut gelido prominet Algido” and lib. iii. od. 23. “
mvah pafeitur Algido, &c.”
ALGIERS, a kingdom of Africa, now one of the
Hates of Barbary.—According to the latell and belt
computations, it extends 460 miles in length from call
to ivelt ; but is very unequal in breadth, feme places be¬
ing fcarcely 40 miles broad, and others upward of 100.
It lies between Long. o. 16. and 9. 16. W. and ex¬
tends from Lat 36. 55. to 44. 50. N,—It is bounded
on the north, by the Mediterranean 5 on the call, by
the river Zaine, the ancient Tufca, which divides it
from Tunis j on the welt, by the Mulvya, and the
mountains of Trava, which feparate it from Morocco j
and on the fouth by the Sahara, Zaara, or Numidian
defert.
The kingdom of Algiers is at prefent divided into Divifion of
three provinces or diltrifts, viz. the eallern, wxltern, king-
4 Qj2 and^oin’
A L G [67
Algiers, and foutiiem. The eaftern or Levantine government,
v ' which is by far the moil coniiderable of the three, and
is alfo called Bey lick, contains the towns of Bona,
Conftantina, Gigeri, Bujeya, Stefla, Tebef, Zamoura,
Bifcara, and Necanz, in all which the Turks hkve
their garrifons : belides which, it includes the two an¬
cient kingdoms of Cuco and Labez, though indepen¬
dent of the Algerine government, to whole forces their
country is inacceflible ; fo that they ftill live under
their own cheyks chofen by each of their adowars or
herds. To thefe we may add a French factory at
Callo, under the direftion of the company of the
French Baltion.-i-The weltern government hath the
towns of Oran, Tremecen, Moitagan, Tenez, and Se¬
cretly with its caftle and garrifon.—The fouthern go¬
vernment hath neither town, village, nor even a houfe,
all the inhabitants living in tents, which obliges the
dey and his forces to be always encamped.
Inhabitants. The inhabitants along the fea coafts are a mixture
of different nations $ but chiefly Moors and Morefcos
driven out of Catalonia, Arragon, and other parts of
Spain. Here are alio great numbers of Turks, who
come from the Levant to feek their fortune j as well
as multitudes of Jews and Chriflians taken at fea, who
are brought hither to be fold for flaves. The Bere-
bers are fome of the moil ancient inhabitants of the
country *, and are fuppofed to be defeended from the
ancient Sabeans, who came hither from Arabia Felix
under the conduct of one of their princes. Others be¬
lieve them to be fome of the Canaanites driven out of
Paleftine by Jolhua. Thefe are difperfed all over Bar¬
bary, and divided into a multitude of tribes under their
refpettive chiefs: molt of them inhabit the mountainous
parts; fome range from place to place, and live in tents,
or portable huts j others in fcattered villages: they have
nevertheiefs, kept themfelves for the molt part from in¬
termixing with other nations. The Berebers are rec¬
koned the richelt of all, go better clothed, and carry
on a much larger traffic of cattle, hides, wax, honey,
iron, and other commodities. They have alfo fome ar¬
tificers in iron, and fome manufacturers in the weaving
branch.—The name of Bereber is fuppofed to have been
originally given them on account of their being firlt
fettled in fome defert place. Upon their increafing in
procefs of time, they divided themfelves into five tribes,
probably on account of religious differences, called the
Zinhagians, Mufamedins, Zeneti, Hoares, and Gomeres ;
and thefe having produced 600 families, fubdivided
themfelves into a great number of petty tribes.—To
thefe we may add the Zwoxvahs, by European au¬
thors called udzuagues, or A-([agues, who are like wife
difperfed over molt parts of Barbary and Numidia.
Great numbers of thefe inhabit the mountainous parts
of Cuco, Labez, &c. leading a wandering paltoral
life. But the molt numerous inhabitants are the Moors
and Arabians. The former are very flout and warlike,
and Ikiiful horfemen 5 but fo addicted to robbing, that
one cannot fafely travel along the country at a diftance
from the towns without a guard, or at leaft a marabout
or faint for a fafeguard. For as they look upon them¬
felves to be the original proprietors of the country, and
not only as difpoiTefled by the reft of the inhabitants,
but reduced by them to the loweft ftate of poverty,
they make no fcruple to plunder all they meet by way
of rcprifal. The inhabitants in general have a pretty
6 V A L G
fair complexion j they are robufl and well proportioned. A’giers.
People of diitinCtion wear their beard ; they have rich -v—mJ
clothes made of lilk, embroidered with flowers of gold,
and turbans enriched with jewels. The Turks, who
compofe the military force, have great privileges, pay
no taxes, are never publicly puniffied, and rarely in
private. The kweft foldier domineers over the molt
diftinguifhed Moors at pleafure. If he finds them bet¬
ter mounted than himfelf, he exchanges horfes without
ceremony. The Turks alone have the privilege of
carrying fire arms. Many good qualities, however,
diftinguiffi them in fpite of this excefs of defpotifm.
They never game for money, not even for trifles ; and
they never profane the name of the Deity. They foon
forget their private quarrels; and after the firft pa-
roxyfm of refentment is over, it is infamy for a Turk
to keep in remembrance the injuries he has received.
In this refpeCt certainly they are lefs barbarous than
other nations that boaft of their civilization. See
Moors.
The climate of Algiers is in moft places fo temperate, Climate an4
that there is a conftant verdure j the leaves of the
trees being neither parched up by heat in fummer, nor
nipped by the winter’s cold. They begin to bud in
February 5 in April the fruit appears in its full bignefs,
and is commonly ripe in May. The foil, however, is
exceffively various 5 fome places being very hot, dry,
and barren, on which account they are generally fuf-
fered to lie uncultivated by the inhabitants, who are
very negligent. Thefe barren places, efpecially fuch as
lie on the fouthern fide, and are at a great diflance
from the fea, harbour vaft numbers of wild animals,
as lions, tigers, buffaloes, wild boars, flags, porcupines,
monkeys, oltriches, &c. On account of their barren-
nefs, they have but few7 towns, and thofe thinly peo¬
pled ; though fome of them are fo advantageoufly fitu-
ated for trading with Bildulgerid and Negroland, as to
drive a confiderable traffic with them.
The moft confiderable rivers of Algiers are ( x.) the givers,
or Ziz, which runs acrofs the province of Tremecen
and the defert of Anguid, falling into the Mediterra¬
nean near the town of Tabecrita, wffiere it has the name
of Strut. (2.) The Haregol, fuppofed the Sign of Pto¬
lemy, comes dowm from the great Atlas, croffes the
defert of Anguid, and falls into the fea about five
leagues from Oran. (3.) The Mina, fuppofed the Cby-
lematis of Ptolemy, a large river, which runs through
the plains of Bathala, and falls into the fea near the
town of Arzew. This river hath lately received the
name of Ccna, who rebuilt the town of Barthalaw af¬
ter it had been deftroyed. (4.) The Shellif, Zilef or
Zilif, defeending from the Mount Gnanexeris, runs
through fome great deferts, the lake Titteri, the fron¬
tiers of Tremecen, and Tenez, falling into the fea a
little above the city of Moftagan. (5.) The Celef,
fuppofed to be the Carthena of the ancients, falls into
the fea about three leagues wTeft of Algiers, after a
Ihort courfe of 18 or 20 leagues. (6.) The Hued-al-
quivir, fuppofed to be the Nalabata or Nafaba of the
ancients, and called by the Europeans Zmgamr, runs
dowm wTith a fwift courfe through fome high moun¬
tains of Cuco, and falls into the fea near Bujeyah.
Whilft the city of Bujeyah was in the hands ot the Harbour of
Chriftians, the mouth of this river was fo choked up Bujeyah
with fand, that no veffel could come up into it: but in cleared by
Trrr accident.
A L G
[ c77 ]
A I, G
Algiers. 1555, very fbon after it was taken by the Moors, tbe
^ great rains fwelled it to fuch a degree, that all the fand
and mud was carried off; fo that galleys and other
veffels have ever fince entered it with eafe, where they
lie fafe from ftorms, and all winds but that which blows
from the north. (7.) Suf-Gemar, or Suf-Gimmar al
Rumniel, fuppofed to be the Jmpfnga of Ptolemy, hath
its fource in Mount Auras, on the confines of Atlas \
thence runs through fome barren plains, and the fruit¬
ful ones of Conftantina, where its ftream is greatly
increafed by fome other rivers it receives ; from thence
running northward, along the ridges of fome high
mountains, it falls into the fea a little eaft of Gigeri.
(8.) The Ladag, or Ludeg, runs down from Mount
Atlas through part of Conftantina, and falls into the
fea a little eaftward of Bona. (9.) Guadi, or Guadel
Barbar, fprings from the head of Orbus, or Urbs, in
Tripoli, runs through Bujeyah, and falls into the fea
near Tabarea.
The Algerine kingdom made formerly a confider-
able part of the Mauritania Tingitana (fee Mauri¬
tania), which was reduced to a Roman province by
Julius Ctefar, and from him alfo called Mauritania
Ccefarienfis.—In the general account of Africa, it has
been noticed, that the Romans were driven out of
that continent by 'the Vandals ; thefe by Belifarius,
the Greek emperor Juftinian’s general; and the Greeks
in their turn by the Saracens. This laft revolution
happened about the middle of the feventh century ;
and the Arabs continued mafters of the country, di¬
vided into a great number of petty kingdoms or ftates,
under chiefs of their own choofing, till the year 1051.
Abu-Texe- This year, one Abubeker-ben-Omar, or, as the Spa-
fien fubduesnilh authors call him, Abu-Texefien, an Arab of the
the Arab Zinhagian tribe, being provoked at the tyranny of
princes. th0fe defpots, gathered, by the help of his marabouts
or faints, a moft powerful army of malcontents, in the
fouthern provinces of Numidia and Libya. His fol¬
lowers were nicknamed Marabites or Morabites ; by the
Spaniards Almoravides ; probably from their being
affembled principally by the faints who were alfo called
Morabites. The caliph of Kayem’s forces were at
this time taken up with quelling other revolts in Syria,
Mefopotamia, &c. and the Arabs in Spain engaged in
the moft bloody wars; fo that Texefien having nothing
to fear from them, had all the fuccefs he could wilft
againft the iVrabian cheyks or petty tyrants, whom he
defeated in many battles, and at laft drove them not
only out of Numidia and Libya, but out of all the
weftern parts, reducing the whole province of Tingi-
tania under his dominion.
Texefien was fucceeded by his fon Yufef, or Jofeph,
a brave and warlike prince. In the beginning of his
reign, he laid the foundation of the city of Morocco,
which he defigned to make the capital of his empire.
While that city was building, he fent fome of his ma¬
rabouts ambafladors to Tremecen (now a province of
Algiers), at that time inhabited by a powerful and
infolent fe£l of Mahometans called Zeneti. The 'de-
fign of this embaffy was to bring them back to what he
called the true faith ; but the Zeneti, defpifing his of¬
fers, affembled at Amaf, or Amfa, their capital, mur¬
dered the ambafiadors, and invaded Jofeph’s dominions
with an army of 50,000 men.
Zeneti The king hearing of their infamous proceedings,
fpeedily muftered his army, and led it by long marches Algiers;
into their country, deftroying all with fire and fword j v
while the Zeneti, inftead of oppofing his progrefs, re¬
tired as fall as poflible towards Fez, in hopes of receiv¬
ing afliftance from thence. In this they were miferably
deceived : the Fezzans marched out againft them in a
hoftile manner } and coming up with the unhappy Ze¬
neti, encumbered with their families and baggage, and
ready to expire with hunger and wearinels, they cut
them all to pieces, except a fmall number who were
moftly drowmed in attempting to fwim acrofs a river,
and fome others who in their flight perilhed by fall¬
ing from the high adjacent rocks. In the mean time
Jofeph reduced their country to a mere defert : which
was, however, foon peopled by a numerous colony of
Fezzans, who fettled there under the proteftion of the
reigning kings. In this war it is computed that near
a million of the Zeneti, men, women, and children,
loft their lives.
The reftlefs and ambitious temper of Jofeph did not
let him remain long at peace. Fie quickly declared
war againft the Fezzans, reduced them to become his
tributaries, and extended his conquefts all along the
Mediterranean. He next attacked fome Arabian cheyks
who had not yet fubmitted to his jurifdiftion j and pur-
fued them with fuch fury, that neither the Libyan de-
ferts, nor ridges of the moft craggy rocks, could (bel¬
ter them from his arms. Fie attacked them in fuch of
their retreats, caftles, and fortrefles, as were till then
deemed impregnable ; and at laft fubdued them, to the
great grief of the other African nations, who were
greatly annoyed by the ravages committed by his nu¬
merous forces.
Thus w7as founded the empire of the Morabites :
which, however, was of no long duration ; that race
being in the 1 2th century driven out by Mohavedin,
a marabout. This race of priefts was expelled by Ab-sharifs 0?
dulac governor of Fez 5 and he, in the 13th century, Hafcen,
dripped of his new conquefts by the ftiarifs of Ha/cenyw^°-
the defcendants of thofe Arabian princes whom Abu-
Texefien had formerly expelled.
The better to fecure their new dominions, the (ha-
.lifs divided them into feveral little kingdoms or pro¬
vinces j and among the reft the prefent kingdom of
Algiers was divided into four, namely, Tremecen, Te¬
nets, Algiers Proper, and Bujeyah. The four firft mo-
narchs laid fo good a foundation for a lading balance
of power between their little kingdoms, that they con¬
tinued for fome centuries in mutual peace and amity y
but at length the king of Tremecen having ventured
to violate fome of their articles, Abul-Farez, king of
Tenez, declared war againft him, and obliged him to
become his tributary. This king dying foon after,
and having divided his kingdom among his three Ions,
new difcords arofe } which Spain taking advantage of,
a powerful fleet and army was fent againft Barbary,
under the count of Navarre, in 1505. This com-A]gen-neS,
mander foon marie himfelf mafter of the important ci-in danger
ties of Oran, Bujeyah, and fome others 5 which fo from the
alarmed the Algerines, that they put themfelves uncJer Spamaub,
the protection, of Selim Eutemi, a noble and warlike
Arabian prince. Fie came to their afliftance with a
great number of his braved fubjeCts, bringing with him
his wife Zaphira, and a fon then about 12 years old.
This, however, was not fufftcient to prevent the Spa¬
niards
A L G [ 678 ] A L G
Aigitr-. rnarcls from landing a number of forces near Algiers
' that fame year, and obliging that metropolis to be¬
come tributary to Spain. Nor could Prince Selim hin¬
der them from building a ftrong fort on a imall ifland
oppofite to the city, which terrified their corfairs from
failing either in or cut of the harbour.
Invite Bar- To this galling yoke the Algerines were obliged to
barofia. fnbmit till the year 1516 ; when, hearing of the death
of Ferdinand king of Spain, they fent an embafly to
Aruch BarbaroJJa, who was at this time no lefs dread¬
ed for his valour than his furprifmg fuccefs, and was
then fent on a cruife with a fquadron of galleys and
barks. The purport of the embaify was, that he fhould
come and free them from the Spanifh yoke 5 for which
they agreed to pay him a gratuity anfvverable to fo
great a fervice. Upon this Barbarofla immediately
defpatched 18 galleys and 30 barks to the ailiftance of
the Algerines : while he himfelf advanced towards the
city with 800 Turks, 3000 Jigelites, and 2000 Moor-
iih volunteers. Inftead of taking the neareft road to
Algiers, he direfted his courfe towards Sharjhe/, where
Hq/Jan, another famed corfair, had fettled himfelf.
Him he furprifed, and obliged to furrender j not with¬
out a previous promife of friendfhip : but no fooner
had Barbaroffa got him in his power, than he cut off
his head } and obliged all Haffan’s Turks to follow
him in his new expedition.
His treach- On Barbaroffa’s approach to Algiers, he was met
ery and by Prince Eutemi, attended by all the people of that
cruelty. metropolis, great and fmall who looked for deliver¬
ance from this abandoned villain, wdiom they account¬
ed invincible. He was conducted into the city amidft
the acclamations of the people, and lodged in one of
the nobleft apartments of Prince Eutemi’s palace,
where he was treated with the greateft marks of di-
ftindtion. Elated beyond meafure with this kind re¬
ception, Barbaroffa formed a defign of becoming king
of Algiers ; and fearing fome oppofition from the in¬
habitants, on account of the exceffes he fuffered his
foldiers to commit, murdered Prince Eutemi, and
caufed himfelf to be proclaimed king 5 his Tui'ks and
Moors crying out as he rode along the ffreets, “ Long
live King Aruch Barbaroffa, the invincible king of
Algiers, the choftn of God to deliver the people from
the oppreffion of the Chriftians ; and deltruftion to all
that fhall oppofe, or vefufe to oxvn him as their lawful
fovereign.” Thefe laid threatening words fo intimi¬
dated the inhabitants, already apprehenfive of a gene¬
ral maffacre, that he was immediately acknowledged
king. The unhappy princefs Zaphira, it is faid, poi-
foned herfelf, to avoid the brutality of this new king,
whom (he unfuccefsfully endeavoured to flab with a
dagger.
Barbaroffa was no fooner feated on the throne, than
he treated his fubjefts with fuch cruelty, that they
ufed to fhut up their houfes and hide themfelves when
he appeared in public. In confequence of this, a plot
was foon formed agrunft him 5 but being difcovered,
he caufed twenty of the principal confpirators to be be¬
headed, their bodies to be buried in a dunghill, and
laid a heavy fine on thofe who furvived. This fo ter¬
rified the Algerines, that they never afterwards durft
attempt any thing again.It either Barbaroffa or his fuc-
ceffors.
In the mean time, the fon of Prince Eutemi having
1
fled to Oran, and put himfelf under the proteclion of Algiers,
the marquis of Gomarez, laid before that nobleman a
plan for putting the city of Algiers into the hands of
the king of Spain. Upon this, young Selim Eutemi
was fent to Spain, to lay his plan before Cardinal Xi-
menes ^ who having approved of it, fent a fleet with
io,oC3 land forces, under the command of Don Fran-
cifeo, or, as others call him, Don Diego de Vera, to
drive out the Turks, and reftore the young prince.
But the fleet was no fooner come within fight of land,
than it was difperfed by a ftorm, and the greateft part
of the fhips dafhed againft the rocks. Moft of the
Spaniards were drowned ; and the few who efcaped to
(bore were either killed by the Turks or made Haves.
Though Barbaroffa had nothing to boaft on this oc-
cafion, his pride and infolence were now’ fwelled to
fuch a degree, that he imagined himfelf invincible,
and that the very elements confpired to make him fo*
The Arabians were fo much alarmed at his fuccefs,
that they implored the afiiftance of Hamidel Abdes
king of Tenez, to drive the Turks out of Algiers.
That prince readily undertook to do what was in his
power for this purpofe, provided they agreed to fettle
the kingdom on himfelf and his defeendants. This
propofal being accepted, he immediately fet out at the
head of 10,000 Moors ) and, upon his entering the
Algerine dominions, was joined by all the Arabians
in the country. Barbaroffa engaged him, only with
1000 Turkilh mufqueteers and 500 Granada Moors $
totally defeated his numerous army ; purfued him to
the very gates of his capital, which he eafily made
himfelf mafter of; and having given it up to be plun¬
dered by the Turks, obliged the inhabitants to ac¬
knowledge him as their fovereign. This viftory, how¬
ever, was chiefly owing to the advantage which his
troops had from their fire-arms } the enemy having no
other weapons than arrow’s and javelins.
No fooner was Barbaroffa become mafter of the
kingdom of Tenez, than he received an embaffy from
the inhabitants of Tremecen 5 inviting him to come to
their afliftance againft their then reigning prince, with
whom they were diffatisfied on account of his having
dethroned his nephew, and forced him to fly to Oran ;
offering him even the fovereignty, in cafe he accepted
of their propofal. The king of Tremecen, not fu-
fpefting the treachery of his fubjefts, met the tyrant
with an army of 6000 horfe and 3000 foot : but Bar¬
baroffa’s artillery gave him fuch an advantage, that
the king was at length forced to retire into the capi¬
tal 5 which he had no fooner entered, than his head
was cut off, aud fenl to Barbaroffa, with a frefh invi¬
tation to come and take poffeftion of the kingdom.
On his approach, he was met with by the inhabitants,
whom he received with complaifance, and many fair
promifes ; but beginning to tyrannize as ufual, his
new fubjecls foon convinced him that they were not fo
paflive as the inhabitants of Algiers. Apprehending,
therefore, that his reign might prove uneafy and pre¬
carious, he entered into an alliance with the king of
Fez } after which, he took care to fecure the reft of
the cities in his new’ kingdom, by garrifoning them
with his own troops. Some of thefe, however, revolt¬
ed foon after 5 upon which he fent one of his corfairs,
named Ffcander, a man no lefs cruel than himfelf, to
reduce them. The Tremeceuians now began to re¬
pent
A L G [
Algiers, pent in good earneft of their having invited fuch a ty-
" rant to their affiftance j and held confultations on the
moil: proper means of driving him away, and bringing
back their lawful prince Abnchen Men : but their ca¬
bals being difcovered, a great number of the confpira-
tors were maflacred in the moft cruel manner. The
prince had the good luck to efcape to Oran, and was
taken under the protedlion of the marquis of Gomare’z,
who fent immediate advice of it to Charles V. then
lately arrived in Spain, with a powerful fleet and army.
That monarch immediately ordered the young king a
fuccour of 10,000 men, under the command of the go¬
vernor of Oran j who, under the guidance of Abu-
chen Men, began his march towards d'remecen j and
In their way they were joined by Prince Selim, with a
great number of Arabs and Moors. The firft thing
they refolved upon wras, to attack the important for-
trefs of Calau, fituated between Tremecen and Algiers,
and commanded by the corfair Efcander at the head of
about 300 Turks. They invefled it clofely on all
fides, in hopes BarbarofTa would come out of Treme¬
cen to its relief, which would give the Tremecenians
an opportunity of keeping him out. That tyrant, how¬
ever, kept clofe in his capital, being embarraffed by
bis fears of a revolt, and the politic delays of the king
of Fez, who had not fent the auxiliaries he promifed.
The garrifon of Calau, in the meantime, made a brave
defence 5 and, in a fally they made at night, cut off
near 300 Spaniards. This encouraged them to ven¬
ture a. fecond time j but they -were now repulfed with
great lofs, and Efcander himfelf wrounded : foon after
which, they furrendered upon honourable terms j but
were all maffacred by the Arabians, except 16, who
clung clofe to the flirrups of the king, and of the Spa-
nifh general.
Barbaroffa being now informed that Abuchen Men,
rvith his Arabs, accompanied by the Spaniards, were
in full march to lay fiege to Tremecen, thought pro¬
per to come out, at the head of 1500 Turks and 5000
Moorifh horfe, in order to break his way through the
enemy •, but he had not proceeded far from the city,
before his council advifed him to retprn and fortify
himfelf in it. This advice was now too late j the inha¬
bitants being refolved to keep him out, and open their
gates to their own lawful prince as foon as he appear¬
ed. In this dillrefs Barbaroffa faw no way left but to
retire to the citadel, and there defend himfelf till he
could find an opportunity of Healing out with his men
and all his treafure. Here he defended himfelf vigor-
oufly; but his provifions failing him, he took advan¬
tage of a fubterraneous back way, wT.ich he had caufed
to be digged up for that purpofe ; and, taking his im-
menfe treafyre with him, Hole away as fecretly as he
could. His flight, however, vras foon difcovered \ and
he was fo clofely purfued, that to amufe, as he hoped,
the enemy, he caufed a great deal of his money, plate,
jewTels, &c. to be fcattered all the ivay, thinking they
would not fail to Hop their purfuit to gather it up. This
Hratagem, however, failed, through the vigilance of
the Spanifti commander, who being himfelf at the head
of the purfuers, obliged them to march on, till he was
come up clofe to him on the banks of the Huexda,
about eight leagues from Tremecen. Barbaroffa had
juft croffed the river with his vanguard, when the Spa¬
niards came up with his rear on the other, fide, and cut
A L G
them all off j and fhen crofting the water, overtook him Algiers,
at a fmall diftance from it. Here a bloody engagement
enfued, in which the Turks fought like as many lions j ^
but, being at length overpowered by numbers, they and killed
were all cut to pieces, and Barbarofia among the reft, by the Spa¬
in the 44th year of his age, and four years after he had
railed himfelf to the royal title of Jigel and the adja¬
cent country ; two years after he had acquired the fo-
vereignty of Algiers, and fcarce a twelvemonth after
the reduction of Tremecen. His head was carried to
Tremecen on the point of a fpear 5 and Abuchen Men
proclaimed king, to the joy of all the inhabitants. A
few days after the fight, the king of Fez made his ap¬
pearance at the head of 20,000 horfe, near the field of
battle ; but hearing of Barbaroffa’s defeat and death,
marched off with all poftible fpeed, to avoid being at¬
tacked by the enemy.
The news of Barbaroffa’s death fpread the utmoft ^uccecdtd
confternation among the Turks at Algiers : however,
they caufed his brother Hayradin to be immediately
proclaimed king. The Spanilh commander now fent
back the emperor’s forces, without making any at¬
tempt upon Algiers j by which he loft the opportunity
of driving the Turks out of that country ; while Hay¬
radin, juitly dreading the confequences of the tyranny
of his officers, fought the proteflion of the Grand Sig-
nior. This was readily granted, and himfelf appointed
balhaw or viceroy of Algiers ; by which means he re¬
ceived fuch confiderable reinforcements, that the un¬
happy Algerines durft not make the leaft complaint j
and fuch numbers of Turks reforted to him, that he
was not only capable of keeping the Moors and Aiabs
in fubjedlion at home, but of annoying the Chriftians
at fea. His firft ftep was to take the Spanifti fort He takes
above mentioned, which was a great nuifance to his me- ^ Spaniifi
tropolis. T he Spaniards held out to the laft extremi-lort*
ty j but being all flain or wounded, Hayradin ealily
became mailer of the place.
Hayradin next fet about building a ftrong mole for
the fafety of his Ihips. In this he employed 30,000
Chriftian Haves, whom he obliged to work without in-
termiffion for three years j in which time the work was
completed. He then caufed the fort he had taken
from the Spaniards to be repaired, and placed a ftrong
garriion in it, to prevent any foreign veffels from en¬
tering the harbour without giving an account of them-
felves. By thefe two important works, Hayradin foon
became dreaded not only by the Arabs and Moors, but
alfo by the maritime Chriftian powers, efpecially the
Spaniards. The viceroy failed not to acquaint the
Grand Signior with his fuccefs, and obtained from him.
a frelh fupply of money, by which he was enabled to
build a ftronger fort, and to ere# batteries on all places
that might favour the landing of an enemy. All thefe
have fince received greater improvements from time to
time, as often as there was occafion for them.
In the mean time the fultan, either out of a fenfe of Succeeded
the great iervices Hayradin had done, or perhaps out '
of jealoufy left he ftiould make himfelf independent,' ^ ’
railed Hayradin to the dignity of baffiaw of the em¬
pire, and appointed Haffan Aga, a Sardinian renega-
do, an intrepid warrior, and an experienced officer^
to fucceed him as balhaw of Algiers. Haffan had no
fooner taken poffeflion of his new government, than he
began to purfue his ravages on the Spanilh coaft with
greater.
679. ]
.Algiers.
'Charles V.'
expedition
..againft Al¬
giers. .
Algiers in
great con¬
sternation.
Prevented
by a mad
prophet
■from fur-
Jendering.
A L G [ 68
greater fury tlian ever j extending them to the eccle-
1 lialtical flate, and other parts of Italy. But Pope
s Paul III. being alarmed at this, exhorted the emperor
Charles V. to fend a powerful fleet to fupprels thofe
frequent and cruel piracies •, and, that nothing might
be wanted to rendered the enterprife fuccefsful, a bull
was publifhed by his holinefs, wherein a plenary abfo-
Intion of fins, and the crown of matyrdom, was pro-
mifed to all thofe who either fell in battle or were
made ilaves j the emperor on his part needed no fpur ;
and therefore fet fail at the head of a powerful fleet
confifting of 120 fhips and 20 galleys, having on board
30,000 chofen troops, and an immenfe quantity of mo¬
ney, arms, ammunition, &c. In this expedition many
young nobility and gentry attended as volunteers, and
among thefe many knights of Malta, fo remarkable
for their valour againfl: the enemies of Chriflianity.
Even ladies of birth and character attended Charles in
his expedition, and the wives and daughters of the of¬
ficers and foldiers followed them with a defign to fettle
in Barbary after the conqueft was finifhed. All thefe
meeting with a favourable wind, foon appeared before
Algiers; every fiup difplaying the Spanifh colours on
the item, and another at the head, with a crucifix to
ferve them for a pilot.
By this prodigious armament, the Algerines were
thrown into the utmoft confternation. I he city was
furrounded only by a wall with fcarce any outworks.
The whole garrifon confided of 800 Turks and 6000
Moors, without fire-arms, and poorly difciplined and
accoutred > the reft of their forces being difperfed in
the other provinces of the kingdom, to levy the ufual
tribute on the Arabs and Moors. The Spaniards land¬
ed without oppofition, and immediately built a fort,
under the cannon of which they encamped, and diverted
the courfe of a fpring which fupplied the city with wa¬
ter. Being now reduced to the utmoft diftrefs, Hal-
fan received a fummons to furrender at diferetion, on
pain of being put to the fword with all the garrifon.
The herald was ordered to extol the vaft power of the
emperor both by lea and land, and to exnort him to
return to the Chilftian religion. But to this Hafian
only replied, that he muft be a madman who would
pretend to advife an enemy, and that the advifed muft
ftill act more madly who would take counfel of iuch an
advifer. He was, however, on the point of furrender-
ing the city, when advice was brought him that the
forces belonging to the weftern government were in
full march towards the place ; upon which it was re-
folved.to defend it to the utmoft. Charles, in the mean
time, refolving upon a general affault, kept a conftant
firing upon the town *, which, from the wreak defence
made by the garrifon, he looked upon as already in
his hands. But wftiile the douwan,or Algerine fenate,
were deliberating on the moft proper meaus of obtain¬
ing an honourable capitulation, a mad prophet, attend¬
ed by a multitude of people, entered the affembly, and
foretold the fpeedy deftru&ion of the Spaniards before
the end of the moon, exhorting the inhabitants to hold
out till that time. This prediclion was foon accom-
plilhed in a very furprifing and unexpefted manner : for,
on the 28th of Oftober x 541, a dreadful ftorm of wind,
rain, and hail, arofe from the north, accompanied with
violent fliocks of earthquakes, and a difmal and uni-
verfal darknefs both by fea and land 3 fo that the fun,
2
o ] A L G
moon, and elements, feemed to combine together for the Algiers,
deftruclion of the Spaniards. In that one night, fome
fay in lefs than half an hour, 86 ftiips and 15 galleys
wrere deftroyed, with all their crews and military ftores 3 ftroyed by a
by which the army on (bore wjas deprived of all means ftorm.
of fubfifting in thefe parts. Their camp alfo, which
fpread itfelf along the plain under the fort, was laid
quite under water by the torrents which defeended from
the neighbouring hills. Many of the troops, by try¬
ing to remove into fome better fituation, Were cut in
pieces by the Moors and Arabs 3 wdfile feveral gallefys
and other veflels, endeavouring to gain fome neighbour¬
ing creeks along the coafts, were immediately plunder¬
ed, and their crew’s maffacred, by the inhabitants.
The next morning Charles beheld the lea covered Siege of
with the fragments of fo many {hips, and the bodies of Algiers
men, horfes, and other creatures, fwimming on theralfed‘
w7aves3 at which hewasfo difheartened, that abandon¬
ing his tents, artillery, and all his heavy baggage, to
the enemy, he marched at the head of his army, though
in no fmall diforder, towards Cape Ma/abux, in order
to reimbark in thofe few veflels which had outw eather-
ed the ftorm. But Haffati, who had caufed his motions
to be w-atched, allowed him juft time to get to the
ftiore, when he fallied out and attacked the Spaniards
in the midft of their hurry and confufion to get into
their {hips, killing great numbers, and bringing away
a ftill greater number of captives 3 after which he re¬
turned in triumph to Algiers, wdiere he celebrated with
great rejoicings his happy deliverance Irom fucli diftrefs
and danger.
Soon after this, the prophetTb/^/', who had foretold The mad
the deftruftion of the Spaniards, was not only declared ProPh^
the deliverer of his country, but had a eonfiderablelcw ai
gratuity decreed him, wfith the liberty of exercifing his
prophetic function unmolefted. It w7as not long, how7-
ever, before the marabouts, and fome interpreters of
the lawq made a ftrong oppofition againft him 3 remon-
ftrating to the bafhawq how7 ridiculous and fcandalous it
w:as to their nation, to aferibe the deliverance of it to
a poor fortune-teller, wftuch had been obtained by the
fervent prayers of an eminent faint of their own profef-
fion. But though the balhaw and his douwTan feemed,
out of policy, to give into this laft notion, yet the im-
preffion which Yufef’s predictions and their late accom-
plfthments had made upon the minds of the common
people, proved too ftrong to be eradicated 3 and the fpi-
rit of divination and conjuring has fince got into fuch
credit among them, that not only their great ftatefmen,
but their priefts, marabouts, and fantoons, have applied
themfelves to that ftudy, and dignified it with the name
of Mahomet'1 s Revelations.
The unhappy Spaniards had fcarcely reached their Frefli cala-
{hips, when they w7ere attacked by a frefh ftorm, in ^
which feveral more of them periftied 3 one {hip in par-J^ *
ticular, containing 7 00 foldiers, befides failors, funk
in the emperor’s fight, without a poflibility of faving
a Angle man. At length, with much labour, they
reached the port of Bujeyah, at that time poflefied by
the Spaniards, whither Haffan king of Tunis foon af¬
ter repaired, with a fupply of provifions for the empe¬
ror, who received him gracioufiy, with frefli aflurances
of his favour and proteClion. Here he difmifled the few
remains of the Maltefe knights and their forces, w7ho
.embarked in three {haltered galleys, and with much dif¬
ficulty
Algiers.
■Haffan re¬
duces Tre-
Bujeyah
taken from
A L G [ 68
ficulty and danger reached their own country. Charles
himfelf itaid no longer than till the 16th of November,
when he fet fail for Carthagena, and reached it on the
25th of the fame month. In this unfortunate expedi¬
tion upwards of 120 fhips and galleys were loll, above
300 colonels and other land and fea officers, 8000 fol-
diers and marines, belides thofe dellroyed by the ene¬
my on the reimbarkation, or drowned in the lalt ftorm.
The number of prifoners was fo great, that the Alge¬
rines fold fome of them, by wray of contempt, for an
onion per head.
Haflan, elated with this viclory, in which he had
very little (hare, undertook an expedition againlt the
king of Tremecen, who, being now deprived of the af-
lillance of the Spaniards, wras forced to procure a peace
by paying a vail fum of money, and becoming tributary
to him. The balhaw returned to Algiers, laden with
riches j and foon after died of a fever, in the 66th year
of his age.
From this time the Spaniards wrere never able to
the Spani- annoy the Algerines in any conliderable degree. In
ards, 1555, they loll the city of Bujeyah, which wTas taken
by Salha Rais, Haffan’s fucceffor; who next year fet out
on a new expedition, which he kept a fecret, but was
fufpefled to be intended againlt Oran j but he was
fcarcely got four leagues from Algiers, when the plague,
wffiich at that time raged violently in the city, broke
, out in his groin, and carried him off in 24 hours.
fo^hofen01" Immediately after his death the Algerine foldiery
bafliaw by chofe a Corfican renegado, Haffan Corfo, in his room,
thejani- till they thould receive farther orders from the Porte.
He did not accept of the balhawrlhip wuthout a good deal
of difficulty j but immediately profecuted the intended
expedition againft Oran, defpatching a meffenger to
acquaint the Porte wuth what had happened. They
had hardly begun their holtilities againlt the place,
when orders came from the Porte, exprefsly forbidding
Haffan Corfo to begin the liege, or, if he had begun it,
enjoining him to raife it immediately. This news was
received with great grief by the whole fleet and army,
as they thought themfelves fure of fuccefs, the garrifon
being at that time very weak. Neverthelefs, as they
dared not difobey, the liege was immediately raifed.
Corfo had hardly enjoyed his dignity four months,
varies.
Superfeded
who putsl’ before newTs came, that eight galleys wrere bringing
him to a new balhaw to fucceed him •, one Teke/li, a principal
cruel death. Turk of the Grand Signior’s court: upon wffiich the
Algerines unanimoully refolved not to admit him. By
the treachery of the Levantine foldiers, however, he
was admitted at laft, and the unfortunate Corfo thrown
over a wrall in wffiich a number of iron hooks were fix¬
ed one of which catching the ribs of his right fide,
he hung three days in the molt exquifite torture before
he expired.
Tekelli had no fooner entered upon his new govern¬
ment, tharv he behaved wuth fuch cruelty and rapaci-
oufnefs, that he wTas affaffmated even under the dome of
a faint, by Yufef Calabres, the favourite renegado of
Haffan Corfo ; wffio for this fervice was unanimoully
chofen balhaw, but died of the plague fix days after
his eledtion.
Yufef was fucceeded by Haffan the fon of Hayra-
din, wffio had been formerly recalled from his balhaw-
Ihip, when he was fucceeded by Salha Rais •, and now
had the good fortune to get himfelf reinltated in his
Vol. I. Part II.
Haflan re-
iultated.
1 ] A L G
employment. Immediately on his arrival, he engaged .
in a war with the Arabs, by whom he was defeated ^ ^
with great lofs. The next year, the Spaniards under- Spaniards
took an expedition againlt Mbftagan, under the com-^ ^'/'^^^
mand of the count d’Alcandela } but were utterly de- f^ug^ter,
feated, the commander himfelf killed, and 1 2,000 men
taken prifoners. This difafter wTas owing to the inconfi-
derate ralhnefs, or rather madnefs, of the commander }
which was fo great, that, after finding it impoffible to
rally bis fcattered forces, he rulhed, fword in hand, into
the thickeft of the enemy’s ranks, at the head of a fmall
number of men, crying out, “ St Jago ! St Jago ! the
viftory is ours, the enemy is defeated j” foon after
wffiich he was thrown from his horfe, and trampled to
death.
Haffan having had the misfortune to difoblige his
fubjedls by allowing the mountaineers of Cuco to buy
ammunition at Algiers, w^as fent in irons to Conllan-
tinople, wffiile the aga of the janizaries, and general^a.^an^en*
of the land forces, lupplied his place. Haflan eafily conftanti-
found means to clear himfelf; but a new balhaw was ap- nople.
pointed, called Achmet; wffio had no fooner arrived
than he fent the two deputy-balhaw7s to Conftantinople,
wffiere their heads were ftruck off—Achmet wTas a man
of fuch infatiable avarice, that, upon his arrival at Al¬
giers, all ranks of people came in Ihoals to make him
prefents } which he the more greedily accepted, as he
had bought his dignity by the money he had amaffed
wffiile head gardener to the Sultan. He enjoyed it,
hmvever, only four months j and after his death, the
ftate was governed other four months by his lieutenant:
when Haffan wras a third time fent viceroy to Algiers,
wffiere he W'as received with the greateft demonffrationsReinftateA
of joy.
The firfl: enterprife in wffiich Haflan engaged, wTasSiege of
the liege of Marfalquiver, fituated near the city Oran,Mar^1u^'
wffiich he defigned to inveft immediately after. Thever‘
army employed in this liege confifted of 26,000 foot
and 10,000 horfe, befides which he had a fleet confift-
ing of 32 galleys and galliots, together with three
French veffels laden with bifeuit, oil, and other provi-
lions. The city was defended by Don Martin de Cor¬
dova, brother of the count d’Alcandela, wffio had been
taken prifoner in the battle wffiere that nobleman w'as
killed, but had obtained his liberty from the Algerines
with immenfe fums, and now made a moll gallant de¬
fence againft the Turks. The city wras attacked with
the utmoft fury by fea and land, fo that feveral breaches
were made in the wralls. The Turkilh ftandards were
feveral times planted on the walls, and as often dif-
lodged 5 but the place mult have in the end fubmitted,
had not Haflan been obliged to raife the liege in hafte,
on the news that the famed Genoefe admiral Doria w7as
approaching with confiderable fuccours from Italy. The
fleet accordingly arrived foon after ; but miffing the
Algerine galleys, bore away for Pennon de Velez,
where they w7ere lhamefully repulfed by a handful of
Turks wffio garrifoned that place j which, however, wras
taken the following year.
In 1567, Haffan was again recalled to Conftanti-Haflan a-
nople, where he died three years after. He was fuc- gain recall-
ceeded by Mahomet, who gained the love cf the Al-ec*‘
gerines by feveral public-fpirited aftions. He incor¬
porated the janizaries and Levantine Turks together,
•and by that means put an end to their diffenfions, wffiich
4 R laid
John Gaf-
con’s bold
at the city
fate
A L G [
Algiers, laid the foundation of the Algerine independency on
” v 1 the Porte. Pie likewife added fome confiderable for¬
tifications to the city and caftle, which he defigned to
render impregnable. Uht while he was thus lludying
the intereft of Algiers, one John Gafcon, a bold Spa-
attempt to nilh adventurer, formed a defign of furprifing the whole
fire the Al- piratic navy in the bay, and fetting them on fire in the
gerine fleet, mgi-rt-dnn^ when they lay defencelefs, and in their
firft fleep. For this he had not only the permiflion of
King Philip II. but was furnifhed by him with, proper
veffels, mariners, and fireworks, for the execution of
his plot. With thefe he fet fail for Algiers in the moft
proper feafon, viz. the beginning of October, when
moft, if not all the (hips lay at anchor there ; and ea-
fily failed near enough, unfulpedled, to view their man¬
ner of riding, in order to catch them unawares, at a
time when the greater part of their crews were difperfed
in their quarters. Pie came accordingly, unperceived
by any, to the very mole-gate, and difperfed his men
•with their fire-works ; but to their great furprife, they
found them fo ill mixed, that they could not with all
their art make them take fire. In the mean time, Gaf-
^ifT^con took it into his head, by way of bravado, to go to
the mole-gate, and give three loud knocks at it with
the pommel of his dagger, and to leave it fixed in the
gate by its point, that the Algerines might have caufe
to remember him. This he had the good fortune to do
without meeting with any difturbance or oppofition :
but it was not fo with his men ; for no fooner did they
find their endeavours uniuccefsful, than they made fuch
a buftle as quickly alarmed the guard polled on the ad¬
jacent baftion, from which the uproar quickly fpread
itfelf through the whole garrifon. Gafcon now finding
himfelf in the utmoft danger, failed avray with all pof-
fible hafte : but he wTas purfued, overtaken, and brought
back a prifoner to Mahomet ; who no fooner got him
into his power, than he immediately caufed a gibbet
of conftderable height to be erefted on the fpot where
Gafcon had landed, ordering him to be hoifted up, and
hung by the feet to a hook, that he might die in ex-
quifite torture ^ and to Ihow his refentment and con¬
tempt of the king his matter, he ordered his commiffion
to be tied to his toes. He had not, however, hung
long in that ftate, when the captain who took him, ac¬
companied by a number of other corfairs, interceded fo
ftrongly in his behalf, that he was taken down, and
put under the care of fome Chriftian furgeons ; but two
days after, fome Moors reporting that it wTas the com¬
mon talk and belief in Spain, that the Algerines durft
not hurt a hair of Gafcon’s head, &c. the unfortunate
Spaniard was hoifted up by a pulley to the top of the
execution-wall, and let down again upon the hook,
which in his fall catched him by the belly, and gave
him fuch a wound, that he expired without a groan.—
Thus ended the expedition of John Gafcon, which has
procured him a place among the Spanifh martyrs;
wdiile, on the other hand, the Algerines look upon his
difappointment to have been miraculous, and owing to
the efficacious protection of the powerful faint Sidi Ou-
tccledda, whofe prayers had before raifed fuch a terrible
ftorm againft the Spaniffi fleet.
Mahomet, being foon after recalled, was fucceeded
by the famous renegade Ochali, who reduced the
kingdom of Tunis ; which, however, remained fub-
Is taken
and put to
death.
682 ] A L G
jeft to the viceroy of Algiers only till the year 1586, Algiers,
when a baffiaw of Tunis w7as appointed by the Porte.
The kingdom of Algiers continued to be governed,
till the beginning of the feventeenth century, by vice¬
roys or baftlaws appointed by the Porte 5 concerning
whom we find nothing very remarkable, further than
that their avarice and tyranny were intolerable both to
the Algerines and the Turks themfelves. At laft the
Turkifh janizaries and militia becoming powerful
enough to lupprefs the tyrannic fway of thefe baffiaws,
and the people being almoft exhaufted by the heavy
taxes laid upon them, the former refolved to depole
thefe petty tyrants, and fet up feme officers of their
own at the head of the realm. The better to fucceed
in this attempt, the militia fent a deputation of lome of
their chief members to the Porte, to complain of the
avarice and oppreffion of thefe balhaws, wffio funk both
the revenue of the ftate, and the money remitted to it
from Conftantinople, into their own coffers, which
Ihould have been employed in keeping up and paying
the foldiery ^ by which means they were in continual
danger of being overpowered by the Arabians and
Moors, who, if ever fo little affifted by any Chriftian
power, would hardly fail of driving all the Turks out of
the kingdom. They represented to the Grand Vizier
how much more honourable, as well as eafier and
cheaper, it would be for the Grand Signior to permit
them to choofe their own dey, or governor, from among
themfelves, whole intereft it would then be to fee that
the revenue of the kingdom was rightly applied in
keeping up its forces complete, and in fupplying all
other exigencies of the ftate, without any farther charge
or trouble to the Porte than that of allowing them its
protedlion. On their part, they engaged always to
acknowledge the Grand Signiors as their fovereigns,
and to pay them their ufual allegiance and tribute, to
refpedf their balhaws, and even to ledge and maintain
them and their retinue, in a manner fuitable to their
dignity, at their own charge. The balhaws, however,
were, for the future, to be excluded from aflifting at
any but general douwans, unlefs invited to it 5 and
from having the liberty of voting in them, unlefs when
their advice was alked, or the intereft of the Porte was
likely to fuffer by their lilence. All other concerns,
which related to the government of Algiers, were to be
wholly left under the direfiion of the dey and his
douwan.
Thefe propofals having been accepted by the Porte, Algerines
the deputies returned highly fatisfied •, and having noti-allowed to
lied their new privileges, the great douwan immediate-c^00^ t^iei?
ly proceeded to the eleflion of a dey from amongov,n c e-vs’
themfelves. They compiled a new fet of laws, and
made feveral regulations for the better fupport and
maintenance of this new form of government, to the
obfervation of which they obliged all their fubjedls to
fwear 5 and the militia, navy, commerce, &c. rtfere all
fettled pretty nearly on the footing upon which they
now are, and which fhall be afterwards deferibed j
though the fubfequent altercations that frequently hap¬
pened between the bafhaws and deys, the one endea¬
vouring to recover their former power, and the other to
curtail it, caufed fuch frequent complaints and difeon-
tents at the Ottoman court, as made them frequently
repent their compliance.
la
A L G
t 683 ]
A L G
Algief'i. In the year i6or, the Spaniards, under the com-
raand of Doria the Genoefe admiral, made another at¬
tempt upon Algiers, in which they were more fortu¬
nate than ufual, their fleet being only driven back by
contrary winds, fo that they came oiY without lofs.
In 1609, the Moors being expelled from Spain, flock¬
ed in great numbers to Algiers •, and as many of them
were very able failors, they undoubtedly contributed to
(Become make the Algerine fleet fo formidable as it became foon
formidable after ; though it is probable the frequent attempts made
to the Eu- on city would alfo induce them to increafe their
ropeans. fleet. In 1616, their fleet confided of 40 fail of fliips
between 200 and 400 tons, their admiral 500 tons. It
was divided into two fquadrons, one of 18 fail, before
the port of Malaga 5 and the other at the cape of San¬
ta Maria, between Lifbon and Seville ; both of which
attacked all Chriftian (hips, both Englifh and French,
with whom they pretended to be in friendfhip, as well
as Spaniards and Portuguefe, with whom they were at
war.
The Algerines were now become very formidable to
the European powers. The Spaniards, who were moft
in danger, and lead able to cope with them, folicited
the aflidance of England, the pope, and other dates.
The French, however, were the fird who dared to
fliow their refentment of the perfidious behaviour of
thefe mifereants } and in 1617, M. Beaulieu was fent
againd them with a fleet of 50 men of war, who de¬
feated their fleet, took two of their veffels, while their
admiral funk his own fliip and crew, rather than fall
into his enemies hands.
An Englifli In 1620, a fquadron of Englifh men of war was
fqu.ardron fent againd Algiers, under the condudt of Sir Robert
ftnt againft ]\/[an(’ei . 0f t]fls expedition we have no other ac-
rines SC~ count> than that it returned without doing any thing j
and the Algerines, becoming more and more infolent,
openly defied all the European powers, the Dutch only
excepted j to whom, in 1625, they fent a propofal di-
redded to the prince of Orange, that in cafe they would
fit out 20 fail of drips the following year, upon any
good fervice againd the Spaniards, they would join
them with 60 fail of their own.
The next year, the Coulolies, or Cologlies (the chil¬
dren of fuch Turks as had been permitted to marry at
Algiers), who were enrolled in the militia, having feiz-
ed on the citadel, had well nigh made themfelves ma¬
ilers of the city ; but were attacked by the Turks and
renegadoes, who defeated them with terrible daughter.
Many of them were put to death ; and their heads
thrown in heaps upon the city-walls, without the
eadern gate. Part of the citadel was blown up j
and the remaining Coulolies were difiniffed from the
militia, fo which they were not again admitted till
long after.
In 1623, the Algerines and other dates of Barbary
threw off their dependence on the Porte altogether, and
their depen ^et UP ^or t^emfelves. What gave occafion to this was
dence on the 25 years truce which Sultan Amurath IV. was ob-
the Porte, liged to make with the emperor Ferdinand II. to pre¬
vent his being overmatched by carrying on a war a-
gaind him and the fbphi of Perfia at the fame time. As
this put a dop to the piratical trade of the Algerines,
they proceeded as above mentioned ; and rtfolved, that
whoever defired to be at peace with them, mud, di-
dirndly and feparately, apply to their government.—
States of
Barbary
throw off
No fooner was this refolution taken, than the Algerines Algiers. *
began to make prizes of feveral merchant fliips be- v ~
longing to powers at peace with the Porte. Nay, hav¬
ing feized a Dutch fhip and poleacre at Scanderoon,
they ventured on fliore j and finding the town aban¬
doned by the Turkifh aga and inhabitants, they plun¬
dered all the magazines and warehoufes, and fet them
on fire.—About this time Louis XIII. undertook to
build a fort on their coads, indead of one formerly
built by the Marfilians, and which they had demo-
lifired. This, after fome difficulty, he accompliflied $
and it was called the Bq/iion of France: but the
fituation being afterwards found inconvenient, the
French purchafed the port of La Calle, and obtained
liberty to trade with the Arabians and Moors. The
Ottoman court, in the mean time, was fo much em-
barraffed with the Perfian war, that there was no leifure
to check the Algerine piracies. This gave an oppor¬
tunity to the vizier and other courtiers to compound
matters with the Algerines, and to get a (hare of their
prizes, which were very confiderable. However, for
form’s fake, a fevere reprimand, accompanied with
threats, wras fent them; to which they replied, that
“ thefe depredations deferved to be indulged to them,
feeing they were the only bulwark againft the Chriflian
powers, efpecially againft the Spaniards, the fworn ene¬
mies of the Moflem name adding, that “ if they
fhould pay a punctilious regard to all that could pur-
chafe peace, or liberty to trade with the Ottoman empire,
they would have nothing to do but fet fire to all their
Hupping, and turn camel-drivers for a livelihood.”
In the year 1635, four younger brothers of a goodDefpcrate
family in France entered into an undertaking fo def- u,.lder1:a;
perate, that perhaps the annals of knight-errantry can “er°Ut
fcarce fur nidi its equal.—'Phis wras no lefs than to re- brothers.
tort the piracies of the Algerines upon themfelves ; and
as they indiferiminately took the ftiips of all nations,
fo were thefe heroes indiferiminately to take the ftiips
belonging to Algiers ; and this wuth a fmall frigate of
ten guns !—In this ridiculous undertaking, 100 volun¬
teers embarked 5 a Maltefe commiffion was procured,
together with an able matter, and 36 mariners.—They
had the good fortune, on their firft fetting out, to take
a (hip laden with wine, on the Spaniflr coaft : with
which they wrere fo much elated, that three days after
they madly encountered twm large Algerine corfairs, one
of 20 and the other of 24 guns, both w7ell manned,
and commanded by able officers. Thefe two large vef¬
fels having got the fmall frigate between them, plied
her furioufly with great ttiot, which foon took oft" her
main-maft : notwithftanding which, the French made
fo defperate a refiftance, that the pirates were not able
to take them, till the noife of their fire brought up five
more Algerines } when the French veffel, being almoft
torn to pieces, wTas boarded and taken. The young
knights-errant wrere punifhed for their temerity by a
dreadful captivity, from which they redeemed them¬
felves in 1642 at the price of 6000 dollars.
The Algerines profecuted their piracies with im-A French
punity, to the terror and difgrace of the Europeans, admiral
till the year J652 ; when a French fleet being acciden-
tally driven to Algiers, the admiral took it into his head bafliaw.
to demand a releafe of all the captives of his nation,
without exception. This being refufed, the French¬
man without ceremony carried off the Turkiih vice-
4 R 2 roy,
A L G [ 684 ] A L G
Algiers, toy, and his cadi or judge, who had juft arrived from
' ■" v 1 the Porte, with all their equipage and retinue. The
Algerines, by way of reprifal, furpjifed the Baftion of
France already mentioned, and carried off the inha¬
bitants to the number of 600, with all their effefts j
which fo provoked the admiral, that he fent them word
that he would pay them another vilit the next year
with his whole fleet.
The Alge- The Algerines, undifmayed by the threats of the
a'formidT^ ^renCk a^m'rah fitted out a fleet of 16 galleys and gal-
kle fleet liots, excellently manned and equipped, under the com¬
mand of Admiral Hali Pinchinin.—The chief defign
of this armament was againil the treafure of Loretto 5
which, however, they were prevented by contrary winds
from obtaining. Upon this they made a defcent on
Puglia in the kingdom of Naples } where they ravaged
the whole territory of Necotra, carrying oft' a vaft num¬
ber of captives, and among them fbme nuns. From
thence fleering towards Dalmatia, they fcoured the
Adriatic ", and loading themfelves with immeiffe plun¬
der, left thofe coafts in the utmoft confternation and
refentment.
which is At lafl the Venetians, alarmed at fuch terrible de-
totally de- predations, equipped a fleet of 28 fail, under the com-
the^Vene mand of Admiral Oapello, with exprefs orders to burn,
iians. fink, or take, all the Barbary corfairs he met with, ei¬
ther on the open feas, or even in the Grand Signior’s
harbours, purfuant to a late treaty of peace with the
Porte. On the other hand, the captain baftiaw, who
had been fent out with the Turkilh fleet to chafe the
Florentine and Maltefe cruilers out of the Archipe¬
lago, underftanding that the Algerine fquadron was fo
near, fent exprefs orders to the admiral to come to his
afliftance. Pinchinin readily agreed ; but having firft
refolved on a defcent upon the ifland of Liffa, or Lifi-
na, belonging to the Venetians, he was overtaken by
Capello, from whom he retired to Valona, a fea port
belonging to the Grand Signior, whither the Venetian
admiral purfued him*, but the Turkilh governor refuf-
ing to ejedl the pirates according to the articles of the
peace between the Ottoman court and Venice, Capello
was obliged to content himfelf with watching them for
fome time. Ptnchinin w*as foon weary of reftraint, and
ventured out 5 when an engagement immediately en-
fued, in which the Algerines were defeated, and five
of their veffels difabled, with the lofs of 1500 men,
Turks, and Chriftian Haves 5 befides 1600 galley flaves
who regained their liberty. Pinchinin, after this de¬
feat, returned to Valona, where he was again watched
by Capello $ but the latter had not lain long at his old
anchorage before he received a letter from the fenate,
defiring him,to make no farther attempt on the pirates
at that time, for fear of a rupture with the Porte. This
was followed by a letter from the governor of Valona,
defiring him to take car*e left he incurred the fultan’s
difpleafure by fuch infults. The brave Venetian w*as
forced to comply; but refolving to take fuch a leave
©f the Algerines as he thought they deferved, obferved
how they had reared their tents, and drawn their booty
and equipage along the ihore. He then kept firing
among their tents, while fopie well manned galliots
and brigantines were ordered among their {hipping,
who attacked them with fuch bravery, that, without
any great lofs, they towed out their 16 galleys, with
all their cannon, ftores, &c.>—In this laft engagement
a ball from one of the Venetian galleys happening ts Algiers,
ftrike a Turkilh mofque, the w'hole aftion was confi--—y——
dered as an iniult upon the Grand Signior. To con¬
ceal this, Capello was ordered to fink all the Algerine
flaps he had taken, except the admiral} which was to
be conducted to Venice, and laid up as a trophy. Ca¬
pello came off" with a fevere reprimand j but the Vene¬
tians were obliged to buy, with 500,000 ducats, a peace
from the Porte. The Grand Signior offered to repair the
lofs of the Algerines by building ten galleys for them,
upon condition that they Ihould continue in his fervice
till the end of the enfuing fummer ; but Pinchinin, who
knew* how little the Algerines chofe to lie under obli¬
gations to him, civilly declined the offer.
In the mean time, the news of this defeat and lofs Algiers in
filled Algiers with the utmoff grief and confulion. The^6
whole city was on the point of a general infurreftion, ^ °U
when the balhaw and douwan iffued a proclamation, newS(
forbidding not only complaints and outcries, under the
fevered penalties } but all perfons whatever to take their
thumbs from within their girdles, while they were de¬
liberating on this important point. In the mean time
they applied to the. Porte for an order, that the Vene¬
tians fettled in the Levant fliould make up their lofs.
But with this the Grand Signior refufed to comply,
and left them to repair their Ioffes, as well as build new
{hips in the beff manner they could. It was not long,
howrever, before they had the fatisfaftion to fee one of
their corfairs land, -with a frelli fupply of 600 {laves,
whom he had brought from the coatt of Iceland, whi¬
ther he had been dire&ed by a mifereant native taken
on board a Danifft Ihip.
Our pirates did not long continue in tbeirweak and They fet
defencelefs ftate 5 being able, at the end of two years, °ut a nets*
to appear at fea with a fleet of 65 fail. The admiralfleet*
Pinchinin equipped four galliots at his own expence )
wfith which, in conjun&ion with the Chiayah, or fe-
cretary of the bafliaw of Tripoli, he made a fecond ex-
curfion. This fmall fquadron, conflfting of five gal¬
leys and two brigantines, fell in with an Fmglilh fliip
of 40 guns ; which, however, Pinchinin’s captains re¬
fufed to engage ; but being afterwards reproached by
him for their cowardice, they fwore to attack the next
Chriflian fliip which came in their way. This happened p;ve 0f
to be a Dutch merchantman, of 28 guns, wdiich was their gal-
deeply laden, and unable to ufe her fails by reafon of leYs defeat-
a calm. Pinchinin immediately fummoned her to fur-^by.a
, , .. . Dutch mes-
renoer j but receiving an ironical anlwer, drew* up his chantmaft.
fquadron in form of a half moon, that they might
pour their {hot all at once into their adverfary. This,
however, the Dutchman avoided, by means of a breeze
of wind which fortunately fprung up and enabled him
to turn his (hip ; upon which the galleys ran foul of
each other. Upon this, Pinchinin ran his own galley
along fide of the merchantman, the upper deck of
•which 70 Algerines immediately took poffefiion of,
fome of them cutting the rigging, and others plying
the hatches with hand grenadoes : but the Dutchmen
having fecured themfelves in their clofe quarters, be¬
gan to fire at the Algerines on board, from two pieces
of cannon loaded with fmall {hot; by which they were
all foon killed, or forced to fubmit. Pinchinin, in the
mean time, made feveral unfuccefsful attempts to re¬
lieve his men, as well as to furround the Dutchman
with his Qthe? galleys : but that fliip lay fo deep in the
water.
V
Algiers.
Iftepara*
tions a-
gainft Al¬
giers by
Louis XIV.
Algiers
bombarded
and fet on
fire by the
French.
Algerines
commit
dreadful ra¬
vages in
France.
The city a-
gain bom-
irarded.
A L G ’ [ 6S5 1 A L G
water, tliat every fnot did terrible execution among the
pirates } fo that they were obliged to remove farther
off. At laft the Dutch captain, having ordered his
guns to be loaded with cartouches, gave them fuch a
parting volley as killed 200 of them, and fent the reft
back to Algiers in a moft difmal plight.
But though Pinchinin thus returned in difgrace, the
reft of the fleet quickly came back with vaft numbers
of Haves, and an immenfe quantity of rich fpoils j info-
much that the Englith, French, and Dutch, were
obliged to cringe to the mighty Algerines, who fome-
times vouchfafed to be at peace with them, but fwore
eternal war againft Spain, Portugal, and Italy, whom
they looked upon as the greateft enemies to the Maho¬
metan name. At laft Louis XIV. provoked by the
grievous outrages committed by the Algerines on the
coafts of Provence and Languedoc, ordered, in 1681, a
confiderable fleet to be fitted out againft them, under
the marquis du Quefne, vice-admiral of France. His
firft expedition was againft a number of Tripolitan cor-
fairs} who had the good fortune to outrow him, and
ihelter themfelves in the iiland of Scio belonging to
the Turks. This did not, however, prevent him from
purfuing them thither, and making fuch terrible fire
upon them as quickly deftroyed 14 @f their veflels, be-
fides battering the walls of the caftle.
This feverity feemed only to be defigned as a check
to the piracies of the Algerines ; but, finding they ftill
continued their outrages on the French coaft, he failed
to Algiers in Auguft 1682, cannonading and bombard¬
ing it fo furioufly, that the whole town was in flames
in a very little time. The great mofque was battered
down, and moft of the houfes laid in ruins, infomuch
that the inhabitants vtere on the point of abandoning
the place; when on a fudden the wind turned about,
and obliged Du Quefne to return to Toulon. The Al¬
gerines immediately made reprifals, by fending a num¬
ber of galleys and galliots to the coaft of Provence,
where they committed the moft dreadful ravages, and
brought away a vaft number of captives : upon which a
new armament was ordered to be got ready at Toulon
and Marfeilles againft the next year; and the Alge¬
rines, having received timely notice, put themfelves in¬
to as good a ftate of defence as the time would allow.
In May 1683, Du Quefne with his fquadron caft
anchor before Algiers •, where being joined by the
Marquis d’Affranville at the head of five ftout veffels,
it was refolved to bombard the town next day. Ac¬
cordingly 100 bombs were thrown into, it the firft
day, ■winch did terrible execution } while the befieged
made fome hundred difeharges of their cannon againft
them without doing any confiderable damage. The
following nights the bombs were again thrown into the
city in fuch numbers, that the dey’s palace and other
great edifices were almoft deftroyed •, fome of their bat¬
teries were difmeunted, and feveral veflels funk in the
port. The dey and Turkifh bafhaw, as well as the
whole foldiery, Harmed at this dreadful havock, im¬
mediately fued for peace. As a preliminary, the im¬
mediate furrender was infifted on of all Chriftian cap¬
tives who had been taken fighting under the French
flag; which being granted, 142 of them were imme¬
diately delivered up, with a promife of fending him
the remainder as foon as they could be got from the dif¬
ferent parts of the country. Accordingly Dn Quefne
fent his commiiTary-general and one of his engineers Algiers,
into the town ; but with exprefs orders to infill upon U""'v ~'
the delivery of all the French captives without excep¬
tion, together with the effects they had taken from
the French : and that Mezomorto their then admiral,
and Hali Rais one of their captains fhould be given as
hoftages.
This laft demand having embarrafted the dey, he af-
fembled the douwan, and acquainted them with it ;
upon which Mezomorto fell into a violent pafllon, and
told the affembly, that the cowardice of thofe who fat
at the helm had occafioned the ruin of Algiers : but
that, for his part, he would never confent to deliver up
any thing that had been taken from the French. He
immediately acquainted the foldiery with what had
paifed ; which fo exafperated them, that they murdered
the dey that very night, and on the morrow chofe
Mezomorto in his place. This was no fooner done,
than he cancelled all the articles of peace which had
been made, and hoftilities were renewed with greater
fury than ever.
The French admiral now kept pouring in fuch vol-Set on fire-
leys of bombs, that in lefs than three days the greateft and almoft-
part of the city was reduced to allies; and the fire
burnt with fuch vehemence, that the fea was enlight¬
ened with it for more than two leagues round. Mezo¬
morto, unmoved at all thefe difafters, and the vaft num¬
ber of the flain, whofe blood ran in rivulets along the
ftreets; or rather, growing furious and defperate, fought
only how to wreak his revenge on the enemy; and, not
content with caufing all the French in the city to be
cruelly murdered, ordered their conful to be tied hand
and foot, and faftened alive to the mouth of a mortar,
from whence he was fhot away againft their navy.—
By this piece of inhumanity Du Quefne was fo exaf¬
perated, that he did not leave Algiers till he had ut¬
terly deftroyed all their fortifications, fhipping, almoft
all the lower part, and above two-thirds of the upper
part of the city, by which means it became little elfe
than a heap of ruins.
The haughty Algerines were now thoroughly con-Algerine*
vinced that they were not invincible ; and therefore fine for
immediately fent an embafly into France, begging inPeace>
the moft abjeft terms for peace ; which Louis imme¬
diately granted, to their inexpreflible joy. They now
began to pay fome regard to other nations, and to be
a little cautious how they wantonly incurred their dif-
pleafure. The firft bombardment by the French had
fo far humbled the Algerines, that they condefcended
to enter into a treaty with England ; which was renew¬
ed upon terms very advantageous to the latter in 1686.
It is not to be fuppofed, however, that the natural per¬
fidy of the Algerines would difappear on a fudden: not-
withftanding this treaty, therefore, they loft no oppor¬
tunity of making prizes of the Englifti (hips when
they could conveniently come at them. Upon fome Seven cf
infringement of this kind, Captain Beach drove, afliore d16'1-flirF9
and burnt feven of their frigates in 1695 ; which pro-^^b^
duced a renewal of the treaty five years after : but it Beack. 4
was not till the taking of Gibraltar and Port Mahon,
that Britain could have a fufficient check upon them to
enforce the obfervation of treaties ; and thefe have fince
proved fuch reftraints upon Algiers, that they ftill con¬
tinue to pay a greater deference to the Engliihthan to
any other European potver*
The
Revenues,
&c. of the
dey.
A L G [
Aiglets. The prefent century furniflies no very remarkable
v ’ events with regard to Algiers, except the taking of the
Expulflon fameci Cxty of Oran from the Spaniards in 1708 (which
ia^bailiaw*however they regained in 1737), and the expulfion of
' the Turkifh bathaw, and uniting his office to that of dey
in 1710. This introduced the form of government
which ftill continues in Algiers.
The dey is now abfolute monarch and pays no
other revenue to the Porte than that of a certain num¬
ber of fine boys or youths, and fome other prefents
which are fent thither yearly. His own income pro¬
bably rifes and falls according to the opportunities he
has of fleecing both natives and foreigners ; whence it
is varioufly computed by different authors. Dr Shaw
computes the taxes of the whole kingdom to bring into
the treafury no more than 300,000 dollars; but fup-
pofes that the eighth part of the prizes, the effefts of
thofe perfons who die without children, joined to the
yearly contributions railed by the government, prefents
from foreigners, fines and oppielfions, may bring in
about as much more. Both the dey and officers under
him enrich themfelves by the fame laudable methods
of rapine and fraud •, which it is no wonder to find the
common people pradlifing upon one another, and elpe-
cially upon ftrangers, feeing they themfelyes are im-
poveriffied by heavy taxes and the injuftice of thofe
who are in authority.
We have already hinted, that the firft deys were
ele£ted by the militia, who were then called the douwan
or common council. This eleftive body was at firfl:
compofed of 800 militia officers, without whofe con-
fent the dey could do nothing j and upon fome urgent
occafions all the officers refiding in Algiers, amount¬
ing to above 1500, were fummoned to affilf. But
fince the deys, who may be compared to the Dutch
lladtholders, have become more powerful, the dou-
wan is principally compofed of 30 chiah baffiaws or
colonels, with now and then the mufti and cadi upon
fome emergencies •, and on the eleftion of a dey, the
whole foldiery are allowed to come and give their votes.
All the regulations of ftate ought to be determined by
that affembly, before they pafs into a law, or the dey
hath power to put them in execution : but, for many
years back, the douwan has been of fo little account, that
it is only convened out of formality, and to give affent
to what the dey and his chief favourites have concert-
Strange ed beforehand. The method of gathering the votes in
method of this auguft affembly is perfe&ly agreeable to the cha-
gathenng ra&er 0f thofe who compofe it. The aga, or general
the dou-S 0f°f the janizaries, or the prefident pro tempore, firft pro-
wan. " pofes the queftion ; which is immediately repeated with
a loud voice by the chiah baffiaws, and from them
echoed again by officers called bajhalda/as ; from thefe
the queftion is repeated from one member of the dou-
% tvan to another, with ftrange contortions, and the moft
hideous growlings, if it is not to their liking. From
the loudnefs of this growling noife, the aga is left to
guefs as well as he can whether the majority of the af¬
fembly are pleafed or difpleafed with the queftion •, and
from fuch a prepofterous method, it is not furprifing
that thefe affemblies ffiould feldom end without fome
tumult or diforder. As the whole body of the militia
is concerned in the eleftion of a nerv dey, it is feldom
■carried on without blows and bloodffied : but when
once the choice is made, the pejfon elected is faluted
1
686 ] A L G
with the words Alla Barick, “ God blefs you, and | Aiglets. ^
profper you and the new dey ufually caufes all the v"" rr^
officers of the douwan who had oppoied his eledtion
to be ftrangled, filling up their places with thofe who
had been moft zealous in promoting it. from this
account of the eledtion of the deys, it cannot be ex¬
pected that their government ihould be at all fecure ;
and as they arrive at the throne by tumult, dilorder,
and bloodihed, they are generally deprived ot it by the
fame means, fcarcely one in ten of them living the
good fortune to die a natural death.
In this country it is not to be expedted that juftice
will be adminiftered w ith any degree of impartiality.
The Mahometan foldiery, in particular, are fo much Funifh-
favoured, that they are feldom put to death for any n161115* &-c*
crime except rebellion : in which cafe they are either
ftrangled with a bow firing or hanged to an iron hook.
In leffer offences, they are fined, or their pay flopped j
and if officers, they are reduced to the ftation of com¬
mon foidiers, from whence they may gradually raife
themfelves to their former dignity. Women guilty of
adultery, have a halter tied about their necks, wdth the
other end fattened to a pole, by which they are held
under water till they are iuftocated. The baftinado is
likewife inflicted for fmall offences ; and is given either
upon the belly, back, or foies of the feet, according to
the pleafure of the cadi ; who alfo appoints the num¬
ber of ftrokes. Thefe lometimes amount to 200 or 300,
according to the indulgence the offender can obtain
either by bribery or friends j and hence he often dies
under this puniihment for want of powerful enough
advocates. But the moft terrible punifhments are thofe
infiidled upon the Jews or Chriftians v ho fpeak againft
Mahomet or his religion } in w hich caie, they mult ei¬
ther turn Mahometans or be impaled alive. If they
afterwards apoftatize, they are burned or roafted alive,
or elfe thrown dowm from the top of the city walls,
upon iron hooks, where they are caught by different
parts of their body according as they happen to fall,
and fometimes expire in the greateft torments ; though
by accident they may be put out of pain at once, as
we have already related of the Spanith adventurer John
Gafcon. This terrible puniihment, however, begins
now to be difufed. • ^
The officer next in power to the dey is the aga of Asa Jh®
the janizaries, who is one of the oldeft officers in th® an^other
army, and holds his poll only for two months. He is military of-
then fucceeded by the chiah, or next fenior officer.— ficers.
During the two months in which the aga enjoys.his
dignity, the keys of the metropolis are in his hands j
all military orders are iffued out in his name } and the
fentence of the dey upon any offending foldier, whether
capital or not, can only be executed m the court of
his palace.—As foon as he has gone through this fhort
office, he is confidered as ma%ouI, or iuperannuated j
receives his pay regularly, like the reft oi the militia,
every two moons j is exempt from ail further duties, ex¬
cept when called by the dey to affift at the grand coun¬
cil, to which he hath, however, a right to come at all
times, but hath no longer a vote in it. Next to the
aga in dignity is the fecretary ol ftate, who regilters
all the public adjs ; and after him are the 30 chiahs
or colonels, wffio fit next to the aga in the domvan,
and in the fame gallery with him. Out of this clafs
are generally chofen thofe who go ambaffadors to fo¬
reign
A L G [ 687 ] A L G
Algiers, reign courts, or who dxfperfe the dey’s orders through-
out the realm. Next to them are 800 bolluck balhaws
or eldeft captains, who are promoted to that of chiah
balhaws according to their feniority. The oldack
balhaws or lieutenants are next 5 who amount to 400,
and are regularly raifed to the rank of captains in their
turn, and to other employments in the Hate, according
to their abilities. Thefe, by-way of diftindlion, wear
a leather Itrap, hanging down to the middle of their
back. One rule is Ifriflly obferved in the rotation of
thefe troops from one deputy to a higher, vi%. the
right of feniority ; one lingle infringement of which
would caufe an infurreflion, and probably coll the dey
his life. Other military officers of note are the veke-
lards or purveyors of the army the peys, who are the
four oldell foldiers, and confequently thenearell to pre¬
ferment ; the foulacks, who are the next in feniority to
them, and are part of the dey’s body-guard, always
marching before him wdien he takes the field, and di-
ftinguilhed by their carabines and gilt fcimitars, with a
brais gun on their caps ; the kayts or Turkilh fol¬
diers, each band of whom has the government of one
or more adowars or itinerant villages, and collefl their
taxes for the dey ; and the fagiards or Turkilh lance-
men, 100 of whom always attend the army, and watch
over the vrater appointed for it. To thefe we may add
the bevs, or governors of the three great provinces of
the realm. All the above-mentioned officers ought to
compofe the great douwan or council above mentioned;
but only the 30 chiah balhaws have a right to fit in
the gallery next after the dey 5 the reft are obliged to
Hand on the floor of the hall or council chamber-,
with their arms acrofs, and as much as poffible with¬
out motion ; neither are they permitted to enter with
their fwords on, for fear of a tumult. As for thofe
who have any matters to tranfadl with the douwan,
they mull Hand without, let the weather be ever fo
bad ; and there they are commonly prefented wfith cof¬
fee by fome of the inferior officers, till they are dif-
miffed.
Account of It does not appear that the Algerines avail them-
the corfairs, felves of the benefit of their internal relources to
commerce, extent they might do; for their genius leads
them too much to the piratical trade to mind any real
advantage that might be derived from their own coun¬
try. The corfairs or pirates form each a fmall re¬
public, of which the rais or captain is the fupreme
balhaw ; who, with the officers under him, form a kind
of douwan, in wffiich every matter relating to the vef-
fel is decided in an arbitrary way. Thefe corfairs are
chiefly inftrumental in importing whatever commodities
are brought into the kingdom either by w-ay of mer-
ehandife or prizes. Thefe confift chiefly of gold and
filver ftuffs, damalks, cloths, fpices, tin, iron,, plated
brafs, lead, quickfilver, cordage, fail-cloth, bullets,
cochineal, linen, tartar, alum, rice, fugar, foap, cot¬
ton raw and fpun, copperas, aloes, brazil and logwood,
vermilion, &c. Very few commodities, how-ever, are
exported from this part of the world : the oil, wax,
hides, pulfe, and corn produced, being but barely fuffi-
cient to fupply the country ; though before the lofs
of Oran the merchants have been known to fliip off
■ from one or other of the ports of Barbary feveral thou-
fand tons of corn. The confumption of oil, though
here in great abundance, is likewife fo confiderable in
this kingdom, that it is fcldom permitted to be ftupped Algiers,
off for Europe. The other exports confift chiefly in -v*”"
oltriches feathers, copper, rugs, filk fafhes, embroid¬
ered handkerchiefs, dates, and Chriftian flaves. Some
manufadlures in filk, cotton, wool, leather, &c. axe
carried on in this country, but moftly by the Spaniards
fettled here, efpecially about the metropolis. Carpets
are alfo a manufacture of the country ; which, though
much inferior to thofe of Turkey both in beauty and
finenefs, are preferred by the people to lie upon cM
account of their being both cheaper and fofter. There
are alfo at Algiers looms for velvet, taffetas, and other
wrought lilks ; and a coarfe fort of linen is likewife
made in moft parts of the kingdom. The country
furni flies no materials for fliip-building. They have
neither ropes, tar, fails, anchors, nor even iron. When
they can procure enough of new wood to form the
main timbers of a fliip, they fupply the reft from the
materials of prizes wffiich they have made ; and thus
find the fecret of producing new and fwift-failing vef-
fels from the ruins of the old. Of all the ftates on the
coaft of Barbary, the Algerines are the ftrongeft at
fea.
The religion of the Algerines is chiefly diftinguifh- Reiig;on,
ed from that of the Turks by a greater variety of
fuperftitious rites. The Koran is their acknowledged
rule of faith and practice ; but they, are not very
fcrupulous in the obfervance of it. The mufti, or
high-prieft } the cadi, or chief judge y and the grand
marabout, are the three principal officers who prefide
in matters of religion. The cadi attends in the court
of juftice once or twice every day, to hear and deter¬
mine caufes y but thofe of fuperior importance are fub-
mitted to the dey himfelf, or, in his abfence, to one of
the principal officers of the regency, who fits in the
gate of the palace for that exprefs purpofe. Of this
cuftom fome traces are found in facred hiftory, Deut.
xx. 11. 15. xxv. 7.
Algiers, a city, the capital of the above king¬
dom, is probably the ancient Icqfium: by the Arabians
called Jllge%air, or rather s4l-Je%ier, or Ai-Jezerah,
i. e. the ijlatul, becaufe there was an ifland before the
city, to which it has fince been joined by a mole. It
is built on the declivity of a hill by the fea fide, in the
form of an amphitheatre: at fea, it looks like the top-
fail of a fliip. The tops of the houfes are quite flat and
white, and have all the appearance of a bleachfield.
One houfe riles above another in fuch a manner that
they do not hinder each other’s profpeft. The ftreets
are fo narrow, that they will fcarcely admit two perfons
to walk abreaft, and the middle part is lower than
the fides. When any loaded beads, liich as camels,
horfes, mules, or affes, pafs along, you are forced to
ftand up clofe to the wall to let them pafs by. There
is but one broad ftreet, which runs through the city
from call to weft, in which are the ihops of the prin¬
cipal merchants, and the market for corn and other
commodities. The lower part of the walls of the city
is of hewn ftone, and the upper part of brick ; they
are 30 feet high on the land fide, and 40 towards the fea y
the foffes or ditches are 20 feet broad and 7 deep. -
There is no fweet water in the city y and though
there is a tank or ciftern in every houfe, yet they often
want water, becaufe it rains but feldom: the chief fup¬
ply is from a fpring on a hill, the water of which is.
conveyed!
X
A L G [ 68
Adlers, conveyed by pipes to above a hundred fountains, at
Aigoa. which a bowl is fattened for the ufe of paffengers. The
—-v.—..j common refervoir is at the end of the mole, where the
Ihips take in their water. Every one takes his turn at
thefe places, except the Turks, who are nr ft, and the
Jews laft. There are five gates, which are open from fun-
rifing till fun-fetting •, and feven forts or caftles with¬
out the walls, the greateft of which is on the mole with¬
out the gate, all of which are well fupplied with great
guns. There are 10 large mofques and 50 fmall ones 5
three great colleges or public fchools, and a great
number of petty ones for children. The houfes are
fquare, and built of ftone and brick, with a fquare
court in the middle, and galleries all around. There
are faid to be about 100,000 inhabitants in the city,
comprehending 5000 Jewilh families, befides Chriftians.
There are four fundics or public inns, fuch as are in
Turkey} and fix cazernes, or barracks, for the unmar¬
ried Turkilh foldiers, which will hold 600 each. There
are no inns for Chriftians to lodge at *, but only a few
tippling huts kept by Haves, for the accommodation of
Creeks and the poorer fort of travellers, where any
thing may be had for money. Here are bagnios or
public baths, in the fame manner as in Turkey, at a
very moderate rate. The wmmen have baths of their
owm, where the men dare not come. Without the city
there is a great number of fepulchres, as alfo cells or
chapels, dedicated to marabouts or reputed faints,
which the women vifit every Friday. The Turkifh
foldiers are great tyrants*, for they not only turn others
out of the w^ay in the ftreets, but will go to the farm-
houfes in the country for 20 days together, living at
free quarters, and making ufe of every thing, not ex¬
cepting the women. The Algerines eat, as in Turkey,
fitting crofs-legged round a table about four inches high,
and ufe neither knives nor forks. Before they begin,
every one fays Be ifme Allah, “ In the name of God.”
When they have done, a flave pours water on all their
hands as they lit, and then they wadi their mouths.
Their drink is water, Iherbet, and coffee. W ine is not
allowed, though drank immoderately by fome. The pro-
fpeft of the country and fea from Algiers is very beau¬
tiful, it being built on the declivity of a mountain 5 but
tbe city, though for feveral ages it has braved fome of
the greateft powers in Chriftendom, it is faid, could
make but a faint defence againft a regular fiege j and
that three Englilh fifty-gun (hips might batter it about
the ears of its inhabitants from the harbour. If fo,
the Spaniards muft have been very deficient either in
-courage or condu&. They attacked it in the year
1775, by land and by fea, but were repulfed wdth great
iofs; though they had near 20,000 foot and 2000
horfe, and 47 king’s (hips of different rates and 346
tranfports. In the years 1783 and 1784, they alfo re¬
newed their attacks by fea to deftroy tbe city and gal¬
leys j but after fpending a quantity of ammunition,
bombs, &.c. were forced to retire without either its
capture or extindlion. The mole of the harbour is
500 paces in length, extending from the continent to
a fmall illand where there is a caftle and large battery.
E. Long. 2. 12. N. Lat. 36. 49.
ALGO A Bay, or Zwart-hof>s, in fouthern Africa,
is fituated in S. Lat. 33. 56. E. Long. 26. 53. and
5.00 miles diftant from the Cape of Good Hope. Mr
Barroftq who vifited this place, found, in an adjoiu-
Z
3 ] A L G
ing valley, a fpecies of antelope, called the nct-loh, or
red-goat, previoufly unknown to naturalifts. He alfo
mentions that great advantages might accrue to the
Eaft India Company from the erection of an eftabiifti-
ment at this place, for the purpofe of preparing falted
beef and filh, in confequence of the lalt-pans, and the
abundance of large bullocks in the vicinity \ together
with great numbers of excellent fifii with which" the
coaft abounds.
ALGOL, a fixed ftar of the third magnitude, call¬
ed Med Ufa's Head, in the conftellation Perieus. Its
longitude is 21° 50' 42" of Taurus, and its latitude
230 23' 47'' north j according to Flamftead’s cata¬
logue. For an account of its changes, period, and
other circumftances, fee Astronomy Index.
ALGONQUINS, a nation in North America, who
formerly pofieffed great tracts of land along the north
(bore of the river St Lawrence. For a long time they
had no rivals as hunters and warriors, and were long
in alliance with the Iroquois; whom they agreed to
protedl from all invaders, and to let them have a finare
of their veniibn. The Iroquois, on the other hand, were
to pay a tribute to their allies, out of the culture of the
earth *, and to perform for them all the menial duties,
fuch as flaying the game, curing the flefti, and drefling
the (kins. By degrees, however, the Iroquois affociated
in the hunting matches and warlike expeditions of the
Algonquins } fo that they loon began to fancy them-
felves as well qualified, either for war or hunting, as their
neighbours. One winter a large detachment of both
nations having gone out a hunting, and (ecured, as they
thought, a vaft quantity of game, fix young Algon¬
quins and as many Iroquois were fent out to begin
the (laughter. The Algonquins, probably become a
little jealous of their affociates, upon feeing a few elks,
defired the Iroquois to return on pretence that they
would have fufftcient employment in flaying the game
they fliould kill *, but after three days hunting, having
killed none, the Iroquois exulted, and in a day or two
privately fet out to hunt for themfelves. The Algon¬
quins were fo exafperated at feeing their rivals return
laden -with game, that they murdered all the hunters
in the night time. The Iroquois diffembled their re-
fentment ^ but in order to be revenged, applied them¬
felves to ftudy the art of war as praftifed among thofe
favage nations. Being afraid of engaging with the
Algonquins, at firft they tried their proivefs on other
inferior nations, and, when they thought themfelves
fufficiently expert, attacked the Algonquins with fuch
diabolical fury, as (bowed they could be fatisfied with
nothing lefs than the extermination of the whole race \
■which, had it not been for the interpofition of the
French they w*ould have accompliflied.— 1 he few Al¬
gonquin nations, that are now to be feen, feem entirely
ignorant of agriculture, and fubfift by filhing and hunt¬
ing. They allow themfelves a plurality of wives ; not-
withftanding which, they daily decrea(e in populoufnefs,
few or none of their nations containing above 6000
fouls, and many of them not 2000. Their language is
one of the three radical ones in North America, being
underftood from the river St Lawrence to the Mifiiffippi.
ALGOR, with Bhyjicians, an unufual coldnefs in
any part of the body.
ALGORITHM, an Arabic word expreflive of nu¬
merical computation.
ALGUAZIL,
A L H
Alguazil ALGUAZIL, in the Spanijh polity, an otiicer
. A whofe bufinefs it is to fee the decrees of a iudee exe-
Alhainbra. . J 0
•4 - - ^ / cuted.
ALHAMA, a very pleafant town of the kingdom
of Granada, in Spain, fituated in the midd: of fome
craggy mountains, about 25 miles S. W. of Granada,
on the banks of the Rio Frio, in W. Long. 3, 26.
N. Lat. 36. 59. and having the fined warm baths in
all Spain. It was taken from the Moors in 1481.
The inhabitants, though furprifed, and the town with¬
out a garrifon, made a gallant defence : but being at
length forced to fubmit, the place was abandoned to
the pillage of the Chriftian foldiers, who, not fatisfied
with an immenfe quantity of gold, and jewels, made
Haves of upwards of 3000 of the inhabitants.
ALHAMBRA, the ancient fortrefs and refidence
of. the Moorilh monarchs of Granada. It derives its
name from the red colour of the materials which it was
originally built with, Alhambra fignifying a red houfe.
It appears to a traveller a huge heap of as ugly build¬
ings as can tvell be feen, all huddled together, feem-
ingly without the lead intention of forming one habi¬
tation out of them. The walls are entirely unorna¬
mented, all gravel and pebbles, daubed over with pla-
der by a very coarfe hand : yet this is the palace of
the Moorilh kings of Granada, indifputably the mod
curious place within that exids in Spain, perhaps in
the wmrld. In many countries may be feen excellent
modern as well as ancient architecture, both entire and
in ruins *, but nothing to be met with anywhere elfe
can convey an idea of this edifice, except the decora¬
tions of an opera, or the tales of the genii. >
Fading round the corner of the emperor’s palace,
one is admitted at a plain unornamented door in a cor¬
ner. On my-fird vifit, fays Mr Swinburne, I confefs
"fravels in I was druck with amazement, as I dept over the
Spain. thrediold, to find myfelf on a hidden tranfported into
a fpecies of fairy land. The fird place you come to
is the court called the communa or del niefucar, that is
the common baths; an oblong fquare, with a deep ba-
fon of clear water in the middle 5 two flights of marble
deps leading down to the bottom j on each fide a par¬
terre of flow7ers, and a row of orange trees. Round
. the court runs a peridyle paved wfith marble j the
arches bear upon very flight pillars, in proportions
and dyle different from all the regular orders of
architefture. The ceilings and wmlls are incrudated
with fretwork in ducco, fo minute and intricate, that
the mod patient' draughtfman would find it difficult to
follow it, unlefs he made himfelf mader of the general
plan. This would facilitate the operation exceedingly j
for all this work is frequently and regularly repeated
at certain didances, and has been executed by means
of fquare moulds applied fucceffively, and the parts
joined together with the utmod nicety. In every di-
vifion are Arabic fentences of different lengths, mod
of them expreffive of the following meanings : “ There
is no conqueror but God j” or, “ Obedience and ho¬
nour to our lord Abouabdoulah.” The ceilings are
gilt or painted ; and time has caufed no diminution in
the freflmefs of their colours, though condantly expof-
ed to the air. The lower part of the walls is mofaic,
difpofed in fantadic knots and fedoons. A. work fo
novel, io exquifitely finiflied, and fo different from all
that he had ever feen, mud afford a dranger the mod
Vol. I. Part II.
A L H
agreeable fenfations while he treads this magic ground. Alhambra.,
The porches at the ends are more like grotto-w7ork ‘.7—'
than any thing elfe to which they can be compared.
That on the right hand opens into an odlagon vault,
under the emperor’s palace, and forms a perfecl vvhif-
pering gallery, meant to be a communication between
the offices of both houfes.
Oppofite to the door of the communa through which
you enter, is another leading into the quarto de lot
leones, or apartment of the lions •, which is an oblong-
court, 100 feet in length and 50 in breadth, environ¬
ed with a colonnade 7 feet broad on the fides and 10
at the end. Tw7o porticoes or cabinets about 15 feet
fquare, project into the court at the two extremities.
The fquare is paved with coloured tiles 5 the colonnade
with white marble. The walls are covered five feet up
from the ground with blue and yellow tiles, difpofed
chequerwife. Above and below7 is a border of fmall
efcutcheons, enamelled blue and gold, with an Arabic
motto on a bend 5 fignifying, “ No conqueror but
God.” The columns that fupport the roof and gal¬
lery are of white marble, very flender, and fantafl ically
adorned. They are 9 feet high, including bafe and
capital, and 84- inches diameter. They are very irre¬
gularly placed $ fometimes fingly, at others in groups
of three, but more frequently two together. The
width of the horfe-fhoe arches above them is four feet
twTo inches for the large ones, and three for the fmaller.
The ceiling of the portico is finifhed in a much finer
and more complicated manner than that of the Com-
muna, and the flucco laid on the walls w'ith inimitable
delicacy 5 in the ceiling it is fo artfully frofted and
handled as to exceed belief. The capitals are of va¬
rious defigns, though each defign is repeated feveral
times in the circumference of the court, but not the
leaf! attention has been paid to placing them regularly
or oppofite to each other. Not the fmallefl; reprefen-
tation of animal life can be difcovered amidfl: the va^
rieties of foliages, grotefques, and ftrange ornaments.
About each arch is a large fquare of arabefques, fur-
rounded with a rim of characters, that are generally
quotations from the Koran. Over the pillars is ano¬
ther fquare of delightful filligree wrork. Higher up
is a wooden rim, or kind of cornice, as much enrich¬
ed with carving as the ftucco that covers the part un¬
derneath. Over this projeCts a roof of red tiles, the
only thing that disfigures this beautiful fquare. This
ugly covering is a modern addition made by a late
prime minifter, who a few years ago gave the Al¬
hambra a thorough repair. In Mooriffi times, the
building w7as covered with large painted and glazed
tiles, of which fome few are ftill to be feen. In the
centre of the court are twelve ill-made lions muzzled,
their fore parts fmooth, their hind parts rough, which
bear upon their backs an enormous bafon, out of w7hich
a leffer rifes. While the pipes were kept in good or¬
der, a great volume of water was throwm up, that, fall¬
ing down into the bafons, paifed through the beaffs,
and iffued out of their mouths into a large refervoir,
where it communicated by channels with the jet d’eaus
in the apartments. This fountain is of white marble,
embelliffied with many feftoons and Arabic diflichs,
thus tranflated :
“ Seeft thou not how the water flows copioufly like
the Nile ?”
4. S “ This
[ G89 ]
A L H
“ This refcmbles a fea wafliing over its ihores,
threatening fhipwreck to tlie mariner.”
“ This water runs abundantly, to give drink to the
lions.”
“ Terrible as the lion is our king in the day of
battle.” ,
“ The Nile gives glory to the king, and the lofty
mountains proclaim it.”
“ This garden is fertile in delights : God takes care
that no noxious animal {hall approach it.”
“ The fair princefs that walks in this garden, co¬
vered with pearls, augments its beauty fo much, that
thou may’ll doubt whether it be a fountain that flows,
or the tears of her admirers.”
Faffing along the colonnade, and keeping on the
fouth fide, you come to a circular room occupied by
the men as a place for drinking coffee, &c. A
fountain in the middle refreffied the apartment in fum-
mer. The form of this hall, the elegance of its cu¬
pola, the cheerful diftribution of light from above, and
the exquifite manner in which the ftucco is defigned,
painted, and finifhed, exceed all powers of defeription.
Every thing in it infpires the moll pleafmg voluptu¬
ous ideas : yet in this fweet retreat they pretend that
Abouabdoulah affembled the Abencerrages, and cauf-
ed their heads to be Itruck off into the fountain. Con¬
tinuing your w'alk round, you are next brought to a
couple of rooms at the head of the court, which are
fuppofed to have been tribunals or audience chambers.
Oppolite to the Sala de los Abencerrages is the en¬
trance into the Torre de las dos hermanas, oy the towrer
of the tw’o lifters $ fo named from twm very beautiful
pieces of marble laid as flags in the pavement. This
gate exceeds all the reft in profufion of ornaments,
and in beauty of profpeft which it affords through a
range of apartments, where a multitude of arches ter¬
minate in a large window open to the country. In a
gleam of funlhine, the variety of tints and lights
thrown upon this enfilade are uncommonly rich. The
firft; hall is the concert-room, where the women fat;
the muficians played above in four balconies. In the
middle is a jet d’eau. The marble parrement is equal
to the fineft exifting, for the fize of the flags and even-
nefs of the colour. The two fillers which give name
to the room, are flabs that meafure 15 feet by
without flaw or ftain. The walls, up to a certain
height, are mofaic, and above are divided into very
neat compartments of ftucco, all of one defign, which
is alfo followed in many of the adjacent halls and gal¬
leries. The ceiling is a fretted cove. To preferve
this vaulted roof, as well as fome of the other principal
cupolas, the outward walls of the towors are raifed 10
feet above the top ol the dome, and fupport another
roof over all, by which means no damage can ever be
caufed by wet weather or exceffive heat and cold.
From this hall you pafs round the little myrtle garden
of Lindaraxa, into an additional building made to the
call end by Charles V.1 The rooms are fmall and low.
His dear motto, P/us outre, appears on every beam,.
This leads to a little tower, projecting from the line of
the north wall, called e/ tocador, or the dreffing-room
of the fultana. It is a fmall fquare cabinet, in the
middle of an open gallery, irom which it receives light
by a door and three windows. The look-out is charm¬
ing. In one corner is a, large marble flag, drilled full
A I. H
of holes, through which the fmoke of perfumes afeend- Alhani
ed from furnaces below ; and here, it is prefumed, the
Moorilb queen was wont to lit to fumigate and fweeten
her perfon. The emperor caufcd this pretty room to
be painted with reprefentations of his wars, and a great
variety of grotefques, which appear to be copies, or
at leaft imitations, of thofe in the loggie of the Vati¬
can. From hence you go through a long paffage
to the hall of ambaffadors, which is magnificently de¬
corated with innumerable varieties of mofaics, and the
mottos of all the kings of Granada. This long narrow
antiebamber opens into the communa on the left hand,
and cn the right into the great audience-hall in the
tower of Comares ; a noble apartment, 36 feet fquare,
36 high up to the cornice, and 18 from thence to the
centre of the cupola. The walls on three fides are 15
feet thick, on the other 9 ; the lower range of win¬
dows 13 feet high. The whole wall is inlaid with
mofaic of many colours, difpofed in intricate knots,
liars, and other figures. In every part various Arabic
fentences are repeated.
Having thus completed the tour of the upper apart¬
ments, wffiich are upon a level with the offices of the
new palace, you defeend to the lower floor, which
confifted of bedchambers and fummer-rooms ; the back
Hairs and paffages, that facilitated the intercourfe be¬
tween them, are without number. The moft remark¬
able room below is the king’s bedchamber, which
communicated by means of a gallery with the upper
ftory. The beds were placed in two alcoves, upon a
raifed pavement of blue and white tiles; but as it was
repaired by Philip V. who paffed fome time here,
it cannot be faid howT it may have been in former
times. A fountain played in the middle, to refrelh
the apartment in hot weather. Behind the alcoves
are fmall doors, that conduft you to the royal baths.
Thefe confift of one fmall clofet with marble cifterns
for wafhing children, two rooms for grown-up perfons,
and vaults for boilers and furnaces that fupplied the
baths with water and the ftoves with vapours. The
troughs are formed of large flabs of white marble ; the
walls are beautified with party-coloured earthen ware j
light is admitted by holes in the coved ceiling.
Hard by is a whifpering gallery, and a kind of laby¬
rinth, faid to have been made for the diverfion of the
wromen and children. One of the paffages of commu¬
nication is fenced off with a ftrong iron grate, and
called the prifon of the Sultana ; but it feems more pro¬
bable that it was put up to prevent any body from
climbing up Into the women’s quarter.
Under the council-room is a long flip, called the
Ting's fndy ; and adjoining to it are leveral vaults, faid
to be the place of burial of the royal family. In the
year 1574, four fepulchres were opened 5 but as they
contained nothing but bones and allies, were immedi¬
ately clofed &gain.
This defeription of the Alhambra may be finilhed'
by obferving how admirably every thing was planned
and calculated for rendering this palace the moft vo¬
luptuous of all retirements •, what plentiful fupplies of
water were brought to refrelh it in the hot months of
fummer ; what a free circulation of air was contrived,
by the judicious difpofition of doors and windows j
what lhady gardens of aromatic trees j what noble
views over the beautiful hills and fertile plains! No
wonder
[ 690 ]
A L I
wonder the Moors regretted Granada ! no wonder that
they ftiil offer up prayers to God every Friday for the
recovery of this city, which they regard as a terre-
ftrial paradife !
ALI, the fon of Abu Taleb, is one of the moft ce¬
lebrated charafters in Mahometan hiftory. He was
coufxn to Mahomet j and at the age of fourteen enga¬
ged with youthful ardour in his caufe. When Maho-
phet firft revealed his prophetic charader to his friends,
and inquired who among them would undertake to
be his companion, Ali exclaimed, “ O Prophet, I
will be thy attendant; the man wrho dares to rife
againft thee I will break his legs, pluck out his eyes,
dafh out his teeth, and even rip up his belly.” Ma¬
homet accepted his fervices, and honoured him with
the titles of brother, vicegerent, and Aaron to a new
Mofes. He wTas remarkable both for eloquence and
valour •, and the latter obtained him the furname of
<< the Lion of God, always vidiofious ” He fucceeded
to the chief dignity of the renowned houfe of Hafhem,
and w7as alfo hereditary guardian of the temple and
city of Mecca. Mahomet gave him his daughter Fa-
timah in marriage, and the grandfather lived to em¬
brace the children of his daughter. Thefe advantages
induced Ali to caff a wilhfu'l eye towards the regal
fucceffion ; however, Abubeker, Omar, and Othman
reigned before him. But after the death of the latter
he w7as faluted caliph by the chiefs of the tribes, and
the companions of the Prophet, when he was repairing
to the mofque of Medina at the hour of prayer, A. D.
655. Hegir. 35.
Ayetha, the widow of the Prophet, ftrenuoufly op-
pofed his fucceflionj and under her influence two
powerful chiefs foon raifed the ftandard of rebellion.
Ali greatly increaied his difficulties by the imprudent
removal of all the governors of provinces from their
llation. Telha and Zobeir, two chiefs of great in¬
fluence, collefted a numerous army, and induced Aye-
ffia to attend them to the field of battle ; but Ali
gained a complete viftory and took Ayelha prifoner.
Telha fell in the field, and Zobeir was afiaffinated
after furrendering upon promife of quarter. 1 his da-
ftardly addion w7as feverely reprehended by Ali. He
likewife kindly treated the captive wddow, and fent
her back to the tomb of the Prophet.
Ali next attacked Moawiyah, who had been pro¬
claimed caliph, and ftrongly fupported by a powerful
and numerous party. When the two armies approach¬
ed each other, Ali propofed to decide the matter by
Angle combat, but to this his opponent wmuld not agree.
Several fkirmiffies were fought wdth confiderable lofs
on both fides 5 but at length a pious fraud produced
a divifion of fentiment in the army of Ali. They fixed
to the points of lances a number of copies of the Ko¬
ran, carried them before the troops, and exclaimed,
faying, “ This is the book which forbids Muffulmans
to died each others blood, and ought therefore to de¬
cide our difputes.” Ali wras conftrained to yield,
and umpires were mutually chel’en j on the fide of
Ali, Abu Mouffa ; Amru, the conqueror of Egypt, on
the part of Moawiyah. The day of final decifion ar¬
rived. Abu Mouffa afcended the pulpit, and cried,
“ As I draw this ring from my finger, fo I depofe
both Ali and Moawiyah from the caliphate.” When
Amru afcended, he cried, “ As I put on this ring, fo
A L I
I invefi: Moawiyah with the caliphate, and alfo depofe AH,
Ali.” He alfo added, that Othman the former caliph'' N/"
had declared Moawiyah both his fucceflor and avenger.
Thus began that memorable conteft among the Ma¬
hometans which was long agitated with confiderable
violence by both parties.
Ali was highly enraged at this injuftice •, but, con¬
ftrained for the prefent to yield, he retired to Kufa.
A feet of enthufiafts called the Kharejites revolted,
againff Ali j but he quickly reduced them to fubjection,
and again obtained poffeffion of Arabia. But Syria,
Perfia, and Egypt fell to the (hare of his rival.
An unexpected event terminated the exifting di¬
fputes. Three Kharejites one day converfing together
concerning the blood which had been fired, and the
impending calamities, refolved to affaffinate Ah, Mo¬
awiyah, and Amru, the three authors of the prefent
difafters. They provided themfelves with poiloned
fwords, and haftened to accomplifh their purpofe.
Moawiyah was wounded, but the wound did not prove
fatal. A friend of Amru fell in his ftead. Ali was
fatally wounded at the door of the mofque, and in the
fixty-third year of his age, hg expired on the fifth day
after his w'ound, A. D. 660. A. Hegir. 40.
Ali had eight wives befides Fatimah, and left a nu¬
merous family wTho wrere very remarkable for their
valour. He alfo rofe to high eminence for learning
and wifdom j and of his works there are flill extant
a hundred maxims, a colleClion of verfes, and a pro¬
phecy of all the great events which are to happen to
the end of time. One of his fayings may be quoted as
an example. “ He who wmuld be rich without wealth,
powerful Wuthout fubjefts, and a fubjeCl without a
mafter, has only to forfake fin, and ferve God.”
The Muffuimans term Ali the heir of Mahomet, and
the accepted of God, and his particular followers have
poffeffed various ftates in Africa and Afia, and the
Perfian part of the EfLec Tartars $ and feme love-
reigns of India are at prefent of the feci of Ali. A
monument is raifed upon his tomb near Kufa, which
the kings of Perfia have fucceffively decorated and re*
ligioufly revered. Near the ruins of Kufa a city
named Mefhed Ali has been built to his memory.
Some of his deluded followers imagine that he is Hill
alive, and that he will revifit the earth and fill the
fame with juftice. A green turban Hill continues to
diltinguilh the defeendants of Ali. {Gen. Biog.)
An Bey, an eaftern adventurer, is faid to have been
a native of Mount Caucafus, and about the age of
twelve or fourteen he wras fold for a flave in Cairo.
The twro Jewrs who became his mailers prefented him
to Ibrahim, then one of the moll refpeClable men in the
kingdom. In the family of this powerful man he re¬
ceived the rudiments of literature, and wras alfo in-
llrufted in the military art. Both in letters and mili¬
tary Ikill he made a rapid improvement. He gradually
gained the affeClion of his patron to fuch a degree, that
he gave him his freedom, permitted him to marry, pro¬
moted him to the rank of governor of a diitrift, and
afterwards by eleftion he was raifed to the elevated lla¬
tion of one of the governors of provinces. Deprived
of his proteClor by death, and engaging in the danger¬
ous intrigues that pave the wray to powder in that un-
Itable government,' he procured his own banilhrnent to
Upper-Egypt. Here he fpent twTo years in maturing
482/ * his
[ 691 ]
A L I [ 692
his rdiemes for future greatnefs, and in 1766, returning
to Cairo, he either flew or expelled the beys, and
feized the reins of government.
Emboldened by fuccefs, he refcued himfelf from the
power of the Porte, coined money in his own name,
and boldly affumed the rank of fultan of Egypt. Oc¬
cupied in more important concerns, the Porte made no
vigorous oppofition to his meafures, and Ali Bey feized
this favourable opportunity to recover a part of the
S: id or Upper Egypt, which had been taken by an
Arab fhaik. Next he fent out a fleet from Suez,
■which feized upon Djedda, entered the port of Mecca j
•while a body of cavalry, commanded by Mohammed
Bey his favourite, took and plundered Mecca itfelf. A
young Venetian merchant laid before him a plan of
reviving the ancient trade to the Eaft Indies through
the Mediterranean and Red feas. Having formed an
alliance, in 177°? with one Shaik Daher, a rebel a-
gainft the Porte in Syria, he aimed at the conqueft of
ail Syria and Palelline. He firft endeavoured to
fecure Gaza ; then his army forming a junction with
that of Daher at a place called Acre, advanced to Da-
mafcus. On the 6th of June 177U a battle was fought
at this place with the Turkifh pachas, and Moham¬
med and Daher the commanders of Ali Bey routed
them with grept flaughter. They inftantly took pof-
feflion of Damafcus, and the caftle itfelf had alfo ca¬
pitulated, when all on a hidden Mohammed haftened
back to Egypt with all his Mamelukes. Some afcribe
this ftrange conduft to an impreflion made upon Mo¬
hammed by the Turkifh agents, and others to a re¬
port of the death of Ali Bey.
. Although unfuccefsful, Ali Bey never lofl fight of
his favourite obje£I, and Mohammed lofing his confi¬
dence was forced to fave his life by exile. Mohammed,
however, quickly returned with an army and drove
All Bey from Cairo. In this unfortunate ftate of af¬
fairs Ali Bey fled to Daher, and combining their
forces, they attacked the Turkifh commander at Sidon,
and came off victorious, although the Turkiih army
was three times their number. After a fiege of eight
months they next took the town of Jaffa. Deceived
by letters from Cairo which were only intended to en-
fnare him, and ftimulated with recent victories, he re¬
turned to Cairo. Entering the deferts which divide
Gaza from Egypt, he was furioufly attacked by a
thoufand chofen Mamelukes led on by Murad Bey,
who was enamoured with the beauty of Ali Bey’s
xvife, and had obtained the promife of her, provided
that he could take Ali Bey captive. Murad wounded
and made Ali Bey prifoner, and carried him to Mo¬
hammed, who received him with affected refpect : but
in three days, either in confequence of poifon or the
effects of his wounds, Ali breathed his lail.
Aii Bey was certainly a Angular produffion in the
fchool of ignorance and barbarity, and difplayed a very
great degree of original vigour of character and active
penetration of mind. He is blamed for engaging in
enterprifes beyond his power to accomplifh ; but he is
acknowledged to have been vfery favourable to the
I ranks, and to have governed Egypt with no fmall
degree of ilcady moderation. He is alfo charged with
devolving too.much upon his lieutenants, and not be¬
ing fufliciently attentive to the exations made by his
officers. Among his failings may aifc be ranked that
Alien.
] ALI
of an unbounded confidence iii his favourite. Generofity Aljamei'a
and a fenfe of juftice were not wanting in his charater,
although his morals, under the fanflion of his clafs and
country, w^ere ftrongly tainted with perfidy and murder
in the purfuit of his ambitious plans. {Gen. Biog.)
ALJAMEIA is a name which the Morifcoes in
Spain give to the language of the Spaniards. Among
other articles agreed on by the junto, which was ap¬
pointed by the emperor Charles V. in 1526, in favour
of the Morifcoes, this w>as one, That the Morifcoes
fliould no longer fpeak Algavareia, i. e. Moorifli, or
Arabic; but Ihould all Aljameia, i. e. Spanifh, as
it was called by the Moors, and all their writings and
contracts fliould be in that language.
ALIAS, in Zam, a fecond or farther ivrit iffued from
the courts of Weftminfter, after a capias, &c. fued
out without effecff.
ALIBI, h\Law, denotes the abfence of the accufed
from the place where he is charged with having com¬
mitted a crime; or his being eifewhere, as the ivord
imports, at the time fpecified.
ALICANT, a large fea-port town in the province
of Valencia, and territory of Segura. It is feated be¬
tween the mountains and the fea, and has a caftle
deemed impregnable. The port is defended by three
baftions furniftied with artillery. To prevent the vifits
of the Algerine pirates, wTatch-towers were built to
give notice of the approach of an enemy’s fliip. It
w^as taken from the Moors in 1264. The caftle was
taken by the Englifh hi 1706, and held out a ftege of
two years before it w^as retaken by the French and Spa¬
niards, and at lalt furrendered upon honourable terms,
after part of the rock w'as blown up on wdiich the caftle
flood, and the governor killed. The houfes are high,
and w7ell built; and a very great trade is carried on
here, particularly in w-ine and fruit. It is feated on
the Mediterranean, on a bay of the fame name, 37
miles north-eaft of Murcia, and 75 fouth of Valencia.
W. Long. o. 36. N. Lat. 38. 24.
ALICATA, a mountain of Sicily, near the vallevs
Mazara and Noto, upon which wras fltuated (as is ge¬
nerally thought) the famous Daedalion, where the ty¬
rant Phalaris kept his brazen bull.
Al 1 cat a, a town of Sicily, remarkable for corn and
good w ine. It was plundered by the Turks in 1543 ;
and is feated on a fort of peninfula near the fea, 22
miles fouth-eaft of Girgenti. E. Long. 15. 20. N.
Lat. 37. 11.
Alicata Chlamys, wras a fort of veil with fleeves
worn by the Roman boys till the age of thirteen, at
w'hich time they put on the pretexta.
ALIEN, in Law, implies a perfon born in a ftrange
country, not within the king’s allegiance 5 in contra-
diftinclion to a denizen or natural fubjeef. The word
is formed from the Latin alius, “ another 5” q. d. one
born in another country. An alien is incapable of in¬
heriting lands in Britain till naturalized by an aft of
parliament. No alien is entitled to vote at the elec¬
tion of members of parliament; nor can he enjoy any
office, or be returned on any jury, unlefs v/here an
alien is party in a caufe, when the inqueft is compofed
of an equal number of denizens and aliens. The rea-
fons for eftablifhing thefe lawTs wrere, that every man
is prefumed to bear faith and love to that prince and
country .where he received proteftion during his inffn-
c7 y
A L I [ 691 ] ALT
cy; and that one prince might not fettle fpies in ano¬
ther’s country j but chiefly that the rents and revenues
of the country might not be drawn to the fubjefts of
another. Some have thought that the laws againfl:
aliens were introduced in the time of Henry II. when
a law rvas made at the parliament of Wallingford, for
the expulfion of Grangers, in order to drive away the
Flemings and Picards introduced into the kingdom by
the wars of King Stephen. Others have thought that
the origin of this law was more ancient j and that it
is an original branch of the feudal law : for by that
law no man can purchafe any lands but he muft be
obliged to do fealty to the lords of whom the lands are
holden j fo that an alien who owed a previous faith to
another prince, could not take an oath of fidelity in
another fovereign’s dominions. Among the Romans
only the Gives Romani were efteemed freemen 5 but
when their territories increafed, all the Italians were
made free under the name of Latins, though they had
not the privilege of wearing gold rings till the time of
Juftinian. Afterwards all born within the pale of the
empire were confidered as citizens.
Alien-Duty, an impoft laid on all goods imported
by aliens, over and above the cuftoms paid for fuch
goods imported by Britiih, and on Britifli bottoms.
Aliens-Duty is otherwife called petty cujloms, and
navigation duty.—Fifh dried or falted, and cod-filh or
herring not caught in Britifli veffels and cured by Bri¬
tifli fubjedls, pay a double aliens-duty.—On what foot¬
ing aliens are permitted to import foreign commodities
into Great Britain, fee Duty.
ALiEN-Priories, a kind of inferior monafteries, for¬
merly very numerous in England, and fo called from
their belonging to foreign abbeys.
ALIENATION, in Law, denotes the a£I of mak¬
ing over a man’s property in lands, tenements, &c. to
another perfon.
Alienation in mortmain, is making over lands, te¬
nements, &c. to a body politic, or to a religious horde,
for which the king’s licenfe muft firfl: be obtained,
otherwife the lands, &c. alienated wfill be forfeited.
Alienation in fee is the felling the fee-fimple of
any land or other incorporeal right. All perfons
who have a right to lands may generally alien them
to others : but fome alienations are prohibited ; fuch
as alienations by tenants for life, &c. whereby they
incur a forfeiture of their eftate. By the ftatute of Ed¬
ward I. a bar was put to alienations by what we call
entails, which is an expedient for procuring perpetui¬
ties in families \ but counter-expedients were devifed
to defeat this intent, and a practice was introdficed of
cutting off entails by fines, and of barring remainders
and reverfions by recoveries. The ftatute for aliena¬
tions in Henry VII.’s time had a great effefl on the
conftitution of this kingdom •, as, among other regu¬
lations of that reign, it tended to throw the balance
of power more into the hands of the people. By the
flat. 1 2 Car. II. cap. 24. fines for alienations are tak¬
en away. Crown lands are only alienable under a
faculty of perpetual redemption. The council of La-
teran, held in 1123, forbids any clerk to alienate his
benefice, prebend, or the like. By the laws of the
ancient Jews, lands could only be alienated for the
fpace of 50 years. At each return of the jubilee all
returned again to the primitive owners, or their de-
fcendants, to whom the lands were originally allotted
at the firft diftribution of Canaan.
Alienation Oj/ice, is an office to which all writs of
covenants and entry, upon which fines are levied, and
recoveries fuffered, are carried, to have fines for alie¬
nation fet and paid thereon.
ALIMENT (from a/o to nourifh), implies food
both folid and liquid : from which, by the procefs of
digeftion, is prepared a very mild, fweet, and whitilh
liquor, refembling milk, and diftinguifhed by the name
of chyle; which being abforbed by the lafteal veins,
by them conveyed into the circulation, and there afli-
milated into the nature of blood, affords that fupply
of nutrition which the continual wafte of the body is
found to require.—Next to air, food is the moft necef-
fary thing for the prefervation of our bodies : and as
on the choice thereof our health greatly depends, it is
of great importance to underftand, in general, what
is the propereft for our nourifhment j and, in particular
deviations from health, what is the bell adapted to re-
ftore us. The blood and fluids naturally incline to
wTalle and diminilh : frefli chyle, duly received, pre¬
vents thi^" wafte and diminution, and preferves in
them that mild ftate which alone confifts with health.
An animal diet affords the moft of this bland nutritious
mucilage ; watery fluids dilute the too grofs parts, and
carry off what is become unfit for ufe. It is only the
fmall portion of jelly which is feparated from the fa¬
rinaceous parts of vegetables, that, after being much
elaborated, is converted into the animal nature 5 yet
the ufe of vegetables prevents both repletion and a
too great tendency to a putrefcent acrimony of the
blood. In hot climates, as wHl as againft the confti--
tutional heat of particular perfons, vegetables are de¬
manded in the largeft proportion. Animal fubftances
afford the higheft reliffi while our appetite continues ;
but wfill fate the appetite before the ftomach is duly fill¬
ed. Vegetables may be eaten after either flelh or
fifli: few herbs or fruits fatiate fo much as that the
ftomach may not be filled with them, wflien it is al¬
ready fatisfied with flelh or fifli; whence it may be ob-
ferved, that no diet Which is very nouriihing can be
eaten to fulnefs, becaufe its nutritious parts are oily and-
fatiating. Health depends almoft wholly on a proper
crafis of the blood j and to preferve this a mixture of
vegetables in fome degree is always required, for a
loathing is foon the confequence of animal food alone :
hot acrid habits, too, receive from milk and vegetables
the needful for corre&ing their exceffes ; but in cold,
pituitous, and nervous habits, who want moft nou-
rilhment from leaft digeftion, and from the fmalleft
quantity of food, animal diet is to be ufed more freely.
Thus much being offered as general principles with
refpefl to the matter and quality of cur aliment, the
valetudinarian may eafily regulate his diet with feme
advantage to himfelf by an attention to the few enlu-
ing particulars. In winter, eat freely, but drink fpa-
ringly : roaft meat is to be preferred, and what is dr
ftiould be ftronger than at other ffia ns. In ii t
let third: determine the quantity to be drunk 1
ftomachs never require much : boiled meats and v - • \t ■
bles, if not otherwife contraindicated, m . non
freely ufed. Lax habits require the winterk
be continued all the year, and'rigid ones t - :
cojifined to that of fumiw. Fat people fi. • . -
A L I
Alimentariiat times, but the lean fhould never do fo.
.J _ are troubled with eradiations occafioned by their food
ihould drink but little, and ufe fome unaccuftomed ex-
ercife. The thirfty rtiould drink freely, but eat fpa-
ringly. In general, let moderation be obferved ; and
though no dinner hath been had, a light fupper is at
ail times to be preferred. After very high feafoned
meats, a glafs of water acidulated with the acid elixir
of vitriol, or in very weak ftomachs the fweet elixir of
vitriol, is far more affiftant to the work of digeftion
than the common method of taking brandy. See fur¬
ther Food and 1>rink.
Obligation of Aliment, in Scots Law, the natural obli¬
gation on parents to provide their children with the ne-
ceifaries of life, &c. See Law Index.
Aliment ami Pueri, &c. were certain children main¬
tained and educated by the munificence of the empe¬
rors, in a fort of public places, not unlike our hofpi-
tals.—Trajan wms the fird who brought up any of thefe
alimentary boys. He was imitated'by Adrian. An¬
toninus Pius did the fame for a number of maids, at
the felicitation of Fauftina ; and hence, in fome medals
of that emprefs, we read pvellAe favstinianae.—•
Alexander Sever as did the like at the requefl of Mam-
mcea ; and the maids thus educated were called Mam-
nice ante.
Alimentary DuB or Canal, is a name given by Dr
Tyfon and fome others to that part of the body through
which. the food pafTes from its reception into the
mouth to its exit at the anus ; including the gala, fto-
mach, and inteftines. See Anatomy.
This duff has been faid to be the true charafteriftic
of an animal, or (in the jargon of the fchools) in pro-
firium quarto modo ; no animal being without it.
Plants receive their nourifhment by the numerous fi¬
bres of their roots ; but have no common receptacle
for digefting the food received, or for carrying off the
recrements. But in all, even the loweft degree of
animal life, we may obferve a ffomach and inteftines,
even vdiere we cannot perceive the leaft formation of
any organ of the fenfes, unlefs that common one of
feeling, as in oyfters. Phil. Tranf. N° 269, p. 776,
etfeq.
Dr Wallis brings an argument from the ftruflure of
the alimentary tube in man, to prove that he is not
naturally carnivorous ; to which Dr Tyfon makes fome
obj eft ions. Vid. Phil. Pranf. N° 269. p. 777.
Alimentary Law, lex alimentaria, was an old law
among the Romans, whereby children wrere obliged to
find fuftenance for their parents.
ALIMONY, in Law, implies that allowance which
a married woman fues for, and is entitled to, upon any
occafional feparation from her hufband. See Law
Index.
ALIPILARIUS, or Alipilus, in Roman Anti¬
quity, a fervant belonging to the baths, wThofe bufinefs
it was, by means of waxen plafters, and an inftrument
called ’voifella, to take off the hairs from the arm pits,
and even, arms, legs, &c. this being deemed a point of
cleanlinefs.
ALIPTERIUM, in Antiquity, a place
in the ancient palefrce, where the athlete wTere pnointed
before their exercifes.
ALIQUANT part, in Arithmetic, is that number
which cannot meafure any other exaftly without fome
, C 04 1
I hole who remainder.
A L I
Thus 7 is an aliquant part of 16; for
twice 7 wants two of 16, and three times 7 exceeds 16
b7 5-
ALIQUOT part, is that part of a number or quan¬
tity which will exaftly meafure it without any .remain¬
der. Thus 2 is an aliquot part of 4, 3 of 9, 4 of 16,
&c.
ALISANDERS, or Alexanders, in Botany. See
Smyrnium, Botany Index.
ALISONTI A,orALisuNTiA, \n Ancient Geography,
a river of Eelgic Gaul, nowr AIJitz; which, riling on the
borders of Lorrain, and running through that duchy,
waters the city of Luxemburgh, and, fwelled by other
rivulets, falls into the Sur.
ALITES, in Roman Antiquity, a defignation given
to luch birds as afforded matter of auguries by their
flight.
ALKADARII, a feft among the Mahometans who
deny any eternal, fixed, divine decrees, and are affer-
tors of free-will. The word is formed from the Ara¬
bic alkadar, which fignifies “ decree.” The Alkadarii
are a branch of Pvlotazalites, and ftand oppofed to the
Algiabarii. See ALbiABARii.
ALKAHEST, or Alcahest, among Alchemi/ls,
derived from a word which fignifies Jpirit of fait, or
allfpirit, was fuppofed to be an univerfal menftruum
capable of refolving all bodies into their firft princi¬
ples. Van Helmont pretended he was poffeffed of fuch
a menftruum.—It is like wife ufed by fome authors for
all fixed falts volatilized.
ALKALI, in Chcmijhy, denotes a particular clals
of falts. The word alkali is of Arabian origin, and
was introduced into chemiftry after it had been applied
to a plant which ftill retains the name of kali. When
this plant is burnt, the alh.es waflred in water, and the
water evaporated to drynefs, a white fubftance remains,
which was called alkali. According to Albertus Mag¬
nus, who ules the word, it fignifies fex amaritudinis,
“ the dregs of bitternefs.” Alkali may be obtained
from other fubitances befides kali. Chemiffs gradually
difeovered that bodies, differing from one another in
feveral of their properties, had been confounded to¬
gether under the fame name. The word, in confe-
quence, became general, and is now applied to all bo¬
dies which poffefs the following properties : 1. Incom-
buftible. 2. A hot cauftic tafte. 3. Volatilized by
heat. 4. Soluble in water even when combined with
carbonic acid. 5. Capable of converting vegetable
blues to green.
The alkalies at prefent known are three in number:
l. Potafs 5 2. Soda j 3. Ammonia. The two firil
are called fixed alkalies, becaufe they require a red
heat to volatilize them; the lalt is called volatile al¬
kali, becaufe it readily aflumes a gafeous form, and
confequently is diftipated by a very moderate degree of
heat. See Chemistry/WA\ ,
'Alkali, or Sal Kali. See Salicornia, Botany
Index.
ALKANET. See Anchusa, Botany Index.
ALKEKENGI, the trivial name of a fpecies of
phyfalis. See Physalis, Botany Index.
ALKENNA. See Lawsonia, Botany Index.
ALKERMES, in Pharmacy, a compound cordial
medicine made in the form of a confeftion, deriving its
name from the kermes berries ufed in its compofition.
ALKORAN,
Aliqwqt
, I!
Aikernies.
ALL [ 695 ] A L L
Alkoran ALKORAN. See Alcoran.
!! ALL-Hallows. See sM-Saints.
A|la^a" Au-Good. See Chenopodium, Botany Index.
j AiL-Heal. See Heracleum and Stachys, Bo¬
tany Index.
AiL-Saints, in the Kalendar, denotes a feftival ce¬
lebrated on the firft of November, in commemoration
of all the faints in general; which is otherwife called
All-Hallows. The number of faints being fo exceffive-
ly multiplied, it was found too burdenfome to dedicate
a feaft day to each. In reality, there are not days
enough, fcarce hours enough, in the year, for this pur-
pofe. Hence an expedient was had recourfe to, by
commemorating fuch in the lump as had not their own
days. Boniface IV. in the ninth century, introduced
the tea 11 of All-Saints in Italy, which was foon after
adopted into the other churches.
Ail-Saints, iflands near Guadaloupe, in the Weft
Indies.
Ail-Saints, a parifti in Georgetown diftriift, South
Carolina, containing 2225 inhabitants, of whom 429
are whites, and 1795 Haves. It fends a member to
each houfe of the ftate legiflature.
All-Saints Bay, a fpacious harbour near St Sal¬
vador in Brazil, in S. America, on the Atlantic ocean,
W. Long. 40°, S. Lat. 120.
An-Saints Bay, a captainlhip in the middle divifion
of Brafil, fo called from the harbour of that name,
bounded on the north by the Rio Real *, on the fouth
by that of Las Ilheos; on the eaft by the ocean; and
on the weft by three unconquered nations of Indians.
It is reckoned one of the richeft and moft fertile cap-
tainlhips in all Brazil, producing great quantities of
cotton and fugar. The bay itfelf is about two and a
half leagues over, interfperfed with a number of fmall
but pleafant illands, and is of prodigious advantage to
the wLole country. It has feveral cities and towms,
particularly St Salvador, vdiich is its capital. All-
Saints Bay lies in S. Lat. r 2. 3. W. Long. 40. 10.
See Salvador.
Ali-SouIs, in the Kalendar, denotes a feaft-day,
held on the fecond of November, in commemoration of
all the faithful deceafed.—The feaft of All-Souls was
firft introduced in the eleventh century, by Odilon
abbot of Cluny, wrho enjoined it on his own order \
but it wras not long before it became adopted by the
neighbouring churches.
Ait-Spice. See Myrtus and Calycanthus, Bo¬
tany Index.
ALLA, or Allah, the name by which the profef-
fors of Mahometanifm call the Supreme Being.
The term alia is Arabic, derived from the verb alah,
to adore. It is the fame with the Hebrew which
fignifies the Adorable Being.
ALLAHABAD, in Geography, a province of Hin-
fioftan, about x6o miles in length, and r2oin breadth.
Its eaftern boundaries meet the province of Bahar, the
fouthern Berar, the weftern Malwa and Agra, and the
northern Oude.. According to the diftribution of the
emperor Akbar, recorded in the Ayeen Akberry ; it
contains 10 circars or counties, wdrich are divided into
177 vpergunuahs or hundreds. According to the ftate-
ment of Maurice, in his Indian antiquities, it affords a
revenue of 3,310,695 ficca rupees. It contributes to
the public fervice 323 elephants, 237.870 infantry, and
11,375 cavalry. Azuph Dowla, a tributary ally ofAHamandw
the Britifh power, poffelfes the greater part of this pro- A1j|tjlls
vince. Allahabad, Benares, and Iconpour, are the ■ a A.
principal cities.
Allahabad, the capital of the above province,
is fituated at the confluence of the great rivers Jumna
and Ganges. This city is divided into twro parts,
called the Old and the New Town : The old is fi¬
tuated upon the Ganges, and the new7 upon the Jumna.
The emperor Akbar erefled a ftrong fortrefs of ftone,
which occupies a large fpace in this city, and from him.
it received its prefent name. Of this fortrefs, Mr
Hodges, in N° IV. of his feledl views in India, gives
an accurate and elegant delineation. A pillar confift-
ing of one ftone 40 feet high, afcribed by tradition to
Bima, one of the heroes of Mahabarat, wholly co¬
vered with illegible infcriptions, and the elegant tomb
of Sultan Khufru, are excellent fpecimens of Mahometan
architecture. Devotion has fixed her refidence, and
flourilhes to fuch a degree in this city, that it hath ob¬
tained the appellation of “ the king of worfhippcd pla¬
ces.” According to the evidence of the Ayeen-Ak-
berry, the adjacent territory, to the extent of 40 miles,
is deemed holy ground. In fuch veneration is this place
held by the Hindoos, that vdien a man dies here, they
believe he will obtain the utmoft of his wilhes in his
next regeneration. They deem it a meritorious aftion
for a man to flay himfelf, although they teach that fili¬
cide w7ill be punifhed wuth torments in a future ftate. In
and about this city there are various objefts of venera¬
tion, which immenfe numbers of pilgrims continue to
vifit wdth great devotion. Major Rennel has placed Pali-
bothra on the fame fite w7ith Patna 5 but Dr Robertfon
is of opinion that the ancient Palibothra is the modern
city of Allahabad. N. Lat. 25. 27. E. Long. 82. 5.
ALLAMANDA, in Botany. See Botany Index..
ALLAN, a river of Perthfhire, in Scotland, which
pafles by Dunblane, and falls into the Forth near
Stirling.
ALLANTOIS, or Allantoides, a thin tranf-
parent bag invefting the foetus of quadrupeds, as cows,
goats, Iheep, &c. filled with an urinous liquor conveyed
tq it from the bladder of the young animals by means
of the urachus. See Anatomy Index.
ALL ATI US, Leo, keeper of the Vatican library,
a native of Scio, and a celebrated writer of the 17th
century. He was of great fervice to the gentlemen of
Port Royal in the controverfy they had with M. Claude
touching the belief of the Greeks with regard to the
eucharift. No Latin was ever more devoted to the fee
of Rome, t»r more inveterate againft the Greek fchif-
matics, than AHatius. He never was married ; nor
did he take orders 5 and Pope Alexander VII. having
aiked him one day, why he did not enter into orders ?
he anfwered, Becaufe I would be free to marry.” The
pope rejoined, “ If fo, why do you not marry ? “ Be¬
caufe,” replied Allatius, “ I would not be at liberty
to take orders.” Thus, as Mr Bayle obferves, he
pafled his whole life, wavering betwixt a parifti and a
wife j forry, perhaps, at his death, for having chofen
neither of them ; when, if he had fixed upon one, he
might have repented his choice for 30 or 40 years.—*
If we believe ]ohn Patricius, Allatius had a very ex¬
traordinary pen, with which, and no other, he wrote
Greek for 40 years y at the lofs of which, he was fo
grieved-
-Allay
II
Alleghany.
ALL [ 696 ] ALL
grieved as to lament it with tears. He publiihed fe-
veral manufcripts, feveral tranllations of Greek au¬
thors, and feveral pieces of his own compofmg. In hxs
works he difcovers more erudition and induftry than
found judgment. His manner of writing is difFufe and
perplexed, making frequent digreffions from one fubjeft
to another. He died at Rome in 1669, aged 83.
ALLAY. See Alloy.
ALLECTUS, the prime minifcer and confidential
friend of Caraufius, emperor of Britain. In order to a-
void the punifhment due to the feveral enormous crimes
with which he was chargeable, he fell upon the defperate
expedient of murdering his mailer, and ufurping the
imperial dignity, which he maintained for three years.
With a delign of recovering Britain, Conftantius about
this period fitted out a large fquadron, which being af-
fembled in the mouth oi the Seine, the command was
devolved upon the prefedf Afclepiodotus. The tleet of
Alledlus was llationed off the Ille of Wight to receive
them ; but under the cover of a thick fog, the inva¬
ders efcaped their notice, and landed in fafety on the
weftern coaft, and, according to Gibbon, convinced
the Britons “ that a fuperiority■ of naval ffrength will
not always proteft their country from a foreign in-
vafion.” No fooner had the intrepid commander dif-
embarked his forces, than he fet fire to his fliips, and
marched forward to meet the enemy. In expectation
of an attack from Conftantius, who commanded the
fleet off' Boulogne, the ufurper had taken his ftation in
the vicinity of London ; but informed of the defcent of
Afclepiodotus, he made forced marches to oppofe his
progrefs. AlleClus attacked the imperial troops, and
his army being reduced to a fmall number of fatigued
and difpirited men, he fell in the field, and his forces
received a total defeat. Thus, in one day, and by a
Angle battle, the fate of this great bland was decided j
and Britain, after a feparation of 10 years, was re-
llored to the Roman empire, A. D. 297. Conftantius
landing on the fhores of Kent, was faluted with. the
loud applaufes and unanimous acclamations of obedient
lubjeCls, and welcomed to the Britilh foil.
ALLEGATA, a word anciently fubfcribed at the
bottom of refcripts and conftitutions of the emperors j
'dsjignata, or tejlata, was under other inftruments.
ALLEGEAS, or Allegias, a fluff manufaclur-
ed in the Eaft Indies. There are two forts of them j
Tome are of cotton, and others of feveral kinds of herbs,
which are fpun like flax and hemp. Their length and
breadth are of eight ells, by five, fix, or feven eighths j
and of twelve ells, by three-fourths or five-eighths.
ALLEGHANY, is the moft weftern county in
Maryland, and has Pennfylvania on the north. The
windings of the Patowmac river feparate it from Vir¬
ginia on the fouth, and Sideling-hill Creek divides it
from Wafhington county on the eaft. It contains 4809
inhabitants, including 238 flaves. Cumberland is its
chief town.
Alleghany County, in Pennfylvania, extends from
the junction of the river of that name with the Ohio,
where its chief town, Pittfburg, is fituated, to the New-
York line. It contains 10,309 inhabitants, including
159 flaves.
Alleghany Mountains, between the Atlantic
ocean, the Mifliflippi river, and the lakes, are a long
and broad range of mountains, made up of a great
I
number of ridges, extending north-eafterly and fouth- Alleghany,
wefterly, nearly parallel to the fea coaft, about 900 Allegiance.
miles in length, and from 60 to 150 and 2po miles in ' "““v-
breadth. Mr. Evans obferves, with refpedl to that
part of thefe mountains which he travelled over, viz.
in the back parts of Pennfylvania, that fcarcely one
acre in ten is capable of culture. This, however, is
far from being the cafe in all parts of this range. Nu¬
merous tradts of fine arable and grazing land intervene
between the ridges. The different ridges which com-
pole this immenfe range of mountains, have different
names in the different ftates, viz. the Blue Ridge, the
North Mountain, or North Ridge, or Devil's Back-Bone,
Laurel Ridge, Jackfon's Mountains, and Kittatinny
Mountains. All thefe different and immenfe ridge^,
except the Alleghany, are broken through by rivers,
which appear to have forced their way through fo-
lid rocks. This principal ridge is more immediately
called Alleghany, and is deferiptively named the Back*
bone of the United States. From thefe feveral ridges
proceed innumerable branches, or fpurs.
. The general name of the whole range, taken col-
ledlively, feems not yet to have been determined. Mr
Evans calls them the Endlefs Mountains; others have
called them the Appalachian Mountains, from a tribe
of Indians who live on a river which proceeds from
this mountain, called the Appalachicola ; but the
moft common name is the Alleghany Mountains, fo
called, probably, from the principal ridge of the range.
Thefe mountains are not confufedly Mattered, rifing
here and there into high peaks, overtopping each other j
but run along in uniform ridges, fcarcely half a mile
high. They fpread as you proceed fouth, and fome
of them terminate in high perpendicular bluffs : others
gradually fubfide into a level country, giving rife to
the rivers which run foutherly into the gulf of
Mexico.
Alleghany River, in Pennfylvania, rifes on the
weftern fide of the Alleghany mountains, and after
running about 200 miles in a fouth-weft diredUon, meets
the Monongahela at Pittftmrg, and both united form
the Ohio. The lands on each fide of this river, for
150 miles above Pittlburg, confift of white oak and
chefnut ridges, and in many places of poor pitch pines,
interfperfed with tradls of good land, and low mea¬
dows. This river, and the Ohio likewife, from its head
waters until it enters the Mifliflippi, are known and
called by the name of Alleghany River, by the Seneka,
and other tribes of the Six Nations, who once inha¬
bited h. „
ALLEGIANCE, in Law, is the tie, or ligamen,
which binds the fubjedt to the king, in return for that
protedlion which the king affords the fubjedf. The
thing itfelf, or fubftantial part of it, is founded in rea-
fbn and the nature of government j the name and the
form are derived to us from our Gothic anceftors. Un¬
der the feodal fyftem, every owner of lands held them in
fubjedlion to fome fuperior or lord, from whom or from
whofe anceftors the tenant or veffel had received them j
and there was a mutual truft or confidence fubfifting
between the lord and vaffal, that the lord fhould protedl
the vaflal in theenjoyment of the territory he had granted
him j and, on the other hand, that the vaffal ftiould be
faithful to the lord, and defend him againft all his enemies.
This obligation on the part of the vaffal was called his
fdelitas
ALL [
Atteghnce.Jide/ttas or .fealty: and an oath of fealty was required by
i—~Y'"“-“rthe feodal law to be taken by all tenants to their land¬
lord, which is couched in almoll the fame terms as our
ancient”oath of allegiance j except that, in the ufual oath
of fealty, there was frequently a faving or exception of
the faith due to a fuperior lord by name, under whom
the landlord himfelf was perhaps only a tenant or vaf-
fal. But when the acknowledgment was made to the
abfolute fuperior himfelf, who was vaffal to no man, it
was no longer called the oath of fealty, but the oath of
allegiance ; and therein the tenant fwore to bear faith
to his fovereign lord, in oppolition to all men, without
any faving or exception. Land held by this exalted
fpecies of fealty, was called feudu?n HgiutJiy a liege fee;
the vaffals homines ligii, or liege men *, and the fovereign,
their dominus ligius, or liege lord. And when fovereign
princes did homage to each other for lands held under
their refpeftive fovereignties, a diftindlion was always
made between Jimple homage, which was only an ac¬
knowledgment of tenure ; and liege homage, which in¬
cluded the fealty before mentioned, and the fervices
confequent upon it. In Britain, it becoming a fettled
principle of tenure, that all lands in the kingdom are
holden of the king as their fovereign and lord para¬
mount, no oath but that of fealty could ever be taken
to inferior lords j and the oath of allegiance was ne-
ceffarily confined to the perfon of the king alone. By
an eafy analogy, the term of allegiance was foon brought
to fignify all other engagements which are due from
fubjefts to their prince, as well as thofe duties which
were {imply and merely territorial. And the oath of
allegiance, as adminillered in England for upwards of
600 years, contained a promife “ to be true and faith-
“ ful to the king and his heirs, and truth and faith to
“ bear of life and limb and terrene honour, and not to
,{ know or hear of any ill or damage intended him,
“ without defending him therefrom.” But, at the Re¬
volution, the terms of this oath being thought perhaps
to favour too much the notion of non-refiltanee, the
prefent form was introduced by the convention parlia¬
ment, which is more general and indeterminate than
the former ; the fubjeft only promifing “ that he will
“ be faithful and bear /rue allegiance to the king,”
without mentioning “ his heirs,” or fpecifying in the
leaf! wherein that allegiance confifts. The oath of fu-
premacy is principally calculated as a renunciation of
the pope’s pretended authority : and the oath of abju¬
ration, introduced in the reign of King William, very
amply fupplies the loofe and general texture of the
oath of allegiance; it recognizing the right of his ma-
jefty, derived under the aft of fettlement; engaging to
fupport him to the utmoft of the juror’s power j pro¬
mifing to difclofe all traiterous confpiracies againft him;
and exprefsly renouncing any claim of the defcendants
of the late pretender, in as clear and explicit terms
as the Englilh language can furnilh. This oath mull
be taken by all perfons in any office, truft, or employ¬
ment; and may be tendered by two juftices of the
peace to any perfon whom they (hall fufpeft of difaf-
feftion. And the oath of allegiance may be tendered to
all perfons above the age of twelve years, whether na¬
tives, denizens, or aliens.
But, befides thefe exprefs engagements, the law alfo
holds that there is an implied, original, and virtual al-
Yot. I. Part II.
Siactjions s
Comment.
697 ] ALL
legiance, owing from every fubjeft to his fovereign, an- Allegiance*
tecedently to any exprefs promife, and although the v““~
fubjeft never fwore any faith or allegiance in form.
Thus Sir Edward Coke very juftly obferves, that “ all
fubjefts are equally bounden to their allegiance as if
they had taken the oath ; becaufe it is written by the
finger of the law in their hearts, and the taking of the
corporal oath is but an outward declaration of the
fame.”
Allegiance, both exprefs and implied, is however di-
flinguiffied by the lawT into two forts or fpecies, the
one natural, the other local; the former being alfo per¬
petual, the latter temporary.
"Natural allegiance is fuch as is due from all men
born within the king’s dominions immediately upon
their birth. For, immediately upon their birth, they
are under the king’s proteftion ; at a time too, when
(during their infancy) they are incapable of proteft-
ing themfelves. Natural allegiance is, therefore, a
debt of gratitude ; which cannot be forfeited, cancel¬
led, or altered, by any change of time, place, or cir-
cumftance, nor by any thing but the united concur¬
rence of the legifiature. A Briton who removes to
France, or to China, owres the fame allegiance to the
king of Britain there as at home, and 20 years hence
as well as now. For it is a principle of univerfal lawr.
That the natural born fubjeft of one prince cannot by
any aft of his own, no, not by fwearing allegiance to
another, put off or difcharge his natural allegiance to
the former: for this natural allegiance was intrinfic
and primitive, and antecedent to the other ; and can¬
not be divefted without the concurrent aft of that
prince to wffiom it was firft due.
Local allegiance is fuch as is due from an alien, or
ftranger born, for fo long time as he continues wdthin
the king’s dominion and proteftion ; and it ceafes the
inftant fuch ftranger transfers himfelf from this king¬
dom to another. Natural allegiance is therefore per¬
petual, and local temporary only ; and that for this rea-
fon, evidently founded upon the nature of government.
That allegiance is a debt due from the fubjeft, upon an
implied contraft with the prince ; that fo long as the
one affords proteftion, fo long the other will demean
himfelf faithfully.
The oath of allegiance, or rather the allegiance it-
felf, is held to be applicable, not only to the political
capacity of the king, or regal office, but to his natural
perfon and blood royal: and for the mifapplication of
their allegiance, viz. to the regal capacity or crown,
exclufive of the perfon of the king, vrere the Spencers
banifhed in the reign of Edward II. And from hence
arofe that principle of perfonal attachment and affec¬
tionate loyalty, wffiich induced our forefathers (and, if
occafion required, wnuld doubtlefs induce their fons)
to hazard all that was dear te them, life, fortune, and
family, in defence and fupport of their liege lord and
fovereign.
It is to be obferved, however, in explanation of this PaleysM*-
allegiance, That it does not preclude refiftance to the rat and iv
king, wffien his mifconduft or weaknefs is fuch as Political Phi-
make refiftance beneficial to the community. It feems
fairly prefumable, that the convention parliament,
which introduced the oath of allegiance in its prefent
form, did not intend to exclude all refiftance : fince the
4 T very
A L L
tAllegory. ^ very authority by which the members fat together, was
v ' itfelf the dfe6i; of a fuccefsful oppofition to an acknow¬
ledged fovereign.
Again: The allegiance above defcribed can only be
underltood to fignify obedience to lawful commands.
If, therefore, the king Ihould iffue a proclamation, le¬
vying money or impoiing any fervice or reftraint upon
the fubjeeft, beyond what the law authorized, there
ivould exift no fort of obligation to obey fuch a pro¬
clamation, in confequence of having taken the oath of
allegiance.
_ Neither can allegiance be fuppofed to extend to the
king aiter he is aSually and abfolutely depofed, driven
into exile, or other wife rendered incapable of exercifing
the regal office. The promife of allegiance implies,
that the perfon to whom the promife is made continues
king; that is, continues to exercife the power, and
afford the prote&ion, which belong to the office of
king for it is the poifeffion of thefe which makes fuch
a particular perfon the objeft of the oath.
ALLEGOR’V, in Compqfition, confiffs in drooling
a fecondary fubjecd, having all its properties and cir-
cumftances refembling thofe of the principal fubjeft,
and deferibing the former in fuch a manner as to re-
prefent the latter. The principal fubjeft is thus kept
out of view, and we are left to difeover it by refle&ion.
In other words, an allegory is, in every refped, fimi-
lar to a hieroglyphical painting, excepting only that
words are ufed inftead of colours. Their effeds are
precilely.the fame : A hieroglyphic raifes two images
in the mind ; one feen, that reprefents one that is not
feen : An allegory does the fame ; the reprefentative
fubjeff is defcribed, and the refemblance leads us to ap¬
ply the defeription to the fubject reprefented.
I here cannot be a finer or more corred allegory
than the following, in which a vineyard is made to re-
prefent God’s own people the Jews :
“ Thou haft brought a vine out of Egypt ; thou
haft caft out the heathen, and planted it. Thou didft
caufe it to take deep root, and it filled the land. The
hills were covered with its fhadow, and the boughs
thereof were like the goodly cedars. Why haft thou
then broken down her hedges, fo that all that pafs do
pluck her ? The boar out of the wood doth w^afte it,
and the wild beaft doth devour it. Return, we be-
leech thee, O God of hofts : look down from heaven,
and behold, and vifit this vine and the vineyard thy
right hand hath planted, and the branch thou madeft
ftrong for thyfelf,” Pfal. Ixxx.
Nothing gives greater pleafure than an allegory,
when the reprefentative fubjeft bears a ftrong analogy,
in allots circumftances, to that wdiich is reprefented.
But moft writers are unlucky in their choice, the ana¬
logy being generally fo faint and obfeure, as rather to
puzzle than to pleafe. Allegories, as well as meta¬
phors and fimilies, are unnatural in exprelfing any fe-
vere paffion which totally occupies the mind. For this
reafon, the following fpeech of Macbeth is juftly con¬
demned by the learned author of the Elements of Cri-
ticifm :
Methought I heard a voice cry, Sleep no more !
Macbeth doth murder Sleep ; the innocent fleep ;
Sleep that knits up the ravell’d lleeve of Care,
The birth of each day’s life, fore Labour’s bath,
t G3 1
ALL
Balm of hurt minds, great Nature’s fecond courfe,
Chief nourilher in life’s feaft. Aft. ii. Sc. 3.
But fee this fubjeft mere fully treated under the article
Metaphor and Allegory.
ALLEGRI, Antonio, called Corregio from the
place of his birth, an eminent hiftorical painter, was
born in the year 1494. Being defeended of poor pa¬
rents, and educated in an obfeure village, he enjoyed
none of thofe advantages which contributed to'form
the other great painters of that illuftrious age. He
faw none of the ftatues of ancient Greece or Rome y
nor any of the works of the eftabliihed fchools of
Rome and Venice. But Nature was his guide ; and
Corregio was one of her favourite pupils. To exprefs
the facility with which he painted, he ufed to fay that
he always had his thoughts ready at the end of his
pencil.
The agreeable fmile, and the profufion of graces,
which he gave to his madonas, faints, and children,
have been taxed -with being fometimes unnatural; but
ftill they are amiable and feducing : An eafy and flow¬
ing pencil, an union and harmony of colours, and a
perfeft intelligence of light and (hade, give an aftonifh-
ing relief to all his pictures, and have been the admi¬
ration both of his cotemporaries and his fucceffors^
Annibal Caracci, who flourifhed 50 years after him,
ftudied and adopted his manner in preference to that;
of any other mafter. In a letter to his coufm Louis,,
he exprefied with great warmth the impreflion which
was made on him by the firft fight of Corregio’s paint¬
ings : “ Every thing which I fee here (fays he) afto-
nilhes me ; particularly the colouring and the beauty
of. the children. They live—they breathe—They
fmile with fo much grace and fo much reality, that it
is impofiible to refrain from fmiling and partaking of
their enjoyment. My heart is ready to break with
grief when I think on the unhappy fate of poor Cor¬
regio—that fo wonderful a man (if he ought not ra¬
ther to be called an angel) ftiould finifli his days fo mi-
ferably, in a country where his talents were never
known !” 
From want of curiofity or of refolution, or from
want, of patronage, Corregio never vifited Rome, but
remained his .whole life at Parma, where the art of
painting was little efteemed, and of confequence poorly
rewarded. This concurrence of unfavourable circum¬
ftances occafioned at laft his premature death at the
age of 40. He was employed to paint the cupola of
the cathedral at Parma, the fubjeft of which is an af-
fumption of the Virgin : and having executed it in a
manner that has long been the admiration of every per¬
fon of good talle, for the grandeur of defign, and efpe-
cially for the boldnefs of the fore-ftiortenings (an art
which he firft and at once brought to the utmoft per¬
fection), he went to receive his payment. The canons
of the church, either through ignorance or bafenefs,
found fault with his work ; and although the price
originally agreed upon had been very moderate, they
alleged that it was far above the merit of the artift,
and forced, him to accept of the paltry fum of 20a
livres ; which, to add to the indignity, they paid him
in copper money. To carry home this unworthy load
to his indigent wife and children, poor Corregio had?
to travel fix or eight miles from Parma, The weight
e£
Allegri.
ALL [ M ] ALL
Allegri, of his hurden, the heat of the weather, and his chagrin
'—v at this villanous treatment, immediately threw him in¬
to a pleurify, which in three days put an end to his
life and his misfortunes.
For the prefervation of this magnificent wrork the
world is indebted to Titian. As he paffed through
Parma, in the fuite of Charles V. he run inftantly to
fee the chef d'&uvre of Corregio* While he was at¬
tentively viewing it, one of the principal canons of the
church told him that fuch a grotefque performance did
not merit his notice, and that they intended foon to have
the whole defaced. “ Have a care of what you do,
(replied the other), If I were not Titian, I would cer¬
tainly wifh to be Corregio.”
Corregio’s exclamation upon viewing a picture by
Raphael is well known. Having long been accuftom-
ed to hear the moft unbounded applaufe beftowed on
the works of that divine painter, he by degrees be¬
came lefs defirous than afraid of feeing any of them.
One, however, he at laft had occafion to fee. He
examined it attentively for fome minutes in profound
filence •, and then with an air of fatisfaclion exclaim¬
ed, I am fill a painter. Julio Romano, on feeing
fome of Corregio’s pidtures at Parma, declared they
wrere fuperior to any thing in painting he had yet be¬
held. One of thefe no doubt would be the famous
Virgin and Child, with Mary Magdalen and St Je¬
rome : but whether our readers are to depend upon his
opinion, or upon that of Lady Millar, who in her
Letters from Italy gives a very unfavourable account of
it, we lhall not prefume to determine. This lady,
however, fpeaks in a very different ftyle of the no lefs
famous Notte or Night of Corregio, of which ihe faw
only a copy in the Duke’s palace at Modena, the ori¬
ginal having been fold for a great fum of money to
the king of Poland. “ It furprifes me very much
(fays lire), to fee howr different the charadlers are in
this pifture from that which I already have defcribed
to you. The fuhjedl is a Nativity \ and the extraor¬
dinary beauty of this pidfure proceeds from the clair
obfcure : there are two different lights introduced, by
means of which the perfonages are vifible ; namely, the
light proceeding from the body of the child, and the
moon light. Thefe two are p^eferved diftindl, and pro-
' duce a moft wonderful effedL The child’s body is fo
luminous, that the fuperficies is nearly tranfparent, and
the rays of light emitted by it are verified in the effedt
they produce upon the furrounding objedts. They are
not rays diftindt and feparate, like thofe round the
face of a fun that indicates an infurance office ; nor
linear, like thofe proceeding from the man in the al¬
manack ; but of a dazzling brightnefs : by their light
you fee clearly the face, neck, and hands, of the Vir¬
gin (the reft of the perfon being in ftrong ihadow),
the faces of the pafori who crowd round the child, and
particularly one woman, who holds her hand before
her face, left her eyes fhould be fo dazzled as to pre¬
vent her from beholding the infant. This is a beautiful
natural adtion, and is moft ingenioufly introduced.
The ftraw on wmich the child is laid appears gilt, from
the light of his body (hining on it. The moon lights
up the back ground of the picture, which reprefents
a landfcape. Every objedl is diftindt, as in a bright
moonlight night; and there cannot be tw'o lights in
nature more different than thofe which appear in the
fame pidture. The virgin and the child are of the moft Allegri,
perfedt beauty. There is a great variety of charadter , A-ilegm.
in the different perfons prefent, yet that uniformity
common to all herdfmen and peafants. In fhort, this
copy is fo admirable, that I was quite forry to be ob¬
liged to lofe fight of it fo foon j but I never fhall for¬
get it. The duke of Modena, for whom Corregio did
the original pidlure, gave him only 600 livres of France
for it $ a great fum in thofe days : but at prefent, what
ought it to coft ?” This great painter’s death happened
in 1534*
ALLEGRI, Gregorio, an ecclefiaftic by profef-
fion, and a celebrated compofer of mufic of the 17th
century, was a native of Rome. He was the difciple
of Nanini, the intimate friend and contemporary
of Paleftrina. His abilities as a finger were not re¬
markable, but he wTas deemed an excellent mafter of
harmony j and fo much refpedted by all the mufical
profeffors of his time, that the pope, in the year 1629,
appointed him to be one of the fingers of his chapel.
To his uncommon merit as a compofer of church mu¬
fic, he united an excellent moral charadler, exhibiting
in his adtions the devotion and benevolence of his
heart. The poor crowded daily to his door, whom he
relieved to the utmoft of his ability j and not content
with thefe beneficent adlions, he daily vifited the
prifons of Rome, in order to relieve the moft deferving
and afflidted objedls which were immured in thefe
dreary manfions. With fuch divine fimplicity and pu¬
rity of harmony, did he compofe many parts of the
church fervice, that his lofs w^as feverely felt and fin-
cerely lamented by the whole college of fingers in the
papal fervice. He died Feb. 18. 1652, and was in¬
terred in the Chiefa Nuova, in a vault deftined for the
reception of deceafed fingers in the pope’s chapel, be¬
fore the chapel of S. Filippo Neri, near the altar of
annunciation.
Among his other mufical works preferved in the
pontifical chapel, is the celebrated iniferere, which, for
170 years, has been annually performed at that chapel
on Wednefday and Good Friday, in Paftion-week, by
the choral band, and the beft fingers in Italy. It is,
however, generally believed, that it owes its reputa¬
tion more to the manner in which it is performed,
than to the compofition itfelf. The beauty and effect
of the mufic is not difcernible upon paper, but the
fingers have, by tradition, certain cuftoms, expreflions,
and graces of convention, which produce wonderful ef¬
fects. Some of the effefts produced may be juftly at¬
tributed to the time, the place, and the folemnity of
the ceremonials obferved during the performance.
“ The pope and conclave are all proftrated on the
ground, the candles of the chapel and the torches of
the balluftrade are extinguilhed one by one, and the
laft verfe ot this pfalm is terminated by two choirs j
the maefra di capello beating time flower and flower,
and the fingers diminifhing, or rather extinguiihing
the harmony by little and little, to a perfedt point.”
Padre Martini fays, that there were never more than
three copies made by authority, “ one of which was
for the emperor Leopold, one for the late king of
Portugal, and the other 'for himfelf; but a very com¬
plete one was prefented by the pope himfelf to King
George III. as an ineftimable curiofity.” (Gen- Biogl)
ALLEGRO, in Mafc, an Italian word, denoting
4 T 2 that
ALL
Allegro, that the part is to be played in a fprightly, brlik, live-
anc^ ?>ay ^^ner.
Pru AllkgrO) lignifies, that the part it is joined to
fhould be fang or played quicker j as
* Pocu piu Allegro intimates, that the part to which
it refers ought to be played or fung only a little more
brilkly than allegro alone requires.
ALLEIN, Joseph, the fon of Tobias Allein, was
born in the Devizes, in Wiitlhire, in 1633, and edu¬
cated at Oxford. In 1655, he became afliftant to Mr
NewTton, in Taunton Magdalen, in Somerfetfhire 5 but
was deprived for nonconformity. He died in 1668,
aged 35. He was a man of great learning, and great¬
er charity ; preferving, though a nonccnformift, and a
fevere fulferer on that account, great refpeft for the
church, and loyalty to his fovereign. He wnote feve-
ral books of piety, which are highly efteemed ; but his
Alarm to unconvertedJtnners is more famous than the
reft. There have been many editions of this little
pious wrork, the lale of which has been very great 5 of
the edition 1672, there w^ere 20,000 fold 5 of that of
1675, with this title, A Jure guide to heaven, 50,000.
There ivas alfo a large impredion of it with its firft
title, in 1720.
Allein, Richard, an Englidinonconformift divine,
a native of Ditcbet, in Somerfetlhire, w-as born in
the year 1611. His father was reflor of Ditchet, and
conduced the education of his fon, until he was pre¬
pared for the univerfity. There he foon obtained the
degree of mailer of arts, and after he entered into
holy orders, firft as an affiftant to his father, and af¬
terwards as reftor of Batcomb, in Somerfetlhire, he
dilchajrged the duties of a clergyman with great in-
duftry and Angular fidelity. From his education, he
conceived an early predile61ion for the fentiments of
the Puritans, and confequently, in the contelf between
Charles I. and the parliament, he firmly adhered to
the latter. Having adopted thefe fentiments, he fome-
times received a little difturbance from the king’s
forces, but he never carried his oppofition to any un¬
due length. He, along with feveral others, figned a
paper, entitled “ The Teftimony of the Miniifers of
Somerfetihire to the truth of Chrift,” in which their
declared principles and becoming candour wTere amply
difplayed. Along with his father, he was employed
by the commifiioners appointed by parliament for
ejefling fcandalous minifiers ; acommiffion wdiich w'as
executed with rigour, and originated in intolerance.
Upon the Reiteration he manifefted a difpofition to
loyalty, but unable with a good confcience to unite in
the a61 of conformity, he refigned his living after en¬
joying it for 20 years, and ranked with the merito¬
rious band of fufferers, to the number of 2000, com¬
monly denominated the ejected minifiers. In the houfe
of Mr More who had been a member of the parlia¬
ment, he exercifed the duties of his minifterial office
under the penalties of that a61, and was confequently
reprimanded by the magilfrates and imprifoned; but
his piety and exemplary condufl, procured him a mi¬
tigation of punifhment. But no dangers could deter
him from duty •, for although conllrained to remove
from that place in confeouence of the “ five-mile a61,”
he continued in the difeharge of his miniilcrial office
at Frome-Sehvood. Here he remained until he ter¬
minated lus labours by death, in 3-681,
ALL
Piety, boldnefs, a&ivity, and candour, ffione in Allein
the charafler of Richard Allein. He w as admired as ti
a pathetic and praflical preacher, and juftly refpefl- Mifcnmml.
ed lor the diligence with which he difeharged the pub-
lie and private duties of his profeffion. Mr Jeqkins,
the vicar of the parilh where he refided, preached his
funeral fermon, and bore an honourable teftimony to
his activity, moderation, and piety. Richard Allein,
fimilar to his nonconformilt brethren, chiefly confined
his Itudies and publications to fubjefts of religion. His
works are Itrongly marked with the peculiar features
of the religious charafler then prevalent among the
nonconformills. They have been frequently reprinted,
and very much perufed. His moll celebrated wmrk is
“ Vindicice Pietatis, or a Vindication of Godlinefs in
its greatell Stridlnefs and Spirituality, wuth dire6tions
for a godly life j” this book was publilhed in 1665,
without a printer’s name 5 and being unlicenfed, the
copies of it were feized and fent to the king’s kitchen
for wTafle paper. The other produtlions of his pen
are, Heaven opened, or a brief and plain difeovery
of the riches of God’s Covenant of Grace j” printed in
1665. “ The World Conquered j” publilhed in 8vo,
in 1688. “ Godly Fear,” printed in 8vo, in 1674. “ A
Rebuke to Backlliders, and a Spur for Loiterers,”
printed in 8vo in 1677. “ A Companion for Prayer j”
in 1 2mo, 1680. “ A brief chara6ter of Mr Jofeph
Allein j” and “ Inftru61ions about heart-work, wffiat
is to be done on God’s part and ours for the cure and
keeping of the heart j” a poflhumous piece publiffied
in 8vo, by Dr Annefley in the year 1681. (Geru
Biog.j
ALLELUIAH, or Halleluiah, a wmrd figni-
fying, praife the Lord, to be met with either at the
beginning or end of fome pfalms : fuch as pfalm cxlv.
and thoie that follow to the end. Alleluiah w7as fung
upon folemn days of rejoicing, Tobit. xiii. 12. St John
in the Revelation (xix. 1,3, 4, 6.) fays, that he “ heard
a great voice of much people in heaven, who faid, Al¬
leluiah ; and the four and twenty elders, and the four
beafts, fell down and wurlhipped God that fat on
the throne, faying, Alleluiah.',', This hymn of joy
and praifes w-as transferred from the fynagogue to the
church. St Jerome tells us, that at the funeral of
Fabiola feveral pfalms wmre fung with loud alleluiahs $
and that the monks of Paleftine wTere awrakened at
their midnight watchings, wdth the finging of allelui¬
ahs. So much energy has been obferved in this term,
that the ancient church thought proper to preferve it,
wfithout tranfiating it either into Greek or Latin, for
fear of impairing the genius and foftnefs of it. The
fourth council of Toledo has prohibited the ufe of it in
times of Lent, or other days of falling, and in the ce¬
remonies of mourning : and, according to the prefent
pra6lice of the Romilh church, this word is never re¬
peated in Lent, nor in the obfequies of the dead j not-
withllanding which, it is ufed in the mafs for the dead,
according to the Mofarabic ritual, at the introit, wffien
they ling, Pu es portio men, Domine, Alleluiah, in ter¬
ra viventium, Alleluia, Alleluia. The finging alleluiah
w-as oftentimes an invitatory or call to each other to
praife the Lord.
ALLEMAENGEL, a fmall Moravian fettlement
on Swetara river, in Pennfylvania.
ALLEMAND, a fort of grave folemn mufic, with
good
t 7°° 1
ALL [7c
Allemand good meafure, and a flow movement. It is alfo a brifk
I! kind of dance, very common in Germany and Svvit-
^en‘ ■ zerland.
Allemand, a river which falls into the Miffiflippi
from the fouth-eaft, about 43 miles fouth of the
Natches.
ALLEMANNIC, in a general fenfe, denotes any
thing belonging to the ancient Germans. Thus, we
meet with Allemannic hiilory, Allemannic language,
Allemannic law7, &.c.
ALLEN, John, archbilhop of Dublin in the reign
of King Henry VIII. was educated in the univerfity
of Oxford } from whence removing to Cambridge, he
there took the degree of bachelor of laws. He was
fent by Dr Warham, archbilhop of Canterbury, to
the pope, about certain matters relating to the church.
He continued at Rome nine years •, and was created
doflor of laws, either there or in fome other univer¬
fity of Italy. After his return, he was appointed
chaplain to Cardinal Wolfey, and was commiffary or
]udge of his court as legate a latere : in the execution
of which office he was fufpefted of great diffionefty,
and even perjury. He affiifed the cardinal in vifiting,
and afterwards fuppreffing, 40 of the fmaller monafte-
ries, for the ere&ion of his college at Oxford and that
at Ipfwich. The cardinal procured for him the living
of Dalby in Leicefterffiire, though it belonged to the
mafter and brethren of the hofpital of Burton-Lazars.
About the latter end of the year 1525 he was incor¬
porated doftor of laws in the univerfity of Oxford.
On the 13th of March 1528 he was confecrated arch-
biffiop of Dublin, in the room of Dr Hugh Inge de-
ceafed j and about the fame time was made chancellor
of Ireland. He wrote, 1. 'Epiftola de Palhijignifica-
tione aBiva et pa/Jiva; penned by him at the time
when he received the archiepifcopal pall. 2. De con-
fuetudinibus acJlatutis in tuitoriis caujis obfer-vandis. He
wrote alfo feveral other pieces relating to the church.
His death, which happened in July 1534, was very
tragical: for being taken in a time of rebellion by
Thomas Fitzgerald, eldeft fon to the earl of Kildare,
he was by his command moft cruelly murdered, being
brained like an ox, at Tartaine in Ireland, in the 58th
year of his age. The place where the murder was
committed was afterwards hedged in, overgrowm, and
unfrequented, in detefiation of the fatt.
Allen, a famous mathematician of the 16th
century, born at Utoxeter in Staffordfhire the 21ft of
December 1542. He was admitted fcholar of Trinity
college, Oxford, the 4th of June 1561 *, and in 1567
took his degree of mafter of arts. In 1570 he quitted
his college and fellowftup, and retired to Gloucefter-
hall ; where he ftudied very clofely, and became fa¬
mous for his knowledge in antiquity, philofophy, and
mathematics. Having received an invitation from Hen¬
ry earl of Northumberland, a great friend and patron
of the mathematicians, he fpent fome time at the earl’s
houfe, where he became acquainted with thofe celebra¬
ted mathematicians Thomas Harriot, John Dee, Wal¬
ter Warner, and Nathaniel Torporley. Robert earl of
Leicefter had a particular efteem for Mr Allen, and
would have conferred a biftiopric upon him, but his
love of folitude and retirement made' him decline the
offer. His great Ikill in the mathematics made the ig¬
norant and vulgar look upon him as a magician or con-
1 ] ALL
juror: the author of a book entitled Leicejitr's Common- Allendorf
•wealth, has accordingly accufed him with ufing the art J.
of figuring, to procure the earl of Leicefter’s unlaw-1 ' 1
ful defigns, and endeavouring by the black art to bring
about a match betwixt him and Queen Elizabeth. But
without pretending to point out the abfurdity of the
charge, it is certain that the earl placed fuch confi¬
dence in Allen, that nothing material in the ftate was
tranfadled without his knowledge ; and the earl had
conftant information, by letter from Mr Allen, of what
pailed in the univerfity. Mr Allen was very curious
and indefatigable in colledling fcattered manuferipts re¬
lating to hiftory, antiquity, aftronomy, philofophy, and
mathematics: thefe colledlions have been quoted by fe¬
veral learned authors, &c. and mentioned to have been
in the Bibliotheca Alleniana. He publiffied in Latin
the fecond and third books of Claudius Ptolemy of Pe-
lufium, Concerning the 'judgment of the Stars, or, as it
is commonly called, of the Quadripartite ConJiruBion,
with an expofition. He wrote alfo notes on many of
Lilly’s books, and fome on John Bale’s work De Scrip-
toribus M. Britannia.’. Having lived to a great age,
he died at Gloucefter-hall on the 30th September 1632.
ALLENDORF, a fmall town in the circle of the
Upper Rhine, and in the landgravate of Heffe Caffel,
remarkable for its fait works and three ftone-bridges.
It is feated on the river Wefer, 15 miles eaft of Caffel.
E. Long. 10. 5. N. Lat. 51. 26.
ALLENSTOWN, a town in New Jerfey, in Mon¬
mouth county, 15 miles north-eaft from Burlington,
and 13 fouth-by-eaft from Princeton.
Allenstown, a townfhip in Rockingham county.
New Hamplhire, containing 254 inhabitants ; fituated
on the eaft fide of Merrimack river, 25 miles north-
weft of Exeter, and 40 from Portfmouth.
ALLENTOWN, in Pennfylvania, Northampton
county, on the point of land formed by Jordan’s creek,
and the Little Leheigh. It contains about 90 houfes,
and an academy.
ALLER, a river which runs through the duchy of
Lunenburg, and falls into the Wefer a little below
Verden.
Aller, good, in our Ancient Writers. The word
aller ferves to make the expreffion of fuperlative figni-
fication. So, is the greateft good. Some¬
times it is written alder.
ALLERION, or Alerion, in Heraldry, a fort of
eagle without beak or feet, having nothing perfeH but
the wings. They differ from martlets by having their
wings expanded, w’hereas thofe of the martlets are clofe \
and denote imperialifts vanquilhed and difarmed : for
which reafon they are more common in French than in
German coats of arms,
ALLESTRY, Richard, D. D. was born at Up-
pington in Shropflrire, in 1619, was educated in the
grammar fchool of Coventry, and afterwards at Chrift-
church in Oxford. His natural talents, which were
uncommonly vigorous, he carefully improved by an
unwearied application to ftudy. Accordingly, his pro¬
motion w^as rapid. Firft he obtained the degree of ba¬
chelor of arts 5 next he W’as chofen moderator in philo¬
fophy j then made a canon of Chrift-church, created
doftor of divinity, appointed chaplain in ordinary to
the king, and afterwards regius profefior of divinity.
But in the early part of life his ftudies were inter¬
rupted
ALL [ 702 ] ALL
Alkftry. rupted, and lie was called to military fervice by hoftile
1 ‘ occurrences of the times. In the year 1641, he, along
with many other ftudents of Oxford, entered the royal
fervice, and gave eminent proofs of their courage and
loyal attachment. A fliort interval of hoftilities per¬
mitted them to return to their literary purfuits 5 but a
republican party foon after difturbed their repofe, and
entering Oxford, attempted to plunder the colleges.
Having entered the treafury, and finding nothing but
fourpence and a halter, they haftened to the deanery,
and feizing many valuable articles, they locked them
in an apartment, intending next day to carry them a-
long with them. During the night, however, Allef-
try having a key to that apartment, found means to
remove the whole of the articles. Informed that he
was the caufe of their difappointment, they feized him j
and had they not been unexpectedly called off by an
order of the earl of Effex, they would have feverely
wrecked their indignation upon him. In OCtober fol¬
lowing he again took up arms, was prefent at the bat¬
tle of Keinton-field, and on his way to Oxford to pre¬
pare for the reception of the king he was taken pri-
loner, but foon afterwards releafed by the king’s forces.
A violent difeafe which then prevailed in the garri-
fon of Oxford, brought Alleftry to the brink of the
grave ; but recovering, he again joined a1* regiment
of volunteers, chiefly confifting of Oxford ftudents.
Here he ferved as a common foldier, and was often
feen with the mulket in one hand and the bo®k in the
other. When the republican party prevailed, he re¬
turned at the termination of the war to his favourite
ftudies, but ftill continued true to that fide of politics
which he had adopted. This conduiff occafioned
his expulfion from the college j but he was provided
with a comfortable retreat, in the families of the ho¬
nourable Francis Newport, and Sir Anthony Cope.
Such was the confidence repofed in him, that, when
the friends of Charles II. were fecretly preparing the
way for his reftoration, they entrufled him with perfon-
al meffages to the king. In returning from one of thefe
interviews, he was feized at Dover, and upon exami¬
nation committed a prifoner to Larnbeth-houfe. The
earl of Shaftefhury obtained his releafe in a few weeks.
Returning to vint his friends, and among others the
learned Dr Hammond, he met his corpfe at the gate
of his houfe, carrying to the grave. This deeply af¬
flicted his mind, and added much to his prefent diitref-
fes. The DoCtor left him his valuable library, aflign-
ing as a reafon that “ he well knew Jchat his books in
his hands would be ufeful weapons, for the defence of
that caufe he had fo vigoroufly fupported.” This va¬
luable library along with his own, Alleftry bequeath¬
ed at his death to the univerfity.
During his life he ereCted at his own private ex¬
pence the weft fide of the outward court of Eton college,
the grammar' fchool in Chrift-church college, and
fettled feveral liberal penfions upon individual perfons
and families. His original biographer gives him the
following character. “ Memory, fancy, judgment,
Hocution, great modefty, and no lefs affurance, a com-
prehenfion of things, and a fluency of word^ j an apt-
nefs for the pleafant, and fufficiency for the rugged parts
of knowlege ; a courage to encounter and an induftry
to taafter all things, make up the character of his hap¬
py genius. There was not in the world a man of
clearer honefty and courage 5 no temptation could Alleftry
bribe him to do a bafe thing, or terror affright him lj
from the doing a good one. This made his fnendftiip . .
as lafting and inviolable as his life, without the mean
confiderations of profit, or fly referves of craft j without
the pageantry of ceremonious addrefs, the cold civility
of fome, and the fervile falfenefs and obfequious flattery
of others.” He left a volume of fermons printed at
Oxford in 1684, from the perufal of which pofterity
may judge of his literary abilities. Although his lec¬
tures gave univetfal fatisfaClion, yet he prohibited their
publication.
Allestry, Jacob, an Englifti poet of the laft cen¬
tury. He was the fon of James Alleftry, a bookfeller
of London who was ruined by the great fire in 1666s
Jacob was educated at Weftminfter fchool, entered at
Chrift-church, Oxford, in the aCi-term 1671, at the
age of 18, and was elefted ftudent in 1672. He took
the degree of arts j was mufic reader in 1679, and
teme filius in 1681 $ both which offices he executed
with great applaufe, being efteemed a good philologift
and poet. He had a chief hand in the verfes and
paftorals fpoken in the theatre at Oxford May 21.
1681, by Mr William Saville fecond fon of the mar¬
quis of Halifax, and George Cholmondely fecond
fon of Robert Vifcount Kells (both of Chrift-church),
before James duke of York, his duchefs, and the lady
Anne j which verfes and paftorals, wrere afterwards
printed in the “ Examen Poeticum.” He died Oc¬
tober 15. 1686, and was buried in St Thomas’s church¬
yard.
ALLEVEURE, a fmall brafs Swediffi coin, worth
about 4d. Engliffi money.
ALLEVIATION, denotes the making a thing
lighter, and eafier to bear or endure. It ftands oppo-
fed to aggravation.
ALLEY, William, biffiop of Exeter in the reign
of Queen Elizabeth, wras born at Great Wycomb in
Buckinghamffiire. From Eton fchool, in the year
1528, he removed to King’s college, Cambridge, where
he took the degree of bachelor of arts. He alfo ftu-
died fome time at Oxford ; afterwards he married, was
prefented to a living, and became a zealous reformer.
Upon Queen Mary’s acceffion he left his cure and re¬
tired into the north of England $ wffiere he maintained
his wife and himfelf by teaching a fchool, and pra&if-
ing phyfic. Queen Elizabeth afcending the throne,
he went to London, where he acquired great reputa¬
tion by reading the divinity lefture at St Paul’s, and
in July 1560 wras confecrated biffiop of Exeter. He
was created do&or of divinity at Oxford in November
1561. He died on the 15th of April 1570, and was
buried at Exeter in the cathedral. He wrote, 1. The
Poor ^Mail’s Library, 2 vols. fol. Lond. I571, Thefe
volumes contain twelve leftures on the firft epiftle of
St Peter, read at St Paul’s. 2. A Hebrew Grammar.
Whether it was ever publiffied is uncertain. He tranf-
lated the Pentateuch, in the verfion of the Bible which
ivas undertaken by Queen Elizabeth’s command.
Alley, in Gardening, a ftraight parallel walk,
bounded on both fides wfith trees, flirubs, &c. and
ufually covered wrth gravel or turf.
Alley, among Rtf/iVe™, denotes a narrow paffage
leading from one place to another.
Alley, in Perfyeffive, that which, in order to have
a
ALL [ 703 ] A L Jj
Alley, a greater appearance of length, is made wider at the
. AlIeyn- [ entrance than at the termination.
Alley, in the New Hujhandry> implies the vacant
fpace between the outermoft row of corn on one bed
and the neareft row to it on the next parallel bed ; and
it is ufually about four feet in breadth, exclufive of
the partitions between the rows of corn in the beds.
The firft hoeing of-wheat is performed in the begin¬
ning of winter, and the earth is ploughed away from
the rows into the intervals, -which forms fmall ridges
in the middle between the double rows. The fecond
hoeing is in the fpring, which turns it back to the
jorvs, leaving a furrow in the middle of the alley. The
third hoeing is from the rows, after the wheat has
bloflhmed : this turns the earth into the intervals, form¬
ing fmall ridges there, as at the firft hoeing. The
fourth hoeing returns the earth to the ridges, which
is performed a month or mdre after the third hoeing.
This commonly finifhes the horfe-hoeings, if the land
is in good heart j otherwife one or two more hoeings
are necelTary.
ALLEYN, Edward, a celebrated Englilh after
in the reigns of Queen Elizabeth and King James, and
founder of the college at Dulwich in Surry, was born
at London in the parilh of St Botolph, Sept. 1. 1 i;66,
as appears from a memorandum of his own w riting.
Dr Fuller fays, that he was bred a ftage-player j and
that his father would have given him a liberal educa¬
tion, but that he was not turned for a ferious courfe
of life. He was, how'ever, a youth of an excellent
capacity, a cheerful temper, a tenacious memory, a
fweet elocution, and in his perfon of a ftately port and
afpeft : all which advantages might well induce a young
man to take to the theatrical profellion. By feveral
authorities we find he muft have been on the ftage fome
time before 1592 j for at this time he was in high fa¬
vour with the towm, and greatly applauded by the bed:
judges, particularly by Ben Johnfon,
» Haywood, in his prologue to Marloe’s Jew of Mal¬
ta, calls him Proteus for lhapes, and Rofcius for a
tongue. He ufually played the capital parts, and wTas
one of the original aftors in Shakefpeare’s plays ; in
fome of Ben Johnfon’s he was alfo a principal perform¬
er : but what charafters he perfonated in either of
thefe poets, it is diificult now to determine. This is
owing to the inaccuracy of their editors, who did not
print the names of the players oppofite to the charac¬
ters they performed, as the modern cuftom is ; but gave
one general lift of aftors to the whole fet of plays, as
in the old folio edition of Shakefpeare ; or divided one
from the other, fetting the dramatis perfonae before the
plays, and the catalogue of performers after them, as
in Johnfon’s,
It may appear furprifing how one of Mr Alleyn’s
profeffion fhould be enabled to ereft fuch an edifice as
Dulwich college, and liberally endow it for the main¬
tenance of fo many perfons. But it muft be obferved
that he had fome paternal fortune, which, though
fmall, might lay a foundation for his future affluence ;
and it is to be prefumed, that the profits he received
from afting, to one of his provident and managing
difpofition, and one who by his excellence in playing
drew after him fuch crowds of fpeftators, muft have
confiderably improved his fortune : befides he was not
$nly an aftor, but mafter of a. playhoufe built at his
owm expence, by which he is faid to have amaffed con-
fiderable wealth, hie was alfo keeper of the king’s
wild beafts, or mafter of the royal bear-garden, which
was frequented by vaft crowds of fpeftators } and the
profits arifing from thefe fports are faid to have amount¬
ed to 500I. per annum. He was thrice married j and
the portions of his two firft waves, they leaving him
no iflue to inherit, might probably contribute to this
benefaftion. Such kind of donations have been fre¬
quently thought to proceed more from vanity and of-
tentation than real piety ; but this of Mr Alleyn has
been aferibed to a very lingular caufe, for the devil has
been faid to be the firft promoter of it. Mr Aubrey
mentions a tradition, “ that Mr Alleyn playing a de¬
mon, with fix others, in one of Shakefpeare’s plays,
was, in the midft of the play, furprifed by an appa¬
rition of the devil} which fo worked on his fancy, that
he made a vow7, which he performed by building
Dulwich college.” He began the foundation of this
college, under the direftion of Inigo Jones, in 1614 j
and the buildings, gardens, &c. wrere finilhed in 16x7,
in which he is laid to have expended about io,ogo1.
After the college was built, he met with fome difficul¬
ty in obtaining a charter for fettling his lands in mort¬
main : for he propofed .to endow it with 8o0l. per
annum, for the maintenance of one mafter, one war¬
den, and four felknvs, three wfflereof wrere to be
clergymen and the fourth a Ikilful orgauift •, alfo fix
poor men and as many women, befides twelve poor
boys to be educated till the age of fourteen or fixteen,
and then put out to fome trade or callings The ob-
ftruftion he met wdth arofe from the lord chancellor
Bacon, who wiftied King James to fettle part of thofe
lands for the fupport of two academical leftures; and
he wrote a letter to the marquis of Buckingham, dated
Auguft 18. 16x8, entreating him. to ufe his intereft.
with his majefty for that purpofe. Mr Alleyn’s foil-
citation wras however at laft complied with, and he.
obtained the royal licenfe, giving him full power to lay
his foundation, by his majefty’s letter patent^ bearing,
date the 2ift of June 1619 ; by virtue whereof he did,
in the chapel of the faid new hofpital at Dulwich, call¬
ed The College of God's Gift, on the 13th of Septem¬
ber following, publicly read and publiftx a quadri¬
partite writing in parchment, wThereby he created and
eftabliftied the faid college *, he then fubferibed it vdth'
his name, and fixed his feal to feveral parts thereof, in
prefence of feveral honourable perfons, and ordered-
copies of the writings to four different pariffies. He
was himfelf the firft mafter of his college; fo that to
make ufe of the words of Mr Hayw’ood, one of his
contemporaries, “ Fie was fo mingled with humility
and charity, that he became his owm penfioner, hum¬
bly fubmitting himfelf to that proportion of diet and
clothes wfflich he had beftowred on others.” We*
have no reafon to think he ever repented of this di-
ftribution of his fubftance } but on the contrary,
that he was entirely fatisfied, as appears from the-
following memorial in his owm wwiting, found amongft
his papers : “ May 26. 1620,—My wife and I ac~
knowdedged the fine at the common pleas bar, of aJF
our lands to the college : bleffed be God that he has-
given us life to do it.” His wife died in the year
1623 ; and about tw7o years afterwards he married*
Coixftance Kinchtoe, who furvived him, and received-
remarkable;.:
Alleys.
ALL [ 704 j ALL
Alleyn remarkable proofs of his affe&ion, if at leaf! we may
A.J ju<ige of it by his will, wherein he left her confider-
. 1 .-^e' ably. He died Nov. 25. 1626, in the 6x11 year of
his age, and was buried in the chapel of his new
college, where there is a tomb-flone over his grave,
with an infcription. His original Diary is alfo there
preferved.
The fubjoined anecdote is entertaining in itfelf, and
(hows the high efteem in which Mr Alleyn was held as
an a<5!or : “ Edward Alleyn, the Garrick of Shake-
fpeare’s time, had been on the moil friendly footing
with onr poet, as well as Ben Johnfon. They ufed
frequently to fpend their evenings together at the
fign of the Globe, fomewhere near Black Friars,
where the playhoufe then was. The world need not
be told, that the convivial hours of fuch a triumvi¬
rate mult be plealing as wTell as profitable, and may
truly be faid to be fuch pleafures as might bear the
reflections of the morning. In confequence of one of
thefe meetings, the following letter was written by
G. Peele, a Fellow of Chrilt-church college, Oxford,
and a dramatic poet, wflxo belonged to the Club, to
one Marie, an intimate of his :
‘ Friend Marie.
‘ I mult defyr that my fylter hyr wratch, and the
‘ cookerie book you promyfed, may be fente bye the
‘ man. 1 never longed for thy company more than
‘ lalt night: we wrere all very merrye at the Globe,
‘ when Ned Alleyn did not fcruple to affyrme plea-
‘ fauntely to thy Friende Will, that he had Itolen his
‘ fpeech about thee Qualityes of an aCtor’s excellencye
‘ in Hamlet hys Tragedye, from converfations many-
4 fold wdiych had palled betweene them, and ©pinyons
* given by Alleyn touchinge the fubjecte. Shake-
* fpeare did not take this talke in good forte ; but
* Johnfon put an end to the ftrife with wittylye re-
4 markinge, T/v's affaire needeth no Contentione; you
i ft ole it from Ned, no double; do not marvel: Have
‘ you not feen him ad- tymes out of number ?—Believe
4 me moll fyncerilie, yours, G. Pee/e.”
ALLIA, a river of Italy, in the Sabine territory,
which running down a very fteep channel from the
mountains of Cruftuminum, mixes with the Tiber
40 miles from Rome ; famous for the gareat flaughter
of the Romans by the Gauls, under Brennus, when
40,000 Romans were killed or put to flight; hence
AHienfts dies, an unlucky day, (Virgil, Ovid, Lucan.)
Our anceftors, fays Cicero, deemed the day of the
fight of Allia more fatal than that of taking the city.
ALLIANCE, in the Civil and Canon Law, the re¬
lation contracted between two perfons or two families
by marriage.
Alliance is alfo ufed for a treaty entered into by
fovereign princes and Hates, for their mutual fafety
and defence—-In this fenfe, alliances may be diltin-
guilhed into fuch as are offenfive, wLereby the con¬
tracting parties oblige themfelves jointly to attack
feme other powder ; and into defenfive ones, wdiereby
they bind themfelves to Hand by and defend each other
in cafe they are attacked by others. Alliance with
the ancient Romans, though a fort of fervitude, was
much coveted. Ariarathes, we are told by Polybius,
offered a facrifice to the gods by tvay of thankfgiving
for having obtained this alliance. The reafon was,
2
that thencefonvards people were fure not to receive Alliance
any injuries except from them. There were different tl
forts of allies : feme only united to them by a partici-. Ion'.
pation of the privileges of Romans, as the Latini and
Hernici j others by their very foundation, as the co¬
lonies $ others by the benefactions they received from
them, as Mafinifla, Eumenes, and Attalus, who owred
their kingdoms to Rome j others by free treaties,
which laft by a long alliance became fubjefts, as the
kings of Bithynia, Cappadocia, Egypt, and mofi: of
the cities of Greece : Laftly, Others by compulfive
treaties, and the law of fubjeCtion, as Philip and An-
tiochus. For they never granted peace to an enemy,
without making an alliance with him ; that is, they
never fubdued any people without ufing it as a means
of fiubduing others.
The forms or ceremonies of alliances have been va¬
rious in different ages and countries. Among us, fign-
ing and fwearing, fometimes at the altar, are the chief j
anciently eating and drinking together, chiefly offer¬
ing facrifices together, were the cuftomary rite of rati¬
fying an alliance. Among the Jews and Chaldeans,
heifers or calves) among the Greeks, bulls or goats y
and among the Romans, hogs were facrificed on this
occafion. Among the ancient Arabs, alliances were
confirmed by drawing blood out of the palms of the
hands of the two contradling princes with a fharp
Hone, dipping herein a piece of their garments, and
therewith fmearing feven ftones, at the fame time in¬
voking the gods Vrotalt and Alilat, i. e. according to
Herodotus, Bacchus and Urania. Among the people
of Colchis, the confirmation of alliances is faid to be
effefted by one of the princes offering his -wife’s breafts
to the other to fuck, which he was obliged to do till
there iffued blood.
Alliance, in a figurative fenfe, is applied to any
kind of union or connexion ; thus we fay, there is an
alliance between the church and Hate.
ALLIARIA. See Erysimum, Botany Index.
ALLIER, in Geography, a river of France, which
gives name to a department, has its fource near Cha¬
teau Neuf de Randon, in the department of Lozere,
and joins the Loire near Nevers.
Allier, a department of France, formerly the pro¬
vince of Bourbonnois, is bounded on the north by the
departments of Saone and Loire, Nievre and Cher $
on the eaff by thofe of Saone and Loire and the Loire j
on the fouth by thofe of the Loire, Puy de Dome, and
Creufe ; and on the weft by thpfe of Creufe and Cher.
It contains 1,454,341 fquare acres; the number of in¬
habitants is about 266,105 ; and it is divided into four
communal diftriefts. The principal town is Moulins.
ALLIGATI, in Roman Antiquity, the bafeft kind
of flaves, who were ufually kept fettered. The Ro¬
mans had three degrees, or orders, of flaves or fer-
vants ; the firft employed in the management of their
eftates; the fecond in the menial or lower funftions
of the family ; the third called alligati, above men¬
tioned.
ALLIGATION, the name of a method of folving
all queftions that relate to the mixture of one ingredient
with another. Though waiters on arithmetic general¬
ly make alligation a branch of that fcience ; yet, as it
is plainly nothing more than an application of the
common properties of numbers, in order to folve a few
queftions
ALL [ 705 ] ALL
queftions that occur in particular branches ot^ bufinefs,
we choofe rather to keep it diftinft from the fcience of
arithmetic.
Alligation is generally divided into medial and alter-
nate.
Alligation Medial, from the rates and quantities
of the limples given, difcovers the rate of the mixture.
Rule. As the total quantity of the fimples,
To their price or value ;
So any quantity of the mixture,
To the rate.
Examp. A grocer mixeth 'jolb. of currants, at qd.
per lb. with xolb. of other currants, at 6d. per lb. :
What is the value of lib* of the mixture ? Anf. q^d.
lb. d. d.
30, at q amounts to 120
10, at 6   60
qo 180
lb. d. lb. d.
If qo : 180 : : x : q|
Note 1. When the quantity of each fimple is the
fame, the rate of the mixture is readily found by add¬
ing the rates of the fimples, and dividing their lum by
the number of fimples. Thus,
Suppofe a grocer mixes feveral forts of fugar, and of
each an equal quantity, viz. at 50s. at 5qs. and at
60s. per cwt. the rate of the mixture will be 5qs. 8d.
per cwt. $ for
s. r. d.
50-f5q+6o=x6q, and 3)i6q(5q 8
Note 2. If it be required to increafe or diminifh the
quantity of the mixture, fay, As the fum of the given
quantities of the fimples, to the feveral quantities given;
/o the quantity of the mixture propoied, to the quan¬
tities of the fimples fought.
Note 3. If it be required to know how much of
each fimple is an afiigned portion of the mixture,
fay, As the quantity of the mixture, to the feveral
quantities of the fimples given ; fo the quantity of the
affigned portion, to the quantities of the fimples fought.
Thus,
Suppofe a grocer mixes iolb. of raifins with 3olb.
of almonds and qolb. of currants, and it be demanded
how many ounces of each fort are found in every pound
or in every 16 ounces of the mixture, fay,
0%.
80 : 10 : : 16 : 2 raifins.
80 : 30 : : 16:6 almonds.
80 : qo : : T6 : 8 currants.
Proof 16
Note q. If the rates of two fimples, with the total
value and total quantity of the mixture, be given, the
•quantity of each fimple may be found as follows : viz.
Multiply the Idler rate into the total quantity, fub-
tra& the produft from the total value, and the remain¬
der will be equal to the prpdud of the excefs of the
higher rate above the lowrer, multiplied into the quan¬
tity of the higher-priced fimple j and confequently the
Yon. I. Part II.
faid remainder, divided by the difference of the rates,
will quote the faid quantity. Thus, ——"v
Suppofe a grocer has a mixture of qoolb. weight,
that coft him yl. 10s. confifting of raifins at qd. per lb.
and almonds at 6d. how many pounds of almonds were
in the mixture ?
lb. Rates.
qoo 6d.
L. s. d. q qd.
7 10=1800   
1600 i6ood. 2d.
  E. s.
2)200(ioolb. of almonds at 6d. is 2 10
And 3001b. of raifins at qd. is 5 0
Total qco Proof 7 xo
Alligation Alternate, being the converfe of alliga¬
tion medial, from the rates of the fimples, and rate of the
mixture given, finds the quantities of the fimples.
Rules. I. Place the rate of the mixture on the
left fide of a brace, as the root; and on the right fide
of the brace fet the rates of the feveral fimples, under
one an'ifher, as the branches. II. Link or alligate the
branches, fo as one greater and another lefs than the
root may be linked or yoked together. III. Set the
difference betwixt the root and the feveral branches
right againft their refpeftive yoke-fellowrs. Thefe al¬
ternate differences are the quantities required. Note 1.
If any branch happen to have two or more yoke-fel-
low-s, the difference betwdxt the root and thefe yoke¬
fellows muft be placed right againft the faid branch,
one after another, and added into one fum. 2. In fome
queftions, the branches may be alligated more ways
than one : and a queftion will always admit of fo ma¬
ny anfwers as there are different ways of linking the
branches.
Alligation alternate admits of three varieties, viz.
1. The queftion may be unlimited, with refpedt both
to the quantity of the fimples and that of the mixture.
2. The queftion may be limited to a certain quantity
of one or more of the fimples. 3. The queftion may be
limited to a certain quantity of the mixture.
Variety I. When the queftion is unlimited, wdth
refpeft both to the quantity ®f the fimples, and that of
the mixture, this is called Alligation Simple.
Examp. A grocer would mix fugars at jd. 7ft. and
xod. per lb. fo as to fell the mixture or compound at 8d.
per lb.: What quantity of each muft he take ?
lb.
Here the rate of the mixture 8 is placed on the left
fide of the brace, as the root 5 and on the right fide
of the fame brace are fet the rates of the feveral fim¬
ples, viz. 5, 7, 10, under one another, as thebranchesj
according to Rule I.
The branch 10 being greater than the root, is alli¬
gated or linked with 7 and 5, both thefe being lefs
than the root j as diredted in Rule II.
The difference between the root 8 and the branch 5,
viz. 3, is fet right againft this branch’s yoke-fellow x o.
The difference between 8 and 7 is likewife fet right
4 U againft
ALL [ 706 ] ALL
Alligation, againft the yoke-fellow 10. And the difference betwixt
g and 10. viz. 2, is fet right againft the two yoke-fel¬
lows 7 and 5 j as prefcribed by Rule III.
As the branch 10 has two differences on the right,
viz. 3 and 1, they are added 5 and the anfwer to the
queftion is, that 2lb. at jd. zlb. at yd. and 41b. at icxL
will make the mixture required.
The truth and reafonofthe rules will appear by con-
fidering, that whatever is loft upon any one branch is
gained upon its yoke-fellow. Thus in the above ex¬
ample by felling 41b. of lod. fugar at 8d. per lb.
there is 8d. loft: but the like fum is gained upon its
two yoke-fellows ; for by felling zlb. of 3d. fugar at
8d. per lb. there is 6d. gained 5 and by felling 2lb. of
yd. fugar at 8d. there is 2d. gained j and 6d. and 2d.
make 8d.
Hence it follows, that the rate of the mixture muft
always be mean or middle with refpeft to the rates of
the ftmples j that is, it muft be lefs than the greateft,
and greater than the leaft j otherwife a folution would
be impoffible. And the price of the total quantity
mixed, computed at the rate of the mixture, will always
be equal to the fum of the prices of the feveral quanti¬
ties caft up at the refpeftive rates of the fimple^
Variety II. When the queftion is limited to a certain
quantity of one or more of the fimples, this is called
Alligation Partial.
If the quantity of one the fimples only be limited,
alligate the branches, and take their differences, as if
there had been no fuch limitation j and then work by
the following proportion :
As the difference right againft the rate of the Ample,
whofe quantity is given,
To the other differences refpeclively 5
So the quantity given,
To the feveral quantities fought..
Examp. A diftiller would, with 40 gallons of brandy
at 12s. per gallon, mix rum at ys. per gallon, and gin
at 4s. per gallon: How much of the rum and gin muft
he take, to fell the mixture at 8s. per gallon ?
Gal.
{12 X 14, ! 5 40 of brandy. I
7/J4 4 32 of rum. £ Anf.
4^4 I 4 r 3 2 g‘n* J
The operation gives for anfwer, 5 gallons of brandy,
4 of rum, and 4 of gin. But the queftion limits the
quantity of brandy to 40 gallons j therefore fay,
If 5 : 4 : : 40 : 32
The quantity of gin, by the operation, being alfo 4,
the proportion needs not be repeated.
Variety III. When the queftion is limited to a
certain quantity of the mixture, this is called Alliga¬
tion Total.
After linking the branches, and taking the differen¬
ces, work by the proportion following :
As the fum of the differences,
To each particular difference j
So the given total of the mixture,
To the refpedtive quantities required.
.Examp. A vintner hath wine at 3s. per gallon, and
would mix it with water, fo as to make a compofition Alligator
of 144 gallons, worth 2s. 6d. per gallon : How much It
wine, and how much water, muft he take ?
Gal.
[3^30
24 of water.
3°
{o;-«
I 20 of wine \ j r
vater.j
36 144 total.
120 x 36=43 20
24X ©= o
Proof 144)4320(30
As 36 : 30 : : 144 : 120
As 36 : 6 : : 144 : 24.
There being here only two fimples, and the total of
the mixture limited, the queftion admits but of one
anfwer.
ALLIGATOR, in Zoology, a fynonyme of the la-
certa crocodilus. See Lacerta.
Alligator Pear. See Lavrus, Botany Index.
ALLIONIA. See Botany
ALLIOTH, a ftar in the tail of the Greater Bear,
much ufed for finding the latitude at fea.
ALLITERATION, an ornament of language
chiefly ufed in poetry, and confifting in the repetition
of the fame letter at certain intervals. We do not re¬
member to have ever feen any fatisfa&ory account of
alliteration in the writings of the critics. They feem
to have paffed it over in contemptuous filence $ either
as a falfe refinement or as a mere trifle. It perhaps
deferves a better fate. Many chapters have been com-
pofed on quantity, on the expreflion refulting from
different arrangements of long and ftiort fyllables, and
on the powers of paufes as they are varioufly placed,
without a word of alliteration. This is the more ex¬
traordinary, as one Ihould think it impoflible for any
man to examine minutely, and, as it were, diffe£l a
number of verfes, without perceiving the vaft abun¬
dance of this ornament. It is as if an anatomift ftiould
publifti a complete table of the arteries in the human
body, and affeiff never to have feen a vein or a nerve :
for it may be affirmed, with fmall danger of miftake,
that if you examine any number of verfes, remarkable
either for fweetnefs or for energy, they will be found
in fome degree alliterative. We do not pretend to
fay, that the fweetnefs and energy of verfification de¬
pends chiefly on this circumftance, yet vre cannot help
believing that it may claim fome (hare : for it is a con-
ftant appearance, as far as we have ever obferved, that
the poets whofe fame is higheft for verfification, have
been attentive to alliteration.
The very trifling appearance of the ornament itfelfr
upon a fuperficial view, and the frequent abufe of it,
are circumftances indeed which give no encouragement
to a lerious inquiry into its nature and operation. How
common is it for writers, who affe£l to be comic, when
in Want of other means for raifing a fmile, to ufe af-
fe&ed alliteration with fuccefs ? But, in the fine arts,
no beauty or grace is beyond the power of ridicule.
The nobleft attitudes in painting have been rendered
laughable by caricatura. St Paul preaching at Athens,
in the defign of Raphael, appears elegant, noble, and
in fome degree awful. The fame apoftle, reprefented
by Hogarth' in nearly the fame attitude, pleading be-
ALL [ 7°7 ] ALL
Ai’jtcra- fore tlie governor Felix, feems altogether ridiculous.
t!0i1' , So the language and verlification of Milton in the Pa-
radife Loft appear only proper for the moft elevated
fubje&s. In the Splendid Shilling of Philips, they
appear equally proper for the loweft. So fares it alfo
with alliteration. Nor ought we to be mortified at the
difcovery, that much of the delight afforded by verfi-
fication arifes from a caufe fo pitiful as the repetition
of the fame letter twice, or oftener, on the accented
parts of a verfe ; for there are many other caufes of
pleafure, which, when thus detected and taken to pieces,
feem equally contemptible.
We apprehend the principal operation of this orna¬
ment to be quite mechanical. It is eafier for the or¬
gans of fpeech to refume, at fhort intervals, one cer¬
tain conformation, than to throw themfelves into a
number of different ones, unconne£ted and difcordant.
For example, a fucceflion of labials, interfperfed at
regular diftances with dentals and gutturals, will be
more eafily pronounced than the fucceflion of all the
three at random. Sounds of which the articulation is
eafieft, are moft completely in the power of the fpeaker.
He can pronounce them ilowly or rapidly, foftly or
with force, at pleafure. In this we imagine the power
and advantage of alliteration-are founded j for we would
not lay any ftrefs on the pleafure which can refult to
the ear from the repetition of the fame letter. It has
been compared to the frequent returns of the key-note
in a mufical ftrain j but that analogy is extremely
faint. The ear, we prefume, can be pleafed with al¬
literation only in fo far as it contributes to the fuperior
eafinefs of recitation j for what is recited with eafe
muft be heard with pleafure.
Thefe remarks might be confirmed and illuftrated
by numberlefs paffages from the beft poets. Some few
lines will fuffice, taken from Gray, who feems to have
paid particular attention to this grace. He profeifed
to have learned his verfification from Dryden, as Dry-
den did from Spenfer 5 and thefe three abound in al¬
literation above all the Englilh poets. We choofe
-Gray for another reafon, in proof of what we mention¬
ed before, that alliteration contributes not only to the
fweetnefs, but alfo to the energy, of verfification ; for
he ufes it chiefly when he aims at ftrength and bold-
nefs. In the Sifler Odes (as Dr Johnfon ftyles them),
almoft every ftrophe commences and concludes with an
alliterative line. The poet, we fuppofe, wiflied to be¬
gin with force, and end with dignity.
1“ jf?uin feize thee, ruthlefs king.”
“ To /)igh-born ifoel’s Aarp, or foft Zlewe/lyn’s /ay.”
“ Weave the warp, and weave the woof.”
“ Stamp we our vengeance deep, and ratify his doom.”
14 Regardlefs of theyiveeping whirlwind’syivay.”
“ That hufti’d in grim re/>ofe, ex/>e<fts his ev’ning
/>rey.”
It muft be obferved here, that we hold a verfe alli¬
terative which has a letter repeated on its accented
parts, although thofe parts do not begin wrords 5 the
repeated letter bearing a ftrong analogy to the bars in
& mufical phrafe. Gray feems to have had a particu¬
lar liking to thefe fort of balanced verfes, which divide
equally, and of which the oppofite fides have an allite¬
rative refemblance.
44 Eyes that ^low, and fangs that .grin.” Allitefa-
44 Thoughts that breathe, and words that Z'urn.”
“ Hauberk crafh, and /jelmet ring.” A|iIjK>
All thefe lines appear to us to have a force and
energy, arifing from alliteration, which renders them
eafy to be recited j or, if the reader pleafes, mouthed.
For the fame reafon the following paflage appears fad
and folemn, by the repetition of the labial liquid.
44 ^fountains, ye r/zourn in vain,”
44 ikfodred, whole //zagic fong,”—Stm
If alliteration thus contributes to enforce the ex-
preflion of a poetical fentiment, its advantages in poetry
muft be confiderable. It is not, therefore, unworthy
a poet’s' regard in the a£t of compofition. If two
words offer of equal propriety, the one alliterative, the
other not, we think the firft ought to be chofen. We
would compare this to the praclice of fuguing in mu-
fic. A compofer who aims at expreflion will not hunt
after fugues; but if they offer, if they feem to arife
fpcmtaneoufly from the fubjeft, he will not rejedl them.
So a good poet ought not to fele6t an epithet merely
for beginning with a certain letter, unlefs it fuit his
purpofe well in every other refpeft ; for the beauty of
alliteration, when happy, is not greater than its de¬
formity wdien affedled. A couplet from Pope will ex¬
emplify both; the firft line being bad, and the fecond
good :
44 Eternal beauties grace the xhiningyeene,
44 Fields everyfelh, and proves for evergreen.”
ALLIUM (from «/£&», 44 to avoid or ftum,” becaufe
many fhun the fmell of it), Garlic. See Botan?
Index.
ALLIX, Pe ter, a French Proteftant divine, was
born at Alen5on in France, in the year 1641. He be¬
came a learned divine of the Englifti church, and a
ftrenuous defender of the Proteftant faith. At the
time when the edift of Nantes tolerated and protected
the Proteftants of France, he entered upon his clerical
profeflion, and remained minifter of Rouen until the
thirty-fifth year of his age. In this period he wrote
feveral pieces upon the controverfy between the Pa-
pifts and the Proteftants, which obtained him great
fame among his own party. He removed to Charen-
ton in the vicinity of Paris, which w^as the principal
church among the reformed, and frequented by per-
fons of the firft rank in France, who profeffed the Pro¬
teftant faith. Here Allix preached a courfe of excel¬
lent fermons in defence of the Proteftant religion, feme
of wfttich wrere afterwards printed in Holland, and ad¬
ded to his increafing fame. The chief objeft of thefe
fermons w^as to repel the attack of the bilhop of
Meaux, the moft ingenious and able opponent of the
Reformation at that time. The unwife revocation of
the edidl of Nantes drove Allix and many others to
feek refuge in England. Three years after his arrival
in England, he had made himfelf fo perfeftly mafter
of the Englifti language as to be able to wuite very
corre&ly a 44 Defence of the Chriftian Religion.”
This work he dedicated to James II. in teftimonv of
gratitude for his kind reception of the diftreffed refu¬
gees of France. In juftice to the memory of James,
4 U z and
ALL [7
Allix, arid as a fpecxmen of tlie talents of Allix, it may be
Alloa. proper to give an extraft from this curious dedication.
—“ As your majefty continues ftill to give fuch illu-
flrious inftances of your clemency and royal protection
to thofe of your nation j fo I confefs, Sir, I thought
myfelf under an obligation to lay hold upon this oppor¬
tunity of publiihing what all thofe who find fo fure a
proteclion in your majefty’s dominions feel and think
as much as myfelf upon thefe new teftimonies of your
royal bounty. When your majefty had taken us into
your particular care, and had granted us feveral privi¬
leges, and fo made us fharers in all the advantages
which thofe who live under your government enjoy 5
your majefty did yet fomething more, and infpired all
your fubjefts with the fame compaflion towards us, with
which your royal breaft was already touched. You
faw our miferies, and refolved to give us eafe ; and
this generous defign was executed, and your royal
clemency diffufed in the hearts of all your fubjeCts.
The whole world, Sir, which has received upon all its
coafts fome remainders of our fhipwreck, is filled with
admiration of the unexampled effefts of your majefty’s
clemency. I could wiftt, Sir, that this work which I
now prefent to your majefty might be fo happy as to
pafs to pofterity with this chara&er of our acknovr-
ledgment, and that it might ftand as a faithful record
for ever to perpetuate the memory of that lively fenfe
of your bounty which is imprinted on all our hearts.”
Not long after his arrival in England, he was ho¬
noured with the title of doClor of divinity, and alfo
received the more fubftantial honour of being appoint¬
ed treafurer of the church of Salilhury. Allix ftill
maintained the ftation of a champion for the Proteftant
eaufe, and in oppofition to the biftrop of Meaux, pro¬
ved that the charge of herefy juftly belonged to the
Papifts, and not to their opponents, becaufe they had
introduced new doftrines into the church.
After having with much induftry and learning ex-
ercifed his talents in defence of Proteftantifm, he
employed his pen to fupport the doftrine of the Trini¬
ty againft the Unitarians, who contended that the idea
of Chrift’s divinity could be traced up no higher than
the time of Juftin Martyr. With a great difplay of
erudition, he attempted to prove that the Trinitarian
dodhine was believed by the Jewilh church. But the
reputation which he had acquired for learning and abi¬
lity was fomewhat diminilhed by the ridicule which he
brought upon himfelf in attempting to fix the precife
time of Chrift’s fecond coming to the year 1720, or at
the very lateft, to the year 1736. He died at Lon¬
don in the year 1717, after his ftudious life had been
protra&ed to the length of 76 years. He left behind
him numerous proofs of his great talents, extenfive
learning, uncommon induftry, and zealous attachment
to the dodlrines of the church of England. (Gen. Biog.)
ALLOA, or Alloway, a fea-port town in Scot¬
land, feated on the Forth, about 20 miles higher up
the river than Leith, and five miles eaft of Stirling.
It is a populous place ; has two market days in the
week ; and is remarkable for its fine caftle, the feat of
Mr Erfkine of Mar, and for the coal mines near it.
The harbour is extremely commodious, with great
depth of water j and veffels are expeditioufly loaded with
coals from the pits by an uncommon waggon-way, on
which one horfe draws with eafe three waggons at once,
08 ] ALL
each waggon containing a ton and a half. An excel¬
lent dry dock has alfo lately been eredled here, ca¬
pable of receiving fhips of the greateft burden. There
is likewufe a large glafs-houfe for blowing bottles, of
which veflels are fupplied with any quantity upon the
the fhorteft notice.
The tower and lands of Alloa wrere exchanged by
David II. king of Scots, anno 1365, with 'I homas
Lord Erlkine, for the lands and eftate of Strathgart-
ney in Peithftiire ; and fince that time the caftie of
Alloa has been the favourite refidence of the family of
Mar. The fituaticn is uncommonly beautiful. 'Hie
gardens here were the firft that were laid out on a
great fcale in Scotland } and, with the advice of Le
Nautre, were indebted to the tafte of John the late
earl of Mar, who began to plant them in the year 1706.
They contain about forty acres, in which there is
fome very fine timber, near a century old.
The towxr of Alloa is 89 feet in height, with w'alls
of 11 feet in thicknefs j and was built in the end of
the 13th century. In this refiden.ce of the family of
Erfkine many of the Scottifh princes received their
education, having been for more than two centuries
the wards of the Lords Erfkine and Earls of Mar j
who held generally the caftle of Stirling, and frequent¬
ly the three principal fortreffes of the kingdom, Edin¬
burgh, Stirling, and Dumbarton. The laft heir of
the Scottifn monarchy who was nurtured there was.
Henry prince of Wales j whofe cradle, golf-clubs, and
other infantine and youthful remains, are preferved by
the heir of the earls of Mar, in remembrance of that
fpirited and promifing prince} of whom Dr Birch has
preferved feveral anecdotes, connected with the Er-
fkines and his refidence at Alloa. Among other re¬
mains of antiquity preferved at Alloa, in remembrance
of the confidence and affection which fubfifted always
betwixt the Stuarts and the Erfkines, is the private fig-
net of the unfortunate Mary, which {he gave to the re¬
gent Mar, after fhe was obliged by the treaty of Edin¬
burgh to defift from wearing the arms of England in
the firft quarter ; the child’s chair of James VI. her
fon ; and the feftive chair of Thomas Lord Erfkine the
fecond earl of Mar of the name, with the fafhionable
grace carved on it, Soli Deo Hanoi' et Gloria.
ALLOBROGES (Infcriptions, Livy, Velleius,
Floras) } from All'obrox (Horace) : a people of Gallia
Narbonenfis, fituated betv.'een the rivers Ifara and Rho-
danus, and the Lacus Lemanus; commended by Cice¬
ro for their fidelity ; but reproached by Horace on ac¬
count of their fondnefs for novelty.
Novifque rebus infidelis Allobrox. Epod. 16.
ALLOCATION denotes the admitting or allow¬
ing of an article of an account, efpecially in the ex.-
chequer. Hence
Alloc at ion r Facienda, is a writ diredfed to the lord
treaiurer, or barons of the exchequer, commanding
them to allow an accountant fuch lums as he has law¬
fully expended in the execution of his office.
ALLOCUTIO, an oration or fpeecb of a general
addrefied to his foldiers, to animate them to fight, to
appeafe fedition, or to keep them to their duty. A
mount of earth w’as railed upon the occafion, as it were
a kind of a tribunal of turf. From this the general
pronounced his harangue to the army, which was ran-
AilLlfh.
ALL . [ . 7C
Allodium ged in feveral fquadrons round laim, witli their captains
II at their head. When the time and circumftances
would not admit of a formal harangue, the . general
went through the ranks, and called each by his name,
putting them in mind of their courage upon former oc-
cafions, mentioning the victories they had won, and
making promifes of plunder.
ALLODIUM, or Alleud, denotes lands which
are the abfolute property of their owner, without being
obliged to pay any fervice or acknowledgment what¬
ever to a fuperior lord. See Fee and Feodal Syftem.
ALLOPHYLLUS, in Botany. See Botany In¬
dex.
ALLOTTING, ov jIlIotmekt of Goods, in mat¬
ters of commerce, is when a (hip’s cargo is divided in¬
to feveral parts, bought by divers perfons, whofe names
are written on as many pieces of paper, which are ap¬
plied by an indifferent perfon to the feveral lots or par¬
cels ; by which means the goods are divided without
partiality, every man having the parcel which the lot
with his name appropriates.
- ALLOW AY Creek, in Salem county, New'-Jer-
fey, empties into the Delaware. It is navigable 16
miles, interrupted, howmver, by feveral draw-bridges.
ALLOY, or Allay, properly fignifies a propor¬
tion of a bafer metal mixed with a finer ©ne. d he al¬
loy of gold is eftimated by carats, that of filver by
pennyweights. In different nations different propor¬
tions of alloy are ufed j whence their moneys are faid
to be of different degrees of finenefs or bafenefs, and
are valued accordingly in foreign exchanges. The
chief reafons alledged for the alloying of coin are :
i. The mixture of the metals, which, when fmelted
from the mine, are not perfedtly pure. 2. The faving
the expence it muff otherwife coff if they were to be
refined. 3. The neccffity of rendering them harder,
by mixing fome parts of other metals with them, to
prevent the diminution of wTeight by wearing in puf¬
fing from hand to hand. 4. The melting of foreign
gold or coin which is alloyed. 5. The charges of
coinage, which muff: be made good by the profit arifing
from the money coined. 6. and laftly, The duty be¬
longing to the fovereign, on account of the power he
has to caufe money to be coined in his dominions.
In a more general fenfe, the wmrd is employed in
chemiftry to fignify the union of different metallic mat¬
ters.—As an infinity of different combinations may be
made according to the nature, the number, and the
proportions of the metallic matters capable of being al¬
loyed, we (hall not here enter into the detail of the
particular alloys, all which are not yet nearly knowm.
Thofe which are ufed, as Bronze, Tombac, Brafs, White
Copper, &c. maybe found in the article Chemistry.
and what is known concerning other alloys will be
treated of along with the metals in the fame article.
See Chemistry Index.
ALLUM. See Alum.
ALLUMINOR, from the French allumer, “ to
lighten,” is ufed for one who coloureth or painteth
upon paper or parchment ; and the reafon is, becaufe
he gives' light and ornament by his colours to the let¬
ters or other figures. Such ornaments are ftyled illu¬
minations. The wrord is ufed in flat. 1 R. III. cap. 9.
But now fuch a perfon is called a limner.
ALLUSH, in Ancient Geography. The Ifraelites
9 ] ALL
being in the wildernefs of Shur, departed from Doph-
kah, and went to Alluffi, from whence they proceeded
to Rephidim 5 Num. xxxiii. 13, 14. Eufebius and St ^
Jerome fix Alluffi in Idumea, about Gabala or Petra,
the capital of Arabia Petreea. In the accounts of the
empire, it Is fituated in the third Palettine} and by
Ptolemy, among the cities of Idumaea.
ALLUSION, in Rhetoric, a figure by which fome-
thing is applied to, or underftood of, another, on ac¬
count of fome fimilitude between them.
ALLUVION, in Law, denotes the gradual increafe-
of land along the fea-fhore, or on banks of rivers.
ALLY, in matters of polity, a fovereign prince or
(late that has entered into alliance with others. See
Alliance.
ALMACANTARS. See Almucantars. .
ALP.IAC ARRON, a fea-port town of Spain, in the
province of Murcia, at the mouth of the river Guada-
lantin. It is about twenty miles w’eff of Carthagena,
and is remarkable for the prodigious quantity of alum
found in its territory. W. Long. 1. 15. N. Lat. 37. 40.
ALMADEN, a town of Spain, in the province of
La Mancha, in the kingdom of Caftile, fituated upon
the top of a mountain, where are the moft ancient as
well as the richeft filver mines in Europe.
ALMADIE, a kind of canoe, or fmall veffel, about
four fathoms long, commonly made of bark, and ufed
by the negroes of Africa.
Almadie is alfo the name of a kind of long boats,
fitted out at Calicut, which are eighty feet in length,
and fix or feven in breadth. They are exceedingly
fwift, and are otherwife called cathun.
ALMAGEST, in Matters of Literature, is particu¬
larly ufed for a colleftion or book compofed by Ptole¬
my, containing various problems of the ancients both
in geometry and aftronomy.
Almagest is alfo the title of other colle&ions of
this kind. Thus, Riccioli has publiffied a book of
aftronomy, which he calls the New Almagejl; and Plu-
kenet, a book which he calls Almagefum Botanicum.
ALMAGRA, a fine deep red ochre, w ith fome ad¬
mixture of purple, very heavy, and oi a denfe yet fri¬
able ftrufture, and rough dully (urface. It adheres
very firmly to the tongue, melts freely and eafily in the
mouth, is of an auftere and ftrongly aftringent tafte,
and (tains the (kin in touching. It is the hil Atticum
of the ancients ; it ferments very violently with acid
menitruums; by wdrich fingle quality, it is fufficiently
diftinguifhed from the Sil Syricum, to which it has in
many refpedts a great affinity. It is found in immenfe
quantities in many parts of Spain y and in Andalufia
there are in a manner wffiole mountains of it. It is
ufed in painting, and in medicine as an aftringent.
ALMAGRO, a fortrefs of Spain, the capital of
one of the diftrias of La Mancha. It was built by
the archbiffiop Roderic of Toledo,, wdio fimftied it in
1214, and put a confiderable garrilon into it to reilrain
the incurfions of the Moors. I his was hardly done,
when the fortrefs wras befieged by an army of 5000
horfe and foot, under the command of a Moorifh offi¬
cer of great reputation } but the prelate, its founder,
took care to fupply thofe within wfith fuch plenty ot
neceffaries, that at length the enemy found themfelves
obliged to raife the fiege and retire with great lofs.
Almagro, Diego De} a Spaniffi commander, was;
at
A L M
[ 7
Almagro. of fuch obicure birth and mean parentage, that he
^—v-—' derived his name from the village where he was born,
in 1463. Deprived of the means of early inftru&ion,
he Could neither read nor write, but neverthelefs, in
confequence of his improvements in the military art, he
formed an aflbciation with Pizarro and de Luque, for
the purpofe of difcoveries and conqueit upon the Peru¬
vian coaft. The governor of Panama having fan£tioned
their enterprife, they devoted their united exertions to
that undertaking. Pizarro direfted the conqueft, and
Almagro was appointed to conduct the fupplies, pro-
vifions, and reinforcements. In the two fir It unfuccefs-
ful attempts, he performed this office with perfevering
fidelity and uncommon activity. His perfeverance was
followed with complete fuccefs 5 for they at laft dif-
covered the coaft of Peru, and landed at Tumbez, di-
Itinguilhed by its temple and palace of the incas or
fovereigns, and fituated about three degrees fouth of
the line. Pizarro was fent over to Spain to folicit far¬
ther powers, after the three adventurers had previoufly
adjufted their future preferments, and agreed that Pi¬
zarro fliould be governor, Almagro lieutenant-governor,
and Luque biffiop. In this negociation, Pizarro ob¬
tained the clerical dignity for Luque; but chiefly con¬
cerned about his own intereft, he negle&ed the pre¬
ferment of Almagro. On his return, Almagro wras
fo enraged, that he refufed to aft with fuch a perfidious
companion, and refolved to form a new affociation.
Pizarro for the prefent artfully endeavoured to avert
-the indignation of Almagro, and gradually foothed the
rage and difappointment of the foldier. The union was
renewed upon the former terms and it was folemnly
flipulated that a common expence and a common ad¬
vantage ffiould take place.
In February 1531, leaving Almagro at Panama,
to fupply provifions and reinforcements, Pizarro fet
fail for Peru. He attacked a principal fettlement of
the natives, in the province of Coaque, obtained im-
menfe fpoil, and made fuch ample remittances to Al¬
magro, as enabled him to complete his reinforcement,
and in the clofe of the year 1532, he arrived at St
Michael with a body of men, which nearly doubled
the number of thofe which Pizarro had along with him.
The Spaniards about this time took captive the unfor¬
tunate Inca Atahualpa ; and after they had received
an immenfe fum for his ranfom, they barbaroufly put
him to death. Pizarro failed for Spain with the news
of their fuccefs, and with remittances to a great amount $
and confequently Almagro gained that elevated ftation
he fo long and eagerly defired. But no fooner had Al¬
magro received the intelligence of his promotion by
the royal grant, than he attempted to feize Cuzco, the
Imperial refidence of the incas, under pretence that it
lay within his deftined territory. This produced a
new quarrel j but peace was reftored upon the deter¬
mination of Almagro to attempt the conqueft of Chili,
and likewife to have part of the territory of Peru.
In 1535, he accordingly fet out at the head of 570
Europeans, and in eroding the mountains, he fuffered
great hardfhips and Ioffes by miftaking the route, but at
length he defeended into the plains of that devoted re¬
gion. Here he met with a more vigorous refiftance
from the iiaiives than ,the Spaniards had ever experi-
. ,enced in other countries. He had, however, made
10 3 A L M
fome progrefs, when he was recalled to Peru by the AfiragP©.
news of the natives having rifen in great numbers,y——
and attacked Lima and Cuzco. He purfued a new
route, and marching through the fandy plains on the
coatt, he fuffered by heat and drought calamities not
inferior to thofe which he had endured from cold and
famine on the fummit of the Andes. Arriving at a
' favourable moment, he refolved to hold the place both
againfi: the Indians and his Spanilh rivals. He attack¬
ed the Peruvian army with great vigour, and making
a great flaughter, he proceeded to the gates of Cuzco
without any farther interruption. The open, affable,
and generous temper of Almagro, gained over to his
fide many of the adherents of the Pizarros, who were
difgufted with their harfli and oppreffive conduct.
W ith their aid, he advanced towards the city by night,
furprifed the fentinels, and furrounded the houfe where
the two brothers refided, who were compelled, after an
obftinate defence, to furrender at diferetion. A form
of government was fettled in t}ie name of Almagro,
and his • jurifdidlion over Cuzco was univerfally ac¬
knowledged. This was the origin of a civil wrar j the
beginning of which was very advantageous to Almagro,
who by Ikilful manoeuvres entirely routed a body of
Spanifti troops advancing to the relief of Cuzco, and
made Alvarado their commander prifoner. But inffead
of improving thefe advantages, he unwifely marched
back to Cyzco, and there awaited the arrival of Pizarro.
Pizarro, convinced of his own feeble refources, pro-
pofed an accommodation, and with his ufual art pro¬
tracted the negociation until he found himfelf in a con¬
dition to meet his antagonift in the field of battle.
Meanwhile Alvarado and one of the Pizarros, by
bribing their keepers, found means to efcape, and per-
fuaded 60 of the men who guarded them to attend
them in their flight; and the governor releafed the
other Pizarro. When Pizarro thought himfelf fuffici-
ently prepared to fettle the dominion of Peru, he
marched with an army of 500 men to Cuzco. Alma¬
gro, previous to this, worn out with age and infirmity,
refigned the command to Orgognez. A fierce and
bloody battle enfued, in which Almagro was made
prifoner, his army defeated, and the commander wound¬
ed. About 140 foldiers fell in the field, and Orgog¬
nez, along with feveral others, wTas maffacred in cold
blood. During that fatal day, Almagro, placed in a
litter, which w'as ftationed on an eminence, beheld
from thence the total defeat of his troops, and felt
all the indignation of a foldier who had feldom ex¬
perienced defeat. He w>as taken prifoner, remained
feveral months in confinement, and afterw ards w^as tried,
and condemned to death. In the view of an ignominious
death, the courage of the veteran forlcok him, and he
unfuccefsfully fupplicated for life, in a manner un¬
worthy of his former charafter. All the arguments
he could employ were ineffeClual. The Pizarrcs re¬
mained unmoved by all his entreaties. As foon, how¬
ever, as Almagro faw that his fate was inevitable, he
refumed his courage, and exhibited all his ufual dig¬
nity and fortitude. In the year 1538, and in the 75th
year of his age, he was firangled in prifon, and after¬
wards beheaded. He left one fon by an Indian woman
of Panama } and in ccnlequence of a pov/er which the
emperor had granted, he declared his fon his fucceffbr
in
A L M [ 711 ] A L M
Almagro, in die government, although he was then a prifoner in
Almamon, Lima,
-y-mm* With the qualities of intrepid valour, indefatigable
aftivity, and infurmountable conftancy, he blended
the more amiable difpofitions of franknefs, generofity,
and candour. Thefe qualities rendered him beloved
by his followers 5 and his misfortunes excited their
fympathy and pity, fo that his death was ifniverfally
regretted, and particularly by the poor Indians, who
deemed him their guardian and prote&or againft tire
cruel and unfeeling Pizarro. Upon the whole review
of his charafter, it appears juft to conclude, that he
was, although of inferior abilities, a more amiable man
than his rival. (Gen. Biog.)
Almagro the Younger, by his courage, genero¬
fity, and other accomplilhments, was placed at the
head of the party after the death of his father. The
father, confcious of his own inferiority from the total
want of education, ufed every poflible mean to improve
the mind and embellifti the manners of his fon 5 fo that
he foon acquired thofe accomplilhments which rendered
him refpetted by illiterate adventurers, who cheerfully
ranged around his ftandard; and, by his dexterity and
fkill, fought deliverance from the oppreflions of Pizarro.
Juan de Herrada, an officer of great abilities, conti¬
nued ftill to direft his counfels and to regulate his
enterprifes j and, while Pizarro confided in his owrn
fecurity, a confpiracy was formed againft him, wdrich
terminated in his death. The affalfins, exulting in
their fuccefs, and waving their bloody fwords,' haften-
ed to the ftreet, proclaimed the death of the tyrant,
and compelled the magiftrates and principal citizens of
Lima to acknowledge Almagro as lawful fucceffor to
his father. But his reign was of fhort duration ; for,
in 1541, Vaca de Caftro, arriving at Quito, produced
the royal commilfion, appointing him governor of
Peru, together with all the privileges and authority
of Pizarro. The talents and influence of the new go¬
vernor foon overpowered the intereft of Almagro, who,
perceiving the rapid decline of his influence, haftened
with his troops to Cuzco, wLere his opponents had
ere&ed the royal ftandard under the command of Pe¬
dro Alvarez Holguin. Herrada the guide of his coun¬
fels died during his march ; and from that time his
meafures were confpicuous for their violence, concert¬
ed with little ingenuity, and executed with little ad-
drefs. On September 16. 1542 at length the forces
of Almagro and Vaca de Caftro met, and vi&ory long
remained doubtful; till at laft it declared for the new
governor. The followers of Almagro difplayed un¬
common valour, and Almagro conduced the mili¬
tary operations of that fatal day with a gallant fpirit,
■worthy of a better caufe and deferving of a better
fate. In proportion to the number of combatants the
carnage was very great. Of 1500 men 500 fell in
the field, and many more were wounded. Almagro
elcaped, but being betrayed by fome of his own officers,
he was publicly beheaded at Cuzco, and in him the
name and fpirit of the party of Almagro became ex-
timft. [Gen. Biog.)
ALMAMON, or Mam ox, alfo named Abdallah,
caliph of Bagdad, was born A. D. 785. His elder
brother A1 Amin fucceeded to the caliphate on the
death of his father, and Almamon at that time was
governor of Chorafan. As by the will of the father it Almamon,
was provided, that his three fons fhould fucceed to the 1—*-*-—“*
caliphate in order, Almamon ordered his elder bro¬
ther to be proclaimed caliph throughout his govern¬
ment. But his brother repaid his friendfhip and at¬
tachment to his intereft wfith open expreffions of hatred,
and unjuft attempts to exclude him from the deftined
fucceftion. Almamon was thus forced to confult mea¬
fures for his own fafety and promotion, by caufing him-
felf to be proclaimed caliph. After various ftruggles,
his general, Thaher, in the year 813 took pofleffion of
Bagdad, purfufed Al Amin to his retreat, and caufed
him to be affaffinated, fo that Almamon remained with¬
out a competitor. Various rebellions difturbed the
tranquillity of the firft years of his reign j but by his
prudent adminifttation and vigorous exertions, thefe
vrere at length extinguifhed. Inftigated by the advice
of his vizier, he foon after railed greater commotions,
and expofed his dignity to greater dangers, by counte¬
nancing the fe£I of Ali. He invited to court Iman
Rizza, gave him his daughter in marriage, and even de¬
clared him his fucceffor in the empire. He affumed
the_ green turban, the colour of the houfe of Ali, and
obliged his courtiers and foldiers to imitate his example.
Alarmed at thefe proceedings, the orthodox Mufful-
mans, and the houfe of Abbas, excited a great revolt
in Bagdad, and proclaimed Ibrahim, Almamon’s uncle,
caliph. A civil war w’as juft about to commence when
Tadel the vizier was affaffinated and Rizza died.
The people of Bagdad then depofed Ibrahim, and
returned to their former allegiance. Taking the ad¬
vantage of Almamon’s abfence, Thaher his general
feized upon the government of Chorafan, where he
founded a dynafty which exifted during a period of
16 years.
Almamon employed the period of tranquillity that
foliorved in the introduftion and improvement of lite¬
rature into his dominions, which conftitutes the great-
eft glory of his reign. During the days of his father
he difeovered an ardent thirft after knowdedge, by form¬
ing a college in Chorafan, adorned with the moft emi¬
nent men of various countries $ and appointed Mefue,.
a famous Chriftian phyfician of Damafcus, for their
prefident. When his father remonftrated againft con¬
ferring fuch an honour upon a Chriftian, he reminded
him, that the moft learned men and the moft fkilful
artifts in his dominions were Jews and Chriftians ; and
added, that he had chofen Mefue as a preceptor in fei-
ence and ufeful arts, and not as a teacher of religion.
Under his aufpices Bagdad became the feat of litera¬
ture, of private and academical inftrudlion, and the ha¬
bitation of men of eminence from all quarters. Many
valuable books in the Greek, Perfian, Chaldean, and
Coptic languages, among which were the works of
Ariftotle and Galen, were tranflated into the Arabic at
his own expence. The caliph himfelf deemed, it an
honour to fet an example to others of the becoming
refped due to mental cultivation, by vifiting the fchools,
and treating the profeflbrs with great regard. In ma¬
thematics, aftronomy, and philofophy, he made a rapid
and extenfive progrefs. He was the author of aftrono-
mical tables, which on account of their accuracy have
been much admired. By thefe various exertions the
chara&er of the Saracens was fuddenly changed from
a
A L M [7
a rude and ferocious to a polite and civilized people,
while the moft powerful and extenfive of the Euro¬
pean Hates were involved in ignorance and barbarifm.
Literature has fuftained fome irreparable Ioffes from his
too great partiality to the Arabic writers, which indu¬
ced him to deftroy the originals of the tranflated ma-
nufcripts. He is reprefented by the Sonnites or or¬
thodox Mahometans as little better than an Infidel,
becaufe of his attention to philofophy and letters.
His condudf, however, (hows that he was not fufficient-
ly careful to preferve a nhiiofophical mean betwixt the
different religious parties during the time of his admi-
niftration, as he openly manifefted a predileflion to the
dodlrines of the Motazeli, who afferted the free will
of man, and denied the eternity of the Koran. Some
allege, that on account of the murmurs which arofe
againff him, he was induced to exhibit too great a
zeal by eftabiituing a kind of inquifition, to compel all
his fubjedls to profefs liiamiffn. The experiment, how¬
ever, foon'terminated in the better and jufter expedient
of univerfal toleration; and it is abundantly evident,
that the Chriftians in his dominions never felt the power
of his inquifition.
The public tranfadlions of his reign are in themfelves
important. In the year 822 he fent a body of his
troops to the afliftance of Thomas, a Greek, who made
war on Michael the Stammerer, the emperor of Con-
ftantinople, and befieged his capital. This expedition,
which on the part of the caliph feems to have been
founded in injuftice, proved unfuccefsful ; Thomas
wras taken prifoner, and fuffered death. In the years
829 and 830 he commenced open hoftilities upon
the Greeks, rendered himfelf mailer of many places,
Snd carried devaftation into their territories. He was
fuccefsful in fuppreffmg a revolt in Egypt in the year
831. In this country he Was led to difcover a treafure
buried under two columns by Merwan, the laid caliph
of the houfe of Ommijah. In repairing a decayed mi-
kias or meafuring pillar, and erecting a new one for
determining the gradation of the increafe of the Nile,
Almamon difplayed his love of fcience. In the year
833 he again vifited Egypt ; on his return he pene¬
trated into the territories of the Greek emperor, even
into Cilicia. Returning home he encamped on the
banks of a river, and, excited by thirft, he drank too
freely of the water ; and at the fame time indulged
himfelf immoderately in eating a particular kind of
dates, which brought on a complaint in his ffomach,
and reduced him to the moft imminent danger. Sen-
fible of his approaching diffolution, he wrote letters
into all the provinces, announcing his brother Motaf-
fem his fucceffor ; and then patiently awaited the event.
After a tedious flruggle under the preffure of his dif-
eafe, and while uttering this ejaculation ; “ O thou who
never dieft, have mercy on me, a dying man !” he ex¬
pired at the age of forty-eight or forty-nine years. He
reigned 20 years and fome months, and -was buried at
Tarfus, -which fome religious zealots interpreted as a
mark of reprobation.
The hiffory of this caliph affords an illuftrious in-
ftance of the meliorating effeft of fcience and literature
upon the condudl and temper of ri de and uncultivated
men. Under the milder features of a liberal, virtuous,
and beneficent fovereign, the ufual cruelty of a Sara-
i
2 } A L M
cen and a defpot feemed entirely loft. He difplayed Alma;
an uncommon greatnefs of mind and an unufual ex- ' V
ample of clemency in his condudl towards his rival
and uncle Ibrahim. After his depofition, that prince
concealed himfelf in fome fequeflered corner of Bagdad^
The place of his concealment being at length difcover-
ed, he was inflantly brought before the caliph, and in¬
formed that the counfel had unanimoufly condemned
him to death. “ Your counfellors (laid Ibrahim) have
judged, according to the cultomary rules of political
government 5 if you pardon me, you will not, indeed,
judge according to precedent, but you will have no
equal among lovereigns.” The caliph rofe up and
embracing him tenderly, with great emotion, laid,
“ Uncle be of good cheer j I will not do you the leail
injury and he added to forgivenefs a fortune fu it able
to his birth and former elevated flation. When Alma-
moii’s courtiers complimented him on this generous
adlion, he exclaimed, “ O ! did men but know the
pleafure I feel in pardoning, all who have offended me
would come and cohfefs their faults.” To the fame
generofity of difpefition may be afcribed hisflrong pre-
diledlion to the oppreffed houfe of Ali, which/illed the
beginning of his reign with political troubles. By his
frequent intercourfe with men of enlightened minds,
and of different religious lentiments, he acquired a li¬
berality very unufual in a Muffulman ; and his pre¬
ference to fome particular opinions feems to have ori¬
ginated from his own vigour of mind, and his know¬
ledge of thefe opinions. (Gen. Bzog.)
ALMANACK, a book or table, containing a ka-
lendar of days and months, the rifing and fetting of
the fun, the age of the moon, the eclipfes of both lu¬
minaries, &c Authors are divided with regard to the
etymology of the word; fome deriving it from the
Arabic particle a/ and manach, to count \ fome from al¬
manack, new’-year’s gifts, becaufe the Arabian ailrolo-
gers ufed at the beginning of the year to make prefents
of their ephemerides *, and others, from the Teutonic
almaen achte, obfervations on all the months. Dr Tohn-
fon derives it from the Arabic particle al, and the
Greek pw, a month. But the moft fimple etymology
appears from the common fpelling; the word being
compofed of twro Arabic ones, Manack, -which
fignify the Diary. All the claffes of Arabs are com¬
monly much given to the ftudy of aftronomy and aftro-
logy j to both which a paltoral life, and a fort of huf-
bandry, not only incline them, but afford time and
opportunity to cultivate them. They neither finv, reap,
plant, travel, buy or fell, or undertake any expedi¬
tion or bufincfs, without previoufly confulting the liars,
or, in other words, their almanacks, or fome of the ma¬
kers of them. From thefe people, by their vicinity to
Europe, this art, no lefs ufeful in one fenfe than trifling
and ridiculous in another, hath paffed over hither; and
thofe aftronomical compofitions have Hill everywhere
not only retained their old Arabic name 5 but were,
like theirs, for a long while, and Hill are among many
European nations, interfperfed with a great number of
aftrological rules for planting, fowing, bleeding, pur¬
ging, &c. down to the cutting of the hair and paring
of the nails.—Regiomontanus appears to have been the
firft in Europe, however, who reduced almanacks into
their prefent form and method, gave the charaflers of
each
A L M [71
acfc. eacli year and month, foretold the eclipfes and other
phafes, calculated the motions of the planets, &.c. His
firll almanack was publifli.ed in 1474.
The effential part of an almanack is the kalendar of
months and days, with the rifings and fettings of the fun,
age of the moon, &c. To thefe are added various parer-
ga, allronomical, meteorological, chronological, politi¬
cal, rural, &c. as calculations and accounts of eclipfes,
folar ingrefles, prognollics of the weather, tables of the
tides, terms, &c. lifts of polls, offices, dignities, pu¬
blic inftitutions, with many other articles political as
well as local, and differing in different countries. A
great variety are annually publilhed in Britain ; feme
for binding, which may be denominated book alma¬
nacks; others in loofe papers, called /Jee/ almanacks.
The modern almanack anfwers to the FqJH of the
ancient Romans. See Fasti.
ConJiruBion of Almanacks. The firft thing to be
done is, to compute the fun’s and moon’s place for
each day of the year, or it may be taken from fome
ephemerides and entered into the almanack j next, find
the dominical letter, and, by means thereof, diftribute
the kalendar into weeks *, then, having computed the
time of Eafter, by it fix the other moveable feafts $ ad¬
ding the immoveable ones, with the names of the mar¬
tyrs, the riling and fetting of each luminary, the length
of day and night, the afpedls of the planets, the phafes
of the moon, and the fun’s entrance into the cardinal
points of the ecliptic, i. e. the two equinoxes and
folftices. (See Astronomy, paffim'). By the help
of good aftronomical tables or ephemerides, the con-
ftruflion of almanacks is extremely eafy.
For every almanack or kalendar for one year or
lefs, a ftamp duty of 8d. muft be paid. And for eve¬
ry almanack ferving more than a year, the fame duty
is paid for each year. Perpetual almanacks pay for
three years only. All books and pamphlets ferving
chiefly the purpofe of almanacks, are charged as fuch.
If any almanack contains more than one fheet, one
flieet only need be ftamped ; and every almanack is re¬
quired by law to be fo printed, that fome part of the
print fhall be upon the ftamp. Selling unftamped al¬
manacks incurs the fame penalty as for felling unftamp¬
ed newfpapers. Almanacks in bibles and common pray¬
er books are exempted.
Almanack, among Antiquaries, is alfo the name
given to a kind of inftrument, ufually of wood, in-
feribed with various figures and Runic characters, and
reprefenting the order of the feafts, dominical letters,
days of the week, and golden number, with other mat¬
ters neceffary to be known throughout the year j ufed
by the ancient northern nations, in their computations
of time, both civil and ecclefiaftical. Almanacks of
this kind are known by various names, among the dif¬
ferent nations wherein they have been ufed 5 as rim-
ftocks, primftaries, runftocks, runftaffs, Scipiones Ru-
mci, Baccuh Annales, clogs, &c. They appear to
have been ufed only by the Swedes, Danes, and Nor¬
wegians. From the fecond of thele people, their ufe
was introduced into England, whence divers remains
of them in the counties. Dr Plot has given the de-
feription and figure of one of thefe clogs, found in
Staffbrdfhire, under the title of The Perpetual Stafford-
fhire Almanack. The external figure and matter of
thefe kalendars appear to have been various. Some-
Vol. I. Part II.
3 ] A L M
times they were cut on one or more wooden leaves,
bound together after the manner of books ; fometimes
on the fcabbards of fwords, or even on daggers j fome-
times on tools and implements, as portable fteelyards,
hammers, the helves of hatchets, flails, &.c. Some¬
times they were made of brafs or horn; fometimes of
the fkins of eels, which being drawn over a flick pro¬
perly inferibed, retained the impreflions of it. But
the moft ufual form was that of walking ftaves, or
flicks, which they carried about with them to church,
market, &c. Each of thefe ftaves is divided into three
regions j whereof the firft indicates the figns, the fe¬
cond the days of the week and year, and the third the
golden number. The charafters engraven on them are,
in fome, the ancient Runic j in others the later Gothic
characters of Ulfilus. The faints days are exprefied
in hieroglyphics, fignificative either of fome endow¬
ment of the faint, the manner of his martyrdom, or the
like. Thus, againft the notch for the firft of March*
or St David’s day, is reprefented a harp 5 againft the
acth of OClober, or Crifpin’s day, a pair of fhoes ;
againft the icth of Auguft, or St Lawrence’s day, a
gridiron 3 ^tnd laftly, againft New-year’s day, a horn,
the fymbol of liberal potations, which our anceftors in¬
dulged in at that feafon.
ALMANSOR the Victorious, the fecond caliph
of the houfe of A1 Abbas, fucceeded his brother Abul
Abbas A1 Saffah, in the year 753, of the Hegira 136,
and in the following year was inaugurated at A1 Ha-
fhemiyah. Although A1 Saffah had declared him pre-
fumptive heir of the crown, and he had been proclaim¬
ed caliph in the imperial city of Anbar, yet immedi¬
ately upon his inauguration, his uncle Abdallah ebn
Ali had fufficient intereft to caufe himfelf to be pro¬
claimed caliph at Damafcus. In Arabia, Syria, and
Mefopotamia, he collected a numerous army, and ar¬
rived at the banks of the Mafius, near Nifibis, where
he encamped, ready to difpute his royal acceflion by
arms. Almanfor collected an immenfe army in Per-
fia, Khorafan, and Irak, and gave the command of it
to Abu Modem,* who haraffed his uncle’s troops fo*
five months, and at laft totally defeated him, A. D.
754. Notwithftanding the fervices.which Abu Mo¬
dem had rendered to the family of A1 Abbas, af¬
ter this victory he became an objeCt of jealoufy, and
was affaftinated in the prefence of Almanfor himfelf,
by his exprefs order. After the death of Abu Moflem,
the ftandard of rebellion was railed by Sinon a Magi-
an, who feized on the treafures of the deceafed go¬
vernor of Khorafan, and excited the people of that
country to a general revolt 3 but this infurreCtion was
fuddenly quelled by the general of Almanfor, Jam-
hur ebn Morad. The caliph avaricioufly feized the
fpoils of this victory, rvhich fo incenfed Jamhur that he
immediately turned his arms againft his royal mafter 3
but he was foon defeated by the caliph’s forces. The
patriarch of Antioch w as about this time deteCted in
an illicit correfpondence with the Grecian emperor, and
confequently w7as banilhed into an obfeure part of Pa-
lefline 3 and in the mean time the Chriftians in the do¬
minions of the caliph w7ere prohibited from building
or repairing any churches, and alfo were laid under fe-
veral other fevere reftraints.
Almanfor fent a large army into Cappadocia in
the year 757, fortified the city of Malatia or Me-
4 X litenc,
A L M [ 714 ] A L M
litene, and depofited i« it a great part of his treafures.
But in this year he was attacked by a fe& of believers
in the metempfychofis, called the Raivandians. This
fe£t affembled at A1 Halhemiyah the refidence of the
caliph, and by the ceremony of going in proceffion
round his palace, intimated their purpofe of invoking
him as a deity, and paying him divine homage. In-
cenfed by their impiety, the caliph ordered feveral of
thefe feftaries to be imprifoned, which roufed their re-
fentment, and led them to form the defign of his af-
faffination. The generous interpofition of Maan ebn
Zaidet an Ommiyan chief, who had been under the
neceffity of concealing himfelf from the caliph’s re-
fentment, however defeated their intention. This in-
lult received in his capital, induced him to build the
city of Bagdad, and to fix his refidence there, A. D.
762. In the preceding year a plan was formed to de¬
throne him j but it being difcovered, he feverely pu-
nilhed all who were either dire&ly or indire&ly con¬
cerned in it. Abdallah his uncle fhared the fate of
other rebels: for being allured to court under the pro-
mife of pardon and proteftion, he was placecHn a build¬
ing which was fo conftru&ed that it immeoiately fell
and crufhed him in its ruins. Not long after his refi¬
dence at Bagdad, he was feized with a'diforder of which
he was cured by the advice of a famous Chriftian phy-
fician, whofe name was George ebn Baktifhua A1 Jon-
difaburi. The caliph, previoufly informed that he was
married to a wife old and infirm, as a recompenfe pre-
fented him with three beautiful Greek girls, and a con-
fiderable fum of money; the girls, to the caliph’s fur-
prife, were fent back, with a declaration on the part of
George, that it was not lawful for a Chriftian to have
more wives than one at a time. The conduit of the
phyfician, on this occafion, raifed him in the efteem of
the caliph, and procured him a greater profufion of fa¬
vours. In his fucceeding military tranfaitions, Alman-
for was generally victorious. His conduit to his Chrif¬
tian fubjeits was rigorous and fevere. He fet out on
a pilgrimage to Mecca in the year 774, and being
feized on the road with a dangerous dileafe, he fent for
his fon and intended fuccgffor A1 Mohdi, and gave him
fome falutary advice. “ I command you” faid he, “ to
treat publicly your relations with the greateft marks
of diftinition, fince this conduit wall refleit no fmall
degree of honour and glory upon yourfelf. Increafe
the number of your freedmen, and treat them with all
kindnefs, as they wall be of great fervice to you in
your adverfity j but neither this, nor the other injunc¬
tion will you fulfil. Enlarge not that part of your ca¬
pital ereited on the eaftern bank of the Tigris, .as you
will never be able to finilh it j but this work I know
'you will attempt. Never permit any of your women
to intermeddle in affairs of flate, or to have any influence
•over your counfels} but this advice I know you will
not take. Thefe are my lafl: commands; or, if you
pleafe, my dying advice j and to God I now recom¬
mend you.” In parting they both gave vent to their
feelings in a flood of tears. He purfued his journey
to Bir-Maimun, i. e. the well of Maimun, where he
died in the 63d year of his age and the 20th of his
reign, and his remains were interred at Mecca.
The charaifer of Almanfor was formed of very dif¬
ferent pad even contradiilory qualities. His temper
conciliated alfeilion and attachment in private life, but
in his public charaiter his afpeit and demeanour infpir- AlmaBz*
ed terror. He was well acquainted with the arts of go-
vernmentj he was prudent and brave, but perfidious. ■ ” •
covetous, cruel, and implacable ; and amid fuch a va¬
riety of charaiter, it is Angular that he fliould have
difplayed a love of ftudy and literature, and particu¬
larly of aftronomy. {Gen. Biog.')
ALMANZA, a little town of New Caftile, on the
frontiers of the kingdom of Valencia in Spain, fituated
in W. Long. 1. 19. N. Lat. 38. 54. It is remarkable
for the defeat of the allies in 1707, under the marquis
de las Minas and the earl of Galway. In the beginning
of this aition the Englifh troops penetrated through
the centre of the Spanilh army ; but the Portuguefe
cavalry being broken by the Spanilh, and the French in¬
fantry making a dreadful fire on their flanks, the allied
army was at laft broken, and began their retreat when
it was almoft dark. Colonel Hill carried off the re¬
mains of thirteen battalions towards the river Xucar*
which, if they could have paffed, they might have
been fafe : but being very much fatigued, they w-ere
obliged to halt; by which means they were furrounded,
and forced to furrender prifoners of war. In this bat¬
tle, the allies loft 120 ftandards, together with all their
artillery and baggage ; a great number were killed, and
feveral thoufands taken prifoners. The Marquis de las
Minas was dangeroufly wounded 5 and his miftrefs, in
the garb of an amazon, killed by his fide. The earl
of Galway had two cuts acrofs the face, which, though
not dangerous, had prevented him from feeing, or giv¬
ing orders properly.
Heresy or ALMARIC, a tenet broached in
France by one Almaric, in the year 1 209. It confift-
ed in affirming, that every Chriftian was actually a
member of Chrift $ and that without this faith no one
could be faved. His followers went farther, and af¬
firmed, that the pow er of the Father lafted only during
the continuance of the Mofaic law j that the coming
of Chrift introduced a new law 5 that at the end of this
began the reign of the Holy Ghoft } and that now*
confeflion and the facraments were at an end, and that
every one is to be faved by the internal operations of the
Holy Spirit alone, without any external a£t of reli¬
gion.—Their morals were as infamous as their doftrine
was abfurd. Their tenets were condemned by a public
decree of the council of Sens, in the year I 209.
ALME, or Alma, finging and dancing girls in
Egypt, who, like the Italian Improvijatori, can occa-
fionally pour forth “ unpremeditated verfe.” They
are called Alme% from having received a better edu¬
cation than other women. They form a celebrated
fociety in that country. To be received into it, ac¬
cording to M. Savary, it is neceffary to have a good
voice, to underftand the language well, to know the
rules of poetry, and be able to compofe and fing coup¬
lets on the fpot, adapted to the circumftances. The
Alme know by heart all the new fongs. Their me¬
mory is furniihed with the moft beautiful tales. There
is no feftival without them; no entertainment of which
they do not conftitute the ornament. They are pla¬
ced in a roftrum, from whence they fing during the
repaft. They then defcend into the faloon, and form
dances which have no refemblance to ours. They are
pantomime ballets, in which they reprefent the ufual
occurrences of life. The myfteries of love, too, ge¬
nerally .
A L M [ 7i
nerally furniili them with fcenes. The fupplenefs of
^laiehrah. t]lejr bodies is inconceivable. One is aftonilhed at the
mobility of their features, to which they give at plea*
lure the impreiTion fuited to the characters they play.
The indecency of their attitudes is often carried to ex-
cefs. Their looks, their geftures, every thing fpeaks,
but in fo expreflive a manner, that it is impoffible to
miltake them. At the beginning of the dance, they
lay abide with their veils the modelty of their fex. A
long robe-of very thin filk goes down to their heels,
which is flightly fattened with a rich girdle. Long
black hair, plaited and perfumed, is flowing on their
Ihoulders. A fluft, tranfparent as gauze, fcarcely hides
their bolom. As they put themfelves in motion, the
lhapes, the contours of their bodies, feem to develope
themfelves fuccettively. Their fteps are regulated by
the found of the flute, of caftanets, the tambour de
bafque, and cymbals, which accelerates or retards the
meafure. They are ftill further animated by words
adapted to fuch fcenes. They appear in a ftate of in¬
toxication. They are the Bacchants in a delirium.
It is when they are at this point, that throwing off all
referve, they abandon themfelves totally to the difor-
der of their fenfes 5 it is then that a people far from
delicate, and who like nothing hidden, redouble their
applaufes. Thefe Alme are fent for into all the ha-
rams. They teach the women the new airs 5 they
amufe them with amorous tales, and recite in their pre¬
fence poems, which are fo mucly the more interefting,
as they furnifh a lively piClure of their manners. They
initiate them into the myfteries of their art, and teach
them to contrive lafcivious dances. Thefe girls, who
have *' cultivated underftanding, are very agreeable in
converfation. They fpeak their language with puri¬
ty. The habit of dedicating themfelves to poetry ren¬
ders the fofteft and moft fonorous exprelRons familiar
to them. They repeat with a great deal of grace. In
finging, nature is their only guide. Sometimes two
of them flng together, but always with the fame voice.
It is the fame with an orchettra, where all the inftru-
ments playing in unifon execute the fame part.
I he Alme aflitt at the marriage-ceremonies, and
march belore the bride, playing on inttruments. They
make a figure likewife at funerals, and accompany the
proceflion, finging forrowful airs. They break forth
into groans and lamentations, and give every fign of
grief and defpair. Thefe women are paid very high,
and feldom appear but amongft the grandees and rich
men.
The common people have alfo their Alme. They
are girls of the fecond clafs, who try to imitate the
former j but they have neither their elegance, their
graces, nor their knowledge. They are everywhere
to be met with. The public places and the walks about
Grand Cairo are full of them. As the populace require
allufions ftill more ftrongly marked, decency will not
permit the relation to what a pitch they carry the li-
centioufnefs of their geftures and attitudes.
ALMEDIA, a frontier town of Portugal, in the
province of Tralos Montes, on the confines of Leon,
where there was a very brilk action between the French
and Portuguefe in 1663 17 miles north-weft of Civi-
dad Rodrigo. W. Long. 7. 10. N. Lat. 40. 41.
ALMEHRAB, in the Mathometan Cujloms, a ni^he
in their mofques, pointing towards the kebla or temple
5 ] A L M
of Mecca, to which they are obliged to bow in pray- Alniehar"
ing. See Kebla. , ^ .
ALMEISAR, a celebrated game among the anci- . ■
ent Arabs, performed by a kind of calling of lots with
arrows, ftridlly forbidden by the lawr of Mahomet, on
account of the frequent quarrels occafioned by it.
The manner of the game was thus : A young camel
being brought and killed, was divided into a number
of parts. The adventurers, to the number of feven, be¬
ing met, 1 \ arrowrs wrere provided without heads or
leathers ; feven of wdiich wrere marked, the firft with
one notch, the fecond with two, the third with three,
&.c. the other four had no marks. Thefe arrows wrere
put promifcuoufly into a bag, and thus drawn by an
indifferent perfon. Thofe to w’hom the marked ar¬
rows fell, won lhares in proportion to their lot; the
reft to wThom the blanks fell, were entitled to no part
of the camel, but obliged to pay the whole price of it.
Even the winners tailed not of the flelh themfelves
more than the lofers, but the whole was diftributed to
the poor.
ALMENE, in Commerce, a weight of two pounds
ufed to weigh faffron in feveral parts of the continent
of the Eall Indies.
ALMERIA, a fea-port towrn in the kingdom of
Granada in Spain, pleafantly fituated on a fine bay at
the mouth of the river Almeria, on the Mediterranean.
W. Long. 3. 20. N. Lat. 36. 51. This town is by
fome thought to have rifen upon the ruins of the an¬
cient Abdera, and was formerly a place of great con-
fequence. It was taken from the Moors in 1147, by
the emperor Conrad III. in conjundlion with the
French, Genoefe, and Pifans. It was at that time the
ftrongeft place in Spain held by the Infidels ; from
W'hich their privateers, which were exceedingly nume¬
rous, not only troubled the fea-coafts inhabited by the
Chriftians, but gave equal difturbance to the maritime
provinces of France, Italy, and the dlljacent iflands.
The city being well fortified, having a ftrong caftle,
a numerous garrifon, and being excellently provided
with every thing neceffary, made a vigorous refiftance j
but wras at lalt taken by llorm, when the viblor put to
the fword all the inhabitants who w'ere found in arms,
dillributing the bell part of the plunder among his al¬
lies, whom he fent aw'ay thoroughly fatisfied. The
Genoefe, particularly, acquired here that emerald vef-
fel wlrich ftill remains in their treafury, and is deemed
invaluable.
Upon its redu<!ifion by the Chriftians, Almeria be¬
came a bilhopric j but is at prefent very little better
than a village, indifferently inhabited, and has nothing
to teftify fo much as the probability of its former great-
nefs, except certain circumftances which cannot be ef¬
faced even by the indolence of the Spaniards themfelves.
What thefe are, Udal ap Rhys, a Wellhman, thus
deferibes, in his Tour through Spain and Portugal.
“ Its climate (fays he) is fo peculiarly bleffed, that
one really w'ants words to exprefs its charms and excel¬
lence. Its fields and meads are covered with flowrers
all the year round j they are adorned alfo with palms,
myrtles, plane trees, oranges, and olives; and the moun¬
tains and promontories near it are as noted for their
producing a great variety of precious ftones, infomuch
that the next promontory to it is called the Cape of
Gates, which is. a corruption from the wrgrd agates, the
4X3 hills
A L M [ 7
Almljgim hills thereabouts abounding in that fort of precio-us
Almihedes. ftones» as we.11 as in emeralds and amethyfts, garnets
i—or coarfe rubies, and extreme curious alabafter in the
mountains of Filaures.”
ALMIGGIM. See Almuggim,
ALMEYDA, Don Francis, was the fon of the
Count d’Abrantes, a grandee of Portugal, who ferved
with great diftinftion in the war of Ferdinand of Ca-
ftile with Granada j and in confequence of his import¬
ant fervices he became highly efteemed in the court
of his fovereign. Without any folicitation on his part
he was nominated the firft governor general and vice¬
roy of the newly conquered countries in the Fall; In¬
dies ; and fet fail from Lifbon in March 1505-6 with
a powerful fleet. To give dignity and influence to
his elevated ftation, a body of guards was appointed to
attend his perfon, feveral chaplains were afligned him,
together with every other appendage of grandeur.
He touched at the Cape Verd iflands, doubled the
Cape at a confiderable diftance to the fouth, and arrived
at Guiloa.. From thence he proceeded to Mombaza,
a well fortifled city in an ifiand, which he reduced, and
proceeded to the Angediva iflands not far from Goa,
where he built a fort; he likewife ere&ed and garri-
foned another fort at Cannanor, and arriving at Cochin,
he fecured it to the Portuguefe intereft. The ifland
of Madagafcar was dilcovered during his government,
and his Ion Don Lorenzo firfl: furveyed the Maidive
iflands 5 and about the lame time difcovered the fine
ifland of Ceylon, the principal fovereign of which he
brought under fubmiffion to the crown of Portugal.
Returning from this expedition, while employed in the
fleet deftined again!! Calicut, he loft his life in a fea-
fight againft the Zamorin. His father fuftained his lofs
with a heroic firmnefs, faying, “ that Lorenzo could
not die better than m the fervice of his country.On
the arrival of Alphonlo d’Albuquerque, who was
deftined to be his fucceffor, Almeyda yielded to the
imprefiions of jealoufy ; and under the pretence of mif-
conduct ne confined him in the citadel of Cannanor.
He engaged in 1508, the whole force of the Mahome-
tants in the port of Diu j and, gaining a complete vic¬
tory, facilitated the enterprifes of Albuquerque his
fucceffor, by contributing to break that formidable
league by which the Zamorin was in hopes of being able
to compel the Portuguefe to abandon their Indian con-
quefts. Returning home with the great riches which
he had acquired, he unfortunately touched at Saldanha
Point on the coaft of Africa, where fome of the failors,
in queft of water, quarrelled with the natives, who at¬
tacked and drove them to their (hips. With a view
to revenge this pretended affront, they perfuaded Al¬
meyda himfelf to go alhore, with a body of 150 men,
armed only with fwords and lances. While ftepping
into the boat, Almeyda exclaimed, “ whither do you
carry my 60 years ?” The Portuguefe furioufiy mill¬
ed on to attack the natives, whole numbers were great¬
ly augmented, and Almeyda with 57 of his men were
killed in this ralh and unprovoked attempt. (Gen.
Eiog.)
ALMISSA, a fmall but ftrong towm at the mouth
of the Cetina, in Dalmatia, famous for its piracies 5
ten miles eaft of Spalatro. E. Long. 18. 14. N. Latl
43- 56"
ALMQHE.DES, the name of a dynafty, which,
.6 ]
A L M
in the commencement of the twelfth century, fucceed-Almohedes.
ed that of the Almoravides in Barbary. It derived
its name from an obfeure founder called A1 Mohedi,
or A1 Mohedes, and it rofe into public notice in the
25th year of the reign of A1 Abraham, or Brahem,
who fucceeded his father Ali, A. D. 1115. This per¬
fon was a Bereber, and was a famous preacher of the
tribe of Muzamada, which was fettled along Mount
Atlas. His fcheme was the exertion of ingenuity,
and it was executed with unremitting aftivity. In or¬
der to obtain attention and fuccels, he affumed the
title of Mohdi or Mohedi, and claimed the honour of
leader of the orthodox, or Unitarians, and, by his
preaching they became fo numerous, that he even da¬
red to fet the royal powTer at defiance. Confident of
fecurity, and immerfed in pleafure, Brahem looked
■with a contemptuous eye upon the infurre&ion of a
party compofed of fuch perfons. They increafed in
number and ftrength, fo that the king was at laft
roufed from his incidence, and prepared for his own
fecurity and their fubjedfion. In the firft engagement
he was defeated, being overpowered with fuperior
numbers. I he artful Abdallah took poffelhon of the
capital, fo that Brahem, purfued as a fugitive by
Abdolmumen, one of the party, fought refuge in
the city of Fez. The gates wrere Ihut againft him j
but they were opened to admit his purfuers. Fie
next took refuge in the city of Auran, or Oran j
but he was purlued by Abdolmumen, who threatened
to deftroy the city with fire and fword 5 and the ma-
giftrates, unable to defend themfelves, urged him to
leave the town, and provide for his own fafety. Con¬
cealed by the darknefs of the night, he efcaped with
his favourite wife on horfeback behind him ; but being
clofely puriued by the enemy, rather than fall into
their hands, he ruftied over a precipice, and, along
with his wife, he was dallied to pieces. Such was the
death of this prince, which put a final period to the
empire of the Almoravides. When the death of Brahem
was known, Abdolmumen wras chofen by the chiefs of
that party his fucceffor, and proclaimed king of the Al¬
mohedes, under the title of A1 Emir A1 Mumin Ab¬
dallah Mohammed Abdal Mumin Ebn Abdallah Ibni
Ali, i. e. Chief or Emperor of the true Believers of the
home of Mohammed Abdal Mumin, the fon of Abdal
Mumin, the fon of Abdallah, of the lineage of Ali. Ab¬
dallah, during his reign, enatled prudential laws for the
eftabliftiment of his new kingdom, and the regulation
ot the conducft of his followers. He appointed a coun¬
cil of forty of his dilciples, all of whom were preach¬
ers. Some of thefe were commiflioned to regulate all
public affairs ; and at proper feafons they went forth
as itinerant preachers for the purpofe of ftrengthening
their party, and fpreading their dodfrines, and fixteen
of their number afted as fecretaries. As both the re¬
gal and pontifical dignities were united in the fame
perfon, the king was chofen from both of thefe two
clafles. The difciples of this fedl were denominated
Mohameddin, or Ali Mohaddin; but the .Arabian
writers only ftyle them preachers, and the Spanifh A1
Mohedes. I he defendants and fucceflbrs of that tribe
continued to retain the appellation of Emir A1 Mu-"
menin, or chiefs of the faithful believers, {is long as
their dynafty lafted ; and they became very powerful
both in Africa and Spain.. By their invedrives againft
the
A L M [ 7
Almoliedes. the tyranny of the Almoravides, and their loud cla-
mours for liberty, they induced the greater part of the
kingdom to revolt, and to embrace their religious doc¬
trines. The chief thing in them was their fpecious
pretence to orthodoxy, and ftridl adherence to the
unity of the Godhead, which they inculcated with the
greateil zeal and diligence.
On his acceffion to power, the new fovereign extir¬
pated all the unhappy remains and Heady adherents of
this race, by llrangling Ifaac the fon of Brahem. The
Almoravides governor taking advantage of the gene¬
ral tumult and diftradlion that prevailed, conftituted
their governments into independent principalities and
petty kingdoms •, and they who inhabited the moun¬
tainous parts, eftabliihed under their own cheyks a va¬
riety of lordfhips. The Libyans and Nubians took
the lead, and the Hates of Barbary, Tripoli, Kairw^an,
Tunis, Algiers, Tremecen, and Bujeyah, followed
their example. Abdolmumen, however, fuccefsfully
, purfued his conquells} and in a few years he reduced
to his fubje&ion the Numidians and Galatians in the
wefl, and the kingdoms of Tunis, Tremecen, and the
greatell part of Mauritania and Tingitana. He expell¬
ed the Chriftians of Mohedia, the chief city of Afri¬
ca, and fome others on the fame coaH ; and likewife
made conquefls both in Spain and Portugal. He died
in the feventh year of his reign, and was fucceeded,
A. D. 1156, by his fon Yufef or Jofeph. Yufef
proved a valiant and martial prince, and in his milita¬
ry court he firH eHablilhed the kings of Tunis and
Bujeyah in their refpeftive dominions, as his tributa¬
ries and vaflals j and then by earnefl felicitation he
embarked for Spain to afliH the Moorifli princes. Ya¬
kub or Jacob, or the conqueror, fucceeding him af¬
ter providing for his own fafety againll the revolted
and plundering Arabs, purfued his conqueHs with fuch
fuccefs, that he foon became mafler of the whole coun¬
try lying between Numidia and the entire length of
the Barbary coaHs, from Tripoli to the boundaries of
the kingdom of Morocco. Thus he was acknowledged
as fovereign by molt of the Arabian Moorifli princes
in his Spaniflr dominions 5 but alfo extended his terri¬
tory above 1200 leagues in length, and 480 in breadth.
The remaining part of the hiflory of this prince is in¬
volved in obfeurity. About the year 1 206, he quel¬
led a revolt in Morocco, but violated his faith with
the governor of the capital, which he reduced, and in
a cruel and perfidious manner he extirpated all his ad¬
herents. Touched, it is faid, with remorfe, he difap-
' peared, and, according to report, wandered about ob-
feure and unknown, until’he died in the humble con¬
dition of a baker at Alexandria. His fon Mohammed,
furnamed A1 Naker, fucceeded his father j and, on his
acceflion to the crown, he pafled over into Spain with
an immenfe army of 1 20,000 horfe and 300,000 foot,
and engaging the whole force of the Chriflians on the
plains of Tholofa, received a total defeat, with the lofs
of above 150,000 foot, 30,000 horfe, and 50,000 pri-
foners. According to Spaniih and other hifiorians,
this famous battle was fought in 617, A. D. 1220 ;
but according to the Arabian writers, it was in the
year of the Hegira 609, A. D. 1212. Returning
home to Africa, he was received with coldnefs and
difgufl by his fubje&s, on account of his defeat j and
foon after died of vexation, having appointed his grand-
Almoravi-
des.
17 ] A L M
fon Zeyed Arrax his fucceflbr. A defeendant of the Almond
Abdolwates, ancient monarchs of the kingdom, named
Gamarazan Ebn Zeyen, of the tribe of the Zeneti,
caufed him to be altaflinated. With him terminated
the dynafly or government of the Almohedes, having
pofleifed it for about 170 years, which gave place to
that of the Benimerini, another branch of the Zeneti.
Thefe having enlarged their conquefls, and enriched
themfelves by frequent inroads, not only into the
neighbouring kingdoms, but even Nubia, Libya, and
Numidia, w7ere at length lofl in the general preva¬
lence of Mohamedifm, after having exifled 117 years.
(MoJ. Univ. HiJI.)
ALMOND, the fruit of the almond tree. See
Amygdalus, Botany Index.
Almond, in Commerce, a meafure by which the
Portuguefe fell their oil : 26 almonds make a pipe.
Almonds, in Anatomy, a name fometimes given to
twm glands, generally called the tonfJs.
Almonds, among Lapidaries, ligniiy pieces of rock-
cryflal, ufed in adorning branch-candleflicks, &.c. on
account of the refemblance they bear to the fruit of
that name.
Almond Furnace, among Refiners, that in which
the flags of litharge, left in refining filver, are reduced
to lead again by the help of charcoal.
ALMONDBURY, a village in England, in the
wefl, riding of Yorkfliire, fix miles from Halifax.
ALMONER, in its primitive fenfe, denotes an of¬
ficer in religious houfes, to whom belonged the ma¬
nagement and diftribution of the alms of the houfe.
By the ancient canons, all monafteries wTere to fpend
at leaft a tenth part of their income in alms to the poor.
The almoner of St Paul’s is to difpofe of the moneys
left for charity, according to the appointment of the
donors, to bury the poor who die in the neighbour¬
hood, and to breed up eight boys to finging, for the
ufe of the choir. By an ancient canon, ail bifhops
are required to keep almoners.
Lord Almoner, or Lord High Almoner of Eng¬
land, is an ecclefiaftical officer, generally a bilhop,
who has the forfeiture of all deodands, and the goods
of felos de fe, which he is to diftribute among the
poor. He has alfo, by virtue of an ancient cuftom,
the povrer of giving the firft diih from the king’s table
to whatever poor perfon he pleafes, or, inftead of it,
an alms in money.
Great Almoner, Grand Aumoniez, in France, be¬
fore the revolution, was the higheft ecclefiaftical dignity
in that kingdom. To him belonged the fuperintendency
of all hofpitals and houfes of lepers. The king received
the facrament from his hand 5 and he faid mafs before
the king in all grand ceremonies and folemnities.
Almoner is alfo a more faftiionable title given by
fome wrriters to chaplains. In this fenfe we meet with
almoner of a ffilp, almoner of a regiment.
ALMONRY, or Aumbry, the office or lodgings
of the almoner j alfo the place where alms are given.
See Ambry.
ALMORAVIDES, in Hijlory, the name of an
Arab tribe, wdio took poffeflion of a diftri61 of Africa,
with the pretence of living in retirement, that their
minds might not be diftradled from the rigid obferv-
ance of the precepts of the Koran. Hence they afiu-
med the naiae of Morabites, which was changed by
the
AIM [ 7
Aimoravi- tlie Spaniards into that of Almoravides. Abubeker
( ben Omar, called by tlie Spanifli authors Abu Tcxe-
fien, was the firft chief of this tribe. Supported by a
powerful army of malecontents from the provinces of
Numidia and Libya, which was aflembled by the in¬
fluence of the Morabites, or Marabouts, he founded
the dynafty of the Almoravides in Barbary, in the
year 1051. I exefien was fucceeded by his fon Yufef
•or Jofeph, who, after having reduced to a (late of vaf-
(alage the kingdoms of I remecen, Fez, and Tunis,
.palled over into Spain during the time of the civil
wars, vigoroufly repulfed the Chriftiam, and foon faw
the greateft part of the kingdoms of Murcia, Granada,
Cordova, Leon, and fome parts of Valencia, fubjedled
to his power. He then returned into Africa, and left
his newly acquired dominions, with a confiderable
army, under the government of his nephew Moham¬
med. On his arrival in Africa, with a view to profe-
cute and extend his conquefts in Spain, he announced,
in a public declaration, a general gtizie, or religious
war ; aflembled a numerous army, with which he em¬
barked at Ceuta j and rejoining his nephew in Anda-
lufia, foon laid wade that province with fire and fword.
In the year 1107, five years afterwards, he under-
• took another invafion, penetrated into the kingdom of
Portugal, and reduced the city of Lifbon, with a con¬
fiderable part of the kingdom. At this time he loft
the cities of Alguazir and Gibraltar, which he had for¬
merly taken. On his return to Barbary, he was de¬
feated at lea. I his induced him to propofe a truce,
which was agreed to only on condition of his fubmitting
to become the tributary of the Spanifti king. Indignant
at thefe humiliating terms, Yufef made a vow that he
would never delift in his attempts, till he had utterly
rooted out the Chriftian religion in Spain. He made
preparations accordingly for a freflr invafion, embark¬
ed his army, and landing at Malaga, marched into
the enemy’s country. His progrefs was rapid j but
his meafures were inconfiderately planned and rafhly
executed. In the famous battle of the Seven Counts,
he was indeed vi&oriaus, but after a terrible (laugh¬
ter, and the lofs of great part of his army. This difaf-
trous victory obliged him to return to Africa 5 and he
died foon after at his capital of Morocco. Ali his fon,
fucceeded to the fovereignty in mo. This prince
who feems to have been of a lefs rvarlike difpofition
than his father, negledling his Spanifh conquefts, turn¬
ed his attention to the arts of peace, and eredled many
lumptuous buildings, and in particular the great mofque
of Morocco. Alphonfo, then king of Arragon, re¬
took from him fome confiderable cities ; which obliged
him to undertake an expedition to Spain in fupport of
the Moorifh princes.. But all his attempts proved un¬
fortunate j and in his laft enterprife, though power¬
fully aflifted by the Moorifli chiefs, with the lofs of
30,000 men he was defeated and (lain by Alphonfo,
in the fixth year of his reign.
He was fucceeded by his fon A1 Abraham, who de¬
voted himfelf entirely to pleafure. His fubjedls were
harafled and oppreffed with heavy taxes, which ex¬
cited difcontent and open rebellion. A revolution
was foon effedled, and in the 25th year of his reign,
the government transferred from the tribe of the Al¬
moravides to the Almohedes. (Moif. Unin. Hi/f.)
3 ]
A I M
ALMS, a general term for what is given out of Alms
charity to the poor. (j
In the early ages of Chriftianity, the alms of the Alrr>uSgim-
charitable were divided into four parts ; one of which v~"
was allotted to the biftiop, another to the priefts, and
a third to the deacons and fubdeacons, which made
their whole fubfiftence j the fourth part was employed
in relieving the poor, and in repairing the churches.
No religious fyftem is more frequent or warm in its
exhortations to almfgiving than the Mahometan. The
Alcoran reprefents alms as a necefiary means to make
prayer be heard. Hence that faying of one of their
caliphs : “ Prayer carries us half way to God, fading
brings us to the door of his palace, and alms intro¬
duces us into the prefence chamber.” Hence many
illuftrious examples of this virtue among the Mahome¬
tans. Hafan, the fon of Ali, and grandfon of Mo¬
hammed, in particular, is related to have thrice in his
life divided his fub(lance equally between himfelf and
the poor, and twice to have given away all he had.
And the generality are lb addicted to the doing of
good, that they extend their charity even to brutes.
Alms, alfo denotes lands or other eflfefts left to
churches or religious houfes, on condition of praying
for the foul of the donor. Hence,
Free Aims, that which is liable to no rent or fer-
vice.
Reafonable Aims, a certain portion of the eftates
of inteftate perfons, allotted to the poor.
Alms-Box, or Cheft, a fmall cheft, or coffer, called
by the Greeks Ki/3sebox, wherein anciently the alms
were colledled, both at church and at private houfes.
The alms-cheft, in Englfth churches, is a ftrong box,
with a hole in the upper part, having three keys, one
to be kept by the parfon or curate, the other two by
the church-wardens. The erefting of fuch alms-cheft
in every church is enjoined by the book- of canons, as
alfo the manner of diftributing what is thus colledled
among the poor of the parifh.
AiMS-Houfe, a petty kind ofhofpital, for the main¬
tenance of a certain number of poor, aged, or difabled
people.
ALMUCANTARS, in AJlronomy, an Arabic ,
word denoting circles of the fphere pafting through the
centre of the fun, or a ftar, parallel to the horizon,
being the fame as Parallels of Altitude.
As.MucAii'rAR's-Staff, is an inftrument ufually made
of pear-tree or box, having an arch of 15 degrees; ufed
to take obfervations of the fun, about the time of its
rifing and fetting, in order to find the amplitude, and
confequently the variation of the compafs.
ALMUCIUM denotes a kind of cover for the head,
worn chiefly by monks and ecclefiaftics. It was of a
fquare form, and feems to have given rife to the bon¬
nets of the fame drape dill retained in univerfities and
cathedrals.
ALMUGGIM, A LMIGGIM, or Almug tree, a
certain kind of wood mentioned in the firft book of
Kings (x. 11.), which the Vulgate tranflates ligna
thyina, and the Septuagint wrought wood. The Rab¬
bins generally render it coral; others, ebony, brazil,
or fnne. But it is obferved, that the almug tree can
by no means be coral, becaufe that is not fit for
the purpofes that the Scripture tells us the almug tree
was
/
Alnwick.
A L N L 7
Almunecar was ufed, fuch as mufical inftruments, flaircafes, &c.
The word thylnum is a name for the citron tree, known
to the ancients, and very much efteemed for its fweet
odour and great beauty. It came from Mauritania.
The almug tree, or almugim, algumim, or limply
gummim, taking cl for a kind of article, is therefore
by the bell commentators underftood to be an oily and
gummy fort of wood ; and particularly that fort of
tree which produces the gum ammoniac, which is alfo
thought to be the fame with the Shittim wood, where¬
of there is fuch frequent mention made by Mofes.
ALMUNECAR, a fea-port town in the kingdom
of Granada, feated on the Mediterranean, with a good
harbour, defended by a itrong caftle, 20 miles fouth
of Alhama. W. Long. 3. 45. K. Lat. 36. 50.
ALNAGE, or-AuiNAGH, the meafuring of wool¬
len manufadlures with an ell. It was at firll intended
as a proof of the goodnefs of that commodity ; and ac¬
cordingly a feal was invented as a mark that the com¬
modity was made according to the ftatute ; but, it be¬
ing now poflible to purchafe thefe feals, they are affix¬
ed, whenever the vender pleafes, to all cloths indiferi-
minately, to the great prejudice of our woollen manu-
fa&ures.
ALNAGER, ALNEGER,or AuLNEGER,q.d. mea-
furer by the ell, fignifies a fworn public officer, who, by
himfelf or deputy, is to look to the affize of woollen
cloth made throughout the land, i. e. the length,
width, and work thereof; and to the feals for that
purpofe ordained. The office of king’s aulnager feems
to have been derived from the ftatute of Richard I.
A. D. 1197, which ordained, that there ftiould be
only one weight and one meafure throughout the king¬
dom j and that the cuftody of the affize/ or ftandard
of weights and meafures, fhould be committed to cer¬
tain perfons in every city and borough. His bufinefs
was, for a certain fee, to meafure all cloths made for
fale, till the office was abolilhed by the ftatute 1 x and
1 2 W. III. cap. 20.
ALNUS, the Alder Tree. See Betula, Bo¬
tany Index.
Alnus, in the Ancient Theatres, that part which
was moft diftant from the ftage.
ALNWIC^v, a thoroughfare town in Northum¬
berland, on the road to Scotland. Here Malcolm,
king of Scotland, making an inroad into Northumber¬
land, was killed, with Edward his fon, and his army
defeated by Robert Moubray, earl of this county, anno
Likewife William, king of Scotland, in 1174,
invading England with an army of 80,000 men, was
here encountered, his army routed, and himfelf made
prifoner. The town is populous, and in general well
built 3 it has a large town-houfe, where the quarter-
feffions and county-courts are held, and members of
parliament elefted. It has a fpacious fquare, in wffiich
a market is held every Saturday. Alnwick appears
to have been formerly fortified, by the veftiges of a
tvall ftill viftble in many parts, and three gates which
remain almoft entire. It is governed by four cham¬
berlains, wire are chofen once in twTo years out of a
common council, conftfting of 24 members. It is or¬
namented by a ftately old Gothic caftle, which has
been the feat of the noble family of Piercy, earls of
Northumberland. As the audits for receipt of rents
have ever been in this caftle, it has always been kept
[ 7X9 1
A L O
Aloof,
in tolerable repair 3 and not many years ago, it was Alr.wid
repaired and beautified by the duke of Northumber¬
land, who made very conftderable alterations, upon <.
a moft elegant plan, with a view to refide in it feme
part of the fummer feafon. Tire manner of making
freemen is peculiar to this place, and indeed is as ri¬
diculous as lingular. The perfons who are to be made
free, or, as the phrafe is, leap the well, affemble in
the market-place, very early in the morning, on the
25th of April, being St Mark’s day. They appear
on horfeback, with every man his fword by his lide,
dreffed in white, and with white nightcaps, attended
by the four chamberlains and the caftle bailift', mount¬
ed and armed in the fame manner 3 from hence they
proceed, with mufic playing before them, to a large
dirty pool, called Freeman's-well, where they dif-
mount, and draw up in a bcd)i, at fome diftance from
the water 3 and then ruffi into it all at once, and
fcramble through the mud as fall as they can. As Ac
water is generally very foul, they come out in a dirty-
condition ; but taking a dram, they put on dry clothes,
remount their horfes, and ride full gallop round the
confines of the diftridt 3 then re-enter the town, fword
in hand, and are met by women drelfed in ribbons
with bells and garlands, dancing and ftnging. Thefe
are called timber-voajls. The houfes of the new free¬
men are on this day diftinguiffied by a great holly
bufh, as a hgnal for their friends to alfemble and make-
merry with them after their return. This ceremony
is owing to King John, who was mired in this well,
and who, as a puniffiment for not mending the road,
made this a part of their charter. Alnwick is 310
miles north by weft from London, 33 north of New-
caftle, and 29 fouth of Berwick.
55- 24.
ALOA, in Grecian Antiquity,
honour of Ceres by the hufoandmen, and fuppofed toj
refemble our harveft-home.
ALOE, in Botany. See Botany Index.
American Aloe. See Agave, Botany Index.
ALOGIANS, in Church Hi/lory, a feci of ancientr
heretics, who denied that Jefus Chrift was the Logos,
and confequently rejected the gofpel of St John. The
word is compounded of the privative a and Aaye?, q. d;'
Without Logos or Word. Some aferibe the origin of
the name, as well as of the fed of Alogians, to Theo¬
dore of Byzantium, by trade a currier 3 w ho having
apoftatized under the perfecution of the emperor Seve-
rus, to defend himfelf againft thofe who reproached1
him therewith, faid, that it wras not God he denied,
but only man. Whence his followers were called in
Greek xXeyn, becaufe they rejeded the Word. But
others, with more probability, fuppofe the name to
have been firft given them by Epiphanius in the way
of reproach. They made their appearance tov-ard the
clofe of the fecond century.
ALOGOTROPHIA, among Phy/icians, a term fig-
nifying the unequal growth or nouriffiment of any part
of the body, as in the rickets.
ALOOF, has frequently been mentioned as a fea-
term : but -whether juftly or not, wTe lhall not prefume
to determine^ It is know n in common difeourfe to im¬
ply at a dijiance; and the refemblance of the phrafes
keep aloof, and keep a luff, or keep the luff, in all proba¬
bility gave rife to this conjedure. If it was really <t
fear-
Long. 1. 10. Lat.
a feftival kept in
Alonece
, i
Alparflan
ALP [ 720 ] ALP
fea-phrafe originally, it feems to have referred to the
dangers of a lee-fnore, in which fituation the pilot
‘ might naturally apply it in the fenfe commonly under-
ftood, viz. keep all ojf, or quite off: it is, however, ne¬
ver expreifed in that manner by feamen now. See
Luff. It may not be improper to obferve, that be-
lides ufing this phrafe in the fame fenfe with us, the
French alfo call the weather-fide of a fhip, and the
weather-clue of a courfe, le lof.
ALOPECE, Alopecia, in Ancient Geography, an
ifland placed by Ptolemy at the mouth of the Tanais,
and called the iiland Tanais: now I'ljle des Renards
(Baudrand). Alfo an ifland of the "Bofphorus Cim-
merius (Pliny) 5 and another in the iEgean fea, over
againft Smyrna.
ALOPECIA, a term ufed among phyficians to de¬
note a total falling off of the hair from certain parts,
occafioned either by the defeft of nutritious juice, or
by its vicious quality corroding the roots of it, and
leaving the {kin rough and colourlefs.
The word is formed from vulpes, “ a fox j”
whofe urine, it is faid, will occafion baldnefs, or be-
caufe it is a difeafe which is common to that creature.
It is direfted to wafli the head every night at going to
bed with a ley prepared by boiling the afhes of vine
branches in red wine. A powder made by reducing
hermoda&yls to fine flour is alfo recommended for the
fame purpofe.
In cafes where the baldnefs is total, a quantity of
.the fineft burdock roots are to be bruifed in a marble
mortar, and then boiled in white wine until there re¬
mains only as much as will cover them. This liquor,
carefully {trained off, is faid to cure baldnefs, by walk¬
ing the head every night with fome of it warm. A
ley made by boiling allies of vine branches in common
water is alfo recommended with this intention. A
frefh cut onion, rubbed on the part until it be red and
itch, is likewife faid to cure baldnefs.
A multitude of fuch remedies are everywhere to be
found in the works of Valefcus de Taranta, Rondele-
tius, Hollerius, Trincavellius, Celfus, Senertay, and
other practical phyficians.
ALOPECURUS, or Foxtail-grass. See Bo¬
tany Index.
ALOPEX, in Zoology, a fpecies of the canis, with
a ftraight tail and black tip. It is commonly called
theyfe/'/ fox. -
ALOSA, the {had, or mother of herrings, a fpecies
of the clupea. See Clupea, Ichthyology Index.
ALOST, a town in Flanders, belonging to the
houfe of Auftria, feated on the river Dender, in the
midway between Brulfels and Ghent. It has but one
parifh ; but the church is collegiate, and has a provoft,
a dean, and 1 2 canons. Here is a convent of Carme¬
lites, another of Capuchines, another of barefooted
Carmelites, three nunneries, an hofpital, and a convent
of Guillemins, in which is the tomb of Theodore Mar¬
tin, who brought the art of printing out of Germany
into the Low Countries. He was the friend of Eraf-
mus, and wrote his epitaph. Aloft was taken and dif-
mantled by Marlhal Turenne in 1667 > after the
battle of Ramillies in 1706, was abandoned to the al¬
lies. E. Long. 3. 56. N. Lat. 49. 55.
ALP ARSLAN, the fecond fuitan of the dynafiy
jOf Seljuk in Perfia, was the ion of David, and great
2
grandfon of Seljuk the founder of the dynafty. Fit
was born in the year 1030, of the Hegira 421. In
place of Ifrael, which was his original name, he afllim-
ed that of Mohammed, when he embraced the Muf-
fulrnan faith, and he obtained the furname, Alp Arf-
lan, which in the Turkifti language fignifies a valiant
lion, on account of his military prow^efs. Having held
the chief command in Khorafan for ten years as lieu¬
tenant of his uncle Fogrul Beg, he fucceeded him in
the year 1063, and the commencement of his reign
faw himfelf foie monarch of Perfia, from the river Amu
to the Tigris. Vv hen he afiumed the reins of govern¬
ment, fadlion and open rebellion prevailed in his domi¬
nions, in fubduing of which he was ably aftifted by
Nadham al Molk his vifir, one of the moft diftinguifti-
ed charafters of his time, whofe prudence and integrity
in the adminiftration of the affairs of the kingdom pro¬
ved of moft effential fervice to this prince and to his
fucceffor. Peace and fecurity being eftabliftied in his
dominions, he convoked an affembly of the ftates ; and
having declared his fon Malek Shaw his heir and fuc¬
ceffor, feated him on a throne of gold, and exafted an
oath of fidelity to him from the principal officers of the
empire. With the hope of acquiring immenfe booty in
the rich temple of St Bafil in Caefarea, the capital of
Cappadocia, he placed himfelf at the head of the Turk¬
ifti cavalry, croffed the Euphrates, and entered and plun¬
dered that city. He then marched into Armenia and
Georgia, wdiich in the year 1065 he finally conquered.
In the former country, the very name of a kingdom
and the fpirit of a nation were totally extinguiftied.
But the native Georgians v;ho had retired to the
woods and vallies of Mount Caucafus made a more vi¬
gorous refiftance. They too, however, overpowered
by the arms of the fultan and his fon Malek, were for¬
ced to fubmifiion, and reduced to flavery. To puniftr
them for the brave defence which they had made, and
as a badge of their humiliating condition, Alp Arflan
obliged them to wear at their ears horfe {hoes of iron.
Some, to efcape this mark of cruelty and ignominy,
profeffed to embrace the religion of Mahomet.
In the year 1068 Alp Arflan invaded the Roman
empire, the feat of which w-as then at Conftantinople.
Eudocia, the reigning emprefs, faw and dreaded the
progrefs of his arms. To avert the threatened dan¬
ger, fhe married Romanus Diogenes, a brave foldier,
who was accordingly affociated with her in the go¬
vernment, and raifed to the imperial dignity. The
new emperor, during the exhaufted ftate of their re-
fimrces, luftained the Roman power with furprifing va¬
lour and invincible courage. His fpirit and fuccefs
animated his foldiers in the field to aft w'ith fortitude
and firmnefs, infpired his fubjefts with hope, and ftruck
terror in his enemies. In three fevere campaigns his,
arms w’ere viftorious 5 and the Turks were forced to
retreat beyond the Euphrates. In the fourth he ad¬
vanced with an army of 100,000 men into the Arme¬
nian territory for the relief of that country. Here he
was met by Alp Arflan with 40,000 cavalry, or, ac¬
cording to fome authors, a much fmaller number ; and
the fultan having propofed terms of peace which were
iniultingly rejefted by the emperor, a bloody and de-
cii ve engagement took place. Alp Arflan, it is faid,
when he faw that a battle was inevitable, wept at the
thought that io many of his faithful followers muft fall
in
ALP [ 72
Arflnn. in the ftmggle j and after offering up a devout prayer,
‘V—-' granted free pennilfion to all who chofe it to retire
from the field. Then with his own hand he tied up
his horfe’s tail, exchanged his bow and arrows for a
mace and fcymitar, and robing himfelf in a white gar¬
ment perfumed with muflc, refolved to perifii on the
fpot unlefs he came off viftorious. The fkilful move¬
ments of the Turkiih cavalry foon made an impreffion
on the fuperior numbers of the Greeks,- who were
thrown into great diforder, and after a terrible (laugh¬
ter, were totally routed. Romanus, deferted by the
main body of his army, with unthaken courage kept
his ffation, till he was recognized by a Have, taken
prifoner, and conduced into the prefence of Alp Arf-
lan. In the I urkifh divan, the captive emperor was
commanded to kifs the ground as a degrading mark of
fubmiffion to the powrer and authority of the fultan,
who, it is faid, leapt from his throne and fet his foot
on his neck. Rut this is fcarcely probable or confif-
tent with the generous and refpe&ful treatment which
he otherwife experienced. For the fultan inftantly
railed him from the ground, embraced him tenderly,
and affured him that his life and dignity (hould remain
inviolate under the protection of a prince who had not
forgotten the refpeCt due to the majefty of his equals,
and the viciffitudes of fortune. When the terms of
his ranfom w'ere about to be fettled, Romanus was afk-
ed by Alp Arflan what treatment he expeCted to re¬
ceive. To this queftion the emperor, with feeming in¬
difference, replied, “ If you are cruel, you will take
my life ; if you follow the dictates of pride, you will
drag me at your chariot wheels 5 if you confult your
intereft, you will accept a ranfom, and reftore me to
my country.” “ But what,” fays the fultan, “ would
you have done in fuch circumftances ?” “ Had I been
victorious,” faid the infolent Romanus, “ I would have
inflicted on thy body many a ftripe.” The conqueror
fmiled at the fierce and unfubdued fpirit of his captive 5
obferved that the Chriftian precepts ftrongly inculca¬
ted the love of enemies and the forgivenefs of injuries j
and, with a noble greatnefs of mind, declared that he
would never imitate an example which he difapproved.
A ranfom of a million, an annual tribute of 3000 pieces
of gold, an intermarriage between the families, and
the deliverance of all the captive Muffulmans in the
power of the Greeks, were at lall agreed to as the
terms of peace and the liberty of the emperor. Ro¬
manus was now difmiffed loaded with prefents, and re-
fpeftfully attended by a military guard. But the dif-
tra&ed ftate of his dominions, the confequence of a re¬
volt of his fubje&s, precluded him from fulfilling the
terms of the treaty, and remitting the ftipulated price
of his ranfom. The fultan feemed difpofed to favour
and fupport the declining fortunes of his ally •, but the
defeat, imprifonment, and death of Romanus interrupt¬
ed the accomplithment of his generous, or rather am¬
bitious, defign.
At this time the dominion of Alp Arflan extended
over the faireft part of Afia j 1200 princes, or fons of
princes, furrounded his throne j and 200,000 foldiers
were ready to execute his commands. He now medi¬
tated a greater enterprife, and declared his purpofe of
attempting the conqueft of Turkeftan, the original feat
of his anceffors. After great preparations for the ex¬
pedition, he marched with a powerful army, and arrived
Vot. I. Part II.
i ] ALP
at the banks of the Oxus. Before he could pafs the r'i- Alp A
ver with fafety, it was neceffary to gain pcffeffion of
fome fortreffes in its vicinity ; one of which was for "~v'
feveral days vigoroufly defended by the governor, jo-
feph Cothual, a Carizmian. He was, however, obli¬
ged to furrender, and was carried a prifoner before the
fultan, who, being enraged at his obftinacy and pre-
fumption, addreffed him in very reproachful terms.
Jofeph replied with fo much fpirit, that he roufed the
refentment of Alp Arflan, and w'as commanded in¬
ftantly to be fattened by the hands and feet to four
ftakes, to fuffier a painful and cruel death. Jofeph, on
hearing this fentence, became furious and defperate $
and drawing a dagger which he had concealed in his
boots, ruflied towards the throne to ftab the fultan :
the guards raifed their battle-axes, and moved forward
to defend their fovereign •, but Alp Arflan, the moft
expert archer of his age, checking their zeal, forbade
them to advance, and drew his bow : his foot flipped^
and the arrow miffed Jofeph, who rufhed forward, and
plunging his dagger in the breaft of the fultan, was
himfelf inftantly cut in pieces. The wound proved
mortal, and the fultan expired in a few hours after he
received it, in the year 1072. When he found his
end approaching, he addreffed himfelf in thefe words
to his attendants : “ In my youth,” faid he, “ I was
advifed by a wife man to humble myfelf before God,
never to confide in my own ftrength, or to defpife the
moft contemptible enemy. Thefe leffons I have ne-
glefted, for which I have now met deferved punifli-
ment. Yefterday, when I beheld from an eminence
the number and difcipline of my troops, I faid in the
confidence of my heart, ‘ What power on earth can
©ppofe me ? what man dares to attack me ?’ To day,
vainly trufting to my own ftrength and dexterity, I
foolfthly checked the prompt zeal and alacrity of my
guards for my fafety, and now I have fallen by the
hand of an affaftm ! But I perceive that no force or
addrefs can refill fate.” He died in the 10th year of
his reign, at the age of 44. He was buried at Maru,
one of the four cities of Khorafan, in the tomb of the
Seljukian dynafty. On his tomb was infcribed the fol-
lowing epitaph : “ All you who have beheld the gran¬
deur of Alp Arflan exalted to the heavens, come to
Maru, and you will fee it buried in the dull.”
This prince was diftinguilhed for his valour, libera¬
lity, and piety. He was patient, juft, and fincere. His
ftature, afpeft, and voice, commanded the refpedl of
all who approached him. He had long whilkers, and
ufually wore a high turban in the form of a crown.
He was fucceeded by his fon Malek Shaw, who had
been proclaimed and acknowdedged fultan of the Turks
during his life. (Mod. Univ. HiJI. Gibbon's Hi]}.')
ALPHA, the name of the firft letter of the Greek
alphabet, anfwering to our A. As a numeral, it Hands
for one, or the firft of any thing. It is particularly
ufed, among ancient writers, to denote the chief or firft
man of his clafs or rank. In this fenfe, the word
Hands contradiftinguilhed from beta, w’hich denotes
the fecond perfon. Plato was called the Alisha of
the wits : Eratofthenes, keeper of the Alexandrian li¬
brary, whom fome called a Second Plato, is frequently
named Beta.
Alpha is alio ufed to denote the beginning of any
thing. In which fenfe it ftands oppofed to omega,
4 Y which
ALP
Alphabet, which denotes the end. And tliefe two letters were
v —• macje fynihol of Chriftianity j and accordingly were
engraven on the tombs of the ancient Chriftians, to di-
ilinguiih them/ from thofe of idolaters. Moralez, a
Spanifh -writer, imagined that this cuftom only com¬
menced hnce the rife of Arianifm } and that it was pe¬
culiar to the orthodox, who hereby made confeflion of
the eternity of Chrift : but there are tombs prior to the
age of Conilantine whereon the two letters were found,
befides that the emperor juft mentioned bore them on
his labarum before Arius appeared.
ALPHABET, the natural or cuftomary feries of
the feveral letters of a language (fee Language and
Writing). The word is formed from and beta,
the firft and fecond letters of the Greek alphabet. The
number of letters is different in the alphabets of differ¬
ent languages. The Englilh alphabet contains 24 let¬
ters ; to which if we add j and v confonant, the fum
will be 26 : the French contains 23 j the Hebrew,
Chaldee, Syriac, and Samaritan 22 each ; the Arabic
28 ; the Perfian 31 5 the Turkifh 33 •, the Georgian
36 ; the Coptic 32 j the Mufcovite 43 5 the Greek 24;
the Latin 22 j the Sclavonic 27 5 the Dutch 26*, the
Spanifii 27 ; the Italian 20 5 the Ethiopic and Tarta¬
rian, each 202 5 the Indians of Bengal 21 j the Bara-
mefe 19. The Chmefe have, properly fpeaking, no
alphabet, except we call their whole language by that
name 5 their letters are words, or rather hieroglyphics,
amounting to about 80,000.
It has been a matter of conftderable difpute whether
the method of expreffing our ideas by viftble fymbols
called letters be really a human invention 5 or whether
we ought to attribute an art fo exceedingly ul'eful to
an immediate revelation from the Deity.—In favour of
the latter opinion it has been urged,
Arguments j. I he five books of Mofes are univerfally acknow-
being^a di- to mo^: ancient compofitions as well as
vine revelam°ft early fpecimens of alphabetical writing we
tion. have. If, therefore, we fuppofe writing to be the re-
fult of human ingenuity, it muft be different from all
other arts, having been brought to perfe£Hon at once ;
as it feems impoffible to make any real improvement
on the Hebrew alphabet. It may indeed be replied,
that alphabetical characters perhaps have exifted many
ages before the writings of Mofes, though the more
ancient Ipecimens have perilhed. This, however, be¬
ing a mere unfupported affertion, without any hiftori-
cal teftimony to corroborate it, cannot be admitted as
a proof. Again, Setting afide the evidence to be de¬
rived from Scripture on this fubjedt, the fimplicity of
manners predominant in the early ages, the fmall ex¬
tent of the intellectual powers of mankind, and the
little intercoiirfe which nations had with one another,
which would feem more particularly to render writing
neceffary, can fcarcely allow us to fuppofe that fuch a
complex and curious contrivance as alphabetical writ¬
ing could be invented by a race of men whofe wants
were fo few, their advantages fo circumfcribed, and
their ideas fo limited.
2. If alphabetical writing were a mere human in¬
vention, it might be expefted that different nations
would have fallen upon the fame expedient independent
of each other during the compafs of fo many ages.
But no fuch thing has taken place ; and the writing of
every people on earth may be referred to cue common
722 ] ALP
original. If this can be proved, the argument from Alphabet,
fucceflive derivation, without a fingle inftance of inde¬
pendent difeovery, muft be allowed to amount to the
very higheft degree of probability in favour of our hy-
pothefis, which will now reft on the evidence for or
againft this faCt j and which may be fummed up in the
following manner.
Among the European nations rve find none who
can pretend any right to the difeovery of letters. All
of them derived the art from the Romans, excepting
only the lurks, who had it from the Arabians. The
Romans never laid claim to the difeovery j but con-
feffed that they derived their knowledge from the
Greeks, and the latter owned that they had it from
the Phoenicians ; who, as wmll as their colonifts the
Carthaginians, fpoke a dialed of the Hebrew fcarcely
varying from the original. The Coptic, or Egyptian,
refembles the Greek in moft of its charaders, and is
therefore to be referred to the fame original. The
Chaldee, Syriac, and latter Samaritan, are dialeds of
the Hebrew7, without any confiderable deviation, or
many additional words. The Ethiopic differs more
from the Hebrew, but lefs than the Arabic ; yet
thefe languages have all iffued from the fame flock, as
the fimilarity of their formation, and the numberlefs
words common to them, all fufficicntly evince ; and the
Perfic is very nearly allied to the Arabic. Alterations
indeed would naturally be produced, in proportion ta
the civilization of the feveral nations, and their inter-
courfe with others ; which will account for the fuperior
copioufnefs of fome above the reft. It appears then,
that all the languages in ufe amongft men that have
been conveyed in alphabetical charaders, have been
the languages of people conneded ultimately or im¬
mediately with the Hebrews, who have handed down
the earlieft fpecimens of writing to pofterity 5 and we
have therefore the greateft reafon to believe, that their
method of writing, as well as their language, was de¬
rived from the fame fource.
This propofition will be farther confirmed from con-
fidering the famenefs of the artificial denominations
of the letters in the Oriental, Greek, and Latin lan¬
guages, accompanied alfo by a fimilar arrangement,
as alpha, beta, &c. It may ftill be objeded, how¬
ever, that the charaders employed by the ancients to
diferiminate their letters arc entirely diflimilar. Why
fhould notone nation, it maybe urged, adopt from the
other the mode of expreffing the art as w’ell as the art
itfelf ? To what purpofe did they take the trouble of
inventing other charaders ? To this objedion it may
be replied, 1. From the inftance of our own language
we know what diverfities may be introduced in this
refped merely by length of time and an interepurfe
with neighbouring nations. And fuch an effed would
be more likely to take place before the art of printing
had contributed to eftabliflr an uniformity of charader :
For when every work wras tranferibed by the hand,
we may eafily imagine how7 many variations would a-
rife from the fancy of the feribe, and the mode of
writing fo conftantly different in individuals. 2. This
diverfity might fometimes arife from vanity. When
an individual of another community had become ac¬
quainted w7ith this wonderful art, he might endeavour
to recommend himfelf as the inventor \ and, to avoid
detedion, might invent other charaders. 3, The cha¬
raders
ALP [ 72
Alphabet, racers the alphabet might iometimes be accommo-
dated as much as poffible to the fymbolical marks al¬
ready in ufe amongft a particular people. Thefe hav¬
ing acquired a high degree of fanflity by the ufe of
many generations, would not eafily be fuperfeded with¬
out the aid of fome fuch contrivance. 4. This is fup-
ported by the tellimony of Herodotus, who informs
us, “ that thofe Phoenicians who came with Cadmus
introduced many improvements among the Greeks,
and alphabetical writing too, not known among them
before that period. At fifit they ufed the Phoenician
charafter •, but in procefs of time, as the pronunciation
altered, the ftandard of the letters was alfo changed.
The Ionian Greeks inhabited at the time the parts
adjacent to Phoenicia : who having received the art of
alphabetical writing from the Phoenicians, ufed it, with
an alteration of fome few characters, and confeffed in-
genuoufly, that it was called Phoenician from the in¬
troducers of it.” He tells us that he had himfelf feen
the characters of Cadmus in the temple of Ifmenian
Apollo at Thebes in Boeotia, engraven upon tripods,
and very much refembling the Ionian characters.
5;. The old Samaritan is precifely the lame as the He¬
brew language : and the Samaritan Pentateuch does not
vary by a lingle letter in twenty wrords from the He¬
brew : but the characters are widely different : for the
Jews adopted the Chaldaic letters during their captivity
at Babylon inltead of the characters of their forefa¬
thers.
3. What we knowT of thofe'nations who have con¬
tinued for many centuries unconnected with the reft of
the world, ftrongly militates againft the hypothecs of
the human invention of alphabetical writing. The
experiment has been fairly made upon the ingenuity of
mankind for a longer period than that which is fup-
pofed to have produced alphabetical witting by tegu¬
lar gradations ; and this experiment determines pe¬
remptorily in their favour. The Chinefe, a people
famous for their difcoveries and mechanical turn of
genius, have made 1’ome advances towards the delinea¬
tion of their ideas-by arbitrary figns, but have never-
thelefs been unable to accomplifh this exquifite device j
and after fo long a trial to no purpofe, we may rea-
fonably infer, that their mode of writing, which is
growing more intricate and voluminous every day,
would never terminate in fo clear, fo comparatively
limple, an expedient as that of alphabetical charaClers.
The Mexicans, too, had made fome rude attempts of
the fame kind ; but with lefs fuccefs than the Chinefe.
We know alfo, that hieroglyphics were in ufe among
the Egyptians poflerior to the praClice of alphabetical
writing by the Jewrs; but whether the epiflolography,
as it is called, of the former people, which was in
vogue during the continuance of the hieroglyphics,
might not poffibiy be another name for alphabetical
writing, cannot be decided.
4. We Ihall conlider the argument on which the
commonly received fuppofition entirely depends : that
is, the natural gradation, through the feveral fpecies of
fymbols acknowledged to have been in ufe with various
people, terminating at laft, by an eafy tranfition, in
the dete&ion of alphabetical charadlers. The ftrength
of this argument will be bell underftood from the fol¬
lowing reprefentation.
4‘ 1. The firfl method of embodying ideas would
3 1 ALP
be by drawing a reprefentation of the objects them- Alphabet,
felves. The imperfehtion of this method is very ob- v'-"'1
vious, both on account of its tedioufnels and its ina¬
bility of going beyond external appearances to the
abftraft ideas of the mind.
“ 2. The next method would be fomewhat more
general, and would fubftitute two or three principal
circiimftances for the whole tranfaflion. So two kings,
for example, engaging each other with military -wea¬
pons, might ferve to convey the idea of a war between
the two nations. This abbreviated method would be
more expeditious than the former j but what it gained
in concifenefs would be loll in perfpicuity. It is a de-
fcription more compendious indeed, but Hill a defcrip-
tion of outward objedts alone, by drawing their refem-
blance. To this head may be referred the picture-
writing of the Mexicans.
“ 3. The next advance would be to the ufe of fym->
bols: the incorporation, as it were, of abftraft and
complex ideas in figures more or lefs generalized, in
proportion to the improvement of it. Thus, in the
earlier ftages of this device, a circle might lerve to ex-
prefs the fun, a femicircle the moon 5 which is only a
contradlion of the foregoing method. This fymbol
writing in its adxmUced Hate would become more re¬
fined, but enigmatical and myilerious in proportion to
its refinement. Hence it would become lefs fit for
common ufe, and therefore more particularly appro¬
priated to the myfleries of philofophy and religion.
Thus, two feet Handing upon water ferved to exprefs
an impoffibility ; a ferpent denoted the oblique tra-
jedlories of the heavenly bodies ; and the beetle, on
account of fome fuppofed properties of that infedl,
ferved to reprefent the fun. The Egyptian hierogly¬
phics were of this kind.
“ 4. This method being Hill top fubtle and com¬
plicated for common ufe, the only plan to be puriued
was a redudHon of the firH Hage of the preceding me¬
thod. Thus a dot, inflead of a circle, might Hand for
the fun 5 and a Hmilar abbreviation might be extend¬
ed to all the fymbols. On this fcheme every objedt
and idea would have its appropriated mark : thefe
marks, therefore, would have a multiplicity propor¬
tionable to the w'orks of nature and the operations of
the mind. This method was likewife pradtifed by
the Egyptians ; but has been carried to grealer per-
fedtion by the Chinefe. The vocabulary of the latter
is therefore infinite, or at leafi capable of being ex¬
tended to any imaginable length. But if W’e compare
this tedious and awkward contrivance with the aflonilh-
ing brevity and perfpicuity of alphabetical writing,
rve muH be perfuaded that no two things can be more
diflimilar j and that the tranfition from a fcheme con-
ftantly enlarging itfelf, and growing daily more intri¬
cate, to the expreflion of every poflibie idea by the
modified arrangement of four-and-twenty marks, is not
fo very eafy and perceptible as fome have imagined.
Indeed this feems Hill to be rather an expreflion of
things in'a manner fimilar to the fecond ftage of fym¬
bol writing than the notification of ideas by arbitrary
figns.”
To all this we Ihall fubjoin the following remarks, Additional
w7hich feem to eive additional force to the foreo;oing ,emiirks in
r . 0 0 0 confirma*
reafonmg. tionofthefe
“ 1. Pliny ailerts the uie ot letters to have been eter-argRia€ntr<
4 Y 2 nal
Anfwers to
the above
arguments,
ALP [ y
Alphabet na]; which fhows the antiquity of the practice to ex-
tend beyond the era of authentic hiifory.
“ 2. The cabalidical doctors of the Jews maintain,
that alphabetical writing was one of the ten things
which God created on the evening of the Sabbath.
“ 3. Moft of the profane authors of antiquity afcribe
the fil'd ufeof alphabetical charadlers to the Egyptians,
who, according to fomer received them from Mercury;
and, according to others, from their god Teuth.
“ 4. There is very little reafon to fuppofe that even
language itfelf is the effect of human ingenuity and
invention.”
Thus we have dated the arguments in favour of the
revelation of alphabetical writing ; which are anfwer-
ed, by thole who take the contrary fide, in the follow¬
ing manner.
1. Mofes nowhere fays that the alphabet was a new
thing in his time *, nor does he give the lead hint of
his being the inventor of it. The fird mention we
find of writing is in the 17th chapter of Exodus j
where Mofes is commanded to write in a booh; and
which took place before the arrival of the Ifraelites at
Sinai. This fiiows that writing did not commence
with the delivery of the two tables of the law, as fome
have fuppofed. Neither are wre to conclude that the
invention had taken place only a Ihort time before j
for the writing in a booh is commanded as a thing com¬
monly underdood, and with wdnch Mofes was w^ell
acquainted. It is plain, from the command to engrave
the names of the twelve tribes of Ifrael upon dones
like the engravings, of a fgnet, that writing had been
known and pra6Hfed among them, as well as other
nations, long before. We mud alfo remember, that
the people were commanded to write the law on their
door pods, &c. fo that the art feems not only to have
been known, but univerfally pra&ifed among them.
Hut had writing been a new' difcovery in the time of
Mofes, he would probably have commemorated it as
well as the other inventions of mufic, &c.: Nor is
there any reafon to fuppofe that God was the immediate
revealer of the art j for Mofes would never have omit¬
ted to record a circumdance of fuch importance, as the
memory of it would have been one of the dronged bar¬
riers againd idolatry.
Again, I hough feveral profane waiters attribute the
origin of letters to the gods, or to fome divine perfon,
yet this is no proor of its being adlually revealed j but
only that the original inventor w'as unknowm. The
learned bidiop of Glouceder obferves, that the ancients
gave nothing to the gods of whofe original they had
any records ; but w'here the memory of the invention
was lofi, as of feed-corn, wine, writing, civil fociety,
&c. the gods feized the property, by that kind of right
which gives drays to the lord of the manor.
As neither the facred nor profane hidorians, there¬
fore, have determined any thing concerning the inven¬
tion of letters, we are at liberty to form what conjec¬
tures we think mod plaufible concerning the origin of
them ; and this, it is thought, might have taken place
in the following manner. '
“ *• Men, in. their rude uncultivated date, w'ould
have neither leifure, inclination, nor inducement, to
cultivate the powers of the mind to a degree fufficient
for the formation of an alphabet : but when a people
arrived at fuch a pitch of civilization as required thern
24 ] ALP
to reprefent the conceptions of the mind which have Alphabet,
no corporeal forms, neceffity w'ould occafion further ex- -*v~——'
ertions, and urge them to find out a more expeditious
manner of tranfa&ing their bufinefs than by pi6ture-
writing.
“ 2. Thefe exertions would take place whenever a
nation began to improve in arts, manufaftures, and
commerce j and the greater genius fuch a nation had,
the more improvements would be made in the notation
of their language ; whild thofe people who had made
lefs progrefs in civilization and fcience, would have a
lefs perfedl fydem of elementary charafters; and per¬
haps advance no farther for many ages than the marks
or chara&ers of the Chinefe. Hence wTe may fee, that
the bufinefs of princes, as well as the manufaftures and
commerce of each country, would produce the necefii-
ty of devifing fome expeditious manner of communi¬
cating information to one another.”
The art of writing, how’ever, is of fo grdat anti-
quity, and the early hidory of mod nations fo full of
fable, that it mud be extremely difficult to determine
wffiat nation or people may judly claim the honour of
the invention. But as it is probable that letters were
the produce of a certain degree of civilization among
mankind, w'e mud therefore have recourfe to the hido¬
ry of thofe nations w'ho feem to have been fird civi¬
lized.
The Egyptians have an undoubted title to a very ciajm 0f
early civilization ; and many learned men have attri- the Egyp-
buted the invention of letters to them. The late bifhop dans to the
of Glouceder contends, that Egypt W'as the parent of all ‘n,jention
the learning of Greece, and was reforted to by all the 0t letterSi
Grecian legidators, naturalids, and philofophers ; and
endeavours to prove that it wras one of the fird civilized
countries on the globe. Their writing was of four
kinds: 1. Hieroglyphic; 2. Symbolic; 3. Epijlolic;
and, 4. Hierogrammatic. In the mod early ages they
w rote, like all other infant nations, by piftures; of
which fome traces yet remain amongd the hierogly¬
phics of Horapollo, who informs us, that they repre-
fiented a fuller by a man’s two feet in water; fire, by
fmoke afcending, &c. But to render this rude inven¬
tion lefs incommodious, they foon devifed the method
of putting one thing of fimilar qualities for another.
The former was called the curiologic, the latter the
tropical hieroglyphic ; which lad was a gradual im¬
provement on the former. Thefe alterations in the man¬
ner of delineating hieroglyphic figures produced and
perfefted another charafter, called the running-hand of
the hieroglyphics, refembling the Chinefe writing ; which
having been fird formed by the outlines of each figure,
became at length a kind of marks; the natural effefts
of which were, that the condant ufe of them would
take off the attention from the fymbol and fix it on
the thing fignified. Thus the dudy of fymbolic writ¬
ing wrould be much abbreviated ; becaufe the writer
or decypherer w'ould have then little to do but to re¬
member the power of the fymbolic mark ; whereas be¬
fore, the properties of the thing or animal delineated
were to be learned. This, together with the other
marks by inditution, to denote mental conceptions,
W'ould reduce the charafters to a fimilar date with the
prefent Chinefe } and thefe were properly what the an¬
cients called hieroglyphical. We are unformed by Dr
Robert Huntingdon, in his account of the Porphyry
pillars,
ALP
Alphabet, pillars, that there are Tome ancient monuments of this
U“"'V ^ kind yet remaining in Egypt.
The facred book or ritual of the Egyptians, accord¬
ing to Apuleius, was written partly in fymbolic and
partly in thefe hieroglyphic chara&ers, in the follow¬
ing manner : “ He (the hierophant) drew out certain
books from the fee ret repoutories of the fan&uary,
written in unknown characters, which contained the
xvords of the facred formula compendioully expreffed,
partly by figures of animals, and partly by certain
marks or notes intricately knotted, revolving in the
manner of a wheel, crowded together, and curled in¬
ward like the tendinis of a vine, fo as to hide the
meaning from the curiofity of the profane.”
Letters not But though letters were of great antiquity in Egypt,
^entted in there is reafon to believe that they were not firfi: in-
-a.P vented in that country. Mr Jackfon, in his Chrono¬
logical Antiquities, has endeavoured to prove, that they
were not invented or carried into Egypt by Taaut or
"Thoth, the firll Hermes, and fon of Mifraim, who lived
about 500 years after the deluge ; but that they were
introduced into that country by the fecond Hermes,
who lived about 400 years after the former. This fe¬
cond Hermes, according to Diodorus, was the inventor
of grammar and mufic, and added many words to the
Egyptian language. According to the fame author
alio, he invented letters, rhythm, and the harmony of
founds. This was the Hermes fo much celebrated by
the Greeks, who knew no other than himfelf. On the
other hand, Mr Wife afferts that Mofes and Cadmus
could not learn the alphabet in Egypt ; and that the
■Egypt'303 had no alphabet in their time. He adduces
feveral reafons to prove that they had none till they
received what was called the Coptic, which was intro¬
duced eitner in the time of the Ptolemies or under
Pfammitichus or Amafis ; and the oldeft alphabetic let¬
ters which can be produced as Egyptian, appear plain¬
ly to have been derived from the Greek. Herodotus
confeifes, that all he relates before the reign of Pfam¬
mitichus is uncertain 5 and that he reports the early
tranfailions ot tnat nation on the credit of the Egyptian
priefts, on which he did not greatly depend 5 and Dio¬
dorus Siculus is faid to have been greatly impofed upon
by them. Manetho, the oldeft Egyptian hiftorian,
tranflated the facred regifters out of Egyptian into
Greek, which are faid by Syncellus to have been writ¬
ten in the facred letters, and to have been laid up by
the fecond Mercury in the Egyptian temples. He al¬
lows the Egyptian gods to have been mortal men •, but
his hiftory was very much corrupted by the Greeks,
and hath been called in queftion by feveral writers from
• the account which he himfelf gave of it. After Cam-
byfes had carried away the Egyptian records, the
pnefts, to fupply their lofs, and to keep up their pre-
tenfions to antiquity, began to write new records j
wherein they not only unavoidably made great mif-
takes, but added much of their own invention, efpeci-
ally as to diftant times.
Claim of . The Phoenicians have likewife been fuppofed the
clans ^ inventors of letters j and we have the ftrongeft proofs
ALP
of the early civilization of this people. Their moft Alphabet;
ancient hiftorian, Sanchoniatho, lived in the time of-V""—^
Abibalus, father of Hiram king of Tyre. He informs
us, that letters were invented by Taunt, who lived in
Phoenicia in the 12th and 13th generations after the
creation. “ Mifor (fays he) was the fon of Hamyn j
the fon of Mifor was Taaut, who invented the firft
letters for writing.” The Egyptians call him Thoth ;
the Alexandrians Thoyth; and the Greeks Hermes^
or Mercury. In the time of this Taaut or Mercury,
(the grandfon of Ham the fon of Noah), Phoenicia
and the adjacent country w’as governed by Uranus,
and after him by his fon Saturn or Cronus. He in¬
vented letters either in the reign of Uranus or Cronus j
and ftaid in Phoenicia with Cronus till the 3 2d year of
his reign. Cronus, after the death of his father Ura¬
nus, made feveral fettlements of his family, and tra¬
velled into other parts j and when he came to the fouth
country, he gave all Egypt to the god Taautus, that
it ihould be his kingdom. Sanchoniatho began his
hiftory with the creation, and ended it with placing
Taautus on the throne of Egypt. He does not men¬
tion the deluge, but makes two more generations in
Cain’s line from Protagonus to Agrovenus ('or from
Adam to Noah than Moles. As Sanchoniatho has
not told us whether Taaut invented letters either in
the reign of Uranus or Cronus, “ we cannot err much
(fays Mr Jackfon) if w^e place his invention of them
550 years after the flood, or 20 years after the difper-
fion, and 2619 years before the Chriftian era, and fix,
or perhaps ten years, before he went into Egypt.”
This prince and his pofterity reigned at Thebes in
Upper Egypt for 15 generations.
Several Roman authors attribute the invention of
letters to the Phoenicians. Pliny fays (a), the Phoeni¬
cians wrere famed for the invention of letters, as well
as for aftronomical obfervations and novel and martial
arts. Curtius informs us, that the Tyrian nation are
related to be the firft who either taught or learned let¬
ters } and Lucan fays, that they were the firft who at¬
tempted to exprefs founds or words by letters. Eu-
febius alfo tells us from Porphyry, that “ Sanchonia¬
tho ftudied with great application the waitings of
Taaut, knowing that he-was the firft who invented
letters.”
The Greeks, as wre have already obferved, knew no
older Hermes than the fecond, who lived about 400
years after the Mezrite Taaut or Hermes. This fe¬
cond Hermes is called by Plato Theuth, and counfellor
or facred feribe to King Thanius ; but it is not faid
that he ever reigned in Egypt: but the former Taaut,
or Athothes, as Manetho calls him, was the immedi¬
ate fucceffor of Menes the firft king of Egypt. This
fecond Mercury, if we may believe Manetho, compof- '
ed feveral books of the Egyptian hiftory, and having
improved both the language and letters of that nation,
the Egyptians attributed the arts and inventions of the
former to the latter. The Phoenician language is ge¬
nerally allowed to have been a dialedft of the Hebrew j
and though their alphabet does not entirely agree with
the
r 725 ]
(a) He fays in another place, that the knowdedge of letters is eternal. What dependance can we put in the
opinion of a writer who thus contradi&s himfelf ?
Of the
‘■Chaldeans.
ALP [ 7
Alphabet. tLe Samaritan, yet there is a great fimilarity between
v " them. Aftronomy and arithmetic were mnch cultivated
among them in the moll early ages ; their fine linen,
purple, and glafs, were much fuperior to thole of other
nations ; and their extraordinary Ikill in architefture
and other arts was fuch, that whatever was great, ele¬
gant, or pleafing, whether in buildings, apparel, or toys,
was diltinguilhed by the epithet of Tyrian or Sidonianj
thefe being the chief cities of Phoenicia. Their great
proficiency in learning and arts of all kinds, together
with their engrofiing all the commerce of the weltern
world, are likewife thought to give them a juft claim
to the invention of letters.
The Chaldeans alfo have laid claim to the invention
of letters *, and with regard to this, there is a tradition
among the Jews, Indians, and Arabians, that the E-
gyptians derived their knowledge from Abraham, who
was a Chaldean. This tradition is in fome degree
confirmed by moll of the weftern writers, who afcribe
the inventions of arithmetic and aftronomy to the
Chaldeans. Jofephus pofitively afferts, that the Egyp¬
tians were ignorant of the fciences of arithmetic and
aftronomy before they were inllrudled by Abraham j
and Sir Ifaac Newton admits, that letters wTere known
in the line of that patriarch for many centuries before
Mofes. The Chaldaic letters appear to have been de¬
rived from the Hebrew or Samaritan ; which are the
fame, or nearly fo, with the old Phoenician. Ezra is
fuppofed to have exchanged the old Hebrew ehara&ers
for the more beautiful and commodious Chaldee, which
are ftill in ufe. Berofus, the moft ancient Chaldean
hiftorian, who wras born in the minority of Alexander
the Great, does not fay that he believed his country¬
men to have been the inventors of letters.
The Syrians have alfo laid claim to the invention of
letters. It is certain indeed, that they yielded to
no nation in knowledge and Ikill in the fine arts.
Their language is faid to have been the vernacular of
all the oriental tongues, and was divided into three
dialedls. x. The Aramean, ufed in Mefopotamia, and
by the inhabitants of Roha and Edefa of Harram, and
the Outer Syria. 2 s The dialed! of Paleftine ; fpoken
by the inhabitants of Damafcus, Mount Libanus, and
the Inner Syria. 3. The Chaldee or Nabathean dia¬
led!, the moft unpoliihed of the three 5 and fpoken in
the mountainous parts of Afiyria, and the villages of
Irac or Babylonia. It has been generally believed,
that no nation of equal antiquity had a more confider-
able trade than the Syrians : they are fuppofed to have
-firft brought the commodities of Perfia and India into
the weft of Afia ; and they feem to have carried on an
inland trade by engrofling the navigation of the Eu¬
phrates, whilft the Phoenicians traded to the moft di-
-ftant countries. Notwithftanding thefe circumftances,
however, which might feem to favour the claim of the
Syrians, the oldeft charadlers they have are but about
three centuries before Chrift. Their letters are of two
forts. 1. The Eftrangelo, which is the more ancient *,
and, 2. The Ffhito, the ftmple or common charadler,
■which is the more expeditious and beautiful.
We muft next examine the claims of the Indians,
whofe pretenfions to antiquity yield to no other nation
on earth. Mr Halhed, who has vrritten a grammar of
-the Shanfcrit language, informs us, that it is not only
the grand fource of Indian literature, but the parent
f)f the Sy¬
rians.
T)f the In¬
dians.
26 ] ALP
of almoft every dialed! from the Perfian gulf to the Alphabet.
Chinefe leas, and which is faid to be a language of the
moft venerable antiquity. At prefent it is appropri¬
ated to religious records of the Bramins, and there¬
fore (hut up in their libraries ; but formerly it appears
to have been current over the greateft part of the
eaftern world, as traces of its extent may be found in
almoft every diftridl of Afia.
Mr Halhed informs us, that “ there is a great fimi¬
larity between the Shanfcrit words and thofe of the
Perfian and Arabic, and even of Latin and Greek 5
and thefe not in technical or metaphorical terms, but
in the main ground-works of language j in monolylla-
bles, the names of numbers, and the appellations of
fuch things as would be firft diferiminated oir the im¬
mediate dawn of civilization. The refemblance which
may be feen of the charadlers on the medals and fignets
of different parts of Afia, the light they reciprocally
throw upon one another, and the general analogy which
they all bear to the grand prototype, affords another
ample field for curiofity. The coins of Affam, Na-
paul, Cafhmiria, and many other kingdoms, are all
ftamped with Shanfcrit letters, and moftly contain al-
lufions to the old Shanfcrit mythology. The fame coiw
formity may be obferved in the impreflions of feals from
Bootan and Thibet.”
The country between the Indus and Ganges ftill
preferves the Shanfcrit language in its original purity,
and offers a great number of books to the perufal of
the curious •, many of which have been handed down
from the earlieft periods of human civilization.
There are feven different forts of Indian hand-rvrlt-
ings, all comprifed under the general term of Naagorce,
which may be interpreted writing. The Bramins fay
that letters were of divine original j and the elegant
Shanfcrit is ftyled Daeb-naagoree, or the writings of
the Immortals, which might not improbably be a re¬
finement from the more fimple Naagoree of former
ages. The Bengal letters are another branch of the
fame flock. The Bramins of Bengal have all their
Shanfcrit books copied in their national alphabet, and
they tranfpofe into them all the Daeb-naagoree manu-
feripts for their owm perufal. The Moorifh dialeft is
that fpecies of Hindoftanic which wTe owe to the con-
quefts of the Mahometans.
The Shanfcrit language contains about 700 radical
wmrds ; the fundamental part being divided into three
claffes, viz. 1. Dhaat, or roots of verbs 5 2. Shubd,
or original nouns ; 3. Evya, or particles. Their al¬
phabet contains 50 letters 3 viz. 34 confonants and 16
vowels. They affert that they were in poffeffion of
letters before any other nation in the world 3 and Mr
Halhed conjeflures. that the long boafted original ci¬
vilization of the Egyptians may7 flill be a matter of dif-
pute. The rajah of Kifninagur affirms, that he has
in his poffefiion Shanfcrit books, where the Egyptians
ate coftflantly deferibed as difciples, not as inftrmftors 3
and as feeking in Hindoftan that liberal education, and
thofe fcielices, which none of their own countrymen
had futficient knowledge to impart. Mr Halhed hints
alfo, that the learning of Hindoftan might have been
tranfplanted into Egypt, and thus have become fami¬
liar to Mofes. Several authors, however, are of opi¬
nion, that the ancient Egyptians poffeffed themfeives
of the trade of the Eaft by the Red fea, and that they
carried
Letters not
invented in
Perda j
A L p . 72
A-lphabet. carried on a confiderable traffic witfi the Indian nations
 1 before the time of Sefoftris j whom they fuppofe to have
been cotemporary with Abraham, though Sir Ifaac
Newton conje&ures him to have been the Shifhak who
took Jerufalem in the time of Rehoboam.
In the year 1769, one of the facred books of the
Gentoos called Bagavndam, tranilated by Meridas-
Poule, a learned man of Indian origin, and chief in¬
terpreter to the lupreme council of Pondicherry, was
fent by him to M. Berten in France. In his preface
he fays, that it was compofed by Viaffar the fon of
Brahma, and is of facred authority among the worfhip-
- pers of Vifchnow. This book claims an antiquity of
5000 years j but M. de Guines has ftiown, that its pre-
tenfions to fuch extravagant antiquity are entirely in-
conclufive and unfatisfaclory : whence rve may con¬
clude, fays Mr Aftle, that though a farther inquiry in¬
to the literature of the Indian nations may be laudable,
yet we mull by no means give too eafy credit to their
relations concerning the high antiquity of their manu-
fcripts and early civilization.
It is not pretended that the Perfians had any great
learning among them till the time of Hyftaipes the
father of Darius. The former, we are told, travelled
into India, and was inftrudled by the Bramins in the
fciences for which they wrere famed at that time. The
ancient Perfians defpifed riches and commerce, nor had
they any money among them till after the conqueft of
Lydia. It appears by feveral infcriptions taken from
the ruins of the palace of Perfepolis, which w>as built
near 700 years before the Chriftian era, that the Per¬
fians fometimes wrote in perpendicular columns like
the Chinefe. This mode of writing was firft made ufe
of on the Items of trees, pillars, or obelilks. As for
thofe fimpie characters found on the weft fide of the
ftaircafe of Perfepolis, fome have fuppofed them to be
alphabetic, fome hieroglyphic, and others antediluvian.
Dr Hyde pronounces them to have been mere whim-
fical ornaments, though the author of Conjedtural Ob-
fervations on Alphabetic Writing fuppofes them to be
fragments of Egyptian antiquity brought by Cambyfes
from the fpoils of Thebes. The learned are generally
agreed, that the Perfians vrere later in civilization than
many of their neighbours; and they are not fuppofed
to have any pretenfions to the invention of letters.
As the Arabians have been in pofleflion of the coun¬
try they nowr inhabit for upwards of 3700 years, wdth-
out being intermixed with foreign nations, or fubjugat-
ed by any other powder, their language muft be very
ancient. The tv'o principal dialeCls of it were that
Ipoken by the Hamyarites and other genuine Arabs ;
and that of the Koreifti, in wdrich Mahomet wTrote the
Alcoran. The former is named by oriental waiters,
the Arabic of Hamyar ; the latter, the pure or defecated
Arabic. Mr Richardfon obferves, as a proof of the
richnefs of this language, that it confifts of 2000 radi¬
cal words.
The old Arabic chara&ers are faid to have been of
very high antiquity j for Ebn Haftiem relates, that an
infcriptxon in it wras found in Yaman as old as the days
of Jofeph. Hence fome have fuppofed, that the Ara¬
bians were the inventors of letters 5 and Sir Ifaac Newr-
ton is of opinion, that Mofes learned the alphabet from
the Midianites, who were Arabians.
The alphabet of the Arabs confifts of 28 letters
nor by the
Arabians.
7 ] A L,.P
fimilar to the ancient Cufic, in which the firft copies of Alphabet,
the Alcoran were written. The prefent Arabic cha- y”*1-*
rafters were formed by Ebn Moklah, a learned Ara¬
bian who lived about 300 years after Mahomet. The
Arabian writers themfelves inform us, that their alpha¬
bet is not very ancient, and that they received it only a
fhoit time before the introduftion of Iflamifm.
On this account of the pretenfions of different na¬
tions to the invention of letters, Mr Aftle makes the
following reflections : “ The vanity of each nation in¬
duces them to pretend to the moft early civilization :
but fuch is the uncertainty of ancient hiftory, that it
is difficult to determine to whom the honour is due. It
ftiould feem, howrever, that the conteft may be confined
to the Egyptians, the Phoenicians, and the Chaldeans.
The Greek writers, and moft of thofe who have copied
them, decide in favour af Egypt, becaufe their infor¬
mation is derived from the Egyptians themfelves. The Letters
pofitive claim of the Phoenicians does not depend entire- molt pro-
ly upon the teftimony of Sanchoniatho ; the credit !)aCy in-
of his hiftory is fo wrell fupported by Philo of Byblus pj^q^a.
his tranflator, Porphyry, Pliny, Curtins, Lucan, and
other ancient writers, who might have feen his works
entire, and whofe relations deferve at leaft as much
credit as thofe of the Egyptian and Greek writers. It
muft be allowed, that Sanchoniatho’s hiftory contains
many fabulous accounts ; but does not the ancient hi¬
ftory of the Egyptians, the Greeks, and molt other na¬
tions, abound with them to a much greater degree ?
The fragments which we have of this moft ancient hi-
ftorian are chiefly furnilhed by Eufebius, who took all
poffible advantages to reprefent the Pagan writers in
the worft light, and to render their theology abfurd
and ridiculous.
“ The Phoenician and Egyptian languages are very
fimilar j but the latter is laid to be more large and
full, wffiich is an indication of its being of a later date..
The opinion of Mr Wife, however, that the ancient
Egyptians had not the knowledge of letters, feems to
be erroneous j as they had commercial intercourfe
with their neighbours the Phoenicians, they probably
had the knorvledge of letters, if their policy, like that
of the Chinefe at this day, did not prohibit the ufe of
them..
“ The Chaldeans, who cultivated aftronomy in the
moft remote ages, uled fymbols or arbitrary marks irr
their calculations; and we have Ihewn that thefe were
the parents of letters. This circumftance greatly fa¬
vours their claim to the invention : becaufe Chaldea,
and the countries adjacent, are allowed by all authors,
both facred and profane, to have been peopled before
.Egypt 5 and it is certain, that many nations faid to
be defeended from Shem and Japheth, had their let¬
ters from the Phoenicians, wftio were defeended from
Ham..
“ It is obfervable that the Chaldeans, the Syrians,’
Phoenicians, and Egyptians, all bordered upon each
other j and as the Phoenicians v7ere the greattft as w’ell'
as the moft ancient commercial nation, it is very pro¬
bable that they communicated letters to the Egyptians^
the ports of Tyre and Sidon being not far diftant from
each other.
“ Mr Jackfon is evidently miftaken when he fayy
that letters wmre invented 2619 years before the birth
of Chrift. The deluge recorded by Mofes was 23 193
years
ALP
pfelphabct. years before that event 5 and if letters were not invent-
u—.-y—ed till 550 years after, as he aflerts, we mult date their
di(covery only 1799 years before the Chriftian era,
which is 410 years after the reign of Menes, the hrft
king of Egypt, who, according to Syncellus and others,
is laid to have been the lame perfon with the Miior of
Sanchoniatho, the Mizraim of the Scriptures, and the
Ofiris of the Egyptians j but whether this be true or
not, Egypt is frequently called in Scripture the land of
Mi%raitn.
“ I his Mizraim, the fecond fon of .Amyn or Ham,
feated himielf near the entrance of Egypt at Zoan, in
the year before Chrift 2188, and 160 years after the
hood. He afterwards built Thebes, and fome fay
Memphis. Before the time that he wtrA into Egypt,
his fon 1 aaut had invented letters in Phcenicia} and
rf this invention took place ten years before the migra¬
tion or his father into Egypt, as Mr Jackfon fuppofes,
we may trace letters as far back as the year 2178 be¬
fore Chrift, or 150 years after the deluge recorded by
. Mofes ; and beyond this period, the written annals of
mankind, which have been hitherto tranfmitted to us,
will not enable us to trace the knowledge of them ;
though this want of materials is no proof that letters
were not known until a century and a half after the
deluge. As for the pretenfions of the Indian nations,
we muft be better acquainted with their records before
we can admit of their claim to the firil ufe of letters j
especially as none of their manulcripts of any great an¬
tiquity have as yet appeared in Europe. That the
Arabians were not the inventors of letters, has appeared
by their own confeflion. Plato fomewhere mentions
Hyperborean letters very different from the Greek ;
thefe might have been the chara&ers ufed by the Tar-
luvian writ- ^ expected that fomething fhould be {aid
-f ag. concerning thofe books mentioned by fome authors to
have been written before the deluge. Amgngft others,
Hr Parfons, in his Remains of Japheth, p. 346, 359,
fuppofes letters to have been known to Adam; and
tiie Sabeans produce a book, which they pretend was
written by Adam. But concerning thefe we have no
guide to dire£t us any more than concerning the fup-
poled books of Enoch j fome of which, Origen tells
us, were found in Arabia Felix, in the dominions of
the queen of Saba. Tertullian affirms, that he faw
and read feveral pages of them : and, in his treatife De
Habitu Muherum, he places thofe books among the
.canonical: but St Jerome and St Aullin look upon
them to be apocryphal. William Poilellus pretended
to compile his book, De Qrigimbus, from the book of
Enoch j and 1 homas Bangius publiffied at Copenha¬
gen, in 1657, a# work which contains many lingular
relations concerning the manner of writing among the
Antediluvians, wffiich contains feveral pleafant ftories
concerning the books of Enoch.
“ With regard to this patriarch, indeed, St Jude
informs us that he prophefed, but he does not fay that
he, wrote. . The writings, therefore, attributed to the
Antediluvians, mull appear quite uncertain ; though it
[ 7*8 1
ALP
might he improper to alfert that letters were*unknown Afphafceu
betore the deluge recorded by Mofes.” 1—-y-—>
. Our author proceeds to Ihow, that all the alphabets AH the al¬
ia the world cannot be derived from one original: be- phabets in
caufe there are a variety of alphabets ufed in differentthe world
parts of Alia, which vary in name, number, figure, or-^oved to
der, and power, from the Phoenician, ancient Hebrew, arife from
or Samaritan. In feveral of thefe alphabets alfo, there onc origi.
are marks for founds peculiar to the language of thetial-
Eaft,^ which are not neceffary to be employed in the
notation of the languages of Europe.
None of tne alphabets to the eaff of Perfia have any
connexion with the Phoenician or its derivatives, ex¬
cept where the Arabic letters have been introduced by
the conquefts of the Mahometans. The foundation of
all the Indian charafters are thofe called Shanfcritot
Sungfcrit. This fignifies fomething brought to perfec¬
tion, in contradiftinftion to prakrit, which fignifies
vulgar or unpoliffied. Hence the refined and religious
language and characters of India are called Sungfcrit,
and the more vulgar mode of writing and expreffion
Prakrit. From this Shanfcrit are derived the facred
chara&ers of Thibet, the Cafhmirian, Bengalefe, Ma-
labaric, and Tamoul j the Singalefe, Siamefe, Maha-
rattan, Concanee, &c. From the fame fource we may
derive the Tangutic or Tartar chara&ers, which are
limilar in their great outlines to the Shanfcrit; though
it is not ealily determined which is derived from the
other. . The common Tartar is generally read, like
the Chinefe, from top to bottom.
There are, however, feveral alphabets ufed in differ¬
ent parts of Alia, entirely different not only from the
Shanfcrit and all thofe derived from it, t}ut alfo from
the Phoenician and thofe which proceed from it. Some
of thefe are the alphabet of Pegu, the Batta chara&ers
ufed in the ifland of Sumatra, and the Barman or Bo-
man chara&ers ufed in fome parts of Pegu. The
names and powers of the letters of which thefe alpha¬
bets are compofed, differ entirely from the Phoenician,
or thofe derived from them. It is impoffible to affimi-
late their forms 3 and indeed it is by no means eafy to
conceive how the 50 letters of the Shanfcrit language
could be derived from the Phoenician alphabet, which
confided originally only of 13 ; though it is certain,
that by far the greater number of alphabets now in
ufe are derived from the ancient Hebrew, Phoenician,
or Samaritan.
Mr Aftle next proceeds to confider what alphabets Alphabets
are derived from the Phoenician. Thefe he fuppofes to derived
have been immediately the ancient Hebrew or Samari-from
tan j the Chaldaic ; the Baftulian (a) or Spaniffi Phoe-PbceHidan-
nician 5 the Punic, Carthaginian, or Sicilian j and the
Pelafgian. From the ancient Flebrew proceeded the
Chaldaic or fquare Hebrew ; the round Hebrew j and
what is called the running hand of the Rabbins. The
Pelafgian gave birth to the Etrufcan, Eugubian or
Umbrian, Ofcan, Samnic, and Ionic Greek, written
frem the left. From the Chaldaic or fquare Hebrew
are derived the Syriac, and the ancient and modem
Arabic. The Syriac is divided into the Eftrangelo
and
(a) he Bafiuli are faid to have been a Canaamtffh or Phoenician people who fied from Joflma. and fettled
afterwards m Spain.
A L P [ 7
Alphabet, Mend^an, and the modern Arabic lias gives rife
to tlie Perfian and Turkilh. From the ancient Arabic
are derived the Cufic or Oriental, the Mauritanic or
Occidental, the African or Saracen, and the Moorilh.
The Ionic Greek gave rife to the Arcadian, Latin, an¬
cient Gaulilh, ancient Spanhh, ancient Gothic, Coptic,
Ethiopic, Ruffian, Illyrian or Sclavonic, Bulgarian,
and Armenian. From the Roman are derived the
Lombardic, Vifigothic, Saxon, Gallican, Franco-Gal¬
lic or Merovingian, German, Caroline, Capetian, and
modern Gothic.
The Punic letters are alfo called Tyrian, and were
much the fame with the Carthaginian or Sicilian. The
Punic language was at firft the fame with the Phoeni¬
cian *, it is nearly allied to the Hebrew, and has an af¬
finity with the Chaldee and Syriac. Some remains of
it are to be met with in the Maltefe. To make a com¬
plete Punic, Carthaginian, or Sicilian alphabet, we
muft admit feveral pure Phoenician letters.
The Pelafgi were likewife of Phoenician original *,
and., according to Sanchoniatho, the Diofcuri and Ca¬
bin wrote the firft annals of the Phoenician hiftory, by
order of Taaut, the inventor of letters. They made
fhips of burthen *, and being call upon the coaft near
Mount Callus, about 40 miles from Pelufium, where
they built a temple in the fecond generation after the
deluge related by Mofes, they were called Pelafgi, from
their paffing by fea, and wandering from one country
to another. Herodotus informs us, that the Pelafgi
were defcendants of the Phoenician Cabiri, and that the
Samothracians received and praftifed the Cabiric my-
fteries from them. The Pelafgic alphabet prevailed in
Greece till the time of Deucalion, when the Pelafgi
were driven out of Theffaly or Oenotria by the Hel¬
lenes 5 after which feme of them fettled at the mouth
of the Po, and others at Croton, now Cortona in Tuf-
cany. Their alphabet confifted of 16 letters, and the
Tyrrhenian alphabet, brought into Italy before the
reign of that prince confifted of no more than 13. Deu-
-calion is faid to have reigned about 8 20 years after the
deluge, and 1529 before the Chriftian era.
That the Tyrrheni, Tyrfeni or Hetrufci, fettled in
Italy long before this period, appears from the tefti-
inony of Herodotus, who informs us, that a colony
went by fea from Lydia into Italy under Tyrrhenus j
and Dionyfius of Halicarnaflus proves that many au¬
thors called them Pelafgi. He then cites Hellanicus
Lefbicus, an author fomewhat more ancient than He¬
rodotus, to prove, that they were firft called Pelafgi
Tyrrheni; and when they parted into Italy, they fet¬
tled in that part of it called Etruria. Their emigra¬
tion took place about the year of the world 2011, or
1993 years before the Chriftian era, which is 350
years before the Pelafgi left Greece. Biffiop Cum¬
berland adduces many proofs to fhow that the Tyr¬
rhenians originally came out of Lydia into Italy. Se¬
veral Roman authors alfo fpeak of this Lydian colony ;
and Horace compliments his patron Maecenas upon
his Lydian defcent:
Lydorum quicquid Etrufcos
Incoluit fines, nemo generofior cfi te.
The Etrufean letters are Pelafgic, and feveral of the
Etrufcan infcriptions are written in the Pelafgic lan¬
guage. The Roman letters are Ionic. The Ofcan
Vol. I. Part II.
9 ] ALP
language was a dialed! of the Etrufcan ; their charac- Alphabet.,
ters are nearer tiir Ionic or Roman than the Etrufcan. v
There is alfo very little difference between the Felaf-
gian, Etrufcan, and moft ancient GreeK. letters, which
are placed from right to left. The Arcadians were an¬
cient Greeks, and ufed the Ionic letters 3 but at what
time they began to write from left to right is not
known, as their chronology is very uncertain. The
Etrufcan, Ofcan, and Samnite alphabets, are derived
from the Pelafgic 3 they differ from each other more in
name than in form 3 but a far greater number are de¬
rived from the Ionic Greek, namely, the Arcadian,
the Latin or Roman, and the others already enume¬
rated.—The Runic is immediately derived from the
Gothic.
According to Dionyfius of Halicarnaffus, the firft
Greek colony which came into Italy confifted of Ar¬
cadians, under the conduft of Oenotrus, the fon of Ly-
caon, and fifth in defcent from Phoroneus, the firft
king of Argos, who reigned about 566 years before
the taking of Troy, and 1750 years before the Chri¬
ftian era. Thefe Oenotrians were called Aborigines ;
and after they had been engaged for many years in a
war with the Siculi, entered into an alliance with a
colony of the Pelafgi, who came out of Theffaly into
Italy, after having been driven from the former coun¬
try. About 1476 B. C. another colony of the Pelafgi,
who had been driven out of Theffaly by the Curettes
and Leleges, arrived in Italy, where they aftlfted the
Aborigines to drive out the Siculi, poffeffing them-
felves of the greateft part of the country between the
Tiber and the Liris, and building feveral cities. So-
linus and Pliny tell us, that the Pelafgi firft carried
fetters into Italy 3 and the latter diftinguiffies between
the Pelafgi and’ the Arcades 3 fo the fetters firft car¬
ried into Italy were not the Ionic Greek, but thofe
more ancient Pelafgic chara&ers which the Pelafgi car¬
ried with them before Deucalion and Cadmus are faid
to have come into Boeotia and Theffaly. 'I he ftory
of Cadmus is much involved in fable 3 but it is agreed
by moft of the ancients, that the children of Agenor,
vi%. Cadmus, Europa, Phoenix, and Cilix, carried with
them a colony, compofed of Phoenicians and Syrians,
into Afia Minor, Crete, Greece, and Libya, where
they introduced fetters, mufic, poetry, and other arts,
fciences, and cuftoms, of the Phoenicians.
Dionyfius enumerates the following Greek colonies
which came into Italy : 1. The Aborigines under Oe¬
notrus, from Arcadia. 2. The Pelafgic colony, which
came from Hoemonia or Theffaly. 3. Another Arca¬
dian colony, which came with Evander from Palantium.
4. Thofe who came from Peloponnefus with Hercules 3
and 5. Thofe who came with ALneas from Troy. It is
not eafy to difeover when the Ionic way of writing
from left to right was introduced into Italy 3 but it is
certain, that it did not univerfally prevail even in
Greece till feveral ages after it was found out. The
Athenians did not comply with it till the year of Rome
3 50 3 nor was it praftifed by the Samnites even in the
6th century of that city, or 230 years before Chrift :
for M. Gsebelin, Vol. VI. PI. 2. gives us the Samnite
alphabet of that century, wherein the letters are placed
from right to left 3 although the Ionic way of writing
prevailed in feme parts of Italy in the third century oi
Rome. “ In time (fays Pliny) the tacit confent of all
4. Z nations
Alphabet
See Plates
XV. and
XVI. for
fpecimeas
sf the an¬
cient al¬
phabets
here enu¬
merated.
Alphabets
derived
from the
Latin.
A L P £
' nations agreed to ufe the Ionic letters. The Romans
confented to this mode about the time cf Tarquinius
Prifcus, their fifth king.” The letters brought by
Demaratus the Corinthian, the father of Tarquin, Mr
W ife thinks, mull have been the new or Ionic alpha¬
bet, and not the lame with that brought by Evander
500 years before. _ After the Romans had eltablifhed
the ufe of the Ionic letters, they feem not to have ac¬
knowledged the Pelafgian and Etrufcan to have been
Greek alphabets : the moll learned of them knew none
older than the Ionic, as appears from the Greek Farnefe
infcriptions of Herodes Atticus. This learned man,
out of a regard to antiquity, caufed the oldeft ortho¬
graphy to be obferved in the writing, and the letters to
be delineated after the moll antique forms that could
J A I. P
the writings of the Lombards, Spaniards, French, Alphabet.
Saxons, Germans and Goths, and all the ftrange terms ' * 
riV>fV>wro/a in t-p « ■«-J-#-* *.1  TT*  * _ rr
be found 5 and they are plainly no other than the Ionic
or right-handed characters.
The ancient Gaulilh letters are derived from the
Greek, and their writing approaches more nearly to
the Gothic than that of the Romans r this appears by
tne monumental infcription of Gordian, meflenger of
the Gauls, who fuffered martyrdom in the third cen¬
tury, with all his family. Thefe ancient Gaulilh cha-
ra&ers were generally ufed by that people before the
conqueft of Gaul by Caefar 5 but after that time the
Roman letters were gradually introduced. The ancient
Spaniards ufed letters nearly Greek before their inter-
courfe with the Romans. The ancient Gothic alpha¬
bet was very limilar to the Greek, and is attributed to
Ulphilas, bilhop of the Goths, who lived in Mmfia
about 370 years after Chrift. He tranllated the Bible
into the Gothic tongue. This circumltance might have
occafioned the tradition of his having invented thefe
letters j but it is probable that thefe characters were
in ufe long before this time. The Runic alphabet is
derived from the ancient Gothic.
1 he Coptic letters are derived immediately from the
Greek. Some have confounded them with the ancient
Egyptian; but there is a very material difference be¬
tween them. The Ethiopic alphabet is derived from
the Coptic.
^ The alphabet proceeding from that of the Scythians
eftablilhed in.Europe, is the fame with what St Cyril
calls the Servien. The Ruffian, Illyrian, or Sclavonic,
and the Bulgarian, are all derived from the Greek.
The Armenian letters differ very much from the Greek,
from which they are derived, as well as from the’
Latin.
Wffih regard to the alphabets derived from the La¬
tin, the Lombardic relates to the manufcripts of Italy j
the Vifigothic to thofe of Spain ; the Saxon to thofe
of England 5 the Galilean and Franco-Gallic or Me¬
rovingian to the manufcripts of France j the German
to thofe of that country j and the Caroline, Capetran,
and Modern Gothic, to all the countries of Europe
who read Latin. The firff fix of thefe alphabets are
before the age of Charlemagne, the laft three pofterior
to it. Thpy are more diftinguilhed by their names
than the forms of their charafters ; and the former in¬
dicate all of them to have been of Roman extradlion.
Each nation, in adopting the letters of the Ro¬
mans, added a tafte and manner peculiar to itfelf;
which obvioufly diftinguiffied it from the writings of
all other people 3 whence arofe the differences between
obfervable in the writings of the Francic Gauls or Me¬
rovingians 3 and thole of the Carlovingians, their fuc-
ceffors,. may. be traced from the fame fource. From
thefe difhnfhons the name of national turiting was de¬
rived. A
I he writing of Italy was uniform till the irruption
of the Goths, who disfigured it by their barbarous
tafte. In 569, the Lombards, having poffefled them-
felves of all Italy, excepting Rome and Ravenna, in¬
troduced that form of writing which goes under their
name 3 and as the popes ufed the Lombardic manner
in their bulls, the name of Roman was iometimes given
to it in the nth century 3 and though the dominion
of the Lombards continued no longer than 206 years,
the name of their writing continued in Italy from the
7th to the 13th century, and then ceafed ; when learn¬
ing, having declined in that as well as in other coun¬
tries, the manner of writing degenerated into the mo¬
dern Gothic.
The Vifigoths. introduced their form of writing into
Spain, after having overrun that country 3 but it was
abolifhed in a provincial fynod, held at Leon in 1091,
when the Latin charafters were eftablilhed for all pub¬
lic inftruments, though the Vifigothic were ufed in
private writings for three centuries afterwards.
The Gauls, on being fubjefled by the Romans,
adopted their manner of writing 5 but by fubfequent
additions of their own, their chara61ers were changed
into what is called the Galilean or Roman Gallic mode.
This was changed by the Franks into the Fvanco-Gal-
lic or Merovingian mode of writing, being praftifed un¬
der the kings of the Merovingian race. It took place
towards the clofe of the fixth century, and continued
till the beginning of the ninth.
The German mode of writing was improved by
Charlemagne 3 and this improvement occafioned ano¬
ther diftin&ion in writing, by introducing the alphabet
named Caroline, which declined in the 12th century,
and was fucceeded in the 13th by the modern Gothic.
In France it had degenerated by the middle of the
I oth century, but was reftored in 987 by Hugh Capet,
whence it obtained the name of Capetian. It was ufed
in England, as well as Germany and France.
The modern Gothic, which fpread itfelf all over
Europe in the 12th and 13th centuries, is improperly
named, as not deriving its origin from the writing an¬
ciently ufed by the Goths. It is, however, the worft
and moft barbarous way of writing, and originated
among the fchoolmen in the decline of the arts 3 being
indeed nothing elfe than Latin writing degenerated.
It began in the 1 2th century, and was in general ufe,
efpecially among monks and fchoolmen, in all parts of
Europe, till the reftoraticn of arts in the 1 5th century,
and continued longer in Germany and the northern,
nations. Our ftatute books are ftill printed in Gothic
letters. The moft barbarous writing of the leventh,
eighth, and ninth centuries, was preferable to the mo¬
dern Gothic. It is diverfified in fuch a manner as can
fcarce admit of defeription 3 and the abbreviations ufed
by. the writers were fo numerous, that it became very
difficult to read it 3 which was one of the great caufes^
of the ignorance of thofe times. Along with this,
howevej,
ALP
t 73
Letters
coxild not
take place
but from a
Alphabet, however, the Lombardic, Gothic, Roman, Caroline,
“‘ and Capetian modes of writing, were occafionally ufed
by individuals.
The idea that all the alphabets above mentioned are
derived front the Roman, tends to prove the diftindlion
of national writing, and is of great ufe in difcovering
the age of manufcripts : for though we may not be able
exactly to determine the time when a manufcript was
written, we may be able nearly to afcertain its age.
For example, if a writing is Merovingian, it may be
declared not to be pofterior to the 9th, nor prior to the
5th, century. If another be Lombardic, it may be
aftirmed to be pofterior to the middle of the 6th, and
prior to the 13th. Should it be Saxon, it cannot be
of an earlier date than the 7th, nor later than about
the middle of the 12th.
Having conftdered whence the alphabets now in ufe
throughout the various nations of the world are deriv¬
ed, it remains to fay fomething concerning them as the
decompofi- elements of words, or how far they are capable jpf ex-
tion of lan- prefting thofe founds which, by proper combination
guage. ancj arrangement, conftitute articulate language. The
number of Ample founds in any language cannot be
very numerous and it is plainly thefe Ample founds
alone that rve have occafion to reprefent by alphabeti¬
cal characters. Hence the perfon who 'firft invented
letters muft have been capable of analyzing language
in a manner which feems by no means eafy to do, and
concerning which even the learned among ourfelves
are n©t yet agreed. It is this difficulty which has pro¬
duced the great diverlity in the number of alphabetical
characters ufed by different nations ; and where we
fee a vaft number of them ufed, rve may account the
\v riting not the better, but much the worfe for it; and
whoever the pretended inventor was, it is more rea-
fonable to fuppofe that he disfigured an alphabet al¬
ready invented, by unneceffary additions, than that he
was the author of one himfelf.
When we confider alphabetical charaClers as thus re-
fulting from an analyfis of language, it will by no means
appear probable that it was derived from a gradual and
evolution of Pro&ie^ve °Perat^on °f the human mind through many
the human ages. There is not the leaft affinity betwixt reprefent-
jpawers. ing any objeft by a pifture and finding out the founds
which compofe the word by wdiich it is expreffed : nor,
though a nation had been in ufe to reprefent things
either in this method, or by any kind of arbitrary
marks, for thoufands of years, could the one ever have
led to the other. Arbitrary marks muft ahvays be the
fame with pictures in this refpeCt, that they muft al¬
ways be fixed to particular objeCts, and thus be in-
creafed ad infinitum. Letters, on the other hand, are
indifferent to all objeCts } and therefore, by their com¬
binations, which are more numerous than as many ar¬
bitrary marks as wTe could remember* may exprefs all
the objeCts in nature. This might furnifh an argument
of fome ftrength for the divine revelation of writing,
wTere it not that other arts, feemingly as ufeful, and as
difficult to be invented, had not been exprefsly afcrib-
ed to particular perfons whom wTe cannot fuppofe to
have been divinely infpired. Thus metallurgy, mufic,
the keeping of cattle, and ufe of tents, are all afcrib-
ed to a fingle family 5 and though writing be not ex-
ftrohably
not the re-
lr. It of a
1 ] ALP
prefsly mentioned as an invention in Scripture, there is Alphabet*
no reafon to have recourfe to a revelation for it as long
as the human faculties are knowm to have been fuftici-
ent for the invention of it. Neverthelefs, if we take a
review of the different arts which mankind have in¬
vented, we ftrall find, that few of them refulted from
any gradual progrefs or evolution of the powTers of the
human mind, but rather by fome hidden and almoft un¬
accountable turn of thought in an individual. Thus,
the art of printing, little inferior in its utility to that
of waiting, lay hid for ages, and was at laft invented
wre fcarce know how 5 fo that if one inclined to fup¬
pofe this a divine revelation, he could be at little lofs
for arguments to fupport his hypothefis. This was wdiat
all the inventions and evolutions of human powers fince
the creation had never been able to accomplifti ; yet
nobody believes that it required fupernatural abilities
to be the author of this art, becaufe we fee plainly that
it might have occurred to the human mind from various
fources, and are furprifed that it did not occur long
before. In like manner, the method of accounting for
the celeftial motions by the united forces oi projeCtion
and gravitation, was no refult of the progrefs that
mankind had made in fcience, but luckily occurred to
Mr Horrox, without any thing that we know to di-
red him, or perhaps from caufes almoft unknown to
himfelf. Thus, alfo, the fteam engine, aeroftation, &c.
W'ere fuddenly invented only by a flight review of prin¬
ciples wTell known before, and wdiich had been a thou-
fand times overlooked by thofe wdio might have invent¬
ed both. Alphabetic writing, therefore, might have
been no dedudion from hieroglyphic or pidure writ¬
ing, from w Inch it is effentially different j and it feems
to be fome confirmation of this, that all nations who
ever pretended to the invention of letters, have afcrib-
ed it to the labours of one particular perfon, w ithout
taking notice of the progrefs made towards it in pre¬
ceding ages.
The learned author of Hermes informs us, that to Of the’ ele-
about 20 plain elementary founds we owre that variety mcn,ary
of articulate voices which have been fufficient to ex- joun(^ ,1S
plain the fentiments of fuch an innumerable multitude ‘lnfeUilg"'
as all the paft and prefent generations of men. Mr
Sheridan fays, that the number of fimple founds in our
tongue is 285 while Dr Kenrick fays, that w^e have
only 11 diftind fpecies of articulate founds, which even
by contradion, prolongation, and compofition, are in-
creafed only to the number of 16 ; every fyllableor ar¬
ticulate found in our language being one of the num¬
ber. Bifhop Wilkins and Dr William Holder fpeak
of 33 diftind founds.
After the analyfis or decompofition of language in¬
to the elementary founds, the next towards the nota¬
tion of it by alphabetical charaders, wrould be the de¬
lineation of a feparate mark or letter to reprefent each
found \ w’hich marks, though few in number, wrould
admit of fuch a variety of arrangements and combina¬
tions, as might be capable of producing that infinity
of articulate founds which compofe language. The
ingenious Wachter, in his Naturce et Scripturce Concor¬
dia, p. 64. endeavours to ihow, that ten marks or cha¬
raders are fufficient for this purpofe. His fckeme is
as follows :
4 Z2
Genus*
ALP [
Altfhabet.
dantly fufficient to anfwer all the purpofes of mankind,
and much of our twenty-four letter alphabet may ap¬
pear fuperfluous. 1 hat able mathematician Tacquet
has calculated the various combinations of the 24 let¬
ters, even wuthout any repetition, to amount to no
fewrer than 620,448,401,733,239,439,360,000', while
Clavius makes them only 5,852,616,738,497,664,000.
Either of thefe numbers, however, is infinite to the hu¬
man conceptions, and much more than fufficient to ex-
prefs all the founds that ever wrere articulated by man.
Number of As there are more founds in fome languages than in
different °therS’ il follows of courk, that the number of ele-
alphabets, mentai7 characters or letters mud vary in the alpha¬
bets of different languages. The Hebrew, Samaritan,
and Syriac alphabets, have 22 letters; the Arabiq 28;
the Perfian, and Egyptian or Coptic, 32; the prefent
Ruffian 41 ; the Shanfcrit 50 ; while the Caffimirian
and Malabaric are dill more numerous. The following
is the fcheme of the Englifh alphabet, as given by Mr
Sheridan in his Rhetorical Grammar, p, 9.
Number of Ample founds in our tongue 28.
9 Vo we/s,
3 12 3 2 3111
aaa eo oeiu
hall hat hate beer note noofe bet fit but
w
fhort 00
7
ffiort ee
19 Confonants, |eb ed ef eS fk el em en eP er es
I et ev ez eth' eth effi ezh ing.
2 Superfiuous, c, which has the power of ek or efis;
q, that of eh before it.
2. Compound, j, which dands for cd%h ■
x, for ks or gx.
t. No letter, h, merely a mark of afpiration.
732 1 . . A L p
■ Confonants divided into Mutes and Semivowels. Alphabet.
6 Mutes, eb ed eg ek ep et. '
3 Pure Mutes, ek ep et.
3 Impure, eb ed eg.
13 Semivowels 1 ef el em en er efs ev ez etK eth
or liquids, J effi ezh ing.
9 Vocal, el em en er ev ez eth ezh ing.
4 Ntfpirated, ef efs etK effi.
Divided again into
4 Labial, eb ep ev ef.
8 Dental, ed et eth eth ez efs ezh elh.
4 Palatine, eg ek el er.
3 Nafal, em en ing.
Mr Sheridan obferves, that our alphabet is ill calcu-ImPerfec-
lated for the notation of the Englidi tongue, as theretion in the
are many founds for which we have no letters orSf^1
marks : and there ought to be nine more chara&ers^
or letters to make a complete alphabet, in which
every Ample found ought to have a mark peculiar to
itfelf. The reafon of the deficiency is, that the Ro¬
man alphabet was formerly adopted for the notation
of the Engliffi language, though by no means fuited
to the purpofe.
It now remains only to take fome notice of the forms Of the
of the different letters ; fome knowledge of which isforms°t
abfolutely neceffary for afeertaining the age and au-letters'
thenticity of inferiptions, manuferipts, charters, and
ancient records. Many authors are of opinion, that
letters derive their forms from the pofitions of the or¬
gans of fpeech in their pronunciation. Van Helmont
has taken great pains to prove, that the Chaldaic cha-
raClers are the genuine alphabet of nature ; becaufe,
according to him, no letter can be rightly founded
without difpofing the organs of fpeech into an uniform
pofition with the figure of each letter; and in fupport
of this fydem, he has anatomifed the organs of articu¬
lation.
Mr Nelme has endeavoured to ffiow, that all elemen¬
tary charaClers or letters derive their forms from the
line and the circle. His alphabet confifts of 13 radical
letters, four diminiffied and four augmented.—The
radicals are L, O, S, A, B, C, D, N, U, I, E, M, R.
—H, according to him, is derived from A; P from
B; r irom D; and F from U: thefe are called dimi¬
niffied letters. The augmented ones are, Z from S ;
G from C ; W from U; and Y from I. He proves
that his chara61ers are very fimilar to thofe of the an¬
cient Etrufcans: but all charadlers are compofed either
of lines and circles of the former, or of parts of the
latter.—Mr Gebelin deduces them from hieroglyphic
reprelentations ; and has given feveral delineations of
human figures, trees, &c. in confirmation of his hypo-
thefis.
One of the moft Ample alphabets has been formed
by making two perpendicular and tw'o horizontal lines:
a|b|c
Thus, d|e|f From which may be de-
sIM5*
duced nine different charafters or letters : Thus,
-i! ly II ill H IL sl lh! it
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ALP [ 733 ] ALP
Alphsenix, Nine more may be made by adding a point to each,
and as many more as n j o j p rnay be flifficient for the
q j r | s
notation of any language, by adding two or more points
to each chara&er. Though thefe fquare characters are
not calculated for defpatch 5 yet they may be made as
expeditioufly, or more fo, than the Tartar, the Bramin,
the Calhmirian, or many others. Writing compofed of
thefe characters, is at firtt fight fomewhat like the He-
Newlan- brew.—Mr Dow, author of the hifiory of Indoftan,
guage in- lately formed a new language and alphabet. This lan-
MrDovv^ Suaoe> and characters formed for its notation, were
fo eafy, that a female of his acquaintance acquired the
knowledge of them in three weeks, and correfponded
■with him therein during their intimacy.
ALPH/ENIX, white barley-fugar, to which is giv¬
en an-extraordinary name, to render it more valuable.
This fugar, which is thought good for colds, is made
of common fugar, which is boiled until it becomes
eafy to crack, when they pour it upon a marble table,
greafed with oil of fweet almonds, and mould it into
various figures with a brafs crotchet. It is eafily falfi-
fied with flarch.
ALPPIERY, Mikipher, an Englilh divine, was
born in Rufiia, and of the imperial line. When that
country was diftraCted by inteftine commotions, in the
latter end of the 16th century, and the royal houfe
particularly was fo feyerely perfecuted by impoftors^
this gentleman and his two brothers were fent over to
England, and recommended to the care of Mr Jofeph
Bidell a Ruflia merchant. Mr Bidell, when they were
of age fit for the univerfity, fent them to Oxford,
tvhere the fmallpox unhappily prevailing, two of them
died of it. We know not whether this furviving bro¬
ther took any degrees or not, but it is very probable
he did, fince he entered into holy orders y and in the
year 1618, was prefented to the reCtory of Wooley in
Huntingdonfhire, a living of no very confiderable va¬
lue, being rated under 10I. in the king’s books. Here
he did his duty with great cheerfulnefs ai>d alacrity ;
and although he was twice invited back to his native
country by fome who would have ventured their ut-
mofi to have fet him on the throne of his anceftors, he
chofe rather to remain with his flock, and to ferve
God in the humble ftation of a parifh priell. Yet in
1643, he underwent the feverefl trials from the rage
of the fanatics y- who, not fatisfied with depriving him
of his living, infulted him in the moil barbarous man¬
ner y for, having procured a file of mufqueteers to
pull him out of his pulpit, as he was preaching on a
Sunday, they turned his wife and fmall children into
the itreet, into which alfo they threw his goods. The’
poor man in this diftrefs raifed a tent under fome trees
in the churchyard, over againft his houfe, where he
and his family lived for a -week. One day having got¬
ten a few eggs, he picked up fome rotten wood and
dry flicks, and with thefe made a fire in the church
porch, in order to boil them *, but fome of his adverfa-
ries, to fhow how far they could carry their rage againfl
the church (for this poor man was fo harmlefs they
could have none againft him), came and kicked about
his fire, threw down his fkillet, and broke his eggs.
After this, having fiill a little money, he made a fmall AlpheuS,
purchafe in that neighbourhood, built a houfe, and Alphonfm,
lived there fome years. He wras encouraged to this' " v r
by the Prefbyterian miniiler, wTho came in his room,
who honeftly paid him the fifth part of the annual in¬
come of the living, which was the allowance made by
parliament to eje&ed minifters, treated him with great
humanity, and did him all the fervices in his power.
It is a great misfortune that this gentleman’s name is
not preferved, his conduft in this 1’efpect being the
more laudable, becaufe it was not a little fingular.
After-wards, probably on the death or removal of this
gentleman, Mr Alphery left Huntingdonlhire, and
came and refided at Hammerfmith till the Reiteration
put him in pofieflion of his living again. He returned*'
on this occafion to Huntingdonlhire, wdiere he did not
Itay long y for being upwards of 80, and withal very
infirm, he could not perform the duties of his funftion.
Having, therefore, fettled a curate, he retired to his
eldelt fon’s houfe at Hammerfmith, where foon after
he died, much honoured and refpedted, and affording
a remarkable inltance of the viciflitudes of the world.
ALPHEUS, (Strabo); Alpheius, (Ptolemy);
a noted and large river of the Peloponnefus; which,
riling in, and after feveral windings running through,
Arcadia, and by Olympia in Elis, wfith a fouth-w’efi:
courfe, falls into the Sinus Chelonites, about ten
miles to the fouth of Olympia. It has a common
fpring with the Eurotas, at the foot of Mount Parthe-
nius, near the village Afea, (Strabo.) The Alpheus
and Eurotas mix and run together for 20 ftadia ; after
which, they enter a fubterraneous paffage at Mantinea ;
then again emerge, the Eurotas in Laconia, and the
Alpheus in the territory of Megalopolis, (Paufanias.)
The poets fable ftrange things of this river, particular¬
ly, that out of love to the nymph Arethufa, it runs
under the fea to Sicily, and burfts out at the fountain
of that name in Syracufe, (Virgil.) Its waters were
reckoned good in the leprofy, which is called AA^o?
by the Greeks ; and hence the name Alpheus. On
the banks of this river the Olympic games were ce¬
lebrated, to wrhich Pindar alludes.
“ Alpheus, thy immortal flood,
On his lord’s triumphant brows
The Olympic wreath bellow’d.”
West’s Pindar.
Paufanias adds, that the Eleans had a law, which con¬
demned any wondin to death that Ihould either appear
at the Olympic games, or even crofs this river during
that folemnity : and the Eleans add, that the only wo¬
man who tranfgreffed it, had difguifed herfelf in the
habit of a mailer or keeper of thefe games, and con¬
duced her fon thither ; but when Ihe faw him come
off viCorious, her joy made her forget her difguife, fo
that her fex was difeovered. She was pardoned ; but
from that time a law was made that the keepers Ihould
appear there naked.
ALPHONSIN, in Surgery, an inllrument for ex¬
tracting bullets out of gunlhot wounds. This inltru- \
ment derives its name from the inventor Alphonfus
Terrier, a phyficxan of Naples; It confilts of three
branches, which are clofed by a ring. When doled
and introduced into the wound, the operator draws
back the ring towards the handle, upon which the
brandies ^
' ALP [ 734 ]
.Aiphomo, branches opening take hold of the ball j and then the in the year 1147.
" v ring is puflied from the haft, by which means the branch- ~
es grafp the ball fo firmly as to extraft it from the wound.
ALPHONSO I. king of Portugal, fon of Henry of
Burgundy, count of Portugal, grandfon of Don Alon-
io king of Leon and Caftile, who, as the dowry of his
wife Therefa, received part of the kingdom of Portu¬
gal. One Egas Munitz had the charge of his edu¬
cation from his father, the duties of wdiich he executed
with fidelity and fuccefs. In the year 11x2 his father
died, leaving him a boy only three years of age,
when the reins of government and the care of the
infant fon fell to his mother Therefa. At the age of
18 he aflumed the fovereign authority by the advice of
the nobles of Portugal, who wTere highly offended at
the growing partiality of his mother for Don Ferdinand
Perez, count of Traftemara $ for it was fufpedfed that
file intended to marry him. But Therefa was little
difpofed to refign the reins of government. Her party
raifed an army which took the field to oppofe the no¬
bility who fupported Alphonfo } but her adherents
were defeated, herfelf taken prifoner, and kept in
confinement during the remainder of her life. * Not
long after his acceffion to the throne, his abilities both
to govern and to conquer received a fevere trial, in
feveral arduous enterprifes, as well againft the king of
Leon and Caftile as againft the Moorifh princes, wdio
then poffeffed great part of Spain and Portugal. The
Moorifh emperor in Barbary having fent a ftrong rein¬
forcement to the princes, they w'ere enabled to take the
field with an army far fuperior to that of Alphonfo’s ;
yet he valiantly met them in the plains of Ourique,
and totally defeated their forces. Thus Providence
conferred fuch a fignal favour on the Chriftian arms as
procured a refidence for Chriftianity in thole parts.
The ambitious king of Leon and Caftile affumed the
title of emperor of the Spaniards, and entered Portu¬
gal to wafte and deftroy 5 but after the emperor had
received a temporary check, the matter was ac¬
commodated, and he withdrew his army. In conse¬
quence of the victory obtained on the plains of Ou¬
rique, Alphonfo was inftantly proclaimed king ) but
the form and conftitution of the monarchy was not
fettled until the nobility, prelates, and commons had
affembled at Lamago for that purpofe in the year
1145. The conqueft of Santaren preceded this event,
and wras fanftioned by the unanimous concurrence of
the ftates. The honour of crowning the king -was
conferred upon the archbifhop of Braga j and it was
legally provided, that the regal fucceflion ftiould de-
fcend with an uninterrupted fucceflion to the heirs
male of Alphonfo. The prelates and nobility, with
the concurrence of the people, inftituted a code of laws
confifting of 18 ftatutes, for the government of the
kingdom. It being propofed whether it was their plea-
Ture that the king fhould goto Leon and do homage to
that prince or to any other, every man drawing his
fword, exclaimed, “ We are free, and our king is free,
and we owe our liberty to our courage 5 and if he fhall
at any time fubmit to fuch an a<ft, he deferves death,
and fhail not either reign over us or among us.” The
year after his coronation he was married to Matilda,
daughter of Amadeus, count of Maurienne and Savoy;
and he recovered LifLon from the hands of the Moors,
ALP
A multitude of adventurers being AlpLoafi*.
aflembled at the mouth of the Tagus in their progrefs " “ " J
to the Holy Land, greatly aflifted him in this conqueft.
After having added fix other provinces to his domi¬
nions, he wdlely began with induftrious adlivity to re¬
gulate the affairs of his kingdom. In all his great and
benevolent defigns he was vigoroully feconded by
Matilda, a princefs equally celebrated for her great
beauty, mental vigour, and lingular piety. With
the prudence of the ftatefman, and the benevolence
of the man, he laboured as much for the popula¬
tion of his acquired territories as for their increafe.
The conjugal felicity of this prince and princefs w^as
greatly enhanced by a numerous offspring, which ena¬
bled him, by great alliances, to (Lengthen his interefts.
His fecond daughter was married to Don Ferdinand,
king of Leon, who, notwithftanding of this alliance, un-
generoufly made urar on his father-in-law, and took
him prifoner in the field of battle ; but releafed him,
on the humiliating condition of coming in peffon to
do homage for his dominions at Leon. In the latter
part of his reign, his fon Don Sandro, who inherited
all his father’s military talents, took the lead on feve-
ral occafions ; and in the year 1180, Jofeph, king of
Morocco, and emperor of the Almohedes, advanced
with an army as far as Santaren, and there gained a
glorious vidory over him. Such was the confterna-
tion of the infidels, in confequence of this defeat, that
they left the Portuguefe at liberty to improve the in¬
terior part of the country, and to fortify their frontiers
during the whole of the next year. Worn out with
care and intenfe application, Aiphonfo needed repofe,
and had retired to Coimbra, where, after a reign of 57
years, and in the 76th year of his age, he died. In
the church of the holy crofs at Coimbra his remains were
depofited tvith great funeral folemnity. He was no
lefs than feven feet high ; and his gigantic fize and
his martial ardour have given occafion to many abfurd
and incredible ftories concerning his military achieve¬
ments, fo that, in the annals of chivalry, as well as in
the records of martial exertions, he fuftains a very
high rank. Twm orders of knighthood, that of the
Wings, and that of the Avis, were inftituted by him;
and they (till continue to fiourifh in that kingdom. At
the age of 31, when all the faculties of the human
mind are in full vigour, Don Sancho, his fon, fucceeded
him. (Mod. Univ. Hi/}.')
Alphonso II. diftinguilhed by the fumame of the
Fat, wras the third king of Portugal, and fucceeded
his father at the age of 27 years, in 1212. His ac-
complilhed education and his military and political
talents wmre tarnifhed by his great negleft and ha¬
tred of his brothers and fifters, which involved him
in many troubles. He, however, commenced his
reign with two very popular a<ftions. The one w^as,
fending a body of infantry to the afliftance of the king
of Caftile, wrho fought with uncommon bravery in the
renowmed battle of Navas de Tolofa. The other was,
his donation of the Caftle of Avis to the knights of
that order, when the grand-mafter removed from Evo-
ra, and took up his habitation in that caftle. During
the life of his father, he difeovered his averfion to the
reft of the family, which induced him to fecure the
right of his children from the effects of his refentment
as
ALP [ 735 ] A L P
AlpJionfo. as much as in his power, by conferring upon them
1 large firms of money and jewels, and feme of the belt
parts uf- the kingdom. After the death of his father,
however, Alphonfo flrenuoufly laboured to convince
them that it was not in the power of his father to fe-
parate or give away any part of his dominions j but ail
his urgent eloquence proving unfuccefsful, he had re-
courfe to arms. The two pringefles, his lifters, who
had received by the grant of their father very exten-
five and valuable property, upon being attacked by
their brother, implored the interference of the pope,
and alfo applied to the king of Leon, to grant his pio-
tetftion, fo that they made a very vigorous defence.
1 he pope granted the requeft of . the young princeffes,
and threatened to excommunicate Alphonfo j and from
Galicia, Don Ferdinand entered the dominions of Por¬
tugal to ravage and deftroy ; but the king prepared to
defend himfelf againft the arms of the king of Leon,
and by fpecious pretences to evade the excommunica¬
tion of the pope.
Authors are not agreed with refpedl to the fuccefs
of this war, but it is generally fuppofed that, by the in¬
terference of thefe two powerful perfons, the domeftic
aiFairs of that houfe were reftored to a certain degree
of tranquillity; however, the departure of the infant
Don Ferdinand to the court of Caftile, and of Don Pe¬
dro to another place, ftrongly indicate that the recon-
-ciiiation was far from being perfect. The condutft of
the king, however, produced much diverfity of opi¬
nion among the common people of Portugal. Some
were induced, by the arguments of the king, to con¬
clude that it was not in the power of Don Sancho, the
late king, to difmember his kingdom ; and others very
properly lufpeifted the kindnefs of a prince to his
people who difplayed fuch uncommon and fuch unjuf-
tifiable hatred to his own relations ; at the fame time,
thole nobles whom the father had folemnly fworn to
carry his will into execution, regarded the facred na¬
ture of their oaths to fuch a degree as induced them to
operate againft the reigning prince.
The dilpleafure of the pope, however, was not to be
endured. 7 he mind of Alphonfo feemed indeed to be
of that quality which little regarded the difpleafure or
thunders of his holinefs ; but the effe&s of his threaten-
ings were very different upon the public mind, confe-
quently the king was conftrained to feek the favour of
the pope, to retain the obedience of his fubje&s. The
king therefore lent deputies to Rome, who argued,
that the crown his father wore was the purchafe of the
blood and valour of the Portuguefe nation, and there¬
fore not in his power to alienate j that it was a dan¬
gerous precedent, and obvioully tended to fubvert the
fovereignty of a ftate ; that the difuniting of the king¬
dom would tend to promote the caufe of the infidels j
and, in fine, that his difputes with his lifters had no con¬
nexion with ecclefiaftical matters. The pope, how¬
ever, was as well qualified to difeern the nature of
thefe fpecious arguments as the prince was qualified to
urge them, confequently he remained unmoved ; and
Alphonfo, in order to have the feutence of excommu¬
nication removed which had been pronounced upon
him, was relmftantly induced to be reconciled to his
lifters. His holinefs informed of the reconciliation,
with great ceremony revoked his curfe and excoramu-
nication from the king and his fubjefts.
But the reign of this prince was deftined to troubles} Alpkonfo.
for no fooner was this_domeftic broil terminated, than -v—~-‘
the Moors rulhed into the plain country in fuch prodi¬
gious numbers, that the king found it very difficult to
repel them, or to drive them back to their own coun¬
try. A favourable occurrence, however, enabled him
to complete his objedl, by the taking of a fortrefs feat-
ed on a rock which was deemed impregnable, in the
following manner. 7 he Germans and Flemings had
equipped an iminenfe fleet deftined for the Holy Land,
confifting of 300 fail, with a numerous army on board.
In confequence of tempefluous weather, their fleet was
fo difabled that they were forced to put into the
harbour of Lifbon to refit, juft at the time when Al¬
phonfo was preparing an army to attack the Moors.
I he king inftantly fent fome of the moft refpebta-
ble men of his court to folicit their aid againlt
the Moors, alleging that it was perfe&ly conlillent
\vnth their vows to fight againft the Moors in Portu¬
gal, as well as in the Holy Land. William earl of
Holland, and many other generals, were convinced bv
this argument, and cheerfully engaged to join him
againft the infidels j but about a third part of the
fleet refufed to join, and proceeded on their voy¬
age. It happened, however, that they were driven
by a violent florin into Italy, where they wintered.
7 he greater part of the nobility and gentry landed
under the conduft of William earl of Holland ; and
it was refolved that they ftiould proceed by lea, and
block up Alcagar-do-Sal, the fortrefs already men¬
tioned, while the army of Alphonfo, reinforced by
a confiderable number, fhould march by land; and
thus attack the place both by land and fea at once.
The Moors, convinced of the importance of this place,
brought an army into the field confifting of 50,000
men; but the Chriftians railed the liege, gave them
battle, and routed them with great ftaughter and fome
of the chiefs of the Moors fell in the field. The for¬
trefs furrendered on the 21ft of October 1 217, and was.
conferred Upon The order of St James; but notwitlr-
ftanding of very urgent entreaties, the pope would not
permit the army to winter in Portugal. He was defi-
rous of having thefe troops and their generals removed
to a greater diftance. 7'he writers of that nation af¬
firm that the foldiers experienced fupernatural aid in
this battle, and that the banner of the crofs was actual¬
ly dilplayed by angels.
But civil animofity fucceeded to infidel war. The
archbiihop of Braga was highly offended that the clergy
were forced to pay money and furniih troops to carry
on the war againft the infidels ; and the people fevere-
ly complained of the ftritnefs of the laws. To chaf-
tile tne rebellious clergy, the k ing feized upon the re¬
venues of the bilhop, and forced him to fly from his
dominions. Enraged at this impious conduct, the
pope excommunicated the king,, and laid his kingdom
under an interdict. The natural confequence Aag
that all things were thrown into confufion and conller-
nation, and perplexity univerfally prevailed ; fo that
Alphonfo was obliged to confult meufures to quell
the riiing difeontent. It happened, however, that in
the midft of thefe negociations he was removed by
death, and not only died under the papal malediction,
but left his kingdom under the fame curfe. He was
iuterjed without royal honours ui the conventual
church
A L P { 736 *3 A L P
Alphonfo. cliurch of x^lcoba^a. His perfon was above the com-
mon ijZe j he was brave and ftrong, but not devoid of
many qualities worthy of blame. (Mod. Univ. Hid.)
Alphonso III. Don, king of Portugal, fucceeded
his brother Don Sancho II. in the year 1248. In the
courfe of a war with the Moors, which he engaged in
at the beginning of his reign, he conliderably extended
the Portuguefe dominions. He took poffeflion of the
city of Fara, the capital of the Moorilh kingdom, in
the province of Algarve. Loula, another Moorilh
town, which was carried by itorm, alfo fell into his
hands. His power was thus extended abroad by the
fuccefs of his arms, and the adminilfration of his affairs
at home became profpcrous and popular by his wifdom
and prudence. But the tranquillity and profperity of
the kingdom were fomewhat dillurbed by an interdiil;
which it was put under by Pope Alexander IV. whole
difpleafure he had incurred by marrying Donna Bea¬
trix, the natural daughter of Don Alonfo the Wife,
king of Caftile, while his firft wife was living. In
1262, when his firft queen died, the interdict was re¬
moved by Pope Urban, a difpenfation was granted,
and the children of Donna Beatrix were legitimated.
Hitherto frequent difputes had occurred between -the
kings of Portugal and Caftile relating to the bounda¬
ries of the two kingdoms. To terminate all differ¬
ences on this fubjeft, and to prevent them in future,
acommiftioners were appointed to define and fettle the
limits of their refpeftive dominions } and thefe were
agreed to and acknowledged by a folemn deed.
Encouraged by the profperity of his kingdom, and
by the fuccefs which had attended his enterprifes, Al-
phonfo made an attempt to extend the influence of the
crown, by obliging the clergy to contribute to the wel¬
fare of the ftate. But this meafure, as might have been
expected, was not quietly fubmitted to. It occalioned
•the revival of old difputes, the pope interfered, and in
1 268 the kingdom was again laid under an interdict.
He fucceeded, by the wifdom of his negotiations, in
obtaining from Caftile an exemption of all claims upon
the crown of Portugal, and in procuring an acknow¬
ledgment that its monarchs were entirely relieved from
the performance of every kind of homage. He died
, in the year 1279, in the 69th year of his age, and in
the 31ft of his reign. Before his death, he was re¬
conciled to the pope and clergy, having made a full
and ample fubm'iflion. This prince was tall in ftature,
of a prepoffeffmg afpeft, and of engaging manners.
Alike removed from a difpofition to extravagant ex¬
pence or fordid avarice, in times of peace and profpe¬
rity, he could indulge in magnificence ; but when his
affairs required it, he failed not to regulate them by
frugality and economy. To the poor he was a fmcere
friend. In a time of fcarcity, he pawned his crown to
provide them with bread. His fteady and vigorous ad-
miniftration fecured to him the refpect of the nobles
and the obedience of the clergy. (Mod. Univ. Hijl.')
Alphonso IV. king of Portugal, furnamed the
Brave, was the fon of King Denis. Inftigated, it is
Paid, by the queen dowager of Caftile, and moved
with jealoufy again!! his natural brother Alphonfo
Sanchez, he revolted again!! his father, and com¬
menced a civil war. In this unnatural and bafe war,
he was juftly unfuccefsful ; but although he was re¬
duced to fubje£lion,vyet his haughty and ungovernable
2
temper broke out in many occurrences, until he fuc- Alphonfo.
ceeded his father in 1324. Hunting was his favourite ’
amufement at the time when he alcended the throne ;
and one day entertaining his counfellors with a narra¬
tive of his fporting adventures during a month, one of
them ventured to remonlfrate again!! his conduft, and ?
even proceeded to threaten, that if the grievances of
his fubjecls were not fpeedily redreffed, they would
be forced to look out for a better king. Alphonfo
was greatly enraged j but fuddenly recollecting him-
felf, he faid, “ 1 perceive the truth of your remark ;
he cannot long have fubjeCts who will not be a king.
Remember that from this day, you have nothing to do
with Alphonfo the fportfman, but with Alphonfo the
king of Portugal.” To this refolution he ftriftly ad¬
hered, and exercifing the power of a defpot, he over-
avred his fubjeCts, without conciliating their favour or
procuring their efteem. Fie difplayed a conduCf very
lingular in a young man, regarding thofe who had fo
vigorouily oppofed him when at war with his father,
as friends to the crown, although enemies to the young
ambitious prince. He commenced his reign with de-
vifing plans for the fecurity of his family in the govern¬
ment, and the good of the kingdom ; he likewife ma-
nifefted a llrong benevolence of heart, in his affe&ion
for his confort queen Beatrix, and his dutiful conduft to¬
wards his mother. Notwithftanding all thefe amiable
qualities, he perfecuted his brother Alonzo Sanchez,
and wfiftied to infli61 the punilhment due to him as a
proferibed traitor ; which drove the defperate Alon¬
zo to open rebellion. But, however, the natural
good qualities of the heart of the king rofe fuperior j
fo that his perfecuted brother was again received into
favour. Not long after he engaged in war with Alon¬
zo XI. king of Caftile, and which, after feveral fevere
ftruggles with varying fuccefs on both Tides, terminated
in an alliance, and in effeftual affiftance again!! the
Moors. The artful and cruel part which he added to¬
wards Donna Agnes de Caftro, the miftrefs and con¬
cealed wife of his fon, refle&ed the greateft difgrace
upon his charafter. It is proper, however, to remark,
that he was inftigated to the murder of this princefs by
his courtiers. It was not therefore to be wmndered at
if his fon was induced by this ad! to rife up in open re¬
bellion again!! him, but the arms of his father were
too formidable •, and after his fubmiflion, his father
treated him with particular marks of attention. In-
ftrudted by the growing infirmities of years, he faw
the termination of his reign and his life approaching.
He began to compenfate for his paft errors and faults,
by eftabliftiing adts of piety and benevolence, by re-
drefling grievances, by reftraining immorality through
the eftabliftiment of pious laws, by dictating falutary
maxims for the government of the ftate, by removing
thofe from the feats of power, who were the molt likely
to become the objeCts of refentment after his death : he
thus laboured to efface from the remembrance of his
fon the infult which he had received. While concert¬
ing thefe conciliating meafures, he died in May 1357,
in the 320! year of his reign, and the 67th of his
age, “ with the charadter of an undutiful fon, an un¬
natural brother, and a cruel father.” But in many re-
fpedts he deferves-the charadter “ of a great man and
a great king, brave and fortunate in wmr, but artful
and indiredt in his political meafures, attached to his
fubjedts,
ALP [ 737
Alphonfo. fubjeSs, Ariel in the adminiftration of juftice, atten-
tive to the public welfare, and affiduous in encouraging
induftry, and enriching his people.” But after all,
it muft be acknowledged, that although he was fear¬
ed and even efteemed, he was not much honoured
nor beloved, but was rather reverenced for a proper
ufe of power, than relied upon as a public parent.
His chara&er is perhaps expreffed in his device, which
Was an eagle on the wing, with the following motto,
altiora peto, “ I aim at higher things.”
Alphonso V. Don, king of Portugal, was born in
1432, and on account of his heroic deeds, obtained
the furname of the African. At the age of fix years,
he fucceeded his father King Edward. The admini-
llration of the affairs of the kingdom during his mino¬
rity, was entrufted to his uncle Don Pedro, who, al¬
though his public condudl met with general approba¬
tion, was perfecuted as a traitor at the expiration of his
regency, and with feveral perfons who were attached
to his intereft, and involved in his misfortunes, was
put to death. The young king had married the daugh¬
ter of the regent \ but even his influence, which was
overpowered by the regent’s enemies, could not fave
him from perfecution. Afterwards indeed he did ju-
Itice to his memory, and difeovered an unufual mark
of refpeft and attachment to his queen, by abftaining
from all connexion with the fex after her death, which
happened in 1455, and it has been fuppofed, was oc-
cafioned by poifon, adminiftered by the enemies of her
father.
Alphonfo afpired to the acquifltion of military glory.
In the year 1458, he made great preparations to at¬
tack the Moors in Barbary. He aflembled an army
of 20,000 men, and equipped a fleet of 200 fail. Pie
'firfl directed his arms againft Alcazer, which foon fell
into his hands ; and to maintain the footing which he
had gained, he furniflied this place with a ftrong gar-
rifon. For 1 2 years he profecuted the war in Barba¬
ry with various fuccefs, in that time reduced Arzila
and Tangier, and in 1740, returned to Portugal load¬
ed with honours. It was then he obtained the fur-
name of African, and to the titles which he derived
from his anceftors, added that of lord of the coafls on
both feas. And with a view to perpetuate the memo¬
ry of thefe exploits and conquefts, he caufed a repre-
lentation of them to be wrought in tapeflry, a monu¬
ment furely conftrufted of very frail materials, but
not lefs durable than many which have been erefted
by ambition and vanity. During the war in Africa, a
military order denominated the knights of the fvoord
was founded.
Alphonfo was lefs fuccefsful in fupporting the claim
of his niece Donna Joanna to the crown of Caftile
againft Ferdinand and Ifabella. Finding his own re-
fources unequal to the conteft in which he was en¬
gaged, he took a journey to France to folicit the aid
of Lewis XI. But his felicitations proved fruitlefs j
and the mortification which he experienced from this
faithlefs monarch, filled him with melancholy, and in¬
duced him to refign his crown for the purpofe of mak¬
ing a pilgrimage to the Holy Land. The adminiftra¬
tion of affairs during his abfence, -was committed to
the hands of his fon Don Juan, who governed the king¬
dom with great ability. When the king returned, he
was joyfully received by the prince, and reinftated in
You. I. Part II.
] ALP
his authority. But the mind of Alphonfo had loft its Alphonfo,
wonted vigour, and was unfit to refume the arduous'' " v '
duties of government. Oppreffed ftill with a deep me¬
lancholy, he determined at length to withdraw from
the cares of a kingdom, and to end his days in the re-
pofe and quiet of a fnonaftery. But on his journey to
the place of his retirement, he was feized with the
plague at Cintra, where he died in the year 1481,
in the 43d year of his reign, and the 49th of his
age. The moderation, the wifdom and prudence which
this prince exhibited in his public conduft, were not
more powerful in conciliating the love and veneration
of his fubjedls, and of all good men, than were the
amiable virtues of his private charadter. He was di-
ftinguiihed for his affability and condefcenfion, his be¬
nignity and bounty, and efpecially for his unbounded
charity. In the exercife of this latter virtue, he was .
honoured with the title of redeemer of the captives, in
confequence of his having procured the freedom of
many prifoners, whofe. ranfom he cheerfully paid.
Nor was he lefs eminent for his chaftity and temper¬
ance, his attachment to letters, and his love and en¬
couragement of learning. The firft library in the pa¬
lace of the kings of Portugal was founded in his time.
He eftabliftied and vindicated againft the pretenfions
and hoftile attempts of the Spaniards, a very profitable
trade on the coaft of Guinea, which country was dif¬
eovered during his reign, under the aufpices of his
uncle Don Henry, a celebrated character of that age.
{Mod. Univ. Hi/ll)
Alphonso VI. Don Enrique%, king of Portugal,
afeended the throne when only a child of thirteen years
of age. It is not eafy to conceive a kingdom in a
more perilous fituation than this at the death of Don
John. The young king rvas remarkable for weakness
of body, and imbecility of mind} the regency in the
hands of a woman, and that woman a Caftilian ; the
nation involved in war, and this refpefting the title to
the crown •, many of the nobility engaged in feuds
qnd contentions with each other, and feme of them fe^
cretly difaffefted to the reigning family $ fo that tha
queen fcarceiy knew to whom ftie could truft, or by
whom the was to be obeyed. A very indecent joy
w'as manifefted by the people on the king’s death, as if
his death wras the diffolution of government : but the
great abilities of the queen, and the vigorous meafures
which flic adopted, foon changed the face of affairs.
For her own fafety, and the profperity of the king¬
dom, fhe appointed D.on Francifco de Faro, count of
Odemira, of the houfe of Braganza, governor to the
king, and one of her principal minifters of ftate :
and lire made choice of Don Antonio de Menefes,
count de Caftenheda, to be his coadjutor. The former
wras a perfon in high repute among the nobility, is
great favour with the people, entirely devoted to the
interefts of the queen, poffeffed of a large eftate, and
far advanced in years; the latter was alfo an aged
man of great talents, and equally capable to prefide in
the cabinet, and to command in the field. As might
naturally be expefted, thefe men fometimes differed in
opinion ; but this difference never hurt the caufe of the
queen. Seconded, protefted, and counfelled by fucli
able men, the nation began to feel the effects of the
queen’s firmnefs and fuperior talents.
The firft important exertion of the queen was, to
5 A lend
ALP
Alphonfo. ^ fencl exprefs orders to the count de San Lorenzo, who
v ' ' commanded on the frontiers, to a£t offenfively j but
the meafure, though prudent in itfelf, was not attend¬
ed with the delired luccefsi About this time, howe¬
ver, the duke de St Germain, an Italian officer in the
fervice of Spain, entered Portugal, befieged and took
Olivenza and the caftle of Moran. In confequence of
this, the general was difmiffed, and his place was filled
by Juan Mendez Vafconceiles, a man in great favour
with the troops, and univerfally popular. He engaged
to a£t alfo upon the offenfive, but being unfuccefsful,
he was only laved from puniffiment, by his fimple and
candid defence j in which he fays, “ that he had under¬
taken the liege in obedience to the order of the queen,
and for the honour of the nation 5 and that he had rai¬
led it without orders, for the prefervation of the army :
that he knew the hazard he run when he did it, but
that it gave him pleafure to think, that at the hazard,
or even the lofs, of his reputation and life, the troops
of Portugal had been faved.” He was declared inno¬
cent and worthy of the queen’s favour, by the coun¬
cil of war who prefided. Don Sancho Manuel, who
commanded in Elvas, and defended it with equal bra¬
very and conduct, Ihewed himfelf to be an officer of
a confiderable degree of judgment, by his hazarding
nothing more ■when he had performed his fervice, upon
which the very being of the Hate depended ; but it
was the count de Caftanheda wffio railed that liege,
and forced the army of Spain in their lines. After
ibme other political meafures, fome of them more, and
fome of them lefs important; the queen regent finiffied
in a manner, her adminiftration, with the marriage of
her only daughter, the princefs Catharine, once in¬
tended for Lewis XIV. with Charles II. king of Great
Britain, one of the moft fortunate events that ever
happened for Portugal*, lince it immediately procured
them the protection of the Engliffi fleets, reinforcements
of fome thoufands of horfe and foot 5 befides adding
much reputation to their affairs throughout Europe j
which was the reafon that the Spanilh court oppofed it
with fo much heat, or rather,, pafficn. By the vigo¬
rous exertions and fortunate victories of Montefclaros,
the war wras foon terminated to the honour of Portu¬
gal. The fixth and laft victory in the courfe of 28
years, was obtained by the Marquis de Marialva,
which was chiefly owing to unforefeen accidents, and
the determined courage of foreign troops, and to the
great anilities of Schomberg. This victory determined
the fate of the kingdom, though not of the fovereign 5
and it was eafy to be feen by the more intelligent fort
ol people in Portugal, that the king would fooner or
later be depofed.
Alphonfo being ftruck with the palfy while a child,
rendered it neceffary to treat him with indulgence, on
account of his weak Hate of health } confequently, as he
rofe to maturity, his want of parts, and the defers in
his education, were very perceptible. It is alleeed
tiiat a greater affedlion was lhewn by the queen hi*
mother, to the infant Pon Pedro, and that ffie endea¬
voured at the time of their father’s deceafe, to infi-
nuate into the nobles an idea of preferring him 5 but
they univerfally declined to make a breach in the fuc-
ceffion, declaring it was difficult to make an eftimate
of the powers of a king -who was then only a child.
I he queen yielded, and endeavoured by every pro-
[ 738 1
ALP
per means to make him worthy of a crown, which, by Alplionfo}-
birth, he tvas entitled to wear. 'Iffie count de Ode- J
mira, who wTas charged with his education, found it a
very difficult talk to manage the young prince, who,
forgetful of his birth and deftination, w7as prone only
to thcfe amufements which the youth of his age w*ere
accuftomed to. Plis guardian and preceptor ftruggled
with this difpofition, and even ventured to take fome
pretty fevere meafures ; but to his great mortification,
it proved entirely abortive. Education can only im¬
prove, but can never confer mental abilities. V et he
was quick enough to perceive he was a king, wdiich
proved very fatal to him. Thofe who approached his
perfon complied with his follies, and, even commend¬
ed the moll: abfurd aftions ; and thofe who were inde¬
pendent of the court inveighed againll him in the
ffrongelt terms, and, becaufe guilty of fome childiffi
actions, they afcribed to him all the cruel and foolilh
accidents which happened in Lilbon. Unfortunately,
however, for his adverfaries, many of thefe actions,
fuch as fighting of dogs, fcouring the llreets, encoun¬
tering three men alone, running at a bull, and fuch
like, indicate no want of ftrength or courage. A
variety of fafts that might be mentioned, are fufficient
evidence that his natural difpofitions were weak, wild,
refractory, and unteachable ; and that although he w^as
born to reign, yet he was dellitute of the qualities ab-
folutely neceffary in a prince. The direful confe-
quences of this having been for fome time experi¬
enced by the nation, the nobles at lall were driven to
the refolution of depbfing the king, and exalting Don
Pedro to the regency. In the morning of the next
day after the determination, the marquis de Cafcaes,
at the head of the council, went to the palace to pro-
pofe the refignation to the king. The king was in
bed and fall afleep : the marquis ordered him to be
awakened, and knocked violently at the door for that
purpofe 5 and when he had obtained admiffion, he is
laid to have upbraided him in very coarle terms for his.
lazinefs and inattention to public affairs at fo critical a
conjuncture ; adding, that fince he muff be fenfible of
his want of abilities to govern a kingdom, the wifeft me¬
thod he could adopt was, to refign it in favour of his
brother. The king abfolutely refufed to confent, but
not long after, Don Pedro coming to the palace, or¬
dered him to be confined in his apartment, where one
of his favourites perfuaded him, in the hope of being
fet at liberty, to make a Ihort renunciation of the
crown in favour of his brother Don Pedro, and his
lawful iffue, referving the houfe of Braganza and its
dependencies, together with 100,000 crowns out of
the revenue of the crown. Nor was this deemed fuf¬
ficient : for a paper was prefented to him, making him
avow, that for want of confummation, his marriage was
null. This he at firff declined ; but, by the advice of
fome divines, he was prevailed on to fubfcribe the
deed. When evening drew on, the unhappy king then
perceived he was a prifoner ; upon which he lent to
requeft his brother to let him have John, wffio mana¬
ged his dog-kennel, to keep him company. When
Don Pedro heard it, lofing his ufual calmnefs, he burfffi
into a violent fit of paffion, and inffantly gave or¬
ders, that thofe wffio w7ere the moft agreeable to him,,
ffiould remain in his apartment. Such was the fitu-
ation of affairs until the meeting of the Hates. But
in
[ 739 1
ALP
no, which has been incorrectly publilhed by Sandovel, • Alpbor-io.
1 ,1 1 .L ^  ^ il . rA KAI/a 1VI_ V
ALP
Alphonfo. in the mean time, the unfortunate Don Alonzo died,
l—-v—after he had been a prifoner near fifteen years,
fuddenly in the caftle of Cintra, on the 12th of Sep¬
tember, when he had borne the title of king al-
moft twenty-feven, and had lived about forty, years.
It is reported, that he faid in his laft agonies, ii I am
new going ; but it will not be long before the queen
{hall follow me, to give an account, at the molt awful
tribunal, of the wrongs (lie has done me.” {Mod.
Univ. Hi/i.)
Alphonso III. the Great, king of Afturias, was
born in 847, and fucceeded his father Ordogno in 865.
In confequence of the rebellion of Don I rolia, not long
after his acceflion to the throne, he was forced to leave
his kingdom *, but that ufurper being affaffinated, with
vmiverfal applaufe he returned to his throne. In many
fuccefsful enterprifes againit the Moors, in which he
greatly enlarged his territories, he foon difplayed the
talents of a warlike and able prince. He formed a
powerful alliance againft the Moors, by marrying Xi-
mene or Chimene, defeended from the houfe of Na¬
varre, which paved the way for a long feries of victories.
The great attention which he paid to the comfort and
welfare of the common people, greatly difguited his
haughty nobles 5 which excited them to revolt againft
him in the advanced part of his life. Enjoying a fmall
interval of tranquillity from the diftraftion and tumults
of war, he called a general council of the clergy and
nobility, enatted fome ufeful regulations, and dire&ed
their attention to feveral other fubje&s, which contribu¬
ted to the honour and happinefs of his kingdom. Whilft
he was bufily occupied in repairing fome of thofe towns
which he had taken from the Moors, he was fuddenly
interrupted by them, and was under the neceflity of de¬
fending himfelf with a confiderable army, which he
did with fuch fuccefs, that they were defeated with
great lofs. The unnatural rebellion of his fon Don
Garcias, at this time, greatly difturbed his government;
but by the diligence of the father, this unnatural rebel¬
lion was foon quelled. The confinement of Garcias, and
the new- impofition of taxes, produced general murmurs
among the people ; which induced Alphonfo, now worn
out with years and inceffant contentions, to aifemble
the ftates, and refign the reins of government into the
hands of his fon Don Garcias. He gave to his other
fon Don Ordogno the province of Galicia. The ambi¬
tious and military fpirit which Don Garcias difeovered
in nis father’s reign, foon difplayed itfelf in an attack on
the Moors. By the advice of his father, to which
he prudently liftened, he was taught that thefe new
conquefts tended more to enrich the foldiers, than to
the advantage of the crown. Alphonfo, although far
advanced in years, took upon himfelf the command of
the army raifed for new operations, and returned to
Zamora loaded with fpoils, and with increafed reputa¬
tion and fame, in the year 912. He died December
20th, 912, two years after his abdication, 49 years
from the time of his being affociated with his father in
the government, and wdren he was about 63 or 65 years
of age. His great learning, and the patronage he gave
to literature, his diftinguifhed piety and virtue, and other
princely qualities, raifed this king high in the eftima-
tion of mankind. Some writers affirm that he eom-
pofed a chronicle of the Spanifh affairs, from the death
of Recefuintho, to that of his own father Don Ordog-
jury. The biftrop of Orenfa, at w’hofe requeft it was
originally compofed, publilhed it in his own name to
the world. (Gen. Biog.)
Alp hon so X the Wife, king of Leon and Caftiie,
fucceeded his father Ferdinand in the year 1252.. He
obtained the appellation of wTile, not for his political
knowledge as a king, but his erudition as a philofopher.
In coniequence of the general opinion of his princely
qualities, and his uncommon generofity, he afeended
the throne with univerfal approbation. The ill-con¬
certed projects of his ambition, however, difturbea the
profperity of his reign. Pretending a better right than
Henry III of England to that territory, he direfted
his firft attempt againft Gafcony. I he arms of Eng¬
land, however, proved too formidable ; and he was
compelled to renounce his claim, on condition that
Henry’s fon, afterwards King Edward I. fhould marry
his fifter Eleonora. At an expence which drained his
treafures, and obliged him to debafe his coin, he pre¬
pared for an expedition againft the Moors in Barbary ;
but his maternal right to the duchy of Sw^abia, which
he was called to defend, diverted him from it. Thus
he formed a connexion with the German princes ; and
became a competitor, with Richard earl of Cornwall,
for the imperial crown, in queft of which they both ex¬
pended immenfe fums of money. The claims of feveral
of the princes of the blood, gave exercife to his mili¬
tary talents ; and he rvas fuccefsful both in oppofing^
and defeating them. He formed the romantic defign
of vifiting Italy in the year 1268 ; but the ftates firm¬
ly remonftrating, he was obliged to rtlinquifh it. But,
although he abandoned the defign, yet it produced
fuch difeontents both among the common people and
confpiracy among the nobles, that it required confider¬
able exertion before the king could allay the ferment.
Alphonfo, ftill anxious of afeending the imperial throne,
attempted it after the death of Richard earl of Corn¬
wall, and even after Rodolph of Hapihurg was afhially
eleifted emperor of Germany, and for that purpofe took
a journey to Beaucaire to obtain an interview with the
pope, in order to prevent him from confirming the elec¬
tion. The Moors, ever ready to draw the fword a-
gainft him, took this opportunity of entering his domi¬
nions for the purpofe of ravaging them. I his ambi¬
tious journey, undertaken at fo vaft an expence, and
produftive of fo much confufion in his kingdom, prov¬
ed unfuccefsful; for the pope would not realize his claim,
or alter the former eleflion. But his exceffive ambi¬
tion -was foon punilhed by domeftic calamity ; for his
eldeft fon died in this interval, and his fecond fon Don
Sanchez, having obtained great reputation in oppofing
the infidels, to the prejudice of his brother’s children,
laid claim to the croxvn. This claim was admitted by
the ftates of the kingdom ; but Philip king of France,
fupporting the caufe of the children, whofe mother vras
his fifter Blanche of France, involved Alphonio in a
war ; and it occafioned the retreat of his own queen
Yolande or Violante to the court of her father, the king
of Arragon. While thus haraffed with diftenfions,
he proclaimed wrar againft France, and by the autho¬
rity of the pope he renew'ed the war with the Moors,
w’hich proved fo unfortunate, that he reluflantly con¬
cluded a truce with them, and engaged in a eonteit
5A2 with.
ALP
Alphonfo. witli tlie king of Granada. Thefe various meafures
exbaufted his treafure, taxes were multiplied, and the
affairs of the kingdom were in fuch confufion, that he
was under the difagreeable neceffity cf calling an affem-
bly of the dates, which was held at Seville in the year
1281, where, on the king’s propofal, the dates con-
fented to give a currency to copper money. In con¬
sequence of the intrigues of Don Sanchez his fon, ano¬
ther affembly of the dates was held at Valladolid
A. D. 1282, which deprived Alphonfo of the regal
dignity, and appointed Sanchez regent. Reduced to
almod infurmountable difficulties, Alphonfo folemnly
curfed and dilinherited his fon, and by bis lad will, in
the year 1283, confirmed the a£l of exclufion, and ap¬
pointed, for the fuccedion, the infants de la Cerda,
and upon the failure of their heirs the kings of France j
and at the fame time fupplicated the aflidance of the
king of Morocco againil the powrer of his fon. At the
commencement of the next year, when Alphonfo re¬
ceived information, from Salamanca, that Sanchez was
dangeroufly ill, his heart relented. He pardoned his
fon, revoked his curfes, and then died on the 4th of
April 1284 in the 8id year of his age. His remains
were interred in the cathedral of Seville j and he left
behind him the character of a learned man, but a weak
king. Alphonfo has been charged with irreligion and
impiety, chiefly on account of a w’ell known faying of
his, vrZt “ if he had been of God’s privy-council when
he created the w-orld he could have advifed him bet¬
ter.” The various contradidfory accounts, given by
different writer" render the truth of this doubtful 5 but
if ever fuch a horrible faying dropt from his lips, it
muff unquelfionably be declared inconfiftent with the
chara&er of an enlightened philofopher \ and that re¬
verence of the Creator, which an enlarged contempla¬
tion of his works naturally infpires.
“ An indevout aftronomer is mad.” Young.
He -was an eminent proficient in fcience, and a patron
of literature. He concluded that book of laws, known
by the title of Las Particles, which his father had be¬
gun ; and in that work difplayed the abilities of a po¬
litician as w7ell as thofe of a legiflator. By obliging
his fubjeefs to ufe their owm language, he redreffed the
confufion in law proceedings occafioned by intermixing
Latin with the vulgar tongue. Under his patronage
a general hilfory of Spain was compofed, which he
took great pains in polifhing 5 he alfo correfted many
errors in the ffatutes of the univerfky of Salamanca.
Aftronomy being his favourite ifudy, he chiefly direff-
sd his attention to the improvement of that fcience $
fo that, even during the life of his father, he af-
iembled at Toledo a number of the moff celebrated
aftronomers of his time, Chriffians, Jews, and Arabi¬
ans, from all parts of Europe, for the purpofe of ex¬
amining the afttonomical tables of Ptolemy, and cor-
re&ing their errors. The completion of thefe tables
employed them about four years, and in 1252, the firff
year of Alphonfo’s reign, they were completed ; and
they were called dlphonjine Tables from the name of
this prince, who encouraged the conftruftion of them
by his unbounded liberality. It is reported that
400,000 ducats were expended on them, or, according
to others, 40,000. Some haVe aferibed the principal
Management of this work to the JewUh Rabbi like
t 74= 1
ALP
Aben-Said ; others, pretending to derive information Alphonfe.
from the MSS. of Alphonfo, refer it to Aben-Racree
and Alcabitius. The other aftronomers who were
employed on this occafion were Aben-Mufa Moham-
cd, fofeph Ben-Ali, and Jacob Abuena, Arabians : if
there were any Chrillians, their names are unknown,.
The 30th of May 1252, which was the day of his
acceflion to the throne, was fixed as the epoch of
thefe tables. A book, entited “ The Treafure,” is al¬
fo aferibed to him, containing treatifes of rational phi-
lofophy, phyfics, and ethics. He is likewife laid to
have been well acquainted with aftrology and chemi-
ftry 5 in which laft fcience, he is faid to have compil¬
ed two volumes in cipher, which are extant, and to be
found ftill in his Catholic MaRlly’s library. But this
work muff be more curious than ufeful, if we confider
the Hate of this fcience at that period. (Gen. Bwg.)
lphonso V. king of Arragon and Naples, fuc-
ceeded his father in the year 1416. As the father had
formerly been honoured with the appellation of Jzc/l,
fb the fon was honoured with that of Magnanimous.
The conlpiracy of lome of his own nobles againil his
life, together with the iniblence of Pope Benedict Xill,
greatly difturbed the tranquillity of his reign. Fortu¬
nately this conlpiracy was difeovered juft when it was
about to be carried into execution ; and inllead of pro¬
ceeding with rigour againft the confpirators, he gene-
roufty tore a paper containing their names without
reading it, and added, “ that he would at leaft force
them to acknowledge, that he had a greater re¬
gard for their lives than they had for his.” After
quelling a difturbance in Sardinia, he was juft making
preparations to advance to Sicily, when Joan of Naples
offered, if he would aflift her againft the pope, the
duke of Anjou, and the conftable Sforza, who had
formed a confederacy to depofe her, to adopt him as
her fon and heir. He readily accepted the propo¬
fal, and Math a powerful army foon raifed the liege of
Naples, and was immediately declared heir apparent
of her kingdom, and duke of Calabria. But as the
queen was unfaithful, and did not fulfil her engage¬
ments, Alphonfo took poffeflion of Naples, and ex¬
pelled her from it j but when the duke of Anjou,
again entered her territories, and made himfelf maftes
of great part of them, lire was obliged to renew her
folicitations to Alphonfo j who, in the year 1434, in¬
volved himfclf in a quarrel with the duke of Milan
and the republic of Genoa, by befieging Gasta in a fe-
cond attempt to conquer Naples. The Genoefe fleet-
engaged Alphonfo j and all his ftiips were difperfed or
deftroyed, and himfelf taken prifoner. But fuch was
the addrefs of this prince, that when carried to Milan
a prifoner, he there ingratiated himfelf fo much into,
the duke’s favour, that he became his friend and ally,
and foon rofe to greater power than formerly.
He got poffeflion of Naples in 1443 \ and in an affem¬
bly of the ftates held at Beneventum, and then transfer¬
red to Naples, his fovereignty was recognized, and
his fon, Don Ferdinand, declared fucceffor to the
throne, and in ccnfequence of this elevation he wTas
deemed the foie arbiter of peace and war through all
Italy. Naples became the refidence of Alphonfo du¬
ring the remainder of his life j but his declining years
wTere much difquieted by political diffenfions and in¬
trigues. Tfre catutal attendant of jealous old age at
ALP [ 74» ] ALP
Alphonfo, laft feized him j and in confternation and dread, he
A1 phoning.^ was reInove(J from one caftle of Naples to another,
" until he breathed his laft on the 22d of June 1468, be¬
queathing to his natural fon Ferdinand the kingdom of
Naples, and to his brother Don Juan, king of Navarre,
the kingdoms of Arragon, Valencia, Majorca, Sardinia,
Sicily, and the principality and dependencies of Cata^-
Ionia. Alphonfo was not only deemed the ableft ftatef-
man, and the moft renowned military commander in
that age, but alfo the greateft prince that ever occupied
the throne of Arragon. He was a diftinguithed patron
of learning, and opened an afylum for the Greek lite¬
rati expelled from Conftantinople. His device was an
open book. He frequently uttered this expreflion,
“ That an unlettered prince was but a crowned afs.”
He was brave and liberal 5 and in all his negotiations
he difdained the mean artifices of intrigue and diflimu-
lation. It is reported that his perufal of Quintus
Curtius cured him of a diforder with which he was at¬
tacked at Capua. Such was his familiar intercourfe
with his fubjefts, and his affeftion towards them, that
he walked unarmed and unaccompanied in his capital j
and was wont to fay, “ that a father has nothing to
fear in the midft of his children.” While he was be-
lieging Gaeta he difmiffed the women and children that
were turned out of the town without any injury, faying,
“ That he had rather lofe any city in his dominions
than lofe the reputation of humanity.” He leaped
into a fhatlop for the relief of one of his galleys, which
with its whole crew and foldiers was juft about to pe-
rifh, exclaiming, “ I had rather fhare thanwitnefs their
calamity.” Such was his generofity, that upon hear¬
ing an officer who faw his treafurer bringing him
10,000 ducats, exclaiming, “ I ihould only wilh that
fum to make me happy.” “ You {hall be fo,” faid
Alphonfo, and gave him the money in a prefent. He
deemed dancing a certain degree of madnefs j but was
ftrongly addidled to women, which involved him in
many dilhonourable intrigues, and juftly entailed upon
him the difgrace of an unfaithful huffiand to a kind
and affectionate queen. {Mod. Univ. Hi/}.')
ALPHONSUS TOST AT US, biffiop of Avila, a
learned and voluminous Spanxth writer. He flourifhed
about the middle of the 15th century, and by his un¬
common abilities rofe to the higheft offices both in the
civil and ecclefiaftical departments of the ftate. At
the age of 22 years he finiffied his ftudies at the uni-
verfity of Salamanca, having made great progrefs in
every branch of learning then in eftimation. He was
prefent at the council of Bafil, and was afterwards pro¬
moted to the biffiopric of Avila. He died at the age
of 40 years, in 14^4, and was buried in the church of
Avila. The following epitaph, expreffive of his great
srudition, was infcribed on his tomb.
Hie Jhipor ejl mundi qui feibile difeutit omne.
** This is the wonder of the world who treated of every
thing that could be known.”
The numerous productions of Alphonfus are fufficient
proofs of his laborious induftry : during his life he
wrote no lefs than 27 volumes in folio, of which 24
are commentaries on the Scriptures ; the reft are on
theological fubjeCts. By the order of Cardinal Xime-
nes they were printed at Venice in 1530, and in 155)65
and at Cologne in 1612. Several of his pieces on ec¬
clefiaftical hiftory, fcience, and literature in general,
were feparately printed at Salamanca in 1506, and
alfo his commentary upon the Chronieon of Eufebius.
Although high encomiums have been beftowed upon
his works, they have neverthelefs in the current of
time and human improvement fallen into oblivion.
(Dupin.)
ALPINI, Prospero, in Latin, Profper Alpinus, a
celebrated phyfician and botanift, was born at Marof-
tica in the republic of Venice in November 1553. In
his early years his inclination led him to the profeffion
of arms, and he ferved fome time in the Milanefe.
By the encouragement and perfuafion of his father,
wffio was a phyfician, he retired from the army, and
devoted his attention to literature. To profecute his
ftudies with more advantage, he went to the univerfity
of Padua, where he was loon after eledled deputy to
the reftor and fyndic to the ftudents. But in the dif-
charge of his official duties which was diftinguifhed by
prudence and addrefs, he was not prevented from pur-
fuing the ftudy of phyfic which he had chofen. He
continued his medical ftudies with zeal and luccels j
and after having acquired the neceffary qualifications,
he was admitted to the degree of doftor of medicine
in 1578. Soon after he left the univerfity, and fettled
as a phyfician in confequence of an invitation from the
citizens in Campo San Pietro, a fmall town in the
Paduan territory.
In the courfe of his ftudies he had paid particular
attention to plants, and had become an enthufiaft in
botanical fcience. The fphere of his prefent practice
was too limited to afford him much opportunity of pro-
fecuting’his favourite ftudy. He wilhed particularly
to extend his knowledge of exotic plants ; and the only
means to attain this, he thought, was to ftudy their
economy and habits in their native foil. And to gra¬
tify this laudable curiofity an opportunity foon prefent-
ed itfelf. George Emo, the conful for the Venetian
republic in Egypt, appointed Alpini his phyfician.
They failed from Venice in September 15805 an(l
after having experienced $ tedious and dangerous
voyage, arrived at Grand Cairo in the beginning of
July the following year. Alpini fpent three years in
Egypt, and by his induftry and afliduity, greatly im¬
proved his botanical knowledge. With this view he
travelled along the banks of the Nile, vifited every
place, and confulted every perfon from whom he ex-
pe£led any new information. From a pra6iice in the
management of date trees which he obferved in this
country, Alpini feems to have deduced the do&rine
of the fexual difference of plants which was adopted
as the foundation of the celebrated fyftem of Linnaeus.
He fays, “ That the female date trees, or palms, do
not bear fruit, unlefs the branches of the male and fe¬
male plants are mixed together 5 or, as is generally
done, unlefs the dull found in the male {heath, or male
flowers, is fprlnkled over the female flowers.”
When Alpini returned to Venice in 1586 he was
appointed phyfician to Andrea Doria prince of Melfi,
and during his refidence at Genoa, acquired io great a
name as to be efteemed the firft phyfician of his age.
The Venetians became jealous that "the Gen'oefe ftate
ftiould number among its citizens a perfon of fuch
diftinguifhed aaeiit and reputation, whofe fervices might
be;
ALP [ 7
be eiTentially beneficial, and whofe /ame might be
highly honourable to his native country. In the year
*593, he was recalled to fill the botanical chair in the
univerfity of Padua, with a/alary of 200 florins, which
was afterwards augmented to 750. He difcharged the
•duties of his profefibrfhip for many years with great
reputation, till his declining health interrupted his la¬
bours. He died in the year 1617, in the 64th year of
his age, and was fucceeded as botanical profeflbr by
one of his fons. Alpini wrote the following works in
Latin : 1. De Medicina JEgyptiorum, libri iv. “ Of the
Phyfic of the Egyptians, in four books j” printed at
Venice, 1591, in 4to. 2. De Plands Mgypti liber \
“ A treatife concerning the plants of Egypt printed
at Venice, 1592, in 410. 3. De Balfamo Dialogus: “ A
dialogue concerning the Balm of Gilead j” printed at
Venice, 1.529, in 410. 4. De Preefagienda vita et mor~
te cegrotantium libri vii: “ Seven books concerning the
method of forming a judgment of the life or death of
patients j” printed at Venice, 1691, in 410. 5. De
Medicina methodica, libri xiii: “ Thirteen books con¬
cerning methodical Phyfic;” Padua, 1611, folio;
Leyden, 1719, in 4to. 6. De Rhapontico Difputatio:
“ A deputation held in the fchool at Padua concerning
the Rhaponticum ;” Padua, 1612, and 1629, in 410.
7. He Plantis Excticis, libri ii: “ Of exotic plants, in
two booksVenice, 1699, in 4to. He left feveral
other works, which have never been printed ; parti¬
cularly, 8. The fifth book concerning the phyfic of the
Egyptians. 9. Five books concerning the natural hi-
Itory of things obferved in Egypt, adorned with figures
of plants, ftones, and animals. (Biog. Difl.)
ALPINIA. See Botany Index.
ALPINUS. See Alpini. '
ALPISTE, or Alpia, a fort of feed ufed to feed
birds with, efpecially -when they are to be nourilhed
for breeding. The alpifte feed is of an oval figure, of
a pale yellow, inclining to an ifabel colouV, bright and
gloffy. It is an article of the corn-chandlers and feedf-
men’s trade.
ALPS, in Ancient Geography, a range of high moun¬
tains, feparating Italy from Gaul and Germany, in the
form of a crefcent. They take their rife from the Va-
da Sabatia, or Savona ; and reach to the Sinus Flana-
ticus (now Golfo di Carnaro of the Adriatic), and the
Iprings of the river Colapis (now the Kulpe) ; extend¬
ing, according to Livy, 2000 fladia in length, or 250
miles: they are divided into feveral parts, and accord¬
ingly have different names. From Savona to the
fprings of the Varus, where the Alps lie again!! the fea
of Genoa, they are called Maritime, now le Montagne
di Pend a. Thefe extend from fouth to north, between
Gaul to the weft, and Genoa to the eaft, beginning at
Monaco on the Mediterranean; then running out
through the eaft of the county of Nice, and between
that and the marquifate of Saluzzo, terminate at length
at Mount Vifo, between Dauphine and Piedmont.
Hence to Sufa run the Alpes Cottice (Sueton.) Cot-
tance (Tacitus) ; mountains extremely high, feparating
Dauphin^ from Piedmont, and extending from Mount
Vifo to Mount Cenis, between the Alpes Marilimce to
the fouth, and the Graiee to the north. The Alpes
Grata- (Pliny), fo called from the pafiage of Hercules,
begin from Mount Cenis, where the Cottice terminate;
2nd run out between Savoy and the Tarentefe to the
1
42 ] ALP
wTeft, and Piedmont and the Duche d’Aoufte to the
eaft, quite to the Great St Bernard, wdiere the Alpes
Penmnce begin. They are alfo called by feme Graicz
Alpes, and Grams Mans (Tacitus); which extend
from weft to eaft, between St Bernard and the Adula,
or St Gothard ; and thus they run out between the
Valaiie to the north, and the Milanefe to the fouth,
W ith theie are continued the Alpes Rheticce, to the
head of the river Piave ; a part of which are the Alpes
Tridentina, to the north of Trent. To thefe join the
Alpes Noricce, reaching to Doblach in Tyrol, to the
north of the river Tajamento : thence begin the Alpes
Carnicce, or of Carniola, extending to the fprings of
the Save : and the laft, called Alpes Pannomcce, and
Julice, extend to the fprings of the Kulpe. Some,
however, extend the Alps to the north of .Dalmatia ;
others, again, to Thrace and the Euxine. But their
termination at the Kulpe, as above, is more genera-
ally received. They were formerly called Albia, and
Alpionia (Strabo). Through thefe mountains Han¬
nibal forced his paflage into Italy, by pouring vinegar
on the rocks, heated by burning large piles of wood
on them, by which means they became crumbled,
(Livy). They are covered wuth perpetual fnow.
The Alps are the higheft mountains in Europe ;
being, according to feme geometricians, .about two
miles in perpendicular height. They begin at the Me¬
diterranean ; and ftretching northward, feparate Pied¬
mont and Savoy from the adjacent countries ; whence
direfting their courfe to the eaft, they form the boun¬
dary between Switzerland and Italy, and terminate near
the extremity of the Adriatic fea, north-eaft of Venice.
It was over the weftern part of thofe mountains, towards
Piedmont, that Hannibal forced his pafiage into Italy.
The profpeft from many parts of this enormous
range of mountains is extremely romantic, efpecially
towards the north-weft. One of the moft celebrated
is the Grande Chartreufe, where is a monaftery found¬
ed by St Bruno about the year 1084. From Echelles,
a little village in the mountains of Savoy, to the top
of the Chartreufe, the diftance is fix miles. Along this
courfe, the road runs -winding up, for the moil part
not fix feet broad. On one hand is the rock, with
woods of pine trees hanging over head ; on the other a
prodigious precipice almoft perpendicular; at the
bottom of which rolls a torrent, that, fometimes tum¬
bling among the fragments of ftone which have fallen
from on high, and fometimes precipitating itfelf down
vaft defeents writh a norfe like thunder, rendered yet
more tremendous by the echo from the mountains on
each fide, concurs to form one .of the moft folemn, the
moft romantic, and moft aftonifhing feenes in nature.
To this defeription may be added the ftrange views
made by the crags and cliffs, and the numerous caf-
cades which throw thenftelves from the very furomit
down into the vale. On the top of the mountain is
the convent of St Bruno, W'hich is the fuperior of the
whole order. The inhabitants confift of 100 fathers,
with 3co fervants, who grind their coin, prefs their
wine, and perform every domeftic office, even to the
making of their clothes. In the Album of the fathers
is an admired alcaic ode, written by the late ingenious
Mr Gray vdien he vifited the Chartreufe, and which
has fince been publifhed among his works.
The glaciers of Savoy ar.e alio juftly reckoned among
the
ALP [ 743 ] ALP
Alps. the moft Itupendous works of nature. Tliefe are im-
- * menfe mafles of ice, lodged upon .the gentler declivities
amidft the Alps, and exhibiting reprefentations be¬
yond conception fantaftic and pifturefque. In the ex¬
traordinary narrative of M. Bourrit’s journey hither,
we meet witli the following account of the Prieuid, in
the valley of Chamouni. “ We had (fays he) the mag¬
nificent profpe& of a chain of mountains, equally in-
acceilible, and covered with ice } and above the reft
that of Mount Blanc, whofe top feemed to reach, and
even pierce, the higheft region of the clouds. The
chain upon which this mountain looks down like a
giant, is compofed of maffes of rocks, which terminate
in pikes or fpires, called the Needles, and which are
ranged like tents in a camp. Their fides appear lighter
and more airy, from the ornament of feveral hollow
breaks and furrows fretted in the rock itfelf, as well
as from the different ftreaks and panes of ice and fnow,
which, without changing the general charadler of their
form, or the majefty of their appearance, give them a
pi&urefque variety. Lower down, the eye furveys
with ravilhment the gills of ice, and the feveral gla¬
ciers, extending almoft into the plain, whilft this ap¬
pears like an artificial garden, embellifhed with the
mixture of a variety of colours. We have a piclurefque
oppofition to this chain, which is formed by innumer¬
able mountains at the diftance of near 50 leagues, be¬
tween whole tops wre have a glimpfe of thole feveral
plains which they environ.”
M. de Sauffure, who had vifited thofe mountains
about two months before M. Bourrit, felt himfelf na¬
turally eledlrified in this place. This extraordinary
phenomenon feems not to have been experienced by
the latter or his company •, but they heard a long-con¬
tinued rumbling noife like that of thundet, which
was rendered more awful by the filence of the place
where they flood. This noife proceeded from the fub-
fequent caufes, viz. the avalanches of fnow, which fe-
parated from the tops of the mountains, and rolled
down to the bottom ; confiderable fragments of the
rocks which followed them, overturning others in their
fall; and maffy blocks of ice, which precipitated from
the fiimtnks.
The valley of Montanvert appears to be peculiarly
romantic. “ Here (fays M. Bouritt) we behold a fpa-
cious icy plain entirely level. Upon this there rofe a
mountain all of ice, with fteps afcending to the top,
which feemed the throne of fome divinity. It likewife
took the form of a grand cafcade, whofe figure was be¬
yond conception beautiful; and the fun, which fhone
upon it, gave a fparkling brilliance to the whole. The
valley on our right hand was ornamented with prodi¬
gious glaciers, that, fhooting up to an immeafurable
height between the mountains, blend their colours with
the Ikies, which they appear to reach.”
Alps, befides its proper fignification, by which it
denotes a certain chain of mountains wThich feparate
Italy from France and Germany, is frequently ufed as
an appellative to denote any mountains of extraordi¬
nary height or extenfive range. In this, fenfe, Aulb-
nius and others call the Pyrenean mountains Alps ; and
Geliius the Spanifh Alps, Alpini Hifpani.
Hence alfo we fay, the Britijh Alps, the AJiatic Alps,
the Alps of America.
The ScottIJh Alps terminate in a moft fublixae and
abrupt manner, at the great promontory, the Alta R:pa Alps,
of Ptolemy, the Crd ox Aird, i. e. the. Height of Caithnefs. '■—""V'”
The upper part is covered with gloomy heath j the lower
is a ftupendous precipice, excavated into vaft caverns,
the haunt of feals and different fea fowl. On the eaftern
fide of the kingdom, this is the ftriking termination of
the vaft mountains of Scotland which form its High¬
lands, the habitation of the original inhabitants, driven
from their ancient feats by the anceftors of Lowland
Scots, defcendants of Saxons, French, and Normans 5
congenerous with the Englifh, yet abfurdly and invi-
dioufly diftinguifhed from them. Language, as well as
ftriking natural boundaries, mark their place. Thek
mountains face on the weft the Atlantic ocean 5 wind'
along the weft of Caithnefs; among which Morven and
Scaraben, Ben Hop, and Ben Lugal, arife pre-eminent.
Sutherland is entirely alpine, as are Rofsftiire and In-
vernefsfhire. Their Summee Alps are, Meal-Fourvou-
nich, the Coryarifir, Benewich, and Benevith near Fort
William •, the lail of which is reported to be 1450 yards
in height. Great part of Aberdeenftiire lies in this
tradl. It boafts of another Morven, foaring far be¬
yond the others. This is the centre of the Grampian
hills, and perhaps the higheft from the fea of any in
Great Britain. They again comprehend the eaftern
part of Perthfhire, and finifh on the magnificent fliores
of Lochlomond } on the weftern fide of which Ben-
lomond rifes, diftinguiftied among its fellows. Fi-om
hence the reft of North Britain forms a chain of hum¬
bler hills; but in Cumberland, part of Weftmorland,
Yorklhire, Lancaftrire, and Dexbyftrire, the Alps re¬
fume their former majefty. A long and tame interval
fucceeds. The long fublime traft of Wales arifes, the
ancient poffeflion of the ancient Britiih race. From the
Ord, the great mountains recede inland, and leave a vaft
.fiat between their bafes and the fea, fronting the waves
with a feries of lofty rocky precipices, as far as the little
creek of Staxigoj the whole a bold, but moft inhofpi-
table (bore for dripping. Wick and Staxigo have in¬
deed their creeks, or rather chafms, which open between
the cliffs, and may accidentally prove a retreat, unlefs
in an eaftern gale.
The AJiatic Alps are deferibed under the articles Al¬
taic Chain and Werturian Mountains.
The American Alps are, The Andes or Cordillerast
in South America j and the Apalachian ox Allegan^
mountains in North America.
The higheft ground in North A merica is placed by
Captain Carver in lat 470 W. Long, from London.
98°, between a lake from which the Oregon flows, and
another called White-bear Lake, from which arifes the
Miffiftippi.
This exalted fituation is part of the Shining Moun¬
tains, which are branches of the vaft chain which per¬
vades the wkole continent of America. It may be
fairly taken from the fouthern extremity, where Staten
Land and Terra del Fuego rile out of the fea as infu-
lated links to an immenfe height, black, rocky, and
marked with rugged fpiry tops, frequently covered
with fnow. New Georgia may be added as another
horribly congenial, rifing detached farther to the ealr..
The mountains about the ftraits of Magellan foar to
an amazing height, and infinitely 1’uperior to thofe of.
the northern hemifphere under the fame degree of la¬
titude. Froip the north fide of the ftraits of Magel-.
lan„
ALP [ 744 ] ALP
lan, they form a continued chain through the king-
' doms of Chili and Peru, preferving a courfe not re¬
mote from the Pacific ocean. The fummits, in many
places> are the higheft in the world. There are not
lefs than 12, which are from 2400 toifes high to above
?000. Pichincha, which impends over Quito, is about
35 leagues from the fea ; and its fummit is 2430 toifes
above the furface of the water. Cayambe, immediately
under the equator, is above 3000 ; and Chimborazo
higher than the laft by 200. Moft of them have been
volcanic, and in different ages marked with eruptions
far more horrible than have been known in other quar¬
ters of the globe. They extend from the equator
through Chili j in which kingdom is a range of volca¬
noes, from lat. 26. fouth, to 45. 30. and poffibly from
thence into Terra del Fuego itfelf j which, forming
the ftraits of Magellan, may have been rent from the
continent by feme great convulfion, occafioned by their
labourings, and New Georgia forced up from the fame
vaufe. An unparalleled extent of plain appears on their
eaftern fide. The river of Amazons runs along a level
clothed with forefts, after it burfts from its confinement
at the Pongo of Borjas, till it reaches its fea-like dif-
charge into the Atlantic ocean.
In the northern hemifphere, the Andes pafs through
the narrow ifthmuS of Darien into the kingdom of
Mexico, and preferve a majeftic height and their vol¬
canic difpofition. The mountain Popocatepec made
a violent eruption during the expedition of Cortez,
Tivhich is moft beautifully deferibed by his hiftorian An¬
tonio de Solis. This is probably the fame with the
volcano obferved by the Abbe d’ Auteroche, in his way
from Vera Cruz to Mexico ; which, from the naked-
mefs of the lavas, he conjeftured to have been but late¬
ly extinguilhed. From the kingdom of Mexico, this
chain is continued northward, and to the eaft of Cali¬
fornia ; then verges fo greatly towards the weft, as to
leave a very inconfiderable fpace between it and the
Pacific ocean 'y and frequently detached branches jut
into the fea, and form promontories} which, with
parts of the chain itfelf, were often feen by our navi¬
gators in the courfe of their voyage. Some branches,
us we have before obferved, extend towards the eaft,
but not to any great diftance. A plain, rich in woods
and favannahs, fwarming with bifons or buffaloes, flags,
and Virginian deer, with bears, and a great variety of
game, occupies an amazing traft, from the great lakes
of Canada, as low as the gulf of Mexico j and eaft-
ward to the other great chain of mountains, the Apa-
lachian, which are the Alps of that fide of northern
America. Its commencement is fuppofed to be about
Lake Champlain and Lake George, with branches
pointing obliquely to the river St Lawrence eaftward,
and rifing on its oppofite coafts j others extending
as far as Nova Scotia, but in their progrefs eaft¬
ward diminifh in height. The main chain paffes
through the province of New York, where it is diftin-
guifhed by the name of the Highlands, and lies within
40 miles of the Atlantic. From thence it recedes
■from the fea, in proportion as it advances fouthward 5
and near its extremity in South Carolina is 300 miles
diftant from the water. It confifts of feveral parallel
ridges divided by moft enchanting valleys, and gene-
xally clothed with variety of woods. Thefe ridges
cife gradually from the eaft, one above the other, to
2,
the central $ from which they gradually fall to the Alps,
weft, into the vaft plains of the Mifliflippx. The middle Alpuxarras,
ridge is of an enormous bulk and height. The wholev—-"v
extends in breatlth about 70 miles ) and in many places
leaves great chafms for the difeharge of the vaft and
numerous rivers which rife in the bofoms of the moun¬
tains, and empty themfelves into the Atlantic ocean,
after yielding a matchlefs navigation to the provinces
they w7ater.
Beyond the branch of the Apalachian mountains
called The End/efs,, is another of amazing extent,
nearly as high as the mountains themfelves. This
plain (called the Upper Plains) is exceedingly rich
land } begins at the Mohocks river •, reaches to with¬
in a fmall diftance of Lake Ontario , and to the weft-
ward forms part of the extenfive pkiins of the Ohio,
and reaches to an unknown diftance beyond the Miflif-
fippi. Vaft rivers take their rife, and tall to every
point-of the compafs •, into Lake Ontario, into Hud-
fon’s river, and into the Delaware and Sufquehanna.
The tide of Hudfon’s river flows through its deep-
wrorn bed far up, even to within a fmall diftance of
the head of the Delaware, which, after a furious
courfe down a long defeent, interrupted with rapids,
meets the tide not very remote from its difeharge into
the ocean.
Lower Hlps, Department of,1 in France. This de¬
partment is one of four into which the former Provence
is divided. It is bounded on the north by the de¬
partment of the Upper Alps •, on the eaft by Pied¬
mont, and the department of the Maritime Alps j on
the fouth, by the department of the Var, and the north-
eaft extremity of that of the Mouths of the Rhone;
and on the weft, by the departments of Vauclufe
and the Drome : the chief town is Digue ; its fuper-
ficies is about 1,459,699 fquare acres; population
144,436 individuals. It is divided into five communal
diftridls.
Upper Alps, Department of . This department makes
a part of Dauphine, which contains three. It is bound¬
ed on the north by the departments of Mont Blanc
and Ifere ; on the eaft by Piedmont ; on the fouth, by
the department of the Lower Alps ; on the weft, by
that of the Drome, and part of that of Ifere : Embrun
is the principal town ; its fuperficies is about 1,084,614
fquare acres ; population 116,754 individuals. It is di¬
vided into three communal diftritts.
Maritime Alps, Department of This department is
formed of the county of Nice. It is bounded on the
north by the Apennines and the department of the
Lower Alps ; on the eaft, by the republic of Genoa ;
on the fouth, by the Mediterranean ; and on the weft,
by the departments of the Var and Lower Alps : the
principal town is Nice ; its fuperficies is about 632,619
fquare acres ; population 93,366 fouls. It is divided
into three communal diftriefs.
ALPUXARRAS, or Alpaxares, mountains of
Spain, in the province of Granada, on the coaft of the
Mediterranean fea. They are about 17 leagues in
length and 11 in breadth, reaching from the city of
Velez to Almeria. They are inhabited by Moors, who
are the remains of the difperfion and ruin of their em¬
pire. They embraced the Chriftian religion ; but pre¬
ferve their own manner of living, and their language^
though much corrupted. He(& is a jivultet between
Pitros
A L S [ 745 ] A L S
A!quiet Pitros and Portugos, wliich dyes linen that is dipped
If in it black in an inftant. Near this rivulet is a cavern,
^iace* , from which proceeds fo malignant a fteam, that it de-
ftroys fuch animals as come near it. The Morifcos
cultivate the foil extremely well, and plant fruit
trees j feme of which grow to a prodigious height
and thicknefs, and give the mountains a very agree¬
able afpefl.
ALQUIER, a liquid meafure ufed in Portugal to
meafure oil, twro of which make an almond. See
Almond.
ALQUIFOU, or Arquifou, is a fort of lead ore,
which, when broken, looks like antimony. It is ufed
by the potters to give a green varnilh to their works,
and thence is called potters ore. It is met with in
Cornwall, &c. The potters mix a fmall portion of man-
ganefe with the alquifou, and then the varnilh or glaz ¬
ing on their ware is of a blackilh hue.
ALREDUS, Alured, or Aluredus, of Bever¬
ley, one of the mod ancient Englilh hillorians, was
born at Beverley in Yorklhire. He tvrote in the reign
of Henry I. There are no circumftances of his life
known with any degree of certainty. It is generally
believed that he was educated at Cambridge, and that
he afterwards became one of the canons and treafurer
€>f St John’s at Beverley. And wre learn in a note of
Bilhop Tanner’s, that, for the fake ®f improvement,
he travelled through France and Italy j and at Rome
became domeflic chaplain to Cardinal Othoboni. He
died in the year 1128 or 11 29, leaving behind him
the following works : 1. The Annals of Alured of Be¬
verley *, which was publilhed at Oxford in 1716, by
Mr Heame, from a manufeript which belonged to
Thomas Rawlinfon, Efq. It contains an abridgment
of our hiflory from Brutus to Henry I. written in
Latin, and wdth great accuracy, elegance, and perfpicui-
ty. 2. Libertates eedefice S'. Johannis de B ever lac, &c.
a manufeript in the Cottonian library. It is a collec¬
tion of records relative to the church of Beverley,
tranflated from the Saxon language. Thefe are the
only works which were written by Alredus. (Biog.
Did.)
ALRESFORD, a town of Hamplhire, feated on
the road from London to Southampton, clofe by the
river Itching, which feeds a great pond to the left of
the towm. Part of a Roman highway runs from hence
to Alton. It confifts of about 200 houfes j has one
church, and two principal ftreets, which are large and
broad ; and has a fmall manufacture of linens. It is
57 miles diftant from London.
ALSA, in Ancient Geography, a river of Carniola
(Pliny), now the Aufa, running by Aquileia, whh a
fhort courfe from north to fouth, into the Adriatic j
where Conftantine, the fon of Conftantine the Great,
fighting againft Conftans his brother, loft his life.
ALSACE, formerly a province of France, bound¬
ed on the eaft by the Rhine, on the fouth by Switzer¬
land, on the weft by Lorraine, and on the north by the
palatinate of the Rhine. It wras formerly a part of
Germany, but was given to France by the treaty of
Munfter. It is one of the moil fruitful and plentiful
provinces of Europe, abounding in corn, wine, wood,
flax, tobacco, pulfe, fruits, &c. The mountains
which divide it from Lorraine are very high ; and ge¬
nerally covered with fir, beach, oak, and hornbeam,
Vol. I. Part II.
Thofe on the fide of Switzerland are Ids high \ and Aliace.,
furnilhed with all forts of wood, as well for fuel as v"
building. The country itfelf is diverfified with riling
hills and fertile vales, belides large forefts j but that
between the rivers III, Hart, and the Rhine, as far as
Stralburg, is inferior to the reft, on account of the fre¬
quent overflowing of the Rhine. In High Alface
there are mines of filver, copper, and lead. They
however work none but thole of Giromany, from which
are annually drawn 1600 marks of filver, each mark
being eight ounces •, and 24,000 pounds of copper ;
but the expence of working them is almoft equal to
the profit. There are iron works in feveral parts of
Alface, and particularly at Betford. There is a mi¬
neral fpring at Sultlhach, near Munfter, in High AV-
face ; which is in great reputation for the pally, weak-
nefs of the nerves, and the gravel.-^-The original in¬
habitants of Alface are honeft and good natured, but
wedded to their own manners and cuftoms. The fruit-
fulnefs of their country renders them indolent and in-
adlive j for the Swdfs make their hay and reap their
corn, as well as manage the vintage of High Alface,
which fends a great deal of money out of the province.
Tire common language is the German 5 but the better
fort of people in the towms fpeak French ; and, even in
the country, they fpeak French well enough to be un- *
derftcod.
The number of inhabitants w*as formerly computed
at about half a million, who are moftly Lutherans and
Roman Catholics. By the late divifion of France this
province forms two departments, viz. thofe of the Up¬
per and Low'er Rhine •, the capital of the former being
Colmar, and that of the latter Strafhurg ; but former¬
ly it was divided into Upper and Lower Alface, the
former contained 3 2 large and fmall towns, and the lat¬
ter 39, and in both there are upwards of loco market
towms and villages. The Rauraci, Sequani, and Medio-
matrici, w7ere the ancient inhabitants of this province.
Under the Merovingian kings its name firft occurs in the
hiftory of France, and it moft probably is derived from
the river Ell or 111, the inhabitants on the borders of
which were called ElfaJJbn, from whom the country
itfelf was afterwards denominated E/fas, in Latin E/i-
fatia, Alifatia, and Alfatia. The Romans wuefted it
from the Celtse j from them it paffed into the hands of
the Germans ; and after the famous battle of Tolbiac,
gainhd by Clovis in 496, it paffed into the poffeflion of
the Franks. It w as incorporated at a future period with
the kingdom of Auftrafia} and, in 1752, it was fubjedl-
ed, like the reft of the monarchy, to the laws of Pepin
and his fucceffors. Lotharius, the eldeft fon of Lewis
Debonnaire, at the deceafe of his father in 840, ob¬
tained it and united it to that part of the empire of the
Franks which fell to him, and w^as generally known
by the name of Lotharingia, or Lorraine. Afterwards
it fell to his youngeft fon Lotharius by inheritance,
and after him, in 869, it became a province of Ger¬
many, and was governed by dukes.
About a century before the title of dukes w^as abo-
liftied, the provincial counts wdio governed under them
in Alface, affumed the title of Landgraves, and the
countries over which they prefided, obtained the name
of Landgravates, the one fuperior and the other infe¬
rior. The beft part of the inferior was conveyed to
the bifhops of Strafburg in 1375, who affumed the
5 B title
Alien
Alfirat.
A L S
title of Landgrave of Alface. In after times, the
government was given by the emperors to feveral fami-
j lies, until at laft Ferdinand I. bellowed it upon the
German line of his own family, and confequently it
remained in the houfe of Auftria. The property of
the town of Brifac, the landgravate of the Upper and
Lower Alface, Sundgau, and the diftricts of the ten
united imperial cities in Alface, with the whole fove-
reignty belonging to them, was for ever ceded by the
emperor to the crown of France, at the peace of Mun-
ller in 1648. The perpetual fovereignty of the city
of Strafburg, together with all its dependencies on the
left of the Rhine, were ceded to France by the peace
of Ryfwick in 1697.
ALSEN, an iiland of Denmark, fituated in the Lef-
fer Belt, or entrance into the Baltic fea, between Slef-
wick and Funen, too miles well of Copenhagen. It
extends in length fix leagues, and about two in breadth.
The foil is fertile, producing abundance of fruit and
variety of grain, with large crops of anifeeds, a car¬
minative much ufed in feafoning the food and mixing
with the bread all over the Danifh dominions. E.
Long. 10. 12. N. Lat. 55. 12.
ALSFIELD, a town of Germany, in the landgra¬
vate of Hefle Caffel, ten miles north-well of Marpurg,
and 35 fouth of Heffe Caffel. It is an ancient town,
and well built \ and the inhabitants were the firll of
this country who embraced the Reformation. E. Long.
9. 5. N. Lat. 50. 40.
ALSHASH, a very beautiful city in Buckharia,
fuppofed to be the fame with that which is now called
Tajhcant, the capital of the eaftern part of Turkellan,
poffelTed by the Kaflats. It is fituated on the river Si-
hun, now Sir, and had a well watered garden for eve¬
ry houfe ; but was ruined by Jenghiz Khan, who took
the city, and caufed a great number of its inhabitants
to be maffacred.
ALSHEDA, a parilh in the province of Smafland,
in Sweden, where a gold mine was difcovered in
'738-
ALSINA, in Botany, a fynonyme of the theligo-
num. See Theligonum, Botany Index.
ALSINAS FRUM, in Botany, the trivial name of
the elatine. See Elatine, Botany Index.
ALSINE, or Chickweed. See Botany Index.
The common chickweed affords a remarkable in-
flance of what is called the feep of plants ; for, every
night, the leaves approach in pairs, fo as to include
within their upper furfaces the tender rudiments of the
new Ihoots \ and the uppermolt pair but one at the
end of the llalk are furnilhed with longer leaf-ilalks
than the others \ fo that they can clofe upon the ter¬
minating pair, and protedl the end of the branch.
ALSIRAT, in the Alahometan Theology, denotes a
bridge laid over the middle of hell, finer than a hair,
and lharper than the edge of a fword, over which peo¬
ple are to pafs, after their trial, on the day of judge¬
ment. To add to the difficulty of the paffage, Maho¬
met affures, that the alfirat, narrow as it is, is befet
with briars ^nd thorns j none of which, however, will
be any impediment to the good, who ffiall fly over it
like the wind, Mahomet and his Muffulmans leading
the way ; -vyhereas the wicked, by the narrownefs of
the path, the entangling of the thorns, and extimffion
of the light which dire&ed the former to paradife,
[ 746 1
A L S
will foon mifs their footing, and tumble headlong into
hell, which is gaping beneath to receive them.
ALSIUM, in Ancient Geography, a city of ancient
Etruria, occupying (according to Cluverius) the fpot
on which Bala itow Hands. We are told by Diony-
fius Halicarnaffenfis, that Alfium was built by the A-
borigines, long before the Tyrrhenians invaded Italy.
In this'Cafe it mull have been founded not long after
the difperfion in the days of Peleg. Its founder is faid
to have been one Alafus, Alefus, or Alfa; whom
fome conjecture to have been Alifah, or Eliiha, the
fon of Javan, mentioned in Scripture.
ALSOP, Anthony, an Englifh divine and poet,
was educated at Wellminlter fchool, and from thence
elefted to Chrilt-church, Oxford, where he took the
degree of M. A. in March 1696, and of B. D. in De¬
cember 1706. On his coming to the univerfity, he
was very foon diftinguxlhed by Dean Aldrich, and pu-
bliflred Fabularum Afop'icarum DeleElus, Oxon. 1698,
8 vo, with a poetical dedication to Lord Vifcount Scu¬
damore, and a preface in which he took part againft
Dr Bentley in the famous difpute with Mr Boyle. He
paffed through the ufual offices in his college to that
of cenfor with confiderable reputation 5 and for fome
years had the principal noblemen and gentlemen be¬
longing to the fociety committed to his care. In this
employment he continued till his merit recommended
him to Sir Jonathan Trelawney, biffiop of Winchefter,
who appointed him his chaplain, and foon after gave
him a prebend in his own cathedral, together with the
reClory of Brightwell in the county of Berks, which
afforded him ample provifion for a learned retirement,
from which he could not be drawn by the repeated fo-
licitations of thofe who thought him qualified for a
more public charaCler and a higher llation. In 1717
an aClion w-as brought againll him by Mrs Elizabeth
Aftrey of Oxford, for a breach of a marriage contraCl j
and a verdiCl obtained againft him for 2cool. which
probably occafioned him to leave the kingdom for foms
time. His death, which happened June 10. 1726,
w as occafioned by his falling into a ditch that led to
his garden door. A quarto volume was publiflied in
1752, under the title of Antonii Alfopi, JEdis Chr 'ifli
olim Alumni, Odarum hhn duo. Four Engiilh poems
of his are in Dodfley’s Colleflion, one in Pearch’s, fe¬
veral in the early volumes of the Gentleman’s Maga¬
zine, and fome in “ The Student.” Mr Alfop is re-
fpeftfully mentioned by the facetious Dr King of the
Commons (Vol. I. p. 236), as having enriched the
commonw'ealth of learning, by “ Tranllations of Fables
from Greek, Hebrew, and Arabic and not lefs de-
traftingly by Dr Bentley, under the name of “ Tony
Alfop, a late editor of the Aifopean Fables.” (Blog.
Died.)
Alsop, Vincent, an Englifh nonconformift divine,,
wms born in Northamptonfliire, and educated at St
John’s college, Cambridge, wffiere he took the degree
of Mailer of Arts. When he received deacon’s or¬
ders, he went to Rutlandlhire, and fettled at Oakham,
where he was an- affillant to the mailer of the free-
fchool. As he was a man of a fprightly turn, he fell
into indifferent company •, but wras reclaimed by the
frequent admonitions of the Reverend Mr Benjamin
King. He afterwards married that gentlemen’s daugh¬
ter, and becoming a convert to his principles, receiv¬
ed
Al-fiu rr,
Alfop.
A L S
XTfop,
Xlftedius.
t 747 ]
A L S
td ordination in the Prefbyterian way, not being fatis-
fied with that which he had from the bhhop. He was
fettled at Wilbee in the county of Northampton, whence
he was ejefted in 1662, for nonconformity. After this
he ventured to preach fometimes at Oakham, and at
Wellingborough where he lived, and was once fix
months in prifon for praying by a fick perfon. A book
he wrote againft Dr Sherlock in a humorous ftyle, made
him well known to the world, and induced Mr Cawton,
an eminent nonconformilt in Weftminlter, to recom¬
mend him to his congregation for his fucceflbr. On
receiving this call he quitted Northampton (hire, and
came to London, where he preached conftantly, and
wrote feveral pieces which were extremely well receiv¬
ed by the public. His living in the neighbourhood of
the court expofed him to many inconveniences ; but
thefe ended with the reign of Charles II. or at leaf! in
the beginning of the next reign, when Mr Alfop’s fon
engaging in treafonable praftices was freely pardoned
by King James. After this our divine went frequent¬
ly to court, and is generally fuppofed to have been the
perfon who drew the Prefbyterians addrefs to that
prince for his general indulgence. After the Revolu¬
tion, Mr Alfop gave public teilimonies of his attach¬
ment to government; yet upon all occafions he fpoke
very refpeflfully of King James and retained a very
high fenfe of his clemency in fparing his only Ion.
The remainder of his life he fpent in the exercife of
his minifiry, preaching once every Lord’s day 5 befides
which he had a Thurfday lefture, and was one of the lec¬
turers at Pinner’s hall. He lived to a great age, and
preferving his fpirits to the laft, died in May I7°3*
On grave fubjefts he wrote with a becoming ferioufnefs:
but where wit might properly be fliown, he difplayed it
to great advantage. His funeral fermon was preached
by Mr Slater, and his memory will be always preferved
by his own learned and elegant writings. Of thefe the
mod: remarkable, befides his fermons, are, I. AntifoK-
‘zo ; in vindication of fome great truths oppofed by Dr
William Sherlock, 8vo, 1675. 2. Melius Inquiren¬
dum ; in anfwer to Dr Goodman’s Compafhonate In¬
quiry, 8vo, 1679. 3. The Mifchief of Impofitions ; in
anfwer to Dr Stillingfleet’s Mifchief of Separation,
1680. 4. A faithful Reproof to a Falfe Report, with
reference to the Differences among. the United Mini-
Ifers in London, 8vo. (Biog. Brit.)
ALSTEDIUS, John Henry, a German Protef-
tant divine, and one of the mod indefatigable writers
of the 17th century. He was fome time profeffor of
philqfophy and divinity at Herborn in the county of
Naffau : from thence he went into Tranfylvania, to be
profelfor at Alba Julia ; where he continued till his
death, which happened in 1638, in the 50th year of
his age. ' His Encyclopedia has been much edeemed
even by the Roman Catholics 5 it was printed at Lyons,
and fold very well throughout all France. His Ehe-
faurus Chronologicus is by fome confidered as one of his
bed works, and has gone through feveral editions. He
alfo wrote Triumpbus Bib/icus, to fhow that the prin¬
ciples of all arts and fciences are to be found in the
feriptures. He was a Millenarian; and publidied, in
1627, a treat!fe De mille annis, in which he aflerted
that the reign of the faints on earth was to begin in
1694.
ALSTON, Charles, M. D. abotanical and medi¬
cal writer, w*as born in the wed of Scotland in the
year 1683. He began his dudies at the univerfity of k
Glafgow, and about this period he had the good for¬
tune to be taken under the patronage of the duchets
of Hamilton, which afforded him an opportunity of
purfuing the bent of his inclination, by attaching himfelf
to the dudy of phyfic. About the age of 33, along
with his friend and companion the celebrated Alex¬
ander Monro, he went to Leyden, and dudied three
years under Boerhaave. On their return to their na¬
tive country, they, in conjundlion with Rutherford,
Sinclair, and Plummer, undertook departments in the
college of Edinburgh, and by their abilities and in-
dudry, laid the foundation of that fchool of phyfic.
The branches of botany and materia medica, wTere
long the favourite dudies of his life, confequently he
undertook that department, and continued to leclure
on them with increafing reputation until his death,
which happened in November 1760, at the age of 77
years. His talents appear to have been naturally drong,
which he improved and drengthened with great affi-
duity and indudry, and employed them luccefsfully
in the fervice of fcience. In the year 1753, his dif-
fertation on the fexes of plants, in which he combats
the doftrine of Linnaeus, was publidied in the fird
volume of the Edinburgh Phyfical and Literary
Effays. The general plan of the work is condudt-
ed with much ingenuity, fupported by fome drong ex¬
periments, and although in the opinion of the learned,
it has failed in its principal defign, yet it mud be ac¬
knowledged to be one of the bed argued pieces on that
fide of the quedion. An afperity of language is fome¬
times ufed, verytunfuitable to a fcientific topic j but,
however, it is proper to remark, that Linnaeus had
given fome reafons for this conduft by the nature
of fome of his deferiptions. In the fifth volume of
the Edinburgh Medical Effays, we have a diort
paper by Dr Aldon on the efficacy of the powffier of
tin, to dedroy or expel worms from the bow'els. He
informs us, that he received the prefeription from an
empyric, who was renowned for his ikill in curing
perfons afflidled with that difeafe. The patient receiv¬
ed the fird morning one ounce of tin reduced to powr-
der, and half an ounce each of the twro following
mornings, and was then purged with the infufion of
fenna and manna. He fpeaks with great certainty
upon the efficacy of this medicine, w hich certainly has
confiderable power in thefe cafes, and may be given
to the mod delicate fubjefts with perfeft fafety. Dr
Aldon alfo engaged in a chemical controverfy refpefling
quicklime with Dr Whytt. But the mod valuable of
all his works, are his leftures on the Materia Medica,
which wrere publifhed in the year 1770, in two volumes
qto. The number of curious and ufeful fafts contained
in this book, will tend to fecure its reputation, although
confiderable additions and improvements have been
made, fince that period, in this branch of fcience.
(Gen. Biog.))
ALSTON-MOOR, a town in Cumberland, feat-
ed on a hill, at the bottom of which runs the river
Tyne, with a done bridge over it. Near this place is
plenty of lead ore. W. Long. 2. 4. N. Lat 54. 45.
ALSTONIA. See Botany Indesf.
5B2 ALSTROEMERIA,
Alftou
0 .
Alftorsia.
ALT [ 743 ] A L T
Alltroeme- ALSTROEMERIA. See Botany Index.
^‘a ALT, in MuJtCy a term applied to the high notes in
Aii.an the fcale.
ALTAI Mountains, an extendve range of moun¬
tains in the northern parts of Ada. It begins at the
vaft mountain Bogdo, palfes above the head of the Ir-
tifch, and then takes a courfe rugged, precipitous,
clothed _ with fnow, and rich in minerals, between the
Irtifch and Obyj then proceeds by the lake Telezkoi,
the rife of the Oby j after which it retires, in order to
comprehend the great rivers which form the Jenefei,
and are kicked up in thefe high mountains 'y dnally un¬
der the name of the Savines, it is uninterruptedly.con-
tinued to the lake of Baikal. A branch indnuates it-
felf between the fources of the rivers Onon and Ingoda,
and thofe of Ichikoi, accompanied with very high
mountains, running without interruption to the north-
eaft, and dividing the river Amur, which difcharges
itfelf into the eaft, in the Chinefe dominions, from the
river Lena and lake Baikal. Another branch ftretches
along the Olecma, erodes the Lena below Jakoutik,
and is continued between the two rivers Tongoufka to
the Jenefei, where it is loft: in wooded and morady
plains. The principal chain, rugged with {harp-point¬
ed rocks, approaches and keeps near the fliores of the
fea of Ockhotz, and pafling by the fources of the ri¬
vers Outh, Aldan, and Maia, is diftributed in fmall
branches, which range between the eaftern rivers which
fall into the Icy fea j beddes two principal branches,
one oi which, turning fouth, runs through all Kamt-
fchatka, and is broken, from the Cape Lopatka, into
the numerous Kurile ides, and to the eaft forms an¬
other marine chain, in the Aleutian idands which range
from Kamtfchatka to America ; moft of them, as w'ell
as Kamtfchatka itfelf, diftinguifhed by volcanoes, or the
traces of volcanic dres. The laft chain forms chiedy
the great Cape Tfchutlki, with its promontories and
rocky broken ftrores.
The fummits of the higheft of the Altai mountains
are covered writh perpetual fnow. The loftieft range
of this extendve chain, is compofed of granite. An¬
other range of inferior height condfts of fhiftus, which
lies on the ddes of the granite mountains. Bedde thefe
rocks, there are ftrata of chalkftone, limeftone, and
marble. The Altai mountains abound in metallic ores.
Gold, diver, and lead mines, have been difeovered in
them, with great abundance of copper and iron. The
two latter have been wrought to a condderable extent,
and have been found produftive.
AL 1 AMONT, a very handfome town of Italy, in
the kingdom of Naples, and in Calabria Citerior, 15
miles north-weft of Badgniano. E. Long. 16. 22,
N. Lat. 39. 40.
ALTAMURA, a town of Naples, in the territory
of Bari, with the title of a principality, feated on the
foot of the Apennine mountains. E. Long. 16. 54.
N. Lat. 41. o.
ALTAR, a place upon which facridces were an¬
ciently offered to fome deity.
^ The heathens at drft made their altars only of turf;
afterwards they were made of ftone, of marble, of
wood, and even of horn, as that of Apollo in Delos.
Altars differed in dgure as well as in materials. Some
were round, others fquare, and others triangular. All
of them were turned towards the. eaft,. and flood lower
than the ftatues of the gods; and were generally adorn- Altar,
ed with fculpture, reprefenting either the gods to whom
they were ereefted, or their fymbols. See the Pagan
Altars reprefented on Plate XVII. Upon the ddes
of dg. 1. a trident and two dolphins are exhibited,
which denote it to have been dedicated to Neptune.
Fig. 2. a four-fquare altar, was dedicated to the Nymphs,
as the infeription imports. Fig. 3. exhibits a Bac¬
chanal holding a thyrfus in his hand, a mark of the
altar’s being built to Bacchus: it had two other ddes,
which made it appear triangular. Of dg. 4. which
was alfo triangular, each face or dde exhibited a genius,
one of whom (on the dde reprelented) carries an oar
upon his neck, which feems to denote it an altar of
Neptune. Fig. 5. an altar of a round fhape, is inferib-
ed slra Neptuni: the god himfelf is there reprefented,
all naked, laving the pallium upon his flioulder ; and
holding in his left hand a trident, and in his right a
dolphin.
The height of altars alfo differed according to the
different gods to whom they facridced. According to
Servius, thofe altars fet apart for the honour of the
celeftial gods, and gods of the higher clafs, wrere placed
on fome pretty tall pile of building; and for that rea-
fon were called a/taria, from the wrords alta and arar
“ a high elevated altar.” Thofe appointed for the
terreftrial gods wrere laid on the furface of the earth,
and called nra‘. And, on the contrary, they dug into
the earth and opened a pit for thofe of the infernal
gods, which they called Xttx.x.&ty fcrobiculi. But
this diftinftion is not everywhere obferved : the beft
authors frequently ufe ai'a as a general word, under
which are included the altars of the celeftial and in¬
fernal, as w'ell as thofe of the terreftrial gods. Witnefs
Virgil, Eel. 5.
 En quatuor aras,
where arts plainly includes altaria; for whatever we
make of Daphnis, Phoebus was certainly a celeftial
god. So Cicero, pro Quint, ^dras delubroque Heca-
tes in Gracia vidimus. The Greeks alfo diftinguifhed
two forts of altars ; that whereon they facrificed to
the gods was called (iupo<;r and was a real altar, dif¬
ferent from the other whereon they facrificed to the
heroes, which wras fmaller, and called Pollux
makes this diftinftion of altars in his Onomafticon; he
adds, however, that fome poets ufed the word
for the altar wTereon facrifice was offered to the gods.
The Septuagint verfion does fometimes alfo ufe the
word for a fort of little low altar, wdiich may
be expreffed in Latin by craticula> being a hearth ra¬
ther than an altar.
Before temples were in ufe, altars were ere&ed fome¬
times in groves, fometimes in the highways, and fome¬
times on the tops of mountains ; and it was a cuftora
to engrave upon them the name, enfign, or charafter
of the deity to whom they were confecrated.
In the great temples of ancient Rome there v,Tere
ordinarily three altars: The firft was placed in the fane-
tuary, at the foot of the ftatue of the divinity, upon
which incenfe was burnt and libations offered ; the fe-
cond was before the gate of the temple, and upon it
they facrificed the viftims; and the third was a portable
altar, upon which were placed the offering and the fa-
cred veffels.
Befides
ALT AIV .
JL’lnte XVil
r ' ////V
r ////// V fA. i
‘^//t '< VA
, fy/K/tru r r / • f.
<7
rL 5
ALT
[ 749 ]
ALT
Altar. Eefkles thefe ufes of altars, the ancients fvvore upon
—"Y—them, and fwore by them, in making alliances, con¬
firming treaties of peace, and other folemn occafions.
Altars alfo ferved as places of refuge to all thofe who
fled to them, whatever crime they had committed.
Altars are doubtlefs as ancient as facrifices them-
felves } confequently their origin is not much later than
that of the wmrld, Gen. ch. iv. Some attribute their
origin to the Egyptians j others to the Jews; others
to the patriarchs before the flood. Some carry them
as far back as Adam, whofe altar is much fpoken of
by Jewifh, and even Chriftian waiters. Others are con¬
tented to make the patriarch Enoch the firfl; who con-
fecrated a public altar. Be this as it will, the earliefl:
altars we find any exprefs teftimony of are thofe erect¬
ed by Abraham.
Altars, in the patriarchal times, wrere very rude.
The altar which Jacob fet up at Bethel wras nothing
but a Hone, which ferved him inftead of a bolfter ; that
of Gideon, a ftone before his houfe : and the firft which
God commanded Mofes to ere£t wras probably of earth
or unpoliflied ilones, wuthout any iron ; for if any ufe
wns made of that metal, the altar was declared impure.
The principal altars of the Jews were, The altar of
incenfe ; that of burnt-offering ; and the altar, or table,
for the Jhevo-bread.
The altar of incenfe was a fmali table of fluttim
wood, covered wdth plates of gold, of one cubit in
length, another in wndth, and two in height. At
the four corners were four kinds of horns, and all
round a little border or crown over it. This was the
altar hidden by Jeremiah before, the captivity ; and
upon it the officiating prieft offered, every morning
and evening, incenfe of a particular compofition. See
Plate XVII.
The char of burnt-offerings was made of ffiittim
wood, and carried upon the ffioulders of the priefts by
Haves of the fame wood overlaid writh brafs. In the
time of Mofes, this altar wras five cubits fquare and
three high ; but in Solomon’s temple it w?as much lar¬
ger, being 20 cubits fquare and 10 in height. It wms
covered with brafs; and at each corner was a horn or
fpire, wrought out of the fame wood with the altar, to
which the facrifices were tied. Within the hollow
wns a grate of brafs, on which the fire was made ;
through it fell the affies, which were received in a pan
belown At the four corners of the grate were four
rings and four chains, which kept it up at the horns.
This altar was placed in the open air, that the fmoke
of the burnt-offerings might not fully the infide of the
tabernacle. See Plate XVII.
The altar or table for the ffew-bread was likewife
of ffiittim wood, covered with plates of gold, having a
little border round it, adorned with fculpture. It was
two cubits long, one wide, and one and a half in
height. Upon this table, which Hood in the holy of
holies, were put, every Sabbath day, 12 loaves, with
fait and incenfe.
The Jewifli altars, after their return from the capti¬
vity, and the building of the fecond temple, were in
fome refpefls different from thofe deferibed above.
That of burnt offerings was a large pile, built of un¬
hewn ftone, 32 cubits fquare at the bottom, and 24
fquare at the top. The afeent was by a gentle rifing,
32 cubits in length, and 16 in breadth..
Altar, is alfo ufed among Chriftians for the com- Altar
munion-table. li
In the primitive church, the altars were only of Altenber^
wood ; as being frequently to be removed from place
to place. But the council of Paris, in 509, decreed
that no altar Ihojuld be built but of ftone. At firft
there was but one altar in each church ; but the num¬
ber foon increafed ; and from the writings of Gregory
the Great, who lived in the fixth century, we learn,
that there were fometimes in the fame church twelve or
thirteen. In the cathedral of Magdeburg there are no
lefs than 49 altars.
The altar is fometimes fuftained on a fingle column,
as in the fubterraneous chapels of St Cecilia, at Rome,
&c. ; and fometimes by four columns, as the altar of
St Sebaftian of Crypta Arenaria; but the cuftomary
form is, to be a maffive of ftone w7ork, fuftaining the
altar table. Thefe altars bear a refemblance to tombs :
to this purpofe, we read in church-hiftory, that the
primitive Chriftians chiefly held their meetings at the
tombs of the martyrs, and celebrated the myfteries
of religion upon them : for which reafon, it is a Hand¬
ing rule to this day in the church of Rome, never to
build an altar, ■without inclofing the relics of fome faint
in it.
ALTAR-thane, or Altarist, in old Law-books,
an appellation given to the prieft or parfon of a pariffi,
to whom the altarage belonged. See Altarage.
ALTARAGE, in Law, altars erefted in virtue of
donations, before the Reformation, wdthin a parochial
church, for the purpofe of flinging of mafs for deceafed
friends.
Altarage likewife fignifies the profits arifing to
the prieft on account of the altar.
AL-TAYEFF, a town of Hejaz, a diftrift of Ara¬
bia Felix. It is fituated about fixty miles eaft of Mec¬
ca, behind Mount Gazwran, where the cold is more in-
tenfle than m any other part of the diflrift, but the air
very wffiolefome. Its territory abounds in fountains,
and produces excellent raifins. The town is furround-
ed with a wall, but is not very large. ^
ALTDORF, a large handflome town in Swiffer-
land, and the chief of the canton of Uri. It is fitua¬
ted below the lake of the Four Cantons, in a plain, at
the foot of a mountain whofe paffages are difficult, and
ferve inftead of fortifications. It has four churches
and two convents ; St Martin’s church and that of the
Holy Crofs are the fineft. The town-houfe and the
arfenal are alfo worth feeing. E. Long. 8. 30. N.
Lat. 46. 50.
ALTEA, a fea-port town of Valencia, in Spain.
It was taken in 1705, in favour of the archduke
Charles ; but loft after the battle of Almanza. W.
Long. o. 15. N. Lat.-46. 34.
ALTEMBURG, a town of Tranfylvania, 17 miles
fouth-weft of Wifemburg, and 35 fouth of Claufen-
bourg. E. Long. 23. 5. N. Lat. 46. 25.
ALTENA, or Altona, a fea-port town of Ger¬
many, in the duchy of Holftein in Lower Saxony. It
is a modern towm, built by the king of Denmark, and
was burnt by the Swedes in 1712; but has fince been
beautifully rebuilt. The merchandife brought from
Alia by the Daniffi Eaft India Company is fold here.
E. Long. 10. o. N. Lat. 53. 51.
ALTENBERG, an ancient totvn of Germany,
fituated
ALT . [ 750 1 ALT
AKenburg fttuated on the river Pleifs, with a good caftle placed
II on a rock, in Mifnia, in the circle of Upper Saxony.
Alternate. jt was formeriy an iniperial city, but at prefent be-
longs to the houfe of Saxony. Here is a college
wdiich has always been in a flourilhing condition. In
1705, there was a nunnery founded for women of a
high rank, who are Proteftants. E. Long. 15. 8. N.
Lat. 50. 59.
ALTENBURG, a fmall fortified town of Hun¬
gary, in the territory of Mofon, near the Danube,
about fifty-five miles from Vienna. E. Long. 35. 30.
N. Lat. 48. 15.
Altenburg, or Owar, a fmall but ftrong town of
Hungary, feated in a xnarlh, with wide ftreets. It is
near the river Danube, and is fur-rounded with deep
ditches. It is 15 miles fouth of Prefburg, 40 fouth-
eaft of Vienna, and 65 fouth-weft of Buda. E. Long.
.17. 56. N. Lat. 44. o.
ALTERANTS, or Alterative Medicines, fuch as
correct ithe bad qualities of the blood and other hu¬
mours, without occafioning any fenfible evacuation.
ALTERATION, in Phyjics, the aft of changing
the circurAftances and manner of a thing *, its general
nature and appearance remaining the fame. Or, it is
an accidental and partial change in a body ; without
proceeding fqfar as to make the fubjeft quite unknown,
or to take a new denomination thereupon. Or, it may
be defined, the acquifition or lofs of fuch qualities as
are not effential to the form of the body. Thus, a
piece of iron, which before was cold, is faid to be al¬
tered, when1 it is made hot 5 fince it may ilill be per¬
ceived to be iron, is called by that name, and has all
the properties thereof. By this alteration is diftin-
guifhed from generation and corruption ; thofe terms
expreffing an acquifition or lofs of the effential quali¬
ties of a thing. The modern philofophers, after the
ancient chemifts and corpufcularians, hold all alteration
to be effefted by means of local motion. According
to them, it always confifts either in the emiffion, ac-
ceflion, union, feparation, or tranfpofition, of the com¬
ponent particles.
ALTERCATION, a debate or conteft between
two friends or acquaintance. The word comes from
altercari, which anciently fignified to converfe or hold
difeourfe together. Thus we fay, They never come
to an open quarrel, but there is continually fome little
altercation or other.
ALTERN-base, in Trigonometry, a term ufed in
contradiftinftion to the true bafe. Thus in oblique
triangles, the true bafe is either the fum of the fides,
and then the difference of the fides is called the altern-
bafe ; or the true bafe is the difference of the fides, and
then the fum of the fides is called the altern-bafe.
ALTERNATE, in a general fenfe, a term applied
to fuch perfons or things as fucceed each other by
turns. Thus, two wrho command each his day, are
faid to have an alternate command, or to command al¬
ternately.
Alternate, in Heraldry, is faid in refpeft of the
fituation of the quarters. Thus the firft and fourth
quarters, and the fecond and third, are ufually of the
fame nature, and are called alternate quarters.
Alternate, in Botany, when the leaves or branch¬
es of plants arife higher on oppofite fides altexuately.
ALTERNATION, in its primary fenfe, denotes Alternation
a fucceflion by turns. II
Alternation is fometimes ufed to exprefs the , Alt'llg' .
different changes or alterations of orders in any num¬
ber of things propofed. This is alfo called permu¬
tation, &c. and is eafily found by a continual multi¬
plication of all the numbers, beginning at unity. Thus,
if it be required to know hoVv many changes or alter¬
nations can be rung on fix bells, multiply the numbers
1, 2, 3, 4, 5, 6, continually into one another j and the
laft produft gives the number of changes.
ALTERNATIVE, is particularly ufed for the
choice of two things propofed. In this fenfe we fay,
to take the alternative of two propofitions.
ALTHfEA,Marshmallow. See Botany Index.
AimjEA Frutex. See Hibiscus, Botany Index.
ALTIMETRY, the art of meafuring altitudes or
heights, w’hether acceffible or inacceflible. See Geo¬
metry.
ALTIN, a money of account in Mufcovy, worth
three copecs; one hundred of which make a ruble,
worth about 4s. 6d. Sterling.
ALTIN, a lake in Siberia, from whence iffues the
river Ob, or Oby, in N. Lat. 52. o. E. Long. 85. 55.
This lake is called by the Ruffians TelofkoiOfero, from
the Telefli, a Tartarian nation, who inhabit the borders
of it, and who give it the name of Altin-Kul. By the
Calmucks it is called Altinnor. It is near 90 miles
long and 50 broad, with a rocky bottom. The north
part of it is fometimes frozen fo hard as to be paffable
on foot, but the fouthern part is never covered with
ice. The water in the Altin lake, as w^ell as in the ri¬
vers which run through the adjacent places, only rifes
in the middle of fummer, wdien the fnows on the moun¬
tains are melted by the heat of the fun.
ALTINCAR, among Mineralifts, a fpecies of fac¬
titious fait ufed in the fufion and purification of metals.
The altincar is a fort of ffux powder. Divers ways
of preparing it are given by Libavius.
ALTING, Henry, a German divine, was born at
Embden, in 1583. His father was minifter of the
church of Embden, and early deftined his fon to the
fame profeflion. In the year 1602, after a grammatical
courfe he was fent to the univerfity of Herborn : there
he ftudied with fo much afliduity and fuccefs, that he
foon had the honour of being a preceptor. Qualified
by the vigorous exertions of his talents, he was ap¬
pointed tutor to the three young counts of Naffau,
Solms, and Ifenburg, who ftudied with the eleftor prince
palatine, firft at Sedan, and afterwards at Heidelberg.
A proper difeharge of the duties of a lower ftation
generally paves the way for a higher. For he was
appointed preceptor to the prince in 1608 : and in
confequence of his afliduity and fuccefs, he was cho-
fen to accompany the eleftor into England. Among
the number of celebrated men to whofe acquaintance
he was introduced in England, was the famous Dr Ab¬
bot, archbilhop of Canterbury. In 1613, Alting re¬
turning to Heidelberg after the marriage of the eleftor
with the princefs of England, received his degree of
doftor of divinity, and was appointed direftor of the
college of Wifdom. The increafed knowledge and
invigorated talents of Alting, were always receiving
renewed opportunities of exertion 5 thus his elo¬
quence
ALT [ 751 1 ALT
Alting, quenee and learning obtained full fcope in tbe fynod of
“ y Dort, to which he had been deputed by the Palatinate,
along with two other divines.
It was but reafonablc for Alting to expeft high pre¬
ferment and high advantages from the avowed patro¬
nage of the eleftor 5 but in this he was greatly difap-
pointed,and he had only to participate in his misfortunes.
In 1622, Count Tilly took the city of Heidelberg, and
devoted it to plunder. In order to efcape the fury of
the foldiers, Alting endeavoured to pafs by a back door
into the chancellor’s houfe, which was put under a ftrong
guard } but the officer who guarded the houfe, as he
was entering faid to him, “ With this battle-axe I have
to-day killed ten men, and Alting, if I knew where to
find him, fhould be the eleventh : who are you ?” Alting
with a lingular prefence of mind returned an evalive
anfwer, which faved his life. “ 1 am (faid he) a teacher
in the college of Wifdom.” The officer took 'him
under his protedlion, but the Jefuits unfortunately tak¬
ing poifeffion of the houfe, the next day, left the gene¬
rous officer no time at his departure to take care of the
teacher of the college of Wifdom. Alting evaded the
hands of the Jefuits, by hiding himfelf in a garret, and
a cook of the eledloral court fupplied him with food,
who happened to be employed by Count Tilly in the
kitchen occupied by him in the chancellor’s houfe. In
this perilous fituation he remained until an opportunity
offered of making his efcape to Heilbron, whither his
family had been conduced before.
But ecclefiaftical intolerance haraffed Alting, as
much as he was formerly endangered by military hof-
tility. With the permiffion of the duke of Wirtem-
berg he retired for a few months to Schorndorf after
the deiolation of the Palatinate by the viftorious forces
of Count Tilly. It was reafonable to expe6t that a
welcome and hofpitable reception might have been giv¬
en, among Proteftants, to one who had juft efcaped the
the dames of a Popiffi war. But the doftrine of mutual
forbearance and candour feems to have been little at¬
tended to by the Proteftants at this period, whatever
was their progrefs in the knowledge of the other doc¬
trines of Chriftianity. The palatinate being in the vi¬
cinity of the duchy of Wirtemberg, the profeffors of
Tubingen and Heidelberg frequently attacked each
other in polemic writings and theological deputations.
The natural confequence was, that a fettled jealoufy
and enmity exifted between the two fchools and their
refpeSive vicinities. The injuries which Alting had
fuffered from the common enemy were not fufficient to
fecure him a friendly reception among the Lutheran
minifters of Schorndorf, who were involved in thefe
feuds, and therefore murmured at the permiffion which
the duke had given to a profeffor of Heidelberg to re-
fide there. The mifchievous effe&s of religious diffen-
fions have been univerfally felt.
In 1623, Alting retired with his family to Embden,
and afterwards followed to the Hague his late pupil,
now king of Bohemia. Such was the unfeigned at-
. tachment of his mafter to him, that he ftill retained him
as a preceptor to his eldeft fon ^ and prevented him
from accepting the charge of the church at Embden,
and likewife of a profefforlhip at the univerfity of Fra-
neker. In 1627 his importunity prevailed upon his
patron, and he obtained leave to remove to Groningen,
and there afcended tire divinity chair } and continued
to lefture with increafing reputation until the day ot Altin
his death. The ardent defire and repeated endeavours —"V
of feveral univerfities to appropriate to themfelves the
honour and benefit of his fervices, is the moft unequi¬
vocal proof of the general efteem in which his cha-
ra£ter was held. The ftates of Groningen pofitively
refufed to give their confent to his removal, when the
univerfity of Leyden folicited him to come and labour
among them. But fome time after, the profpeft of
extenfive ufefulnefs in re-eftabiiftiing the univerfity of
Heidelberg, and reftoring the churches of the Palatinate,
determined him to accept the office of profefl'or of divini¬
ty and ecclefiaftical fenator, prefented to him by Prince
Lewis Philip. In the year 1634, amidft numerous
hardftiips, to which the exifting war expofed him, he fet
out for Heidelberg, and purfued his journey as far as
Francfort j when the battle of Norlingen, in which
the imperialifts were victorious, rendered his farther
progrefs impradfticable, and therefore with great difficul¬
ty he returned to Groningen.
Homeftic affeftion and perfonal fufferings embittered
the remaining years of this excellent man’s life. De¬
prived of his eldeft daughter by death, fuch was his
great affeftion for her that it brought on a fettled me¬
lancholy, attended with a bodily dileafe which was with
great difficulty removed; but after an interval of four
years a fettledymd irrecoverable melancholy feized him,
in confequence of the lofs ^f an amiable and beloved
wife, which, together with the return of his bodily dif-
eafe, in a few months put a period to his ufeful life in
the year 1644.
Alting was a man of eminent talents and extenfive
learning, poffeffed of amiable difpofitions, which indu¬
ced him to be more felicitous to ferve the public than to
benefit himfell. The amiable charafter and extenfive
learning of Alting, cannot fail deeply to intereft every
reader, in confequence of his misfortunes. He was a-
verfe to quarrels and difputes about trifles, although no
friend to the innovations introduced at this period by
the Socinians.. According to his own judgment, ad¬
hering to the plain dodlrine of Scripture, he was equal¬
ly defirous to avoid fanatical fcrupulofity and fophiftical
fubtility. The produdlions of his pen are : Notce in
Decadem Problematum, Johannis Behm, Heidelberga?,
16185 “ Notes on a Decad of Jacob Behmen’s Pro¬
blems.” Loci Communes ; “ Common places.” Prow
bltmata ; “ Problems.” Explicatio Catachefeos Pa/a-
tinat. ; “ Explanation of the Palatine Catechifm.”
Exegejis Augujtana; Confejfionis, &c. Amft. 16475
“ Commentary on the Auguftan Confeffion.” Me-
thodus Theologia: DidaBicce et Catechetical, Amft. 16505
“ A method of Didaftic and Catechetic Theology.”
Fhe Medulla Hi/lorice P rophance, il Marrow of Profane
Hillory,” publiihed under the name of Parceus, was
written by Alting. (Gen. Biog.)
Acting, James, Ion of Henry Alting, was born*
at Heidelberg in 1618.. After the ufual cotirfe of
grammatical ftudies he became a ftudent,. and foon af¬
ter profeffor of divinity in the univerfity of Groningen.
The Oriental languages were his favourite ftudies at
an early period of his life 5 and in 1638 he put him¬
felf under the tuition of a Jewiffi rabbi at Embden.
Determining to take up his refidence in England, he
arrived there in 1640, and was admitted to clerical
orders by^Dg&or Prideaux biftrop of Worcefter. By
an
ALT 752 ] ALT
Altmg, an offer of tlie Hebrew profefforfliip in ibe univerfity
Altitude. 0£ Groningen, he wras foon induced to alter his plan of
an(j COnfequently again returned to Germany in
1643. His active afiiduity in thefe languages, and his
knowledge in other fciences, procured him univerfal
efteem, and great reputation as a fcholar. About
this time he received many academic honours j he was
admitted doctor of philofophy, academic preacher, and
at lalt, in conjunction with a colleague, Samuel des
Marets, was chofen profefibr of divinity. Thefe pro-
feffors followed different methods of teaching, and
adopted different fyitems. Des Marets was an admirer
and follower of the fubtilities of the fcholaltics j and
' by the ingenuity with which he purfued the fcholaftic
plan of inltrudtion had acquired great reputation and
confiderable influence. Alting fpent his time in the
ftudy of the Scriptures, and in the purfuit of Rabbini¬
cal learning; and he delivered a courfe of ledtures on
divinity, which gained him great popularity. As it
might naturally be expefted, a mutual jealoufy arofe
between the twro profeffors; and their refpeftive par-
tifans in the univerfity carried their animofity to an un¬
due height. Eftabliihed opinion, and the weight
of authority, marlhalled on the fide of Des Marets.
By the permiflion of the curators of the univerfity he
appeared as public accufer of Alting, and produced a
long lift of erroneous pro^ofitions to the divines of
Leyden for their opinion. The judgment of the di¬
vines upon the difpute (hows a great degree of modera¬
tion and good fenfe: they pronounced Alting innocent
of herefy, but imprudently fond of innovation; and they
declared Des Marets deficient in modefty and can¬
dour. If the fuperiors had not prohibited the farther
difcuflion of thefe fubjeds in the confiftories, claffes,
and fynods, they would have occafioned as much nfif-
chief as they had excited general attention. Such w&s
the protection given to Alting, that whenever any of
the order of ecclefiaftics propofed any further mea-
fures againft him, they were immediately rejeCted by
the civil power ; nay, the penalty of deprivation was
decreed againft thofe clergy who Ihould revive the
Marejio-Altingian controverfy. Whatever might be
the advantages refulting to Alting from this protection,
the magiftrates certainly did wrong in proceeding fo
far in prohibiting a free difcuffion from the prefs, either
•fm or againft the judgments of the divines of Leyden.
Although a kind of reconciliation was attempted by
their common friends while Des Marets lay upon his
death-bed, yet the breach between Des Marets and
Alting was never perfectly healed. Dr Alting died
of a fever in 1679. The fondnefs which he ftiewed for
Rabbinical learning gave birth to the general report,
that he was inclined to become a Jew. His opinions
which feem to have excited more general attention than
they deferve, may be feen at large in his writings, which
were collected a few years after his death, and publiih-
ed in five volumes folio by his coufin Menfo Alting,
who wrote a good defcription of the Lowr Countries,
under the title of Nothin Germanic? Inferior is. (Gen.
Biog.)
ALTITUDE, acceflible and inacceftible. See Geg-
J/IETRY.
The method of taking confiderable terreftrial alti¬
tudes, of w' ch thofe of mountains are the greateft, by
means of the barometer, is very eafy and expeditious.
Is is done by obferving, on the top of the mountain, Altitude
how much the mercury has fallen belovr what it was at II
the foot of the mountain. See Barometer.
Altitude of the Eye, in Pcrfpeciivc, is a right line
let fall from the eye, perpendicular to the geometrical
plane.
Altitude, in AJironomy, is the diftance of a ftar,
or other point, in the mundane fphere, from the ho~
rizon.
This altitude may be either true or apparent. If it
be taken from the rational or real horizon, the altitude
is faid to be true or real ; if from the apparent or fen-
fible horizon, the altitude is apparent. Or rather, the
apparent altitude is fuch as it appears to our obferva-
tion; and the true is that from which the refraClion
has been fubtrafted.
The true altitudes of the fim, fixed ftars, and planets,
differ but very little from their apparent altitudes; be-
caufe of their great diftance from the centre of the
earth, and the fmallnefs of the earth’s femidiameter,
when compared thereto. But the difference between
the true and apparent altitude of the moon is about
52. This fubjeCl is further explained under Astro¬
nomy.
ALTiTUDzInflrument, m Equal Altitude Infrumcnt, is
that ufed to obferve a celeftial objeCl when it has the
fame altitude on the eaft and weft fides of the meridian.
See Astronomy.
ALTKIRK, a towm of France, in the department
of the Upper Rhine, fituated on the river 111, in N.
Lat. 47. 40. E. Long. 7. 15.
ALTMORE, a town of Ireland, in the county of
Tyrone, and province of Ulfter, fituated in N. Lat.
54. 34. W. Long. 7. 2.
ALTON, a towm in Hampfhire, feated on the river
Wey; W. Long. o. 46. N. Lat. 51. 5. It is govern¬
ed by a conftable; and confifts of about 300 houfes,
indifferently built, chiefly laid out in One pretty broad
ftreet. It has one church, a Prefbyterian, and a Qua¬
ker’s meeting, a famous free fchool, a large manufac¬
ture of plain and figured baragons, ribbed druggets,
and ferges de Nifines; and round the town is a large
plantation of hops.
Alton, or Avelton, a village in Staffordfhire,
five miles north of Utoxeter. There are the ruins ox
a caftle here, which tome would have to be built before
the Norman conqueft; but Dr Plott is pretty certain
that it was erefted by Theobald de Verdun, in the be¬
ginning of the reign of Edward II. A great part of
the wralls are ftill ftanding, but they are in a very ruin¬
ous condition.
ALTO et Basso, or in Alto et in Basso, in Law,
fignifies the abfolute reference of all difierences, fmali
and great, high and low, to fome arbitrator or indiffer¬
ent perfon. Patent univerjis per prafentes, quod Wil-
lielmus Tylar de Tctton, et Thomas Gower de Almefres
pofuerunt fe in Alto et in Bafib, in arbitrio quatuor ho-
minuin; viz. de quadam querela pendente inter cos in
curia. Nos et terrain nojlram alte et bafse ipfus do-
mini Regis Juppofuimus volant at i.
AiTO-Relievo. See Relievo.
AiTo-Rcpieno, in Mufc, the tenor of the great cho¬
rus, w hich fings and plays only now and then in fome
particular places.
ALTGRF, a town of the circle of Franconia, in
Germany.
A L V [ 7J.5 ] A L V
Ak-ran- Germany. It has a botanical garden, with a great
itaat variety of plants, an anatomical theatre, and a hand-
Alva. ^OTne 1ibrary- Il; ^ fubjeft to the houfe of Bran-
—-y——^ denburg j and is feated on the confines of Bavaria,
15 miles from Nuremberg. E. Long. 11.7. N. Lat.
49. 25.
ALT-RANSTADT, a town in Saxony, famous
for the treaty between Charles XII. king of Sweden
and Auguftus eledtpr of Saxony, in 1706, wherein the
latter refigned the kingdom of Poland.
ALTRINCHAM, a town of Chefhire in England,
upon the borders of Lancalhire, feven miles from Man-
chefter. W. Long. 1. 30. N. Lat. 53. 25.
ALTZEG, a town of Germany in the Lo-wer Pala¬
tinate, the capital of a territory of the fame name, with
an old caftle. W. Long. 7, 2 5. N. Lat. 49. 44.
ALVA de To rmes, a confiderable town in Spain,
in the kingdom of Leon, and territory of Salamanca,
with a very handfome caftle. It is feated on the north
bank of the river Tormes. W. Long. 6. I. N. Lat.
41. o.
Alva, Ferdinand Alvarez of Toledo, duke of, was
born in 1508, and defcended from one of the moft
illuftrious families of Spain. His grandfather, Frede¬
rick de Toledo, was his preceptor in the military and
political arts, and he difplayed his valour at the battle
of Pavia and at the fiege of Tunis. The ambitious
Charles V. fele&ed Alva as a proper inftrument for
conducing his military enterprifes, and he made him
his general in 15385 and, after feveral operations, in
which he both difplayed his valour and military know-
ledge, in 1542 he fuccefsfully defended Perpignan
againft the dauphin of France.
In 1546, Alva was made general in chief of the ar¬
my which marched againft the German Proteftants,
who were marlhalled under the banners of the eleftor
of Saxony. Francis, the king of France, died at Ram-
bouillet, and by his death a confiderable change was
made in the ftate of Europe. Inftantly, therefore,
Charles began his march from Egra on the borders of
Bohemia, and entered the fouthern frontier of Saxony,
and attacked Altorf upon the Elfter. Inceflantly
pufhing forward, he arrived the evening of the 23d of
April on the banks of the Elbe, oppofite to Muhl-
berg. . The river, at that place, was three hundred
paces in breadth, about four feet in depth 5 its current
rapid ; and the bank poffeffed by the Saxons was high¬
er than that which he occupied. In oppofition to the
opinion of the duke of Alva and his other officers,
Charles, with undaunted courage, and with inexpref-
fible difficulties, led his army through the river, and
engaged the Saxons. The eleftor difplayed great per-
fonal courage and military knowledge, but having re¬
ceived a wound in the face, he at laft furrendered him-
ffilf prifoner. When he approached the emperor, he
faid, “ The fortune of war has made me your prifoner,
moft: gracious emperor, and I hope to be treated”— 
Here Charles harfhly interrupted him, “ And am I
then at laft acknowledged to be emperor 5 Charles of
Ghent was the only title you lately allowed me. You
ffiall be treated as you deferve.” The eleftor made
no reply j but, with an unaltered countenance, which
difeovered neither aftoniffiment nor deje&ion, accom¬
panied the Spanifti foldiers appointed to guard him.
The emperor proceeded towards Wittemberg, whither
Vol. I. Part II.
the remains of the Saxon army had fled, carrying along
with him the captive prince, as a fpe&acle of confter-
nation and amazement to his own fubjects. But when
he approached the towm, he found it defended by the
vigorous efforts of the elector’s wife, along with the
inhabitants. fie fummoned Sibylla once and a fe-
cond time to open the gates, informing her, that if fhe
perfifted in her obftinacy, the eleftor Ihould anfwer for
it with his head. Accordingly he brought his prifom
er to an immediate trial. The proceedings againft
him were as irregular as the ftratagem was barbarous.
Inftead of confulting the ftates of the empire, or re¬
mitting the caufe to any court, which, according to the
Ge rman conftitution, might have legally taken cogni¬
zance of the eleftor’s crime, he fubjedled the greatelt
prince in the empire to the jurifdidtion of a court mar*
tial. The emperor felecled the unrelenting duke of
Alva as a proper inftrument to carry into eftedl any
meafure of violence and oppreffion, and therefore made
him preiident of that court, compofed of Spanifh and
Italian officers. Moved more by the entreaties of his
wife than by a fenfe of his own danger, the eledlor
fubmitted to all the rigorous and unjuft meafures that
were propofed in order to fave his life 5 but w-hen it
was added, that he fhould alfo renounce the Proteftant
faith and become a Roman Catholic, he refufed to adt
in oppofition to his confidence, and bravely fell a ia-
crifice to the caufe of truth.
In 1552, Alva was intrufted with the command of
the army intended to invade France, and was con-
drained by the opinion and authority of the emperor
to lay fiege to Mentz, in oppofition to his own mili¬
tary knowledge; but notwithftanding all his valour
and abilities, the duke of Guile fuccefsfully defended
the place. In confequence of the fuccefs of the French
arms in Piedmont, he was made commander in chief
of all the emperor’s forces in Italy, and at the lame
time invefted with unlimited power. Succefs did not,
howrever, attend his firft attempts, and after feveral
unfortunate attacks, he was obliged to retire into
winter quarters. The next year he was fent into the
pope’s territories, and, had he not been reftrained by
his mafter, he would have taken pofieffion of all his
fortified places, and deterred Henry from entering in¬
to any new connexion with him, and have thereby pre¬
vented the renewal of the war. Philip wTas ftrongly
inclined to peace, but Alva was inclined to fevere mea¬
fures : he however yielded to the inftru&ions of his
mafter, until being deluded, and fometimes haughtily
anfwered, he at length fent Pino de Loffredo with a
letter to the college of cardinals, and another to Paul,
in which, after enumerating the various injuries w-hich
his mafter had received, and renewing his former offers
of peace and friendlhip, he concluded with protefting
that, if his offers were again reje&ed, the pope ffiould
be chargeable with all the calamities that might follow.
The pope threw Loffredo into prifon 5 and, had not
the college of cardinals interpofed, he would have even
put him to death 5 and on account of Philip’s failing
to pay tribute for Naples, he deprived him of the fove-
reignty of that kingdom. This violent condudl of
Paul gave great offence throughout all Europe, and
greatly leffened his influence in Italy j but Philip,
though a young, ambitious, powerful monarch, and of
a temper of mind impatient of injuries and affronts,
5 C moved
A L v [ 7:
Alva, moved witli a religious veneration, difcovered an ama-
‘ zing reluftance againft proceeding to extremities. Af¬
ter much time fpent in negotiation, Philip was at laft
forced to give orders for Alva to take the field. He
cheerfully obeyed, and began his march in the be¬
ginning of September 1556, with a well difciplined
army, wdhch reducing feveral towns in the Campagna
di Roma, he purfued his conquelts to the very gates of
Rome. The circumftances, however, in which Alva
found his army, induced him to make a truce of 40
days, and, after feveral negotiations, he yielded to
peace. One of its terms was, that the duke of Alva
Ihould in perfon afk forgivenefs of the haughty pon¬
tiff wrhom he had conquered. Proud as the duke
was by nature, and accuftomed to treat with per-
fons of the higheft dignity, yet fuch was the fuperfti-
tious veneration then entertained for the papal charac¬
ter, that he confeffed his voice failed him at the inter¬
view, and his prefence of mind forfook him. Not long
after this, he was fent at the head of a fplendid embaf-
fy to Paris, to efpoufe, in the name of his mailer, Eli¬
zabeth, daughter of Henry king of France.
Philip II. his new mailer, being ilrongly devoted to
the Roman fee, and determined to reclaim rebels to
his government, and diifenters from his faith, by the
moil unrelenting feverity and unbounded cruelty, he
pitched upon Alva as the fitted perfon to carry this
iyilem into praftice : with this defign, therefore, he
was fent into the Low Countries in 1567. Having re¬
ceived his orders, armed with fuch power as left only
the ihadow of authority to the natural governor, and
provided with 10,000 veterans, he marched towards
that devoted country. When he arrived, he foon
ihewed how much he merited the confidence which his
mailer repofed in him, and inilantly eredled a bloody
tribunal, to try all perfons who had been engaged in
the late commotions wdiich the civil and the religious
tyranny of Philip had excited. The depraved enor¬
mities of the mind of Alva raged with unexampled
violence. He imprifoned the counts Egmont and
Horn, the two popular leaders of the Proteilants, and
foon brought them to an unjuft trial, and condemned
them to death. In a little time he totally annihilated
every privilege of the people, and wdth uncontrolled
fury and cruelty, put multitudes of them to death.
Beholding herfelf deprived of all authority, and her
fubje£ts devoted to deftru£lion, the duchefs of Parma
refigned her office, difdaining to hold the nominal,
while the aclual reins of power were in the hands of
Alva. This event increafed the general tide of
wretchednefs, and every place was filled with fcenes
of horror and difmay. Unable for the prefent to ad-
minifter the lead aid, the prince of Orange faved his
life by flight. This noble prince fuddenly colletfted
an army in Germany, and returned to the relief of his
countrymen j and at the fame time Prince Lewis, his
brother, marched wdth an army into Friefland. Al¬
though fuccefs at firft attended Lewis, yet the aftivity
and experience of Alva prevailed, and he was totally
defeated. The prince of Orange proved a more for¬
midable foe and it gave exertion to the united talents
of Alva, and his fon Frederick of Toledo, to prevent
the prince from making a defeent upon the Nether¬
lands. But notwithftanding all the addrefs and mi¬
litary Ikill of the prince of Orange, this was eflfe&ed j
4 ] A L V
and the glory remained to Alva to baffle that great Alva.
leader, and to compel him, after great lofs of men,1 1 V““
to dilband the remainder of his army. Now the cruel¬
ty of Alva had unreftrained vent. Inftantly the exe¬
cutioner was employed in removing all thofe friends
of freedom whom the fword had fpared. Uncontrol¬
led, the bafe and unrelenting heart of Alva began to re¬
duce all the provinces to utter flavery, and to extirpate
Proteftantifm in that country. In moft of the confi-
derable towns, Alva built citadels. He eredted a
ftatue of hhnfelf, which was no lefs a monument of his
vanity than his tyranny, in the city of Antwerp : he
was figured trampling on the necks of two fmaller fta-
tues, reprefenting the two eftates of the Low Coun¬
tries. By his unufual and arbitrary requifition of new
fupplies from the ftates, he greatly aggravated this
haughty infult. The human mind difplays unufual vi¬
gour when rendered defperate by oppreffion. The ex¬
iles from the Low Countries, roufed to aflion, fitted out
a kind of piratical fleet, and, after ftrengthening them-
felves by fuccefsful depredations, ventured upon the bold
exploit of feizing the town of Briel. Thus, unin¬
tended by him, the cruelty of Alva was the inftrument
of the future independence of the feven Dutch provin¬
ces. The fleet of the exiles having met the Spanilh
fleet, totally defeated it, and reduced North Holland
and Mons ; and numbers of cities haftened to throw
off the yoke; while the ftates-general affembling at Dor¬
drecht, openly declared againft Alva’s government,
and marffialled under the banners of the prince of
Orange. This fituation of affairs opened the eyes of
Alva to behold the inftability of a power founded on
terror and oppreffion 5 he therefore began in vain to ufe
more lenient meafures. He prepared, however, with
vigour to onpofe the gathering ftorm, and afterwards
recovered Mons, Mechlin, and Zutphen, under the 1
conduft of his fon Frederick, where his foldiers more
than retaliated upon the prince of Orange. With the
exception of Zealand and Holland, he regained all the
provinces ; and at laft his fon ilormed Waerden, and,
maffacring its inhabitants with the moft favage cruel¬
ty, he then proceeded to inveft the city of Haerlem.
Fully convinced of the miferies that waited their fur-
render, this city flood an obftinate fiege j and nothing
lefs than the inflexible and perfevering fpirit of Alva
could have oppofed difficulties almoft infurmountable.
Defpairing of fuccefs, Frederick was at one time dif-
pofed to raife the fiege, but the ftern reproaches of
his father urged him on ; and at length the inhabit¬
ants, overcome with fatigue and refiftance, furrendered.
The vidlorious Frederick gave tolerable conditions to
the town 5 but his cruel father arriving on the third day
after the furrender, facrificed numerous viftims, who
had been led to expefl mercy, and fatiated his ven¬
geance to the full. Their next attack w as upon Alk-
maarj but the fpirit of defperate refiftance w-as railed
to fuch a height in the breafts of the Hollanders, that
the Spanilh veterans w7ere repulfed with great lofs, and
Frederick conftrained relu&antly to retire. Alva now
refolved to try his fortune by fea, and with great la¬
bour and expence fitted out a powerful fleet, and pro¬
ceeded to attack the Zealanders, but was entirely de¬
feated, and the commander taken prifoner. About
the fame period, the prince of Orange proceeded to at¬
tack the town of Gertruydenburg. Alva’s feeble
ft ate
A L V [ 75
Mva. ftate of Kealth and continued difafters induced him to
■—v ' folicit his recal from the government of the Low Coun¬
tries ; a meafure which, in all probability, was notdif-
pleaiing to Philip, who was now refolved to make trial
of a milder adminiftration. In December I573> t^iat
devoted country wars freed from the prefence and op-
preflions of the duke of Alva, who, accompanied by his
Ion, returning home, gave out the inglorious boall, that
he had, during the courle of fix years, belides the mul¬
titudes deftroyed in battle and maflacred after vi&ory,
configned i3,ooo perfons to the executioner. Reque-
i'ens, who fucceeded him in the command, in his firft
a6l of adminiftration, pulled down his infolent effigies
at Antwerp, fo that nothing might remain of him in
that much injured country but the remembrance of his
Injuftice and cruelty.
Returning from this fcene of oppreffion and blood,
he was treated for fome time with great diftin&ion by
his matter. Juftice, however, foon overtook the crimes
of Alva: for his fon having debauched one of the king’s
attendants, under promife of marriage, he wTas com¬
mitted to prifonj and being aided in his efcape by his
father, and married by him to a coufin of his own,
this procured Alva’s banifhment from court, and con¬
finement in the cattle of Uzeda. He remained two
years in this difgraceful fituation, until the fuccefs of
Don Antonio, in affuming the crown of Portugal, de¬
termined Philip to turn his eyes towards a perfon, in
whofe fidelity and abilities he could on this occafion
moft confide. A fecretary w^as inftantly defpatched to
Alva, to make inquiries concerning the ftate of his
health, and wffiether or not it was fufficiently vigorous
to undertake the command of an army. The aged chief
returned an anfwer full of loyal zeal, and was imme¬
diately appointed to the fupreme command in Portu¬
gal. It is a lingular fa£I, however, that the enlarge¬
ment and elevation of Alva w’as not followed by for-
givenefs. It is a chara&eriftic mark of the unrelenting
temper of Philip, and, at the fame time, a noble tefti-
mony to the honour and loyalty of Alva, that al¬
though placed in this important trutt, he did not procure
his pardon. In 1581, Alva entered Portugal, defeat¬
ed Antonio, drove him from the kingdom, and foon
reduced the whole under the fubjeftion of Philip. En¬
tering Liibon, he feized an immenfe treafure j and with
their accurtomed violence and rapacity, he fuffered his
foldiers to fack the fuburbs and vicinity. It is report¬
ed, that Alva being requefted to give an account of
the money expended on that occafion, he tternly re¬
plied, “ If the king alks me for an account, I will
make him a ftatemcnt of kingdoms preferved or con¬
quered, of fignal victories, of fuccefsful fieges, and of
lixty years fervice.” Philip deemed it proper to make
no farther inquiries. Alva, however, did not enjoy the
honours and rewards of his laft expedition, for in 1582,
at the age of 74, he was removed by death to the im¬
partial tribunal of heaven, to receive the juft rewards
of his iniquitous life.
The aftions already enumerated give fuch an am¬
ple idea of his character, that little more is neceffary
to complete it. In him a variety of extremes concen¬
tred. Some of the belt qualities of a commander rvere
blended with fome ©f the worft that ever exifted in
a man or in a.general. The Spaniih feverity, little
tempered by the fpirit of generofity, appeared in all
5 ] ' A L V
its horrible deformity in Alva. A ftrift impartial difi
cipline was his greateft military virtue, and vanity _
was his greateft weaknefs. In coniequence of this
ft rift difcipline, he fometimes punilhed tne unlicemed
barbarities of his foldiers j and there is an inftance Re¬
corded, that when his favourite fon Frederick, thinking
he could attack the prince of Orange with advan¬
tage, fent a requeft to his father for permiffion, he re¬
ceived a ftern reprimand, for prefuming to exercife
his judgment on a point already determined by his fu-
perior, with a threatening in cate of repetition. (Gen.
Biog.}
ALVAH, the wood wherewith Mofes fweetened
the waters of Marah, Exod. ch. xv. ver. 25.—The
name of this wood is not found in Scripture ; but the
Mahometans give it that of alvah, and pretend to
trace its hiftory from the patriarchs before the flood.
Jofephus on the contrary, fays, that Mefes ufed the
wood which he found next lying before him.
ALVARES de luna, treafurer, and a great fa¬
vourite of John II. king of Caftile, was famous for the
prodigious afcendency he gained over this prince, and
for the punifhment which at length overtook him. He
was a natural fon of Don Alvaro de Luna, lord of
Canete in Arragon, and of a woman of infamous cha-
rafter. He was born in 1^88, and named I etei, but
Pope Benedift XIII. who was charmed with his wit
though yet a child, changed Peter to Alvares. He
was introduced to court in 14.08* and made a gentle¬
man of the bedchamber to King John, with whom he
grew into the higheft favour. In 1427 he ivas obliged
to retire : the courtiers exerted all their endeavours to
ruin him : they complained, that a man of no military
{kill, of no virtues whatever, ftiould by mere artifice
and diffimulation, be advanced to the bigheft autho¬
rity ; and they could not bear, that by the affiftance
of a few upftart' men, whom he had raifed and fixed
to his intereft, he thould reign as abfolutely as if he
were king.
They prevailed agamft him, and Alvares was baniffi-
ed from court a year and a half: but this was the
greateft affliftion imaginable to the king; who fhow-
ed all marks of diftrefs the moment he was removed
from his prefence, and now thought and fpoke of no¬
thing but Alvares. He was therefore recalled ; and,
being inverted with his ufual authority, revenged him-
felf feverely upon his enemies, by perfuading the king
to banifti them. Of the 45 years he fpent at court, he
enjoyed for 30 of them fo entire an afcendency over
the king, that nothing could be done without his ex-
prefs orders : nay, it is related by Mariana, tnat the
king could not change an officer or fervant, or even his
clothes or diet, without the approbation of Alvares.
In fhort he wanted nothing to complete his grandeur
but the name of king : he had all the places in the
kingdom at his difpoial ^ he was mafter of the trealu-
ry, and by bounties had fo gained the hearts of the
fubjefts, that the king, though his eyes were now open¬
ed, and his affeftions fufficiently turned againft him,
durft not complain.
But the day of reckoning wTas approaching, and at
length he wras feized •, yet not direftly, openly, and vio¬
lently, but with fome of that management which up¬
on a fimilar occafion was formerly employed by Tibe¬
rius againft Sejanus. During his confinement, he mack:
5 C 2 feveral
Alvah,
Alvares.
A L V [ 756
Alvares, feveral attempts to fpeak to the king In perfon; but has
■ A->'dre/-f not being able to e£Fc£t this, he feat the following-let¬
ter, from which, as well as from the reft of Alva-
res’s hiftory, all court favourites may draw abundant
matter for edification and inftrutftion. “ Sir, It is five
“ and forty years fince I was admitted into your fer-
“ vice. I do not complain of the rewards I have
“ received : they were greater than my merits or ex-
“ pedftation, as I lhall not deny. There was but one
“ thing wanting to complete my happinefs 5 and 'that
“ was, to have fixed proper limits in time to this great
“ fortune of mine. While, inftead of choofing retire-
“ ment, after the example of the greateft men, I ftill
“ continued in the employment, which I thought not
“ only my duty, but neceffary for your intereft, I fell
“ into this misfortune. It is very hard that I Ihould
“ be deprived of liberty, when I have rilked life and
“ fortune more than once to reftore it to you. Grief
“ prevents me from faying more. I know that the
“ Deity is provoked againft me by my fins ; but it will
“ be fufticient for me, if his anger is appeafed by the
“ calamities I now fuller. I can no longer bear that
“ prodigious mafs of riches, which it was wrong in
“ me to have heaped together. I Ihould willingly
“ refign them, but that every thing I have is in your
“ power ; and I am denied the opportunity of Ihowing
“ mankind, that you have raifed a perfon to the height
u of greatnefs, who can contemn wealth as well as pro-
“ cure it, and give it back to him from whom he re-
“ ceived it. But I defire you in the ftrongeft terms,
“ that, as I was obliged, by the lownefs of the trea-
“ fury, to raife 10,000 or 12,000 crowns by methods
“ I ought not to have taken, you will reftore them to
“ the perfous from whom they were extorted. If you
“ will not grant this on account of the fervices I have
“ done, yet I think it neceffary to be done from the
“ reafon of the thing.”
This letter, however, produced no effeft in his fa¬
vour : Alvares was tried, and condemned to lofe his
head. After condemnation, he was removed to Val¬
ladolid j and having confeffed himfelf, and received
the facrament, he was carried upon a mule to the mar¬
ket-place^ in the middle of which a large fcaffold wms
eredled. Mounting the fcaffold, he paid reverence to
the crofs, and prefently gave his hat and fignet to his
page, faying, “ Thefe are the laft gifts you will ever
Alviano.
receive from me.” He then fubmitted himfelf to the
axe -with the'Utmoft intrepidity.
ALVAREZ, Irancis, a Portuguefe prieft, and
almoner to Emanuel, king of Portugal, flourilhed
about the beginning of the 16th century. He was
fent ambaffador from Portugal to David prince of A-
byffinia j and after a refidence of fix years in that coun¬
try, returned with letters of friendfhip from David to
Juan, who had fucceeded Emanuel, and of fubmiffion to
Pope Clement VII. At Bologna, in the year 1523,
he gave a narrative of his expedition to the pope, in
the prefence of the emperor Charles V. In the year
3 540, he publilhed the relation of his journey in one
volume folio, in the Portuguefe language. Pie gives
a plain and accurate defcription of this empire ; and
we are indebted to him for the firft of the kind that
ever publifhed. This work rvas tranfiated into Latin,
under the title of De Fide, Regione, Moribus Etbiofiurn,
by Damien Goez, a Portuguefe gentleman j and it
] A l v
often been reprinted and tranflated into other Aludelj
languages. The information of Alvarez is not, how¬
ever, to be received with implicit credit, becaufe he,
does not always fpeak from his own obfervation, and
he frequently exaggerates. [DiB. Hi/L)
ALUDELS, in the older and more complicated che¬
mical apparatus, were earthen pots without bottoms,
inferted into each other, and ufed in fublimations.
ALVEARIUM, in Anatomy, the bottom^ of the
concha, or hollow of the outer ear.
Alvearium alfo fignifies a bee-hive. The word is
formed of alveus, “ a channel or cavity 3” in allufion to
the alveoli or cells in bee-hives.
Some of the ancients ufe alfo the word alvearium for-
a bee-houfe, more ufually called among us apiary.
Alvearium is fometimes alfo ufed figuratively, to
denote a colleclion 3 in which fenfe, alvearium amounts
to much the fame with what we otherwife called the-
faurus, cornucopia, or the like. Vine. Boreus has
publifhed an alvearium of law.
ALVEOLUS, in Natural Hijlory, the name of the
waxen cells in bee-hives. Alfo the name of a fea fof-
fil of a conic figure, compofed of a number of cells like
bee-hives, joined into each other with a pipe of com¬
munication.
Alveolus, in Anatomy, the fockets in the jaws
wherein the teeth are fixed. Some writers fpeak of
teeth growing without alveoli. Pliny mentions a per¬
fon who had a tooth in his palate. Euftachius relates,
that he faw a man who at 60 had a tooth growing out
of the middle of his fauces. Holler gives an inftance
of a perfon whofe teeth were of a piece with his jaws,
without any infertion into alveoli.
ALVIANO, Barthol omew, a Venetian gene¬
ral, fiourifhed in the beginning of the 16th century..
His talents were well calculated for the conduft of mi¬
litary affairs, and in an early part of his life, raifed
him to great reputation. In the year 1508, he gained
fuch fignal vi&ories over the emperor Maximilian, that
he was decreed triumphal honours by the republic.
During the famous league of Venice, he was fecond
in command along with Count Pitigliano. It was,
however, unfavourable to the caufe in which they had
en§aSed> that the tempers of the two commanders
were very different. The commander in chief was he-
fitating and cautious 3 the other was bold and intrepid.
Alviano commanded the rear-guard at the famous
battle of Aignadel, and after difplaying the greateft
exertions of valour, was wounded, overpowered, and
at laft taken prifoner. An increafing tribute W'as paid
to the military talents of Alviano 3 for after the Ve--
netians had become the allies of France, he was in-
trufted with the command of their army. When the
emperor attacked Padua, he defended it ’againft him,
and difplayed numerous a£ts of valour in repulfing the
imperial troops. But the current of human life runs
unequally fmooth on its attendance upon any charafterj
for he loft the great battle of La Motte, in wdiich,
how ever, his exertions were fo confpicuous, that the
fenate gave him the moft honourable affurance of the
continuance of their efteem. Fortune, however, foon
became propitious to this great man, and he defeated
the enemy in Friuli. In the defperate battle of Marig-
.nano, he afforded fuch timely aid to Francis I. that
it greatly contributed to his fuccefs. But the mold vi¬
gorous
ALU [ 757 j A L XJ
Alum, gorous conflitution muft one day yield to tlie force of
^ conftant exertions, and the moft inceflant fatigue;
he had incurred fuch hardfhips in fuperintending the
works at the fiege of Brefcia, that he was feized with
a fever, of which he died at the advanced age of fix-
ty. His chara&er (lands high in the annals of mi¬
litary fame. By a drift obfervance of difcipline, and
a profufe liberality to his foldiers, he fecured their
edeem. As an unequivocal proof of this, they kept
his body unburied twenty-five days, carrying it about
with them during their marches, with all funeral pomp.
His lofs was deeply regretted by the date, and, as a
proof thereof, his body was buried at the public
charge, his unprovided family w-as fupported by a li¬
beral penfion, and his daughters were portioned by the
date. (Gen. Biog.)
ALUM, in Chemijiry, a clear and tranfparent fa-
line matter, ufually fold in large maffes, of a very au-
dere and adringent tade, ufeful in medicine and in va¬
rious arts.
Mod of the alum to be met with is artificially pre¬
pared by the methods related in their proper place un¬
der the article Chemistry, or by others fimilar to
them : though fometimes a fmall quantity is produced
naturally. This native alum is mixed with heteroge¬
neous matters, or efdorefces in various forms upon the
ores during calcination. It rarely occurs in a crydal-
lized date, though thus it is faid to be met with in
Egypt, Sardinia, Spain, Bohemia, and other places.
It is alfo found in waters impregnated with fixed air,
but very feldom in fountains or hot medicated waters.
There are feveral kinds of alum to be met wdth ;
but thefe differ from one another only in being mixed
with fome falts which are not of the aluminous kinds.
That called the Roman alum has been confidered as
preferable to any other. This is ufually met tvith in
fmall crydals, and has a reddidi colour, mod probably
owing to a fmall quantity of calx of iron, which, how¬
ever, does not in the lead impair its qualities. The
Other kinds of alum contain a portion either of vitrio-
lated tartar or fal ammoniac, according to the nature
of the alkali ufed in its preparation. Mr Bergman in¬
forms us, that the vegetable alkali, if pure, does not
hurt the alum, though it be added in the preparation j
but that the volatile alkali, by adulterating it with a
portion of vitriolic fal ammoniac, renders it unfit for
Ibme purpofes. The alum, made by adding a portion
of clay to the liquor at the beginning of the boiling,
he confiders as equal, if not faperior, to Roman alum.
He informs us alfo, that a kind of alum fome time ago
began to be manufa&ured at Brunfwick, which was
equal in quality to the Roman alum. On a chemical
analyfis of this alum he found it mixed with cobalt.
This fait is extremely ufeful in the art of dying j as
by means of it a great number of colours are fixed and
rendered permanent upon cloth, which otherwife would
either not adhere in any degree, or only for a very
fhort time. In what manner this is accomplidied, we
are very much ignorant ; the conjectures and theories
on this fubjedt are related under the article Dying.
It conftitutes the bafis of crayons, which generally con-
fill of the earth of alum finely powdered and tinged for
the purpofe. In the preparation of Pruffian blue, it
prevents the bafis of martial vitriol, which is foluble in
acids, from being precipitated by the luperfluous alkali
employed in the preparation of that pigment *, that is, Alum,
the alkali which is not faturated by the colouring mat- v—"
ter. As this bafis adheres more (Irongly than the clay
to the. vitriolic acid, and would form a green by the
mixture of its yellownefs, the white earth of alum like-
wife according to its quantity, dilutes the darker co¬
lours, even black itfelf, and produces an infinite num¬
ber of (hades. It is alfo of ufe in the making of can¬
dles : for being mixed with the tallow, it gives it a
hardnefs and confidence which it has not naturally.
Wood fufficiently foaked in a folution of alum does not
eafily take fire 5 and the fame is true of paper impreg¬
nated with it j which, for that reafon, is very properly
employed in preferving gunpowder, as it alfo excludes
the moidure of the air. Paper impregnated with alum
is ufeful in whitening filver, and filvering brafs without
heat. Alum is alfo of ufe in tanning, where it afiids
in redoring the cohefion of the (kins almod entirely de-
droyed by the lime. Vintners fine dowm their wines,
&c. with alum 5 filhers ufe it to dry cod fidi with; and
bakers have mixed it wdth the flour to make their bread
compaft and white : to this lad ufe of it great objec¬
tions have been made; but unjudly, for it is entirely
innocent. It is nowr feldom ufed.
In medicine it is of confiderable ufe as an adrin¬
gent and tonic. It is reckoned particularly ferviceable
for redraining hemorrhages, and immoderate fecretions
from the blood ; but lefs proper in intellinal (luxes. In
violent hemorrhages, it may be given in dofes of 1 5
or 20 grains, and repeated every hour or half hour
till the bleeding abates : in other cafes, fmaller dofes
are more advifable; large ones being apt to naufeate
the domach, and occafion violent condipations of the
bowels. It is ufed alfo externally, in adringent and
repellent lotions and collyria. Burnt alum taken in¬
ternally has been highly extolled in cafes of colic. In
fuch indances, when taken to the extent of a fcruple
for a dofe, it has been faid gently to move the belly,
and give very great relief from the fevere pain. Its
officinal preparations are, for internal ufe, pulvis Jlypti-
cus, and aqua ftyptica; for external applications, the
aqua aluminis, and coagulum aluminis and alumen
ujlum; wdiich lad is no other than the alum dried by
fire, or freed from the watery moidure, which, like
other falts, it always retains in its crydalline form. By
this lofs of its water it becomes (harper, fo as to a£t as
a flight efcharotic ; and it is chiefly with this inten¬
tion that it is employed in medicine, being very rare¬
ly taken internally. For thefe preparations, fee Phar¬
macy.
Jlum Mines are faid to have been firff found in
Italy in the year lqfio; and in 1506 King Henry VII.
made a monopolizing grant of this commodity to Au-
guffine Chigi, a merchant of Sienna. In the year
1608, the manufacture of alum was firfl invented, and
fucceffively practifed in England, meeting with great
encouragement in Yorkdiire, where it w-as firfl made,
from Lord Sheffield, and the other gentlemen of that
county. King James I. by advice of his minidry, af-
fumed the monopoly of it to himfelf, and therefore
prohibited the importation of foreign alum ; and in
1625 the importation of it was further prohibited by
the proclamation of Charles I.
Alum Works, places where alum is prepared, and
manufactured in quantities for fale. They differ from
alurs'*
A L Y [ 758 ] A L Y
Aluntium alum mines, as in the former an artificial alum, and in
H the latter natural alum, is produced.
A Y "S~' ALUNTIUM, Alontium, in Ancient Geography,
a town in the north of Sicily, fituated on a fteep emi¬
nence, at the mouth of the Chydas j faid to be as old
as the war of Troy. It is now in ruins 5 and from
thefe has arifen the hamlet St Philadelfo, in the Val
di Demona. The inhabitants -were called Haluntini.
ALVUS, in Anatomy, a term ufed for the belly in
general, but more frequently applied to the bowels.
ALWAIDII, a left of Mahometans who believe all
great crimes to be unpardonable—The Alwaidii Hand
in oppofition to the Morgii. They attribute lefs effi¬
cacy to the true belief in the falvation of men than the
reft of the Muffulman?.
ALYPIUS of Antioch, a geographer of the fourth
century. He was fent deputy-governor by the empe¬
ror Julian into Britain •, and after he remained in this
lituation for fome time, he received orders from the
emperor to rebuild the temple of Jerufalem. Ammia-
nus Marcellinus, the Roman hiftorian, informs us, that
during the progrefs of the work, whilft it was proceed¬
ing with great rapidity, huge balls of fire iffued
forth in the vicinity of the foundations, which inter¬
rupted the men at their labour, and even fometimes
confirmed them with its violence. Thus the place
being rendered inacceffible, they -were reluftantly
conftrained to defift from their undertaking. Dif¬
ferent fentiments have been entertained of this pheno¬
menon j but the reader may confult, for his own fatis-
faftion, what has been written by Lardner and Gib¬
bon concerning it. In the evening of his life, after
he had retired from the fervice of the public, Aly-
pius, in conjunftion with feveral other perfons, was
formally accufed of the crime of praftiling magic. In
confequence of which, he rvas puniffied with baniflr-
ment and confifcation of property, and Hierocles his
fon was condemned to capital puniffiment. Ammia-
nus Marcellinus, whilft he mentions that the crime for
which they fuffered, was that of adminiftering poifon to
others, at the fame time freely delivers his opinion,
that they were the viftims of the general injuftice and
oppreffion which reigned at that period, and extended
their fway even to the moft retired habitations. The
emperor julian himfelf honoured Alypius with his con¬
fidence, and fpeaks of him with great refpeft. “ As
to your conduft in public affairs (fays the emperor), it
gives me pleafure to obferve the affiduity and humani¬
ty wffiich appear in all your tranfaftions 5 for fo to tem¬
per lenity and moderation with firmnefs and fortitude,
that the good may experience the benefit of the for¬
mer, and the bad may be correfted by the latter, re¬
quires no final! fhare of ability and virtue.” Alypius
compofed a geographical work which is faid to have
gained the approbation of the emperor, but this -work
has {hared the fame fate as many other produftions of
antiquity. Some have afcribed the w»rk which God¬
frey publifhed under the title of “ A Defcription of
the Old World printed in qto, at Geneva, to Aly¬
pius 5 but fince that author fpeaks of Britain, not mere¬
ly from report, but his own obfervation 5 this, toge-
gether with the teftimony ©f fome writers, leads to the
conclufion, that this “ Defcription” is an anonymous
work, publiihed in the reigns of Conftantius and Con-
ftans. {Gen. Biogi)
6
Any pius, one of the feven Greek writers on munc, Alypis;.
which Meibomius has induftrioufiy collefted and pub- u-—y-~-
liflied, with a commentary.and explanatory notes. The
time in which he fiouriftied cannot be precifely afcertain-
ed. He is faid to have wrote before Euclid and Ptolemyj
and Caffiodorus arranges his wnrlc, entitled “ Introduc¬
tion to Mufic,” between that of Nicomachus and Gau-
dentius. In this work is to be found the moft complete
nomenclature of all the founds of the different fcales and
modes of the ancient Greek mufic, which have efcaped
the wreck of time. So complex wras the fcience of
mufic in Greece at this period, that the charafters
ufed for founds wrre 1620 in number. The twenty-
four letters of the alphabet furnifhed thefe notes, fome¬
times in an entire, fometimes in a mutilated, and fome¬
times in an altered form 5 and numerous difcrimina-
tions of thefe took place by means of the accents and
varied pofitions of letters.
From the MS. of Jofeph Scaliger, Meurfius firft
publiftied this traft in 1616 ; but according to the te¬
ftimony of Fabricius, it is by no means correft. Ex-
trafts have befen publiihed from Alypius, by Kircher,
in his Mufurgia, 1650, alleging that he tranflated
the whole into Latin ) but this table of ancient muii-
cal notation is fo inaccurate, which he has inferted
from him, that Meibomius, wdro confulted not only
the Greek MS. of Scaliger, but that of Belejanus, Ba-
rocus, Barberitti, and Selden, affirms, that he found
in it more than 200 errors. The learned Meibomius,
with incredible induftry, decyphered thofe charafters,
which previous to his time were fo much confounded,
disfigured, and corrupted, either through the ignorance
or inattention of the tranfcribers of ancient MSS. This
advantage refulted to the fcience of mufic, chiefly by
his commentaries on Greek muficians, and particularly
on the w'orks of Alypius.
Alypius of Tagafta, a Chriftian divine who flou-
rifhed in the fourth century. In the year 388, he wTas
baptized along w-ith Auguftine, and, in confequence of
a fimilarity of difpofitions and religious fentiments, they
became ftrongly attached to each other. In queft of
information and improvement, he took a journey into
Paleftine *, and returning home, he foon acquired fuch
general efteem, that he was appointed biffiop of his
native city. He had adopted in the early part of his
life the opinions of the Manichees ; but in confe¬
quence of farther information and matured experi¬
ence, he became a pow'erful advocate for the Catholic
faith. The Donatifts fiouriffied about this period, and
arrogantly claimed the exclufive honour of being the
true church ; but he, along with his friend Auguftine,
united his exertions in oppofing the tenets of that feft.
In the council of Carthage in the year 403, the eru- .
dition and talents of Alypius, along with feveral other-
eminent divines, wrere unfuccefsfully employed in en¬
deavouring to reclaim them, and to bring them again
into the bofom of the church. Inqix Alypius was
one of the feven who held a friendly and theological
conference wuth feven of the Donatift biffiops. But
all the eloquence and ftrength of argument made
ufe of by thefe divines, although feconded by the pe¬
nal decrees of the emperor Honorius, w?ere unfuccefs-
ful in producing a recantation of their errors, or a
peaceful union with their brethren. In fupport of the
Catholic faith, Alypius appears to have vigoroufly ex¬
erted
1
A M A [ 759 ] A M A
Alyirum erted his talents ; and it is much to be regretted that
!i the means he employed for that purpofe were not at all
Ltnadabau t;jmes tjie honourable ; for in the violence of his
v zeal he went as deputy from the churches of Africa
to the emperor Honorius, in order to obtain fevere
decrees againft the fe£t of the Pelagians. Although
Alypius failed in his attempts to reclaim the Dona-
lifts from error, yet he was fuccefsful with the em¬
peror in obtaining penal decrees againft the Pelagi¬
ans $ in confequence of which their minifters were
banilhed, their churches demolilhed, and their affem-
blies difcontinned. Alypius died about the year 430,
and his difpofitions appear to have participated more
of the violence of zeal, than of the meeknefs of cha¬
rity. [Gen. Biog.)
ALYSSUM, Alyssom, or Alysoides, Mad-
wort; (from aXwca, to be mad; becaufe it was be¬
lieved to have the property of curing madnefs). See
Botany Index.
ALYTARCHA, a prieft of Antioch in Syria,
who, in the games inftituted in honour of the gods,
prefided over the officers who carried rods to clear
away the crowd and keep order.
In the Olympic games, the alytarches had the fame
command, and obliged every perfon to preferve order
and decency.
ALZIRA, a town of Spain, in the kingdom of Va¬
lencia, feated on the river Xucar. E. Long. o. 20.
N. Lat. 39. to.
AMA, in Ecclejiajiical Writers, denotes a veffel
wherein wine, water, or the like, were held, for the
iervice of the eucharift. In this fenfe the word is alfo
written amula ; fometimes alfo hama, and hamula.
Am A is fometimes alfo ufed for a wine meafure, as
a calk, pipe, or the like.
AMABYR, a barbarous cuftom which formerly
prevailed in feveral parts of England and Wales, be¬
ing a fum of money paid to the lord when a maid was
married within his lordfnip. The word is old Britiffi,
and lignifies “ the price of virginity.”
AMACK. See Amak.
AM AD AB AT, a corruption from Ahmed a bad,
or Ahmed's city (fo called from a king of that name)j
a large and populous city of Indoftan, and the capital
of the province of Guzerat. It is fituated in E. Long.
72. 12. N. Lat. 23. o. Amadabat was formerly cal¬
led Gu%erat; and by Shah Jehan nicknamed Gherd-
abdd, or “ the habitation of dull,” becaufe it was much
incommoded therewith. It was the feat of the Guze-
rat kings, as it is now of the Mogul governsr. The
city Hands in a beautiful plain, and is watered by the
little river Sabremetti, which, though not deep, in time
of rains overflows the plains prodigioully. The walls
are built with ftpne and brick, flanked at certain di-
ftances with great round towers and battlements. It has
twelve gates 5 and, including the fuburbs, is about four
miles and a half long. The ftreets are wide. The
vteyddn Jhdh, or king’s fquare, is 700 paces long, and
400 broad, planted round with trees. On the weft
fide is the caftle, well wailed with free ftone, and as
fpacious as a little city ; but its inward appearance is
not conformable to its external magnificence. The
caravanfera is on the fouth of the fquare, and its chief
ornament. Near the meydan alfo is the king’s palace,
whole apartments are richly ornamented ; and in the
midft of the city is the Englifh factory, where they Amadam
purchafe fine chintz, caliicoes, and other Indian mer- II
chandife. The place is fo full of gardens ftored with /viri^
fruit trees, that from an eminence it looks like a wood.
The Hindoos have here an hofpital for lick beafts, and
another for fick birds, which they take great care of.
According to fome late accounts, this city is little in¬
ferior to the belt in Europe, and is thought to yield
ten times as much revenue as Surat.
AMADAN, or Hamadan, a town of Perfia, be¬
tween Taurus and Ifpahan. E. Long. 47. 4. N. Lat.
35. 15. It is feated at the foot of a mountain, where
there are a great many fprings, which water the adja¬
cent country. The extent of the city is very large; but
there are a great many wafte fpots within it, as well as
cultivated land. The houfes are built of brick harden¬
ed in the fun, and have but a very indifferent afpedt.
There is but one tolerable ftreet; and that is where
fluffs, garments, and the like, are expofed to fale : it
is ftraight, long, and wide j and the Ihops are very well
furniffied. The adjacent parts are fruitful in corn and
rice, infomuch that the neighbouring provinces are fup-
plied from hence. It is faid to enjoy a very falubriouo
air 5 but the cold in winter is intenfe. The Armenians
have a church in this town } but it is a very ill contriv¬
ed ftrudture. The Jewrs have a fynagogue near a
tomb, where they pretend Efther and Mordecai lie in¬
terred. To this place they come in pilgrimage from
feveral parts of the' Levant. About a league from
Amadan, there is a mountain called Nalbana, which
abounds with all forts of curious herbs. In the fpring,
people flock to this mountain from all parts to recover
their health, by fucking in the falutary effluvia with
their breath.
Amadan is a very ancient city. It is faid to have-
been deftroyed by Nebuchadnezzar, and rebuilt by
Darius, who brought hither all his riches. The kings
of Perfia frequently retired to this place on account of
its delightful fituation ; for which reafon it obtained
the name of the Royal City. It was conquered by the
caliph Othman, and narrowly efcaped being deftroyed.
by Jenghiz Khan in 1220. It had then ftrong walls,
and a good caftle, which are now in ruins. Its pre-
fent beauty confifts in its gardens and fprings.
AMADANAGER, a town in the hither peninfula.
of India, in the province of Decan. E. Long. 74. 15,.
N. Lat. 18. 10. It was taken by the Moguls in 1598,,
after a fiege of fix months -7 being at that time defend¬
ed by a ftrong caftle, fituated on an eminence, and fur-
rounded with deep ditches, into which feveral fprings
difcharged their w’aters.
AMADEUS V. count of Savoy, arofe to that dig¬
nity in thel year 1285. In him it appeared, that
mental excellence can rife fuperior to riches or extent
of territory •, for although his dominions were by no-
means extenlive, nor his riches great, yet, in conle-
quence of his wifdom and iuccefs, he obtained the fur-
narne of Great. The cautious prudence of Amadeus,
however, enabled him greatly to increafe his territory
by means of marriage, purchafe, and donations. Inr
this fituation, with extended dominion, and dittinguiflr-
ed for wifdom and prudence, he role to fuch eminence
among the European powers, that he was conftituted
their umpire to fettle their differences 5 and in that fta-r
tion acquitted himfelf with much reputation and get
nerali
A M A [ 760 ] A M A
Amadeus, neral utiiity. But in his character valour and wiiciom
-y—wsre combined j for when the Turks attempted to re¬
take the iile of Rhodes from the knights of St John of
Jerufalem, he boldly defended it, and acquired great
renown. A Maltefe crofs with the letters F. E. R. T.
in future became the arms of Amadeus and his fucceflbrs,
in memory of this fignal viftory. The explanation
of this motto is faid to be For tit u do ejus Rhodum.
tenuit.—“ His valour kept Rhodes.” For this im¬
portant fervice the grand mafter conferred on him the
grant of a palace at Lyons. Andronicus the emperor
of the call had married his daughter; and in order to
promote the views of his fon-in-law, Amadeus took a
iourney to Avignon to perfuade Pope John XXII. to
preach a crufade in favour of Andronicvfs. In the
year 1323 the famous Amadeus died at that place.
Deep penetration, keen difcernment, confummate pru¬
dence, great valour, together with no fmall portion of
the religious fuperftition of his time, appear to have
been the reigning features in his chara£ler. (Mod.
Univ. Hifi.)
Amadeus VIII. count of Savoy, in 1391, fucceed-
ed his father Amadeus VII. With the large fum of
45000 florins of gold he purchafed the country of
Genevois from its laft earl. Anxious to extend his
territories, he purchafed the city of Rumilli, upon the
lake of Geneva, from the widow of the count of Ge¬
nevois, and thus the houfe of Savoy became fo illuftri-
ous that the emperor Sigifmund ere&ed Savoy into a
duchy in the year 1426. Hiflorians relate, that he
affilted John Paleologus againft the duke of Milan,
who endeavoured to wreft from him the duchy of
Montferrat. Deeply fenfible of the fervices which he
had received, Paleologus not only refigned to the duke,
Chivas, Brandis, and feveral other eflates, but fubmit-
ted to hold all the marquifate of Montferrat as a fief
from the houfe of Savoy. Thefe fortunate acquifitions
of territory were not yet limited 5 for upon the mar¬
riage of his daughter with Philip Maria, duke of Mi¬
lan, he received Vercelli, and about the fame time the
count of Crefcentino fubmitted to become his feo-
dary. In his ambitious purfuit, he laid claim to the
fovereignty of the city of Geneva } but that claim,
though enforced by the pope, was rejedled by the
citizens with difdain, and the emperor Sigifmund
taking it under his proteftion, declared it an imperial
.city. After fuch an extenfive acquifition of dominion,
and amaffing fuch fums of money, he formed the fin-
gular fcheme of abandoning his throne and family ;
and for that purpofe retired to a religious houfe at a
place called Ripaille. But although he refigned the
dukedom of Savoy to his eldeft fon Lewis, and made
his youngeft fon Philip, count of. Genevois; yet their
honours were merely nominal, for he conftrained them
to live on a very fcanty allowance, while he in his
retirement received all the revenues, and colledled
fuch fums of money that he is faid to have purchafed
the papal honours. During the previous part of his
life having adopted great fanftity of manners, the mo¬
tives for his retirement were generally reckoned reli¬
gious ; but what was the aflonilhment of mankind to
behold the feat of his hermitage become the habi¬
tation of every rare delicacy, and of the moll refined
luxury. The local fituation of the place wras truly
delightful, and was enriched with every thing that
2
could afford gratification to the fenfes ; and his re- ArKadsc?,
tinue confided of feme of his molt intimate friends,
along with 20 faithful fervants, v»rho were the guardi¬
ans of his' voluptuous fecrets. Neither did he aifume
a religious habit, but wore purple robes, and upon his
mantle was embroidered a golden crofs. His tabic
groaned under the weight of luxurious dainties, and the
moft excellent mufic cheered the daily feail j in fhort,
fuch v'as the voluptuoufnefs of that place, that in the
French language the phrafe, jfcfrc ripailles, fignifies to
make exquiiite good cheer.
He inftituted a fecular knighthood in that place
under the appellation of -St Maurice. The brethren
affumed the name of hermits, w'ore heards, and exclud¬
ed women from their community j and in other re-
fpefts compoled the charafter of decent epicures.
When he obtained the papal dignity, and was crown¬
ed by the cardinal of Arles at Bald, all Europe was fill¬
ed with allonifhment in confequence of his elevation j
for he had never entered into holy orders. But
he had found means to remove every objefiion,
the council confirmed his eleftion, and with pretend¬
ed reluctance he put on the pontifical ornaments,
and was confecrated in the church of St Maurice.
It feemed good to Amadeus to affume the title of
Felix V. As might naturally be expected in fuch
circumllances, the papal dignity was feverely con-
tefted between him and Eugenius 5 and notwithftand-
ing all the importunities of the council, the emperor
refufed to acknowledge his elevation. This religi¬
ous difpute involved all Europe in contention. Hi-
Itorians relate that Germany remained neutral, and
France, England, Italy, Spain, and Hungary, decla¬
red for Eugenius } but Arragon, Poland, and Bretagne
recognifed the council only; at the fame time that
Savoy, Switzerland, Bafil, Strafburg, Pomerania,
and one of the duchies of Bavaria, recognifed Felix.
The emperor Frederick III. held a council at Frank¬
fort, before which both the popes urged their refpec-
tive rights by means of deputies. This attempt, how¬
ever, to regain peace to Europe was unfuccefsful ;
therefore the emperor repaired to the vicinity of Bafil,
and had a perfonal interview with Felix. The mind of
Amadeus was now fo confirmed in the enjoyment of
plealure, that he had again returned to his favourite re¬
treat 5 and after the fathers of the council had frequent¬
ly folicited him in vain to refide at Bafil, he prevailed
upon them to remove to Lyons, which was near the
feat of his pleafures. During the conteft, Eugenius had
excommunicated Felix, the council, and feveral of the
German princes, fo that the whole church wras then
filled with confufion and diforder. The death of Eu¬
genius, however, terminated the ftruggle 5 for upon his
death the cardinals at Rome eledfed Thomas de Sar-
zan, who afiumed the name of Nicholas V. In this
fituation of affairs, Amadeus deemed it prudent to en¬
ter into a negotiation for the refignation of his pa¬
pal crown. In this tranfaftion he difplayed the pre-
foundeft policy and addrefs, which induced Nicho¬
las to annul all that Eugenius had done to his dif-
honour, or that of his affociates; to confirm the de¬
termination of the council of Bafil to appoint him per¬
petual apoftohcal legate in Savoy, Piedmont, and the
other places of his own dominions, and even added to
thefe the honour of being bilhop of Bafil, Laufanne,
Stralburg,
Amadow.
A M A
Amadeus Strafburg, and Conrtance. Nor did his vanity forfake
him even in this political tranfa&ion, for he provided
__ that he Ihould continue to wear the pontifical drefs
unlefs in 'a very few particulars. In order to gra¬
tify the fame haughty difpofition, he ftipulated that he
thould not be obliged to go to Rome, to attend any
general council; and that when he had occafion to ap¬
proach the pope, he Ihould rife to receive him, and in-
itead of killing his toe, he Ihould be permitted to kifis
his cheek. Amadeus retired to Laufanne, and died
there at the age of 60, in the year 1451.
As the time in which he lived is fertile in me¬
morable events, fo the character of Amadeus was one
of the moft dilHnguifhed of his time. The verfatility
of his genius has led writers to differ in the delineation
oi his character. Some have reprefented him as a per-
fon of fingular fandlity of manners, and poffeffed of un¬
common moderation and virtue 5 others have repre¬
fented him as a confirmed bigot, and a violent enthu-
fiaft j and a third clafs of authors have magnified his
talents far above the general ftandard, and extolled
him as one of the moft accomplilhed princes in Europe.
His real chara&er appears to be a compound of ex¬
travagancies, in w'hich virtue, genius, caprice, and va¬
nity were blended. {Mod. Univ. Hi/}.}
Amadeus IX. count of Savoy, fucceeded his fa¬
ther Lewis, in his dominion and honours. The prince
who exerts his talents to promote the happinefs of his
fubjefts, is worthy of more fame than the prince who
increafes the number of his fubjecls by unjuft and un-
neceffary wars. In this view Amadeus IX. deferves a
place in the annals of his nation. His bodily conftitu-
tion was weak, and he was affli&ed with the falling-
ficknefs, yet, in confequence of his piety, virtue, bene¬
volence, and juftice, he was furnamed the Happy.
The clemency of his temper was fuch that he readily
pardoned thofe who offended him, and in few inftances
was he induced to punilh. In his charafter, however,
the virtue of benevolence Ihone with peculiar fplendour
among the other virtues of the Chriftian. A foreign
minifter one day ufed the freedom to inquire at Ama¬
deus, if he kept any hounds. The duke replied, “ a
great number, and you lhall fee them to-morrow at
noon.” The minifter attended at that hour in expec¬
tation of feeing a numerous pack of hounds; but the
duke led him to a window which looked into an ex-
tenfive fquare, and directing his view to a multitude of
poor people eating and drinking, he exclaimed, “Thefe
are my hounds with whom I go in chafe of heaven.”
In all thefe pious and benevolent labours he was fe-
conded by his wife lolande of France. When one of
his parfimonious courtiers reminded him that he would
fpend all his revenues, he generoully replied, “ Here
is the collar of my order, let them fell it and relieve
my people.” In the feventh year of his reign, and the
thirty-feventh of his life, he died univerfally lamented
by all his loyal fubjefts, in the year 1472. In high
efteem for his virtuous qualities, his fubjedfts conferred
on him the appellation of The Bleffcd. .(Mod. Univ.
Hi/I.)
AMADIA, a trading town of Afia, in Curdiftan,
belonging to the Turks 5 feated on a high mountain.
E. Long. 43. 1. N. Lat. 36. 25.
AMADOW, a kind of black match, tinder, or
touchwood, which comes from Germany. It is made
Vol, I. Part II.
Amalan’c.
761 ] A M A
of a fort of large mulhrooms or fpongy excrefccnces, Amadowiy
which commonly grow on old trees, efpecially oaks,
alh, and firs. This fubftance being boiled in common
water, and afterwards dried and well beaten, is then
put into a ftrong ley prepared with faltpetre, after
which it is again put to dry in an oven. The drug-
gifts fell this match wholefale in France, and feveral
hawkers retail it. Some give to the amadow the name
ofpyrotechnicalfponge, becaufe of its aptnefs to take
fire.
AMADOWRY, a kind of cotton which comes
from Alexandria by the vray of Marfeilles.
AMAIN, in the Sea Language, a term importing
to lower fomething at once. Thus, to Jlrike amain,
is to lower or let fall the topfails j to wave amain,
is to make a fignal, by weaving a drawn fword, or the
like, as a demand that the enemy ftrike their topfails.
AMAK, a fmall ifiand in the Baltic fea, near Co¬
penhagen, from which it is feparated by a canal over
wdiich there is a drawbridge. Amak is about four
miles long and twro broad ; and is chiefly peopled by
the defcendants of a colony from Eaft Friefland, to
wdiom the ifland was configned by Chriftian II. at the
requeft of his wife Elizabeth, filler of Charles V. for
the purpofe of fupplying her with vegetables, cheefe,
and butter. From the intermarriages of thefe colonifts
wdth the Danes, the prefent inhabitants are chiefly de-
fcended j but as they wear their own drefs, and enjoy
peculiar privileges, they appear a diftindt race from
the natives. The ifland contains about fix villages,
and between 3000 and 4000 fouls. It has twm church¬
es, in which the minifters preach occafionally in Dutch
and Danilh. The inhabitants have their owm inferior
tribunals 5 but in capital offences are amenable to the
king’s court of juftice at Copenhagen. The old na¬
tional habit, brought by the original colony wThen they
fir ft migrated to the ifland, is ftill in ufe amongft them.
It refembles the habit of the ancient Quakers, as repre¬
fented in the pictures of the Dutch and Flemilh paint¬
ers. The men wear broad-brimmed hats, black jac¬
kets, full glazed breeches of the fame colour, loofe at
the knee, and tied round the w’aift. The women vrere
dreffed chiefly in black jackets and petticoats, with a
piece of blue glazed cloth bound on their heads. The
ifland is laid out in gardens and paftures 5 and ft ill, ac¬
cording to the original defign, fupplies Copenhagen
with milk, butter, and vegetables. E. Long. 12. 10.
N. Lat. 55. 20.
AM AL, a town of Sweden, in the province of Da-
land, feated on the river Wefer. It has a good harbour,
and carries on a great trade, efpecially in timber, deals,
and tar. E. Long. 12. 40. N. Lat. 58. 50.
AMALARIC, was the fon of Alaric II. and king
of the Vifigoths. Deprived of his father wflien an in¬
fant, he would have been bereft ®f his crown, had not
his grandfather Theodoric king of the Oftrogoths in-
terpofed in his behalf. In defence of the royal infant,
he expelled from the throne his natural brother, who
had ufurped the government and ruled the kingdom
during his life, and preferved the crown to the natural
heir. In 526 the grandfather died, and Amalaric af-
fumed the royal authority. In 517 he married Clo¬
tilda, the daughter of Clovis, an amiable lady, who
inherited both the piety and orthodoxy of her mo¬
ther, who was of the fame name. The Catholic hifto-
5 D rians
A M A
to
to
Am alar io, rians relate, that the king being violently attached
Amalafon- t]ie ^rian caufe, ufed means to compel his queen
. ^a' i embrace the fame opinions j which participated more of
cruelty than piety. With all the fnmnels of a great
mind, and the amiable patience of a Chriftian, Hie en¬
dured her wrongs for a conliderable period ; but at
length, worn out with injurious treatment, die was for¬
ced to apply to her brothers for adiitance, and fent
them a handkerchief ftained with her blood in proof of
her cruel ufage. In order to relieve their lifter, one
of them, Childebert king of Paris, entered the territories
of Amalaric, who then relided with his court at Nar-
bonne j and their different forces having joined battle,
the troops of Amalaric were totally defeated, and the
king himfelf forced to fave his life by dying into
Spain, A. D. 531. It is reported that, when endeavour¬
ing to regain Narbonne, he was ilain either by an af-
faffin employed by Theudis his fucceffor, or that he fell
in battle. Some hifforians again lay, that he died in
Barcelona. (Gen. Blog.)
AMALASONTHA, youngeft daughter of Theo-
doric the Great, king of the Oftrogoths, was born about
the year 498. The lifter of Clovis was her mother,
and in 515, Ihe married Eutharic the only remaining
heir of the legal race of the Amali. Her father hav¬
ing formed the defign of making him his fucceffor, he
fent to bring him from Spain for that purpofe. But he
never arrived at the deftined honour •, for Eutharic died
previous to his father-in-law, and his only fon Athala-
ric, w7as alfo bereft of his grandfather at the age of
eight years. The well known abilities of Amalafon-
tha induced Theodoric to place Athalaric, to whom
he had left the kingdom of Italy, under the care of his
mother. This princefs inherited an ample lhare of her
father’s talents j and her father had been exceedingly
ca-reful to improve thefe natural endowments by means
of a liberal education. She became a great profici-nt
in the philofophy and morals of that age, and with
equal elegance and grace Ihe could converfe in the
Greek, Latin, and Gothic languages. Nor were her
talents merely qualified to adorn private life : ftie dif-
played them in the adminiftration of public juftice, and
political difeuftion. Her firft efforts w’ere in behalf of
the injured children of Boethius and Symmachus, wffom
• fire reinftated in the poffeffion of their inheritance.
When the chiefs of the Goths wTere ftrongly inclined to
treat the Romans as a conquered people, flie mildly re-
ftrained their violent oppreftion and their ungovernable
rapacity. Adorning the female character ihe relieved
her fubjesfts from fome of the feverer impofitions of her
father } but carefully retained all his lawTs, magiftrates,
and political inftitutions. Having herfelf tailed of the
fweets of literature, and experienced its advantages,
fne patronized learning wfith an aftiduous care, by
regularly paying the fajaries of public teachers, and
giving every encouragement to the improvement of
genius. Her peaceable deportment towards the neigh¬
bouring princes forms an amiable feature in her cha¬
racter. Both wnth the imperial court, and with all the
other powTers, the lived upon agreeable terms, and thus
univerfal profperity and honour prevailed. Both in
eonfequence of maternal affeClion and the high cultiva¬
tion of her mind, Ihe exerted all her ingenuity in the
education of her orphan fon» 'Unfortunately, however,
Am aids.
[ 762 ] A M A
both for the mother and the fon, neither the general Amalafon*
charafter of the Gothic nation, nor the wayward incli- t^a>
nations of the boy, feconded her laudable endeavours. 1
The Gothic nobles had iuft commenced their murmur-
ings againft the foft effeminate manner in which their
prince w7as educating, when, upon a certain day, the
youth having undergone fome kind maternal chaftife-
ment, rufhed into the room where fome of the nobles
wrere affembled, with the tears ftreaming from his eyes.
Informed of the caufe of his diftrefs, the wrath of the
nobles fuddenly arofe, and in a violent burft of paflion
they infifted upon the immediate releafe of their prince
from the bondage of learning and from the reftraints of
a mother. The unfortunate youth was thus dragged
from the habitation of learning, prudence, and virtue 5
and plunged into all the extravagancies of diffolute
plealure, and his mind infpired with contempt and aver-
lion to his virtuous mother.
It wras impoflible for humanity to bear this infult and
high injury without oppofition ; therefore, in the firft
effufions of her refentment (he feized three of the prin¬
cipal perlbns concerned in this tranfaftion, and confin¬
ed them in one of the remoteft parts of Italy. But the
efforts of one, or of a few individuals, are never ade¬
quate to the talk of counteracting the general efforts
of a nation, for the party whofe fentiments were op-
pofed to her’s, grew daily in magnitude and ftrength,
to fuch a degree that Amalafontha formed ferious refo-
lutiontf of Iheltering herfelf under the protection of
Juftinian. After a correfpondence had been carried on
to prepare for this event, and when flie w7as about to
fail for that place, Ihe determined to make one bold
effort to regain her abfolute power. With this view,
Ihe caufed the three perfons wTho were in confinement
to be fecretly affaffinated $ and this aCti«n re-eftablilh-
ed her authority, although it augmented the public
hatred. But another caufie of difquiet foon arofe. At
the early age of fixteen, her fon fell a viCHm to his
debaucheries and follies, and fhe wras left devoid of any
legal claim to the crown. The accomplilhed and am¬
bitious Amalafontha fpurned the idea of retiring to a
.private ftation, and formed the bold defign of Ihar-
ing the throne with Lheodotus her coufin. She had
fufficient penetration to perceive that the difpofitions of
that youth wTere indolent and weak, and confequently
lire hoped ftill to remain at the helm of government. But
the future fortune of that accomplilhed woman, demon-
ftrates to pofterity the danger of confiding in human
weaknefs, where the principles of honour and juftice
and virtue are wanting. Theodotus iffued an order
for her confinement in an ifland in the lake Bolfena j and
in the year ^3 5 Ihe was ftrangled in the bath. Some
hiftorians aferibe this aCtion to the influence of the em-
prefs Theodora, who was feized with jealoufy in con-
fequence of the refpeCt lliown her by Juftinian. (Gen.
Biag.)
AMALEK, the fon of Eliphaz, by Timna his con¬
cubine, and the grandfon of Efau, Gen. xxxvi. 12. and
1 Chr. i. 36. Amalek fuccfeeded Gatam in the govern¬
ment of Edom. He was the father of the Amalekites j
a powerful people who dwelt in Arabia Petraea, be¬
tween the Dead fea and the Red fea, or [between Ha-
vila and Shur ( x Sam, xv. 7.) $ fometimes in one can¬
ton and fometimes in another. It does not appear that
they
A M A [ 763 ] A M A
Amalek. tliey had cities j for there is no mention of any but one
“ " " » " in the Scriptures (id. ib. 5.) j they living generally in
hamlets, caves, or tents.
The Ifraelites had fcarccly palled the Red fea on their
way to the wildernefs before: the Amalekites came to
attack them in the deferts of Rephidim (Ex.xvii.8.&c.)j
and put thofe cruelly to the fword who were obliged,
either through fatigue or weaknefs, to remain behind.
Mofes, by divine command, directed Jolhua to fall up¬
on this people ; to record the a£t of inhumanity which
they had committed in a book, in order to have it always
before his eyes} and to revenge it in the molt remark¬
able manner. Jolhua therefore fell upon the Amalek¬
ites and defeated them, while Mofes was upon the
mountain, with Aaron and Hur in company. Mofes,
during the time of the engagement, held up his hands,
to which the fuccefs of the battle was owing •, for as
often as he let them down, Amalek prevailed. But
Mofes’s hands being tired, Aaron and Hur fupported
his arms, and held them extended, while the battle
latted, which was from morning till the approach of
night, when the Amalekites were cut in pieces. This
happened in the year of the world 2513, before Chrilt
1491.
The ground of the enmity of the Amalekites againlt
the Ifraelites is generally fuppofed to have been an in¬
nate hatred, from the remembrance of Jacob’s depriv¬
ing their progenitor both of his birthright and blef-
fing. Their falling upon them, however, and that
without any provocation, when they faw them reduced
to fo low a condition by the fatigue of their march,
and the exceflive drought they laboured under, was an
inhuman aftion, and jultly deferved the defeat which
Jolhua gave them. Under the Judges (v. 3.), we fee
the Amalekites united with the Midianites and Moab¬
ites, in a delign to opprefs Ifrael; but Ehud delivered
the Ifraelites from Eglon king of the Moabites (Judges
iii.), and Gideon (chap, viii.) delivered them from the
Midianites and Amalekites. About the year of the
world 2930, Saul marched againft the Amalekites, ad¬
vanced as far as their capital, and put all the people
of the country to the fword j but fpared the bell of all
the cattle and moveables, contrary to a divine com¬
mand ; which aft of difobediencc was the caufe of Saul’s
future misfortunes.
After this war, the Amalekites fcarcely appear any
more in hiftory. However, about the year of the
world 2949, a troop of Amalekites came and pillaged
Ziklag, which belonged to David (1 Sam. xxx.),
wThere he had left his two wdves Ahinoam and Abigail 5
but he returning from an expedition which he had
made in the company of Achilh into the valley of Jez-
reel, purfued them, overtook and difperfed them, and
recovered all the booty which they had carried off
from Ziklag.
The Arabians maintain Amalek to have been the
fon of Ham, and grandfon of Noah 5 that he was the
father of Ad, and grandfather of Schedad. Calmet
thinks that this opinion is by no means to be rejefted,
as it is not very probable that Amalek, the fon of Eli-
phaz, and grandfon of Efau, ihould be the father of a
people fo porverful and numerous as the Amalekites
were when the Ifraelites departed out of Egypt. Mofes
In the book of Genefis (xiv. 7.) relates, that in Abra¬
ham’s time, long before the birth of Amalek the fon
of Eliphaz, the five confederate kings carried the w-ar Amaifk,
into Amalek’s country, about Kadelh \ and into that, Ama-h. ,
of the Amorites, about Hazezon-tamar. The fame
Mofes (Num. xxiv. 20.) relates, that the diviner Ba¬
laam, obferving at a diftance the land of Amalek, d,
in his prophetic ftyle, “ Amalek is the firft, the head,
the original of the nations 5 but his latter end fhall be,
that he perilh for ever.” Our commentator obferves,
that this epithet of the firft: of nations cannot certainly
agree with the Amalekites defeended from the fon of
Eliphaz, becaufe the generation then living was but
the third from Amalek. Befides, Mofes never re¬
proaches the Amalekites with attacking their brethren
the Ifraelites } an aggravating circumftance, which he
would not have omitted were the Amalekites defeended
from Efau; in which cafe they had been the brethren
of the Ifraelites. Laftly, We fee the Arnalekites almoft
always joined in the Scripture with the Canaanites and
Philiftines, and never with the Edomites ; and when
Saul made wrar upon the Amalekites, and almoft ut¬
terly deftroyed them, wre do not find that the Edo¬
mites made the leaft motion tow ards their alhftance,
nor to revenge them afterwards. Thence it is thought
probable, that the Amalekites, who are fo often men¬
tioned in Scripture, w'ere a free people defeended from
Canaan, and devoted to the curfe as well as the other
Amorites, and very different from the defeendants of
Amalek, the grandfon of Efau.
The accounts which the Arabians give us of the
Amalekites deftroyed by Saul are as follow : Amalek
was the father of an ancient tribe in Arabia, extermi¬
nated in the reign of Saul. This tribe contained only
the Arabians who are called Pure; the remains where¬
of wrere mingled wTith the pofterity of Joktan and Ad-
nan, and fo became Mofarabes or Moftaarabes 3 that is
to fay, Arabians blended wuth foreign nations. They
further believe, that Goliath, who was overcome by
David, was king of the Amalekites; and that the gi¬
ants who inhabited Paleftine in Jolhua’s time were of
the fame race. That at laft part of the Amalekites re¬
tired into Africa while Jolhua was yet living, and fet¬
tled upon the coafts of Barbary, along the Mediterra¬
nean fea. The fon of Amalek wras Ad, a celebrated
prince among the Arabians. Some make him the fon
of Uz, and grandfon of Aram the fon of Shem. Let
this be as it will, the Mahometans fay that Ad was the
father of an Arabian tribe called Adites; who were ex¬
terminated, as they tell us, for not hearkening to the
patriarch Eber, who preached the unity of God t®
them. Ad had two fons, Schedad and Schedid.
AMALFI, art ancient city of Italy, fituated in E.
Long. 15. 20. N. Lat. 40. 35. It is laid to have de¬
rived its origin from a number of Roman families, wdro,
about the middle of the fourth century, either front
private views of emolument, or in confequence of com-
pulfory orders from the emperor, had left Rome, and
embarked for Conftantinople 3 but meeting with ftorms
on their paffage, were call awray on the Ihores of Sa¬
lerno, and deprived of the means of purfuing their
voyage. In this ftate of perplexity they long remains
ed 3 but at laft came to the refolution of fettling on the
prefent fite of Amalfi, where they expefted to enjoy
fecurity, and fufficient plenty of the neceffaries of life.
The earlieft notice of them in this fettlement dates no
higher than the latter end of the fixth century. Im-
j D 2 pervioufS
A M A [ 74 ] A M A
pervious mountains and inacceflible coalts preferved
their infant ftate from the firft fury of the Lombards,
who feldom attempted the conqueft of a maritime
people.
In the year 825, when this little republic had, under
the patronage of the eaftern emperors, attained a de¬
gree of wealth and reputation fufficient to excite the
ambition of its neighbours, Sico, prince of Salerno,
marched a body of troops by night, furprifed Amalfi •,
and, carrying off the greatefl part of the inhabitants,
compelled them to fix at Salerno, which had lately fuf-
fered a great lofs of people by an epidemical diforder.
But before the fourth year of their captivity was ex¬
pired, the Amalfitans took advantage of the abfence of
the Salernitan chiefs, who were then carrying on a war
with the Beneventans j armed themfelves} and, after
burning and plundering Salerno, marched in triumph
back to their own country.
Here they framed a better fyflem of government,
and reformed many abufes in their former legiilation •,
adopting various meafures that were likely to promote
internal concord, and defeat the evil intentions of fo¬
reign enemies. Their firif plan was to veil the fupreme
authority in a temporary prefeft j but the experience
of a few years caufed them to prefer lodging that power
in the hands of a duke elefted for the term of his natu-.
ral life. Under thefe governors Amalfi attained the
fummit of her military and commercial glory. It ex¬
tended its territory, which reached eafbvard from Vico
Vecchio, and weftward to the promontory of Minerva,
including likewife the illand of Caprea, and the two
iflands of the Galli. Towards the north, it compre¬
hended the cities of Lettere, Gragnans, Pimontio, and
Capule di Franchi; towards the fouth, thofe of Scala,
Ravelli, Minori, Majuri, Atrani, Tramonti, Agerula,
Citara, Prajano, and Rofilano.
Leo IV. found the Amalfitans an ufeful ally in his
wars with the Infidels, and honoured the common¬
wealth with the title of Defender of the Faith. The Nea¬
politans, with whom, as Greek v^ffals, they were unit¬
ed in ftricd bonds of friendfhip, experienced manyfignal
favours at their hands j and the Muflulmans themfelves
found it expedient to court their alliance, and to enter
into treaty with them. Their fituation had from the
beginning given them a turn to commerce, and their
attention to naval affairs fo much confequence in the
eyes of their protedlor, the emperor of Conftantinople,
that by his orders a court was eftabliihed at Amalfi,
for the decifion of all controverfies arifing in maritime
tranfaftions. Its code and reports became the gene¬
ral rule in thofe cafes throughout this part of Europe ;
its precedents and decrees were allowed to be good
authority to found judgment upon even in foreign
tribunals. To crown the mercantile and naval glory
of the republic, it was referved to the lot of an Amal-
fitan to make, or at leaft to perfeft, the moil import¬
ant difeovery ever made for the improvement of navi¬
gation. Pafitano, a village which Hands on the fhore
a few miles weft of Amalfi, boalts of having given
birth to Flavius Gioia, the inventor of the mariner’s
compafs.
The merchants of this town engroffed the trade of
the Levant, and tranfafled the commercial bufinefs of
the world in a lucrative and exclufive manner. The
Pifans, Venetians, and Genoefe, rofe upon their ruin j
and, after monopolizing the emoluments of trade for Amalgam
fome ages, made way for the more comprehenfive and U
daring fpirit of the prefent maritime powers. Amaltha^
At prefent Amalfi is fubject to Naples, and is the
fee of an archbilhop. It is but a ftiadow of what it
was in its flourifhing ftate, when it extended over the
ftupendous rocks that hang on each fide, ftill crowned
with battlemented walls and ruined towers. Its build¬
ings, Mr Swinburne fays, are not remarkable for ele¬
gance or fize 5 and contain at moft 4000 inhabitants,
who feem to be in a poor line of life. The cathedral
is an uncouth building. Under the choir is the cha¬
pel and tomb of the apoftle St Andrew; to whofe
honour the edifice rvas dedicated, when Cardinal
Capuano, in 1 208, brought his body from Conftanti¬
nople.
AMALGAM, mercury united with fome metal.
AMALGAMATION, the operation of making
an amalgam, or mixing mercury ivith any metal.
For the combination of one metal with another, it
is generally fufficient that one of them be in a ftate of
fluidity. Mercury being always fluid, is therefore
capable of amalgamation with other metals without
heat 5 neverthelefs, heat confiderably facilitates the
operation.
To amalgamate without heat requires nothing more
than rubbing the two metals together in a mortar \
but the metal to be united with the mercury fliould be
previoufly divided into very thin plates or grains.
When heat is ufed (which is always moft effeftual, and
with fome metals indifpenfably neceffary), the mercu¬
ry ftiould be heated till it begins to fmoke, and the
grains of metal made red hot before they are thrown
into it. If it be gold or filver, it is lufficient to ftir
the fluid with an iron rod for a little while, and then
throw it into a veflel filled with water. This amalgam
is ufed for gilding or filvering on copper, which is af¬
terwards expofed to a degree of heat fufficient to eva¬
porate the mercury.
Amalgamation with lead or tin is effected by pour¬
ing an equal weight of mercury into either of thefe
metals in a ftate of fufion, and ftirring with an iron
rod. Copper amalgamates with great difficulty, and
iron not at all.
AMALTHaEA, the name of the Cumaean Sibyl,
who offered to Tarquinius Superbus nine books, con¬
taining the Roman deftinies, and demanded 300 pieces
of gold for them. He derided her 5 whereupon ffie
threw three of them into the fire; and returning, alk-
ed the fame price for the other fix } which being deni¬
ed, Ihe burnt three more 5 and returned, ftill demand¬
ing the fame price. Upon which Tarquin confulting
the pontifis, was advifed to buy them. Thefe books
were in fuch efteem, that two magiftrates were created
to confult them upon extraordinary occafions.
Amalthtea, in Fagan Mythology, the daughter of
Meliflus, king of Crete, and thenurfe of Jupiter, whom
fhe fed with goats milk and honey. According to
others, Amalthsea was a goat, which Jupiter tranllated
into the fley, with her two kids, and gave one of her
horns to the daughters of Meliffus, as a reward for the
pains they had taken in attending him. This horn had
the peculiar property of furnifhing them with whatever
they wiihed for ; and was thence called the cornucopia,
or horn of plenty .
AMALTH/EUS,
A M A [ 765 ] A M A
Amalthxus AMALTH^EUS, Jerome, John Baptista, and
^ H ^ Corneille, three celebrated Latin poets of Italy, who
. m^n ' , flourithed in the 16th century. Their compolitions were
printed at Amfterdam in 1685. One of the prettied;
pieces in that colledlion is an epigram on trvo children,
whofe beauty was very extraordinary, though each of
them was deprived of an eye :
Lumine Aeon dextro, capta ejl Leon ilia JiniJlro :
Et poterat forma vincere uterque Deos,
Parve puer, lumen quod babes concede foron ;
Sic tu coccus Amor,fic erit ilia Venus.
AM AM A, Sixtinus, profeffor of the Hebrew
tongue in the univerlity of Franeker, a man of great
learning, was born in Friefland, and had ftudied under
Drufius. He publilhed a criticifm upon the tranfla-
tion of the Pentateuch j collated the Dutch tranfla-
tion of the Bible with the original and the moll ac¬
curate tranflations ; and wrote a cenfure of the Vul¬
gate tranflation of the hiftorical books of the Old
Teftament, Job, the Pfalms, and Canticles. It is im-
poflible to anfwer the reafons whereby he (hows the
neceffity of confulting the originals. This he recom¬
mended fo earneftly, that fome fynods, being influen¬
ced by his reafons, decreed, that none fhould be ad¬
mitted into the miniftry, but fuch as had a competent
knowledge of the Hebrew and Greek text of the Scrip¬
tures. He died in 1629.
AMANCE, a town in the duchy of Lorraine, upon
a rivulet of the fame name. E. Long. 6. 10. N. Lat.
48. 45.
AMAND, Marx Anthony Gerard, Sieur de
St, a French poet, was born at Rouen in Normandy
in 1594. In the epiftle dedicatory to the third part of
his works, he tells us, that his father commanded a
fquadron of flaps in the fervice of Elizabeth queen of
England for 2 2 years, and that he was for three years
prifoner in the Black Tower at Conftantinople. He
mentions alfo that two brothers of his had been killed
in an engagement againft the Turks. His own life
was fpent in a continual fucceflion of travels, which
was of no advantage to his fortune. There are mifcel-
laneous poems of this author, the greatefl part of which
are of the comic or burlefque, and the amorous kind.
Though there ar^; many blemiflies in his poems, yet he
had the talent of reading them in fo agreeable a man¬
ner, that every one was charmed with them. In 1650,
he publiihed Stances fur la grojjejfe de la reine de Pa-
logne et de Suede. There are fix ftanzas of nine verfes
each. In 1653, he printed his Moife fauve, idyle he-
roique. This poem had at firft many admirers; M.
Chapelein called it a fpealing pi&ure ; but it has fince
fallen into contempt. Amand wrote alfo a very de¬
vout piece, entitled, Stances a M. Corneille, fur fan
imitation de Jefus Chrijl, which w as printed at Paris in
1656. M. Broffette fays, that he wrote alfo a poem
upon the moon, wherein he paid a compliment to
Lewis XIV. upon his {kill in fwimming, in which he
ufed often to exercife himfelf when he was young, in
the river Seine; but the king could not bear this poem
to be read to him, w7hich is faid to have affedled the
author to fuch a degree, that he did not furvive it long.
He died in 1661, being 67 years of age. He wTas ad¬
mitted a member of the French academy, wdien it was
firft founded by Cardinal Richelieu, in the year 1633 )
and Mr Peliffon informs us, that in 1637, at his own Amand
defire, he w7as excufed from the obligation of making a Ama[!ante
fpeech in his turn, on condition that he would compile ,
the comic part of the diftionary which the Academy
had undertaken, and colleft the burlefque terms. ' This
was a talk wTell fuited to him 5 for it appears by his
writings, that he wras extremely converfant in thefe
terms, of which hefeems to have made a complete col¬
lection from the markets, and other places where the
lower people refort.
Amand, Saint, a city of France, in the department
of Cher, formerly Bourbonois, on the confines of Ber¬
ry, feated on the river Cher. It was built in 1410,
on the ruins of Orval. E. Long. 9. 30. N. Lat.
46. 32. _ .
Amand, Saint, a city of France, in the department
of the North, feated on the river Scarpe. It contains
about 600 houfes, and 3000 or 4000 inhabitants. The
abbot of the place is the temporal lord, and difpofes of
the magirtracy. It was given to France by the treaty
of Utrecht. E. Long. 2. 35. N. Lat. 50. 27.
AMANICJE pyl^e (Ptolemy) ; Amanides Py-
lje (Strabo) } Amani Portm (Pliny) j Straits or
defiles in Mount Amanus, through which Darius en¬
tered Cilicia -, at a greater diftance from the fea than
the Pylae Cilicise or Syriae, through which Alexander
paffed.
AM ANTE A, a fea-port town and bifliop’s fee of
the kingdom of Naples, fituated near the bay of Eu-
phemia, in the province of Calabria, in E. Long. 16.
20. N. Lat. 39. 15.
AMANUS, a mountain of Syria, feparating it from
Cilicia j a branch of Mount Taurus (Cicero, ftrabo,
Pliny) j extending chiefly eallward, from the fea of Ci¬
licia to the Euphrates: Now called Monte Negro, or
rather Montagna Neres, by the inhabitants ; that is,
the watery mountain, as abounding in fprings and ri¬
vulets.
AMAPALLA, a city and port town of North
America, in the province of Guatimala, feated on the
gulf of the fame name, in the Pacific ocean. W.
Long. 63. 20. N. Lat. 12. 30.
AMARANTE, an order-of knighthood, inftituted
in Sweden by Queen Chriftina, in 1653, at t^ie cl°fe
of an-annual feaft, celebrated in that country, called
Wirtfchaft. This feaft was folemnized wdth entertain¬
ments, balls, mafquerades, and the like diverfions, and
continued from evening till the next morning.—That
princefs, thinking the name too vulgar, changed it into
that of the feaf of the gods, in regard each perfon here
reprefented fome deity as it fell to his lot. The queen
affumed the name of Amarante; that is, unfading, or
immortal. The young nobility, dreffed in the habit of
nymphs and fliepherds, ferved the gods at the table.
At the end of the feaft, the queen threw7 off her habit,
which was covered with diamonds, leaving it to be
pulled in pieces by the mafques j and in memory of lb
gallant a feaft, founded a military order, called in Svve-
dilh Gefchilfchafft, into wdfich all that had been prefent
at the feafl: wrere admitted, including 16 lords and as
many ladies, befides the ejueen. Their device wTas the
cypher of Amarante, compofed of two A’s, the one e-
reft, the other inverted, and interwoven together j the
whole enclofed by a laurel crown, with this . motto,.
Dolce nella memoria.
\
Bulltrods
A M A [ 766 ] A M A
AmaraTi- Bulftrode Whitlock, the Englifh ambaflador from
thoides Cromwell to the court of Sweden, -was made a knight
Amafis order of Amarante: on which account it feems
to be, that we fometimes find him llyled Sir Bulflrode
Whitlock.
AMARANTHOIDES, in Botany, the trivial name
of a fpecies of illecebrum. See Illeckbrum, Bo¬
tany Index.
AMARANTHUS (of * privative, and f/.afu.i'ta, to
•wither, becaufe the flower of this plant, when cropped,
does not foon wither), Amaranth, or flower gen¬
tle. See Botany Index.
AMARGURA, an ifland in the Southern Pacific
ocean, difcovered by Maurelle in 1781. It is quite
barren, and inacceffible even to boats. S. Lat. 17. 57.
W. Long. 175. 17.
ikMARYLLIS, lily-asphodel. See Botany
bid ex.
AMARYNTHUS, in Ancient Geography, a ham¬
let of Eretrias, in the ifland of Euboea, about feven
ftadia diftant from its walls. Here Diana wras wor¬
thipped in an annual folemnity, at which thofe of Ca¬
ry Hus aflifted; hence the title of the goddefs vt&s Am~
arynthis and Amaryjia.
AM A SI A, in Ancient Geography, now Marpurg, a
city in the landgravate of Hefle, on the Lahn. Ac¬
cording to others, it is Embden in We-ftphalia.
Amasia, an ancient towm of Turkey, in Natolia,
remarkable for the birth of Strabo the geographer.
It is the refidence of a balhaw, and gives its name to
the province it tlands in, where there are the beft wines
and the beft fruits in Natolia. It is feated near the ri¬
ver Iris or Cafalmack 5 and was anciently the refidence
of the kings of Cappadocia. E. Long. 36. 10. N.
Lat- 39* 33*
Amasia, the name of the northern divifion of Lef-
fer Afia, lying on the fouth ftiore of the Euxine fea,
in Natolia. It takes its name from Amafia the capi¬
tal, mentioned in the preceding article.
AMASIS, king of Egypt, afcended the throne
B. C. 569, and commenced his reign writh the death of
his former mafter Apries. King Apries having lent an
army to the afliftance of the Libyans, which was to¬
tally routed, and great multitudes put to death, the
common people conceived the idea, that the tyrannical
prince had fent them to the field of battle, for no
other purpofe but to deftroy great numbers of them,
that fo he might reign over the remainder with un¬
controlled oppreffion. The confequence was, that a
general infurreftion arofe, and all the multitude were
in an uproar. Informed of this tumult, Apries fent
Amafis, whom he deemed one of his moft faithful ad¬
herents; but inftead of endeavouring to reconcile the
difaffe&ed people to their prince, he fecured them to
'his own intereft ; and while he was pretending to re¬
proach their difloyalty, and endeavouring to recall
them to duty, a foldier ftepped in behind him, and pla¬
cing a helmet upon his head, faluted him king of E-
gypt. Amafis inftantly took the field againft his royal
mafter, and prepared to drive him from his throne.
Apprifed of the treachery of Amafis, he fent another
in whom he confided, to bring Amafis before him,
to give an account of his conduft. This meffenger
•met him on horfeback, and having delivered his mef-
i’age, Amails after fome infolent behaviour, replied,
2
that he was preparing to vifit the king, but thought it Amsfir,
proper to bring a iukable equipage to attend him.—v~"
When the meffenger haftened back to inform his maf¬
ter, that he might confult for himfelf, his only reward
wras to have his ears and nofe cut oft', by the order of the
tyrant, becaufe he brought not Amafis along with him.
In this, as in numerous other inftances, tyranny pro¬
cured its owm deft ruction; for the reft of the nobles
who ftill remained obedient to the king, feeing the bar¬
barous manner in which he had treated the melfen-
ger, they all went over to the ftandard of the ufur-
per. Now all the nation was in commotion. The u-
furper on the one hand, with the wThole body of the
natives marthalled under his banner, and the tyrant on
the other hand, with a body of foreigners and merce¬
naries, which he had engaged in his fervice. The two
armies met in a field in the vicinity of Memphis, and
the tyrant was made captive and his forces defeated.
The ufurper treated the captive tyrant with great le¬
nity and refpeft, and afligned him the palace of Sa'is
for his confinement. But the hatred of the people was
too violent towards their old king, to permit him to
live ; Amafis was therefore forced to deliver him into
their hands, and they inftantly put him to death by
ftrangling him.
The plebeian extra&ion of Amafis deprived him for
fome time of that refpefl, to wdiich he was entitled as
a prince; but obferving this, he contrived a ftratagem
to induce them to pay him fuitable honour. He order¬
ed a golden ciftern, in wdiich his vifitants were accuf-
tomed to wafh their feet, to be melted and call in the
form of a god, and fet it up in the moft frequented
part of the city, and all the inhabitants did it homage.
He then called an affembly of the people, and remind¬
ed them, that the gold they now venerated in the form
of a god, w7as once a ciftern, and confequently that al¬
though he was formerly a perfon of low7 rank, yet now
that he wras their king, they ought to give him the rc-
fpe61 and homage due to his ftation.
Having by this means provided for the gratification
of his vanity, he began to exert himfelf to aft for the
general good of his people. It was his conftant prac¬
tice to attend to bufinefs in the mornings, and in the
evenings he indulged in amufement and pleafure; but
in thefe he fometimes tarnilhed the dignity of a king.
Indeed Amafis loved his wine and his companion fo
much, previous to his elevation, that it is reported that
he lived by theft, and when denying upon deteftion,
he was earned to the oracle of the place, rvho fome¬
times condemned and fometimes acquitted him. &e~
collefting the conduft of the oracles after he afcend¬
ed the throne, he conceived a difrefpeft for them, be¬
caufe they w7ere not able at all times to deteft his rob¬
beries.
To prevent the evil confequences of an indolent po¬
pulace, he enafted a law, that every perfon, under the
penalty of capital punifhment, ftiould appear before
the governor of his refpeftive province, and declare by
what occupation he acquired his fubfiftence. Thus,
under the prudsnt government of Amafis, Egypt en¬
joyed for many years, great fertility and extenfive po¬
pulation. He alio employed his induftry in the erec¬
tion of feveral public wTorks; among which w7ere a
portico to the temple of Minerva at Sa'is, apd the re¬
moval of a houfe, all of one ftone, to the temple. He
alf*
A M A [ 767 ] A M A
Amafis alfo built tbe great temple of Ifis at Memphis. He
II .. likewife erefted a coloflus before the temple of Vul-
Amatoiu., can^ ^ £eet jn refting on its back, and on the
bafis he eredled two ftatues, each 20 feet high, cut
out of the fame Hone. Befides thefe he raifed feveral
monuments in Greece.
The liberality and refpeft for fcience which Amafis
difplayed, and the encouragement he gave to learned
ftrangers, particularly to the Greeks, to vifrt his coun¬
try, manifelted an enlightened mind. And to encou¬
rage Grecian ftrangers to remain in Egypt, he marked
out fettlements for them on the fea-coaft, permitted
them to build temples, and to obferve all the rites of
their religion unmolefted. Solon, the celebrated law¬
giver, condefcended to vifit Amafis. In a ftrort time,
the fame of Amafis for his generofity and humanity
was fo extenfive, that when the Delphians were going
about from city to city, collefting fums to enable them
to rebuild their confumed temple, they applied to Ama¬
fis, who gave them 1000 talents. Either to gratify
the vanity, or fecure the alliance of the Greeks, he
married a Grecian lady, named Laodice, the daughter
of Battus. But in the evening of his reign his pro-
fperity was greatly clouded, by the report of the vaft
preparations that Cambyfes was making to invade
Egypt. Phanes, who was captain of the Greek auxi¬
liaries in the fervice of Amafis, being offended at his
mafter, deferted his caufe, and went ever to Cambyfes.
A ftrong affeftion had long fublifted betwixt Poly¬
crates, the tyrant of Samos, and Amafis •, yet he, de-
ferting his caufe, became his enemy. Whether the
forebodings of the impending ftorm tended to impair
his health or not is not related; but about this time
he died, in 525 B. C. after a reign of 44 years. It
is reported that, after interment, his body was dug up
by his enemies, and confumed by fire, which, accord¬
ing to the fuperftition of the Egyptians, conftituted a
lingular calamity. (Anc. Univ. Hi/I.)
AMASONIA. See Botany Index.
AMATHUS, a very ancient town in the fouth of
Cyprus (Strabo, Ptolemy) : fo called from Amathus
the founder} or, according to others, from Amath, a
Phoenician town facred to Venus, with a very ancient
temple of Adonis and Venus : and hence Venus is de¬
nominated Arnathujia (Tacitus). According to Ovid,
it was a place rich in copper ore, and where the in¬
habitants became Cerajla, or horned. Now called Li-
miJJ'o.
Amathus, in Ancient Geography, a town of the
tribe of Gad, beyond Jordan •, but whether at a great¬
er or lefs diftance from it, is not fo eafy to determine.
■Eufebius places it in the lower Peraea j Reland, in Ra-
moth Gilead. Gabinius, proconful of Syria, eftablilh-
ed five juridical conventions in Judaea j twm of which
•were on the other fide Jordan j one at Gadara, the
other at Amathus (Jofephus).
AMATIQUES, a fea-port town, in the province of
Vera Paz in Mexico, at the mouth of the river Gua-
nacos, wdiich flows into the gulf of Honduras. The
inhabitants are chiefly employed in cutting logwood.
N. Lat. 15. 23. W. Long. 89. o.
AM AT OR 11 musculi, in Anatomy, a term fome-
times ufed for the obliquus fuperior and obliquus infe¬
rior mufcles of the eye, as thefe mufcles aflift in ogling
or drawing the eye fidewife.
AMATRICE, a city of the kingdom of Naples in Amatrufs
the farther Abruzzo, upon the confines of the pope’s Ama^iah
territories, and the marquifate of Ancona. , ‘
AMATTA, Foa, anifiand in the Southern Pacific
ocean, which was difeovered by Captain Cook in
1774. It is about five leagues in circumference, and
confiderably elevated; it is inhabited, but not very
fertile j and it lies about twelve leagues diftant, and
north-north-wreft from Anamooka. <
AM AUROSIS, in Medicine, a deprivation of fight,
the eye remaining fair and feemingly unaffefted. A
perfeft amaurofis is when the blindnefs is total} when
there is ftill a power of diftinguiftring light from dark-
nefs, the difeafe is called by M. de St Ives an nnperfeSi
amaurojis. There is a periodical fort which comes on
inftantaneoufly, contiirues for hours, or days, and then
difappears.
AMAZIAH, one of the kings of Judah, afeended
the throne of his father Joafti in the 25th year of his
age. His mother’s name was Jehoddan, a native of
Jerufalem. In confequence of his w’avering virtue,
and his mingling foreign idolatry with the wrorfliip of
the true God, he is faid, accoi’ding to Scripture, to
have done that which -was right in the fight of the-
Lord, but “ not with a perfeft heart.” His father
had been ungeneroufly murdered by his own fervants,
therefore his fon, on his elevation to the throne, put to
death the murderers of his father. In this abt of re¬
munerative juftice, however, he ftxow-ed a becoming re-
fpe<ft to the law of Mofes, which prohibited the punifh-
ing of the children for the crimes of their guilty fa¬
thers. He gave early proofs of his military talents,
by making a general mufter of all his fubjefls able to
bear arms ; and likewife hired a numerous army from
the neighbouring kingdom of Ifrael j and with this in-
creafed multitude he haftened to attack Edom. The
two kindred armies met together in the valley of Salt,
and, after an obftinate engagement, the Edomites were,.
put to flight; and Amaziah from thence proceeded to
take the town of Selah. But the fpirit of jealoufy
arofe between the two armies, fo that Amaziah thought
it prudent not to make ufe of the arms of the Ifraeli-
tiih auxiliaries, confequently iffued an order for their
returning home j but this treatment roufed the martial
fpirit and indignant temper of the Ifraelites to fuch a
height, that, on their return, they turned their arms
againft the cities of Judah, and ravaged and deftroyed
them. The imperfe6iion of the heart of Amaziah was
fully difplayed on this occafion j for he is related to
have brought home the gods of the children of Seir,
who were unable to proteft their own votaries, and in
the folly of his heart to have paid theift divine honours.
Flulhed wuth the fuccefs of his arms in the valley
of Salt, he fent a hoftile challenge to Jehoaftx king
of Ifrael, expreffed in the phrafeology of thofe times,
that they ftiould “ look one another in the face.
Pride goeth before deftruflion, and a haughty fpirit
before a fall.” In vain the prudent and peaceful fpi-
rit of Jehoafn endeavoured to perfuade him from his
bold attempt. They faw one another in the face at
Bethlhemelh, and Amaziah was made priloner, and the
men of Judah put to flight. Jehoalh advanced to the
capital, .carrying the vanquiflred king along with him;
and he entered the city by breaking a large portion of
the wall 3 and, after plundering the temple and the
king’s
A M A [ 768 ] A M A
Amawnu-u king’s palace, he returned home in triumph to Sama- be upon their guard againft the crocodile?, alligators,
ria. This misfortune feems to have damped the mili- and water ferpents, which alfo fwarm here,
tary ardour of Amaziah ; for, although he fwayed the* The air, as in the countries under the fame parallel,
fceptre over Judah for many years after, yet he never is obferved to be nearly as cool under the equator as
engaged in any hoftile contentions with his neighbours. about the tropics, on account of the rains continuing
Whether, through the oppreflive conducl of Amaziah longer, and the Iky in that feafon being clouded. Be-
or whatever caufe, it is certain that a confpiracy was {ides, an eafterly wind fets from the Atlantic up the
formed againft him in Jerufalem, which Compelled him river fo ftrong, that veffels are carried by it againlt the
to tly to the city of Lachilh for fhelter 5 but the con- dream.
federacy was fo ftrong and numerous, that his enemies The produce of the country is Indian cprn and the
purfued him thither ; and there he fell by their hands, caftava root, of which they make flour and bread ; to-
in the 29th year of his reign. (1 Kings xiv. 2 Chron. bacco, cotton, fugar, farfaparilla, yams, potatoes, and
xxv.) other roots. They have alfo plenty of venifon, fifli,
AMAZONIA, or the country of the American and fowl. Among the latter anf vaft flocks of parrots
Amazons, is fituated between 50 and 70 degrees of of all colours, the flefh of which ferves for food and
weft longitude 5 and between the equator and 15 de- the feathers for ornament. All the trees here are ever-
grees of fouth latitude; being bounded on the fouth greens ; and fruits, flowers, and herbage, are in per-
by La Plata, on the weft: by Peru, on the north by feflion all the year round. The principal fruits are
the province of Terra Firma, and on the eafl: by cocoa nuts, ananas or pine apples, guavas, bananas,
Brafil. and fuch others as are ufually found between the tro-
With refpedl to the Amazons faid to have given pics. The foreft: and timber trees are cedar, Brazil
name to this territory, they have been reprefented as wood, oak, ebony, logw’ood, ironwood, fo called from
governed and led to war only by their queen. No men its ■weight and hardnefs, and feveral forts of dying
w ere fuffered to live among them; though thofe of wood.
fome neighbouring nations were fuffered to viftt them, The natives are of the common ftature, with good
at a certain feafon, for the fake of procreation. The features, a copper complexion, black eyes and hair,
females iffuing from this commerce were bred up with It is computed that there are of them about 1 50 dif-
care, and inftrufled in what relates to war and govern- ferent tribes or nations, and the villages are fo nume-
ment 5 as to the males, they -were fent a-way into the rous as to be within call of one another* Among thofe
country of their fathers. But no fuch nation is at pre- the Homagues, a people near the head of the river,
fent to be found, any more than the giants and canni- are famous for their cotton manufaflures ; the Jurines,
bals mentioned by the firfl; adventurers thither. who live between five and ten degrees of latitude, for
Amazonia is generally a flat region, abounding in their joiners work 5 and the Wrofiffares for their ear-
woods, lakes, rivers, bogs, and moraffes. The chief then ware. The Topinambes, who inhabit a large
river, and one of the largeft in the world, is that call- ifland in the river, are remarkable for their ftrength.
ed the river of Amazons, or the Orellana, which is Some of thofe nations frequently make War upon each
formed by two large rivers, the one riling in the pro- other. Their armour conftfts of darts, javelins, bows
vince of Quito, a little fouth of the equator, in 73 de- and arrows 3 and they wear targets of cane or lifh-lkin.
grees of wreft; longitude, and the other, named Xauxa, They make Haves of their prifoners, wrhom they other-
rifing in the lake of Bourbon, near the Andes, in 10 wife ufe Very well. Every tribe is governed by its re¬
degrees of fouth latitude. Thefe twro rivers uniting fpedlive chief or king, the marks of whofe dignity are
on the confines of Peru and Amazonia, in three de- a crown of parrots feathers, a chain of lions teeth or
grees odd minutes of fouth latitude, affume the name clawrs hung round his neck, or girt about his w aift, and
of Amazon 3 whence running eaftward upwards of 200 a Wooden fword wTich he carries in his hand,
miles, and afterwards inclining to the north, they fall Moft of thofe nations, except the Homagues, go na-
into the Atlantic ocean by 84 channels, which in the ked. The women thrufl: pieces of cane through their
rainy feafon overflow the adjacent country. Befides ears and under lips, as well as through the fl:in of the
the two ftreams mentioned, a multitude of others, both pudenda. At the griille of their nofes they alfo hang
on the north and fouth fide, contribute to the forma- glafs beads, which wag to and fro when they fpeak.
tion of this extraordinary river. As it runs almoft They are fuch Ikilful markfmen, that they will fhodt
acrofs the broadeft part of South America, it is com- fiftr as they fwim 3 and what they catch they eat wdth-
puted to be between 4000 and 5000 miles in length, out either bread or fait. They worlhip images, which
including all its windings. Its channel from Junta de they always carry with them on their expeditions 3
los Reyos, about 60 degrees from its head, to the river but they neither have temples nor any order of priefts}
Maragnon, is from one to tvro leagues broad 3 it then and permit both polygamy and concubinage,
widens from three to four, and becomes gradually The country affords neither gold nor filver minesq
broader as it approaches the ocean. Between the only a fmall quantity of the former is found in the ri-
places lafl: mentioned, its depth is from five to ten fa- vulets which fall into the Amazon near its fources in
thorns 3 but from Maragnon to Rio Negro it increafes Peru. While the Spaniards imagined that it contained
to 20 fathoms 3 after which it is fometimes 30, and thofe metals, they made great efforts from Peru to re-
fometimes 50 fathoms, or more, till it comes near the duce this territory to fubjedtion 3 till being at length
end of its courfe. It has no fand banks, nor does the undeceived, they abandoned the defign.
fliore fhelve fo as to render it dangerous for veffels. AMAZONS, in slntiquity, a nation of female waf-
The manetu and tortoife abound both upon the banks riors, who founded an empire in Alia Minor, upon the
of this and the other rivers 3 and the filhermen mitft river Thermcdoon, along the coafts of the Black fea.
» 4 1 * - They
Ammonia,
Amazons.
A M A
Amazons. They are faid to have formed a ftate, out of which men
l““—were excluded. What commerce they had with that
fex, was only with llrangers ; they killed all their male
children} and they cut off the right breafts of their fe¬
males, to make them more fit for the combat. From
which laid circumffance it is that they are fuppofed to
take their name, viz. from the privative and
mamma, “ bread:.” But Dr Bryant, in his Analyfis
of Ancient Mythology, explodes this account as fa¬
bulous 5 and obferves, that they were in general Cu-
thite colonies from Egypt and Syria, wTho formed fet-
dements in different countries, and that they derived
their name from %on, “• the fun,” which was the na¬
tional objeft of w’orlhip, vol. iii. p. 4^3* ^ ^ia,s ^n'
deed been controverted even among ancient writers,
whether ever there really was fuch a nation as that of
the Amazons. Strabo, Pakephatus, and others, deny
it. On the contrary, Herodotus, Paufanias, Diodorus
Siculus, Trogus Pompeius, Judin, Pliny, Mela, Plu¬
tarch, &c. exprefsly affert it.
M. Petit, a French phyfician, publifhed a Latin dif-
fertation in 1685, to prove that there was really a na¬
tion of Amazons. It contains abundance of curious in¬
quiries relating to their habit, their arms, the cities
built by them, &c. Others of the moderns alfo main¬
tain, that their exidence is diffidently proved by the
tedimony of fuch of the hidorians of antiquity as are
mod worthy of credit; by the monuments which many
of them have mentioned 5 and by medals, fome of
which are dill remaining j and that there is not the
lead room to believe that wffiat is faid of them is fabu¬
lous.
The Amazons are mentioned by the mod ancient of
the Greek' writers. In the third book of the Iliad,
Homer rcprefents Priam fpeaking of himfelf as hav¬
ing been prefent, in the earlier part of his life, in a
battle wdth the Amazons ; and fome of them after¬
wards came to the affidance of that prince during the
liege of Troy.
The Amazons are particularly mentioned by Hero¬
dotus. That hidorian informs us, that the Grecians
fought a battle with the Amazons on the river Ther-
modoon, and defeated them. After their victory, they
carried off all the Amazons they could take alive in
three ffiips. But whild they were out at fea, thefe
Amazons confpired againd the men, and killed them
all. Having, however, no knowdedge of navigation,
nor any {kill in the ufe of the rudder, fails, or oars,
they were driven by wind and tide till they arrived at
the precipices of the lake Maeotis, in the territories of
the Scythians. Here the Amazons w^ent adiore, and,
marching into the country, feized and mounted the
fird horfes they met with, and began to plunder the
inhabitants. The Scythians at fird conceived them
to be men 5 but after they had had Ikirmidies with
them, and taken fome prifoners, they difcovered them
to be women. They were then unwdlling to carry on
hodilities againd them ; and by degrees a number of
the young Scythians formed connexions with them,
and wrere defirous that thefe gentle dames ffiould live
with them as waves, and be incorporated with the red
of the Scythians. The Amazons agreed to continue
their connexion with their Scythian hufbands, but refu-
fed to affociate with the red of the inhabitants of the
country, and efpecially with the women of it. They
Vol. I. Part II.
A M A
afterwards prevailed upon their hufbands to retire to Amazon;.^
Sarmatia, -wiiere they fettled. “ Hence,” fays Hero- v ^
dotus, “ the wives of the Sarmatians dill continue their
ancient wray of living. They hunt on horfeback in
the company of their bud>ands, and fometunes alone.
They march with their armies, and wear the fame
drefs with the men. The Sarmatians ufe the Scythian
language, but corrupted from the beginning, becaufe
the Amazons never learned to fpeak correftly. Their
marriages are attended w ith this circumdance : no vir¬
gin is permitted to marry till die has killed an enemy
in the field j fo that fome always grow old before they
can qualify themfelves as the law requires.”
Diodorus Siculus fays, “ There was formerly a na¬
tion who dwelt near the river Thermodoon, which was
fubjefted to the government of women, and in which
the women, like men, managed all the military affairs.
Among thefe female warriors, it is faid, was one who
excelled the red in drength and valour. She affembled
together an army of women, whom {he trained up in
military difcipline, and fubdued fome of the neighbour¬
ing nations. Afterwards, having by her valour in-
creafed her fame, die led her army againd the red *,
and being fuccefsful, die w7as fo puffed up, that die dyl-
ed herfelf the daughter of Mars, and ordered the men
to fpin wmol, and do the work of the women within
doors. She alfo made laws, by wffiich the women were
enjoined to go to the wars, and the men to be kept at
home in a fervile dat®-, and employed in the meaned
offices. They alfo debilitated the arms and thighs of
thofe male children wrho urere born of them, that they
might be thereby rendered unfit for war. They fear¬
ed the right breads of their girls, that they might be
no interruption to them in fighting : wdience they
derived the name of Amazons. Their queen, having
become extremely eminent for {kill and knowdedge in
military affairs, at length built a large city at the
mouth of the river Thermodoon, and adorned it with
a magnificent palace. In her enterprifes die adhered
driclly to military difcipline and good order} and die
added to her empire all the adjoining nations, even to
the river Tanais. Having performed thefe exploits,
die at lad ended her days like a hero, falling in a bat¬
tle, in which die had fought courageoudy. She was
fucceeded in the kingdom by her daughter, who imi¬
tated the valour of her mother, and in fome exploits
excelled her. She caufed the girls from their very in¬
fancy to be exercifed in hunting, and to be daily train¬
ed up in military exercifes. She indituted folemn fef-
tivals and facrifices to Mars and Diana, which were
named Tauropoli. She afterwards carried her arms
beyond the river Tanais, and fubdued all the people of
thofe regions, even unto Thrace. Returning then
with a great quantity of fpoils into her own kingdom,
die caufed magnificent temples to be erected to the
deities before mentioned 5 and die gained the love of
her fubjefts by her mild and gentle government. She
afterwards undertook an expedition againd thofe who
were on the other fide of the river, and fubjedted to
her dominion a great part of Afia, extending her arms
as far as Syria.”
Diodorus alfo mentions another race of Amazons
who dwelt in Africa;, and whom he fpeaks of as being -
of greater antiquity than thofe wffio lived near the ri¬
ver Thermodoon. “ In the wedern parts of Libya,”
5 E fays
T 769 ]
»
A M A r
’• he, u upon the borders of thofe trads that
habitable, there was anciently a nation under the go¬
vernment of women, and whofe manners and mode of
living were altogether different from ours. It was the
cuitom of thofe women to manage all military affairs;
and for a certain time, during which they preferved
their virginity, they went out as foldiers into the field.
After fome years employed in this manner, when the
time appointed for this purpofe was expired, they afib-
ciated themfelves with men, in order to obtain children.
But the magiftracy, and all public offices, they kept
entirely in their own hands. The men, as the women
are with us, were employed in houfehold affairs, fub-
tuitting themfelves wholly to the authority of their
wives. They were not permitted to take any part in
military affairs, or to have any command, or any pu¬
blic authority, which might have any tendency to en¬
courage them to caff off the yoke of their wives. As
icon as any child was born, it was delivered to the fa¬
ther, to be fed with milk, or fuch other food as was
Suitable to its age. If females were born, they feared
their breads, that they might not be burdenfome to
them when they grew up 5 for they confidered them as
great hinderances in fighting.”
Jultin reprefents the Amazonian republic to have
taken its rife in Scythia. The Scythians had a great
part of Alia under their dominion upwards of 400
years, till they were conquered by Ninus, the founder
of Bie Affyrian empire. After his death, which hap¬
pened about 1150 years before the Chriftian era, and
that of Semiramis and their fon Ninyas, Ilinus and Sco-
lopites, princes of the royal blood of Scythia, were dri¬
ven from their country by other princes, who like them
aipired to the crown, d hey departed with their wives,
cidldren, and friends ; and being followed by a great
number of young people of both fexes, they palled in¬
to Afiatic Sarmatia, beyond Mount Camaffus, where
tney formed an Cftabliffiment, fupplving themfelves
wita the riches they wanted, by making incurfions in¬
to the countries bordering on the Euxine fea. The
people of thofe countries, exafperated by the incur-
fions of their new neighbours, united, furprifed, and
maffacred the men.
I he women then refolving to revenge their death,
and at the fame time to provide for their own fecurity^
reiolved to form a new kind of government, to choofe
a queen, enact laws, and maintain themfelves, without
men, even againft the men themfelves. This defign
was not fo very furprifing as at firft fight appears : for
the greateft number of the girls among the Scythians
had been mured to the fame exercifes as the boys j to
draw the bow, to throw the javelin, to manage other
arms ; to riding, hunting, and even the painful labours
that feem referved for men 5 and many of them, as
among the Sarmatians, accompanied the men in war.
Hence they had no fooner formed their refolution, than
they prepared to execute it, and exercifed themfelves
in all military operations. They foon fecured the peace¬
able {loffeffion of the country ; and not content with
fhowing their neighbours that all their efforts to drive
them thence or iubdue them were ineffectual, they
made war upon them, and extended their own frontiers.
They had hitherto made ufe of the inftruaions and af-
ffftance of a few men that remained in the country } but
finding at length that they could Hand their ground,
77° 1 A M A
: and aggrandize themfelves, without them, they killed Amazons.
all thoie whom flight or chance had faved from the fury  v""”**
of the Sarmatians, and for ever renounced marriage,
n nich they now confidered as an unfupportable flavery.
But as they could only fecure the duration of their new •
kingdom by propagation, they made a law to go
eveiy year to the frontiers, to invite the men to come
to. them ; to deliver themfelves up to their embraces,
without choice on their part, or the leal! attachment;
and to leave them as foon as they were pregnant. All
thofe whom age rendered fit for propagation, and were
willing to ferve the ftate by breeding girls, did not go
at tue fame time in learch of men ; for in order to ob¬
tain a right to promote the multiplication of the fpe-
cies, they muff firft have contributed to its deftru£!ion j
nor was any thought worthy of giving birth to chil¬
dren till fire had killed three men.
if from tnis commerce they brought forth girls, they
educated them; but with refpedl to the boys, if we
may believe Juftin, they ftrangled them at the moment
of.their birth: according to Diodorus Siculus, they
twilled their legs and arms, fo as to render them unfit
for military exercifes ; but Quintus Curtius, Philoftra-
tus, and Jordarus, fay, that the lefs favage lent them
to their fathers. It is probable, that at firft, when
their fury againft the men was carried to the greateft
height, they killed the boys 5 that when this fury
abated, and molt of the mothers were filled with hor¬
ror at depriving the little creatures of the lives they
had juft received from them, they fulfilled the firft du¬
ties of a mother 5 but, to prevent their caufing a revo¬
lution in the ftate, maimed them in fuch a manner as
to render them incapable of war, and employed them
in the mean offices which thefe warlike women thought
beneath them. In fhort, that, when their conquefts
had confirmed their power, their ferocity fubfiding,
they entered into political engagements with their
neighbours 5 and the number of the males they had
preferved becoming burdenfome, they, at the defire of
thofe who rendered them pregnant, fent them the boys,
and continued ftill to keep the girls.
As foon as the age of the girls permitted, they took
away the right breaft, that they might draw the bow
with the greater force. The common opinion is, that
they burnt that breaft, by applying to it, at eight
years of age, a hot brazen inftrument, which infenfibly
dried up the fibres arid glands ; fome think that they
did not make ufe of fo much ceremony, but that when
the part was formed they got rid of it by amputation :
fome again, with much greater probability, aflert, that
they employed no violent meafures ; but, by a continual
compreflion of that part from infancy, prevented its
growth, at leaft lo far as to hinder its ever being in¬
commodious in war.
Plutarch, treating of the Amazons in his life of The-
feus, confiders the accounts which had been preferved
concerning them as partly fabulous and partly true.
He gives fome account of a battle which had been
fought between the Athenians and the Amazons at A-
thens ; and he relates fome particulars of this battle
which had been recorded by an ancient writer named
Clidemus. He fays, “ That the left wing of the A-
mazons moved towards the place which is yet called
Amazonium, and the right to a place called Pryx, near
Ciiryfa; upon which the Athenians; iffuing from be¬
hind
A M A L 77
Ateazons. hind the temple of the Mufes, fell upon them; and
L—* that this is true, the graves of thofe that were ilain, to
be feen in the llreets that lead to the gate Piraica, by
the temple of the hero Chalcodue, are a fufficient proof.
And here it was that the Athenians were routed, and
fhamefully turned their backs to women, as far as to
the temple of the Furies. But frefh fupplies coming-
in from Palladium, Ardettus, and Lyceum, charged
their right wing, and beat them back into their very
tents 5 in which aftion a great number of the Ama¬
zons were flam.” In another place he fays, “ It ap¬
pears that the paffage of the Amazons through Thef-
fely was not without oppolition j for there are yet to
be feen many of their fepulchres near Scotuflaea and Cy-
nocephalse.” And in his life of Pompey, {peaking of
the Amazons, Plutarch fays, “ They inhabit thofe
parts of Mount Caucafus that look towards the Hyr-
canian fea (not bordering upon the Albanians, for the
territories of the Getae and the Lefgae lie betwixt) :
and with thefe people do they yearly, for two months
only, accompany and cohabit, bed and board, ne^r
the river Thermodoon. After that they retire to
their own habitations, and live alone all the reft of the
year.”
Quintus Curtius fays, “ The nation of the Amazons
is fituated upon the borders of Hyrcania, inhabiting the
plains of Thermifcyra, near the river Thermodoon.
Their queen was named Thaleftris, and Ihe had under
her fubjettion all the country that lies between Mount
Caucafus and the river Phafis. This queen came out
of her dominions, in confequence of an ardent defire
fhe had conceived to fee Alexander j and being advan¬
ced near the place where he was, fire previoufly fent
meffengers to acquaint him, that the queen was come
to have the fatisfa&ion of feeing and converfing with
him. Having obtained permiffion to vifit him, {he ad¬
vanced with 300 of her Amazons, leaving the reft of
her troops behind. As foon as {he came within fight
of the king, fhe leaped from her horfe, holding two
javelins in her right hand. The apparel of the Ama¬
zons does not cover all the body, for their left fide is
naked down to the llomach 5 nor do the ikirts of their
garments, wdiich they tie up in a knot, reach below
their knees. They preferve their left breaft entire,
that they may be able to fuckle their female offspring j
and they cut off and fear their right, that they may
draw their bows, and call their darts, with the greater
cafe. Thaleftris looked at the king wTith an undaunted
countenance, and narrowly examined his perfon ; which
did not according to her ideas, come up to the fame
of his great exploits : For the barbarians have a great
veneration for a majeftic perfon, efteeming thofe only
to be capable of performing great adlions on whom
nature has conferred a dignified appearance. rI he king
having alked her whether fire had any thing to defire
of him, ftie replied, without fcruple or hefitation, that
fire was come with a view to have children by him, {he
being worthy to bring him heirs to his Jdominions.
Their offspring, if of the female fex, {he would retain
herfelf j and if of the male fex, it {hould be delivered
to Alexander. He then aiked her, whether (he would
accompany him in his wars ? But this fire declined,
alleging, That fire had left nobody to take care of her
kingdom. She continued to folicit Alexander, that
he would not fend her back without conforming to
1 ] A M A
her willies j but it was not till after a delay of 13 days Atnazofr^
that he complied. She then returned to her own king- v~““~
dom.”
Juftin alfo repeatedly mentions this vifit of Thaleftris
to Alexander j and in one place he fays, that {he made
a march of 2 5 days, in order to obtain this meeting
with him. 'The interview between Alexander and
Thaleftris is likewife mentioned by Diodorus Siculus.
The jlearned Goropius, as he is quoted by Dr Petit,
laments, in very pathetic terms, the hard fate of I ha-
leftris, who was obliged to travel fo many miles, and
to encounter many hardfhips, in order to procure this
interview with the Macedonian prince j and, from the
circumftances, is led to confider the whole account as
incredible. But Dr Petit, wdth equal erudition, with
equal eloquence, and with fuperior force of realoning,
at length determines, that her journey was not founded
upon irrational principles, and that full credit is due to
thofe grave and venerable hiftorians by whom this tranf-
aftion has been recorded.
The Amazons are reprefented as being armed with
bows and arrow's, wdth javelins, and alfo with an axe
of a particular conftruftion, which was denominated
the axe of the Amazons. According to the eider
Pliny, this axe was invented by Penthefilea, one of
their queens. On many ancient medals are reprefen-
tations of the Amazons, armed with thefe axes. They
are alfo faid to have had bucklers in the ftiape of a half
moon.
The Amazons are mentioned by many other ancient
authors, befides thofe which have been enumerated j
and if any credit be due to the accounts concerning -
them, they fubfifted through feveral ages. They are
reprefented as having rendered themfelves extremely
formidable ; as having founded cities, enlarged the
boundaries of their dominions, and conquered leveral
other nations.’
That at any period there {hould have been women,
who, without the aftiftance of men, built cities and go¬
verned them, raifed armies and commanded them, ad-
miniftered public affairs, and extended their dominion
by arms, is» undoubtedly fo contrary to all that we have
feen and known of human affairs, as to appear in a
very great degree incredible j but that women may
have exifted fufficiently robuft, and fufficiently coura¬
geous, to have engaged in warlike enterprifes, and even
to have been fuccefsful in them, is certainly not impof-
fible, however contrary to the ufual courfe of things.
In fupport of this fide of the queftion, it may be urged,
that women w?ho have been early trained to warlike
exercifes, to hunting, and to a hard and laborious
mode of living, may be rendered more ftrong, and ca¬
pable of more vigorous exertions, than men who have
led indolent, delicate, and luxurious lives, and wrho
have feldom been expofed even to the inclemencies of
the weather. The limbs of women, as w ell as of men,
are ftrengthened and rendered more robuft by frequent
and laborious exercife. A nation of women, therefore,
brought up and difeiplined as the ancient Amazons are
reprefented to have been, would be fuperior to an equal
number of effeminate men, though they might be much
inferior to an equal number of hardy men, trained up
and difeiplined in the fame manner.
'That much of what is faid of the Amazons is fabu-
ouSj there can be no reafonable doubt j but it does not
3 E 2 therefore
A M A f 7 7
Amazons, therefore follow, that the whole is without foundation.
”_v~ The ancient medals and monuments on which they are
reprefented are very numerous, as are alfo the tellimo-
nies of ancient writers. It feems not rational to fup-
pofe that all this originated in fiftion, though it may
be much blended with it. The Abbe Guyon fpeaks
of the hiftory of the Amazons as having been regarded
by many perfons as fabulous, “ rather from prejudice
than from any real and folid examination and it mull
be acknowledged, that the arguments in favour of their
exiftence, from ancient hiftory, and from ancient mo¬
numents, are extremely powerful. The faft feems to
be, that truth and fi&ion have been blended in the nar¬
rations concerning thefe ancient heroines.
Inftances of heroifm in women have occafionally oc¬
curred in modem times, fomewhat refembling that of
the ancient Amazons. The times and the manners of
chivalry, in particular, by bringing great enterprifes,
bold adventurers, and extravagant heroifm, into falhion,
infpired the women with the fame tafte. The women,
in confequence of the prevailing pafilon, were now
feen in the middle of camps and of armies. They
quitted the foft and tender inclinations, and the deli¬
cate offices of their own fex, for the toils and the toil-
fome occupations of ours. During the crufades, ani¬
mated by the double enthufiafm of religion and of va¬
lour, they often performed the moft romantic exploits;
obtained indulgences on the field of battle, and died
with arms in their hands, by the fide of their lovers or
of their hufbands.
In Europe, the women attacked and defended for¬
tifications j princeflfes commanded their armies, and
obtained vi&ories. Such was the celebrated Joan de
Montfort, difputing for her duchy of Bretagne, and
fighting herfelf. Such was that ftill more celebrated
Margaret of Anjou, that adfive and intrepid general
and foldier, whole genius fupported a long time a fee¬
ble hufband j which taught him to conquer 5 which re¬
placed him upon the throne ; which twice relieved him
from prifon ; and, oppreffed by fortune and by rebels,
which did not bend till after flie had decided in perfon
twelve battles.
The warlike fpirit among the women, confiftent
with ages ofbarbarifm, when everything is impetuous
becaufe nothing is fixed, and when all excefs is the ex-
cefs of force, continued in Europe upwards of 400
years,^ Ihowing itfelf from time to time, and always in
the middle of convulfions, or on the eve of great re¬
volutions. But there were eras and countries in
which that fpirit appeared with particular luftre. Such
were the difplays it made in the 15th and 16th cen¬
turies in Hungary, and in the iflands of the Archipela¬
go and the Mediterranean, when they were invaded by
the Turks.
Among the ftriking inftances of Amazonian conduft
in modern ladies, may be mentioned that of Jane of
Belleville, widow of Monf. de Clifton, who was behead¬
ed at Paris in the year 1343, on a fufpicion of carry¬
ing on a correfpondence with England and the count
de Montfort. This lady, filled with grief for the
death of her late hufband, and exafperated at the ill
treatment which (lie confidered him as having received,
fent off “ her fon fecretly to London ; and when her
apprehenfions were removed with refpeft to him, fhe
ibid her jewels, fitted out three fhips, and put to fea, to
2 ] A M A
revenge the death of her hufband upon all the French Amazons,
with whom ffie fliould meet. This new corfair made *1 ~
feveral defcents upon Normandy, where fhe ftormed
caftles} and the inhabitants of that province were
fpeftators more than once, whilft their villages were
all in a blaze, of one of the fineft women in Europe,
with a fword in one hand and a torch in the other,
urgmg the carnage, and eyeing with pleafure all the
horrors of war.”
We read in Mezeray (under the article of the Croi-
fade, preached by St Bernard in the year 1 “ That
many women did not content themfelves with taking
the crofs, but that they alfo took up arms to defend
it, and compofed fquadrons of females, which render¬
ed credible all that has been faid of the prowefs of the
Amazons.”
In the year 1590, the League party obtained fome
troops from the king of Spain. Upon the news of their
being difembarked, Barri de St Aunez, Henry IV.’s
governor at Leucate, fet out to communicate a fcheme
to the duke de Montmorenci, commander in that
province. He W’as taken in his way by fome of
the troops of the League, who were alfo upon their
march with the Spaniards towards Leucate. They
were perfuaded, that by thus having the governor in
their hands, the gates of that place would be immedi¬
ately opened to them, or at leaft would not hold out
long. But Conftantia de Cecelli, his wife, after hav¬
ing aflembled the garrifon, put herfelf fo refolutely at
their head, pike in hand, that fhe infpired the weakeft
with courage j and the befiegers were repulfed where-
ever they prefented themfelves. Shame, and their great
lofs, having rendered them defperate, they fent a mef-
fenger to this courageous woman, acquainting her, that
if ftie continued to defend herfelf, they would hang her
hufband. She replied, with tears in her eyes, “ I have
riches in abundance : I have offered them, and I do
ftill offer them, for his ranfom ; but I would not igno-
minioufly purchafe a life which he would reproach me
with, and which he would be affiamed to enjoy. I
wall not difhonour him by treafon againft my king and
country.” The befiegers having made a frefh attack
without fuccefs, put her hufband tp death,' and raifed
the fiege. Henry IV. afterwards fent to this lady the
brevet of governefs of Leucate, with the reverfion for
her fon.
The famous maid of Orleans, alfo, is an example
known to every reader.
The Abbe Arnaud, in his memoirs, fpeaks of a
countefs of St Balmont, who ufed to take the field wbth
her hufband, and fight by his fide. She fent feveral
Spanilh prifoners of her taking to Marfhal Feuquiers 5
and, what was not a little extraordinary, this Amazon
at home was all affability and fweetnefs, and gave her¬
felf up to reading and adts of piety.
Dr Johnfon feems to have given fome credit to the
accounts which have been tranfmitted down to us con¬
cerning the ancient Amazons 5 and he has endeavour¬
ed to fhow, that wre ought not haftily to rejedt ancient
hiftorical narrations becaufe they contain fadls repug¬
nant to modern manners, and exhibit fcenes to which
nothing now occurring bears a refemblance. “ Of
what we know not (fays he) we can only judge by
what we know. Every novelty appears more wonder¬
ful,. as it is more remote from any thing with which
experience
A M A [7
Amazons, experience or teftimony have hitherto acquainted us ;
' “ and, if it paffes farther, beyond the notions that we have
been accuftomed to form, it becomes at laft incredible.
We feldom conlider that human knowledge is very
narrow j that national manners are formed by chance j
that uncommon conjunctures of caufes produce rare
effeCts ; or, that what is impoflible at one time or place
may yet happen in another. It is always eafier to de¬
ny than to inquire. To refufe credit confers for a mo¬
ment an appearance of fuperiority which every little
mind is tempted to affumej when it may be gained fo
cheaply as by withdrawing attention from evidence,
and declining the fatigue of comparing probabilities.
Many relations of travellers have been flighted as fa¬
bulous, till more frequent voyages have confirmed their
veracity } and it may reafonably be imagined that ma¬
ny ancient hiftorians are unjullly fufpected of falfe-
hood, becaufe our own times afford nothing that re-
fembles what they tell. Few narratives will, either to
men or women appear more incredible than the hiflo-
ries of the Amazons 5 of female nations, of whofe con-
ftitution it was the effential and fundamental lav/, to
exclude men from all participation, either of public af¬
fairs or domeftic bufinefs j where female armies march¬
ed under female captains, female farmers gathered the
harvert, female partners danced together, and female
wits diverted one another. Yet feveral ages of anti¬
quity have tranfmitted accounts of the Amazons of
Caucafus ; and of the Amazons of America, who have
given their name to the greatefl river in the world,
Condamine lately found fuch memorials as can be ex-
peCted among erratic and unlettered nations, where
events are recorded only by tradition, and new fwarms
fettling in the country from time to time confufe and
efface all traces of former times..
No author .has taken fo much pains upon this fubjeft
as Dr Petit. But, in the courfe of his work, he has
given it as his opinion, that there is great difficulty
in governing the women even at prefent, though they
are unarmed and unpra£tifed in the art of war. After
all his elaborate inquiries and difeuffions, therefore,
this learned writer might probably think, that it is
not an evil of the firft magnitude that tne race of A-
ntazons now ceafes to exift.
Rouffeau fays, “ The empire of the woman is an
empire of foftnefs, of addrefs, of complacency. Her
commands are careffes, her menaces are tears.” But
the empire of the Amazons was certainly an empire of
a very different kind. Upon the whole, tve may con¬
clude wfith Dr Johnfon : “ The character of the an¬
cient Amazons was rather terrible than lovely. 1 he
hand could not be very delicate that-was only employ¬
ed in drawing the bowT, and brandifhing the battleaxe.
Their power wTas maintained by cruelty, their courage
was deformed by ferocity ; and their example only
{hows, that men and women live beft together.”
Amazons, the river of, in America. See Ama¬
zonia.
Amazonian Habit, in Antiquity, denotes a drefs
formed in imitation of the Amazons. Marcia the fa¬
mous concubine of the emperor Commodus, had the
appellation of Ama’zonian, becauie ffie charmed him
moll in a habit of this kind. Hence alfo that prince
himfelf engaged in combat in the amphitheatre in an
Amazonian habit .; and of all titles the Ayia%omus was
7 2> A M B
one of thofe he moft delighted in. In honour either Amba
of the gallant or his mifirefs, the month December Amb1,arva^
W'as alfp denominated Ama%onius. Some alio apply pa-
Amazonian habit to the hunting-drefs w’orn by many
ladies among us.
AMBA, an Abyffinian or Ethiopic word, fignify-
ing a rock. The Abyffinians give names to each of
their rocks, as Amba-Dorho, the rock of a hen, &c.-
Some of thefe rocks are faid to have the name of Aorni;
and are of fuch a ftupendous height, that the Alps and
Pyrenees are but low hills in comparifon of them. K-
mongft the mountains, and even frequently in the plains,
of this country, arife fleep and craggy rocks of various
forms, fome refembling towTers, others pyramids, &c.
fo perpendicular and fmooth on the fides, that they
feem to be works of art 5 infomuch, that men, cattle,
&c. are craned up by the help of ladders and ropes :
and yet the tops of thefe rocks are covered with woods,
meadows, fountains, fiih-ponds, &c. which very co~
piouily fupply the animals feated thereon with all the
conveniencies of life. The moft remarkable of theie
rocks is called Amba-Gejhen. It is prodigioufiy fteep,
in the form of a caftle built of freeftone, and almolt
impregnable. Its fummit is about half a Portugueie
league in breadth, and the circumference at the bot¬
tom about half a day’s journey. The afeent at firft is
eafy \ but grows afterwards fo fteep, that the Abaffine
oxen, which will otherwife clamber like goats, muft
be craned up, and let down with ropes. Here the
princes of the blood wrere formerly confined, in low
cottages amongft ffirubs and wild cedars,, with an al-
lowrance barely fufficient to keep them alive. There
is, according to Kircher, in this country, a rock fo
curioufly hollowed by nature, that at a diftance it re-
fembles a looking-glafs ; and oppofite to this another,
on the top of wrhich nothing can be fo foftly wbifper-
ed but it may be heard a great way oft. Between
many of thefe rocks and mountains are vaft abyfles,
which appear very dreadful to the eye.
AMBACHT, is a word which denotes a kind of
jurifdiftion or territory, the pofleffor whereof has the
adminiftration of juftiee, both in alto and baffo ; or of
what is called, in the Scots law, a power of pit and gal¬
lows, i. e. a power of drowning and hanging. In fome
ancient writers, ambacht is particularly ufed for the
jurifdiftion, government, or chief magiftracy of a city.
The word is very ancient,. though ufed originally in a
fenfe fomewhat different. Ennius calls a mercenary,
or Have hired for money, ambaBus; and Caefar gives
the fame appellation to a kind of-dependents among the
Gauls, who, without being flaves, were attached to
the fervice of great lords.
AMBAGES. See Circumlocution.
AMBARVALIA, in Antiquity, a ceremony among
the Romans, when, in order to procure from the gods
a happy harveft, they condufted the viftims thrice
round the corn fields in proceffion, before facrificing
them.—Ambarvaha. were either of a private or public •
nature : the private were performed by the mailer of a
family, and the public by the priefts who officiated at
the folemnity, called fratres ovales. The prayer pre¬
ferred on this occafion, the formula of which we have
in Cato de Re Rufica, cap. cxlii. was called carmen
ambervale. At thefe feafts they facrificed to Ceres ai
fow, a iheep, and a bull or heifer, whence they took
dor
II
Amber.
B , J. 774 ]
I he method of celebrating efteem as
A M
Arrtbaffa- the name offuovetanriiia.
them was, to lead a viftim round the fields, while the
peafants accompanied it, and one of their number,
- crowned with oak, hymned forth the praifes of Ceres,
in verles ccmpoied on purpofe. This feftival was ce¬
lebrated twice a-year j at the end of January, accord¬
ing to feme, or in April, according to others j and for
the fecond time, in the month of fuly.
AMBASSADOR, or Embassador, a public mx-
nifler fent from one fovereign prince, as a reprefenta-
tive of his perfon, to another.
Ambafiadors are either ordinary or extraordinary.
Ambaifador in ordinary, is he who conftantly refides in
the court of another prince, to maintain a good un-
derftanding, and look to the intereft of his mailer.
Till about two hundred years ago, ambafladors in or¬
dinary were not heard of: all, till then, were ambaf-
fadors extraordinary ; that is, fuch as are fent on fome
particular occafion, and who retire as foon as the af¬
fair is defpatched.
By the law of nations, none under the quality of a
fovereign prince can fend or receive an ambaffador.
At Athens, ambalfadors mounted the pulpit of the
public orators, and there opened their commiffion, ac¬
quainting the people with their errand. At Rome,
they were introduced to the fenate, and delivered their
commiffions to the fathers.
# Ambaffadors Ihould never attend any public folem-
nities, as marriages, funerals, &c. unlefs their mailers
have fome interell therein : nor mult they go into
mourning on any occafions of their own, becaufe they
reprefent the perfon of their prince. By the civil law,
the moveable goods of an ambalfador, which are ac¬
counted an accellion to his perfon, cannot be feized
on, neither as a pledge, nor for payment of a debt,
nor by order or execution of judgment, nor by the
king’s or Hate’s leave where he refides, as fome con¬
ceive j for all actions ought to be far from an ambaffa-
dor, as well that which toucheth his necelfaries, as
his perfon : if therefore, he hath contrafled any debt,
he is to be called upon kindly ; and if he refufes, then
letters of requell are to go to his mailer. Nor can any
of the ambaffador’s domeftic fervants that are regillered
in the fecretaries of Hate’s office be arrelled in perfon
or goods ; if they are, the procefs ffiall be void, and
the parties fixing out and executing it ffiall fuffer and
be liable to fuch penalties and corporal puniffiment as
the lord chancellor or cither of the chief juflices ffiall
think fit to inflift. Yet ambaffadors cannot be defend¬
ed when they commit any thing againft that Hate, or
the perfon of the prince, with whom they refide ; and
if they are guilty of treafon, felony, &c. or any other
crime againlt the law of nations, they lofe the* privi¬
lege of an ambaffador, and may be fubjeft to puniffi¬
ment as private aliens.
AMBE, in Surgery, the name of an inftrument for
reducing dillocated bones. In Anatomy, a term for
the fuperficial jutting out of a bone.
AMBER (Succinum), in Natural Hijlory, a folid,
hard, femipellucid, bituminous fubfiance of a particu¬
lar nature, of ufe in medicine and in feveralof the arts.
It ha's been called ambra by the Arabians, and eleSirutn
by the Greeks.
Amber has been of great repute in the world from
the. earlieff times. Many years before Chrifl it was in
£
A M B
a medicine and Plato, AriHotle, Herodo- Amber,
tus, iEfcnylus, and others, have commended its vir-
tues. In the times of the Romans, it became in high
eileem as a gem j and in the luxurious reign of Nero,
immenle quantities of it were brought to Rome, and
ufed for ornamenting works of various kinds.
The moH remarkable property of this fubHance is,
that when rubbed it draws or attracts other bodies to
it: and, this, it is obferved, it does even to thofe fub-
fiances which the ancients thought it had an antipathy
to ; as oily bodies, drops of water, human fiveat, &c.
Add, that, by the friaion it is brought to yield light
pretty copioufly in the dark 5 whence it is* reckoixed
among the native pholphori.
The property which amber poffeffes of attraaing
light bodies was very anciently obferved. Thales of Mi¬
letus, 6co years belore Chrilt, concluded from hence,
that it was animated. But the firft perfon who exprefs-
ly mentions this fubflance is TheophraHus, about the
year 300 before Chrifl. The attraaive property of am¬
ber is likewife occafionally taken notice of by Pliny and
other later naturalifls, particularly by Gaffendus, Ke-
nelm Digby, and Sir 'Thomas Brown ; but it was ge¬
nerally apprehended that this quality was peculiar to
amber axxd jet, and perhaps agate, till Gilbert publiffi-
ed his treatife de Magnete, in the year 1600. From
EAijAcrgov, the Greek name for amber, is derived the term
EleBricity, which is now very extenfively Applied, not
only to the powrer of attraaing light bodies inherent in
amber, but to other fimilar powers, and their various
cfleas in whatever bodies they refide, or to whatever
bodies they may be communicated.
Amber affumes all figures in the ground ; that of a
pear, an almond, a pea, &c. In amber there have been
laid to be letters found very well formed; and even He¬
brew and Arabic charaaers.—Within fome pieces,
leaves, infeas, &c. have likewife been found included)
which feems to indicate either that the amber was ori¬
ginally in a fluid Hate, or that having been expofed to
the fun it wTas once ioftened, and rendei'ed fufceptible
of the leaves, infeas, &c. which came in its w'ay. The
latter of thefe fixppofitions feems the more agreeable te
the phenomenon j becaufe thofe infeas, &c. are never
found in the centre of the pieces of amber, but always
near the furface. It is obferved by the inhabitants of
thofe places wffiere amber is produced, that all animals,
whether terreftrial, aerial, or aquatic, are extremely
fond of it, and that pieces of it are frequently found
in their excrements. The bodies of infedls, found bu¬
ried in amber, are viewed with admiration by all the
world 5 but of the mofl remarkable of thefe, many are
to be fufpedled as counterfeit, the great price at wffiich
beautiful fpecimens of this kind fell, having tempted
ingenious cheats to introduce animal bodies in fuch
ai'tful manners, into feemingly wffiole pieces of amber,
that it is not eafy to deleft the fraud.
Of thofe infefts which have been originally enclofed
in amber, fome are plainly feen to have flruggled hard
for their liberty, and even to have left their limbs be¬
hind them in the attempt j it being no unufual thing
to fee, in a mafs of amber that contains a flout beetle,
the animal wanting one, or perhaps two of its legs;
and thofe legs left in different places, nearer that part
of the mafs from which it has travelled. This alfo
may account for the common accident of finding legs
or
AMS [7
Amher. or wlags of flies, without the reit of their bodies, in
pieces of amber; the infers having, when entangled
in the yet foft and vifcid matter, efcaped, at the ex¬
pence of leaving thofe limbs behind them. Drops of
clear water are fometimes alfo preferved in amber.
Thefe have doubtlefs been received into it while foft,
and preferved by its hardening found them. Beauti¬
ful leaves of a pinnated rtructure, refembling fome of
the ferns, or maidenhairs, have been found in fome
pieces j but thefe are rare, and the Ijpecimens of great
value. Mineral fubftances are alio found at times
lodged in mafles of amber. Some of the pompous col-
lefHons of the German princes boaft of fpecimens of
native gold and lilver in malfes of amber j but as there
are many fubftances of the marcaftte, and other kinds,
that have all the glittering appearance of gold and fil-
ver, it is not to be too haftily concluded, that thefe
metals are really lodged in thefe beds of amber. Iron
is found in various fhapes immerfed in amber j and as
it is often feen eroded, and fometimes in the ftate of
vitriol, it is not impoffible but that copper, and the
other metals, may be alfo fometimes immerfed in it in
the fame ftate ; hence the bluith and greenifh colours,
frequently found in the recent pieces of amber, may
be owing, like the particles of the gem colours, to
thofe metals j but as the gems, by their denfe texture,
always retain their colours, this lighter and more lax
bitumen ufually lofes what it gets of this kind by keep¬
ing fome time. Small pebbles, grains of fand, and
fragments of other ftones, are alfo not unfrequently
found immerfed in amber.
Naturalifts have been greatly divided as t« the ori¬
gin of this fubftance, and what clafs of bodies it be¬
longs to *, fome referring it to the vegetable, others to
the mineral, and fome even to the animal kingdom.
Pliny defcribes it as “ a refinous juice, oozing from
aged pines and firs (others fay from poplars, whereof
there are whole forefts on the coafts of Swreden), and
difcharged thence into the fea, where undergoing fome
alteration, it is thrown, in this form, upon the fhores
of Pruflia, which lie very low : he adds, that it wns
hence the ancients gave it the denomination Jiccinum ;
from fuccus, juice.
Some fuppofe amber a compound fubftance. Pruf-
fia, fay they, and the other countries which produce
amber, are moiftened with a bituminous juice, wdiich
mixing with the vitriolic falts abounding in thofe
places, the points of thofe falts fix its fluidity, wdience
it congeals; and the refult of that congelation makes
what wTe call amber 5 wdiich is more or lefs pure, tranf-
parent, and firm, as thofe parts of fait and bitumen are
more or lels pure, and are mixed in this or that propor¬
tion.
Mr Brydone, in his tour to Sicily and Malta, fays,
that the river Gearetta, formerly celebrated by the
poets under the name of Simetus, throws up near its
mouth great quantities of amber. He mentions alfo a
kind of artificial amber, not uncommon there, made,
as he wras told, from copal, but very drlferent from the
natural.
According to Hartman, amber is formed of a bitu¬
men, mixed writh vitriol and other falts. But though
this were allowed him in regard to the foflxl amber,
many difpute whether the fea amber be fo produced.
It is, hov rever, apparent, that all amber is of the
75 1., am b
fame origin, and probably that w’hich is found in the Amber,
fea has been walhed thither out of the cliffs j though
Hartman thinks it very poftible, that fome of it may
be formed in the earth under the fea, and be waftie'd
up thence. The fea amber is ufually finer to the eye
than the foffil ; but the reafon is, that it is divefted of
that coarfe coat with which the other is covered while
in the earth.
Upon the wdiole, it feems generally agreed upon,
that amber is a true bitumen of a foftil origin. In a
late volume of the "journal de Phyjique, however, wre
find it aflerted by Dr Girtanner to be an animal pro-
duft, a fort of honey or w7ax formed by a fpecies of
large ant called by Linnaeus formica rufa. Thefe ants,
our author informs us, inhabit the old pine forefts,
wdiere they fometimes form hills about fix feet in dia¬
meter : and it is generally in thefe ancient forefts, or
in places wdiere they have been, that foftil amber is
found. This fubftance is not hard as that which is ta¬
ken up in the fea at Pruflia, and wfoich is w'ell known
to naturalifts. It has the conftftence of honey or of
half melted wax, but it is of a yellow colour like com¬
mon amber 5 it gives the fame product by chemical
analyfis, and it hardens like the other when it is fuf-
fered to remain fome time in a folution of common
fait. This accounts for the infects that are fo often
found inclofed in it. Among thefe infefts ants are al¬
ways the moft prevailing 5 which tends farther, Mr
Girtanner thinks, to the confirmation of his hypothefis.
Amber, then, in his opinion, is nothing but a vegetable
oil rendered concrete by the acid of ants, juft as wrax is
nothing but an oil hardened by the acid of bees ; a fa£l
inconteftably proved, we are told, fince Mr Metherie
has been able to make artificial w’ax by mixing oil of
olives with the nitrous acid, and which wax is not to
be diftinguiihed from the natural.
There are feveral indications which difeover wdiere
amber is to be found. The furface of the earth is there
covered wdth a foft fcaly ftone ; and vitriol in particu¬
lar ahvays abounds there, which is fometimes found
wfoite, fometimes reduced into a matter like melted
glafs, and fometimes figured like petrified wood.
Amber of the find! kind has been found in Eng¬
land. It is frequently thrown on the ftiores of York-
ftiire, and many other places, and found even in our
clay pits 5 the pits dug for tilfc-clay between Tyburn
and Kenfington gravel pits, and that behind St
George’s Hofpital at Hyde-park corner, have afforded
fine fpecimens.
Poland, Silefia, and Bohemia, are famous for the
amber dug up there at this time. Germany affords
great quantities of amber, as W’ell dug up from the
bowels of the earth, as toffed about on the ftiores of
the fea and rivers there. Saxony, Mifnia, Sweden,
and many oyher places in this trad of Europe, abound
with it. Denmark has afforded, at different times, fe¬
veral quantities of foflil arnber j and the iliores of the
Baltic abound with it. But the countries lying on the
Baltic afford it in the greateft abundance ef all; and
of thefe the moft plentiful country is PrulTxa, and the
next is Pomerania. Pruflia was, as early as the time
of Theedoric the Goth, famous for amber ; for this
lubftance coming into great repute with this prince,
fome natives of Pruflia, who were about his court, of¬
fered their fervice to go to their own country, where
that
A M B [ 776 ] A M B
Arhhef. tliat fubfrance, they faid, was produced, and bring back
great ftores of it. They accordingly did fo ; and from
this time Pruflia had the honour to be called the coun¬
try of amber, inftead of Italy, which had before unde-
fervedly that title. This article alone brings his Pruf-
fian majefty a revenue of 26,000 dollars annually. The
amber of Pruflia is not only found on the fea coalts,
but in digging ; and though that of Pomerania is ge¬
nerally brought from the Ihores, yet people who dig,
on different occafions, in the very heart of the country,
at times find amber.
Junker defcribes, after Neumann, the Pruffian amber
mines, which are the richeft known. Firft, At the fur-
face of the earth is found a ftratum of fand. Imme¬
diately under this' fand is a bed of clay, filled with fmall
flints of about an inch diameter each. Under this clay
lies a ftratum of black earth or turf, filled with foflil
wood, half decornpofed and bituminous : this ftratum
is extended upon a bank of minerals, containing little
metal except iron, which are confequently pyrites.
Laftly, Under this bed the amber is found fcattered
about in pieces, or fometimes accumulated in heaps.
Amber has a fubacrid refinous tafte, and fragrant
aromatic fmell, efpecially when diffolved. It differs
from the other bituminous fubftances in this, that it
vields by diftillation a volatile acid fait, which none of
the others do •, otherwife it affords the fame fort of
principles as them, viz. an acid phlegm, an oil which
gradually becomes thicker as the diftillation is conti¬
nued ; and when the operation is finifhed, there re¬
mains a black caput mortuum in the retort. When
boiled in vcater, it neither foftens nor undergoes any
fenfible alteration. Expofed to the fire in an open
veffel, it melts into a black mafs very like a bitumen :
It is partly foluble in fpirit of wine, and likewife in
fome effential oils 5 but it is with difficulty that the
expreffed ones are brought to aft upon it. The
ftronger forts of fixed alkaline lixivia almoft totally
diffolve it.
This fubftance is principally of two colours, white
and yellow. The white is the moft efteemed for me¬
dicinal purpofes, as being the moft odoriferous, and
containing the greateft quantity of volatile fait; though
the yellow is moft valued by thofe -who manufafture
beads and other toys with it, by reafon of its tranfpa-
rency.
Amber is the bafts of all varniffies, by folution in the
ways deferibed under the article Varnish.
Amber, when it has once been melted, irrecoverably .
lofes its beauty and hardnefs. There have been fome,
however, who pretended they had an art of melting
fome fmall pieces of amber into a mafs, and conftitu-
ting large ones of them : but this feems fuch another
undertaking as the making of gold } all the trials that
have yet been made by the moft curious experimenters,
proving, that the heat which is neceffary to melt am¬
ber is fufficient to deftroy it. (Phi/. Tranf. N° 248.
P- 25.) _ . ....
Could amber indeed be diffolved without impairing
its tranfparency, or one large mafs be made of it by
uniting feveral fmall ones, it is eafy to fee what would
be the advantages of fuch a procefs. The art of em¬
balming might poffibly be alfo carried to a great height
bv this, if we could preferve the human corpfe in a
franfparent cafe of amber, as the bodies of fties, fpi-
1
ders, grafhoppers, &c. are to a great perfeftion.—« Anffier*
Something of a fubftitute of this kind we have in fine t!.|e
rofin ; which being diflblved by heat, and the bodies of Ambt rgm,
fmall animals feveral times dipped in it, they are thus
coated with colophony, that in fome degree refembles
amber ; but this muft be kept from dull.
Amber in fubftance has been much recommended
as a nervous and cordial medicine ; and alleged to be
very efficacious in promoting the menftrual difeharge,
and the exclufion of the foetus and lecundincs in la¬
bour : but as in its crude ftate it is quite infoluble by
our juices, it certainly can have very little effeft on the
animal fyftem, and therefore it is now feldom given in
fubftance, The forms in which amber is prepared are,
A tinfture, a fait, and an oil •, the preparations and ufes
of which are deferibed in the proper place under the
article Pharmacy.
SlMBF.R-Tree, the Englifti name of a fpecies of An-
THOSPERMUM.
AMIiERG, a city of Germany, the capital of the
palatinate of Bavaria, with a good caftle, ramparts, baf-
tions, and deep ditches. It is feated near the confines
of Franconia, on the river Wils. It has a great trade in
iron and other metals, which are found in the neigh¬
bouring mountains. E. Long. I 2. O. N. Lat. 49. 25.
Amberg, a lofty mountain of Eaft Gothland in
Sweden. Near the Wetter lake on this mountain, an¬
timony has been found. On its top is the burying place
of one of the ancient kings of the country. The fpot
is marked by a flat ftone.
AMBERGRIS, Ambergrease, or Grey-Am¬
ber, in Natural Hijiory, is a folid, opaque, afh-colour-
ed, fatty, inflammable fubftance, variegated like marble,
remarkably light, rugged, and uneven in its lurface,
and has a fragrant odour rvhen heated. It does not
effervefee with acids : it melts freely over the fire into
a kind of yellow- rofin ; and is hardly foluble in fpirit
of wane.
It is found fwimming upon the fea, or the fea coaft,
or in the land near the lea coaft ; efpecially in the At¬
lantic ocean, on the fea coaft of Brazil, and that of
Madagafcar •, on the coaft of Africa, of the Eaft In¬
dies, China, Japan, and the Molucca illands : but moft
of the ambergris which is brought to England comes
from the Bahama iilands, from Providence, &c. wffiere
it is found on the coaft. It is alfo fometimes found in
the abdomen of whales by the whale filhermen, always
in lumps of various fliapes and fizes, weighing from
half an ounce to an hundred and more pounds. The
piece which the Dutch Eaft India Company bought
from the king of Tydore, weighed 182 pounds. An
American fiffierman from Antigua found fome years
ago, about fifty-two leagues fouth-eaft from the Wind¬
ward iflands, a piece of ambergris in a wffiale which
weighed about a hundred and thirty pounds, and fold
for <;ool. fterling. # .
There have been many different opinions concerning
the origin of this fubftance.
It has been fuppofed to be a foffil bitumen or naph¬
tha, exuding out of the bowels of the earth in a fluid
form, and diftilling into the fea, where it hardens and
floats^on the furface. But having been frequently
found*in the bellies of whales, it has by others been
confidered as entirely an animal produftion.
Clufius afferted it to be a phlegmatic recrement, or
indurated
A M B [
Ambergris, indurated indigeftible part of the food, colle&ed and
* found in the iiomach of the whale, in the fame man¬
ner as the Bezoars are found in the ftomachs of other
animals.
In an account communicated by Paul Dudley, Efq.
in the 23d volume of the Philofophical Tranfattions,
the ambergris found in whales is reprefented as a kind
of animal product, like mulk, and caftoreum, &c. fe-
creted and colledted in a particular bag or bladder,
which is furniflied with an excretory duft or canal, the
fpout of which runs tapering into and through the
length of the penis ; and that this bag, which lies juft
over the tefticles, is almoft full of a deep orange-co¬
loured liquor, not quite fo thick as oil, of the fame
ImeU as the balls of ambergris, which float and fwim
loofe in it; which colour and liquor may alfo be found
in the canal of the penis 5 and that therefore amber¬
gris is never to be found in any female, but in the male
only. But thefe circumftances are not only deftitute
of truth, but alfo contrary to the laws of the animal
economy : hor, in the firil; place, ambergris is fre¬
quently found in females as well as males ; although
that found in females is never in fuch large pieces, nor
of fo good a quality, as what is found in males. Se¬
condly, No perfon who has the leaft knowledge in ana¬
tomy or phyliology, will ever believe that organized
bodies, fuch as the beaks of the fepia, which are fo con-
ilantly found in ambergris taken out of the whale, can
have been abforbed from the intertines by the ladleals
or lymphatics, and collefted with the ambergris in the
precluded bag above mentioned.
Kcempfer, who has given us fo many other faithful
accounts in natural hiftory, feems to come nearer the
truth with regard to the origin of ambergris, when he
fays, that it is the dung of the whale ; and that the
Japanefe for this reafon call it kufura no fuu, i. e. whale’s
dung. This account, however, though founded on ob-
fervation, has never obtained credit ; but has been con-
fidered rather as a fabulous ftory, with which the Ja¬
panefe impofed upon him, who had himfelf no dire6I
obfervation to prove the faft.
'This matter, therefore, remained a fubjeert of great
doubt •, and it was generally thought to be more pro¬
bable, that ambergris, after having been fwallowed and
fomehnw or other changed in the llomach and bowels
of the whale, was found among its excrements.
But the moft fatisfaftory account of the real origin
of ambergris, is that given by Dr Swediaur in the 73d
volume of the Philofophical Tranfa£fions, art. t 5.
We are told by all writers on ambergris, that fome-
times claws and beaks of birds, feathers of birds, parts
of vegetables, rttells, fifli, and bones of fifh, are found
in the middle of it, or variourty mixed with it. Of a
very large quantity of pieces, however, which the
Do£lor examined, he found none that contained any
fuch thing ; though he allows that fuch fubftances
•may fometimes be found in it : but in all the pieces of
any coniiderable fize, whether found on the fea or in
the whale, he conftantly found a confiderable quantity
of black fpots, w'hich, after the mort careful examina¬
tion, appeared to be the beaks of the Sepia Oftopodia ;
and thefe beaks, he thinks, might be the fubftances
which have hitherto been always miftaken for claws or
beaks of birds, or for fhells. .
The prefence of thefe beaks in ambergris proves evi-
Vol. I. Part II.
777
A M B
dently, that all ambergris containing them is in its ori- Ambergris,
gin, or muft have been once, of a very foft or liquid ^
nature, as otherwife thofe beaks could not fo con¬
ftantly be intermixed with it throughout its whole fub-
ftance.
That ambergris is found either upon the fea and
fea-coaft, or in the bowels of whales, is a matter of fa£l
univerfally credited. But it has never been examined
into and determined whether the ambergris found
upon the fea and fea coaft, is the fame as that found in
the whale, or whether they are different from one ano¬
ther ; whether that found on the fea or fea coaft has
fome properties or conftituent parts which that found
in the whale has not; and laftly, whether that found
in the whale is fuperior or inferior in its qualities and
value to the former. '
It is likewife a matter of confequence to know, whe¬
ther ambergris is found in all kinds of whales, or only
in a particular fpecies of them $ whether it is conftant¬
ly and always to be met with in thofe ammals ; and,
if fo, in what part, of their body it is to be found?
All thefe queftions we find very fatisfaclorily dif-
cuffed by Dr Swediaur.
According to the beft information that he could ob¬
tain from feveral of the moft intelligent perfons em¬
ployed in the fpermaceti whale fifhery, and in procur¬
ing and felling ambergris, it appears, that this fub-
ftance is fometimes found in the belly of the whalfc,
but in that particular fpecies only which is called the
fpermaceti whale, and which, from its defeription and
delineation, appears to be the Physetkr Macrocephallis
Linnaei.
The New England filhermen, according to their ac¬
count, have long known that ambergris is to be found
in the fpermaceti whale ; and they are fo convinced, of
this fa<ft, that whenever they hear of a place where am¬
bergris is found, they always conclude that the feas in
that part are frequented by that fpecies of whale.
The perfons who are employed in the fpermaceti
whale filhery, confine their views to the phyfeter ma-
crocephalus. They look for ambergris in all the fpet-
maceti whales they catch, but it feldom happens that
they find any. Whenever they hook a fpermaceti
tvhale, they obferve, that it conftantly not only vomits
up whatever it has in its ftomach, but alfo generally
difeharges its faeces at the fame time ; and if this latter
circumftance takes place, they are generally difappoint-
ed in finding ambergris in its belly. But whenever
they difeover a fpermaceti whale, male or female, which
feems torpid and fickly, they are always pretty fure to
find ambergris, as the whale in this ftate feldom voids
its ffeces upon being hooked. They likewife generally
meet with it in the dead fpermaceti whales, which they
fometimes find floating on the fea. Itisobferved alio,
that the whale in which they find ambergris often
has a morbid protuberance, or, as they exprefs it, a
kind of gathering in the lower part of its belly, in
which, if cut open, ambergris is found. It is obferv-
ed, that all thofe'whales in whofe bowels ambergris
is found, feera not only torpid and fick, but are alfo
conftantly leaner than others ; fo that, if rve may judge
from the conftant union of thele two circumftances, it
would feem that a larger collection of ambergris in the
belly of the whale is a fource of difeafe, and probably
fometimes the caufe of its death. As foon us they
5 F hook
A M B [ 778 ]
.Jlrtrhergrls. hook a whale of this defcription, torpid, fickly, ema- fuck an agreeable one
A M B
ciated, or one that does not dung on being hooked,
they immediately either cut up the above-mentioned
protuberance, if there be any, or they rip open its
bowels from the orifice of the anus, and find the am¬
bergris fometimes in one fometimes in different lumps,
of generally from three to twelve and more inches in
diameter, and from one pound to twenty or thirty
pounds in weight, at the diflance of two, but molt
frequently of about fix or feven feet from the anus, and
never higher up in the inteilinal canal ; which, accord¬
ing to their defeription, is in all probability the intef-
tinum caecum, hitherto miftaken for a peculiar bag
made by nature for the fecretion and colledlion of this
lingular fubftance. That the part they cut open to
come at the ambergris is no other than the inteflinal
canal is certain, becaufe they conflantly begin their in-
cifion at the anus, and find the cavity everywhere fill¬
ed with the faeces of the whale, which from their co¬
lour and Imell it is impoilible for them to miftake. The
ambergris found in tire inteflinal canal is not fo hard
as that which is found on the fea or fea coaft, but focn
grows hard in the air : when firft taken out it has
nearly the fame colour, and the fame difagreeable fmell,
though not fo flrong, as the more liquid dung of the
whale has ; but on expofing it to the air, it by degrees
as that in general has which is Ami
found fwimming upon the fea; therefore the goednefs1 
of ambergris feems rather to depend on its age. Bv
being accumulated after a certain length of time in
the inteflinal canal, it feems even then to become of
a whiter colour, and lefs ponderous, and to acquire its
agreeable fmell. The only reafon why ambergris found
floating on the fea generally poffefies the above-men¬
tioned qualities in a fuperior degree, is becaufe it is
commonly older, and bas been longer expofed to the
air. It is more frequently found in males than females;
the pieces found in females are in general fmaller, and
thofe found in males feem conflantly to be larger and
of a better quality ; and therefore the high price in
proportion to the flze is not merely imaginary ft- the
rarity’s fake, but in fome refpedls well founded, be¬
caufe fuch large pieces appear to be of a greater age
and poffefs the above-mentioned qualities in gene¬
ral in a higher degree of perfedHon than fmaller
pieces.
It is known, that the fepia oftopodia, or cuttle-flfli,
is the conftant and natural food of the fpermaceti
whale, or phyfeter macrocephalus. Of this the flfhers
are fo well perfuaded, that whenever they difeover any
recent relics of it fwimming on the fea, they conclude
that a whale of this kind is, or has been, in that part.
not only grows grayifli, and its furface is covered with _ Another circumftance which corroborates the fadi;
a grayifli duft like old chocolate, but it alfo lofes its
difagreeable fmell, and, when kept for a certain length
of time, acquires the peculiar odour which is fo agree¬
able to moft people.
The gentlemen the Dcclor converfed with confelfed,
that if they knew not from experience that ambergris
thus found will in time acquire the above-mentioned
qualities, they would by no means be able to diftinguiflr
ambergris from hard indurated faeces. This is fo
true, that whenever a whale voids its faeces upon being
hooked, they look carefully to fee if they cannot dif¬
eover among the more liquid excrements (of which the
whale difeharges feveral barrels) fome pieces floating
on the fea, of a more comp aft fubflance than the reft.
Phefe they take up and wafti, knowing them to be
ambergris.
In conlidering whether there be any material differ¬
ence between the ambergris found upon the fea or lea
coaft, and that found in the bowels or among the dung
of the whale, the Dcftor refutes the opinion, that all
ambergris found in whales is of an inferior quality,
and therefore much lefs in price. Ambergris, he ob-
ferves, is only valued for its purity, lightnefs, compaft-
r.efs, colour, and fmell. There are pieces of amber¬
gris found on different coafts, which are of a very in¬
ferior quality ; whereas there are often found in whales
pieces of it of the firft value; nay, feveral pieces found
in the fame whale, according to the above-mentioned
qualities, are more or lefs valuable. All ambergris
found in whales has at firft, when taken out of the in-
teftines, very near the fame fmell as the liquid excre¬
ments of that animal have ; it has then alfo nearly the
fume blackifh colour : they find it in the whale fome-
times quite hard, fometimes rather foftifh, but never fo
liquid as the natural faeces of that animal. And it is
a matter of faft, that after being taken out and kept
in the air, all ambergris grows not only harder and
whiter, but alfo lofes by degrees its fmell, and affumes
that the fpermaceti whale on being hooked generally
vomits up fome remains of the fepia. Hence it is eafv
to account for the many beaks, or pieces of beaks, of
the fepia found in all ambergris. The beak of the
fepia is a black horny fubflance, and therefore paffes
undigefted through the ftomach into the inteftinal ca¬
nal, where it is mixed with the faeces ; after which it is
either evacuated with them, or if thefe latter be preter-
naturally retained, forms concretions with them, which
render the animal lick and torpid, and produce an ob-
ftipation, which ends cither in an abfeefs of the abdo¬
men, as has been frequently obferved, or becomes fatal
to the animal; \vhence, in bothqhe cafes, on the burft-
ing of its belly, that hardened fubftance known under
the name of ambergris, is found fwimming on the fea
or thrown upon the coaft.
From the preceding account, and his having ccn-
ftantly found the above-mentioned beaks of the fepia
in all pieces of ambergris of any confiderable fize, Hr
Swediaur concludes with great probability, that ail am¬
bergris is generated in the bowels of the phyfeter ma¬
crocephalus or fpermaceti wfliale; and there mixed
with the beaks of the fepia oftopodia, which is the
principal food of that whale. He therefore defines
ambergris to be the preternaturally hardened dung or
faeces of the phyfeter macrocephalus, mixed with lome
indigeftible relics of its food.
The opinion of Hr Swediaur, with regard to the
origin of ambergris, has been confirmed by the infor¬
mation of Captain J. Coffin, mafter ol a fhip employed
in the fouthern whale filhery, given to a committee
of privy council in the year 1791. According to Mr
Coffin’s information, American fnips had fometimes
found fmall quantities of ambergris ; but none, that he
knew of, had ever been found by Britiih Ihips. The
quantity wffiich he had brought home amounted to
362 ounces ; and it was taken from the body of a fe¬
male fpermaceti whale on the coaft of Guinea, which
was
A M B [ 779 1
jJLmbtrgris. was lean, lickly, and old ; and yielded but a frnall pro-
—‘ portion of oil. While the people were employed^in
i cutting up the blubber, ambergris was difcovered
coming from the fundament of the whale, and a piece
of it was feen floating on the furface of the fea. More
was obferved in the fame paffage, and the reft was
found in a bag a little belowr the paffage and commu¬
nicating with it. Mr Coffin fuppofes, that the fper-
maceti whale feeds almoft wholly on the fepia or
fquid; for when the whale is dying a quantity of this
fiih, fometimes whole, fometimes in pieces, is thrown
up. The bills of the fquid were found, fome on the
outlide adhering to it, and fome mixed with it. The
fpermaceti whale, when ftruck, generally voids her ex¬
crement, and if fhe does not, Mr Coffin conjectures,
that (lie has no ambergris j for he fuppofes, that the
production of it is the caufe or the effeft of fome dif-
order j and that it is moft likely to be found in a fick-
ly fiffi. The ambergris of the whale taken by Mr
Coffin was moftly fold at 19s. pd. per ounce $ and a
fmall part of it, when it wTas fcarce, at 25s. It was
bought partly for home confumption, and partly for
exportation to Turkey, Germany, and France. (Phi/.
Tran/, vol. Ixxxi.)
The ufe of ambergris in Europe is now nearly con¬
fined to perfumery, though it has formerly been re¬
commended in medicine by feveral eminent phyftcians.
Hence the Effentia Ambrae Hoffmanni, Tinflura Re¬
gia Cod. Parilini, Trochifci de Ambra Ph. Wurtem-
berg, &c.
If we wiffi to fee any medicinal effeCls from this fub-
ftancc, the Do&or obferves, we muft certainly not ex-
peCt them from two or three grains, but give rather
as many fcruples of it for a dofe j though even then,
he thinks, there wrould not be reafon to expeft much
effeCt from it, as he had himfelf taken of pure un¬
adulterated ambergris in powder 30 grains at once
without obferving the leaft fenfible effeCt from it. A
failor, however, who had the curiolity to try the ef¬
fect of recent ambergris upon himfelf, took half an
ounce of it melted upon the fire, and found it a good
purgative j which proves that it is not quite an inert
fubftance.
In Alia and part of Africa ambergris is not only
ufed as a medicine and a perfume j but confiderable
life is alfo made of it in cookery, by adding it to
feveral diffies as a fpice. A great quantity of it is al¬
fo conftantly bought by the pilgrims who travel to
Mecca ; probably to offer it there, and make ufe of it
in fumigations, in the fame manner as frankincenfe is
ufed in Catholic countries. The Turks make ufe of it
as an aphrodifiac. Our perfumers add it to fcented
pillars, candles, balls, bottles, gloves, and hairpow-
der; and its effence is mixed with pomatums, for
the face and hands, either alone or mixed with mulk,
&c. though its fmell is to fome perfons extremely of-
fenfivc.
Ambergris may be knowm to be genuine by its fra¬
grant fcent when a hot needle or pin is thruft into it,
and its melting like fat of an uniform confiftence j
whereas the counterfeit will not yield fuch a fmell, nor
prove of fuch a fat texture. One thing, however is
very remarkable, that this drug, which is the moft
fweet of all the perfumes, ffiould be capable of being
A M B
Ambient.
refembled in fmell by a preparation of one of the moft Ambstt
odious of all ftinks. Mr Homberg found, that a veffel
in which he had made a long digeftion of human ^
faeces, acquired a very ftrong and perftft fmell of am¬
bergris, infomuch that any one would have thought
a great quantity of effence of ambergris had been
made in it. The perfume wras fo ftrong and offenfive,
that the veffel wTas forced to be removed out of the la¬
boratory.
AMBERT, a fmall town of France, in the depart¬
ment of Puy de Dome, formerly Lower Auvergne.
It is the chief place of a fmall territory called Livra-
dois. Paper and playing cards, camblets, and woollen
fluffs are manufaftured here. E. Long. 5. 15. N. Lat.
45- 58*
AMBETTUWAY, a barbarous name of a tree,
the leaves of which, when boiled in w'ine, are faid to
create an appetite, and are ufed by the people in Gui¬
nea with that intention.
AMBIANI, or Ambianensis civitas, wow A-
miens, a city of Picardy. It is called Samarobriva by
Csefar and Cicero : which, according to Valefius, fig-
nifies the bridge of the Samara, or Somme. Ambiani
is a later name, taken from that of the people, after
the ufual manner of the lower age. This people, ac¬
cording to Caefar, furniftied 5000 men for the fiege of
Alefia.
AMBIDEXTER, a perfon who can ufe both hands
with the fame facility, and for the fame purpofes, that
the generality of people do their right hands. As
to the natural caufe of this faculty, fome, as Hoefer,
attribute it to an extraordinary fupply of blood and
fpirits from the heart and brain, wffiich furniffies both
hands with the neceffary ftrength and agility; others,
as Nicholas Maffa, to an ere£l fituation of the heart,
inclining neither to the right hand nor left; and
others to the right and left fubclavian arteries being of
the fame height, and the fame diftance from the heart,
by which the blood is propelled with equal force to
both hands. But thefe are only conjedlures, or rather
chimeras. Many think, that were it not for educa¬
tion and habit, all mankind would be ambidexters 5
and in faft, we frequently find nurfes obliged to be at
a good deal of pains before they can bring children to
forego the ufe of their left hands. How far it may be
an advantage to be deprived of half our natural dexte¬
rity, may be doubted. It is certain, there are infinite
occafions in life, when it would be better to have the
equal ufe of both hands. Surgeons and oculifts are of
neceflity obliged to be ambidexters j bleeding, &c. in
the left arm or left ancle, and operations on the left
eye, cannot be well performed but with the left hand.
—Various inftances occur in hiftory, where the left
hand has been exercifed preferably to the right. But
by the laws of the ancient Scythians, people W’ere en¬
joined to exercife both hands alike j and Plato enjoins
ambidexterity to be obferved and encouraged in his re*-
public.
Ambidexter, among Eng/ijh Lawyers, a juror or
embracer, who accepts money of both parties, for gi¬
ving his verdifl: an offence for which he is liable to
be imprifoned, for ever excluded from a jury, and to
pay ten times the fum he accepted.
AMBIENT, a term rifed for fuch bodies, efpecially
5 F 2 fluids,
4
A M B [ 7
Ambierle fluids, as encumpafs others on all lldes : thus, the air
Am!;*,,* frequently called an ambient fluid, becaufe it is dif-
tuled round the earth.
AMBIERLE, a town of France, in the depart¬
ment of the Rhone and Loire. It is the chief place
of a canton in a diftrift of Roanne.
AMBIGENiE oves, in the Heathen Sacrifices, an
appellation given to fuch ewes as, having brought forth
twins, were facrificed, together with their two lambs,
one on each fide. We find them mentioned among
other facrifi^es to Juno.
AMBIGENAL hyperbola, a name given by Sir
Ifaac Newton to one of the triple hyperbolas of the
fecond order, having one of its infinite legs falling
within an angle formed by the affymptotes, and the
other without.
AMBIGUITY, a defect of language, whereby
words are rendered ambiguous. See the next article.
AMBIGUOUS, a term applied to a word or ex-
prefiion which may be taken in different fenfes. An
anonymous writer has publifiied a dictionary of ambi¬
guous words : Lexicon Philofophicum de Amhignitate Vo-
cabulorum, Francof. 1597, qto.—The refponfes of the
ancient oracles were always ambiguous.
AMBIT, in Geometry, is the fame with what is
otherwife called the perimeter of a figure. See Peri¬
meter.
Ambit was particularly ufed, in antiquity, to de¬
note a fpace of ground to be\ left vacant betwixt one
building and another. By the laws of the twelve ta¬
bles, houfes were not to be built contiguous, but an
ambit or fpace of 2 '- feet w^as to be left about each for
fear of fire.—The ambitus of a tomb or monument de¬
noted a certain number of feet, in length and breadth,
around the fame, within which the fanciity
to it was limited. The whole ground wherein a tomb
was ereCted was not to be fecreted from the common
ufes \ for this reafon, it was frequent to infcribe the
ambit on it, that it might be known how far its fanc-
tity extended : thus, in froute pedes tot, in agrumpedes
tot.
AMBI [TON (ambitio) is generally ufed in a bad
fenfe, for an immoderate or illegal purfuit of power.
In the Uriel meaning, however, of the word, it fig-
rnfies the fame with the ambitus of the Romans. See
the next article.
Ambition, in the former and more ufual fenfe, is one
of thofe pafiions that is never to be fatisfied. It fwells
gradually with fuccefs •, and every acquifition ferves
but as a fpur to further attempts.
“ If ^ man (it has been well obferved) could at once
accomphih all his defires, he would be a miferable crea¬
ture ; for the chief pleafure of this life is to wifh and
defire. Upon this account, every prince rvho afpires
to be defpotic afpires to die of wearinefs. Searching
every kingdom for the man who has the leaft comfort
in life, Where is he to be found ?—In the royal palace.
— vVhat! his Majefty ? Yes, efpecially if he be de-
ipotic.”
AMBITUS, in Roman Antiquity, the fetting up for
fome magiftracy or office, and formally going round
the city to folicit the intereft and votes of the people.
Ambitus differed from ambition, as the former lies In
the aft, the latter in the mind.
80
Ambo.
1 A M B
Ambitus was of two kinds j one lawful, the other Ambfe
mtamous. The firff, called alfo ambitus popularis, wras
whin a perfon offered his fervice to the republic frank¬
ly, leaving it to every body to judge of his pretenfions
as they found reafonable. The means and inftru-
ments here made ufe of were various. 1. Amici, or
friends, under different relations, including cognati, af-
fines, necejfarii, familiar es, vie ini, tribules, client es, mu-
nicipes, fodales, colleger. 2. Nomenclature, or the call¬
ing and faluting every perfon by his name ; to which
purpofe, the candidates were attended by an officer,
under the denomination of interpres, or nomenclator.
3. Blanditia, or obliging perfons, by ferving them, or
their friends, patrons, or the like, with their vote and
intereft on other occafions. 4. Prenfatio, the fhaking
every perfon by the hand, offering him his fervice,
friendlhip, &c. 1 he fecond kind was that wherein
force, cajoling, money, or other extraordinary influence,
was made ufe of. This was held infamous, and fevere-
ly puniflied, as a fource of corruption and other mif-
chiefs.
Ambitus was praclifed, not only at Rome, and in the
forum, but in the meetings and affemblies of other
towns in Italy, where numbers of citizens were ufually
found, on account of trade and bufinefs. The praflice
ceafed in the city from the time of the emperors, by
reafon ports were not then to be had by courting the
people, but by favour from the prince.
Perfons who had caufes depending praflifed the fame,
going about among the judges to implore their favour
and mercy. They who pradlifed this were called Am-
bitiofi. Hence we alfo meet with ambitiofa decreta,
and ambitiofa jufia, ufed for fuch fentences and de¬
crees as were thus procured from the judges, contra¬
ry to reafon and equity, either gratuitouily or for mo¬
ney.
AMBLE , in Horfemanfhip, a peculiar pace by which
a horfe’s two legs of the fame fide move at the fame
time. See Horsemanship.
AMBLESIDE, a town in Weftmorland, feated
at one end of Winandermeer. W. Long. o. 49. N. Lat.
54- 3°*
AMBLETEUSE, a fea-port town of France, in
the department of the Straits of Calais, in the Englifh
Channel, twelve miles fouth-weft from Calais, and
eight north from Boulogne. At this port Caefar em¬
barked his cavalry when he invaded England ; and
James II. when he abdicated the crown landed.
It is defended with a battery of cannon. E. Long.
1. 37. N. Lat. i;o. 48.
AMBLYGON, in Geometry, denotes an obtufe-
angled triangle, or a triangle one of whofe angles con-
fifts of more than 90 degrees.
AMBLYOPY, among Phyficians, fignifies an ob-
feuration of the fight, fo that objefts at a diftance can¬
not be clearly diftmguiflied.
AMBO, or Ambon, a kind of pulpit or defk, in the
ancient churches, where the priefts and deacons flood
to read or fing part of the fervice, and preach to the
people; called alfo Analogium. The term is derived
from avoiZxmiy, “ to mount.” The ambo was mounted,
upon two fides; whence fome alfo derive the appella¬
tion from the Latin ambo, “ both.”
The ambo tvas afeended by fteps j which occafioned
that
A M B [ 781 ] A M B
Ambohitf-that part of the office performed there to be called the
mene Gradual. See Gradual.
Amboife Befides the gofpel, which was read at the top of the
■ ^ ~ h ambo, and the epiftle, which was read a ftep lower,
they likewife publiffied from this place the acts of the
martyrs, the commemoration of departed faints, and
the letters of peace and communion fent by one church
to another : here, too, converts made a public pro-
feffion of their faith ; and biffiops their defence, when
acCufed : treaties alfo were fometimes concluded, and
the coronations of emperors and kings performed, in
the fame place.
The modern reading-defks and pulpits have been ge¬
nerally fubftituted for the ancient ambos 5 though, in
fome churches, remains of the ambos are ftill feen. In
that of St John de Lateran at Rome, there are two
moveable ambos.
AMBOHITSMENE, or Vohitsanghombe, a
province of;the iiland of Madagafcar, fo called from
fome red mountains of the fame name, lying in S. Lat.
20°. Thefe mountains are very high, refembling the
Tafelbergof the Cape of Good Hope. On one fide of
this ridge the fea extends into the country for fifteen
leagues; on the other is a flat country, abounding in
ponds and marffies. Here is alfo a lake 15 leagues
in length, and the fame in breadth, containing many
fmall iilands. The inhabitants of the mountains are
called Zaferahongs; and have plenty of gold, iron,
cattle, filk, See.
AMBOISE, a town of France, in the former pro¬
vince ofTouraine, now the department of the Indre
and Loire, feated at the confluence of the rivers Loire
and Maffe. The town is the capital of a diftriff, and
has been rendered famous in hiftory by the confpiracy
« f the Proteftants in 1560, which opened the fatal wars
of religion in France. The caftle is fituated on a
craggy rock, extremely difficult of accefs, and the
fides of which are almoit perpendicular. At its foot
flows the Loire, which is divided into two ftreams by
a fmall iiland. To this fortrefs the duke of Guife,
when he expected an infurreclion among the Hugue¬
nots, removed Francis II. as to a place of perfect
fecurity. Only two detached parts of the ancient
caftle now remain, one of which was conftrudted by
Charles VIII. and the other by Francis I. The form¬
er of thefe princes was born and died at Amboife. The
town is fituated in E. Long. 1. 10. N. Lat. 47. 25.
Amboise, D\ Frauds, fon of a furgeon to Charles
IX. of France. He very early obtained the patronage
of that prince, and was fupported by his liberality in
the profecution of his ftudies at the univerfity of Na¬
varre, where he devoted his talents to rhetoric and phi-
lofophy with great affiduity and fuccefs. His eloquence
and extenfive information railed him in 1572 to the
place of folicitor of the French nation. He afterwards
applied to the ftudy of the law, and became one of the
moft accomplifned advocates of the parliament of Paris.
He was next advanced to be counfellor in the parlia¬
ment of Bretagne, and next to be a matter of requefts
and counfellor of ftate. He vifited different countries,
and publifhed the hiftory of his travels, with feveral
poetical pieces. He prefixed an apologetical preface
to the edition of Abelard’s works in 1616, and with
much induftry collected many of his manuferipts. His
brother Adrian rofe to confiderable confequence in the Amboife.
church 5 and his brother James was not lefs eminent as v ^
a phyfician. (Gen. Did.)
Amboise, Z)’, George, a French cardinal and mi-
nifter of ftate, was born in the year 1460. His father
was a defeendant of the renowned houfe of Amboife,
and, through the influence of his powerful connexions,
he beheld the path of church preferment open before
his fon } therefore he deftined him to the clerical order.
In thefe fanguine expectations he was not difappointed j
for he had fufficient influence to procure for him the
bifliopric of Montauban at the early age of fourteen.
Louis XL appointed him one of his almoners ; and in
the courfe of political events, he became ftrongly at¬
tached to the duke of Orleans, and fuffered imprifon-
ment in his caufe. When this prince, however, had-
regained his favour at court, lie was elevated to the
archbilhopric of Narbonne. After he had remained
there for fome time, he changed that ftation for
the archbifhopric of Rouen. When the duke of Or¬
leans w'as governor of Normandy, he made him lieu¬
tenant general ; and in that fituation he was of effen-
tial fervice to the province, in reftoring juftice and
order. When the duke of Orleans became Louis XII.
Amboife was fuddenly raifed to the elevated ftation of
firft minifter and one of the cardinals. The fame re¬
gard to equity, which charaClerized his conduCl when
lieutenant general induced him to diminifh the impolicy
which rendered him very popular as firft minifter of
France. In 1499, by his advice, the king undertook
the conqueft of the Milanefe, and, on their revolt, the
firft minifter was fent to quell the rebellion. The great
confidence which Louis had repofed in him, induced
the pope to make him his legate in France \ and, in
that ftation, he pioully laboured to reform the eccle-
fiaftical orders. Fie enforced his dodrine by precept,,
not only in fetting them an example of holding no
more benefices than one at a time, but alfo by devot¬
ing two-thirds of the revenue of the fame to the poor,
and to the repair of religious edifices. According to
his own account he was ambitious of the papal chair,.
“ merely for the purpofe of effedling tKe reformation
of abufes and the corredlion of manners.” It is re¬
ported that, upon the death of Pius III. he would.
have been defied pope had he not been deceived by
the Italian cardinals. Difappointed in his views with
regard to the papal honours, he perfuaded his mafter to •
declare war again!! the Venetians, to whofe influence
he fuppofed his failure was owing. But this impru¬
dent undertaking was fuddenly interrupted ; for in the
profecution of his journey for the Venetian war, he
was feized writb an illnefs, and confined in the city of
Lyons. Afflicfion roufes the reflefling powers of the
mind, and calls to remembrance the pall aflions of life.-
From the confcioufnefs of his paft errors and faults he
was induced to exprefs his contrition to a brother of the ■
infirmary who attended him at the conveht of the Ce-
leftines. In the year 1510, and in the 50th of his age, he
breathed his laft in that place. Induftry, fteadinefs,
and good intention, charaflerized his conduft as a
prime minifter. He (hone with peculiar brightnefs as.
a man of literature. By his liberality and patronage,
the arts and fciences flouriftied under his adminiftra-
tion. It may be proper to add, that, affifted by fome-
a£
A M 13 [ 7
Ambcule, of the ableft lawyers in the kingdom, he formed a code
i.-™ ^yna‘, of laws to reform the reigning abufes in the nation.
Thus, by fteadily puriuing the general welfare, lie ob¬
tained the appellation of the “ father of the people.”
(Gen. Biog.)
AMBOULE, a province of Madagafcar, fomewhat
to the northward of S. Lat. 230. It is a fertile and
agreeable country, watered by the river Manampani,
Y\hoie mouth nes in S. Tat. 23. 3^' I he country pro-
duces plants and fruits in plenty. Iron mines are alfo
round here. The black cattle are extremely fat, and
their flefh excellent. In this province Bands a large
town of the fame name $ near which is a fountain of
hot water, within 20 feet of a fmall river whole fand
is almoft burning. . The water of the fountain is faid
to boil an egg hard in tw7o hours 5 and the inhabitants
affirm it to be a fovereign remedy againfl the gout.
The people here are employed in different preparations
01 iron and fteel, 'which they have from their own mines,
and forge feveral inftruments with tolerable fkill. Their
governor is honoured with the title of Rahertau, or
Great Lord. He exercifes fovereign authority and ab-
lolute powerbut is frequently, in times of diftrefs,
furprifed by his fubje£ls, who affemble in great num¬
bers, ieize his perfon, and threaten him with death un-
lefs they are relieved. To extricate himfelf from this
dilemma he is inftantly obliged to iffue orders for dif-
tributing provifions among them; but is ufually repaid
with intereft, a quadruple return being made in a plen-
tirul harveft. I he people of Amboule live in great
licentioufnefs with their luperiors, and their country is
generally a retreat for the roguilh and lazy.
AMBO\ NA, one of the Molucca iflands in the Eaft
Indies. It lies in S. Lat. 3.36. and E. Long. 126.
20. and is remarkable for being the centre of the com¬
merce for nutmegs and cloves, which is entirely mo¬
nopolized by the Dutch Eaft India Company. It is
about 24 leagues in circumference. Befides cloves,
it like wife abounds in moft of the tropical fruits and
fifh ; nor is there here any deficiency of good water •
but flelh is very fcarce. This fcarcity, however, pro¬
ceeds more from the policy of the Dutch than either
the intemperature of the climate, or the barrennefs of
the foil: For, excepting cloves, they have in Amboyna,
as "well as the Moluccas, induftrioully difeouraged the
cultivation of every efculent commodity, with the view
of withholding fabfiftence from thofe who might be
tempted to invade them.
Of the natives, the men wear large whilkers, but
leave little hair upon the chin 5 and have only a llight
piece of fluff wrapped round their middle. The wo¬
men tie their hair in knots : the maids are bought of
their fathers before they are married ; and if the wife
proves barren, the marriage is diffolved. Some of the
natives are Mahometans, and fome Chriftians: but
they are all faid to be lazy, deceitful, and treacherous.
They make war with fmall fwift veffels, in lhape like
dragons with regard to the head and tail. Their houfes
are built of bamboo canes and fago trees. They lleep
on mats. Their weapons are bows and arrows, jave¬
lins, feimitars, and targets.
Amboyna was firft clifcovered by the Portuguefe,
who built a fort upon it, which -was taken from them
by the Dutch in 1605. They did not, however, be¬
come mailers of the whole illand at once. The Eim-
o
2
i2 ] A M B
lilh had here five fa&ors, who lived under the protec- Amboyn*,
tion of the Dutch caftle j holding themfelves fafe, in—v——
refpefl: of the friendihip betrveen the two nations.
Great differences had arifen between the Dutch and
Engliih colonifts in this part of the world ; till at laft,
the Engliih Eaft India Company applying to King
James, a treaty was concluded in 1619, by which the
concerns both of the Englilh and Dutch were regu¬
lated, and certain meafures agreed upon for prevent¬
ing future difputes. 'This was an additional fecurity
to the Englifti; and, by virtue of the treaty, they
continued two years in Amboyna, trading with the
Dutch. During this time, however, feveral difputes
happened j which occafioning mutual difeontents, the
complaints were fent to Jacatra, in the ifland of Java
Major, to the council of defence of both nations refx-
dent there : but they not agreeing, a ftate of the mat¬
ter was fent over to Europe, to be decided by the Eaft
India Companies of both nations; or, in cafe tliey
could not agree, by the king of England and the
Bates of Holland, according to an article in the treaty
of 1619.—But before thefe difputes could be decided
in a legal way, the Dutch, in order to give the more
fpecious colouring to the violent feizure which they
meditated of the ifland of Amboyna, made ufe of the
ftale pretext of a confpiracy being formed by the Eng¬
lifti and Japanefe to difpoffefs them of one of their forts
in this place. The plot, it WTas alleged, had been
confeffed by a Japanefe and Portuguefe in the Englilh
fervice, who were moft inhumanly tortured till they
fliould anfwer in the affirmative fuch interrogatories as
might favour the fecret defign of thofe cruel inquifitors.
Upon the injurious evidence of this conftraineb decla¬
ration, they immediately accufed the Englifti faftors
of the pretended confpiracy. Some of them they im-
prifoned, and others they loaded with irons, and fent
on board their ftiips j feizing at the fame time all the
Englifti merchandife, with their writings and books.
Thefe a£!s of violence were followed by a feene of
horror unexampled in the puniffiment of the moft atro¬
cious offenders. Some of the faftors they tortured,
by compelling them to fwallow water till their bodies
were diftended to the utmoft pitch ) then taking the
miferable viiftims dowm from the boards to which they
had been faftened, and caufing them to difgorge the
water : if they did not acknowledge the imputed guilt,
the procefs of torture was repeated. Others of the
Englifh they confumed by burning them gradually
from the feet upwards, in order to extort the confeflion
of a confpiracy, which was only pretended by the in¬
fernal policy of thofe favage tormentors. Some had the
nails of the fingers and toes torn off 5 and in fome they
made holes in their breafts, filling the cavities with in¬
flammable materials, to which they afterwards put
fire. Thofe wrho did not expire under the agonies of
torture were configned to the hands of the execu¬
tioner.
The allegation of this pretended confpiracy was
equally void of probability and truth. The Dutch had
a garrifon of 300 men in the fort, befides the burghers
in the torvn, and feveral other forts and garrifons in
the ifland, while the number of the Englifti did not
amount to 20 men ; nor were even thofe provided with
arms or ammunition to effedl fuch a defign as that with
which they were charged. There likewife was not one
Englifh
A M B
Amboyna. Englifn veffel in the harbour, whereas the Dutch had
u—-y——' eight ihips riding near the town ; neither, when the
Dutch broke open the delks and trunks of the fadfors,
was there found a fingle paper or letter which could
be conihrued into the mofl diilant relation to any con-
fpiracy. Add to all this, that fuch of the unhappy
fufferers as could fpeak to be heard, declared in the
moft folemn manner their innocence of the plot with
which they were pharged.
The whole of the tranfaftion affords the mod irre¬
fragable teftimony, that it was founded entirely upon
a political fidlion of the Hollanders, who had thexn-
felves formed the defign of monopolizing the trade of
the Spice Iflands 5 for the accomplifhment of which
they perpetrated, about the fame time, a lingular tra¬
gedy at Pooleron, where they put to the torture 162
of the natives, whom they likewife charged with a
pretended conspiracy. It may juftly be reckoned lin¬
gular in the fortune of this commercial republic, that
they have ever Unce been permitted to enjoy in peace
thofe invaluable iflands, which were originally obtain¬
ed by fuch atrocious infringements of humanity and
the lawrs of nations, as will llain the Dutch annals, to
the lateft ages, with indelible infamy.
The more effectually to preferve this trade, the Dutch
have had all the clove trees in the adjacent illands grub¬
bed up. Sometimes alio, when the harvelt is very
large, part of the produce of Amboyna itfelf is burnt.
-—To prevent the rearing of cloves in any of the neigh¬
bouring illands, or the inhabitants from felling them to
ft rangers, the governor of Amboyna makes the tour
of his government with a fleet of curricurries, conliil:-
ing fometimes of 20, and at others of 30, 40, or 50
fail. This expedition is made with all the pomp ima¬
ginable, in order to gratify the pride and folly of the
Indian chiefs. The true reafon of their taking all this
pains is, becaufe experience has Ihown, that no con-
tradts, how'ever folemn, can prevent the inhabitants of
thofe iflands from felling their fpice to flrangers : and
even now, frauds are fo frequently praftifed by the
Dutch themfeives, though the Company is inexorable
in punifhing them, that the common people call the
cloves galien-kruid, that is, the gallows fpice.
Befides the cloves, coffee is alfo cultivated here by
the Dutch, and a gold mine has been lately found out.
This was difcovered by the quantities of gold dull that
were waflied from fome mountains by the torrents.
Here alfo grew feveral kinds of valuable wood, of
which they make tables, chairs, eferutoires, &c. for the
principal perfons in the government j and the reft is
fold all over the Indies at a very extravagant rate.
Amboyna is divided into two parts, viz. a greater
and leffer peninfula. The former, called Hiton, is 12
leagues in length, and two and a half broad. In this
the Dutch have no lefs than five forts, or rather ftrong
redoubts, mounted with cannon. The other is called
Leytimor, five leagues in length, and one and a half
broad, which is the fouthern part of the if and ; on
this Hands the fort of Victoria, which is the refidence
of the governor and his council, compofed of 15 gen¬
tlemen or merchants. The fortrefs is a fquare, the
ramparts mounted with 60 pieces of brafs cannon, and
the garrifon ufually compofed of 600 men. It is fo
ftrong by nature and art, as to be in a manner impreg-
A M B
nable ) and fo effe<51ually does it command the har- Ambracia.
hour, that no veffel could come in or go out without u*—
being funk by the cannon, if the governor chofe. The
inhabitants of Amboyna are computed at yo or 80,000,
of whom but a fmall number are Dutch : and this
obliges the latter to be continually upon their guard,
and to keep a competent number of troops in each of
their forts, particularly in that of Middleburgh, which
Hands upon the iilhmus that conne&s thefe peninfulas.
There are alfo redoubts and garrifons in all the iflands
of this government.
AMBRACIA, one of the moH confiderable cities
of ancient Epirus, fltuated on the river Aradlhus, at a
fmall diHance from the lea. At firfl it was a free ci¬
ty ; but xvas afterwards reduced by the Alacidae kings
of Epirus, who chofe it for the place of their refidence.
In procefs of time, the Altolians made themfeives mas¬
ters of it, and held it till the year before Chrifi 189,
when it fell into the hands of the Romans.
At this time Ambracia was a place of great Hrength.
It was defended on one fide by the river Arafthus, and
on the other by Heep and craggy hills $ and furround-
ed with a high and thick wall, above three miles in
compafs. The Roman conful Fulvius began the fiege
by forming two camps, feparated by the river, but
with a communication between them ; the Romans
were pofied in one, and the Epirots their allies in the
Other. He then threw up two lines, one of circumval-
lation, the other of contravallation; and built a wood¬
en tower in form of a cafile, over againfi the citadel,
which Hood on a hill. The ^Etolians, however, before
the lines were quite finilhed, found means to throw
about 1 coo men into the place.
The lines being completed, the city was attacked in
five different places at once. The battering rams Ihook
the walls on all fides : and the Romans, from their
moveable t®wers, pulled down the battlements with a
kind of feythes, which they faffened to long beams.
The befieged made a vigorous defence. They were
night and day on the walls, and indefatigable in pre¬
venting the effedTs of the rams and feythes. The
ffrokes of the former they deadened, by letting down
beams, large Hones, lumps of lead, &c. by means of
pullies, upon them when they were in motion : the
others they rendered ufelefs, by pulling the beams to
which they were faHened into the city with hooks con-
-trived for the purpofe.
While Fulvius was carrying on the fiege, Nicander
the Altolian preetor, found means to throw ^oo men-
into the city, under the command of one Nicodamus,
with whom Nicander agreed to attack the Roman camp
in the night time 5 not doubting, that, if the garrifon
from within, and the army from without, fell upon
them at the fame time, they would be obliged to raife
the fiege. Nicodamus narrowdy watched the time at
which he wras ordered to fally 5 and though Nicander
did not appear, marched out at the head of the garri¬
fon, armed with firebrands and torches. The Roman
fentinels, furprifed at this fight, ran to wake the legi¬
onaries, and foon fpread a general alarm all over the
camp. The legionaries marched in fmall bodies as they
happened to meet, to repulfe the enemy, whom they
engaged in three different places. Two parties of the
garrifon were driven back 3 but the third, commanded
bl
[ 7S3 ]
A M B
4,
Ambfacia, by two yEtolian generals, made a great flaugliter of the
A-.nbuaaa. ]^omans> an(j not fin(]{ng themfelves feconded by Ni-
cander, retired in good order into the city.
Though the befieged were thus abandoned and had
ho hopes of affiftance, they continued to defend them¬
felves with incredible vigour and refolution. The Ro¬
mans had no fooner made a breach in the wall, but it
was repaired, and a new one built behind it. The con-
ful, therefore, altered his meafures and, inftead of
making breaches with the ram, began to undermine
the wall, in hopes of throwing down great part of it at
once, and entering the city before the belieged tould
have time to build a new wall. The miners being co¬
hered, were not obferved by the garrifon, till the great
quantities of earth brought out of the mine gave the
alarm. The ./Etolians immediately began to counter¬
mine ; and having dug a trench of the depth they fup-
pofed the mine to be, they carried; it along the wall
■where they heard the ftrokes of the pickaxes of the
Romans. When the two mines met, a battle enfued,
firft with pickaxes and fpades, and then with fwords
and fpears: but this attack did not laft long, each par¬
ty making themfel ves a kind of rampart with the loofe
earth. The ^Etolians, in order to drive their enemies
■quite out of the mine, invented a machine which they
brought td the placd where the two mines met : this
was a hollow veffel with an iron bottom, bored through
in many places, and armed with fpikes at proper dl-
Itances, to prevent the enemy from approaching it:
this veilel they filled with feathers, which they fet on
fire, and with bellows driving the fmoke on the be-
fiegers, obliged them to leave the mine half fuffocated.
This interval the ^Etolians made ufe of in repairing the
foundations of the wall.
The vigorous refiftance made by the Ambracians,
however, did not raife the courage of the nation in ge¬
neral, who were determined on a peace with Rome at
all events. Fulvius, in the mean time, being defirous
bf getting poffeflion ot Ambracia before the conclufion
of the peace, employed Amynander, king of the Atha-
Inanes, to perfuade the inhabitants to furrender. As
Am^nander had great intereft in Ambracia, having long
refided there, he eafily perfuaded them to capitulate on
the following terms, viz. That the Attolian garrifon
fhould have leave to march out of the city j that the
inhabitants fhouldpay 500 talents, 200 down, and the
reft at fix equal payments ; and that they fhould deliver
to the conful all the prifoners and deferters that were
in the city. The gates were then Opened to Fulvius j
and he was prefented with a crown of gold, together
with many fine ftatues and pictures, of which there
were great numbers in the city, it having been the ca¬
pital of Pyrrhus, who had enriched it with many va¬
luable monuments.
From this time the city of Ambracia made no figure
in hiftory. It is fcarcoly known at prefent where the
city flood ; but that called Slrba, in Upper Albania,
feems beft to agree with what is faid of the ancient fi-
tuation of this city. The river Araflhus, on which
Ambracia was fituated, is now called by the natives
Spagmagmurifi.
AMBREADA, thus they call the falfe or fidlitious
timber, which the Europeans ufe in their trade with
the negroes on the coaft of Africa, and particularly
on the river Senegal. There are fome large and red
[ 784 I
A M B
pieces of it, a thoufand of which making twenty ropes Athbref»
or firings, weigh three pounds. There are others blu7
fmall, and alfo red, which weigh but two pounds and , n JJ. v-e
a half. f ~ - i h
AMBRESBURY, or Amesbury, a market town
in Wiltfhire, about fix miles north of Salifbury, and fi¬
tuated in W. Long. 1. 40. and N. Lat. 51. 20.
AMBRONES, a Gaulifii people who lived near
the foot of the Alps, between Switzerland and Prd-
vence. They invaded the Roman territories in con-
jundtion with the Cimbri and Teutones 5 but were de¬
feated with great {laughter by Marius, about 101 years
before Chrift. Their women, who had flaid during
the engagement in a kind of fortification made with
their carts, on feeing their hufbands flying, and the
Romans at their heels, armed themfelves with axes, and,
gnafhing with their teeth, fell with fury on the pur-
iuers and the purfned. Their firft rage being fpent,
they defired to furtender themfelves, upon the Angle
condition^ that their chaftity fhould not be violated ;
but this equitable requeft being denied, they firft killed
their children, and then themfelves, not one remaining
alive out of the whole multitude.
AMBROSE, Saint, an illand in the South Paci¬
fic ocean, on the coaft of Chili, four or five leagues
due welt from St Felix illand. At firft viewy it ap¬
pears like tw70 fmall iflands ; but after a nearer ap¬
proach, it is found they are joined by a reef. It lies
in S. Lat. 26. 13. W. Long. 8o. 55. from Greenwich.
There is a large rock 4 miles to the northward of the
ifland, called, from its appearance, Sail-rock. Cap¬
tain Roberts, wrho was here in 1792, found St Felix
ifland inacceflible. On St Ambrofe ifland, his crew
killed and cured 13,000 feal fkins of the beft quality,
in feven weeks. The ifland has little elfe to recom¬
mend it. Fifh and craw'fifh abound. The beft feafon
for fealing is from the ift of April to the ift of Au-
guft-
Ambrose of Alexandria, lived m the beA .ning
of the third century, and wTas the intimate friend of
Origen. Jerome and Eufebius differ in the account
they give of this man. The one denominates him a
Marcionite, the other a Valenthwan \ but they both a-
gfee that he was converted to the orthodox faith,
through means of the preaching of Origen. As is
generally the cafe with new profelytes, he became
very zealous, and wras appointed deacon either at
Alexandria, or at Caffarea, wfliere Protedletus w7as
prefbyter. Origen dedicated many of his works, and
among others his book on martyrdom, to Ambrofe ;
at w-hofe defire and expence they were publifhed. O-
rigen and Ambrofe vrere alike indefatigable in their
application to ftudy, and lived in terms of the moft
intimate friendlhip. Origen being poor, Ambrofe affift-
ed him, by providing notaries and amanuenfes to copy
his Works.
In th^t period of fociety, when the increafe of co¬
pies was a wrork of immenfe labour and great expence,
thefe were not only inftances of private friendfhip, but
of public utility. Ambrofe is thus jullly entitled to
rank among the patrons of learning. Ambrofe has
been blamed by fome, for having made no provifion at
his death for the poor infirm Origen. The friends of
Ambrofe excufe this part of his condudl, by faying,
that Origen chofe to live poor, and daily dependant on
a
A M B [ 785 ] A M B
According to fome hiltorians, the public choice, he exchanged the enfigns of civil Ambrofe.
Ambtofe. a divine Providence.
" Ambrofe died as a martyr, along with his friend Pro-
teiletus, in the perfecution under Maximin, about the
year 236 ; but the dedication of Origen’s eight books
againft 'Celi’us thews, that though he died before Ofi-
gen, yet he lived to the year 250, or near that period.
Origen fpeaks of him as a man of great piety, and
much devoted to the ttudy of the facred Scriptures.
\Gcji. Biog.)
Ambrose, bithop of Milan, was one of the motl
eminent fathers of the church in the fourth century.
Pie was a citizen of Rome, and born in France ; fome
hiftorians fay in the year 334, but others fay in the
year 340. The birth of Ambrofe is laid to have been
attended with a remarkable prefage of his future elo¬
quence, by a fwarm of bees coming and fettling upon
his mouth as he lay in his cradle. At the period of
his birth, his father was Prastorian prefeft of Gallia
Narbonenfis ; but upon his death, the widow repaired
to Rome with her family. Ambrofe received a reli¬
gious education, and was reared in the habits of vir¬
tuous conduff by his mother, who was an accomplilh-
ed woman, and eminent for piety. The names of
thofe mailers who inftrufted him in the rudiments of
the Greek and Roman literature have not been tranf-
mitted to pofterity : but in thefe branches he made
early proficiency ; and, having direfted his attention
to the law, he employed his eloquence with fuch repu¬
tation in the Praetorian court of Anicius Probus, that
he was foon deemed worthy of a place in the council.
After he had continued in this ftation for fome time,
Probus appointed him confular of Liguria and Emilia,
comprehending the territories of Milan, Liguria, Tu¬
rin, Genoa, and Bologna. Milan wTas chofen for the
place of his refidence, and by the prudent and gentle
ufe of his pow?er, he conduced the affairs of the pro¬
vince with general approbation and growing popula¬
rity.
In the year 374, Auxentius the bifhop of that city
died, and his death gave a hidden change to the for¬
tune and literary purfuits of Ambrofe. At that pe¬
riod, the tide of religious contention ran high between
the Catholics and the Arians, and there enfued a ffrong
conteft concerning the choice of a newr billiop. When
the people wTere affembled in the church to ele£l, Am¬
brofe, in the charafter of governor of the place, went
into the affembly, and, in a grave, eloquent, and pa¬
thetic addrefs, admonifhed the multitude to lay afide
their contentions, and, in the fpirit of religious meek-
nefs, to proceed to the important work of choofing a
bilhop. It is reported, that when Ambrofe had finifii-
ed his addrefs, a child cried out, “ Ambrofe is bifhop.”
The agitated multitude fuddenly caught the fuperfti-
tious flame, and regarding this as a miraculous intima¬
tion, they unanimoufly elefted Ambrofe bifhop of Mi¬
lan. Some fuppofe that this was entirely a device of
Ambrofe or his friends, and others afcribe it to mere
accident. Ambrofe ftrongly affedled reluftance, and
even pretended to fly from the city in order to avoid
the intended honour. It is, however, unfortunate for
the artifice of the governor that the place of his con¬
cealment was foon difcovered, when the will of the em¬
peror wras knowm concerning the confirmation of his
ele&ion. Finding it inconvenient any longer to refill
Vol. I. Part II.
for thofe of ecclefiaftical dignity ; and, after being bap-'
tized, he w’as ordained bifhop of Milan, about the end
of the year 374.
But whatever may be the fentiments of mankind
concerning the Angular conduft of Ambrofe in accept¬
ing an office for which he was certainly unqualified in
reipett of previous ftudies, habits, and employments,
yet it muft be admitted, that he immediately betook
himfelf to the neceffary ftudies, and with ability, bold-
nefs, and integrity, acquitted himfelf in his new eleva¬
tion. Having appropriated his money to the poor,
fettled his lands upon the church, with the exception
of making his filler tenant during life, and having
committed the care of his family to his brother, he en¬
tered upon a regular courfe of theological ftudy, under
the care of Simplician, a prefbyter of Rome, and de¬
voted himfelf to the labours of the church.
Compelled by the irruption of the Goths and the
northern barbarians, w’ho rufhed down upon the Ro¬
man empire, fpreading terror and defoiation all around,
Ambrofe, along with feveral others, fled to Illyricum j
but he remained only a Ihort period in exile, for the
northern invaders were quickly defeated by the forces
of the emperor, and driven back with confiderable lofs
into their own dominions 5 therefore, he and his com¬
panions returned to their refpeftive habitations.
After he returned to his ecclefiaftic ftation, the elo¬
quence and abilities of that zealous bilhop found ample
fcope in the difpute between the Arians and the Catho¬
lics. About this era, the do&rine of Arius concern¬
ing the perfon of Chrift had been extenfively received,
and had many powerful defenders, both among the
clergy and the common people. Ambrofe efpoufed
the caufe of the Catholics. Gratian, the fon of the
elder Valentinian, marlhalled on the fame fide. But
the younger Valentinian, who w’as now- become his
colleague in the empire, adopted the opinions of the
Arians j and all the arguments and eloquence of Am¬
brofe wyere infufficient to reclaim the young prince to
the orthodox faith. Theodofius, the emperor of the
eaft, alfo profeffed the orthodox faith, yet there were
numerous adherents to Arius fcattered throughout his
dominions. In this general ftate of religious opinions
in the empire, twm leaders of the Arians, Palladius and
Secundianus, confident of numbers, prevailed upon
Gratian to call a general council from all parts of the
empire. This requeft appeared fo equitable that he
complied without hefitation, but Ambrofe, aw’are of
the confequence, had the eloquence to perfuade the
emperor that a general council wras improper, and that
the matter could be determined by a council of the
weftern biftiops. The refult wTas, that a fynod, com-
pofed of 3 2 biftrops, was held at Aquileia in the yeaf
381. Ambrofe W’as defied prefident, and Palladius
being called upon to defend his opinions, declined; in¬
filling that the meeting was a partial one, and that the
whole bilhopsof the empire not being prefent, the fenfe
of the Chriftian church could not be obtained concern¬
ing the queftion in difpute. Ambrofe mentioned feve¬
ral precedents in favour of the authority of the court,
and added, that the oriental biftiops being acquainted
with the place and nature of the meeting, might have
been prefent, if they had deemed the matter in diftcuf-
5 G fion
A M B [ 786 ] A M B
Ambrofe.
fion worthy of their attention ; therefore, the court,
although Palladius perfifted in his refufal to plead his
caufe, put the vote, and he, along with his affociate
Secundianus, was ejefted from the epifcopa! office.
If Ambrofe difplayed great zeal in oppofing the errors
of Arius, he difplayed equal zeal in oppoling the hea¬
then fuperllitions. Many of the fenators remaining
ftrongly attached to the heathen idolatry, upon Valen-
tinian II. afcending the throne, they made, a vigorous
effort to reftore the worlhip of the heathen deities.
Symmachus, a very opulent man, and a great orator,
who was at that time prefect of the city, was entruft-
ed with the management of the Pagan caufe, and drew
up a petition, praying that the altar of Vidlory might
be reitored to its ancient ilation in the hall of the fe-
nate, and for the proper fupport of feven veftal virgins,
and the regular obfervance of the other Pagan cere¬
monies. Great eloquence and peculiar infinuation cha-
raflerized the petition. He argued that this form of
religion had long been profitable to the Roman ftate,
reminded the emperor how much Rome had been in¬
debted to victory, and that it had been the uniform cu-
ftom of the fenators to fwear fidelity to the government
upon that altar. He likewife, produced many fafls to
prove the advantages derived to the ftate from its an¬
cient religious inftitutions, and infinuated that it was
one divinity that all men worlhipped under different
forms, fo that ancient practice fhould not be rafhly
laid afide. He even proceeded fo far as to Hate the
Injuftice of increafing the public revenue by robbing
the church, and attributed the late famine which had
overtaken the empire to the neglefl of the ancient wor-
fuip.
To this petition, Ambrofe replied in a letter to Va-
lentinian, arguing that the devoted worlhippers of idols
had often been forfaken by their deities; that the na¬
tive valour of the Roman foldiers had gained her vic¬
tories, and not the pretended influence of Pagan prieflsj
that thefe idolatrous worlhippers requefted for them-
felves what they refufed to Chriftians} that willing
virginity rvas more honourable than that procured by
the public money j that as the Chrillian minifters de¬
clined taking temporal emoluments, they fhould alfo
be denied to Pagan priefts ; that it was abfurd to fup-
pofe that God would fend a famine upon the empire
for negle&ing to fupport a religious fyffem contrary to
his revealed will in the Scriptures; that the whole
procefs of nature encouraged innovations 5 and that all
nations had permitted thefe, even in religion; that
heathen facrifices were exceedingly offenfive to Chri-
fiians ; and that every Chriflian prince fhould fupprefs
thefe Pagan ceremonies.
In the epiftles of Symmachus and of Ambrofe, both
the petition and the. reply are preferved, in which fo-
phiflry, fuperftition, found fenfe, and fblid argument,
are flrangely blended. It is fcarcely neceflary to add
that the petition was unfuccefsful.
The increafing ftrength of the Arlans proved too
formidable for the zealous Ambrofe. The young em¬
peror and Juflina, along with a confiderable number of
clergy and laity profefling the Arian faith, requefted
from the bifhop the ufe of two churches, one in the
city, the other in the fuburbs of Milan. The prelate
believing the biihops to be the guardians, both of the
temporal and fpiritual interefts of the church, and that Atr.brofe,
the religious edifices were the unqueftionable property
of the church, pofitively refufed to deliver up the tem¬
ples of the Lord into the impious hands of heretics.
Filled with indignation, Juftina refolved to employ the
imperial authority of her fon in procuring by force
what flie could not by perfuafion. Ambrofe was re¬
quired to anfwer for his conduct before the council.
Pie went, attended by a numerous crowd of people,
vhofe impetuous zeal fo overawed the minifters of Va-
lentinian, that he was permitted to retire without ma¬
king the furrender of the churches. The day follow¬
ing, when he was performing divine fervice in the Ba-
filica, the prefect of the city came to perfuade him to
give up at leaft the Portian church in the fuburbs.
Still continuing obftinate, the court proceeded to vio¬
lent meafures. The officers of the houfehold were
commanded to prepare the Bafilica and the Portian
churches to celebrate divine fervice upon the arrival of
the emperor and his mother at the enfuing feftival of
Eafter. The order refpe£!ing one of them was carried
into effefl, but the court perceiving the growing
ftrength of the prelate’s intereft, deemed it prudent to
ufe fofter meafures ; but all meafures proved in vain :
the bifhop boldly replied, “ If you demand my perfon,
I am ready to fubmit: carry me to prifon or to death,
I will not refift ; but I will never betray the church
of Chrift. I will not call upon the people to fuccour
me f I will die at the foot of the altar, rather than de-
fert it. The tumult of the people I will not encou¬
rage, but God alone can appeafe.” This ftrong decla- *
ration was followed by a torrent of eloquence from
the pulpit, purfuing his fcheme with the moft violent
zeal. But the court remained unconvinced, and ano¬
ther attempt being made, under a ftrong guard of fe¬
rocious Goths, to feize the church of Bafilica ; when
they were about to enter, Ambrofe thundered the feh-
tence of excommunication againft them, and fo over¬
awed them that they retired ; and Ambrofe and his
friends remained in poffeffion of the churches. About
this time, alfo, an Arian bifhop challenged Ambrofe to
a difpute before the emperor; but he declined, faying
that matters of faith fliould be determined by a coun¬
cil of biffiops.
Many circumftances in the hiftory of Ambrofe are
ftrongly charafteriftic of the general fpirit of the times.
The chief caufes of his victory over his opponents were,
his great popularity, and the fuperftitious reverence
paid to the epifcopal character at that period of fociety*
But it muft alfo be admitted, that he ufed feveral in¬
direct means to obtain and fupport his popular autho¬
rity. Many indigent perfons were fupported by his li¬
beral bounty ; in his explanations of Scripture he made
conftant and fevere alluftons to exifting and public
charaClers 5 the alternate mode of finging had no fmall
efteCt upon the minds of the vulgar. At a time when
the influence of Ambrofe required vigorous fupport,
he fortunately was admonifhed in a dream to fearch for
the remains of Gervafius and Protafius, two martyrs
who had quietly repofed under the pavement of the
church. The fkeletons were found entire, w’ere ftain-
ed with blood, and the head of one of them fepa-
rated from the body. The vulgar crowded in thou-
fands to behold thefe venerable relics. According to
report,
A M B [ 787 ] A M B
Ambrofe. report, a blind man was reftored to figbt, feveral
demons were expelled, and tick perfons healed by
touching thele bones. Ambrofe exulted in thefe mi¬
racles, and appealed to them in his eloquent fermons ;
whilft the court derided and called in queftion their exi-
itence. The bilhop continued firm in his opinions ; the
people believed *, and the exiftence of the miracles was
eftablifhed. And it is a very Angular faft, that thefe,
and many other miracles, obtained current credit among
the Chriftian hiftorians of the fecond, third, and fourth
centuries. Dr Cave in fpeaking of them fays, “ I
make no doubt but God fuffefed them to be wrought,
at this time, on purpofe to confront the Arian impie-
ties.”
Although the court were difpleafed with the religi¬
ous principles and condufl of Ambrofe, yet they re-
fpedded his great political talents ; and when neceffity
required, they folicited his aid, which he generoufly
granted. When Maxentius ufurped the fupreme power
in Gaul, and was meditating a defcent upon Italy, Val-
entinian fent Ambrofe to him, who prevailed upon him
to defift from the undertaking. On a fecond attempt
of the fame kind Ambrofe was employed} and, although
he': was unfuccefsful, yet, if his advice had been fol¬
lowed upon his return, the fchemes of the ufurper
would have proved abortive; but indifferent to his coun-
fels, the enemy w^as permitted to enter Italy, and Mi¬
lan wras taken. Juflina and her fon fled ; but Ambrofe
remained in his ftation, and proved beneficial to many of
the fufferers, by caufing the plate of the church to be
melted for their relief. Theodofius, the emperor of
the Eaft, efpoufed the caufe of Juftina, and by force of
arms regained the kingdom.
In the year 390, a tumult happened at Theffalonica,
in which Botheric, one of the officers of Theodofius
was flain ; and he was fo greatly enraged, that he if-
fued a royal mandate for the promifcuous maffacre
of the inhabitants of that place: and about feven
thoufand perfons w^ere aflaflinated, without diftinc-
tion or mercy. The courageous Ambrofe, informed of
this deed, wwote to the emperor a fevere reproof, and
an earneft admonition, charging him not to approach
the holy communion with hishands ftained with innocent
.blood. When the emperor was about to enter the
church of Milan to attend upon the fervice, the bi-
fhop met him, and with a ftern countenance prohibited
him from approaching the temple of God. rI he emperor
reminded him that David had been guilty of murder and
of adultery. The bifhop replied, You have “imitatedDa-
vid in his guilt; go and imitate him in his repentance.”
The prince obeyed the prieft, and, by a courfe of peni¬
tential forrow, during the fpace' of eight months, he
laboured to regain the favour of the church. After
the termination of this period, he was abfolved, but at
the fame time wus made to fign an edi6Tthat an inter¬
val of thirty days (hould intervene before the fentence
of death or confifcation fhould be put in execution.
When the mind reflefts upon the numerous bad effetts
of inftant and violent paffion, this meafure was certainly
fraught with policy and humanity. If the reader la¬
ments the weaknefs which fubjefied the confidence to
the clerical power, he mull be gratified that a mode¬
rate ufe was made of that authority.
The undaunted courage of Ambrofe received ano¬
ther fevere trial in the year 393, after the a ffa Hi na¬
tion of Valentinian, and the bale Eugenio had ufurp¬
ed the empire of the weft. Rather than join the
ftandard of the ufurper, he fled from Milan. But af¬
ter the army of Theodofius was viftorious, he genev
rouily fupplicated the emperor for the pardon of thole
who had fupported the caufe of Eugenio. Theodofius,
foon after he had acquired the uncontrolled pollef-
fion of the Roman empire, died at Milan. The bi -
fhop did not long furvive the emperor $ but died in the
year 397. In his laft illnefs he preferved perfeft com-
pofure of mind, informing his friends that he had e«-
deavoured fo to conduft himfelf that he might neither
be alhamed to live nor to die.
On many accounts the charafter of the bifliop of
Milan ftands high among the fathers of the ancient
church. With unvarying fteadinefs he delivered his
religious fentiments on all occafions j with unwearied
afliduity he difcharged the duties of his office 5 with
unabated zeal and boldnefs he defended the orthodox
caufe, in oppofition to the Arians •, with a liberal hand
he fed the numerous poor who flocked to his dwelling}
with uncommon generofity he manifefted kindnefs to
his adverfaries } and with Chriftian affeflion he fought
the happinefs of all men. His general habits were
amiable and virtuous, and his powers of mind were un¬
commonly vigorous and perfevering. Ambition and
bigotry w^ere the chief blemifhes in his chara&er.
The writings of Ambrofe are voluminous, although
little more than adulterated editions of Origen and
other Greek fathers. The great defign of his writings
was to defend and propagate the Catholic faith. In
fome of thefe he recommends perpetual celibacy as
the perfection of Chriftian virtue. Modern judgment
and tafte may perhaps induce fome to efteem the
Writings of Ambrofe abfurd, trivial, and even ludi¬
crous ; but there is a fmartnefs and vigour in hi4 ftyle,
and there are excellent fentiments interfperfed, which
render the writings of the bithop of Milan worthy of
a perufal. With his ufual feverity and acrimony,
Gibbons too feverely cenfures this prelate. “ Ambrofe
(fays he) could aft better than he could write ; his
compofitiohs are deftitute of tafte or genius, without
the fpirit of Tertullian, the copious elegance of Lac-
tantius, the lively wit of Jerome, or the grave energy
of Auguftin.” The moft accurate and complete edi¬
tion of his works, is that publiffied by the Benediftine
monks printed at Paris in two yolumes in 1682. (GVk,
Biog). _ ...
Ambrose, Ifaac, an eminent Prelbytenan mimfter,
wras educated at Brazen-nofe college Oxford, where he
took the degree of bachelor of arts, and became mini-
fter of Prefton, and afterwards of Garftang in Lanca-
ftiire, whence he w^as in 1662 eie&ed for nonconformi¬
ty. It was ufual for him to retire every year for a
month into a little hut in a wood, where he fhunned all
fociety, and devoted himfelf to religious contempla¬
tion. Dr Calamy obferves, that he had a very ftrong
impulfe on his mind of the approach of death, and
took a formal leave of his friends at their houles a lit¬
tle before his departure } and the laft night of his life
he fent his difcourfe concerning angels to the prefs.
The next day he ffiut himfelf up in his parlour, wffiere
to the great furprife and regret of all who faw him, he
5 G 2 was
A M B [ -
Ambrjfe was found juft expiring. He died in 1663*4, in the
Ambroiiu' 7 2d year of his a8e* He wrote feveral other books ;
• t_l as the Prima, Media, et Ultima, or the Firft, Middle,
and Laft Things; War with Devils; Looking unto
Jems, &c.
Ambrose, or St Ambrofe in the Wood, an order of
religious, who ufe the Ambrofian office, and wear an
image of that faint engraven on a little plate : in other
refpe&s they conform to the rule of the Auguftins.
See Ambrosian Office and Augustins.
AMBROSIA, in Heathen Antiquity, denotes the
ffijid food of the gods, in contradiftimftion from their
drink, which was called neEiar. It had the appellation
amhrojia (compounded of the particle « privative, and
/Sgaloj mortal'), as being fuppofed to render thofe im¬
mortal who fed on it.
Ambrosia is alfo a fplendid kind of title, given by
feme phyficians to certain alexipharmic compolitions
of extraordinary virtue. The name w^as particularly
given to a famous antidote of Philip of Macedon againft
all poifons, bites, and flings of venomous creatures, as
well as many internal difeafes.
Ambrosia. See Botany/Wkr.
AMBROSIAN office or rite, in Church Hijlory.,
a particular formula of worftiip in the church of Milan,
which takes its name from St Ambrofe, who inftituted
that office in the fourth century. Each church ori¬
ginally had its particular office ; and when the Pope,
in^ after times, took upon him to impofe the Roman
ofhee upon all the rveftern churches, that of Milan
sheltered itfelf under the name and authority of St
Ambrofe 5 from which time the Ambrofian ritual has
prevailed.
AMBROSIN, in middle-age writers, denotes a
coin ftruck by the lords or dukes of Milan, whereon
was reprefented St Ambrofe on horfeback, with a whip
in his right hand. The occafion of this coinage is faid
to have been a vifion of that faint, who appeared to
the Milanefe general in 1339, during the time of a
battle.
AMBROSINIA. See Botany Index.
AMBROSIUS Aurelianus, or Aurelius Am-
brosius, a famous general of the ancient Britons, of
Roman extra&ion. He was educated at the court of
Aldroen of Armorica : who, at the requeft of the Bri¬
tons, fent him over with 10,000 men, to affift them
•againft the Saxons, whom Vortigern had invited into
Britain. Ambrofius had fuch fuccefs againft the Sax-
, ons, that the Britons chofe him for their king, and
compelled Vortigern to give up to him all the weftern
part of the kingdom divided by the Roman highway
called Wat ling -Jlreet. Some time after, the Britons
being difeontented with Vortigern, and having with-
drawn their allegiance from him, he retired to a caftle
in Wales, where being befieged by Ambrofius, and
the caftle taking fire, he perifhed in the flames, and
left his rival foie monarch of Britain j who now took
upon him the imperial purple, after the manner of the
Roman emperors. Geoffrey of Monmouth tells us, that
Ambronus built Stonehenge near Salifbury in Wilt-
fliire. Ambrofius, according to this hiftorian, coming
to a monaftery near Caercaradoc, now Salilbury, wffiere
three hundred Britifh lords, maffacred by Hengift, lay
buried, and refolving to perpetuate the memory of this
I
88 ] A M B
aflion, he ordered his workmen to prepare a large Ambroflas
quantity of ftones and other materials. But having, II
at the inftigation of Tremounus archbifhop of Caer-
leon, confulted the famous Merlin, this magician ad-
vifed him to fend over to Ireland for certain great
flones, called chorea gigantum, the giant’s dance, placed
in^ axarcle on a hill called Killair, which were brought
thither by giants from the fartheft borders of Afri¬
ca. A body of forces was accordingly fent into Ire¬
land, under Pendragon, Ambrofius’s brother, to fetch
thefe ftones 5 but were oppofed in their attempt by Gil-
liomanus king of the country, who derided the folly
of the Britons in undertaking fo ridiculous an expedi¬
tion. Neverthelefs, the Britons having vanquifhed this
prince in battle, brought aw-ay the ftones; and by the
diredlion and affiftance of Merlin, who had accompa¬
nied them, thefe wonderful ftones, by order of Am¬
brofius, were placed over the graves of the Britifti
lords, and are now what is called Stonehenge. Alex¬
ander Mecham celebrates this fable in his poem De di-
wue fapientice laudibus. Polydore Virgil affigns ano¬
ther origin of Stonehenge : he tells us it was erefted by
the Britons as a monument to their general Ambrofius,
on the place where he fell in battle, to perpetuate the
memory of his glorious actions and fervices done to his
country. Both thefe ftories are rejefted by our belt
antiquaries ; who, however, are by no means agreed as
to the true origin of this famous piece of antiquity.
See Stonehenge.
After the Brftons had defeated the Saxons, and ob¬
liged them to retire northward, Ambrofius is faid to
have convened the princes and great men at Y01k,
wffiere he gave orders for repairing the churches de-
ftroyed by the Saxons, and reftoringthe exercife of re¬
ligion to its former luftre. This is confirmed by Mat¬
thew of Weftminfter j who highly applauds the great
zeal of Ambrofius in repairing the churches, encoura-
ging-the clergy, and reftoring the honour of religion".
1 he Monmouth hiftoiian gives this prince a very high
character. “ He was a man (fays he) of fuch bravery
and courage, that when he wtis in Gaul no one-durll
enter the lifts with him 5 for he was fare to unhorfe his
antagonift, or to break his fpear into Ihivers. He was,
moreover, generous in bellowing, careful in perform-
ing religious duties, moderate in all things, and more
efpecially abhorred a lie. He wras ftrong on foot,
ftronger on horfeback, and perfeftly qualified to com¬
mand an army.” The fame author tells us he w as poi-
foned at Winchefter by one Eopa a Saxon, difguifed
as a phyfician, and hired for that purpofe by Pafcentius
one of the fons of Vortigern: but the generally received
opinion is, that he was killed in a battle which he loft
in the year 508, againft Cerdic, one of the Saxon ge¬
nerals.
AMBRY, a place in which are depofited all utenfils
neceffary for houfe-keeping. In the ancient abbeys and
priories, there was an office under this denomination,
wherein were laid up all charities for the poor.
AMBUBAJfE, m. Roman Antiquity, were immodeft
women, wffid came from Syria to Rome, where they
lived by proftitution, and by playing on the flute : the
wrord is derived from the Syriac abub, wffiich fignifies a
flute 5 although others make it to come from am and
BaU, becaufe thefe proftitutes often retired to Bairn. ,
According
A M B • [ 789 ] A M B
Ambulant According to Cruquius, thefe women ufed likewife to
fell paint for ornamenting the face, &c.
AMBULANT, or Ambulatory. They gave in
France the name of Ambulant commijjioners to thofe
commiffioners, or clerks of the king’s farms, who had
no fettled office 5 but vilited all the offices within a cer¬
tain dlftrict, to fee that nothing was done in them againft
the king’s right and the intereft of the farm.
Ambulant is alfo ufed to denote thofe brokers at
Amfterdam, or exchange agents, who have net been
fworn before the magiilrates. They tranfaft broker¬
age bufinefs, but their teftimony is not received in the
courts of juftice.
AMBULATORY, a term anciently applied to
fuch courts, &c. as were not fixed to any certain place 5
but held fometimes in one place, and fometimes in ano¬
ther : in oppofition to ftationary courts.—The court
of parliament was anciently ambulatory ; fo alfo were
the courts of king’s bench, &c.
AMBURBIUM, in Roman Antiquity, a proceffion
made by the Romans round the city and pomoerium,
in which they led a viflim, and afterwards facrificed
it, in order to avert fome calamity that threatened the
city.
AMBURY, or Anbury, among Farriers, denotes
a tumour, wart, or fwelling, which is foft to the touch,
and full of blood.
This diforder of horfes is cured by tying a horfe-
hair very hard about its root: and, when it has fallen
off, which commonly happens in about eight days,
Itrewing fome powder of verdigris upon the part, to
prevent the return of the complaint. If the tumour be
fo low that nothing can be tied about it, they cut it
out with a knife, or elfe burn it off with a (harp hot
iron ; and, in finewy parts, where a hot iron is impro¬
per, they eat it away with oil of vitriol, or white fub-
limate.
Many of our farriers boaft of a fecrct wdiich infalli¬
bly cures all protuberances of this kind 5 the prepa¬
ration of which is this : Take three ounces of green
vitriol and one ounce of white arfenic ; beat them to
a coarfe powder, and put them into a crucible 5 place
the crucible in the midft of a charcoal fire, ftirring the
fubftance, but carefully avoiding the poifonous fleams :
when the whole grows reddifli, take the crucible out
of the fire, and when cool, break it and take out the
matter at the bottom ; beat this to powder in a mortar,
and add to four ounces of this powder five ounces of
album rhojis ; make the whole into an ointment, and
let it be applied cold to wrarts j rubbing them with it
every day. They wfill by this means fall off gently
and eafily, without leaving any fwellings. It is beft
to keep the horfe quiet, and wfithout working, during
the cure. What fores remain on the parts from which
the fwellings fall off, may be cured with the common
application called the countefs'>s ointment.
AMBUSCADE, or Ambush, in the Military Art,
properly denotes a place where foldiers may lie con¬
cealed till they find an opportunity to furprife the
enemy.
In the language of Scripture, thefe terms are not
always taken in their proper fignification, for laying
ambufhes for any one, attacking him in fecret^ laying
fnares for him. They fometimes fignify no more than Amty
attacking a man who has no diftruft of fuch a thing 5 t
attacking one behind, concealing one’s felf in fome ^  '
particular place in order to furprife any one. See the
book of Judges, ch. ix. 25, 32, 34, 35. Abimelech,
who lay lurking with his people in the heights of Si-
chem, fo, however, as to rob and treat thofe who
paffed that way very ill, came and attacked the city
of Sichem with his troops divided into three bodies :
Fetendit injidias juxta Sichimam in queiuor locis. Li¬
terally, according to the Hebrew, “ They prepared
ambufeades againft Sichem in four heads or compa¬
nies.” And a little farther, verfe 43. “ Abimelech,
being informed that the Sichemites had marched,
took his army and divided it into three bodies, and laid
wait for them in the field.” It feems certain, that in
thefe paffages ambulhes, properly fo called, vTere not
the things in queftion. In the firft book of Samuel,.
Saul complains that David laid ambufeades for him: ,
Injidiator ufque hodie per?jianens. Now nothing could
be worfe grounded than this accufation, if we under-
ftand the wTord injidiari in its proper fignification ; but
he might fay, though unjuftly, that David wTas his
fecret enemy. And in the Chronicles it is faid, that
God turned the ambulhes laid by the enemies of Ifraei
upon themfelves ; that is to fay, their endeavours, their
malice, their arms, he turned againft themfelves *, for
the enemies there mentioned came not in private or
by ftratagem j they marched openly in arms againft If¬
raei.
AMBY, a town of the Auftrian Netherlands, in the
province of Limburg, fituated oppofite to Maeftricht,.
on the eaft fide of the river Maefe, in E. Long. 5. 4^.
N. Lat. 50. 57.
AMEDIANS, in Church Hi/lory, a congregation
of religious in Italv, fo called from their profelfing.
themfelves amantes Deum, “ lovers of God j” or rather
amati Deo, “ beloved of God.” They wore a gray
habit and wrooden Ihoes, had no breeches, and girt
themfelves with a cord. They had 28 convents j and
were united by Pope Pius V. partly with the Ciftercian
order, and partly wfith that of the Soccolanti, or
wooden ftioe "wearers.
AMELIA, an epifcopal city of Italy, in the ftate
of the church, feated on a mountain, in the duchy of
Spoletto. E. Long. 13. 20. N. Lat. 42. 33.
Amelia, a county in Virginia, fituated between the
Blue-ridge and the tide waters, having Cumberland
county on the north, Prince George county on the
eaft, and Lunenburg county on the fouth and "weft.
Amelia, including Nottaway, a new county, contains^
18,097 inhabitants, of whom 11,037 are daves-
Amelia Ijle, on the coaft of Eaft Florida, lies about
feven leagues north of St Auguftine, and very near
Talbot illand on the fouth, at the mouth of St John’s-
river. Is is 13 miles long and 2 broad, is very fertile,
and has an excellent harbour. Its north end lies op--
polite Cumberland ifland, between which and Amelia
ille is the entry into St Mary’s river, in N. Lat. 30. 52.
W. Long. 67. 23.
AM ELL US, Star wort. See Botany Index.
AMELOT de la Houssai, AYc-6o/(3x, born at Or¬
leans in 1634, was much efteemed at the court of France^
and;
A M E
find appointed fecretary of an embaffy wbicb tbat court
Amelotte. feT1^ to tjie commonwealth of Venice, as appears by the
"""-title of his Tranllation of Father Paul’s Hirtory of the
Council of Trent j but he afterwards publilhed writings
which gave fuch offence, that he was imprifoned in the
Baltile. The firft works he printed were the Hiftory
of the Government of Venice, and that of the Ufcoks,
a people of Croatia. In 1683 he publilhed his tranlla-
tions into French of Machiavel’s Prince, and Father
Paul’s Hiftory of the Council of Trent, and Political
t)ifcourfes of his own upon Tacitus. Thefe perform¬
ances were vTell received by the public. He did not
prefix his own name to the two laft-mentxoned works,
but concealed himielf under that of La Mothe Jofleval.
His tranflation of Father Paul was attacked by the
partifans of the pope’s unbounded power and autho¬
rity. In France, however, it met with great fuccefs ;
all the advocates for the liberty of the Gallican church
promoting the fuccefs of it to the utmoft of their powder,
though at the fame time there were three memorials
prefented to have it fuppreflfed. When the iecond edi¬
tion of this tranflation was publiftied, it was violently
attacked by the Abbe St Real, in a letter he wrote to
Mr Bayle, dated Ottober 17. 1685. Amelot defend¬
ed himfelf in a letter to the fame gentleman. In 1684,
he printed, at Paris, a French tranflation of Baltafar
Gracian’s Oracula Manual, with the title of VHomme de
Cour. In 1686, he printed La Morale de Tacite de la
Flatterie ; in which work he col left ed feveral particular
fafts and maxims, which reprefent in a ftrong light the
artifices of court flatterers, and the mifchievous effeft
of their poifonous difcourfes. Frederick Leonard, a
bookfeller at Paris, having propofed, in the year 1692,
to print a colleftion of all the treaties of peace between
the kings of France and all the other princes of Eu¬
rope, fince the reign of Charles VII. to the year 1690,
Amelot publiftied a fmall volume iu duodecimo, con¬
taining a preliminary difcourfe upon thefe treaties j
wherein he endeavours to (how, that moft princes, when
they enter into a treaty, think more how to evade than
how to perform the terms they fubfcribe to. He pu¬
bliftied alfo an edition of Cardinal d’Ofiat’s letters in
1697, frith feveral obfervations of his own ; rvhich, as
he tells us in his advertifement, may ferve as a fupple-
ment to the hiftory of the reigns of Henry III. and
Henry IV. kings of France. He wrote feveral other
vrorks \ and died at Paris in 1706, at the age of 73.
Amelot was at one. time confined in the Baftile, pro¬
bably on account of his political writings.
AMELO 1 1 E Denis, a celebrated French writer,
was born at Saintonge in 1606. He maintained a clofe
correfpondence with the fathers of the Oratory, a con¬
gregation ©f priefts founded by Philip of Neri. He
wrote the life of Charles de Gendron, fecond fuperior
of this congregation, and publiftied it at Paris in 1643.
In this work he faid fomething of the famous Abbot
of St Cyran, which greatly difplcafed the gentlemen of
Port Royal, who, out of revenge, publiftied a libel a-
gainft him, entitled Idee'generale de I'e/prit et de livre
de P. Amelotte. He was fo much provoked by this fa-
tire, that he did all in his powder to injure them. They
had finiftted a tranflation of the New Teftament, and
were defirous to have it publilhed ; for which purpofe
they endeavoured to procure an approbation from the
2
[ 79° ]
A M E
doftors of the Sorbonne, and a privilege from the king.
But Amelotte, by his influence with the chancellor,
prevented them from fucceeding. In this he had alfo
a view to his own intereft j for he was about to pubhfli
a tranflation of his own. Amelotte’s tranflation with
annotations, in 4 volumes oftavo, was printed in the
years 1666, 1667, and 1668. It is not very accurate,
according to F. Simon, who tells us that it contains
fome very grofs blunders. Amelotte wrote alfo an
Abridgement of Divinity, a Catechifm for the Jubilee,
and a kind of Chriftian Manual for every day. To¬
wards the end of his life, he entered into the congrega¬
tion of the Oratory in 1650 ; and continued amongft
them till his death, which happened in 1678.
AMEN, tnx, fignifies true, faithful, certain. It is
made ufe of like wife to affirm any thing, and was a
fort of affirmation ufed often by our Saviour :
Aey* vpi*, i. e. Verily, verily, 1 fay unto you. Laft-
ly, It is underftood as expreffing a wilh : as Amen, So
he it, (Numb. v. 22.) or an affirmation, Amen,yes I be¬
lieve it, \ Cor. xiv. 16. The Hebrews end the five
books oft Pialms, according to their way of dirtribut-
ing them, with the words Amen, amen; which the
Septuagint have tranflated yw&tTo, 'yinetro j and the La¬
tins, Fiat, fat. The Greek and Latin churches have
preferred this word in their prayers, as well as alleluiah
and hofannah y becaule they oblerved more energy in
them than in any terms which they could ufe in their
own languages. At the conclufion of the public pray¬
ers, the people anfwered with a loud voice, Amen 5
and St Jerome fays, that at Rome, when the people an¬
fwered Amen, the found of their voices was like a clap
of thunder : In fmilitudinetn ccelefis tonitrui Amen re¬
boat. The Jews aflert, that the gates of heaven are
opened to him who anfwers Amen with all his might.
AMEND, or Amende, in the French Cufoms, a
pecuniary puniffiment impofed by a judge for any
crime, falfe profecution, or groundlefs appeal.
Amende Honorable, a fpecies of puniffiment for¬
merly inflifted in France upon traitors, parricides, or fa-
crilegious perfons, in the following manner : The of¬
fender being delivered into the hands of the hangman,
his ffiirt is ftripped off, a rope put about his neck, and
a taper in his hand then he is led into court, where
he muft beg pardon of God, the king, the court, and
his country. Sometimes the puniffiment ends here ;
but fometimes it is only a prelude to death, or banifli-
ment to the galleys.
Amende Honorable, is a term alfo ufed for making
recantation in open court, or in prefence of the perfon
injured.
AMENDMENT, in a general fenfe, denotes fome
alteration or change made in a thing for the better.
Am endment, in Law, the correftionof an error com¬
mitted in a procefs, wffiich may be amended after judg¬
ment, unlefs the error lies in giving judgment j for in
that cafe it is not amendable, but the party muft bring
a writ of error. A bill may be amended on the file
at any time before the plea is pleaded j but not after¬
wards, without motion and leave of the court.
Amendment of a Bill, in parliament, is fome altera¬
tion made in the firft draught of it.
AMENTUM, in Botany, the name of a fpecies of
calyx, confifting of valves, and hanging down in dif¬
ferent
Amrn
il
Amentum,
A M E [ 79« ] A M E
Amentum, ferent direcUons from the caulis. Common oats afford
Amerade. a good example of the amentum.
' "v Amentum, in Roman Antiquity, a thong tied about
the middle of a javelin or dart, and faftened to the fore
finger, in order to recover the weapon as foon as it
was difcharged. The ancients made great ufe of the
amentum, thinking it helped to enforce the blow. It
alfo denotes a latchet that bound their fandals.
AMERADE, a kind of officers among the Sara¬
cens, anfwering to the governors of provinces among
the Europeans. The name is originally the fame with
that of Emir.
AMERCEMENT, or Amerciament, in Law, a
pecuniary puniffiment impofed on offenders at the mer¬
cy of the court. It differs from a fine in being impof¬
ed arbitrarily, in proportion to the fault; whereas a
fine is a certain punifhment fettled exprefsly by fome
ftatute.
Amerce^
ment.
END OF THE FIRST VOLUME
DIRECTIONS for placing the PLATES of Vol. L
Plate I.
II.
III.
IV.
V.
}
VL 1
VII.
VIII.
IX.
X.
XI.
XII.
XIII.
XIV.
XV. 7
XVI. j
XVII.
Part I.
Part II.
Page 160
228
244
254
533
674
732
748
ERRATA.
Col.
Page
*75 I
295 I
374 2
line 38, for the foundations, read fame part of the foundations,
— 21, for Edward, read Arthur.
— 13, for Reith, read Eeith.
in ALGEBRA.
Page.
607
610
611
612
Col.
2
2
laft two dines, for —Z-3, read -j-Z3.
line 4, for r/+.r3, read a1-j-x3.
r 1 a1 .la*
— 3°, for--——, read —.
e4 a1 a1 a*
— 1, for #-** x x-*=x 3, read X
— 37, for an + , read a n—.
— 40, for a—x, read a-\-x.
612 1 —
9, for X“=6</2z,
2
read
616
624
627
628
629
630
631
632
634
637
638
639
640
642
2
2
2
2
1
2
1
1
1
1
2
1
X-=4^2.
3
— 13, for 6*/*z, read ^d1^.
— 13, for-|3^2, read-|3vT.
— 14, for 5 V|, read 5 alfo for V ^ read V 3V^.
— 10, alfo line 12, for —(3*+tf), read —(3*—a).
— 37, for abc—ac, read ah—ac.
— 42, for x—7, read x~—7.
■— 52, for v-\-z—p, read —p.
— 3» /or $ 148, read § 147 j line 18, for § 154, read .§ 153 j and line 19, for $ *33, rea
— 5, for —20, read —20A\ J
— 22, for x*, read xz.
— 31, for gx-}-r, read
— 38, for thefirjl, read, thefecond.
— 27, for *—y+\, read x=zy+x.
— 9, for -{-qa, read —qa ; and line 37, for read Z1,
— 25> 28, and 29, for cof. <z, read ^ cof.
— 2 and 5, for cof. a, read \ cof. a.
— 9, for cof. rtrr-A., read cof. a — —.
fd   n3
— 28, 29, 30, for VRy, read \/R'y.
— 2, for-, read—.
x xx
648 2 — 14,
for —, read I, twice.
y f
651
660
66$
667
669
674
Til
— 24, for (+^)n, read (i+j’)"
— 2, for b read c.
— 4, read 871—-/>*.
kft line but four, for AC=<7, read AC=Z.
line 8, read, if AK taken ~a-\-c, the ordinate K.4
— 7, for cofAz-}- ... , read c'=cof. oz-f ,
laft line but lix, for read j3.
V
- »'
<*
■' V
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/ i '